My One Year Anniversary . . .

. . . was September 20. If I’d been slightly more coherent, I would have realized that the one-year anniversary of my blogging passed the first day I was in Dallas. I guess because I started blogging after last year’s conference in Nashville that I was thinking the anniversary would be after the conference.

I never intended to become a blogger. What could I possibly say that anyone would want to hear? I still feel like that’s true. But like many things in life, this was Mike’s fault. I wanted to leave a comment on his blog and to do that, I had to have a Blogger account. (Funny thing. As I was trying to find my first comment on Mike’s blog, I realized I hadn’t learned yet people respond to your comments so you have to go back and check. So a year later: no, yes, and I hope so.) And after that I realized that I wanted to share with a bunch of people my thoughts on the conference and a blog would be a good way to do that without sending out a lot of e-mails.

And I never planned to blog after that until I had some Amazing Writing News. Still waiting for that. But I posted a picture of Arizona on my blog a little later because I thought it was cool, and Mike and Jenny responded. So then I thought I’d blog when the mood struck me and now it’s become a pretty regular thing. I’m humbled and amazed by the people who stop by and leave comments. But the best thing about blogging was completely unexpected. It’s been a great way to keep in contact with all you wonderful people I call friends. The immense loneliness I felt after getting back home from Dallas has been lightened somewhat by hanging out on your blogs. I can’t imagine how much worse I would have felt if I didn’t have that to look forward to.

So, now I’m thinking we need a cyberparty. Maybe a giant chat room? Any thoughts?

. . .

Withdrawals

I’m amazingly tired after coming back from the ACFW conference in Dallas late Sunday night. I should be doing all sorts of things around the house (I haven’t even unpacked), but I’ve spent the morning reading everyone else’s blogs on the conference. For someone like me who pretty much just sees her family daily, being around other people nearly 24/7 for five days is a radical change.

I loved it. To me, the best part of the conference was hanging out with people I had met at other conferences and had become good friends with, meeting people I knew only online and finding we connect even better in person, and meeting new people. But to have all of that suddenly cut off feels strangely odd, like we need some sort of transition or post-conference decompression chamber.

Heather left the comment on my blog, “So what are we doing this weekend?” And I think I wrote back on her blog, “I feel like half my family has left me.” As an introvert, this is a new feeling for me. Generally, as much as I like other people, I need space away and time to recharge. Maybe because I’m in desolate Arizona among the cotton and the cattle steeped in solitude that I didn’t need it as much.

This conference was so much about heart and so little about craft for me. Mary DeMuth’s morning track was just perfect for this. If you didn’t attend, get the CDs. I did teach a late night chat on mentors and mentees which went well, considering I almost forgot I was teaching it, I was completely brain dead, and it was the night everyone went out to dinner so I expected nobody to show up.

I also was surprised to receive an interesting array of gifts: blush, a contact case, Diet Coke, and a hotel coffee cup. Just goes to show what quirky friends I have.

But most of all (not really, but . . .) I was so thrilled to find that it was 90 degrees when we landed in Phoenix Sunday night. Somehow I lost three pounds during the conference, and I think it’s because I shivered them off. Dave Long called me a cream puff at the FiF dinner Friday night for not wanting to live anywhere it snows routinely. I challenged him to visit Phoenix in July. Yeah, we’ll see who’s the cream puff.

Pictures:
I didn't take any, so I only have what Jenny took with my camera Thursday night and other people have sent me.

I stole this picture from Heather. It's Mike Snyder, Heather, me, Michelle Pendergrass and her husband, Phil.




This is me, Pam Dowd, and Jeanne Damoff. The three of us were roommates at Mount Hermon last spring. Jeanne's my sister if only we had the same parents.

And, would you believe, that's it? I told you I didn't take pictures. Maybe I'll remember next year.

. . .

Maybe More Than You Want to Know

Malia's staying here with us before we all take off to Dallas early Wednesday morning (she, Jenny, and I are all on the same flight--scary). And she's blogged about her experiences in the Tiszai household, particularly in respect to my husband. Go check it out but remember, we're not all that exciting. That's probably a good thing. :)

Home Sweet Home

We picked up the keys to our new house this afternoon. Still feels a little surreal. Bet it will hit me when I get back from Dallas with all those boxes to unpack.

Now we just need this house to sell. Um, and we have to get it ready.

Just for Fun

Tricia Goyer has a fun list of trivia posted at her blog today. I love stuff like that. Guess I'm just a trivial kind of gal.

On a more important note, today Calvin turns five. Some days, I never thought he'd live this long.

Actually, he was never supposed to survive the pregnancy. Turns out there's a protein in Peter's blood that I make antibodies to. Of course both of our kids got this protein so I made antibodies against them while I was pregnant with them. It gets worse with each pregnancy, and we didn't know about it when I was pregnant with my daughter.

At about twenty weeks, the specialists told us there was a good chance our son wouldn't survive the pregnancy and that, if he did, he might need an intrauterine blood transfusion and be extremely ill when he was born. I went into labor at twenty-two weeks and spent the next fifteen weeks on bedrest. He also turned breech three weeks before he was born. See? He was being contrary even in the womb.

Two days after the towers came down, my little boy was born. Perfectly healthy.

Progress . . .

Slowly we're getting through the house. The downstairs is nearly done. All of the flooring should be in tonight.

As far as injuries go, this project has been relatively harmless. No stitches, broken bones, or trips to the ER . . . yet. So far, I cut myself on the arm when I put the chisel in my tool belt edge up. Then I slammed my right foot into a stack of flooring, giving myself a nice cut and a really good bruise. Can't wear anything but tennis shoes. I'll have a nice scar. And today I hit my left index finger with the hammer. Yesterday I was thinking the nail would fall off in time for the conference, but it's not looking too bad today, so I guess the nail will hang around. Home improvement is hard on the manicure.

Multitasking

I’m not very good a multitasking but I keep trying, sometimes with disastrous results. However, I did discover something this weekend that will kill two birds with one stone. Want to make over your house and your body? Well you can do both at the same time simply by laying laminate flooring. Seriously, the box needs a warning label like you see on workout videos: before beginning this or any other exercise/home improvement program consult your doctor.

The process goes something like this. Grab a plank of flooring, squat down and lay it on the floor in the precise position. Stand up. Grab another plank and squat down. Hammer the two together. Put them back in the precise position. Stand up. Grab another plank. Squat down. Measure and mark. Stand up. Cut plank to precise size. Squat down. Insert choice exclamation when you realize you’ve cut it wrong. Stand up. Grab another plank. Squat down. Repeat a million times.

Forget Buns of Steel. After eight hours of this, I could barely walk. But my entryway looks great. Only have the hall, living room, dining room, and kitchen to finish.

By the way, a good complement to your lower body workout is painting. Rolling color on an endless number of walls is great for the biceps, triceps, shoulders, and upper back. Your house will look great and you, well, you probably won’t be able to move, but the house will look great.

Next time, garden your way to good health. How shoveling two tons of gravel can be good for you.

Interesting Article

This article from UK News Headlines claims books can reveal your personality. It's interesting. I can't think of a time where I saw someone reading a book and it changed my opinion of them. Mostly I'm just thrilled to see anybody reading any more. Nonetheless, I always feel a particular kinship with people who like the same books I do.

Anybody ever been surprised by a book they found someone reading? Did it alter your opinion of them?