Life Update Blog🌳 (Half way into 2025😱)

It has been a while since a little life-update blog!

I have been trying to figure out why I've been avoiding it for so long, and I think it might be a mixture of things. I've fallen into the trap of thinking "why would anyone care about the mundane things going on in my life," and also, I may have been feeling reluctant to adjust to life after my move back to the U.S., and talking about it.

Living in a Liminal Space

I really don't know what my long-term plans are as far as where I'll live and what kind of life I even want. I've always been a dreamer, but for one of the first times in my life, I feel stumped and my dreams aren't clear.

Part of me doesn't want to settle anywhere. Maybe I am a bit of a nomadic soul. And yet at the same time, there's undoubtedly a part of me that yearns for a little plot of land that I can hunker down on with a garden, cats, and chickens.

For now, I am in a liminal space. Waiting.

My husband works at a startup game studio, and with how unstable the game industry is, we feel that we need to wait until his game launches early next year before making any choices about our living situation.

If the project goes well, we can consider our future goals and plans, as he'll be able to continue working from anywhere. If it goes poorly and he's left looking for a new job, we may have less choice about where we move, since we have to go where more studios are located, depending on their remote work policies. So for now, we are staying with family who is kind enough to let us crash with them.

Plus, a main point of the move was so that we could be closer to family for a while.

So, what has been happening since my move at the beginning of the year?

Mostly, I have been busy trying to get into the flow of art, which, to be honest, has felt like a challenge a lot of the time.

Maybe it's just the environment not being my own creative space that I had gotten used to, everything going on in the world, or my own unprocessed feelings getting in the way. (Probably all of the above!)

Whatever it is, I've found myself frequently struggling to sit down and get everything done. As soon as I get in front of my tablet, my eyelids droop, and I want to lie down instead. So frustrating!

Despite struggling against my own drowsiness and resistance, I have managed to create work that I'm proud of this year so far, and work on some fun author projects. I am also really proud of the last 2 tutorials on color moods and storytelling. So there's that, and I'm grateful for it!

Adjustments to Life in the US

Driving🚗

A major adjustment of living in the US vs living in a European city is the necessity of a car. I have a driver's license, but I hadn't driven in 6 years! I was super nervous about it, but it turns out that it is quite like riding a bike. A very deadly bike. 😬

So one of the first things we needed to do after moving was purchase a car. We decided to go with something small, affordable, and simple. Unfortunately, we did find it through a dealership, and that was the WORST experience of my life! Talk about a business constantly trying to waste your time and bamboozle you. Private sale only from now on.

Anyhoo, when I am driving, I frequently find myself marvelling at how strange it feels. Not that driving itself feels strange, but the fact that it's a necessity, and after many years of not touching a car, I'm suddenly just sitting behind the wheel, zipping around town.

Back into Pole Dance 🤸

A really nice thing about moving back is that I don't live too far from a pole dance studio and have been frequenting classes in order to get back into it. For those of you who don't know, I used to do a lot of pole dance when I lived in Seattle, I even taught classes. But after moving to Sweden, it turned into a bit of a hassle, and I naturally just stopped doing it.

Coming back to the sport has been humbling but also really motivating. There are tricks that my body remembers but doesn't have the strength to do anymore. BUT luckily, the strength seems to come back quicker. So I have been doing quite a bit, and I've even joined a weights class to try and speed up my strength building!

This move was the right move for us in many ways that I won't get into here, but there are also a lot of things it felt like I had to give up and say goodbye to. So it is nice to feel like I am re-gaining something else in return.

One thing about balancing pole dance and art that I struggle with is my single-minded drive. When I'm into something, I'm all in! That single thing is all I want to do and devote my time and energy to. But what happens when you have two or more of those things? It sounds a little silly, since balancing interests shouldn't be hard, but I do struggle with it a bit! (I know, it's a nice problem to have, so I can't complain too much)

Summer forest

A couple of weeks ago, I went for a one-night trip to Wyoming and stayed in the forest. We were mostly checking out the area and seeing if we liked it enough to come back for another little camping trip. It was lovely and had a cool river, so I think we will be back! We casually shot bows and arrows, and chilled by the river.

Next time I visit, I want to try taking some traditional art mediums and make a little art-retreat for myself! We'll see! I've never been very good at actually making much art when I'm on vacation.

Miso and Kuma

We were able to move with both of our cats to the US. In one of my past updates, I think I mentioned how Miso might not be able to come because of his heart condition. But after another test and more cardiologist opinions, he was given the go-ahead. For such a long journey, both Miso and Kuma did really well.

They were brought on the flights as carry-ons and had to stay in their containers under the seat in front of me. They obviously didn't like it, and it was a very long flight, so they did have some accidents in the container, but I put puppy-pads down, so it was an easy clean out. Every once in a while, I would take one of them into the bathroom and let them out for a bit for some snackies.

I think we are all done with long flights for a while, though. Haha!

Now they are enjoying having more space than they had in our Swedish apartment, and I take them outside every once in a while for supervised outside time, which they love! So, it is fair to say that they are living their best life!

So what's next?

Gosh! What a hard question!

For the rest of this year, I am trying to focus on creating art that I love, tutorials, and finishing the author commissions that are on my plate! (I'm already booked out to April 2026! How the heck did that happen!) Next year, I'm going to be more careful about how many projects I book, (said Chrissa, EVERY year).

I am still figuring out what my capacity is here, since there are more demands on my time and energy since moving.

Life changes, and the path isn't always (or EVER) straightforward and as you expect!

But, I do believe that I'll eventually get to where I'm meant to be, even if it's not at all how I imagined I would get there! I mean, that's already how this whole artist journey has gone! So many unexpected twists and turns!

So if you find yourself in a place that you hadn't expected, even if it feels like a "step backward", I encourage you to KEEP TAKING ACTION and moving toward your dream. 💪Things might turn out even better than you could have planned and you are just in the weird middle right now! Take a breath, and keep going! 🌠

Alright, love you guys to bits and thank you so much for keeping me company on this wild journey!  If you made it this far, I commend you!!  Hugs hugs everyone and we'll speak more soon!

Chrissa XOXO