History of The Musings

In 2004, my boyfriend at the time and I did something a little crazy. We’d been living together in the Kansas City area for 4 years, an area where I’d spent my whole life. That summer our lives turned upside-down…James accepted a job in New York City, and I accepted his proposal of marriage. We planned a small wedding in six weeks, sold most of our possessions (including both our cars), found an apartment in Brooklyn the weekend before our wedding, packed everything we owned into a Uhaul, and drove from Kansas to New York on a two-day honeymoon extravaganza. We figured if we could survive that, our marriage was solid. And it turns out it was.

Life in Brooklyn was dirtier and more difficult than we’d ever imagined. But it was also an amazing experience…a part of my life I wouldn’t trade back, even during the worst of it. I discovered when life’s great, it’s also kind of boring. And when life’s hard, it brings out the writer in me…something that had been dormant since I’d abandoned my journalism editing career in favor of graphic design. And in the summer of 2005, at the peak of my NYC misery, I started Mandy’s Musings.

A lot has happened since then…we made it out of Brooklyn in the winter of 2005, landing in DC. James traveled the world — Asia, Africa, Europe — while I became a crazy, work-from-home shut-in. After squeezing in a couple of wonderful vacations to Vienna and Istanbul, we abandoned that situation in May of 2007 for a quieter life back in Kansas City. Surrounded by family and friends, I was content, but James was miserable. In an even crazier move than our decision to live in NYC, James accepted a job back in DC, and we moved there in November of 2008, while I was 7 months pregnant. That is an experience I would whole-heartedly trade back.

We spent more than two years in DC, where I worked from home for awhile before becoming a full-time stay-at-home mom. I threw myself into my new role, exploring the city with infant son in tow, meeting other moms and kids on play dates, and making the most of my time there. Liam loved riding the Metro, and I took him all around the city every chance I got. I made some great friends along the way, too. But over time we came to realize that DC wasn’t the right place for us. And after two miserable winters we decided we needed a complete change of scenery. Florida or bust!

So now we call Orlando home. We rent a great big house on the east side of town, an hour east to the beach and an hour west to Disney World. We frequent both places, among others. And I truly love it here. The climate suits me, I love the palm trees and the ocean and the seafood. And while Kansas City will always feel like home because I grew up there, I think Orlando is the place we’ll settle down. Eventually.

It’s hard to say now where we’ll end up next. James has his sights set on Europe, and if history is any indication, we’ll be moving again.

But no matter where life takes us, I’ll continue this blog, this lifeline to my family and friends. Good times, bad times, amusing times…it’s all here. Enjoy.