"Mergers and Acquisitions...

...a general term used to refer to the consolidation of companies."

I suppose you are wondering how in the world mergers and acquisitions apply to a Friday blog post. Shouldn't I be celebrating the fact another work week has come and gone? Aren't Friday posts supposed to be filled with the anticipation of all things good the weekend will bring? Isn't it a time to party it up with a little Friday fun? Well, you guys know me. I have this need to be different, to stray from the expected. So...today I choose to forgo the standard Friday fare and make an announcement. I'm planning my own merger & acquisition! What does that mean? I'm planning a total blog re-do and I felt it only fair to warn you of the upcoming changes. So here goes...

When I started this blog roughly a year and a half ago, I had not a clue where I would go with it. Honestly, I never in a million years expected anyone would ever read my ramblings. And that was okay. I merely wanted to record my feelings, my trials and triumphs, as I settled into a new way of life...the life of a single empty-nester. I had no intention of creating a crafty blog. I wasn't comfortable posting my layouts. I was timid and shy with regard to sharing them. Yeah, I'm sure you all are rolling your eyes and thinking I'm full of bull with that statement. How can a girl who writes about fat feet, big boobs, marathon pee sessions and gyno exams from hell ever be timid and shy? Well, I ain't lyin'!!! I had a very hard time putting my creative side on display. But I finally put my big girl panties on, sucked it up and posted a layout. From that point on, this blog seemed to take on a life of its own and it's self-imposed chartered course seemed to be crafty in nature. That was where I was at the time. Now my life is on a different course. My days are filled with different activities and my goals are constantly being redefined. Where I once spent my spare time commuting to see my man in Atlanta and filling the gaps with all things related to scrapbooking, I am now settled into a life in my own hometown working on strengthening my mind and my body. My focus has shifted and that is what brings me back to the mergers & acquisitions.

Several months ago, I started a different blog where I wrote about single life. I've always said writing is my therapy and my "other" blog was exactly that. By writing, I sorted through the break-up of my 3 year relationship/engagement, wrote of the craziness of internet dating and even told of a whirlwind romance that didn't end so well. It was a relatively anonymous blog as I felt the material wouldn't be well received by everyone. It served a purpose at the time but that time is over. I've now made the decision to merge the two. This will be my one and only... the landing spot for everything "me". The good, the bad, the ridiculous...it will all be right here. And you can trust it will be a massive hodge-podge of everything ranging from fashion to home repairs, dating highs and lows, family fun, self-acceptance and there could even be the occasional crafty creation. My strategy of bringing the two blogs together is an attempt to merge the varying aspects of my life. I realize I have been unknowingly living a double life of sorts. I've separated the single girl from the other girl...the real girl. I've found myself wanting to write of various events in my life but unsure which blog warranted the post. It has become a little too much for even me to handle. It is time to "merge" the different sides of me in order to "acquire" a whole and complete me.

As you know, life changes. People change...and people come and go. I was married...but he left. I was a mom....then they grew up and set out to make their own way. I was engaged...now I'm not. Through it all, friends have come and friends have gone. This is life....my life. I entitled my blog Takin' Life One Day At A Time for a reason. I've come to realize, life isn't, nor will it ever be, constant. The only sane way to ride this buckin' bronco called life, is to take it as it comes. To not worry about tomorrow. Simply live for today. Each day brings its own challenges and rewards and I don't want to miss a thing by fretting over what the future will bring for it will certainly be different, maybe even the polar opposite, from anything I think it might be.

My life is fun, challenging, boring, overwhelming, exciting, normal, anything-but-normal... my life is all these things and more. My life is good and I want to write about it. I have made some amazing friends in blogland. You guys have supported me, encouraged me, laughed at/with me, cried with me, offered cyber hugs and brightened my world with each and every comment. I hope you will hang with me as I revamp my blog and continue to take life one day at a time.