In my newfound* quest to try and change up my work routine so that I can achieve some work/life balance, I’ve had a really productive week. And by “productive”, I mean “sort of successful according to my newly-created standards”. I didn’t open my laptop all weekend, instead only using my phone or iPad sporadically to hit social media–but not any work (blogging included, and truth be told I’m kicking myself a little for that one right now.). Instead, I did things like: ~nap ~visit with D, who came to see us for lunch on Saturday ~make dinner with Jim (instead of one of us cooking while the other one does…
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Listen To Your Mother Chicago 2014: Wow, That Was Quick!
It’s been a full week (eight days, actually!) since the show, and I can’t even believe THAT, let alone the fact that the 2014 season, our THIRD season in Chicago, flew by faster than a…what is one of those cute southern sayings? These last two weeks, in fact, have flown by faster than a…never mind. I can’t think of anything. QUICKLY. They went by QUICKLY. In the last two weeks Tracey and I drove to Milwaukee to see that show, we put on our own show, we drove to Valparaiso to see the NWIndiana show, and yesterday I drove up to Madison, where it all began five years ago, to…
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Beautiful and Enchanted
One of the things I loved most about this house when we bought it in December 2000 was the screened-in back porch. The following summer we spiffed it up a little bit with some pretty little flower lights that gave the porch an enchanted quality at night, some Adirondack chairs that a friend found for me at a rummage sale, and a coffee table that Jim and I made completely from scrap wood and Mexican tiles we had laying around in the garage. (I love that table!) Over the years, my mom made a couple of pillows for us and my mother-in-law picked up some pillows and knick knacks for…
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I Really Love Love.
I am one of those people who uses the word “love” very freely. If you know me personally—or let’s face it, even just on Facebook—you might think I overuse the word. “I love this song.” “I love cookies.” Regardless of what others think, specifically those who believe that the word should not be dropped at the slightest little thing and instead saved for truly important things and people, I’m fine with how I am. I know in my head the true hierarchy of people and things that are the recipients of my feelings. Obviously I love my kids way more than I love steak. (Which says a lot because I…
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Let The Music Play
About four years ago I had to write up a “musical resume” for The Music Mamas site: Sadly, Melisa was musically stunted as a small child by the presence of too much television. Listening to music was not something she did for fun but rather out of necessity, riding in the back of her parents’ VW Bug in the early- to mid-1970′s singing along to songs like “Delta Dawn”, “(You’re) Having My Baby” and “Afternoon Delight” (not necessarily in that order). She was given a Sony Walkman in December 1981, along with the Olivia Newton John “Physical” cassette, and no other tapes to speak of. It is for this very…