Back Again

I don't know what happened but I got disconnected from blogging for a long time. I had two posts this year this month but the last one before those was from October of last year! I guess only one word could sum it up: BUSY!
I read all my posts today and realized a lot of things were missing! For one, I can't believe that I did not include in "Sweet Summer Surprises" the time I spent with my friends and family up north last September! It was one of the most unforgettable moments of 2010 for me (it felt like a slumber party and in a way, it kind of was)--how the girls and I stayed practically all night long drinking and talking and laughing while our husbands and kids were in bed; and how we ran away from the firepit like crazy when we heard a bear growl (our husbands believe it was the product of alcohol although the next day, 3 bears were hunted in the area). I personally did not hear it (the bear's growl) but my mom and three girlfriends swore they did. My mom got so frightened she jumped over the five-foot diameter firepit, tripped and fell. Thank God she didn't fall on the fire! She ended up having a scratch on her face. We went inside the cabin and settled down. But what did we do after that? We went right back outside and sat on the deck and talked and laughed at the whole thing. We didn't dare go to the firepit anymore in fear of the bear roaming close by. If I didn't know any better, I bet the bear was laughing its heart out when it saw what we did--how we made a spectacle of ourselves! Anyway...
Between October and February, a lot of things happened. Noteworthy was our road trip to San Diego to attend my brother's graduation from the US Marines. We were gone for 13 days. But before that, my dear husband had to crash my computer and wipe out my hard drive, which broke my heart thinking of all the files that I've lost and not backed up! Until now, I'm still finding out that I've lost a certain file. There's an obvious lesson to be learned from that experience: BACK UP YOUR FILES!
Then of course, there were the holidays with the New Year's Eve Party at our house where my friends and I are hoping to revive a tradition we had before Tom and I had kids. That party was a turning point for me. I usually am very uptight hosting parties but that time, I was so carefree and almost worry-free. I just went with the flow. I wasn't stressing out about things not going right or having things perfect and guess what, it was perfect! Everyone had a ball and I was not stressed out for once! I think that set my positive attitude for this year.
I was also busy preparing my latest book for publication. That kept me really busy. I didn't get into it until this year though. I'm still waiting on comments from a fellow writer and another good friend of mine before I can finally submit it.
Then there was Connor winning the Geography Bee and representing his school for the state competition. That was really special, for him and for our family. Now, he's waiting on the state result. He watches everyday for the result to come in the mail. He wants to go to Washington D.C. for the national level of the competition. I have to love his self-confidence...
I also got busy with a new hobby--painting canvas tote bags! I don't know how many I've painted between now and November of last year. Between that and making jewelry, that's a lot of time.
Having mentioned all those tidbits, I'll now try to be current with my blog and keep you posted on what's going on. In the meantime, thanks for reading!