HI EVERYONE!

I’ve missed being here on WordPress!  In fact, I feel like everything has changed here– there must have been some sort of update because my “Add New Post” screen that I’m looking at as I type this looks so faaannnncy schmancy!  Different font, updated look. It’s so pretty and easy on the eyes.  Kudos, WordPress!

Can you tell I’m excited?  I thought I’d wow you all with some deep thoughts here today, but frankly, I don’t have a deep thought in my head right now.  But I do have some shallow thoughts that I am willing to share.

How’s your summer going?  Mine is chugging along at a steady pace.  M. attends school in the summer (which he’s happy about), JC spends his days at camp.  My husband is busy training Kiri Kai Kai Princess Baby (formerly Kiri Madonna), reading one of my favorite books, The Passage, by Justin Cronin, and crushing candy (he’s on level 100 but is stuck on some “quests.”  I have no idea what that means, but it keeps him busy while I blog so I neither ask nor complain).

Me?  I’m stuck at work, freezing my butt off in July and wrapping myself in my Woobie.  Other than that, here’s what’s on my mind:

This dog, Kiri– Gosh she’s cute!  But she’s a puppy which isn’t easy.  Now that she’s been around for a couple weeks we are finding that she has two major spurts of energy where we seriously wonder if she’s nuts– once in the morning (when we are busy getting everyone ready and out the door), and once at night (when we are trying to calm the kids to go to bed)– so THAT’S really convenient.  Although she weighs in around 11 pounds, she thinks she’s about 30 pounds the way she harasses the other neighborhood dogs.  She’s dominated “George” and “Winston.”  Admittedly, “Sonny” kicked her butt.  At Puppy Kindergarten she’s CLEARLY the smartest and cutest puppy.  She deserves her own post someday, so I’ll just put some pics here and move on (it’s difficult for an amateur photographer to take a good iPhone picture of a black puppy, by the way) . .

This blogger, Megan– If you may recall, through blogging I made a friend, Megan (The Underground Writer).  Well guess what?  She was Freshly Pressed this week!  You can see her FP’d post titled “For a Good Time Call” here.  Unlike here at WOAW where I’m all “blah blah blah” and “yadda yadda yadda,” barfing out whatever is on my mind as I think it, Megan is a real writer.  An excellent writer.  She would never write “blah blah blah” in her post like I just did.  She plans her posts and relays stories from her life beautifully and humorously and I’m so happy that WordPress found and acknowledged her.  She could change her site name to The Awesomely Wonderful Classy Writer and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

This fortune, wtf– I think I may be dumb.  I don’t get it.  I even tried adding the “in bed” to the end of the sentence and got nothing.  Any philosophers out there who can explain this to me?  Maybe I’m too old or cynical or closed-minded for fortune cookies?  Maybe I really am shallow– too shallow to figure this one out?  Maybe I have brain freeze from overexposure to air conditioning?  Maybe I should have ordered the Chicken and Broccoli, or opted for Mexican instead?

Help me see the light.

This website, Thought Catalog– Speaking of getting old and cynical, anyone follow Thought Catalog?  It’s this excellent website/blog/Facebook thing, clearly targeting twenty-somethings, that always provides interesting posts.  You can link over here if you want to check it out.

Now I’ve been a follower of Thought Catalog for quite some time.  After months of perusing my Reader and getting lost in Thought Catalog posts, I decided to edit my Reader so that I would receive instant notifications of new posts to my email.

This is the result:

Now don’t get me wrong- I’ve learned a ton of stuff about nothing relevant to my life:  sex and the 20-something single girl, transvestites, how to navigate online dating, how to tell if your boyfriend is cheating, etc. etc.  But I find the site HIGHLY addictive and since the people who run the site post about a gazillion posts a day, let’s just say I’m distracted.*

See how the view of the titles in the inbox entice you enough to want to click and read more?  On the iPhone 4 view, I see this:  “12 Things Every Wo . . .”  Of COURSE I’m going to have to click on that.  Twelve things, what?  That Every Woman Wants?  TELL ME.  What about:  “6 Reasons Why Hollywoo . . .”  What ARE the Reasons for Holly-woo doing anything?  I NEED to know.

Thought Catalog is killing me.  Damn them for being so great!  After I publish this post, I’m changing them back to “NEVER notify me of new posts by email” status.  Hopefully then I’ll be able to get some work done :).

*In Thought Catalog’s defense, I’m easily distracted.  If it weren’t TC, it would be some other website, food, Pandora, the lost person wandering the hallway, whatever.

This cupcake, Gluten Free– the picture speaks a thousand words (and signifies a thousand calories) . . .  no need to elaborate except to say it was totally worth it . . .

This show, House of Cards– I am LOVING House of Cards.  A Netflix Original Series, House of Cards follows the life of Francis Underwood, the Majority Whip of Congress, played by the amazing Kevin Spacey.  He’s horrible and awesome at the same time.  Robin Wright as his wife, Claire, is PERFECT.  One of my favorite episodes is when Francis has to deal with his hometown in South Carolina while at the same time argue about a major bill in Washington.  The contrast between the small town issue and the big national issue is fun and entertaining and interesting.  You’ll LOVE this show and fly through the 13-episode series.  You’ll also love Robin Wright’s super cool haircut . . .

This song, Get Lucky– by Daft Punk Feat. Pharrell Williams.  It’s so catchy and fun and I can’t sit still through it . . .  This song makes me wish I could go clubbing and drink sea breezes and get tipsy and dance to it.

This blog, How I missed it!  So that’s what I’ve been doing this summer– kids, working, puppies, cupcakes, Netflix, music.  I’ve also been writing, but that’s for another post.  This one is already over a thousand words and I know you have other things to do.

I hope your summer is going great!  Thanks for reading.

Have a nice night!

(Photo of House of Cards:  http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2013/01/29/hoc-ph-22120r-babd299b44de4b096fc2d563c31bb2398737e5d5-s6-c30.jpg)