When vacation was over I was left with this need to make my life into what I want it to be, not accept what I am given. That's right - I felt all empowered with superhero spirit! What is the ultimate dream I have always had? To be a full time published writer, that's what! To this end I have been working on a novel off and on for years, treating it very much as a learning process. Let's be honest, I had no clue how to do this so learning had to be the first priority.

Sustaining a novel length story is a very different beast that writing a short story!

I am just finishing up a second draft of my novel, a huge accomplishment in itself, but with this feeling of invincibility infusing my actions, I decided to take things a step further. I booked a professional editor for mid March!!!! AAAAAHHHHHH!!!

We have already established that our vacation helped us to settle on details of the dreams we are working towards, and we have come up with some new shop products. After our visit home to Moncton and our time spent in the Valley, there was one remaining place to go.

A rented car for us always means one thing - driving to the Annapolis Valley! Love it there. It is where we always dream of having our house in the country, the end goal of all of our hard work. And trips to the Valley at this time of year mean something even more important: PUMPKIN PEOPLE!!!!

We were very ready for vacation. Can you say burnout? It has been a nutty year of health issues, work changes, and trying to hold on to our goals. So by the time October 25th rolled around, we were psyched!

I should mention the teeny tiny itsy bitsy moment of clumsiness that I had, as it had threatened to derail our plans. For those who know me, I am generally the image of poise and grace, so try not to be too shocked. :) On Tuesday I was taking a shower and getting ready for work. You would think this to be a safe pursuit; and you would be wrong. My foot slipped, I fell flailing out of the bathtub, hitting the previously injured small of my back on the side of the tub and smashing my head against the cupboard doors under the sink. How hard did I hit my head, you may ask? Hard enough to break the doors entirely off of their hinges, is my reply. My mother used to call me 'tête de plâtre' (roughly translated as 'cement head') when I was a kid. Apparently she was right.

I would have included photos of my bruising, but no one needs to see the top of my butt. That would be a whole other  kind of blog.

Anyhoo, the fear was that I wouldn't be able to handle sitting in a car as much as we were planning. The first day of vacation we had made plans to drive home, to Moncton,  to see my family, returning the same day. Roughly 3 hours each way. We had so many plans for our time with a rental car and I was terrified this would ruin everything.

But it didn't! We made it home and had an amazing dinner with 3 of my sisters - Debbie, Donna and Darlene - Debbie's awesome husband, Dave, and my parents. And what an anomaly this restaurant was! A vegetarian restaurant that is s good that tons of carnivores eat there and there is a wait for a table  almost every night. Crazy! I wish it was here. Now, we were there for our own vegan benefit, though everyone enjoyed their meal. Funniest moment? When my family were having an extended convo about the best places to buy untainted and delicious meat in the city. I leaned to Melina and said, "I'll bet ours is the only table here having this discussion." Haha! I love my family a lot.
Another brief word only mentioned as it leads into the next post. On the way to Moncton we drove quickly through a town that I had wanted Melina to see. As readers of this blog, you will know that our end goal is a house in the country supporting ourselves. *sigh* A dream. Sackville has some appeal as a town as it is only 45 minutes outside of Moncton, has a small University and some Fine Arts outlets. Driving through, Melina was a smitten kitten. Gorgeous houses, lovely trees. A wonderful energy. Will we move there? More later.
We drove home from Moncton that night thrilled to have seen everyone. I want to be able to do that more often. It is one of the huge reasons that we are so excited to get a car in the new year. I love my mom and dad, and my sisters. Debbie and Dave were like a second set of parents to me when I was growing up, and I love to see them.

It was a great beginning to our vacation! And my back was doing fine. OK, maybe a little owie. ;)

~ Denise