Happy 13th Blogoversary to the worst blogger ever!

Yep, I'm still here. This is the first time I've touched any blog in months. My focus has been in the "me" world. I have a new therapist and it's still early days, but I'm doing much better both mentally and physically. Work always sucks, so that's already a dead horse. And both pups are still hangin in there.

My last post was probably the last time I stitched or at least my last Instragram post was. Maleficent still isn't framed, she's still in her ziploc baggie on the kitchen table. Bad me all around. I'm getting worse at this whole social media thing, what little I do. My job is tech burnout, so by the time I get home, the only tech I touch is my TV. The thought of creating a blog post or human communication in any way is just too much.

I do have two vacations coming up, so that's exciting, right? I haven't felt like sharing, so very few people around me know about these. The first is a birthday trip to Boulder, just to relax and finally get to the Rockies. I'm not sure how much extra I'll do, Colorado is VERY expensive, but I have also booked one night at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park (the hotel from The Shining, which I may end up regretting since it is haunted). Some of you may remember my horrible day-trip to Denver back in Aug of 2023, but I always felt like that trip was skirting greatness. For some reason, I think Boulder is going to be the push to make CO one of my favorite states. We'll see.

Secondly, in Oct, I got a ticket to see Duran Duran in PA...5th row center in front of Simon. I'd like to say it's not the farthest I've ever gone to see them, but it is actually! And it's also the closest I've ever sat. More on that in a mo-mo. I should have gone this summer and I could have chosen a closer location. I just kept putting it off because of the ticket cost, until I just decided that I wanted to see them bad enough that the cost was irrelevant...to a point (remember when $100 for a concert ticket was outrageous...yeah, I miss those days). I really wanted to see them on Halloween at Madison Square Garden in NYC, but I just couldn't garner the courage (or the money). Allentown will have to do. I'm trying to tone down this trip and not get wild on the side quests, but there was a lot I didn't do last year that I wanted to. I guess it depends on how Colorado goes and how much I spend there.

To be honest, I'm more scared about Boulder than Allentown. That fear sinks in pretty quickly when I haven't traveled in a while. In Boulder, I'd like to at least go to Pearl St. once (at least in the daytime). It's not like it's Bourbon or even Beale, or so I keep telling myself. I surely don't want to spend the entire trip locked in my hotel reading Jane Austen (that's only an hour and a half of my life). I also always find myself at a major national park on National Park day with the rest of the world, lucky me. If I think about Allentown, no one ever enjoys D2 as much as I do, so that makes it easier to go alone. I am way more worried about the 5th row situation...is it too close? I could have been 2nd row on John's side (couldn't handle that and I knew it...definitely too close), or to the edge of a section in the middle of John and Simon, but 8th row. Simon is my guy, so right in front of him was the place to be and I've never been directly in front of him before. We're usually more on Nick's side than anywhere (although last time we were in between Simon and John, just further back, like row 24 or 29 something, although we have been closer). Alas, it will either be the best experience ever or spoil me forever. As long as I avoid eye contact, I should be fine. I'm just hoping that being that close will make looking up and over the tall person in front of me easier (which invaribly will happen).

Speaking of last year's road trip, I still haven't edited the photos. I just can't justify yet another monthly subscription charge, this time for photo editing software, for just one batch of photos. Why is EVERYTHING a monthly subscription charge now? It's ridiculous! Maybe if I have two more batches stored up, I'll be able to do it for a couple of months at least (I haven't used Lightroom in so long, I'll also need a refresher course and practice time, ugh, the thought is too daunting...change of subject).

Trip wise though, I have no plans to go to any Disney park in the future...the burnout is still strong. I have been debating Universal next Spring maybe. For now, I am enjoying traveling to other parts of the country. I only have a handful of unscratched states on my scratch-off map, and that's my focus, but with me, plans can always change.

Other than that, all is quiet in my world, hence the radio silence in Blog Land. This particular Blogoversary, more than any other, the debate of closing down my blog has been brought back to the forefront. I'm not the same person I was when I started blogging. I rarely stitch anymore, except in weird OCD spurts. All my Disney reviews are WAY outdated (some of the restaurants and rides are even closed now and the hotels have been refurbished several times over). I'm never NOT going to be too wordy and no one likes an overly wordy blog. I haven't been active with other blogs or blog events in I can't remember when. Doesn't leave much for a stitching and Disney blog to do, right?

The few of you that still come here, thank you. One day, you'll either see a new post, or I just won't be here. But for now, I think I'm going back into the shadows until I can let this all go. But hey, by my standards, for a long hiatus, this was a pretty short post, no? Happy Blogoversary to me!