Moving on up

We're leaving.

Our house, my garden, our village, our jobs, Charlotte's daycare, (most of) our friends, our state, even our geographical region.

I'm 90% excited, 5% terrified, and 5% neutral. That 5% terror, though, is hiding, and it only pops out in the darkness. Come daytime, excitement rules.

So, let's back up a minute and I'll explain how we got here: Matt accepted a very exciting job offer in North Carolina back in November, and he moved down in early December. He's got a small apartment and is planning on spending a week back here every 4-6 weeks until we can get the house sold.

We needed some sort of change, no doubt, and this definitely qualifies as a change.

Other changes:
Charlotte talks, a lot.

Things that remain the same:
I'm running.
I'm dreaming about gardening (even though I know this will have to be a year of rest in that arena).
I'm active on Instagram: http://instagram.com/joie_12

Stay tuned! Mellow Your Soul is getting a makeover and a little more pep in its step this year. Everything else is changing, why shouldn't the blog?

Whelmed.

I'll say it straight - life with Charlotte is awesome, but the rest of life is, well, a little (over)whelming at times. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm actually overwhelmed, though, more like I feel cluttered in my soul. I feel distracted, frazzled, a little lost.

I think a large part of this cluttered feeling is caused by the clutter that surrounds me at home (and, frankly, at the office. Ok, and in the car, too.). Because, let's face it, I have a stuff problem. Some people have drinking problems, I have stuff problems. I have too much of it. I can't let go of it. I have struggled with my stuff for years and years. I really need to come to grips with it.

I started reading this blog, The Year of Less, and I started looking at organizing stuff on Pinterest, and just the thought of having fewer amounts of more organized stuff makes my soul feel a little lighter. But it's not enough. I need to break down and DO something about it, instead of just thinking about the stuff. Post-maternity leave, I set a goal of going to bed with a clean sink - that helps me feel better, especially when I actually accomplish that goal.

And so, I bring to you: Joie's Year of Less. A loose plan of attack to make my soul feel lighter, my house look cleaner, and myself happier. I'm trying to use SMART goals, so hopefully this won't become yet another CLEAN ALL THE THINGS dream.

To start, I'm just going to make a few small changes:

• I'm going to leave my office desk tidy every night. 
• I'm going to pick out clothes for me and C, and pack lunches and diaper bags the night before.
• I'm going to continue to strive to have a clean sink before bed.
• I'm going to cook one weekday meal on the weekend.

Four goals for the remainder of September, two of which I already do half-heartedly.

I can do this.