Man, has it really been almost two months since I posted on my blog?! I can't believe how behind I've been (on everything) over the holidays, but I'm really working to get caught up.

We had a great holiday season. Spent Thanksgiving in Hilton Head at a beach condo, then enjoyed numerous Christmas festivities and family gatherings in December. It went by so fast! Nina and Amelia really enjoyed having two-plus weeks off from school, ballet, scouts, etc., but Mom was really ready for the holidays to end. Don't get me wrong--we had a lot of fun playing games, watching movies, putting together puzzles, etc., but I was glad when it was over and I was no longer their full-time source of entertainment.

I thought things would slow down in January, but we've had a couple of birthday parties already this month plus three more this weekend. I'm getting back into freelancing (I had a story in The Commercial Appeal today on the interesting subject of permaculture; if I didn't have such a black thumb, I would definitely like to pursue growing some of our own food) after a holiday break, and I hope to soon have a little time for fiction writing. Much of January has been spent trying to get organized so I'll have more time to pursue my writing, and I'm slowly but surely getting there.

And now, much to my chagrin, Kevin has been asked to shift to another company office to help out for a few weeks. He leaves EARLY Sunday morning for the Twin Cities, which experienced a record cold spell this week. He'll be gone for about two weeks, then come home for a week, and probably back to Minnesota for a couple more weeks, though it could take longer. It remains to be seen whether I'll have more or less time for writing while he's out of town, but I have no doubt that the girls and I will really miss him!

Hope the holidays were wonderful for all of you and that your New Year is off to a great start.