Breaking

I didn't sleep last night. The wheels wouldn't stop spinning and I did far too much thinking.

I've decided I'm taking a break because I'm feeling really out of sorts and I can sense that I'm struggling to keep my head up. I'm not sure for how long but I'm feeling like it might be a week or so away from the blog (Six Word Saturday will still happen) and a big cut back on Twitter. Unless I decide it would be more therapeutic to blog about it all, in which case probably all of you will want to take a break from me.

In a somewhat related story, May is Mental Health Month. Check out their site for information on how to help yourself and how to support the 1 in 4 adults who suffer from a diagnosable and treatable mental health condition.

Six Word Saturday

Rapture today? Will scrub toilets tomorrow.

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Want to play along? All that's necessary to participate is to describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. For more information, try clicking here. Feel free to explain or not explain. Add an image, a video, a song, nothing. I love seeing what everyone does with their entries.

Each week (probably on Sunday or Monday), I use random.org to select a bunch of entries to visit.  Or I visit everyone. Or even numbered entries. Or odd numbered entries. Or multiples of three. Depends on what's going on that week.  In addition, please visit the person ahead of you on the list (or visit everyone if you like!). That way everyone receives at least one visit!

If you play along in your blog, please add a link to the Mr. Linky. I appreciate a link back (shiny code below if you like!). Otherwise, you're welcome to leave your six words in this post as a comment.

Please be sure to link either to your main page or (preferably) directly to the 6WS post. Links to blogs that do not contain a 6WS entry will be removed (sorry, just the button in the sidebar doesn't count as participating).

<a href="http://www.showmyface.com/search/label/6WS"><img src="http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp35/showmyface/guts/6wsButton.jpg" /></a>

What's on Draft? (Link-up Day)

A week or so ago, I mentioned doing a link-up to share what's in our draft folders if enough people were interested. Since a few of you replied, I'm going to go ahead. Today's the day!

My own draft folder currently holds 37 posts. I'm just sharing a screenshot of the first 25.



I have no idea what some of these were supposed to be about. Some have actually been posted under other names (like Snakes on a Plane in San Francisco). There's an emergency "Six Word Saturday" post, just in case I completely forget to set it up the night before. And a post about "boobs".

I don't know if any of these will ever be blessed with the "publish" button. Probably a lot of them need the "delete" button instead.

Now it's your turn, because I know some of you have much more interesting draft folders. Just take a screenshot or type out what's in your draft folder. You can either share it in the comments or post it on your own blog. If you play along in your blog, please add a link to the Mr. Linky. Please be sure to link either to your main page or (preferably) directly to the appropriate post. Links back to this post are appreciated!

Thoughts on Online Friends

I'm very excited to find out that this post is being featured on BlogHer on June 9th! Welcome new visitors!

 

Are you tired of hearing about my trip to Texas yet? Don't worry, I'm finally almost out of Texas stories. Very soon, I'll start with posts about visiting our family up north! You're welcome!

While in Texas, I finally "met" a couple of my online friends. The first I've known for five years. We met in an internet chatroom. Not THAT kind of chatroom. Geesh. The second is someone I've met through this blog and I've known now for a couple of years. Some of Joe's family thought that was a little weird, that I considered them friends even though we had never really met each other. You know how that works to those that don't live and breathe blogs and twitter.

Anyways, this is the first time I've met up with online friends in person and didn't feel extremely anxious. There was a point when it was strange to me to have shared so much personal information back and forth and then finally meet in person. People can be very different in the flesh! And yet I've never had a bad experience with the in-person meet-up. I always go for a public location and make sure the husband knows where I am and when to expect to hear back from me. (Note to self: make sure to turn phone ON, otherwise husband will text and call and start being concerned when that you aren't answering when you are so chill that you just hang out for longer than planned.)

So back to Texas - I wasn't nervous. And I realized that part of my issue with making friends through more traditional circumstances is that I always feel like I invest a lot into the relationship and by the time I'm comfortable sharing about who I really am, maybe that freaks them out and they no longer want to be friends with the anxious paranoid girl with self-esteem issues and no job. The best part of my online friends is that I'm able to throw all of that out there right up front. "Hi, I'm Cate, and I'm heavily medicated." By the time we get around to meeting in-person, I don't have to worry about putting on a mask to woo you into being my friend and then being afraid later that you won't like the "real" me.

I wish I could be more open and honest in my day-to-day life. If I could really just own it, it would do me a world of good. But in the meantime, I really cherish those of you who have become my friends over the years, sharing all of your deep secrets with me and allowing me to share mine with you. It makes that first hug when we finally meet-up mean so much more. And that's awesome.

Odds and Ends from Texas

We had so many experiences in Texas and not all of them are enough for their own post so let's tidy up those loose ends here.

1. You haven't lived until you've heard a six year old randomly sing "Crazy Train" - Ozzy Osbourne tunes should be a staple for all breakfasts.
2. Despite considering ourselves experienced travelers, we did not pack a single piece of clothing with long sleeves. We had one day in Austin with rain, wind, and a high temp of 52. Lesson learned.
3. I have discovered my hidden talent for dodging flying ketchup.
4. A good sign that I'm among my kind of people? A nice long discussion about books that ended with the generous gifting of three books I can't wait to dig into! And not a sci-fi in the batch.
5. iPads make great flashlights.
6. Some people (and kids) are exactly the same in person as they are online.
7. I learned that the reason some ice cream is better than others is because of "fresh cows". As in - "of course the ice cream is amazing, they have all those fresh cows right in the field out back!" And this gem came from one of the adults. Love it!
8. Kids will insist that they love tobacco sauce, even once you explain that they probably mean tabasco.

It really was a great trip. Joe's family was very welcoming and put me immediately at ease (no simple task!). The friends I met up with were lovely and not axe-murderers. And Austin and Houston both moved up on our list of cities we would be comfortable relocating to if a work opportunity should present itself.

Next week, I'll start sharing some stories about last weekend's trip to visit our families in NY. And then, I'm refusing to leave the house until at least August.