it snowed!

Stop traffic...we woke up to a dusting of fresh Alabama snow this morning.





Beautiful! It was cozy to look at for awhile, but the sun has melted just about all of it by now.

Anyway, I feel like I'm always apologizing for not having blogged lately - which I am, again. I've been on the same whirlwind of work, freelance work, life, sickness, work, etcetera. Nothing amazing has happened outside of that for me to even post about - it would be one semi-update after another of how busy I've been or how sick I've been. (And although I'm not 100% yet, I do feel 10 times better today after facing the doc-in-the-box yesterday, getting tested for a slew of things, being given a shot of steroids in the rear end, and starting on antibiotics.)

It is hard to strike an emotional balance with all of the work. Of course, my day job at the magazine takes precedent over any freelance work that comes in; and I'm so thankful for the freelance work. I hate when I have no freelance jobs for months, but then it's also very difficult to juggle up to 5 jobs at one time while working fulltime and keeping up with all my other activities. I like to give my clients quick turnarounds and quality work, and I think sometimes I hold myself to too high of standards where that is concerned. (All it takes is a few days of illness to put things back in perspective!)

I feel very guilty for complaining about being so busy what with the economy in this state; and who am I to talk when all I have to look out for is my husband and myself? But nonetheless, it is definitely wearing on me. Fortunately, I have gotten my most pressing jobs under control, I'm feeling better, and I don't feel like I'm about to fall off kilter. I feel a little more comfortable with all I've got going on. I have a few great projects under my belt right now - two in particular - that I really hope turn out well.

The most exciting thing going on with us right now, which most of my readers already know about, is that Nathan and I bought our first house!!! We found something that I think will be just perfect for us. It's got great character, is in great shape, and we got a great deal. We close March 13th (give or take a day - we are trying to reschedule around a trip Nathan is taking that day) and we've been trying to work out our budget for how much money we can afford to put in the house upfront. We are so tight on our money all of the time that we know we won't put money into the house like this after we move in. (To give you some perspective, it seems like a ton of money to me, but I think we're looking at spending a max of $1000.) If we had all of the money in the world, that would be a different matter - but then, would it be any fun to make it such a work-in-progress? It's an older house (49 years old) like all of the houses we looked at, so we're lucky that the previous owners had done significant updates throughout the house - much more than most of the 70s carpet, linoleum, appliances, and fixtures at other houses we saw. It's not a total remodel, but the little things make a big difference if we don't have to do them ourselves.

My sweet husband has been taking great care of me the last few days; cleaned the house, waited on me at my worst and put up with my sick-induced grumpies. Now if only the laundry would wash and fold itself...