And Then I Stepped in Gum . . .

Where've Ya Been, Stranger?

Well. Christmas has come and gone, as has New Year's. I missed any opportunity to send good wishes to my readers or make my resolutions known. Now I'd just be a few days late and umpteen dollars short. Basically, I've been busy. December is clearly a slow blogging month -- few of my favorite blogs were updated as regularly as they usually are. So January should be better, right?

I can't promise this is going to be interesting, but I've noticed that whether I post or not, I've got 5 or 6 people who stop by every day to see if there's anything here. Can't let the PUBLIC down, can I?

What have I been busy with? I see you're dying to ask. Mostly with the playhouse. I haven't updated the site yet, but this past weekend we made great headway -- the interior is painted (sunny yellow for the ceiling and top half of the wall; sky blue for the lower half of the wall) and about half of the exterior is painted, though I think it will need another coat. Today I put in a vinyl tile floor that looks like parquet. Next step is windows and carpet for the loft and painting and installing the interior trim. And as soon as we get that ladder painted, we can install it and the kids can play in it. I've also got to do the gingerbread/Victorian painting for the exterior trim, but that can wait a little bit. Still, I'd like to get it all finished so that I can move on to something else fun to do.

The weather's been great -- in the 70s all week. I think I can live with this. It also seems to finally be "fall," as all the pear trees suddenly dropped their leaves the past couple of days. Very, very odd.

I've also been planning a marketing blitz for JM Editorial. My primary client is cutting down what they pay me, and I'm probably going to need to scare up some work shortly. So I've been updating my business site (if anyone wants to comment on my rough draft, feel free -- the new logo is courtesy of famous author Lani Diane Rich [back when she was just my online friend Lani Schwalbe]) and my resume, and tracking down publisher listings in Literary Market Place. I had a fun afternoon with my digital camera and the LMP in the library -- taking high-res photos was cheaper and easier than using the copier. I also ordered new business cards, and as soon as they come in and I have marketing packets to send out, I'll be making -- gulp! -- cold calls. I'm not crazy about the idea, but it might be a chance to break into some new topic areas. I'd love to get into some fiction or textbooks.

And today was the last day with our nanny, Linda, who's leaving to take a full-time job with another family. I'm going to miss her -- she was so great with Ian and really doted on him, which was exactly what I was looking for. And she seemed to like me, too, and didn't seem to be judgmental (I always feel like I'm being judged for whatever reason). Now we'll be breaking in a new sitter. This one is 27 (Linda was a grandmotherly type) and is also named Jennifer, which just seems kind of weird. But I think she'll be good for Ian too -- at least, I'm crossing my fingers that she will. I bet she won't do my laundry and dishes the way Linda did, though. Man, was I spoiled!

Ian had his 2-year-old checkup yesterday, and was 35.5 inches and 28 lbs. The doctor isn't worried about his lack of vocabulary, especially since he's putting together two words. Actually, he's gone beyond that -- he very insistently told her, "I-na [Ian] boo [blue] 'at [hat] home" when we were discussing hats (I can't remember why that came up). He's also recognizing 5 or 6 letters -- O, M, K, I, F, N, and maybe some others -- consistently and is starting to say some of their names. And I found out yesterday that he knows all of his colors, though he can only say "boo" and "yeh-yow." (He's become very proprietary about the color yellow -- insists that only he can like it. He goes on a little incomprehensible tirade at me every time he thinks about me painting the inside of the playhouse yellow. Gotta love being berated by a 2yo!) Just think how much we'd realize he knows if he'd only talk.

All right, I'll wrap up this rambling post. I promise better in the future -- I was just getting depressed by all the people (the hordes and hordes, of course) coming by with nothing new. So now you've all got something to read while you're procrastinating whatever it is that you're procrastinating -- my New Year's gift to you!

posted by Jennifer Morgan, at 5:58 PM