Made It - #NaBloPoMo 30

It's my last post of National Blog Posting Month, NaBloPoMo, and it couldn't have come at a better time. I've enjoyed getting back to writing every day, even if it's only been a few words, but I'm also ready for it to be over. Traveling this week, Hanukkah next week, and general end-of-the-year chaos would make this very hard to sustain into December.

This time, I have no great insights to share with you all. I've just made it through. I've loved reading along with a few of my friends who did this insanity with me, but I look forward to reading their posts anyway. Reading them every day didn't make it any more or less enjoyable. I've discovered that I have about 75 readers I can count on for a daily post, which is interesting. Some of these were so boring, or so short, that I didn't even throw out the link. As I've learned from doing this before, I rarely feel the urge to share these posts more than once. I think it also means I've shared fewer things on Facebook and Twitter overall, and I don't feel like I tried to tackle anything in a serious or in-depth way this month. I just wrote.

I hope that it's okay, that just me writing is enough sometimes. I do think that's what I wanted my blog to be anyway. Just me writing. I think I got a bit lost in some grander ambitions over the past few years. Not that they were bad things, but maybe beyond the scope of what I really want to do. I've had a few people recently say things to me like, "you work in the theater, right?" or "you're just a blogger, right?" and I felt like they were stabs in my heart. I'm proud of the work that I do here, and did for Listen To Your Mother, but it shocked me to realize that people had no idea what I do in real life (it says it right there, on the right-hand panel, for those of you who don't know). Not that I'm super-descriptive about it here, but I'm proud of my real, paying job too. I think I realized that competing to get the so-few freelancing and paid opportunities that are out there meant taking an opportunity from someone who really needs it, and I don't have the energy for that right now. I know when the lightning strikes, when I do write something special, and I'll save my energy for those moments. I don't think I want to fight so hard to make those moments happen though.

So maybe I did learn something from NaBloPoMo, after all. Maybe just me, writing, is enough for me.

The Night Before - #NaBloPoMo 29

The view from my last hotel. The next one will look nothing like this.

I'm leaving for another business trip in the morning. It's my third trip in about three months time, and it's starting to feel more normal to pack up my suitcase and go. Even packing, which you all know I dread, didn't seem as bad today.

I've been really looking forward to this trip, and I really hope it's a success. But I have to admit that I'm a little nervous about how it's going to go, and about things that I'll be missing at home. I'm nervous about all that I'll be coming back to as well, as things turn super-busy for the last few weeks of the year and Hanukkah begins and then it's the kids birthdays and and and.

I'll feel better once I'm in the air, or even at the airport gate. This in between time, when you're ready to go but can't leave yet, is hard. My mind is already in the game, but torn about wanting to be home. I wonder if I'll ever not struggle with wanting to be on to the next thing.

Quiet - #NaBloPoMo 28

Other than attending services this morning, it's been a quiet day here. I finally folded and put away a bunch of laundry, and started more. Did some dishes. Hannah went to a friend's house. Max entertained himself.

Quiet is good.

The Nutcracker with the Boston Ballet - #NaBloPoMo 27 #Hosted

courtesy of Boston Ballet

Disclaimer: The four of us were invited to a dress rehearsal performance of Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker. As always, all opinions are my own.

Marc, Hannah, Max and I were thrilled to be invited to an exclusive parent blogger performance of Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker. As many of you know, I don't often take advantage of the many blogger opportunities, goods and services that come my way, but we couldn't resist this one.

Courtesy of Boston Ballet

The production was simply fabulous. The set, costumes, and of course, the dancing, were all amazing. Tchaikovsky's music comes right to life no matter how many times you've heard it before. I was most impressed by the child dancers in the show--that is a serious commitment! (I'll try to keep that in mind when I'm driving my kids to their local activities!)

We made a bigger day out of it by stopping for dinner out and then visiting my new office, too!

 
Here are the official Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker details:

The Nutcracker includes the full company of 57 dancers, 11 Boston Ballet II dancers, and 217 Boston Ballet School students. The 42-performance run will feature many never-before-seen casts, showcasing the vast talent within the Company, and providing many opportunities for dancers to shine in Soloist and Principal roles. Each performance will be accompanied by Tchaikovsky's renowned score, performed by the Boston Ballet Orchestra, led by Principal Conductor Jonathan McPhee.

Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker is based on the libretto by Alexandre Dumas père titled The Tale of the Nutcracker, which is adapted from E. T. A. Hoffmann’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The story follows the wondrous journey of young Clara, who receives a nutcracker as a gift at her family’s Christmas Eve party. Later that night, her nutcracker magically transforms into a handsome prince, who leads her through an enchanted forest and on to the Nutcracker Prince’s Kingdom.

For a full synopsis and additional details, visit http://www.bostonballet.org/nutcracker/. Performances take place at the Boston Opera House from November 27 - December 31. Tickets start at $35. For more information, visit www.bostonballet.org or call 617-695-6955.

Happy Thanksgiving! - #NaBloPoMo 26

We made it through our first self-hosted Thanksgiving with our kids, my in-laws and sister-in-law and her family. 

From pumpkin bread and hot chocolate...

To the main event (photo collage courtesy of Hannah)...

To the pie...

And everything we have to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The First and Last Things - #NaBloPoMo 25

Morning Mist by Always Shooting (unaltered) on flickr

My favorite blogging tribe has decided to all tackle the same topic on our blogs across the country and into Canada today. It's actually hard for us all to agree on one topic to write about, and that's probably my fault since I nixed so many food-related ideas (although I just made my first ever batch of cranberry sauce, which I think turned out well, but I digress). So we're writing about the first and last things we do in the morning and at night.

And just like Phyllis, I look at my phone pretty much the first and last things I do. And also in the middle of the night when I should be sleeping.

I blame work, and my international clients that email at all hours, and that's partly to blame for sure. My work moves and evolves so quickly, and if I stay on top of my email, it really helps me to feel less overwhelmed than when I come back to a bulging Inbox. And sometimes, you find out that the video conference you needed to wear a suit to attend is now a conference call, and the regular black pants will work just fine. It also means I spend many a 2-3 am strategizing about how to write a memo or compile data for a report. I know that this isn't great for my sleep, but I also know that this part of my life isn't likely to last forever, and for now, this is what works best for me.

When it's not work to blame, well, it's the entire Internet. There's more to see than can ever be seen. I love having an entire world in the palm of my hand, and I'll never not love that. Whether it's social media or blogs or some breaking news item (an Amber alert had me up and Googling a few weeks ago), it's me and my phone. Or it's some reality TV that I don't find too stressful. Scandal is definitely too stressful for me to watch before bed. Scandal is too stressful for me to watch with the lights off!

The kids still have a bedtime routine that they want adhered to on most evenings. Marc or I sing the Shema in Hebrew, and then I continue the V'ahvta in English, while Marc prefers Hebrew. Then we say, "Good night, sweet dreams, laila tov (good night in Hebrew), I love you." I don't know how we settled on those four phrases. Some nights, they're said with a bit of exasperation, sometimes a little breathless from kisses that turned into tickles and tackling hugs, but always the same.

When I wake the kids, it's usually a "good morning Hannie-princess" or "good morning prince Max" and I have NO IDEA how all of that started with me. I never call them princess or prince otherwise. But I do believe that waking them with a smile, regardless of how tired I might be, it helps. If I'm waking them for the third or fourth time though, all niceties are out the window.

How do you start and end your day? For more from my blogging pals, check out the links below.

My Cheesesteak Not Cheesecake Tribe (more links to come once all are posted!):
Phyllis of Napkin Hoarder
Melissa of A Wide Line
Kimberly of Red Shutters
Danielle of Another Version
Lisa of What Makes a Family

Staging - #NaBloPoMo 24

These are some well-staged photos. I'll be saving them in case we ever need to list the house for sale. Hopefully, that's not for a very long time.

Here's the "not done but presentable" new living room space. 

Tonight, the empty room is filled with cousins and beanbag chairs. Pretty cool.