Fragmented

[pegkerr]

I worked eleven and a half hours at the day job today. Exhausted. Obviously, no work on fiction tonight.

A bat got into our bedroom last night (1:30 a.m.). We handled it according to our respective job descriptions: I do spiders. Rob does bats. He whapped it with a legal pad and booted it out the back door. It was gone this morning which means it presumably recovered from its dreadful experience and is now back in our attic. We'll have to stuff the cracks with steel wool and insulation again. I used the hour lost in the middle of the night dealing with this emergency as an excuse to blow off my morning workout.

Have picked up and started American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I feel guilty because I'm supposed to be working on the manuscript for Lois' next Chalion book. Next, Lois, I promise.

Upstairs is still a mess because the painting in the girls' bedroom still isn't done (trim and windows to go). Stuff is all over my office floor and hallway and girls are sleeping on the foldout couch in the living room.

Feel hot, sweaty, exhausted, irritable. Sometimes it really sucks being a super-Mom. I've really drawn on my internal reservoir of resilience down to the bottom.

Have been tempted to respond to what johnwalton has called his "queer rant." But am too tired and I figure I already wrote a novel on the subject, which John's already read. (And liked it, too, I'm happy to say). If anyone else wants to know my opinion on the subject of the weird confluence of religion and homosexuality, read The Wild Swans.

Friday night is my regular Mom's night out, and I am uncomfortably aware that I've been getting into a rut about it. Too often, I resort to going to one of my favorite restaurants, ordering something I've ordered before, and then ending the evening watching a movie, or going to a coffee shop or a bookstore. I'm throwing out a challenge: suggest something different for me to do, something I've probably never done before. Any ideas for me? Let me know! Thanks.

Peg

Comments

[loup_noir]

Sounds like my idea of a perfect evening, but sometimes change is good. There are such dandy things to do as: miniature golf! Argh! OK, but it is silly fun. Rent inline skates and give those a go. (Make sure you get the helmet and the spiffy wrist protectors.) Get a massage - now, that's an ultimate mom end-of-the-week treat. Go to a concert. Go to an artist reception. Check out what the local YWCA is doing on Fridays. Fall asleep on the couch watching that movie you've been meaning to see for months. That's probably what I would do.

[aome.livejournal.com]

Does any place/organisation near you offer contra dancing? *That* is a *lot* of fun, and you don't need to go with a partner. Window shopping - try on fun summer clothes that you have no need for (leave credit card at home) or are not normally your style. Game of cards with a friend? Otherwise ... considering all the chaos in your life right now, with work and kids and Supermom -- maybe the comfort of routine is actually a good thing. Hmmmm....

[peacockharpy.livejournal.com]

Mom's night out...

A one-night cooking class could be fun, if you're into that sort of thing.

Or get some polymer clay and play with sculpture.

Or take a picnic dinner (a really nice one, too, like brie and green apples) to the park and watch the sunset and the people.

What about museums in your area? Art galleries? Small-venue concerts? (Around here it's usually Buffett cover bands...)

Vintage clothing shops? Antique shops? These are always delightful (for me, anyway - I like tangible history).

Just some ideas. :)

- Darice

Friday *night* makes it harder --

[slightlights.livejournal.com]

Am all for the massage and the dancing (poss. with lessons if you like) and the art galleries. Classes in general are wonderful, at least for me, so long as there aren't exams...

As for other specifics, if you like this sort of thing, is there a pottery-painting store in your area? Over here, there are a few shops that have plates and mugs and whatnot to paint; you pay by the item/hour, have them fired, and pick them up next time. You can paint them just for fun, make neat things for yourself or others, or—if you get really upset—you can always break them. Much easier than fiddling with greenware! even if the glaze choices are somewhat more limited. As for other, non-class things, some people swear by a manicure/pedicure; I've never tried one. For broadening dinner horizons, if you had more energy, I'd suggest having a 'theme' night: pick the movie/concert/play/musical you want to see and then find an ethnic restaurant to go with it. As it is, check the local paper's reviews and see what looks good, or get a rec from a friend. Take lovely stationery to the coffee shop and write gen-u-ine snail-mail (even just a quick note) to those relatives and old friends who're not on the Net. Address your winter holiday cards early (kidding!). There's always finding a number of options (including some or even most of your current favorites), tossing them in a hat, and drawing them randomly on Friday afternoon (and if you don't like one, toss it back, who's to know?).

Peek at the visitor centers for more ideas. I'm currently eyeing the minneapolis.org GMCVA visitors page (which has a search for events coming up this weekend, as well as more regular goings-on). There's also the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the City of Minneapolis leisure/recreation index (which, as it turns out, seems to have even more tourism links, so I'll stop here). And if you're really hard up, apparently you can always report a pothole. :D

My question for you is, what areas of your life do you feel you're 'missing,' if any? You'd mentioned your creative spark fizzing a bit, as I recall; any ideas as to what might help that? Any friends you haven't seen in ages who, rather than being stressful, are just plain fun to hang out with? Okay, questions. ::g:: Do you want to do something, or just relax and let the world float by? Do you feel you have enough greenery / fresh air / music in your life? ...Does just reading questions like these make you tired? (In which case, I'd suggest going back to the massage.)

[sahiya.livejournal.com]

Yoga! No, seriously. I took a class this quarter and it just did wonders for my concentration. I don't know how other classes work, but the way my teacher set it up worked for just about everyone in the class, whether they had a bad knee or weak wrists or just about anything. It's all about choices and doing what's right for you. You can find stuff that's aerobic, but the class that I took was very low-impact.

But looking at the other suggestions, I'd go with the massage/spa idea. I've only done it once, but it was *very* relaxing.

Stacy

American Gods

[fletchman.livejournal.com]

I'm about 2/3s of the way through it. It's been a great read so far. Really.. umm *lively* in a couple of spots.. but a great concept and execution.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Walk around the old milling district, and go across the Stone Arch Bridge, etc. Read all the informative historical placards and take a walking tour of Nicollet Island. Watch the river, and maybe see a barge lock through at St. Anthony. Check out the progress at the Mill City Museum.

K. [I do this at least once a year, and always enjoy it a lot]