Category Archives: life

Today is the Day

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Later today the little guy goes for his doggy sleepaway camp interview. I’m so nervous. I was asked over dinner last night if I was one of those dog moms. You know, the way over the top kind of moms? I might have been slightly offended, but then I realized that no, I’m honestly not one of those moms.

I think I’m just nervous because well, I want this to work. This place seems cool and is much more fun and accommodating compared to our regular boarder. At his regular place, he just has an outdoor run and doesn’t really get to socialize with any other dogs and I doubt the owner goes outside to visit all that much. But, he loves it there. He goes crazy as soon as we turn the corner and is so happy and jumpy when the owner opens the door. But his regular place is really, really strict about pick up and drop off times (between 8:00 and 9:00 AM only!). And well, those of you that know me, know that that’s way too early for us, but we do it.

This new place is open 9:00 to 9:00. It’s free reign with crazy pups everywhere. It’s staffed 24-hours so there’s always a human looking over things. It’s half indoors and half outdoors – with misters when it gets hot and heat when it gets cold (this is huge since his old place is just outdoors with nothing and well we typically have over 100 degree summers and our winter nights can get down in the 30’s). They also have webcams where you can check out your little one to see what’s going on – 24 hours. And if you were one of those moms (or quite possibly in this case, dads), you can call and they’ll get your little one and bring him to the phone. How fun is that?!?!

So yeah, we’re really hoping he does well at his interview. I think this would be a much more enjoyable experience for him. Especially when we’re gone to Ireland in November. I just hope and pray he doesn’t snap at anyone while he’s there. Feel free to send some good vibes our way around 2:00PM Pacific time.

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Okay, enough of that. The past couple of days I’ve been on a bit of a cleaning kick. First my closet and a couple of drawers. Then the back room/office (we’ve since been drinking us some wine!) And yesterday it was the bathroom. I finally cleaned the glass doors in the shower. Man, what a huge difference that makes! I also finally managed to vacuum. I’d been putting it off because I kept telling myself that I was going to get a cleaning lady (I still am, at some point). But I just couldn’t take it any more. I won’t freak you out by telling you just how full the Dyson canister was with cat hair – just remember it’s shedding season. But really, things look quite lovely! I think today I might even go on stain patrol in the living room.

Today’s focus will be on stopping my eyes from this damn allergy-induced tearing; shaking what seems to be a migraine before it evolves; writing up some blog posts for my site (though I can’t seem to think of any particular topics right now – any suggestions?); writing a professional review for a friend that’s up for an entreprenurial award; sending out some author interview questions; and doing some more basic cleaning here in the office. Here’s hoping that it all goes as planned.

Songs Birds Serenade Us to Sleep

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We noticed it for the first time last night, beautiful bird songs after we turned off SNL.  Funny thing, we all noticed it at once, including the boys.  Then they started up again tonight around 11:30 PM.  Again, both boys lifted their heads to listen and then looked to us as if to say “huh? What’s that?”

See, we don’t even have song birds during the day. We have pigeons.  We have crows.  From time to time we even have ducks and doves.  Oh and once I saw a hawk or a falcon or some bird eating prey in our front yard (we’re close enough to the mountains).  But nope, no song birds here.  At least until now, that is.

I don’t know what made it so sudden.  I don’t know why we’ve never heard them before.  But I will say, it’s the most amazing and peaceful sound – something to be thankful for.  The calls change up and I can’t really tell if there’s more than one or just one looking for their mate.  But either way, it’s beautiful.  And yet another thing to love about living in SoCal (in NM, we had roadrunners and well, they didn’t even say “meepmeep”).

Wishing you all beautiful songs to serenade you to sleep or equally beautiful songs to wake you each day…

Cleaning the Office…Finally

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This was a long time in the works here. Besides the piles of boxes of wine, there was also the piles of papers that needed to be shredded. On top of all of that, there’s still the fact that I need to empty out last year’s files and actually file this year’s files.

Did I mention the bags full of swag? There’s still stuff from the husband’s trip to SXSW both last year and this year. And NAMM. And the leftover Grammy week stuff that was passed on to me. Yes, we have bags of free shit just lying around. Don’t be too impressed, since most of it (like SXSW & NAMM is mostly crappy CDs and press-related stuff). But um, there’s, well, bags full of upcoming Christmas gifts lying around as well since I shop all year for the friends that I know well (and again, the swag that I tell myself I’m saving for Christmas gifts).

Which of course leads us to the mass amounts of CDs that we have in this house. My husband can get anywhere from 5-15 CDs a week between here and his office. Complete with their PR packet. The majority of them sit around unopened. Sometimes we luck out and find a band that the nieces or nephews are into (about 6 or so months after the CD has been lying about collecting dust) and we can pass it along. Most of the time, not so lucky. It sits. And sits some more collecting dust. Eventually, it gets moved into the office to join the other piles of dusty CDs. Yeah, that’s the plan – not the most effective plan, mind you.

Let’s not forget the guitars. I believe he has six lying around. Granted, due to the crazy old lady that lives next door he can barely plug in the electric ones, but that doesn’t stop him too much. At least there’s only one broken one in the office. That one I could squeeze in the out of the way space between the bookshelf and the wine rack. How do you ladies with kids manage?? Seriously.

Oh yeah, and then there are the books. Books that I need to ship out to contest winners. Books that I still need to read so that I can interview the author for my site. Books that I still need to give away. Books that I’ve read. Books that I’ve yet to read. The books the husband is using. The books he no longer needs and just wants me to get rid of. Well, just books, piles of books (in all the rooms, but more so here in the office).

But back to the issue at hand. Both yesterday and today, the focus has been on cleaning up this back room already. I’m totally clearing away the clutter to open the channels and energy to bring us something more fun, exciting and fulfilling than, well, clutter and junk. I figure if I can get this room into shape, it will be a lot easier to keep things clean down the road (especially when I get the cleaning lady). I have high hopes for us.

Between cleaning out my closet & drawers, cleaning up the rest of the living spaces and now the office…hoorah!  I’m opening the door wide open for something amazing to come along, I tell ya.  So watch this space because I’m sure it’s going to be BIG (and good…very, very good!) 😉

Why Do We Wear Belts? And Other Random Thoughts

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I bought one for the first time last week.  My girlfriend kept giving me a hard time for my (brand new) jeans being too big and my always pulling them up.  So I figured what the hell, I’ll buy a belt.  Um…why?  I mean I love that my jeans now stay up and joy of joy, they don’t drag on the floor any more.  But what’s the point if my belt keeps riding above the loops of the jeans and sticks to me?  I’ve already loosened it as much as I can.  Any looser and well, no need for the belt.  I just don’t really get it, but oh well.

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Onto the next topic…crazies on the road!  No really, each time I went out today, some crazy driver did something stupid or totally inconsiderate.

At the farmer’s market, all these big SUVs that barely missed scrapting the ceiling of the parking garages would crawl like a snail through the garage, taking forever.  The would inch over the speed bumps, hanging out their windows hoping they won’t scrape the ceiling.  Maybe they shouldn’t park in parking garages then.  And when I finally did manage to find a parking space, I have to pass it by since some SUV took up all of their space and some of the space next to them to park their monstrosity so it’s not like I could park after all.

At the grocery store, same weirdness.  First, some kid on a bike, talking on a cell phone total whizzes by completely disregarding the 4-way stops that the we all have to stop for.  So you go to make your turn, at your turn, only to have this kid, not paying attention, yammering away on the phone, blow by so you have to slam on your breaks.

Then when it’s finally time to park, I pull into the lane, empty spaces on both sides.  The gal in front of me turns WIDE making me think that she’s going to park her itty bitty car on the right side, so I wait to park on the left side.  She starts waving for me to go around…hello, spots on both sides here, I’ve got on a blinker, either way, I wouldn’t be going around.  I motion that I’m taking the spot on the left so I can’t go around, she pulls up, then proceeds to back into the space on the left.  What?!?  Two spots, wide open on the other side, and yet she still feels the need to swing all the way, nearly into the spot only to back into a space on the left.  Whatever.  I was parked and out of my car before she even managed to finish parking.

On the way home, some chick decides not to take the turn on the yellow and sit through the red.  That’s fine, no need to risk a ticket or whatever.  But she doesn’t even pull up to the line.  She’s half a car length away.  I toot my horn and motion for her to move up so that I can make the right on red (totally legal).  Nothing.  I wait a minute and toot again.  Again, nothing.  One more toot, the passenger in the backseat turns to look at me, I motion to move up, I’m already half into the turn lane so it’s not like they don’t know what’s going on.  Again, nothing.  I give up.  Right before the light changes, she finally pulls up to the line and I pass to make my turn.  The woman is glaring at me.  What?!?

So yeah, seems like there just might be some crazy, inconsiderate people on the road today. Don’t even get me started on our wacky neighbors and how little they understand the basics of street parking.

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And today’s much happier and final topic…I found workshop space!  I kept telling myself that since things with LWL took off so quickly and without my thought behind the process (it’s all about timing), that I was going to spend the month of May figuring how to get more business.  In particular, how to find the right space to teach workshops.  Well, I seem to have lucked out yesterday and found a whole slew of affordable (and local) spaces.  Can’t wait!  Things are really beginning to take off and I’m loving that feeling.

The Squirrels Must Die!

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No really.

I was going to do a sweet post about Earth Day and all the ways we can be more green and all the ways I’ve embraced being green. But um, yeah…the squirrels messed that all up.

So I’ve mentioned the varmints living in the wall, the ceiling and the floors a time or two (too lazy to link back, sorry). Well, I called our landlord the other day, but I don’t think she believes me. She figures the squirrels are on the roof and well, end of story.

Thing is, it’s so NOT the end of the story. They’ve managed to find a way to go in and out of the roof (yes, I believe I found it, it’s even hinged and easily, accessibly right off of the cable for their convenience believe it or not). The thing is, our war with the squirrels goes on even longer than this rooftop dancing and scratching they’ve taken to.

You see, they taunt my dog. No, seriously. They get on the brick wall, face either the screen door or any of the three windows and well, taunt him by making their annoying little clicking noises all while shaking their bushy tails at him. And yes, as expected, he goes ballistic! But wait…there’s more.

On the front of the house, the lower part, just below the windows is brick. For purely aesthetic reasons I’m sure, there is a brick-wide ledge just below the windows. So what do you think happens? We (the cat, the dog and myself) will be innocently sitting on the couch watching TV, surfing the net, talking on the phone, reading, what have you, and POP! up comes a squirrel head looking in the front window. Repeat this about five times until someone notices him and all hell breaks loose.

Mind you, he only picks the window where the cat’s tower is at, not the one where we have a chair blocking most of the window. No, these guys know what they’re doing. They’re focused little buggers! At the rate they’re going, I’m going to be less inclined to stop my car while they cross the street from here on out.

Long story short, aside from the annoying rooftop scampering parties, ceiling scratchings, and intentional instigating, the boys are in non-stop stress mode now. The cat can’t move about the house without the dog trying to attack him. Neither seems to be able to rest during the day since they’re both on guard. And me, well, I’m ready to kill anything with four legs! By 8:00PM they’re both passed out exhausted on the couch barely functioning. Its sad really.

Something must be done! Any suggestion for this poor, work-at-home gal being driven crazy by furry animals? I’m tempted to blast them with the hose, but to do that puts me awfully close to them (right along the cinder blocked wall they love to use to achieve total dog taunting mode). Hell, I’ll start with any good suggestions for just getting the landlords to believe me since by the time they get home the squirrels have left for the day.

Really, We’re all at wit’s end here.

F*ck a Duck!

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My girlfriend just sent me a series of emails while I was out regarding an October women’s retreat that we wanted to do. It’s in Ashville, NC and absolutely beautiful out there any time of the year.  We were so excited.  And I’d actually, finally, get to visit the Biltmore!

First we wanted March, but realized it was too soon for us to make the arrangements.  Then we settled on June until I remembered my friend’s wedding and realized it was the same weekend.  So lastly, October was our target.  It took some work on her part to talk her husband into watching the boys – especially with it being so close to their anniversary.

She decided that we should pay for it now to secure our spot (and so she wouldn’t spend her bonus money on something else).  So we agreed to get online and do just that.  Then I headed out to Trader Joe’s…and come home to six emails from her.  The last one…”well damn!”

Turns out the October retreat is booked.  Mind you, there are still spots in the June session (of course!).  So now we’re both bummed that we don’t get to do the whole female bonding in the woods with massage, meditation and song thing.  Needless to say, we will be following Ms. Christine Kane very, very closely for her posting of the ’09 retreat schedule (thanks to my handy, dandy Reader!)

And now, I must finally start working on tomorrow’s workshop presentation!  Back to work for me!

Okay, Now I Have Something To Say

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So I registered for BlogHer a while back. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the agenda and have been checking every couple of days. I’ve also anxiously been awaiting some activity on the room-share board. Well, turns out we’re now all fucked.

The BlogHer room deal is already sold out. Now all that can be found through Starwood are $350+ rooms. That’s a per night fee! For three nights! Three hundred and fifty fucking dollars a night!!!! Um, legitimate business expense or not, I won’t be staying there.

This sucks for a few reasons, first of which, I’m really not a fan of San Francisco (I know, I know, I’m just not a city kind of gal and well, that place just freaks me out!). And it kind of sucks that since I’ll be going alone I won’t be staying where all the action is. I want to be part of the cool kids crowd *wahhhh*

Okay, no worries. The husband remembered the last boutique hotel we stayed at while in SF. Turns out it’s right across the street from the St. Francis. And it’s $150 less a night than the St. Francis (and includes the internet fees and tea time). So I’ll be staying there instead and will still be close enough to be part of the cool kids crowd. Since they were sold out of doubles already I just said fuck it and got a room of my own.

I’m thankful that’s all done. All I have left to do now is book my flight. I’ll wait until things get closer to do that though. Heck, we have other flights and rooms to book still in late May and early June. July just seems so far off still.

Not Much To Say Lately

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It must be something in the water. I notice that many of the bloggies I follow haven’t been all that chatty lately. Even my email seems quiet lately.  I’ve been busy. I’ve been going to shows, hanging out with friends, reading books, taking pictures, watching movies and even doing some shopping. I’ve been planning my birthday, our anniversary and my birth-a-versary. I’ve been working, networking, meeting new folks. Really, just keeping busy.

But I just don’t have much to say about anything. Interestingly enough, the same is true on the phone with friends and even face to face with my husband. I just don’t have all that much to say. The funny thing, I’ve got about 25 or so drafts started in here that I could probably just writing something about. But I just don’t feel the need or the urge, or the desire. I guess I’m just riding the quiet wave.

I will say that I’m thrilled that decent TV will start back up again this week. It’s about freakin’ time that ABC is bringing their line-up back! I don’t even think I remember where we left off with GA or with Lost and that’s pretty sad if I do say so myself. But of course, I think I’m most thrilled that my guilty pleasure, Gossip Girl will be back! That’s a big’ol WooHoo!!

On that note…I’m out of things to say…

XOXO

LA is Just Too Damn Big!

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How is a gal supposed to find that perfect restaurant for her birthday celebration when the city is so large? Finding something centrally located aside, we still have too many kinds of restaurants to choose from. I’ve been Yelping nearly all day trying to find a place.

You’d think that as often as we dine out (sad, I know) that I’d at least have some ideas about where I might want to go to try for the first time. Or to at least know of a place that I enjoyed so much that I just have to go back again. Thing is, I want a good atmosphere, good food, good prices and good drinks. Oh and not to hip and trendy. Not too much to ask for, right?

It might just be easier if I didn’t also have our anniversary dinner to consider. Though I did decide that since our friend bought us a kick ass bottle of wine for Christmas that we’d drink it for our anniversary. So the actual night of, we’ll just stay home and enjoy the wine with something I’ll make (I’m open to any elegant, yummy, easy, non-salmon recipes or suggestions).

Okay, back to Yelp. I’ve got some work to do. Happy Friday everyone.