Well, hello there! Much like myself, I can see that you all have gotten older, wiser, and…taller? that’s weird…in the last year. Welcome back to my blog which is, let’s be honest, only active during the month of November. Hey, the blogosphere is getting crowded and this is my ground-breaking approach to stand out so no judging, m’kay?
If you’re just now tuning in, here’s the sitch. November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo, for those in the know) and some genius also co-opted the same idea for bloggers and called it NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). Basically, that just means that if I take the challenge, I’m supposed to blog every day for the month of November. Now, to be fair, I don’t know if this is still a thing. But several years ago—5 years to be exact, can you believe it?—I decided to take the plunge and now it’s just a normal November activity.
Isn’t it funny how each year kind of has its own personality and identity? If I had to sum up the last year into one word it would definitely be bittersweet. Change is always just a touch bitter for me. In most cases, I think the cheese is fine without being moved and I don’t understand those that revel in the novelty of moving cheese. But guys, I think I’m growing. There’s been SO MUCH change over the last year that I feel more comfortable rolling the cheese around. Bring on the cheese wheels (preferably cheddar…stinky cheeses not welcome)! And personal growth is a sweet thing, something I wouldn’t trade for a life of complete and utter stability. Hence, the bittersweet.
Most people give their yearly updates in a Christmas letter. Just keeping it real – I’ve never been very good about sending those out. Now, I’ve come up with clever concepts (Candy Cane Chronicles, anyone??), but I hand made my Christmas cards one year and it totally sapped my willingness to try any sort of mass creative mailing on a yearly basis. Actually, now that we’re talking about Christmas, I should tell you that I rarely even decorate for my second favorite holiday.* I just say that so you know that I’m not frittering away my time doing something else Christmas-y instead of licking stamps and winging holiday cheer your way. So, let’s just kill two birds with one stone and consider this my annual state of the union, shall we? We shall. Mostly because I’m the boss of this blog.
This year brought a lot of transition at my job. The head honcho retired, a new honcho was hired (honcho is a funny word…and it makes me think of poncho, which makes me giggle), so in pretty much one fell swoop I got a new boss and a new boss’ boss. In the changeover, I had to say goodbye to colleagues that I respected…individuals that gave me an incredible wealth of knowledge from both their words and actions in my time with them. Almost simultaneously, new leadership and employees joined our ranks and I’ve loved the energy they bring to day-to-day tasks and meetings. I lost a marketing co-worker and friend, so my workload increased, but I’ve also been able to be a part of our initial manuscript acquisition meetings, which has been thrilling. And some of the books on our roster, I AM PSYCHED to share with everyone. They MIGHT even warrant an out of season blog post. (I know, I know. Insert gasp here.) I’m truly and completely #blessed to have a voice in what our company will be in the coming years. Now, there’s a thousand tiny moving pieces, which sometimes feel like death by paper cuts. But overall, my job is pretty awesome sauce (as my friend, Liz, would say) and I’m excited to see what the future brings.
My niece Kinsley was born this year and she is the absolute sweetest baby. The only bitter part is that no one has invented a transporter (c’mon, Apple!) and so I don’t get to see nearly enough of her or my other super-fantastic nieces. They all rock my face off and it’s so fun to see them grow up. Kids are funny, funny things. I wish I could be in their weird little brains.
I’m attending a new church these days and it’s so amazing to learn from my new church community. It’s exhilarating to know I’m where God has me for this next stage of my spiritual journey. Every time I think about that, I tear up. I miss seeing old church friends (old as in past, not old as in age) on a weekly basis and living life with them regularly. And fitting in to a new church home is definitely a marathon and not a sprint. But I’m claiming moving forward as a victory and I’m grateful for a God that never changes, never moves, and will always be there. No matter what. A God that unifies us as the universal church, no matter what building we meet in.
Colorado is still my home and now that I have Sophie Subaru, I’m ready to jump on into winter. Okay, more like cautiously ease into winter, but still! No more clakety-clak snow tires, which means that I’m losing a conversation piece. But I’ll take the all-wheel drive as a trade, no problem.
I can’t believe that I’ve been living on my own for two years now. I have to say that when I moved out here, I never would have thought that possible. Every day I come home and I’m not afraid to be here by myself. I love having a place that feels like me to welcome me home from my wanderings and, let’s face it, also the ability to leave a dish or dishes “soaking” in the sink without feeling guilty. And that personal growth, friends, is all God. Seriously.
OH, and this year I killed a BLACK WIDOW SPIDER. BY MYSELF (if you don’t count FaceTiming my Dad for moral support). AND I LIVED TO TELL THE TALE! Plus, I made a new friend with the guy from Home Depot that sold me some nice spider-killing sprays for future infiltrations, should there be any. I also left the smashed spider on the wall of my garage, just as a warning to would-be intruding arachnids.
I think those are pretty much the highlights! And, people, I have BIG PLANS for this NaBloPoMo. For the first time ever, there is a schedule and a method to my inevitable madness. We shall talk about Super Mario Bros., Gilmore Girls, and stellar stories from the Haddock archives. And there will be funny videos, lists galore, and recipes that will make you a super star at your next dinner party (thanks mostly to Pinterest, but I’m a sharer). So, let NaBloPoMo commence!
XO,
Amy
*My first favorite holiday, in case you were wondering, is St. Patrick’s Day. I blame my Mom’s last lamaze class which was on that day and she apparently consumed green punch of some sort (if I’m remembering the story right).
Amy's Colorado Adventures! 