BBTW: What started it all

I was nosing around my blog to find my oldest entry to see why I started this thing. Because I have no idea. It turns out that the day after my birthday in 2004, I decided I was going to write more. Ha! At the time I was finishing up my BA in Creative Writing, and while I didn’t fancy myself a WRITER, I did feel like I had important things to say. I was snarky. I was funny. People wanted to know what I had to say.

Crickets.

I did technically start earlier, because Diaryland tells me I had 62 entries between December 15, 2002 and April 30, 2003 and they couldn’t ALL have been memes. No one wants to read that nonsense though. Why is it still out there? (because I don’t know my password and the email attached to it is defunct)

I think that I started reading blogs around the same time. It was a community, oddly a completely different community than now. In a fit of nostalgia I have tried looking up some of those old friends – do you realize how hard it is to find people that you only knew handles from ten years ago? I hope they are all well.

My blog, my blogging, has obviously taken on a different direction. I realized that I’m not a writer. I don’t even want to be a writer, ever. I have ideas, sure, but what I really love to do is read, is edit, is to offer ideas on other people’s writing. I love my job now which is not in the writing fields I thought I would be in, I have a husband and children and a life that is a lifetime away from where I was ten years ago. My friends who were my nearest and dearest at the time – yeah … not so much.

But I’ve met some amazing people because of blogging. Even before there was The Blathering and organized ways of meeting people from the Internets, I wanted a pair of shoes that they didn’t have at my local DSW. So a girl in Delaware found them at HER store and sent them to me. And thus began a beautiful friendship (even though my dog ate those damn shoes). More recently I have found twitter and The Blathering, and as cliché as it has started feeling, “I have found my people”. So I will continue to blog (although obviously not as prolifically as SIXTY TWO TIMES IN FOUR MONTHS).

I started blogging because I had something to say. Even though my somethings have changed, I’m amazed to find that sometimes I still have something to say.

(PS – I went back through my DL site because it turns out my first post there was four days after my first date with my husband. Yep, never deleting that thing.)

Prompt from http://rambleramble.com/2013/06/16/bring-back-the-words-prompts-link-up-week-1">Bring Back The Words – Week one

Let's do this thing

I made the conscious decision not to participate in Biggest Blogging Loser this round for two reasons. I planned on starting my exercise/meal overhaul earlier by several weeks, and the last two rounds I hadn’t been able to keep myself motivated and frankly I gained instead of lost both times. The very first time I participated I lost 20 lbs, and that was on my way to a 42lb weight loss year. I’ve gained somewhere between 15-20lbs back over the past two years since then, and it needs to go. I’m too old for this up-and-down.

But due to other (lazy) reasons, I hadn’t actually got off my duff more than a couple times for exercise and I’ve been eating terribly when I was supposed to be being So! Much! Better!

So Monday, while all the other participants were gearing up to lose that weight and get that money, I decided. …. Well, I decided just to lose that weight. I’m making my changes alongside my for-profit friends. I took before photos. I started cataloging my food and drink intake and doing the 30 Day Shred. I gave myself a goal (20 lbs) and a date (August 19). I will do this. I possibly look a little silly posting with the BBL participants and getting so super involved but it’s the only way I can psych myself  up for workouts and no less sweets and alcohol.

Two days into 30 Day Shred, I can tell you that’s no joke. It hurts to get in and out of my chair at work. Please, someone tell me it gets better. And am I supposed to do 30 straight days, or I read somewhere on the Internet that I’m supposed to have a rest day for every 6 days of workout?

A little of this, a little of that

Summer!!!

While I make no excuses about being absent around here, one of my issues is that it feels like so much happens when I’m away and although YOU don’t care, this is my space and it turns out I care. I haven’t figured out what I want this space to be, as I’m not blogging as much as I want to/should/could. But here are a few things going around at Casa Bapryll:

My best friend came to visit this past weekend. We ate great food, had some much needed girl time, shopped, ate, shopped, ate, and hung with children. And then she left and I fed the kids candy to numb the pain.

I decided that it was finally more important to have some semblance of a guest room over my 700 books (not an exaggeration) so I have gotten rid of almost all of them, moved all the kid books I was saving for the boys into their own room (Spencer points out his “new” HP collection twice a week) and now I have somewhat of a comfortable guest area/office.

When we’re not at Disney, we have been spending a lot of time in the back yard. My mom got the boys Socker Boppers (remember the commercial?) and they wrestle in the splash pool. Henry goes “ding ding!”

After coming home from vacation I remained attached to the French 75, so I’ve started making my own. Except that I don’t have a cocktail mixer (I swear I did, but it’s nowhere to be found) so mixing cocktails can be a bit messy. I make it happen though.

And I’m teaching the boys to be self-sufficient. You lost a ball under the couch and can’t get it with your arm? What do you do?

Books I read: May

I usually don't write my thoughts down when I finish a book, but looking back at this month I really should have. I had to look back at the synopsis on a couple to remind myself of the story. That's a bad thing, isn't it? No reflection on the books, either. I'm losing my mind, or my memory, or both. (edit: also I originally named this Books I read: June. Ooops!)

29 Delirium - Lauren Oliver Oh, this was good. I liked it and I'm hooked on the end. It felt young to me but I still liked it a lot.

30 Indigo Spell - Richelle Mead Mead's characters are like old friends at this point. I care so deeply for all of them. I will be sad when I don't get to read them anymore.

31 Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception - Maggie Stiefvater They plot holes and the way that everyone just has no problems with magic and faeries just SHOWING UP one day ... didn't like. It was just very okay. I also read a couple pages of the next one and gave up. I just don't care about these characters.

32 Son - Lois Lowry This was a beautiful ending to the Giver series. Loved every page.

33 Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare Not nearly as good as her other series, but I'll read them. I'm intrigued.

34 The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater THIS is what the Faery series should have been. LOVED.

35 Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor I had a difficult time getting into this second book even though I re-read a synopsis but by the end I couldn't wait for now the third book to come out.

36 The Fault in our Stars - John Green I didn't expect to love this as much as everyone else did. I did.

37 Nemesis - Jo Nesbo I'm listening to this on audiobook as I have a bit of work driving lately. I did NOT realize that the main character's name was pronounced Huula. This is why audiobooks are a good idea. Also, I love it - but what's not to love? I have about 6 hours left but I'll knock those out on Thursday, plus some (sadly).