So a few weeks ago I posted Goals: Part One...well, this is part two.

And Part Two is going to be HUGE. It's probably going to take me several months to complete. I need to be okay with that and okay with the fact that it doesn't have to be perfect, just pretty and functional and as long as it's how *WE* like it, that's all that matters. *huge breath* Yea, that's going to be the hard part since I'm such a danged perfectionist!

I've finally decided to organize and DECORATE my apartment. The past few years we've moved every year. First from Dean to a friends while we waited for our apartment to be ready, then to Lake, and now here to Mitchell Wagon. (No, I am not one of those who think someone's going to come and murder us in our sleep or whatever. I love sharing my apartment with people. It's historical and amazing! So yea, it's personal information, but I trust that you're not gonna show up on my doorstep with a poisonous apple!) We've been here just over a year and we really love it. The artist community is great, even though I haven't stepped forward and dove INTO the artist community part. Just being in a building with other artists has been a wonderful inspiration. We also realize that we are so not moving anywhere anytime soon. So, that being said...I'm sick of the second hand, hand-me-down look of our apartment. The only thing on the walls is really pictures of Ryder and most stuff is just a mish-mosh of unorganized crap.

I think I'm going to start in the bathroom. It's the smallest room of the the house and is the only room where there is NOTHING on the walls! (Well, the mirror that originally came with the place and the medicine cabinet, that I just recently learned should contain everything BUT medicine! Anyone else know this?) So I've been scouring Pinterest for ideas and I have a few that I like.

I think my problem is that I have too many ideas and too many thoughts and just don't know where to start. I'm quite overwhelmed. There's so much that I want to do, but I need to take the time to get it all done. I want to put up mirrors over the closet on my back wall. (Our apartment is 75" from back wall to window wall. We have only four windows in the entire main space (two in Ryder's room and none in our!) so lighting at the back of the place is dim. I'm thinking mirrors will bounce light into the back part of the space and will take up a lot of unused whitepace on my walls. I'm thinking some of those tall Ikea style, back of the door mirrors, but doing something unique with the frames, or maybe extending the frames so they're more "bulky" adding maybe 1x4's around it to frame it out with maybe some chevrons or polka dots (really big random polka dots! YUM!)

I want to build a workspace for my craft area. I HATE that my desk faces the wall (only wall....we live in a loft, I have no walls! GREAT for space! I love the openness of my place. I hate that I only have two real walls that I can use. Ya know?)

And Mr. Man himself just found the best deal EVER! An old 4 poster style bed frame for under $15 bucks at Goodwill! We'll be restaining it and possibly upholstering the headboard. (I'm thinking soft (faux) leather or maybe a rich velvet type fabric.) It needs new finials as those were missing, but I get to pick out (or make) the ones that really speak to me. (YAY for no more waterbed frame!!! We'll have a real grown up bed! LOL)

For the kitchen I NEED to restain the table. (An amazing find at an antique store for under $100 for the huge table and six chairs!) When the finish heats up it gets sticky. I'm thinking the varnish they used (eons ago) wasn't meant to hold hot dishes. LOL (Worse yet, I tried to use it as an ironing board since I don't have one and now I have the towel imprinted where I sit! LOL It's actually quite hilarious!) So yea...and I wanna stain it darker and maybe upholster the chairs to have soft, cushy seats. (Jer's not quite happy about that as it's a lot more work involved, but I thin it'll really be worth it in the end.)

I also want to build an island/breakfast nook thingie as we have highly limited counter space. An overhead pot rack would be awesome and I need to come up with ideas for over the cupboards. I have a few, but not in LOVE with any of them. One does keep coming back though. I keep thinking of making a restaurant style menu board with items that we have regularly and decorating the top of the cupboards with milkglass items or some pretty decorative plates/dishes.

We won't even start on how much I want to do for the craft room (other than the work surface) or the living room or the entryway. Ryder's room is pretty much done. I want to paint his bunk beds (red or black) and he really needs more shelving for his Pez collection. I'm trying to wean him out of the "baby" toys and toyboxes. (The two Little Tykes boxes were cute years ago, but they just seem so babyish now. I want him to have a room that feels like a "big boy" room now that he's going to be starting Kindergarten this year. (OMG! Yes, he's five already! Where does the time go?)

See, a huge goal that's going to take me a long time to get done. I'm just scared I'll give up halfway through because it's taking so long. :| Any suggestions on how to keep that at bay and HOW to start? I'm so overwhelmed that I just don't know what to do!

Where to start? First, I didn't get the uber awesome design team spot. Darn it! I tried! I know I don't have a lot on the blog yet, so it was a long shot....After lots of thought, I've realized I just need to work more. Actually...I've thought a lot recently about what I want and what I want to do. I've come up with some ideas and so me goals and I thought I'd share them with y'all. Well, that and get them down on "paper" and maybe get some feedback.

Goals: Part {one} 

1} I *NEED* to use the camera more. Like every day. 
    {I also really want a new lens. Maybe that 50mm one to start with, but definitely a better zoom or telephoto lens before softball/baseball season starts next year. The "stock" one that came with my "pre-owned" Canon isn't the greatest.}

2} I want to learn to sew. Like seriously sew. Like make the clothes *I* want to wear. (And make cute things for the boy. He's growing so much I have to buy shirts 2 sizes too big to get length!)
    {I am getting a "new to me" sewing machine next weekend. It's a Brother HS-1000 that was only $50. My MiL said it was a good one and would be good to learn on. I'm excited. I want it tomorrow, but I must be patient.}

3} I *NEED* to organize and "clean sweep" my entire house. We've moved so much that there's a ton of stuff we haven't used in the year we've been here. It's time to go through it. It's time to get rid of it. My building is stunningly beautiful. I want my home to match.

4} Which leads us into, I want new furniture. Not just any old, hand me down furniture. We got a flat screen TV (finally!) and it's sitting on my coffee table because I HATE every stupid "media center" on the market. And I refuse to pay $600 for the one I like.
     {And I refuse to pay $120 for the ladder shelf I want...and I want TWO of them!) Nope, we have the woodworking room downstairs. I was great in wood shop in middle and high school. I'm going to build what I want. And I'm going to build it cheaper than I could have paid for it. (I'm working on figuring out how to get a stash of reclaimed/salvaged wood...any ideas?}

5} I need to realize that not everything happens over night. I won't get what I want right away, but I need to learn to be patient. This is going to be my hardest goal. I have no patience. I never have. I probably never will, but I'll at least attempt to fake it while inside I'm bouncing up and down like a 2 year old!

6} And lastly - I want to organize my time better. I want to have time every day to craft or sew, to make dinner, to spend with the man and the boy, to work, to try to get my Scentsy business off the ground so I can quit my "day job" and have more time to spend with my family.

There are so many things that I want to do that I don't know where to start. I'm so overwhelmed right now. And to make matters worse, I have to actually work next week! (LOL Yup, in the smack dab middle of summer break, I have a week to work!) But I volunteered to be a "Crew Leader" at VBS this year. I mean, I'm one of the few staff of Kids Klub that's not working summer "kamp" so it's one way of getting to see the kids before school starts. The mini gets to go to VBS this year, now that he's 5!

Anyway...I think that's about it for now!! Thanks for listening to me ramble!

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