COMING SOON...

That's right, my friends; the end of my self-imposed sabbatical... IS NIGH.

[And there was MUCH rejoicing... I hope?]

This post is not my official return, but I wanted to check in to assure you all that I am well - very, very well, in fact - and this little break has been everything I'd hoped for and more.

John and I have used this time to take on some monster projects, so I've actually been busier than ever during my "down time" - but in a good way. I'm looking forward to showing you all our accomplishments, along with step-by-step DIY tutorials for a few of the ones I'm most proud of.

It's been my unofficial goal to resume posting here in time for Dragon Con, assuming I was ready and finished with everything I wanted to do, and so far we're right on track. I hope to debut my finished costume (which I am frantically working on now) within the next two weeks, just before DC, and you can expect my usual marathon posts during and after the con with all my official coverage. (Who's excited? THIS GIRL.) After that, at the beginning of next month, I'm hoping life and posting here on Epbot will be back to normal - only better.

Thank you all for being so patient and supportive during my time away. I admit I haven't read your comments on my last post yet, and I've been completely ignoring e-mail (sorry!) - but from the snippets I've seen over on Cake Wrecks and Facebook and Twitter, I'm going to be a sobby sob-fest when I go catch up. Between those and the snail-mailed notes and little surprise gifts and the occasional e-mail John makes me read, I've been reminded many times these past weeks why the Epbot community has been my joy and passion online from the start, and that I could never stay away for long.


SO, just a little while longer, k? And then we're gonna par-TAY. Promise. ;)

'Til then,

- Jen

An Unexpected Sabbatical

I guess you've probably noticed my sudden absence online this past week or so. I'm sorry about that. I never meant to leave everything so abruptly, but I didn't know what to say. I still don't. All I know is that I woke up last Friday and suddenly couldn't face the thought of spending even one more day online. Nothing happened to provoke it; I just... stopped.

I assumed I would be back to normal within a few days. Instead, I found myself taking all the daily insults and complaints and trollish comments that come with running two websites too seriously, too much to heart. They used to be par for the course; now each one keeps knocking me flat, and makes it that much harder to keep trying.

I've always tried to create happy, positive places online. Places you can go for a smile or to be encouraged. I think most of you have found those things here and on CW, but I'm having a harder time finding them for myself online. I'm tired of people ripping each other to shreds. I'm tired of the negativity, and the faceless criticism, and the constant stream of "I AM OFFENDED" - not just on my sites, but everywhere.

Maybe it's stress, or five years without a break. Whatever it is, I know I'm not strong enough to exist in this world right now, and I need some time away. I need to remember what real life feels like for a while, and stop spending 14 hours a day glued to a laptop.

I can't quit my day job, though, so I'll still be writing for Cake Wrecks as I'm able. I have John and Sharyn to help me, so with luck you won't notice too many more disruptions over there. I don't expect I'll be tweeting or posting much on Facebook for a while, though, or answering any e-mails. In fact, please don't e-mail me; the numbers in my inbox are already overwhelming enough as it is. I promise I'm ok; I just need some time to unplug and recharge. In fact, I'm actually looking forward to reacquainting myself with sunshine again.

I hope it won't be too long before I can pick up again here, but 'til then, please just subscribe to Epbot in your RSS reader so you'll know when I'm back.

Thank you all for being patient and supportive and generally awesome. I'll see you on the flip side.

- Jen