False Starts

Did you ever have a great idea that you just had to act on?  It was the coolest thing you'd ever thought of, so doable, something you knew would turn out perfectly because you had the final product visualized in all its glory?  Then, after maybe getting a quarter of the way into it, you realize that executing your really rad idea is actually pretty difficult/time-consuming/expensive/has materials that are inexplicably hard to come by?

I have LOTS of ideas (and quarter-completed projects) like this, enough so that I have had to come up with a way to either 1) force a commitment to each project or, 2) complete so thorough an analysis on the self-proposed project that I maybe stop myself before committing time and materials, and storage space, to their realization.

Over the years, these projects have take the forms of both big ("I want to organize a group to start a community garden!") and small ("Ooooo, I'll use these cool beads to create detailed and realistic bead flowers!"), tangible ("This shirt would be great cut up and then hemmed down to make reusable rags!") and ethical ("I'm going to eliminate all personal care products with fragrance from my life!").  Like many a Sagittarius, pure enthusiasm for a new idea can become so overwhelming that I find myself committed to something that I care passionately about, but then only care passionately for maybe a few weeks, days or, in some instances, mere minutes.  Some of the many projects that I have going currently, are in the proposed stage, and have past due (meaning, on possibly permanent hiatus) include: six unfinished quilts; making soap for gifts and home use; making cheese for gifts and home use; clearing out the basement for use towards a rec room/cheese cave/indoor garden/ additional bedroom/ wine cellar/ etc; putting together a list of possible vegetables and herbs to plant in my non-existent garden this spring; researching how to open a nonprofit; recycling any number of used items in my house; making a rug out of old t-shirts; knitting a scarf with the one boxy stitch I know; and on and on.

The plan going forward is to use this space as a place for clearly articulating what each project is going to realistically require, and to publicly document all steps towards its completion.  Even in the consideration of beginning this project ("Oooo, ooo, ooo, I could write a blog in order to keep myself on task!") I had several different false starts as to different directions this could take, and a small notebook full of blurbs to myself about various approaches and articles and headings and processes for keeping track of whatever projects are in the works.  I have possibly settled on an approach, but I suppose we'll see how well that sticks in the weeks to come.

So, here goes nothing!  I thusly commit myself to:

The Big Idea: making a block of soap

The Small Steps: somehow creating a soap mold, setting aside the time, making the soap, following up on removing it from the soap mold in time so it doesn't completely stick

The Possible Pitfalls: not being able to make a halfway decent soap mold and giving up, not being able to get the baby down for a nap and thus not being able to safely make lye water, choosing to sit around and watch old TV shows on Netflix rather than making soap because I'm so tired and I had to do a lot of cooking for Thanksgiving, choosing to read Tina Fey's book instead because I never get a free moment to myself, and, obviously, lots of excuses about why there isn't time enough

The Timeline: we'll say it's a soap-making FAIL if it is not completed by Sunday night (five evenings hence).

Wish me luck!