Lately I feel as if I'm standing in the giant cereal aisle of life, being completely overwhelmed by the options that present themselves. I mean, it's nice to have choices, and it's fantastic to be doing big life things that we want to be doing, but between the baby and the house, I feel as if my decision-making capacity has been exceeded. Add to that the fact that it's semester turn-around time and I'm trying to decide what to try to accomplish in my courses before I hand over the reins and go on maternity leave, and my brain is just about on overload.

On the upside, we have lately made some key decisions regarding the house--largely because the time is simply getting too short to shilly-shally any longer. We have most of our painting done, which is a huge relief as it took a long time for us to decide on colours. We also picked out trim and countertop, and have almost decided on vanities for the bathrooms. I will be relieved when this is all over, though--I'm ready to move in! In preparation for the big move, I've been trying to get some sorting done in the house, and I've been purging a lot of junk. It feels great to get rid of some stuff! I think part of this cleaning drive may also be my nesting instinct kicking in. I just want to sort, clean, and get everything in order for the move and the arrival of the baby!

The downside of all of this--and of the crazy upheaval of the end of the semester--is that I haven't had much time for the kinds of projects I want to be working on. I have a pair of pajamas mostly cut out...but not put together. I have the beginnings of an appliquéed bag done...but still all the stitching and the putting together to do. I just want some time to work on these and other projects! Maybe next weekend....

We've also made the decision to cloth-diaper the baby. We did a lot of research and had a chat with a very nice lady at Nurtured (an awesome store on Robie St. in Halifax--check it out!), and we've really decided that it's the right option for us. Considering the economic and ecologic savings, as well as the health benefits for the baby, it was pretty much impossible to make any other decision. And really, cloth diaper are pretty cool now! There are a lot of options, which of course get increasingly expensive as they get increasingly convenient. However, they're still much, much cheaper than disposables. We've ordered a kit of prefolds and plan to get some all-in-ones (the convenient, pricier model) for times when we're out or when other people have the baby. I know it'll be more work, but I'll be home for a year with the baby, and I refuse to believe that we're too wimpy to deal with the challenges. One more step towards parenthood...now if only we could decide on some names!

It's a new year, one with big changes ahead, and I'm determined to give this blogging thing another try. Maybe that's a little insane, seeing as I'll be moving into a new house within the next three months and having a baby within the next four...but hey, that's kind of how I like to do things.

This time around, I'm hoping that some focus will help me actually stay on track and get things posted. I'm also hoping that the blog and some other projects I want to undertake will feed each other. I want this year to be a more productive one in terms of creative/otherwise-productive projects like reading, writing, art, sewing, organizing recipes and cooking more...and so on. (I realize this may be a very ill-considered hope since the baby will take up most of my time, but still...I can dream.) So, while I'm sure this blog will sometimes deviate into the realm of daily happenings--especially around house- and baby-time--I'm also going to use it as a spot to reflect on things I'm reading, watching, listening to, creating, and doing. And next month, to keep myself extra motivated, I'm going to try NaBloPoMo. (Is it cheating to do that in February? Hee hee hee...)