Life has been busy lately. (And there again I prove myself to be Captain Obvious! Excelsior!) While I haven’t been updating this (ha!) I’ve been working on the 10,000-word (so far) project I am reluctant to continue to label a short story as it is turning into something of a novella. Or just a “story,” minus the short part. Not quite ready to think it’s a novel, but then, I’m so early in the first draft stage, it could become almost anything. I will keep an open mind!

The most intriguing change, though, is our search for a house — and by “house” I mean “apartment” or more specifically “condo” — in New York City. Oh, the joys of experiencing the real estate market! Since the husband’s promotion (probably didn’t mention that, did I? Yeah… he got promoted. Smart boy!) he’s been on the hunt to buy. Buy. This is both exciting and nerve-wracking. I am not mentally adult enough to think that we belong at this point, but it’s been a year since the wedding and, well, when is one “ready” for a step like this, anyway? Disregarding my artistic contribution as stay-at-home-writing-machine (along with my occasional small-child-supervising gig) we have the ability to buy a house. (The boy is a numbers man; I believe him.) So the prospect of no longer paying rent to the rental property gods of Manhattan is actually realistic. Exciting!

As to where we may move… that’s the interesting part. We’re looking at Brooklyn, as well as other parts of Manhattan, but mostly Brooklyn. Having spent years in Pittsburgh with its small-town artsy/industrial neighborhoods, Brooklyn hits us as home in a way that surprised us. (That, and the commute for the boy is great.) I’m looking forward to the change and hoping the whole buy plus move endeavor isn’t as stressful as my mind is beginning to think it may be. Everyone I’ve talked to about buying versus renting agrees it’s a change but then, it’s not a huge change. It’s just something to which to adapt, just like any other change — right? I hope it turns out that way!

So in the next month I may find myself a soon-to-be Brooklyner. Is that the vernacular? I guess I’d better start researching on the Interwebs. In two and a half years I’ve become so much of a Manhattan girl that thinking of labeling myself as a Brooklyn girl feels a bit strange. But then, it felt weird to move to Manhattan after Pittsburgh… and so on. I think of this, this entire year ahead of us, as an adventure. I love a good adventure.