Whoops, I blinked and it was five years later

 Well, well, well, look who's back at the blog (it's me). There has been a lot going on in my life lately, but I feel really uncomfortable sharing things on Facebook. I always feel like I'm howling into the void of That Freshman Who Was In Music Theory 101 With Me, That Mom I Scheduled One Playdate With In 2011, and The New Acquaintance That I'm Hoping May Turn Into a Friend; and they have to listen to me howl on their feeds whether they like it or not, whether I have actually spoken directly to them in fifteen years or not. Despite being open for all to read, blogging feels a little more intimate because if someone is reading this, it's because they cared enough to navigate over here. So anyway, hi! It's been awhile!

Adam has gotten grayer, the kids have gotten taller, and I have gotten fatter. 

One thing that hasn't changed? My kids still don't know how to smile for the camera.

So what's been up with me? Probably the highlight up till this summer is that I got chickens, which should tell you how exciting life has been. We traveled a bit, the kids did sports, I made literally over a thousand pies, we hung out with my parents next door, I got involved in a lot of local groups like 4-H and the library board. Everything was swimming along for the past several years in our little remote corner of Washington. Enter this summer, when we up and moved to a different remote corner of Washington. So far, it has been fantastic for Adam and the kids-- Adam is really enjoying his job and the career possibilities that come with it, and the kids have made a ton of friends and have been experiencing amazing growth through the activities they're involved with here.

More sledding opportunities, for one.

 As for me, not going to lie, it has been ROUGH. Our new milieu is just fine, with gorgeous scenery and friendly locals; but I lost a lot in the move, and I'm not just talking about my cake pans. There's a lot to grieve about. I'd say the top three things I've had the hardest time with are 1) The loss of my ride-or-die people I could call upon for anything at anytime 2) the loss of identity. I'm not a homeschool group leader, pro pie baker, co-op facilitator, volunteer, or any of the other community pillar hats anymore. What am I now?? What purpose do I serve? Some days I just feel like a husk. 3) the loss of solitude. We are in a much smaller house and I can't send the kids next door to my parents anymore when I need a moment of peace. It is ironic to be in a place where I'm simultaneously lonely and surrounded by people ALL. THE. TIME. Literally 24/7. Psychologically, these past six or so months have been brutal.

This move has broken me in a lot of ways I wasn't expecting, but I think with time things will be better. In the meantime, I'm just kind of chugging along. In an attempt to plug into our new community, I abandoned my cardinal rule of One Activity Per Child (And It Will Probably Be the Same Activity Your Sibling Is Doing) and signed them up for all the things. I have made loads of acquaintances and become best friends with my minivan if no one else. We bought a house (first-time homeowners!!) and there is plenty in our fixer-upper to demand my attention. That is all probably worth several future posts, so I'll leave you on that cliffhanger there and hopefully write something else before another five years passes by.

Meeting Miss Cici

So, between the time that I stopped blogging and now, another branch to our family tree appeared:

Cecilia Marietta (we call her Cici for short) was born this past April. We have had Cecilia picked out as our girl's name for a very long time- before we were even married, I think- so we didn't have to scramble for several days after she was born for a name, like we did with Allen! Music has always been a big part of our lives, so having a namesake for Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music, seemed appropriate. Marietta is an old, old family name on my side that goes back to at least the 1880's. My great-aunt Marietta passed away a few years ago, sadly, so it was time for someone new to carry the name!

What she likes to do these days: get into Oscar's building creations, hang out with Grandma, and ingest every little delicious particle she can find on the floor. Cici also has quite the vocabulary!

Mama = MAMA!
Dog= DAH!
Cat= DAH!
Doll= DAH!
Book= DAH!
Adam= DAH-DAH!

She is ridiculously fun, and we are so glad she's here with us (most of us, anyways. Allen still has deep reservations about this whole new baby business).

I have a job!

I was awakened today by my phone buzzing angrily at me. There is no church nearby, so there really was nothing for us unemployed, carless people to do but sleep in. ;-) It was the manager of a restaurant right behind our apartment, wanting to know if I could start work tomorrow! Praise God!

This has been a pretty dark week, with the car failure and financial worries. We had no idea where next month's rent would come from. but God didn't drop us. He never does! So be sure to tip your waitresses generously, because you never know when it could be me!

My New Year's Resolution

Ah, new Year's Resolutions. Something I love to hate to love, and something I also hate to love to hate. Or something like that. Once my eyes straighten out, I'll let you know. Anyways, I'm really optimistic about this year's resolutions! I'm trying a different approach that I thought of all by myself *pats back*. There are four things I really wanted to try this year for a better new me!-

1. Read the Bible/pray consistently

2. Exercise consistently

3. No computer/Wii

4. No sugar

Some are a little impractical to implement all year long. The one I'm thinking about in particular is No Sugar- I would ask someone to please just shoot me right right now- so I thought of a better plan. Every week, I will take a different goal and do it every day that week-- even Sunday! I think it'll work. maybe I'll even get into the routine of doing all of them at the same time all the time! And pigs will fly! Of course, this gives me liberty to slack off from certain things for three weeks (although I will certainly try not to do so), but at this point, anything will be an improvement.

I wrote it all down in the calendar for the year, in the order I listed them above. That way, it alternates something good for the body with something good for the soul. And wouldn't you know, by some miracle, all my sugar-free weeks do NOT fall on any major holiday or birthday! That makes my cake-loving self happy. 

I'm still trying to formulate a game plan for executing the Bible and exercise portion. I'm always so overwhelmed when I think about actually doing some sort of systematic Bible study because, honestly, there is SO MUCH to read!!! Where do you start?? Oftentimes, I am so intimidated by the sheer volume of choice that I just close my eyes and open the Bible to some random spot. Not the best way to study the Bible.

So... do you have any recommendations? Currently, I'm really interested in this puppy. Some day, when I have barrels of money to burn...

The First Post Ever!

Having spent a king's amount of time finding some sort of name that Blogger would actually accept, I am very much inclined to keep this brief. 

This will be the third blog I've ever started. The first time, I was a silly high-schooler. The second, I was in college, and in an emo mood most of the time. This time, I am still in college (I liked being a senior so much that I decided to do it again), but I am much older and wiser (I'd like to think, anyway), and interested in writing a quality blog. I have been married for five months to my Prince Charming, and I look forward to having many adventures together. Let this be the chronicle of those adventures of the domestic sort. Yay for life!