greetings from Maryland...

Hello my lovely blog readers! I'm so sorry for the prolonged absence. This move has taken its toll on me and I tend to retreat when I'm trying to work through something (that something being adjusting to life in Maryland.) The truth is, for as hard as I thought the move was going to be - it's unfortunately been about 100 times harder. I think I've cried more in the past two months than I have in the past two years. First it was about leaving Portland... I didn't just cry for my beloved Rose City - I wept, I sobbed, I ugly cried good and hard when it was time to say goodbye. In short, it sucked. And then we arrived in Maryland and it has been one thing after another since we got here... we found a really nice rental house, but a string of really crappy luck has left us without power, AC, hot water, and a refrigerator at various points over the past month. And don't even get me started on the day care situation for Emma... it's way more expensive here and the quality can't even hold a candle to where she was in Portland. It's immensely frustrating sending your kid off to a place every day that you don't like. So yeah... see why I haven't been blogging? I'm a downer! But I really am trying, despite all the hurdles that keep getting thrown my way. We're here now and I do still believe that this will be the best thing for Emma in the long run. And every time I start to question that, I look at this picture...

That's my mom a few weeks ago on her birthday with Emma and my nephew, Zachary. The happiness on the faces of people I love most in this world makes this all worth it. And for as much as I've struggled with this move, I do know that I can be happy here. It's just going to take a bit of time to work out the kinks.

I know I keep saying it, but I really am going to get back to regular blogging this week. I have photos of our new house to share with you, the big before and after post about our old house, and some funny "before" photos of my post-baby body to shame me into sticking with my new weight loss & workout regime. Okay, I might not do that last post. We'll see how brave / crazy I'm feeling. :-)