Mish Mash

I am still alive. The peeps didn't kill me though they came close which is why I haven't written since the end of peep week. All is as well as can be excepted when you live in a state that keeps getting winter storm warnings in April and the sun has dropped you like a clingy girlfriend, changed its phone number and moved with no forwarding address.

I haven't been blogging because I have been working on my book. I have actually been writing (not tracking sharks and watching YouTube videos) and I notice that, when I am doing that, I am not here to entertain you.

I thought about posting some of the writing I have done that will not make it into the current essay I am working on but it would have no context and then what if I changed my mind and wanted to use it?! All of the surprise would be ruined.

So, you aren't getting anything but rambling today.

Well, you get the rambling and the cute picture of my kids looking like the accountants for the Academy Awards! I did write a post about learning to tie a tie that I am sure will warm the cockles of your heart...if you have cockles...or can stand to say the word cockles. I think I have personally hit my cockles limit, though I just said cockles again. And now again. The cockles are very persistent in being included here.

How about I give you something else in addition to the rambling and cute picture? I'll offer you a funny little Miguel anecdote about an exchange we had while he was working on an essay.

Miguel: "How do you spell 'revisualizing'? The computer has no suggestions."

Me: "Well that's because it is not a word."

Miguel: "Then 'recall' it is!"

Hmmm. Maybe you had to be there.

This blog post is going so well. I am breaking about 39 rules of blogging right now, especially the one about providing good content.

I think I should just end this now before I embarrass myself further and go back to work on my essay which is not about rambling or cockles but probably does need some revisualizing.

I will leave you with a picture of Momo because cute kids and cute cats are always popular on the internet, right? It's in the rules of blogging right under the one that says, "Don't blog unless you have something to say" which I am clearly ignoring today.

Concrete Jungle

Last night I had a dream that I moved to New York City. It was very exciting! I lived in a small apartment in Manhattan and it didn't matter that it was small because I didn't bring anything with me when I moved. My first outing in the big city was to go to a frozen yogurt place and I got a small cup of vanilla yogurt filled with teeny tiny gummy bears. I was going to give it to my friend, Raquel, but in the end kept it for myself which is interesting because I don't like gummy bears. As I went to meet Raquel, I stared into the cup and the yogurt was gone but the teeny tiny gummy bears were still there but were primarily green with an occasional red and yellow that provided splashes of color. They were like gummy bear ice cream dots. Weird. Suddenly, I was turned off by them so I decided to give it to Raquel after all. She thought they were creepy but she ate them anyway.

Then, I caught a ride to the high school where I was going to be teaching. I met with all the new teachers in the cafeteria and banged my hands on the table and yelled, "This is where we are going to spend the next 20 years of our lives as unappreciated public servants!" People stared and I couldn't understand why I didn't make any new friends.

When it was time for me to go home, I realized I didn't know my address. So, I told the cab driver that  lived by the frozen yogurt place. He was unamused by my directions but, fortunately, I woke up before having to deal with the consequences. New York City is hard.

I didn't blog much which means that all two of my readers are probably wondering what I did this week when I should have been writing so I present TIDTWWISHBW vol. 1, issue 3! This will be a shorter list, not because I was more dedicated but because it is spring break and I have to go pick up my kids from a friend's house.

Here we go...

1. Yesterday, I stuck myself repeatedly in the finger with a needle or as crafters like to call it, "Felting".

2. I did ALL THE PUZZLES with Zeca. So many puzzles - 500 pieces, 750 pieces and we are working on 1000 pieces.

3. Work continues on Listen to Your Mother! We announced our cast and I can now tell you that I will be reading! You should go buy tickets right now! If you want to...if that's your sort of thing...

4. I lost my library card and spent all day yesterday looking for it which meant that I cleaned house. I never did find the library card but I found my wedding ring and a ziplock bag full of baby teeth. Terrifying.

5. Spent a big chunk of time fondly recalling The Bangles which means that I fell down the Bangles wormhole big time!

Have a great weekend and enjoy...

http://youtu.be/zG9PVucS9aw

TIDTWWISHBW Vol. 1, Issue 2

The Birds

There is a light dusting of snow on the branches outside my window.

A pair of cardinals flit about in the tree, flashes of color piercing the dull gray day.

I've watched the cardinals all winter and heard their calls.

I know them; They have been my companions.

Recently, I've noticed the songs of other birds, the harbingers of Spring and Summer.

I am filled with hope but then the wind shifts and more snow falls and I am left with only one thought -

"Stupid fucking birds".

This poem was supposed to be a consolation prize for my lack of blogging this week but I am a horrible poet so it's not much of a prize. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right?

It has been a very busy week which partially explains why I did not blog. Somehow, I did find a few minutes here and there to do a bunch of other things that were not blogging and working on my book-like thing. So, I thought I would do another list of Things I Did This Week When I Should Have Been Writing!

I now present this week's Top 10 TIDTWWISHBW!

1. Ate a peanut butter cookie in bed.
2. Went to Galit's house to cast the Listen To Your Mother Show (announcement coming soon) and ate soup and spinach and M&M's and hung out with her dog, Louie.
3. Went out with a friend for coffee and had a double shot of espresso late in the day and then couldn't sleep and spent most of the night convincing myself that I cannot write and wondering if I should put in an application at Subway.
4. Applied at Subway. (No, not really).
5. Wrote about same-sex marriage. Again.
6. Made a casserole from the original Moosewood Cookbook and traveled back in time to 1990. Woke up with an Indigo Girls hangover and a strong desire to discuss the nutritional merits of brewer's yeast.
7. Tracked sharks on the daily. My new favorite Great White Shark is Mary Lee. She is heading to the Bahamas! Save me a place on the beach, Mary Lee!
8. Took a lot of really long showers - the kind that use all the hot water and then someone (like maybe a partner) comes up to you after and says "I'm going to take a shower" and you say, "I used all the hot water but that's okay because you are tough and I like that about you."
9. Felt nostalgic about my pre-teen appreciation for Styx and watched this video.
10. Talked to the artist mentor through my Beyond the Pure grant about procrastination and discipline. He dropped some wisdom on me and then told me that I needed to figure out why I procrastinate. Then, I figured it out - fear. Still thinking about that and still procrastinating.

I will leave you with the following video because the peeps...they are coming...

http://youtu.be/cIKBnKPchUY