Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Wonderful World of Blogging

Let me begin this post by saying.....that I hated the first grade. 
I have absolutely NO good memories of the first grade.
I know what you're thinking.  What on earth does this have to do with blogging??????
And how do I have such a clear memory of first grade at such an advanced (cough, cough) age? 
Well, it really has nothing to do with blogging except that whenever I go through on of my extended blog breaks, when I debate about whether I should continue blogging.......
One of the things I think about is the first grade. 
You see, my first grade experience in Southern California in 1967 had quite a lasting impression.
And I am certain that it was completely different from my children's experiences in the 80's and 90's. 
This is because my overwhelming memory of the first grade was the little chat my mother had with me after a certain parent/teacher conference. 
It was not a pleasant chat. 
During the parent/teacher conference, my first grade teacher told my mother that I was a little too full of myself. 
Hmmmm....yes, I did not have a whole week devoted to me and how special I was. 
Like my children did. 
Instead, in 1967, I was reminded how utterly not special I was. 
Not a bad thing really because, lets face it, the affectiveness of holding our children in such high esteem is now being questioned.  Such as whether we made them ill-prepared to deal with the fact that everyone else thinks they are special too. 
Anyways, I digress.....and you're probably still wondering what on earth this has to do with blogging. 

Well, as I ponder why I blog and whether I should continue to blog I think about that first grade teacher (I am purposely not naming her).
 I wonder, if she is still around, what she thinks of this new world 44 years after reporting about this attention needy six year old.  Did she change her mind?  Or does she throw up her arms in disgust as she laments about "kids these days"?  All those kids who will do anything to be famous if just for a few minutes.  They'll even do the dumbest of things on reality television. 
I wonder what she would think of this blog. 
I spend more time that I would like wondering if I real do this blogging thing because I'm an attention whore.
 Or maybe because I think I have some little pearls of wisdom that I can impart on an unwitting world that did not know what it was missing before I came along.....yes, that was a joke! 
I would tell you that I blog for no one but myself because I like to write and because blogging provides me with a cyber outlet for something I have enjoyed for years. 
That is partially true.  I do blog because I love writing. 
But let me be honest here.....I really hope that people enjoy what I have to say.  And come back. 
And I secretly hope that all you creative types will gush over my crochet and scrapbook creations....no matter how "so-so" they are. 

Yes, I am exactly what that first grade teacher said....a needy little snot who is a bit full of myself. 




I'm just a 50 (almost 51!) year old version of that little girl. 
And I'm going to keep blogging.
If nothing else, my children can read it to me when I'm in an old folks home as a way to spark my memory (a la The Notebook). 
Hey, at least, it will serve some purpose....someday. 

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Thing About Resolutions




......or a better woman.
Anyways, this will probably be my mantra for 2012. 

Let's see.....it's already January 5th. 
And I have already completely bombed on most of my resolutions. 
Yes, I generally make more than one.
And I have never been a person who just refused to make resolutions
because "I'm not going to keep them anyways." 
I always have hope. 
Hope than I can be better. 
And that's saying alot for a 50 year old woman.
Because let's face it I have had plenty of time to become jaded,
and trust me, there are many areas of life
where I am very, very jaded. 
But not in the area of self betterment . 

So what were those resolutions. 
Well there are the typical resolutions.....to eat better and exercise more.
(Isn't this everyone's resolution????)
So far, this one has not been too bad. 
Started P90X2 on Jan. 2.
Started eating lighter and cutting out sugar...
(Well, at least until my birthday....)
Which probably led to the sputtering out of another resolution.
Or at least a slow start at it. 
That resolution is to procrasinate less.
Well (insert heavy sigh here)....
Going cold turkey in the no sugar department = Very grumpy old woman. 
Very grumpy old woman = I just don't feel like doing ANYTHING cuz I'm mad at the world. 
This led to putting off my "easy" Trig homework until the very last day.
Turns out it wasn't so easy. 
What usually is a few hours of work turned into a day long ordeal.
And a major meltdown. 
I got it down....but all I wanted to do at the end of it was eat a giant sized Hershey bar. 
Don't worry I resisted....
Instead I had a glass of wine. 
The healthier alternative!

The other resolutions? 
To be more organized, get more projects down, and to be a more consistent blogger. 
Hmmmm.......not so good, so far.  
But like I said, I always have hope! 
So, here's the thing.....I'm starting again.  
January 1st and come and gone.  
But that does not mean that the opportunity has passed.  
So I'll just start over again.  
And maybe again.  And again.  
After all, I'm always still working on being a better man, er, woman.  

Happy 2012!