KirstenL4W

I was just catching up on the blogs in my reader, and I was reading one on how to organize your closet.  It got me thinking, because I disagreed with one part of it.  The part that said to organize everything by color.  Can you please explain to me how that is supposed to work for everyone?  That has never worked for me.  Do you want to know how my closet is organized?  Do you?

I do agree with the experts that suggest keeping slacks separate from shirts and keeping other like items together.  That certainly makes things easier to find.  But when I get dressed, I don’t think that I want to wear a certain color.  I’d never be able to put together an outfit if I had to think like that because I am so freaking indecisive about things like that.  No, the first thing I think about is what the weather is.  Therefore, my shirts are organized first and foremost by sleeve length.  Yep, you heard me right.  I get up, see that it’s only going to be in the 50s, and think, gee, I might get cold today.  Better go for a long sleeved shirt.  Isn’t that how most people start putting together their outfit?  I would think that thought process is especially popular in places like New England where you never know what the weather will be like from one minute to the next.

So after sleeve length, I organize my shirts by style.  I’m one of those people who finds something she likes and buys it in every color, so this makes it easy to find them all.  My t-shirts are together, my button down shirts, and my frilly shirts (yeah, right.  I don’t do frilly!)  That way I can put together an outfit by mood - do I want to have a fancy outfit, or casual?  See, this method of organizing is much more logical than organizing by color.

I can understand why the “experts” tell you to do this - so you won’t clash.  There’s a way to combat this as well.  It’s super easy.  Turn the light on when you pick out your clothes.  If your closet doesn’t have a light, get one.  There’s lots of stick up lights that don’t need to be wired.

I’ve never been one to do things the way everyone things they should be done.  I never wanted to be like everyone else (even though I might look it in my uniform of jeans and a t-shirt).  I like to go against the grain sometimes - not to prove that I can or anything like that, but because it just makes more sense to me.

I was going to blog about it last week, but I never got around to it. It’s like that a lot these days. But we had an event here at the blog - my blog turned 3! March 14 was the big day, so on Saturday I figured we’d really get into the celebration and have a cake.

Pay no attention to all the fingerprints on the monitor.

We’ve also been taking full advantage of the Netflix account that I got Mister for Christmas, so we’ve been watching quite a few movies lately. Last week we watched Clerks, since I’d never seen it, and then Clerks 2. The first Clerks was ok, but I felt like it tried too hard to have lots of clever dialogue and as a result didn’t have enough substance, but Clerks 2 was freaking hysterical. Yes, I go for low-brow humor that leans way too close to the inappropriate side of things.

My Mom’s looking forward to her trip to Sweden in May. I want to go. I went, once, in 1996, but that’s a story for another day. Anyway, I’m sending my mom with a shopping list for me because she wanted me to spend way more money on stuff for her when I was there. Mom, here’s my list:

• Two more ceramic tile/trivets to hang in my kitchen to fill out the space that one lonely one occupies now. Content is irrelevant, so long as it’s in Swedish.
• The latest edition of Sköna Hem. It’s a home magazine, and you’ll find it at a place called a tidningskiosk or bokhandel.
• If you happen to make your way to a great Swedish IKEA, I am in need of more spreaders like these because mine got misplaced in the move. The ones at IKEA are a bit over $3 US, but if you see them elsewhere for a bit more that’s ok too.
• Anything with Linnea flower on it. You have enough of this stuff and I don’t.

Now, if Princess Vespa decides that she can live without her industrial strength hairdryer and deal with a tiny travel one, she can fit all this stuff in her suitcase and more. Be sure to visit Aunt Bird for lessons on how to pack for an international vacation, mmkay?

I’m going to wrap this post up a bit early. I had more that I wanted to say but in looking up one of the links above, I found a boatload of Swedish gift shops online and I need to go investigate.

I’ve established previously that things aren’t too great around the KirstenL4W home right now.  Unemployment and other things have been major stressors here and I’ve been having a hard time dealing with it all. A lot of that has to do with the fact that I don’t let go of things too easily, but also because I love Mister so much and I want nothing more than for him to be happy - ridiculously happy. I’ve been holding on to a lot of that worry, letting it drive me to my breaking point. I’d have halfway good days, but mostly I’d be one quick thought away from a deluge of tears.

On Tuesday, like most nights, I came home and started going through my checklist of internet activity. I was surprised to see comments on my last post, because it was a few days old already. There waiting for me was a comment from Cousin Betty, my second cousin on my mother’s side. I was surprised because the bulk of communication with my mom’s extended family is done through Christmas cards, so I didn’t realize anyone was reading my blog, even though I include the web address so people can keep up with me throughout the year.

Anyway, back to the comment. As with so many things these days, it brought me to tears. But these weren’t the stress tears that have been flowing so freely lately. These were different. I realize now, looking back on it, that they were tears of relief. Finally, in the form of words on my monitor, was a way for me to let go of the stress. I don’t know why I haven’t thought of it before. My spiritual needs tend to run hot or cold, and when I blogged about my feelings about faith, they were running cold but starting to warm up. At the time I wrote that, I was still thinking a lot and wondering if a slightly different path might better suit my spiritual needs.

Like a favorite old sweater. That’s how I described my home church, the one I was basically brought up in. As I read Betty’s comment, as well as an email she had sent me, I realized I needed that sweater and the comfort it could provide. And I needed it in the form I was most familiar with - church. It also happened that day that I got a newsletter email from one of my Pastors here in Vegas, and I remembered something about them starting Wednesday evening services. I looked up the current worship schedule on their website, and discussed it with Mister. The very next day, I walked into that familiar space and let go of my stress. I realized that the stress was not mine to hold on to like that, and when I left the church after service, I left the stress behind. The two days since then have been so much calmer for me. I haven’t felt this calm in a long time.

In addition to a newfound sense of calm, I also have hope. Through this entire ordeal, I kept saying to myself that this is a good thing that’s happening, but I didn’t believe my own words. Now I do. I have hope that we’ll come out of this even better than before it all started. I have hope that this will lead to even better adventures for us. Ever the eternal optimist, I lost that along the way but now I truly hope - and believe - that everything will be ok.

I know that not all my readers are religious, and I hope that this post didn’t come across as preachy. I simply wanted to tell you about how I felt and how I’m getting through this. For everyone else who is going through a tough time, you need to do what works for you - but don’t give up hope.

Last Friday, my CPA, who happens to be a close personal friend of moi, called me when I was on my way to work.  She wanted to tell me not to worry, that while we haven’t sat down and crunched the numbers just yet, she knows there are tax credits that Mister and I qualify for that will give us plenty of breathing room - a small glimmer of hope, financially speaking.  That made my day.  I did have more good stuff that I wanted to write about, but I’ve since forgotten.  Ah well, such is life.

Other than that, not a heck of a lot has changed.  I cracked from the pressure and ended up taking a personal day from work this week, which was really nice to have the break.  Also, Mister finally redeemed the Netflix gift subscription I got him for Christmas, so checking the mail is actually exciting now and not always followed by an hour long rant.

I wish I was more inspired to write more lately, but I’m just not.   Lately my spare time is taken up with staring at the tv like a zombie, or staring at the computer like a zombie.  I am mostly keeping up with all the blogs I normally read, and once in awhile even comment on one, but the desire to share just isn’t there lately.  I’ll do the best I can, though.