Is this thing on?

Hello? Is anyone out there?

I hope so.

I just wanted to let you know that I AM coming back. In six days. On Monday.

And I’m really excited about it. Excited to write again, to fill you in on the happenings over the last month.

I have truly missed you.

The girl that cried Blog

I’m sitting on my couch reading your comments and marveling in your pleas for me to stick around. I’m floored.

I mention this to my husband, and he informs me that I am a LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE and will not, in actuality, be able to stop blogging for an entire month.

He might be right.

UGH.

I did say the minute I hit publish I would regret it, no?

But I AM taking a break. I just don’t know if setting a goal for an entire month was all that realistic.

So maybe I’ll see you next week? Or the week after that?

Yeah.

I’m off to find a fire extinguisher for my pants.

Hiatus

I need  blogging break.

I’ve been struggling with this decision for a while, because part of me thinks the minute I hit Publish on this post, I’m going to regret it. I’ll come crawling back to the interwebs begging you to take me back.

But there’s another part of me that thinks this is a good decision. Not an end, just a break. A few weeks without the self-imposed pressure of writing a blog post. Because, I’m tired. I’m tired of being told that my writing is going downhill, or that I’m boring. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say, it’s more like I just don’t feel like saying it right now.

I started blogging because I wanted a writing outlet. I stuck with blogging because from within the pages of These Little Moments developed an amazingly supportive and awesome community. But now, I’m not sure who I’m writing for anymore…you, or me?

The break will be one month-long. On December 17th I will return, either for good, or to say goodbye. In the meantime, maybe I’ll go write somewhere anonymously, or break out that thing we used to call a journal and use a pen.

I hope that those of you who have made These Little Moments what it is will come back in a month. Because I really do love you guys. And please keep writing, because I’ll be out there, reading you.

Until December…

My life is really exciting

Yesterday I decided to make microwave popcorn. Simple, right? We’ve all done it before. I had a craving for it when I was grocery shopping so I picked up a box of Newman’s Own Light Butter and headed home.

When it was popcorn o’clock, I opened up the bag, and looked to see how long I should microwave it. I couldn’t find it. Not on the bag, not on the box, nowhere.

Instead, there was some message on the packaging about  how all microwaves heat at different temperatures, so I should refer to my manual, or use the Popcorn button.

Huh.

Well, here’s the thing. Our microwave is older and it doesn’t have a Popcorn button. And find the manual? For popcorn? Meh.

The last thing I wanted to do was burn the popcorn, but it’s a really tricky science, you know? Cook it to little and you end up with a bag half filled with kernels, but cook it too long and it’s charcoal city. Neither seemed appealing.

So I did the only thing I could do. Stood in front of the microwave and cooked that popcorn in 30-second intervals until I was pretty sure I had gotten it right.

I didn’t. I ended up with a lot of kernels, but I think it’s a success non the less since kernels are better than charcoal.

I then proceeded to eat the whole bag.

Yes, you really did just read a post about me microwaving a bag of popcorn. I hope your day is just a little bit better for it.

Smile Tuesday

Because I don’t feel like waiting for Friday.

Kodiak loves his Dad.

A lot!

I feel as though I’ve told this story before…

In fourth grade I proudly wore my favorite outfit to school. It was a red and white striped boatneck top with a matching skirt and attached black bike shorts. I thought it was the most awesome fashion invention since puff paint and snap bracelets.

I put effort into dressing up that day. I brushed my hair. I picked out my matching scrunch socks. My Keds were white as snow.

My enjoyment over that outfit lasted approximately two hours, before a boy in my class — Aaron — asked me why my legs looked shiny. My legs looked shiny? I didn’t know. I didn’t make them look shiny on purpose.

But the mere fact that my legs looked shiny gave Aaron enough ammunition to completely mortify my 9-year old self.

He told everyone I shaved my legs.

Shaved my legs!! Can you imagine? Why would I ever do such a thing, I argued. I don’t shave my legs! Shaving is weird! I didn’t! I swear!

It didn’t matter what I said. By the end of the day the whole class thought I was shaving my legs, and it was enough for me to put that outfit, my wonderful red and white striped boatneck and matching skirt with attached bike shorts outfit in the back of my closet, never to see the light of day again. Because, ugh, SHAVING. How WEIRD.

(To be fair, 9-year old me also thought regular hair and tooth brushing were optional.)

This morning, Facebook “suggested” I become friends with Aaron. I’m thinking of taking a picture of my three (ok, four) days unshaven leg (umm…it’s cold out? And…I’m wearing a lot of pants?) and sending it to him with my friend request.

“Remember me? The LEG SHAVER? How do you like me now?!”

Poor Planning

A water main in town broke.

Which means no water at our house.

If only I had showered yesterday…

Halloween Observations

I went with my friend on Halloween night to take her younger brother and his friends trick-or-treating. Along the way, I noticed some things:

- If you’re 1o years old and want to dress as a pirate, dress as a pirate. But not a sexy pirate. There’s no reason you should  be wearing fishnets and knee high boots with no jacket and a lot of skin showing. (On a side note: why are these costumes even being made for kids??)

- If you’re wearing those knee high boots, your feet are going to hurt. And no, you may not leave the group by yourself in the dark and go home to change. You’ll wait until we go back together and maybe you’ll remember to wear sneakers next  year.

- It’s customary to say “trick-or-treat!” when you ring the doorbell, not just hold open your bag of candy. And what ever happened to saying “thank you”?!

- If the house looks dark, no one is home. If the porch light is out, even if they’re home, they’re not answering the door. Do not knock on their window, please.

- “Please take one” means please take ONE. Not four.

- If you’re old enough to drive yourself from house to house, you’re too old to trick-or-treat.

Randomness

Last night I dreamt my hair was falling out. I was standing in front of a mirror pulling clumps and clumps away from my head and tossing them in the sink. In my dream, I wasn’t freaked out, but when I woke up, you can bet the first thing I did was reach for my locks to make sure they were still there.

According to some internet research, this dream symbolizes I am afraid of losing my youth and vitality. At 26.

I wasn’t aware I was having this panic, but hey, who am I to argue with the leading experts on dream analysis. (Cough, cough.)

*****

About a month ago I wrote an email to a blogger who I really enjoy reading. It isn’t often I write these type of emails, but I really wanted to say it. They never wrote back. Part of me knows that being a little hurt by that is stupid and juvenile, but the other part of me doesn’t care. I guess I would have liked a response.

Which got me to thinking about all the wonderful emails I’ve received and the possibility that maybe I didn’t respond to all of them? I have a bad habit of reading emails on my phone, then forgetting to go back and respond to them.

So if you ever wrote me a heartfelt letter and I didn’t respond, consider this my officially apology. You deserved a response — a thank you. If you write to me again, I promise I”ll write back this time.

*****

I received a Happy Anniversary tweet from this woman and nearly fell out of my seat. I adore her. Like, total blog crush. It kind of made up for the unanswered email.

*****

A few of you asked for pictures of our anniversary trip and um, well, I didn’t take any. Mostly because it was raining the first day and the second day I just forgot until right before we left, when I pulled Michael into a gazebo to take a “proof we were here” photo. It didn’t come out so great. When your husband is 6′4″, you tend to cut out his head in self portraits. All the time.

But here’s the view from our suite last year:

And then I tried to be all artistic and take a picture of our rings with the lake in the background. Fail.

I think I’ll stick with writing as my hobby.

*****

Yesterday I found a PostSecret-inspired secret in my library book. It read: “I used to think that my mom would be attacked by a lion in her sleep…so I started sleeping in the doorway of her room to protect her.”

I’ve heard about people finding handwritten secrets in books, and I think it’s awesome. Maybe I’ll add my own before I return it!

Thanks

Today I’m thankful for:

- my husband, who did lots and lots of laundry yesterday from start to finish. Since I’m not working, I’ve basically taken over all house stuff as my job, but it still meant a lot for him to take over that task yesterday.

- the discovery that Kodiak LOVES baby feet. We’ve encountered two babies on the beach lately (don’t you just love when they’re strapped on their parent’s chest with the feet kicking?) and both times he beelined for their little toes, covering them in kisses. This is good, since I plan to fill the house with lots of baby feet in the future.

- Thanksgiving. It’s right around the corner and this year we get to celebrate twice! The actual day with my in-laws, then the following day with my family. Melding two families can definitely get tricky when it’s holiday time, but this year things worked out great. And…twice the stuffing! (My favorite.)

- Real maple sugar candy, that we stocked up on before heading home from New Hampshire.

- Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin on ABC tonight. I’m a sucker for the Charlie Brown holiday specials.

What are you thankful for today?