What a difference a day makes (give or take a month...)

I'm a huge fan of sayings and cliches embedded in our vernacular. Not in my writing, mind you, but I love how useful they can be in getting a point across quickly and succinctly.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step. 

It's always darkest before the dawn. 

I get by with a little help from my friends. 

Tomorrow is another day.  

In August, I shared that I was in desperate straits. Depressed and not coping well, I'd reached the end of my rope (see? A totally useful cliche!).

I admitted that I have a problem, that is wasn't going anywhere and that it was choking the breath out of me. Speaking this aloud, owning this sliver of reality, truly was the first and most important step.

Picking up the lifeline (i.e. phone) to seek professional help, man, it took me days to do it once I found the right number. It might have been a metaphoric pre-dawn, but it loomed dark indeed. As I placed the call, my hands trembled, I cleared my throat incessantly, I swallowed back tears. Then I was speaking to a live person and my voice cracked. I had to pause more than once so I wouldn't break down and sob. I curled into myself, a ball of shame with no face. If I couldn't see out, no one could see me.

But I made the call. I made it at work. I made it knowing when I was done, I could climb the stairs and tell my friends I'd scaled that impossible task. Because they had my back. I got by with a little help from my friends.

A monthish later finds me adjusting to therapy, a stint I never expected to repeat. But here's the good stuff I've reaped because I held onto the promise of a new day:

After a year and a half of owning it, I finally charged up my Fitbit. Last week I clocked in 29.42 miles (69,476 steps). That's more activity than I've seen in a year.

After two and a half months of dragging my feet on a final round of revisions to my WIP, I'm now five pages away from typing The End (okay, so technically, I've done that with this MS once before. But you're darn tootin' I'm gonna celebrate this milestone, mm-hmm.).

After being stuck for way too long, I feel like I've sprayed a bit of WD-40 on my life (I've been informed it is not DW40...but if I'd written that, you totally would have gotten what I meant, am I right?).

Now I'm free to move about the cabin.

What a difference a day makes.

Buried but Still Breathing

Hey friends, I know I was supposed to post another weight loss blog today, but I'm copping out. :-) In about five weeks, I'm moving house. And while it's true that I just moved a year ago, this time it's a big move: a hundred miles away instead of only three. So I've been going through all of our storage spaces, revisiting everything that I put away years ago, and deciding what to keep and what to let go. It's been a little on the difficult side, hence the cop-out. I hope you can forgive me.


Just a quick update: I've lost another three pounds (most of that sweating while running up and down the stairs) which brings my grand total to 115 pounds down, with 76 left to go.


I don't want to leave you completely unentertained, so here's a funny video I found about being buried. While in my case I've been buried under boxes (and memories), the video is about being buried under paperwork. But it made me laugh, and I hope it does the same for you.


Thanks for reading, watching, and caring!

A Change Is As Good As a Rest

A change is as good as a rest. At least, that’s how the saying goes. I certainly hope it’s true, because really, now we're halfway through September and that means we're on a downhill slide to the end of the year. Who has time to take a vacation now? The kids might be back in school, but there’s still plenty to do.

If your shorts and sandals are blocking your closet’s sweater shelf, you’ll have to switch out your wardrobe. There’s fall cleaning, fallen leaves to clean up, and the fall furnace check. Your professor is expecting your thesis, your editor is expecting your manuscript, and your mother is expecting you for dinner. All in all, there’s no rest for the wicked and very little for the righteous no matter what time of year it is.

When life starts to wear you out, maybe that’s where change can come in handy. Now, I’m not talking big, momentous change. I’m talking about a small, occasional change in the things you have to do anyway. Just such a change can freshen your outlook and bring a bit of fun back to your life. Best of all, you control it which is more than we can say for that spring storm that ripped the shingles off your roof or the stray dog that dug up your dahlias.

To that end, here are my Top Five Ways A Change Can Be As Good As a Rest:

5. Don’t let the daily drive to work or school grind you down. Instead of sticking with those familiar roads—and the rut you’re in—take an alternate route tomorrow and don’t forget to enjoy the view.

4. Exchange your evening glass of chardonnay for pinot noir—or better yet, a Manhattan—and perk up those taste buds.

3. Switch that standard shower gel for something fruity-tootie or excitingly exotic. Just make sure it’s definitely different.

2. Pick a spice, any spice. Try adding it to a serving of your favorite dinner dish tonight.

1. Spend the night someplace else, whether that’s a B&B in Boston or a tent in your own backyard. You’ll wake up with a whole new frame of mind.

So what do you think? What life issues get you down? When they do, have you ever tried a fast, fun way to perk yourself up? What's your quick change?

Hot Guys + Big Laughs = Supernatural Gag Reel (Season 10)

What's better than gorgeous men? Gorgeous men saving the world.

But wait, there's more! Gorgeous men who spend their time saving the world, and who make us laugh! That's right, it's the gag reel from season 10 of Supernatural.

Funny and hot. Doesn't get much better than this!