twitter

I have discovered twitter, and how easy it is to use. Now I can update my status on my phone, especially since we have unlimited text now with the new phones we got for Christmas. So we’ll see how well this goes on this blog. Maybe ya’ll will get to see some more updates from me than you have seen recently!

It’s been a long time, but here I am, being thankful

Thanksgiving: Things have been crazy for us at the Joyce household. Zach and I are very thankful to have our jobs right now. My office has seen 14% of the office laid off since mid-October. Zach’s office has had 26% of the office either leave or get let go. We’re both busy, but honestly, I am not sure how long that will last. This is the most concerned I have ever been about my job. I guess the knowledge that our industry is hurting made Thanksgiving more poignant. We were blessed to be able to go to Mississippi for Thanksgiving week. However, Zach’s parents’ home was torn up due to some foundation work. Zach’s parent’s were gracious enough to allow us to stay with them despite the chaos. I know that my mother-in-law was upset that we had to deal with the dirt and the holes inside the house, but to be quite honest, it wasn’t that bad. The worst part was having to leave with Isabelle when they started to jackhammer the floor, two days in a row—with very little warning. We went over to Zach’s grandparents’ house. I was worried sick that Isabelle would break something over there. Isabelle is a very curious child, and is constantly on the go. Vigilance takes on a new meaning when you have an (almost) one-year-old. Thanksgiving also included some time with Zach’s grandfather, who has been very ill. It was the first time he had seen Isabelle since she was just a couple of months old.

So I have been working on a list of big items for which I am thankful, especially with all that has gone on this year. I wanted to share them with you. I give thanks for:

-A wonderful husband who puts up with so much from me—especially after seeing some marriages teetering on the brink this year.
-A job where I make a reasonable amount of money. So many people in my industry and around the world are looking for work.
-A beautiful family where we have good health. It seems like more and more people around me are struggling with cancer, for example.
-A home that I love. We could still be in our old place, unable to move because of the market. We could have the problems that my in-laws have. We could be living in a third world country with no roof over our heads.
-An extended family that we love–and in-laws that we love, too! Zach and I are very blessed that we like each other’s families–and we think they like us, too!

There are so many other things, but I don’t have the space. The past few weeks, when I’ve felt overwhelmed by the economy or my crazy schedule, I have tried to focus on the many things that I do have!

Blogging Inferiority Complex

I was reading a blog today, authored by an acquaintance of mine. She’s a friend of a friend, and although I knew that she had a blog, I had never checked it out. Today I found it through a link on another blog and decided to check it out. I have to admit that I felt rather inferior. Her blog entries read like excerpts of a well written book, both descriptive and eloquent. And mine, well, I know that my entries can be a little choppy. This made me wonder, what is my purpose in this blog? I don’t think anyone is going to want to use my blog for advertising anytime soon. I’m not going to use this blog as a platform to begin my great American novel (or self-help book). Obviously, I am not going to move many people to tears with my writing (at least, not in a good way). So why am I writing this?

After much thought, I decided that this is my purpose: simply to share the ups and downs of who I am, because sometimes, you just have to share. It’s kind of neat to be able to share how excited I am about _____. Or how upsetting it is that ____ happened today. Or how yummy ___recipe is. Many of you (especially if you have no idea who I am) probably won’t care, and that is fine. You just found this blog by accident because you did a search for baby food plum cake. Or the Daniel Fast. But I was able to share my thoughts with you, even if it was by accident.

And who knows? Maybe my eloquence (ha!) is lurking where I can’t see it.

sorry there aren’t any more posts…

This week has been crazy. I’ve been exhausted. Sorry if you have been looking for me. Hopefully I’ll have something more for you later this week, but off to cleaning bottles I go!