So for this upcoming year, after barely getting out of 2023 with my sanity intact, I just need a little magic. That’s all. A small request, right? Magic and miracles. I need the universe in my corner because the past few years, the universe and I have been in opposite corners duking it out.

So anyway, without getting bogged down by resolutions and goals and all of that nonsense, here’s what I’m looking forward to in 2024…

Text in image: More books. More beach. More long walks. More long runs. More creating. More coffee. More laughter. More dreaming. More serenity. More friendship. More focus. More travel. More sunsets. More sunrises. More learning. More Melbourne. More glimmers. More magic. Hello, 2024.

The other day I went to a beaded jewelry workshop hosted by Ochre Ceramics - a ceramic maker and jewelry artist based in Byron Shire. Artist/maker, Lauren, set up a beautiful spread of food and wine, as well as a table filled with beautiful ceramic beads, pearls, metal accent beads and seed beads.

I don’t often use seed beads, but I found them to be really fun to work with and I liked the simplicity of the designs I ended up with. The sheer volume of colors available in seed beads makes them an exciting design option for me.

For my necklace, I started with a color palette and then just started stringing beads - bit haphazardly in the details but with an overall pattern in mind for adding the larger aqua ceramic beads and pearls. Beading like this almost gets me into a meditative state. I should probably do this more frequently.

And while I failed to actually get pictures, the venue for this was wonderful. It took place at Abbottsford Convent which is an arts and cultural precinct in the Abbottsford suburb of Melbourne. There are lots of green spaces, food vendors and restaurants, as well as maker spaces and markets. Definitely a place worth visiting and spending a sunny afternoon if you’re ever in Melbourne.

So here we are. I’ve been in Melbourne a little over a month and so far have managed to do several very boring things like get an Australian phone number, open an Aussie bank account, find a permanent rental home (with beach views in a beach block!), and purchase a car.

By some crazy manner of serendipity, the car is the exact same car I had in the States right down to the (rare) color and it happened to be arriving at the dealership just as I was moving, and my phone number has the same assortment of numbers and several in the same sequence as my US number despite being completely randomly selected.

Despite it all still feeling like a very vivid dream, all signs point to this as meant to be.

I’ve been settling in well (although, there are still a few more trips back to the US to get everything completely settled), and the house we’ve landed in for our first home in Melbourne reminds me of a combination of the apartments D and I lived in back when we first were together, as well as the first home we had in Charleston which was also B’s first home. I kind of love it as we hit “reset” on our entire life.

Although, I am looking forward to finding our permanent-permanent place that can be my new favorite house after leaving my dream home in Charleston. I’m hoping to find a lovely terraced city house (white, of course, because I love white houses) with just enough backyard for a patio, a bit of grass and plunge pool, and a front yard with a gate, another bit of grass, and small porch we can decorate for the holidays. We’re a bit of a ways out from that right now, though, so this place will do just fine in the transition.

As I leave Charleston behind and look ahead to Melbourne, I’m not just closing a chapter here. There is so much changing in my life right now that I’m finishing an entire novel. But I’m ready for Vol. 2.

And to kick it all off, here are some photos of my first month as a resident of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

Getting out and getting moving looked a little different for me as well since I had a health thing that kept me from running (see: Trauma 4 in the Year of Ongoing Trauma). But, I also discovered that I love walking, too. I’ve walked somewhere between 3 and 8 miles most days. And when I was cleared to run again and finally got up the nerve to do so (months later), I was surprised by how much fitness I maintained.

But really - the creative stuff is what keeps me going and keeps my brain from going completely haywire.

One area I’ve gotten back into after just years of sketching, ideation, and sporadic making is jewelry design. And oh how I love it!

The move has put a bit of a pause on this as my jewelry design and making supplies are still Stateside, but that’s not stopping me from starting a collection here while those get packed up and shipped across the Pacific. But here are a few snapshots of recent work (pre-move), including a bunch of necklaces for kids (last few photos).

First of all: check, check, check. Is this thing on? It’s been a minute, right? I’m fairly certain no one but me is hanging around this blog anymore, but here I am. So anyway…

After a decade of glorious Lowcountry living, our family is saying goodbye to this coastal city we’ve come to call home. And what can I say about leaving the first place I’ve lived that ever truly felt like home? I’ve been hit with endless waves of nostalgia as I say goodbye to this gorgeous, colorful, vibrant place. So much life happened here - good things, bad things, in-between things, unexpected things. There is no way I can even begin to capture it all, but here are a few of the ups and downs from the past decade:

• My son was born here

• My career took off while living here (and enabled this move to Australia)

• We suffered through a pandemic and all of its accompanying traumas

• We fostered (and adopted, and lost) some very special hounds

• I reconnected with art and earned a certificate in illustration

• I started designing jewelry again

• I ran a whole slew of races

• I suffered the scariest health situation of my life when my retina detached

But Charleston. Oh, Charleston! It felt like home the minute I set foot in this city, and it will always feel like home to me, no matter how far I go away from it - even to the other side of the world to Melbourne, Australia.

There are so very many things I’ll miss about this place: the city, the beaches, the food, the oysters (although Australian oysters are on point), my kid’s school, our neighborhood and all of its little independent shops and restaurants (and the neighborhood Costco - peak suburbia unlocked).

But…I can’t cover them all, so here are some highlights from the past decade of things I’ll miss:

THE LOWCOUNTRY SCENERY + THE VIBRANT DOWNTOWN

This scenery - both in nature and the uniquely special downtown area of Charleston - really speaks for itself. These views will always tug at my heartstrings. The peninsula’s mix of history, stunning architecture, greenery, and a near-Caribbean, tropical vibe make it hands-down one of my favorite cities in the world, and I’m so lucky to have called it home.

And I’ll miss the warm, salty smell of the air, occasionally mixed with pluff mud, but that always signaled “home” to me when I stepped out of the Charleston Airport after a trip. There is no other place on earth like the Lowcountry.

THE SOUTH CAROLINA AQUARIUM

Our family has loved visiting the aquarium over the years, and going to some of their special events like Aquarium Aglow and Sealife Under the Starlight. It’s a small but mighty aquarium that does a lot of rehab and rescue work for sea turtles and other sea life, and I’ve thoroughly loved visiting it regularly.

THE RACES AND RUNNING COMMUNITY

While I haven’t run a ton of races (or…any) in the past few years because of well…life, I do love all of the races and the running community here. There are several races I’ve run more than once, and that have become traditions for me, including the Charleston Half Marathon, the Turkey Day Run, and the Reindeer Run.

OUR AMAZING HOUSE (and community)

Our house has been my dream house. I don’t know if I’ll ever live in a home I’ve loved as much as this one, although I hope to! It has everything I ever wanted - a pool, a just-the-right-size yard, a space for an art room, a separate office space, a double front porch, and lots of living areas and little nooks for curling up and reading or relaxing.

I’ve loved coming home to this place. It was a haven during Covid and the place where I rediscovered my artistic spark, and I’m sure having that dedicated art space helped since I was able to just keep my supplies out and available at all times. Decorating this house for the holidays has also been so fun - trees in every room!

And in addition to loving the house and the general community feeling, I’ve also really enjoyed all of the shops and restaurants that opened recently within biking and walking distance, and my son’s wonderful elementary school.

Holidays like Halloween and Christmas feel extra special here as the whole community comes out with amazing Halloween decorations and streets are absolutely flooded with kids trick or treating; and on Christmas Eve, the community puts out sandbag candles throughout the entire neighborhood and everyone rides around on their golf carts, taking in the sights. It is truly a special place to live.

While I know things will be totally different in our new city, I’m hoping to find a similar “village” feel in our new city, and eventually, a house I love as much as this one.

CAROLINA COONHOUND RESCUE

I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out this wonderful rescue where we volunteered as fosters and from where we also adopted Ruby, Dolly, and Ziggy.

I love this organization and I wish I’d have gotten even more involved with them during our time in Charleston. It’s one of the few regrets I’m leaving Charleston with. When we lived in Charlotte, we were deeply involved with a rescue there, and it was so rewarding. But even with our limited involvement with CCR, I got to meet some wonderful people who love beagles and houndies as much as I do. And I welcomed some amazing dogs into my life, thanks to this rescue.

OYSTER ROASTS

I love oysters. Love. Can eat my weight in them. And I love oyster roasts. I haven’t been able to determine if they are thing in Australia (I don’t think they are?), and wow, I’m going to miss them. We used to go to Saturday oyster roasts at a local restaurant and take our dogs there until that restaurant (sadly) closed. But those were always one of our favorite weekend activities. I mean, who wouldn’t love all-you-can-eat oyster buckets for just $25/person?

Many times in Charleston, oyster roasts are paired up as fundraisers for worthy causes and also have silent auctions with items from local businesses, vendors, and designers, making them even better.

Fittingly, our last oyster roast in Charleston was the annual Carolina Coonhound fundraiser.

And there are a bunch of other things and places I’ll miss that have come to be part of our lives here like our dogs’ vet, Park West Vet, the amazing restaurant scene here, the vibrant design/maker community and art markets, trivia nights, boating, and so many other things.

And so, as I leave this beautiful, coastal city that felt like home immediately upon arrival and that will always hold a very special place in my heart, I’m excited for the next phase of this journey, especially since the feeling I get from Melbourne is similar to the one I got from Charleston when I arrived. It feels like home. And I’m going from one wonderful, coastal city to another - I will never not be coastal, that much is certain. We found the most wonderful area of Melbourne we want to live and I’m looking forward to establishing a new life there.

So Charleston, thanks so much for the decade of memories - far, far too many to capture in a single blog post. I’ll forever cherish the time I spent there, and will always think of it fondly and as a place I truly called home.

On a macro level, it felt nearly impossible and entirely unbelievable that what was happening was actually reality.

On a personal level, while dealing with the intense mental load of 2020 - pandemic, crisis schooling, civil unrest, natural disasters, democracy holding on by a thread, insane news cycle, lunatic in the White House - I still managed to pull off one of my most personally successful years yet. Which sounds absolutely nuts when looking back on the dumpster fire that was 2020.

That’s not to say that my personal life was all sunshine and happiness. It wasn’t (see: crisis schooling a kindergartner). In addition to all things pandemic related, I book-ended this year with some not so fun experiences. I lost my precious Willow Rose the first week of March, which was the week before things went completely haywire with COVID here. And I feel like I got so caught up in COVID stress that I didn’t have time to properly grieve this girl. But I miss her every day, every minute. She was a special one.

Then I wrapped up my year with a completely ridiculous (but totally on-brand for 2020) injury: I gave myself a moderate to severe quad contusion by running into a furniture corner in my house with impressive but inexplicable force. I couldn’t walk or stand for two days, and three weeks later, I’m finally regaining range of motion and can do yoga, barre, and ride bike, but still can’t run.

At beginning of 2020, before I knew what an absolute train wreck the year would be, I created a vision board. My theme for 2020 was Radiate, which means to “emit rays from a central point,” and my ways of being/words for the year were very much related to digging in and focusing on specific goals without distraction - ignited, rooted, steadfast, spirited, connected.

Little did I know, just how “radiate” would manifest itself this year in a very literal sense. Being home nearly 24/7 while a pandemic raged (and continues to rage) outside definitely took my theme and ways of being to the next level.

Despite some definite low points (see earlier in this post) and definite downers, like no travel, I feel good about the things I accomplished in 2020. While I ended up pivoting on some of my goals, partly because of the pandemic and partly for other career or personal reasons, I made progress on others.

My Instagram top nine posts of 2020 captured my year well - lots of art, my sweet beagle Willow, our new house, and beach life. With the exception of losing Willow, these were the good things that happened in 2020 and largely in line with the goals I set out for myself at the start of the year.

A few highlights from 2020 and things that got me through it without totally losing my mind:

• We moved into our new house and started making it feel like home.

• I reconnected with art and learned some new techniques and mediums (to be continued in 2021). I filled more sketchbooks and made more messes this year than I have in the past 5 years combined.

• I love my job! As busy and crazy as it was, my first year at this job was a smashing success, and I’m lucky to work for a company and in an industry that still thrived despite the world around it.

• My son found his inner artist (and he’s quite talented, so I’ve been trying to help him learn).

• We fostered several dogs who have gone on to find forever homes, including one who found his home with us - Ziggy!

• My Mirror. Aside from the Let’s Make Art subscription box and the various classes and workshops I purchased this year, the Mirror was hands-down the best purchase of 2020. I still don’t feel comfortable going to the yoga studio and as much as I miss it, the Mirror has been awesome. I can tailor the workout to me and how I feel that day based on length and difficulty, pick from all kinds of workouts from yoga to dance to weights to bootcamp and everything in between. Plus I’m not tied to a set schedule, which is key for my crazy days.

While I have a small amount of hope for 2021, I also know all the craziness going on doesn’t respect our constructs of calendars, so I’m bracing myself to ride some waves in 2021 and I’m building on my accomplishments from 2020.

One of my favorite things about 2020 was that I finally picked up a paintbrush and got over my fear of watercolor. I’ve been having a blast with tutorials from Let’s Make Art, Dear Ann, and Emma Block. I finally have built up some confidence in this previously intimidating medium.

At work we have this silly tradition of posting Out of Office Otters when we’re going to be out of the office (because who doesn’t need more otters in their life?) - stay with me, this is related to my watercolor journey. For holiday break 2020, I used a painting I did a while back using a Let’s Make Art tutorial and added my holiday message digitally.

I give you…Happy Otterdays!

Wishing you happy holidays (and happy otterdays) and a healthy, sane 2021.

In addition to starting my journey in watercolor and gouache and learning the technical aspects of working with those mediums, I also started a formal (online) certificate program in illustration and print design. I’m hoping at some point to get a second graduate degree in illustration (because I seriously love formal learning environments), I but for now, a low pressure, easy-to-maintain (but well paced) certificate program is the way to go.

This semester I took drawing and Photoshop courses. While the drawing course was extremely technical and almost felt like a drafting class at times and I enjoyed it, I don’t feel like many of the pieces are portfolio worthy, or even worth sharing at all because they are kind of bland, technical pieces. But the Photoshop course allowed me to dust off some really rusty PS skills, refresh my creativity, and design some cool things.

The course gave us specific concepts to work within along with creative briefs so it wasn’t quite as open-ended as when I was working on my graduate degree, but it also helped me focus on improving digital art skills.

I included three of my favorite pieces from the semester.

1. Charleston Travel Poster - After a bunch of revisions, I’m mostly happy with this with the exception of the shell on the beach. I’d like to get a picture of the Folly Beach Boat and put it there instead.

2. The Little Prince book cover - I’m most pleased with this one overall. I used a combination of analog (watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and Stickles glitter glue) for the background and digital art to create the rest.

3. Multiplicity “Creeping Dinosaur, Skipping Unicorn” - My son was also my muse and the “prince” in the image. He was my muse for my multiplicity project as well. In a future revision, I’d like to take this on into Procreate and add some cool, kid-like doodles to it (and I’d remove the rain effect for that to make it brighter/happier).

Without question, design and art is where I need to be (and I’m so, so, so happy to be in this program and to have a job in the product and visual design field). Between this class and some of the things my team and I worked on at work this past year, I’m feeling like the creative beast has finally been reawakened and I feel like I’m bursting with ideas. Maybe I’ll also get this blog back in gear at some point, too.

So over the weekend, we had our own family tie-dye party. I haven’t tie-dyed anything since the 90s, so I wasn’t sure how this would all go, but I’m pretty proud of our results. We each had two shirts each and B chose red, white, and blue for one of his, and rainbow swirl for another. I did a bit of coral/pink ombre on one of mine and a mix of green, blue, and purple on the other. D chose black and blue and then a smattering of other colors.

Before dyeing, B and I decided what patterns we wanted our shirts to be and I tied them all up with rubber bands. Then we got to work with our dye (B did his own!).

For our dye, we used Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye Kit for our shirts and it was so easy. The one step process is key, avoiding an extra step of soaking in a soda ash mixture. It was still really, really messy (we may have gotten a bit of dye on places that were not our shirts), but easy. I think I’m hooked on tie-dye now. Expect more in the near(ish) future.

This certainly was not the year I expected, but some good things happened. The big one? I got a new job, which has been the catalyst for reigniting the visual design and art fire under my butt, allowing me to refocus on things I really love while weeding out the things I don’t. Technically I started that job in December, but didn’t really get going with it until January because of the holidays and all that.

I’ve spent a long time in my career dealing with areas that I have absolutely no interest in continuing and sometimes those things were even the main focus of my work. While many of those things are still part of the orbit of what I do, I no longer have to focus on them. It’s so refreshing, and it’s been the exact catalyst I needed.

After years of thinking about it and wishing I had time or whatever, I finally - finally! - started embracing art everyday. Right now, that’s mostly watercolor. I’ve long been fascinated, but also intimidated by watercolor.

Now that I’ve finally gotten started (isn’t that often the hardest part?), I’m on a roll. I subscribed to the Let’s Make Art Watercolor Box, enrolled in The Watercolor Summit 1.0, picked up a few books with some watercolor tutorials, and have just been exploring with various artists and teaching styles.

The work I’ve produced so far certainly isn’t “sellable.” There’s no cohesive theme, style, or vision. Instead it’s an exploration of styles and ideas. It’s learning. It’s progress.

And watercolor is just the beginning. I’m starting a college-level certificate program in illustration this fall so I’ll be immersing myself in art - both analog and digital. I also signed up for a monthly subscription to Brit & Co’s classes - so many things to I want to learn and I finally have the creative space in my head to do it.

The new job was the kickstart I needed to get me into gear to completely refocus everything. While work certainly isn’t life, it definitely affects life and the lens by which you view it. It can also drain energy or ignite energy, and I’m so, so, so thankful to have found a job and a company that ignite my artistic energy.

The other fun thing that happened this year — our new house with an art room. I’ve always wanted a room dedicated to art and craftiness (and hopefully soon, music, because I want to get my piano from my mom’s house and get it in here). The room is still a work-in-progress and we desperately need some blinds, but it’s here and I use it every day.

There are many benefits to working from home and wearing not-real pants is one of them, but PJs all day, every day is also…meh. I’ve been working from home for 5-6 years, so I feel like I’ve got this down. I live in comfortable clothes that are neither PJs nor “real” pants, but I do tend to pile on the jewelry. Because why not?

And here are a few links to find similar jewelry to what I’m wearing —

BR Design Co.
Twine & Twig
Bauble Bar

My own designs — If you’re interested, please hit me up and I can make something for you. I’m still (endlessly, forever) trying to launch an actual jewelry business, but life keeps getting in the way. Until then, reach out and let’s get you some one-of-a-kind, handmade jewelry. Below is a bit of my recent work.

We’re finally in our new house and we managed to do it with barely any contact with the outside world. We did most of this move ourselves over the course of several days (not recommended), then had movers move the bigger furniture we couldn’t get. My husband stayed far away, but on premises while they loaded the truck, and I stayed with our son and the dogs at the new house while they packed the old house and then took the gang to on a two hour car ride around the neighborhoods in our area while waiting for them to unload at the new house. That was fun…two dogs got carsick and B started screaming about being hungry and ready to go home.

The movers did have a few snafus that had me pretty annoyed — forgot masks, had to get some, and came with way too many people (7 instead of 2-3), but I never had any contact with them and my husband only had contact from a distance, and the move took about 4 hours. This isn’t ideal, but we had to get ourselves moved somehow.

Then we Lysoled everything, and my husband is using a separate bathroom and sleeping in a different room for the next two weeks just to take extra precautions.

Overall, this move was…nuts. I’ve moved a lot — in my 20s I moved, on average, once every 9 months and in my 30s, I moved 6 times. So yeah…lots of moving. This move was far and away the most crazy, largely because of the pandemic. It would have been pretty normal otherwise. I’m hoping to move much less in my 40s.

It’s safe to say, I’m exhausted. But we’re done. At last. And I’m typing this from the table in our new art/craft/homeschool room that is completely separate from our dining space! Yes!

I’m so excited about this new house. Not only does it feel more like a “city house” with its layout, it’s also in a neighborhood with lots of connectivity and walkability to major amenities (you know, when we can use those again), including the library, schools, grocery stores and other shops, doctors/vets, and my yoga studio!

What really drew me to this house was that the layout reminds me of my two favorite past residences of ours: one was an apartment in downtown Lancaster, Pa., and the other is our house in Lancaster. If you come in the back door to the kitchen, it’s like our awesome apartment from when we first moved to Lancaster. If you walk in the front door, it’s like our house that we still own up in PA (and will someday use again for vacations). It’s just quite a bit bigger than either of those places with room for working from home for both of us and space for our dogs and son.

In summary —
Moving during a pandemic: 0 out of 5 stars, definitely would not recommend to a friend.

But I’m thankful we’re in, had minimal contact, and can get back to just staying the f*ck home.

That said, if I read one more article, come across one more ad, or see one more Instagram post about how I should be using this time to be my best self, pick up a new hobby, or accomplish all the things, I’m going to scream.

Maybe that can work for some people, but for many of us, it’s tone deaf and depressing. Right now, in addition to the emotional load of all of this craziness, we are also dealing with new, and quite possibly insane, “normals.”

Side note because it has to be said in this day and age: this does not mean I’m not grateful for having a job, a home, etc…but it also is okay to experience stress and grief and anger and all of those gross feelings. Because it’s gross right now. And you can feel gross and grateful at the same time because you can experience more than one emotion simultaneously. And that’s okay!

And admittedly, two things I am happy to be doing more of, though, are art with my son and running. But these things are less about productivity and more about therapy and maintaining some semblance of a sound mind.

We do an art project almost everyday. They’re easy ones - watercolors and crayons, mostly, because I don’t have the energy or time to plan for more complex ones with tons of supplies (although, we’re also loving premade kits). But they’re fun and he’s learning how to draw all kinds of things (he’s currently loving crabs).

And of course, running. More days, more miles. I doubled my February miles in March. I’m guessing April will see another increase. It’s truly a sanity saver.

But still…there is nuttery. Here is what I’m in the midst of:

• A very busy and mentally taxing full-time job that I’m also still pretty new to (started in late December, but didn’t really fully on board until January because of the holidays) and that has ramped up to be even busier right now.

• Moving. Seriously this is probably the worst time ever for moving, but it’s finally happening months after I anticipated.

• The death of a loved one. Our sweet Willow Rose Beagle passed away the beginning of March, and truthfully, I haven’t even fully processed that yet. But I miss her and the gentle comfort she brought me (much like Meadow before her), especially now. There is a hole in my heart and in my life.

Just in case you weren’t keeping track there, I’m doing/have recently done/experienced three of the most stressful things you can do, all while a pandemic is happening. And I’m also “homeschooling” my kindergartner (consider those quotes to be air quotes there because this isn’t what homeschooling should look like, folks). Oh, and speaking of school, I’m taking a class myself right now as part of a certificate program in design ethnography. Like a graded, not-self-paced class where I have to write papers and do things. And if that weren’t enough, I’m also still mentoring up-and-coming UXers, although I have hit the pause button on building out any sort of business related to that for the time being. Because pandemic.

So if you’ll just excuse me for a second while I guzzle a bottle of wine and stop giving any f*cks about accomplishments and productivity. Getting through the day right now is an accomplishment.

And honestly, even if I didn’t have all of those things going on right now, I’d probably be spending a good chunk of my time plopped on the couch watching Grey’s Anatomy reruns. And that would be totally okay.

But other than that…there’s not much getting “accomplished.” And really, to anyone out there who needs to hear this…it’s not normal out there right now. It’s okay to just do what you can to get by. And don’t let anyone chastise you for feeling stressed or grieving or whatever it is you’re feeling.

While you’re at it, I highly recommend reading this article about productivity and why it’s okay to not be productive during a pandemic - Why You Should Ignore All That Coronavirus-Inspired Productivity Pressure

And also, because we all need a lightheartedness right now, please enjoy this public service announcement by Samuel L. Jackson:

Hang in there, friends!

(And stay the f*ck at home.)

That said, it’s still weirder then ever, and hard to not go completely stir crazy. Art and crafts have always been a refuge and sanity saver for me, and my love for subscription boxes and kits (and for stockpiling them) has finally proven to be worthwhile.

We’ve been doing all kinds of arts and crafts the past few weeks, and while I’m definitely not using this time to be my best self and accomplish all the things — unless that just means just getting through the day — I’m at least trying to get in some quality art time.

Here are a few kits I’m loving (and yes, we’re pretty into unicorns and dinosaurs at the moment):

We Craft Box Apron Maker Kit | Kid Made Modern Necklace Bundle | Kid Made Modern Paper Mache Bundle | Kiwi Crate Exploring Stars Box | Kiwi Crate Mechanical Dinosaur | Kiwi Crate Glowing Unicorn | Light-up Ship in a Bottle | Dino Models | Fuse Bead Narwhal and Mermaid Kit

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So for now, for today, my focus is on keeping things as normal as possible in these decidedly not normal times. But at the same time, I’m also trying to cut myself a break. My immediate instinct is to kick into high gear and do all the things and try to accomplish as much as possible, but that’s just crazy. And probably not healthy. We’re in unprecedented times.

That said, I’m still running because being outdoors is therapy (and apparently UV light kills the virus). Running and family bike rides are the only times I’ve left my house since Saturday, March 14. My yoga studio is starting live stream classes next week, so I’ll be able to keep up with that as well. Thank goodness for technology.

But in a lighthearted (and very relevant) Frozen 2 reference, “We’re calling this [running/biking] controlling what you can while things seem out of control.” Wisdom from a talking snowman. Who would have thought?

Like most kids, my son is home from school for at least the next few weeks, maybe longer. Everything is canceled. We made it through week one of homeschooling and I’ve experienced all the reasons why I knew being a stay-at-home mom wasn’t for me (also: pay all the teachers a billion dollars). But here we are. I’m working full-time from home while also being a stay-at-home mom/teacher. Yay?

Speaking of work, though, I’m grateful for a job that is staying relatively the same since I already work from home and am completely used to that. I also work in an industry (cybersecurity) that can actually flourish during a downturn, so I’m also grateful for that.

As for this blog, I’ll probably try to keep it updated, maybe post some of our activities, a few DIYs, some more light-hearted posts when possible. I don’t have a ton of extra time right now (see: full-time job + full-time SAHM), but sometimes I still need a creative outlet and a break from all of the craziness. Hang in there, friends, and stay safe!

I know lots of people tend to think January lasts for 4 months, but for me, it flew by. And if that’s any indication of how fast the rest of the year is going to go…yikes!

So here’s what’s been going on around here lately.

I started a new job in December and I love it! It’s exactly what I was looking for in my next career move and I’m so happy to have found it. Super smart team, solid product, supportive environment, lots and lots of room for growth, and never a dull moment. Sure, there are problems because I have yet to find utopia in the workplace, but this job has put me in a much better mindspace than I was the latter half of last year.

Our sweet Willow Rose is battling terminal cancer. I am so tired of my dogs getting cancer. This precious girl doesn’t deserve this, and I’m doing everything I can to spoil her, keep her happy and comfortable, and just love her as long as she’s here.

Running…oh, running. It seems like there it’s always 2 steps forward, 50 steps back. I had set out in the fall to train for the Charleston Half Marathon and it was going so well until I twisted and sprained my ankle out on the trails and it just completely derailed my training. Sigh. Anyway, I still run and I’m hovering around 12-15 miles per week, but am searching for a race to train for.

Yoga for life! I’ve been loving my local yoga studio and get there as often as I can, which still isn’t often enough, but I’m trying!

Art! Design! Jewelry! Sigh. Not a ton happened here in January. I tend to use January as a ramp up month and with starting a new job just before Christmas, it was also a major onboarding month, so a lot of my energy was taken up there (including with a work trip to California). But I did do a little bit of sketching with the new watercolors I got for Christmas. And now, I need to get it in gear since art/design is a huge part of my 2020 goals (and thereafter).

We’re moving! At least we’re moving as soon as our current house sells, so that will be soon I hope. We’re not going far…literally a mile down the road, but I’m so excited. We’ll have so many things within biking and walking distance (including the aforementioned yoga studio) and for daily activities, I won’t even need my car! Yay! This makes my heart so happy.

In the upcoming months, I’ve got work travel on the schedule, some classes, and hopefully staying consistent with all of those important daily(ish) activities: reading, running, yoga, and art.

Happy new year and happy new decade!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, but I thought I’d come back to recap (briefly) the decade that was and to say, “hey, I’m on a blogging break.” While I love this space, right now I feel like I need a hiatus to focus on other things, and to rethink the focus here.

I’ve been blogging in one form or another since 2005 or thereabouts, and while I’m not burned out on blogging (in general), I’m burned out on the personal blogging I’ve been doing. It’s not how it was when I first started and I quite frankly, don’t have the desire to keep up with how it’s changed.

Rest assured, it’s not that I don’t have things to say - I have lots of things. It’s just that this doesn’t seem like the right place for it right now. But I will come back here when the time is right and I’ve got my ideas realigned. And in the meantime, I’ll still post on my Into the Glimmer Instagram.

So about the last decade…

As I look back on the 2010s, I’m satisfied and happy. I experienced joy, heartbreak, grief, loss, gain, career ups and downs, and a whole bunch of other things. As a quick rundown here are some of the highlights (and lowlights) of what happen in the past 10 years:

• Got married

• Bought our first house (and became landlords - we still own the house)

• Moved out of Pennsylvania to Charlotte, NC

• Moved from Charlotte to Charleston, SC (finally living that beach life!)

• Gave homes to some of the best furbabies to ever live (and said goodbye to 3 of those furbabies as they crossed over to the Rainbow Bridge)

• Finished grad school

• Moved up the career ladder, and along the way slipped on some rungs with some not-so-fun experiences but also added some good jobs and good companies to my resume

• Became a mom

• Ran a marathon (and a bunch of other races), and embedded running in my life (hopefully for life)

• Discovered the joy of yoga and paddleboarding, and yoga on a paddleboard

• Launched a freelance/consulting business

• Reconnected with art and am helping instill a love of art in my son

• Volunteered with several animal rescue organizations, as well as fostered a few pups in need

• Became a mentor/career coach for current and aspiring professionals in my field

• Met some pretty fabulous people and grew my tribe

Closing out this decade, I have everything I wanted at the start of it, and more (which is pretty much the exact opposite of how I felt at the close of the last decade). I did almost everything I set out to do.

And now I’m starting 2020 with a new job at a company I’m really excited about and we’re getting ready to move into what I’ve called our “forever home.” I’ve also got new goals for my career and my personal life that I’m ready to tackle.

So in the words of one of my favorite songs…I’m ready for whatever comes next, in 2020 and beyond.

And with that, I’ll leave you with my 2020 vision board…

Of course, I don’t want every vacation to be there and I’m looking forward to hopefully taking B abroad sometime in the next year or so, but there’s nothing wrong with walking around in the Disney fantasy for a few days a couple times a year, either (and we’ll probably be heading back there later this year around the holidays, too).

This time, we stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort and went to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We like to spend our mornings at the resort and then head over to the parks for the afternoon/evening. So here’s our latest trip, in pictures…

Caribbean Beach Resort

The Pool

Around the resort

Old Port Royale

And some other randomness

It’s totally normal to like Disney jewelry and start collecting Disney Christmas ornaments for our tree in our upstairs loft, right? Right. (I have a thing for jewelry in general. I guess I'm a collector of that, too.)

Magic Kingdom

Epcot

And as always, pictures say it better than I ever could with words.