Almost 6 Months Later....
She writes again! It is true, I am alive, and am updating my blog, finally. Surprisingly, not much has happened. The rest of the summer (post Costa Rica) was quiet. I stayed home in NOLA, went back to Hallmark to sort cards and sell ornaments. The only big change in life was ending things with Alton. After 10 months or so, we decided it would be best to NOT wait seven years to end things violently. He moved to MS and is doing so well as his job and new life. We're still friends and plan to continue to be such. :-)
Hallmark has been in Xmas mode since July-no joke. It's not The Pot, but it is becoming a type of home. I have great co-workers, who never cease to amuse me. Customers are less than amusing, but spending 45 minutes with one elderly couple looking for a 50th birthday card for their son, is...time consuming, at least. But now all our Keepsake ornaments are officially out, and things are slowing as holidays pass us by.
School is going along, but is not the same without my Costa Rica friends. Painting has been slow, but my "creative well" should still be full, so I'm hoping as midterms end, I'll be painting more. I've found a new webguy, and so britwhit.com should be taking off to it's full potential soon! Yay! I'm following Jane's led and painting a portrait for the Peace March early November. That, and three pieces I'm in the middle of are my primary studio focus.
In family news, Stephie had her baby! Aubrey Elizabeth Verdugo (her middle name is named after my middle name! Awww!) was born Sept 18th, and she is beautiful. I can't wait to meet her this Christmas-ideally in New Orleans, but we'll see how the trip works out.
Yes, I may be in California this December. I am trying to avoid it, due to money and so on, but I will be seeing Steph come hell or high water. So if you wanna make CA plans, watch facebook and myspace for updates. If I do come into town, I'll be in Whittier for 6 days or so, and in Laguna for 3 or so. Again, everything is unplanned as of yet, but plans will be settled soon.
Everyone else is the family is good. Maddie turned one, Alex turned 19, and everyone is doing well. Shanny is trooping along, strong, as always. Mom is living with Grandma and Grandpa, Allison and Alex are living together with Alex's girlfriend Amber, and Aunt J is working a million hours a week. Ma-Ma and Pa-Pa are doing well, in Hawaii right now visiting Ma-Ma's son. Grandma Carrie is losing her mind a bit, and Alzheimer's is setting in. Aunt June moved her shop into a bigger location, and she has been helping Aunt Kathy with her radiation treatments. So, everyone is doing stuff, but is hanging in there.
Therapy continues to trot along. I'm working in a group now, on DBT things, and also on my own, like I have been for....a thousand years now? Maybe four. I adore my therapists, and have the good fortune to still have dedication to myself after all the ups and downs. I find more and more in myself as I work, and I know it's all worth going through. Ideally it will keep going fast though-I'd like to be done....now, please. But soon, I hope, I hope!
Romantically I am seeing someone new. His name is Keith, and he's in the Navy. He is a little older than me, he's 31, and lives in MS-about an hour or so away from me. We've been dating for a month or so, and he's really interesting, smart, clever and cute. He's from CO, but has been in the south for a year and a half, I think? It's early on in things still, but I am hopeful. He's a real neat guy.
That's about it....I spend most of my days with greeting cards, books, and Ricky. lol I'm having fun with discovering TV shows, (Tim Gunn is made of awesome, and Always Sunny in Philadelphia may be worth watching...) reading a million new books and comics, (Good Omens in indeed good so far, and Jane Eyre is not as bad as I'd feared) and planning fun times with friends and family (this month that includes the zoo with Maddie and Halloween something-I got a sexy costume and everything!). Life is quiet, in a fulfilled-and-good sense. Now I just need to figure out Xmas plans...I'll write again, sooner than May, promise!
