The blog is moving! I have wanted to start writing again for a while but have been at a loss on how to resume this one...so instead, I'm just starting a new one. I may import some of the posts from here but that is to be decided. I was reading through some tonight and thought, well, what in the world. None of it is earth shattering, some of it is insightful but a lot of it is just...well, me.

So if you are interested, come find me at www.triciawil.blogspot.com! Adieu.

Back in January, I wrote a quick post promising more to come, a new idea for the blog, blah blah blah.

I immediately threw my back out and was down & out (literally and figuratively) for several weeks.

I'm back to almost 100% now, thank goodness, and thought it was high time to revisit my original idea (and see if anyone reads this thing anymore!)

2010 has become the year of the self-help book. I am predisposed to self-books, not because I find myself inherently flawed (aren't we all?) but because I am truly interested in what other people think about things. To this end, I kicked off the year by reading Gretchen Rubin's new book, "The Happiness Project".

The Happiness Project is one of the new genre that is all the rage - take some concept, do it for a year, write about, etc. I've read a few of these books this year as well (Kevin Roose's "The Unlikely Disciple", AJ Jacobs' "The Year of Living Biblically" and some chick's book about doing what Oprah says which I downloaded but am generally not into.) I found a lot of interesting concepts and ideas in Gretchen's book and through her website and I decided to conduct a happiness project of my own...

I can't believe it has been over a year since I've posted here. Likely, I've been forgotten by my tens of readers! Sorry about that!

I am working on a project and think perhaps this is a good venue for it. I have to do some background work for it but then I hope to be revisiting the blog and posting (somewhat) regularly again.

So, I completely missed my 500th post. Maybe you did too, given the complete infrequency of my posting and the dull content matter when I do finally post!

Things have been interesting. I've been in a funk for a while for various reasons, one of which being that we decided not to have youth group this semester. It's been such a big part of my life for the last eight years or so and then suddenly, it was gone. Now I've come to terms with it and am filling my time with other things and finding the new "normal" if that makes sense.

My job was also in jeopardy - layoffs came in June but I was luckily safe. Since then, things have been quite precarious and made more so by my overactive imagination and penchant for conspiracy theories. (I come by this naturally, if you have ever met my mom!) I had my review the other week and asked my boss point blank where things stood and she said they were improving. Later that day, a proposal I had submitted was accepted by a commercial supporter and that gives us some work well into 2009. Whew!

My finances have hit a new low, however, and that doesn't seem to be improving. I think there are a lot of reasons for this but right now I need to focus on how to fix it. I've applied for some part-time gigs but have to say that I have no energy or desire to work all day and then go work a second job. But it may well have come to that. We shall see.

And now, of course, fall is upon us and therefore so it the biannual flare up of the fibro. Love it! (Not so much.) Tonight we went to setup at a new facility where our church will be meeting starting tomorrow and I definitely overdid it. I hate that! It happened last weekend too when I volunteered at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Light the Night walk. So much so that I missed the race at Dover the next day...

I'm leading a women's Bible study this fall too and we chose The Frazzled Female by Cindi Wood. I have to admit - I was missing me some Beth Moore when we started. I love her studies and feel like I get a lot out of them. But the ladies chose this one and so I decided to work through it. It has been great. It is really working on me, especially this week's lessons. One of our assignments is to fast from a negative attitude or worry that is weighing on you. Any time it comes into your head, you are to remember our memory verse, "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." (Proverbs 16:24) My fast is going to be about my finances and I'm going to try it tomorrow. I hope that it changes my outlook - maybe it will even give me some direction and clarity about it all. I hope so!

So that's it - what's been going on in my corner of the world. Hope you are all well!

...which is what I would like to be catching. But unfortunately, that hasn't been in the cards for me lately. Ramona was in the hospital over Labor Day weekend and my sleep got messed up then, then I was sick off and on last week and this weekend and then last night (when I was wickedly exhausted) I had wildly disruptive dreams. I can't remember the last time I slept for more than a couple hours.

But the good news is...I finished the alphabet!

As in, yeah, yeah, I know it's been forever since I posted here. I am virtually at a loss. That, plus my current addiction to Facebook, have me wondering about continuing with ye olde blogge. However, I just looked and saw that I have 502 posts - this is 503. That is really quite amazing.

I am considering taking a creative writing course at the community college next month (if I can afford it). Maybe that will get my creative juices flowing again...