Or she who has two children has 50 woes. Either way, Buddha was correct.

Quarantine has proven to be incredibly challenging for my oldest daughter. She seemed okay, and even appeared to be thriving in the online school environment, but that was not the case. No need to get into the details here, but she spent a week in the hospital for depression, and that was disabling in a way I didn’t think could happen to me. But she has been home for 11 days, and is making progress, which is all I was hoping for during those darker moments.

So while my last post was about the upside of quarantine, things flipped on Mother’s Day, and I became painfully aware that those who have depression or mental health issues have most likely been affected exponentially by this pandemic.

My takeaway is to check in with people I care about more … make sure they are really okay, not just telling me they are okay. ❤

I enjoyed 17 glorious “office free” days over the holidays, and while I didn’t go anywhere, I did give myself the best gift ever … girl time, and lots of it. Time with former colleagues (on a party bus no less), several fun evenings out with close friends, time with my mom and aunt, and of course, time with the two most special girls in my life.

I also watched 53 episodes of Scandal, and organized every closet in this place. So 17 days may have been a few too many.

Tomorrow I’m heading into a third surgery on my neck for a staph infection. I should be sleeping, but instead I’m wasting time on Twitter, watching bad TV and contemplating all the bad things that could happen. It’s interesting how I’m now nervous about things (like anesthesia) that I wouldn’t have thought twice about pre-kids. I’m also considering staying up all night, so I can sleep until my surgery at 2 p.m. … since I can’t have food, water or even a stick of gum until then. WTF? I think my doctor is pissed at me for not just healing already.

Oh, and did I mention that it is currently 60 degrees in my room? I was just telling someone how I love sleeping in the cold, so the Universe said “Really? How cold would you like it?” And then the heater downstairs stopped working. But at least I have this one to keep me warm.

So I leave you with this … what I fear will be a regular feature on this site. We’ll call it … Questions Scarlett asks to make me feel stupid. Today’s edition is “What are chemicals made of?”

An article I read last week discussed several consumer trends, including one called media binging. Media binging is when you watch crazy amounts of TV at one time, usually because of NetFlix or Hulu.

So now there’s a name for my condition. In the last five weeks, I’ve watched:

• Two seasons of Orange is the New Black
• One and a half seasons of True Blood
• Five seasons of Drop Dead Diva
• One and a half seasons of Masters of Sex

And now I’m looking for something new. Any suggestions? I’d prefer something with humor (as the drama level has been a bit high in real life lately).

Saw this billboard on my way out of downtown Chicago. For Cinnabon vodka. Yes, you read that correctly.

I don’t normally have a problem with sweet cocktails, but this just seems really wrong. Please quit effing with vodka. It started out all cute with the fruit infusions. Then we moved to vanilla and other spices. Now we are moving to baked goods? Just stop already. Vodka is pretty perfect all by itself. That is all.

I’m in Chicago this week, and while I’m happy to be staying at the famous Drake Hotel, every trip to my room makes me think of The Shining. And of course, that’s my room at the end of the hallway (behind the twins).

It’s been a busy year! I’ve thought of plenty of things to post, but just never get to it. So I’ve put WordPress on my mobile, which will hopefully make it easier.

I’ve enjoyed lots of work travel in the past few months … Japan, New York (twice), and I’m currently in Wisconsin. Brrrrr.

Japan was amazing … in “another world” kind of way. I was a bit of a sideshow, and the culture was shocking (specifically the treatment of women), but it was a lovely island (Okinawa) and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

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Of course the sushi was amazing, as was the Kobe beef, and I tried many things that looked scary because I had a Japanese colleague there to explain the dishes. We didn’t have much time for sightseeing, but did visit a castle … I’ll post photos of that later.

The girls are growing up fast … Anabella asked me last week when she could start dating. I’m like “you are EIGHT!” And Scarlett is involved in a kindergarten love triangle that is proving to be very dramatic. I’m fairly certain their high school years are going to be hell for me.

Heading to Kuala Lumpur next week, so the adventures continue!