Finally, I am back online.

This past month has been wild beyond belief, and the only things that have kept me from going absolutely ballistic have been Gordon and the BTD (in no particular order).

The last time I blogged was my last day of work at the weird night job. Apparently it was also nearly the last day of work for everyone else there. Over that weekend, everyone on the team (with the exception of the leadership) got laid off. So if I'd hung in there a few more weeks, I would have gotten laid off and received unemployment. My timing sucked!

Gordon and I headed to Texas to meet my family, and to spend some time with my grandmother. The triip was fun and not fun, in so many ways. I fell off the BTD bandwagon for those two weeks, though I did make an effort to get decent food when I could. Let's just say that brownies and chocolate chip cookies are difficult to resist when I was faced with the stress of seeing my grandmother in her current mental state. It was wonderful to see her, but she is declining rapidly, has macular degeneration and can't see much anymore, and isn't eating properly or enough to keep her healthy, let alone alive. She is nearly 92, so the decline is inevitable, but I wonder just how healthy and independent she would still be if she had followed the BTD theese last few years. Her short term memory is pretty much shot, and the mental loop repeats quickly. I was as patient as I could be, but I had to leave the room a few times as I got frazzled. Gordon was amazing with her, and was even more patient than I was.

Gramma adores Gordon, and the rest of the family seems to like him and be impressed with him, too. Even my normally stoic father remarked on how impressed he was with Gordon and how he treated Gramma and me so well. Of course, it didn't hurt that Gordon drinks the occasional scotch and soda - which my dad drinks, too! So they bonded over a drink when we went to see my dad and step-mother at their house, and told my stepmother that we're getting married. We even went ring shopping while we were in Dallas!

We also saw my brother and sister-in-law in Texarkana, and my grandfather. That was just a one-night trip, and it was good to see everyone. We told everyone that we'll be getting married next spring, and they all said we seemed like a perfect match. (I agree!)

On the way back to California, we stopped at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. It was my third time there, but it is a special place for me, so I enjoy going. My great grandfather installed the original elevators there in 1931 or so, and my grandmother tells stories of the workers lowering her into the caverns in a big bucket. There is a picture of her standing in the desert near the opening of the caverns - she was about 20, and was wearing PANTS, and was clearly enjoying herself. It's a great carefree shot of Gramma in her youth, and it's one of my favorite pictures of her.

Once we got back to LA, the fun really started. Gordon and I decided to move in together so we can save money for the wedding, and I gave notice at my apartment building on August 25th. Gordon had also said to tell the manager that if she wanted me out of the apartment in less than 30 days, that we could do that. When I told this to the apartment manager, she said, "Great! Can you be out by the first?" Uh... yeah. So I moved out within 5 days of giving notice! I am still unpacking, and only just today found the piece of paper with my password on it for blogging!

So I still have about 30 boxes of books and other assorted office stuff to unpack, and it is going slowly. I've learned that moving is EASY compared to moving in WITH someone - we both have enough stuff to furnish a home, and we've both been going through our stuff and throwing things out and giving them to Goodwill and friends and figuring out what needs to go into storage. It's an experience!

I've gained a few pounds - haven't been as diligent as I would like, and haven't worked out at all other than moving lots of furniture and boxes around. Between the trip and moving, my routine disappeared, and is only just now getting back on track. I've lots about 4 pounds of the 9 I gained on vacation and during the move, and I'm reestablishing my routines in the new place.

Throughout all of this, Gordon has been amazing. He is everything I could have hoped for in a man, and I'm thrilled that we're planning a life and family together.