Not Dead, Just Restin'...

… from a very busy Fall.

Yes. I've been resting. Not even thinking about this little ol' blog thing here. Too, too much going on.

For one thing - the most major thing - we've moved. Again. An unplanned, unforeseen move. No one's fault at all, just a whole bunch of unfortunate events culminating into the sucky fact that the house we were renting needed to go on the market. We had about a month and a half from the time we were told until the day we moved into our new place on Dec. 1st. Was there a November this year? I have no idea. We were all too busy doing other things.

But now we are… settled. Yeah, that's a good word for it. We're in a new rental that, as Dickens may have said, is not the best of places nor the worst of places. But it was available at a good price with the required requirements needed to make us satisfactorily satisfied. And Sweetie didn't have to change school districts, which is a nice bonus for her. We are all good, and happy to be able to slow down now after the holidays (Go! Move in! Unpack! Stop unpacking and just set up for Christmas! Do the Sweetie's Birthday/Christmas/New Years thing! Rest - just a bit! - before packing up Christmas and getting back to the unpacking of the real life things!)

In the meantime, we've had a couple birthdays around here. Hubby reached a milestone birthday in November, and Sweetie followed a month plus a day later with her own birthday - her 11th. We, of course, did her usual birthday "thing" of visiting Santa at the mall. Yes, she's still a full-fledged believer, and we love it! WE'RE still believers, after all. Santa is one heck of a guy, and in our house he's one masterful puzzle-maker/scavenger hunt creator/magic-bringing elf. Still, I caught myself catching my breath this year as I contemplated how this might - just might - be the last time she'll want to visit the Big Guy on her big day. So very interested to see what amazing changes this year has in store for Sweetie, as well as what wonderful consistencies may remain.

This year Santa apparently stole (borrowed) the full length mirror that was in Sweetie's room and returned it there on Christmas morning, complete with a magical saying he'd inscribed on it, just for Sweetie. Then, he helped work with Hubby and I to deliver clues towards Sweetie's final big Christmas gift, which was from us this year and not Santa. Admittedly, the excitement of Christmas anticipation was waaaaaayyyy more intense for me than the low key reality of Sweetie opening our gift of tickets to see "Matilda" on Broadway. Whereas I've been appreciative of Sweetie's quiet, polite happiness with the unfolding of Christmas morning in years past (so nice to take things slow, with quiet family togetherness and contentment as the order of the day), this year's "less than" just left me feeling down. See, I just knew she'd be jaw-droppingly stunned with the knowledge she'd be going to this beloved show. And yet… not so much. Yes, certainly happy! It's just that Sweetie's not a crazily excitable, screaming maniac of a kid. Which, you know, I should be thankful for. And I am.

Yes, Sweetie is as awesome and great as ever and she was more than pleased with her whole birthday and Christmas experience. She was also kind to and thoughtful of those who were not as blessed with presents as she was by bringing her duplicate gifts to our local charitable organization. She didn't want exchanged "things", she just wanted to give kids who didn't get what they hoped they would a chance that now maybe they might.

Love that little girl! She really is the best.

Speaking of Sweetie, she's been busy too. She's been working hard, multiple practices a week, on rehearsals for an upcoming performance of "Alice in Wonderland." The last 2 shows she's been in with this company have been very small roles. But this time around she is a Playing Card, with lots of stage time to go with it. We are all very excited to see the show mid-January.

As for me? I can tell I'm ready to get back to writing. Back to all the random thoughts in my head popping up and announcing themselves as possible blog fodder. It's a new year and, for so many reasons, I know it's bound to be a great one. And I'll be here to write about it all.