Oh, Hey.

I've been absent.  

I know.  You don't have to tell me about it.

I feel bad enough already.

I've had a number of you ask me what happened, want to know if I just stopped blogging or what the deal is.

The deal is this:

It's not you. It's me.

I just needed some space.  

I am fully aware that I sound like I am giving a totally pathetic excuse for a break-up and I'm sorry for that, but it is the truth.

 

Found this graphic on Google after writing this blog post.  Perfect fit, huh?!

I found that I just needed some time to remove myself from some of the social networking world.  

Blogging was a major part of that.  

It wasn't even that I needed to stop writing on my own blog, but more that I needed a break from ALL blogs.  

I was spending too much time reading about the lives of other folks, perusing both some of my favorite blogs and other random ones I happened across.  

I mean, is it really so important that know all about how Blogger A redecorated her kitchen?  Or what Blogger B wore on a certain day of the week?

No.

Don't get me wrong.  

I LOVE the look of Blogger A's new kitchen and I really wish I could pull off a pair of brightly colored skinnys like Blogger B.  

That, however, is not the point.  

I felt like I was becoming too involved with the online lives of others and not living enough for myself.  Plus, I wanted to be able to enjoy a moment with my boys without wondering whether I should sprint for the camera so I could make a blog post about whatever cute/ridiculous/amazing/hilarious thing they/I/we were up to.  

Hence, my break.

Since I haven't shared anything with you in such a long time, I'll do my best to kinda catch you up.  There is the possibility that some of these things may end up with a blog post of their own in the future, but I make no promises.

Here is what you missed:

I finished my semester in school.

 Yeah, that is my Dean's List letter.  This is where I get to toot my own horn. :)

I took the boys to Florida for a month long vacation.

During that vacation, we visited Sea World twice, Sarasota Jungle Gardens four times, and  Mote Marine more times than I can count.  

My boys fell in love with everything ocean related.  

My life is now all about 'Tamu ("Shamu" in Tink-speak).

I completed a summer course (I SO would have bored you all with posts about this class, so you should be glad I was breaking.  I could have droned on and on, to the point that you would have wanted to claw your eyes out.). 

I came really close to an emotional breakdown due to some circumstances beyond my control changing life as I have been living it.  

Although I am open to sharing just about every aspect of my life, this particular thing is very personal and includes persons other than myself, so I won't be sharing details.  

Sorry to bait you and leave you with zero information.  

That wasn't very nice, was it?

I took up yoga.  

I love it.  

And I am pretty sure The Hubs loves it since I will occasionally try out 

some of the poses in our living room.  

Unfortunately, although practicing yoga makes me feel like this:

This is my amazingly beautiful friend, Molly.  Gorgeous, right?!

I have a feeling I look more like this:

Just less furry.

I became the mother of a four year-old (How is Tink that old?!?!).

Notice the cake. I am telling you, we are ALL about dolphins, fish, manatees, etc.  
But no crabs.  We don't do crabs.  Or sharks.

I decided to challenge myself by making meals using only the food we currently have in our home.  I am totally guilty of opening a fridge/freezer/pantry full of food 

and declaring a lack of anything to eat.  

It is like opening your overstuffed closet and saying you have nothing to wear.  

You do indeed have plenty to wear... You just don't want to wear it.  

I'll let you know how this works out for me.

I started the Harry Potter series.  

And I now wish I was capable of doing magic.  

And I might have a crush on Dumbledore.  

I FINALLY have my pictures back up on the walls after the half-wall construction project.  

It took me entirely too long to make it happen, but I didn't want to just erroneously 

begin putting pictures up and holes in the walls.  

I wanted to know what all I had to work with before starting.  

It wasn't until about a week ago that I made it happen.  

Guess throwing a birthday party for your kid and inviting a relatively large number 

of people over for said party is a good motivating factor.

I moved Tink and Goose into the same bedroom.  

They did really well sleeping in the same room for the month we were in Florida.  

Plus, Tink was at the point that he was waking up, going to 

Goose's room, and crawling into his crib with him almost every morning.  

It was at that point (the point of Tink moving into Goose's territory) 

that things would become violent.  

So, I hoped he wouldn't actually get in the crib if his bed was in the same room.  

Thus far, it has been a complete success.  

Amen.

Speaking of "Amen", I had an exceptionally amazing 

experience at church about a month ago.

I started to get back on and blog about it that afternoon, but something stopped me.

Maybe was because I didn't feel as if I could satisfactorily convey my feelings about my experience. Maybe I was having a hard time with making an entire post about my faith.  

I can't honestly tell you what kept me from posting it.  

But, I have the beginnings of my post saved.  

And, whenever I think about it, my whole being 

goes back to the place it was on that Sunday.  

That alone is enough to convince me that I need to share it, so I will work on it.  

I'm sure there have been many more goings on in the last two-plus 

months, but this is about all I have for now.  

Thanks to all of you who asked about the blog and showed 

both concern & interest about its absence.

I'll work to be better about posting more often again.

I really do appreciate the understanding about my needing a break. 

If I take a break again, I'll try to let you know in advance so you won't worry.

Love you all.

Thanks for being a part of my life, whether it is in all ways or simply through this blog.

And, feel free to share how great you look in your neon skinnys.

I promise I won't quit writing just because I am jealous.