Gobble Gobble!

Is it just me, or is Thanksgiving the best holiday of the year?

I think it's MY favorite holiday anyway. It's a bit like Christmas without all the pressure... just good food and (if you're lucky) good company. It really is a day to take stock, count your blessings, and be mindful of all the things in your life that you're thankful for.

Sure, cooking Thanksgiving Day dinner can be a lot of work, but I find it can be pretty festive with some good music and a little wine, plus a helping hand or two. For me, the hardest part is trying to bring all the side dishes to a finish at close to the same time. That's when it gets crazy in the kitchen.

Because my mom lives a few states away, most years we go to my in-laws for Thanksgiving. This  year, because it's likely the last Thanksgiving that our beloved old dog will be around to enjoy, we wanted to have it at home. At one point, there was a possibility that we'd have nine of us total for dinner (though really only a probable seven). Mr. Remarkable Monkey insisted on a 20 lb turkey and a 10 lb bag of potatoes. That was fine by me... I love leftovers! By the time Wednesday night rolled around, due to some folks changing their plans and my in-laws bowing out due to temporary health issues, we were down to just three! No big deal... just meant a quieter day, and it was actually probably more relaxing that way. Plus my brother-in-law got a ton of leftovers to take home, and we had a ton of leftovers here to deal with.

I am thankful that this bird came to our house for dinner.
He was delicious!

I have had turkey at every meal since Thursday evening... Mr. RM is in the kitchen right now concocting a delicious-smelling turkey pot pie with most of what's left. And as much as I love turkey, I'm almost ready for something else. Mr. RM had the last two slices of Wednesday night's pizza for dinner last night, and it was smelling really good!

I forced myself not to work on Friday. Decided to take full advantage of the long holiday weekend and just relaxed, catching up on DVRd TV that I haven't had time to watch. Black Friday shopping? No. Not for me. I'm also among those who think it's ridiculous for stores to be open on Thanksgiving Day. I mean, I guess it's their right to open on whatever day they choose, but, having a friend in retail management, I also see the side of the employees who are forced to work on the holiday. (And not only work, but deal with sale-crazy crowds.) They don't get to fully enjoy the special day that I personally look forward to all year, all due to Corporate America's chase for the almighty dollar. But that's another blog post.

December starts tomorrow, bringing with it more of the commercial Christmas clamor that started even before Black Friday. Maybe by tomorrow I'll be ready to start easing into the holiday spirit. But not just yet. Right now, it's time to go have some turkey pot pie and then later, I'll savor the last slice of pumpkin pie.

Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Monkey at the Movies: St. Vincent

I'm swamped with work (yay!) so I'll be brief.

If you haven't seen "St. Vincent" yet, go see it. Seriously. This is probably the best movie I've seen in a long time. It's as touching as it is funny. If Bill Murray doesn't get an Oscar nomination, something is wrong in Hollywood. (And the kid who plays the kid is wonderful.) Kudos also to Naomi Watts on her portrayal of a hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold with a twist.

Totally worth the price of admission.

(By the way.... "Guardians of the Galaxy" was the probably the best movie of the summer, and best soundtrack album. Looking forward to the sequel in a couple years.)

Pass the popcorn, y'all!

Run, Forrest... Run!

I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but I am currently training to run a 5k. Well, actually, I know exactly how it happened.

A friend of mine saw this "fun run" advertised and decided to sign up and start a team. (It's the Color Run.) She thought it was a charity run, but turns out it isn't... although they DO partner with local charities and donate some of the proceeds. She figured it would just be a fun walk/run to help a cause. (We've done a couple Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5k's in honor of my mom and another pal.)

So another friend and I signed up and joined her team for this event. For me, I figured it would be something to do with some pals, and there's supposedly a party at the finish line after. What the heck... walk and chat with a few friends, and get colored powder thrown at us, and then enjoy a couple cold brews, right? But then...

The other friend said she's going to train and run the 5k. RUN it! Seems she has a significant birthday coming up next year and running a 5k is on her bucket list. "I downloaded a Couch-to-5k app and started training," she said. WTF?? She wants to actually RUN this thing??


Personally, I believe you only need to run if someone is chasing you, you're chasing someone, or you're trying to catch a plane, train or bus. But I also love a challenge. And I hated to think of my friend being the only one in our group trying to run this 5k. So what does THIS monkey do? Downloaded the Couch-to-5k app and started training too.

Can I just tell you that I do not enjoy running? It's stupid. Seriously... why run unless you're in one of the above described situations that require it? So training for this 5k has not been much fun. At first, I thought I was gonna die on the treadmill when I had to run 3 minutes at a time. But I kept at it. When I got to week 5 of the training, I got stuck on day 2 (jog 8 minutes, walk 5 minutes, jog 8 minutes) for a couple weeks, because week 5 day 3 required just jogging 20 minutes. Are you kidding?? How do they expect a pudgy 40-something out-of-shape women to go from struggling to jog 8 minutes at a time to jogging 20?? Outrageous!

I do the training on a treadmill, and I generally keep it at a 9 incline. Anything lower feels strange to me because I've kept it inclined while just walking to burn more calories for a few years. My brisk walk pace is 4 mph, and my jogging pace was 5.5 mph on the 8 minute jogs. I could get through the first 8 minutes okay, but was gasping for air by the end of the second 8 minutes. Seriously, I had just about decided that I should not train if I was home alone... someone else needed to be there to dial 911 when I blew a coronary artery and my heart exploded.

But then I figured something out. While doing week 5 day 2 for about the 5th time, when I got to the second 8 minute jog, I lowered the incline to 8.5 and dropped my jog pace down to 5.3 mph. I had no trouble finishing the 8 minutes, and I kept jogging through the 5 minute cooldown, and then for another 2 minutes to make it 15 minutes. I was gobsmacked! So the next training day, I moved on to week 5 day 3... the dreaded 20 minute jog. I did the lower/slower 8.5/5.3 combo, and made it through the 20 minutes, PLUS jogged through the 5 minute cooldown! Amazing!! I don't think I've run for 25 minutes at a time in my entire life!

I breezed through week six and I start week 7 of the training program tomorrow... warmup walk and then jog for 2.5 miles or 25 minutes. Now, the only way to jog 2.5 miles in 25 minutes is if you run at 6 mph. No way in hell can I do that. So I'll just stick with my 5.3 mph and run longer to complete the 2.5 miles. If my math is right, it should take me about 28 minutes. I ran for 27 minutes earlier this week, so I know I can do it. I might even run through the 5 minute cooldown again too. And once I can run a whole 5k without stopping, maybe I'll work on bringing up my speed. What the heck... the 5k event isn't for another 8 weeks. Might as well keep plugging away.

Or tacos and beer afterward!

Once a week for about a month now, Mr. Remarkable Monkey and I have been joining a friend of his and the friend's wife for the weekly "run for brews" group they run with. We mostly do a walk/run combo for that, but have been trying to run longer each time. Mr. RM says he's just in it for the tacos and beer afterward. And that DOES make it a little fun.

But I still don't like running. When I told my mom I had run 27 minutes, she asked if I got a runner's high. Nope. Just got hot, sweaty and tired. And shin splints somethin' awful! (Although they're getting better.)  And you'd think I'd be dropping pounds like crazy with all this running, but no. Still pudgy. (And no, I'm not eating more just cuz I'm running. Except for the weekly post-brew-run tacos.)

Now, I'll tell you that my friends who started this whole thing with running the 5k are WAY behind in their training. I'm a little skeptical that they'll actually run it when the time comes, but I hope they'll keep at it and run. Me? The one who didn't wanna do it in the first place? I'm in too far not to run it now! I am determined, and after my success this past week, I know I can do it!

Will I keep running after this 5k event? It's possible, but I wouldn't lay odds on it. Unless I'm trying to catch a plane. Or someone is buying me tacos and beer after.

I Might Need An Intervention

A few months ago, a new Trader Joe's opened in my part of town. I'd never been to a Trader Joe's before, but have always heard good things about it. And one of the things I always heard is that if I ever go to Trader Joe's, I have to try the cookie butter.
It was a few months before I ventured into the new Trader Joe's because the place was always packed and the parking lot is tiny, and there always seemed to be line of traffic waiting to get in. Even now, months after it opened, on weekends there's still a line of traffic waiting to get into the parking lot. I thought it was just because it's a cool new store for our area. Now I know better. Now I know it must be the cookie butter.

It started innocently enough. I went with a neighbor one weekday morning a few weeks ago around 9:15, and there was no crowd. We had a lovely time exploring the wonder that is a Trader Joe's store. Lots of beautiful fresh produce, tons of interesting food products, and amazingly reasonable prices. "Oh look," I said to my friend... "There's that cookie butter stuff. Even my mom said I have to try it." Into the basket it went.

For those of you who don't know what cookie butter is, it's like peanut butter, only made with crushed up spice cookies. While chatting with the cashier at the checkout, I mentioned that I'd never had it before. He immediately sent another associate to fetch me a taste. (I'm guessing this is how they hook you, like pushers.... they give you a taste and send you down that rabbit hole.) I took the sample the associate handed me (topped with the new cookie butter ice cream, no less) and tasted it. I think my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I'm pretty sure I swooned.

When I got home, I thought I'd try it again, to see what just the pure unadulterated cookie butter was like without the interference of the cookie butter ice cream. I should have known better. One spoonful led to another. And then a few minutes later, I had to have one again. Within hours, I had developed a full-blown cookie butter addiction. I could barely walk by the kitchen without stopping to stick a spoon in the jar! Pure evil in its addictiveness!

Beware the evil that is Speculoos Cookie Butter!

The jar was empty a few days later, and I happened to see another brand of cookie butter at my regular grocery store. How had I not noticed this stuff before? So I got a jar of the other brand, and I have to say it didn't do it for me. Don't get me wrong... if you're out of Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter and can't get to Trader Joe's, the other brand will do in a pinch. But I imagine it's like making do with a valium when you really want heroin or crack. It'll calm you down, but it won't satisfy your cookie butter craving like the TJ brand does. (Or maybe it's just me.)

Back to Trader Joe's I went a couple weeks later. This time, I got the crunchy variety of their cookie butter. Biggest mistake yet. I'm a lost cause now. Hopelessly addicted and doomed to weigh 600 pounds in no time. I have never in my life had a food that I thought "I can't keep this in my house" until now. And to all those people that urged me to try the cookie butter, thanks a lot! What kind of malicious trick was that? You're all monsters! And how can Trader Joe's be allowed to legally produce and sell such an addictive substance? It's dangerous, I tell ya! There's not even a warning label on the jars.

Hello, my name is Remarkable Monkey, and I'm a cookie-butterholic.

Is there twelve step program for this? Anybody wanna go to a meeting with me?

Suck it up!

Is it just me, or do all vacuum cleaners smell the same after you use 'em a couple times?

We recently got a new vacuum cleaner, and after we used it two or three times, it had the same smell as the old one. You know... that "vacuum cleaner" smell. I can't think of anything to compare it to, but if it's not just me, you'll understand what I'm talking about.

Every vacuum cleaner I've ever had my whole entire life has had that smell. And no, I don't mean the actual machine itself. I mean the smell that emanates when you're running it. Kind of a stale dusty smell. I guess that makes sense, since it's sucking up all the dust and dirt and dander from the carpets and floors. Kinda gross now that I think about it.

Does your vacuum cleaner have that specific smell? Or maybe it's just if you have dogs? I don't know. I just wondered.

Oh... and hell to the no on those perfumed powder carpet sprinkle-on products. They make my eyes burn and my face itch. I'd rather deal with the regular vacuum cleaner smell. That really might be just me though.



(See.... less then a month between blog posts [barely]. Not much of a post, I know... but it was on my mind. I told ya things might get loosey goosey around here! LOL!)

Absenteeism to the Extreme

Is it just me, or has it been WAY too long since there was a new post on this dang blog? Yeah, yeah... I know... it's not as if hordes of anxious readers have been waiting breathlessly (hi, Mom). Still, I figure since I started this thing as a way to exercise my writing noodle, and also a place to express my bemused pondering, I should probably check in every now and then, eh?

I've composed dozens of posts in my head, but somehow I haven't gotten around to posting them here. One of my goals this year is to try and manage my time better, and so I'm going to make an effort to be here more often. It won't be daily, and may not even be once a week, but I think I can manage a post more often than every eight or nine months.

Part of my strategy is to log on and at least START typing a post when I have an idea, instead of thinking "Oooh... I gotta remember to do a blog post about that", and then never getting around to posting it because I don't have time to flesh it out completely. Things might get a little loosey goosey around here, but at least there will be SOMETHING new more often. Maybe. Hey... one of my other goals for this year was to get back into the habit of regularly exercising, and I've been doing pretty well with that, so.... maybe I can keep up with this too.

I have lots of random crap floating around in my head that's just beggin' for an outlet, whether anyone out in the great void (that would be you, friend) actually reads it here.

So.... see ya soon?

It's All About Priorities....

You may find this hard to believe, but there are actually people who enjoy housework. I am not one of those people. This fact is usually evident at any given time in our house.

Oh it's not filthy or anything... we DO keep it relatively sanitary... but clutter and dust bunnies tend to pile up. This is due, in part, to the fact that our house was built in 1955, and we have exactly four and half closets if you include the unfinished closet in the add-on bathroom in the den that used to part of a garage. And in 1955, closets were small. I don't know where people kept their junk in 1955... I'm guessing they just didn't accumulate as much stuff as folks do now. And I'll be the first to admit, I have way too much stuff.

I've been intending to "spring clean" for approximately two and half years now. The Love Shack definitely needs to be purged of excess ephemera. When I became a freelancer in late February of this year, I thought to myself, "Great.... I'll finally have time to do that spring cleaning I've been meaning to get around to, and maybe get my office set up." Well, it's almost October now (how the hell did THAT happen?), and the big spring cleaning still hasn't been done. Which is good and bad.

It's good, because I've honestly been to busy to get to it. Thanks to a wonderfully steady flow of work, I haven't had much time to do anything else. (I love my clients!!) My office is still just my Mac set up on my old drawing table in the spare bedroom, with an old office chair and a plastic file box from the Container Store. It is NOT ideal, but so far has served its purpose adequately.

It's bad, because I've honestly been too busy to get to it. I really haven't had much downtime since February. I'm not complaining... I'm grateful for the work, and my modus operandi is that work comes first. (It gets the bills paid, yo!) But that work ethic means that housework takes a back seat. Therefore, our little abode gets mighty cluttered, y'all! And that clutter starts driving me crazy after a while. (The steady and sometimes crazy work flow is also the reason this blog hasn't had a new post since July. I'm still trying to balance my time, and often failing miserably!)

Don't get me wrong... I've managed to make time to hang out at the beach or have lunch with pals occasionally, but that usually means I'll be working very late the day before or the day after to catch up. One recent Sunday, I actually declined an invitation to join some pals at a movie in order to get some freelance work done AND some housework done. These are the choices a worker bee like me has to make every now and then... go have fun, or engage in some intense domestic chores. As previously stated, I'm not a fan of domestic chores, but sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

And so I skipped the movie and resigned myself to the task at hand... a good scrubdown of the common areas of the Love Shack. I saved the bathroom for last. I don't mind cleaning the kitchen. That gets done regularly, although the deep-cleaning kitchen chores like mopping floors and re-organizing the plasticware cabinet happen only periodically, as it did that Sunday. And though the clutter of mail and other stuff often obliterates table surfaces, I don't mind so much tidying that up when it gets out of control. Dusting is not my strong suit either, but I can deal with it.

But cleaning the bathroom... I hate every single thing about cleaning the bathroom (aside from the end result). Maybe it's just me, but I absolutely hate the smell of the tub cleaner mingled with soap residue. I hate wiping other people's pee (yes, you, Mr. Remarkable Monkey) off the toilet seat (though thankfully he has good aim so that's not much of an issue). I hate long hairs getting tangled in the sponge and wrapped around my fingers, even though I know it's my own stupid hair. I hate trying to scrub down the shower curtain. And the smell of the mildew remover makes me absolutely nauseous. But I DO love a clean bathroom. So I took one for the team. And that bathroom sparkled!

I'm still hoping to find time to do that spring cleaning and purging before the end of the year... my mom is coming to visit in November, so that could be a good motivator. And with summer over and one of my beach pals enrolled in college, maybe I'll have fewer distractions in the coming cooler moths. We'll see. I might even find time to post an entry every now and then. Hmmmmm.....

Continuing Adventures in Breast Health

Last year was the first year in several that when I had my annual mammogram, the radiologist didn't request an additional sonogram while I was there. Nevertheless, my breast specialist wanted me to go ahead and get the MRI six months later just to keep an eye on things (because I'm officially a high-risk candidate to develop breast cancer, donchyaknow).

I had the MRI done in February, which was a couple months late thanks the delayed arrival of "Aunt Flo" during that period of time (no pun intended). That was all clear too, although I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed the round and round with my former employer's crappy insurance company trying to get the claim submitted properly. (Side note: thanks to the recent change in my employment status and Mr. Remarkable Monkey's as well, we are now once again covered by a decent BCBS plan through his employer. Thank heavens!)

So last week, I went for my annual mammogram. I wondered if my luck would hold or if I would need a sonogram as well. The tech said no... the Rx was written for just a normal screening mammogram, so they wouldn't be doing any additional imaging. This was the first time in several years that the Rx was for a "screening" mammogram and not a "diagnostic" mammogram. I believe when it's written as diagnostic, they can go ahead and do any additional imaging if needed right then, such as sonograms. "Screening" vs. "diagnostic" can also make a big difference to some insurance companies when it comes to covering it 100% as an annual mammo. I learned that the hard way.

Well yay for me then, right? I figured maybe they're now familiar enough with all my usual lumps and dense tissue that they don't need all the extra imaging they've done for the past several years. I bounced out of the breast center confident that the results would be nothing other than "Yep... all good," and maybe I could even skip the MRI this December.

Fast forward to this afternoon, when the breast center called. "The radiologist saw a suspicious asymmetry in your right breast. We need to do more imaging." Oh joy. So basically, I have to go back in for them to squash my right boob some more to investigate said asymmetry. "We may also need to do a sonogram. Your breast tissue is very dense."

Ya don't say! Duuuuuh! This has been a known fact for years. Now, if the Rx had just been written as a diagnostic mammogram to start with, they could have done all this while I was there last week. Maybe they didn't because my current plan doesn't cover diagnostic? I thought BCBS covered it as annual either way, but maybe they don't? Who knows. All I know is now I have go to another appointment at the breast center. **siiiigh***

It's not so bad. As I've said before, the place has been remodeled and it's gorgeous! It looks like a high-end boutique hotel lobby. Check out these pictures....

I think this is actually the lobby of the NICU unit, but the breast center's lobby looks pretty much like this too.

This is one corner of the large inner waiting area... the one where you get to hang out with the other ladies in your lovely pink hospital gown top while waiting for them to call you back for the actual boob squashing.

A view of the other side of the large inner waiting area. There's also an INNER inner area with changing rooms and lockers, and a bathroom, and a small alcove with a sink, water cooler, and teas... and sometimes crackers.

Yes! It was this issue!
I am not making this up!

Pretty, isn't it? But ya know what those photos don't show? The old, beat up magazines available to help you kill time while you're waiting. They're not all old... some are from the past year or two. But get this: when I was there last week, I enjoyed flipping through an issue of Vanity Fair.... FROM SEPTEMBER OF 1997! I kid you not... Renee Zellweger was on the cover, with an article about how she's Hollywood's next big thing since she had recently appeared in "Jerry Maguire". (Yeah...THAT prediction was dead on... Not.) Seriously?? You spend a lot of time and money creating this beautiful, lush space for the patients, but you can't spring a few extra bucks for some magazines that aren't 15 years old? Really???

I found it hilarious. But maybe that's just me. I'm actually sort of looking forward to my additional appointment next week, despite the inconvenience of having to make a second trip... I think I saw a 1999 issue of People somewhere in the stacks of magazines. I need to catch up some celebrity gossip.

What the Heck Is Wrong With People?

Yeah... it's been over two months since the last post. Wow! Time flies, kiddies! Quick update: workflow has been steady, interspersed with periods of craziness, so the freelancing is still going swimmingly... knock wood and big thanks to my regular clients who have kept the work coming! (But usually I'm too dang frazzled to sit down and compose a blog post on the rare occasion that I actually have the time to do it! Guess I need to work on that.)

So, in the past couple months, it seems like there's been a lot of stupid racial stuff and intolerance going on in the news. Why is it that skin color is still such an issue in this country? First it was the Cheerios commercial. I cannot believe that some people were upset that the spot featured a family who happened to be biracial. Now, I'm not naive. I know that there are still a lot of racist idiots in this country, but I guess I didn't think that having a mixed-race couple in a TV spot would generate such an outpouring of hatred. Kudos to General Mills for not pulling the ad, and for their stance against the bigots and malicious small-minded clods.

I have hope for the future though. Check out this short from the Fine Bros., where they asked kids what they thought about the commercial and about the racist backlash it generated. Warmed my heart.

Then there's the Paula Deen N-word controversy. She admitted in a deposition on another matter that she had used the N-word in the past. (You can read the whole deposition here if you want.) It was very small part of the deposition, and she also said that she used the word when she worked in a bank (so it was DECADES ago) in reference to a bank robber who had held a gun to her head, and possibly other times but not in a hateful, directed way.

I don't condone her use of the N-word, but I kinda think the whole thing was blown out of proportion. She wasn't spewing the same kind of hatred that the commenters on the Cheerios youtube page were. She just used a word ages ago that was commonly used back then in the deep south. It doesn't excuse it, but at least she was honest about it. And while I think there should be repercussions (because she IS a public figure after all), the corporate reaction may have been just a little too harsh. But maybe not... the N-word is such a hot-button issue that her corporate partners may have felt they had no other choice but to sever all ties like they did.

Why IS the N-word still such a hot-button issue? Why is it that the N-word has so much negative power when a white person says it, but not when a black person does? If it's such a negative word, shouldn't everyone avoid using it? And why is it that slurs for other races and ethnicities don't seem to cause such a media uproar? Aren't they just as bad as the N-word? Again... it just seems stupid that something as random as skin color can cause people to hate each other. Wouldn't it be great if nobody would ever used those words? Or if they didn't carry such hurtful connotations? In a perfect world, friends.

Most recently, there's the George Zimmerman trial. I'm not sure how much of that tragedy stemmed from racism, or how much of the not guilty verdict did either. Maybe none. And while I don't think Zimmerman should have been found guilty of murder (because it didn't appear to be premeditated), I do think he should have been convicted of manslaughter or negligent homicide. After all, the confrontation -  no matter who started it - never would have happened if Zimmerman had obeyed the police 911 operator's instructions not to get out of his truck and follow Trayvon Martin. In that way, he's responsible for the death that occurred. That may be the basis of the Martin family's civil suit, should they elect to bring one.

But news involving intolerance isn't just race-related lately. Why are people so opposed to same-sex marriage? Just like with skin color, why should gender matter to anyone else other than the two people involved in the marriage or relationship? What's it to YOU, Bub? Seriously. A group called the "Alliance Defending Freedom" tried to block the legalization of same-sex marriage. Did you get that? The group is called the Alliance Defending Freedom... and yet they don't want gay couples to be free to marry. Ironic, isn't it?  Just more small-minded bigotry. They say they're defending freedom, but only if it's THEIR brand of "freedom". What are they afraid of? Opponents have said that allowing same sex marriage would undermine the sanctity of "traditional" marriage between a man and a women. I don't see how it possibly could, but maybe it's just me.

I hope someday we can all see people for who they really are instead of seeing their skin color or their sexual preference, or their financial status, or their political affiliation or their religion. I just don't understand why some people have such a problem accepting others solely because they're different in some way. One of the kids in the Fine Bros. video said right... people should be judged on their character and their personality, and nothing else.

I know it's not just me, but I wish there were more of us.

So Far, So Good!

How did another month go by without a post from me? I know you've been waiting breathlessly! (Yes, I DO hear those crickets chirping.)

How am I supposed to get any work done
with THIS under my desk?

Freelance work has continued to keep me busy. I'm happy to report that I've actually been able to earn a living (so far) as an independent freelancer. Don't get me wrong... I'm still stressing about earning enough to pay the bills, but I'm starting to relax a little because I've got a couple good clients who have sent me a fairly steady workflow. In fact, I've so busy I still haven't had a chance to finish updating my portfolio and get my self employment biz stuff in order, other than filing my self employment tax a few days before the April 15th deadline. (Oh joy... I get to write that big fat check to the US treasury three more times this year! Ouch!). And I haven't yet had the time or wherewithal to put together a comfortable workspace... I set up the "Big Mac" on my old drawing table in the spare bedroom. Not exactly comfortable, but at least it's functional for now.

Every time I think it's slowing down and I try to take a day to catch my breath and catch up on domestic chores, things get busy again! The house is usually a bit of a mess, as I've only had time to keep up with the necessary tasks like doing the dishes, laundry and grocery shopping when we run out of something.

A recent Tuesday afternoon with a pal.... Lingering over
chips & guacamole and an ice cold cerveza. Lovely.

But I've also enjoyed some of the perks of being my own boss. Though I've had to pull some late nights to do it, I've been able to take an afternoon off here and there to enjoy with pals, and I even took the whole day off (well, most of it anyway) and spent it with Mr. Remarkable Monkey on our recent 10-year anniversary. Even if it's just an extended lunch hour with a friend, it's been great not having to stick to office hours.

My "assistant", taking his duties seriously.
It's hard work making sure the futon doesn't float away
in case there's an interruption in gravity service!

Plus, I have an excellent assistant. He's not very productive and doesn't get much done other than making sure the floor doesn't move, but he helps keep the stress levels down. We both enjoy our afternoon "board meetings" in the park.

Ya know, I think this freelance thing might suit me! Fingers crossed I can continue to find enough work to get the bills paid.

So far, so good!