"Eat, Pray, Love" - A Night with Elizabeth Gilbert

Last night, I had the opportunity to go hear Elizabeth Gilbert speak. It was part of the "Arts and Letters Live" series hosted by the Dallas Museum of Art. The talk was at the Eisemann Center in Richardson, so it was easy to get to.

I read this book almost two years ago and it really had an impact on my life. Maybe it's because Gilbert is my age, or she was doing the same kinds of things to "find" herself as I find me doing for myself.

She had three major themes in her talk - all of which I found important. The first was "To Thine Own Self Be Kind." We get so caught up in the minutia of our life and we forget to find that balance that we need to be happy and healthy. We often times get chided for making decisions that are self-centered - when in fact we should be doing more of that. Putting ourself first and taking care of ourself isn't selfish, though we are often made to believe that. We should listen to ourself and trust ourself - if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. Don't ignore our inner voice as we move through the days of our life.

Second, take care of our body. It's the only one we have. Think about how resilient our bodies are. We break a bone and in a month or two, we are healed. We become sick, take medication, and then become well. Our physical body rebounds and moves on. Our psyche isn't so resilient. I can barely remember breaking my thumb in 1986 (my body healed and my thumb is fine), but I can remember hurtful comments being said to me and they still make me wince when I think about them.

Finally, it's okay to be a childless woman in your 40's. People look down on your choices, but historically, there has always been a segment of childless women (called sparents) who are there to help nuture and take care of children. Is that why I went into education as a profession? Studies have been done to see who is happier when they are older - women who have had children or woman who didn't. No study has been able to pinpoint that one group is happier than the other. The two issues that worry elderly women are poverty and poor health. So when I worry that when I'm older that I regret my decision (not really a decision, more of a circumstance), it's good to know that I might not.

If you haven't read this book, I truly recommend it for you. It's a fabulous read! I feel blessed to have heard Elizabeth Gilbert speak - what an amazing woman!!

Facebookers Anonymous.........

My friend Janan sent me a link to a great online blog story about Facebook addiction. Now, I've been on Facebook since August and I've reconnected with a lot of great people - it's been a lot of fun! But some people think that I'm addicted..... and I don't know, maybe I am.....

According to Tara Stiles at the Huffington Post, here are the 10 signs that you are a Facebook addict. Check yourself against the list.......

10 warning signs that you may be addicted to Facebook
1. Facebook is your home page.
Score: +0 (Facebook isn't my home page; but honestly, that's just because I hadn't thought about doing it!!)
2. You update your status more than twice a day.
Score: +1 (I do this alot, I even play games with my friends where we make fun of people who keep the "is" in their status even when it is not appropriate!!)
Total Score: 1
3. You have over 500 "friends" half of whom you've never actually met.
Score: +0 (I have 384 friends, I know all of them except maybe 6. I've even had 2 friends that I knew "un-friend" me - one because I wasn't church going and I have no idea about the other.)
Total Score: 1
4. As soon as you step away from your computer you're on FB on your phone.
Score: + 1/2 (I wouldn't say as soon as I step away, but it's pretty damn close. I'm constantly checking my phone for status updates and messages.)
Total Score: 1.5
5. You are a FB stalker. You qualify as a FB stalker if you
a) click on someone's profile more than once a day even if they haven't messaged or tagged you in a photo.
b) have dragged and dropped more than 3 FB photos (not from your own profile)
c) actually go to a place mentioned on someone's page in hopes of seeing them in real life...creepy!
Score: +1 (I've done A, never done B or C. I know that's bad!!)
Total Score: 2.5
6. You change your profile picture more than a 12-year=old girl.
Score: +0 (I don't really change my profile except for holidays... maybe!)
Total Score: 2.5
7. You have checked your FB page while reading this article.
Score: +1 (I had to check it to see how many friends I have... then I saw a wall comment that I had to reply to......)
Total Score: 3.5
8. You clean up your "wall" so it looks like you spend less time on FB.
Score: +0 (What you see is what you get!!)
Total Score: 3.5
9. You are a member of more than 10 groups and respond to every event invitation "attending" even if you have no intention of going.
Score: +0 (I belong to 36 groups (I know, I know), but I mostly put maybe for attending.)
Total Score: 3.5
10. You change your relationship status just to mess with people.
Score: +0 (My status is pretty solid, so that wouldn't do anything to mess with anyone!!)
Total Score: 3.5

So am I addicted?? Discuss..... and more importantly, are YOU addicted?

My Valentine's Gift to You!!

It was hot in 1986 and it stands the test of time...... enjoy!!



Tom before he was crazy, Val before he was bloated, Anthony before he was bald, and who knows what happened to the other guy.

(Ed.'s note: When I was assistant manager at Blockbuster on 35 & Teasley in Denton while in college, we'd play Top Gun in the store. We'd rewind this scene over and over until either the customers complained or the boys would get mad. Good times!)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day. Just saying it makes me want to retch. There's nothing more special about a day of love when you are single. Alone. Unattached.

For a long time, I had many single girlfriends. Our mantra was, "Valentine's Day is about friendship!" and we'd go to dinner and a movie, buy each other cute little friendship gifts, and use it as an excuse to eat excessive amounts of chocolate. Well, one by one, these girls have married themselves off.... and as they do, Valentine's Day being a day about friendship is an idea of the past. No more cute friendship cards, or wanting to do something as friends. They are married, they have husbands!! They don't have to make themselves feel better with the friendship stance. Now it's which one got the best flowers, which one got jewelry, etc. (Ed.'s note: This year, the economy has worked in my favor. Flowers and gifts are less this year, so it's not as blaringly obvious as maybe it has been in years past.)

I work in a school, so at least I'm always guaranteed a little Valentine's action at work. I cruised the parties yesterday (while thanking God that I didn't have to be there the whole time) and I got quite a few cards, candy, and hugs from the kids. Kids love Valentine's Day - they give cards, candy, they get a party, they have huge smiles on their face. Hanging out with the kids restores my faith.

You know, Valentine's Day is the only day all year I feel crappy about being single. I'd like to thank the media and the retail industry (special shout out to Hallmark) for their hard work at taking a crack at my self-esteem. And I love when my married friends say, "Well, we aren't doing anything special for Valentine's." And I want to scream, "Dumbass, I think it's more about the fact you have SOMEONE while I lay alone tonight, clutching my pillow, crying myself to sleep over the huge void I have in my heart." (Ed.'s note: Okay, that last comment was even a little too melodramic for me!!) At least I'm not out any money, so I guess I have that going for me!

What will I do today? After I take a Xanax so I don't feel bad about being alone, I will either do what I wrote on Facebook (1. Bury head in sand. 2. Sleep. 3. Wake up on February 15th) or come out of my pity party long enough to rustle up the few single gal pals I have left and do something fun.

Before you run off to your romantic dinners, or stare at your beautiful flowers, why don't you take a moment and wish a single gal "Happy Valentine's Day." I bet you can count it as community service!!

WTF is up with Joaquin?

I used to love Joaquin Phoenix, especially when he was Leaf Phoenix. One of my favorite movies is 1989's "Parenthood," in which Leaf plays Gary, the young confused son of Dianne Wiest. He's moody, brooding and never talks. When Dianne sees him, she always says, "Hi Gary!" My Dad's name is Gary and my sister and I like to do that to him......

I loved "Walk The Line" - so much so, it made me hate "Cash: The Musical." He was great as Johnny Cash and had a great singing voice.

So I heard recently that he had quit acting to make music. Not sure I agree with that, as I do think he's a talented actor, but to each his own.

So last night, he was on Letterman and he was weird. Like either he was acting like this was a character or a role, or he was stoned on drugs, or he's just weird.

I'm hoping it's not drugs - his big brother River died of a drug overdose in 1993 and it was so sad - so gorgeous, so talented, so useless to die at such a young age.

So here's the clip from Letterman:



What do you think?

Oh, the places my blog goes......

On my blog page, down on the right hand side, I have a traffic wigit. It tells me when someone comes on my page and where they come from. It shows if they arrived by a link (like my Facebook page) or if they leave by one of my links - that is soo cool!!

So far I've seen Ireland, England, Canada and Australia. Today I had someone from Poland - how cool is that?????

Please comment on my blog - I love to know that many people are reading it!! How exciting!!

(Ed.'s note: Now if I could only turn this into a book deal..... wow!!)

Shut your pie hole, Pete Delkus!!

We've been hearing about the bad weather that was coming for the past day. Strong winds, hail, heavy rain, possible tornados.

We had PTA tonight and I was anxious to get our program done and everyone out and home before the bad weather hit. We did that.

I got home around 8 - turned on the TV. From 8-9, Pete was just breaking it at commercials and giving updates. Then at 9 PM, he just takes over the airwaves. There are reporters all over the Metroplex and they are reporting. I mean, don't you think I have sense enough that when the power goes off and the sirens sound that I should take cover? And if I don't have sense, then let Darwin work his magic!!

So what do I miss? True Beauty - one of my reality shows!! I swear, Pete acts like every weather thing is a natural disaster in the making. I'm so sick of him butting into shows and dramatizing the weather!! I wanted to see my cutie-patootie Ray!

Shut up and leave me alone! Let me watch my shows in peace!!

I'm on a boat!!

I love Andy Samberg!! I blame this on my brother-in-law, Mike. Mike and Sarah got me hooked on "Awesometown" a few years back. Then, of course, Andy has done all of his SNL videos (Lazy Sunday, Dick in a Box, etc.).

This one was on SNL last night and I could not stop laughing. Why? I don't know. You may not find it as funny as I do. But I'm a touch sleep-deprived. But I totally love the whole T. Pain aspect of this..... Enjoy!! (Ed.'s note: This is the explicit version - the clean version didn't have a link. So there are a lot of "mother f" bombs - little kiddos don't need to hear this!!)

Fins to the left.... fins to the right.....

..... cause Jimmy Buffett is coming to town on April 18th!! I'm so excited - he'll be at Pizza Hut Park here in Frisco and I'll be there!!

I'm going with Misty, Gina, and Rhonda.... and two not-yet-to be determined folk. My friends Kim and Marilyn will be in from Austin...... I can't wait......

So it bears asking the question - what is your favorite Buffett song? I can't pick one, so here are a few that I love (in no particular order...):

1. "Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes" - great song that makes me chill..... plus it has one of the greatest lines ever, "if we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane."

2. "Bank of Bad Habits" - this is from my favorite Buffett CD, "Barometer Soup" - again, memories of my first year in Florida and my indoctrination into being a true Parrothead!

3. "Why Don't We Get Drunk?" - ahhhhh..... great karoake song..... "They say you are a snuff queen, Honey, I don’t think that’s true...So, why don’t we get drunk and.... "

4. "Volcano" - this reminds me of my first summer living in Florida.... lots of stories, maybe some great blog entries one day.....

5. "Fruitcakes" - I don't want that much organization in my life!! I want my junior mints!!

So, any other Parrotheads out there? What's your favorite song?

Trivia Night 2009 is history!!

So tonight was our annual Trivia Night to benefit the LE Friends of the Library. This was my 3rd year to participate and we had a blast!!

We scored 42 out of 64 points. Not really impressive, but as I looked back in my blog, I saw that we only scored 36 points last year - so a 6 point improvement is somewhat impressive.

Let me introduce you to my team:

1. CE: married, no kids, 1 dog, 3 year veteran, works with me, partner in crime for many different endeavors
2. KE: married, 3 kids, 3 year veteran, used to work with me and is my fellow partner in crime at Snuffer's
3. ER: married, 1 kid, 2 year veteran, used to work with me and now works in another district, has stong distaste for hair bands (which is a little disheartening in my book)
4. LR: married, 1 kid, first year to be on team, used to work with me, crazy fun
5. JM: single, no kids, 3 year veteran, used to work with her, also went to Van Halen & Heart, Journey, and Cheap Trick with her.... she is my "rock-on" buddy
6. BT: married, no kids, 3 year veteran, used to work with her, Heart, Journey and Cheap Trick alum, amazing knowledge about art and old movies
7. EM: married, 1 kid, works with me, 3 year veteran, addicted to Jeopardy, hates talking on the phone, and knows her trivia

Each year, we say we'll do a team name and dress up. But we don't. And we won't for next year either.

As we like to say, we may not make a good showing in points, but we have a lot of team spirit!!! (Ed.'s note: I'm gonna prepare better for next year!)

I have big news..... I'm expecting.....!!!

..... a dog!! (haha, gotcha!! Trust me, if it were a baby, it'll be the Immaculate Conception - Jesus coming soon......)

I work too much. One of the reasons is that there is nothing to come home to. (Unless you count reality TV something to come home to.) So when I get in a rhythm, I just keep saying to myself, "Just one more thing... just one more thing..." and suddenly it's 10 PM and I have to go.

Other people have families to go home too. You have to feed kids dinner, take them places, bathe them, force them to do their homework, and make sure they go to bed at a decent hour. They have reasons (or excuses) to leave.

So because I'm single and childless, does that mean I have to stay behind and do all the work while the married and with child people get to get the hell up out of work?

As Whitney Houston would say, "Oh.... HELL to the NO!!"

So, since the men are beating down my door.... and while I love kids, I desire none of my own (Ed.'s note: I'm committed to ending my gene pool on a high note!).

So I'm going to get a dog. Or a puppy. But here's the dilemma...... what kind?

I do work long hours, so a puppy is probably out of the question. I need a dog that doesn't need a LOT of physical activity because I'm tired after a 10-12 hour work day. I want one to greet me, lick me, wag his/her tail, and curl up with me on the couch while I watch crappy reality shows.

One of my friends actually said she could see me with a yippy dog. And a carrier. And I take it everywhere. And have a Christmas card picture made with the dog. Really? Uh, I don't think so....

So here's your chance to share your dog wisdom with me - tell me what kind of dog you think I should have and any advice that you might have for me as a new pet owner. Name suggestions are welcomed too.

When will I get the pet? When I find him/her...... more to come later......

An Open Letter to Mo's Parents.....

Dear Mom and Dad,

You know, I've come to realize as I get older how lucky I was growing up.

I grew up in Lake Highlands, which was a great place to grow up in the late 70's/80's. I went to good schools (LHE, Moss Haven, Merriman Park, FMJH) and made some great friends. I wore Polos, Izods, Guess jeans, and Espirit. I wore my Benetton perfume, spiked my hair, and loved my jelly shoes.

You paid for me to go to Ursuline so I could have a good education and prepare for college. You let me be on drill team and you even came to games to watch us perform one of the 3 same routines we did.

You paid for college so when I graduated, I had no loans. How lucky for me!! (Ed.'s note: With my chosen career path of education, I'd have been paying loans until I died!)

You taught me manners so that I could interact with society in a positive way. You punished me when I acted like an ass and you made me be respectful.

As I watch "Tool Academy," "Bachelor" (though not this season!) and "Rock of Love Bus" - I just realize how lucky I was to have the childhood I had. It wasn't always roses, trust me, but at least I'm a decent normal (normal as normal can be) adult.

So when you look at me..... and think...... why isn't she married? Why doesn't she have kids? ... You should be thinking.... thank God she's not a reality show skank!! She's articulate and takes care of herself.

Love your firstborn,
Mo