About two weeks ago, Alexei and I were putzing around the house and decided to go exploring inside the big toombochka (Russian for dresser) in the living room. He found some nice vases to clink together; I found the guest book from my wedding.

It was the first time I’d more than glanced at the guest book, and I must say I was pretty impressed. Just the simple gesture of scrawling one’s John Hancock is actually a gift in and of itself. So, without incriminating anybody too directly, I thought I’d share a few choice entries from our guest book. Nobody’s name will appear, but the handwriting is authentic.

1- Happyness	2- Not for me
3- Half measures	4- Cool
5- Go girl	6- Very Happy
7- Love Troy	8- Best life; da
9- Bravo	10- Blessings
11- Affectionately	12- Russian: Be happy
13- Russian: Newlyweds	14- Russian: Kiss
15- Proposal

As I was flipping through the pages, I found myself wanting it not to end. But end it did. And from that beginning’s end sprang the last two years of marital bliss. Happy Anniversary, us!

Anastasia and I have rented the entire time we’ve been married. It is a two bedroom apartment on the second floor of a quaint corner house in one of the best parts in Takoma Park, MD. All things considered, I am quite happy that we opted to rent it. Even when you love your apartment and get along well with the landlady, there comes a time to move on to something different.

That time is not quite yet for us, but we have been looking. For whatever reason, we both rather like the Takoma Park area. While the housing market is alive here, things tend to be a bit pricier than we can swing at the moment. As a result, we’ve been looking at foreclosure properties. There is one in particular that I’ve fallen in love with. Alas, it is going on auction this afternoon.

I have never actually been inside the house, so I shouldn’t say I’m in love. In fact, reading through some of the details, there is probably some significant things not to love. Namely, there is mold damage in the basement. Where there is mold, there is some sort of water leakage. The house itself is situated on a hill, so it is not unthinkable that when it rains, it pours, or at least trickles, into the basement.

Depending on the extent of the mold damage inside, it still seems like a sweet deal. There is a little home office for me, there’s a nice backyard, open kitchen/dining room area, and three bedrooms. What’s not to like? Well, there is location. It misses the Montgomery County line by two and a half blocks. I imagine that could effect resale value. But it also means the permit process for any renovations won’t be as arduous, I am told.

Comparing this cookie-cutter type style to other houses in the vicinity, it becomes even more apparent that this really is a diamond in the rough. The house two doors down is currently on the market for $330. It is in much better condition, but with a little bit of elbow grease and some tools, there is no reason why my imaginary first home couldn’t shine too. A similar house a few streets over just sold for just under $400. I particularly like how a large opening was knocked in the wall between the kitchen and living room.

With our current financial means, anything we buy will need to be a fixer-upper. If we restrict our market to the Takoma Park single family residences, this fixer-upper will need to be in fairly sorry condition. My current fave really has potential. So whoever is about to buy her later today, I wish you the best of luck. You’ve really got a nice piece of real estate. The equity might not be sweet yet, but with some sweat, it’ll surely shimmer.

One final piece of trivia on the fishbowl house: it was winterized on my birthday last year.

A few days ago a magazine for the neighbors a block up from us was accidentally left in our mailbox. I know nothing about the palette magazine, but the editorial on the back cover had a nice new year’s resolution list for the artist in all of us. Without any permission from columnist Diane Santarella, I give you her list:

1. Learn each month about one artist whom I am not familiar with.
2. Learn each month about one artist that I think I don’t like (opinion subject to change).
3. Listen to a style of music that I am unfamiliar with.
4. Become familiar with people who are “masters” in their field (other than art) and try to understand what qualities set them apart from their peers.
5. Figure out how to take a professional, print-ready digital photo of my artwork. (This may require recruiting some help. Try bribing an expert with food and paintings.)
6. Contact three new galeries about their submission requirements, and send them portfolios.
7. Schedule my studio time into my day planner as a regular appointment.
8. Take a friend to a museum and listen without comment or judgment to their observations.
9. Read a magazine about some sport or hobby that I have absolutely no interest or experience in and try to find the passion in, say, stamp collecting or fly-tying. (I’m not that fanatical and obsessive about art, am I?)
10. Read enough poetry to have a favorite poet (to start: Rilke, Oliver, Neruda, Stand, Angelou, Rumi).
11. Memorize a poem.

It seems to me that with a little bit of modification, these steps to betterment would work for any interest a person might have. The final sentence of the article really ties it all together quite nicely:

Take all this new mojo into the studio and paint like never before!

This afternoon Anastasia and I put a rough budget and calendar outline together for the new year. She has already written down her new years resolutions; now the ball is in my court. Maybe I’ll steal a few of the above in some way, shape, or form. The lovely thing about resolutions is that they are meant to be broken!