iS aNyBoDy ouT THeRe?

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Hello?

Is anybody out there? Anyone still listening in MaNiCLaND? I wouldn't fault you if you're not. It's been so long. And there's so much to blog about, I don't know where to start. Nothing major, just trying to concrete my life. Yeah, I know that doesn't really make any sense, but those are the words that came to me. I'm trying to make my life "stick" into place. Nothing bad's been happening, so that's been good. We're plugging away, and the next major step is school, which starts 2 weeks from today. So, quite possibly, you could be reading a post 2 weeks from right now that's filled with tears and angst about how my kids hate school and wish they were REALLY back in Chicago. But for now, things are getting "concrete" and it's OK. So, for a quick update, I'll just bullet-point some things that have been happening, with promises to update more. Because, I *think* there are a few of you still out there? And if you are out there, then thank you for still coming by...

*No snake sightings. However we did go to a place called The Horny Toad in Cave Creek, AZ and as we were leaving (btw, it's a restaurant!), we almost stepped on the HUGEST cockroach you'd NEVER want to step on in your life. My friend who was in town visiting got video and photos, but I did not.

****UPDATE---I WROTE THIS LAST NIGHT AND THIS A.M. Diva finds a dead snake in the sticky trap in our garage!!! THIRD ONE in ONE MONTH! And our neighbor who is 12 and has lived here her whole life has NEVER seen a snake EVER! OMG! Diva freaked out!!! Picture on FB. Still freaked. What is up with these snakes!!!

*My friend C came to visit! We had an amazing 48 hours together: pedicures, shopping, awesome lunches, appletinis, sushi, movie: The Kids Are Alright (really good, but I wanted a different ending and I wondered how real lesbians thought about the actresses -- did they act really gay or were real lesbians disappointed in the performances?), she made her homemade spaghetti for my kids which THEY LOVE (OK, me TOO!), she brought us a panini maker! (I now make pancake paninis filled with peanut butter and chocolate chips -- TRY 'em!) ... we did so much in such a short time and it was awesome -- we weren't sad at all, just happy to be together and to know that no matter where we are that getting together is easy and fun and we slide right back into our friendship! Love you C!

*I got a job! I have alluded to this a bit but I am working for BookSparksPR and LOVE it! I get to promote authors and books -- and you all know how much I love, love, LOVE reading, authors, books, writing, words and AUTHORS and BOOKS and all that goes with it! It's so exciting and I LOVE the people I work with and there are some fun things coming up. It's kinda crazy because for so long I have been doing giveaways on MaNiC MoMMy and now I'm on the flipside asking bloggers to do this (so hey, if you're a serious book blogger and want in on some of the fun, email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com so I can send you pitches for upcoming books - we've got a great bunch of clients!)

*JUSTIN BIEBER! Yep, I saw the little munchkin in concert! Sean Kingston opened for him. The show was really good, even though I totally spilled Diva's BLUE slushie before the concert, fortunately NOT on ME or HER! He is a very talented performer. I watched him and thought, "Wow, what is going through this 16 year old's mind, watching all these screaming girls?" I hope he was thinking, "Man, this is so cool and I'm so lucky and I'm going to appreciate this and never lose sight of how grateful I need to be." His songs are goofy little lovey girl songs, but that's what sells. And yeah, I'm still singing, "Eenie Meenie Minie Moe Lover!"

*I will be still doing giveaways on MaNiC and in fact have THREE awesome ones coming up! The first one will be later this week and it's a fun humorous take on why men suck. Ha, that's my 'take' anyway! It's called "It's Not PMS, It's YOU! ... a totally non-hormonal analysis of male behavior By Deb Amlen.

And I'll have 3 copies to give away. I'll also be giving away My Formerly Hot Life by Stephanie Dolgoff. And last but not least for this round, I have A Maze of Grace, A Memoir of Second Chances by one of my very good friends, Trish Ryan to give to you! So bear with me, it's been a long couple of months getting "cemented" here in AZ, so I'll let you know when these contests are coming! Soon, I promise!

*I'll also be posting more about what it's like to be a mom of tweens and teens as my oldest will be turning 13 very soon. And let me tell you, things are GETTING INTERESTING! He met a girl at the Boys & Girls Club I sent them to for the week (AKA the PRISON they called it), and she gave him her phone number. While we are new to the area, I asked him if he would call her. He said probably not. His reasoning -- he wants to keep his options open for when school starts -- after all, he doesn't know what kind of fish are out in this AZ sea yet! And with my Diva -- Oh boy, we've started shaving, and getting big-time attitudes, and NOT wanting anyone to talk about anything PERSONAL in front of her! And all sorts of new and amazing things are happening with my BABIES! What happened to my BABIES?? Some days I really miss the days where our sole purpose was to set up camp in front of Sesame Street and Dragon Tales, lay out a bunch of blankets, grab the sippy cups and mini bowls of goldfish and have a party. Those were fast and furious days.

So, there's a quick little update. I hope if you're even out there, that I haven't bored you to tears, and if you're still there, I truly appreciate you hanging in there with me. It's been a hectic couple of months (we made it past the two-month anniversary of being in the desert on July 29), and it looks like we might survive this big move. Thanks for being there with me!

PeaCe uP!

~MaNiC MoMMy