It's been a while since I've been home to Pittsburgh. I usually make it home once a year, sometimes twice. So in the words of my favorite fictional character, Bridget Jones, I've decided to take a "mini-break" this weekend. No kids, no husband, no dogs, just me, my mom and a few close friends. I'm looking forward to not feeding anyone except myself and sleeping in. Selfish? Maybe. But in my world of always putting myself last, I think it will be nice for a change.
So I'll report back on my many adventures in the Burgh next week.
Peace and love.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Change is Good
Except when it's not. I'm not a fan of change, never have been. I'm good with the status quo. I like knowing what to expect, what's coming next. Which in life, I guess, is rather ridiculous because of course, we never know what's coming next.
I'm a girl that likes lists. And schedules. And I follow them to a tee. I make lists for everything and I put a little check box next to the item on my list and when it's completed I actually put a check mark in the box. I'm that girl. My calendar is organized to perfection. If it's not on my calendar, then it never happened or will never happen. So if you need me for any reason, please make sure you get on my calendar.
Which brings me to a devastating email I got this week. The yoga studio that I work and practice at is sadly closing next month. The problem is that all my regular classes are on my calendar, which means that this change cannot be true. I schedule my weeks around which classes I will attend and when I have to be there for work. I look forward to seeing my teachers, who I have come to love. I look forward to seeing the other people in the classes. What am I going to do when Janice is not on the mat right behind me? Or when Ed, who is probably in his seventies, rocks a handstand? The thought of changing studios makes my head spin. It's like being the new girl in sixth grade all over again.
Obviously, the biggest change in all this chaos, is for the studios' wonderful owner, who I have come to know and truly adore. She is amazing and fearless and from the moment I took my first class from her, I thought, wow, I want to be like her. She's just cool. She has awesome tattoos and a vibe about her that I am jealous of. So as selfish as I am being about how this change will affect me, I am equally concerned about how this will be for her.
When life throws you lemons make lemonade, right? Wrong. I hate that saying. Sometimes you just have to bite into that sour lemon and feel the bitterness on your tongue before you can turn your attention to something sweeter. Sometimes you just have to wallow in the sadness for a bit. Sometimes you have to let the walls crumble down on top of you before you can begin to dig your way out.
I hate change. But I guess if I'm going to live in this world I better get used to it.
Maybe tomorrow I'll get really crazy and NOT put the check boxes next to my to do list. That'll really shake things up.
Peace and love.
I'm a girl that likes lists. And schedules. And I follow them to a tee. I make lists for everything and I put a little check box next to the item on my list and when it's completed I actually put a check mark in the box. I'm that girl. My calendar is organized to perfection. If it's not on my calendar, then it never happened or will never happen. So if you need me for any reason, please make sure you get on my calendar.
Which brings me to a devastating email I got this week. The yoga studio that I work and practice at is sadly closing next month. The problem is that all my regular classes are on my calendar, which means that this change cannot be true. I schedule my weeks around which classes I will attend and when I have to be there for work. I look forward to seeing my teachers, who I have come to love. I look forward to seeing the other people in the classes. What am I going to do when Janice is not on the mat right behind me? Or when Ed, who is probably in his seventies, rocks a handstand? The thought of changing studios makes my head spin. It's like being the new girl in sixth grade all over again.
Obviously, the biggest change in all this chaos, is for the studios' wonderful owner, who I have come to know and truly adore. She is amazing and fearless and from the moment I took my first class from her, I thought, wow, I want to be like her. She's just cool. She has awesome tattoos and a vibe about her that I am jealous of. So as selfish as I am being about how this change will affect me, I am equally concerned about how this will be for her.
When life throws you lemons make lemonade, right? Wrong. I hate that saying. Sometimes you just have to bite into that sour lemon and feel the bitterness on your tongue before you can turn your attention to something sweeter. Sometimes you just have to wallow in the sadness for a bit. Sometimes you have to let the walls crumble down on top of you before you can begin to dig your way out.
I hate change. But I guess if I'm going to live in this world I better get used to it.
Maybe tomorrow I'll get really crazy and NOT put the check boxes next to my to do list. That'll really shake things up.
Peace and love.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
'Tis the Season
Spring has sprung in Anytown. How do I know? Because spring sports have officially begun. And with spring sports comes all the parents who temporarily lose their minds over elementary school aged children playing baseball and soccer.
Now what I'm about to say may be controversial. Some of you may be appalled. Angry even. So I'll whisper it in your ear. Come closer. Closer. A little closer, I won't bite.
"Parents of Anytown! None of your children will grow up to be professional athletes!!"
There, I said it. I feel better now.
I know many of you think your child is an 8 year old soccer prodigy. That he'll be the next David Beckham. Or that 3rd grade Johnny will play for the Yankees or Red Sox. But he won't!
I don't mean to sound like Debbie Downer but I think it's time we get a little more realistic and a lot less worked up over kids sports. Believe it or not, there was a time not so long ago when sports were supposed to be...wait for it...FUN!!! (Gasp!)
Last Saturday at Primo's baseball game I had been cheering for a little boy who had hit the ball and was running to first base. I think I said something like, "Good job, great hustle!" That's when I overheard this boy's mother say to someone, "Well, I didn't think that was great hustle. I think he could have hustled a lot more." WHAT!?!? Seriously now people, what happened to being proud of a child's effort?
I have heard some crazy stories of parents around Anytown. Things like hiring private soccer coaches and forming secret teams to get children ahead. I've seen kids crying on the sidelines because they feel like they're not good enough. They're little kids for goodness sakes, they shouldn't be this stressed out over sports!
Then of course there's this whole business of Red Shirt-ing. Holding your child back in school so he/she will be bigger, stronger, older than his classmates to have an advantage in sports. Believe me, if you think this only happens in Anytown, you need to open your eyes.
Now, that said, of course, as parents we all want our children to succeed in anything they do, whether it's school, music, sports. But at what expense? I often wonder if some of these parents are trying to live out a failed sports career through their children. Got injured playing college baseball? Well then I'll make sure my son plays and gosh darn it, he'll like it!!
Listen, my kids play sports too. Do I want them to play well? Sure, as well as they are able. Do I think they'll be the next Derek Jeter or Roger Federer? Probably not.
I think next Saturday when we're at the sports fields, we all need to just breathe. Cheer for their efforts, smile through their strike outs and missed goals. Comfort them if it's upsetting. But most important, just let them have fun.
Peace and love.
Now what I'm about to say may be controversial. Some of you may be appalled. Angry even. So I'll whisper it in your ear. Come closer. Closer. A little closer, I won't bite.
"Parents of Anytown! None of your children will grow up to be professional athletes!!"
There, I said it. I feel better now.
I know many of you think your child is an 8 year old soccer prodigy. That he'll be the next David Beckham. Or that 3rd grade Johnny will play for the Yankees or Red Sox. But he won't!
I don't mean to sound like Debbie Downer but I think it's time we get a little more realistic and a lot less worked up over kids sports. Believe it or not, there was a time not so long ago when sports were supposed to be...wait for it...FUN!!! (Gasp!)
Last Saturday at Primo's baseball game I had been cheering for a little boy who had hit the ball and was running to first base. I think I said something like, "Good job, great hustle!" That's when I overheard this boy's mother say to someone, "Well, I didn't think that was great hustle. I think he could have hustled a lot more." WHAT!?!? Seriously now people, what happened to being proud of a child's effort?
I have heard some crazy stories of parents around Anytown. Things like hiring private soccer coaches and forming secret teams to get children ahead. I've seen kids crying on the sidelines because they feel like they're not good enough. They're little kids for goodness sakes, they shouldn't be this stressed out over sports!
Then of course there's this whole business of Red Shirt-ing. Holding your child back in school so he/she will be bigger, stronger, older than his classmates to have an advantage in sports. Believe me, if you think this only happens in Anytown, you need to open your eyes.
Now, that said, of course, as parents we all want our children to succeed in anything they do, whether it's school, music, sports. But at what expense? I often wonder if some of these parents are trying to live out a failed sports career through their children. Got injured playing college baseball? Well then I'll make sure my son plays and gosh darn it, he'll like it!!
Listen, my kids play sports too. Do I want them to play well? Sure, as well as they are able. Do I think they'll be the next Derek Jeter or Roger Federer? Probably not.
I think next Saturday when we're at the sports fields, we all need to just breathe. Cheer for their efforts, smile through their strike outs and missed goals. Comfort them if it's upsetting. But most important, just let them have fun.
Peace and love.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Do You Want to Split That??
I have never been good at sharing. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a brat that way. I'm sure it comes from growing up an only child. I never had to share toys, a bath tub, my Easter candy, clothes, etc. The attention was always on me and not a pesky little brother or sister. People always ask me, "didn't you want a sibling to play with when you were little?" And my answer is always the same. No. Not really. You can't miss what you never had, right?
So it goes without saying that when I'm at a restaurant and my dining companion asks if I want to split a meal, I cringe just ever so slightly. Here's the deal, I do not want to split anything with you.
Do not take it personally, it has nothing to do with you. I don't like sharing and I don't want to share a salad with you. Get your own! Who cares if it's big and you can't finish it. Bring it home or just throw it out. You won't die and you can't send it to Ethiopia. Just get your own.
I'm telling you this because of two very funny things that happened this past week while we were on vacation in Florida.
Mr. X.'s 95 year-old grandma was visiting from Des Moines. We haven't seen her in two years so we were all very excited to spend some time with her. She is a wonderful woman, who at 95 is in amazing shape, less a bit of hearing. She still has a very funny sense of humor and just adores Primo and Segundo.
The only problem is that Gigi (that's what we call her) never wants to order her own meal, she only wants to split one. But it's not just meals, she wants to split beverages too! My poor mother-in-law will spend the next week starving because she's only eating half a meal three times a day!
We took her to brunch on Sunday for her birthday and she wanted to split the eggs Benedict with my MIL. Then she thought she was splitting a Bloody Mary (virgin) with me! So when the drinks came and we each got one, she said, "I didn't order this, I thought we were splitting it!" How do you split a Bloody Mary? Mind you, she drank half of it, then asked my father-in-law if he was going to drink the other half of his orange juice. He kindly gave it to her and she promptly finished it off, leaving him juice less.
The meal arrived and Gigi and my MIL each had one egg, half a potato home-fry type thing and half a strawberry on their plates. It looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book! Gigi ate her meal and then proceeded to also eat the other half of my arugula salad. We were all just giving each other a look and laughing because the whole thing was so funny.
Of course when the dessert came, a sample of four different cakes, do you think she wanted to split that with anyone???
The next night we all went out to dinner where she promptly split a Caesar salad with my MIL. She didn't want chicken or shrimp on it and did not want my MIL to get it on her half either. We still can't figure out why. She ate her half, then also ate a chicken tender of Segundo's and some of Primo's chicken wings (remember, she didn't want chicken on her salad!) She also had a few french fries!
Here's the thing though, it's just so nice to still have a grandma around, mine passed away the year after I graduated college. I love spending time with Gigi and I'm so happy that she knows and loves my children. She is truly a special lady and I'd split a Bloody Mary with her any day!
Peace and love.
So it goes without saying that when I'm at a restaurant and my dining companion asks if I want to split a meal, I cringe just ever so slightly. Here's the deal, I do not want to split anything with you.
Do not take it personally, it has nothing to do with you. I don't like sharing and I don't want to share a salad with you. Get your own! Who cares if it's big and you can't finish it. Bring it home or just throw it out. You won't die and you can't send it to Ethiopia. Just get your own.
I'm telling you this because of two very funny things that happened this past week while we were on vacation in Florida.
Mr. X.'s 95 year-old grandma was visiting from Des Moines. We haven't seen her in two years so we were all very excited to spend some time with her. She is a wonderful woman, who at 95 is in amazing shape, less a bit of hearing. She still has a very funny sense of humor and just adores Primo and Segundo.
The only problem is that Gigi (that's what we call her) never wants to order her own meal, she only wants to split one. But it's not just meals, she wants to split beverages too! My poor mother-in-law will spend the next week starving because she's only eating half a meal three times a day!
We took her to brunch on Sunday for her birthday and she wanted to split the eggs Benedict with my MIL. Then she thought she was splitting a Bloody Mary (virgin) with me! So when the drinks came and we each got one, she said, "I didn't order this, I thought we were splitting it!" How do you split a Bloody Mary? Mind you, she drank half of it, then asked my father-in-law if he was going to drink the other half of his orange juice. He kindly gave it to her and she promptly finished it off, leaving him juice less.
The meal arrived and Gigi and my MIL each had one egg, half a potato home-fry type thing and half a strawberry on their plates. It looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book! Gigi ate her meal and then proceeded to also eat the other half of my arugula salad. We were all just giving each other a look and laughing because the whole thing was so funny.
Of course when the dessert came, a sample of four different cakes, do you think she wanted to split that with anyone???
The next night we all went out to dinner where she promptly split a Caesar salad with my MIL. She didn't want chicken or shrimp on it and did not want my MIL to get it on her half either. We still can't figure out why. She ate her half, then also ate a chicken tender of Segundo's and some of Primo's chicken wings (remember, she didn't want chicken on her salad!) She also had a few french fries!
Here's the thing though, it's just so nice to still have a grandma around, mine passed away the year after I graduated college. I love spending time with Gigi and I'm so happy that she knows and loves my children. She is truly a special lady and I'd split a Bloody Mary with her any day!
Peace and love.
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