Playing catch up.

Well, I've been remiss in my posting duties. It's been almost a month since I last checked in here. However, that month has been one of trials, challenges and, finally, a shift in wind current, so I hope I will be forgiven. Shortly after I wrote my last post, I became ill ... and remained so, more or less, for about three weeks. On the recommendation of a knowledgeable friend I began to take adaptagens to try to boost my adrenals, and things started getting better. My theory is that going through everything I own with the intention of letting go of as much as possible, I have been simultaneously doing two things: 1. I've been experiencing a number of old emotions surrounding old memories, and trying to distill them to their essence and release the excess; and 2. I've been getting overwhelmed by both these old emotional jaunts down memory lane and the very large size of my To Do List, and, therefore, have been reverting to all my old bad habits without even being half aware of them.

So, with the desire of really getting into the meat of this upheaving experience, and with the hopes of getting myself as healthy as I can before my "move", I am making some changes.

I'm beginning with diet. I am shifting my eating habits toward more fruits and vegetables, and to a predominantly raw diet. (Thank goodness Spring is on its way, or I'd likely never be able to do this.) I am supplementing with probiotics, evening primrose oil, B vitamins, and adrenal adaptagens. I am taking bentonite clay every morning. I am slowly cutting dairy out my diet. I will use coconut milk, rice milk and nut milks instead of animal milk. The only dairy product I plan to keep in my diet is yogurt - and it'll be goat's milk yogurt as often as I can afford it. I am also working on cutting all refined sugars from my diet. (This will be tricky, but I'm determined to do it.) And, of course, I'm trying to maintain a proper daily water intake. I've cut out coffee and am cutting out other caffeine, too. I'm feeling really good about these new choices.

The next step will be fitness. I am in the process of planning a general fitness plan for myself. It will include hiking, bicycling, walking, yoga, pilates, swimming (when it gets warmer), and hopefully a few other adventurous activities if I can figure out how and where to do them. (I'm hoping to try some climbing, especially.) Any ideas of interesting fitness activities I might try around Durham would be more than welcomed.

I've been making some decent headway with selling some of my larger pieces of furniture. So far, I've sold a swivel chair, dining table + 4 chairs, and china hutch. I thought I had a taker for my bed, but it fell through. I went ahead and dismantled it anyway, though, for the space. I've got possible buyers for another large shelf cabinet, and side table. As these items go, I'll have room to bring some of the larger items from the garage to clean up and post online. Now that I've taken the bed apart, I've got room to start bringing things down from the attic. That means that the next several weeks will involve organizing all that stuff into piles: sell online; sell at yard sale; donate; give as gifts; consign. Good times. I am really NOT looking forward to this process, but I am looking forward to the feeling I'll have when it's all done, so that's my motivation.

My family and I went to the Raleigh RV show this weekend. It was great. Though there weren't many models available that even remotely resembled what I'm looking for - there were only a small handful of Class C rigs there at all - it was good to walk through several different layouts and see different features and options already installed. And, thankfully, it confirmed my conviction that an older model will be a better match for my tastes and needs. So, I'm also planning to start adding some trips to dealerships soon to start seeing some of these older models in person and getting an idea of how to actually shop for one before I really need to do so.

Well, that's my catch up post, I guess. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to write more often now that I'm feeling better again. Ciao!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes ...

So, the raison d'etre of this blog is taking a slightly dramatic shift. With the recent drastic change in my income, and the unusual weather keeping me housebound (snow in NC?!), I have been doing a lot of reflecting, philosophizing, and questioning. I won't bore you with the tedious details of how I came to my decision, but the decision has been made nonetheless: I am going to get rid of my belongings, get my house in order, sell my house, and buy an RV and call it home. Yes, I know you may be thinking any number of thoughts about this decision ... likely all in the vein of "Is she off her noggin?" But, I don't think I am. (Well, not in regards to this decision, anyway.) I finally realize that in trying to secure a somewhat normal life for myself, I have only managed to make myself a relative hermit with lots of pets, too many bills, and a tendency toward boredom and depression. From the moment I bought my house, my excitement at having taken a responsible (read: conventional) "grown up" step toward a proper (read: conventional) "grown up" life has been shadowed by a strong feeling of suffocation and entrapment. While I love Durham, I have never truly felt at home here. My life has become a stagnant, purposeless, boring mess, and threatens to continue this thread if I don't take action to change it. And the action that seems to make the most sense for me, is to release the baggage of then, and start over with the now. I've been reading everything I can find on selling a home, and buying an RV, and living in an RV, and being nomadic, in general, etcetera, etcetera. And every time I envision what my new life might be like, I get happy little butterflies in my belly. Okay, so half of those butterflies are gleefully happy, and the other half are scared out of their wits, but even the thought of doing something this scary feels pretty incredible. Isn't is common knowledge that truly spectacular awakenings can only really happen when we remove ourselves from our comfort zone?
So, while I'll continue to post about the things I'm doing to get my house ready to go to market, I'll also be sharing insights on the preparations for this new life journey. I've already started posting furniture for sale on craigslist, and have begun some small repairs on the house. I've done round one of primer painting on the hideous salmon pink trim in the hallway. (It was left by the previous owners, and I never got around to changing it.) I've removed all the old grody caulk around my bathtub, and am prepping it for new sealant stripping. I'm constantly editing my belongings and relegating oodles of items to the attic to sort for sale once I've freed up a little more space in the house proper. Plus, I've compiled a list of all the things I need to have addressed for the house to be ready to be shown to a realtor. The list includes estimated costs, notes on potentially necessary goods and services purchases, and the estimated order of priority for each item. (It's a bit longer than I'd like it to be, but it's doable, and that's a comfort.) My dad has agreed to help me with many of the items on the list, which is also a great comfort. So, you see, the blog's taking a huge Left Turn ... as is my life.
Check back often ... I'm sure there's gonna be lots to share as the journey unfolds. As always, your feedback is welcomed. Here's to happy experimental adventure!