Coat trees are obnoxiously expensive -_-

I'm flabbergasted... I mean, yeah, I figured maybe $30-40 was likely for a decent one. But $50-60+? You have got to be shitting me. Who the hell has $200 to plunk down for a piece of wood with little knobbies to hang coats on? And who the hell would actually be willing to admit they paid $200 for said glorified piece of wood? *boggle*

Anyway...

I've been rather absent, yes, but fear not: I haven't abandoned this blog or any of my goals. Still plugging away at that whole weight loss/exercise/healthy living thing, and doing pretty well. I had Death Flu™ for about a week and a half, which killed my eating/workout regemin, but helped me lose 7 lb. in 5 days hahaha. I gained a good portion back, but I am quite pleased to say that 285 is a number firmly in the past. I was 281 this week, so woot! My goal next week is to be 279 and say bye-bye to the 280's forever.

Besides Death Flu™, I've been spending my non-blogging time apartment hunting - with much success! Although I honestly do love where we've been for the past 3/4-year, I am kinda sick of living in run-down, older places. And I am *really* sick of living in apartment buildings, tbh. Despite that, I was looking predominantly at residential communities and complexes because I figured that was where I'd have the best luck finding something I could afford solo. Terrell has to finish up some credits after graduation, which leaves his job prospects rather vague and uncertain. Hard to apply for a job when you can't give a definite date of availability, or even narrow one down to within a couple of weeks. And so I've had to keep in mind what I can afford on my *ahem* less-than-stellar office minion salary.

So imagine my utter delight when I stumble upon a listing for a charming carriage house apartment and, upon contacting the proprietor, discover it is within my budget and located in one of the coolest neighborhoods of Syracuse. The apartment is the bottom of the carriage house behind an 1800's mansion that used to be home to the mayor of Syracuse ages and ages ago and has been restored beautifully and historically due to being registered as a historical building. The carriage house itself has been completely modernized inside to become a sweet little apartment with a galley kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom (which is located where the horse stall was years and years ago). Oh, my... it's gorgeous and pretty much exactly what I've always dreamed of. I love, love, love old homes and the neighborhood is full of painted lady Victorians and rambling mansions, not to mention a vegan bakery and cafe, a book shop, a tapas bar and a community garden that I will allegedly get a plot of to plant my own veggies and whatnot. One word: perfection. And after the landlady receives the signed lease and security deposit I mailed her on Monday, it's mine!

The lease for that place starts April 1, while my current apartment's lease doesn't end until May - fantastic, because the carriage house is a bit smaller than here, and I am at an awkward crossroads in my life where I have accumulated far more things than a person should need or want. I've been a cluttered, disorganized mess pretty much my entire life due to packrat tendencies and not growing up in an environment that emphasized order -- but no more. When I move, I will take only 25-50% of what I currently own, and nothing more. A friend passed on the helpful website http://unclutterer.com/, which I've already gotten a dozen ideas from and I'm going to try from now until the end of May to tackle one chunk of stuff each week until I've managed it all. Starting with papers this weekend (breakin' out the scanner, oh yeahhh) and moving on to the plethora of boxes we actually never unpacked (sad, I know).

This is already shaping up to be one of the most productive, self-improving years I've ever had and we're just a little over two months in -- I can't wait to see what else I can get done in the next ten months :)