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You might have noticed that there hasn’t been a whole lot of activity on this blog lately. So I’m doing the only sensible thing I can think of since I can’t find the time to write anymore – start a SECOND blog.

Hear me out.

I haven’t been writing because I’m never in my office. I’m always in the kitchen baking up mountains of incredibly tempting desserts. I briefly considered posting some recipes on TouchedByMadness, but they didn’t seem to fit here.

I decided I wanted a place to express the newer, more domestic side of me -  The Stacey with rolled up sleeves and frilly aprons. The Stacey that goes curtain shopping. The Stacey that has come to terms with the color pink.

It kinda creeps me out, but it seems there is a happy little homemaker somewhere inside me. And she will be posting brownie recipes over at http://cupcakeapron.com.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go figure out how to make buttermilk.

(A slightly revised version of what I wrote for the company newsletter)

When you think of the people who make up this company, you think of them as family. We are a caring organization, comprised of deeply forged connections amongst employees. Coworkers become brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, even parents. We acutely feel the loss of one of our own.

The news of Rick’s passing sent waves of shock and sadness through the building. How could we help but be stunned? Rick was a vibrant person, bursting with life. He had a presence that filled up the whole room (and a voice that carried to the next room over). His absence, the silence, leaves not just a hole, but a vacuum.

Rick worked with us for three years. He was a fixture in this corner of the building, anchored to the same desk since the day he started, though his neighbors frequently changed. He left an impression on all of them. I once heard a coworker refer to him as the “Mayor of the Accounting area.” Somehow the title seemed just right. Another coworker described him as “like a father to this area.” That fit too.

He was also known as Coach Rick, a man of (almost) infinite patience who took the softball team from nearly last place to somewhere a respectable distance from last place. He coached both on and off the field – one day advising you on your swing, another day on your dating situation.

But whether people knew Rick as a second father, the softball coach, or just the chatty accountant who cut the reimbursement checks, they will surely remember him as an all around nice guy.

Rick, you were taken from us much too soon. The only way to make sense of it is to imagine that your heart couldn’t manage the strain of loving so many people so completely and unselfishly. We thank you for your tremendous love and support, and for leaving us so many fond memories. Happy memories that help us smile through the tears as we struggle to say goodbye to a dear friend.

Last night I lost a dear friend. He left the office smiling, as usual, and hours later suffered a heart attack and passed away.

I have no words.