My Life in Review this Year

Over the last year, my life has taken quite a turn. We moved. The girls started private school after six years of homeschooling. I went back to work. I'm hear to tell you, that's a lot for a girl like me, who enjoyed her life as it was. It's required a lot of dark chocolate to get me through.

If you've been reading my blog, then you know our new house, lovely as it is, demanded a complete overhaul. It was built in the early 80s, and NOTHING had been updated or changed. There were (okay, still are) gouged, nail holes, and pushpin holes in the walls. All trim was dark stained, as was the carpeting! We immediately had new carpet and hardwoods installed. Then we later had the popcorn ceilings scraped on the main floor. I painted the kitchen cabinets. We painted the kitchen, dining room, foyer, and living room. There's still a lot we could do, but with college only a mere four years away, we're starting to prioritize.

The change from homeschooling to private school last year was a big one for us. The girls enjoy the school, which is a university model school. They attend classes on Tuesdays and Fridays, and then they complete assignments at home the other days. I'm pleased with the course of study. Our elder daughter, Amelia, who began high school this year, also goes on Thursday mornings for student council meetings and yearbook. Last school year was a big transition for all of us; this year has been much smoother so far. I miss homeschooling, though. I enjoyed the lifestyle; and, as a lifelong learner, I enjoyed the study we did together. To be honest, I also miss being the top boss. I'm no longer in complete charge.

I went back to work, too. For the last several years, I've been dabbling in writing. I'd had an article published in The Old Schoolhouse magazine and another in Impart online magazine. I'd had two storied published in an online children's magazine (now sadly defunct) called Fandangle. I wrote reviews for that fantastic homeschooling website The Curriculum Choice. I took on a few freelance editing projects. And I worked here and there on my own manuscripts. Oh, and I blogged.

Then some friends from church approached me about working with their company as a writer. When I was duly employed (pre-family), I worked in the newsletter industry and also in corporate communications, so this was right up my alley. I took on a couple of clients, which has now grown to several clients for whom I produce monthly email newsletter articles, website content, email blasts, and the like. I've also continued freelance editing. I now spend several hours a day on my various projects. And laundry, grocery shopping, schlepping kids to and fro, cooking, washing up, sweeping, scrubbing toilets, etc. You know.

So my life is different now than it was for several years. It's taken some getting used to. At first, I wasn't sure I approved. But I've settled into the new normal.

I plan to better schedule my blogging time. When I blog, I'm practicing my writing, I'm chronicling our lives together, and I'm reaching out to a sphere I don't necessarily inhabit physically. I think that's neat. I have also found that when I don't blog regularly, I miss it. I compose posts in my head that never see the light of day. then I feel unproductive and lackluster, no matter how many loads of laundry I've washed or how I've planned out our meals.

I guess I'm weird that way.

More later, on books I've read, things I've been pinning, and other stuff!