Coming soon...more of me, and hopefully less of me too!

I've been bad about updating this week, but I wanted to give you a teaser to some changes coming soon. Because of some opportunities that have come my way, you will find a couple new venues for my writing popping up soon. OK, one isn't really writing, but it is that more public opportunity that has me in the process of possibly "outing" myself in blogland.

What I have not yet decided is if I will keep this blog going, or eventually let it go for another more public blog. I've wondered about that for quite awhile now. But, for now, I will be probably write in both places. So, stay tuned! I am hoping in a few weeks I can introduce you to more of me than I ever have before, as well as tell you about a great opportunity for support for moms in which I'm quite happy to be involved.

Finally, is it just me, or does it only take one episode of The Biggest Loser to completely get sucked in? I watched last week after having boycotted the past few seasons of the "family" style episodes. I'm already hooked again and this week they, of course, voted off someone I liked. The funny thing is, my husband watched tonight and pronounced himself hooked as well. What IS it about that show? And, I wonder if any of you without weight issues find the show annoying or as addictive as those of us who have them? Share your opinion, please--my comment box is really hungry!

I'm also excited because my favorite trainer on the show, Jillian Michaels, is guest posting over at on of my favorite having-fun-while-living-healthy sites, Mizfit, this week too. I just bought her new book and am about to dive into that weight loss program through my doctor's office in November.

Right now, it feels like everything is pointing me in one direction, and that is DOWN (on the scale that is!)

So Giddy and So Lame, All at the Same Time

Why am I so happy today? Well, let me share with you and then we'll shoot to that lame part right away.

First, I'm grinning because I did something I thought I could never do this morning. I got my arse out of bed at 5:45 a.m. and went with a friend to our neighborhood's workout room and worked out. Granted, it was only for like 40 minutes, but this was on a day when I didn't know how I'd fit in a workout in my schedule and I did so anyway. I even did so after not being able to sleep the night before and finally crashing after 1 a.m.!

And, here's the real kicker...I wasn't in a semi-vegetative state by 4 p.m. either! At 4 p.m. today, I was spraying down the back porch in an attempt to control my dog's serious shedding issues (to be discussed in another post sometime) while watching my kids on the slip-n-slide. And, I'd managed to accomplish a lot more in total than I do on a normal day, when I wake up about 7 to 7:30 a.m. Hey, maybe I'm on to something here!

So, why the lame name-calling about it all? Well, that would be because of this--how many people are grown up enough that they do this already without whining, without 10 years of saying I just can't do it, without making a big deal on their blog about it? Dude, they accepted the early morning thing in their mid-twenties and are out there just living the dream, people. Why am I so late in getting in on this? Lame-o number one...

My second bit of giddiness today involves my interviewing my first celebrity for the magazine for which I'm the editor. Back when I took the job, my Editor-in-Chief half-heartedly said, "you should look into what celebrities live in your area. One perk in being the editor is that you can talk to some really cool people." She interviewed Clint Black, for example, and was still buzzing about it a year later.

Well, when I looked up my city, I found a lot of boring businessmen, a few sports stars who are on their way out, and....lo, and behold, one of the hottest young stars on the soap opera that I watched all through my teen and college years. And, now, thanks to DVR magic, I have been reeled into the show again. Oh my! I was ecstatic and gleeful to say the least!

In case you are willing to admit and comment here that you do watch a soap opera, I will say I got to interview "Belle" from Days of Our Lives today. And, I was so nervous and excited about the whole thing. In fact, as I listed back to the tape of the interview as I transposed my notes, I was kind of embarrassed at how transparently dorky I came across.

I know it is lame for me to be that excited. I mean, this isn't some Oscar winning actress or huge movie starlet. But, it was great for me nonetheless. I have never met anyone famous and the height of my celebrity sightings was when we shared a plan with Texans QB David Carr and his entire family this year, just 2 days before the team gave him the boot!

The actress was funny, down-to-earth, and I was able to just have a conversation with her (amid my nervous "ums" and "yeahs" and a thick Texas drawl that seemed to really red flag my rural upbringings today) and find out some neat information. She grew up in our area and it will be fun to write a feature on the "hometown girl who makes it big" kind of thing.

So, another thing...am I lame for DVRing a soap opera at the age of 36? OK, well maybe I am. But, in my defense, DVR lets you fast-forward through the gushy love scenes involving fruit and whipped cream that border on gross. I can whiz right through those stupid plot lines, like the one that involved one of my favorite characters being possessed by the devil a few years back. And, I can watch the whole show in 40 minutes while my toddler naps or right after the kids go to bed at night. And, there's less commercials than Oprah, so there!

So, lame or not, I felt giddy today for my two accomplishments. And, guess what? Tomorrow, I'm getting up early again to work out. And, who knows, maybe I'll get to interview a really big star next. Ooooh--or maybe that actress that got possessed at the very least!

A lame girl's gotta dream, right?

Mother-Talk Blog Book Tour: The Dangerous Book for Boys

A few years ago, I let out a huge rant on this blog about how hard it is these days to be a little boy. With girls, it’s all about princesses, girl power and all sorts of positive messages. My beef was seeing the lack of similar positive messages for boys. When my son was 4 and 5 there were there was nothing really out there that celebrated boyhood in all its glory.

In fact, as the mother of a son, I noticed that the world seemed to really come back with the attitude that boys are just a nuisance. In school, most of the work and school structure seems geared toward little girls’ temperament and working styles, not boys. I've seen many a parent roll their eyes when a pack of little six-year-olds comes biking down their street with Star Wars light sabers in tow. For many years now, there has been nothing that jumped up and shouted, “Hey, it is great to be a tree-climbing, skin-your-knees, collector-of-all-things, rambunctious little boy!”

Fortunately, now there is.

When I took the challenge to write a review of The Dangerous Book for Boys by brothers Conn and Hal Iggulden, I got the last spot in Mother-Talk’s 20-blog book tour, I really was not sure what I was in for in reading this unique book. What I learned was that The Dangerous Book for Boys not only embraces all things boy, but it holds these things up and waves them about, celebrating the very essence of male youth.

Have you ever wondered why your little boy is fixated on paper airplanes, pocket knives, and go carts? Maybe sometimes you find yourself baffled as to why your husband can’t turn off the World Series of Poker late at night? If these questions run through your head often, The Dangerous Book for Boys might just hit you over the head with the answer: boys (and men) are an entirely different species from girls.

When the package arrived, I opened it to find a sizable book cloaked in a gorgeous red cloth cover that was reminiscent of an old storybook opening up at the beginning of one of my favorite fairy tales. I’ll admit the book seemed intimidating at first—288 pages of dangerous things for boys to do? Were there really that many?

What I discovered in going through the book was that The Dangerous Book for Boys was really not so dangerous at all. But, it was amazingly interesting…even for a grown-up girl!

Each section of the book features an activity (building the best paper boat, how to play marbles, etc), an interesting story from history (The Wright Brothers, Robert the Bruce), or fun answers to the questions all kids have (Why is the sky blue? How far away are the stars?) Peppered in the diverse collection of information are little gems such as the section simply titled, “Girls,” with advice to the boys on how best to make nice with the opposite sex. There are even basic grammar lessons throughout, which of course delighted the writer in me!

But, if a review from a crazy old MomCat is not enough for you, perhaps you’d like to know how the book went over with the two males in my household? First, I asked my husband, a programmer type who only enjoys reading computer manuals or anything sports related, to give the book a gander and tell me what things interested him. I soon got back a huge list of sections from the book with stars next to several lines as must-read sections. The man who rolls his eyes at even John Grisham, actually said he’d like read this book!

My 7-year-old son then took his turn, as I asked him to make his list. Almost instantly he'd listed off 26 sections of interest to him and wanted to start making secret codes and writing in invisible ink immediately.

The thing I love most about this book is that I don’t see it gathering dust on our bookshelves for many years to come. The various experiments in the book all range in complexity. The stories are well-written enough to read aloud to your child, but later they can enjoy reading them on their own. This book will GROW with my son and I even plan to buy it for my 13-year-old nephew who loves the history of war and will eat up the chapters on that in this book.

Whether you have a wild and woolly boy, a giggling girl or two, or only grown ups in your house, The Dangerous Book for Boys reminds us all how very important it is to take a walk on the wild side of fun every now and then, and not be afraid to ask the whys of life. Now that’s something that even this MomCat can appreciate!

Another quickie...

Get your mind out of the gutter when you read this post's title! Shame on you!

Well, it is official. Not only did my last post establish that I'm about as wishy-washy as they come, but in the next few days I will become a magazine editor! After talking it through and discussing the job with another editor at a similar magazine, I decided that I could handle the workload with my current part-time work and not sacrifice my "mommy time." It is hard to believe that I've had two great opportunities fall in my lap over the past few months, and I'm glad I'm going to try to do both of them. Yes, I have said my prayers of thankfulness a lot lately.

Under the category of "cute things that your kids say"...

My son found a new pencil in the grocery store parking lot next to our car. There was nothing special about this standard yellow number 2. However, he quickly picked it up and got in the car.

After analyzing it meticulously, he then informed me that he was actully collecting pencils so this was quite a lucky day for him. He then qualified that, saying it was not just any pencils.
No, he was only interested in the pencils that were "made in China." When I asked him why, he said, "Because I LIKE China, Mom" as if it was the most stupid question I could have ever asked him. Then, he quickly added, "And, next week I'm going to collect some from New England."

Girl, you must be up outcha mind...

I think I have lost my mind completely. I just attempted to turn down an offer to be the editor of a local magazine, even after the editor-in-chief had assured me it was an ideal type of job for a stay-at-home mom.

Am I nuts?

With my other contracting work and commitments, I just worry that I will not have any free time and I will stay up every night until the wee hours to get the work done.

And, then I think about the job itself and how it is exactly what I wanted for myself once my daughter goes to school in a couple of years and I start kicking myself for not immediately accepting the offer.

The Editor-in-Chief was shocked and did not expect me to turn it down. I waffled. I told her I'd like to talk to another editor for a second magazine she is over to find out the weekly time commitment. Then, she started waffling one me, obviously questioning my flakiness about the whole thing.

Dang.

Now, if it DOES work out, my credibility with her is under question and she won't be as enthusiastic about me as she was. If it does NOT work out, I will constantly wonder if I made the wrong decision.

That's it. Something is wrong with me.

ARGH!

What in the BLOODY HELL...

Perhaps 2 hours of American Idol tonight was too much, but the only title I could think of to sum up my feelings right now comes straight from Cowell's mouth:

"What in the BLOODY HELL was that?"

Yes, I think I'd like to throw on a snug black t-shirt and sport a cocky Brit-attitude and drop by the editor's office for the magazine in which I was just published and give a little piece of my mind.

What's that you say? Did you want to see my article? Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not showing it now.

Why?

BECAUSE THEY FREAKING SCREWED IT UP.

Don't misunderstand. I am not a writer who can't stand to be edited. On the contrary, as someone who loves to edit work, I appreciate a good edit of my own stuff. Tighten 'er up, make her flow more nicely, and fix any problems you see. Go ahead, be my guest!

But, don't introduce a SPELLING ERROR in the first paragraph of the story. Yes, they changed the word "treats" to "treates." Hello? Is this a professional magazine or middle-school newsletter 101 where they forget to run spell check? @#$@#!!!!

If that's not bad enough, The editor (who incidentally was fired after this issue, and I think I know why now), chose to rework my first paragraph. That's fine, because I thought it might be a little too descriptive and wordy. But, when she did, she mistakenly copied the same phrase about three times over in the course of a couple of sentences. It looks like a straight copy-and-paste error that would have been caught had anyone actually read the blueline/final copy going to the printers.

It does not help that the chief editor (over the chain of area magazines) emailed the writers saying she is looking for a new editor and would any of us be interested in being considered. Because, in cases like this I tend to get really irritated and arrogant and say, "Oh what the heck! I can't do a worse job, can I?" Then, I prompty throw myself at the work and then regret it later.

This suckety, suckety, sucketh, people! I wanted to use this article to show I've been published in a print magazine too. The magazine is laid out quite nicely and has a nice professional look about it. But, I'd be a fool to show anyone this article. Now, I'm hoping my neighbors don't see it at all.

The worst part--my two kids pictures are all over the article and they look adorable. How amazing would it have been to have been able to show off that article to family friends and stuff. Now, I will be hiding it and trying to not go postal every time I see it.

Does the world really know how valuable an editors' eyes are in our society? Forget knowing a great lawyer, surgeon or an honest mechanic. I've learned the truth--you've gotta' have a good editor in your corner at all times! Bloody hell, indeed...

It's a nevermind before you even read it....

Did you ever get incredibly flattered by an invitation to write on a hot new thinking moms kind of group blog?

Did you ever post a few posts and feel OK about it--that you were actually holding your own? Did you start to relax and feel comfortable with that?

Did you ever look at the calendar and realize that in two days you are supposed to post another something amazing...something timely, politically astute, researched, interesting and well-put?

Did you ever think that maybe it was because you watched Wedding Crashers (again) just moments before and that perhaps every intelligent kilobyte of your brain was simultaneously erased when you snorted out loud at the part where Vince Vaughn gets tied down and attacked and then later jumped by the brooding gay younger brother and somehow talks his way out of a second sexual advance?

You didn't?

Oh, OK...nevermind...

In case you're interested...(UPDATED)

I'm digging my claws in on another site today, over at The Soccer Mom Vote. Drop on by if you'd like to read something both politically and religiously-charged--something I usually try to avoid talking about on this blog! Read the entry before mine as well, to hear from my old pal Tamara who is also a participating soccer mom!

Also, for the always fun and entertaining Babaloo who tagged me, a quick Christmas Meme response to my top five favorite holiday songs:

1. Burl Ives - Holly Jolly Christmas
Something about his voice and this song, just makes me instantly happy when I hear it. I just watched Rudolph with my kids today and we drove around singing to my Christmas CD and I sang it both times!

2. Do You Hear What I Hear - Vanessa Williams
I have a great Vanessa Williams (yes, the now actress/formerly dethroned Miss America) holiday CD that has the most gorgeous rendition of this song. I haven't liked many other versions I've heard near as much as hers. It has a gospel choir in the background. Awesome!

3. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
This is my favorite holiday song from my childhood. Also, I use the words of it often in gentle "threats" to my kids to check their behavior in the weeks before Christmas!

4. Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer
Babaloo's 4th pick is mine too! I think this one makes me laugh most of all because years ago my own Grandmother heard this song and loved it so much she gave it to me on cassette one Christmas. I still remember her laughing as she played it for me.

5. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
This one has special meaning for me related to my Grandmother as well, and I'd intended to blog about this. So many Christmas songs remind me of her because it was her most treasured holiday and time with our family. She loved this song and it had the sort of "boogie beat" to it that she always worked into songs she played on the piano. I can still picture her dancing around in her slippers with me as a kid as we sang along.

I'll tag my "Cat Pack" kimosabes on this one, if they feel like answering. If they are anti-meme, then they can blow it off. So, that means you: Just Babs, Jessie's Girl , Land of Tamara , Blogcharya, and Thee Andrew!

And, check back in soon for a special Christmas card from one of my "litter!"