anybody out there?

so back in 2011, i was going to blog about costa rica. because yes, less than a month after we went to hawaii, we went to costa rica. we hadn't really traveled in awhile because of my school schedule, so we were binging after being deprived.

costa rica was so awesome! i was so excited to blog it!

and then 2012 happened. and now, for the first time in 2012, i have a moment to breathe. and blog again.

so. 2012.
the bear & i continued a house hunt we started late in 2011.
earlier than we wanted, somewhat against our wills.
see, we still hadn't decided where exactly we wanted to live,
and neither of us was totally smitten by our current city,
but were slowly coming around.
and our jobs tend to be on opposite ends of the earth, commute-wise.
but we weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

i couldn't find a job.
so i freelanced. barely.
i freaked out about not working.
and considered working at trader joe's.
then i found a 2-month contract job.
where i worked 60-120 hours/week.
oh, and we finally found a house right in the middle of that crazy contract job.
so we entered escrow.

in the middle of that contract job and escrow, 
my stepdad's cancer got REALLY bad.
like, terminal.
he refused any further treatment.
right after the contract job ended,
he passed away.
we dealt with some family drama around his funeral.
my baby brother *really* stepped up and showed us
what a great adult he's become,
with the help of his new wife,
in the middle of that all.

a week later, 
my grandmother passed away in korea.
so off my mom went 
to bury her mother
on the other side of the world.
shortly after burying her husband.
(oh, and this is the 2nd time my mom's been widowed in one lifetime. ugh.)
somewhere in all that mess, i interviewed for full-time jobs.

i found a full-time position.
i started that full-time position.
during a very hectic time
for that firm.
my freelance work also picked up.
when it rains,
it hurricanes.

we closed escrow on the house
somewhere between all of that.
we rented it back to the sellers for a bit.
we moved.

we had to help my mom 
make some hard, financial decisions.
especially regarding her current house.
and her next steps.
both living situation & career-wise.
that's all still up in the air,
but we can wait.

whew. so here we are. a little banged up, quite exhausted, but still alive and so blessed. i just hope 2012  will slow down a wee bit. i wouldn't mind a period of calm and little change for once. and some time to finally blog about costa rica.