Jan. 10 - an the novelty has worn OFF!

I always find myself extra bummed starting about this time of year.  The glow of the holidays has slipped back into the closets and boxes where the magic is hidden, it's kinda cold (okay at least a tiny bit wintry feeling here), you've got no money 'cause you blew it all on Christmas.  I find myself struggling the past couple of days to stay on task and get ANYTHING done.  I've been vaguely productive this morning but it could be a lost cause any moment.

I like lists.  I'm a list-maker.  I am NOT a list-follower, but I can make lists to the end of time.  Today needs to be a list day.  It's early pickup for two of the kids and for the moment I have a raging headache.  Didn't give them the happiest of send-offs to school this morning (my fault, not theirs).

Hardly a rant eh?  More of a babble.  Getting some tea and some ibuprofen.  Perhaps my afternoon will look better.

Hope YOU have a productive day and thanks for stopping by.

Jan. 9 - I did NOT sign up for this

This past weekend was by far, among my biggest parenting challenges yet. Two of our daughters tried out for the school musical, one got a spot in the ensemble (read chorus) and the other the part of narrarator. The "other" one had tried out for the female lead and didn't get it. I will be straight up, she absolutely should have gotten it, hands down was the better choice. While I'm very sad for her that her little spirit was crushed, I also firmly believe rejection is great for you no matter how much it hurts. I didn't expect it to be so heart-crushing for me to watch my little sparrow's wings clipped. I also wasn't prepared for all the frickin' drama connected to it. The insane roller coaster of emotions the weekend required. Tried food, ice skating AND shopping to salve the wound. Yeah, as you can imagine, didn't quite cut it. Tried lots of sage advice, etc., wasn't effective enough as it was coming from ME. This part of parenting, really, really bites. I did not sign up for THIS!

On a much happier note, I started playing Words with Friends today - fun, addicting, and distracting, two of those three things I did NOT need in my life. :) I also downloaded (paid $5 for) a Louis C.K. special and it was FANTASTIC! Thanks Louis for making me REALLY laugh.

Hope your day is more productive than mine was and thanks for stopping by!!

Jan. 7 - I didn't MEAN to miss another day

I wanted the laptop, it had been confiscated by others. I was in bed hoping it would be relinquished before I feel asleep; that did not happen. At some point I'm going to have to formally change my blog challenge since I cannot boast writing every day for 365 days, maybe I can shoot for 365 entries? Double-post on some days?

Saw Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows on Thurs. I snuck away to an early matinee show with my husband. It felt so decadent to do that! The bonus of our adventure, it was a GREAT movie! I would see it again in a heartbeat. I have my own personal movie rating system as I'm sure many of you do as well. I decide if it's: go see AT the theater full price, go see when it goes to the cheap theater, wait for DVD or don't bother. This one for me was a go see at full-price frequently! I cannot wait until it is on DVD and I can watch the first one and the second one back-to-back; and no surprise, it appears there will be a third - yippee!

One of the main reasons I loved the first movie and this one, Robert Downey Jr. I have been a fan of his since the beginning and have loved him through all his trials and tribulations. I think he is one of the best actors of my generation. I didn't want to see Iron Man, but once I saw part of the first one realized, I needed to watch them because he was in them. I also happen to adore Jude Law (fell in love with him in the movie Holiday) and they are SUCH a great match in these SH movies. Robert's actually here in Palm Springs this weekend for the opening of the film festival. I should go celeb-watching. :)

Hope you have the weekend you need and thanks for stopping by.

Jan. 5th - "I didn't expect there to be so much listening"

I don't watch Jimmy Kimmel and I think he's so-so funny (he's probably funnier than I give him credit for....if I actually watched his show) but I did catch his "tell-your-kids-you-ate-all-their-Halloween-candy-videotape-it-and-put-it-on-youtube" challenge this past Halloween.  It was hysterical, and mean, but still hysterical.  If you haven't seen it, it's worth the time, but if you only want to watch a little bit, check out these two adorable boys....they are precious.  I am digressing however, as I'm wont to do.  In his opening monologue the night he aired the video montage of what people sent in, he said "I didn't expect there to be so much crying!"; this is exactly how I feel with my teen and preteen daughter starting about 4-5 mos. ago.  Dear Lord, as we move deeper into middle school and with high school looming on the very near horizon for one....the "me-listening-more-talking-less" requirement has increased a thousand-fold!!!  Wow, and I only anticipate that in order to make it through to 12th grade for all three girls, I will eventually have to have my mouth duct-taped (so I can just listen) and my eyes duct-taped so the eye-rolling doesn't interfere with the listening. 

Luckily, I've always been a good listener and I'm guessing a hit-or-miss advice-giver.  I've had hundreds of friends who've gone before my girls for me to listen to and advise (like all women, right?).  What I hadn't anticipated is that my girls aren't really interested in my advice; in fact they seem to completely ignore it or do the exact opposite of what I suggest.  My years of trying, failing, falling, getting up, winning, losing, etc. seem to be of exactly zero interest to them.  I try to dig up stories from my life before children as examples to show I can sympathize/empathize, and they are like "yeah, so anyway....".

This is gonna be a LONG haul.  I'm gonna need a lot valium and wine.

Hope you have the best night's sleep/morning's start and thanks for stopping by!!!

Jan 4 - that's right, I SKIPPED a day already....

For my friend G, who is ALWAYS ready to hold my feet to the flame, I need to state for the record, so as not to mislead anyone:  the only purpose of THIS blog is to just see if I can write every single day for a year.  Considering we are four days in and I've already missed a day, the answer is obviously, no.  BUT, I'm not ready to give up of course....I've learned a valuable lesson.  I need to write these blog entries in the morning.  If I wait until evening, everything else pours into the tiny space left and washes any plans right out of my brain.  Thought about it last night around 9:15...."gotta do an entry then go to bed".  Remembered I didn't do it, when I woke up at 4:18 this morning.

I like giving myself challenges or I get bored quickly.  I haven't challenged myself on anything for a long time.  Perhaps the past year of eating better and losing some weight, but I missed my one year goal by so much, it almost seems not to count.

On to my rant for today...I'm pondering the news of the ex-military guy who killed the park ranger at Mt. Ranier.  My immediate thought was, how many events similar to this have to happen before anything REAL is done to help these men and women when they return home from these wars.  I cannot even imagine what these soldiers see/do/hear when they are deployed.  I cannot fathom how it is to try to make some semblance of having a "normal" life back here at home ever again.  Now, I really don't know WHAT our military does to support these folks, and maybe it IS a lot?  But is that any comfort when it's someone you love or know that is hurt because a returning vet isn't getting ALL the support he/she needs?  Is the bigger question - why don't we do what we need to to truly take care of ourselves?  Ask for the support we need rather than wait for someone else to figure out we need help?  I only know, I really, really feel for these returning military personnel and their families and friends.  It cannot be easy.

May your day offer you some peace and thanks for stopping by!

Jan. 2 - high hopes, but I got nothin'

I had high hopes this morning for something cool and inspiring to write, but I've got nothin'. Spent the day with my sweet family that I enjoy so much. Sheet music for the two older girls' who are auditioning this week, a whole rant on the musical director another day. A nice day at the park, up to 82 degrees today here in the desert, very odd to have it be this warm and gorgeous in early JANUARY!!! I ust admit, I appreciated the gorgeousness of the day.

The best I can come up with for ranting today...moronic drivers. Now, I could go on for days on end about the antics of moronic drivers, but today I will just focus on the one observation that stood out. I encountered a red PT Cruiser weaving in and out of traffic in a 50 mph zone. I will totally give him/her points though, for using his/her turn signal while doing it. When I see this behavior, I always wonder WHERE are the going in such a weaving hurry? I honestly try very hard to be a good driver and am extremely conscientious and follow all traffic rules etc. The amount of idiocy I encounter on the roadways astounds me. I've always had a theory that starting the day after Thanksgiving, you can go to the DMV and get a candy cane sticker for your license which entitles you to drive like an absolute idiot without recourse until Jan. 1st; sadly, some people seem to possess these stickers year round. I know this seems a little high and mighty and I don't care.

Don't worry, we'll revisit this. School resumes tomorrow and the other parent drivers in the school parking lot make me almost suicidal. Thank goodness for "Xploding Boxes".

May your day be better thank you hoped and thanks for stopping by!!

Day 1 - what the heck does irtia mean?

Obviously, it's an abbreviated version of "I rant, therefore I am". When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I was co-teaching a class and sharing a classroom with a woman who became a very good friend. Mind you this was before I'd actually given birth, given birth again 15 mos. later and therefore my pre-Prozac, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Paxil days. I would come into our classroom every morning, slam the door and proceed to scream the word "fuck" and then rattle off the driving offenses etc. that I'd encountered on my way to work. This went on for a while. Finally, one morning, I came into my room to find a little cartoonish character with the phrase, "I rant, therefore I am" stapled onto the bulletin board next to my desk. Needless to say, I fell in love with my friend all over again. I left that up for the rest of my years of teaching. I've never forgotten it.

I decided last week to try to challenge myself to creating a new blog with a plan to blog every single day for 2012 just to see if I can pull it off. The title, came easily. Ranting is something I do best. I can only say, to give you some hope as you read...as I've gotten a little older, I'm only 43, I at least try to find some meaning, a lesson, or a nugget that is to lead me to gratitude in my rants, but goodness...the ranting at least beats the alternative....my doing bodily harm to my real (and probably occassionally imagined) offenders!

Happy new year...as I've said on my FB page and in texts today, may 2012 bring you what you need, and THEN what you want!

May your day be better than you hoped and thanks for stopping by!