The Time In Between

Sometimes I find myself living my life as a series of end points... when this happens, when that happens, when I finally .... In reality, I shouldn't do this, because then I miss stuff. All the fun stuff that happens in between. All the time when I could be improving this or that. Instead of looking for landmarks, I should be more focused on the journey from point A to point B.

Mike and I had a two-year engagement. At times it felt like an eternity, waiting and waiting for that day to arrive. But when I thought about the day-by-day steps it took to get me from the day he proposed to the day I walked down the aisle, it really didn't seem like that long. During the time in between, I went back to school and finished my degree, changed jobs, traveled to England, went to Disney World for the first time, and save a whole bunch of money. The stuff in between was fun and shouldn't have been glossed over. I grew a lot in that time and I wish sometimes that I hadn't sat there, hoping it would go by quickly.

Ellie's Fan Club

Last weekend, we finally got the chance to celebrate Elissa's baptism. It should have been months ago, but for obvious reasons we delayed the event. Finally, just a few days shy of seven months, we had her christened officially.

And we sorta took over the church.

It's true that there are a lot of friends and family in our lives who've grown very fond of our little Miss Ellie. She did give us a heck of a scare with her "dramatic entrance" to the world. True story. And we've always joked that she'd be the kid in the dance recital with a whole seating section of fans (probably holding signs and cheering enthusiastically for her).

My Laptop Can Bite Me...

You know how you can drive a car for years and nothing's wrong with it, then Poof! One thing goes wrong, so you fix it... which causes another problem. You fix that problem, find another one, fix it, then the whole thing falls apart? In reality, all these things were probably going on at once, they were just hidden... really, really well.


I think my laptop has been a ticking time bomb this past year or so, kinda like that Honda Civic with the blown transmission that Mike had to replace last November. And now, I fear, it may also be toast.


Stuff like this always seems to happen when I'm climbing back on the horse. I start a new exercise plan, then twist my ankle. I get some really aggressive writing done, and the tendonitis in my hand flares up really bad. I buckle down to a routine, build a desk, get going again... and then my laptop crashes and burns.

Ugh.

So I'll deal with this, like I've dealt with all the other tiny details. It's just one more hurdle on my obstacle course, no need to stop running. There are bigger things going on out in the world, beyond the walls of my apartment. Bigger problems that can't easily be solved. I realize this, I'm just frustrated.

I feel better now that I got that out...

Back on Track

It's been a bit difficult for me to wrap my brain around my new schedule... And no, being at home all day doesn't mean I don't have a schedule. While it does mean I can wear sweatpants to work, it definitely doesn't excuse me from daily responsibilities.

Juggling those responsibilities, I'm learning, is harder than I thought it was going to be. Take this blog, for example. It's not a "responsbility" per se, but it's definitely something I like to keep up on. See how well I'm doing with that? Yeah.

But I think things will be better now. I spent the better part of three hours last night putting together the world's most complicated desk. From now on, I buy pre-assembled furniture, just saying. Anyway, it's assembled and it's sturdy. So this morning, I built my new little shelves, opened that hot-piece-of-printer I bought back in August, and I officially have a new workstation. Just for me.

I'm hiding in it right now. And as soon as I unpack my camera cord and I can post a picture, I will.

So now it's back to deadlines and projects, with a side of book editing. If I don't get that book completed by December, I'm going to be really mad at myself, people.

Mark my words: Done by December. Then I'll edit that second book while I submit the first one to agents (again). Because if I don't, then why did I just spend this money on a new "office"? Exactly.

Here's hoping that a little normalcy and consistency will bring me great creative energy.

Moving In

So here I am, coming to you live from my new living room in my new apartment in a completely new town. This is the first time Mike and I have moved outside of our beloved metrowest Waltham/Watertown area, and so far, so good. We have a new mall, new grocery store, new local Target... and lots of other great places to explore.

Unpacking is a long process, since we're trying to fit all of our stuff into this smaller apartment. It's well laid out and has a nice, open feel with plenty of sunlight. But the truth of the matter is, we're down one bedroom and about 300 sq. ft. We're also down a half-bath, but that one I don't really mind because it means one less toilet to scrub.

So as it stands now, our living room/dining room and kitchen are done. Ellie's room is organized, our main bathroom is set up.... but if you go into the master bedroom/bath, not so much is it unpacked. Of course, most of the boxes are office stuff that we can't unpack until I get my new desk (that's where my office will be), so there's not much we can do now.

Penny and Ellie seem to have adjusted without issue. We did have a tiny problem with Penny "marking" territory in the middle of the night, but we solved that already. No way is this dog peeing on my new, white carpet. Argh.

I'm adjusting too. It's quiet here but peacefully so, and I like it. I wish I was on a better schedule, but I know that will come with time. Plus, most of Ellie's nap times I spend unpacking right now. Once there's nothing left to unpack, I'll go back to writing more articles (instead of just the ones that are due) and blog posts and get myself back on track. And maybe I'll stop watching all this TLC / A&E / VH1 programming during the day.

I'll get there.

Icky Surprises

It's amazing what you uncover when you move. I'm not just talking about back issues of People magazine or that sock that went missing shortly after you moved in. I'm talking about the other residents who've been hiding in your stuff.

Spiders.

Of all the reasons I don't like moving, this ranks as #1. When you start moving stuff around and "disturbing" the evil beasts, they start popping up and surprising you. Last weekend, when Mike and I packed up a sizable amount of stuff, we lost sight of one weird hybrid-spider thing that was red and had many legs. After it ran off, we discovered a couple of dead spider carcasses in its lair. Whatever this thing is, it eats spiders. Should I be worried? Or grateful?

And where the hell is it?

Shortly thereafter, another surprise popped out of the DVDs and tried to make me a widow. Fortunately, with some Pantene hairspray and flip-flop assistance, Mike managed to battle the giant cave spider and live to tell the tale. Yuck. I never got to see this one... it was so huge and ugly, he wouldn't let me see it. Something tells me I'd never sleep again.

It's been a few days since we've stirred up all these tiny ecosystems, and still, I'm meeting new enemies. Just today, a giant daddy-long-legs was chilling in the hallway. I'm not as scared of these things as "regular" spiders, but it was still about 8" in diameter.

Did you know that Swiffer dusters make light work of these icky things? And all the little tiny body parts stick right to the duster. No muss, no fuss.

Anyway, we've got some more work to do before we're ready to move out of here tomorrow. Here's hoping there aren't any other residents to discover, particularly if they're big enough to eat babies or small dogs.

Bessie's Page...

If I haven't said so already, I have some insanely cool friends. This week has been a big BIG week for me. I'm finally, officially a writer.

Like, that's how I get to answer when people say, "So what do you do?"

Awesome.

As a writer who actually wants to make something of herself, of course, I have to have a legit website. I have this really cool friend who can do smart things with code and poof! Website!
Check it out :)

Stay tuned for my coming-one-day fiction writing website :) That will be all frilly and girly... and will hopefully have a slogan.

I have this other super fantabulous friend who likes to play with cameras occasionally. And thus, Bessie The Ghost Cow's Facebook page was born. Join me in paying tribute to little Ellie's bestest bovine friend by liking her page. Mooooooo!

Thanks to my awesome friends! And thanks to everyone who keeps reading my articles! Every click makes me money... so keep clicking! :)