My Hero.

OK. We've discussed my inability to embrace free time.

Unfortunately, that means I often ... well ... over-book myself.

This week has been a prime example. Somehow I thought being a graduate student, a (fairly) new employee, a wife, a housekeeper and a dog-mom was not enough. Nope - I had to add home remodeler to the list.

Yep. That's right - we've begun the remodeling on our retro bathroom. The pink tile is gone (GONE!), the bathtub is in place and the room is taking shape. And if there's anything I can share with those looking to remodel their own homes, it's this:

1. Homes built in the 60's were NOT built to be remodeled. They were built to have ugly pink tile. For.Ev.Er.
2. Swinging a sledgehammer is SO MUCH FUN.
3. Dads are awesome. 

I'd like to focus on that last one, for a minute. As stressed out as I've been this week, I am so grateful that my dad has been as helpful as he's been in helping us with the house. It's a mess and it's tough work and he's gone along like it's nothing. I've never been more thankful that Daughter is perpetually on my list of roles.

Today is my dad's 59th birthday. He's counting down the days to his retirement from GE where he's worked for thirty-some-odd years. He's strong and thoughtful and smart. He has the largest most loving heart of anyone I've ever met.

He's amazing. And while he's stubborn and bullheaded and downright impossible to disagree with, he's my dad.

And he's awesome.

Happy Birthday Dad. I love you.

Writing

I write every day for work.  

I write every day for school. 

I write emails, text messages and even notes to myself on paper.

So sometimes, something as simple and as enjoyable as writing this blog just doesn't make the list for the day. Or for the week. Or in this case, for the last month.

But I've missed you so and today seemed like the perfect day for that streak to stop. In hindsight, starting grad school and a new job in the same week was probably not the best decision I've ever made. In fact, I'd probably put it somewhere in the realm of coloring my hair with a permanent marker in high school. 

Actually, that didn't turn out too badly. Maybe I could use purple streaks again...

But all that said - I hope to be able to start writing more again. Reading for class is causing a severe drain on my time, but here's hoping. 

Til next time.

World Domination: Phase Two.

Just in case you were wondering: Yes. I am still alive. And this time - I have very, very big news. 

I will be starting a new career exactly one week from Monday - as a Copywriter / Proofreader downtown.

I'm beyond excited. I've been avoiding writing anything as my job search heated up because I needed to focus all my energy on finding something that could genuinely make me happy. That, and I noticed that my posts were getting increasingly negative, and no one wants to read that garbage. 

Hell, I didn't want to write that garbage. 

In fact, I avoided posting anything until I had something positive to say. I think there's an old saying that goes sort of like, "If you don't have anything nice to say, it's probably best to avoid public places. And people. And the interwebs." 

Or something like that.

So, I prepared for classes -- which, of course, I'll be starting the same week as my new job -- and tracked down this fantastic position. And now, now that I have a shiny, everything-is-new-and-wonderful outlook on my career and life in general, I figured we could get to know each other again. Isn't that fantastic?

Good. I knew you'd be excited.

Oh - and to go along with a major life/career change, I thought it was only fitting to throw in a major appearance change, so I chopped off my hair. Enjoy.

Seeking Advice. No, Really.

Advice.

When you're searching for something, or hoping to achieve a goal, it seems everyone has ideas about exactly how you should do it. Usually, it goes something like this:

"Just do what I did - (enter random example that doesn't really apply in your situation here) - you'll get there in no time and make millions of dollars doing it!"

And, because you're at a loss for what to do, you listen. You heed their advice, take it all in and hope that this was the key to success you had been missing all along. Surely, this time, you've done what it takes. 

In my case, I tend to seek out so much advice I wind up getting paranoid about my own methods. How do you know when you should follow advice over your gut, or vice versa?

To answer this question, I of course, asked for advice.

Via Twitter.

Or, The Twitter, as I like to call it.

Because I'm hip like that.

Anyway...I reached out to ask if anyone could give an example of advice that really helped them. My friend, Shawn (@ShawnMeier), obliged, supplying this little gem:

"There are 2 things you should never complain about: the things you can change, and the things you can't."

Obvious, right?

No? 

Yeah, me neither. He continues...

"In other words, if u can change something, do it. If u can't, don't bitch or worry cuz it's out of ur control. Just move on."

And you know what? He's exactly right. For he past few weeks months, I've been doing everything I can think of to improve my situation. I haven't been writing because I've devoted all spare time to one project and - because the solution hasn't presented itself - I complain. 

I focus on all of the pieces I have no control over. I complain (OK, I downright whine) to my husband, who has been nothing but supportive as I struggle to make things happen. I retrace every step, wondering what I could have done differently when in fact, it's more likely that nothing I could have done would have changed the outcome. 

I've made the mistake of seeking advice from so many others that I've lost my own gut instinct. I think it's time for me to take a step back and realize, as much as it pains me to say it: Shawn was right. 

That was exactly what I needed to hear. Time to stop complaining. 

What about you? Have you ever gotten advice that truly solved your problem? How do you sort through the advice you get in order to find the advice you need?

Chronology of Change

There's been quite a bit of excitement in the last week: a well-intentioned communication plan imploded at work, my new student orientation at NKU was more than enough to have me begging for fall, and the 2011 edition of the AP Stylebook was announced. 

Oh. I'm the only one who thinks that's exciting? 

Very well, then. 

With all of the excitement, I barely realized that Friday marked my being a married woman for exactly six months. 

Six months!

I can't believe it's been that long and at the same time, I can't imagine how we fit so much change into such a small time frame. We bought a new car, rescued a puppy and watched the Packers win a Super Bowl (believe me, to the husband, that's a big deal). I survived my first round of conventions, he survived another sales season and we both managed to survive the second rainiest month in Cincinnati history. We celebrated holidays, took a vacation and we found out we're soon to be an aunt and uncle!

Most importantly, all of this change has proven to be exciting. We've owned our home for a full year. I decided to return to school. The tiny little addition to our family has stolen our hearts and eaten his way to his nearly full-grown weight.

But as we question our decision to purchase high-quality puppy food at his current consumption rate, we're sure of one thing:

Change is good.

Well, that...and that it's been a great six months.

Puppy Mom, extraordinare.

Growlgrowlsnarlgrowlbarkbarkhowl. 

Ah, the pleasures of having two dogs in the house. 

Now don't get me wrong, I love them both. Cooper - as you know - might be the best dog on the planet. Or at least, we're beginning to realize that now that we have Lambeau around. 

Lambeau. He's cute, he's snuggable (yes, that's a word because I said it is) and he keeps Cooper entertained 90% of the time. But he's a puppy. 

And he pees. A LOT. 

I barely remember the puppy phase with Cooper. I'm sure he was just as rotten and adorable and obnoxious, but I barely remember it. I know he chewed on a few things, broke a few things and made a few unmentionable messes around the house.

But Lambeau has perfected the get-in-trouble-but-be-so-cute-they-can't-stay-mad act. He just wags his little tail (or, if he's really excited, his whole back half) and you can't help but forgive the little guy. 

Oh yeah - and he's a hound. So he has those hound dog eyes. Those sad, mournful, why-are-you-mad-at-me-mommy eyes. So you can't be. You just can't. 

No seriously. You CAN'T. 

Love you too, buddy.

Accepted!

How many posts am I going to start by saying I know it's been a while?

Well, at least one more. I know, it's been a while. 

Lucky for you, the travel is pretty much over for the time being; which, of course, means I'll have more time to devote back to writing.

But what brings me to my laptop tonight was a breaking development last night that I just have to share - I got accepted into Grad school! Granted, if you're reading this, you probably also saw this on Facebook, Twitter or my gleaming face, but I'm excited so I'm sharing it from every avenue I can. 

It really happened quickly, and I'm glad for that; I'm not exactly known for my patience. So now, I have to put that patience to the test as I wait painstakingly until fall to begin classes. 

But as excited as I am, I'm at least equally nervous. It's been three years since I've taken a test, researched a paper or studied theory. It's going to be a lot tougher than undergrad, but I'm thrilled to think about spending time back on campus - a new campus - with a whole world of learning to do.

So of course, we had to celebrate. I knew that leftover bottle of sparkling wine from New Year's would eventually come in handy.

Cheers!