So much for being better at updates.

 Okay, okay. I know I said I'd try to be better at updates.

Here's the thing, though- I have been really busy building a new life. 

I do plan to try to blog weekly for my new professional website, so maybe that will prompt more attention to this personal blog as well.

For those keeping score at home, some highlights since August:

• We bought a house!  We closed on the house in Leland and have been busily putting it together since September. As of this writing, the (hopefully) last of the furnishings are in shipment to assemble in the next couple of weekends- a hall tree for coats, a sideboard for kitchen stuff, and a mirror for the entryway.  Once those are in place, all the furnishing for the house should be done. Then it'll just be a matter of getting the garage organized and getting a shed in the spring.

Where we live.

Where we hang out.

Where I play.

 

In the offices.... for our guests :)

• I went to NY! Rebecca got a well deserved award so I went to visit. I started with Andrea and Shaun, then went to Ithaca and spent time with friends, and Pami came so I stayed with Sarah... I am so so lucky to have so much love in my life.

• And, I started a new business- Sea Change Psychotherapy.  It's getting off to a decent start!

Nifty logo courtesy Jeremy Pate, freelancer.

• We (officially) got a daughter! Cam and Mik got married at the end of December. 💕

• We got a new dog.  Penny (Penelope Josephine) joined the family  in November after we got back from visiting the kids and Chris' family in Arkansas and Texas.

• And Andrew and Elda moved to NC so we have family here!

That's the Reader's Digest version of a lot of living since August.

Stay tuned for the next chapter: Condo Reno!

They say time flies when you're having fun! A host of random thoughts.

 I can't believe I haven't written in so long!  Time is funny here.

Here's a quick summary of all that has happened- the good and the bad:

• Chris went to Georgia for work for almost a week.
• We all went to Massachusetts for a week so I could go to class- and I got to see my friend Krista and my sister Keri and her husband Bob.
• We went to Ithaca for a couple of days and I got to spend time with a bunch more people I love.
• We were here for two ocean related tragedies- and witnessed one of them happen.
• The house has been getting closer and closer to completion and we've enjoyed just about weekly visits to watch the progress.
• We met our new doctor and he's about half my age (well, not quite, but almost).
• Tucker found some new friends at a new day care.
• The air conditioner in the living room died at the start of the hottest week so far... and it was out for four days before we were able to get the new one installed.
• We found a good contractor for our eventual condo remodel- see the point about the A/C.
• I've been working diligently to set up all the details of my new private practice.

I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting because, as I said, I haven't written in so long.

And, here are some things I'm learning in this new life phase:

• Learning how to NOT be busy is hard sometimes. And also, you can get better at it with practice.
• I do prefer heat to cold, but I also do like my A/C in the heat.
• There are not a lot of options for red couches.
• Walking on the beach makes people happy and friendly.
• We are tiny, tiny specks in the face of the vastness of the ocean and the way less powerful than the weather.
• I overthink things.
• Wilmington is known as Hollywood of the East or Willywood. 

And some things I'm eagerly anticipating:

• Well, of course, the house.
• Being unpacked- not the process, the end result.
• A whole floor of the house JUST for my sewing room.
• Exploring Wilmington... there is a LOT to explore, apparently!
• Hosting friends and family in our new place(s).
• A fenced yard for the dog.
• Meeting new people, adding new friends to my world.

I don't have a lot of energy for profundity but will try to be better at updates!

Living on Ocean Time

I haven't posted in a while. I would say I haven't had time but really, I have. So, no excuses.

We're here in NC now. Here's some recapping.

Everything so far has gone smoothly (knocking on wood here). The dumpster rental was perfect- if you need to do a clean out, I know a guy.  Rebecca was an absolute godsend for her help packing the POD. The POD transport and delivery was seamless, the movers we hired to unload to the storage unit were great (so we'll hire them for the next leg, to the house), and we're pretty much settled into the condo for the time being. 

We had lunch with our real estate agent (if you're looking to buy a house down here, I know a woman) and we went to see the house and it is UNDER WAY- the siding mostly up, the drywall mostly done! 

Pretty siding!

My new office!

Chris' new office!

Tucker and I approve of the kitchen and living room and entryway.

And this is where I'm gonna sew- complete with its own bathroom!

All the things are falling into place as we get closer- we'll be working on all the details of setting up utilities, buying furniture and appliances, etc etc etc soon

We have a doctor, Tucker has a vet, and we just scheduled a groomer and day care for when we're at the condo.

I'm getting my private practice up and running, too. Found a CPA, got an EIN, set up business banking, getting started with Headway, planning to get started with Alma later in the summer. Between my Life Stages clients and my NC clients, I expect to be back up to busy soon, but hopefully much LESS busy than I used to be.

In the meantime............

We're taking beach walks almost daily. We're sitting on the balcony, watching dolphins. I'm reading a lot. I'm snuggling with the dog. I'm sleeping in. This is most definitely what I signed up for. 

Still isn't feeling permanent yet- just like an extended vacation. I suppose once we move into the house that may change? Or maybe not- maybe life, from here on out, is going to feel more like vacation. I can't predict or script life moving forward, and that's perfectly okay. I've spent most of my life trying to script and predict, which sometimes works and sometimes not. I'm going to move forward trying to be like the river (going with the flow) and like the ocean (ebbing and flowing with the tides) and like the beach (having grit- like the sand, get it?). 

I do miss my friends, and am thinking about visits back and forth in the coming months. And it will be with a happier, hopefully healthier me- which is really the point of all of this change.

So today's theme is: Rolling with the Tide (sorry, 'Bama, not you- the ACTUAL tide).