Eleven & Twelve.

I suppose that it doesn't really come as much of as a surprise that as time grows closer to my surgery date, I've been trying to keep as busy as possible, but inevitably losing sleep and slowly wearing down. Tonight is one of those nights where my mind simply won't turn off - Thursday nights // Friday mornings are incredibly hard for me, as this officially marks the two week mark until the "big day." I don't know what my brain thinks it will accomplish by making me stay up all night running over everything in my head, but, so that's what it wants... so that's how it is. 

None the less, it's safe to say that things around here have been hectic lately. I haven't been working for just over a week now, which is probably the weirdest feeling yet. I don't really know what to do with myself. It's so bizarre to go from 40+ hours a week to nothing. I've enjoyed sleeping in past 7am quite a few days, which has been really nice. I had so many plans that I haven't followed through with - but I suppose that's how that sort of thing goes. I wanted to go to the beach a few times, get some ice cream from Mitchell's, shoot some more of just adventuring around, etc... and there might still be time for that. Instead, I've chosen to "nest" and clean this apartment from top to bottom. I've scrubbed every place imaginable - inside the fridge, cupboards, the edging around the floor (I don't know the "technical name" of it), counter tops, the microwave.. everywhere. I've purged so many things and it feels really good. I've organized everything I can imagine and this apartment looks like an entirely different place. I'm yet to tackle my bedroom, but that's my goal for this weekend. Sometimes, I just need to go through and purge my material possessions. I'm planning on donating my clothes and shoes to a shelter around here for women & children - I just haven't decided which one yet (there's so many to chose from), instead of giving them to somewhere that will turn around and make a profit from them. I just want them to be used by someone who really needs them. I've received so many donations & wonderful cards in the mail, and I guess I see this as my way of "paying it forward" to some degree. 

None the less, no one cares about my obsessive apartment cleaning. I'm posting to share two new pieces to my body of work that I finally finished - one I finished last night while I was unable to sleep. It's amazing how much goes into one of these pieces.. every single thing that is in them has a purpose. I miss having critiques (I never really thought I'd say that) and having people to talk to about my work.

Momento Mori.

Left piece, 8” x 8”.
Right piece, 4” x 8”

The Hanged Man.

7" x 5.25"

I'm really excited to continue creating this work for the next two weeks (I'm hoping to make one or two more pieces, time willing) and then to create while I'm healing as well. I'm really interested in how the subject matter will more than likely change and I think it will be fascinating to look at the series as a whole. I'm not entirely sure how to know when it's completed, but something tells me that I'll just know. I'm really happy with how it's coming along so far! 

& Speaking of things I'm excited for, on a more positive note, my mom will be coming down here in a few days (3 days) to go to my pre-op appointment with me and then the next day we're going to have a "girl's day" .. I'm still not entirely sure what we're going to do, but I'm really looking forward to spending that time with my mom! It seems like it's been so long since I've had some quality alone time with. Maybe we'll hit up this excellent mexican restaurant Rachel and I recently tried and then go to some good thrift stores or something.. who knows!

So, that's that. Cleaning, creating when time allows, and looking forward to family visits (even though I wish it was under different circumstances). I wanted to try and end on a happier note, so I should wrap this up now! Since my brain isn't showing any signs of slowing down yet, maybe I'll work on sketching out some new ideas here for a while. ♥!