Um, I'm a little behind...

Way back in April, Kathy at A Beautiful Ramble bestowed upon me a happy blogger award.  And, being the huge procrastinator/slacker that I am (I prefer the term procrastislackinator myself), I never publicly acknowledged it or paid it forward.

Well, Kathy, I owe you an apology for being so slow to respond...and a thank you for the award!  And I owe everyone else 10 things that make me happy, so here goes:

1.  Yarn.  Um, was this ever in question?
2.  My new MacBook Pro.  Happiness in a slim silvery shell.
3.  My nephew, Jackson.  Even though he's half a world away, I still think he's the coolest little guy on the planet.
4.  Google.  Seriously.  I would have some major problems getting through my day if I couldn't Google something that I didn't know the answer to.
5.  Wind.  It's my favorite element of nature.  Luckily I live in Skagway, "Home of the North Wind".
6.  My boss.  We may drive each other crazy some days, but I couldn't do my job if she wasn't there to guide me.
7.  Ravelry.  What sucked all my time before Rav was around?
8.  Making up new words.  Like procrastislackinator.
9.  Interesting product packaging.  I'm a sucker for it.  I am a marketing team's dream consumer.
10.  Having absolutely no plans.  I love the feeling of waking up and having nothing pressing on the horizon.

Okay, so now it's my turn to nominate 10 blogs that make ME happy:

1.  SpillyJane
2. Adventures of a Sisu Girl
3.  Cloudberry
4.  NieNie Dialogues
5.  PDXKnitterati
6.  Tanis Fiber Arts
7.  Cake Wrecks
8.  Dropped Stitches
9.  indigodragonfly
10.  Fat Cat Quilts

A couple of them aren't knitting blogs, but they make me happy all the same.  Okay, so who makes YOU happy? Do tell!

Sic transit gloria mundi

So passes the glory of the world.

Today is just one of those days.  No, not bad at all.  It's a good day.  A feeling of effortlessness is floating through the air.  Do you know that feeling?  For me, that feeling comes with a brisk ocean breeze that has an snippet of autumn in it.  And fresh snow on the mountain peaks in June.  Reminding me that there is light at the end of the tunnel and fall will come soon enough and the too-busy tourist season will be over and my peaceful town will once again be here.

After two months of working every day, I have finally gotten some time off this weekend.  My insides have been like a pressure cooker these last couple months.  Each day the pressure builds a little more and a little more until the steam starts to leak out the top, whistling loudly.  And then, at a certain point, the steam has nowhere else to go, but to explode.

That was my Wednesday.  After two months of working every day at a job that sucks my soul and every last little bit of creative energy I have left, I snapped.

It wasn't a major event that caused the pressure to instantly release.  It was many many small things that chipped away at my resolve.  I had become a robot, going through the motions on auto-pilot, because it's easier than dealing with all the stress that comes with my demanding job.

But Wednesday, without proper warning, my brain had had enough and I had a complete meltdown in front of my employees.  Tears.  More tears.  Head down on my desk.  Talking incoherently.  I had reached my limit of bullshit, stress, and needy tourists.

I generally have a meltdown every year at this time, due to be overworked, overstressed, and overtired.  But this year was different.


I really let my job take up too much of my life this time.  We all are guilty of doing it from time to time, but this year it got to the point where it was really unhealthy.

I'm sure you've noticed the lack of posting here.  I really wish that I could have had something to tell you about these last couple months.  But unless you are interested in hearing all about trains, reservations, bus schedules, etc., then you probably don't want to hear what I have to say.


I knew I had really gone off the deep end when I started dreaming in train whistles and ticket times.  Kind of like in college when I dreamed in algorithms and chemistry symbols.

Anyway, I'm saying all that to say this:  I'm back.  I can't promise anything exciting.  But I can promise that I will be more fully engaged in what makes me happy....connecting with you all.

Because life is too short to focus on things that bring on unhappiness.

So, what have you all been up to since April?  Do tell!