What can I say, it's been a crazy year. The house is up for sale, we had to get a new car for Vader, the kids can nearly look me in the eye, I expanded my horizons and did a few more shows, and my hoarding of all things Fisher Price Little People and Barbie is at an all time low due to having to keep my office clean.
Right around Labor Day we put our house up for sale for the epic move to Arizona. Already my good friend, the One Woman Mob, has made her pilgrimage, my sister & her family have been there for a year and a half, and my parents are spending a nice super long vacation in their Arizona house this winter. Between all of them, we get daily updates on the weather. It's pretty much the same every day though:
So we give them daily updates on our weather, also pretty much the same:
So we've had interest in the house, but no offers yet. We've found a house in Arizona that we're ready to put an offer on. It's beautiful, around the corner from my parents, and a short sale so that means we have plenty of time to try and sell our house before the bank would ever even look at an offer on a short sale home. Clearly, the sooner we sell the house and can move to AZ the better as the snow is about to suffocate me.
So, let's start with everyone's favorite subject, Vader. Vader got a new car right before Christmas, turns out that quarter million miles he put on the old one pretty much wore it out. Who knew? He got a sporty Honda Coupe with all the trimmings. He thinks he's the shit. Whatever, Vader. Other than the new car, he's been up to the same old, same old. He's been biking a lot, with my dad and various other biking friends. He got a new bike this year, again, thinks he's the shit. He still loves his job and has been spending a lot of time doing outdoor activities like bike riding and sledding with the kids this year.
On to A. Oh A, she's 5' 3" now, and only 11. Can you stand it? She and I are still doing the home-schooling. She really likes it and it's giving her the time on each subject to really learn. We've been able to incorporate fun things like a trip to Mackinaw City & the fort up there, as well as Mackinaw Island into her schooling. A made it to a blue belt in karate this year, both kids are taking some time off from karate right now due to the imminent move to AZ, but she plans to restart when we move. I've been taking her with me to help out with my shows too. She's great at setting up my tables, helping customers, she's even learning to make & count back change. She, like me, is definitely a collector, a passionate collector. She's still collecting Bratz dolls, way over 200 by now. She also is enjoying adding to a 1950's poodle collection, she collects Asian dolls and figurines, vintage Dream Pets, comic books, Smurfs, and most recently, the Flintstones Pebbles. So eclectic!
D is my crazy one. He's definitely a drama-driven entertainer at heart. He wants to dance and sing and make people (or at least his family) notice him. What's taking him so long in the bathroom you ask, why he's only just begun his repertoire of faces and dance moves in the mirror, you'll have to just wait your turn. He's in 2nd grade now, still going to school. He's doing great in math particularly. Reading has been a little more of a struggle for him, but it's finally coming around now that his speech is in good shape. He might be released from the speech program in the next couple of months, he's come a long way in a very short time. He's already over 4'5" at 8 years old and is the tallest boy in his class. He also made it to blue belt this year in karate. I think both he and A enjoyed swimming more than anything this year though, we even took them to Great Wolf Lodge for a couple of days so they could get more swimming in. D has also caught my collecting bug, he collects vintage Star Wars figures/ships, Galactic Heroes Star Wars, Transformers, Cars cars, Playmobil, and Legos. He's always on the lookout for anything to add to his collections.
As for me, my gathering of things is limited by what I can easily put into my office and still keep it clean. No more filling up the family room with my overflow. No more stacking of bags and boxes and risk having them fall onto me, trapping me forever in my office. That just won't do for an open house. I did try a couple of new shows this year, one of which was the big week long show in New York! It was super fun and we did pretty well. We only brought home half of what we came with! Right after the show, I ended up with a bad back, really bad, like it didn't go away and I couldn't walk. Any of you who are blog followers of mine might have read some of that nonsense. Turns out I have Degenerative Disc Disorder and the discs in my back are slowly disintegrating. Awesome. I'm glad I know about it now though because I have been able to learn what I should and shouldn't do so that I don't ever have problems like I did this fall. I feel pretty much back to normal now and I plan to keep it that way. Right now, I'm just trying to keep everything in order and pack a few things when I think of it so that I'm ready to move to AZ at the slightest notice. I can't wait, it's going to be great, just what I need right now, a new adventure! I have some great ideas for businesses that I plan to start up when I get out there. It's all very exciting.
So, that's our year in a nutshell. Busy, fun, crazy, and happy. Very.
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