Hello again.

This is my first post in a very, very long time. I can attribute that to the general at-home laziness that I have been feeling as a result of unrelenting outside-of-home business. No, wait, not "business," busy-ness. Not a word, but it's what I mean. I've been crazy busy.

Since leaving full-time employment in the theatre in mid-2008, I generally satisfy the performing urge on a fairly irregular basis; but I've been performing like mad over the last few months, which has been great, but also exhausting. Over the last few months, I've been doing a lot of singing, something which I love to do. I'm going to try to do it more often, I think.

I'm taking a break from theatre for a few months, which will hopefully result in working toward these goals in my personal life:

• Cooking at home more often. I love cooking, but due to the general at-home laziness I mentioned above, I haven't done it enough lately. This week, however, my first one with significant time at home in months, I cooked. I cooked delicious fresh burgers made with beef from my co-worker's farm; I cooked a homemade stromboli with chicken sasage, ricotta cheese, peppers, portabellas and fresh basil; a fabulous birthday dinner for my husband's birthday (filet mignon, asparagus and smashed purple potatoes with giant chunks of garlic). I can't wait to get back into this.
• Reading more books. Reading is one of the true joys of my life, but due to the laziness, I haven't really read anything lately. My nightstand is covered with books, waiting for my brain to be ready to absorb them. I think my brain is ready now.
• Canning! My mother-in-law has taught me the joys of canning this past fall, and I can't wait for a summer's worth of canning. My good friend and co-worker Michele is the canning queen and she'll be showing me her secrets in the coming months. This past fall I canned jam and applesauce, but I'm looking forward to moving onto more savory treats, like tomato sauce and sauerkraut.
• Writing. I write a newspaper column every week, which is a blessing. I manage to use my writing degree every day in my full-time job and in my column, but as a result, I don't EVER use it for fun. I used to write constantly, incessantly. Now, I don't. I'm going to set modest personal writing goals for myself, so you may see some ramblings on here in the coming months.

Well, thanks for listening. Off to tackle Mt. Laundry.