I was gonna start this with, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve written here, but it’s actually been almost two years since I last posted here. What have I been doing in that time? Same, same, but different.
I’ll see if I can cover everything in bullet points (probably not in any sort of chronological order):
- Spent a lot of my time working on Amplify the Noise. Was so focused on it, that I burned myself out at the beginning of 2025. I’m still recovering from that. When I look at ATN as of today, I get queasy and start to feel guilty. I wanted to it to become its own little thing and it did. It grew, but I couldn’t keep up the pace of working a full time job and then coming home to work on it full time as well. It was all consuming. Late nights, listening, researching, writing, building the base, connections, etc, etc. But my goal for June is to ease back into it and perhaps instead of trying to cover it all, focus on a little bit at a time.
- I am teaching myself how to sew. Purchased a sewing machine and an overlocker (also called a serger). I’ve bought more fabric and patterns than I needed. And like when I started making jewellery went all in. Who needs classes when you have the school of YouTube teaching you almost everything one could want to learn. Sewing has been fun and for someone who hates laundry day, ironing has become my zen when sewing. There’s something so mind numbing (in a good way) by just watching the fabric whiz through the machine. Call it a metaphor for life if you’d like. Sometimes it’s an easy sew and sometimes the needle breaks and the thread nests. You just reset and go at it again.
- I am in the full throws of perimenopause. Man, I cannot wait to be in menopause. Seriously, bring it on and end the menstrual cycle. My initial GP, a young female doctor, listened to my laundry list of symptoms I had and ran all the tests needed. She confirmed, I was not losing my mind and was more than likely in perimenopause. I tried natural remedies for relief before deciding on MHT (menopausal hormone therapy) because I was absolutely tired of the hot flushes and night sweats. But something was still off. So when a friend told me about the clinic she and her partner were opening, I was like perhaps this is a sign to dig deeper into what was going on with me. Enter Ponti Health and it was a game changer. Armed with another laundry list of symptoms and the fact that I was beginning to question if I had ADHD and autism, I explained to the doctor what was going on. I needed to get my sleep right or I was going to go insane. She was more concerned with daily headaches I had been having. Headaches I’ve lived with since I was a teenager, so I didn’t think anything of it. She modified my MHT – an oestrogen patch and progesterone at night. Finally when I fell asleep, I stayed asleep. She also diagnosed me as having low iron. She actually was surprised I was doing the heavy gym sessions three days a week as low as it was. I thought it was just how everyone felt. Surprisingly it wasn’t. Which explained why my recovery days after the training days, I just wanted to sleep. Like 18 hours and on the weekends that’s what I often did. I did an iron infusion, stopped (for now) donating blood and plasma to allow myself to recover. My daily headaches disappeared. Now, when I get them, it’s usually around my cycle and the cycle itself is more like 4 days of spotting instead of a full blown cycle.
- While I still need to get properly diagnosed for ADHD and autism, I told my GP that I’ve done enough research to know I am on the spectrum. At this moment, I don’t need a doctor to certify what I know. I’m not sure it would change anything. Maybe meds for ADHD? But I’m coping and doing fine. In the research I’ve done for myself, it explains a lot of me being me. My habits. My hyper focus. The way I work. It’s also made me see, the things I do, are not what neurotypical people tend to do. It’s been liberating. As I explained to a friend, when I get home, I say to myself, it’s time to unmask or it’s okay to unmask and it was a game changer for me. It made me realise how much this facade was crumbling under the pressure I was putting it under.
- While in the midst of all the above, I became a dog mom to Lola (pictured). Full name Lola Grace. Other names, Menace, Munchkin, Baby Girl, Kid, Lil’ One, Sweet Girl. When I got her, she was just 800 grams and now she’s roughly sitting around 1.3 kilograms and is 10 months old. She’ll be one on July 15th and I’ll have had her for a year on September 9th. She’s a black and tan chihuahua who has filled an immense hole in my heart and life that I did not know existed. She’s funny. She’s whip smart, and has taught me a life without my phone. When we are out together, walking or at the park, the phone is tucked away. No doom scrolling. No music. No calls. Just me and her seeing the world. It was one of the best decisions I made because I am focused on her and her safety as well as my own. Even when we’re in the house, she’s taught me to disconnect because even she recognises that when I’m on the phone I’m focused on it instead of her and boy, do the puppy dog eyes of pay attention to me work. She’s the absolute best.
- I finally started or should say, I restarted Book 2 in The Night of the Hunter series. Like its predecessor, it too has had many incarnations but won’t take 20 years to write. My goal is to have it and Book 3 finished by mid 2026 if not sooner.
Is that all? Probably not. I’ll probably think of 101 things I should have included after I hit publish but I aim to return here with sewing reviews and more.
Forgive the typos and such. Didn’t proof this before I hit publish.
