Catching Up

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Well, I've let my little slice of the web lie dormant for about a year, now, so it's probably time for that annual "this year I'm really going to stay current" vow and a few weeks' worth of posts before I get busy again and neglect my blog.

A lot has happened over the past year. There have been ups (a new dog and a rockin' boyfriend) and downs (I was part of the "reduction in force" at my job in November, and am still looking for a new one), but I think that's just the way it goes. What's that saying? Without the downs, you don't appreciate the ups?

I turned 40 last year. It's both a major milestone and a minor speedbump. Major in the sense of marking time, other people's perceptions and what one can let a number like "40" say about them and what they've accomplished. Minor in the sense of life continuing on just like it did when I was 39.

Spent my 40th in Las Vegas with said rockin' boyfriend. I'd never been there, and it was awesome. It's funny -I'd thrown out the "I want to go to Vegas for my 40th" at an after-work happy hour in like November. And, while he wasn't my boyfriend - or even my (ahem) "occasional date" - then, C agreed to go with me.

I loved gambling in Vegas. No. Take that back. I loved gambling at The Flamingo in Vegas. The Bellagio robbed me blind. I'd put down $100 at a 5-card table and walk away with nothing in like 5-10 minutes. Their slots were a little kinder, and I won a few dollars playing penny slots - which kept me there long enough for a few free drinks.

We made it down to Freemont Street one night, and I got to gamble at the Golden Nugget and Binion's - I loved it down there. And on our last night, we had like an 8:00 a.m. flight out the next day so just stayed up all night gambling. I made like $300 that night.

Loved Vegas. Will totally go back.

The girls have done well over the past year or so ...

Miss O is 4 now, and, well, she kind of defies description. She's still tiny and cute (she can wear a 2T), but she's grown into herself so well. She's confident, relatively even-tempered and just a ton of fun, but not in an obnoxious or overbearing way. She can keep herself entertained for hours, and is as likely to be singing a My Little Pony opera as she is to be sitting in her room with a pile of books, "reading".



Bean is 6.5 now, and just switched over to a martial arts-based after-school program. She's in accelerated math and reading at school, has developed quite the palate, and is still the most loving child in the world. She's a lot of fun and has really started to blossom with self-confidence - she's always had bluster and bravado, but not true self-confidence. And I'm so happy for her that the balance is starting to shift.



And these days they actually, more often than not, get along. (Have totally jinxed them, saying that out loud ... thankfully they are at their dad's as I type ...)





The dog we added? His name is Eli, and we adopted him from the Central Texas SPCA for Christmas. He. Is. Awesome.



What's been going on with you? How were your holidays?

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Oh. Hai.

*clears throat, taps mic*

Is this thing on?

(Looks around, a little embarrassed at all the dust and cobwebs, dusts off the stool.)

Was thinking about getting back into blogging. Anyone still around?

 
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