Feeling better and lots of upcoming plans!

I can hear out of my right ear today! And I haven't been coughing like crazy or feeling like I have a bunch of bricks on my head. I think the inhaler and cough syrup from my recent doctor visit have started helping. I can't believe I've been out of work for an entire week. I swear I've been going stir crazy! And I've been so worried that people at work might hate my guts for being gone so long. But I found out that tons of people are sick, so I guess it's just that time of year. And thankfully, my new lead at work has been super understanding and seems to have just been worried about me getting better (and probably not coming in and getting everyone else sick)!

Most of my days looked like this:



And I was super excited to be home when this arrived yesterday!



Since I do feel better today, I figured it was a good idea to actually try to be semi-productive. I hate that I've been here all stinkin' week and haven't done a darn thing. So I started laying out and packing clothes for the trip home! I have to make lists and plan things out, so I started doodling outfits for each day!



Last time, I had no idea what to pack, so I ended up packing way too much stuff. My suitcase probably weighed as much as me! This time around, I'm planning everything out so I don't end up in the same situation. Since the temperature is so unpredictable this time of year in Nashville, I'm trying to cover all of my bases, just to be safe! I'm packing a pair of jeans, a few skirts, a couple of button up tops, leggings, a few cardigans, and boots. Something's gotta work! Mom told me it was 70 one day last week, and then the next day, it was in the 30's! Oh, Tennessee weather, you are so fickle.

I'm really excited about going home. I don't have any big plans this time around (last time I had college graduation), so I'm excited to kind of get a little vacation. Even though now I feel like a big ol' jerk for being out a week with all this sinus crud right before I leave town for a week! But still, being sick doesn't count as a vacation, right?

Doodling those little outfit sketches made me miss being in school and designing and drawing all the time. So I definitely want to get back to doing artsy things again. I have tons of supplies, so I want to buckle down and create at least one thing each weekend. I always have high hopes of doing something productive and creative at the end of the week. But besides going on our weekend dates, I usually just end up being really lazy and eating cereal bars, taking long showers, and playing Fairway Solitaire all weekend. Seriously! I'm an old lady, I swear.

I made a list of all the stuff I've been saying I want to do lately, and I'm going to get started on some of these as soon as I get home:

• create a web comic (I've already made my little character!)
• make some watercolor and gouache paintings to decorate the house
• make terrariums (I already have all the stuff!)
• sew buttons back onto all the one-missing-button coats and shirts I've been ignoring
• list lots and lots of things on eBay
• get my design portfolio and site back up

Another thing I've been thinking about lately is music. I've been listening to Joanna Newsom non-stop. I always bust out her music around this time of year for some reason. And even though I don't really think I have much of a singing voice, I really want to work on some sort of music project. She really inspires me with her "untrainable voice" (as she describes it). I'm so nervous about my young sounding voice, but whenever I listen to her music, I feel less and less insecure. Even though she doesn't like to be referred to as having a child-like singing style, it still makes me feel less self-conscious. I've let a small number of friends hear me sing, and they seemed to like it. And so many of my friends who haven't heard me have told me that if I did some sort of music project, it would be a really unique, fun sound. I'm excited to at least try it out and see if I'm any good at it. I already have a guitar, and I want to start learning simple things. I want to push myself to try this out.

I have so many things to start and do and look forward to! I just have to make the time and stop being so lazy when I have a teensy bit of free time. Time to immerse myself in hobbies and produce lots and lots of wonderful things! :D <3 Oh, and I'll leave you guys with a lazy nighttime picture of me feeling a little better, all cough-syrupped up!