Right now, life is pretty good. Over the next week or so, I’m going to provide updates on various aspects of my life.

House and home
I have a beautiful home that is still cluttered with (mostly) paper products. My walls are still bare and unpainted (by me). I bought a new couch and loveseat but I spend most of my time on the secondhand one-seater that doesn’t really match the other seats in height or scale. I bought a storage bench and I think I found a perfect spot for it under my living room window. I still don’t have curtains covering any window in the house, though I have bought curtain rods for two of the four sets of windows.

I bought a beautiful lamp in August but I have yet to set it up. Maybe today.

I don’t cook or entertain as much as I thought I would, and with dreams of a husband and children less out of reach than in the past, I will either never be a great cook or entertainer, or I’ll acquire those skills in the future, since I seem to manage my time better when I have a full plate. My kitchen, though generous in size and storage space is also cluttered. I have a toaster oven, slow cooker and baking pans that need to be put into regular rotation. I bought a patio set for my balcony that I never fully set up. Since it hasn’t been used outside I thought I could use it in my kitchen, but the space I should set it up in is cluttered. My craft nook remains relatively untouched and I haven’t added to my stockpile of crafting products in a long while. Although I enjoy washing dishes, I tend to let them accumulate for at least a few days before hand-washing them.

I love to vacuum, but I don’t do it as often as I should. To me, once a week seems reasonable, given that I don’t have a roommate, children, or pets. I have two flights of carpeted stairs that are a pain to vacuum, even though I bought a lighter weight vacuum for that purpose. Anyway, I currently vacuum maybe once a month. If my floors weren’t so cluttered I’d vacuum more often. And on the topic of floor cleaning, I have not mopped my house with anything more than a swiffer wet jet since I moved in two and a half years ago. I don’t enjoy mopping.

My bedroom was neat and tidy for a while but my clothing has reclaimed its rightful place at the foot of my bed and the floor. Dirty clothing makes it to the laundry room 80% of the time. I am blessed with two full bathrooms so I rotate which one I use for showering every year or so. I’m currently using the one in the other bedroom and its bathtub received a good cleaning last weekend. I will not share how long it had been waiting to be cleaned. The toilet bowls get cleaned at least weekly. I need to change the shower head in the bathroom I’m currently using to the water-efficient one. I smuggled a wrench from my parents’ house for this very task last week. Maybe I’ll actually do what needs to be done after this entry. The second bedroom has some storage boxes that need emptying but I have been lazy in that regard.

After receiving a jade plant from a colleague when I visited her house, I remember my love of succulents and I went on a quest to acquire some. I have six varieties in addition to the jade plant, and my little heart wants more. The mother of one of my best friends owns a flower shop and when I was there last weekend I noticed a number of varieties of succulents that I did not have. I wonder if she’ll give me clippings, or tell me where I can find more (for free). My desire for succulents led me to discover a society for succulents and cacti in my city. I emailed them but they never wrote back.

My home constantly calls to me. I am always happy spending time here, watching episodes of Private Practice (I only managed to finish Season 2 by the time my Zip.ca account ran out) or watching home design shows or Grey’s Anatomy. I have no problem staying home and just hanging out, but I do sometimes feel the need to get out for a moment. I can’t believe I’ve been truly living alone for about two years (if we take out those months where I spent weekends at my parents’ place). I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to do this, to be truly the head of my own household, to learn how to cook or concoct meals and to just be. It’s going to be hard to invite someone else into this space of mine on a permanent basis, but at least I’ll have memories of this time, some captured on this blog.

I have a great little DSLR that I agonized over buying. I use it but not as often as I had hoped to. I bought extra lenses apart from the kit lens and I bought a good book to help me learn how to use it but it’s nearly three years later and I have not progressed in my shooting skills. I also bought a three-year extended warranty that I expires in a few months (I think), which has proven to be a big waste of money (as usual right?). I’m certain that my camera will quit working the day after my extended warranty runs out because that’s how they get you.

But enough about the camera, I’d like you to admire my tv stand. Less than a week ago the two things on the top shelf were beside the television because Ikea didn’t have pre-cut holes in the back of the stand for me to stick the cords of my dvd player and cable box in.

I forgot that the backing was particle board and not cardboard, so I tried to use an exacto knife on it and got exactly nowhere. My friend Rich loaned me his drill thingy and boy did I feel powerful and skilled when I used it to drill two perfect circles. The difference that having those two things neatly stowed away makes is indescribable. I was telling a coworker this and she commented that many of life’s woes are like that: things that get under your skin for ages until you take a minute to fix them. It’s always the small things that have the power to annoy.

I still have my decorations from Christmas and New Year’s Eve up! They’ll come down this weekend, I promise!

My friend Wendy commented on my last entry and reminded me that I have a goal to be in the Oprah show audience this year. It’s a new goal, one I’m excited about, and Wendy and I are conspirators on this goal. She’s been so positive about it, planning what she’s going to wear and asking if I’ve gotten my call yet. I love that positivity! I’ve never been one to do more than hope for something but there is power in saying out loud “I am going to be in the Oprah show audience and I will wear that shirt in my facebook profile with some nice-fitting pants”. I should try this with my other goals too, like my ever-present weight loss goal: “I will slim down to a size x and enjoy buying a whole new wardrobe.”

Anyway, I wrote about being inspired by Oprah here, and someone left a comment asking me how I could like her given what she said about Nigerians. First off, I was annoyed by the comment because why not just tell me what she said (since I was unaware)? A search on google led me to a forum where Oprah was quoted as saying that all Nigerians are corrupt. I’m really curious to find that 2007 (I think) show and get some context before I make any decisions. Maybe I’ll get a chance to meet her and ask her in person!

My food consumption has been mindless, and I’ve been craving sugar more than ever. I’m not sure why that is: habit, perhaps, and laziness. It’s easier to eat fast food without thinking than to be mindful; it’s easier to ignore what my body needs and eat what my nose likes the smell of, and I’ve been feeling lazy when it comes to food preparation. I ate chicken wings for dinner tonight, but I ordered a side of carrots and celery because I was craving them. It felt good to eat what my body wanted and stop when I was full, meaning that I have leftover chicken wings for tomorrow. I had coffee after dinner, and ordered a slice of lemon poppyseed loaf to eat with it, but after drinking the coffee I realized I didn’t need the cake, so I’m saving it for tomorrow too. Baby steps.

I’ve been working on loving myself as I mentioned, telling myself that I’m beautiful and awesome, just as I am, and it’s working, meaning that I’m believing it…most of the time. Even today with my air-dried and unstyled hair, I was able to look at myself in the elevator mirror at my workplace and send myself a loving and positive message. When I saw an impossibly slim yet quite curvy woman on my way to the restaurant for dinner, I tried not to wish I had her body, but instead admire her body as being perfect for her, and accept that my body, while not yet perfect for me, would be one day. And in the meantime I was going to love it as if it was the body of my dreams. It feels good to flood my body with love (though no one is surprised to hear this!).

In other confessions, my house still looks like I moved in mere months ago: the windows are uncovered, the walls remain bare (I haven’t even hung these up), my craft nook is cluttered, a spare television that a friend gave me is being used as a makeshift end table, I haven’t painted, my spare bedroom looks like a storage room and my thermostat and furnace need to be examined. I received my property tax bills for April to December 2009 and January to December 2010 and all I can say is ouch. Thank God that I didn’t buy a car or I’d be begging my sister for a loan to pay these atrocious bills. I’m not pleased but this is one of the privileges of home ownership, I’m told.

So there you have it, Jummy is still excelling at being her imperfect self.

But last weekend I went to a new location of Homesense , and as I wandered around that most glorious store this time (for I have been to other locations and left empty handed at least a half dozen times), I found things that inspired me — cushions and mirrors and shelves and picture frames and all I would have needed to go nuts is one hundred thousand dollars and living room couches that I could coordinate the cushions and frames with (one day, one day). The three-seater couch and chair I have in my living room now are thirdhand (at least) and the former is a dull grey colour while the latter is orange and brown striped, and looks sort of like a thick wale corduroy. No, I’m not kidding. Now you understand why I refrained from buying living room decor.

I did buy a jewelry hanger though, because I could not leave it behind. There’s an antique white version that I’m tempted to exchange this one with.

I bought these canvasses for my bedroom. They couldn’t be more apropos for me, could they?

(Click either image to make bigger.)

The canvasses have small imperfections on them that annoy me (and I’ve already exchanged the one on the right once), but I think I’ll keep them. Once I’ve hung them up I’ll take a picture of my bedroom.

Before moving to décor then, here is my list of things I ‘need’ first. I’m thinking the fact that I’ve done without them for the past eight months is telling about their urgency.

I should be able to get most items on the list within the next few weeks. Actually, I could get them all in one day but I am thrifty, and I refuse to pay regular price any of these things. This is where the fact that Boxing Day is just around the corner comes in handy. My only regret is that I can’t duplicate (triplicate?) myself and be at all the stores that will be having awesome sales on December 26.

On my other blog I gushed about the friends and family members that have been there for me and supported me both emotionally and materially through the whole “house thing”. They’re the reason the list below is so manageable.

Needs by room:
My bedroom

• light fixture
• curtains and curtain rod
• full length mirror (though there really isn’t wall space for it…maybe on the back of the door?)

Guest bedroom

• light fixture
• curtains and curtain rod
• desk big enough to hold two printers and a desk top computer
• comfy computer chair

Living room

• curtains and curtain rod
• LCD flat screen tv
• dvd player (in case the one my friend is offering me doesn’t play nice with my new tv)

Dining room

• light fixture

Kitchen

• curtains and curtain rod

There’s a lot of snow here now and I notice that although the balcony holding my air conditioner has a roof, snow has accumulated on the AC, so I guess I need an air conditioner cover. And speaking of balconies, one of my colleagues used to shovel her balcony so I’m wondering if that’s something I should also be doing. If so, I need to buy a shovel.

My second-hand chair and couch aren’t the most comfortable, but they are temporary and they do the job for now. Some cushions would definitely help with the comfort level though. The walls of the living room will probably remain bare for the longest time because what I put on the walls will be influenced by the colour of the couches I end up with and unless couches are suddenly the price of two Starbucks lattes, I don’t have any money set aside for that kind of purchase right now. Similarly, my Christmas tree smells musty if you stick your nose right in it, and my efforts on the tree so far have been pretty minimalistic in nature, but it’s mine and it looks pretty (if a little bare…click to see a bigger version). All the inexpensive ornaments I found looked a bit tacky to me, and the beautiful ones are priced to lure only last minute desperate shoppers who are determined to plan the best last-minute Christmas possible.

I’m not that far gone.