I, umm, apparently, kinda, sorta took a bit of a blogging break. A three+ month blogging break. It wasn't intentional - at least, not at first. In my last post (I know, I know - over three months ago) I mentioned that we were working on some house projects so that we could try to sell the house again this spring.
The projects just kind of took over my life - along with trying to keep up with two teenagers, college applications, FAFSA forms, taxes, interviewing realtors, touring colleges, dance concerts, car issues, and so forth and so on. And somewhere in the midst of all of the hustle and bustle that took over my life for a while, I realized that I hadn't blogged. Or read any blogs. In fact, I was rarely going online - and when I did venture forth into the world wide web, it was via the iphone or ipad and only for brief forays onto instagram or twitter or more research into colleges and costs. And the real epiphany was that I sort of liked it. I liked the freedom of being disconnected. I enjoyed the freedom of not feeling like I HAD to post something or read a gazillion blogs and comment in order to get people to come read my blog and comment back. And then I realized that somewhere along the way, my blog (and me) had lost it's (our) purpose. Originally, I began blogging as a way for friends and family to keep up with us and our family and as a way for me to document our daily lives. But somewhere along the way I started trying to get more followers and comments. I became competitive. And when I was in the midst of my "hiatus" I realized that I needed to change.
I want this blog to revert back to what it was in the beginning - just me and my crazy family sharing what we are doing and who we are. No competition with other, better, bloggers. No trying to be something I'm not or trying to re-invent myself (a personal pet peeve of mine!)
So, I apologize for the long break. I don't even know if any of my followers are still around or if you've all given up on me. I've gotten some lovely messages and emails from a few of you telling me that you've missed me - and I honestly can't tell you how much your sweet words of support have meant. I have decided to close comments for future posts - most of you know how to get in touch with me via email (and I can always be found on twitter or instagram) - and please know how much I LOVE hearing from you! I'll leave the comments on for this prodigal post and finish by trying to give you a brief glimpse of our lives for the past few months...
The Boy went on the Diocesan ski trip in January and had a blast...
And he also started back at Tae Kwon Do after taking a break of a year and a half - Mr. Wonderful and I are very pleased about this!
We finished The Princess's room (new carpet, new paint, painted furniture and she got new bedding for Christmas.) We also refinished our bathroom and her bathroom, installed new toilets in all the bathrooms, and painted our bedroom, the laundry room and the den...
We've also been doing yard work, getting screens repaired, and getting the grout cleaned. We even put the kid's friends to work - the VK's really KNOW how to entertain!
The Princess has been very busy with dance competitions and dance concerts and dance workshops... She did well, had a lot of fun, and ran into some old friends from her old studio while she was Atlanta...
I might have let my feelings for dance competitions be known on twitter...
We've been overwhelmed by the amount of lemons, and oranges and pink grapefruit that our trees produced this year. I've been juicing and zesting like a madwoman...
The Boy has done a bit of fishing with his friends...
And I learned (the next day!) that one evening he and a friend found an old couch sitting on the side of the road. They loaded the old couch on the top of the car, carried it down to the end of the dock, and sat on it while fishing the next day. Then, when they were finished with it, they returned it to the side of the road where they found it.
I am appalled. In an amused sort of way.
We finally finished the painting, and re-carpeting, and grout cleaning, and dusting, and organizing and de-cluttering, and mulching and planting and pressure washing...
We listed the house.
And nothing.
Just nothing.
It's rather demoralizing and depressing.
But, you know, at least the house is clean.
* Thanks for bearing with me as I try to get back into the blogging world. I've missed it - and you! I apologize for the quality (or lack thereof) of the photos - I had to "borrow" them from instagram!
