Status Update

It has been at least two years since I last wrote a blog post.

Let’s catch up, shall we?

In order, more or less…

Number 1: I’m a certified yoga teacher.

My “home studio” here in San Diego offers 200-hour yoga teacher training twice a year — one session is spread out over five months, meeting for intensive workshops every other weekend, and the other is a month-long intensive where you’re in daily workshops. As much as I love the idea of a month-long yoga immersion, I knew that option — essentially taking a full month off from work, or scaling down considerably — wasn’t really feasible. And every year, I’d start getting emails about the next round of the five-month training, check the dates, see at least two or three weekends where I already knew I’d be out of town or have some other commitment, and think maybe next year.

Until, finally, fall of 2017. I started getting those emails, I saw the flyers around the studio, I checked the dates and — what? I could commit to all of them? The investment was still a lot to stomach, but after talking it over with husband, I decided to go for it, and from February through early June 2018 (my birthday actually fell during the final graduation weekend), I studied asana and pranayama and the yamas and niyamas and bits and pieces of Sanskrit and all the things. It was amazing. This particular group of trainees was all women, and we had two incredible women as the lead instructors, and I’m so happy I took the chance when I could.

Number 2: I’m back in the corporate world.

Of everything on this list, this is the one I did not see coming. Last Christmas, we invited my best friend and her husband (and their dogs) up to Tahoe to hang out for a couple days before Christmas. She started telling me about a potential opening for an editor at her company, a large software firm, and it actually sounded kinda cool. Her understanding, at the time, was that it was a part-time, or at least flex-time, position that would allow me to work from home and still maintain my freelance work. I told her to let me know when/if she heard more and I’d think about it.

Then she texted me in early January saying the position was officially open and listed. It was actually a full-time position, but again, option to work remotely with some flexibility in my schedule. I went back and forth for awhile, but ultimately decided there was nothing lost in applying — I pulled together a proper resume for the first time in years, went through several rounds of interviews (including one where I had to fly to their headquarters in the Bay Area and sit through, like, five or six back-to-back interviews with the entire team I’d be working with, plus the department’s director and VP)…and ultimately, I got the offer.

Again, I went back and forth a good bit before deciding to accept. Telling some of my longtime freelance clients I’d no longer be able to work with them was tough. Giving up complete control of my schedule and transitioning back to having a boss was weird. But overall, it’s been a really good change. This is the first time I’ve been in corporate environment that doesn’t feel toxic or critically unstable. I’m working with people who know what they’re doing in a supportive structure. And I’m getting a regular paycheck and pretty sweet benefits, which is especially great because…

Number 3: Baby Keltner is coming in December!

We totally did not plan this timing, but…it worked out? I actually remember texting my brother to get his advice on which health plan to select “as someone who may possibly might get pregnant in the next year or so” and like, two weeks later, my husband and I were driving home from my grandparents’ on Easter Sunday, after a week me just not feeling great. I checked my mental calendar and suddenly said, “I think maybe I should take a pregnancy test when we get home.”

So…that’s happening. Without getting too TMI, it wasn’t exactly a surprise, but it wasn’t like we were actively “trying to conceive” either. Had I thought things through more carefully, I probably would’ve waited at least a few more months, until I was more settled in the new job — but I’m also excited to have a Christmas baby (I just really, really hope the kid comes out before Christmas, please please please).

Obviously I have lots more to say about this. For now, I’ll leave it at:

We’re waiting to find out the gender.
Pregnancy has been relatively easy and mostly free of complications, but it’s still weird AF and I don’t love it.
Good Lord, babies need a lot of crap.

Number 4: We re-did our kitchen!

This had been a long time coming — my husband had drawn up some plans and we’d mostly set up the Ikea kitchen planner to figure out what pieces and items we’d need ages ago — but the baby kinda kicked it into gear. We met with a friend whose dad is a contractor in July, I think, and after a couple delays, got things going by the end of August, and now all that’s left is one last cabinet door that we need to get custom-cut, new window treatments, and a new light in the dining area. And little things like organizers and containers for the pantry cabinet and drawers. But it’s so awesome and I love it. Maybe I’ll do a before-and-after/home tour post at some point?

The kitchen also kick-started a chain reaction of other home improvements and updates — we got rid of our old sectional in the living room (much to Onyx’s dismay) and our coffee table (which we loved but it just wasn’t quite the right size for the space) and finally, just last weekend, purchased a new couch and coffee table (and an entry console table I’ve wanted for the living room for at least a year). We’re in the process of converting my office (our second bedroom) into an office-slash-nursery which has been…interesting. We did some reorganizing in the bedroom to make room for baby things. It’s all still in progress and most of our condo is in a state right now, but it’s getting there, bit by tiny bit.