resolved

<---Jane Austen hair/Madwoman in the Attic eyes/Exhausted New Mom glow

I've been struggling with pinpointing exactly what needs "resolution" this year. I definitely want to keep my house cleaner and better organized. Less cluttered, more civilized. That old chestnut. I'd also like to do some "personal" cleanup - by which I mean a haircut, some weight loss, and eyebrow pluck, and maybe another teeth cleaning. Nothing fancy. Let's not get all crazy now. But I guess I'm looking for something that speaks a little bit more to my emotional state of mind.

As a mom of two young kids and a full-time teacher of literature, I don't find myself with a ton of "me" time. And, even before I had kids, I still didn't really know how to fill that me-time effectively. I slept more, watched more bad television, worked out more, and drank more Diet Coke. Occasionally, I blasted bad music and sung along to it like a demented sideshow act at a circus. I still do that now; however, the music is mostly inspired by an evil purple dinosaur whose very name is an anathema to me.

The hubs and I oft joke that we should have cured cancer with all the free time we once wasted. I guess these days I just want a little more bang for my free time buck.

Part of that need will be met this year by that book/movie challenge I posted about yesterday (which I'm inordinately excited about), but I feel like I just need to be better about trying new things in general.

There's got to be more to life than just work, family, and Facebook. Right?

See you on the flip-side.

50/50 Challenge

so...i love reading. i do. more than i love candy corn, democratic ideals, and the color cerulean. it's up there with diet coke, swedish fish, and sleeping children in my book. and movies, they're not half bad either.

a friend of mine introduced me to the 50/50 challenge (you can read rules here: http://www.fiftyfifty.me/) and i'm totally in. i've desperately wanted to improve my movie viewing in the new year (it's tough with young kids, but there's a whole body of work featuring ryan gosling's body and it ain't gonna watch itself, you dig?). this seemed to be the best way to hold myself accountable and to get myself to do something for me consistently each week.

I suck at life and blogging.

So...turns out, I've got terrible follow through. I couldn't even keep my house clean. Blech. BUT, but, but...

andhoweversothereforeinconclusion

it gives me something to work on this year. a resolution, of sorts. an attempt, finally, to get my shit together. in more ways than one.

so here it goes. the new, the improved, the recently updated

Eliza Doolittle Project

(who knew that name would be so prophetically accurate? perhaps I should have named myself something more...inspirational?)

The Goals (for 2012):

1. post something, anything once a week (minimum)

2. lose rest of baby weight

3. finish my novel

4. keep my house in check

5. complete the 50/50 challenge

i'm starting with this for now.

pictures from the underground

the fruits of my cleaning

what's been happenin'

so, shortly after i began my blog, my sainted nana died. while her death wasn't entirely unexpected, it certainly didn't leave me in the mood for much (isn't funny how even cleaning can seem like too much when you're depressed?). but, i snapped myself out of my funk (or my two babies did) and i realized my nana would not want me to live in abject squalor or filth, and so here i am. in a much, much cleaner home.

my first order of attack was to clean the upstairs. once an entire floor felt livable, the rest seemed pretty easy. i'm leaving the dining room and the library to my babydaddy/partner-in-crime, who promises me he'll have them done now that summer hath come (he's a teacher). we shall see! until then, i'll post some pics of the house, talk a little more about the gross things i found therein, and then move on to my next "projects" - my body, mind, and soul (or, losing the baby weight, regaining some semblance of youth, and writing my first pathetic attempts at cheap romance novels so that i can stay at home with my girls!).

until next time.

where the devil are my slippers???

alright, so first rule of blogging: actually type something

got it. i've screwed up a little bit to date, BUT i assure you, i have been busy with my "project"

case in point, here is the living room now.

.

Day One: She's so deliciously low. So horribly dirty.

Hurricane Fiona:

I really have to credit Nate Berkus for this idea - I watched him on Monday and took a clutter quiz and now I feel like I'm about six degrees of separation from becoming one of those hoarders on tv. So, up first, the house! And, in particular for today, the family room.

These pictures come straight from my family room - please note the level of clutter and the sheer amount of crap we own. The Boppy chair, the tricycle, the kid-sized furniture, the toys...it looks like the remainder section of Toys 'R Us after the Christmas rush. We just have SO MUCH STUFF and the house isn't really very big (about 1200 sq. feet total...). Today, I'm starting simple with just tidying up, but that's not really "making over" the situation; it's just containing it. What this room really needs is a good purging and some heavy duty organization. This could take awhile.

I've obviously included pictures of the floor, the toys, the fireplace, and the bookshelf.

Day One: The Premise

"Eliza, you are to stay here for the next six months to speak beautifully, like a lady in a florist shop. If you work hard and do as you are told, you shall sleep in a proper bedroom, have lots to eat, and money to buy chocolates and go for rides in taxis. But if you are naughty and idle, you shall sleep in the back kitchen amongst the black beetles and be wolloped by Mrs. Pearce with a broomstick...If you refuse this offer, you will be the most ungrateful, wicked girl. And the angels will weep for you." - Professor Henry Higgins, My Fair Lady, 1964

Even back in 1912, when George Bernard Shaw wrote Pygmalion, people appreciated the dramatic impact of a good makeover. Today, realityand talk shows perpetuate the myth that a person can completely re-do some aspects of their lives. So, here's my deal: I want to see if it's possible without the divine intervention of the stars or television. Can a normal, average person of middle class stature and wealth retake control of her life? Can she reinvent her look, her house, her job, etc.? Is it possible to be a better person all by yourself?

I'll let you know.

My "Plan" (that was hastily construed during my mid-morning watching of The Nate Berkus Show while nursing my 4-week-old infant):
1. I want to take control of my house (and its infinite clutter and destruction), my body (which has been wrecked by the births of two children, the breastfeeding of two children, the natural aging process, and the stress of daily living), my job (I'm an English teacher, and would like to continue to be one, but perhaps in a better circumstance than I currently am in), and my stress levels (they are...well...legendary).
2. I will try to tackle some aspect of any of those things on a daily basis during the six months of my maternity leave and see what exactly can be accomplished when one really puts their mind to it.
3. I will be completely honest. From the crumbs in the rug of my living room to my post-baby weight, I will tell the truth to the best of my ability.

Wish me luck!