GEARING UP - NEW YEAR, NEW YOU?

Copyright Maria De Groot

Dunno about all of you, but I've been a complete couch potato over Christmas. 

The only exercise has been out to the shops for more groceries! I should be ashamed of myself (yes, I am). So, do I go through the agony of yet another diet and yet another exercise regime? I think this year I'll take the coward's way out and try cutting down and eating sensibly. And let it all take care of itself.

My New Year resolutions this year are to get more organised, clear that clutter. I'm starting with this £(**$& computer!

Yes, it crashed again, and I only just got all the programmes loaded up again. In spite of a new hard drive last year, and more memory (last year) it's still a 5-year-old machine, and I keep giving it too much to do. Fonts especially - load too many on, and the computer says "No". Also pictures - I have all this stuff backed up onto disc and onto an external hard drive - so why am I keeping ALL of them on this poor machine? Especially when resizing or playing around - I can have 15 versions of the same photograph!

So I am going to go through ALL of my programmes and files, and getting rid of any duplicates. Then I'll have a lean, keen machine (unlike its owner, lol). Here's a couple of old posts I wrote on how to tune up your PC, which I do without fail (although I forgot about my fonts and graphics due to making blog backgrounds etc just before Christmas).

Weekly PC maintenance

Monthly PC maintenance

If your machine is running slower, you might want to give them a try.

Next on the list - getting rid of more art materials and books that I have outgrown or don't use. Make more space for new stuff! Use up what I have! What made my mind up is the gorgeous Neopaque Black paint I was hoarding (only used a little) to find the bottle (tightly sealed) contained a lump of rock hard, dried out and totally unuseable paint. And some Stewart Gill paints that had curdled. So that'll teach me for buying stuff and just leaving it sitting there!

Then we're on a DIY kick - haven't decorated in two years, and we need to redo the living room and the bedroom as it's all looking very tired.




It's going to look so bare and drab when we take the decorations down on 12th Night (6th January - it's bad luck to leave them up any later). So whilst the Sales are still on, I'm off for wallpaper and paint!

The living room is going to have a Feature Wall and Himself (who usually pays no attention whatsoever) has been looking at wallpaper samples! Mind you, I'm being sneaky... only bringing back 4 or 5 at a time, so he doesn't get confused, bless him. I'm actually looking forward to this - I really enjoy redecorating, although it takes me 3 times longer than it used to. Old age is fast catching up with me!

Today was my first little bit of artwork - painting a plain pine picture frame with acrylics, then slathering on some crackle medium and a couple of chipboard swirls, then overpainting again. It's to make a chalkboard (I'm really on an Organisation roll here) and I'll post pix when it's finished.