More than 2 months later, Beth returns to the Blogosphere!

Well World at Large, it's been way too long. Pull up a chair and pour yourself a giant goblet of vino - we've got a lot to catch up on!

So I realize it's been a couple of months since last I've blogged and many of you have been (ahem) not-so gently following up with me to see what's been cookin'. A quick recap might be in order:

1.) Campin'. Yes. It's true. Pigs have flown. Hell has frozen over. Beth has camped! Okay, so it was for one night after a good friend's wedding and I was within 100 feet or so from plumbing and indoor shelter, but I think anytime Beth beds down in a tent with an air mattress in the out of doors it counts as camping. I found it helpful to down a few bottles of Prosecco beforehand to cushion the blow and put one's camping-phobic mind into a comfortably numb place. I have survived the wilderness!

2.) Spayin'. This one's a little more delicate. Seems that when Beth adopted her little white kitten from the SPCA and they SAID she was spayed they weren't so much telling the truth. Sigh. After taking her back in for surgery and making SURE that she was spayed, I can say I've got a whole new kitten at home. Gone are the days of screaming out the window! Gone are the nights of running restlessly through the apartment all night long! I may not have to throw her dirty little behind out the window after all.

3.) Travelin'. Okay, so not quite an international tour of the world. But I went to Seattle for a wedding and am headed to Denver next week to see the parentals and some old friends. It all counts as time off from work and a chance to get a new perspective, right?

4.) Refocusin'. July 4th marked my one year anniversary in San Francisco and with that has come a lot of thinking about priorities and lessons learned. For the past year I've been living as though this has been one seemingly endless business trip -- afraid to connect with people, afraid to let myself relax and enjoy my time here because I was so focused on "getting back home" and putting this tough year behind me. The reality is that while I might not want to live in San Francisco forever, I'm here for at least another year for now it seems, so I need to start thinking about how to enjoy and participate in life here rather than just hiding and passing the time. Still trying to figure out how that will translate into actions, but the mentality is starting to change and that feels remarkable. Stay tuned on this one.

Okay, so not quite Earth-shaking events, but that's part of the reason for not blogging more often. Keep checking back for more frequent posts, I pinkie swear.