Hi!

Alright, alright, I've had my week long pity party, and as Rock Chef so nicely put it: Well come on! You've had your week! Get your little ass in gear! (I mean really, how could a girl resist that? lol)

Today I'll just give you a recap of recent events, then get back to business tomorrow.

1. The meltdown last week was a culmination of many things - some serious, some not. But you know how when there are a couple big things, everything else just seems to get blown out of proportion too, right? In all honesty, after I had that cry-fest, posted that blog, and the husband got home from work and gave me some tlc, I felt much better.
Plus, who wouldn't feel better having Gigi and Reggie calling and leaving sweet messages on their answering machine?
Love you guys :)

2. Ellery hit the 8 month mark last week, and let me tell you, the kid is a riot! She isn't crawling yet, but is more content to just roll everywhere (including over everything that gets in her way) to get where she needs to go.
She now yells Dada, Mama, Yiyi, Nana and a few others consistently at the top of her lungs, which is pretty cute, except when the husband is working nights and is trying to sleep.
She has a new smile we're calling "The Pirate Grin" where she grins so hard that her eyes almost disappear into her face, and sometime she only closes the one eye, giving her the pirate look.
This is her in her new housecoat, on the way to The Pirate Grin, but not quite there. It's a fairly elusive grin, and I have yet to catch its full effect on camera.

3. We're heading to Ontario this weekend. We haven't been there since Christmas and I can not wait! I know, it's weird that I get so excited to see my family, but I really can't wait to see them, especially to get a hug from my dad :)

4. I'm noticing that I've gotten really lazy with my freelance. Not writing it, but more with the interviews.
I used to get an assignment, look up the person or company on the internet, research them as much as possible, plot and write out each question I would ask, obsessively check that my tape recorder had new batteries, do a drive-by at each location I had to go to for interviews so that I could be sure I knew where I was going, check that I had a notebook and at least three working pens before I got there...
Now? If I get around to it I'll take a quick scan over their website, check to make sure there are batteries in my recorder, and off I go. I'm not entirely sure whether it's just because I'm lazy, or because I've been doing it so long now that it doesn't stress me out like it used to. I guess it's because now it seems easier to just talk to people, and create a natural flowing conversation, than be a total nerd and read from a notebook?
Maybe it's a combination of laziness and honing my craft? Is that possible?

5. We've decided that this is the year we're finally going to buy a house. I've said that before, but this time I mean it. We're paying ridiculous rent (our last jump in rent was $21 a month!), and since house prices are coming down a teeny bit, I figure, why wait? We've been waiting for years and now we've got nothing to show for it but $80,000 in rent receipts!

6. I've got nothing else to report! How unexciting am I? Sheesh.