The Newest Normal

When I was in high school. I was in marching band. I was actually in colorguard. And I was actually the captain. Incidentally, I was a huge geek. I would live for Saturdays which we spent driving for hours on a school bus to the middle-of-nowhere Illinois to perform a 10-12 minute "show" on a "football" field and then wait all day watching other bands and waiting for the awards ceremony - in which we'd win most everything but "Best Colorguard". No joke, and it was still the highlight of my existence.

One of my fondest memories was realizing there was a town in middle-of-nowhere Illinois called "Normal". We had plenty of jokes about how boring it'd be to live in Normal. Go to Normal high school and work at the Normal grocery store. Order pizza from the Normal pizza place and go bowling at the Normal lanes. Who would have thought that 11 years later I'd love "normal" so much. Not the city, my life. 

I've been through plenty of changes and I always look forward to settling in a little bit. I love predictability and routine. I am so type A it's ridiculous. In the past 12 months I've gotten engaged and married, begun to share my our home with Husband, changed up half the decor in the house, and gotten a new job. I think I've met my quota of new for the year! 

One of the best things I've done to ease the transitions was to carve out a space for myself in our home. Meet my office!

It's come a long way since it's humble beginnings. First it was a library. (Because I was a teacher with summers off and time to read books!)

Then it was an art studio. (Because I was under-employed and had free time and thought I'd be a crafter and sell things on etsy.) 

I should mention that my art studio was inspired by my mom's cousin's art studio in her former home in Michigan. How gorgeous is this place!?

After it was an art studio, it was a mess. (Because I had started working full time and didn't have to read, craft, or clean apparently.)

Then it became an under used office. I was living in a 3 bedroom home by myself and just needed to clean it up, but to be honest, I spent zero time in here.

Now that I'm married, my office has become my getaway. Husband is watching (another) movie I don't care to watch? I hang out in my office and watch Eat Pray Love. Time to reconcile our finances? I've got a nice clear desk to sit at in a quiet room. Wrapping a gift for someone? There are a few boxes of gift bags and cards on shelves nearby. It is was perfect. 

At my previous job, with my one hour lunches, I got a lot of those things done at work. The finances, the meal planning, mailing things out, and even sometimes blogging. My new job doesn't afford me those luxuries. (And I'm not complaining!) I have a more condensed work day, and less access to my personal responsibilities. 

So my office once again is in need of a facelift. I'm going to try to commit to something here, and I need you all to hold me accountable. I need to make this space fit my new needs and wants and I want this baby wrapped up before the holidays. (Because by then I'd much rather be posting about Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas decorations!) I'd love to hear any suggestions or advice you have!

Before:

After:

TBD!

Random Collection of Thoughts

I've been absent from this page again. Oops! Consistency is obviously not a strength of mine. I have a bunch of old posts I want to share, but it seems strange to jump back in with a post about our vacation to Traverse City, Michigan, or on how we finally hung curtains, the little tweaks I've done to my office, enjoying married life as an introvert, or my recent half marathon. Hopefully those stories will all their their way here in due time.

Before I get to normal life things (normal for me I guess), I wanted to share a few things that I'm really flipping excited about.

1. My New Job! 
    I've been working as a sales rep for a remodeling company for about a year and a half, and before that I was a sales assistant for the company. I've spent two and a half years with the company and Husband can assure you, they've been rough. To make a long story short, it's the epitome of a toxic work environment.
    I'm hopeful that my new job in accounting for a large freight company will be quite different. I already know that my work day will be shorter, my pay will be a little more and more consistent since I'm not working for a bonus, my commute will cut in half from 25 minutes to 12, and I'll have benefits like PTO, vacation time, and a retirement plan. The office environment is still casual, and I'll be able to leave my work at work.

2. A New Normal
    I've been married for 9 months now, and I feel like we've settled into more of a routine lately. I love routines. Both my mom and Husband could care less about routines; I just love being in a rhythm. We're better about communicating our schedules, we're cooking certain nights, the house is staying cleaner, we're learning each other's quirks. It's nice!
  Once I start my new job, there'll be another new normal. My hours aren't changing much, but I do get a half hour paid lunch instead of an hour unpaid lunch. And I get all evenings and weekends off. I did a little bit of math and figured I'll get about 7 hours of my life outside of work back each week! I'm hoping to devote some of that time to blogging.

3. Elton John
    I lurve him. Maybe not that much. But I love his music. I can only think of one song of his that I don't like. It's weird, I know, sue me.
    Anyway, he's coming to Chicago! A few months ago, Husband said if he ever played here, we could go. I bet he thought I'd forget he said before it actually mattered. Ha! Hopefully it won't be a problem getting tickets.

And just because it feels sinful to post without including a picture... Here's my cat snuggling with me after the half marathon. She makes me happy.

What are you excited about lately?