I Had a Blog Once Too...

I had a blog once, wrote in it quite a lot.  Can't figure out what happened to it...unless, now, wait a minute.  This is that blog!  Fancy that!  I found it again.

Getting out of the habit of doing something is a killer...well, unless it's smoking.  My excuse for my absence is that we switched to summer hours here.  Basically, that means that school ended and the kids are home an awful lot more than they used to be.  And they want things too, what is up with that?

I've been trying to be a bit strict about my own schedule.  I used to love summer because it meant I didn't have to get up early.  But when I did get up, I'd try to get stuff done but the kids would be bored and wanting my attention and I'd get cranky.  Now, I get up at 6 am and exercise and get shit done.  It's pretty awesome.  Oh don't worry, I still get cranky, but not until 3 or 4 in the afternoon.  Then it's like an hour or two until beer o'clock so it's really not that bad.

Here's what makes me smile:  no more evening commitments.  Toward the end of school we had activities every night from Monday thru Thursday and sometimes on Saturday.  Everyday it was a mad rush to get home, get homework done, yell a bit, make dinner, eat dinner, rush someone out the door, yell some more (just for the hell of it), baths and bedtime.  Now, I can make dinner any time I freakin' feel like it.

In addition to yelling and exercising, I have been busy.  Our garden (I should put pictures up) is just beautiful. We have an abundance of collard greens and swiss chard and I have a ton of recipes for them if you need it.  We had a bumper crop of lettuce but that finally went to seed luckily not before we picked it.  My neighbor told me about green shakes:  put lettuce (or other greens) in a blender with almond milk (or regular milk) a banana, some fruit (I used frozen blueberries) and blend.  How healthy can you get?  Greens and dairy and fruit....it's a multi-tasking shake.

Just so you know we are also growing blueberries, pumpkins, tomatoes, broccoli ('cause I'm chopping broccoli, had to do it), peppers, basil, watermelon, cucumbers.  It's just so much fun.

So green shakes, gardens, exercising, driving the kids around, that's my summer so far.  If it gets more exciting I'll let you know.  And if it doesn't, well, I'll just make something up.

Summer is How Long?

I sewed today...actually sewed. The kids' stuffed animals all had boo-boos; 10 and 7 years old and my kids still love their stuffed animals (actually I hope they always do). I think I'm getting a bit bored.

When summer began, I kept thinking it would be over too soon and I needed to relish every moment of it. I luxuriated in the boredom of the lazy summer days; long afternoons at the pool, trips to the library, movies for the family. Now, I'm sewing. I think it's time for the next production.

This is why I'm so suited to theater--productions never last more than a couple of months, right when I'm getting bored with it. I start a show and I'm all excited and nervous and a bit stressed about juggling family and theater; finding sitters, planning dinners, taping the stage, getting to know the actors. Then I get to know the actors and their quirks and we're into tech where I spend days in a dark room getting to know the design team and hoping my family has learned how to forage for food. The show opens and I have a bit more time which I plan on using to straighten up the house (when in reality, I use the free time to catch up on movies). The show is still fun and I enjoy the repartee with the actors (whom I've pretty much ignored during tech week). Then it's the final week and I'm so looking forward to closing night. While the actors want to enjoy a post-show drink and discussion in the green room, I become like Nurse Ratchett getting them off to bed. "Take your medicine and go! I don't want to be here any longer than I have to!"

After the show closes, I stay home and bake and clean and cook and enjoy every minute of it. FOR A DAY. Okay, maybe a bit longer but I always end up getting antsy. Is this it? Didn't I just do laundry? What do you mean you're hungry, I thought we ate already? And right when I'm about to re-arrange the glasses in the kitchen-cabinet, a show starts and I settle down once again.

Some people have seasonal rituals; they welcome each season by airing out the beds or packing away the winter clothes. I guess I have dramatic rituals...in every possible sense of the word.

Potpourri

I don't know if this happens to fellow bloggers or not but sometimes, I won't blog one day and that turns into two, then three, then a week and half goes by and I've almost forgotten that I've started a blog. I also find it difficult to blog when events crop up such as the fact that we had company for the past 4 days and before that I had to do extra shopping and cleaning. I've been thinking about this a lot since I've heard that the movie Julie and Julia is coming out. This is the movie about the woman who cooked her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and blogged about it. I don't know much about the movie or the blog but the feat itself overwhelms me. Where does one find the time? She mustn't have kids.

So, fellow bloggers, do tell me if you don't mind: Do you blog regularly? If so, do you feel you need to or is it just for fun? How do you find the time when life gets a bit crazy? I'm just curious and looking for inspiration.

In the meantime, here's what's been happening with me:

Theme Thursday: After the Summer Theme Thursday, I surfed around and attempted to read everyone's post about Summer. I didn't quite make it through but I loved it! The photos of the food and sights and sounds that emanated from the posts were hypnotic! As for my post, yes, The Silver Fox got all the right answers on the quiz. I do think I dated myself by the songs I chose.

Margarita Race: I ran a 5K a couple of weeks ago with Brian. He beat the pants off me but only after I posted my fastest first mile ever (at an 8:40 pace). Then my stomach seized up and I had to slow down...wwwaaaayyyyy down. I still got a margarita though - 2 in fact!

Lazy Summer Days: I'm lucky enough to be able to work my theater schedule out so that I can have most of the summer off with my kids. It's been so nice because we've taken to doing nothing most of the time. Of course that reminds me of the time my daughter said to me: You know mom, you should pay me for doing nothing. It's the hardest thing to do because you can't stop to rest. And that's definitely not conducive to blogging.

Of Summer I Sing

School may be out but I thought a fun quiz about summer songs might just be the ticket for this theme Thursday. I've chosen lyrics to 7 songs that all have the word "summer" in the title. Have fun and no worries, everyone gets an A+.

I'll post answers this weekend.


1: Oh, your daddy's rich and your momma's good lookin'


2: Well, she got friendly, down in the sand.


3: Stranger voices are sayin'
What did they say?
Things I can't understand


4: I got my first real six string. Bought it at the five and dime.


5: Son you gotta make some money if you wanna use the car to go a ridin' next Sunday


6: Blowing through the jasmine in my mind


7: Cool town. Evening in the city. Dressing so fine and looking so pretty.