Hello again.

I'm sure that echoed. It has been so long since I posted that I forgot my blogger password andforgot how to use the weird keyboard on my laptop. It's like going back to kindergarten for me. And honestly, I am only doing this to keep myself awake until bedtime. I was completely crashed, face-down on the bed, fully clothed, aching everywhere when the bizarre thought popped into my head: 27 is a good year for me.

Now, please don't ask where that stemmed from because for all I know I had been asleep and dreaming of 27 Dresses. Honestly, it could be. But at any rate, it is a fantastic realization. Epiphany, even. 27 is a good year for me. In disguise. Here's why.

It started on Easter Sunday. It's been a long time since my birthday was Easter Sunday and it was strangely disorienting being celebrated on the same day as the Resurrection (uh, priorities, people! hehe) but alas, we spent the day at the Grand Canyon with Mom and Dad. They got me the best birthday present ever: a necklace that makes me friends. Seriously, this necklace is so fun that people from 6 months to adult stop and want to play with all the funny charms. It's a hit.

As you know, we lost Grandpa Shaffer shortly after my birthday. I finally understand what it means to be happy and sad about someone passing away. He is gone but he is forever so very loved by his family and those who knew him. Every one of my cousins was there for the funeral and it was awwwwesome to see them all again.
This munchkin fell in love with me. I don't know why he likes me so much, but I sure cannot complain. He calls me Marv, I call him Hammy, it works. I know everyone thinks their nephew is the cutest in the world but really? Look at this kid. He dances and knows sign language and says "ooh!" before everything.
We moved downtown. We are a little bit in the 'hood, of course, but this park is a short walk away, as is everything else. Love it. Someday I will get my act together and take pictures of the house. (Sorry, Carrie!)
This tiny bundle of fun was added to Justin and Alice's family via the stork. Lilly looks exactly like Hammy (er, Caleb...) did when he was born, so I can tell you precisely how ridiculously mind-bogglingly precious she is going to be as she grows up. But your brain might explode, so I will refrain.
This guy...
went over here (Romania, aka: home) for 2.5 weeks, without me.

It was hard. It was awful. It sucked. Except when our house got infested with bugs that wanted to snuggle with me in bed and I had to move out of our house for a whole week. I found out quickly who my friends were, as a number of people offered their couches and spare rooms so I didn't have to be aloneand homeless. It ended up being a lot of fun living out of my trunk and showering once a week.

I just thought I should mention Grandma seems to be doing great. That makes me endlessly happy. She is amazing.
I am getting better with age, bigtime. I wish I had old pictures to look at and giggle over how far I've come, but perhaps it is better that I don't have any. Blonde seems to be my best color yet (although I was quite partial to maroon and orange), my skin is finally learning to just say no to acne, I am growing up. Yes, it took me this long to begin. Of course this photo contradicts that statement slightly...yes, I am modeling my new duck sweater in 110 degree heat...
Working out since January has done wonders for me in many ways. I sleep better, I have muscle, I am more graceful (strange side effect, if you ask me), I concentrate better, I drink less coffee, and all of those things mean I have more confidence.

Enough confidence to take up salsa dancing! Which is why I was sleeping on my face, fully clothed, in the middle of the day. Some friends from work talked me into attending a class/social at a dance school a month ago (which was mostly middle-aged divorced men + smooth Latinos/as + gringa Martha...) and it was horrible but I've been going to their class and last night when I went to the social I actually tore it up! Hahahaha I use that term loosely, of course, but I was quite proud of how far I've come. And now I am wretchedly sore and blistered and exhausted from tearin' it up all night and going to work on a few hours of sleep. But I've never done that before in my life, so it's a welcome change.

We puppy-sat this little dude all weekend. Awwwww I love him so much.

This has turned out to be long enough to cover all of the months that I've been away, huh. Just one more thing.

I'm not sure yet if this is a good thing or a horrible thing, it is still too fresh. I started a new job last Monday. My dream job that I loved so much hit some extremely rough waters several months ago and I started looking around...then, through much persuasion and strategy and patience and moral fortitude, I and a small group of compatriots made some incredible changes in the company. Changes that made us say "Yep, I could retire from this company in 50 years". Unfortunately, in the middle of making these great leaps for mankind, I was given an offer that I could not refuse.

So I am now working for a competitor, a worldwide corporation with incredible resources and "limitless potential". But right now it feels like I sold my soul. At my old job I had friends and I knew what I was doing and I loved it. At my new job I am the first to ever do what I do (ever, worldwide) so I have nothing to follow, no systems, no support, no friends, just potential. Limitless potential. And at this point in life I would rather have friends than potential. Or a career, even. I would rather be homeless with a bunch of homeless friends and some stray cats than have a posh career where I feel like I am in solitary confinement. Call me a drama queen... Clearly I should not ponder and type when I'm this tired. Ah, just like college. :)

But so far, 27 has been a good year for me. Strength, confidence, learning what I can achieve and what I would rather not, dancing, downtown, learning. I even match my clothes sometimes. And in between the new babies and the bug infestations there have been many miracles, the small kind that typically go unnoticed. But I notice. And they keep me going on in the faith and hope that 28 will be even better.