Just Heather

When I jumped back in to this blogging thing, I once again enjoyed the community aspect—reading other blogs, commenting on posts, chatting with fellow bloggers.  I discovered a lot had happened while I was away.  Gone were the useless memes and quizzes (those are all on Facebook now), but the space is now filled with giveaways and contests.

I entered one, mostly because I actually had a comment about the prize, at Gotcha Baby.  The prize was listed as a collection of Hallmark cards for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.  Excellent timing, what with both holidays coming up (okay, so I’m a little behind on posting this), and me being too cheap to buy cards.  Anyway, as the title suggests, I actually won!

2009-05-266I wasn’t really thinking much about it, other than to be thrilled that I didn’t have to traipse through the store with 3 girls and attempt to choose cards for our parents.  Imagine my surprise when the package arrived just a few days later and it was chock full of photo cards, musical cards, recordable cards and a selection of their inexpensive (there’s the stuff!) recycled cards for every day use. I have been officially welcomed back to the world of blogging. Most importantly, I am set on cards for the next couple months.

I was super impressed, even if I am negligent in sending my thanks.  The cards themselves are a lot of fun. There are 4 that are clearly the highlight of the package—2 for Mother’s Day and 2 for Father’s Day.  Both are recordable music cards.  There is a song already in the card plus an opportunity for you to record your own, personal message.  The girls had a lot of fun with that part and I was impressed with how easy they are to use.  I figured the mic would have trouble picking up their voices, but they didn’t even have to be super close to the card for it to work.  In fact, you could conceivably make a recording with all 3 kids buckled into their respective carseats on the way to dinner with the recipient.  Just sayin’.

girlsTwo of the cards were also photo cards.  Unfortunately, it turns out that we don’t have a good, recent picture of all 3 kids.  That is probably in part because one of them is in constant motion.  Lucky for me, my hubby is rather talented.  He threw together a collage of the girls that I like even better than a posed still shot. I think it captures each girl’s personality quite nicely. Each set of grandparents will get a copy (though some have to wait until Father’s Day) and I printed another for us but I’m still not sure what I’m doing with it. I only know that I needed to capture this moment in time, when each girl has her own distinct personality yet somehow still forms a cohesive family unit.

We moved to this city, an hour away from all my friends, nearly 10 years ago. In that time, I’ve made very little progress in making new friends and done a crappy job of keeping up with the old ones. Part of that was being a stay-at-home mom. Where was I supposed to meet people?

When Stacia started school, I thought I’d finally have the opportunity. I met plenty of other moms, but that’s when I realized something—I am was a young mom. Stacia came along in my early 20s. As in, I turned 21 when she was 2 months old. That put me at a disadvantage in the making friends department because there was such a divide between the other moms and me.

Now that Brenia is in school, I have met several moms like me (that’s moms who are like me, not MomsLikeMe, though I’ve met several of them too). There’s a connection between Montessori Moms and natural living that I was not aware of when I researched schools. This has been quite helpful in meeting people who share my interests and lifestyle. Plus, now that I’m an old mom the age gap has been erased.

One of the moms I met was Angie. Angie was smarter than I when she became a mother in a new area and she has what I’ve been craving. She inspired me in ways she could have never known (except she will now!). I set out to find it for myself. I started a Bunko group and invited all the women I kinda, sorta knew from school, Scouts and IndyMoms.

To be honest, we rarely play bunko. Mostly, it’s just a group of women who share cocktails once a month, laugh, share stories and commiserate. Our group is small, but I cling to our monthly girls’ nights like a lifeline. I didn’t realize how much it meant to me until last month, when our regular night fell on Good Friday and we failed at scheduling a new date.

Last Friday night, my friend and I decided to go out anyway. It was exactly what I needed. I wore a little black dress, but not the little black dress (that’s still 40×40“>on my list) and we hit the Indie Lounge theater to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past starring my fictional boyfriend. We thought the movie was hilarious, but were apparently in the minority. Did I mention this theater has a bar? Clearly the other attendees should have taken advantage of the fabulous concession stand.

A chick flick, cocktails and girl time—obviously a new necessity.

Once upon a time, I was a blogger. I journaled my thoughts in a not-so-private diary, shared funny quotes from my kids and posted pictures for the world to see. There was no real purpose to any of it. My hubby started it, really, and I just randomly posted now and then. Before I knew what was happening, I was entrenched in the world of blogging—making connections, meeting friends and enjoying debates. It was a world I had grown to love, and even though I shared much of my life there, it was completely separate from my real world.

Not too much later, I started a business that I loved. It grew, changed and threw me in the public eye. This blog was a place where I could be “Just Heather”, but suddenly I wasn’t just anything. I became that girl on the news. That’s when things started to fall apart for me here. There were things I couldn’t say and subjects I shouldn’t discuss as I was now someone in the public eye.

Enter Facebook. I’ve been a member since the day it was opened to the public, but it’s reserved for people I actually know. My sisters invited me and it seemed like a great way to keep up on their lives. Through Facebook, I found  childhood friends, my college girls with who I had lost touch and reconnected with out-of-state cousins I haven’t seen in years. I could not be a better advocate for Facebook, but it isn’t the same.

Next came Twitter. Oh, how I love Twitter. I may not be as obvious about my Twitter love as some people, but I’m pretty much an addict. I can use Twitter through Facebook and update Facebook through Twitter. That’s where I thought it would end, but I’m finally learning to use Twitter as it was intended. I’m once again making connections, finding friends and enjoying the conversations. I’ve found old-time blog friends, discovered new blogs and realized how much I missed my little blog world.

However, I couldn’t just dive back in to blogging. My business is again growing and changing and I’m still (somewhat) in the public eye. Instead of resisting that concept, I’m ready to roll with it. Instead of trying to find a way to separate the personal and business, I’m learning to connect them. Sure, there are still things I won’t share with everyone, but I think the community and spirit of blogging will be restored anyway.

So, I’ve dusted off the ol’ blogroll, cleared a few cobwebs and redecorated a bit (thanks, babe!). My blog is now officially ready for company, but please call before you stop by my home. I’ve been neglecting it far too long.

I’ve been MIA in the blogging world lately. I may update now and then, but I certainly haven’t stayed on top of it nor have I spent much time with my blogroll. I have, on occasion, checked in with those I feel a more personal connection (even if I am not commenting). I didn’t realize how absent I had been until I dusted off the old blogroll and realized that some are more missing than I. Several blogs are no longer in existence. Some have moved. Some haven’t updated for many months. I updated it a bit last night and rearranged it to be alphabetized. It was previously set to recently updated, but blogroll doesn’t seem to get the memo when people update so that was a little off. I’m hoping with a little more order to it I can stay with it a little more.

It was nice to catch up with some old “friends” this week. People are very busy these days. Pesky has expanded her domestic skills to include lingerie making. Phil and Chris are embarking on a gluten free diet right along with me. Deb is as crazy as ever. Katie loves Girl Scout camping way more than I do. Rachael is living in DC but will be happy to return to small town life, I suspect. Mich is just as entrenched in the toddler years as we are. Ang is just too busy to update her damn blog.

Speaking of updates, here’s the skinny on what I’ve not been writing:

  • My little sister is pregnant and getting married (in that order).
  • I get to spend a kid-free week helping (read: playing with my nephew) since Daddy is military and can’t come home until May.
  • I laugh hysterically every time I think of hubby playing single dad for a week with 3 kids.
  • The gluten free diet goes extremely well and I’m learning to eat lunch, which was admittedly a struggle for me even before I eliminated half my diet.
  • The big two are on spring break at Camp Grandma’s.
  • Lorelai has chosen her free week to become an official toddler. She is into everything and I am exhausted!
  • Cabinet locks rock.
  • Our pediatric dentist clearly didn’t realize how hard it would actually be to remove the pacifier. I’m sure he was exaggerating the necessity.
  • I am 30. That’s all I’ll say about that.
  • I will never, ever chair Girl Scout cookie sales again so long as I live.
  • It’s too cold for soccer to start next week.
  • Webkinz games are addictive. You should all get one for your kids so you can play Dicekinz with me at night while they are sleeping.

So once upon a time, before it was cool, I had a MySpace account. Last night, I signed up for a new one. Hubby mentioned it for some reason, and when I realized he was finding high school classmates I decided to give it a try.

So far I’ve found my junior high/high school best friend, a good friend from college, and an ex-boyfriend. This is so much fun! I’m hoping this will give me the opportunity to reconnect with some people I once held dear. In particular, I am looking for my college best friend, but I haven’t managed to locate him yet.

I uploaded my favorite family picture (the one where I sport the bodacious ta-tas!), but I haven’t filled out the profile. I have exactly 1 friend, and it isn’t Tom. My first friend looks remarkably like my husband. 😉

Here I sit, wallowing in self-pity, doing nothing when suddenly it’s mail time! What normally consists of bills and junkmail, today had the added addition of presents! Well, more accurately a prize. Adelle ran a fun play-along contest for The Today Show’s Hometown Wedding. Somehow I managed to guess nearly every aspect correctly and won. Dell sent me Betty Crocker’s Easy Slow Cooker Dinners from my Amazon wishlist—a gift to warm my heart and soul!

Maybe now my family will be able to eat this week. Cooking isn’t nearly so taxing when you can toss it in a crockpot and walk away. The timing on this one couldn’t be better. The meetings and activities are in full force starting this week. Tonight it is a Brownie Leader meeting. Tomorrow is PTO. Thursday Stacia has church choir, and Friday she’ll go to soccer practice. Somewhere in the middle of all that I have to find time to get well and hit the post office, bank, and grocery store. Cooking would have definitely gone by the wayside this week.

I already found a few recipes I want to try. Pizza Fondue—who wouldn’t love that?— Swiss Steak, Pot Roast, Stroganaff, and Pulled-Pork Fajitas. I’m not one for Mexican-style dishes, but “it’s always fun to pull your own pork.” I’ll have to check the freezer for what’s on hand and put some of these together this week. Not today though. They’re on their own tonight.

I think it should be completely illegal to get sick when you are already pregnant. It’s just plain not fair to have tons of shit to deal with for 9 months straight and still get the nastiest cold ever! I woke up Sunday morning feeling completely clogged and scratchy. Now a fever has replaced my voice. There’s just too much to do for me to be napping all day. Not to mention a toddler who wouldn’t allow it anyway.

I think I am mostly prepared as far as stuff goes. I’ve sure spent a lot of money. Serenity was a big key—and the biggest expense—in going from 2 to 3 children. I least I’m no longer stressing over how to get my baby home from the hospital with her big sisters.

She has no room to come home to, but even if that didn’t get done it wouldn’t be a big deal. It’s not like she’ll really use it at first anyway. I’ll nurse so a cradle right next to me is so much easier than getting up every hour or two and walking across the house. I wanted it done by the end of this month, even though I’m not due for 7 or 8 weeks, to help the girls get used to the transition. Right now the “nursery” is a combination office/storage room/battleground or something like that.

I had hoped to get some work done on it yesterday. And by that I meant I’d sit on the bed and tell him where to put things. Instead I camped out on the couch right after Stacia’s soccer game until someone mentioned dinner. After which, I promptly returned to my horizontal position. We only have 1 soccer game this weekend so maybe something will get done then. In the meantime, I’ll lay around, do nothing, and whine about how nothing is getting done. It seems to be working well for me.

Maybe it will give me some time to surf around and find my Mixmania sender. I received an interesting mix. It fits well with the driving theme considering the name I chose for my new vehicle. It’s all classical and operatic—very serene.

This mix forces me to—once again—admit my musical ineptitude. I don’t know a single song on it. That should make tracking down its originator a bit difficult, though I’m guessing not many people went classical. I’m looking forward to finding the track list. I used to listen solely to classical on study days in college. It was the only way to focus on what I was doing. Lyrics were too distracting and silence only allowed dorm sounds in. In my daily life now, I rarely have cause to focus in the same way so I’ve not listened to much classical since Brenia would only fall asleep to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sendada.

The theme for Mixmania this time around was “Driving” and I chose to take it quite literally. Most of the songs are, in fact, about driving or cars. I have thrown a few personal driving choices into the mix. Also, I sincerely hope I do not offend the recipients delicate sensibilities, as driving brings my potty mouth out in full force. The songs greatly represent the sailor in me. I am hopeful that she was too busy laughing to be offended as the genre tends toward comedy. Here they are, not necessarily in order as I have lost the actual mix (I’ll update it as soon as hubby can point me in the right direction):

  • Adam SandlerOde to My Car
    This was in honor of the ghetto car I was driving at the time. It has since been dumped for my new Serenity.
  • Barenaked LadiesPinch Me
    As much as I truly love my life there are times when I’d love to get in the car and find that perfect time of year somewhere far away from here.
  • EaglesHotel California
    I don’t know. Maybe it struck me as the end destination.
  • Veggie TalesCheeseburger Song
    If Veggie Tales or JoJo’s Circus is not playing in my car, it’s not a real road trip. I figured a song about a drive-thru at least fit the theme.
  • CakeStickshifts and Safety Belts
    Um, self explanatory.
  • Beach BoysFun, Fun, Fun
    Though I never had a T-Bird, my daddy would take my keys away if I had too much fun (and he found out about it). 😉
  • The PlaymatesLittle Nash Rambler
    A Dr. Demento classic. “Beep beep. Beep beep. The horn went beep, beep, beep.”
  • MaxamillionFat Boys
    Busted—this is a carry over from my Summer Mixmania, but as I mentioned then it was our official road trip song so it definitely belongs here too.
  • DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh PrinceParents Just Don’t Understand
    “Drive fast—speed turns me on!”
  • Heywood BanksWiper Blades
    A Bob & Tom classic, and it has me laughing out loud every single time. Probably because it’s so me—I have a bit of a habit of leaving minor details like new wiper blades until after I really need them.
  • Nelly FurtadoI’m Like a Bird
    I guess I’ve got a bit of an escapist theme going on here.
  • PinkGet This Party Started
    I can go for miles, if you know what I mean.
  • The FirmStar Trekkin’
    Another Dr. Demento favorite: “Only going forward cuz we can’t find reverse!”
  • VengaboysVenga Bus
  • Merideth BrooksBitch
    Not at all about driving like the rest. This is just one of those songs that makes me want to roll down the windows, put my foot to the floor, and sing out loud.
  • Todd YohnOrange Barrels
    Perhaps the biggest reason for my on the road potty mouth.
  • Crystal Waters
    Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)

    When I was younger, my sibs and I made up our own little song to the chorus for family road trips—Gotta go pee, gotta go now—which we sang repeatedly until Dad would finally stop and let us go. We had another great song—an original!—about ice cream that got us to the Dairy Queen drive-thru every, single time. It may have had something to do with the fact that not a one of us could carry a tune in a bucket.
  • Queen—Bohemian Rhapsody
    Every time I hear this song, I just can’t help picturing Wayne and crew jamming in the bug. Party on, Wayne. Pary on, Garth.
  • Brak and Freddie Prinze Jr.Highway 40
    I picked a different version than he did because I think this one is much funnier.