scrub it

Hey friends, didja miss me? I’m interrupting your regularly-scheduled Friday to say I’m back in the world of the internet!

As I type, I am sitting in my new home, using the internet and sipping coffee. (Fresh coffee – freshly roasted, freshly ground. Not the bottled stuff I’ve been forced to drink for several weeks.)

Yep, closing finally happened. On July 25, my husband and I became homeowners again. It’s both exciting and exhausting. I love our new place, but it needs a lot of work. From the kitchen cabinets covered with more grease than anyone should ever use in the kitchen (please people, put down the shortening and grab the olive oil!) to the all-pink bathroom in the basement (ceiling included. Because being inside a Pepto-Bismol bottle was their big dream?) (more…)

crash, boom

I know I don’t normally post on Mondays, but I had one intense, humdinger of a week, folks. A week where nothing went as planned. Which happens sometimes. I get that. I’m good at rolling with the punches. But I’ve been rolling so much I’m dizzy now. I need it to stop.

It started with Tuesday, the day we were supposed to close on our house. My husband took off the rest of the week so we could clean and paint. We packed up our two cars and journeyed almost 2 hours through the 100+ degree heat only to find out that the bank didn’t have their paperwork together (the house is a foreclosure so the seller is a bank). It would be another day or two.

The next day (which happened to be my birthday), we got up and waited around so we’d be ready to jump in the car for the hour and a half drive to closing. Nope, not that day. But we got a time scheduled for Friday. Okay. Later than we thought, but what can ya do? (more…)

i rock. so do you.

Whatever it is you’re aiming for in this world, it’s so hard to get there sometimes. You’re headed in the right direction, making progress, when BAM! obstacles start popping up.

For me, it’s finding a job. When I’m browsing through the listings, it’s easy to focus on everything I don’t have. I don’t have 10 years of experience. I don’t have extra certifications. I start to feel beholden to anyone who actually calls me back, which leads to me considering jobs with hours and pay I never would have been okay with before. (“Why yes, I’d love to work all week and every weekend for $7/hour.”) It’s a slippery slope. (more…)

age me

“Hi. I have a meeting with Lindsay,” I said.

The teen at the counter smiled at me. “Okay. She just stepped out, but I’ll give her a call.”

I smiled back. “Thanks.” I wandered around the store, mentally preparing for my interview. The teen’s voice floated through the greeting cards to me.

“There’s a girl here to see you,” she said into the phone.

Did a teen really just call me a girl? (more…)

nothing gold

It whispered to me as I rushed by, a hint of pink blushing the clouds. “Come look,” it murmured. Only the edge of a sunset was visible from inside our apartment. But it was promising me more. Not yelling or demanding my attention. Just whispering.

I listened.

I’ve learned, over the past few years, to listen to those whispers, to recognize the moments that deserve appreciation. Life is short and these moments aren’t promised to us.

I ventured out onto the balcony and found the whispered promise beyond expectation. (more…)