Year End Review

The last six months have been stressful. Who am I kidding? This has been a hard year here. The first year of marriage is difficult. I don't care what anyone says. Two people trying to maneuver how to live in the same space merging two different styles of life. Then factor in 3 more people on top of it. 2 of which are teenagers.  We were a well oiled machine. For ten years, we'd been doing things a certain way. Enter Big Man with a different pace and philosophy and all of us looking at him as if he were mad because he didn't just instinctively know he was doing everything all wrong. Trust me, teenagers think they have the right to express EVERY THING they think. There is noooooo filter whatsoever. Balancing that with school closings and building a new one (which essentially is a lot like blending a family). New jobs. No jobs. Attempting to put a salon in your house because that works better for the new school which demands a lot of time. Re-balancing your budget to squeeze out tuition. Car repairs. Health issues. Re-balancing budget to account for food needs for health issues. House issues. Communication issues. Lily moving home. Lily moving back to her dad's. Impending deployment. One brother in Afghanistan. One brother leaving for Afghanistan. Election. New Friends. Old Friends. Family Politics. Materialism. Consumerism. New church. New dog. Holidays. *phew*  Reading back over all that it's no wonder we've been in a state of mania. That's a lot period, but that's definitely a lot for one year. 

This is so much of why I stopped writing. I just couldn't balance one more thing on my plate. I was so full I was already regurgitating things back up. It sucks because in so many ways this helps me to process what's in my head. I started this blog during my Maybe Cancer scare almost 4 years ago. It was a way to take my desire to publish and put it in my own hands. Even if it was 'just a blog', it was my words on a screen for other people to read. I erased the majority of those years when I met Big Man. I didn't want to have a place that I didn't want him to read, but I didn't want him to read my history. I wanted to tell him the things that had happened to me at the time I was ready to share it. I'm not ready to stop writing. It doesn't define me like it use to. But then nothing that use to define me does anymore. Except the momma bit. That's jumped into the forefront even more so. Mainly because I finally get to be the momma I'd longed to be. The Stay-at-Home Momma. Even hair doesn't appeal to me like it use to. It's nice to have a trade and I'm considering going into a salon to offset tuition and we need a new van, but really I'm just content to keep my house running for my loves and cook and make concoctions and find natural ways of doing things. 

I'm not ready to give up my space. My writing place. Even if only for me. Except all writers write with the intent of having another read their words. I guess we'll see. Maybe this year will be slower and year two will be settled in. Maybe I can a recipe or two. List a place to order my salves and balms. A couple of hair how-tos for curly girls. Stories. Memories. The areas God is tenderizing in my heart. Book Reviews. My day to day. There it is. My few minutes at the computer in a quiet house. 

Kisses to Your Face~

Rach

Aaaannnnd GO!

OH.MY.GOODNESS!!

So here's the low down on why it's been almost a MONTH since we've visited. *Deeeep Breath*

Big Man left Lowe's and is now working as the Property Leasing Manager for Realty Wealth Advisers. It's a start up and they actually have offices now (which is pretty kick butt) only he takes his laptop with him to the office and various housing sites all day. This leaves me in a bit of a technological lurch seeing as how Lizzie, my puter, took a nose dive several months back. We weren't in any hurry to get her repaired (thought it was a battery thing but I suspect a wire connection issue from the keyboard to the screen) since we had B's. So when he started taking his laptop to work Lizzie jumped to the front of the Must Fix List. Except....

The bulb blew out in the TV the other day. I'm not too terribly concerned with this. I couldn't care less about not having a television. No ugly news. No video games. No incessant babble in the background. SA-WEEET! However, the rest of Clan Maxwell is not as joyous as I am and I fear Lizzie is getting pushed to the back in order to have the Boob Tube back in business. Theeeeen....

Two days ago, B went to open the door to his truck and the handle was wonky and wouldn't open. He crawled through and did that for a day, but come on. If your real estate guy pulled up and had to Dukes of Hazzard it in and out of a ForeRunner would you be impressed? Hmmmmm....actually, maybe I would...most likely I'd make fun of him. It's horrid, but honest. So off to Buck's Automotive I took Becs (yes, and again, I name every single thing we own...that I like) to see what was amiss. $50 has her opening until the $495 part could be ordered...or found cheaper from a junk yard!!

Not to be outdone, Ruthie (ma van) has a few issues all her own that will no longer be ignored. SO. Lizzie is now at the bottom of a long heap of crap that has to come first. Which means I will be posting few and far between as the technology will be on the northside of Indianapolis for the majority of the day.

This is super sucky since I have tons and loads to yak about. The school we went rogue and formed. Emma's attempt to get to see the British Isles this summer. The salon I've set up in the house. The social experiment we are currently undertaking since Emma went (and I quote B on this) "shit stupid" last weekend and told me I had plenty of time since I was 'home all day'. So for the time being Emma has to do MY job and I have to do the dishes...her one chore. Should be interesting. I've already learned something...that I like my "job". Not the hair bit, although I do enjoy that so much I can't really call it a job, but the momma business. The picking up and cooking and all the things that come with it. I'm a bit lost this week. I'm glad I've had hair stuff to keep me occupied. I've finished a book. I'm off to clean my Catch-All Room (aka our bedroom) today.

Anyways, I missed being on this space. Missed the steady click of the keys as my thoughts slide into place on the page. Miss my outlet. Miss comments (shameless hint)

Kisses to your faces, Babies~

Rach