T-minus 12 days and counting

Moving was so much work that I don't even want to think about it anymore. Now, 90% of my things are in Florida – cozy in their new space, finding corners and shelves and wall space to occupy. I’m finishing up the month of January at my job and then hauling myself, my cat and some odds and ends 1,000 south to Central Florida. I’ve made a list of to-do items and I’m steadily working my way through it: officially change my name (done); tune-up for the car (done); clean the car (er, not done); clean the room I’ve been using at my brother’s place (also not done).

I’ve also made a list of suggestions for myself when I’m feeling bored and lethargic this summer. Something I can look at when I feel like doing something but I’m not sure what and if I don’t come up with an activity soon I’m heading straight back to bed for a nap. This list is going straight on the fridge and I’m going to do at least one thing from it every day:

Unpack – there’s no shortage of this that needs to be done.

Exercise – Cardio Salsa, free weights, boogying to my favorite tunes

Practice dance – Swing, Belly and Burlesque. I put up a wall-full of mirrors to help.

Study Spanish – I have a three-disc audio tutorial. So far I can ask where the bathroom is and tell you that I want the next train.

Ride my motorcycle – The small, quiet town I live in will be perfect for getting to the next level and riding in moderate traffic.

Blog – Hello.

Write letters – I have so many people to write to!

Daytrips – Florida is filled with small coastal towns, art districts, wilderness preserves and I wanna see them all.

Walk around the lake – I’ll visit my neighbors the horses, and the pigs and geese down the street.

Paper crafting – I love paste.

Paint the bathroom – After much serious deliberation I think I’ve settled on blue. Yeah. Blue.

Work on the backyard party barn – Whoo-hoo! This long-unused two-horse stable just needs a string of chili lights and a couple of chairs to make it the swingin’est barn-bar there ever was.

Do laundry – bleh.

Garden – I’m thinking of starting small with some summer herbs on the front patio. We’ll see if the critters will allow me to grow for myself or if they’ll eat everything as it sprouts from the dirt.

Water the trees – I hear this is a beautiful, meditative task. Soaking the leaves and branches with water and watching the droplets meander their way down. Sometimes a couple of birds will shower themselves.

Sew – I have lots of half-finished projects…and I’ll probably start lots more

School enrollment – This is going to take a lot of time at first; enrolling in the Federal TAA program, then with the school. I’m expecting lots of visits to the unemployment department where the program is coordinated, lots of waiting in lines, lots of paperwork. Hopefully it will all go relatively smoothly and then not take too much time till the semester starts.