Every once in awhile, I'll get a totally subtle nudge (not) from a certain someone (Heather), on a certain social networking site (Fbook) which casually (not) reminds me that I do, in fact, still even have this blog. Sad, sad, sad. Not the Heather nudge. The need that I have to be reminded of this blog, which I was once so loyal to.

I don't have any of the classic excuses, either. I'm working hard, but I'm home by 7 and spend my evenings doing whatever I want. I don't have kids. Kids seem to be a great excuse for not doing things, but since I don't have any, I can't play this card. I can't even blame my absence on a dog, or a long illness or anything, really.

The real kicker is that so far, 2010 has been one of the most blog-worthy years of my life and most, if not all, of the blog-worthy events have gone unblogged, and some even un-discussed with even my closest of friends. It's not an intentional oversight...it's just that life has gotten in the way, it seems, and on my constantly expanding "to do" list, the blog has moved from "to do" to a "to don't" for no reason at all.

SO.

What HAS been going on on the Rock?

Well, in no particular order...

• We sold our house. I am no longer a landlord and I no longer have any need to spend a precious vacation day selecting a furnace for a home I don't live in. The house, needing approximately $25K in upgrades like...immediately...was a constant sore spot for us. As of April 30th, we unloaded these issues. We are absolutely over the moon. As lovely as it was to be "in the market", I am thrilled to be back out of it again. Opening my Canadian online banking to see a balance of $0 on the mortgage is, in a word, fantabulous. Later, debt.
• I started my own business. It is going amazingly well and I'm actually having to turn down photoshoots because, well, I have a real job. And a guy who I occasionally like to spend time with. But it's an excuse to build my portfolio quickly and gain experience and who knows...maybe sometime down the line, this could actually be my full-time job. God, I would love that. I'm having a blast with it. I'm booked solid until our vacation in June, and have bookings throughout the rest of June and into July. YES. As for the name...it is not just a shout-out to the lovely Beacon Hill Park, a stone's throw from the home I used to live. It's also the name of the neighborhood in Ottawa where Kurt grew up, AND the name of the neighborhood on the Rock where we ended up when we first moved here. Isn't that weird? It's like it's haunting me. In a good way.
• We're going to Ottawa, in less than two weeks. 10 days of visiting, relaxing and hitting up our favourite spots...I seriously can not wait. I love Ottawa!
• I got another promotion. I don't talk about my real job on this blog for obvious reasons but the short story is...office life is good. My secretary is still pretty much the most hilarious person alive, the best part being that she doesn't mean to be funny at all. She starts every sentence with "Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirlll..." and there is normally a lot of finger-snapping involved when she's making a point. I love her. Last week, she told me that her nickname used to be "Rumpshaker". Awesome.
• Tourist season has officially begun. I'm not really sure why anyone would believe the reports that tourism is down because every time I try to wedge myself into my favorite coffee shop, it is literally swarming with tourists...Americans, mostly, and specifically of the New Jersey variety, with a smattering of le Quebecois mixed in for a bit of variety. It makes for an interesting combination. They seem to be enjoying themselves, which I love to see, but the weather has been less than stellar so far this year, so they probably aren't leaving with the tans they were hoping for. Oh well. That is what spray tans are for.
• I've finally figured out how to get to Victoria this year...thanks to the timely announcement of the wedding of one of my favorite cousins. Nothing is booked, but the plans are in place for August!
• Another favorite cousin - and friend - and I are going to be experiencing the sweltering heat of NYC for a weekend in July, for no reason at all other than we're both turning 3o this year and thought it would be fun to meet up and do something a bit different. And really, there aren't many things that I think are more awesome and different than NYC. Four days of wandering, eating, wandering some more and oh...an outdoor MIA concert...no big deal. Oh, and the hotel we're staying in? Madonna used to live there. Hello...awesome.

So, there has been some stuff going on. There is other stuff too, but it's 11:05 p.m. on a Sunday night and I am exhausted and going to bed.

Night, y'all. That means you, Heather.