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Oh my, it has been a WHILE!
First off, I have 3,661 comments awaiting moderation, and I can bet that 99.9% of them are TOTALLY SPAM. It has been unmanageable so I’ve given up on them. I will be attempting to work on this problem this summer, but its totally bumming me out.
Secondly, I have moved to friggin’ PORTLAND, OREGON!!! Yep, for nearly two week’s I have been a serious PDXer! It’s a fabulous city with sooo much to tell you about but I feel I have to get the logistics of the website worked out before I can freely use it as the blog it was meant to be. Make any sense at all???
Lastly, I am going to do my very best to learn basic HTML (or XHTML???) and CSS this summer for work, and hopefully that will help me iron some kinks out of this site and help me seamlessly switch to a more workable template for me.
I miss bloggin and anyway, I need to do it so many family and friends simultaneously have a way to see how we are doing half way across the world, so bear with me, I’ll be in touch!
Well at last today I had a chance to run over to Lakeland’s “Go Natural Organics” where I found the coolest farmer/owner with his masters in nutrition watering a potted farm with living water from a pond behind the farm. He took the time to explain the membership and procedure, gave us samples and a tour of what’s growing, and even gave me a free huge head of green leaf lettuce! This place is SO cool, with even an enclosed area with a butterfly garden for kids to play while the parents pick. SA-WEET!
Also, our good friend invited us along for this trip as a dual-birthday trip for her and my Hubby. We’ve made reservations to spend Easter in the “pool house” hut!
I wish I could go more into this right now, but just thought I would share the basic happenings while I’ve got a half a sec!
The attendance at the Polk Blogger Meet-up is probably a great sample cluster of the blogosphere; throw in some techies, a consultant, a reporter integrating blogging as a news forum, and an online operations director for the local paper- and then there’s me, representing the “mommy blog” genre rather humbly! Great conversation- what a wonderful way to collaborate, share ideas and knowledge, and just plain get to know other people who have a similar interest in blogging. As I’m sure there will be other mentions of this on their blogs, along with possible photos, I will link here when it becomes available.
If my blog starts to get a little better, you can all thank Chuck and Josh! Those guys are like a well of wisdom when it comes to that stuff, and to think, I got to sit in on it! You ever think, “Hey, I wonder what it would be like to be a fly on the wall for [such and such]”? That’s what tonight was for me. Like I got to hang out in the stall of the boys locker room and hear what they really talk about — except not exactly. Although I was the only girl!
Lakeland Local’s Chuck, Empirical Polk’s Josh and I are going to be meeting at Starbucks at Lakeside Village on Thursday, Jan. 18th at 8:00 PM. Bloggers in Polk County welcome!
Look for The Hulk behind the laptop (that would be what is called an inside joke). If you don’t see him, look for me and my books. Maybe I’ll leave the books.
Don’t look for this guy.
If he’s there, something has gone terribly wrong. Get back in your car.
Ok, grab some coffee. Then get back in your car. Do this quickly.
“It’ll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives…These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives”
Well its Christmas night and I, for one, am glad! Not that this holiday season wasn’t wonderful- it actually was! We hung out here in Lakeland, just us three, and had a such a great time: Christmas Eve was spent bike riding to the park, Christmas Eve candle lighting service, and dessert at Harry’s downtown with lights at Munn Park to finish off the day. Christmas day was warm (literally, that oven gives off some HEAT!), and though the weather outside was FRIGHTFUL (thunderstorms, warm rainy, muggy central FL Christmas) we bunkered inside and opened gifts, watched U2 videos (which turned out to be pretty worshipful to me!), cooked ALLLLL day long, and sat ourselves down to an absolute feast. Later we had coffee and Sirop Gateau. We played with Lil’ E’s new toys and watched Christmas movies.
I look forward to this time of year, I don’t dread it or get through it like some. Even when the reality of traffic and long lines at the mall hit, or just when I think that I have allowed the ideals of that Currier and Ives/Norman Rockwell/Hallmark holiday to rob me of the joy of my experiences, sure enough I go to bed Christmas day with no regrets. This year was truly one of the best ones yet.
Still, as it comes to an end, I don’t feel the need to linger. I put Lil’ E’s plaid Christmas pj’s in the dirty clothes today and realized he won’t ever wear them again- that was a strange feeling. To see the fleeting season through the growth of a child did make me sad to see Christmas be gone already, but I just begin to think ahead to the cold fronts, Valentine’s Day, celebrating my birthday with R & R next door, Springtime/Easter, you get the picture. Life is cyclical. But each cycle looks a little different from the last. And so we move on.
I may not get the chance to blog in the next few days, I have work to catch up on and a little boy I like to play with needs my attention otherwise so we’ll get back on schedule after the New Year, deal?
Ya’ll, I am so exausted! (and YES I say ya’ll- unlike some other Floridians I am ACTUALLY southern!)
After working about 11-12 hours total on Wednesday, I barely touched the first item on my “to-do” list for today before the hours zipped by without warning and before I knew it I was hauling off to downtown Lakeland’s annual Christmas parade. It was great weather and lots of fun, but I kept wishing I had just gotten work done instead. I am some what of a perfectionist, especially when it comes to hard work. If I feel like things are hanging over my head it is really hard to enjoy myself. This is yet another facet of “work at home” life: your work ALWAYS goes home with you! It squeezes into the five minutes Lil’ E is engrossed in “Dora the Explorer”, follows me into the bathroom while I oversee him taking a bath, and stays up late with me until wee hours of the morning while my dog snores at my feet. It is very rare to find “stopping points” or to take a breath in between projects, so there’s that constant tick in the back of my mind, always telling me to steal away another hour for some work.
There are many reasons why I put up with this, reasons which are not uncommon to any one who holds a job. First of all, I need the income. When I say that, I mean it. My money doesn’t support eating out or excessive car payments, it supports electricity! I also know that my work wanes in and out in volume. If I get no projects in January, I will be kicking myself for not taking all I could get in December to hold us over the lull. (This is why there’s no point bragging about all the hours/money I get this week, for they might be split three ways to spread into lagging weeks.) Secondly, I put up with the nagging feeling of always having more work to do because it is my job. There are a few things in life which deserve your attention. I miss lunch dates, I forget a conversation I had yesterday, I admit that. When it comes to commitments to family its a whole different matter, and to me, the same goes for work. If I say I want the work, and I tell my boss or a client I will get it done by a certain time, then gosh darn it, that’s my word on the line. I wish I were better at this in all areas of life, but some things gotta give in order to keep priorities straight. I feel badly when I have to put a friend off for hang out plans or re-schedule a million times, but then again if I hung out each week with every person who asked, I would literally be out of hours in which to do work. Lastly, I enjoy working to an extent. I would love to soley focus on personal writing, but of course THAT doesn’t pay bills, so who am I to complain that I get to keep one small foot in the door to the corporate world, to own a pair of closed toe shoes and wheel around a laptop from time to time while hoping for a small raise or promotion within the companies I do, basically, virtual or out-sourced administrative/clerical work for? All this while almost exclusively telecommuting from home, I mean, it is exactly what I desire: to be able to wake up and cuddle with my son, to be the one to prepare his meals and put him to sleep allllll day loooooong. I always felt like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world to have a child but not raise that child - ridiculous as in unnatural - to not have a parent or close family member be the sole providor for the child the family brought into the world. (Disclaimer: Of course, this is a personal conviction and one I DO NOT wish to impose on any one else!)
Long story shorter, to “squeeze” hours into my life in which I have honest to goodness “work” to do (aside from the full-time job of child rearing and home keeping) is a blessing and I have nothing to complain about. I simply wish there were more hours in the day, is that so much to ask for? Sheesh.
I know so many people feel like this. I hear every day people say how busy they are, and I can imagine! Between family, friends, holidays, work, church activities, physical exercise, meal planning, house cleaning, bill paying, pet responsibilities, travel plans, college classes - how are we even meant to have time for it all? I recall a time when, after just having the baby, my to-do list for the day was literally one or two points long: “Sweep and check the mail.” Seriously. The rest of my brain was taken up with memorizing when to nurse, when to diaper, when to bathe (MYSELF!), and how in hades to get myself and the baby dressed and ready to get out of the house on time for a doctor’s appointment!!!
It’s amazing how quickly we fill up our schedules again and complicate life with more DOING after brief pauses such as births, wedding, deaths, natural disasters or vacations.
Currently, my alarm clock is scheduled for 6 hours from now, so I can go meet up with some great ladies in my church and get “discipled by grace” (aka bible study, which I actually am “leading” tomorrow so I can’t skip this time!). I plan to stop at Starbucks on the way and suck down a triple tall cap for liquid energy. I have spent 15 minutes trying to work and re-work my agenda for the day to include all that needs to be done, but I finally gave up and will just have to trust that I will do my best and if things don’t get finished the sun will still come up on Saturday.
Today was busy busy busy, as I had lots of job things to do! (Even had to pee in a cup, which, even after having a baby manages to be humbling!) Also, hubby and I drove over to Orlando (did you know the Marriot World Center is the largest Marriot in the world?) and had dinner with the team and professor attendees for a Wiley math seminar. Though I knew NO ONE, I think I managed to mingle and fit in, and we both had a great time.
Before I crash into my beckoning bed, I wanted to draw attention to Barry Friedman @ The Ledger’s comment to my last post. He gives a link for a great article for those local looking for volunteer opportunities. Also, some good quotes from Danielle’s comment to “Cheap in America”.
This year, I can’t shake the feeling that Christmas really loses its magic when the fundamentals are taken out. I just downloaded some of my favorite Christmas songs that always brought home the true meaning to me, and began to think about ideas for making this time of year more meaningful.
Family traditions are great, but often are sought with unrealistic expectations by some and recieved with boredom by others. Making a wish list, asking for things from “Santa”- doesn’t it all just scream THIS IS ABOUT MEEEEE! ?
I read a little article on the idea of having every one in your family pick a charity they most support. Instead of giving them a gift, a material possession, why not put the same amount of money towards that charity?
As I mentioned in my previous post, don’t forget to think about those in need during the holidays. I have had Christmas’ celebrated in a one bedroom apartment that my father, brother and I shared. I have had a houseplant with a $1 strand of white lights on it as a Christmas tree. One Christmas, all any one could afford for eachother was a card. But I was very fortunate for these memories, as each time the family was closer than ever. Other years, we were similarly blessed by serving those in need. My dad and I once spent our Christmas day serving immigrants in south Florida meals, which was something I will never forget. Through one organization I was a part of in highschool, we raised money to purchase gifts for a local family and brought it to them ourselves, seeing the little house they lived in and the child’s big eyes staring at the presents. Another year, some friends and I put on a christmas party and charged a $2 fee or a canned good, and then donated it all to an organization supplying families with meals and toys on Christmas Day. I also recall going with a group of friends to sing carols to the elderly home nearby, which brought such joy to their hearts that many were brought to tears. All of these are great ideas for ways to get involved, and it will amaze you at how great it feels for YOU. When you do stuff like that, suddenly it all makes sense. The commercial high wears off, but its replaced by something like the Grinch’s heart growing three sizes.
I will try to find some good resources for those local who wish to volunteer time, as well as charity links in case any one feels compelled to give. Also, Lakeland Local often posts about local volunteer opportunities.
I finally joined a playgroup, or rather, a Stay at Home Moms Meetup. I went to my first “event” last night, which was a “coffee break” at Starbucks (yeah, you know why I joined this group! My motives are revealed!). No, but really, it was interesting. Of course, I gave both of my new mommy friends my blog address, so I can’t say anything bad about them, HA! I wish there was something to say, it might make this little post a lot juicier, but in reality they were both very friendly, welcoming gals. I, on the otherhand, am convinced that I am socially inept. And I don’t think I can spell because that word looks wrong.
Here’s me all last night:
ME (uneasy stare out the window rather than at some one’s face): “Soooo,… what do your husband’s do?”
I MEAN, DID I ACTUALLY ASK THAT!?? I know, I know, it’s as though I’ve read the manuals on making mommy friends and was on step 4 or something. (Seriously though, does anyone have such a manual? How much you want for it?)
Among my list of mommy friend manual questions: “How long have you lived here?” “How many kids do you have?” OH, I am SO cliche.
I’m ashamed to admit that just days into membership, I have already extended an RSVP to “craft day”, to which I cancelled in the same day when I realized how much work I have to get done tomorrow!
I wonder if mommy groups have some sort of sorority hazing practices or something… like perhaps to be in the group you have to host a tupperware party or wear a Christmas vest or something. Gawd, I hope not! I’d rather we all just have to fart in front of eachother- express membership for me!
so we’ll get back on schedule after the New Year, deal?
