In the beginning....

Where to begin... and who's going to read this anyway? At first I assume it will mostly be friends and family but then... who knows!

I have thought about doing a blog for quite a while... in the vicinity of years actually but have always managed to find some reason not to start. You know the reasons... don't have the time, too expensive (that one won't get you very far when there are so many free options but I used it all the same), nothing to say that anyone cares to read and yet here I am pouring out my soul to the contents of a population I can only guess at.

I mention in my profile that I am somewhat confused... it's the whole right-brain left-brain thing. Some people are "artsy". They think with their emotions. Making a difference to people and the interactions with them is important. That would be my side that scrapbooks and sews. The photography side of things and the side of me that cant seem to make it two weeks without a "mountain" fix to regroup and reflect on the philosophy of life the universe and everything. Others are "logical". Math and science and facts govern their actions. That would be the engineering side of me. This side that is quite happy doing algebra and logic problems all day. The side of me that knows the answer to the meaning of life is indeed 42.

To quote myself "Life is a series of nested if statements." If you're one of the artsy people think of this in terms of making dinner tonight... think of each tiny step involved from getting the ground beef from the freezer to adding a half tsp of pepper to the meatloaf. The others will totally get what I'm talking about without explanation.

And the confusion is... I don't know that I FEEL like having meatloaf! Will my kids like it? Will it make my husband happy? It's cold and maybe chili or homemade soup sounds better... with garlic cheese bread... oh well at least I can use the ground beef for either of the three! Hence the struggle of every day life in my world. And to make matters worse I have to throw in the whole menopause thing which means the house will be way too hot while I'm cooking so maybe we will just go out to eat! Here comes the tears and the indecision.

I'm one of those people who makes lists for everything... what I have to do today, what pictures I have to scrap this weekend, what sewing projects are on the table, what supplies I will need for camping. There is no event that is not listable! And as soon as the lists are written and neatly lined up on the table the other side of the brain kicks in. I look at the list and promptly do those things I want to do first. The fact that I have lists for my creative endeavors such as sewing and scrapbooking is just plain wrong!

When if comes to my scrapbooking pages the logical side of me ends. I think the best tool is your index and forfinger for tearing! I create pages to evoke an emotional response and pour out my heart and soul in my journaling. I almost NEVER am symmetrical... that would be far too organized! And... I NEVER do digital scrapbooking. Computers are for programming, and playing World of Warcraft and editing images. A computer scrapbook page will never feel the same as rub-ons or smell the same as pigment ink. and as soon as I get on a computer the logical part of my brain kicks in and I'm back to making lists, solving logic problems and doing algebra... not being creative.

And there it is in a nutshell... consider this your introduction to the Diary of a Middle-aged ArtsyTechnoChick... surely there are more of you out there! Come out of the perfectly arranged closet and be counted!