this woman’s work

I’m going to be working from open to close at HighBall so I’m just dropping by here to say that. I’m not really the kind of gal who goes to a big street party but I wanted to check out the show so I said I’d pull three shifts since that’s more fun than just attending. At least in my book it is! I also featured myself in the last blog. I have no pics of myself in costume because I haven’t been in costume since sixth grade. But my mother-in-law picked up a purple feather mask for me to wear while I serve beer. Nice, isn’t she? Purple feathers is just the ticket for HighBall!

The kids had a good time at my dad’s last night. Madison got in an argument with us this morning when we were talking about Pennie going around with her and Noah said, “Yeah Pennie’s great” and Madison said, “Pennie is MINE!” Take that, Noah!

This was on the way back from picking them up from Gram and Gramp’s house. I had a client meeting to go over products for their spring catalog. I took a camera to get some detail shots but my battery died halfway through it so then I had to rely on the shoddy camera in my phone. Alas. I hope my notes make sense when I get going.

They’re going around again tonight with a friend of Noah’s who’s coming over and maybe my inlaws. I’m a little sad about missing tucking Maddie in because she generally needs a good tucking in after a busy night but Brett can tuck as well as I can. (I’m the one who’ll miss her not the other way around.) I will also miss Brett because it would be about 86 times more fun if he could come, too.

Anyway. I’m off!

Number post!

1. I love Bacchus! I love his partner! I LOVE HIS KID! I can’t wait to see him again this spring at the AAC conference!!
2. I’m spending five hours tomorrow at Boo at the Zoo staffing a table. I hope it doesn’t rain. If you’ll be there between 3pm and 8pm, I’ll be there, too, doing time for one of my gigs. Stop by and say, “Boy, you look cold and/or bored!” You’ll probably be right!
3. I think I’m going to be able to get back to my work-out schedule next week because my cold is definitely on its last legs. Thank GOD. I may have forgotten how to exercise.
4. The kids are probably going trick-or-treating twice because for the first time in forever some of the suburbs are having it on a different night than others. So they’re going in my dad’s neighborhood the first night (because Pennie is going out of town for some scary clown concert thingie for Halloween proper and wants to be in on begger’s night) and this neighborhood the second night. I’m going to make them give up the stuff they don’t like to supplement our give-away stash.
5. I’m on the closing shift at HighBall. That’s 11pm to 2am. Pity me. I’m never ever ever out (or even up) that late unless it’s at some Kristen-sponsored event (like her birthday or her annual holiday party). Maybe I should take a picture of Kristen along with me to give me strength!
6. Friday morning I have a meeting to look at samples for catalog copy I’ll be writing for a couple of weeks. So it’s trick-or-treat Thursday night, meeting Friday morning, trick-or-treat II Friday night, Highball and then general collapse Saturday. I think. I need to look at my calendar.
7. Brett is also working very long hours. We are like crazy people over here. Actually sanity seems to be maintaining itself fine but the dustbunnies and dirty dishes are very close to staging a coup.
8. I keep meaning to write an entry about the racism in The Time Traveler’s Wife but can’t seem to find my copy. When I do, I will. Because Time Traveler’s Wife? Totally racist. That book makes me cringe as a writer - to reference Chekov, there are so many unused guns in the book that it reads to me like a self-indulgent daydream. The Violent Femmes dance-off? Just one of ‘em. Plus: Racist.

1. I finally got my Obama yard sign. Our neighbor has a McCain one up (the same kind neighbor who hosted the spaghetti dinner at her church when everyone’s power was out) so I had to make things right in the universe again and balance it out with my sign. Madison was distraught by the whole thing because she didn’t know anyone would actually want to vote for McCain especially someone so nice, (which opened up a nice little discussion about how America is great because we can trumpet what we want to trumpet).

2. Allyo’s husband makes the best mac & cheese EVER. Just so you know.

3. We got Madison a Halloween costume at the thrift store. Total score: four bucks for a plush flower costume that’s head-to-toe and cozy. (It’s this one only in a size 7 so room to grow.) Noah is going as one of the JabbaWockeez. He’s got the clothes and he’s got a mask. Voila! Costume! Plus he’s taking a hip hop class with the rest of his homeschool posse so I’m sure he’ll have the requisite swagger that comes with knowing how to do the ice break freeze box or whatever the kids call it when they spin around and then prop themselves up on one cheek.

4. I’m caught up on book reviews for like the first time in FOREVER. Feels good. I could get all cocky about it but the next deadline is around the corner — next Monday to be exact.

5. I’m going to have to reschedule Noah’s ortho appointment on Tuesday because I have a new gig and I’m meeting with the client the same day Brett accidentally made the appointment. This sucks because Noah’s braces are kinda coming apart in his mouth somehow. But the gig is going to be fun and one hopes lucrative so we can always buy him some new teeth or something.

6. Brett is relaxing into his new job and the hours are easing up now that he’s getting his footing. He gets home early enough that my work-life balance isn’t going to be the nightmare I feared it would be. Not that I won’t whine about it anyway — you know I will.

7. I’m going to see Leslie next week! Yay!

8. I’m growing out my dye job so I can just quit fighting the gray. I have so much gray that I nearly look blond. Seriously. It’s going to age me like a zillion years but I like it — so there. But I don’t like the growing out so much because it looks ridiculous except when I use some wash-in/wash-out dye that lasts about one second. I just walk around like I mean it to look this way and dare people to say something. I think it’s working. Or else people feel so bad for me that they don’t say anything. Whichever — they both work for me!

9. Brett bought Krispy Kremes. I hate him. What doesn’t he understand about my fit by forty goals? “You just don’t want me to become so gorgeous that men fall at my feet!” I accused him. Then I reached for another doughnut. Cream-filled. It was delicious.

1. I have a wicked bad hormonal headache. I hope starting out in grouchy pain doesn’t cast a pall on the rest of my year!

2. My mom and my aunt are coming over for honeycake later. But we don’t have the car so no shofar for us. (Brett got a new-to-us car in what we’ve deemed a signing bonus. There are many advantages to going to work for a friend! But he doesn’t have the tags for it yet so we’re still acting as a 1-car family.)

3. Pennie is coming over tomorrow to see Madison’s very loose tooth! Yes, Madison is only four. We’re shocked, too.

4. Speaking of Madison and Pennie … the other day Madison and I were in the grocery store where there was a truly scary rubber animatronic witch with lit up eyes. (At the Westerville Kroger’s for you locals.) Noah would have had to leave the store IMMEDIATELY if he saw that at four but Madison was fascinated. I asked her if she thought it was scary and she said, “No, funny.” Then she wanted to touch it. Pennie is a huge fan of horror movies like Saw and The Hills Have Eyes (I can’t even look at those posters!) and also thinks they’re funny. Who knew horror appreciation was genetic?

5. I let the kids decorate for Halloween even though I usually make ‘em wait ’til October 1st but my head is killing me and I wanted some coffee and I wanted to drink it in peace. They did a bang up job of it, too.

6. I’m trying to dig out of the morass of undone housework due to Brett being home for that year. See, we thought he’d be a better housekeeper than I am but it turns out that he’s a surface cleaner. He doesn’t know that you also have to periodically clean from the inside out so I’m upending drawers, digging through closets and clearing off the top of the refrigerator.

7. I also went through the kids’ winter clothes and we will need to hit the thrift stores hard for both of them. I haven’t had Noah try his winter coat on yet but I think Madison is covered there thanks to Abby.

8. I’m caught up on work, which is a nice feeling. The article that was giving me fits source-wise went to bed and I really enjoyed writing it. I realize I’m most happiest when I can mix marketing communications with consumer stuff. Now if I can just figure out when to fit in creative nonfiction…

9. I’ve kept up with my exercise routine for over a month now. I’m definitely getting stronger and have lost a very little — and I mean LITTLE — weight. It’s going to be a long road to my fit by forty goals but it’d be an even longer road if I waited ’til fifty so I’m sucking it up. I love to exercise although you wouldn’t believe it just by looking at me. I also love to eat, which wouldn’t surprise you one bit.

10. To establish an exercise routine I can stick to I need: ease (no elaborate rituals, no weird schedules, no reliance on other people), privacy (no classes, no companions, no nosy trainers) and a decent soundtrack. One thing that surprised me about my mom’s trainer is that it feels like I’m moving in a smaller range than with the other but I think it must also be more focused because I’m really feeling changes in my back, especially my neck and shoulders. I get very sore but I’m also hurting a lot less from my whiplash (once I get past the lactic acid days) so the soreness is worth it. I haven’t really had a bad neck day since I started. Plus my mood? Not as psychotic.

11. I work out in the mornings while channel 34.1 (PBS) is showing kids’ shows. Madison watches ‘em while I sweat and Noah usually sleeps in. If he’s up, he’s doing his school work. A good time is had by all. (And today a better time than was intended because a quick glance at my browser’s history shows that Noah was on Neopets instead of Study Island. Busted!)

12. I want to think about buying a used piano for the kids’ big xmas present. I know Madison would like it and Noah might, too. But I don’t know anything about used piano buying. Anyone have advice to share?

The distractions are all the size of a 4-year old. Oh, why try to dissemble! They ARE a 4-year old! A dancing, laughing, clapping, messing-with-stuff-on-my-desk, asking-for-snacks, curly-haired 4-year old named Madison.

Well, that’s just how it is, eh? Working and mothering — something’s got to give and usually it’s my sanity.

Tonight I’m dragging taking Abby with me to the HighBall Halloween launch. Kristen is in Maine. Amy is very busy with Little Alouette. My sister is a flake (not really — she’s just busy). So Abby it is! She wins! When we give out candy? I’m going to give her an extra handful! Leslie is coming, too, god love her. Candy for Leslie, too! And my friend Lis who doesn’t have a web presence because she’s stuck in the dark ages. It’s sad for her there.

Ok! Now I have to go put on clothes that can be seen outside my home as opposed to the ratty t-shirt I’m wearing. The one that Madison accidentally wiped half of her lunch on when she was spinning around and spun into me. Did I mention that she distracts me? Because she does.