Things that are not the band

I promised not to be all band all the time this week, so here you go. Other than band-ness, there's not a lot going on with me. I am buckling down and making myself write on the nights that Kris is out doing band stuff, which is quite a few. Other things of note:

• My niece's arrival is imminent. Her momma's started dilating, the gates are starting to open, it's just a matter of when the kid is ready to pop out. It's very exciting and I can't wait for it!
• The Good Citizenship Award goes to my mom, Anne the Canvasser, who is interviewed in the article linked there.
• I get a bonus beach weekend this weekend and there ain't nothing bad about that. Extra bonus points because Ryn and I have been tryin to do this for years and it's finally happening. Woohoo!

OK time for my other happy, going to see the X-Files movie.

We're Gonna Be So Sad, So Sad, So Sad, So

If ever the opposite of that were true, it's now. Check out all the amazing things happening in this All Schocholautte Edition of my blog:

• Schocholautte is NOW AVAILABLE for purchase in the iTunes store and at Amazon.com
• Schocholautte and The Trash Bar Trash (live album) NOW AVAILABLE for download at last.fm
• video of studio sessions and a band interview have been posted on Woozyfly.com
The boys got a big boost from their mention on Tomato Nation yesterday.
• EP Release Party - Friday 8/1 at the Trash Bar, 9 pm, 256 Grand St. Brooklyn, $7 cover, autographed copies of Schocholautte and The Trash Bar Trash for sale, as well as lots of fun and surprises to be had.

Thanks to everyone who's been supporting the band. It really means a lot to me and to them. I really care about this band and want them to succeed, for personal reasons and because I care about the guys and they deserve it. 

I promise not to be entirely all about Schocholautte all week. 

Tomatoes Are My Favorite Fruit

Today I am a happy girl. Because today I got an IM from Sarah that went something like this: "OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! YOU'RE ON TOMATO NATION!!!!!"

Sars an infinitely cool web author, answered a request I made of her to check out Schocholautte and, if she liked them, to mention them on her internationally renowned awesome website. And, Princess of Cool that she is, she did. Which makes me feel like this:

(You can pretty much stop watching after 3:25)

This is a week when life gets consumed by the band. The EP drops tomorrow and the release party is Friday and I am all about it all.

And yet, somehow, I am still finding some time to get some of my own writing done. Because my amazing boyfriend, who has a million things to worry about this week and needs all the help he can get, wants me to focus on my career, not his. And I want to do that too.

Balancing is fun. 

Oh, and P.S. go leave Sars some love and tell her how awesome she is for helping spread the word on three awesome kids from BK.

(with apologies to the Grammar Goddess herself, from one who calls herself an editor by day and is therefore too tired at night to write properly)

The Man Is Having the Time of His Life on the Left Coast

Somewhere, in a convention center in California, my boyfriend is having a complete blast of a day at ComiCon. And that puts a smile on my face from ear to ear.

Back on the homefront, the issues that were causing crazy to boil near the surface are being dealt with calmly and systematically and before any overflow occurs. Combine that with the company buying lunch and my sister being unexpectedly free to hang out tonight and this day is turning out not so bad.

Especially for one that started with me discovering ANTS all over my kitchen counter. Yeah. Where's a man when you need one? :)

ThisClose

I might freak out in a minute. Or in an hour. Or sometime real soon. 

Where is the positive in this? I have not freaked out yet. My man, whom I love, has taught me so much about controlling my emotions, being calm and handling whatever life throws at me. In years past, I would have broken down hours ago. Instead I have gone into calm, problem-solving mode.

Unfortunately, his being out of town is coinciding with a hailstorm of crazy shit. I will try to contain it until I pick him up from the airport Saturday night. Let's try to keep the storm of crazy bubbling under the surface, eh?

Too Hot

Today is a day for cheering me up. Because apparently the choices are, keep the office door and suffer the stifling heat or be assaulted by the sounds of a BUZZSAW down the hall. Because, despite the line on my Wii Fit graph going down for 3 consistent sessions, my shorts are still super tight. And for a whole host of other reasons, it is time to remember why I can smile.

• I have officially Started Writing Again. I have an idea that's possessed me and according to those I've told about it, it's a good'un. I am trying to take it slow and do all the necessary prewriting before I start in on the actual story. I'm actually kind of enjoying creating these characters' backgrounds. It is still that frustrating feeling of not feeling like you're getting anywhere because you can't say "I have written X pages." But it feels good to be doing it nonetheless.
• I've gotten my credit card balance under $1500. WOOOOO! (FYI I was living off my Amex for part of last year and have been trying to pay it down since).
• I had a terrific time with my friends on Saturday night, finally getting to go up and see their house and hanging out and seeing the Dark Knight at the drive-in.
• In 1 week, Kris's band is releasing an EP on Amazon.com and iTunes. In 10 days, they are having an EP release party. In 2+ weeks, I am going to see Counting Crows with a bunch of fun cool people. In 26 days, I will be an aunt AND I will have been with Kris for 4 years. There is a lot of good to look forward to, people.

I am pathetically past due on giving props to some people who richly deserve them:

• Sarah, who bought her first home two weeks ago! Welcome home, sweetie.
• Joanna, my sister, who passed her NCIDQ certification exam!
• Lauryn, who is finally getting out of her crap job and starting nursing school in a month!

I am so proud of all my girls. I know so many awesome people and that's another reason to be happy.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

• slept late
• spent 4 days laying on the beach at the Jersey shore, getting gorgeously tan and not really burned
• read 2 magazines and half a novel
• played a bunch of games of Uno
• played 3 games of mini-golf: pirate-themed indoor, complete with blacklight paint and a constant soundtrack of shantys, gold mine-themed, and lost city-themed (which reminded me of Indiana Jones)
• pumped about 10 bucks into Area 51 arcade machines
• played air hockey and some other random arcade games
• shot a couple games of pool and won most of them
• played a trivia game in a bar with a group of friends and came in 2nd
• played a hardcore 2 hour game of 4square
• saw Wall-E, Hancock, and Hellboy 2
• rode the big Ferris Wheel
• strolled up and down the boardwalk several times
• went for a 10 mile bike ride (I KNOW!!) to get Icees
• ate pizza, subs, french fries, fried oreos and all kinds of other bad stuff
• ate ice cream almost every day
• went to Wawa any time we wanted to
• spent 8 days of extremely good quality time with my man, reconnecting and being lovey-dovey and reordering our priorities to put each other at the top of our lists

I cannot describe fully how much I needed that vacation or how incredibly wonderful it was. All I can say is it was like hitting reset and cranking all my knobs to their optimal settings. I felt happy, healthy, relaxed and unstressed (and despite eating like a queen and gaining a couple pounds, having moments when I looked at myself and thought 'I look FANTASTIC!'). I only hope I can find ways to retain these feelings in my everyday life or regain them when I start to lose my grip on them. I always want to feel the way I felt last week.

How Cool Is My Boyfriend?!?!

Howdy kids! Lots has happened and you can expect an update on my vacay and on all the wonderful things to come. But to tide you over, in the meantime, go check out how freakin' cool my boyfriend is.

His music. Is on AMAZON.COM!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am officially freaking out.

Hello Again, Old Friend

I guess when one find's oneself staring out the window at work, one probably has time to blog.

The past few weeks have been crazy busy, obviously. In brief:

• The band has been going well. Successful shows, good music, new songs, fun times. It's been going so well, I hardly see my man anymore, but that's the price of fame. Plus I exaggerate a wee bit.
• I performed in a scene for my theater group's open meeting. That went well. It will probably be all the acting I do for a while, but it was nice to help out a friend and stretch my acting limbs.
• Threw a birthday bash for my man that seemed to be a rousing success. Many friends attended, good food and beer was consumed and a good time was had by all. I certainly had a happy Birthday Boy on my hands. 
• Got to see what is becoming the Annual Outdoor Shakespeare play with Sarah. Complete Wrks is funny, but we'd both already seen it. Still it was a nice night out that was much needed.
• Co-threw a baby shower for Kris's sister. Even though we were running late and all kinds of things went wrong, it still came off well. She very much enjoyed and appreciated it and she got a ton of adorable stuff. I felt good to have been able to help out on a venture like this for me adopted family.
• Spent the rest of that weekend enjoying the company of good friends and then enjoying the company of no one but Kris. That was fantastic. I can genuinely say I didn't worry about anything almost all day.
• I jumped back on the Wii Fit train. I never really stopped eating right or walking when I got the chance, so  my weight didn't change that much, but now I'm back to trying to at least do yoga every day. I set a more reasonable goal for myself this time. We'll see. If it works, I'll be so happy.
• Work has been positively crazy. We have all been pushed to the limit, but we have very barely made our deadlines. I have been doing a good job and just recently we hired someone to do the boring crap work that I've been doing so that I can focus on doing the stuff that actually uses my brain, which makes me more useful to the team, YAY!
• It is almost time to not think about work anymore. After tomorrow afternoon, I will be on vacation for a  week and a half (with the holiday). Down the shore, lodging at Kris's parents', going to the free beaches at Wildwood, having lots of WaWa and ice cream. 

It's been a very full month and still kind of empty in a way. I've done a lot for others, but not much for myself. So I've resolved that when I return, I will give myself a project, one that will make me happy. To be continued...

I Feel Fine! I Feel Happy!

Just a post to say "I'm not dead yet!" There's been a lot of radio silence in the blogs I read and apparently I've joined them. This is one of those good droughts, were I've been too busy to write, but I'll be back soon to recap. In the meantime, watch this: