tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85818895000938331022024-02-19T17:18:36.500-08:00Fearlessly PhobicIt's a blog about my life, my lists and my life list - and now where I will keep you updated about The Two Year Plan. Marvel as I battle my fruit fly sized attention span and adult onset, self diagnosed ADD to make The Plan reality!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-15018803637775001602014-03-27T20:58:00.000-07:002014-03-27T20:58:42.257-07:00Helicopter Parenting (not mine) and ADHD - A Long Rant"Children with ADHD also tend to be less skilled in the use of complex problem-solving strategies and the organizational skills needed for solving intellectual or social problems." (Taking Charge of ADHD, Russell A. Barkley, PhD).
My good friend and neighbor, who often ends up being the go-to mom in the neighborhood for the kids, wrangles all of the various trolls and ferries them home fromAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-28654319330554489332014-03-20T08:32:00.002-07:002014-03-20T08:32:23.655-07:00I went to #SXSW and all I got was this lousy beard.I've actually been back from SXSW for about a week now. It's taken that long to actually process my peripheral experience there.
I should mention two things before I begin:
1) I went to scout the show for work - specifically, the vendor room.
2) I only had a film badge, so didn't get to take advantage of the full buffet that is SXSW.
Here's what I took away from what limited time I had there:
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-43521688119061444142014-03-03T20:17:00.000-08:002014-03-03T20:17:38.437-08:00Treading Water - Thoughts on redefining normalWhen you find out you're pregnant for the first time - and you're actually going to keep the child - you read every book that was ever written by anyone who has any kind of experience with children. You're nervous. You fret about everything you ingest. You absorb all the horror stories. You try all the advice. You know... typical new parent stuff. Then you realize that babies are, for all intentsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-38018471349404371492014-02-26T19:45:00.000-08:002014-02-26T19:45:12.335-08:00What Resolutions? (A blog about finding out your kid is different)I feel compelled to blog, though I don't know where to begin. Should I be witty? Should I be candid? Should I just stream of consciousness this post? There's so much and nothing at all in my head right now. But where to start?
The quest to actually follow through on my New Years resolutions has fallen way, way short. Mostly this is because life has demanded my attention be focused elsewhere, andAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-20872817589986235992014-01-01T01:00:00.000-08:002014-01-01T01:00:03.432-08:00A new year and new resolutions -- 12 Things EditionAh yes. It's a fresh year. It feels good, this clean slate. For several months now, I've been processing changes. For me, it takes a great deal of time to process any kind of change because, for so many years, I simply didn't like change and would avoid it at any cost. Now, I kind of dig change, but I'm a stubborn so and so, and won't readily admit when habits of mine need to go away.
Usually Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-42640873876714420292013-12-29T20:42:00.003-08:002013-12-29T20:42:49.160-08:00Well hello! Sit down. Have a cup of tea with me. Let's catch up.I have been, as usual, missing from my blog spot. There's been a lot going on, what with the holidays and such. But Christmas has come and gone and the new year is right around the corner. It's time to clean out the old and begin fresh and new.
I've been considering an overhaul of this space -- or to scrap this one and start anew. Well, I won't scrap this blog, because so many wonderful memoriesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-78731489295852091342013-09-16T18:02:00.000-07:002013-09-16T18:02:52.597-07:00I'm such a fucking hipsterAnd I say "fuck" a lot. I need to stop that. My grandmother might read this blog one day.
Then again, I say "fuck" around her, too.
I'm going to Hell.
And in other news, check an item off of my life list -- I am now the proud owner of a MacBook. Well, sorta. My job technically owns the MacBook, but since I work for my parents and will probably never, ever leave, I'm probably going to be buriedAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-43034975522436751242013-08-10T17:38:00.000-07:002013-08-10T17:38:01.988-07:00Comparing Apples to Agent Orange -- How Not to Be a DickOne of the most solid pieces of advice that any person anywhere will ever hear is never to compare their last relationship to the one they're currently in. It's just bad news all the way around. But we're also human beings, so we're going to do exactly the opposite of the thing we're not supposed to do.
As a rule -- at least this time around -- I don't compare The Fiancee™ to The Ex. There's no Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-90992569523894752142013-06-26T14:24:00.002-07:002013-06-26T14:24:42.196-07:00Oh Internet! You just keep doing you. Thoughts on #unplugLet me go on the record as saying that I'm as about as old school as you can get and still be even mildly NOT 78 years old. I have Facebook. I have a blog. I even have my own [never updated] web site. But I don't tweet, skype, tumblr or any of that crap. I probably should if I want to get my business off the ground, but I'm kind of lazy and it seems like figuring out what the hell the hashtag is Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-37732479146504311162013-06-11T08:36:00.000-07:002013-06-11T08:36:13.871-07:00Vagina. Vagina. Vagina. Uterus.That blog title is likely to get me some hits, don't you think?
I come from a long, long line of fiercely independent women. I wouldn't go so far as to call it entirely feminist, since we were "feminists" long before that was an actual thing. On my mother's side, we were frontierswomen, blazing trails and breaking laws as we saw fit. My great-grandmother graduated summa cum laude and was a Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-35874241988542360902013-06-11T07:53:00.002-07:002013-06-11T07:54:12.319-07:00If I click my heels three times...The only downside to going home for a visit is the raging homesickness that I feel for weeks afterward. Sometimes, like after my last visit, it doesn't last terribly long. Other times, it'll take weeks for it to ebb. Methinks this is one of those times where I'll be longing for home long after I've left.
Sweet Lady Gray was thoroughly doused with much love by her extended family. She also got toAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-17805466695803125392013-05-29T01:00:00.000-07:002013-05-29T01:00:01.783-07:00Time Flies When You're Busy Staring at Your BabyI admit it: I'm one of those sappy, stares-at-my-babies kind of moms. Seriously, I make some REALLY good looking kids. It is physically impossible to NOT stare at them. Each one of 'em had/has one of those baby smiles that light up a room and I would and will do anything to see that smile. It just slays me!
My baby girl is officially two months old today. I don't know how that happened. I don't Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-49901210833210731862013-05-27T21:39:00.000-07:002013-05-27T21:39:14.062-07:00I'm still not sure about all the comma rules, so probably shouldn't be lecturing about punctuation.Saturday night I had the pleasure of seeing at least 15 minutes of The Fiancee's nephew in a high school stage production of "Oklahoma." I would've seen more, but The Lady Gray decided that she wanted to voice her opinion about the production, so I excused myself to allow her to rant all she wanted... in the car.
While pacing in the vestibule, waiting for the rest of our group to exit the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-41091452303276429852013-05-01T09:32:00.002-07:002013-05-01T09:33:24.384-07:00I'm the kind of exhausted that parents of a newborn are. Oh wait...The Lady Gray decided to switch her schedule from nights to days, so was up a goodly portion of last night. Not to mention the fact that we're getting some stormy weather around here and, like my middle child, she's a baby barometer, too. Cranky and fussy, she is, and I just feel so badly for her.
She's down for a nap now and I'm hoping that it will last long enough for me to hop in the shower Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-62595310752827443722013-04-29T21:37:00.000-07:002013-04-29T21:37:14.407-07:00Happy Birthday, Lyla-Gray My baby girl is officially one month old today. It seems like yesterday that my teething, smiling, gassy-as-a-trucker, sweet baby graced us with her presence.
She was actually only 20 inches long. I'm short; she didn't have a whole lot of room to work with.
It's hard to be photogenic when you're opened up like a Thanksgiving turkey.
Oh! The indignities of the first minutes of life. I'm Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-35563492278565731592013-04-23T12:30:00.001-07:002013-04-23T12:30:58.033-07:00Almost a MonthThe Lady Gray - aka Fussy McFusspants - is three days shy of being a month old. I've started packing up my maternity clothes and digging out my yoga pants. In just a couple of weeks I will be officially cleared to resume my normal activities. This makes me rather sad, to be honest. Not because I don't long to get back on the mat, but because my baby is growing too quickly. As much as I complain Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-23392232163017587342013-04-15T12:03:00.000-07:002013-04-15T12:03:28.957-07:00Seventeen DaysThat's how old my baby girl is. That's nearly three weeks. It's 408 hours and 24,480 minutes. I dare not count the seconds.
The first week she was here was mostly about recovering and discovering. Recovering from the surgery required to bring this precious life into the world, and discovering how to be a mama to a new little one again.
The second week was learning to navigate parenthood and Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-74867559812396045352013-04-08T12:36:00.001-07:002013-04-08T12:36:48.018-07:00Because I'm taking the high road on Facebook, I'll come to my blog to rantThe Lady Gray is down for her umpteenth nap at the moment, so I have an hour or so of time to myself. I could be cleaning or doing something more productive than sitting on my back porch wishing that it wasn't so damn hot out already, but I have to go and get the trolls soon. Once the trolls get home, it'll be pure craziness round these parts for a bit.
Speaking of the trolls...
One of the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-34782135903176011782013-04-07T18:33:00.000-07:002013-04-07T18:33:00.240-07:00Sweet Lady GrayThe Lylabean is here (or, as I've taken to calling her, Sweet Lady Gray). She came into the world at 9:21 last Friday morning, weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds, 8 ounces! Talk about a weight loss plan; ten pounds right outta the gate!
Tomorrow, The Fiance™ goes back to work. I'm sad about this -- mostly because my hormones are still settling down from birthing the Lady, but also because havingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-44907724018900455032013-03-28T11:00:00.000-07:002013-03-28T11:00:00.734-07:00Just an update about tomorrowTomorrow is the Lima Bean's big debut. She'll be here in the early hours of Good Friday -- also my Grammy's birthday.
Pre-op at 5 AM on the dot. C-Section festivities to begin at 8 AM. Look for pictures on Facebook (or until I learn how to upload them onto this here newfangled laptop).
Wish us luck, health and love!
Namaste!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-2651802401976940172013-03-28T07:55:00.000-07:002013-03-28T07:55:52.513-07:00On God, Same Sex Marriage and the First Amendment In case you're living under a rock and haven't noticed, there's been a ton of HRC activity on Facebook lately. I didn't change my profile picture or anything, mostly because those that know me know that I ardently and avidly support equal rights (and I don't need to change my profile picture to prove it). For a while there, I was also a card carrying member of the ACLU.
Once-upon-a-time, I had aAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-50567056685873156502013-03-26T11:00:00.000-07:002013-03-26T11:00:05.596-07:00Thoughts on shiftingAbout this time last year, I was so action-packed full of Two Year Plans and Other Grand Adventures that I thought absolutely nothing could stand in my way of fulfilling all of my grand ambitions. Little did I know, that my life would be taking a wildly different course than I had planned.
That's the thing about plans: you need backup plans for them.
I spend very little time in my studio these Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-53679831001636666242013-03-24T11:00:00.000-07:002013-03-24T11:00:02.989-07:00I don't have the slightest urge to nest. I started my maternity leave a week early, because I knew I'd be a complete waste a work (a) and (b) I wanted time to clean and get ready for the Lima Bean's impending arrival. But if I'm honest with myself, I think I just wanted time to sit around and put my feet up because, for real y'all, I have absolutely no urge to nest. I'm looking around at the piles of stuff that need to be done *cough*Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-44299279500264413682013-03-22T20:50:00.000-07:002013-03-22T20:50:56.346-07:00Wherein I think I'm in labor, but it might actually just be gas. It's hard to tell this late in the game.Yes. I am at that lovely stage of my pregnancy where every other minute I'm having some sort of twinge that immediately sets me into "AM I IN LABOR?!" mode. The Boyfriend™ has learned to sleep through it at this point, God bless him. See, the thing is I don't know what actual prolonged labor is like. Well... that's not entirely true. I was in full blown labor with The Monkey, but that had a Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8581889500093833102.post-54524697548792737332013-02-09T08:32:00.001-08:002013-02-09T08:32:34.729-08:00In seven weeks... (Thoughts on time flying in a blink)On March 29th, we will be welcoming the latest addition to our family: Lyla-Gray Amber Richling. That is, if I don't go into labor in my own first. These days, I almost hope that I do go into labor before her debut date, because these last few weeks of pregnancy are taking their toll on me. I forgot how hard pregnancy was - or maybe it wasn't this hard before, what with there being ten years Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905531172030943395noreply@blogger.com0