Hello, background, and five weeks remaining (or so)

It's been on my mind lately that I really enjoy writing, and the experiences of the last few years with the pandemic have left me wanting something to re-establish my identity. It's been rough and no joke, friends. So, I will write and see where this goes!

Background:

Remodel - last year, I became convinced now was the time to renovate my kitchen. Like buying my Forester in 2020, I wanted something tangible and good that I could associate with the-most-hellish (oh wait, I'm SURE I meant "growth provoking") two (now two+) years of my career in public health. I knew what I wanted, which included moving the stairs. Refinance one took place. I will share the story of finding my contractor another time, but I also wanted a master plan for our whole house... and, well, that led to refinance two and a plan to make all of our dreams come true. At least, some. Which pertain to our house... a master closet and updated bathrooms, plus the new kitchen, and the moved stairs. Oh and a pantry. Yes, definitely a pantry... In other words, a remodel is an exciting thing, and once you start visualizing what you COULD do, you MIGHT get a little scope creep from what you THOUGHT you were doing. But, we are so excited; it will be worth every penny! 

Other improvements - as you might expect, a summer (or other extended period of time) living in someone else's home, in this case, my in-laws, while remodeling your home... could create some anxiety and self-reflection. I've been reflecting a lot and this may be a good spot for documenting thoughts, which may be entertaining, tragic, brilliant, or something else. In any case, it provides a spot for adding context to the amazing pics and videos I share on FB and IG. Maybe. 

Thoughts - well, if you are REALLY lucky, you might have me dropping some wicked insights into my thoughts - good, bad, ugly, and everywhere in between. We'll see. I realize when I'm TALKING I often can't edit (or at least not fast enough to be meaningful), so perhaps writing here will help me learn to practice that art of editing. Or not and you'll get very juicy fun (or disturbing) peeks.

Who am I (inspo: updating my resume/CV to include in a grant application) you probably know or wouldn't have clicked on my blog, but... 

• Wife of Blake since 2005, who works at Crown Casters & Handtrucks
• Mom of Grace since 2011, who is currently 11 years old
• Often mistaken by strangers and her gymnastics teammates as her Grandma
• Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• Frequent repenter of using language that is colorful
• Diet Coke addict
• Assistant Division Director, Division of Population Health, Utah Department of Health and Human Services
• Incident Commander (though our structure is less formal now) for the DHHS COVID-19 response
• Graduate and survivor of West Nile virus, class of 2006
•  Major (acute impact): meningitis, encephalitis, acute flaccid paralysis (among other nasty things)
• Minor (chronic impact): dystonia, tinnitus, anxiety
• Former cyclist and mountain biker - now attempting to relive those years on my Peloton... well, sometimes... like once a month counts...? ;)
• Other adjectives that might describe me: kooky, tenacious, well-meaning, thoughtful (sometimes overthinking), silly, loving, creative

I should say this blog could end up very short-lived unless I have questions to prompt writing, so if you have a question you'd like me to answer, or something you think would be interesting to know, please post a comment! 

OH and yes, currently the remodel is due to be complete Sept 6. We have an amazing contractor and project manager, and this is only two weeks off of the original timeline (Aug 24). I remain cautiously optimistic and love seeing the daily progress!

Before signing off - re: my issue with mistaken identity noted above: one of Grace's gym friends told her the other day, "Grace, your grandma is here!" Grace said, "um, that's my mom". Friend says, "Oh! It's her hair..." PEOPLE, I am dying my hair again in an effort to avoid this issue. Older moms, I'm with you if you've encountered this. I've had people at Yellowstone (several, in fact) ask about my granddaughter, would I like a picture with my granddaughter, etc... We've had people randomly sit with us at a table at Handcart Days in the Park proclaim "oh, looks like it's grandparents' day!" because they were there with their grandchild. I've had kids at Grace's school come up and say "Are you Grace's grandma or somethin'"? Look, it's no one's fault. They're all trying to relate, and you can look at my other blog (Blake and Melissa's Next Big Adventure) for the backstory on this. But, in any case, it is a unique challenge, which prompted me yesterday to realize I AM squarely in middle age, no going back, despite feeling young inside. So, I'll embrace the mistaken identity and tell those kiddos you can call me whatever you want so long as it is not a swear word. ;)

Thanks for reading, more to come! Maybe...