Yay! I’ve had so many ups and downs this year, starting off with my thyroid storm in January, then two strokes in February, plus the long road to recovery…one of my hands is still partially paralyzed…it feels good to be getting back to work. I have a lot of stories planned already for next year, and so far this year I’ve done a piece for Wax Poetics, applied for two jobs, outlined a book, started on a children’s book and am working on a five year business plan for my blog.

I’ve also written a commentary on what it’s like to be a young stroke survivor and will be sending it to NPR soon. Oh, and I’m really happy about my Yes! Weekly cover! I scored it from my very first pitch to them…*pats self on back*. I’m not going to reveal what my story is about, so my story will remain (hopefully) exclusive for the most part. I’ll probably start revealing more about it in December. My husband thinks how I’m all secretive about my story ideas is funny. He says I act like I’m guarding CIA secrets or something with the way I don’t talk about the stories I’m working on – not even to him, lol!

Anyway, I’m just very happy to be on the road to recovery. And looking forward to writing about my stroke too. I actually kept a diary during that time, but haven’t posted anything from it because I’ve just been too embarrassed to reveal what I was going through. It was pretty devastating emotionally and physically but…I think I’m going to share some of the entries soon.

Yes! Weekly is an alternative newspaper and is the thirteenth most read news periodical of any kind in north Carolina, out of about two hundred papers. This will be my fourth or fifth cover story. I did two for Elemental and one or two for Insomniac. Check out this Yes! piece on Brother Reade and the cute Yes! schwag below available from the Yes! Weekly Mall:

Panty-minimalists love our casual thong that covers sweet spots without covering your assets; putting an end to panty-lines. This under-goodie is “outta sight” in low-rise pants. Toss these message panties onstage at your favorite rock star or share a surprise message with someone special … later.