Monthly Archives: June 2010

June 17, 2010 · 11:59 pm

Cracking of the Rock of Gibralter – Part 2

Like This!

Or: This chick surely does not have her sh*t together anymore!

Back in December of 2008 I wrote this post about the gradual – or not so gradual – deterioration of my ability to keep things together the way I used to. When the kids were young I could juggle a toddler, a baby, a job, a puppy, a husband in the ICU and still hold down a full time job.

Now? Lucky if I remember to feed any of them. Hey they are old enough to fend for themselves. Ok, maybe the dog has an issue with the can opener, but she could live off the begging she does just fine.

Today I bring you the top ten list of why I simply cannot consider myself superwoman anymore. And to let you know that I am fully liberated from giving a crap about it.

10. No milk for the coffee and cereal (for more than one day)

9. No lunch reservation for graduation day (next friday)

8. No corsage ordered for Danny’s prom date (again, next friday)

7. Danny’s suit for this Saturday night’s fundraiser is not altered (masking tape anyone)

6. Cannot find the receipt for Danny’s prom tuxedo (See a Danny pattern here? Hey, he needs to start taking care of himself, he is going to college)

5. Have not written a blog post since Tuesday (please tell me you guys noticed)

4. Picked up the materials for a presentation hours before I was giving it (usually had this done at least a day in advance in the past)

3. Have lost my blackberry, shoes, wallet, glasses,  ______ fill in the blank, at least once a day (hopeless)

2. Have not filed the last 2 month’s worth of paperwork (office is an embarrassment)

And the Number One reason I am convinced I am no longer even a shadow of the woman I used to be:

1. Camp trunks go out tomorrow and they are still in the attic at 2PM

Ok, but here is the thing. Eventually I went to Dairy Barn and got milk. No one in the house is starving to death, certainly not the dog. If I don’t blog for a few days, only my stats suffer.  Danny is 17 and does not care how well his suit fits, is fully aware that we will order the corsage today, and knows that even without the receipt I will find a way to get that tuxedo. (I still have skills, for G-d sakes!) The presentation went fine, I find and re-lose all items daily like the tides. Papers were meant to left in piles, and most important, those trunks will get packed in the same 1 hour window whether we do it over 2 weeks or one night at 10PM.

Lesson learned: it all get’s done anyway. Lighten up.

Superwoman is sorely over-rated!

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

5 Comments

Filed under blogging, danny, family, humor, moms

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

June 14, 2010 · 10:11 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – A Hole in the Blogosphere

Like This! on facebook

If you read me regularly you have noticed that I also write over at 50-Something Moms Blog. I have been part of the SV Moms Group community for almost two years and consider them a family of sorts. Or as Gary likes to refer to them, my satan-worshipping blog friends.

As far as I can tell, none of them are actual satan-worshippers. Instead they are hundreds of moms – and a few dads with a strong sense of their masculinity – who write about everything from parenting to politics. The blogs are segmented geographically with one demographic group – the must current group of 50-somethings I have ever met!

In the background we are members of a thriving discussion board where we offer support, help promote one another, network and collaborate. Never before have I worked within such an amazing group.

I have been in business for many years. I have watched moms struggle with every aspect of the collision of parenting and career –  be it the choice to continue working or the option to stay home. As part of this group I have watched and listened. At times I have given council and at others I have been taught by the masters. When I needed an answer or a resource on any topic, they were my go-to group and there was always someone who would jump in and help me out.

It is with great sadness that I report the SVMoms Group is dissolving the site. The bloggers were all notified at around 3:00 PM EST on Monday. Within 6 hours a new alumni community was formed on Ning with members immediately joining by the dozens. I would imagine the whole group will migrate there within a day or so. This is a network that will not dissolve.

So, to the Sisterhood of the SVMoms I show my deepest gratitude for having been a part of something so very special. And to our fearless leaders, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for inviting me to be a part of something so life-changing. (oh yeh, and letting me lie about my age for the first year I was writing on 50-something).

Yes, there will surely be a hole in the blogosphere where we once lived!

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

5 Comments

Filed under 50-something moms blog, blogging, carreers, communities, companies, moms, parenting, Time to Cry Tuesdays, women

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

June 13, 2010 · 10:11 pm

Family Mall Day

Like This!

Once a year we have family mall day. Every June, between the end of school and the beginning of camp the four of us spend an eternity a few hours at the local mall. We are not particularly good shoppers, but there is something about an activity that we all do together with some short term goal attached that makes it a nice tradition.

Of course I spent 4 hours and countless dollars and I still have nothing to wear, but that is the way it goes.

A few observations:

1. People are 60% uglier in the mall. I am not sure if we too, become 60% uglier or just the odd looking like to congregate in these places. This also holds true for all theme and water parks.

2. For the most part, the clothing is ugly. I am not sure if that is true either but I know a lot of it is. And the price point does not matter. Sometimes the more expensive stuff is uglier than the cheaper stuff.

3. Mall food is… well, it is mall food. Enough said there.

4. Every store is playing the most annoying song in the universe the second we walk through the doors. (and remember we are a music family, we have very diverse tastes). Oh and there is usually an underlying layer of white noise involved.

5. The yogurt is DEFINITELY NOT low fat.

And now, because of course I had a camera, I will leave you with the highlights of the day. I am only sorry that even though I stalked a woman through the racks at Sterns I was unable to snap a picture of her carrying her little white dog in a baby carrier on the front of her body. Even I was a embarrassed at my behavior. Oh and the baby with the leash on its wrist… a memory of blog posts past.

So, I will start off with a little trend spotting. Seriously, everyone is going Techno Tribal! Um, do with that what you may. I am sort of at a loss on this one.

This poor chick not only lost her hand, she lost her pants. And by the looks of her Brazilian I am guessing she is probably not Techno Tribal; I believe the tribal piece requires hair. I am pretty sure I know where her date is, we ran into him a while back.

Yes, I considered buying a dozen of these T-shirts. But I am not gonna lie, the graphic was just way too disturbing.

And last but not least, sure the ladies like it! But sadly the Mustache has just sort of faded a bit out there. It’s generational, but no worries ‘ladies’, styles are cyclical.and those who still wear them do so proudly.

That’s all I got. Now if you are interested in Family Mall Day next year, we are considering selling tickets. And sponsorships, this day is not cheap!

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

2 Comments

Filed under carry a camera, danny, humor, Jana, shopping

Tagged as , , , , ,

June 10, 2010 · 9:53 pm

The Dancer

In celebration of Bonnaroo,  and with sadness that we did not join Dr. Jimmy and Co. for this year’s treck, I bring you The Dancer (or the Fire Dancer as she is sometimes called).

This chick is surely a hardcore DMB fan. Jana spotted her in the alley outside her apartment in Madison as we were leaving the garbage room. You might remember my embarrassing episode there last summer. She silently pointed, we froze and I whipped out the camera to take this shot without her ever knowing. We can be very sneaky that way.

So, Dr. Jimmy, here’s to you and da boyz. Hope you have a great time this weekend and your feet don’t get too muddy.

Go ahead: Like This!

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

3 Comments

Filed under art, body image, carry a camera, Jana

Tagged as , , , , ,

June 9, 2010 · 10:31 pm

Britney Barbie – hold the undies

Cheap shot, I know. Who could resist what with her latest headlines about sexually harrassing her bodyguard by walking around her house naked in front of him. Yeh, I would imagine most guys would hate that. WTF?

Could it be true that her dad charged her staff to make sure she never left the house without underwear on? A 29-year-old woman whose dad is doing a regular skivvie check, what is that all about?

I am thinking she could offset the legal bills if she licensed herself for the limited edition britney barbie sans foundation garments.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

1 Comment

Filed under absurdities, body image, carry a camera, products

Tagged as ,

June 8, 2010 · 11:17 pm

Funniest Picture Ever!

I don’t know why but every time I look at this picture I laugh to the point of tears. There was a bike tour in Madison this weekend and a bunch of people were riding these old bikes. One guy was walking his and Jana and I stopped to see how he was going to get back on. I kept snapping shots hoping to catch him at the moment that he mounted the bike.

Instead I caught him in the act of choking himself to death while putting his helmet on:

I dare you not to laugh when you look at this. He looks a little bit like Franklin the turtle, no?

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

2 Comments

Filed under absurdities, carry a camera, college, humor, Jana

Tagged as , , , ,

June 8, 2010 · 3:00 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – Firsts and Lasts

So sorry for the late posting of Time to Cry Tuesday. I am sure there are many of you who are thanking me for not starting your day with a good cry but then there are others who might have missed it and I hate to disappoint. Hey, it’s still Tuesday!

Today is the first day of Jana’s internship.

Tomorrow is Danny’s last day of classes in High School.

This past weekend was Danny’s first time registering for college classes.

This coming year will be Jana’s last one in Wisconsin.

This was the first time I took both my kids to Madison to give them a glimpse into their year to come.

The flight home was the last time I will fly back with them both.

New beginnings and doors close.

The wheel is turning and you can’t slow down
You can’t let go and you can’t hold on
You can’t go back and you can’t stand still
If the thunder won’t get you then the lightening will.
The Wheel – Grateful Dead

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

1 Comment

Filed under danny, family, Jana, moms, Time to Cry Tuesdays

Tagged as , , , , ,

June 7, 2010 · 12:33 am

Cosmic Brownies?


Who knew that crazy Little Debbie would think to come up with an item like Cosmic Brownies?

There she sits in the upper left corner of the package wearing that goofy hat and the look of pure innocence while peddling wacky hallucinagenic confections.

At first I thought I read the package wrong. Could there be a brand manager out there who is so clueless they did not get what this implied? Or is the entire brand team still laughing at what they got away with?

Of course I found this as an impulse by item at a Walgreens in a college town.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

3 Comments

Filed under absurdities, photography, products

Tagged as ,

June 5, 2010 · 11:45 pm

Winging to Wisco

Headed out to Wisconsin today with the kids. This state is really serious about their badgers, enough so that they feature one on the wing of the Midwest Airlines plane.

For those who live under a rock do not follow college sports, the badger is the UW mascot. We are here for my son’s orientation and my daughters sheer pleasure to be back after 5 months away.

The realization that both my kids will be living in the same college town has hit hard today. They could not be happier and for me, knowing they will be here together makes letting go the second time a lot easier.

Ok, I lied. I am insanely jealous that they will be here together, but in a good way. As I told Jana today, I may be losing him, but she is getting him back.

Go Badgers!

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

3 Comments

Filed under college, danny, family, Jana

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

June 3, 2010 · 6:16 pm

Friend of the Devil

That would be me, I suppose.

Yesterday as I was obsessing over perusing my blog stats it came to my attention that I had just posted my 666th post. How interesting that the title was ‘Got Balls?’ Seems if I were to have a mission statement or a tagline it might run along those lines.

My facebook status currently reads: Wow, just checked my blog stats and I just posted my 666th post. I am feeling a bit devilish…

At which point the comments included me being a Friend of the Devil and The Devil with the Blue Dress On as well as some reference to Route 66 which was a stretch but the sentiment was there. This should give you and idea of the age of my readers. (Feel free to comment on my selection of the renditions of each of these songs in the links above, but these are my faves)

Nonetheless, it is the nuances in life that keep me entertained. And I try my best to pay attention to the little things, because as we all know…

the devil is in the details.

Haven’t had enough of me yet? You can also read me at 50-Something Moms Blog. For photo enthusiasts, visit Leaving the zip code, photos from outside the comfort zone.

3 Comments

Filed under blogging, conversations, facebook, humor, humor, rock 'n roll

Tagged as , , , , , , ,