One Month

I can't believe a whole month has passed since I have been able to post on my blog. Now that the threatening emails have begun ("Post something or I'll volunteer you as assistant soccer coach."), I have vowed to make the time to do a catch-up post this weekend. It will likely be my longest post ever, so feel free to skim and then go directly to the pictures which are on the next post down.

When I don't post for a while, there are people who email and ask if I'm dead, some who assume that there's nothing worth reporting, and others who know that I'm in one of my periods of not having a moment to pee, let alone type. Considering that I will post about the contents of my vacuum cleaner bag, the calorie counts of pre-packaged breakfast foods, and videos of diaper-changing, it's never a case of not having anything to report. For the last month+, I have been CONSUMED with multiple projects and I fell into bed every night with most of what I planned to do that day unfinished. Here's a rundown of what I've been up to (in random order):

1) Work - Work is always busy and I've been running behind for my entire career. Really. I have to change jobs to get to the end of my to-do list, and since I've had my current job for almost 15 years, I have had some things on my to-do list for years (seriously). There's always something that needs to be done immediately, and everything else gets pushed aside. My newest baby (luckily not a real one) is a work-related blog (here's a link).  I wanted to get a lot of posts on the site before I introduced it at a class I taught last week, so it has taken every spare minute. Even though most of the posts are fairly short, it still takes time to do the research, find the photos and links, and post them to the site. I'm really enjoying it though...it feels good to get all of that stuff out of my head and somewhere that I can find it when I need it. We've had a lot of compliments so far and people really seem to like it. One problem that we're going to have to work through is that people from all over the country are accessing it, and I can't/won't answer questions about the situation in every state. My posts are about the New England states, although a lot of the information is applicable nationwide.

2) You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - Aliya played the Little Redheaded Girl in the elementary school drama club's first production. It was a small part and she didn't have any lines to learn, practice every other week, good experience, inexpensive...what's not to love? Well, nobody who knows me is going to be surprised about this but I overcommitted. I can't help it! If someone needs something and I know that I can help, I can't stop myself from volunteering. So I agreed to be on the Program Committee and ended up with a 50+ page program that needed to be designed, ads formatted, cast and scene info typed, printed, etc., etc. At the same time I had the brilliant idea about videotaping the performance, which I already posted about. It was very fulfilling work but wow! it took a lot of time. The learning curve next time won't be as steep and maybe I'll stick to just the video. The play went really well though, and we had a nice visit with Uncle Josh and Auntie Rachael (who dyed her hair flourescent red in solidarity).

3) Team Fitness Challenge - Back in February I forced myself to sign up for a program at the YMCA, where you form teams and work with a trainer twice a week. The team that loses the largest percentage of weight wins (I have no idea what the team wins - probably just glory). I was really worried that I would have even more problems with my plantar fasciitis but Dr. Bob (chiropractor) has been working on my feet and I just decided to go for it. I have been working out 4-6 times per week and recording everything I ate for 3 weeks, and I've lost a whopping 4 pounds. I do feel good and clothes are fitting better, so the fact that it's a team effort and we have 4 weeks ago will keep me going where normally I would probably give up because it wasn't working. It is working, I'm just not seeing the results on the scale that I hoped for. Oh well, slow and steady wins the race. One negative (or positive depending on how you look at it) is that I'm so physically tired I can't stay up until 2 a.m. any more. I'm toast by 12:30 or 1ish, so I'm getting more sleep, but have less awake-time to get things done.

4) PTO - Both the elementary and preschool PTOs are on to me. They know I'm weak and love to help, so I'm involved in various projects - elementary school sportswear and staff appreciation day, preschool teacher appreciation photo video and bulletin board, as well as the wish list. I really like being a part of the PTO - I've met SO MANY people, but I had to turn down the request to think about being PTO president next year. I'm really not comfortable being in a political role where I have to make decisions that some people inevitably won't like. I'd like some props for saying "no" people! It's not easy for me to say no but there are at least 500 other parents in the school. Somebody will do it.

5) Goddess Weekend - A few weeks ago I spent a weekend in Lyndonville, Vermont with 5 of the most beautiful, kind, supportive, fun women in the entire northeast. We spent 48 hours doing almost nothing. We ate, talked, ate, drank, talked, laughed our heads off, ate, talked, and had massages from a woman who is obviously a witch disguised as a massage therapist (Ela). Amy told us ahead of time that Ela has a way of getting you to "release" the emotion that's trapped inside you but I honestly thought I could hold it together and just enjoy a relaxing massage. Hah! She got me on the table and started doing her voo-doo on me, bringing me to a "still place". I felt like I was hypnotized. When she was working on a spot beside my right shoulder blade she asked, "So what's the anger about?" I laughed and said that there were plenty of things it could be. She said it was old anger and a feeling of isolation from my childhood. That hit home and a few tears leaked out. Then she asked why she was getting a feeling of "Lori against the world." I said that I didn't feel like it was me against the world and she said that it was like I feel like I have to do everything for everybody. She said, "You know...people will still love you even if you don't do everything." She wouldn't have any way to know whether I'm a giver or a taker, so that's when I started to think she might actually be getting some inside information. I don't know if she was reading my mind or getting it from my body as she said, but it was spooky. At the end of the massage she did used her magic voo-doo hands - one under my back and one above my chest, and I started sobbing. I swear, I have not cried like that in years and I could not hold it back even though I was trying really hard. It was strangely therapeutic but I think I would need quite a few more sessions to release everything I've been carrying around.

6) School Vacation - We made it through February vacation by tag-teaming, working at home while the kids wrecked the place, working nights, etc. It was tough! For April vacation I'm planning to work just enough to keep up on my email and phone calls and spend some time during the day having fun with the kids. I think it will be much less stressful for all of us. I'm lucky to have the job flexibility to do that, and I need to take advantage of it. Norah can go to day care some of the days and I'll do things with Adlani and Aliya that I can't do with all 3. Here's a funny (although personally disturbing) story about February vacation. Around Thursday Adlani lost his sneakers. He only has one pair that fits because he has wide feet and I have to buy his sneakers at Stride Rite for about $50. I knew his shoes would turn up so he just wore his snow boots and rain boots around for a few days, but by Sunday I started to make it a priority since he would need his sneakers for school the next day. I did a bunch of errands (a.k.a. escaped) that day and as I shopped I kept an eye out for wide sneakers we could use as a backup. I couldn't find any. By 6 o'clock Ben and the kids still hadn't found the sneakers so I loaded Adlani into the car to take him to Stride Rite. I was hoping the mall closed at 7, but everything except Macy's closed at 6, so we checked Macy's and didn't find anything. We went back home and started getting the kids ready for bed. I threw something in the kitchen trash can and I had a flashback to the previous Thursday, when I walked into a room and found a pile of toys, clothes, etc. on the floor for the seven hundred and twelfth time that week, so in a rage I scooped up the pile of debris and threw it in the recycle bin. Luckily trash pick-up is not until Monday, so I sent Ben out to the curb in the pouring rain to search for the sneakers and the rest of the stuff I had thrown away. I had every intention of taking them out of the recycle bin once I made my point and Adlani wasn't looking, but what's disturbing is that I could so completely forget about it moments later, and it never crossed my mind again, even when I spent hours searching for something I had thrown away. I swear I think I have overload-induced alzheimers.

7) Identity Theft - I've spent HOURS in the last month (and many many hours in the last year and a half) trying to clean up the mess made by someone who earned income using my name and social security number. I have gone back and forth with the IRS SO MANY TIMES...they send a form letter, I respond as requested, they send another form letter which makes it obvious that nobody read my response...over and over again. It has seriously been hell, and I have considered paying the taxes on the under-reported income just to make it stop, but I have been advised by several lawyers, an accountant, and an IRS investigator, NOT to do that. I have to believe that innocence will prevail, but it has been a very trying experience. The legal system is very disappointing...if you're wily and you have guts, you can slide through unchecked. Not to mention the psychological effects of having a (formerly) trusted family member use me in this way. It really sucks!

I think I'm caught up on the past month's events now, and I can go back to posting random news, thoughts, and photos as they strike me. Thanks for hanging in there and in the future if you get sick of waiting, you can always go to my other blog and learn about hardware. ;-)
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