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.

I'm a winner!

I'm not going to lie.

I've always been a little jealous of those blog awards that people hand out to each other here on the interwebs. Sure, I know I update my blog rarely/never/only when something bad happens, but still. I wanted one.

I've never been much of an award-winner or a trophy-getter. I didn't play any sports as a kid (shocking, I know), so I didn't have any trophies from my extra-curricular activities (funny, they don't hand anything out for being a highly-dramatic theater geek - unless you get a Tony.). Back in ye olden newspaper reporter days, I did win a Society of Professional Journalists award for an article I wrote about raunchy rock lyrics (this was back in the late '90s - a whole MILLENIUM ago). I won first place and everything. (Yes, it is surprising to know that someone used to pay me for this writing stuff. Can you imagine?) But that was a long time ago. Where's my validation now?

WELL. Imagine my delight when I received that shiny happy Proximity Award up there at the top. En Espanol, even!

The lovely and talented Bridget over at Yellaphant betowed this award on me. And since it happens to be en Espanol, let me explain what it is: This award is for blogs which "...invest and believe in Proximity; Nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and to be friends. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to 8 bloggers, who must then chose 8 more and include this text into the body of their award."

So, I mean. DUH. I think any blog that, in ever other entry, talks about sickness and puke and how miserable they are is obviously CHARMING. But it's true, I do aim to find and be friends. The other day, when I was puking (here I go again) and lying half-dead on my couch, I was watching a commercial for something like Diet Coke. And in the commercial, a group of friends were hanging out and having fun. And I had a true, real reaction to that commercial, and that reaction was: jealousy. I miss having fun and hanging out with my friends. When one has children, one is confined to the house after 7 p.m. on most days. So the lesson you can learn from my blog, dear internet friends is: BIRTH CONTROL.

I kid, of course. But now I have to bestow this fine award to eight other people! And since the meaning of the award is a little confusing to me, I am going to give it to a combo of eight people who are actual friends in real life, and people who I feel like are my friends because I read their blogs all the time, and they write in such a friendly way, usually with swears and stuff. However, there are rules. You have to update your blog more than once a month. Even I do that. So, I'm sorry, you and you. Consider this tough love. And the nominees are:

Yellaphant - Obviously. I love Bridget's blog because she is a young person doing what young people do - namely, drinking beer and having fun, and going out, and doing the things I miss doing while I'm catching puke in my hands (not fun hangover puke, either). She reminds me of the me I used to be, and the me I hope to be again when I can rally some babysitters. Also, she's a dog person.

Artsy Fartsy - This is my real-life friend Lisa - but here's the thing. I used to work with Lisa, and she was nice, but kind of quiet, and shy, and we had to force her to go out and do things with us. And now! Look at her! Queen of the snark on her blog, and ridiculously talented in so many ways. I would say she's my most multi-talented friend.

I'm Alan, Eh? - I know Alan changed the title of his blog to something more Canadian, but it's weird and I liked his other name better. Alan is also a real-life friend and my number-one email buddy. He gets to hear what I have for lunch every day, and all of the other minutiae of my life. He also likes birds and outer space and stuff. He's a theater nerd like me.

Days with Dylan - As you have heard many times, when I was pregnant with Jane I had a blood test that indicated she might have Down syndrome. That turned out not to be the case, but in doing my research before I found out for sure, I found many wonderfully-written blogs by parents with children who have Ds. Laurie at Days with Dylan is one of them. I love keeping up to date with the freaking ADORABLE Dylan, who underwent successful heart surgery last fall and is doing great.

Baby on Bored - This blog is written by the insanely funny Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, who wrote the hilarious books Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay and Naptime is the New Happy Hour. She has a gorgeous toddler and one-year-old twins, and somehow manages to write weekly updates on her thoughts on The Bachelor and American Idol. She has commented on my blog a couple of times, and I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty giddy - a celebrity commentator!

The New Girl - Alright, I am relatively new to reading this blog, but I was actually going to write an entry about this post she wrote recently. You know, when I link to something and act like it's a valid entry of my own? Yeah. Anyway, when I read this, it felt like she was in my head. (SCARY FOR HER.)

I'm Laughing Inside - This is a real-life friend, Audrey, who started blogging again last month. I am hoping this fabulous award will encourage her to keep blogging, and posting funny pictures of Shane.

Boho Girl - I got sucked into this blog for an entire day once. Denise writes in such a personal, reflective, CALM way, it made me wish I was her. Her positive, cool, laid-back vibe positively radiates from her blog, and she also lives in Southern California, which automatically makes her cooler and smarter than me. And her newly-adopted son Cedar is delicious.

So there you have it! I'd like to thank all of the daycare germs which keep my blog full of exciting stories about the common cold. The end.

why health insurance is a good thing

Over the past week:

Head cold: Jane, Greg, me
Fever: Jane, me
Stomach bug: Jane, me
Ear infection: Greg, possibly Jane
On antibiotics: Greg, Jane
Feels like truck has run over: Jane, Greg, me
Number of weekends in a row that have been ruined due to illness: Five (and counting)

Welcome to my house! Please wear a haz-mat suit.

and now, a little levity

So, everyone and their brother reads Dooce, right? Well, she challenged her readers to answer the questions in this meme that she posted on her blog. Here are my answers, and here's your chance to learn a little more about Greg!

What are your middle names? I was not given a middle name, so I gave myself one, when I got married. It's my maiden name. Greg's middle name is David.

How long have you been together? We've been together for 7 years, 4 months.

How long did you know each other before you started dating? Zero amount of time.

Who asked whom out? We met on a blind date. I met his friend at my 10 year high school reunion. I had just broken up with someone, so I went alone. I had several cocktails, as one does when one is reunited with people they used to share high school hallways with, so I was in a festive mood. Greg's friend was dating an old friend of mine from school, and we got to talking. His friend asked if I was single, because if I was, he had the perfect guy for me. That guy turned out to be Greg, who called me a few days later. Now I think about it, he really had to have some cojones to do that. Would you call someone out of the blue, based on the recommendation of a friend? Good thing his friend had such exquisite taste. Anyway, we made plans to meet when he called.

How old are each of you? I am 35; Greg is 36.

Whose siblings do you see the most? Mine, because he is an only child.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? The work/life/kid balance. Yup, 18 months in, and we'll still figuring this out. We are both working particularly hard at our jobs, and we have a child who tends to pick up every bug at daycare (perhaps I've blogged about that once or twice), so our wicks are fairly short during these looong winter months - especially because it seems that at least once a week, one of us has to stay home with Jane because she's not well.

Did you go to the same school? Nope.

Are you from the same home town? Nope.

Who is smarter? I am smarter socially; Greg is probably more book-smart.

Who is the most sensitive? That would be me. What? Why are you looking at me like that? Are you mad at me?

Where do you eat out most as a couple? I am not even going to be embarrassed about it. Chili's. Fine. There. I said it.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Hawaii.

Who has the craziest exes? I don't think we have crazy exes. No one has haunted us.

Who has the worst temper? It really depends on the day and who got the least amount of sleep. Since that's usually me - probably me. I try to keep it in check as much as I can.

Who does the cooking? If we're having any sort of real, non-microwaved, non-heated up meal, the answer would be Greg.

Who is the neat-freak? I don't know that either one of us is a neat-freak, but I am definitely more obsessive in this regard, especially since we had Jane.

Who is more stubborn? I have to say I don't think either one of us is particularly stubborn. Except for me.

Who hogs the bed? Jimmy. Seriously. Somehow that 30-lb dog takes up 95% of the king sized bed we have.

Who wakes up earlier? I do. I wake up at 5:04 every morning.

Where was your first date? We met for our blind date at a place called Joe's American Bar and Grill - it doesn't exist anymore.

Who is more jealous? I used to be very jealous. Now I'm way too tired to be jealous. Actually, it was just that typical, beginning-of-the-relationship nerves; after about a year together, I was much more secure. OK, maybe two years.

How long did it take to get serious? We had some growing pains about 6 months in - so things were pretty serious by that point.

Who eats more? Greg eats more, but I probably could if I wanted to.

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who's better with the computer? Neither one of us are computer genuises.

Who drives when you are together? We split it pretty evenly. Maybe Greg drives a little more, but not that much more.

Feel free to answer some or all of the same questions about your significant other in the comments, or leave a link to your website if you prefer answering there.

not so much

So, about 15 minutes ago, you'll see that over there on the right, I Twittered about having seen a robin, and how I thought maybe that was good luck.

And then Jane puked all over the place.

No so much with the good luck, then, huh?

This has been several weeks of sickness. Ear infection, stomach bug, cold, stomach bug. Throw a couple of ri-donk-ulously busy work weeks in there as well, and you've got a cocktail for my own personal brand of hell.

photo love

Hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day -whatever it means to you.

(please ignore the lovely sheets on our couches. this is what you must do when you have two slobbery dogs.)

long ago and far away

Ten years ago this week, I left for a trip to Ireland with three of my theater friends. We were going in honor of my friend's 30th birthday, and we basically covered the country in six days. It was phenomenal. But this isn't about that.

I have had an image stuck in my head for the past couple of days. It's from when I was leaving my parents' house (that was where my friends were picking me up for the trip). I remember as we were pulling out of the driveway, my Mom, Dad, and niece Samantha were waving goodbye. My niece was only three at the time; just a baby, really.

I didn't know then that just over a year later, I would say goodbye to my Dad for good.

This time of year can be so difficult for me, even nine years after he died (February 22nd is the nine-year anniversary). Even after so much time, the sad moments - the ones that really stop me in my tracks - crop up out of nowhere. And usually they are insignifcant, like the one where they were waving goodbye as I left for my big trip.

I feel about 100 years older now; my life has changed so much, and when I think of that girl getting in the car, she seems like a kid version of myself, even though I was 25 and gainfully employed. But over the next two years, my life would feel like a punching bag, getting socked over and over with bad news. Those years -from 26-28 - affected me the most out of any others in my life. They made me weaker, stronger, and much more adult (although many times it doesn't seem that way).

I just wish he could have seen me now.

we interrupt my regularly scheduled whining to address something actually important

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

I copped this from Bridget's blog, but it was too good not to.