thoughts from the kitchen sink. or: the best way for me to do dishes?

BLOG ABOUT UNRELATED THINGS AT THE SAME TIME.

So, for your edification and entertainment, here's what's going on in my head as I slog though hot, soapy water and partially deconstructed food chunks {yay!}:

1. Preparing coffee in a clear glas = way too much fun.

But I am easily entertained.

2. I cannot get enough of:

Seriously, my husband is likely rolling his eyes for all the times he's heard this video, emanating from somewhere in the house in the past week.

He could also be wondering, "I thought she was going to do the dishes?"

Lucky for me, he is, in fact, asleep.

Still... *sigh*

*HOUSEWORK BREAK*
{not to be confused with its infinitely more awesome cousin,
*dance break*}

half-a-sink later:

*SHE EMERGES!*

Major news, you guys:

3. I met John and Hank Green in Phoenix last night!!

gasp!

eeeeeek!

giddy
fangirl
squee-fest!

...

Vicariously, that is.

Thank you, Jess. Friends in high places, seriously.

MORE ON THIS TO COME.

{It gets even better.}

{Special shout out to Jeigh, as well.}

4. I've been reading The Plot Whisperer like a fiend, lately. A little, uh... new age-y, in some places, but  I can still {very much} dig it. 

new iphone case {via etsy}! whee!

In fact, I'm heading to The Necessary Evil* right now to get supplies for my shiny-new PLOT PLANNER! {I don't know if I need much I don't already have, but the ritual of "going to the store to get stuff" is immensely helpful to me. So here I go.}

*also known as Walmart.

That's all for now, friends.
Here's to a lovely and relaxing Thursday evening!

unemployed and it feels so... awkward.

I quit my retail job in May.
I spent the summer volunteering at Loucon.
Husband and I moved to Chattanooga.
Husband and I went on a cross-country adventure.
I participated in the Writer's Platform-Building Campaign.
My best friend was diagnosed with a grade II astrocytoma* in her left frontal lobe.
Husband and I went to New York.
I won NaNoWriMo.
I was in a play.
Christmas happened.
New Year's happened.
Several friends have come to visit.

Yesterday:
My mom turned 61 {I'm not afraid to share, because she owns it}.
Katie's surgery didn't go exactly as planned, but she's okay.
She starts chemo and radiation in about a month.

And last night at small group, a friend asked how my job search was going.

What job search?

Ah, crap, I haven't worked in eight months. What a loser.

Well, okay. I've worked, but I haven't had a job. I haven't been paid for anything. And if this is what full-time writing looks like? It's a wonder anyone gets anything done {I am not a very productive being}.

I wouldn't mind getting a job. I really wouldn't {it might happen soon, actually}. But I'm not exactly chomping at the bit for one. It's a blessing, for sure, that I don't need to have a job right now. A luxury that makes me blush to admit. My husband works his tail off doing something he half-loves so that I can do what I full-love. If only I didn't fail at it, or dance around it, or gape at it, drooling and terrified.

It's true that I've accomplished far less, writing-wise, than I'd hoped to by now {and, no, I'm not counting NaNo}. Life, of course, has been crazy. But I'm not blaming life. I'm actually... thanking life? Or, to be more accurate, thanking the Lord for giving me this life. As jumbly and hectic and painful as it's been, there have also been great moments. Especially during the play. Things I wouldn't trade for the world, let alone a paycheck.

And so today?
I will clean the kitchen.
I will disconnect myself from the internet.
I will write.
I will inquire about a nannying job.
I *might* even go on a walk in the woods behind our house {oh yes, this one first, please}.

And I will practice telling people that I do have a job. One I love so much, I don't need to be compensated to justify it.

It's called being a stay-at-home writer wife. And if I can really do that with intent {hey-oh, there's my word}, won't it be so much better than throwing in the towel and jumping back into retail?

OH MY GOOD GOLLY, YES.

*I didn't link to any information about this because Katie has asked/trained me not look up stuff about her condition on the internet {or at least, not to tell her about it}. She wants her info to come from doctors, and I wholly respect that. Feel free to google it if you want, but you never know what you might find.