The Car Epiphany

Growing up, I remember my yi-ma and her clean and organized home.  When I opened her cabinets to find a towel, everything was not only neatly folded and in its place, but there were labeled storage containers with pills and band-aids, and all sorts of orderly identified items.  It was mesmerizing.  I was hooked.  However, I remember being a little intimidated in her car because it was so immaculate, and we were not allowed to eat in there. 

Fast forward to life with three kids, and our car was a cess pool of goldfish crumbs, conjoined fruit snacks, spoiled milk, and random toys in knick knacks corners I never knew even existed in cars!  Who knew a car could have so much space for crap?!  Alas, it seemed all the parents we knew were in the same boat. 

And then it happened.  We had a car epiphany.  Well, first we heard Andy's sister had a no eating in the car rule.  We were floored.  And intrigued.  And in order to keep up with them, we opted to join in!  It was hard at first, definitely a drastic change from stuffing our kids full of snacks whenever they whined.  Plus, I never imagined I would be a "no eating in the car" type of adult, but I make exceptions and it's been...  a year and a half, and it has been amazing.  Our car is still messy, but not as bad as it would be if we allowed eating.  We definitely make exceptions, but if we didn't have the no eating rule, it would be even worse.  As I was doing yet another sock retrieval from the van, I realized there are a few things I do for van upkeep, which is hilarious since the van is still disgusting.  Just NOT as disgusting as it would be without.  Trash into a bag pretty much everyday, sock and toy retrieval once every few days, and when time permits, we get over to the car wash (Dagny hates the carwash so we barely go these days) and vacuum too.  I think we'll do that tomorrow while Dagny's at school. The only reason I even want to share this is to remind my kids and encourage my friends to try a no eating rule also.  It's doable!  I mean, if we can do it, anyone can! 

Taking Back Control

So life has mostly been the same, but I got a new hobby.  I know, I know, I feel like I have so many hobbies.  Five years ago, I learned how to do Photoshop.  About four years ago, I decided to continue my college thesis and try to write a book about my experiences with my Chinese Mom.  That's still going on, but sort of on the side (here), whenever an experience or idea pops into my head, but a lot of it is so emotional, it can be draining sometimes to revisit those memories or navigate the sometimes strained but still loving relationship with my mom.  We are both difficult, I'm sure.  And I did finish my Chinese children's book about the Chinese Zodiac, and submitted it to one publisher, but probably need to just submit it to a few more before I give up and self-publish it (need an illustrator though!).  And I began learning how to make cakes last Fall, because I figured it'd be a good way to save some money since with six people in the family, that's a lot of cake each year!  It's been kind of a fun way to learn a new skill, and I've had varying levels of success, but it's pretty involved and not something I want to do all the time.  So I guess what I'm trying to justify is that my various hobbies have some sort of progress before I come up with a new one, because I got a new one!  I've been thinking so long about how I can do something what what I love, and now, I am on the journey to doing just that!

At 35, without a full-time job, and being at home with my four kids, and having a lot of energy (never caffeinated, even before I became Mormon), I just needed to put that energy somewhere I wanted.  I have always loved organizing, since I was a kid.  I remember going over to my friend's house, and I would just start to clean her room, but really I was just putting stuff away, and I loved it.  I never dusted or vacuumed her room, I do like cleaning, but not as much as I like organizing!  I just like it when things have a place they belong, and figuring out where that is.... but I've kind of let myself go since having four kids, so now I'm slowly picking up the pieces and organizing and cleaning out a lot of clutter and junk that we've accumulated in the short four years that we've lived in this home.  It's been SO MUCH FUN so far, and I am having a blast!  So I think I will come back and do some printables, utilizing my new Photoshop skills, and I might even make some videos because Andy got a new video camera and he's been using it to do some video compilations for our family history.  I'm on Instagram so far, but nothing more, and I can't wait to see where this hobby goes.  If nothing, my home will be cleaner and more orderly for it!  My handle was thought of by my friend Jess, so grateful she came up with something clever!  See what I'm up to here: Instagram account link

Cheers!