There were low points. Can you say strep three times?

How about having the tonsils yanked?

There were amazing highs, flying to New York City and back in a day. Spending three days in New Orleans for Jazz Fest.

Nashville, Asheville, Minnesota, too.

Blissdom, TypeA, CREATESouth, I don’t know that I could have been any busier.

But I was.

In April of 2009, just after CREATESouth I told Dan Conover, that it would be the year of the book, but then Ivy hit bottom and took her leave. She’s 10 months clean and that is worth more than anything, but as her world crumbled. I set the book idea aside, I was just going to dig in and try to make Home Ec 101 work or find out if it was time to let go.

Just before I threw in the towel, I received an email, the one I thought was a scam, only it wasn’t.

Now the book is done, it’s all in my editor’s hands. All I can do is wait. I’ve closed the chapter on writing a book, as well as another year. I have no idea what’s in store, but I can’t wait to see.

There are a few things that immediately turn me off of any website:

1. Bug-eyed cartoon women – I find them infantalyzing and as I often have a hard enough time being taken seriously. It may be irrational, so be it. Don’t worry if this works for you, there are plenty of people out there who find the drawings cute and endearing. You can’t please everyone.
2. Auto-play music or video. ‘Nuff Said.
3. Sparkles, unless they are ironic sparkles.
4. Content comprised solely of useless memes that require one word answers or no effort.
   Participation in memes doesn’t bother me, it just annoys me when there is never any original content. (For the record I love memes where people show off projects, so I’m biased in that regard).
5. People who take themselves too seriously.
   Yes, yes, I’m a hypocrite. Noted.
6. Blogs that only exist to talk about rebating and couponing. This one is another it’s not you, it’s me.
7. Slow page loads (I can say that now that I fixed my own. Thanks Jared.

Now #getoffmylawn unless you have a few peeves of your own.

Also, thank you  Malia for the inspiration, not for being guilty of the offenses.

That said, I sit down to start officially working through the editing on Monday.

I gave a presentation at the Charleston County Library on Thursday, the turnout was light, but I think it went well. The people seemed to have a lot of questions and I believe some of them walked away with useful information.

Other than that, it’s business as usual here.  Busy.

Here is the video from the boys’ violin recital.

Home Ec has had over 1 million unique visits according to Google Analytics. Sure it’s been bumpy, but the general trend looks good to me. I’m hanging on.

4 chapters to go.

Heidi knows I’ve been struggling and sent me this TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert. Different tiers, but the same concept. Tonight I’m going to bed early and tomorrow. I’ll show up.

Crazy, but normal.

I’ll start back to the gym on Monday with walking and light weights and re-start the Couch to 5k program the next week.

Ever since then, before every major milestone I am plagued with dreams of having to go back and retake my senior year.

The end of the book is in sight, just a few more chapters and I’ll be working on rewrites and edits. Naturally I am spending my nights trying to find my locker, trying to make the kids behave as I take notes, and wondering why we look so old.

When I was a little girl, I used to think that becoming an adult meant the voice in my head would change. I must have read too many coming of age novels, where the phenomenon was stark, always a before and an after. I assumed the essence would change.

Sure the voice is a little wiser, can grok bigger concepts, and has a little more patience and courage, but the old one lurks just underneath.

There have been things in life people have told me would hurt and they did, but it was never as much as anyone said. Childbirth, yeah that sucked but not quite to the level people talked it up. The after pains post Ellie were miserable, but even then. . .

The tonsillectomy?

Crap.

Great big painful buckets of crap.

The doctor told Tim that my tonsils were a lot bigger than they appeared during the first examination. When I’m brave enough to open my mouth and look in the mirror it’s gross and scary.

But.

I can breathe through my nose better than I’ve been able to in years and I kind of hope after I’m all healed up that maybe I won’t snore (as much).

I haven’t had food since last Thursday night. I miss food. I think fondly of food, I daydream about cooking and eating.

But.

Would I even think of taking a single bite of anything today, even six days later? Not on your life.

I’m managing to drink Ensure, but that’s as thick as I can handle and I’m sick of chicken and I’m sick of sweet. I don’t understand why I’m daydreaming about stuffing, but I am.

And grouchy? I’ve been taking crabby to new levels.

On the upside, today is the first day that the pain medicine does more than take the edge off. I have made progress on the book, not as much as I hoped, but progress is progress and as of today or tomorrow I should be done with the last of the drier subjects. There is a reason not many comedians make their living on dry wall repair.

I kind of have this fantasy that tonight, I’ll be able to actually lie down and sleep. I’ve spent the last few nights dozing through episodes of Bones. Why? Because it takes my mind off of dreading the next swallow.

The telling thing? I’d go through it again if it will prevent damage to my joints. Here’s to no more strep and to no more over-reactions to strep.