Pushing the Reset Button

Hello out there in the blogosphere...

I'm not sure if any of my Humble Readers are still around.  Not likely, given my absurdly long absence, but if you're here, I'd like to say hi and give a small update. 

2014 was not a very good year for this little hobbit clan.  Sadly, 2015 hasn't shown a whole lot of improvement. 

After being laid off in April of 2014, my Beloved is still working at his 'temporary' job with a former employer.  I am thankful that we have this income, but I continue to pray for the right job to open up for him.  He is getting more and more frustrated with his job every day... it only pays him 2/3 of what he should be making given his experience and education, no benefits, and worst of all he feels like he's sacrificing his professional reputation and personal integrity at an alarming regularity.  He's been continuing his CGA/CPA studies, but still has two years to go before he gets his designation.  He has applied and interviewed for a large number of positions, but nothing has panned out thus far.  It is getting harder and harder to believe that there will be something out there for him in the near future. 

I was working nights, for about 10 months, at my old bookstore.  It was only 9pm-1am, four or five days a week, but the toll it took on my health was pretty spectacular.  I have gained back almost all the weight I lost two years ago, my blood pressure was ridiculously high, and worst of all, I felt a serious disconnect from our wee-lings, as I was half asleep most days. 

I left the bookstore for a multitude of reasons, but primarily because I felt like I wasn't being the mummy I should be.  It was a hard decision, and financially it means that my Beloved has to work overtime every week, but my health is slowly improving and I feel like I'm finding my feet again with the wee-lings. 

I have struggled with a lot of things this past year, but in particular I felt that I have lost touch with two things that had been parts of how I defined myself all my life.  I am struggling to read... I've lost that easy ability to lose myself in the written word.  Books have been my solace throughout all the dark times of my life, but I don't have that comfort now.  At least not in the way that I used to.  And I have been struggling to write... anything.  Blog posts (obviously), journaling, and certainly anything resembling a creative outlet have dried up. 

And so, I am taking a tentative step... back into the blogosphere, back to the library, and back into my workout clothes.  I'm hoping I still have a voice (and maybe a reader or two), that I can find some willpower to pull my health off the back burner, and that I can find the courage to sit before a blank page and find the words to fill it. 

To that end, or at least to the end of getting back into the blogosphere, I am contemplating a platform change.  I have been on Blogger for a lot of years, but I am wondering if there is something out there that is user friendly, cheap (as in free, at least for now), and not a huge pain in the butt to transfer to.  Do you have any suggestions?  What has worked for you? 

Hoping to chat with you all again soon.