Bet you didn't think you'd find me here again quite so soon....

...and yet, here I am.

There are challenges ahead, I know. Things are tough...Taco and I are both super busy right now, me with work and writing, he with a music workshop and with gigs. And good god, we are broke broke broke, oh, so broke. And busy, did I mention busy? And so the house is a mess, and the bills need paying, and I keep making these to-do lists on scraps of paper, folding them a frillion times and cramming them in my pockets and then, you know, forgetting about them, and the things on them. Oh, Sisyphus, you had nothing on me. Nothing, I say! No one is better than me at rolling the same stupid rock up the same stupid hill a zillion stupid times.

No one.

Taco very kindly tonight pointed out that things are tough because we've let them get that way, but now that we're aware of just how tough things are, now we'll look at things head on, and deal with them, and not look away and pretend there's nothing wrong. We stood in the garden in the fog and had this chat and though the sky was getting darker and the fog thicker, all I could see was the light going on. Because this is what I've done: I've looked to the side, pretended that what's in front of me isn't as bad as it actually is. That if I just ignore it long enough, it'll go away.

What do you know, turns out I was wrong. It doesn't go away...whether it's a power bill or twenty or thirty pounds (not to put too fine a point on it, you see). Whether it's the result of a new water heater and just not looking at the bill for two months, or the result of chocolate and bread and oh-i'll-exercise-tomorrow/next week/next month. It doesn't go away. In fact, it gets worse. And then you get hit with a number you'd rather not see, whether on the bill's bottom line or the scale's.

The trick, though, is to catch it. To catch it, to look it in the eye, to do something--whatever it takes--to stop it, to fix it, to turn it around. In the case of the bills, it's a new tenant, starting in August, and a new austerity starting right now. In the case of the scale, it's water and walking and yoga.

And vigilance. Vigilance all round.

Bet you didn't think you

Your command, my wish, as it turns out

So there I am, surfing over to Body of Work, as is my pretty-much-daily habit these days, because I am addicted to the writing of Anne. And there, on the front page at Elastic Waist is a little yoo-hoo to yours truly.

Funny, that. I was just thinking, as I waited a microsecond for the page to load, it's time to head over to Mighty Mighty, blow the dust off, see if anyone's still around. Heh.

I mean, here's the kind of day it's been: Late to bed, early to crank off the alarm, reluctantly up, 40-minute walk. Come home, make breakfast, absent-mindedly undercook Taco's boiled eggs by five minutes, yecch. Drive him to his music workshop, come home, pack lunch, ride bike to work, workity work work work all day, race home on bike, make healthy supper with husbandly help, dash off to writers' group meeting, come home, begin to think about blogging, suddenly cat sits up, coughs in a horrifying portentous way and pukes in the wicker chair. Minutes later, husband frantically demanding towels and terrible burnt sugar smell fills house as home-made beer boils over and courses down stove and across kitchen floor like horrible, inevitable lava. Sacrifice old but still good (well, not any more) bath towel and two tea towels to the cause, retreat from kitchen, sticky-footed and sighing.

And I hate to tell you, but that's actually kind of a normal day.

All of which is to say that my main issue continues...which is that I am a creature of habit, which is great when my habits are good and my routine can continue unmarred. But the last year...has been a trial, frankly. So much good stuff...the renovation stopped the house from sliding into the backyard. Marrying Taco was the smartest thing I've ever done. Seeing my novel actually get published was pretty frigging awesome also. The new job, and then the other new job, have also rocked. And the French lessons, don't forget those. It's all great and positive stuff.

But it railroaded my routine. First to go was exercise, quickly followed by healthful eating.

I am making overtures to my old healthy habits, trying to win them back. Setting small goals...daily walks. Two litres of water. Three pilates or yoga sessions a week. Two days in, I'm hitting it out of the park on walks, am batting about five hundred on the water, and am considering a pinch hitter for the yoga/pilates...whoa, my metaphor fell apart. I mean, I'm planning for those sessions over the next five days.

Meanwhile, I am diligently packing a lunch and eating healthful snacks.

Right now, it feels like all I can do. So I do it. And we'll see, you know? We'll just see.