On Moving

Ok, so, you will need a plan. A good plan. No, a great plan. A really kick-ass plan – a plan A/plan B type plan. With a backup plan.

And if, let’s say, you’re no good at planning, or you happen to live life completely plan-less, because 1) you are quite content living life as a joy ride, or 2) once had a plan that got so totally messed up that you could not recover and then decided to never plan again – well, hire someone because YOU NEED A PLAN!

Otherwise, you’ll be moving for about 1 1/2 months. Really. Every single day. You’ll move random things from the “old” house to the “new” house in a million plastic bags, because lack of planning meant that you had no boxes, or tape, but lucky you’re into recycling, so you’ve kept every plastic bag that ever came your way. Yay you!

You’ll also want to make sure your kids are in school, or you have some type of babysitting. (I will say that my kids were troupers though!) If you happen to have all your 3 kids with you, pretty much nonstop, whilst you move – you may want to slit your wrists at times – just saying. I mean, for some people, that would be a thought. In my case though, I really enjoyed each moment. Really.

Anyway, most of it is done now. We’re nicely settled into a much cooler, comfier house, with a dishwasher. I know many of you will be pleased to know about the dishwasher. However, you should know that I have no idea how to use it. It makes me anxious, like fax machines, photocopiers, and Excel. Maybe one day.

Ramadan Greetings!

So, it’s Ramadan. Some of us started today, some tomorrow. It’s always the same. Except for last year, I think everyone started on the same day and ended on the same day, it’s awesome when that happens!

I like to do educational posts about Ramadan, but this year all I could think about was that I needed to buy roti. Seriously, I was quite disturbed that I wouldn’t have a chance to buy roti, and then I’d wake up in the morning and not want to prepare anything for just me and then I’d walk around the kitchen for 5 minutes, pondering various options, then I’d think about something but decide against it because it would take too long, and we have no toaster, no toaster over, and the microwave stopped working, again, then I’d only have time for multi-vitamins and water. This has happened before!

Anyway, I got roti, so no need to panic!

Again this year, I have minimal Ramadan goals – I like my goals to be things that I aspire to do on a normal basis – consistency is the key. And again, I’ll answer the question – do kids fast? because it is the number 1 question I receive.

And I’ll leave you with a post about cravings because I am positively sure I’ll be missing my chai tomorrow!!

On Blogher 10

This was my third time speaking at a Blogher conference, so I knew exactly what to expect. It’s overwhelming. There’s a lot of swag. You start a conversation with a perfect stranger but end it with a friend.

I have really only one story, which I think sums up the entire reason I love teaching at the conference…

I was hanging out in the geek lab for my WordPress session, when an attendee from last year’s conference came up to me to say hello – I was really happy to see her and we started catching up. She then told me that she specifically came to tell me how much our talk last year changed her life and her career. I was amazed at how much she’d accomplished and more amazed that she wanted to thank me! It just reaffirmed what I already knew, the most important part of attending these conferences is the lives that we touch.

On another note, the makeover from The Gap was a pretty awesome perk as well! I just have to say long & lean jeans does wonders for the not-so-long and the not-so-lean!

Riveting conversation on the audacious family road-trip

4 year old: Put up the windooooow! put up the windooooow!

Brother: Whaaaaat?

4 year old: Put up the windoooooow! put up the windoooooow!

Sid (sister #1): He’s gonna be an air condition kinda guy

Lissa (sister #2): You know what’s the best? The window down with the a/c running as well

Sid: So, what you’re saying is that you’re ok with destroying the environment AND wasting gas…

Lissa: Well, I guess so

Me: You should go work for bp then!

Ferb, I know what we’re going to do today!

Build!

This summer vacation, the kids are helping me pack and unpack. And maybe build a shelf-thingy here and there. It’ll be awesome!