And I only have 23 excuses for not posting to this blog for the past two weeks. And trust me, I am not asking for your pity, just laying out the facts:
1) Special Issue Editing Madness November 24 through 26! I spent three days holed up in my editing dungeon, chained to my desk, frantically fixing squinting modifiers and dangling participles. (Yes, modifiers can squint. My fellow word nerds can go check out this Grammar Girl podcast to hear more.)
2) Thanksgiving Festivities November 27-30! I had one brother, one sister-in-law, and four cute kiddos staying at my house for four days straight. And yes I DID brave the Black Friday sales. One quick takeaway: never EVER go to Wal-Mart first.
3) Hosting a Fellow Scrapbooker December 1-4! The lovely and talented Lain Ehmann was in town for work last week, and she stayed with me. (Yay!) We were busy working and jetting around town.
4) Driving to California with Sister and Two Toddlers December 4-6! The moment I dropped Lain off at the airport, I headed home, packed a bag, and climbed into my sister's mini van to accompany her on a 12-hour drive back home to Southern California. My job: singing The Monkey Song, persuading the kids NOT to escape from their car seats, retrieving thrown objects, and doling out crackers and fruit snacks. (The funniest quote of the day? "Nostrils are like astronauts." ~Thomas, age 3.)
5) Visiting Emergency Room with Mom Who Had to Have an Actual Spinal Tap (false alarm) December 7! My mom may be the only human on the planet who had a spinal tap to diagnose a kidney infection. It's a very long story, and she's much better now, thank you very much.
6) Scrapbook Play Special Issue Handoff December 8! Jennafer, Wendy, Angie, Marin, and Carolyn in an office for 7 hours straight. Fun was had by all.
7) Two-Hour Meeting Followed by 5-Hour Meeting December 9! I learned that even extremely productive meetings exhaust me when they pass the 2-hour mark.
Excuses 8 through 23: My close family and friends (and I'm talking siblings, parents, an uncle, and very close friends here, not 5th cousins once removed) have dealt with the following in the past three weeks: two cancer diagnoses, two major surgeries, three minor surgeries, one meningitis scare, one spinal tap, one emergency room visit, one funeral, one anxiety attack (not me), two stressful job changes (not me), and one enormous cold sore (me). Now, I'm not asking for pity here because I personally am fine (apart from the bran-muffin-sized cold sore on my upper lip), but I've (obviously) had to devote quite a lot of care and attention to my loved ones.
After all, it's the holidays, and aren't the holidays all about keeping loved ones close and trying your best to be a superwoman? I'm sure you can relate.
~Angie