Let me try to catch up what's happened since then. Spoiler alert: a lot.
We ended up having to sale our house "as is" - which means the house was gutted and cleaned. There were only half walls, no cabinets, no sinks, nothing. We had really come to a breaking point mentally. Let's just say we had to get out of the nightmare we were in for months.
Because this is intensely boring for those who weren't flooded, let's just say we searched for options. The chances were slim we'd find investors who would buy our house, but we had great realtors and we were able to sell the house.
We barely, and I mean barely, broke even. But, the house is in the past. I miss it intensely. I am starting to lose my memories of our years in the house. But, the new owners are giving it the love and care it deserves. They have been working on it and I know in the next few months, the house will be ready for a family to live in.
We are searching for a house right now to live in and we've got our eye on one. If it works out, I'll be writing about it. I'm so scared to jinx it I haven't even done any sort of furniture/appliance/decorating research. But I'm slowly trying to open my mind to the fact that we may not be in a faux house much longer.
In the midst of all that, I was laid off from my job. This was not a big surprise. I'd been hanging on to that job by a thread. Another thing I intensely miss. I was tired of the stress of WHEN would I be laid off, but I really, really loved my actual job.
So, I've been searching for a job for the past month and I've had several interviews. I've also started freelance writing again and this has really been enjoyable (the writing, not being laid off LOL!). I'm very excited and thankful to get back out there. The pieces I'm writing are fluff, but I'm very happy doing that. So far, I've written mostly about school events (not at my daughter's school) and I've really enjoyed it since I have a kiddo of my own. I love seeing how kids work on projects.
I've also been working on TWO novels of my own. One is an old one, that I'm currently editing and revising with the hopes of entering a few contests to have agents tell me what they think. The first contest is later this month and I'm scared shitless.
The second novel is one I wrote during the month of November. I participated and won the National Novel Writing Month. This little contest considers you a "winner" if you write 50,000 words in 30 days. I did it, but let's just say it's a super ugly first draft. I wrote that sucker in my gutted house every day while waiting to pick my daughter up from school. My house gave my plot lots of inspiration and I can't wait to see the finished product. Hopefully by summer, I'll have it complete.
I'm trying to turn these lemons into lemonade, and I think considering the circumstances the lemonade is pretty good. Not sour, but still not quite right.
Running - OK, the nitty gritty of the post right here - I have enjoyed my faux neighborhood specifically for the running. It's been great having the use of several streets with minimal traffic. I've really, really liked it. I'm hoping a new neighborhood will offer the same fun.
Long story short, I've lost 15 pounds, BUT I still need to lose about 30 more to get where I want to be with my happy pace.
I ran a 5K in January with my husband. I had "trained" for it, but because I spent all of November writing, the race seemed like I hadn't trained. LOL!!! And that's ok! I still had a lot of fun and me and Rich walked to the finish line together. It was very romantic. Ok, not really since I was really sweaty.
Loved everything about the race.
My race plans for 2017-18:
5K in March - honestly, I'm not expecting this to amount to anything other than running/walking. I'm concentrating so much on finding a job and writing I'm not going to put more pressure on myself to run. And, hopefully, fingers and toes crossed, we will have a house soon, so we have to move. Fun fact: when you lose 90 percent of what you own in a flood, moving will be a breeze! :)
Going to try to run 5Ks before the half marathon in January 2018.
This one will be "free" sort of because I deferred this past January's 2017 to January 2018.
March 2018 - like an idiot, I mean like an optimist, I just signed up for the Rock N Roll New Orleans FULL marathon. The price was too good to pass up. It also will be the exact date of my cancer diagnosis 20 years ago....so it's a reason to celebrate my health!
I am unsure of how the next 13 months or so will pan out, but I'm super excited for positive things and positive changes. I am so completely out of my comfort zone right now. The last six months since the flood have been life-changing. Some good, a lot bad, but I am excited to see how all my little "goals" pan out.
I am off to a freelancing assignment right now, but I'll be posting regularly.
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