I’ve had a few internet avatars throughout the years. I’ve had my writing blog, where you’re finding this. I’ve had the travel blogs I’ve shared with my husband, KnK Explore and Unpaved South America. I’ve been a noncommittal seller of baby and toddler’s clothing on Etsy.

Most recently, I’ve ventured onto the internets as a seamstress and a cyclist. My new day job has me typing away for 8 hours a day, and while I make the time to write fiction I rarely have any desire to write about writing fiction. This blog, which was already quite neglected, has been all but abandoned.

The transition into working full time as a copywriter from working part time as a waitress has been rough on my creativity. Gone are the mellow weekday mornings where I had hours set aside to for writing and editing. Gone is the flexible schedule. In its place is a stable job with benefits, and a whole hell of a lot less wrist pain. Plus I don’t have to deal with cheap college students on a Saturday night binge.

All that to say: I’m settling into my job and learning how to make time to write fiction with my new schedule. I probably won’t be posting much on this blog except for writing announcements, so if you want to know what I’m up to in life, check out Bicitoro, my cycling/sewing blog.

And speaking of announcements, look for FISH, Dagan Books latest anthology, coming out in February. Yours truly has a story in it.

What is it about children that makes them build sand castles on the edge of the waves? Is it just that the sand there is best for building? Or are we acting out our desires to see the full cycle of life, to create, sustain, destroy?

Making babies apparently can take an awful long time. C’mon, sis. You’ll get that thing out of you soon.

Update 10:30 AM, Wednesday December 29th

The little tyke weighs in at 4 pounds, 3oz, and looks like one of those frogs that lives in a cave and has never seen sunlight. Which makes sense, I suppose. She’s being incubated and tested to see if she needs to stay here for a week or so, but overall she’s healthy, if ridiculously small and wrinkly. I’m an aunt!

Ah, Christmas.

Yes.

I’m so, so glad to be home.

I haven’t had much time lately to write, what with the family and the cross-state driving and the hours and hours in front of my sewing machine, but I’m back home now and ready to tackle the writing projects I’ve been ignoring over the last few weeks. Once I sort through the bags and boxes of loot that Rob and I scored this Christmas.

Like a tortilla press! Yes, mom, I know that wasn’t actually a Christmas present, but it’s certainly one of the things I’m most excited about. Our kitchen is now crazy outfitted with all the gadgets we could ever need, as is my sewing room. I now have cozy sock-slippers to wear whilst I cook delicious meals and sew adorable clothes, yummy hot-drink mixes to sip with the whiskey we got in Idaho ($10 cheaper there, which is maybe why the roads aren’t as good), a new book of sewing patterns I’m dying to try out, a beautiful table runner from my oh-so-talented grandmother, and some gorgeous metalwork from my oh-so-talented father. And a massive bag of homemade caramel corn that I’m going to try very hard not to eat in its entirety today. I really should hide that in the closet.

It’s beckoning me from the table. Temptress.

Just a heads up, I probably will be blogging sparsely over the next week or so, since my sister is about to pop out the latest addition to our family at any minute. I am working on another writing exercise, however, this one about dialogue and accent, inspired by John le Carré’s The Secret Pilgrim.

Happy Boxing Day, and a Happy New Year!

So it seems as though this blog, much like the journal I was gifted upon graduating highschool (nearly 1/3 full after ten years!) is destined to be filled mostly with posts apologizing for not posting and promising to post more in the future. This is one of those posts.

I’m not going to pretend that there’s anything different about my latest resolution to blog more; actions speak louder than words, as they say. We shall see.

What is different is that I’ve been taking it upon myself to do semi-regular writing exercises inspired by the books I’m reading. Since I’m doing these already, it seems like a good idea to Blog them in the event that some other writer might stumble upon them and find them helpful in their own personal craft-honing efforts.

This week’s exercise: Cultivating Richness of Language, a la N. Scott Momaday.

And I’m totally splitting this into two posts, just to make myself feel like I’m making progress. Ha.