day trippin'

Well, my mom and I survived another trip to NYC. Over the past few years, I have taken to buying her (us) tickets to a Broadway show for Christmas. We take the train in, we get lunch, go to the show, and come home. It's fun, despite the fact that it ALWAYS rains we always get at least somewhat lost. It doesn't matter how many times I've been to New York - I manage to get turned around every single time.

All held true yesterday. The rain was drizzly and cold, but by no means as bad as say, 2005, when we went to see Wicked in a torrential downpour. We also got a little lost, but again, nowhere near as badly as we did when we went to see Wicked (that show is cursed, obviously). This year we saw In the Heights, which, as you know, I completely love, having already seen in September. There are a few new cast members, but we saw primarily the original Broadway cast. Most notably was the change in actor for the lead role, Usnavi - now played by Javier Munoz. It was originally played by the guy who created the show, Lin-Manuel Miranda - who I saw in September, and who I've developed a slight obsession with - but I am VERY happy to report that the new guy was just as good. I freakin' love this show. GO SEE IT.

***

Feeling melancholy today. A blog that I read has been following a toddler who has cancer (she is the daughter of the writer's friends) - and it's looking like she's at the end of her road. I have never met these people in my life, and never will, but have found myself with tears streaming down my face more than once today, thinking of the pain they are now in. Go hug someone you love.

ye olden tymes

I was realizing today that, in a couple of weeks, this blog will be three years old. So I went back and read a bunch of older entries. And, despite the fact that probably 75% of them had to do with Jimmy's ear infections and anal gland issues, they were much more entertaining than anything I write now. If I managed to have a sense of humor when I was 14.5 months pregnant, why can't I have one now? I also used to write a lot more. Even if it was short and stupid, or just a quick review of a movie or TV show, at least I was prolific. So I'm going to try harder at this blog thingy.

For example! Right now I'm watching the movie W. And to that I say: meh. Not that great.

And tomorrow! Tomorrow I'm going to NYC to see In the Heights with my mom! But you already knew that. But it doesn't mean that I'm not still excited! So you get to hear about it again. And then probably again, after I go see it.

And the weather! Oh my, the weather today was delicious. I went out for a solo power walk and probably even burned four or five calories! I have a final weigh-in next week for a little mini Biggest Loser-style competition I have going with two of my co-workers. And, despite the fact that I have been actually trying, what with the EXERCISE and everything, and yet I think I've lost three pounds, at most. Over three months. This makes me very sad.

But! What doesn't make me sad is that I went to Target today, and found a pair of shorts that I actually like. They are long enough (I hate hate hate shorty-shorts, I don't look good in them, I'm sure I'm too old for them, they are bad bad bad work of the devil bad) and cute and they make me happy. So yay to that.

The end (for now).

good stuff

Sorry all of my blog entries have been so list-y these days - I'm so incredibly busy it doesn't seem like I have time to sit down and put together a "real" post. But so the most recent post isn't my s*** list, I've decided to list a few things that are good.

1) Got our tix to the U2 show in Chicago in September. This will be our first trip away from Jane. It's only a couple of days, but I'm sure it will be a little bittersweet (because I'm such a dork). Really looking forward to it, though. Except we need to line up babysitters! The dogs won't cut it.

2) Going to see In the Heights again this weekend, this time with my mom. I'm pretty psyched, although it's going to rain, of course. It always rains when me and my mom go to NYC. It's a tradition!

3) I'm going to be directing a show this summer solo. My friend and I usually co-direct the Summer Stage musical, but this year she's going to tech direct and I'm going to direct. Not positive on the title yet, but of course I'll let you know! (and beg and beg and beg for you to come, obviously.)

I have things I want to write about. Top of list is this whole "the Pope thinks the use of condoms will help promote the spread of AIDS" thing. Oh, how that enrages me. It's so irresponsible. I get telling people they should abstain until marriage. It's not realistic, but I get it. But telling people that condoms will help spread AIDS? So enraging.

my s*** list

Happy Monday! Here are the things that are bugging me today:

1) The weather. What the eff? Last I checked, Friday was the first day of spring. So what's with the 30-degree temps, hmmm, Mother Nature? Can't take it ANYMORE. Feeling a little postal when I have to defrost my car in the a.m.

2) I'm sick AGAIN. Just your typical head cold - sinuses, throat, ears, the works. And it pisses me off, because I was once again getting into a regular exercise routine. And now it's all thrown off and I'm sitting here eating chips and feeling sorry for myself.

3) Twitter. I suck at Twitter. Essentially, I don't think I'm good at it.

4) Sigh. Barack Obama, WTF with the Special Olympics joke on Leno? First of all, Leno sucks; you should have gone on Letterman instead (I know, you were in California, and Letterman is in NYC, but if you're going to be the first president to appear on late night TV, Leno was not a good choice.). Also - seriously. That joke was lame, and there is no excuse for that kind of joke coming from from your average person, never mind the President of the United States, and you forced me to nod my head in agreement when I read Sarah Palin's assessment of your appearance on the show. Come on! Don't make me agree with Palin!

5) And here's some good news - we're going to Chicago in September to see U2 kick off their US tour! We don't have tickets or a full slate of babysitters lined up yet, but it's going to happen! The ticket situation will be remedied Wednesday when we buy advance sale tix (of COURSE Greg is a special member of U2.com - did you really have to ask?).

this and that

I was going to write this whole blog post about a bunch of different things that have been taking up space in my brain. I was going to write about how irritated that Rhianna is going back with Chris Brown. WTF, woman? I was going to write about this interesting fact that there was a HUGE baby boom in 2007 (more births than ever recorded in American history) and how proud I am to have contributed one baby to what I guess will be an enormous generation (good thing, since they have to pay off this whole stimulus plan!) (still love you Barack! Mean it! Really! No really! But this economy thing is still scaring me.). I was also going to write about the BITING incident that took place at Jane's daycare this week (hint: she was not the biter).

But I just found out that someone in my family has to have a medical procedure tomorrow, albeit nothing very major, it still worries me and that's all that is on my mind. So since I don't want to air my family's medical business on these here internets (I only do that to myself!), I hope you will send some general good health vibes towards my family tomorrow a.m.

somebody's ready for green beer

Happy St. Patrick's Day, from our super-Irish household (I'm half Irish, Greg's 75% Irish, which makes Jane...a whole lot Irish (what? I was an English major)!

ps

I just wanted to tag a little PS to the previous entry. I had a really nice day today. Hung out in the a.m., went for a hike around the reservoir, went to get ice cream, and just generally soaked up the sun that we so desperately needed around here. It was probably only about 60 degrees, but Lord, it felt good. Now I just have to keep this zen for the next five days.

oh look! I'm complaining again!

Oh, hi! Remember me? I swear, I should just have Jimmy write this blog and be done with it.

Lately, I've been feeling so strapped for time during the work week. It's starting to feel like, beginning Monday morning, I start a marathon that doesn't end until Friday afternoon - and in the middle, it's guaranteed I'm going to have several "there's no way I can fit everything I want into my life" meltdowns. Lately, it's felt more difficult, and I'm trying to figure out how I can rearrange my day so it doesn't feel so cramped. Here's what a typical work day looks like:

5 a.m.: Wake up, start getting ready for work
5:45ish: Jane wakes up
5:45-7:15: Get Jane ready, feed her, get her stuff for daycare ready, deal with the dogs, play with Jane a bit
7:15-7:30: Finish getting ready for work
7:30-4:00: Work
4-7: Pick Jane up from daycare, give her dinner, shovel some food down myself, pick up the house, play with Jane a bit, give her bath, put her to bed.
7-7:45: Treadmill, weights, whatever (this is usually four out of five working days, unless I have something else going on at night)
7:45-9ish: Watch something I DVR'ed on TV, play on the Internet
9:30-10: Go to bed. Collapse. Read a little. Fall asleep, then wake up in the middle of the night worrying about something, and not able to fall back asleep.

I find that I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning up after other people's/dog's shit (literally and otherwise) that the actual, quality time I have doing anything I really enjoy (even just reading books with Jane, or, God forbid, doing something I actually enjoy for myself) feels really minimal. So by Friday night, I'm a whirling mass of anger and resentment - mostly with myself, for not figuring out a way to enjoy my own life more. This is why I've come to find life perspective from COKE COMMERCIALS.

I know I'm painting myself as a model parent/person/whatever right now. The truth is, I tend to get into these ruts, feel all overwhelmed and gross, and then I get over it, and just carry on as always.

Honestly, if I could just abandon the treadmilling/30 Day Shredding/exercising in general, I would be a much happier (albeit fatter) person. That's the portion of my day that I dread the most, that can foul up my mood for the whole evening. I used to be able to get up before work and get that part of the day over with while I was still half-asleep, but I just can't do that now. I feel like life will be SO MUCH BETTER when the weather warms up, so we can take advantage of the after-work daylight hours and get outside. I truly think the root of this angst is that we've all been stuck inside for, oh, a gajillion months in a row now.

So, yeah. That is pretty much why I've been absent from posting about real life on this blog this week - didn't want to blah-blah-blah complain about stupid crap-blah day after day. But this weekend has been good, and I've been able to see friends, and spend actual quality time with my family instead of doing the stupid maintenance stuff all the time.

Indulgent, self-pity rant over.

and I'm a Pepsi girl

Saw this on Twitter today, and, perhaps it's because of the supersonically crappy week I've been having, it made me ridiculously emotional. I hate getting life lessons from a Coke commerical. I hate getting perspective from a Coke commerical. I have DVR so I don't have to watch commercials at all. But there it is. So, ya know. Have a Coke and a smile.

Jane's First Official Haircut: A Story in Pictures

I don't care if you're ready to rock

So, those of you who know Greg know that were it legal at the time, he would have married Bono instead of me. I was never much into U2 back in the day - I remember being incredibly irritated when they would show videos on MTV for "With or Without You" or "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" when all I wanted to see was an awesomely rad Poison video or two (I admit I did always like the vid for "Where The Streets Have No Name" - and it still remains my favorite U2 song). But when I married Greg, I also had to pledge my lifetime devotion to Bono, The Edge, Larry, and Adam. We traveled to San Diego to see them open their Vertigo tour back in 2005, and I saw them three times during that tour (Greg and his old college roomate/fellow U2 diciple saw them six times). We have literally spent thousands of dollars, all in the name of rock and roll.

So of course you can imagine the almighty excitement this week when they released their latest, No Line on the Horizon. (And you can bet your ass we'll be trekking to as many of their stadium tour dates this summer as we can - although there won't be any long distance traveling this time, because of the ol' ball and chain.) (Jane, in case you were wondering.) (Although Greg is hinting he may want to travel without me.) (To which I say, fat chance. I know, I'm a jerk.)

U2 has been on Letterman all week, and last night, they did his "Top Ten" list - I always find it pretty hilarious when serious musicians show a sense of humor. And this really was funny. Enjoy!

THE. MOST. DRAMATIC. ROSE. CEREMONY. EVAH!!!

There are times in your life for profound, deep, life-changing cultural experiences.

Last night was not one of them. Oh no, my friends, last night was the season finale of "The Bachelor," and it positively reeked with awesomeness. I won't bore you with all of the details (OK, maybe I will, but quickly - King Douchebag and single dad Jason had narrowed his choices down to Boring Molly and Boring-er Melissa. I thought he should choose Molly. Of course, he chose Melissa.) BUT THEN! On the much-anticipated, highly-emotional, too-rife-with-conflict-that-it-would-have-been-too-much-for-a-studio-audience-to-handle "After the Final Rose" special, Jason dumped Melissa! And chose Molly instead! And acted like such a fickle ass that it was almost hard to believe, especially for a show that's so unbelievable to begin with.

So, in conclusion, all I want to say about this (because I really can't add much more to the spectacular snarkiness of this and this) is it. was. awesome. And it totally made my week. And I can't wait until tonight's "After the Final Rose" Part Deux, because who knows? Maybe he'll dump Molly and pick Jillian, who he should have chosen all along anyway.

(I just thought it would be nice to have a happy post on here once in a while, even if it revolves around the show I am most humiliated to admit I watch. Oh wait, no - that would be "Rock of Love Bus.")

please ignore my crazy weather-related ranting

So, you know when, in November and December, you hear the song "Let it Snow" and you think to yourself, "yeah, that WOULD be nice, oh, how I wish for a white Christmas, and oh, the snow makes everything seem so twinkly and magical and clean and wonderful" - and then in March, when you see more of that wretched evil white stuff pouring out of the sky you think "I WISH I COULD JUST KILL THE SNOW" - and the prospect of working from home or a snow day isn't even enough to make up for the fact that you have to shovel, and get your clothes all wet, and slosh through this shit for another week, even though it's MARCH, and SPRING is supposed to be here any second, and in San Diego it's supposed to be 71 degrees today and WHY THE EFF DO I LIVE HERE....

So, yeah. More snow today.