Tuesday, August 26, 2014

I Can See The Light...

...At the end of the tunnel!  WG goes back Wednesday, and LG a week from tomorrow!

I am DEFINITELY feeling the effects of summer vacation.  I'm looking forward to hopefully-fingers-crossed-keep-a-good-thought having a solo vacation at the end of October.  Details to follow if it actually comes to pass.

In the meantime, "Doctor Who" premiered, of course, on Saturday, and this girl was NOT disappointed!  In a couple of hours, in fact, I'll be heading out to our local cinema to watch it again, this time on the big screen, with a prequel, surrounded by my fellow freaks-er-fans.

Honestly, if you'd have told me back in 1982 that it would reach this level of popularity, I'm not sure I'd've believed you.  It was such a fringe, cult show at the time, in the U.S. That weird thing shown on PBS on weeknights with the bad special effects.  Those of us who DID watch it were considered TRULY odd.
And now?
Well. Just go on YouTube and check out footage from the world tour.  It's HUGE!!!!!!!

Which makes me very happy.
And I'm just gonna say, Peter Capaldi: Rock star!

On the more mundane side, I'm down 14.5 pounds.  At least, I was last week.  This week is PMS, so who knows?  I'l find out tomorrow.

OK, I'm back from the theater.  And I'm just gonna say it again:  Peter Capaldi is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's one thing to go darker with the character, which has been discussed a lot and is (IMHO) absolutely the right way to go.  But to do that AND make him funny AND make him achingly vulnerable all at the same time is no easy feat.  But he makes it look easy.  I'm so blown away by his performance.
And it's only the first week!

And, in other good-news-for-inspirational-stuff, "Sherlock" won a bunch of Emmys.  Including Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and Stepehen Moffat!
So it's been a good night all-around for artistic stuff.

And on that note, I'm off.
Good night!




Sunday, August 17, 2014

Well...

Last week was...rough.  All-around.  Not so much in the way I'd figured.  The kids've been great!  But with everything that's been happening around the country and around the world, well.
Just, well.

Had another personally rough, emotional day.  I think it was, in part, a delayed reaction to Robin Williams' suicide.  The world is a much sadder place now.  And with the events in Ferguson...

Sometimes it's all so overwhelming, isn't it?

But here we are, at the start of a new week.  My mom is in town, as is a friend whom I haven't seen in 20 years.  :)

And we are 6 days away from new "Who."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 2 weeks and 2 days, both kids will be back in school.
Not that I'm counting the days or anything...
I adore them, of course.  But It'll be nice to have those few hours to myself again during the weekdays.
Although it IS hard to believe that LG is going into 8th grade, while WG is going into 6th.
Where are my little toddlers?!?!?!?!

As of my last weigh-in, I'm 13 pounds down.  I'm looking at between 8-13 more, and then we'll take stock.
Working on the meditation, and keeping up the tapping.

I just finished reading a book called "10% Happier" by Dan Harris (who's a correspondent and anchor for ABC news).  It's about his experiences with meditation, after having had a panic attack on air, and I really enjoyed it.  I found it inspiring and very helpful, as well as really funny.  Definitely worth a read if you're interested in meditation.

Finally, trying to find the courage to go into the darkness that is at the root of everything.  The cause of the anxiety, depression, and feelings of worthlessness that crop up now and again.  And to dare to be unexceptional.  To not worry that I'm not "important."  Because I am to the people who matter.
To just be kind, loving, patient, and accepting of my own human-ness and frailty, and of everyone else's.

But I will say this:  Remember that letter I wrote back in March?  I kinda wish I knew for sure that the person I sent it to got it and read it.  Because I think it's important to know when you've inspired someone as much as this person has inspired me.  Just my opinion.

Anyway.  I'll try to go on the assumption that they did.  And hopefully it made them happy, even if only for a few minutes.

OK.  Gotta go to bed.

'Night!

Monday, August 11, 2014

Heck Week

And so it begins.

Hubby starts rehearsals tonight for his new show, so he won't be home much for the next 10 weeks.  The kids, of course, are still on summer vacation.  I'm pretty much on my own this week.  Next week my mom's here, and staying at a hotel with a nice pool.  Thankfully, we still have access to the other pool, as well. And tonight, I'll be taking them out for a walk and some ice cream.
Well, they'll have ice cream.  I have my WW weigh-in tomorrow.  :)
The weight loss continues on apace.  Granted, a slow pace, but that's OK.  I'd rather lose it slowly and keep it off than shed it quickly only to gain it all back (and more) again.
Hubby took a picture of me while I was working out the other night, and I'm just gonna say it; I think my body looks pretty darn good!

My face, on the other hand...

Isn't that always the way?  We focus on one thing and then, when that starts looking/feeling better, we notice something else that's "wrong."
See, I think I look old.  But many people, when they meet me, think I'm in my 30's.  Which isn't bad for a chick who just turned 45.
Besides, getting older is a GOOD thing!  Beats the hell out of the alternative, right?  And I'm MUCH happier now than I was was 10 years ago.  Let's not even talk about being 20-something.  URGH!

I'm kinda loving my 40's, overall.

It's true that women tend to become invisible, as far as our society is concerned, once we hit 40.  But I think it's also true that we don't care as much.  Would I like to see more 40-something women in films?  Hell yeah!  Especially paired up with men in their 40's.  I won't start ranting (again) about how many 40-50 year-old men are romantically paired up onscreen with women in their 20's.  Like in the new Woody Allen film.  Although, in that case, I think it has less to do with Hollywood norms and almost everything tho do with HIM...

Do I mind not being catcalled on the street?  Not. Even. A. Little. Bit.  Do I miss the days of being groped, followed, called names, and harassed?
NO WAY!

See, the nice thing is, once you reach a "certain age," you not only get more confident and less self-conscious, you start focusing on the things that matter.  You start doing things to please yourself, to give yourself that sense of accomplishment, and do them less for other people's approval.

So while we may be invisible in the eyes of society at large, we are very much visible to ourselves, and to the people who really matter.

And I realized something else.  The other day I had a REALLY difficult time.  It was one of THOSE days, in which not only was everything going wrong,  I fell into one of my deep, dark, dank, dreary, dungeon-like doldrums.  I was quite, quite down, to paraphrase Ophelia.  :)
By the following evening, however, I'd rallied.  And by the NEXT day, I was perfectly content.  Because I learned some things.  I won't get into all the details, but it made me recognize that, for one thing, NOTHING is permanent.  Not happiness, not sadness, not anger, hunger, life, etc.  And that going through the bad stuff helps one get to the good stuff.  I felt the sorrow/depression/anger/jealousy/hopelessness/fatigue of those couple of days very deeply, which allowed me to get over it and feel the gratitude/happiness/faith/love that followed. And to feel them all deeply, as well.

I've long thought of myself as a depressed, anxious person.  But I'm not.  Not really.  I am a person who has some depression and anxiety.
And that's COMPLETELY different!

When I talk about my kids, I don't say they're autistic, I say they have autism.  Because "autistic" dismisses them, whereas "they have autism" describes a part of them.  So if I think of myself as "anxious" and "depressed", I'm dismissing MYSELF as someone who just has a bunch of symptoms and isn't worth the time or effort.
Except that I AM worth it.  I'm a whole lot more than a bunch of symptoms that rear they're heads every so often.  I'm also funny, good at puns, passionate, talented, loyal, loving, honest, and (mostly) kind.  Why should ALL THAT be overshadowed by the "negative" stuff?

And, as it turns out, a bit to my surprise, I am perfectly capable of being genuinely happy for someone whose dreams, very similar to mine, have come true, while mine have wasted away.  It's just that I have to wallow for a bit in my jealousy, get it out of my system.  :):):):):):)

Because the "negative" stuff doesn't go away just because we want it to.  Ignoring it only makes it stronger.  If my kid is having a meltdown from sensory over-stimulation, I need to hold him/her and soothe.  Because it's not done for attention.
If I'm feeling badly, it's because something needs to be dealt with. The sooner, the better.

I think I'm finally starting to get it. On more than an intellectual level.

And, hey, it only took 45 years!

Monday, August 4, 2014

Day 1

Of having both kids home for summer vacation at the same time.  So far, so good, knock on wood. I managed to corral both kids to the grocery store AND the coffee bar without any meltdowns.  The it was 2+ hours at the pool, a picnic lunch, and home.
Soon it will be mid-afternoon baths while I squeeze in a workout, then maybe some arts & crafts-y-type stuff before dinner. After dinner, once Daddy's home, a walk to the playground.

Hubby is home in the evenings this week.  Next week he starts rehearsals, so it'll be mostly me taking care of the kids.  My mom is coming in for a week on the 17th, so at least that'll be 1 more pair of eyes, even if it IS exhausting, lol!
Then WG goes back to school on the 27th, and LG on September 2nd.

And, bien sur, "Doctor Who" returns  on August 23rd!!!!!!  Then I'm going to a cinema screening on the 25th.  :)
(Did you know that it was a year ago today that Peter Capaldi was announced as the new Doctor?)

Tomorrow is my weekly WW meeting.  And, given that it is That Time of Month, I'm anticipating a bit of a gain.  Which is fine.  Because it's nothing compared to feeling like you're carrying around the entire Pacific ocean IN YOUR UTERUS!!!!!!
I am bloated beyond belief!  I swear I hear swishing every time I move!  And don't get me started on the cramps!

I enjoy being a girl...

I'm just glad I didn't get it last week.  'Cause having your period on your birthday REALLY sucks!

Alrighty then, I must sign off.  Au revoir, mes amis!  Talk soon.