So it has been some time since I posted, and believe you me, I have been kicking myself every time I have not gotten one out by Friday.  I feel that many things have happen since we last spoke, and I will try to get to it all.

My husband and I are taking full advantage of having HBO.  It was because of this that we watched the Gloria Steinem documentary.  We then proceeded to sleep in different rooms. Two completely unrelated events, but I know that the question will be asked.  Even though we both consider ourselves politically conservative, we both loved it.  The documentary allowed some great conversations to commence.  Despite my aforementioned political stance, Gloria has always been something of a hero of mine.  When I was in college, I was able to pursue the path I wanted with very little sexual prejudice (it was still there, however).  It also reaffirmed my stance on my own feminism.  But that, folks, is perhaps another rant for another day. 

Now a rant that I want to address now.

I turned 30 two weeks ago.  This has been something of a low point in my life.  First of all, I am shocked I made it this long.  I really am.  Secondly, is the list.  I am sure we have all made them.  Those little promises that we make to ourselves that things will fall into place one day.  For me, that was supposed to be my 30^th birthday.  It came and went, and my life has not improved.  When I was a teenager, I figured I would have traveled extensively throughout Europe by now.  I was supposed to be a New York Times bestselling author.  I should have been working on a second masters, or even a PhD by now.  I should have a nice condo and a record deal.  My teenage self would have probably offed herself had she seen me now; unemployed, broke, and overweight.

Everyone says to be more optimistic, and accentuate the positive and all that crap.  I tell you what, it is hard to right now.  However, for the sake of a more balanced post, I will answer in teenage self.

In the past 30 years, I have graduated college, twice (something that many informed me was impossible).   I married a wonderful man that not only puts up with me, but agreed to do so for all eternity.  4 months ago, I paid off all of my student AND credit card debt.  Twice, I have made it to South America.  I have also been to New York, Los Angeles, California, all the corners of Florida, Park City, Utah, Indiana, Georgia, Alabama, both Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia, and that is all the states I remember off the top off my head.  I have seen both US Disney parks.  I have performed in Carnegie Hall.  I have read the entire Harry Potter series and seen the movies.

Despite my current melancholy, I realize that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  I am working on my novel, live in a beautiful cottage where I have my own office.

O yeah, about that.

I am finished.

Wow! Another post!

This week marks my second month as a (house)wife.  While I have managed to have dinner on the table just about every night, and a well-made bed in the morning, I have had much difficulty getting much else done.  Mainly, my office.

This was a second bedroom of the house Husband and I are renting, and I immediately claimed it for mine.  So, it made sense that, as I was moving all of my stuff in, it got dumped into the “office”.  The only drawback was the fact that I did, eventually have to sort it all out.  Being that this is something for me that rarely involves making a home for the husband and myself, it got put on the back burner. 

I am pleased to say that that is not happening anymore.  After weekend warrior-ing it the past two months, I am pleased to say that our dining room, living room, kitchen, and bedroom are about as together as they will ever be.  That leaves the two bathrooms, and my office.

Now, this is something that I have been dreading.  Simply because I have minimal to zip organizational skills.  But I can do this, and I will persevere, and I will probably blog about the progress.  You know, to keep me on track. 

Some months ago, Ruth wanted to see and read more about my knitting.  I have done a substantial amount of that as well.  Since I have gotten married, I have completed:

A baby blanket

A hat to match my Gryffindor Scarf

And 1 Jaywalker

I am also turning 30 exactly one week from today, a fact that I am none too happy about.

Now, with pictures!

Again, I have not written in a while. I do have a good excuse for that. You see, right after I wrote my last post, I got a teaching job. Not a real one, mind you. A teacher at a school that I subbed at regularly offered me a medical leave position. In other words, while the usual teacher is on medical (in this case, maternity) leave, they hired me to fill in until the end of the school year.

It was nice to have a teaching job again.

It was not nice when people reminded me that it was temporary, and that I was “just a sub.” Which they did. With frequency.

I barely had time to turn in grades before people reminded me that it was 2 weeks before my own wedding. In those two weeks, if I was not moving, then I was sleeping. The stress I had is something that I would not trade with anyone.

I also would not trade my wedding day.

Like anyone’s wedding day, it was far from perfect. The florist managed to get my order wrong, and the guests were ready for the reception before the DJ was (my fault – not his). As I told myself when I first got the hint that the flowers were wrong, I could get caught up in the knit-picky details that didn’t really matter, or I could focus on the things that did.

Care to guess which I chose?

Then came the honeymoon. We went to Captiva Island. We did honeymoony things, went fishing, and ate some amazing Gulf seafood. Even though we moved from the Gulf Coast when I was a baby, I will forever maintain that it is in my blood, and that there is no finer quality seafood than what is found on the Gulf of Mexico.

And then, on the last day, we flew kites. That was my favorite.

Now, here I am, a housewife. Took a while to get my laptop set up. Actually, its taking longer than I thought to get settled.

But that is a story for another blog post.

More ranting

So I am trying my hand at something literary. No stories, no action. Just a girl, her computer, and her pain. So, there is not too much to it. I already have 500 words or so, so it is turning out to be something. I am only going to give it about 600 more before I finish it. My goal is to finish it before Spring Break.
Enough of that for now. What I would really like to bring your attention to is something I saw on 60 Minutes over the weekend. At first, I could not believe what my eyes and ears told me. 60 Minutes, a national news program, was doing a piece on the increase of homeless children. The part of our nation that they chose to highlight was Seminole County, Florida, where I have lived since I was 18 months old. This, along with the neighboring counties of Orange and Osceola, are becoming the fastest-growing in the nation in relation to this burgeoning demographic.
I’ll be the first to admit that I cried when I saw the looks on these children’s faces. My heart broke even further when I recognized some of the faces as children I have encountered. Once my heart broke, it was not pain, or even sympathy that oozed out like a yolk. It was anger and frustration. Anger because I had heard previously that the school board was cutting programs that were designed to help these children. Angry that, even though I am a part time nobody, I was not made aware that things were getting this dire. I was frustrated. I was frustrated that this was happening to my hometown. MY hometown. And as of right now, there is absolutely nothing I can do. I have just enough income to take care of my own expenses.

200 word rant

So, I have not written in a while. In fact, for the past, what, 3 years now, it has been downright sporadic. But still I press on. Why, you might ask? Why do you still press on, even though you know no one is reading this, and having a blog is no longer a free pass to the cool kids table? Well, folks, I don’t really see is as a choice. I am a Writer. That’s right, with a capital W. Some people are born to be doctors or lawyers or candlestick makers, and their paths are laid out in front of them as clear as crystal. Mine was to. But here is the difference between theirs and mine; doctors and lawyers have paths that are socially acceptable and profitable. Those of us who have to write or go insane (or both simultaneously), there is not a whole lot of profit to be had. And it is not all that socially acceptable, either. Think about it. When you ask someone what they do, what pops in your head when they say, “O, I am a writer.” Same thing you think when you realize the person you are talking to is an underemployed 29 year old who still lives with her parents.

Let's try this again

So, yeah I am back...hopefully for good. Rather than to suppliment the following post with the bad and the ugly, I'll do just a quick little update.

Like alot of other Americans, I am currently unemplyed. Yup, a teacher with a masters is currently unemployed. And I just turned 29. So I am 29, unemployed, and living at my parents house. Yeah, life is just...peachy.

Actually, life is peachy as of late. Having nearly everything material either taken away or locked away in storage has made me really more greatful for the things that no one take away. I have wonderful parents who let me back into their home after two nears being very happy empty nesters. My fiance has been my rock and my support and truly, my everything. I am more lucky that the average person to have him.

Also, I am taking this time to really, really examine my life. I loved my two years teaching, and I love the profession. But, until I am regired, I am looking at another source of revenue. I have been a writer since I could reach my Grandma's typewriter. I am sure those first "stories" were nonsense, but if childhood play is any indication of what you are suppose to be, then the signs don't get much clearer than that. I can only hope that you will come with me on the journey.

And now I am back....again.

If there is anyone still out there waiting for my next post, here it is. Although I am not one for excuses, I am going to take this opportunity to catch you up on the good, the bad, and the ugly things that have been dominating my life since September.

The Good

The first day of Christmas break, The Boyfriend took me on a daytrip to one of my most favorite spots in the world; St. Augustine. There, atop the Castillo de San Marcos, he informed that, as his princess, I "deserve a castle on a day like today." In the split second before he got down on one knee, I honestly thought he was talking about the weather. It would be goood of me to be able to retell the (I'm sure) prolific speech he gave as he was on that knee for what felt like two, maybe three hours before he slipped the ring on, but I was too busy listening to the sound of my heart beat in my ears and trying to remember to breathe so I wouldn't pass out or have a seizure or just plain die before I could say yes.

Since then, I have been able to recieve a generic marriage prep packet that we have been working our way through. The coolest part is that we decided to never be at home when we work on it. So we do things like go to Downtown Disney and windowshop.

I would like to go into detail abot self-planning the wedding, but it is kind of typical stuff that is actually quite boring. If you have a topic that you would like me to get to in the future, let me know.

The Bad and the Ugly will come as I try to make this blog-thing a regular Saturday morning activity.