Starting a Bright, Shiny Day with The Dark Knight (no spoilers)

For the last couple of few weeks Cool Mom and Rule Mom have both taken a back seat to Tool Mom -- and you can choose your definition of "tool" for the last. I have been too busy working at all of the things I need to do to make life better -- and not busy enough enjoying life. You know the old saw, "All work and no play..." Well, this Jack's been very dull indeed.

There's nothing wrong with work.

In fact, work it can be good for you. You know -- food, shelter, clothing, a sense of accomplishment -- some good things do come from work. Work only goes wrong when you do it all the time.

Who me?...Couldn't be....

I'm only pointing out that you shouldn't work all of the time because...well, you shouldn't. I would never eat (when I remember to eat, still working on that one) while sitting with a plate on my lap so that I could continue to work at the laptop taking up residence on the TV tray. Nor would I fail to eat at all, or eat dinner at 22:30 simply because I was the only one home and could take advantage of the time to get more stuff done.

We all know it was you. Admit it.

So, as I was saying, you need to learn how to play again. You need to figure out that life is good, it's all small stuff, there's nothing to fear, and whatever other cliches, quotes, and inspiration fit. You need to be a parent (well, maybe you don't, but I already gave birth); you need to work; and you need a life.

Cats? Cradles? Silver Spoons? Whatchu talkin' 'bout...?

You don't want to be sitting around contemplating your workload with that song on continuous playback in your head. It doesn't help when the young person in your life is vocal, either. "You know, you've hardly been spending any time with me. You're always working, and you know it. You should hang out with me now...in a couple of years I'm not going to want to hang out with you...and you need to get a life, too, 'cuz when I turn 18 I'm going to move out, and you'll be all alone." He listens to oldies. He must have heard the song. He's just trying to manipulate you. He's right.

Hi, my name is April, and I'm a workaholic...

So maybe I was talking about me...just a little bit. I met someone for lunch a few weeks ago who asked me, "What do you do for fun?" I didn't have a good answer and that's been bothering me ever since. I keep saying that I'm going to change...but it's time to do. I've decided to make a change for the better.

Cool Mom goes to the midnight movie...again.

I'm turning over a brand new leaf on a bright, shiny new day. Well, okay, the day isn't exactly bright and shiny yet at 15 minutes after midnight (the 12:01 shows were sold out), but The Dark Knight was a great start. Rule Mom even let me sleep an extra hour this morning (up at 7:30 instead of 6:30...she's relentless).

Keep the momentum going.

So I'm slowing down a little bit. I'm taking time to enjoy the Laphroig (and the cheeseburgers) and the company of friends. As soon as I buy a bottle and make some (burgers and friends). :^)

Are my value senses tingling?

I didn't really say anything in this post. I definitely didn't say anything that hasn't been said many, many times before. I don't think I've violated the "NO Value Added" directive. What do you think?

Steal from the best.

Just thought I should note that I've been playing around with the layout and other "stuff" on the blog (again). I got "subscribe to comments" working (finally...I think), and figured out how to get those cool "subscribe quotes" like Tei uses. I also played around with some new blogger features -- like the new blog roll - so if you are here because some software told you that I linked to you (again), that's probably it. If I think of anyone else I've ripped off flattered, I'll be sure to give credit where it's due.

Subscribe...while you're still the hero.

Eating Is Good For You...Who Knew?

Dave Navarro's post on sleeping was the first thing I saw in my reader this morning. I thought about it, processed the parts that don't apply to me, and made a mental note to come back for the parts that did apply. I thought about folks I know who might benefit from the series, and then went on with my day.

I've been dragging a good part of the day, no matter how I tried to ignore it. I even planned (sort of) a post that tied in to Dave's, with an age aspect built in because I've been told that I'm old a few times today. I had all these one-liners and quirky commentary ready to go, but when I sat to write, nothing made sense.

My first thought was, "Sleep now, write tomorrow," but too many people have been telling me lately that I can and will if I believe, that I quit too soon, that I need to exceed my expectations, tell myself to shut up, and so on, and so on, ad nauseum. All I wanted to do was go to bed, people! Cut me some slack already. So I try to re-think instead of retreating, and my internal editor puts in her two cents, You're not really tired. Now I'm ready to tell her to shut up. I've already told myself that I'm not really tired (even though I'm sleepy). I don't need her telling me again.

You're not really sleepy. I can't fight everything at once, so I listen. What did you eat today? Taken aback, I stopped to think. What did I eat today? I got up at 6 and waited on my son. I played the good mommy when he got up at 10; he wouldn't normally get French toast on a weekday, but it's the first week of summer break at home. He went to a friend's; I went to the store for dinner ingredients. He did dinner at friend's house and I.... So it's 21:45 (my dad was military, "There's only one 9:45 in a day.") and my total food intake for the day was two slices of French toast. I hate it when that witch is right.

I went off to forage and came back to write. There has been some improvement in brain function, but I'm not sure how much. In future posts, I'll tell you about the dangers of the middle flame; how youth can age you; and how to make the perfect barbecue sauce. That's for the future, though, so, here's the recap for now: sleep deprivation is bad; getting up early to get more done after having slept enough is good; taking in too few calories can wipe you out no matter how much sleep you've had.

I've still got 10 minutes to make this post "today". It's 10 minutes to midnight, so I'm not quitting too soon, but I'm shortchanging myself on sleep tonight -- I'll be up at 6 tomorrow. Oh well, maybe I'll fire on all cylinders next time. I forgot about the hyperlinks...more time burned.