Do you know what time of year it is? I bet you can hear the cha-ching sound that is coming from around the corner. The whispers of the government saying to pay them or else and the questionable sound of calculators being used over and over and over again with the unmistakable sound of groans from the results. If you guessed that it is tax season then you are correct! You hit the big one on that and let me just say, I have learned something I was unaware of. Well....not necessarily unaware of just stupid about. 

This new job I have doesn't take out taxes so guess what I have to pay. I call it funny money because really that's what it feels like. Funny money. I watched the numbers climb as I put in the forms I received and I definitely made some noise about what I owe. NOw I know that it is inevitable when you do your"own" business-like my artwork but for this job, I actually didn't really know that they were taking it out. They don't tell you that at the orientation. Well not that I remember. To be honest my"teacher" was super boring with a voice that was impossible to listen to and she always took a million years to explain things. She was just as boring as my math teacher in eighth grade and that was not fun. Mostly because I hate math. 

But besides that, I got a hard lesson today and I wasn't ready. But if I continue this job I will know to put money aside for taxes for next year. Just another lesson in the department of ADULTING and its million rules that I just mostly roll my eyes at. Mostly. Depends on the rules that are in place. I also would like to give out a giant **** YOU to Biden for this mess not only in the taxes department but also in the gas prices. Just ****ing fix it already you monster. 

That's my thoughts, thanks, I'm gonna go have a beer now,

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Castle of Glass 12*12 $62.50

Buy to help out or dont, either way I appreciate you 

Life has a funny way of making you think a lot of the time. Think about your choices, what's in front of you, who you are with,etc. During this time that I have been spending getting my things together and coming up with a plan, I have been going back and forth on what I want to do in the future. do I want to travel in a van? Live in an apartment? Buy a house? Move out of state? Getmoredogs? Getanothercat? What about my car? What about art? So many questions that I cant seem to get straight and it's all so confusing and at times keeps me up at night. I sometimes even wonder about my job and the future of my career. After all, I have always been an out-of-the-box type so I know normal jobs won't cut it for me but then what? 

There are so many things to consider and so much to wonder and I finally have made at least one decision. I'm going to give the van another go. See if I can live out of it and work with the job I currently have. Really I have no idea if it will work and I have considered a lot of options. I'm Applying to other places where I can work remotely and I'm hoping one of them comes through because I would like to have a pay raise but who knows. The universe has some plan for me and I have no idea what it is but I am willing to bet its something better than where I am now. I just have to seize it and go for it. I'm not sure of my exact departure date but I do know that it will be in late summer/early fall. I plan to do blog drops on where I am, places I have seen, prices and etc. I'm ready and I'm finally feeling good about what I see in front of me. 

And of course, I can't wait to share it with you all. 

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Into the Stars $65 12*12

Purchase today to help not only me make more art but to also help with the future travels that are coming your way. 

How fun is it to be in this time period right now? Of course, I'm asking that question dipped in sarcasm. It really sucks to be in this time period, as anybody really. It may even suck for that 1% that has so much money that they don't even blink at what's happening but who really knows. I know I cant speak for those kinds of people but I can speak for those that are in the same category as me or at least close. 

As someone who is in my 20s and is already struggling enough as it is to not only make a living but to LIVE this war that has broken out has made a huge impact on our gas prices. It personally sucks big ass donkey balls to see the way that this has turned out and I think that it's awful that we are getting slammed with so much ****. The past three years have just gone from moderate to just outright outrageous in terms of "what else can go wrong?" (and whoever keeps asking that question out loud, please shut it. You're just asking the universe to drop more **** yous).  Really if you look at the scales of how this is going in our country/ world wide it just keeps going up on the scale and eventually it's going to break. We will not be able to sustain anything and a lot of people are already ****ed up from Covid so let's not raise gas prices and make it even harder for jobs, distributers, and just normal people to have a life. 

I'm blown away. In Tennessee right now the highest I have seen for Gas is around $4.60 per gallon and for diesel, it's over $5 in most parts of the state. My friend and I even traveled to Chattanooga and where we were going you have cut through Georgia for about twenty minutes or so and there the gas prices were practically $5 per gallon and diesel was, of course, higher than regular. I was blown away by this. I mean it's one thing to shut the world down but now gas has skyrocketed to a price that even I am worried about. In a van that gets 16 miles to the gallon and thinking about long-term travel, I can see that being a no-go. Let alone going to look at places to live. I'm not gonna waste money away just searching the area and thinking it COULD be a place to go while I'm spending hundreds of dollars just driving around. 

I really hope this goes down, that the prices become somewhat normal for this time period because my lord, we do not need this kind of change in gas prices with the way the world is at the moment. I'm already worried about a million things and this war in Ukraine is just the beginning of pandora's box. We were already scratching the surface with covid but this digs a huge hole into it. I'm not excited for what the rest of the 2020's hold because this is a terrible start. 

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Also, side note on this, I do pray for those that are in Ukraine and im not one who usually does those sorts of things but I am praying for those over there that are caught in this middle of this and have nowhere to go. Just a tragedy that things have come down to this. 

Recovery from this upper respritory infection has been quicker than I expected which not only great but also gives me some hope that I will be able to get this long distance run in and see where I am at in my training. The race is June and I am excited but also nervous. Its coming up so quickly and even though I thought that the Yellowstone half would be my last half marathon here I am, going for number 3. Im hoping that this race will be easier then the last one. Yellowstone was do able but man was it rough. I thought I was going to die on the hill and I certainly thought that I would be in trouble once the race was over. For a little over two months my feet were on fire and recovery was so slow. 

But regarless of that fact im doing it again. Im getting back out there to conquor another thirteen miles. If you told me 10 years ago that I would have done as much running as I have I would have laughed and said there is no way. I hated running. I hated everything about it. It was slow, annoying, not fun in the slightest and made me angry at how I wasnt able to push myself when I needed to. I was lazy and just lived inside most of my teen years. 

Now as an adult im so proud of myself for being able to to get outside, run and just enjoy what life has to offer. I will say though that getting sick is not fun but sometimes its necessary to take a moment and appreciate what you can do and what you have. LIfe is so short and we are only here for a short time so enjoy it. You never what is around the corner and you never know what you may end up doing. You may even surprise yourself. 

Well, this is a later post than I expected. Truth be told I've been coming down with a head cold of some kind. It's been a little tough to get through because I feel pretty dragged down, I don't feel like going out and doing things and I'm just all around sniffily and gross. I've been doing what I can to help myself out with my throat by having tea and making sure to have enough water to keep me hydrated. I've been also taking hot showers to clear my sinuses which has been helpful. It's been a rough few days and some of my plans for the long run have been thrown to the side. I'm going to try to do 3 miles but I'm not sure how far ill really go. I'm hoping that once I get going I can keep it up at a slow but steady pace and get where I need to be to just feel satisfied. 

It will be more difficult today since Lylah is taking her rest days at the moment. Without her being by my side it's like not having a coach to motivate you to do what you need to do. Nobody to push you or in her case, pull you at random times. I can tell when she is down because she doesn't get out to run but I have learned that I Have to give her an appropriate amount of time off so that she is not being overworked. It would be bad to push her too hard and put her in pain (limb-wise) just have to have some company while I run. 

Shades of Pink and Blue $98 9*12

I'm hoping this will pass by quickly, that I will feel much better and in tip-top shape soon. I do need to complete an eight-mile circuit but I just don't think that will happen until I feel 100% again. We are getting under the five-month point for the half marathon so I've been slowly pushing the milage and so far it's been feeling pretty decent. We will see how that eight-mile run goes once I am feeling up to speed. 

Stay safe, stay hydrated, and keep on the hustle.