TuttleTree.com

I could explain the recent silence, but chances are you are already aware of some of the bigger things going on in my life; and know that those things can be stressful and distracting from things you might otherwise normally work on. Sorry about that. And uh, "That's all I've got to say about that." So let's check on a few things.

Dylan's birthday is a week from TODAY! He's almost a year old. Holy crap! He's nearly walking — getting better all the time; starting to add a word or two (sock!) and a couple of new signs (cat, for the first time the other night) and sounds (Elephant calls! So cute!) to his vocabulary; and starting to really get visibly interested in books. For the moment, I'm really enjoying this. He hasn't gotten to the stage where all he wants to do is sit and read every book we own consecutively (like certain nieces and nephews), but he is very pleased to get through two or three books, and even motions over toward them before and after naps, and at other random times.

From the slightly-less-mind-blowing department, I've continued to try new foods. Honestly, I don't know exactly where I stand in terms of the one per month thing. When I stopped posting about them I started to forget exactly when I tried what. Last Saturday we had our first Thanksgiving dinner for the year with our friends, and there I tried both a parsnip & pear purée (I guess in place of mashed potatoes?), and baked (not boiled) brussels sprouts. I didn't like either very much, but I disliked the brussels sprouts more. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised I tried brussels sprouts — that was one of the things I specifically thought I would NOT try this year.

I also recent submitted a presentation proposal for a ColdFusion conference I've been to a few times as an attendee. One of my goals has been to get more comfortable with public speaking and to do presentations now and then. I don't want to get myself too worked up over this — they haven't even announced the topic short-list that the community votes on to finalize the topics — but it's the public speaking equivalent of throwing myself in the deep end. In addition to that, I've taken over as the manager of the Philadelphia ColdFusion User Group, which means I'll be standing in front of a room full of people at least once a month to introduce someone else, if not presenting something myself. Hopefully that will help make me more comfortable in front of a crowd. I am at the same time both very excited and quite terrified by all of this. It might be a good time to invest in some Depends stock. Just sayin'.

So that's what I've been up to lately — pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. What about you?