weekend of changes = happier me

we have lived in this house for close to eight years now. this past saturday we finally rearranged our furniture in the living room. now, i am one who enjoys rearranging furniture, i've even been known to move large, heavy pieces on my own because i couldn't possibly be patient enough for matt to come home and help.  but unfortunately the layout of our house (and the placement of vents, windows, and doorways) really limits us. 

back in september we decided to rid ourselves of our old, green, over-sized sofa that could only be placed in one particular spot due to the size of its massive arm rests. to replace it we opted for a slightly smaller couch, with less vulgar arm rests. and with this purchase came the freedom to move things around!

we finally got our couch off the wall and into the room. we have a chair in a corner that has never seen anything but a bookshelf.  our living room windows are no longer at our backs, but we can actually look out them while cozily relaxing on the couch (that isn't sitting against a wall!).

i know this may seem insignificant, but i have wanted to be able to arrange our room (something) like this since we moved in here. and it has really opened up the room, amazingly. 

we had a couple people over for dinner each night this weekend and everyone commented on how much BIGGER the room looked. this makes me happy.

we've always had two T.V.'s in this house. one in the LR and one in the BR. i've wanted to rid ourselves of one of them for some time now. i finally got matt to agree with me about just having one, so we are finally saying goodbye to the older one. now we no longer have a tv in the bedroom and the nicer tv is in the living room. this makes me happy.

there has been a dead elm tree in the corner of our yard for a while. it sits right at the back corner of our house near our bedroom. i was and still am upset about the loss of this tree. in the spring and summer it cast the prettiest shadows on our bedroom curtains and i loved lying in bed with the windows open watching its branches dance in the breeze. it was nap inducing.

on the other hand, having a large dead tree looming over your house right above where your family sleeps is a little frightening. especially at the onset of winter. we just haven't been able to have it removed from a financial standpoint. 

so this weekend, my sister and her (very nice) boyfriend came over and helped matt cut it down. and our house is still completely intact. while it was sad to see our tree come down, we will now have enough firewood for a couple of winters (at least). this makes me happy.

a few weeks ago, i started a post and never finished it. okay, i'm sure i started several posts and never finished them or they turned into something completely different than i had planned, but thats beside the point. 

anyway, maybe the post i started was therapeutic and that was its purpose. it was about how trashed my house was. i'm talking about piles of stuff shifting from room to room and never finding a home, dog hair everywhere, dust, garbage, laundry, dishes, - you name it. it was driving me insane. it was becoming completely overwhelming. i felt hurried and stressed.  yes, i realize i have a new baby - but that doesn't make it anymore bearable. i know i had a good excuse, but it was still wearing me down just being in the thick of it everyday. and having all those piles and not knowing where to put anything just makes me feel like we have too much, more than we can handle, and why do we have it if there is no where for it to go???  

well, the beast has been tamed. or at least contained to the office. and that suits me just fine. there are still piles, but the piles are now organized piles. some need to be removed from the premises all together (donations), some need to be filed, some need to be paid, and some just need to sit and wait until after the holidays. but at least the rest of the house is contained and clean and the laundry is under control (how does such a small person generate that much more laundry?) clean house, clean  laundry, clutter under control = ability to slow down and breath a little better. this makes me happy.

oh, and i got a haircut this weekend. not sure if this change is making me happy yet. i may need a week or two to adjust.