reverb10 day 31(!!): core story

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author and editor Molly O'Neill:

What central story is at the core of you, and how do you share it with the world? (Bonus: Consider your reflections from this month. Look through them to discover a thread you may not have noticed until today.)

My core story is threaded not only throughout this reverb10 project, but throughout my whole blog, and it is this:

I am a 37-year-old who loves life, who is passionate about my family, friends, dogs, theater, writing, reading, pop culture and hearing other people's stories. I think laughing is about the best thing in the world, and I would love to either live a) at the beach or b) in a bookstore. Maybe a bookstore at the beach? I'm a tomboy who loves glitter, I think caffeine is a gift from heaven, and love the fact that my daughter is as sassy as she is, even though she drives me crazy sometimes. This past year has had some very trying moments for me emotionally, but I am excited to attack 2011 with the ultimate goal of daily mental and physical health and happiness. And isn't that what we all want, really?

That's my story. And I'm sticking to it. Thank you so much for reading.

Have a very happy and sparkly New Year!

reverb10 day 30: gift

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Holly Root:

This month, gifts and gift-giving can seem inescapable. What’s the most memorable gift, tangible or emotional, you received this year?

My blog. My blog is the most memorable gift I received this year.

WTF?, you may be thinking. Let me explain.

Greg is, in no way, a daily visitor to this blog. He can go weeks without reading it, and then one day he'll seem particularly involved in his Blackberry, and when I ask what he's reading, he'll say, "your blog." Or, out of the blue, he may ask a question or make a reference to something I'd written a month earlier.

With that said, he is a huge supporter of this blog, and has always felt that I'm some sort of a great writer, and that what I've written over the past nearly five years (OMG - has it been that long?) is a great record of my life, something that Jane will really enjoy reading when she's older.

And, truly, I've had moments (haven't we all?) when I've wanted to shut the whole thing down, delete it all, and forget it ever happened. And what stops me is the fact that I really do want Jane to read this someday. This blog has covered the year-and-a-half before she was born, through my pregnancy and her infanthood, up 'til now. And at some point, I will truly stop writing about her, most likely when she hits school, but I must admit, I think it would be really cool to have a record like this of my mom's life and my early years. Plus, it will give her solid proof that I am, and have always been, a major dork.

So, for Christmas, he had it - my entire blog - printed, in color, on high quality paper. Once I finish up this year (tomorrow!!) he's going to have it bound. And someday, whether this blog exists in this or some other form, or it has disappeared from the internet entirely, I will have that copy to look back on, to share, and to give to my daughter.

That was definitely the most special and memorable gift I've gotten this year.

reverb10 day 29: defining moment

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Kathryn Fitzmaurice:

Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.

I think I've run the well dry of defining moments this year. But I don't want to skip the prompt - not this late in the game! - so I will say something I wanted to say at the end anyway: participating in this reverb10 project really has been a defining thing this year, in that I have really, really enjoyed reading everyone's responses to my posts, finding new and wonderful blogs that I will certainly following in the new year and beyond, and gaining some pretty awesome tweeps who have really become virtual friends. So, although it has, in no way, been easy to post day after day, I certainly have reaped the rewards of participating.

reverb10 day 28: achieve

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Tara Sophia Mohr:

What’s the thing you most want to achieve next year? How do you imagine you’ll feel when you get it? Free? Happy? Complete? Blissful? Write that feeling down. Then, brainstorm 10 things you can do, or 10 new thoughts you can think, in order to experience that feeling today.
Well. I think I've spent the better part of this month answering this question - what I want 2011 to look like, and how I want to get there. So for this prompt, I'm going to answer it this way: what do I want to achieve in January? And the answer is - I would like to have a joyful January. Heck, I'll even give it a name: Joyful January (clever, huh?). January is such a crap month - still dark, way cold, snow, too many months until spring - so here is how I want to add some sparkle to this upcoming first 30 days of 2011:

1) Power down. Spend significantly less time in front of the computer (unless it's for work). That includes my laptop and Blackberry. Reverb10 and NaBloPoMo have resulted in my face being annoyingly glued to a screen a lot of the time.

2) This may seem like it doesn't agree with number one up there, but I'd really like to keep up with the blogging on a regular basis. Sure, not every single day (and I'm pretty sure no one out there really wants to read every single day) but at least two or three times a week. Doing these two blogging projects has gotten me into a groove, and I don't want to waste it by disappearing for a month or more.

3) Plan and hold auditions for the show I am directing this winter/early spring, Rumors by Neil Simon. I heart this show so much - I tech directed it once and performed in it once and now I'm directing it - super-duper psyched about this. MAJORLY.

4) Buy flowers for myself on a regular basis. I do this often and it really perks the house - and me - up.

5) Log in at least 10 miles a week on my new Nikes.

6) Get psyched about my fave TV shows returning in January - my barren DVR queue will soon be full again!

7) Get a babysitter at least twice and go out with adult-style people. (Doing this tonight, actually!)

8) OK, I've be OD-ing on cookies and treats and that's OK. But I sure do notice how it doesn't make my stomach feel great. Go back to the better eating habits I started in the fall, and I will surely feel a lot better, and hopefully more energized. Cookie comas are not necessarily a good thing.

9) Might as well at least TRY to enjoy the New England weather. I choose to live here, so I will ATTEMPT to make the most of it. And really, it's not bad to have an excuse to sit in bed and read all day if it's storming outside, and Jane has taken a major liking to sledding....and without all of that pesky daylight and warm temps, I don't feel guilty for putting my PJs on immediately after coming home from work.

10) Who am I fooling? At least, by the end of January, it will still be light when I get home from work - and it only gets brighter from there.

And all of that? Will make me feel very, very happy.

reverb10 day 27: ordinary joy

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Brene Brown:

Our most profound joy is often experienced during ordinary moments. What was one of your most joyful ordinary moments this year?

This is the part where I talk about how lucky we are to have a boat.

Three (wow - actually almost four) years ago, Greg decided he wanted to buy a boat. And, being Greg, it wasn't just any boat - it's a 44' Ocean SuperSport. He got his Captain's license, and, over the past three summers, we have become Boat People. We spend nearly every weekend at the boat, and pretty much all of Greg's free time, from April through October, is dedicated to the boat. I tend to complain about the boat, because it really has a tendency to take over our lives, but I know the truth - we are very lucky to have it.

The picture above shows a very typical ordinary moment for me during a nice summer weekend. Feet up, Diet Pepsi nearby, book in hand, relaxing. And everything is joyful about that.

reverb10 day 26: soul food

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Elise Marie Collins:

What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul?

Here's the funny thing: I typically loooooove to talk and think about food. I have never really written about food much - but, Lord knows, I enjoy eating it enough. Also, I'm not much of a cook. So there's that. Anyway, after everything I've eaten lately - not only over the past few days, but, really, the whole MONTH, thinking about food at this point kind of grosses me out.

HOWEVER. I thought of one particular meal when this prompt came across my email. And, as usual, I'm not really directly answering the prompt, but going around it a little. Because for me, it wasn't as much about the meal itself, but rather the experience.

Like I've mentioned, Greg and I really don't do a whole lot of going out on our own (meaning, without child). One weekend this fall, our friends from New Jersey - Greg's old college roommate and his wife - came to stay with us for a couple of days, and so I got a babysitter and we went out to dinner at this place. (This was after we went to see The Social Network that afternoon, which turned out to be my favorite movie of the year.)

Now, I'm not much of a steak eater. But in the spirit of the restaurant, I ordered the petit filet. And the Fleming's potatoes. and a couple of pomegranate martinis.

And maybe it was a mix of the friends, the conversation, and the lack of crayons at the table, but it was a really memorable and spectacular meal. But I'm sure the food had just a litttle bit to do with that. Because it was completely amazing. I definitely converted to steak after that night.

Can you believe there are just five days of reverb10 after this?

reverb10 day 25: photo

Today's Christmas reverb10 prompt comes from author Tracey Clark:

Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.

This will be a quick one because it's Christmas night and I am completely shot. Had an amazing day with Jane - Santa's got a new number one fan! However, it has been an exhausting and completely overwhelming (in a good way) two days for all of us.

Anyway, here is my pic. It's small here; you'll have to click on it if you want to see it bigger. To be honest, I didn't sift through all of the pictures from this year; as soon as I read this prompt, this picture popped into my head. My friend Cheryl took this when she, my friend Heather (on the left) and I took a trip to NYC to see American Idiot in August. As with any trip I take to New York, it rained, but as you can see, we were having a blast anyway. We all have kids and jobs and hectic lives, and it was awesome to take the day away from everything and go down to the city. We hadn't been to NYC all together in at least 10 years - but you can bet we're going again next summer. We're planning it already.

I chose this pic because it includes so many of the things I love - my friends, New York, theater, laughter - a very good representation of who I am, I think!

reverb10 day 24: everything's OK

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from the absolutely fantabulous blogger and author Kate Inglis. Seriously - ditch my blog and go read hers. She's amazing. (Well...wait. Just read my post first. Then go read her. You'll end up there all day, she's so great.)

What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

Oh dear. I feel like if I really put my heart and soul into this post, I might start crying. And the fact is, I need to go to Build-A-Bear with my sister, niece and Jane in an hour - and that's going to make me cry enough. (Yes, we are going to the mall on Christmas Eve because we've clearly taken a leave of our senses.)

In short, I guess I will say - how do I know everything is going to be alright? I don't, really. I believe it's the people we surround ourselves with that help make a not-alright situation more bearable. So my answer is - it's the people/canines in this picture that make me know everything is going to be alright - even if it isn't.

(note: this is the first picture of all of us together that exists - and it was taken only three months ago, on Junior's bloativersary (but that's another story).)

Merry Christmas, friends!

reverb10 day 23: new name

Today's (super fun) reverb10 prompt comes from author Becca Wilcott:

Let’s meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why?

OK, peeps, today is an incredibly busy day, so I'm doing this one early and fast. And the first name that popped into my head is this:

Chantelle Ivy.

Why this fancy-and-quite-exotic name, you ask?

Well, it's my porn star name.

(NOTE: I AM NOT A PORN STAR. I have never had porn star aspirations, and, frankly, I don't think that there are any successful porn stars who wear glasses, although I'm not sure, because I haven't done extensive research.) (Well, maybe there are some successful porn stars who wear glasses in a "sexy librarian" sort of way, where she rips them off, along with everything else, as part of the "plot." If I rip my glasses off, I will walk into walls. I'm not sure that's exactly sexy.)

You know how to get your porn star name, right? You take the name of your first pet, and then add the name of the street you grew up on. For me, that equals Chantelle Ivy. Nice.

What's YOUR porn star name?

reverb10 day 22: travel

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Tara Hunt:

Travel. How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year?

As has been the case for the past few years, our travel was very local. We took our first family vacation this summer – spent a week at a cottage at the Connecticut shore – and it was truly the best week of my year, not only because the vacation went smashingly, but because it really recreated the summer vacations of my childhood, which are some of my most special memories. I hope Jane feels the same way someday.

We also did a lot of traveling on (in?) Long Island Sound via the boat – sure, we didn’t actually have any particular destination (next year we plan to go to Block Island and possibly Sag Harbor) but we sure rode around a lot, and got used to manning the boat with just Greg and myself.

Traveled to New York, New Jersey, Boston – the typical places we hit every year.

But in 2011, I want to go further. I need to get away this winter – it’s a self-prescription to escape the winter blahs. I want to go somewhere sandy and beachy and warm. Even if it means I have to confront my fears about bringing Jane on a plane for the first time. (The number one fear being I am certain she will ruin the trip for everyone else.)

We plan on staying at the beach for a week again next summer, and possibly another week in Rhode Island. There is a trip to Cape Cod planned for the fall as well.

My personal goal is to not have any lame “staycations” next year. Enough of that. It’s time to GO.

reverb10 day 21: future self

Today's reverb10 prompt is from author Jenny Blake:

Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Bonus: Write a note to yourself 10 years ago. What would you tell your younger self?)

Here’s the thing: I am having a very hard time writing a letter to myself now from myself in five years. Because I totally want to know what’s going on with 2015 Amanda instead! So I am going to write a letter to her:

Dear Amanda of 2015,

Holy shit! You’re 42! How’s that going? How do you feel? Have you been exercising? You better be, because you are not getting any younger, lady, and you have lots of arthritis in your family, so you better keep those bones and muscles in tip-top shape! Is the Oil of Olay working? Did you end up getting Lasik? I hope you got over your nerves regarding that and just got it done.

Jane is now 8 ½ - fast and furiously heading for the tween years! She’s in – what? – third grade. Is she doing well? What are her favorite classes? Does she love art and reading like you did, or is she more of a math girl, like her daddy? Does she still call you Mommy and Daddy, or is it just Mom and Dad now? Is she embarrassed by you? What kind of music does she love? Is she still dancing? What about sports? Is she interested in theater? I want to know every detail!

Speaking of theater, are you doing any yourself? You better be, girlie, because although sometimes it’s hard to make room for it, you love it and it’s really important to your core self.

Where are you working? Are you still at the same place? Or are you working somewhere else? Are you full time, or did you go part time? I hope whatever you are doing is making you very happy.

How is Greg doing? Have you taken any vacations? You two need to get yourselves to San Diego again, stat. Is he still loving the boat? I know the answer to that is YES. How is his band?

OK, 2015 Amanda – you are supposed to be giving ME advice. I think you would tell me that you want me to appreciate every moment I have with Jane right now, because it all goes by so fast. I hear that a lot from parents with older kids all the time, and I do try to remember it every day – although sometimes it’s hard, because as I’m sure you know, Jane is very strong-willed.

I think you would tell me to make sure to have quality alone time with Greg. To get babysitters and go out together much more often than we are currently doing.

And I think your wish for me would be happiness and peace – as mine is for you.

Take care, Amanda of 2015. See you soon!

Love,

Amanda of 2010

And now for the Bonus part –writing a letter to myself of 2000.

I’m not going to lie – December 2000 was in the midst of a very difficult time in my life. My father had died unexpectedly 10 months prior, and I was heading towards my first Christmas without him. A close theater friend had died three months earlier from brain cancer. Another family member had a brush with the “C” word (but was ultimately fine). And things weren’t about to get better. My uncle was going to die soon, in January of 2001. My brother would be in a horrible car crash several months later, in August, resulting in many broken bones and brain contusions (spoiler alert: he did recover, but it took a looong time and it was really scary). And we all know what happened in September of 2001. Rough seas ahead, certainly.

So here is my letter to that poor girl.

Dear Amanda of 2000:

I promise you – PROMISE you – it will get better. Your family is fragile right now – lean on your friends. Hard. Don’t get swallowed up by the darkness. Life feels like a piece of shit right now. You are grieving. You are hollow. You feel like a target – why do bad things keep happening to you and the people you love?

There are good things on the horizon. GREAT things. There is light. There is laughter. There is happiness. There is love. The One is right around the corner. You can’t see it – you can’t even imagine it – but it’s true. It’s there, beyond the pain and sadness.

Just be patient and strong and hang tight.

Sending you love from the future -

Amanda of 2010

reverb10 day 20: beyond avoidance

Today's reverb10 prompt is from author Jake Nickell:

What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?)

I’m sorry – I think I may be experiencing a little blogging burnout. Or maybe I’m just tired from staying up and watching the Survivor finale last night. Or maybe it’s because I didn’t sleep well because I was having nightmares that Jeff Probst is leaving Survivor (truly, I had a dream about this). Or maybe my brain is foggy from all of the excessive fatty holiday food and delicious alcoholic drink I ingested this weekend. Whatever the case may be – I seem to feel like all of my posts are getting a bit repetitive. When I read today’s prompt I thought I might as well just link to my post answering the “Try” prompt from a couple of days ago – I felt like they were so similar.

Instead, I decided to reword today’s prompt like this:

What should you have done this month but didn’t because you were too busy writing/reading/commenting on reverb10 posts? (Bonus: Will you do it?)

I had planned on keeping up with my more typical blogging (read: nonsensical and silly and noty typically deep) as well as doing reverb10, but it turns out I just didn’t have time. But good news for you – to answer the bonus question – YES! I will give you one of my typical weekend recaps today!

This weekend was total madness. After our giant holiday potluck feast at work on Friday (DELICIOUS), I went out to happy hour for the first time in like a year. We used to do stuff like that all the time around here, and I miss it! Then at night, I had my book club meeting, where we discussed Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter - and, you guessed it, ate and drank. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love book club and I love my friends. So glad we kept this up this year.

Saturday we finally went out to get the Christmas tree, brought it home, put it up, and decorated it. It was cool (and slightly tear-inducing) because this was the first time Jane helped decorate – she loved it and Greg took video footage of it (we’re finally getting good at remembering to capture the memories and what not). I’m so happy we have the tree because it makes everything smell so lovely and Christmassy.

Saturday night my niece came over to babysit and Greg and I went out to dinner. I hate calling occasions like these “date night” – I feel like that puts too much pressure on to have fun – a la New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day. (See, we don’t get to go out very often.) Instead, I said we were “hanging out,” and we did have lots of fun, even if the night included us arguing loudly about George Bush.

Sunday morning I baked a kajillion cookies and made taco dip and off we went to Greg’s family holiday party. Again, I stuffed my foodhole with lots of yummy food and drink. It was a blast but today I feel like I’m in a dip-and-shrimp-induced coma. I must detox this week before the main event this weekend!

So there you have it friends. An old-school-style blog post. We will be back to similar ridiculousness when January 1 rolls around.

PS I took this pic last night when we got home from the family party. That is our kitchen floor. Exhausted much, Jane?

reverb10 day 19: healing

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Leoni Allan:

What healed you this year? Was it sudden, or a drip-by-drip evolution? How would you like to be healed in 2011?

OK. This is how I'm going to approach this.

I am not going to say that I needed healing this year/was healed this year. I read lots of blogs and know lots of people who went through some true healing or need true healing as a result of real physical injury or sickness, emotional or spiritual issues, marital or relationship problems, deaths of loved ones, severe depression- things like that. I have needed to heal in my life before, but I am not going to pull something out of 2010 and say it healed me or I need to heal just for the sake of answering a prompt.

Instead, I will say I pointed my life in a new direction this year, and will continue to do so in 2011. A more positive direction, physically and mentally, and one that was much needed, as I have covered extensively in previous reverb10 posts. And this new direction will hopefully help me to be a better person, a more caring person to myself and to others, and will help make 2011 as impactful as possible in a really positive way.

reverb10 day 18: try

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from one of the reverb10 gurus, Kaileen Elise:

What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it?

Since there was nothing I wanted to really try in 2010, my answer to this one will be short and sweet.

Yoga. I would like to get back into yoga. My doctor suggested six months ago that I should try it, and it's just been so busy that I haven't really worked it into my life. I tried yoga about 15 years ago, and it just wasn't for me. But I'm in a different place now - and I'd like to go back and attempt it again.

So let's check back in a year to see if I've actually done this, hmmm?

reverb10 day 17: lesson learned

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Tara Weaver:

What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward?

Let’s see – what did I learn about myself this year? Well, something I KNOW about myself – I don’t really think I learned it this year, but I’ve certainly executed it this year – is that when I decide to commit to something, I’m all in. Balls to the wall. Two examples: exercise and blogging.
As for exercise, well, I am EXCELLENT at coming up with excuses for not exercising. Too tired, too busy, too hot, too cold, to blaaaaahhhhh….the truth is, I hate exercise (which, in my world, equals a small amount of light weight lifting and power walking, as you well know by this point). And I can go MONTHS at a time without doing any at all. But when I set my mind to it, well, pretty much nothing can stop me.

So, when I decided in October that I was going to go walking four times a week, I full-out committed. Never mind that it’s dark in the morning. Never mind that it’s ass-cold (today it was 12 degrees). Never mind that it’s raining or snowing. Never mind that when I do this during the work week, it inevitably makes me late for the rest of my day. Never mind that every weekend morning, I don’t sit in and relax; instead, I hit the road. Never mind that I really, truly don’t enjoy it. It has to be done. HAS TO BE. I always feel better when I have done it. And, once again, I’m totally committed. And I plan to be for quite a while.

As for blogging, well, I decided to blog every day in November for NaBloPoMo because I really didn’t like how little I had blogged up until that point this year. Many of my blog posts this year started off with “Oh, hi everyone, sorry it’s been so long, I’m the worst blogger ever…” The great thing about NaBloPoMo is it got me back into the groove of just blogging about the ridiculous things that happen during my day, or posting pictures, or talking about really important things, like why the gingerbread latte at Starbucks tastes like swampy ass or why certain nursery rhymes creep me the hell out. I retrained my brain to recognize things in my life as good blog fodder – even if they are totally ridiculous.

And then when I heard about reverb10, well, I was very intrigued. Yes, I was exhausted from blogging every day in November, but I was really into the idea of manifesting a great 2011 – and taking a look back at a year I thought was kind of crappy. Of course, what I’ve learned so far is that 2010, in fact, had many bright spots. And I’m so thankful to this project for making me realize that. Not to mention, of course, the great number of new blogs and Twitter peeps I now love!

Of course, once reverb10 is over, I really need to take a break from my computer screen – in fact, over the next couple of weeks, with the holidays looming and a MUCH-needed week off of work, I will probably be a bit less present online. I really am craving a small break, to spend in-real-life quality time with my peeps. But of course I will still be posting - and, God knows, weaning myself off Twitter ain’t gonna happen anytime soon! And when reverb10 is done, I do hope to keep blogging on a far more regular basis than I was earlier this year.

So I guess while “commitment” wasn’t a lesson I learned about myself THIS year in particular, I certainly applied it this year.

reverb10 day 16: friendship

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Martha Mihalick:

How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?

I feel spoiled rotten in terms of friendships. I have so many great friends. Near, far, from my childhood, from school, work, theater, Facebook, Twitter – I am hugely blessed.

I have been friends with my core posse since I was 7 years old. (That’s 30 years, for those of you counting.) THIRTY YEARS. We all went to elementary, middle and high school together – quite a few of us even went to college together. We have managed to all continue to live in the same general area. And while we have changed and grown into different people, at the center of it, our close friendship has remained all the way through. How is this possible? We have gone through every major life event together – weddings, divorces, births, deaths – and, of course, all of the mundane everyday stuff that makes up three decades. It feels completely amazing to me. Seriously, I’m going to cry.

And this says nothing of my other close friends. How am I so lucky? I know I’m being repetitive, but I have friends from all aspects of my life that I know will be lifelong friends.

And truly, they all inspire me – with their talent, loyalty, artistry, humor, genius, ability to balance it all, their sense of fun, adventure, dedication, daring and all-around awesomeness.

Seriously, I have the most awesome friends. I never, ever feel alone. I always have someone to talk to. I always know, no matter what, no matter when, I’m not alone. Can you imagine? What a gift, in this crazy world, to know that someone will always have your back.

They make me want to be more. To be better. They set the bar pretty damn high. They don’t even know how much they mean to me. I don’t even think I’m making it clear here – I feel like this is the most rambling post I’ve written in a long time, so I guess I’ll just finish by saying that I adore my friends. They make my world – and the whole world – pretty great.

PS Upon reflection, I realize I didn't exactly answer this prompt. Whatevs -this was what came out.

reverb 10 day 15: 5 minutes

Today’s reverb10 prompt comes from author Patti Digh:

Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

Between work and dance class and Secret Santa shopping, I am glad for a prompt that DEMANDS I only spend five minutes on it (although, truth be told, I rarely spend more than 10 minutes on any post – and I sure it shows!). Looking at the clock….ready…..GO!

First family vacation – stayed at a cottage at the beach for a week with Jane and Greg. Hands-down favorite part of this year

Watching the performances of Chicago that I co-directed this summer. Supremely proud of this show – one of the best I’ve ever worked on

Celebrating my mom's 70th birthday and my sister's 50th birthday by throwing successful, super-fun surprise parties

Going to the Bronx Zoo with Greg, Jane and friends – it was as great as it was when I went there as a kid (thought it might have lost some of its magic, but no)

Seeing the following shows on Broadway: The Addams Family Musical, Hair, West Side Story and American Idiot (twice for that one, an a third time planned for January) I didn’t love all of these shows but I always love going to NYC!

Speaking of NYC, took a great trip there with two friends hat was awesome amounts of fun - already planning next year's trip

Jane’s third birthday party – it was pretty epic (that one's for you, Dwayne)

Eating the cake Greg made me for my birthday – it was the first cake he ever made for me! It was quite delicious, so I expect this to become a tradition

Attempting to (and so far completing) blog for two months in a row – two weeks left! Holy shit!

Watching the first four seasons of Mad Men in a little over a month – this is absolutely my new favorite show

All of my book club meetings – although I don’t often love the book, I always love seeing my friends

The weird-ass conversations I have at lunch with my work lunch posse

Going out trick-or-treating with Jane the first time, and having her love it – so awesome to be on the parent side of this now

And, just today, hearing the news that two good friends got engaged!

WHEW! When I think of 2010, I often think it wasn’t that great of a year – but it clearly had some high points!

reverb10 day 14: appreciate

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Victoria Klein:

What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

This is an easy one for me. Sure, I could talk about appreciating my child, my family, my job, etc - and of course I DO - but I wanted this answer to be 2010-focused. So for that reason, the thing I came to appreciate the most this year is a calm stomach.

My stomach totally revolted on me this summer. I am not going to get into the gritty details, but I went months and months with only a handful of days of feeling good. It was truly awful. I went through some particularly unpleasant testing, and there was no real diagnosis -and I believe, at this point, that a good portion of it was stress-induced and poor diet-induced. I was lucky (??) to have a couple of friends going through the same types of issues, so at least I had people to commiserate with. (I know, "lucky" isn't quite the right word for this - especially not for them.)

I still have bad days. But I have learned what some of the triggers are, and I have really started to try to eat right - at 37, I still eat like a 12-year-old boy a lot of the time. But I'm working on it.

And now - man oh man, I really appreciate having a calm stomach. A LOT.

reverb10 day 13: action

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Scott Belsky:

When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step?

My current aspiration is to avoid getting through the next three months without getting a severe case of the winter blahs. This is my plan:

*Continue to get exercise, and, beginning December 21 (next week!) notice how, bit by bit, it is getting lighter each day

*Plan a vacation somewhere warm and beachy for end of February/beginning of March (this will be key to my happiness – we haven’t taken a winter vacation in four years) (also, this will be Jane’s first time on a plane, Lord help me)

*Direct a production of one of my all-time favorite comedies, Neil Simon’s Rumors (for the new readers: I am a big time theater nerd – not only do I work in theater, I also do lots of community theater on the side). I am very very excited about this. Auditions will happen in January – expect to hear a lot about this. More than you would ever really want to know, probably.

So yes. My plan to meet my goal is to become excessively, over-the-top, ridiculously busy to avoid the winter blues. Wahoo!

reverb10 day 12: body integration

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Patrick Reynolds:

This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

I'm not gonna lie - I'm not quite sure how to interpret this. Perhaps it's because I spent last night with friends, stuffing all sorts of dips and cake and cookies and various fatty goodness-type treats and my brain is still in a food coma.

So I will say this: I have felt the BEST about my body this year in the past month or two. If you remember, in yesterday's post I mentioned wanting to lose some weight, and at the same time, stop talking about the weight I want to lose. In doing this, I have allowed myself to stop verbalizing self-hating sentiments - something I would never want Jane to hear. Girls these days start obsessively worrying about weight soooo young - I've heard of five- and six-year-olds on diets - and there is no way I am going to be a part of Jane developing a negative body image. So by not talking about it, I allow my brain a respite from obsessing over it.

Anywho, over the past three months, I've gotten back to power walking three miles, four days a week. This has been a tried-and-true method of weight loss for me - I lost 70 pounds 10 years ago doing this, and have managed to keep the bulk of it off (I know, I know, readers of this blog know I have gone on and on about this before - just keeping the new readers updated).

I used to walk further and longer and more often, but my life these days only allows for a four-day-a-week committment to exercise, which I think is pretty dang good (although, of course, I still sometimes beat myself up over it, wondering why I can't do more). Now, the weight is not falling off of me like it did when I was 26 - but I only need to lose a small fraction of what I needed to lose then. Plus, my metabolism is 11 years older.

And despite the fact that, these days, I am going out in the near-dark at 6:30 in the morning, in the freeeezing cold (it was 17 degrees the other morning), I am remembering how much I do enjoy having that time to myself, figuring out my day, waking myself up, listening to some tunes -all before anyone else crawls out of bed. I feel better for having exercised (although I do not like exercise itself), I know I'm doing good things for my body, and most importantly - and I really believe this - I'm doing great things for my mind.

Does that answer this question? I hope so. : )

Fun day today - going to lunch with my friends, then off to my niece's birthday party - have a great day!