Apparently it's November?

When did THAT happen, eh? The past few months have really, well...I'm not sure exactly where they went. Here's the News & Events from My Life to catch us all up to date:

The Engineer and I are engaged! Again! But for reals this time, with a ring and a romantic proposal and everything. It's swell. The wedding will probably be next fall at some point. We've started planning in nibbles and bites. Our conversations usually go something like this:

Engingeer: "Oh, I know! At our wedding? When we say our vows? I'm going to pretend to slip up and accidentally say I love my bike when I'm supposed to say I love you!"

Me: "..."

Engineer: "Won't that be FUNNY?!"

Me: "How 'bout we save that one for the fake wedding?"

Or this scenario:

Me: "Hey, I have a great idea. 'Love is a Battlefield' for our first dance."

Engineer: "Yes! Awesome! We can follow that up with 'Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'!"

Me: "So funny! We are so funny!"

Engineer: "..."

Me: "..."

Engineer: "Fake wedding?"

Me: "Fake wedding."

We've been having a lot more success planning our fake wedding than our real wedding. But our fake wedding actually sounds pretty entertaining, so....

In other news, the food writing is going well. I'm still working over at the Kitchn and have also started writing a few pieces for the Tribune, which syndicates several national papers. (Including, apparently, the Fairbanks Newsminer? They love me in Alaska!)

I've reached a good place, I think. I've been really worried about money, and between the writing and picking up some hours at a local bookstore, I'm finally almost making a sustainable income. It's enough to pay the bills and keep us afloat until the Engineer graduates. I guess that sounds kinda depressing and a bit anxiety-making, but it's actually ok. I feel like I can take a break from desperately looking for places to sell my writing and ways to make money that are still in keeping with where I want to go. I can just relax, cook, read, write, and be merry for a little while.

Well, I'm still working on the relaxing bit. I'm a recovering stress-aholic, so relaxing takes some practice.

Freelancing is both easier and harder than I expected it to be. It's easy in that it's not difficult to stay focused and do it. It's hard in that it's very difficult to walk away. Including the hours I work at the bookstore, time spent in the kitchen recipe testing, and time spent in front of the computer, I'm averaging about 50 hours of work or more a week.

The upside is that this is all work that I (mostly) like doing. I still moan and groan when the alarm goes off in the morning, but once I sit down at the computer, I'm pretty darn glad to be there. There are off days, for sure, but mostly I really enjoy what I do.

The off days are hard, actually. When I worked at the Noodle Factory, it was ok to have an off day every now and again - you just shrug it off and get back to it the next day. As a freelancer, I feel like I can't have off days. Not that I have to be perfect, but...the deadline train keeps on moving whether I'm with it or not, ya know? The best I can do is settle for a sub-par post at the Kitchn or scale back a recipe that I had been planning. It's been a tough to figure out the best way to deal with this.

It's also tough to say 'no' to new projects. I tend to see what accepting the project would mean for my bank account and conveniently forget what it would mean for the demands on my time. Having this good balance of on-going projects right now makes it easier - I can make the decision to accept or say 'no' based on my energy level instead of my need for money.

The Engineer has started looking for jobs for after he graduates (in May). This is equal parts exciting and scary. He's been in school for a long time. I think both of us have fears about how things will be once he's working full time again. We also might be moving, which is also both exciting and scary. Sometimes I can't wait for a new adventure and go off in day dreams about a new neighborhood and a new life. Other times the idea of leaving the community of friends and family we have here in Boston makes me want to...well...not leave. Sigh.

Anyways. I also have knitting projects and marshmallows and a few books to share, but now I'm tired and need to watch a few episodes of Buffy, I think. I totally missed the Buffy phenomenon when it was actually a phenomenon, so I've been catching up by watching a minimum of three episodes a night.

How are YOU all doing?!