Yes, I finished my latest round of polishing! The manuscript is being copied at Kinko’s as I type this, all 352 pages, 68,300+ words of it. (I’m not saying every word is a jewel, but it is something to see this 2 inch stack of paper filled with words that I wrote.) This evening I’ll ship the ms off to the two agents who requested it and we’ll see what happens.

I guess it’s time to dust off that scrap of paper I used to outline novel #2 on — one year and one week ago today. But first, I’m going to enjoy a bit of sleep. And maybe some booze.

I’ll be back to the regularly scheduled program in the next few days!

Susan

Just wanted to let you know that you can find my latest Dinner for One on what it means to be called a single mom — and whether I should call myself one. I’d be interested if any of my single parent readers have felt this way before, too (or not).

Hope you’re having a good week!

Susan

I received a request for my full manuscript from a second agent. Woohoo!

Bad news:

I haven’t figured out how to clone myself…and I still have a few more chapters to go with the polishing.

Good news:

I’ve matured tremendously (cough, cough) in the 2 weeks since turning 40, so I now accept that I can’t do – and shouldn’t attempt to do – everything at once.

Good/Bad/Whatever, Susan, whatev:

This all means I’m going to take a little blogging vaca for the next few weeks. Seeing that I haven’t been doing much lately anyway, I guess I’m just making it official. I appreciate your understanding and will check back as soon as I can!

PS. In the meantime, check out the great blogs and websites on my recently updated Links page.

Dear Eva,

What pretty eyes you have without all that gunk around them! And look at those lips without lipstick!

(Wait — am I allowed to talk about lipstick? Is a big red, white and blue MCain cane going to sweep me off my own stage?)

Well, way to show those photogs, honey. You rock in my book — especially after I was all down and out that one day this spring when I wasn’t gussied up like you normally are (or at least like how I typically see you). I feel so much better about my food-stained t-shirt and chipped nails right now.

Best,

Susan

(Yes, peeps, this is the kind of headline that catches my attention. What can I say? There’s barely enough room left in my pea-brain to store my phone number, let alone anything more substantial — thank god for speed dial and that feature on the phone that records your own cell number.)

Michelle Fossum writes:

Mrs. Palin is now the uber-woman, a mix of Hillary [Clinton] and Barbara [Bush]. A Hillara (or Barbary) who governs a state, bakes cookies, has teas, births babies after passing legislation and looks great, too. Can someone please tell me when she finds time to schedule a haircut?

In all honesty, I also have been guilty of multi-tasking myself into oblivion and the wee hours of the night. I work too many hours, get up too early and take on too many projects. I served on too many committees and worked too many part-time volunteer jobs.

But about three years ago, I decided to purge myself of many of these extraneous, often stressful, time-consuming tasks. One symbolic gesture was cancelling my subscription to Real Simple.

It’s a lovely magazine with all kinds of hints and tips and articles about de-stressing your life. Are you kidding me? The stack of unread issues lying around my house caused me to break out into hives…

Ha! Don’t I know that feeling.

Do I think we need more women in higher places in government? Hell, yeah! Do I commend Sarah Palin for her achievements? Absolutely. Do I like her choice in footwear? Yes, I admit it, okay.

Do I think she should be in the White House? Hell, no, not in this voter’s opinion. Well, unless she forgets all the stuff she preaches says and mandates napping time each day for all of the multi-tasking madwomen in this country. (And madmen — hey, I’m all about equality.)

“The turkey’s on the table” – If you watch less of the Today show and work harder, fatty poultry products will magically appear in your kitchen/bonus check.

“There’s still meat on the bone” – Take your clients to lunch to discuss business opportunities and eat the steak off of their plates.

“Like shooting fish in a barrel” – Um, go attack harmless life forms with no chance of escape…because you can?

Thank God I heard at least one “go after the low-hanging fruit” because, frankly, I was concerned about everyone’s sodium intake and cholesterol.

*no forks were used to stab this blog post, only my caffeine-deprived wit

(I think I need to stop at the store tonight and pick up the fourth season of The Office on dvd.)

I don’t want to dwell on the busy-ness — or, should I say da bizness — of this last week, what with the first day of school, first soccer practices, a jam-packed workweek, another Dinner for One due, etc. etc. But truthfully, I’ve been struggling a lot lately wondering how I can fit in all of these important people and activities in my life without burning myself out.

Lately I’ve felt really burned out.

How in the world can I give enough attention to my kids, Fly Boy, who has been WONDERFUL and post-worthy in his own right after two months together (yeah, a post is coming, hold your horses), my family, my friends, my job, my writing projects, which are starting to take off at least in my mind, this blog and you?

Oh, wait — then there’s ME, too! I can’t forget about me, no can do.

Did I mention I’m also an aspiring songwriter with a penchant for rhyming verses? Relax, I’m kidding.

I had a minor meltdown with Fly Boy about all of this a few days ago, but he helped to calm me down. “Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he said and suggested I think of my to-do list in “One dog, one bone” terms. (He’s an animal lover, what can I say? He also understands much of this because he’s the same way. Damn, there goes the rhyming again...)

I also realized that I should follow my VERY OWN ADVICE, namely the “P is for Perspective” part from my Dinner for One article. Duh, Susan, duh.

Life is good for me, despite all da bizness, so I’m winding down my 30’s this weekend with a renewed attitude and outlook…plus a few beers, deep breathing techniques, good food and even better company. I want to thank you all for reading One-Woman Show and your great advice. I’m taking it to heart.

Here’s to sunny hours for all and a great no-Labor Day!

It’s like the wise man said, relax yourself
When it’s moving too fast, you set ya down
When the going gets tough, then get to going
If you really wanna speak, then make the sound

Keep your eyes on the prize and realize
That the struggles gonna come in all shapes and size
But you gotta stay strong, don’t let your knees buckle
Gotta keep the hustle, keep hustling, do it, do it, do it

In the spirit of the season, I’ve made my very own back-to-school shopping list – one that I hope a few of you single parents can use, too. Check it out at this month’s Dinner for One and let me know what’s on your list to get through the school year ahead!

We may have giant pierogies racing at the ballpark, dump french fries on salads and obsess about winter storm warnings in the heat of summer, but Pittsburgh’s a really blog(ger)-loving, great town. Visit us sometime!

Cougar, originally uploaded by ashour rehana.

The kids and I just came back from a dinner out at Red Robin. Now, I’m usually pretty clueless about guys noticing me, and even me noticing guys for more than a casual “Yeah, he’s [hot/cute]” moment. I mean, I love me a handsome man to look at, but I don’t make a fuss or get worked up about it, nor do I have an innate ability to flirt with strangers. I’m a terrible flirt, really — in the “terrible-terrible” way, not the “terrible-cool” way.

There must be something in that family-friendly air, though, (with an emphasis on friendly) because I found myself staring at all of the hot young waiters. I mean, like practically drooling. There were a lot of them to look at, especially ours. Big brown eyes, long eyelashes. Curly dark brown hair. A muscular-but-lean bod he undoubtedly shapes with lots of reps between basketball practice and math homework. Polite with a cute, eager-to-please smile.

Okay, so he was just taking our order, but still. Later he asked me me twice — TWICE — “Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can get you?”

Hmmm. C’mon! He’s very mature for his age…he must be at least 18 or 19.

maybe

I also realized that under my black pant suit I’m wearing a top that has a sort of leopard print on it. Not exactly a cougar, but…

To top it all off, we didn’t order 2 lb. burgers with french fries or fried onion towers. Nope: a mac ‘n cheese with apple slices for T-Rex, a mini pizza and a side of carrots and dip for Drama Girl, and a small chili and side salad for me.

There are just so many things wrong here.