A brief, non-African-safari-type interlude

So I think we can say that March was a month of epic FAIL for this blog. As you can see, I managed to post twice during the entire month. And April isn't off to much of a start, either.

I really wish I could say I was doing something exciting like climbing Kilimanjaro sans sherpa or glamorous like...showering two days in a row.

No such luck.

Instead, I've been trying to meet some wicked work deadlines, burning the midnight and weekend oils, and catching some sleep now and then.

And, OK, I also:

• Eked out a few minutes of playtime with the new puppy


• Was asked to speak at my alma mater


• Immediately began freaking out about speaking in public for the first time since taking a public speaking class at said alma mater


• Was swindled by an old, crusty man


• Am currently counting the days until vacation (Florida in T-minus 19 days!)


• Sadly broke my four-month caffeine-free streak (some things are unavoidable)


• Have missed all of you terribly

The crazy work times won't really be over until June. But there are simply too many things swirling around in my head that need to be jettisoned, and T is getting really tired of listening to the same stories over and over.

So.

Next up: Introductions. After that? We'll see.

...hello?

So, remember that time when I had a blog, and I wrote things in it, and you read it and we laughed and cried and had happy, fun times?

Yeah, it's getting harder for me to remember that, too.

I'll be honest: 2011? Not off to a banner start.

And work is like a runaway train with zero scheduled stops.

But in the last few weeks, I've come to realize something.

I need this space. And I need all of you.

How do I know this?

When I'm falling asleep? I'm writing blog posts in my head. Driving? I'm thinking about something that happened that I want to blog about. Sitting through the second half of a two-hour conference call, struggling to pay attention to tech specs? I'm remembering a picture I want to share with all of you.

When my long but satisfying work days are over, my brain? She's exhausted. And the idea of putting aside an hour to write is almost immediately swallowed up by the sheer joy of conversation with my husband and the television's mindless entertainment.

But I can't ignore those falling-asleep, driving-zone-out subconscious nudges any longer.

So, I'm back. Is it going to be like November, when I diligently posted every day and triumphantly finished NaBloPoMo? Most certainly not. But this is more of a need for me than I think I realized. And it's time to make it a priority.

See you soon. :)



(That's supposed to be a warm fuzzy. Because writing things here gives me...oh, whatever, you get it.)

Late edition: To make it up to you...

I'll be honest, friends: My day job, the holidays, the pups -- it's all kind of kicking my butt right now.

How my brain looks on the inside:

A very wise friend of mine (cough, TwoPretzels, cough) told me recently to cut myself some slack. So that's what I'm doing. Or trying to do. (Love you, Ky.)

Unfortunately, that means posting on this here blog is going to be extremely sparse for at least the next week. For that I am most apologetic; I hate to think I'm depriving you of more chapters in the scintillating "Doodlefest" arena. But something has to give, and, sadly, this is one of those things.

To make it up to you, as the title of this post indicates, please accept this list of topics I WILL be writing about in the days shortly following the holidays:

1. A very furry birthday celebration
2. Waterpark! Family! Christmas! (Matching shirts? Oh, yes we did.)
   
3. Why I am a knitting extraordinare (or maybe just a master of personal marketing)
4. Poo: A conundrum
5. Cooking update: The one thing I can make well these days
6. 20 reasons my dad is the coolest (it's almost his birthday!)
7. Things That Make Me Happy (in Pictures) -- a series
8. Classic WP: Jumping outta planes
9. My most-treasured possessions
10. The one where I finally tell the garlic story, just for Anna
11. New editions of NBX
12. The File of Love (please note that this has nothing to do with adult movies)
    
13. And more! No, really!
    

Note: If there's anything you'd LIKE me to write about that you don't see on the list (or something on the list that you desperately DON'T want me to write about), please tell me about it in the comments.

In closing, I will kick off the Things That Make Me Happy (in Pictures) series with the following:


My Big Money pajama pants. My mother-in-law buys really strange gifts, but they are strangely AWESOME.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and (for me and a few of you) a big WOOHOO to the holidays being almost over! :)

For reals, though: Sending warm, fuzzy love to all of you today. Internet hug!