On a personal front, things have gone from drab and increasingly depressing to amazingly optimistic, which has arrived only just in time.There’s something really taxing in having to force optimism and I think after a while, feigning hope for the sake of forward movement starts to eat away at you, too. It’s certainly a better mental state than pessimism but after you do it long enough, the stench of bullshit starts to seep into everything and you just start feeling ridiculous.

Anyway, first and foremost we’ve found a house that we’re in the middle of shuffling legal/financial paperwork around for. It’s about 30 minutes away from where we’re living now which puts us closer to the metropolitan sprawl but also means that our options were limited to squished, prefab suburban developments that weren’t our first choice. However, the house we found is adorable, full of sunlight and has a backyard that’s pretty divine. We’ve already started making artsy/hippie plans for home improvement and I’m totally nerding out with excitement over the garden I’m plotting. I’m going to spend the next year cultivating a composting system and digging/structuring terracing in the hill where I plan to put everything. (It’s HUGE, but the slope is such that it won’t support anything other than low, spreading shrubs.) I’m planning the basics, like tomatoes, carrots, squash, herbs, etc. but I also want to put in a few apple and peach trees, some blueberry bushes and maybe some grapevines along the back wall. Also, we’re going to rig up a rain barrel system so we can cut down on water costs so I’m researching DiY techniques for getting that started. And the hubs is contemplating taking the government up on this offer to help fund solar paneling, which would be perfect in our specific location and would also solidify our complete liberal, conservationist dorkiness to anyone in the immediate vicinity.  Utlimately, we’d love a small house in the middle of nowhere with tons of land and not so much bustling commercialism on our doorstep (the natives of New Hometown are entirely too excited about thenewTargetandWalMartandmovietheatresopeningjustacrossthestreetohmygahd!) and, honestly, we don’t want to settle in this county/state/side-of-the-country/hemisphere any more than five-ten years (at most) but we’re happy with what we can afford right now and are comfortable committing to it for the foreseeable future. With this house, we don’t feel like we’re “settling” and that’s the best part, I think. Also, with this specific location, my blog will still be aptly named. Score!

In other news, it seems that my personal business ventures are finally picking up and that elates me to no end. Not to whine about financial matters but, since mid-January, my various enterprises have been at a dead standstill and I’ve started getting really down and uninspired to continue. Being in a new town hindered my ability to book any new parties and the post-Christmas retail slump took a severe toll on the sugar scrubs and I kinda got to that self-pitying “I should just give up… wahhhh.” point. However, out of nowhere, about the time the temperature spiked and the sun came out, everything just sort of sprung back into action. I’ve randomly gotten three party bookings in the last three days (huzzah!) which is exciting enough but I’ve also introduced 4 new flavors to the Yum in the Tub line that people really seem to be responding to. Oh! And in a couple weeks I’m going to be featured in the Test Kitchen section of BUST Magazine (!!!!!!!!!) and I’m so excited/nervous I can barely stand it. The assistant editor sent me an email asking for a hi-res image and my address so she can send me a copy of the mag and seemed really positive about it so I’m hoping they don’t publicly loathe the coffee scrub I sent them. (However, my husband optimistically pointed out that, even if they hate it, I can always market myself as “As featured in BUST!” without assuming that anyone will remember the review.) So we’ve started prepping the website for that and it’s going to look AMAZING in a couple weeks when we debut it as a freestanding site and no longer linked to Etsy. (Now is when I’m eternally grateful I’ve married a graphic designer. Seriously, this website looks like I dropped a couple grand on it. I’m aware that I’m bragging right now.)

It just seems like everything’s on the upswing on the whole. The Bear is getting to be outside more because of the weather, which puts her in a better mood and makes the day flow better, my sister moved to NYC and left me her Jeep, which means I can fit my running stroller in the back and hit the trails at a local park every morning, produce is getting back in season so the prices are slowly falling, I’ve been meeting and hanging out with a lot of new people from various venues and social circles and have even started talking about building a burlesque/cabaret troupe with a local gal which would be amazing. (My past attempts have always been thwarted but the dream lives on.)

It just seems like things are racing upward, which is as much of a relief as it is a cause of great excitement. I know, it’s all too cliche to hit the “reset” button and try to redefine one’s purposes/goals/intents at this time of year but I really don’t mind falling into that trap when it feels like the Universe is piling on the support. I’m finding that my motivation and momentum are renewed and the extra boost makes me want to work harder to get started on more of the projects I’ve been putting off because of my “Schmeh, whatevs.” attitude in the last few months. It’s only been a week or so and I’m already getting more done every day than I have in the last month.

It’s nice. I like it.