Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

I am grateful I caused no physical harm this weekend to my Bat Mitzvah-defiant, Torah portion-rejecting, non-speech writing daughter.

I am grateful for Tylenol.

I am grateful for Wii Fit Rhythm Boxing.

I am grateful there are less than three weeks left until my life returns to it's regularly scheduled programming.

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

Sometimes it takes a lifetime to get perspective.
Sometimes it takes one phone call. 

I started my morning, as I have every morning lately, going through my list of "to do's".  Just sitting at my desk ignites stress.  The piles, the post-its.  What did I forget?  What more do I have to do?  The lists are endless,  boundless petri dishes for my type-A tendencies. 

And as the date of my daughter's Bat Mitzvah draws closer, I find myself forgetting about the joy and significance of this milestone and focusing more on the expectation.  The obligation.

Until today. 

With one call, with one distressed voice on the other end of the line, that changed.

Because of the event, I am in touch with family members I rarely speak to.  All of them live out of town.  Many of them are elderly.  And I have suddenly been given a glimpse into their daily world.

I called one of them this morning, expecting a conversation of details and chit-chat and instead encountered a woman who was pre-occupied, impatient, and not the least bit interested in talking about my daughter's Bat Mitzvah.  It turns out her husband had spent the night in the E.R. and she was, at that moment, preparing to take him back to the hospital.  She was worried.  She was scared. 

We spoke briefly.  I wished them both well and we hung up. 

I felt bad about the phone call.  Bad that her husband was not well.  And bad that I had stirred up so much anxiety for myself over a Bat Mitzvah.  I felt petty.  Shallow.  Small.

I thought about them a lot, and other relatives/friends of ours from their generation.  About how so many of their lives now center around doctors' appointments, trips to the pharmacy, the hospital. 

I thought that as much as I muse about mid-life and lament about turning 50,  I am totally clueless about what it's like to actually be OLD.

Cherish the moments.
Celebrate the milestones.
Enjoy life.

I hear people say these things all the time but I never feel they apply to me.  I'm too busy supermarket shopping, cleaning, carpooling, living my daily life, to make a big deal out of things like birthdays and anniversaries.  It's nice for other people and I love being a part of their celebrations... I guess I just thought there'd always be time.

And hopefully there will be. 

But with this one phone call, I began to wonder, "Why not start now?"

So, for today, I will be grateful for the stress and the chaos that this celebration brings.
And grateful for the loved ones and friends who will be here to share it with us.

Because while a Bat Mitzvah may not be a matter of life and death, it is very much a matter of LIFE.

And, you can bet, we're going to celebrate the shit out of it.

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

As I go through family photos to include in my daughter's Bat Mitzvah montage, it is clear to me that I should stop romanticizing the past...and begin being grateful for:

Lasik Surgery
Tamer Hair Styles

OMG!

I guess middle age ain't all bad.

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

I am grateful for television.
I am grateful for baths.
I am grateful for wine
      ....and my bed.

That is all...

Give Me The Grateful Life Monday AKA BlogHer09 Follow-Up

Wow. 

I am once again surprised by the lingering impact the BlogHer weekends have on me.

Last year, my first, I didn't know what to expect. 

This year, I thought myself an "expert" and not vulnerable to being blindsided by the intensity.

But I am.  The schedule, the crowds, the number of great women (and few men) with whom I wanted to meet and connect. 

I am exhausted.

My head is spinning.

But I feel great.

I know there is a lot of negative buzz going on in Twitterland and elsewhere 2.0 about the weekend.  But I am choosing to be grateful for the fun times I had, the amazing people I met, the fantastic city I explored.  I'm letting the rest of it, the shit, settle to the bottom where it belongs.

So here is what I am grateful for today.  I will write in more detail once my brain is fully functioning:

• I am grateful for getting to/from Chicago safely and on time.
• I am grateful for not getting stuck in rush hour traffic and overstuffed limos.
• I am grateful for going to so many parties and yet not being a party to high drama.
• I am grateful for the amazing, informative seminars, the ROTFLMAO Humor Panel in particular.  (Please BlogHer ladies, get a bigger room next year, this subject deserves it.)
• I am grateful for protein and oatmeal at breakfast.
• I am grateful for a great roomie.
• I am grateful for making it to the Cheezburger party this year.  (Where else would I don a McD's bag on my head and not look strange.)
• I am grateful for seeing and meeting so many of my blogger (now IRL) friends.
  

• And though, for me, BlogHer was NOT about the swag (I didn't go to parties for it and I didn't even visit the Expo until late Saturday afternoon), I am truly grateful for the Kodak pocket videocam.  Sweeeeet.
  
• And, of course, I'm grateful for my husband who supremely held down the fort in my absence.
• And I am grateful for my kids.  (Who I still think are cute.  Ask me later today.)
  

Welcome home everyone. 

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

 

I am quickly losing track of time.  I cannot remember what day it is with no school or camp schedule to keep me in line.  The days are seamless, bleeding into one another.

But you know what?  I'll take that over getting up early, packing lunches, and carpools, any day.

Which leads me to this week's gratitude...

• I am grateful for the lovely breakfast I had with Heather and Meghan (and two new friends, Hannah and (another) Heather), yesterday morning.  It's always nice to see my girls.
• I am grateful for the selfish Sunday I had - swimming, sunning, and working out -  after a totally chaotic week.
• I am grateful that the huge zit which lived and breathed on my chin for over a week is finally taking it's last breaths. 
• I am grateful that I will have a new design for this blog soon.
  
• I am grateful that my trip to Chicago is in little over a week.  Are you ready to PARTAY ladies!

What are you grateful for?

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

Summer is here.  What's not to be grateful for, right?

• I am grateful for successfully motivating myself to write. It has been empowering (so far).
• I am grateful for gorgeous green mountains against blue, non-polluted skies.
• I am grateful that my kids are relaxed and stress-free.
• I am grateful for watching them play and laugh in the pouring rain.
• I am grateful for Jamie Lee Curtis.

That last one is curious, I know.  But hear me out.
I've always loved Jamie Lee Curtis.
Not for her role in the Activia commercials, not for her movie roles, but for her contributions as a writer.

She has published some amazing children's books, written for Salon.com and is currently a contributor at HuffPost. For someone who grew up in Hollywood, with celebrity parents, Jamie Lee Curtis has a strong sense of right and wrong. Her feet are firmly planted into the ground. She is sensitive, attentive, and eager to share her parenting mistakes and insights with the rest of us.  I always enjoy, and learn, from her pieces.

I came across her most recent essay today and thought it was a "must share".   For those of us who didn't have the benefit of seeing what she did first hand, we can take her experience and find a way to make it our own.

Here is the link to her essay, Pay Attention,  in today's Huffington Post (for which I am grateful).

What are you grateful for this week?

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

It's June Gloom here on Los Angeles' westside.  I'm wrapped in a sweater, gazing at grey skies, waiting for the first rain drop to fall.  This is the one time of the year where it is NOT better to live by the beach.  While the rest of you thaw in the heat of the new summer sun, we ocean neighbors chatter our teeth, socked in by cool, damp, blankets of fog until late afternoon. 

We may get to neener, neener the rest of the year, but in May and June, you have it all over us. 

You may gloat now.

But it's Monday, so enough complaining, let's get to the gratitude.

• I am grateful that my son and his friends had a fantastic time at his birthday party.
• I am grateful that no bones or furniture were harmed during the production of said birthday party.
• I am grateful that both of my kids are occupied until 5pm today. 

 

Yes, the boy with the wild expression and the equally wild hair... my son.

What are you grateful for today?

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

Here we are again, another week another budget cut reason to be grateful. 

• I am grateful that Peanut is back to her energetic self and that all of her blood tests came back negative.
• I am grateful that summer is near because I am as sick of doing homework as my kids are.
• I am grateful that my son's turning 9 this week and hoping that I survive his first sleepover party.
• I am grateful for summer fruits, late sunsets, and chardonnay (sometimes I skip the merlot).
• I am grateful for being part of a public school where the parents make things happen even when the people who are supposed to (Schwarzenegger, LAUSD and UTLA) DON'T.

What are you grateful for this week?

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

It's Monday.  Give Me the Grateful Life Monday.

Except I am frustrated today.  With myself and my kids.
But in light of finding things to be grateful for (because isn't that what this is all about, finding gratitude even when you're not quite feeling it?), I am going to find a way to turn my angst into appreciation.

Here goes:

• Even though my kids are both locked in their rooms because of yet another fight about chores and homework (and in the case of my son an all-out scream fest), I am grateful that they are home, safe, and healthy.
• Instead of beating myself up over battling yet another round of writer's block, I am going to focus on how grateful I am for having the time to pursue something I love and TRY to take the pressure off so I can enjoy it.
  
• Despite spending a significant part of my days distracted by and tending to my insatiably active puppy, I am still grateful for having her around 'cause she's so cute, an amazing guard dog, and I just couldn't imagine not having her around.  (Most of the time.)
  
• I am grateful for the BBQ with friends last night and for watching a video of our kids in pre-school when my son's hair was neat and clean and so were the words that came out of his mouth.
  
• I am grateful for having friends who are do-ers (Elisa, Susan and Jennifer - The Lemonade Initiative ladies) and motivate me to get out of my head and out of my house to fight injustices like the drastic LAUSD budget cuts.
  
• I am grateful last night's earthquake was not the big one. 

Wow.  See what happened?  I went from forcing myself to feel grateful to actually feeling grateful.   If you "act" you will "be".  I honestly feel better.  Pretty cool.


What are you grateful for this week?

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.  I hope you had a restful day.  I spent much of mine in a car on the 405 Fwy in search of discounted outdoor furniture advertised on Craig's List.  But we found some pretty nice pieces so I'm cool with it.

I am grateful for a few things today...

I am grateful for spending a quiet weekend with both my husband and my kids because it's been a while.
I am grateful that my husband will NOT be traveling for at least another two weeks.
I am grateful for my daughter who, in my opinion, and in the opinion of others, is growing up to be a really lovely girl.
I am grateful that my kids are both healthy and in school and my days are my own again.
I am grateful for the Mother's Day card my (almost) 9 year old son gave me.  It will definitely go in the memory box.  (See below):

 

What are you grateful for this week????

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

 

After a hectic few weeks where my life went a bit off-kilter with hubby's surgery, a lingering flu, and my child's failing grades, etc, I am glad to say that my daily routine is back in full swing.  To think, I had been lamenting that routine!  The old adage is definitely true, you don't realize how much you appreciate something until that something is gone.

Heretofore my grateful post:

• I am grateful my hubby has only a week or two left in his brace (I need his strong arms and I need my squishy pillow back!)
• I am grateful for a fun weekend with my family in Utah where we celebrated my dad's 75th birthday.
• I am grateful my husband will stop traveling so much after next week - his absence has made me appreciate him more  and I would like to have him around for a while. (But maybe not too long or the appreciation thing might backfire).   ;)
  
• I am grateful my kids are old enough that traveling on a plane with them was actually a pleasure.
• I am grateful to have the energy to start exercising again. (It makes my family grateful too - trust me.)

What are you grateful for this week?

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

 

The last two weeks have sucked the big one for a myriad of reasons, some huge and significant, some small and merely bothersome.  But the thing about life is that each new day, each new week, is an opportunity for improvement.   At least that's how I'm choosing to look at it right now.

So let's focus on some gratitude!

• I am grateful for a new week: one where I won't be wasting away in bed.
• I am grateful each day my daughter peforms better in school.
• I am grateful for the giggle I just had when my daughter fell in the pool fully clothed (while playing fetch with my dog).
• I am grateful for the beautiful flowers blooming in my yard.
  
• I am grateful for gouda cheese.

What are you grateful for this week?  Please share.

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

 

After a week like this one, it's difficult, but all the more important to find a way to appreciate what we have in our lives.

Heather and Mike Spohr lost their beautiful girl, Maddie,  this week.  One look at her eyes and that smile and you could tell she was special.  Despite Maddie's short time here, and through the power of the internet, she lit up many lives, including my own.  It is evident in the plethora of photos out there how Heather and Mike packed every moment of the time they shared with Maddie with love and gratitude.  For that, I can be grateful in the midst of such a tragedy.

1. I am grateful that my friends, Heather and Mike, got to have 17 beautiful months with their daughter, Maddie.
2. I am grateful for the, I think, unprecedented outpouring of love and support from the internet community to help the Spohrs during this challenging time.
3. I am grateful for the opportunity to STOP and take time to appreciate my own family and friends.
4. I am grateful that I live in the same city, can attend the funeral, walk the MoD walk, and wear purple to show my love for Maddie and her family.
5. I am grateful I became a blogger.

What are you grateful for this week?

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday (and much rambling)

 

Nothing like watching an Oprah episode with mom bloggers to make me remember, "Hey, I'm a mom blogger too!"  That is, I would be if I paid any attention to my dang mom blog.

Hey, Oprah, It's me.  Merlotmom.  I'm over here.

I'm a bad mom blogger.
I'm a bad mom.
I'm a bad wife.
 

You see, as much as these women were on the show to let us all know that in some ways "we all suck", that none of us are fairy-tale moms, that few of us are horny for our husbands, and that THAT IS ALL OKAY, just the fact that these women were on there, that they had published a book, or were starring on a tv show, or were making oodles of money with their blog (Hey, Dooce!), or just looked so damn pretty on tv!, MADE ME FEEL WORSE.

Why can't I focus on something long enough to be Oprah-worthy?  Why do I feel like I work so hard, am so tired all the time, but never actually succeed to the point where anyone else would notice?  

I seem to have developed adult-onset ADD.  I can't focus on anything long enough to make significant strides.   I dabble in my blog, I write fiction but I don't submit it for publication, I don't like lunching with the girls, and I am a fair-weather FaceBooker and Twitterer.  Aaargh.


I don't usually watch Oprah during the day cuz I don't have time but it's spring break and I was supposed to be watching the kids swimming in the pool, but I got caught up in Oprah instead cuz she was talking to my people, and see, I do suck as a mom cuz someone could have drowned while I had my feet up, munched on sugar snap peas (lunch) and listened to my mommy peers, dammit! 


But the episode did give me a swift kick in the ass, so here I am, merlotmom, fickle mom blogger, writer of run-on sentences extraordinaire, danger to everyone's children,  to present some KICK ASS GRATITUDE FOR THIS WEEK.  (did you see that coming??)

1. I am grateful that my husband is having surgery on Thursday and that he is traveling for business right after so that I don't have to play nursemaid for long.  (Suck it judge and juries, I said I was a bad wife,  sheesh!)
2. I am grateful that it is Spring Break and the weather is nice and I don't have to carpool anyone anywhere.
3. I am grateful there's no homework for a week.  Yeah!
4. I am grateful someone else is doing Passover Seder. (Except for the soup cuz no one beats my soup.)
5. I am grateful for our trip to Disneyland tomorrow cuz we're going with a friend who got us all VIP passes and there will be no long-ass waiting in lines for us.  Yeah, baby!

What are you grateful for this week?
Or how bad do you suck?
Whichever floats to the top my friends...

(and no, I am not drinking in the afternoon, not yet, anyway...)

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

I feel like I was just here.
Oh yeah, that was Friday.
Well, considering how little I've been posting lately,  I WAS JUST HERE.

But it's Monday and I don't want to forget to show my weekly gratitude hence I start the week with some bad karma.

1. I am grateful for selling some of our furniture on Craig's list so we can afford a bit of new.
2. I am grateful for the burst of color from the budding flowers in my yard.
3. I am grateful for spending some time (albeit brief) with just my family this weekend.  Sometimes I forget we make a pretty good team.
4. I am grateful for being one of a few people in the room when a spontaneous jam session broke out with John Mayer and some friends.  That was definitely the coolest thing that's happened to me in a long time.
5. And, of course, I am grateful FOR MEETING JOHN MAYER THIS WEEKEND CAUSE HE TOTALLY ROCKS AND IS SO COOL AND PUT HIS ARM AROUND ME AND LAUGHED AT MY WEAK JOKES.  (If you ever want to feel like a gushing young teen again, take a picture with a rock star, that'll do it.)

What are you grateful about this week?

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

Here we are again, Monday.

Feeling the tedium today. I'm fuzzy, unmotivated, meandering on this road we call life.

But I have a lot of shit to accomplish so I better get with it! Hopefully this will help keep me moving forward.

1. I am grateful for spending quality time with good friends this weekend.
2. I am grateful for the laughter we shared which left me breathless way beyond my comfort zone.
3. I am grateful for having writer friends who share their Academy screeners.
   
4. I am grateful for not feeling like Kate Winslet's character did in Revolutionary Road.
5. I am grateful for remembering my adolescence like it was yesterday; it helps me feel compassion when my teenage daughter has her mood swings. (I knew the misery would come in handy one day!)

What are you grateful for today?

Give Me the Grateful Life - Monday

 

And here we are again, another week, another mountain of mundanity reason to be grateful!
(Mundanity really is a word - I looked it up.)

I'm feeling a bit of the "what the hell happened to my weekend" blues, so I'm gonna dig right in in an attempt to gain perspective and improve my mood.

1. I am grateful that my husband came back from his business trips, even if only for a few days, so he could take on some of the carpooling because he's nice to have around.  ;)
2. I am grateful for the groomer who gave our dogs a much needed bath.
3. I am grateful for the rain.
4. I am grateful for my iPod and exercise bike - they are incredible stress relievers.
5. And, oh yes, I am grateful for PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA! YAAAAAAAAY!

Okay, that did help my mood.  This gratitude stuff works!

What are you grateful for this week?  There's gotta be something...

*photo courtesy of Google Images

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

 

I am under the wire but according to my PST watch, I am SAFE!

Hello readers, Happy Monday to you.

I'm pretty wrecked from the day and have to get up way early tomorrow so I'm going to get right down to the gratitude business.

1. I am grateful for SCHOOL.  That's right, today was my son's first day back after a three week vacation.  Hallelujah.  I do believe there is someone up there looking out for me after all.
2. I am grateful that the kennel cough my dog caught when we boarded her this vacation (first time ever boarding any of our dogs!), seems to be mild and slightly improving.  And that she learned early on to hack it up outside.
3. I am grateful for having time to read my cookbooks this weekend and plan some actual homemade meals for a change.
4. I am grateful that my hubby is coming home from yet another business trip tomorrow - now HE can get up at 6am to walk the dogs.
5. I am grateful for the gorgeous weather Southern Cal is having and that I can, at least for a few days, feel the breeze while I sleep.
   

Please tell me what you are grateful for this week.

**Oh, and also, before you go, I know this is not P.C. for a gratitude post, but I need HELP.  Can someone please give me advice on how to instill manners in my way-too-cool-for-school son.  I am seriously embarrassed when we run into people we know and he refuses to say a proper hello (or goodbye).  Short of smacking the snarky little sucker, WHAT DO I DO?  Nothing I've tried to this point has worked.

Edit:  Thank you for your suggestions.  I combined some with ideas of my own and things have definitely improved.  And just so you know, I was kidding about the smacking.  Merlotmom can be a bit snarky herself.

Thanks.

Give Me The Grateful Life - Monday

 

Today's post will be short and sweet because I am on deadline and seriously behind due to spending every free minute of my weekend reading contest entries.

So, here goes the gratitude:

1. I am grateful for the opportunity to give a lucky winner the HP Giveaway loot and hopefully make some people's Christmas a happy one.
2. After reading all the entries, I am especially grateful for my family's health and my husband's hard work which is keeping food in our fridge and a roof over our heads.
3. I am grateful for the rain.
4. I am grateful vacation is coming.

What are you grateful for today?

HP Giveaway winner will be announced at 12pm PST.  Be there!  Winner must contact me by Tuesday if they want to receive the packages before Xmas.   Good luck!