Again with the joiny

Because I don't have anything else to do, I signed up for NaBloPoMo. I know. I KNOW. But, see, I spend 95% of my free time in front of my computer (the other 5% I spend on laundry, the never ending about-to-swallow-me-whole laundry) and I thought, "Why not?" Actually, I thought, "This is the lazy person's version of NaNoWriMo," and because I am a lazy person who is never going to finish the two (two!) novels I have festering on my flash drive, I filled in the form and now I am official. What do I get out of this? I don't know. A sense of accomplishment, I imagine, although the sense of accomplishment must pale in comparison to the folks who trudge through NaNoWriMo. But whatever. If I am signed up for NaBloPoMo then I am practically required to procrastinate, at which, you well know, I highly excel.

A problem I hadn't considered until I was official was what in the world I will write about every single day for an entire month. A month that includes weekends and prolonged periods away from my laptop and a very important American holiday. The NaBloPoMo website (hey, how many times do you think I can type that before my mother finally gives in and clicks the link to see what the hell I am talking about?) addresses this very issue by suggesting [crazy] participants come up with a theme. That way if you're stuck for a post, you can at least focus yourself on your theme. Like, if my theme is "Projects I Will Never Finish Because I Am Just One Of Those People", then dude, I have a LOT of material.

So I thought about this. Themes I considered and ultimately rejected included: Laundry. The Clothes That Still Do Not Fit. Attempts At Making Baby Food. What I Want For Christmas. Ways In Which My Husband And I Have Become Old And Boring. My Love Affair With Target. A Close And Careful Study Of Moms Group Social Structures.

But I am going to write about How I Became A [Know-Nothing, Liturgy-Un-Appreciating, Over Committed, Distracted By The Baby In Front Of Me, Shoot, I Stumbled Over The Creed AGAIN Even Though I Have Been Saying It For Twenty-Eight Years] Catholic. I know. You are practically giddy with glee. What a terribly fascinating subject! All of you are just dying to read what is sure to be a most enlightening history of my faith, AREN'T YOU. Well, sometimes I just want to write stuff I've been meaning to write and this is one of those things I've been meaning to write. Somewhere. Why not on the internet for all the world to see?

It won't be totally boring, I promise. It will include, after all, my first experience with a Real Live Protestant Youth Grouper and the dirty secrets of the Non-Denominational College Fellowship and will finally explain whether or not Catholics really do pray to Mary. (Ha! I must be kidding!) And I won't write about this every single day, just the days I can't think of anything else (probably weekends and the occasional Naps From Hell days.) I hope I still have a few readers by December.

So, is anyone else signed up?

Also, on a totally unrelated subject:

I took care of Jackson all day while Phillip worked from home in his cave office.

I did not do anything about dinner because Phillip said he'd take care of it.

Later he came upstairs and started eating potato chips and watching TV while Jack rolled around on the floor. (Oh dear God, there go the days of leaving him on the changing table.)

Fine.

Eventually I said, in my "I have joined an online weight loss challenge and I have not eaten chocolate in two entire days" cranky voice, "I. AM. STARVING."

He said, "Give me fifteen more minutes. I just want a few minutes to sit after working all day."

I steamed.

Then he said, "Can you watch Jack while I cook?"

And I thought, "I don't get to go to the BATHROOM by myself let alone have the pleasure of COOKING by myself. SO NO, I CANNOT WATCH THE BABY, I WANT MY FIFTEEN MINUTES AAAUUUGGGHHH."

Comments

[Madame Queen]

Hi! It's really me. I can't wait to read your "How I became..." posts. I'm a relatively new Catholic, yet it seems like I could write under that title as well! I'm Liturgy-Unappreciating these days because I never get to go to freaking mass. I'm always in the cry room. Which does have a large screen tv broadcasting the mass, but with all the, I don't know, CRYING going on, it kind of makes it hard to hear.

[el-e-e]

MQueen? You're Catholic? Neato, moi aussi, but born-and-bred here. Jealous you have a cry room. Anxious to read your story, Maggie. :) AND to know the secrets of the non-denom college group, which was one I never joined (but sort-of longed to).

I keep wondering if I should sign up for NaBloPoMo. Am scared.

Finally: Last night my girlfriends and I were discussing the way men wait 'til you're about to leave the house and then go, "Can you wait 10 minutes? I have to *whisper* go to the bathroom." And we Moms are all like HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. No.

[Nessa]

Oh me too! I joined and am terrified that
1. I will not have anything to write about (although do check out todays post, mighty interesting. Yes, I have no shame).

2. No ONE will continue reading my blog after an entire month of bored-out-of-my-mind posts.

and

3. I'm hungry.

That last one really doesn't have anything to do with NaBloPoMo, but I AM hungry.

[Maureen]

I am too chicken to sign up. Maybe next year. I want to switch to WordPress, and that is my blogging priority right now, because continuing to call my blog "Grad Lab Adventures" is just a big fat lie.

Anyhoo, I'm actually commenting to tell you to buy "Mommy Made (and Daddy Too!)" for tips on making your own baby food. It has a handy dandy schedule for introducing new foods, and it also has some yummy recipes. There's a great lentil stew recipe, for example. We've made about half of Jack's baby food, because sometimes, you need to use the jarred stuff. But making it was usually not a big deal. And now, he is eating the same stuff we eat about half the time, so that makes things easier. This is good, because the food no longer lasts forever. When he first started solids, a squash would last about three weeks of giving him squash every day, but now he's like a bottomless pit of food, so if I had to make two meals every night, that would not go over well.

One last tip: Making fresh apricots for the baby is NOT WORTH IT. Those things are a pain in the neck to peel, and you get about one baby -serving per apricot. Seriously, so hard to peel. You have no idea.

[Christina]

I'm just so crazy I'm actually considering the novel thing. But the blog one definitely sounds more up my alley!
And about the hubby? Oh yeah, been there, lived that! He comes home from work and needs a minute to himself and I'm like "what was the last 10 hours?" ... yeah, I'm totally unsympathetic.

[Arwen]

I'm signed up! And I've got no idea what I'm going to write about, but I'm looking forward to reading about your journey. I promise to keep my red pen in check. :)

[Maygy]

Yay! A whole month of Maggie... :)

[jackie]

I'm going to do it, butI'm not signing up. Mostly because they might be private entries on my LJ. Also because if I suck at it, it won't bepublic knowledge.

[Laura]

Well, I am not signing up b/c I have no interesting thoughts.... I just sling up pics of my girl and call it a day LOL

Hubby...grrrrr Mine is currently out of town 4 days a week so I am single mom. The other night when he got home and it was bathtime for her he said "we can take turns watching her in the bath...15 min each" I said "yeah right, I've done it alone the padt 4 nights so no thanks!" ha ha

[ashley]

YAY!!

can't wait. :)

[Jennifer]

Again with the joiny--that is very Whedonesque, my fellow Whedon-watcher.

I just figured out how you found my new secret site--duh. Don't tell on me yet, I'm still tooling around with it.

I wish I was cool like you and had the patience to do my own CSS thingys. I'm stuck using WYSIWYG because I already lose too much time to the computer to start finding ANOTHER computer oriented thing to lose time to.

[Tara]

I joined today! Was thinking about it, then forgot, then you reminded me. Didn't really put any thought into WHAT I would be writing about, so this might be interesting.

[E.]

O.k., I already signed up for NaNoWriMo again, so I'll skip the blog one this year. Heck, I may even skip NaNoWriMo, but I want to scrap most of what I wrote last year and re-write it. I think that's kinda breaking the NaNo rules, but I don't care. And yes, take your 15 minutes even if you have to wrestle your husband to the ground for it. On second thought, don't wrestle him to the ground for it. You may wind up with a second baby earlier than you wanted. ;0)

[Angela]

I did indeed sign up for the blogging every day thing (I have trouble typing properly, so I try to avoid it). I figured that with the wedding, honeymoon, and Thanksgiving I should have lots to write about--it'll just be finding the time to post daily that will be the struggle!

[kelli lu]

cool! i'll be really curious to hear your thoughts on the non-denominational college fellowship! i was very involved in one of those at ISU, but i came at it from the Protestant side of things. I remember talking to a Catholic friend who lived on my dorm floor and realizing, for the first time, that the Catholic side of things and the Protestant side of things were at once more similar and more different than I imagined. So looking forward to reading your writing - on with the NaBloPoMo! (hehee - i picture a BlowPop lollipop everytime I see that word... my inner eight year old is very strong today. (c:)

[Rosemary]

I love your topic! To me the Catholic thing is way more interesting than Target! Looking forward to it. :)

[Mrs. Flinger]

Uh, are you me? Because I've yelled that very same sentence to my husband. Ok, fine, on several occasions. :-)

[marie]

So I have committedly lurked on many a blog for months now, but nablopomo is bringing me out of the woodwork. Here, at least. I'm copying you, essentially. Rock on. Oh, and I also love reading your blog. That, too.