Mark another one off the bucket list

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I recently conquered my fear of public speaking! Not quite as exciting as riding in the wienermobile, but still thrilling for me in a “I’m not the big scaredy cat I thought I was” kind of way.

I was asked to present at a social media conference for financial communicators (at NASDAQ!) back. Totally thrilled, I accepted, but for some reason it was all very surreal and I didn’t think it would actually end up happening. I’ve always been scared of public speaking — not like in a meeting or in a casual setting — but up in front of a room full of people, on a stage, alone, lights blaring …

Just like this scene. But the conference rolled around last week and surprise, I was still supposed to present. Once I got up there, I wasn’t scared at all. I don’t know if it’s because I’m 40 (and fabulous) or what, but I wasn’t full of crazy nerves like I remember from my younger days. (Or maybe it was because I just don’t give a crap anymore? ha!) So it was really rewarding to conquer the beast, and I received some flattering feedback from people in the audience. And I got to participate in the NASDAQ closing bell ceremony. That alone was worth it.

Now on to my next two big fears: Spiders and walking on these …

WTF? Wednesday

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I’m back! Lots to share, but for now it’s 11:40 p.m. and I need to get a WTF? Wednesday up!

I love mopeds. My first method of transport was a moped — my first driver’s license was Class M and I had two mopeds when I was 15 (one looked like a bicycle with an engine and the other was a fancy new Honda that was made entirely of plastic). When I saw this guy driving through downtown, I thought “cool!” But then I noticed his moped had a SIDECAR. WTF?

Mopeds are dangerous enough for the driver — I can’t imagine being shackled to the side in a plastic bowl.

On a recent trip to Texas Art Supply, I came across this:

I don’t know how Jesus feels about it, but it seems a little wrong to me. When Dan and I went to the Vatican, we were shocked at the amount of crap they were willing to put the Pope’s face on. But, that’s just the Pope. This is Jesus!

Of course, I bought it anyway. We plan to move soon, so I will test the Jesus tape’s power with an experiment — put some highly breakable stuff in a box without wrapping it and see if it makes to the new house in tact. Maybe movers will be more careful if my stuff is wrapped in heavenly tape.

WTF? Wednesday – I am 40!

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Yes, I know I hardly look a day over 38, but I am now the big 4-0.

The last few weeks have been really hard on me. I’ve been engaging in lots of soul searching … questioning myself, my choices, where I am in life … all the things you ponder when you realize that you are, in fact, a middle-aged person.

But then last Friday, some of my dearest friends threw me an incredible cocktail party (thanks KB, Kim, Carol, Heather and Jeanne Marie!), and standing in a room full of amazing people, I had an AH-HA moment. It wasn’t that I was dreading 40. I was just sad about leaving an incredible decade behind.

I found myself in my 30s. I learned to trust my intuition. I became confident in my voice and my opinions. I married Dan. We traveled all over the world together. I went skydiving, and scuba diving, and I climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge. I went to a SuperBowl and the World Series (when the Astros finally made it to the finals!). I took Dan dog sledding. We built a home together from the ground up. I became a mommy to two gorgeous little girls – a job I was never sure I would be good at, and then found I loved more than any other. I started blogging and met a new community of people through the love of writing. I finished college after many years of night school. I learned to appreciate all of the people in my life, by losing a few that I loved most. I discovered that I am always the same girl on the inside – just a little wiser and now a little older.

Standing in that room full of people that I have made true connections with over the years, helped me realize that the 40s will be even better than the 30s. It’s the same journey, but the fruit of my 30s – the friendships I have built along the way – will be going with me.

Kicking and screaming into middle age.

WTF? Wednesday

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With all the incredible magazines that have been closing their doors over the past few years, it’s nice to see that this one is still going strong. I haven’t had the chance to read “The Secret to a Successful Divorce” yet, but that seems like an inappropriate twist on the situation. Next month the feature story will be “The Secret to a Successful Release from Prison after your Bad Divorce.”

Maybe Bank of America should hire some of those unemployed magazine journalists as copyeditors, because clearly they need them! Check out this recent report they published. The headline is definitely captivating.

Dick's added and BJ's removed - I know there's a joke there.

“What the f*ck?” Wednesday

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Before I start ranting, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to Dan the man. Today is our 9th wedding anniversary and I’m really happy that he still loves me and thinks I’m hot. You rock, baby!

Next, I would like to say WTF WordPress? It took me a friggin week to figure out why I couldn’t upload pictures. Blogger is limited, but it’s way easy. I love my new site and theme, but getting out the kinks is quite time consuming. (And not as easy as all the WordPress lovers would have you believe.)

Okay, let’s move on to Jenn-Air.

Last Saturday night, I was home alone with the girls, and decided to make some tater tots to go with our dinner. When the timer buzzed, I went to open the oven door, and THE ENTIRE THING CAME OFF IN MY HAND.

Luckily I jump a lot faster than even I would have figured. I managed to get out of the way as the door, which was heated to 450 degrees, crashed to the floor. It sounded like a small explosion and sent glass flying everywhere.

Of course I was barefoot, and the girls were running around barefoot, so there was a total girly freakout next. Scarlett was crying, Anabella was repeatedly asking “what happened?!” and I was screaming at them to stay away. Once I walked through the pool of glass, and tried to figure out what to do with the steaming hot door, I realized just how f*cked up the whole situation was. Have you ever heard of this happening? WTF Jenn-Air? Really? The door just comes off? My mom has 30-year-old, total piece of crap oven in her house and its door has never just popped off. And did I mention all the little burning glass shards that left marks on my hands, feet, legs and chest. No bueno, Jenn-Air.

So now the “safety team” is deciding what to do. The company that repaired the hinges on the door in November under our extended warranty is claiming no fault, and Jenn-Air has only agreed to cover labor at this point (the parts are $600 of course). I can tell you this. There is no way in hell I am paying one penny.

This may be my biggest battle yet. Bigger than Poopgate of 2007! Stay tuned …

“What the f*ck?” Wednesday

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WTF is up with this Creepy VegHead? He moved into our HEB last week and he totally freaks me out. I especially dislike his onion mustache and Anabella is disturbed by his banana cheeks (and the fact that he is a 10 foot paper mache head!). So we’ve starting using the other door until he goes back to wherever he came from.

Facebook WTF?!
I know I need to quit bashing FB, but this one is truly disturbing. A guy that apparently went to my high school sent a friend request last week. I didn’t recognize his name, but we had 27 friends in common, so I went to look at his profile photos. What I found was one photo of him and about 30 photos of women’s butts. Just women bent over in this position or that, all clothed, but pictures of their behinds only. (These were his PROFILE photos — not a photo album of butts.)

I too have certain body parts that I find attractive, but I don’t think FB is the place to post 50 pictures of men’s whatevers. I wanted to send him an email that said “This isn’t FetishBook, it’s Facebook, which means I want to see faces, not asses.” But I just ignored the request instead. And then I started thinking about those 27 people who were not at all bothered. Did they just accept without looking at his profile? I’m no prude, but am I really the only person who finds that creepier than a 10 foot paper mache head?

Random Thoughts on Men

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Welcome to my Monday mind dump. Hope you aren’t looking for something important to read. 😉

Ricky Martin came out today
This is going to KILL my friend Jeanne, who has been insisting he was not gay for about 12 or 13 years now. And the best part, today is her birthday. LOL

Men are getting weirder
At lunch, a coworker revealed that several men she has met online (3 or 4 in row) lied about their age. When did the tables turn? I didn’t think men were subjected to ageism. The crazy part is that it was only by a few years (39 instead of 43). What the hell difference does that make?

I love Joe Biden’s F-bomb
I know it’s not appropriate to cuss on TV, but clearly that part was an accident. Doesn’t anyone find it refreshing that the vice president turned into a normal dude for one second and really enjoyed the enormity of the situation he was in? I think it totally rocks.

And now for the serious bit
I found out over the weekend that someone I used to date was killed in a rather horrific way. The thing that has me stumbling around in my emotions, is that this person was a total ass. He lied to me about being married, led me on for months, and basically broke my silly little 25-year-old heart. So while it made me sad when I heard, and I find it very tragic, and I am incredibly sorry for his children, I didn’t even shed a tear. And now I feel really, REALLY guilty for that.

Ridiculous, right??