Without a Map, With a Mortgage

When I started writing at Without a Map, my purpose was different than it is now. I was single, fairly new to my area, and afraid of surrendering to my introversion. I was sure I would just stay inside reading and watching Netflix until I crumpled up and died. Blogging was a way for me to force myself to do fun things “for the blog”.

I started that over six years ago.

Cole shortly after I adopted him

Okay, to be fair I haven’t blogged much in the last year or two, but I’ve been feeling the itch again. And not only the writing itch, but the need to blog for a purpose again. In the last two years I’ve gone from footloose and fancy free (ha!) to married lady with a house and a kid on the way. I’ve gone from not having or wanting a map, to having a pretty clear idea of where the next six years will take me, theoretically. I like where I’m at in my life right now. I love my job and my husband and my house and my new puppy and, sometimes, my cat. I love having friends over for a fire and painting my walls bright orange. I’m excited (and super nervous) about becoming a mom and all the excitement that will bring.

Cole exploring the first day in our new house.

I don’t think my life has become stagnant by any means, but even with a lot of goals, it’s easy to miss things that are important to you. I want to get back into the blog to connect to those things. I don’t expect to blog a ton, as usual, but I do want to go back into this with an awareness of my new perspective.

I’ve also been getting the itch to write things that aren’t about our usual fare. I just realized I buy this little corner of the internet where I can write whatever I want and put it up. I don’t want to get too far from our core of crafts, the environment, and nature, but I have some other ideas. And I’m going to share them. You’re free to skip those.

Cole adjusting to life with a new puppy. Just you wait, cat…

I recently signed up for a craft swap again for the first time in many years. I had strayed away from them because I thought they were taking up too much of the time I could be using to craft for myself, friends, and family. Turns out they make me inspired and I’ve been crafting way more both for my swap partner and myself since I started. So I hope to share some of those projects soon, too.

Oh, yeah, and I’ll probably post some mom stuff. This isn’t going to become a mommy blog by any means (cue Robin sighing in relief), but, hey… That’s where my map is leading and the point is to share my journey.

Thanks for traveling with us.

~ April