Sssh! Don’t tell the kids.

I’m on my last work trip for the month today.

And I’m here.

And my kids aren’t.

I wish they could be, but this year it just wasn’t feasible.

I’ll feel really guilty on Saturday and Sunday when I get to ride stuff without worrying about if Boo is tall or brave enough or who’s gonna sit it out with Doodle first so the other grownup can ride.

I’ll feel really guilty about going through the Haunted Mansion and not having to recite “Ghosts aren’t real. Ghosts aren’t real.” like some sort of yogic mantra.

I’ll feel really guilty about going to the bathroom and not having to hold the stall door while praying that a tushie is properly wiped and hands aren’t touching grody floors.

I’ll feel really guilty about not having to say “no” to a million souvenirs that would fill toyboxes and just collect dust.

Having some grown-up fun in a kids’ world will be an odd trip.

I’d send them a postcard, but they’d really be pissed.

All the same, I wish they were here because it is the happiest place on earth and they deserve that right now. More than ever.

Birds of a different feather flock to Laughlin

Homer always jokes that Laughlin is where cocktail waitresses go to die.

He also turned me on to this and asked me to share it with my readers (Who says soon-to-be-exes can’t get along?).

So….here goes.

FIRST WINGS & WILDLIFE FESTIVAL IN LAUGHLIN, NEVADA MARCH 12-15, 2009
According to Laughlin’s website, the festival includes:

• Guided hiking and kayak tours for both beginning and advanced nature watchers
• Demonstrations including falconry and bat misnetting
• Workshops for beginning and advanced birders, including a unit on rare birds of the Mojave desert

Friday night features an art and wine reception and an “Art of Nature” show featuring speaker Sharon Schafer.

Saturday night’s banquet boasts guest speaker John Acorn, “The Nature Nut” (I’ll refrain from making an obvious crack here).

Learn more and register here or here.

Homer will be there. If you see him, buy him a beer. He deserves it.

Thursday 13: 13 Things I’m doing differently in 2009

Okay, okay. I know what day it is. I realize that resolutions were due like more than two weeks ago. Truth is, I had other, more pressing things to talk about, like this and this. And hey. It IS still January and it’s MY Blog, so I’m doing things the way I want to. M’kay?

So here are 13 things that I’m doing differently in 2009.

1. I’m prioritizing in my Google Reader. I love you all, but 100+posts a day? c’mon folks, you’re killing me here. There’s so much good stuff and not enough of me to go around. And no, I’m not telling you who’s in “must read,” “want to read”, and “when I have time.”
2. I’m responding to commenters via email whenever I possibly can. So far, this has yielded some really great follow-up discussions and, while this may seem contrary to the “community discussion” philosophy of the blogosphere, I know that I appreciate hearing back from bloggers that I comment on. It makes me feel heard and valued. And trust me folks, I hear you and value you.
3. Reading those who read me. Granted, I don’t have a huge readership that comments, but I do try to keep up on what my commenters are writing about. After all, the blogosphere is more than shouting from my personal mountaintop. It’s community and sometimes it’s just fun to show up on your neighbor’s doorstep with a loaf of commenty goodness.
4. Blog 365. Yes, short of my New Year’s backposting, I’ve posted every day here at FandP. I’ve gotta tell you, it’s killing me. But, I’m doing my best to keep the hits coming.
5. I’m trying to keep up. I’m supposed to be posting three times a week over at Savvy Source Las Vegas. That kind of fell apart over the holidays. If I keep it up, there may be new opportunties that may come my way, but doing the research, interviews and writing is a lot more work than I orignially planned for. I’ve got to figure out a way to manage things better. Stay tuned.
6. I’m adding some sauce to the blog. Yep. See that little button on the left? The secret IS in the sauce. Check it out if you want some. I’ve stumbled on some really great bloggers that I probably would have never found otherwise.
7. I’m opening the doors to advertising. Yep. See that little link on the top left? More on that later.
8. I’m bringing in the givewaways. Hang on to your hats, folks. Cool swag (and probably some useless crapola) is coming soon!
9. I’m going to BlogHer. Cool, but that’s not really news.
10. The Ephiphany Awards. Don’t forget to get me your nominees.
11. I’m making the move to being a self-hosted site. You probably won’t even notice, but it helps me do some stuff behind the scenes.
12. I’m inviting guests. I love having other folks in my space to share with you. First up will (hopefully) be a batch of Vegas parents this weekend who’ll keep the heat on and feed the cats while I’m out of town (litter box cleaning optional, but much appreciated). If you’d like to guest post, please let me know.
13. I’m asking questions. Last year, I did Citizen of the Month’s interview chain and met one of the most amazing moms ever. I participated in Maria’s Interview Project this year and many of you are continuing the chain. I want to keep it up, so I’m going to be hitting up folks to let me interview them and post their responses here. Some of them you may recognize as regular commenters, some may be new. Please help me welcome them with open arms.

So, in the immortal words of Margo…

Again?

Amanda over at BlabberMouse tagged me with the “seven interesting things about me” meme and rather than say “been there, done that” I’ll give it another go with a twist – seven weird habits and/or traits that make me, well, um, me.

1. I’m a notoriously crappy listener. Please don’t take it personally. I just have a REALLY hard time slowing my brain down long enough to really focus on one thing sometimes. It takes a lot. I know it’s not an excuse. It’s a challenge that I work on every day.

2. When I’m at home, I eat salad with my hands. You see, I don’t like dressing in my salad, I’d rather experience the flavors and textures of a salad piece by piece and it makes it last longer than shoveling it in by the forkful.

3. I’ve got a pretty bad case of claustrophobia. I can get into tight spaces (e.g., elevators) if I need to, but I avoid revolving doors and other tight spaces whenever possible. I break into a cold sweat when I get sandwiched in by 18-wheelers on the highway.

4. I usually see more potential in other people and situations than is really there. For as cynical as I am about society and life in general, I am often hurt by my Pollyanna-like perspective. You’d think I’d be more jaded with age, but I think I’d rather deal with the hurt than go through life worried about who will hurt me next. I’ll deal with the pain when it comes.

5. I rarely use my turn signals (this one’s from Homer). I maintain that I am NOT a bad driver. Distracted sometimes? yes. But bad, no. My last two accidents were not my fault (I was rear-ended both times!).

6. I grind my teeth when I am cold or stressed out. It’s not so bad that anyone else notices it, but it can give me a headache and I’ve got to have some dental work done next year to fix the effects.

Which leads me to…

7. I always bite off more than I can chew. I’m just a girl who can’t say no. I can’t be a part of a group without someone trying to recruit me to lead it in some way. At first it was flattering, now it just gets annoying. I spread myself way too thin and while everyone else gets the best of me, Homer and the kids all too often get what’s left of me.

So, with that I’m tagging some of my fellow city editors from Savvy Source. As if we don’t have enough to do (with filling the site with all of our sage holiday-related wisdom), why not give them a relatively easy post for their personal sites?

• The calendar-tastic Shaun Burns at Backpacking Dad
• Aimee Greeblemonkey at, you guessed it – Greeblemonkey
• Jill Notkin at Work At Home Mom
• Amy at Binkytown
• Motherbumper
• That’s not so great
• Moosh in Indy

Here are the rules for my fellow bloggers:

* Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
* Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
* Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
* Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter/Plurk.

One you’re done perusing their lovely words of wisdom and weirdness, you can check out my latest ramblings on Savvy Source where I babble on about books and toys and crafts.

If that’s not enough for you, be sure to jump in on the great naming debate over at The Imperfect Parent.

If you’re in Vegas this weekend…

Check out one of my favorite places and rock your socks off….