where to even start?

hello reader, welcome back. may i offer you a cup of tea? a scone? biscotti? no? you are too shaken up realizing this blog still exists? me too, dear reader. me too. i feel very much like frankenstein (fronkensteeeeeen), resurrecting this monster from the dead. at some point we'll have to contend with the literary horrors this blog will undoubtedly unleash, but that's like at least 10 minutes from now, so i think we can spare some time. which is good because hoo boy, i got a lot to cover.

since the last oh, seven years or so since i last wrote, there's been a few small changes in my life. got married to nick, birthed a child, changed jobs, discovered i don't hate capers as much as i thought, survived a pandemic, survived a fascist coup attempt, got a puppy, you know, just little life blips, really. okay, fine. i am a transformed little butterfly now. though with the quarantine nineteen, i more likely resemble heimlich. who IS indeed a beautiful butterfly and the happiest bug, so it's fitting.

see? happy.

nick and i got married in june 2014 and five months, 33 hours of labor and an emergency c-section later we got to meet our sweet girl, abigail. her difficult entrance into the world was thankfully not a harbinger of her personality as she truly is so loving and thoughtful. parenting has been a wild ride and has challenged nick and i in ways i won't get into now, but it has been a wondrous thing to be someone's mama, especially her mama. she's six and so bright and curious and fun and i feel so lucky to be there to see her grow and learn. i just hope i do a good enough job getting her through life and that she doesn't talk about me excessively in therapy as an adult.

speaking of being an adult: i now work at a native clinic as a medical assistant/scribe, and it's pretty great. i have been there for 5 years which is the longest i've ever been at any job. i attribute this to well, liking going to work. it doesn't feel like work and i love the friends i have made there. that said, my most favorite friend/arch nemesis will be leaving me forever in a week's time and you'll forgive me if i'm inconsolable for 15-20 minutes or so. i may or may not take a vow of silence too. i haven't decided yet. on one hand, i don't think my heart can open up like that again. on the other, i can't keep my yap shut for very long. so we shall see which instinct wins out.

last but not least, since i've kept you far too long, here, please gaze upon my pup:

isn't she the cutest? her name is furiosa, fury for short. we think she's a catahoula mix even though we were told shepard by the animal rescue. in any case we are smitten, even if the cats are less than thrilled to share their home (yes, we still have toby and pippin!). she is 7 months, incredibly spoiled, and gets way too many treats for her own good, as do the cats. but the animals are worth it because, good lord, this year was hard to be human and there's nothing quite like cute animal cuddles to take the stress away. i hope you all find some way to tamper that cortisol - if you need a pupper to hug, i'm happy to share. you have after all, made it this far through my incoherent ramblings. in keeping with my tradition of overpromising, i will aim to write at least one blog post a week and barring that, once a month, and if not that, then quarterly or on the summer solstice. make that winter.

with that, here's your found item of the day: