Ugh. The fact that I haven’t updated this blog hardly at all this year weighs on me all the time. In a nutshell, it can be explained by me having a job. When I moved out here and was unemployed, being a kept woman, I had time to stretch out on the couch during the day and make lengthy, thoughtful updates. Now that I am working harder than ever before (more often than not I stay late at work nowadays) and don’t get leisurely internet time during the day, it’s difficult to motivate myself to write when I get home or on the weekends. Mostly, I am so exhausted after work (and my 1+-hour one-way commute, which is a whole ‘NOTHER story) that all I want to do is snorgle on the couch with Michael and watch some TV together. It’s the best part of my day, even if it seems boring, but it definitely precludes everything else.

I am trying to make baby steps in my life to broaden my routine a bit, though, and figuring out how to write more in this blog is on that list. First up, though, is trying to exercise more: I’m waking up even earlier in the morning to get in some Denise Austin workouts (her peppy encouragements like “Squeeze those buttocks! If you don’t squeeze ‘em, no one else will!” amuse and terrify me. Ouch, Denise!), which makes me even more exhausted in the evenings. I’m waiting for the point where my body is like, “Hey, exercising is awesome! I like being healthy!” but right now it is in full-blown surly teenager mode, all, “I don’t wanna get out of bed! Hmph! If I can’t sleep, then I’m just going to be sore all the time! So there!” It’s all I can do to cook dinner for us on most nights, let alone come up with something for the whole internet to see. Baby steps!

(But speaking of food! Last night I made my first foray into salmon, pan-searing it with a balsamic glaze, and it was delicious! I am no longer irrationally nervous about cooking fish, and now I can’t wait to add that to my dinner repertoire.  And I know Michael is excited to eat things other than pasta!)

But other than our lives being consumed with work and snuggles (sorry, friends, if we’ve been hermits lately), everything is going wonderfully. Every day I am aware of how much I absolutely adore him and how good we are together. Our mutual enthusiasm feeds off each other, and I love that I can still say, after almost a year and eight months together, that he still makes me swoon every single day. We can be utterly goofy together, which I love, and he keeps me grounded and content. See? Swoon!!