The novel isn’t officially done, but I’m close. The point is, I wrote 50,033 words of what could possibly be total crap, but I did it in 29 days. And I’m really excited.
Perhaps I’ll blog again now.
[...]edited by: paul_h,
Richmond Editor
The novel isn’t officially done, but I’m close. The point is, I wrote 50,033 words of what could possibly be total crap, but I did it in 29 days. And I’m really excited.
Perhaps I’ll blog again now.
[...]
If anyone needed proof of my immaturity, this should take care of it.
I was out to diner at a local Thai place this weekend, and happened to notice this on the menu:
God, I’m 14.
I laughed so hard my stomach was hurting and I couldn’t breathe. [...]
My “baby” is 7 today. Everything I have to say is very cliche, so I’ll spare you all the details. She had a great birthday; her 1st grade teacher broke the rules and allowed me to send in some brownies to the classroom. School really takes all the fun out [...]
Nothing lights a fire under your butt like a signed lease on an apartment you can’t afford unless you are gainfully employed.
I’ve been job searching earnestly for about a month now. Me and 400,000 other people. Marketing jobs are notoriously hard to come by. Add this crap economy into [...]
I’ve been enjoying Helena’s gratitude posts and was thinking I should probably do the same, but I’ve been too busy. I’m in a phase in my life where there is no fiction on my bedside table; it’s all self-help books and psychology. Between reading about marital issues and bipolar stuff, [...]
Lots of people on the intertwits have asked me what Fireside Wine Chat is, or as the evenings progress, Wirecat Sine Fat. I decided to take some pictures this past Tuesday and what ensues is a taste. It’s basically my living room, a group of people who met on twitter, [...]
I’m not wasting any time writing about Charlotte until I’m home but here’s a link to the few pictures I took. I forgot my camera and had to use Susan’s “back up” crappy camera, since she dropped her good one in the Catawba River. Excuse the blurriness. I got to [...]
Finally - pictures from Halloween. Apparently I had the wrong setting selected on my camera, so the pictures are not the greatest, but you will get a general idea of the cuteness. Warning - if you don’t like pictures of dogs dressed in costume (I’m looking at you, @shedrivesajimmy), you [...]
I like to communicate. Up until my marriage started to fall apart, I used to pride myself on being a good communicator. I could talk to anyone, at any level - from CEOs to farmers to random people in line at the grocery store. I love talking, listening, hearing people’s [...]
I recently had the pleasure of meeting, live and in person, the infamous and city-renowned Kate Hall from Richmond Mom. If you use twitter, you can also follow her @richmondmom. Her tweets often make me spew water out of my nose or snort loudly in public, both [...]
As I write this, I can hear things being kicked and thrown upstairs. Every once in a while, I’ll hear an ear-piercing scream followed by a stomp. Arden’s upstairs, making her face bright red and freaking out in general. Everyone always wants to know what sets her off, so here [...]
I’ve met some great people through Richmond’s Twitter “scene” (if you can call it that). One of them is the unofficial mayor of Short Pump, Trevor Dickerson. If you don’t follow Trevor on Twitter, he’s @trevordickerson. Though he tweets VERY frequently (but never about his bathroom habits, thank god), they’re [...]
It’s 1992, and I’m insanely smart - or at least I think I am. My boyfriend thinks I’m smart too and spends hours discussing literature and theory with me, editing and scribbling all over both my school papers and my fiction. He loves his red pen and it doesn’t surprise [...]
What can I say other than this: the weekends are hard. The weeks are crammed full of activity and keep me hopping from one distraction to the next. Last night I was so in my head I actually had to hit the Xanax to sleep. First time since I’ve been [...]
I’ll be honest: the fashions this year drives me a little crazy. The tight, camel-toe inducing high-waisted acid-wash jeans. The double or triple belt look originally made famous by Madonna. The giant, bug-eyed sunglasses. The big flannel t-shirts and your boyfriend’s sweaters. All of them immediately make me smell our [...]
Arden’s 5th birthday was fairly low-key this year, which is mostly my fault for going crazy at the end of last month, which put me behind in scheduling the big 5 year extravanganza my brain wanted me to. Turns out it was probably for the best. Arden really wanted to [...]
Jack picks me up after 9. [...]
Last night, I tweeted this status:
I was on the phone with an old friend, and I hadn’t actually spoken to him - live and in person - for probably 18 years. We got in touch with each other about a year ago through the miracle that [...]
Five years of Arden, the ultimate Daddy’s Girl. Click link below for a sappy slideshow of life with Arden.
My sister had some good advice, which was to avoid labels. She’s had plenty of experience with labels in her life, and has eschewed them for the most part (yay! I finally got to use the word “eschewed” in a sentence!).
Since I heard the dreaded “B” word, I’ve fluctuated between [...]
Tonight a friend took me out for dinner at the relatively new Water Grill that opened where Karsen’s used to be. It was a beautiful fall night, and we were able to snag a table outside.
Food critic I am not, but I had a fabulous dinner. [...]
I’m reading a book my therapist recommended. It’s by Lynette Triere with Richard Peacock and it’s called “Learning to Leave”. It sounds more negative than it really is - it’s really an explanation of what women go through during a separation, divorce or reconciliation. These two paragraphs really struck a [...]
(By the way, it took an extreme amount of maturity not to make a bowel movement joke in the title of this post. *golf claps*)
Today has been a full day of questions I can’t really answer and a lot of introspection. First, Mike and I had our initial marriage counseling [...]
It’s already 10.15pm and my eye is twitching. It does that when I’m either nervous or tired. In this case I was a little of both, but thankfully my twitch went away when I was actually speaking.
According to @trevordickerson, 17 people showed up tonight, and I was personally very [...]
I remember playing with my friend Amy. She had a Ken doll; I did not. We spent hours making houses out of shoeboxes and cardboard so that Ken and Barbie could live in sin (we would always forget to have their wedding first). I was fascinated by all the stuff [...]
Apparently I’ve missed all the tweeting about this video. Still enjoyed it, and it reminded me of all the things I love about this crazy city I call home.
[...]I’ve always heard “Bad things happen in threes.” If this is the case, I’m home free, baby, because I have paid my dues. If it’s not the case, please don’t enlighten me. Positive thinking breeds positive results.
Thanks for all of you who commented, emailed, DM’d me through Twitter and [...]
Hey, internets. I’ve missed you. Being without any kind of connection to this part of my life was difficult, to say the least. I did a ton of writing while I was on “vacation” but I had to do it by hand. Man, has my handwriting deteriorated. I could barely [...]
I was sitting on Laura’s couch this morning, narrowly holding it together. I was really just waiting for her to leave so I could cry my eyes out (I’m an ugly cryer - a lot of sobbing and moaning and gasping, so I like to do it privately). I think [...]
Tonight, we kicked off the first formal meeting of the world-famous Write Club RVA. The hashtag has changed yet again - it’s the title of this post. I’m tired and going through personal hell, so forgive me if I screw it up occasionally. Some high points:
1. We decided to meet [...]
EDITED TO ADD: hashtag change. Use #rvawriteclub.
For those writers in #RVA (Richmond), I’m starting a writing group that will potentially meet 1-2 times per month or as often as we can all squeeze it in. @Jason Kenney wanted to call it “Write Club”, which immediately brings to mind a [...]
Thanks to everyone who delurked or sent me emails or texts after reading my post, especially my extended family (Sally and Aunt Paula and Anja, I’m looking at you). It was more helpful than you can imagine to have support from all corners of the world.
Although I probably freaked [...]
First, the good news and the easy news. I’m down 31 pounds - broke my first MAJOR milestone. I’d like to lose another 15, but at least I can live with myself now. I also got a haircut today. I desperately needed one - it’s been since June.
Second, the [...]
I spent some time last night at Refresh Richmond. You can read all about what RR is by clicking the link. I’ve wanted to go to the meetings for a while, but now that I am trying to get some freelance writing/marketing work, I have to get [...]
That’s all this blog is going to be about for now. I hope you like rainbows, because you’re going to be seeing a lot of them.
By the way, I wanted to find a cool geeky image of a rainbow. Instead I found this one. Hopefully you find it as [...]
I was supposed to actually read the manual on my camera this weekend, more than a year after I bought it. After I absorbed all the pertinent details, I was going to attempt to take pictures without the automatic settings. I ended up saying “meh” to that idea and instead [...]
As per usual, a bunch of #hashbrownnetworkers and twitter geeks descended on Richmond’s Canal Club to support our very own local burlesque show, Richmond Varietease. I must say Miss Magnolia was in rare form last night (not that she isn’t always in rare form). Some highlights of the evening:
1. [...]
My first foray into therapy was way back in 1990/1991. I was at University of Michigan, surrounded by people with PhDs and professional certifications and Birkenstocks. It seemed natural, almost compulsory, that I end up in therapy while living in Ann Arbor. I was taking a class on Freudian-inspired literature. [...]
It’s 7.30 am and already one of my kids is off to school. Arden’s preschool doesn’t begin until next week (curse you, Y!), but Lily officially became a first grader when she yawned and told me she wanted to stay asleep this morning. The great thing about having a first [...]
Scene: Checking out at WalMart, stuck behind a caravan of friends with 4 kids between them.
Girl #1: Check out my new tattoo, Bobby. Just got it two weeks ago. (lifts tank top above her bra, points to stomach)
Boy #1: Wow, sweet! Is it finished?
Girl #1: No, not yet. The [...]
My sister-in-law threw a little shindig to celebrate the end of summer at her house on Saturday. I’m like those giddy office supply commercials where the men/women skip around singing, “It’s the most WONDERFUL time. . . of the year!” as their children cringe and shoot them dirty looks. Yay [...]
My online support group does weigh-ins on Friday. The past few weeks on WW have been hard. I’ve been tired, hungry, and slightly demotivated. I hit a plateau in my workouts and couldn’t push through them and my schedule has been all screwed up with the girls being out of [...]
For those not in the know, Odontophobia is fear of teeth or dental surgeries/procedures. I’m not really afraid of the dentist, but I’m generally afraid of teeth and all the things that go with them (bad breath, yellowness, cavities, stuff stuck in them).
Here’s the deal. I loved the dental [...]
Lately I’ve been brewing up a cup o’ chai tea (instead of paying $4 for it at Starbucks) and using the time to think about what’s going on. As nap mat season winds down, and so does my patience, I’m fnding those few moments of downtime per day very necessary. [...]
The other day, I went to my other least favorite grocery store (Walmart is still in the number one position). Food Lion, my neighborhood food store - or so they say. We’ve called it the Food Poodle forever because the lion looks more like a . . . .well, you [...]
It should not be surprising, after numerous adoptions, how much a dog can cost. I know some people are super lucky and end up with the perfect dog who sighs with relief at finally being off the streets and doesn’t spend any time getting sick or eating furniture. I’ve never [...]
I don’t blog for a week, then I blog twice in one day. I’m sending my camera in for repair, since Thora knocked it off the counter and the flash no longer works. In order to prepare for a camera-less couple of weeks, I’m posting the latest batch of pictures:
#flickr_badge_source_txt [...]
I just had a meeting. A business meeting with people that loaned me money. It was the kind of meeting that requires heels, showering, and an attempt at makeup. It is the kind of meeting that happens once a year, without fail, and where you discuss the kinds of things [...]
I’m too cheap to pay for wireless while I sit here in Chicago, waiting for my connecting flight to Richmond. Speaking of wireless, I’ve gotten used to it being free at RIC – so I am always a combination of surprised/annoyed when the majority of airports want you to pay [...]
I have many stories to tell, but no time. Pictures first.
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I’m getting ready to head out tomorrow. I pulled some pictures off the camera so I’d have plenty of space for the upcoming photo extravaganza. I’ve been so overwhelmed this week with work,Lily’s walking pneumonia, Thora and appointments that I forgot to post pictures of the jack-o-lantern known as Lily. [...]
On Thursday morning, I will be at the RIC airport at 5 AM. Aside from the grossness of that hour, I will be heading to Chicago and then onto my final destination (which will hopefully be nothing like the movie), Traverse City, Michigan.
Years later - should I tell you how [...]
Today is my weigh-in day. I lost 2.5 pounds this week. However, last week I GAINED a pound. I got a stern message from Weight Watchers telling me I’m losing too much weight too quickly, and I need to slow down. I just think it’s funny that it doesn’t humiliate [...]
We had our first Thora incident yesterday. Apparently she doesn’t like her crate. I think HATE would be a better term. We left to go to the pool after getting her in her crate. When I returned home, she greeted me at the door. The downstairs door. Her crate is [...]
It’s been 5 days since Delilah went to the great gazebo in the sky (shout out to Mike’s mom for coining the phrase!). Today was one of the harder days. I was mopey and hurting and missing Delilah somethin’ fierce, as they say in the south. I suggested heading down [...]
Bear with me. It’s the last post.
I’m doing better today. Yesterday was, well, total crap. I didn’t expect it to be different. However, I didn’t expect that watching Mike be so upset would be the difficult part.
I absolutely loved how the vet handled it. They have a private [...]
We had Mike’s sister’s kids over on Saturday night for Cheeburger Cheeburger, bowling, and a slumber party. It was a cousin-fest! The high point was watching Matt attempt to eat the “Pounder” at Cheeburger. He didn’t, but that was good, because puking would have been in his immediate future if [...]
I want to blog about today, but I just can’t. Delilah passed away around 3.15 this afternoon. Oddly enough, when the vet listened to her heart, I kept expecting her to call out “Time of death . . . 3.15 pm” a la Grey’s Anatomy or ER. She didn’t. I [...]
Dear Delilah,
I know that for the last few years, all you’ve heard is “Delilah, MOVE” or “Delilah, you stink!” or, “Delilah, stop snoring!” I also know that ever since your beloved sisters were born, you’ve been last place in the pecking order. It must have been hard, going from “Top [...]
If you needed yet another reason why I should not be Mother of the Year: Arden kept telling me on Wednesday that her stomach hurt. She said her head hurt, too. I am mother to two hypochondriacs - especially when taking them with me to the Y for my workout. [...]
*warning - serious post ahead. if you feel like laughing or reading some light-hearted parenting stories, keep moving along, people. nothing here to see.*
It’s been a weird day for me. About an hour ago, I was on top of the world. Right now, I feel like I’m 50 feet below [...]
On the days when I think my kids are really badly behaved, all I need to do is go to our neighborhood pool for a little dose of reality. Inevitably at least one child (normally barely able to swim, I might add) is left unattended in the pool. That same [...]
Last night I eschewed (word the day!) motherhood and suburbia - just for a few hours. A few RVA bloggers I read were meeting up at Bottom’s Up for pizza before the Varitease Burlesque show at the Canal Club. One of the blogger’s girlfriends runs the troupe [...]
Okay, first of all, who came up with “Angus Pounder” as a name of something you eat??? Did no one in the marketing department realize that “Angus” is awfully close - like one letter close - to “Anus”? And must we call it a “Pounder”?
I cannot [...]
Just wanted to say congratulations to my favorite people in Hong Kong (okay, they’re the only people I know there): Cathy and Mark welcomed a new baby on the 7th, and Noah officially is a big brother! Mark said Arturo Julian was born at 3.39 am and weighed in at [...]
Congratulations to Tim and Sara. I’m getting over my shock that Alton was born three weeks earlier, and that I had to find out about it through the grapevine (this is what happens when I’m not on Facebook for three days straight). Apparently he was born on July 4 and [...]
It was a busy day today. It started when I forgot I had lined up the fabulous Mercedes to babysit for Lily (summer camp is closed today and tomorrow). She sat in my driveway for an hour while I ran errands with Lily. Ooops. This afternoon, I took my neighbor’s [...]
I am SO far behind in blogging. Between not having my car and a lot of things happening last week, I never got around to downloading pictures from Lily’s swim meet and our trip to Yorktown to celebrate Mia’s 2nd birthday. Here they are! Make sure you click on “show [...]
Part II in my wildly successful series on social media things that annoy Cristina. Keep in mind that these are my opinions, and like you know what, everyone has one.
1. Adding “Tw” to every word. Tweet Up. Tweeters. Tweminars. Kill me now. People who twitter are annoying enough to [...]
Hey, guess what? I’m kind of a perfectionist. It’s a theme that has followed me throughout the years. No matter how good I was at something, it wasn’t good enough. Even being really good at starving or withholding food wasn’t enough. Someone was always doing it better than me. One [...]
I briefly mentioned yesterday that there are certain “bloggy” behaviors that drive me nuts. I thought I’d make a little list for those of you who are up and coming “famous” bloggers, and for those of you who are climbing the virtual ladder. Also on the off-chance that some of [...]
I haven’t been blogging, even though I’ve been thinking about blogging. The reasons? I’ve been busy embroidering (nap mat season has started), my kids are out of school, my laundry has been humping itself and multiplying, and swim team is killing me just a little bit.
Even though I’ve only [...]
We’re back from Texas! And since everything is bigger in Texas, I took MORE pictures, made MORE messes, and spent MORE for a haircut! We loved every minute of it (except for the part when we almost got wiped out by a tornado).
Sunday:
We left our house a bit [...]
My sister and her family is preparing for the onslaught of MY family, including two little girls who collectively can be so loud they might be considered an audible weapon in some cultures. Risa’s been active in arranging a plethora of fun: trail rides for Mike and I, miniature pony [...]
I’m thrilled this week. Of course next week I’ll be in Texas where everything is bigger, including the food, but for this week I’m going to allow myself to be super excited because I lost another 2 pounds. I am 5 pounds away from my 20 pound weight loss. And [...]
I had a major, massive, incredible workout today. I broke some rules at the Y by hogging a machine for an hour and a half (and before you get all “HEY DUDE, 45 minutes is the time limit” on me, I got permission from one of the trainers). I’ve been [...]
Those of you who read here regularly will remember my hand-wringing and lamenting over my upcoming 20 year (!!!) high school reunion.
I’d pretty much decided to go, especially when airfares from Richmond to Traverse City with one minor stop in Chi-town got down to around [...]
I’m down another pound. I’m down 13.5 since I started. I’m okay with a pound a week. Susan suggested I look at a 1 lb. package of ground beef for comparison purposes, and imagine that not being on me anymore. It helped to visualize the pound since it just doesn’t [...]
I’ve got a lot to say, so here it goes!
First, Lily is getting way too much of an education at school. She recently asked Mike if when a policeman gives you a ticket for speeding, does everyone in the car get one, or just the driver? Mike told her just [...]
I felt pretty good this week - not too hungry,not too wiped out - and I lost another pound. I’m down 10.5 pounds total. I’d love to still be losing 2 pounds a week, but it is what it is - and I’ll take it!
[...]I will post about the other things I promised - yes, I will, but not today.
Today was a day when I questioned my ability to survive parenthood. I’m sure we all have those days - you know, the ones where you think you will literally keel over and die of [...]
See the reviews tab up there? ^^^^^^ Go check it out for the latest giveaway - a $100 grocery gift card and some fabulous Wish-Bone stuff . . . yum-meeeee!
And yes, I know I’m behind. I bought an embroidery machine and am getting set up to sell on Amazon so [...]
I stepped on the scale this morning full of dread. 4 straight days of working out - hard - and watching everything that went in my mouth and my big weight loss this week is .5 pounds. Not 5 pounds, .5. Half of a freakin’ pound.
I know this happens [...]
For those of you German-challenged folk, the title means “I am the mother.” Mother of what, well, that’s up to you to decide.
We celebrated Mother’s Day with my extended Hawai’ian family. This includes my brother, his wife, and her two daughters Kimi and Kellee. Kimi had a baby back [...]
Susan, one of my weight loss buddies, suggested I change my weigh-in day for WW to Friday so that I didn’t have to feel QUITE so panicked about weekend eating with a weigh-in on Monday. Today I weighed in, which means I had 5 days of WW instead of 7. [...]
It was a fairly quiet birthday. The girls both made me beautiful cards with rainbows, hearts, and bows. I was cuddled in bed, allowed to sleep in, and I even read in relative silence for awhile. Mike and I worked on a new bed in the front of [...]
Love and Logic works, if consistently applied. I’ve been having great success with it, but right now I am experiencing the thing I feared the most.
Arden missed snacktime today.
She wouldn’t come downstairs. I told her she had 10 minutes and explained what time on the clock that would be. After [...]
Much to my family’s joy, who love to pick on me, I haven’t been keeping up with the 365 photo blog. I gave it the old college try, and I’m just not disciplined (or interesting) enough to have a photo a day. Dooce I am not. Additionally, I have been [...]
Today I watched letters Q and U get married (you know, they are always together!). Lily’s name was picked out of a hat to be the bride (U), so of course I got all goofy and videotaped a bunch of it as well as obnoxiously snapping pictures. She LOVED being [...]
Driving through Carytown yesterday, I saw a huge “Closing Sale” sign on one of my favorite stores, Lane Sanson. I was hoping they were just moving - No such luck.
Carytown is one of my favorite places in Richmond. On a personal level, it reminds me [...]
I used to have really bad allergies. They started when I was young, and I used to gasp, wheeze and snort my way out of sleep during many nights. I was sick more than I was well as a kid. Allergic to mold, dust, pet dander, trees, flowers, grasses, no [...]
Thanks for all who commented, even if I don’t necessarily agree with everyone’s point of view. I still appreciate the opportunity to read and think about what you said. A friend of mine is a police officer in Ann Arbor, and he used his FBI profile training to see what [...]
I’m not even sure how, but I ended up stumbling across a big war between Violent Acres and Dooce, Sweetney and Amalah the other day. I think someone mentioned it on twitter (which, if I were cool, would have been rewritten [...]
I’ve been really touched and affected by the passing of Mike and Heather Spohr’s 17th month old daughter, Maddie. Although I didn’t “know” them, I randomly and sporadically followed Heather’s blog. I followed her on twitter, and seeing her updates go from a very scared mom of a daughter having [...]
