I'm Still Here!

Well, well, well. Working has certainly put a big wrench in my life. As has my dog. And summer. And working out. And the list just keeps growing!

We are doing well. I have the photos to prove it, but months of snapping those intimate moments of our lives are still on my camera or on my laptop.

It's been a little easier to keep up with instagram. You can always follow me there: andreazehnder ... A few shots here and there are so much easier to upload on instagram.

We are doing well. Life has been fun. Work has kept me busy. I'm working out. I'm in Weight Watchers again on the slim down path. :) I'm hoping to meet my goal by end of July.

I prooooomise I'll write more. :P

No drama. That's always good. But not so good for my writing career.

x o x o

My Pup

A ritualistic moment from Bella. I promise her treats when my camera is out, so she sits in eagerness for me. She makes me pause in the total madness of my day (She's a big part of the madness. Don't call me a 9pm at night. I'm trying to lasso the pup.) and behold how beautiful this dog creature is. I have to remember how cute she is (and why I adopted her) now that she can reach the uneaten morsels of food left behind by my 6 year old. (I told Oliver to put his plate in the dishwasher! See what happens when you forget?!!!)

She definitely has a bit of Terrier in her. See those ears? Those, my friends, are not the ears of a Lab.

Prayer Must Really Work

There is no other explanation for the optimism I feel about life. I am not on a high, trust me, but I am dealing with losing a home in stride. I'm shocked even at my own ability to be excited about what's in store for my / our future.

I'm not seeing this as a loss but rather an opportunity.

Last week I was working on a new project for a client. It's a small website for a cancer treatment center, and while I was gathering the assets, I saw a photo of a cancer survivor. I was moved by her quote:

“When I was first diagnosed, I thought it was the end of my world. But then I began to see things differently. ‘It's the beginning of my world,’ I thought.  ‘My world is just going to be a little bit different than how I had it planned.’” – Rose Painter

Wow.

My world is just going to be a little different than how I had planned it. A little different? If someone can take cancer in stride like that, if someone can see it as a beginning, not an end, then surely I can too. I long to be a person with such optimism. A person who can leave emotions at the door and walk into the room with rolled up sleeves asking, "OK, what needs to be done here?" I want to be that person. Instead, I carry the burden of emotion like buckets of water on a milkmaids pole, navigating thru the crowded artifacts of life with unnecessary entanglement.

But someone must be praying for me. Or a few someones. Because I am not orienting that yoke while trying to cook breakfast. I'm not sacrificing a moment of rest to lament what I don't want to let go of. Instead I feel free. I'm in a place of opportunity. I have work to do, but there's hope in my future.

I have no explanation for the optimism I feel other than some sort of divine grace bestowed upon me. A gift that is unexpected, a present from Heaven, a simple miracle. I'm not weeding my way thru a cornfield.

Thank you to those who might be praying. I certainly am receiving the benefits.

:)