If you’re a regular visitor to my blog, you might have noticed that I haven’t been posting much lately, except for the informational posts leading up to Fall Into Reading 2011. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to blog. In fact, there have been a lot of blog-worthy happenings around here. But I’ve learned that I have a hard time blogging if:

1. I’m in pain
2. I’m in transition

As for #1, the pain thing.

A few weeks ago, I was innocently eating some granola. Just munching away, oblivious to the imminent danger. Then all of a sudden — CRACK!

I bit into something that was never meant to be bitten into.

I don’t know what it was. A malformed cashew part? A petrified oat? A hardened and impermeable glob o’ sugar?

No clue. All I knew was that it hurt. Seriously. That sharp, shooting, directly-to-the-brain kind of hurt.

Now, I am not one to call a dentist at the drop of a hat. In fact, I’ve been known to avoid dentists. But this pain was not going to be ignored.

Days later, I found myself in the dentist’s office, looking at x-rays that revealed 2 cracked teeth in the back of my mouth. Clearly, I’m an over-achiever. One cracked tooth would not be enough for me.

And these were not minor little fissures in my enamel. The dentist repeatedly murmured things like, “Wow. Impressive. You really cracked that one wide open.” Again, over-achiever.

Since then, I’ve enjoyed endured several visits to the dentist, many multiple shots of novocaine, gigantic fillings attempting to fill in the gaps and cracks, and a temporary crown placement. I still have the joyous anticipation of returning to the dentist in early October to get a permanent crown.

The good news: I did not need two root canals. I did not even need one root canal.

The bad news: I have not really been able to chew on the right side of my mouth for many weeks and that is getting old. The novocaine shots are also getting old.

The additional bad news: I will be needing additional dental work in the not-so-distant future.

The obvious: I do not like dental work.

And, apparently, dental work makes it difficult for me to blog. Don’t ask me why; it’s just one of my quirks. Obsessing over tooth issues = inability to write.

**

And as for #2, the transition thing.

We are in the process of buying a house and moving. You might already know that if you read my Fall Into Reading list. I slyly slipped it in there, flying under the radar.

And after I did that, I got several emails from friends (and yes, even a few family members) along the lines of, “What?? You’re moving??”

I guess we’ve been keeping it pretty quiet.

We’re not moving far. The new house is ridiculously close to our current house, actually. But it is an answer to some questions we’ve had about the future and how to best prepare for it. We weren’t even originally planning on moving this soon, but we thought we’d “start looking.” Then, through a series of events, it just kind of happened.

But as you may know, buying and packing and moving and unpacking is a big, long transition. And it’s a transition full of busyness and distraction.

So often, that’s where my mind has been, rather than on blogging. I’m packing boxes, signing papers, making phone calls, packing more boxes, and trying to keep a million little details all straight in my mind.

**

So.

Just in case you were wondering, that’s where I’ve been. In the dentist’s chair and in transition. But I hope to be back here a bit more often. There’s something therapeutic about spilling it all out through the keyboard.