going batty.

at 2 a.m. on tuesday morning, the cat started going crazy downstairs. b investigated. there was a bat (A BAT) flying (swooping) around the living room. then the dining room. then he began swatting at it with a towel while i, upstairs in safety, googled what to do.

you're not supposed to swat at a bat with a towel.

after an hour, he saw it fly out of the dinning room and then heard it wreaking havoc in the office. so we locked it in there. shut all of the vents in the rest of the house. stuffed a towel under the door and moved to the downstairs bedroom because it has a door and we were afraid it would attack us. (okay, i was afraid.) but bats carry rabies. and, from what i've heard and read, if you are bitten by a bat while sleeping, you may not even know it. great.

the next morning animal control came by and couldn't find "my bat friend." let's get something straight. this bat was not my friend.

so i tip-toed through my day. afraid that any second, i'd see it.

i didn't.

at 8:30 last night we heard something hit the glass door in the office. hard. so we went to look.

it was the bat!

it was swooping and flying in circles in the office.

it was huge.

and crazy-like.

and it kept flying directly into the glass pain of the french door. i kept shrieking.

i called animal control again. and after a couple of hours they showed up.

the bat had gone back into hiding. but, thanks to a bunch of silent (or not so silent) prayers from my end, the guy found the bat. caught it. put it in a quicktrip cup. and sent it off to be tested for rabies.

we should hear the results soon. i'm praying we don't have to start rabies shots. they're $1,000 a pop. and people need 5 to 7.

in happier, more uplifting, awesome news. my new west elm chair came today. i am in love with it.

two.

on the day that, after 13 months of waiting, i finally got a job offer. i actually got two.

two great offers.

at two great agencies. working on awesome stuff. with amazing, creative people.

it was as if God was proving that if i, indeed, was patient, he would, eventually provide a job.

and provide he did.

but i hadn't been expecting options.

i honestly thought i'd eventually have to settle. for a job i didn't really want. at a company i didn't want to work for. doing things i would find either boring or elementary.

but both offers had nothing wrong with them. both were jobs that, had they been the only one offered, i would have taken in a heartbeat - my soul singing with new optimism.

two. i had never even HOPED for two. God has quite the sense of humor.

and that's okay. because in the 13 months i waited, i learned that i'm a survivor. that i love this industry called advertising. that i'm inspired by all things interactive and creative. that ideas are what move me, challenge me, recreate me.

ideas. and words. (and sometimes, bacon.)

i also learned to network - a skill that, i'm afraid, i hadn't previously perfected.

and i discovered people who had my back. good people. people who love advertising as much as i do. people who appreciate a really smart concept. people who think cliche has no place in a headline. and that exclamation points should never be used to turn a lazily crafted sentence into something more. because words are powerful enough if you choose the right ones.

which is why on the day that i got two offers, i hardly knew what to say. had this really just happened? was the ball seriously in my court? would i truly now need to hunker down to figure out where i would spend the next phase of my career? at the same time feelings of relief, accomplishment and elation overtook me, i probably let a few expletives fly, too.

in the end, i chose barkley. it's where i had my "super-secret temporary job" this winter. it is a good fit.

and as a friend and colleague from the other agency said to me in an email, regardless of where i chose to land next, it's good to be back.

Breaking news.

I got a job.

:)

A good one.

One at a great agency working on great stuff.

I'm going to be the newest copywriter at Barkley.

stay tuned.

for a very important announcement.

tomorrow.

ouch.

the top of my foot first started to bother me while running about a month ago. but it would come and go. and then the bottom would hurt. then, the arch. then the top again. so i kept running. carefully. but the pain wasn't yelling loud enough for me to quit.

today, it's bad. or at least wors than it has been. i'm really hoping this isn't a repeat of what happened four years ago. two stress fractures. one storm-trooper boot. 2 months of no running, no activity, no cute, matching shoes.

because in three weeks i have to wear my blue shoes.

and if this is a stress fracture, that's not going to be possible.

ugh.

if you don't live here...

you might not know that it snowed 8 inches today. on the first day of spring. it covered my blooming daffodils at 4 inches. and now, they're at the bottom of a snowy grave.

8 inches.

and it's still falling.

yesterday, it was 69 degrees and i was sweaty doing yard work. cleaning out flowerbeds. basking in the sun.

but today, glory-be, today.

23 days.

until i am able to:

be the wife to my best friend
call myself mrs.
change my name (thank god)
be a part of my very own family
say things like, "let me ask my husband."
start the rest of my life.

23 days!

grown.

i am an adult. i am having my chimney tuck-pointed. i am dealing with my alarm system company. i did two phone interviews today. ate half an avocado with salt and pepper. set up an in-person interview of sorts for tomorrow. talked to a project manager about a freelance project. and wiped my dog's feet twice.

i also wanted to sleep all day. eat chocolate for lunch. and watch cartoons.

i am an adult.

but sometimes, i am still a child.

crowns.

i had lunch with my sister, my aunt and my niece, eden, today. eden wore a crown. not because it was her birthday. or a holiday. or because she is a princess. she wore it because she made it yesterday and she loved it and she's 2, so she can do that sort of thing.

when we sat down at the table she said, "oh, a girl date!" because, you know, no boys were there.

and then she proceeded to eat chicken fingers like they were manna from heaven. and sometimes, she'd take a big bite of catsup with her fork. because she loves catsup.

she is such a bright spot. and reminds me that life is about finding happiness in the simple things. like catsup and crowns.

spring.

i ran 5 miles yesterday. and it was effortless. amazing. sunny. spring-like. i shaved three minutes off of my previous 5-mile time. i felt like i was floating.

i ran 3.75 today. in shorts. and a t-shirt. my face may have even gotten a bit burned and a lot more freckled.

and that's okay.

oh, and for the record, tomorrow marks one year. one year since i lost my job and became able to run at whatever time during the day i wanted to.

one. year.

and that's okay, too.

because good things have been happening. like saturday. when i got to hug someone that i hadn't seen, heard from or talked to for three years.

so as winter fades into spring and tulips push through soil that was, just days ago, covered in snow - new things are blooming in my life, too. good things.

fingerprints.

i don't know the right way to say this. or how to explain the timing of god's hands. all i know is that on monday, i was struck by a lightening bolt idea. something i had to do. a chapter that closed long ago that i needed to open. to offer forgiveness. and grace. and love. because the love that used to be there - well, it never went away.

but i was too scared.

and then today. that chapter, the one that closed...contacted me. it was as if god was showing me that the thought i thought on monday was from him.

if only i had trusted it then.

but it seems i get a second chance. it's like god figured if i wasn't going to do it the first way, he'd get it done anyway.

so to her, i say, thank you. thank you for contacting me. for your words. for your heart. know that i have never found another to replace you. i have lots of other friends, but none as dear. and mostly, i just want to give you a big hug. so, you can look forward to that.

happy things.

daylight savings time starts in like 10 days. hell to the yes.

and did you know that on the third day of not washing your hair, it starts to look normal again?

now you do.

stuff.

saw shutter island with my sister. i really liked it.

i'm loving needtobreathe. "something beautiful" makes me cry.

still not really sleeping. at all. so i'm tired. and my head pounds. all day long.

but yesterday, my groom bought his wedding suit! so there's no turning back. thank God.

and pre-marital counseling is going splendidly. i am SO blessed.

and i'm running. a lot. because there's not a whole lot for me to do right now. what with the job i don't have and the freelance that's not exactly flowing in.

but despite that, God's been doing some real work in my heart. the deep part that's attached to the very essence of my being. and i'm letting go of some hurts that have lived there for too long. and it's freeing and beautiful and brings this sense of peace - even with all of the other messes swirling around.