I have been here.

I have been having a marvelous long weekend. Promise to come back soon.

more coherent, you say?

I did, in fact, promise a more coherent blog post earlier this week. I'm not sure if this is going to be it, but it's something.

I was having a chat with my friend and former commenter on this blog, Dwayne. (He does not comment anymore. I assume because he hates me.) Anyway, I was talking with him about my blogging frustrations (I don't think I have anything to write about, my life is boring, I'm having a mid-life crisis, etc) and he said I should write about my opinions on current events instead of blogging about my personal life. And then I came up with the ingenuious idea of having a "Douchebag of the Week" - but I think it's only because there are some egregious douchebags out there this week. So, for now, I give you my current list:

DOUCHEBAG(S) OF THE WEEK!
Arnold Schwartzenegger
The IMF guy (I can't remember his name. But I'm not going to waste a moment of my life Googling the name of a rapist. "Allegedly.")
This shitty CT weather
Jane's bedtime routine

And, really, do I even have to explain why I chose them?

So I think my Douchebag of the Week idea isn't going to really further this blog along as much as I'd like.

Perhaps I will tell you the things I am obsessing on this week. You know, pop culturally. So, here we go:

POP CULTURALLY THINGS I AM OBSESSING ON THIS WEEK
The Book of Mormon soundtrack (oh, the poor people who need to hear me talk about this show all the time)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (I watched five eps in a row last night, and it was a simply delicious way to spend an evening)
Bridesmaids, and how much I want to see this movie. You know, in the theater. Like people do.

Yeah - I don't think this idea is going to go anywhere either.

So if there is anything you'd like to see me write about on this here blog, please let me know. For the betterment of the people, and everything.

Have a great weekend!

this post is ridiculous.

I know. I KNOW. Part of me thinks I should just declare a blogging sabbatical and be done with it. I have really fallen out of my blogging three times a week thing I was doing there for a couple of months. Anyway.

My trip to New York last week was fabulous. Really. I LOVED The Book of Mormon the most. Definitely want to see it again. I am a new fan of Daniel Radcliffe, who was great in How to Succeed.... I may actually watch one of them there Harry Potter movies (no, no I won’t). Arcadia was very good as well – but very long. But good. (But long.)

And the celebrities! I saw/heard speak on a panel Daniel Radcliffe, Chris Rock, Bette Midler, Whoopi Goldberg, John Larroquette, Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Judith Light, Dan Lauria, Billy Crudup, Raul Esparza, and other theater peeps – it was delicious.

Plus there were parties! Very late! And people. Tons of people. And drinks! Very many. Have you heard that New York is the city that doesn’t sleep? It’s true!

(There was also regular conference-type stuff. But I’m glossing over that. Because it doesn't make me seem exciting.)

Anyway – good times. Also – go see The Book of Mormon. GO. But only if you like "South Park"-style humor. I also may have a slight crush on Trey Parker now. Is that weird? I can't decide.

In other news, I am leaving for a week at the beach in one month, and I need to lose 10 pounds. Is this possible? I mean, is this possible whilst still being able to eat cookies all day? Inquiring minds want to know.

(I promise to write a more coherent post later this week. I was up late last night. I am on the casting committee for a production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and after I got home from that last night, I had to watch the two-hour finale of “Survivor.” Which was awesome, by the way.)

nyc-bound.

Well, as previously mentioned, I'll be going to New York this week for a conference. This is one of those weeks that I really can't complain about my job, because, basically, no one will listen. See, at this conference I will get to see some Broadway shows (this time I will be seeing The Book of Mormon, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Arcadia), go to some parties, see some famous people, and other conference-y stuff.

I am worried about Jane though. She is sooo clingy on me these days and she desperately misses me if I'm not home for even one evening, so this week might be a little rough on her. She will be at daycare during the days and I'm sure she and Greg will have plenty of fun at night, but my guilt is pretty major right now. Because what's parenthood without a major dose of guilt at the exact moment you should be excited about something?

I will see you on the flip side with a full report (and you know I'll be tweeting throughout).

friday randoms.

I have thought often about this blog this week. I have really wanted to post; but I didn’t feel like I had much to say. I was going to post a couple of cute pics instead, but that’s cheating, isn’t it? So I’ve been quiet ‘round these parts. But I’ve been reading your blogs! Promise.

This has felt like the longest week ever. And I really don’t know why. I’ve been tired and cranky and blah. (Probably another reason why I didn’t post is because I don’t think you really want to hear about how tired and cranky and blah I am. AGAIN.) So I am relieved it’s Friday.

I am going to an Idina Menzel concert tonight. Despite being tired (whoops – there I go again) I am getting pretty excited about it. She is a big Broadway star and has her own albums and was on “Glee,” but I will always love her the most for being the original Maureen in RENT, the first Maureen I ever saw, my favorite, way back in 1997. (Remember, I have seen this show 22 times, so I have a thing or two to say about RENT.)She can belt the shit out of songs, so tonight should be fun.

I have to work tomorrow morning – can’t say I’m extra psyched about working on a Saturday morning, but what can you do? I’m the idiot who volunteered to do it. Why do these things seem like such good ideas two months in advance? Oh well. After that I think I’m going to help Greg move the boat from its winter home to its summer home (finally). Boats? Are a shit-ton of work.

Sunday is Mother’s Day. We are going to my mother’s house (natch), as are my siblings, for breakfast. I assume we will also see my mother-in-law this weekend, as it is both Mother’s Day and her birthday. Greg’s family isn’t as much into holidays and birthdays (I do not understand this for the life of me at all) so who knows, maybe we won’t. Aside from that, Mother’s Day will consist of being a mother, along with getting ready to go to NYC next week for a conference. I’ll tell you more about that next week – very cool.

What are you up to these days?

tremendous.

I went to bed early last night.

When I woke up this morning, the whole world had changed.

Watching the news and going online has brought to the surface a lot of the feelings I had on 9/11.

I find myself so, so upset at people - some of my friends - who have taken this moment to shit on Obama for whatever reason.

This is a triumph for our country. All of us. Even those of us who don't feel comfortable celebrating a death. I understand this. Truly.

But there are others who - rather defensively, I think - are using yesterday's events to air their petty political complaints. I'm not talking about people opposing war, violence, things like that. I'm talking about people who are saying that who does Obama think he is, he wasn't looking for him in the caves himself, it's not like he was the one firing the guns, why is he taking all the credit, etc. etc.

I ask, who else is the appropriate person to make the announcement to our country, other than our Commander in Chief?

I also say, get a fucking grip, people.

I only hope yesterday brought peace to the family and friends of the victims of 9/11.

For that, I celebrate.

high/low

This week. It has certainly had its highs and lows. Let’s review the highest of the high and the lowest of the low, shall we?

LOW: I burned the ever-loving shit out of the tips of three of the fingers on my right hand yesterday morning. I had ironed a pair of pants on Monday night, and on Tuesday, when I went to grab my pants off of the ironing board, for some reason I checked to make sure the iron was off by dragging three of my fingers on it. It had been on for 15 hours.

This is a new iron, and it is now my sworn enemy. I was in agonizing pain all day. I had to keep rotating ice packs, cups of ice and bags of ice – if I took my hand away from the ice for even a few seconds, it would start burning like holy hell again. Naturally, I barely said a word about it to anyone (read: IT WAS ALL I WOULD TALK ABOUT TO MY POOR, POOR COWORKERS), and I certainly did NOT repeatedly show them my blistering, red hand over and over.

After much urging from my co-workers to get it checked out (I think they just wanted me to leave) I went to the doctor because it really wasn’t feeling better at all- it literally felt like it had just happened, even though it happened seven hours earlier.

The doctor said they were second degree burns, gave me a prescription, and I have to go back on Thursday to see if they have to lance the blisters. GAG. I hope not. I finally was able to function without ice at about 7 p.m. – twelve hours later.

I’m not saying I’m like the guy in 127 Hours whose arm was pinned by a boulder and he had to cut it off to save his own life – but I think we have a little bit in common. I mean, I couldn’t use my right hand for most of the day yesterday, y’all. It definitely feels better today, though it still looks gross.

And I will never iron again.

Now, on to the high!

HIGH: My in-laws live in a house on the beach, and also have a small cottage nearby. They rent out both of their houses during the summer and live on their boat. Last year, we were able to stay at the cottage for a week rent-free, and it was our first family vacation with Jane. It was so awesome. And I just found out they are extending the same offer to us in June – for TEN NIGHTS! Epic. I am so freaking excited.

How is your week going? Highs? Lows?

friday randoms.

OK, so I planned on using this whole day to clean and shop for Easter. But the thing is, I did a lot of the cleaning after work this week. And then I spent all this morning shopping. So now I am sitting here on my new heating pad (I am obsessed with my heating pad - and my old one died earlier this week) (and my back hurts a lot) (and basically, I just love my heating pad)...ok, where was I? Oh yeah, I am sitting here on my new heating pad and watching Sex and the City reruns. Why do I never get bored of this show? I have seen this episode eleventy billion times (the one where Carrie goes to Aiden's cabin in the country and Miranda finds out Steve has testicular cancer) yet it never gets old.

Anyway, the weather continues to be cold here in CT. And it is indeed bullshit. But I noticed when I was out walking this morning that the tree branches are getting noticeably greener. And flowers are poking out. And despite that winter has stayed waaaay too long at the party, spring seems about ready to kick its ass out. Do it, spring. Make it happen. I am really sick of that asshole winter.

This is the last weekend (well, half weekend, since Easter is on Sunday) that I will be Internet-free. As you recall, I gave up all Internet-related activities on the weekends as part of Lent. And, friends, let me tell you, it sucks. Sucks! I get it that I need to leave the BlackBerry at home when I'm out with my family. This is a very good idea and I will continue to try to do it. But I am over being completely unplugged.

I am also over abstaining from cookies and candy. Because I am still trying to lose weight (as always), I don't want to gorge all day Sunday on crap. So tomorrow I plan on going out to get a really great (most likely huge) cookie and some really delicious chocolate (probably from here) and have that for breakfast on Sunday. I can't wait.

What random things do you have to share?

I love this freaking kid.

That is all.

remember when I went to New York?

So, I went to New York, like, practically two weeks ago to see Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. And, as you recall, it wasn't my favorite show. But it sure was a fun trip. And here's some proof.

signing off for another weekend.

OK, let’s call it what it is – I have been slacking off massively when it comes to blogging. I’m just not feeling it these days. But I’ve totally been keeping up with your blog. Yours too. And your Tweets? Love ‘em. But me? I have been pathetic. Things continue to be busy ‘round here. I had a board meeting this week with my theater group, and it was decided that we are going to be doing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which is a super-fun show. Not quite sure what my involvement will be - I am not directing this summer because I wanted to take a break, and work will be busy enough – but I’ll definitely be involved in one way or another. Because I can’t stay away.

Last night I went to happy hour with my work peeps and realized how much I like to go to happy hour with my work peeps. Also, I went to see a student production of How to Succeed… that my friend directed. So all in all, it’s been a very busy week.

This weekend? Well, I am going to fancy myself some sort of domestic goddess and do a lot of cleaning in preparation for Easter. Yes, this is the opposite of fun but it has to be done, and I am happy there are no trips to NYC this weekend (woe is me, woe is me, I KNOW), as there were for the past two weekends. BECAUSE, while they are lots of fun, they take the piss out of me (figuratively). I really need to hang around the homestead and make it look decent for our impending guests next weekend. We also have a party to go to for my friend’s 40th birthday. Because apparently my friends are turning 40 now. Which is….interesting. I, of course, won’t be turning 40 for many, many more years.

This is the last full weekend of Lent, and thus, my last full weekend of attempting to stay totally off the Internet. Wish me luck! I hope you have a fabulous weekend.

weekend review.

What a weekend! I can’t believe how much I need today off, just to recover from the insanity of this weekend. We had a lovely time going to dinner with Greg’s parents on Friday night. We went to a place called Bill’s Seafood in Westbrook, and, in my mind, they have the best lobster roll EVER. Seriously, I’ve done a decent amount of research. If you know of another place in the area, please let me know. Then we went back to his parents’ house and had cake. Oh, delicious cake, how I've eaten way too much of you over the past week. Unfortunately, Jane didn’t fall asleep on the way home (part of my epic plan), so she didn’t go to bed until after 10 p.m.- ugh.

On Saturday, my sister showed up bright and early to take over Jane duties and we headed to the train station in New Haven. I wanted to get the 9:30 train to Grand Central, so we literally ran for it. Well, we made it, the train drove for about five minutes, then they told us we had to go back to the station and switch trains. We squished on to the 9:56 train (already full), and finally headed to NY. You can imagine how thrilled everyone on following stops were when they realized they had to stand the whole time. Although Greg and I weren’t sitting together, I was glad I was sitting at all. Seriously, when you have a three-year-old climbing all over you all weekend, a train ride with the freedom to read your magazines (albeit, with the stranger next to you reading over your shoulder) is really like a vacation.

New York was great as always – although I wish we had more time to walk around. It was truly beautiful out. We grabbed lunch and then went off to see the infamous Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Whoa – this show has issues. Big time. The stunts are amazing – although you can totally see why they have had so many issues; there are so many ways they can go wrong – but the other, non-stunty parts of the show were, at times, absolutely awful. The music was 100% non-memorable (sorry, Bono and Edge – even Greg agrees), at times, I felt like the actors didn’t totally get their lines right (because they were probably changed that morning) and the book was profoundly bad. The set was pretty cool though. All in all, I give it a C-, with a personal grade of an F, because I hate comic books.

Saturday night, we watched the movie Morning Glory and it was pretty funny. I just thought I’d throw that out there, if you are looking for a mindless movie to watch. It was better than I expected.

Sunday, Jane and I went to my friends’ house for an egg hunt. Their daughter Olivia is Jane’s age, and they are quite the duo! It was really cute, Jane had a blast, and after declaring that I wouldn’t eat a lot on Sunday, I stuffed my face with treats. On Sunday night, we went to my sister’s house for my mother’s birthday party, ate more treats, pizza and cake, and now I am a giant house who really needs to eat like a normal person for the rest of the week.

All in all, a very good weekend. How was yours?

weekend update.

And it’s Friday again, just like that. This week was full of birthday goodness (my mom’s was Wednesday; Greg’s was Thursday) and this weekend the birthday goodness will continue, with a little Christmas and Easter thrown in. Let me explain with this, your weekend update:

Tonight: Tonight we shall continue celebrating Greg’s birthday when we go out to dinner with his parents down at the beach. This afternoon has been hectic and now, on practically no sleep last night, I get to pick up Jane and drive an hour down to Westbrook. Luckily I really love where we are going. And there will most likely be cake, which is a mega-bonus.

Saturday: Merry Christmas, Greg! We are finally going to see that wretched train wreck of a Spider-Man musical on Broadway – yes, that’s two trips to NYC in less than a week! I bought Greg tickets for Christmas, because, as you know, Bono and The Edge wrote the music for this apparently god-awful thing, and I thought he would enjoy it. Gossip columns and terrible reviews be damned, we are going, although I really feel like I will probably indulge in a cocktail at lunch, because a) I hate comic books and comic book-related entertainment and b) if an actor falls on me, I want to be at least partially numb.

But seriously, it will be nice to spend the day with Greg, sans Jane, who will be spoiled to death at my sister’s during the day. I am sure she will get away with everything and have the time of her life.

Sunday: Jane and I are off to an Easter egg hunt at my friend Cathy’s house in the a.m., which will be fun and hopefully tire her out – I would love for her to nap on the way home and give me some down time before we head off to yet another celebration – this time for my mom’s birthday at my sister’s house. More cake!

Monday: BONUS WEEKEND DAY. I am taking Monday off because I am exhausted from all of this partying and directing and New York tripping and Broadway show-seeing. I mean, my life is rough.

What are you up to this weekend?

three things.

Here are three things I would like to share right now:

1) I have decided I despise Glee. It jumped the shark halfway through season 1 and it never really regained traction, but now it totally sucks. I watched the alcohol episode the other night, and I couldn't believe how annoyed I was. It was like, all of the sudden all the glee club nerds were big-time drinkers, even doing so during school hours and vomiting all over each other during performances. This came out of nowhere. They just pick a theme for an episode and squeeze the storyline around it, with no regard for the past or the future of these characters. In conclusion, I am quitting this show (probably after this season - but there is a very real possibility I won't make it through the whole season). Which sucks, because when it came out, I felt it was a show made just for me.

2) Speaking of me being a total showtune nerd, I am happy to report that I loooved Memphis when I went to see it with my mom in New York on Saturday. There were plot points that didn't make complete sense to me and I felt could have been developed more, but the music was great - so much so that its greatness brought tears to my eyes at points. I just love seeing super-talented people perform. A big bonus on Saturday was the fact it didn't rain! It was colder than I expected and windy, but no rain was great.

3) The third thing I wanted to share was the cool donut tee I got Jane at the Gap last night while shopping for Greg's birthday present. It's so so cute and she wore it today to school, and it was a huge hit. So I wanted to show you how cool it was but Gap doesn't have it on their website right now, so I will assume it is an excusive-to-Jane shirt. I now want a tee with donuts on it for my very own.

And that's my Tuesday report.

weekend update.

Dear Internet, It's the weekend! Yay! And, as you can imagine, it's party central here at the me, my dogs, my life abode. Currently Jane is eating chicken nuggets and watching Tangled and I am screwing around online and eating chips and salsa for dinner. So, in conclusion, it's fine dining and high art over here. Here's what's up for the rest of the weekend:

Saturday: Jane has a big playdate planned with one of her daycare peeps. So we'll be there in the a.m. Not sure what else I'm doing tomorrow but I really should be shopping for Greg's and my mom's birthdays, which are both next week, one right after the other. What's up with that? I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to do anything to prepare. I am mega-lamesauce.

Sunday: Going to NYC to see Memphis on Broadway with my mom. We go see a show together once a year. Shockingly, the weather actually looks decent - 50s and sunny. Woah. Usually it's raining and we're running around with our umbrellas.

That's all here! And this weekend, I am seriously signing off the internets. For real, this time. Let me know what you're up to!

100 things: 31-35

Continuing my streak of being the worst blogger ever, I now present to you the shortest blog post in history - another installment of 100 things (to see the previous 30 things, click here).

For this thrilling episode of not-really-fascinating things about me, I present to you: My Top Five Favorite Musicals (in order of love, but numbered to correspond with their place on the 100 things list. Or something like that. It's been a long week, y'all.)

36) RENT (have seen it 22 times professionally, and a couple of times at community theaters)

37) [title of show] - yes, this is the name of the show.

38) In the Heights

39) Guys and Dolls

40) Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (shut up)

The end. (Do you like how I didn't even explain why I love these shows? Worst. Blogger. Ever.)

100 things: 26-30

Holy shit, worst blogger ever. Anyway, I figured I better throw something up here or everyone will completely stop reading. So here is a quick installment of 100 Things (Remember? I'm coming up with 100 really exciting facts about myself? And, wow, are they exciting! Yeah. Click here if you want to catch up. I know at least Shane likes reading them.)

Anywaaaay, because I spent a lot of quality time driving around my old hometown this weekend, I got to thinking about past part-time jobs. So this is the "part time jobs" segment of 100 Things. Enjoy!

26) Dairy Queen. I mean, hello. I worked there for 13 summers. THIRTEEN SUMMERS OUT OF THIRTY-SIX. That is a full third of my summertime life. But when it's the family biz (my parents owned it for a very long time; now my sister does), you learn how to make a Blizzard with the best of 'em. Sure, working for your family isn't always easy, but I have about a million memories from this job - some bad, some good, and some really great. And some completely horrendous. Seriously, I could write a book.

27) Video store clerk. I actually loved this job. It was a dipshit video store (think Clerks, which, incidentally, is one of my very favorite movies because they got it so right), so not many people went there, which meant that I basically screwed around with my friends, planned what we were going to do after work, and watched movies. Nice. 2

8) Pharmacy assistant. UGHHH. Hated this job so much. The pill counting, the hyper pharmacist, the germs - no good. I only did this for one winter (between DQ seasons).

29) Produce department of a small grocery store. Yeah, I didn't like this so much either. I like talking to people, and it turns out tomatoes and apples aren't great conversationalists.

30) YMCA childcare. I worked for the Latchkey program at my local YMCA for two school years, and, again, I loved it because I got to hang out with my friends. However, I sort of hated it, because at the time, I really couldn't stand kids. So, maybe not the best fit for that time of my life.

(How have I done only 30 of these yet?)

show time!

Hello! Greetings from the other side of Hell Week. We are finally at show time, after no small amount of stress trying to get the show ready to go and a fun little snowstorm that came last night, which, if you follow me on Twitter, you know stressed me out to no end. See, our show is happening at a school, and if school is closed, the building is closed. So- if we got the NINE INCHES they were predicting yesterday morning last night, then there would have been no school today, and no show today. AND THAT MADE ME SADFACE.

Really, I shouldn't be typing. I think I've clocked in a total of six hours of sleep over the past two nights. This is Jane's fault. Actually, this is Greg's fault. He is putting Jane to bed early while I am out at rehearsals, so she is ready to go by about 4 a.m. Combine that with me not coming home until very late and going to sleep very very late, and you've got a recipe for ZOMBIE.

So, here are a few pics from rehearsals. Please do enjoy the one of me and a REAL LIVE EMMY (not mine). Don't I look slightly crazy? It's been a long (but good good good) week. Directing this show has been a joy and I'm so excited it's finally here. It's been one of the best theater experiences of my life, in no small part because I adore this cast.

See ya on the flip side!

weekend update.

Wow. How is it Friday again already? This week has been crazy (don’t I say that every week? Why, yes, yes I do.) and I have no small amount of relief that the weekend is here. As part of Lent this year, I will once again be totally offline (hopefully) this weekend, but I wanted to quickly do a weekend update for you:

Friday night: Rehearsal. This is our second night in the auditorium where we will be performing the show. Last night went OK, but hopefully tonight will be better (as I am sure it will be). It’s always rough going when you move from the rehearsal space to the actual stage – getting used to the space, the set (which is very cool), the props, the actual (instead of fake) stairs, etc. Of course, I totally love it – but at this point it’s a matter of figuring out solutions and answering questions. After rehearsal we are having “dress rehearsal” for our cast party, i.e., going out to drink.

Saturday: NO PLANS. OK, OK, I have to do laundry and a Target run and all of the usual stuff, but I have no official plans and I AM THRILLED. Greg is going down to the boat to do some work on it, so Jane and I will be hanging all day. She has been telling me lately how much she misses me (cue MAJOR GUILT) so this will be a good chance to make up for all of my absences due to the show.

Sunday: Speaking of which, I have rehearsal for that again on Sunday night, and every night next week until we open on Thursday. I know this seems like a lot of work for only a three-night run, but we all love it. Most of the time. Also, Sunday is the FIRST DAY OF SPRING. Wahooo!

And what are you doing this weekend?

how I became a famous novelist

Well...not me, exactly. Or, at all. However, that is the title of my latest book club book - "How I Became a Famous Novelist" by Steve Hely. Unfortunately, because of my crazy rehearsal schedule, I can't make this Friday's book club meeting, so I will share my opinion here:

I completely loved this book.

I literally laughed out loud. A lot. And as a "writer" type of person (big quotes), I thought it was really interesting to get a look at the publishing industry. And the other day, when I realized I only had about 20 pages left, I put it down, because I just didn't want it to be over. That's when I knew I had to recommend it to you peeps. Check it out!

(PS Sorry for my light posting - have I mentioned I'm doing a show? And that it's next week? True fact!)