New Leaves

Hey all! I know I keep popping in, disappearing for six months and then coming back in, but things are getting better…

Health

I’ll start off with a health update since that was still in topsy turvy mode when I last checked in. After my mastectomy in December, I underwent radiation for five weeks ending in February. I remember struggling with it much more the first time I went through this in 2013, but the fatigue set in strongly about midway through. I could hardly stay awake during my commute into midtown for my daily sessions and then I was staying up too late come nighttime. Thankfully, it didn’t last terribly long and towards the end, I was feeling much more rested and alert throughout the day.

What did hit me like a bomb was the skin discoloration around the radiated area. DAMN did I get fried. Hormonal therapy injections are still going on, but I’m almost done and after this week’s injection, I’ll have just three left to go. That’s a hooray!

You know what’s not a hooray though? The fact that the hormonal therapy plus the new medication have led me to develop osteoporosis. Fantastic. Moving on because this crap is depressing.

Work

A few weeks ago I finally jumped back into the office/full-time magazine life. That’s right! After six years of freelancing, I'm now the associate editor for Time Out New York Kids! I’d been freelancing for them since last fall and for Time Out New York for the past year so the transition has been pretty smooth—I just have to get used to the commute again. Here’s a positive point for the commute though: I’ll have time to write blog posts again! Those of you who’ve read Dry As Toast since its early days back in 2008 remember how often I’d publish (Every. Single. Day.) and how many ideas I’d generate from traveling to and from work every day. So there’s that! Plus, maybe I’ll have time to read all these books I keep collecting on my Kindle. Has anyone read The Handmaid’s Tale yet?

Porcupine Hugs

There’s also a HUGE bit of news I wanted to share with you. I exhibited at the National Stationery Show last week!! As some of you might remember, I was set to make my tradeshow debut with Porcupine Hugs at the National Stationery Show in 2015. It had been a longstanding dream of mine, to showcase my cards and my art at the Jacob Javits Center here in New York City alongside big greeting card companies and smaller business I’d come to know and respect. After five or six years of walking the show and befriending so many in the community, I felt ready to take the leap. Unfortunately, a few weeks before the show, life exploded and I had to back out. It took me a long time to feel confident enough to try again. Funny enough, it was while I recovering from my mastectomy in December that I decided I wanted to exhibit this year. I figured if I’m not going to be living in Europe, I might as well make the most of my time here. So NSS 2017 it was! More on that journey later, but I’ll just say that I’m so proud and thrilled that I finally accomplished that goal.

Life

As for the rest of life...I feel like that's only just about to start back up now. My time and energy has been consumed by surgeries, treatment, and recovery and it overlapped with preparing for the stationery show. Now that the most stressful parts are behind me (I hope!), I'm looking forward to tackling my next business and career goals, becoming social again, and enjoying my summer. More goodness to come as I get the writing juices flowing again...