Little Bit Quirky

I Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts!

2013-05-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

I did something that I've never done before. Okay, I did many things I've never done before. The first thing is that I went on a solo vacation. No husband. No daughter. Well, I have done solo trips before, but not since I've gotten married and had a kid. I had a full week to myself where I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to.

I took a 7-day cruise that left from the Los Angeles area, where I live, and stopped at San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Catalina Island, San Diego, and Ensenada, Mexico. I've been to all these places before--many with my family. I liked that I wasn't seeing anything exotic or different without them.

Why did I pick this particular vacation? A travel agency, Banner Travel, arranged a group to go ghost hunting at 3 of the port stops. The ghost hunting excursions were included in the very reasonable price. In addition, a portion of the price went to support Relay for Life. This was amazing considering I paid way below the best price I couldn't have gotten through the cruise ship company.

In addition, Banner Travel arranged for two ghost-hunting celebrities and a psychic medium to lead us during the ghost hunts and give very interesting lectures during the cruise. The ghost-hunting celebrities were Barry Fitzgerald from Ghost Hunters International and Karl Pfeiffer, from Ghost Hunters Academy. I was lucky enough to room with psychic/medium Sarah Lemos whose readings were so amazing it was impossible to book time with her! They were a definite highlight of the trip.

This was all novel to me. While I've always had an interest in the paranormal and love watching the television ghost-hunting shows, I've never actually ghost-hunted before or spent time talking about spirit guides and dear, departed ones. I'm not sure i actually believe everything in the paranormal world. The trip definitely succeeded in opening my mind a bit. It also succeeded in making me realize I need to spend more time on my spiritual journey. I never spend time getting to know me, per se. I rush around my daily life, working and taking care of my family. The trip made me realize how much I need to nurture myself more. This doesn't mean taking lavish cruises with tv personalities, but with trying to spend a few minutes each day listening to my inner voice and getting to know it again.

I'm sure you're all wondering how the ghost-hunting went. I've never done this before, and I"m not sure it really turned out totally to be ghost hunting. The first hunt was at Alcatraz. We were lucky enough to get there in the evening, while the sun was setting. Alcatraz is a totally amazing place to visit even if it weren't haunted. It's surprisingly beautiful! It was also totally overrun with tourists, so it was impossible to really do a serious ghost hunt. However, I did have some weird experiences there. The most major one was when I was hanging out inside a solitary confinement cell with another cruiser. We heard footsteps above us, which I didn't think was all that weird at first. There was a hospital ward on the second floor that was open to tourists. I mentioned that to my friend, but after we stepped out and looked up, we could see a cell block above the solitary cells. A cell block that is restricted. No one was up there.

At Catalina Island, we received a walking ghost tour--in broad daylight. Our tour guide kept repeatedly muttering that this tour is usually done at night. Yes, you mean after our cruise ship has long departed? The beginning of the tour was at Avalon's beautiful casino building, which I've never been to! The guide kept making reference to how wonderful the tours there were, and how we should take it some day. Ahem. The tour did succeed in giving us a lot of laughs (unintentional). We also had a blast sightseeing on the island while riding around on golf carts (tip: don't let Barry drive you around on one of those. Although he did get us down the hill successfully with faulty brakes. Whew! I guess you CAN put you life in Barry's hands after all).

San Diego had the most traditional-style ghost hunts. We crammed in 3 locations, 2 of which were closed off to everyone but our group! We did these in broad daylight, but both locations, The Whaley House and The Cosmopolitan Hotel, seemed to have some activity for many in our group. I didn't experience much in these locations.

The best part about the trip was the lovely group of 24 people. Everyone was really nice, and we all got along great. I came back relaxed and refreshed.

I had a fantastic time and think I'll need to do a solo vacation every 10 years or so to indulge my interests. The next vacation will be with my family. I'm sure that will be great too.

Stupid Cleaning Lady! Part 2

2013-04-23T22:18:00.001-07:00

Years ago, I did a post called "Stupid Cleaning Ladies!" You have to read that post to get the proper context (no, my cleaning lady is not stupid). Since then, however, whenever we have a hard time finding anything after she has cleaned the house, my husband and I will still mutter the phrase, "Stupid Cleaning Lady!"

The last couple of times she's cleaned, she has done something that we just can't figure out. She likes to take the bookmark out of the book my daughter is reading, so that she can return the book to its boxed set case.

Who purposely removes a bookmark? On multiple occasions? I know my cleaning lady is maniacal about cleaning. She leaves no stone unturned. But pulling a bookmark out of a book so that the book can be returned to its original place in the boxed set?

Yeah, I don't have much else to write about. It's been a slow week.

I Think I Last Posted in 1985.

2013-04-12T19:07:00.000-07:00

I know. It's been way too long. I used to post 5 days a week and now I'm lucky if I post twice a month.

It's been hard keeping up with blogging while working a full-time job. This past month had been particularly crazy since we had a huge deadline at work and 12-hour days became the norm.

Now that deadline passed, I'm hoping to have some more downtime. I also did something I've never done before: I decided to take a 7-day cruise by myself and totally indulge myself by sleeping in late and having a cocktail or two. It should be fun.

I'm not going anywhere exotic--just the California coast, but I'm fine with that. I'd hate to go somewhere exotic without my family. This particular cruise is hosting a ghost hunting group, which is why I'm going on it. We're going to visit haunted sites at almost all the port stops. I've always been into the paranormal, and after having my daughter, I enjoyed watching reality paranormal shows such as Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth. The thought of ghost hunting at places such as Alcatraz sounds really exciting to me!

I bet this trip will also give me one or two fun posts. It will be nice to have something different to write about!

Have you ever taken a break from your mom-duties and taken a solo trip? What did you do?

You're a Strange Looking Kid, Charlie Brown!

2013-03-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

My daughter loves the Peanuts comic strips! We went to a yard sale once where the hostess gave my daughter a Peanuts book dating back from the early 1960s. My daughter instantly devoured it and has loved all things Charlie Brown and Snoopy (among the rest) ever since.

In February, I taped the two Charlie Brown Valentine's Day episodes and didn't get around to showing them to my daughter until today (nothing like watching Valentine's Day shows at the end of March--don't judge me). I watched them with her. Okay, I watched most of them with her. I did doze a bit.

She absolutely adored them (no surprise). I loved them too when I was her age. But what struck me the most as I watched this was that Charlie Brown was a really weird looking kid. I couldn't get past the fact that he appeared to be a 75 year old man on the body of an 8 year old. It was really freaky.

His friend, Linus, wasn't much better. He had hair, but not much. What he did have was really stringy. He was like a 45-year old balding man desperately trying to hold on to whatever hair he had.

It made me wonder if the Peanuts kids lived by a toxic waste dump. Maybe that's what caused the adults to all speak weird? Will that be the kids' fate when they grow up?

I'm going to have nightmares tonight.

Kids Have It Pretty Damn Hard

2013-03-10T15:32:00.004-07:00

A lot of people--particularly those that don't have kids--whine about how children are spoiled and have everything handed to them on a silver platter. In particular, Bill Maher has complained about this on Real Time. While I do agree that we cushion our kids as much as possible (such as giving trophies to all kids that participate in a sport instead of just to the winners)--this doesn't fully tell the whole story.

Kids of this generation work damn hard. Much more seems to be expected from them than from when I was a kid. My daughter's days are spent going to school, taking an enrichment class, then doing homework. Even though she's in the third grade, her homework generally takes an hour (the same amount of time as it did in first and second grade as well). She has precious little time to play.

In areas where my daughter does excel, such as reading, she's pushed to do more and more. She's highly encouraged to read way above her grade level since she's capable of it.

I have to start thinking about possible middle schools for my daughter. She can go to her neighborhood middle school, but it's not the highest rated. She qualifies for the gifted magnet middle school, but it has a reputation as being SO academic, it leaves no time for anything else. I don't know if she qualifies for the highly gifted middle school magnet, but I imagine the workload will be insane there as well. There's a good chance she could go to the neighborhood middle school that her current magnet elementary feeds into. I definitely will have to consider that one. There are other middle schools to consider, but they might not be as academically robust as she needs. Ugh!

It just seems like things were easier when I was a kid. There was no choice. You just went to your neighborhood school. Homework lasted for about 30 minutes at most. Then you'd run outside and play with the kids on your street and have a blast.

Things are so different now. I feel bad that my daughter isn't getting the childhood that I had. Everything revolves around getting her positioned to go to a good college. And she's only in the third grade.

So when I hear Bill Maher complain about how parents coddle their kids too much, I just want to tell to lay off. Kids have it pretty damn hard.

Yahoo! Decision Might Not Be a Bad One

2013-03-01T22:54:00.003-08:00

Last week, I wrote about Marissa Mayer's decision to make Yahoo! employees work in the office instead of remotely. I felt her decision was misguided and ignored how productive people can be when they don't have to commute and can put all their energies into the work itself.

Since my post, I've seen tons of other blogs and articles that have discussed this issue. I don't think the executives at Yahoo! ever dreamed that their HR decision would strike a chord with so many people.

In my case, I felt let down that a woman in charge of a company would turn her back on more progressive work models that could help women balance work and home life. To me, it seems that with technology being what it is, there's no reason why an employer can't let workers work from home at least part of the time.

Other people seemed to feel threatened by Yahoo!'s decision. They were afraid about changes in their own workplace.

I read a couple of articles written by former Yahoo! employees who felt Marissa Mayer's decision was a good one. Apparently, Yahoo! was a bit of a mess. Not only has the company been facing problems, but there were many employees who were taking advantage of working at home. They were using the time to develop their own start-ups or just not focusing on work.

So Marissa Mayer's decision is an effort to gain control of the work being done for the company in addition to building a corporate culture. If things are such a mess there, it's actually an understandable decision. I hope that once things settle down, she'll return to a more progressive work environment as a nice perk for employees who've earned and deserve it.

Will this affect how other companies treat their employees? I'm doubtful it will start any trends. If a company is allowing employees to work from home at least occasionally and is receiving good work from the employee, I doubt the company will change its policy.

Is Marissa Mayer turning her back on women? Even though that's how I felt initially, I do understand that her first responsibility is to get her company running successfully. She does women less of a service if she publicly flops in this position.

I just have to give her make the decisions she feels is right for her company and not blow it up to mean more than it is.

Do People Who Work from Home Get Less Done?

2013-02-24T00:28:00.002-08:00

I know I've written a lot about this subject, but I feel I need to revisit it. Again. Being a working mom is hard. It's really difficult to find the perfect life balance between satisfying your employer (or clients if you own your own business) and being there for your family. I often feel by trying to please everybody I end up pleasing nobody--least of all me. My job is demanding. The commute is even more demanding.

That's why the day I work at home each week (on average) is such a relief. It means two less hours of driving. This opens up more time to run errands, and I can often fit in more work than when I'm in the office. I'm really thankful for being to work from home occasionally. The technology means that I can get the same work done whether at home or in the office. People can reach me just as easily. It's not uncommon for coworkers to "talk" with me via Skype even if they're 100 feet away. It oftentimes doesn't matter much if I am that 100 feet away or 35 miles away. People oftentimes don't know or care.

Which is why I feel Marissa Mayer's ban on working from home so troubling. For those who don't know, Marissa Mayer is the CEO of Yahoo. She took the job on when she was 5 months pregnant. She seemed to be an amazing symbol of what women can accomplish in terms of having it all. Then she had to ruin it all with a stupid policy like this.

Her thinking, per an article that appeared in the Huffington Post, is that speed and quality go downhill when people work from home. I can personally attest that's not the case. At all. I get more done, have less interruptions, and have no difference in quality than the work I produce in the office. Ms. Mayer also believes that employees work together will build a cohesive work environment. That argument IS harder to shoot down, certainly. But I don't see how working from home occasionally would really sacrifice that.

Not everyone is destined to be a CEO. Not everyone desires to be a CEO. I believe that working moms have a lot to add to the workforce. This should be encouraged instead of discouraged. Seeing a woman openly discourage flexibility in the workplace is heartbreaking.

It's also very short-sighted.

World's Worst Blogger

2013-02-08T14:59:00.001-08:00

Well, my 3-year blog anniversary came and went. The really sad thing is that I didn't even realize it until I saw a blog anniversary post from a bloggy friend of mine and remembered that we started our blogs on the exact same day. Which meant that it was my blog anniversary too.

When I started this blog, I worked really hard at blogging. I wanted to make sure my topics were interesting and well thought-out. I blogged 5 days a week. FIVE days! At least! I spent hours building up a following on Twitter and tried to amass as many followers as possible. When I wasn't on Twitter, I spent hours poring over others blogs, being sure to comment. I worked really hard at becoming affiliated with BlogHer, because it seemed that all the awesome bloggers were part of BlogHer. I was beyond thrilled when they finally accepted me. I felt I had arrived.

During this time, I was thrilled when I had 20 people visit my blog by noon.

Now, I just don't have the time and energy to devote to blogging that I used to have. Working 30 hours a week with another 10 hours a week of commute time really eats into the time one has to write! Spending time building and maintaining your community is impossible on top of that!

But to completely forget about my blog anniversary? Have I become that far removed from blogging?

I guess I have. I've considered killing my blog, but I still enjoy the idea of being a blogger. I still like to write when I have the time (which is never, but still).

The crazy part is that my numbers have never been better. I'm sure my bounce rate is pathetic (that's the percentage of people who visit my blog, but leave immediately without reading anything). But my number of visitors is huge (relatively speaking). Now, it's a slow day if I don't hit 100 visitors by noon. This increase in activity is due to Google searches. My blog must hit the top of the search, for some weird reason.

So, I'm getting weird positive reinforcement for NOT having and maintaining a community.

Weird.

Anyway, I'm awarding myself the World's Worst Blogger Award!

I hope that I'll be able to carve out more time to write more often.

In the meantime, visit occasionally!

My Daughter Is Now 9. Wow!

2013-01-27T17:09:00.000-08:00

The past few days have spent celebrating my daughter's birthday. I have no idea where the last 9 years went. It's scary how fast the time goes.

It's also scary seeing how grown up she's becoming. Overall, the last couple of years have been amazing, and I expect 9 will be a really cool age as well. It's the honeymoon period of child-rearing. The kids are old enough to do most things on their own, yet young enough to still think you're cool. Let's face it...those days will be numbered, so I'm enjoying it while I can!

The birthday party was great fun! My daughter had 7 friends at a bowling party. She did a pretty good job mingling and making sure everyone was having fun. Her friends obviously care about her very much, and it was nice to see her surrounded by good friends.

A New Addition!

2013-01-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

We finally did it! We knew it had to happen eventually no matter how hard we fought against it.

That's right. We adopted a puppy. Did I mention that my daughter and husband are both allergic to dogs?

Ahem.

We did something that I'm generally against doing. We went to a breeder to get a hypoallergenic breed that we were sure wasn't mixed with any other breed.

Did you know that there really is no such thing as hypoallergenic when it comes to dogs? Yup, both my husband and daughter had reactions. My daughter had a pretty bad reaction the first couple of weeks. Then her body adapted and her allergy seemed to go away. She's also doing much better at friends' homes that have pets. Whew!

My husband did fine initially, only to develop a horrendous cough after a month. Yikes!

We love the puppy though, so he's a member of the family.

The breed is Havanese. If you're considering a dog, they're terrific. They're gentle and loving. Our puppy is so amazing with my daughter! He would make a great therapy dog.

He's also is great at doing tricks! He can stand on his hind legs for an extended time while jumping or walking! Whenever he does this, we joke that he should be in a circus. On a whim, I Googled Havenese and circus and found out that Havenese were used as circus dogs in Europe. Interestingly, our dog ancestors come from Europe!

Coincidence? I don't think so!

I Quit!

2013-01-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

I really have no right to complain. Overall, things have been going great lately!

Nevertheless, there are some days where I just want to give my two-week notice.

No, I'm not talking about leaving my paid job. I'm talking about giving notice at my non-monetary earning job. The one where I provide an enormous amount of work just for the joy of making everyone happy. Yep, I sometimes want to quit my mom job. The hours are long. The benefits can be amazing, but when they're not there, and all I hear is whining and complaining, I just want to give notice.

Tonight was one of those times. My adorable puppy had an accident on the rug, my daughter started crying over something meaningless, I'm recovering from being sick and still feel awful. It's times like these that hanging out on a tropical island while sipping some fruity rum drink with an umbrella sounds especially appealing.

Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that feels this way!

Insanity! Pure Insanity!

2012-12-21T19:03:00.000-08:00

A horrific incident happened last week at the Sandy Hooks elementary school. I do not need to recount what happened here. It is beyond horrible. You all know what occurred.

Like many people, I tried to make sense out of what happened. "How could anyone do anything so vile?" I repeatedly asked myself. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around it. Now, a week later, I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it. It just doesn't make sense.

Many people feel a need to point the finger at a cause. If we can only figure out why this horrible event occurred, we can fix the problem and it won't happen again. This is a very natural and rational approach. The problem is, however, that the answer can be hard to determine and can be quite complex.

Nevertheless, the media and others come to conclusions that may be inaccurate and flat-out ignorant. What can happen is a witch-hunt against a group that is misguided and hurtful.

After some people described the killer as bright but withdrawn, many media outlets began speculating about whether the killer had Asperger's. This quickly turned into an assumption that he did have Asperger's and that was the cause of the massacre.

I kept hoping for this speculation to just go away. But it's hasn't. On Facebook, I've seen groups formed called, "Stop Asperger's: For every 50 Likes, a Child with Asperger's Will Be Killed." Facebook took that page down (thankfully). A Facebook friend reported that a local television news station did a story on Asperger's and obsessions, then commented on how the Sandy Hooks shooter was obsessed with guns. Ahem.

Today, a blogger who has a child with autism reported that she received a private email stating that if she didn't stop her child's Asperger's (her child doesn't have Asperger's specifically), she is a negligent mother.

To clear up a misconception: having Asperger's does not make a person into a crazed killer. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. Guess what? Sociopaths and psychopaths can be bright and withdrawn as well also. That is where the similarities end.

The following is from a Yahoo article.

Characteristics of a sociopath are as followed :
1. Sociopaths are very charming.
2. Sociopaths can be extremely manipulative and will try to con you whenever possible.
3. Sociopaths feel that they are entitled to everything.
4. Sociopaths will lie continuously to get what they want. They can even sometimes manipulate a lie detector.
5. Sociopaths have no remorse, shame or guilt.
6. Sociopaths will show love and happiness only when it serves their purpose. None of the feelings are genuine.
7. Sociopaths have no room for love in their life.
8. Sociopaths need to have excitement in their lives or live on the edge.
9. Sociopaths have lack of empathy when their victims suffer pain that they have caused.
10. Sociopaths believe that they are all mightier than G_d, there is no concern on how their behavior impacts others.
11. Sociopaths usually have a long history of juvenile delinquency as well as behavior problems.
12. Sociopaths will never take blame for anything they have done to anyone no matter if it is family or friend.
13. Sociopaths have many sexual partners and tend to act out many sexual acts.
14. Sociopaths rarely stay in one place for a long time (home/work).
15. Sociopaths will change themselves if they know it will keep them from being found out.

Characteristics of a psychopath are as followed:
1. Psychopaths use superficial charm to lure their victims.
2. Psychopaths are extremely self-centered.
3. Psychopaths must always do something to keep themselves from boredom.
4. Psychopaths are very deceptive and tend to lie continuously.
5. Psychopaths show no remorse of guilt towards their victims.
6. Psychopaths are very predatory and usually will live off other people.
7. Psychopaths have many sexual partners in their lifetime.
8. Psychopaths are very impulsive with their lifestyle.
9. Psychopaths are always blaming other people for their actions.
10. Psychopaths never have a realistic view of their lives. (king of the world or from another planet)
11. Psychopaths always want psychological gratification in sexual and criminal activities.
12. Psychopaths tend to try suicide, rarely succeeding.

There is very little overlap between these characteristics and those of a person with Asperger's (see my list of traits here). One major difference is that people with Asperger's are not manipulators. What you see is what you get with them. They also tend to be big rule followers and don't like to do things that are illegal. Also, people with Asperger's are capable of empathy and love. In the case of my daughter, empathy didn't come naturally, but she was able to learn to be empathetic. A sociopath can never learn this.

This is a plea for the media and others to stop describing maniacal killers as being autistic or having Asperger's (I believe the Aurora movie theater shooting had the same speculation). They are entirely different things and should not be lumped together.

Poems by a Guest Poet

2012-12-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

My blog is being visited today by Scott Lentine. Scott is a 25 year old with high-functioning autism (PDD-NOS/Asperberger's) from Billerica, Massachusetts, outside of Boston. He is a summer resident of Fieldston Beach, Marshfield, south of Boston. He graduated from Merrimack College magna cum laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Religious Studies with a Biology minor.

Scott's poetry has been published in many other, better-established blogs such as Claire LaZebnik's, Look Me in the Eye, Living on the Spectrum, Shut Up About Your Perfect Kid, Love that Max, Autism Wonderland, and A Diary of Mom, among many others.

I hope you enjoy his poetry as much as I do. They're insightful and moving.

Can’t You See

Can’t you see
I just want to have a friend
Can’t you see
I need the same connections in the end

Can’t you see
I want a good job
Can’t you see
I need to have stability and dependence and part of the general mob

Can’t you see
I want to be independent on my own
Can’t you see
I want to be able to have my own home

Can’t you see
I want the same things as everyone else
Can’t you see
I want to be appreciated for myself

The Ode to the Autistic Man

Try to understand the challenges that I face
I would like to be accepted as a human in all places
Where I will end up in life I don’t know
But I hope to be successful wherever I go
I would like to expand my social skills in life
Making new friends would be very nice

Stand proud for the autistic man
For he will find a new fan
I hope to overcome the odds I face today
Increased acceptance will lead me to a brighter day

By the age of 20, I will have made tremendous strides
I know in the future, life will continue to be an interesting ride
I have made new friends by the year
I will be given tremendous respect by my family and peers
I hope to get noted for bringing the issue of autism to the common man
So that autistic people can be accepted in this great land

Stand proud for the autistic man
For he will find a new fan
I hope to overcome the odds I face today
Increased acceptance will lead me to a brighter day

Just a Normal Day

Never knowing what to say
Never knowing what to do
Always looking for clues
Just a normal day

Feeling unsure
Totally perplexed with everyday life
Always on edge never certain
I wish I could lift this curtain
Needing to constantly satisfy my need for information
Always online searching for new revelations
Going from site to site
Obtaining new insights every night

Trying to connect with people my age
Attempting to reveal my unique vision
But ending up alone and unengaged
Feeling like my needs a total revision
Just a normal day

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

2012-11-30T06:15:00.000-08:00

Ugh! I'm falling behind on my posts. The holiday season is always SO crazy! We went away to Illinois to visit family for Thanksgiving and had a lovely time! Since being back, I haven't had a spare minute to write until now. I'd like to say that I've been busy doing holiday things--decorating, baking, shopping, wrapping, etc. The truth is, I've done diddlysquat with holiday preparations. Work and motherhood have been taking up 110 percent of my time. At night, after I've cleaned the last dish at about 9:30ish, my husband selects a movie for us to watch. It's Academy movie-screening time, so we try to squeeze in a movie every night we can. So far, the movies have been lighter fare overall than in years past (although last year was fairly light too). I really loved Life of Pi and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Lincoln, of course, was excellent too! One movie we received that I'm really excited about seeing is Magic Mike. My husband wasn't going to rent it, but now that we have it as a screener, he's going to have to watch it with me. Yippee! Any movies this year that you absolutely love? Any that you absolutely hate? Please share!

Top 10 Items Needed for Holiday Road Trips

2012-11-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

What better way to spend family time this holiday season than to pack the family in the car and take a road trip? Okay, hitting yourself repeatedly with an axe might be a better way to spend your time. Putting bamboo shoots under your fingernails? Yeah, that might be a better use of your time too! Nevertheless, spending time in a car with 3 screaming kids while arguing with your husband that he actually IS lost is a necessary evil for many of us. Click here to find out what the top 10 items you will need are!

Inside Glimpse Into Movie Making

2012-11-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

My husband is in the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. He got in a few years ago. We mostly enjoyed the membership by attending the Oscars a couple of times and watching all the movies via the screeners that come to our house. While it's fun to watch movies that are in the theaters--or maybe not even released yet--in the comfort of your own home, I have become less enthralled with the whole circus. Mostly because we have to watch an insane amount of movies in a short period of time. I know, you are all playing the smallest violins right now. But in order to view everything to vote responsibly, you pretty much have to watch 5-7 movies a week. After a long work day and tending to kids, it can become a bit of a chore to start a 3-hour movie at 9 at night.

Did I mention that I get up at 5:30 every weekday morning?

Because we're home-bodies, we don't often take advantage of other membership perks. The Academy has special screenings of movies along with panels of folks that made the movie. One of these caught my husband's eye for this past weekend, so we went to it.

The movie was Lincoln and the panel afterward featured Steven Spielberg, John Williams, Tony Kushner, Sally Field, and Daniel Day Lewis. My husband and I are HUGE Steven Spielberg fans (is there anyone out there who isn't?) and also find Daniel Day Lewis extremely talented.

The movie did not disappoint. It was brilliantly written, acted, and directed. The panel afterward was really fun. However, I have to say that I could have done with more Steven Spielberg and less Sally Field! To be fair, Sally did an excellent job in the movie. It's just really difficult for an actor to describe the process they use to achieve brilliance. Daniel Day Lewis couldn't really put it into words either.

I find how the process that a director takes to make his decisions to be the really interesting part of the movie-making process. Unfortunately, Steven graciously gave his colleagues more discussion time.

We're definitely going to have to go to these panels and screenings more often. We went to an off-Academy season one last year for Raiders of the Lost Ark that was a hoot!

Are there any movies coming out over the next few months that you're excited about seeing? Did you see anything yet this year that you thought had Best Picture potential?

Yippee! Yahoo! Yowza!

2012-11-07T06:15:00.000-08:00

I'm linking this post to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. The letter this week is "Y." Y is for Yippee, yahoo, and yowza.

It's Tuesday night, and the election is winding down. Romney gave a gracious concession speech, and I'm waiting for Obama to give his victory speech.

I try to stay away from politics as much as possible, but I'm in a celebratory mood.

If your politics agree with mine, then feel free to celebrate with me.

If your politics don't agree with mine, then I hope you can find a reason to celebrate somehow.

X-traordinarily Strange

2012-10-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

I'm linking up to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. The letter this week is "X." There aren't that many words that begin with X, so I'm cheating. X is for X-traordinary. I'm probably reusing the word from a former round of Alphabe-Thursday. Sigh.

When I first started blogging, I put so much effort into it! I'd write every weekday and spend hours visiting other blogs to leave comments. Then, I'd hang out in Twitter, networking and building up my followers. Over time, I acquired a nice number of followers. But this meant I was following just as many blogs, and it was getting really difficult to read all of them.

I was working my butt off during this time to build up a blog following. While the number of visits to my blog certainly was increasing over time it stayed relatively low. I had no idea what else I could do to get more people reading.

Then something happened: I got a real job that paid real money. Over time, my work wanted me to increase my hours from part-time to full-time. My blog really suffered. Between working full-time, commuting about 2 hours a day, and still acting like a stay-at-home mom, I had no time to spend on my blog. I still enjoyed writing, so I just tried to make my writing more manageable by blogging once a week.

But visit blogs and hang out in Twitter? I just don't have time to do that anymore. I just post mostly for myself because I find blogging fun. As expected, my stats showed a sharp decrease in visitors. That decline lasted for a few months.

Then something X-traordinary happened. I started getting visitors to my blog. Granted, the numbers are still on the small side, but I'm getting more visitors than when I worked so hard at blogging. All the traffic is from Google searches. I'm sure most people pop on, then pop off. But still, it's cool to see about 1,000 visitors a week when I used to get 1,000 in a month.

Now, whenever I get tempted to throw the towel in, I look at my stats and hang in there. Just for another month.

Ha!

Life Is Weird

2012-10-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

I'm linking up to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. We're wrapping up another round! The letter this week is "W." W is for weird.

I'm having a hard time writing this post. It's not really writing itself as my posts usually seem to.

One really cool aspect of blogging is meeting other like-minded people who enjoy writing for free (or nearly for free) to share about a cause or a hobby. When I've met most other bloggers, I feel a really cool connection. There's a group of bloggers from the Southern California area that meet occasionally in the real world. Other times, we're sharing our triumphs and frustrations through a Facebook page. It's a cool group of women!

I've only attended one dinner that I really enjoyed. One of the founders of the group, Sidney Patrick, organized that gathering. She put her heart and soul into that event, and we all had a blast!

Ah, happy times. I will remember that evening fondly. Unfortunately, Sidney died a couple of days ago. Her death was a complete shock to the group. She was about my age--relatively young. We're all trying to grapple with what has happened.

Death is never easy to deal with--particularly when it happens to a young person or when it's sudden. In this case, it happened suddenly to a young person.

I guess I'll never make sense out of it. It is what it is. I've been down this road before and should know that questioning it and dissecting it doesn't provide any answers. It should just make me appreciate what I have in my life today.

Sidney blogged about hoarding at My Mother-in-Law Is Still Between Us. She had a huge impact on people who had to deal with family members that hoarded. It was a topic she was passionate about because of the devastating impact it could have on families.

Rest in Peace, Sidney. The world is a better place because you were in it, although it will now be an emptier place.

Very Adorable, But a Lot of Work

2012-10-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

I'm linking this post up to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. The letter this week is "V."

Yes, I'm cheating again. V is for very.

Our daughter has wanted a pet dog for years now. She's gotten dog training books and tons of stuffed doggies. We've held off getting a dog because both she and my husband have allergies to dogs. My husband did some research and bought a dog from a nearby breeder that breeds Havanese puppies. These puppies are hypoallergenic. A friend of ours has a puppy from this breeder and both my husband and daughter do okay around the dog, so my husband thought we'd get one of our own.

The puppy is adorable--but he's a handful! It's like having a baby again. We have to watch him constantly to be sure he's not chewing on anything he's not supposed to like my clothes, hair, furniture, house, and everything else he can reach.

It's also been great fun trying to get him house-broken. He just doesn't get the concept.

My husband is trying to teach me about dog training so that the puppy understands his place in our home. Apparently, if the puppy sees me cleaning up his accidents, he takes on the alpha dog role. I guess the fact that I can pick him up, feed him, brush him, etc. doesn't really show him who is boss around here.

Oh. Damn.

Anyway, the puppy is VERY cute and keeping me VERY busy!

Here's a pic of the cutie-pie:

Unfortunately, even though the dog is hypoallergenic, my daughter is still having an allergic reaction to it. She's doing okay on Zyrtec, but I'm worried about the long-term ramifications. We're still not sure we're going to keep him.

He is adorable though. VERY adorable!

Undeniably Like Herding Cats

2012-10-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

It's time to link-up to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. The letter this week is "U." Yes, I am cheating a bit this week. U is for undeniably.

Yesterday was an extremely frustrating day for me. When it comes to getting out of the house on time in the morning, I'm extremely Type-A. We're talking drill sergeant mentality. My daughter? Not so much.

It doesn't matter how many times I tell her to hurry-up, she's going at a glacial pace, oblivious to the ticking clock on the wall. When I mention that she has no time to play with her new puppy because we're running so late, her response is, "WHAT? Why didn't you tell me?" Um...because I mentioned it at least 4 times? AGHHHHHHH!

When I picked her up from school, it was no better. I had to get home pretty quickly to get an email out for work. But when I came to pick her up, I noticed the envelop she was supposed to give to her teacher was still in her folder, so we had to turn it into the school office. I also noticed she didn't have her lunch box, so we had to track that down. Going from point A to point B on these errands was beyond slow.

At one point, I was walking ahead, trying to set the pace, yelling, "C'mon! Let's move it!" I'd look back and my daughter would be way behind me making no effort to keep up.

I'm sure very few of you saw the Monty Python movie, The Meaning of Life, but there was one hilarious scene where Death comes to a dinner party (everyone died of food poisoning). No one would cooperate with Death. They were too drunk to take him very seriously. At one point, he pleads with them to follow him. As he's prancing across the grounds, expecting everyone to follow suit, it takes him awhile to turn around and realize that everyone else got into their cars to follow him. He was going to order them not to, but simply just shrugged and gave up and let them drive behind him.

Anyway, I felt like him today.

Sometimes you just have to pick your battles.

Top 10 Signs You're a Mom

2012-10-03T06:15:00.000-07:00

Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday is covering the letter "T." T is for the top 10 signs you're a mom.

You consider 5 hours of sleep a night to be a lot.
Your dinner consists of whatever the kids didn't eat.
You haven't shaved your legs since 2003.
Coffee is your best friend.
So is wine.
You realize you can't help your child with her homework. She's in second grade.
Going out with girl friends consists of nothing except talking about your kids.
You appreciate anything with an elastic waistband--for both your child and you.
Date night with your husband consists of paying for an expensive sitter so the two of you can go out and talk about your kids.
You feel superior while watching "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" because you haven't fed your six-year old Red Bull. Yet.

What items are on your top 10 list?

Ode to Spanx

2012-09-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

I'm linking up to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. We're on the letter "S" this week! S is for Spanx.

I rejoice in you, Spanx, for you make my belly look flat--um, flatter--after I indulge in that fun-size bag of M&M's. You allow me to wear that gown with pride after I ate the leftovers of my daughter's pizza. You excuse me for my dietary transgressions, of which there are many.

Sigh.

Where would we be without Spanx? We'd be back on that no-carb diet, watching sadly as our husbands dive into their bagel. Or pizza. Or even beer.

We'd be in the gym, exercising 2 hours a day to recapture our lost youth. Our only goal would be to squeeze into that dress we love from 10 years ago.

We'd be yelling at our husband and kids over the little transgressions. We'd be fighting the urge to eat the after-dinner scraps that our kids left on the plate.

We'd be on the floor in the corner, crying away over little frustrations. We couldn't even indulge in a glass of wine to take the edge off on the really hard days. Do you know how much sugar is in a glass of wine? Well, actually, I don't really know, but I'm guessing it's a lot!

Where would we be without Spanx?

I'm guessing I'd be serving between 7-10.

I'm not talking about a dinner party, people!

Thank heavens for Spanx!

Retail on the Internet

2012-09-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

I'm linking up to Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. We're on the letter R--quickly wrapping up the internet. R is for retail on the internet.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 10 years or so, you probably know that the internet has revolutionized the retail industry. Many of us now do not bother going to the mall or even to the market to go shopping. With a click of a mouse, just about anything our heart desires can be delivered within a matter of days. Actually, some items can actually be delivered on the same day!

I work for a company that sells software licenses that enable people or companies to sell their products on the internet. Our software range from from serving the needs of pretty big retailers to the average person that wants to open an ecommerce store.

I tend to do a lot of data analysis at my job and don't even get up from my desk very often. I know very little about what my company makes and how it's used. Because of this, my boss suggested that I open up my own ecommerce store to learn our software and what it's capabilities are.

So, after a month of trying to figure out what to sell, then figure out how to set up an ecommerce store, I now am a jewelry retailer. How wild is that?

Check out my store, Girls Gotta Have Bling. The jewelry is geared to teenage girls and young adults.

What internet stores do you like? List your favorites--I'll love to check them out!

Q Is not for Quirky! That's a Change.

2012-09-12T18:55:00.001-07:00

It's Q week at Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. For the last 4 times I've done the letter Q, I have ALWAYS write about something quirky. Because that's what my blog is all about! That's the way I roll, people!

Well, not this time. This week Q is not for quirky. It's for questions.

When you're the parent of a smart, inquisitive 8-year old, you're bound to get some tough questions to answer from time to time. For the most part, I haven't had much to deal with. But the other day, my daughter asked me a provocative question: How did people originally come to be?

Now, I know everyone out there has their own beliefs on this topic. This post isn't to debate or educate. It's simply to share a cool conversation I had with my daughter (okay, gush might be the more appropriate term).

To answer my daughter, I decided to share the different theories rather than push my own beliefs on her. First, I told her the story of Adam and Eve. She gave me a confused look and asked, "But how did they come to be? They just couldn't have appeared from nothing!" I repeated that the theory is that God created them. My daughter stared at me for a minute, then replied, "I don't buy it."

So, I moved on to the theory of evolution. After hearing it, she replied, "Now that makes sense to me!"

Is it any wonder she plans to be a scientist when she grows up?

Okay, I guess quirky applied to this post as well!