I'm sorry I haven't been involved in this site in recent months. I have been hibernating. But I've missed you all! I go through periods of time when even virtual social interaction is too much, and this year so far has been a long stint. Work was intense in the beginning part of the year - I even pulled a number of all nighters. I've also been focusing a lot on health. I started noticing a number of age-related concerns. Nothing serious, but perimenapausal stuff earlier than I expected, and aches, pains, etc. I've always been one to find it easy to adapt and become content with my circumstances, whether excess weight or signs of aging, but I finally snapped out of it and realized that while I don't have to be upset about getting older, I also don't need to just give up and wait for death. This prompted a whole lot of soul searching and planning, and finally springing into action. I had gained back most of the recent weight that I had lost, so I set to work and re-lost it, along with a few extra pounds. I'm now focusing on healthy eating and exercise. I'm finally looking at food an exercise as more of a means to feel better than a way for clothing to look better. This shift in focus has really made the process so much more enjoyable for me, and it certainly doesn't hurt that as a bonus, clothing does fit better. I've experienced so much joy and peace in the process, even while some of it has been difficult. This time everything just feels better. There has been such a sense of quietness in my spirit. Every action has been purposeful and calm, and truly joyful.

In the midst of all of this, I have also continued to scrutinize my style preferences and take stock of what I have and what direction I would like to go. I would say over the past couple years of being on this forum, I have been consciously trying to ease out of my former more youthful look. While I don't buy into the whole idea of age appropriate dressing (for the most part) it has been an issue for me because of being constantly mistaken for someone MUCH younger. I have been asked if I was my boss's daughter (or told that I look like I could be) when she is 45 and I am 42. (This made for some rather uncomfortable moments with my boss, who was in ear shot...). Believe me, I am vain enough to appreciate the compliment on a certain level, but I have also earned these 42 years of experience through more than my share of blood, sweat, and tears, and I do sometimes wish to be taken a little more seriously. That being said, even with the gradual evolution, I have recently felt a stronger shift coming on. I don't expect this to last forever, but in a sort of grand scale gesture of monumental change, I am transitioning my wardrobe into an almost exclusively neutral state - black, white, grey, navy, a little animal print, with blush and muted blues/blue greens being the only hints of color, and other than stripes, very little pattern. There are some things that I am not quite ready to get rid of, but I am removing them from my closet and trying to see what is left that I love. I'm so excited about just trying this for a time and seeing what may come after a period of sort of "cleansing the palate".

So that's where things have been for me lately. I have missed being part of the forum, but I did need a period away to just crawl inside my own head for a time. I look forward to catching up on some things that I've missed and continuing to be inspired by the amazing style and strength of this wonderful group.