Socal Mom by Donna Schwartz Mills

Monday Meme: 50 Greatest TV Shows

I found this on Florinda's blog a couple of weeks ago, and then promptly forgot about it (you know, I do not have as many brain cells as I used to).

This originated from a list published in a British magazine called "Empire." The rules of the meme are to:

1. Bold the shows of which you’ve watched every episode,

2. Italicize the shows of which you’ve seen at least one episode,

3. Star * the shows you consider “the best”

4. Post your answers

Since the list is British, there are a number of choices that I'm not familiar with -- but there were still enough to work with. But since I am such a self-avowed couch potato (I used to tell people I majored in Radio-TV-Film so I could write off my love of Mary Tyler Moore reruns as "research") I thought it would be a fun exercise:

Dreams of a Mother

Happy Mother's Day to all my readers (and their mothers)!

I'm excited, because this afternoon we're going to go on our annual Mother's Day visit to L.A.'s Farmer's Market, where we will shop, watch the pretty people, and enjoy French food and wine at Monsieur Marcel's lovely little outdoor cafe. And I get to be a surrogate mom to my beautiful 20-year-old niece, who isn't able to spend the day with my sister up in Sacramento.

For those of you who came here looking for something interesting to read, I'm going to have to direct you over to the MOMocrats, where we are celebrating the day with a special meme: Dreams of a Mother:

Each of the MOMocrats is writing about our own dreams as mothers and we encourage all of you to join us over the next week.  In true MOMocrats style, each MOMocrat will be sharing a political or social issue close to her heart.  We'd love it if you did too, but your own special non-political dreams are important as well.  We want the world to hear them.

I'd like to encourage you to blog about your own dreams for the world and your children and then leave a comment with your link on this post. I can't wait to read what you all have to say!

(And after you visit MOMocrats, you can read my latest post over at 50-Something Moms Blog.)

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Passover was good.

My sister and brother-in-law took care of all the setting up in my niece's apartment. I scheduled my cooking duties so that my mom and I would not have to share the kitchen at the same time (which would have made things difficult in my tiny space). Everybody got along.

And then, yesterday morning, I woke up with one of those sinus-y, congested-y fever-y things I'd managed to avoid all winter.

I felt like crap yesterday and it's worse today.

So I'm probably in the perfect mood for tackling the meme Katja tagged me with last week:

LIFE GAVE ME SOME LEMONS
- IT'S OK, I MADE DELICIOUS LEMONADE - MEME

Rules:
* Copy and paste these rules to your blog post.

* Link back to person who tagged you.

* Write about an incident in your life you first thought was really bad, but ended up being a blessing.

* Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.

* Let each person you tagged know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

(* And if you want some extra good karma - link back to this original Lemonade Meme post too.)

So here goes:

The summer before I graduated college (with a major in Radio-Television-Film), I was accepted for an internship in the research department at KHJ-TV (the same channel 9 station that now goes by the call letters KCAL). I was trained to work with the Nielsen and Arbitron overnight ratings.

In those pre-personal computer, pre-Internet days, I was tasked with showing up at the station at 7:00 a.m. and grabbing the raw numbers as they spewed off a teletype machine, and then extrapolating them into a form that could be used for selling advertising.

Up till then, I'd been putting myself through school by working a late-night shift at our local newspaper. It was nothing exciting - I was the person who ran the printing plates from the composing room in Van Nuys to the printing plant about two miles away... but it was a really cushy job for a student, because it involved hours of just sitting around between plate runs; time I put to good use by studying. (I kept patting myself on the back for finding a job where I could study while I was on the clock!)

But there was NO WAY I could keep that job (which ended each night around 2:00 in the morning) AND be in Hollywood by 7:00 a.m. for my internship. I had to give it up.

My new boss at the TV station felt bad that I'd had to quit to work for him for nothing, so he arranged another part-time job at KHJ's sister radio station.

And here's the part that turns a lemon into lemonade, because my new boss in radio was a recent college grad, a woman my age, who soon became one of my closest friends. About a month later, another new hire came on board and the three of us bonded very closely...

...so closely that 29 years later, we are still friends.

Our lives have diverged in countless ways. We've been through marriages and divorces (well, both of them) and children and job changes. We don't see each other as often as we used to, but when we manage to coordinate our schedules and get together, it's as if it was only yesterday.

These women are a source of strength and inspiration to me, and I love them as sisters.

And if that's not lemonade, I don't know what is.

(OK. I'm crawling back into bed now, so I'm not going to bother tagging anyone. If you read this and want to participate, leave me a comment and your link -- THANK YOU!)

This n That - And the Hussein Meme

By the time this post publishes, I will be running around the house trying to get Megan ready for this weekend's gymnastics meet (she competes at 8:00 a.m. today).

I just wanted to announce that next week, we will be holding TWO meetings of the Mom's Movie Club. On Monday, we will be viewing "The Other Boleyn Girl" at ArcLight Sherman Oaks. The first screening that day is 11:10 a.m., which means we will get out in time to pick the kids up from school. If you are in the area and want to join us, drop me a line and I'll add you to our ticket list.

We are also planning to see "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day," which opens on Friday (ArcLight schedule not posted yet -- but most of the matinees start around 11:30).

At some point this weekend, I will post a review of Definitely, Maybe over on Socal Stuff.

The OTHER bit of business I want to talk about has to do with the "Just Call Me Hussein" posts over at the MOMocrats. The response to the bigoted efforts of political "commentators" to create something out of Barack Obama's middle name has been overwhelming... so we've decided to turn it into a meme. As founding MOMocrat Stefania says:

If you are reading this and haven't posted, consider yourself tagged. All you have to do is post your "Hussein name" in the title of your blog and share a story about how someone tried to make you feel bad about your name. (See examples below.) Help put childish bullies like Bill Cunningham in his place by declaring yourself a "Hussein!"

Not sure how to begin? Just look at the ones already linked in the MOMocrats post, as well as the ones already on their site. Also, I'm cross-posting mine below the jump:

Flashback Friday: Ten Things I've Done That You Probably Haven't

It's been one of those days. You know the ones: where you have set up a nicely thought-out plan for how you are going to spend your limited alone time (even more limited today, as Megan is being dismissed at 12:30!)...

...and then EVERYTHING goes wrong.

So I'm leaving you all with a blog rerun, from a few years ago. On top of that, it's another meme. However, this is one that my readers at the time really liked, judging from the comments it received. If you are still with me, I apologize for giving you a repeat. The rest of you... enjoy!

TEN THINGS I'VE DONE THAT YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T:

1. Conduct a radio interview with Ringo Starr.

2. See tears well up in his eyes when he talked about John Lennon.

3. Meet a guy at an alternative rock club on the 4th of July in New York City, who turns out to be a cab driver. Get the Checker Cab Tour of Manhattan, careening past fire trucks and people lighting firecrackers under parked cars.

4. Take a day off from work to moonlight as a pregnant extra on "E.R."

5. Be called "sweetheart" by George Clooney (as in, "Excuse me, sweetheart") when my big fat pregnant butt is blocking his way out of the soundstage.

6. Stay in a comped Presidential Suite at the Monterey Marriott.

7.Win tickets to see Elvis Presley in concert.

8. Sell Elvis tickets at face value because my mom decided I was too young to go to a rock concert (14) -- and I was too stupid to realize I could make a real profit.

9. Chat with Valerie Bertinelli in the ladies' room at the Shrine Auditorium during the Grammy Awards.

10. Get propositioned by one of the Jacksons (and I'm not telling which one).

The Archive Tag

My online friend Elizabeth decided to return the favor for tagging her last week.

Payback is a you-know-what.

So here's the task:

I got tagged with the Archive Meme, which was started by a blog called the108. The idea is to post five links to posts from 2007, with these rules:

• Link 1 must be about Family
• Link 2 must be about Friends
• Link 3 must be about Yourself (i.e., what you're all about)
• Link 4 must be about Something You Love
• Link 5 can be Anything You Choose

So I've spent a couple of hours this morning just browsing through my blog posts of the last year, and have come to a conclusion: I write too much.

But among all those hundreds of posts, there are a few worth remembering (just a few):

Link 1 - Family

Last year was a big one for us. My baby girl finished elementary school and is now in a big, bad Middle School -- the same Junior High I graduated from. She's growing up, her body is starting to change, and that means it was time to start a conversation about, well, you know.

She still hasn't forgiven me.

Link 2 - Friends

Going through my posts of the last year, you might think I don't have any! The truth is, I'm afraid to upset them by writing too much about them here (my family, on the other hand, is fair game -- sorry, guys). Fortunately, I've met a lot of friends through my blog -- and occasionally, get to meet them offline, too.

Link 3 - About Myself

Considering that this blog is Me, Me, Me about 90% of the time -- it's hard to pick just one post, especially one that would truly show you who I am, with all my crazy neuroses. This one comes close.

Link 4 - Something I Love

I started this blog to describe our travels (most of them to the United Kingdom, where my husband's family still lives). We didn't take any big trips in 2007 -- however, in reviewing my posts, I was surprised at how many little weekend jaunts we took here in the West. Still, the post I think best illustrates what I love about travel is this one -- which is about my favorite castle in Wales.

Link 5 - "Potpourri" (If this was a Jeopardy category, that's what it would be told)

I will always remember 2007 as the year this blog provided me with some amazing opportunities. I got to host a fabulous party in a fabulous house. I got to see what happens backstage at "Dancing With the Stars." And I got to break bread with the Vice Chairman of General Motors.

I can't wait to see what 2008 will bring. But in the meantime, I get to spread the joy to five more blogging friends (two of whom are supposed to be new, so I can get to know them better). I tag:

Mrs. Mogul
Laurie of I  Can Leave My Hat On
Michelle of White Trash Mom
Lizzie of This Full House
Expecting Executive

(Guess which are the new friends I don't know so well?)