Continuing.

I've spent five months not knowing how to write another blog entry.  I've tried and failed multiple times, but nothing has felt right.  It's five months ago today that my brother died, which seems hard to believe, because that feels like both no time at all and an eternity.  But we keep going.  We're not moving on, but we're continuing, which is all we can really do.  And it's what Michael would want us to do.

Lots has happened in the past four months since my last entry.  We adopted two new guinea pigs, Marigold and Elvira, who come with their own set of maintenance since they're what breeders call "silkies," which means they have super long hair that needs to be brushed and trimmed regularly.  They're about the same age as Eleanor and Lucy (three), and they certainly have their own personalities.  They're definitely less timid than the other two, and aren't afraid to make their displeasure known if they want vegetables and you fail to provide them in a timely manner.  It was stressful for the first few days that we had them, not knowing if the four of them would be able to get along, but now it's as if they've always been together.  Thank God, because we don't have the space for two separate cages.

In early March, I went down to Georgia to celebrate my little sister Mary's eleventh (holy crap) birthday.  We had a super fun time at Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park, and then at an actual outdoor park.  If there's one single positive thing that has come from losing Michael, it's the realization that I need to spend time with my family more, which has led to me promising to try to go down to Georgia for everyone's birthdays.  I was off to a good start, but I wasn't able to go down for Jackson's and Momma's birthdays since Jay got sick suddenly, but I already have plans to go back down again this summer.

Something super exciting happened in early April: Bruno Pelletier came to Columbus, Ohio for his second performance in the U.S.  (The first was back in 2009 in Los Angeles which I was, obviously, unable to attend.)  Naturally, I was super stoked since Columbus is only six hours from me, as opposed to the usual twenty by car.  In order to break up the trip, I drove up to Kentucky to spend a couple nights with my mom and sister and then drive the four hours to Columbus.  It meant a longer trip, but it didn't seem as bad with a couple nights of sleep in between.  It was the first time I had ever driven myself to one of Bruno's shows, as every other time I was either driven by someone else, or I took public transportation.  It was almost like coming full circle, spending some time with my mom, sister, and aunts before seeing Bruno the next day, hearkening back to 2008 and 2009 when I lived there before school and obsessed over Bruno's music 24/7, desperate to see him perform.  And then there I was, ten years later, getting ready to see him in the U.S., already having seen him perform a whopping ten times in concern, plus other interactions outside of his shows.  Pretty nifty, if I do say so myself.

A little while later, I bought a new car: a 2018 Honda CR-V.  Maybe it's a "mom car," but I don't care.  It's cute and its name is Marshmallow.  It's also the first new car I've ever had, as B.B., my Chevrolet Aveo5 was a 2009 and Lokia, my Kia Soul ! was a 2015.  Of course, it's already got over 3,000 miles on it because I've driven it down to Georgia once and I drive at least 190 miles a week, but that's beside the point.

Also in April, I finished the novel I've been working on for four years, The Edge of the Ocean.  It still needs a lot of editing, but the fact that I've written twenty chapters and almost 100,000 words over a period of four years is still pretty awesome.

On April 22, Michael would have turned 27.  Jay and I went down to Georgia for the day to spend time with my family.  We started out by getting lunch with Sarah, Jesse, and Sarah's husband, TJ, before Sarah and I went and got tattoos together in honor of Michael.  After that, we met up with our parents, and Jackson and Mary to paint ceramic things since Michael was an artist.

Kat and I have also made plans to go see Josh Groban and Idina Menzel in Nashville this October.  I am SO excited, as I've never seen Josh before, nor Idina.  Kat and Lauren saw Josh back in 2011, just before I moved out to Missouri, and now it's finally my turn!  EEEEE!!

In about a week-and-a-half, Lauren and Kat are going to come stay with me for a few days, a spur-of-the-moment decision due to Lauren having a bunch of extra vacation days that she'll lose if she doesn't use them before the end of June.  So, of course, I'm happy to help with that!

A friend of mine, Jordan, whom I met during my brief stay in Georgia when I was sixteen, is getting married at the end of June, and I'll be driving down to attend!  Around this time, my mom and sister will also be moving in with Jay and me while they hunt for apartments in the Shelbyville area.  Yay for free guinea pig-sitters!

The Atlanta Comic-Con is happening in July, and Jay and I will be attending as part of an early birthday present for me.  We shall be meeting Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter films), Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings, and Jim Cummings (the voice of every character you can ever think of, such as Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and Pete the cat).

In August, Emily and I are going to drive up to visit our family in Michigan for a few days.  Aaaand in early November, Lauren, Kat, and I are going to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter together!  SQUEE!  (Yes, I have wanderlust; I am unable to stay home for more than a few months at a time.)

That's about it for now.  I'm sure there will be more.  Keep noodling.