2012 already? Time flies. But today I am inspired, because my good friends the Minnesota Vikings are back in training camp, yukking it up with their hijinks. You know why I love following the NFL? The storylines seem to be crafted to get people like me involved. People that love a good soap opera. Also, I grew up in Wisconsin, and can't deny the lasting effects of Packer Nation. Now, I'm not one of those pathetic ladies that sits her ass on the couch all day watchin' her stories. I am a functioning adult, a married mother of 2, and I work full-time. But I am a sucker for ridiculous, dramatic fallout. The second half of the first season of Melrose Place (post-Heather Locklear's awesome arrival) was absolute perfection. My husband and I are hopelessly addicted to Game of Thrones- him for the weapons and scenery, me for the shocking plot twists. I might even watch the re-boot of Dallas, but only to watch OG J.R. Ewing and Sue Ellen chew the scenery. But hands down, my favorite soap opera of all time is the NFL. Every new season brings new promise of over-inflated egos, jaw-droppingly stupid interviews, real-life good vs. evil plots and the ultimate endgame, producing one unequivocal winner. Officially, I align myself with the Green Bay Packers (heroes), but unfortunately for me in this instance, I live in Minneapolis, so the majority of everyday NFL news I get is about the Minnesota Vikings (villains? I guess. No one fears them though. Actually, we will call them the "comic relief". We'll say the Chicago Bears are the villains, for now.) It's a little early to start getting into the zone, but one of my favorite characters on the Vikings' roster, Percy Harvin, has caught my attention. Seems Percy is going to play the character of "crybaby whiner" this season. He is passively-aggressively holding himself out of minicamp, and has demanded a trade, which he claims is not about the money. Seems Percy wants to be a big shot wide receiver for another team. Well, who doesn't? This story will unfold, but for now, all I can do is laugh at the Vikings' continued misfortune with their disgruntled players. I remember when they drafted Percy Harvin. He had impressive talent, yet was considered a risk, because he tested positive for marijuana during the routine tests these guys have to go through. A test which he knew he was going to have to take, and had been anticipating since whenever it was obvious he had a real shot at a professional football career So, he's already proven to be not that smart. But the Vikings drafted him anyway, and good on them. A little pot isn't really that bad, but they should have been more concerned with his poor decision-making. Since then, he has proven to be well worth the risk. And, it turns out, he suffers from terrible migraines. I used to get those, and they are, indeed, awful. Perhaps why he indulged in the sweet weed, the only proven cure for headaches? The Vikings can sometimes pull some classy moves, and they did that with Percy, sending him to the Mayo Clinic to deal with his migraines, not just to improve his football career, but to try to give him a better life overall. I can applaud them for that. Percy has had to miss games even! So now, he's being all pissy about his contract and wants a trade. I don't see him getting real far with that. But I am delighted to see what will happen when he is forced to play for the Vikings anyway! I am also delighted to see what will happen with my all-time favorite soap opera actor ever, Randy Moss, who returns to the fold after a well-deserved year-long hiatus. And playing for San Francisco, with their hilariously big-mouthed coach! This is going to be good.

So, CSA season has come and gone. Guess I didn't blog it. I did keep some research notes for the first 5 weeks, and can honestly say that the CSA is economically valuable. My kid is 4 now and still the hippest lady in the room. Her dad marvelled at how well she can write a "small a" and she looked at him with pity and said "Daddy, that is a lowercase a". He's so dumb.

My daughter keeps it real:

Me: (upon seeing Yo-Yo Ma performing on the television) You know, he is the best cello player in the entire world.

My Daughter, Who Keeps It Real: No he isn't. I don't want to watch this, I want to watch the Garfield movie.

Sorry Yo-Yo, you are going to have to do better than that to compete with Garfield.

Reluctantly returned from New York. That city has such a hold on me. When work was through, I caught up with a very good old friend that I always see in New York, and we had dinner on the lower east side and my happy place, the East Village. Only, there seems to have been a shift in aesthetic in this neighborhood, because suddenly everyone seems young, like, too young to be at bars. I always felt like I was age-appropriate in the village, but I'm feeling a little phased-out. Although, the last place we stopped in, Big Bar, was just what we were looking for- not crowded nor full of the fake- ID crowd. No offense to the fake ID crowd, of which I was once a proud member. Nevertheless, I'm on the hunt for a new happy place, possibly Brooklyn but I hope to find new turf in Manhattan because the subway to/from Brooklyn always defeats me. And I find Times Square simply unbearable. We always stay there, because of the nature of my work (entertainment) and I used to find the hustle and bustle kind of energizing, but now I just get annoyed at people bumping into each other, and not paying attention to their surroundings. I blame camera phones and texting. Also, my own aging and increased lack of patience. However, I am glad people are enjoying this beautiful city, even if they never make it out of Times Square.

I am happy to report that I did take it easy on my health this weekend. I allowed myself a delicious dinner with my friend and enough delicious drinks to make me feel festive, but not too many to make me feel sick in the morning. Also made it to the hotel gym and did not over-indulge in backstage catering. Goal for next weekend is to get more sleep.

Trying really hard to get motivated to stick with this- I think the CSA thing will be the catalyst. I am so looking forward to getting a box of organic fresh produce every week. I thought it would start in May, but it looks like June. I have been on the road with my job, mostly in New York. I love New York City, and am lucky to visit often. The amount of days I have spent there is equal to living there for a year, so sometimes I fancy myself as a hardened New Yorker, though I know that's just poser talk. The downside is that I live a very different and much more unhealthy lifestyle in New York- I barely sleep, I drink a lot more than I do at home, I eat out often, plus other various distractions/ shenanigans. I just can't stand for not living it up in the big city, every second I am there, it's an addiction. People that live there often tell me they struggle with the same feeling. I hate to keep talking about Tina Fey, but seriously, not only is she a working mom, but she does all that in New York. She must be TIRED.

I'm not sure I'm doing this right. Is this right? I'm thinking about blogging this more. Kind of had to abandon facebook, as my relatives and co-workers have started joining, and I just can't ignore people over something as stupid as facebook. But I miss telling my real friends about what is going on, and personal email seems to be a thing of the past. A very dear friend of mine moved to Alaska, and we have been writing real letters to each other, and it makes me so very happy. I'm going to do that some more. Also, CSA season is coming up, and this year I want to blog the experience. I also hope to start composting (much to my husbands's chagrin, he can't stand the smell). All whilst trying to balance a demanding fulltime job and an active pre-schooler who won't go to sleep at night. Seriously, how does Tina Fey manage this shit? I know she has nannies and whatnot, but at the end of the day, she is still the mom and no one replaces the mom.

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I am a disaster on the internets. I just created this blog while trying to comment on another person's blog. I don't plan on ever being an actual blogger......this all started this afternoon when I was trying to get a phone number off of my facebook page from Google search. Long story short- I was using the home computer, and my husband thinks that facebook spams his fancy graphics computer, so I tried to log on covertly- it didn't work because I changed my name when I got married. But I did find my name cited in an entry on a Google blog, so of course I read it. It was really good- the author was a woman I went to college with. She read an article about me in the alumni newsletter and it inspired her to write about how she feels she wasted some opportunities back in college. She mentioned a dance performance we were both in. I barely remember her, but I wish I knew her better then, because it appears she had the same opinion of the dance department that I did. She could have been my ticket out of there! I needed an intervention, bad. She used the word 'coerced', and that is exactly how I got involved in it as a freshman. All I wanted to do was take a couple of modern dance classes to fulfill my phy. ed. requirements and maybe stay in shape and dance in some shows- I was a huge musical theater nerd in high school. Next thing I know I'm minoring in dance and being forced to choreograph movement to Tori Amos songs. Good God, and I know that there is video of all of this floating around in the universe. This girl could have gotten me out of there, and I could have minored in Rascal's, like all of my friends did. Anyway, blogger Meg, if you read this, thanks for the laugh, and don't be so hard on yourself. Youth is wasted on the young.