I thought I should stop by the old blog here and give y'all an update on how things are going. I'll start with the resolutions!

First, the good news: the diet thing is going awesomely well. I lost 9 lbs in 3 weeks (which is at the high end of a healthy rate of weight loss), then I got really sick and lost another 5 lbs in 5 days (I know!), making the month-end total loss of 14 lbs! This is a full 20 lbs lighter than I was at, say, Blue Heaven, and I can definitely feel the difference. Luckily, most of my clothes are pretty stretchy to begin with and still fit, but my more tailored interview outfits, for example, are suddenly too big because I've gone down a pants size!

Alas, this does not mean new clothes shopping yet because not only have I held on to the hope of losing weight, but also many of the sizes along the way. However, at the rate I'm going (or even a slightly slower rate, since I probably won't get that sick every month) I'm going to HAVE to buy new summer clothes. Fingers crossed! I will try to keep this up, because I want new shorts! Shorts!

Slightly less-good news is that I've only recently begun revising that novel I said I'd have done by the end of last month. Ah well. The upside is this time I'm actually pleased with some things (the dialogue, frex) and noticing pacing issues, which may mean this time I might actually be ABLE to revise the thing. I need to get on this, though, because, in other news...

I got my old job back!!

Yep, after 6 months of being unemployed, my old employer has taken me back! Sooo glad things are going better and that this is possible! It's a more complicated job -- in order to try and make the company work, we've all got to work full-out -- so I'll be doing, in addition to my old buying/ copywriting job, all the social media (Facebook, blog, twitter) as well as events (gulp!) and weekly podcasts (double gulp, because there'll be a record of those!)! It's a TON of writing. Hell, it's a ton of work in general. But, not only is it a job, it's a job I know well, at a place I'm very familiar with (it would have been 8 years in October) with people I'm very used to working with. And, most importantly, although it's a challenge, it's one I think I can rock out, so when I do I'll feel like (to quote Tim) A GOLDEN GOD! Or Goddess. Yay!

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So, what else. January was a great month, actually. Early on, Scott and Lynne and baby Graham came to visit. River is still talking about them, mostly in his third "joke": when putting on his socks, he says, "Sock! Lynne! Baby Graham!" (His first two jokes: gorilla/ umbrella and alligator/ elevator.) Graham is a year younger than River, but that gap is feeling smaller all the time; River was clearly delighted by the baby, and it won't be too long before they're playing together on visits.



The Santa Cruz portion of their visit ended with River throwing his glasses out of the stroller, which lead to an hour and a half search along the street in a not-the-greatest part of Santa Cruz. But! We found them in the end! It's a good couple of friends who will not only help you look for your kid's expensive-ass glasses for 90 minutes, but will make you not even feel bad that they did. We love hanging out with them and I can only selfishly hope that the frozen wastes of Duluth will drive them back to the warm embrace of Santa Cruz sooner rather than later.



My birthday weekend was a week and a half ago and it was AWESOME! Our dear friend, Dawson, came out to stay with us, which made it even more special. For my birthday, we went to Pizzaolio (yum!) then out dancing. At dinner, we officially asked Dawson to be River's godfather, and he accepted immediately! I'm so pleased to have someone like D. officially looking out for my kid; he's one of my favorite people and I know he'll do a great job.



Tim had to stay home with a sick River for the dancing, but my sister Holly, D. and I managed to close down TWO different night clubs in San Francisco! My friends Bekah and Michelle and D's friends Malia and Paco joined us for part of the night, making us a nicely sized group of fun folks. I LOVE dancing, but I almost never go do it, so it was the perfect way to celebrate my 37th birthday.

D's visit was slightly hampered by the fact that River's illness (plus our hangovers) made the next day a total laze about day. But, once again, I have to marvel at having a close friend, this time one who can just sit around on the couch all day long watching reruns of the Unit while we all nursed our hangovers (and the sick kid dozing on the couch). D's "inside the fence" with our family, so having him stay with us was simply wonderful, and I'm not just saying that because I had TWO other adults to help me watch River for a change (though it did make it feel like a vacation for me)!

Right after D went back home (wah, he's another one I want to move out to the Bay Area!), all of the adults finally came down with River's cold, which turned out to be RSV (read: the worst cold you can have and still call it a cold). We were sick sick sick for four days (as in, decongestant didn't work, had to take 3 advil to combat body aches, etc.), and it's now the fourth day after THAT and I'm still not 100%. It might have invaded my ears. Ugh.

Anyway, it was a subdued end to an awesome month, but it doesn't diminish the wonder that was my January 2010.