Update? What's that?

Hey, what, so you want a real update? Like what's going on? Sure I can do that... Anything to avoid the Chemistry....

I feel like we've been on the go since before school started this fall... My stepfather died in August, right after I started my 3rd semester at WGU, the day after my gift-grandson was born. We made many trips to & from Syracuse amidst all the change, helped a friend with a drag show, and near the end of September we cleaned out my mom's attic and brought home a lot of boxes to go through. (Some are still waiting patiently.) Always trying to find the joy in each moment...

At the beginning of October, we took a short trip to NYC to visit our friend, RH Cooper, and spent a wonderful day visiting Rockaway Beach. Who knew such beauty existed so close to the city!? I didn't... Oh, we also got to shop at Trader Joe's for the first time, and took a walk through Queens for take out! Thanks, Reid, for a lovely time!

Photo by , minor editing by moi...

After that we adopted another Guinea pig from FreeCycle to be a friend to our little Allie McBeal: Babykins. And just before Halloween we went in costume to a Halloween-Birthday Party at Jacqueline's sister's house and had a great time. Lots of games and food and fun...

Rocker Chick, Ghoul, Witch, Witch's Apprentice, Nickelback ( XD ), and Reverse Dutch Rabbit

Then we headed to TENNESSEE! And didn't even get visit our friend theFrugal Pixie; we were on the other side of the state... -_- BUT we did get to meet a lot of great unschoolers! The kids had a blast and made lots of new friends, and Jacqueline & I got to relax in a gorgeous cabin, with gorgeous surroundings, and not worry about people judging us for ANYTHING.

Our Cabin's View

Then we had a little time to breathe.... except for all the boxes still needing to be unpacked and sorted from Mom's attic... and the boober-head Benji needing changing and feeding and attention... and the Chemistry... >.< But then it was Thanksgiving, and time to stuff ourselves silly! Oh, yeah, we already were silly...

Amused by my dropping back & taking pics, the group decides to "moon" me... but they forgot part...

We got our first snow that stuck on December 1st, but it was gone by noon (It snowed once before but didn't even get the ground white...), and on the 5th we headed to Aunt Jenny's again for her annual holiday party...

Sadly, Babykins got sick that night and passed away. At least we were able to give her a few months of happiness, with a bigger cage, lots of toys, a better diet, and a best friend who she was cuddled next to when she crossed over...

RIP Baby

But we still need to find joy the joy in the moment, and part of that is getting ready for the holidays! Since there's no spare money to buy a tree, and no room for a full sized one, we went and found a nice small one in our woods. Jacqueline & the kids decorated it yesterday, while I ignored my Chemistry some more...

And Jacqueline has been a baking fool and made all kinds of goodies! Gingerbread with homemade whipped topping, glazed gingerbread cookies, and even a carb free brownie for me made from almond flour & topped with cheesecake! Yum!

Of course there is still the ever present Chemistry, and worrying about money, and trying to help my dad, and trying to find time to be with friends, and giving the kids opportunities to have fun, and finding time to connect with each other, and meeting our own needs for solitude... Finding the balance isn't always easy, and I struggle a lot with guilt and feeling judged and perhaps a bit isolated by my own *busy-ness* if you know what I mean, but I keep trying...

Waning quarter moon through trees and clouds