Blogging Blues

Has anyone else noticed how many regular bloggers are hanging up their keyboards lately? So many folks I used to check out regularly have grown bored with blogging or just decided it doesn't do for them what it used to. One lady said she needed an intervention because she was obsession over her blog. So, she said she'd cool it for a while - only post occasionally. The more I read about blogger fatigue, blogger overload and blogger boredom, the more I realized I too was becoming kind of over the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I get caught up in everyone's trials and tribulations - an engagement here, a pregnancy there, but I started adding up all the time I was spending reading and writing in blogs and all the writing time I was missing. And yes - it's one of my biggest procrastination devices after email!
So, I'm going on a short hiatus. I want to see if I raise my productivity. I have to prepare a workshop for my next RWA meeting, do a critiques of partner's work and spend time with the family - oh yeah - and work on my WIP.
What about you? Are you tiring of blogging or are you still full-throttle?

Go Ask Alice Cooper

My daughter is floating through the house singing, "School's out for summer!" She and her friends are on cloud nine as they plot and plan mischief to get into over the summer. Keep her busy, my mind keeps advising. So busy she won't have time to call the boy she's had a crush on for a solid hour the last day of school. But I know it's all innocent - for now. Being that she is my offspring, I know I must watch carefully for any signs of demonic possession.
When I think back to when I was her age, it was a different Alice Cooper song coming from my lips. At 13 or 14, I sang, "I love the dead before they rise, no hellos, no goodbyes." Yikes! What must my parents have thought?
Jefferson Airplane was big when my DH was in his early teens. "Go Ask Alice" was one of his faves. Great - a song about drug use. Since we both contributed to her gene pool, we'll be watching very carefully!
A special note for my sister Ruthie, who is in the hospital. Get well soon. I love you lots.

I See Rude People

So we're at my son's high school graduation ceremony last night and the parents acted worse than the kids! Almost 700 seniors graduating, a college arena, easily 3,000 people there and at least 10% of the guests were totally rude. The emcee and literally EVERY speaker asked people to remain quiet as each name was called so that the next name could be heard. Not only was this ignored, but people were blowing those can horns, hooting and hollering and acting like buffoons in public.
A guy behind me never shut his mouth the entire time! If he wasn't shouting something toward the stage, he was loudly conversing with the guy next to him. Now these were not 17 or 18 year olds. These were parents - most in their forties and up.
What is up with this? Are manners on the decline? Do you find rude people everywhere? I seem to be surrounded by them more and more. Could this be a trend, like rising gasoline prices? God, I hope not. What do you think?

In the Name of Love

Have you ever stepped back from a situation in your own life and been shocked at what you saw? Unfortunately, I just had this experience. You see, somehow I got into a rut with my teenage daughter. The bulk of my communication with her had become me barking orders at her - clean your room, shovel the cat litter, do your homework, etc. But then this weird thing started happening. Our connection got lost in the mostly one-way conversations. She became cool, even aloof toward me and stopped doing all the sweet things she normally does, like hold my hand when we're walking somewhere together and lean on my shoulder when we sit on the couch.
The lack of warmth was what made me stop and take notice that something had changed. And thank goodness I did notice and was able to ascertain the problem. The day I changed my behavior, she changed hers. We never discussed it, I didn't want her self-conscious about it. But it drove home the importance of maintaining the connection.
As I've mentioned here before, I'm a clean freak and I don't do well with messy kids rooms. And unfortunately both my kids seem to love living in disarray. So, I'm going to work on ignoring the mess in their part of the house. Nothing I do will turn them into neat nicks. But I can do plenty to hasten their departure. In the big picture, they're really good kids. They get good grades, don't mess with drugs and still seem to enjoy our company. I'm vowing to make a concerted effort to ignore some things so I can keep my relationship with them strong. It's like an internal compromise I know will be worth it.
What do you think? Are you any good at these types of compromises?

I've Been Tagged!!

OK - here goes. Bebe tagged me so here are 8 random things about me:
1. I wear orthotics in my shoes due to heel spurs.
2. Until about 15 years ago, I straightened my hair.
3. I wrote (bad) poetry as a kid.
4. My nephew is in a New Orleans street band that's been profiled by Time and The New Yorker magazines.
5. I'm related to 2 famous people - Franz Kafka on my mother's side (yes - a very famous writer) and Heddy Lamar on my father's side.
6. My husband is related to the notorious Hatfield clan of West Virginia.
7. My grandfather was a surgeon.
8. I HATE chocolate ice cream.

In case I tag you, here are the rules:
1) Each player starts with 8 random facts or habits about themselves.
2) People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their 8 things with a copy of these rules.
3) At the end of your blog you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names.
4) Don't forget to leave them a note saying they've been tagged.

I tag: April, Tempest, Isabella, Julia, Kelley& Rowena (Sorry - you're all the bloggers I know who haven't been tagged!)

Thanks for the birthday wishes everybody!

Running the Treadmill

Lately it seems like I can't keep my head above water. May is an incredibly busy month for my entire family. Between writing responsibilities, my son's graduation from HS, Mother's Day events, social obligations and the millions of other things I have to do, I feel like I'm racing in circles on a treadmill. When a good friend called yesterday to ask if she could take me to lunch for my birthday next week, I was speechless (which is not a common condition for me). I'm not sure if my birthday slipped my mind or if I'm now blocking the messages saying "You're growing older."

In the last few weeks, my husband started a second job. He's finally past the training phase and keeps assuring me the hours will ease off to a more reasonable level now. The thing is, our time together has dwindled to next to nothing. So my fun time has also dwindled. Not that I don't have fun with friends and the kids, I do. But my time with my DH charges my batteries and when that time is short, it takes a toll on both of us. I must say though, my WIP is moving along very quickly. My creative energies are all being poured into writing. So maybe there is something to that tortured artist thing. And at least, I know it's temporary. So in the meanwhile, I'll try to keep tapping into my temporarily tortured soul.