I hardly ever do memes but what the hell, it’s Friday. If you’re reading this, you’re tagged! Yeah, yeah…you hate memes. I know. Do it anyway :-)

Do this on your own blog and then copy/paste it into the comments here. That last part is VERY important. It will be much “phun” (har har…clever aren’t I?)

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1) What is your favorite word?

2) What word irks you everytime you hear someone say it? You can have more than one.

3) Name the first concert you ever went to.

4) Name a song will you never get sick of hearing.

5) What song, album or band influenced you most as a teenager OR what song/album is the soundtrack of your youth? You can pick more than one if you have to.

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Here are my answers:

1) “Elysium” because I like the way it sounds and I like the definition.

2) “nourish” and “moist” really bug me. I hate when people say “voanerable” instead of “vulnerable”. That drives me crazy!!! (plus it reminds me of “boner”) This is the short list. There are so many more…

3) Donna Summer - age 10 (not sure if this counts because we were with my friend’s mom and we had the WORST possible seats) The first concert I went to sans parental supervision was Van Halen- Diver Down Tour, age 14.

4) Feeling That Way/Anytime by Journey or if you prefer a more updated choice, there’s always this clever little ditty (I heard it on Grey’s Anatomy) that gets stuck in my head for days.

5) Influenced by:

-David Bowie, All albums
-Pink Floyd, All albums
-The Smiths, Hatful of Hollow

Soundtrack:

-assorted Led Zeppelin from about ages 9-11 because I had this total burnout, pothead teen babysitter that played LZ nonstop when she was over, which was every night.

-Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon & The Wall from younger teen years

-assorted progressive/new wave/art fag/alt-rock stuff from older teen years i.e. Depeche Mode, Violent Femmes, The Smiths, New Order, Pixies, Janes Addiction etc.

Wow. I went to ThisMom’s blog because I heard she was taking a break from blogging and I wanted to see for myself what it takes to get someone to that point. And her words could have been mine, albeit hers are far more elegant.

I have devoted countless hours to blogging and while I have enjoyed it beyond measure, I too, feel like I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole sometimes. Part of it is because I can’t STOP reading your blogs and part of it stems from my desire to not suck at things (while still maintaining my title as a total underachiever, of course). I’ll never be the next Dooce or Suburban Bliss, nor do I aspire to that, but being recognized as a blogger worth reading every day is nice. None of us can deny that it feels good. But while I love the community and the daily laughs, I’m so behind in my responsibilities and in the past four months, my life has become far more disorganized and chaotic because frankly, I’d rather be here with you guys than doing all that other boring shit like working, folding laundry or thinking about dinner.

But…living and dying by the comments I get or wondering why I just dropped 20 points in one day on BlogTopsites is starting to feel a bit like the hamster wheel. I’m going and going but getting nowhere thinking about that stuff and it feels a bit ridiculous sometimes, especially when I have real-life things that need my attention far more.

What I’d really like is if you all lived here and we were all neighbors, sharing fun and good times while raising our kids (or pets!) instead of being in this place called cyberspace. I have lamented over and over about how I can’t find any cool, fun women where I live so you all have filled a serious void in my life, however, I have to wonder if I’m overdosing a bit here.

I have to be on my computer a lot because of the work I do. It’s sooo easy to just pop open my browser “for just a minute” and see what’s up and read a few blogs. Before you know it, an hour or two has passed. I feel like I’m letting real life suffer sometimes because of it.

Do any of you feel conflicted about the amount of time you spend reading blogs and/or writing for your blog?

Does anyone have any ideas on how to ease-off without having withdrawals or losing all my reader friends?

I don’t want to give it up completely. I just designed a new site, dammit! But something has got to give so help a sister out and tell me how to get my freaking life back and still keep blogging.

Thanks :-)

UPDATE: In regard to comments I received…

God. You all have made me feel SO much better. I didn’t know that anyone else was having this same issue with blogging. I’m here thinking I’m a total freakshow.

Every single one of you has contributed something of major value here and given me a lot to consider.

I’m going to try to implement time limits, as well as using Bloglines more. I’m also going to stop pressuring myself to “do it all” and try to keep all of this in perspective.

That said, I hope you all will not take it personally if I don’t drop by your blogs 436 times a day like I usually do. Maybe a few times a day or every other day will have to do. I’ll just have to live with that feeling that I’m missing out on something, which is REALLLLLLY hard for me.

Also, I may not respond to your comments as often as I usually do. Just know I have read and appreciated them, as always.

And finally, I do plan to keep posting fairly regularly so don’t forget about me!!!!

Thanks again to all of you for your kindness and again, I wish ya’ll were my neighbors. I’d bake each of you a cake :-)

Kate Hudson
Victoria Principal
Ashton Kutcher
Tyra Banks
Jennifer Connelly
Kate Bush
Bob Hope
Chaka Khan
Lisa Stansfield
Britney Spears
Eva Herzigova
Charlotte Church

What do the above names have in common? Well, according to the My Heritage Face Recognition doohickey, which I found courtesy of my pal, Sue, from Red Stapler, these are the celebrities with whom I share some sort of facial resemblance or characteristics. I was especially proud to have the late hottie Bob Hope on my list. NOT!

I used two different photos and this list is a blend of both. Ashton Kutcher and Victoria Principal (the non-scary pre-plastic surgery version, I hope) were on both lists.

Go do yours and then come back with your results. Someone else better get dudes on theirs…

The other day, in the morning, I was watching the Tyra Banks show (which merits a post all it’s own) and she had that Sex Talk lady from Oxygen on as a guest. What’s her name? Sue something, I think. She’s the woman that always has a bunch brightly colored vibrators and dildos sitting on her desk like decorations (which always reminds me of when Tootie and Natalie from Facts of Life bought bongs and put jellybeans in them) Sorry, my ADD…

Anyway, she was talking about sex, as usual, but she said something that really struck a chord with me; something about how men should make a point of telling their women how beautiful (sexy, attractive, hot, insert-the-compliment of your choice here) they are in order to help women relax more and not be so body-conscious etc. thus making sex a more enjoyable experience and one likely to occur more often. Amen, sister! You know that of which you speak!

You’d think this would be common sense. You’d think that this would be the one surefire tip that’s been passed from guy to guy since the dawn of time or at least since the dawn of supermodels and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues. But somehow I don’t think that’s the case.

Hello? Guys? Do you want to shag or not? Oh, you do? Then you better get with it and start telling your lady that she’s smokin’ hot and make it believable.

Yes, believable is what I said. And I say it because while I really want to rekindle the days when Hubz actually did say things like that to me and we had sex all the time, I feel like if I have to ask him or remind him, then when he DOES do it, I’ll be thinking “Yeah…you’re just saying that because I told you to” and then I’ll just get irritated and not be in the mood and he’ll be like “Whoa… complimenting her was a bad idea. I’ll never do that again” and we’ll never have sex anymore for real.

I can’t speak for anyone else but while I don’t look exactly like I used to, I still feel like I look pretty damn good for having two kids and being a few years shy of forty. Yes, I need to lose that bit of baby weight but I’m tall and it’s spread out fairly well. Let’s just say I’m not repulsive and I’m reasonably sexy when I make the effort, okay? It shouldn’t be that hard to compliment me. He does say I look nice every now and then and he does give me the obligatory “No, you’re not fat, you look great for someone who just had a baby” but that’s NOT what I’m talking about here. I need to know that I’m the one he’s HOT for. Is that so unreasonable? Ladies? Guys?

Part of me hopes he reads this post even though he’s not allowed to read my blog and gets a clue without having to get it directly from me. Or maybe one of you guys can tell him about “The Tip” –> “Compliment your woman and make her feel hot and if there’s not an 8 month old sleeping 3 feet away she’ll definitely have sex with you.”

Thanks to everyone who voted for me for Crazy/Hip Blog Mamas “Member of the Week” You guys rock!

If you don’t know about this, it’s a writing prompt on a certain topic, organized by the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas web ring. The topic is:

What Does being a Crazy Hip Blog Mama Mean to You?

I gave this some thought. And then I thought about it some more. I even thought about it when I was nursing Peebs before bed. And I have decided that being a Crazy Hip Blog Mama is a lot like obscenity or pornography, which is to say…I can’t define it but I know it when I see it :-p

If pressed, however, I guess I’d say that to me it means marching to your own drum. I know that doesn’t exactly jibe with the the words “crazy” or “hip” or “blog” but when you say “Crazy Hip Blog Mama” that’s the kind of woman I think of. So there you have it, gang!

One thing I can say about all the CHBM’s I’ve met so far, though, is that while they’re all different and unique, they are generally a funny, talented and very kind bunch of women (and one man) that I’m glad to have fallen in with.

Now get on with your bad selves!

The End
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I’m a nominee for Crazy/Hip Blog Mama’s Member of the Week. If you haven’t yet voted, pop over there and show me some blog mama love by way of a quick vote for “Moonshine.” Even if you voted last week you can vote again because you get a new chance every week. Thank you :-)

And finally…if you’ve made it this far, then you’ve earned this…a hilarious homage to those pants known as “mom jeans”

If you want to read something really beautiful go here. Reluctant Housewife found it and shared it.

This was my comment. I’m posting it here for myself, because I want to remember how I felt when I read her post:

“You have really struck a nerve with this piece. I can very much relate. Every day I vaccillate between irritation and awe. I always feel the inner struggle between being a good mom and thinking only of myself. But the kids always win. I adore them and hold tight to every moment, knowing they won’t always be mine.”

Did you get the memo? I am the meanest mommy. Everrrrrrrrrrr. Well, according to my five year old daughter, anyway. She’s having a tantrum and that is her new mantra these days.

I aksed her to sit with her baby brother for a second while I went pee. I was literally 5 feet away and I was gone about 15 seconds. In that time, he started crying. I went in there and asked why he was crying and she confessed that she pulled his hair. How hard, I ask? Really hard, she says. Why, I ask? She doesn’t know.

So I tell her we’re not going out for pizza (Hubz is at a gig tonight. I have a cold. I asked what she wanted and that was her choice. ) because I will not reward being mean to a helpless baby and she goes into hysterics. I also took her to a playdate at the park today with her new best bud (no school) but apparently that doesn’t matter. I am still the Worst. Mommy. Everrrrrrrr.

Hold on. What’s that? Oh…apparently she thinks “nothing is ever fair for me” If it wasn’t so utterly ridiculous, I’d be laughing my ass off.

Oh wait…daughter just came out and told me, verbatim “If I don’t get to go for pizza, I’m going to explode and cry for the rest of my life” Emotional blackmail suckage.

Well, on a lighter note, we had a great day at the park. The weather was fantastic and I had good company in the way of a newish mommy friend that is super sweet. Plus she said she’d go to the movies with me. That’s huge! None of my mom friends ever do anything or go anywhere. So yay for that! Also, Hubz says he’s taking the money from this gig tonight and buying us a Nikon D50 because I hate our old Fuji so much. Is he sweet or what?

And if you haven’t yet voted for Crazy/Hip Blog Mama’s Member of the Week, pop over there and throw me a bone. C’mon…be your best friend! If you lived here, I’d even go to the movies with you :-)

Now I have to go cook dinner… (the down side to sticking to one’s guns)

***I have a new renter, Life as Lou, located in the sidebar. She’s a mom of two and a military wife. Lou’s writing is funny and full of descriptive, clever observations. You simply must drop by and read her latest post about attending a Passion Party!***