Sorry for being MIA as of late.  Although I have good reasons, I’ve been feeling awfully guilty for being off the radar for so long.  This post is to catch everyone up so we can all move forward…ok, so I can move forward.

Reason #1:  We have new addition to the family…a furry one!

Bright-eyed Riley

We welcomed Riley, a glossy bright-eyed black kitten into our house on August 5th.  It took a lot of adjustment for my husband and I, who haven’t had to deal with a toddler-like bundle of joy for quite a while.  We’d forgotten how much time and energy it took, and how much sleep you have to give up.  It was especially difficult for 6-year-old Starsky.  His brother Hutch, who passed away last October, was the only cat he’d ever known.  Now there was a tiny terror in the house.  After several weeks carefully integrating Riley into Starsky’s home, all our hard work seems to have paid off.  Starsky is getting his daily workouts in again, and we foresee some serious snuggling in the near future.  Riley’s ability to transition from knocked out to cracked out in two seconds flat has presented a challenge for me.  Since I work at home, dealing with his boundless energy and my responsibilities has been a juggling act.   However, he and I are both getting better at our roles.

Starsky and Riley, early morning bird-watching

Reason #2:  I’m writing a book!

So far it’s been exciting and depressing and thrilling and scary and fulfilling and arduous all rolled into one big ball of emotion.  And it’s not nearly done yet!  Right now I’m finishing up my (hopefully) kick-butt proposal to send off.  I got some interest in April when I pitched the idea to agents, but now I’ll be in better shape when I pitch again in October at the IWWG’s Big Apple Conference.  More details on my book soon!

Reason #3:  I’m writing an article that ties in to an upcoming television series!

Have you heard about ABC’s new series Pan Am?  Well, it just so happens my grandmother was a stewardess for Pan American Airways in the 1940’s.  And she wasn’t just a stewardess, she was the ambassador of the airline, greeting dignitaries and historical figures, as well as appearing in magazines and advertisements.  My grandmother has enjoyed recalling her whirlwind years, and had her first on-camera interview by a news reporter a few weeks ago.  Her story has always been amazing to us, but seeing that others would now be interested in it got my cousin and I thinking about pitching her story to newspapers, which we’re in the midst of.  So no more details yet, but if it gets published I’ll post the link here…and if it doesn’t get published, I’ll post the article here.  Either way, you’ll hear about it.

So you see, there are reasons why it’s been quiet around here.  But all the while, I’ve been cooking up some tasty posts to serve you very soon.