after two years in georgia, we’ve moved back to north carolina this past may.

it’s really nice to be back near all of our family and friends. while we lived in georgia, we had several nieces and nephews born (and another one born just a couple weeks ago), so we felt like we were missing out on a lot of family stuff. plus, josh’s grandmother is 84, and while her health isn’t bad, it also isn’t the greatest, so moving back was the right thing to do. our house in georgia sold in one day, which took a lot of stress off of us during the moving process.

my brother and his family moved to texas at the beginning of this month. he got a great job offer that was too good to turn down, so they sold their house in charlotte and are living in a corporate apartment in texas until they find a house there. we’re all going to miss them tremendously, but he would’ve been crazy to turn down such a great opportunity. and it gives us an excuse to visit texas.

i completed my master’s degree in september. i feel a little adrift now that i’m done. i’m trying to decide what do with myself now, but i haven’t been able to really focus on one project just yet. i want to take some user experience classes and learn more about information architecture (IA was my favorite class in my master’s program). i also want to learn how to sew on a sewing machine. i know; those are two totally different interests, but that’s the way my mind works. i also want to do some gardening at my house. i did a lot of container gardening in georgia and had a good bit of success, so i’d like to do some gardening here in north carolina. of course, the weather is cooling down, so i’m limited on what i can grow at this time of the year. but i can start planning for next spring.

winston turned 12 on october 11. he’s doing pretty well, but he’s definitely slowing down. and it seems like he gets sick quite a bit more nowadays. just in the past three months, he’s been to the vet three times: twice for upset stomach and once for his back (he has intervertebral disc disease). but most of the time he still wants to play and run around; we just have to keep him from going nuts when he’s playing like boston terriers are prone to do.

i’ve lost a total of 50 pounds and kept it off, so i’m really happy with that. i’d love to lose a bit more, maybe eight to 10 more pounds, but i’m happy with the way i look now. so if the scale stays where it is for the rest of my life, then i’ll still be happy. i mean, heck, i’m 40 years old now, and i’ve managed to lose and keep off 50 pounds over the last two years — i think that’s pretty damn awesome!