Well it's certainly not the Disney Channel

Olivia - who is 5 1/2 years old - LOVES Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International on SyFy. Oh, and Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel.

Yes. I let my kindergarten-age child watch a show about the paranormal and ghosts. Is there something wrong with that?

It started out innocently enough - I got hooked on Ghost Hunters a few months ago when I stopped watching LOST and needed something else to watch on Wednesday nights. I found Jason and Grant to be mildly amusing and I've always been fascinated by the paranormal and ghosts...so I was instantly hooked.

Then Kevin started watching. And it quickly became our Wednesday night ritual. Olivia happened to watch it a few times and now she waits for Wednesday nights and stays up to late (10 pm) to watch with us.

She says that it's not scary. I believe her. She told me today how "cool" it was last night on the episode she watched because "they saw a shadow!" My little ghost hunter.

But the funniest thing about this had to be her comment earlier this evening when she looked at me, completely serious and said: "What am I going to do on Friday night? I can't watch "Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana AND Ghost Adventures!!!!!!" I assured her that one or both shows would be Tivo'd just for her.

And all was right with the world again.

Her choice in favorite shows really shouldn't surprise me....after all, she decided that her new favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom was the Haunted Mansion. [That WAS surprising...I figured she would FREAK OUT as soon as the lights went out. But nope...we rode that ride probably 10 times that week].

My girls

My life might not be perfect, but it's my life

One of the best things about blogging is the community of people who blog right along with you. If you check out the list on the left of the screen you'll see the names of blogs that I follow on a regular basis.

I don't know most of those women. But I consider every single one of them my "blogger friends". Whether we have met face-to-face or not, I cheer them on in their successes and happy life moments and support them in their down moments. In other words, I treat them the same way I treat my "non-blogger, real world friends" - except I do it through posting comments, retweeting and commenting on status updates. Yeah, I'm an equal opportunity friend. :)

Right now my professional life is in a major downturn. Any of you who read my blog know this. I try not to dwell on it here, but since it IS a blog about my life, it's a bit hard to avoid. However, I also blog about my kids, politics, crazy Michael Jackson fans, Twilight, and other odds and ends.

I try to keep it honest and real and sometimes that means my posts are not always upbeat or positive or funny.

While my professional life might be at a crossroads, my personal life is good. I'm happily married - celebrating 7 years in October. And, I have two wonderful, beautiful, loving daughters who make me smile every day. Case in point: today, Emma walked over to me as I sat on the floor, hugged me as only Emma can (a mini bear hug) and proceeded to kiss me on each cheek, on my forehead and then on the lips. Seriously the BEST moment of my morning.

See? My life isn't all that complicated or depressing. Granted, it's also not always wine and roses and fun, but really....can anyone claim that their life is perfect and happy 24-7? I think not.

And so, this is MY imperfect, crazy, hectic life and I am going to blog about it. And tweet about it. And update my Facebook status to reflect my mood.

And I'm not going to sugarcoat it.

I will be honest. And snarky. And sometimes I'll be just downright brutal in my honesty and snarkyness.

That's who I am. That's my life.

And I refuse to apologize for it.

My life may not be perfect, but it's my life.

And this is MY blog.

When filing for unemployment....

Yeah, it's a bit like this.

Yeah, I'm going there....

Right now, my television is tuned to CNN.

And yes, they are doing a live broadcast of Michael Jackson's memorial service/media circus.

Does this bother me?

Not so much. While I'm not glued to my TV, I am listening every now and then to the reports.

I understand that a lot of people are beyond pissed (to put it lightly) that he is getting so much media attention.

Personally, I don't see what the big deal is.

I heard a great discussion last night on one of the nightly news shows - all the panelists answered "NO!" when asked if they would have ever left their kids with Michael Jackson, and yet they all agreed that he was a musical genius, a pop music icon and that you really had to separate the two Michaels.

Yes, on one hand, Jackson had some very serious issues - charges of child abuse, pedophilia, etc. He was freakishly private. He wore face masks in public. He paid MILLIONS of dollars to his accusers to either settle the cases or silence the charges. He had problems. He had personal demons.

But on the other hand, he was incredibly talented. He has billions of fans worldwide. He was a musical genius. He was likely the biggest celebrity in the world. He did a lot of humanitarian work. He co-wrote "We Are The World" for crying out loud.

[One entertainment reporter noted this morning on Twitter that perhaps people are mourning the Michael of 1989 and not that of 2009. A very valid point, I think].

Does the bad outweigh the good? That's not for me (or anyone else) to decide.

Do I think he did the things he had been accused of doing? I don't know. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't. Would I have left my kids alone with Michael Jackson? No. A million times no. But it's not my place to pass judgment on him.

Do I think the media is sugarcoating the bad to focus on the good? Maybe. But then again, they have been talking about the criminal case and the payouts and the accusations. They haven't swept it under the carpet. But we all know that the media (and the general public) is ADDICTED TO celebrities and this story is like crack to them. They can't give it up and the won't give up the ratings that come with it.

Do I think it's wrong to have such a huge public memorial for him? No. I don't. His death was shocking, unexpected and is still somewhat unbelievable. (If you were ever a fan - which I was - I think it's safe to say that a little bit of your childhood died right along with him on June 25th). And quite honestly, this will likely go down in history as the biggest news story of 2009. As a journalist, you can't NOT cover it.

You don't have to like it. You don't have to watch it.

However, I think people need to remember that he has a family who loves him and is in mourning. He has children who are now fatherless. Regardless of his history and the wrongs he may have done, his family and friends deserve a chance to say good-bye and mourn his passing.

And if they want to do their mourning in such a public manner - and pass out tickets to it - then I suppose that is their right, and really who are we to question it?

Let his family and fans mourn. Let today be a somber day, but a day of celebrating the good in his life.

Save your judgments for another day.

[A postscript: I watched the entire memorial service and I will admit that I shed many tears. So many different people poured out their hearts and shared their memories. And then to hear his daughter say "daddy was the best father" -- that was heartbreaking.]

Happy July 4th!

Happy 4th of July!

24 hours

It's been a whole 24 hours since I walked out of my office and into the world of the unemployed.

I cried a lot yesterday. Every time someone came to see me and tell me how much they were going to miss me the waterworks started - for everyone involved. There were a lot of Kleenex being used around the office yesterday (it was the last day on the job for two other people in my department too).

There were some good parts to the day though. My coworkers put together a nice breakfast for those of us who were leaving - and food always makes things better, especially when there are doughnuts involved.

A lot of my coworkers also chipped in for a 'going away gift' - and they gave me a Starbucks gift card, a Target gift card and an American Express gift card (shopping and frappucinos...two of my favorite things!). My boss...who is the coolest boss ever...gave me a gorgeous pair of earrings and a heartfelt note. She totally rocks.

I had a nice lunch at El Zarape (you BG folks know how yummy that is!) with two of my friends/coworkers.

And then, there was more crying.

And at 2:30 p.m. I walked out of my office for the last time.

Now, 24 hours later....my now former boss e-mails me and says "we miss you so much already!"...which practically reduced me to tears again.

On the bright side....it is likely that I will be doing some contract/freelance work for my former department, so that's good.

And, my (former) boss is still fighting to get my job reinstated. It's all about the budgets when you work for a university and that's the issue right now. They have to find the money and get the job approved for a permanent status...and that could take a few months.

So, until then ... I've filed for my unemployment benefits and I'll keep looking for something else. And I'll try not to miss my friends/coworkers too much on a daily basis.

The End

My office has been cleaned out.

The walls are bare.

My coffee cups and paperweights are sitting in a box at home.

I have one last project to finish.

And then, at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow I will be unemployed.

I have this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach about the entire situation.

It completely sucks.

I love my job.

Two years ago this week I received a phone call telling me that I was going to be the chosen candidate for this job. On July 16, 2007 I got the official offer. And now, two years later I am cleaning out my office and being forced out of a job I love because of budget cuts.

And it totally sucks.

Sure I've known since January that I wasn't going to have a job as of June 30th....but that doesn't make it any easier. Actually, it made it a whole lot worse. The past 6 months have pretty much sucked here at the office -- it's really difficult to come to work every day, knowing that you won't be here after a certain date. It's hard to stay positive and keep a smile on your face when in reality you really want to say, "Hey, eff you!"

But I remained positive. I smiled. I did my work. I didn't complain. And it didn't make a damn bit of difference.

I still don't have a job after tomorrow, despite several people trying EVERYTHING in their power to save my job.

And so, Wednesday morning I will be filing for unemployment (for the 2nd time in my professional life).

And it sucks.

Jon and Kate + 8 = Divorce papers

Well, it's official.

At least according to People.com.

Jon and Kate have filed for divorce.

As if we didn't see this coming a mile away.

And yet, how many of us are still going to watch Jon and Kate + 8 tonight just to see a little bit more of the train wreck? I'll probably tune in. Nothing else to watch.

I have to say though, this situation is just sad. I don't feel sad for the parents - in my opinion (which isn't worth much, but this IS my blog so I get to voice my opinion), they are both horrible, selfish, narcissistic people. They cared more about their television show than their kids or their marriage.

No, I feel horrible for those kids. The parents claim that everything they do is "for the kids" and that the "kids are their lives." Really? You've got a funny way of showing that. J&K did nothing but put their needs and wants before those of the kids.

If there are kids involved, I think you should do everything in your power to make that marriage work. J&K did not. Instead, they continued to showcase their own personal brand of dysfunction for all the world to see.

I said it before, at first the show was entertaining. The kids were cute. Kate wasn't a complete bitch.

And then it became a show full of product placement, free vacations and hair plugs and Kate the Superbitch appeared. Of course, Jon didn't help matters -- "allegedly" cheating on his wife when he had EIGHT kids at home who needed and wanted their daddy.

And now, those kids - who never asked to be on TV and who never asked for any of the publicity - will be raised in a broken home. And I refuse to watch THAT on TV. If J&K had any sort of conscience they would ask to be released from their contracts so that they can attempt to heal their family - away from the cameras and glare of the spotlight.

It would only be fair to the kids.

Why so serious?!?

A friend tweeted today "Finish this sentence...I wish...."

My response: I wish....people didn't take everything so seriously. :) I think if everyone found more humor in things we'd all be happier.

Me? I try to find the humor in a lot of things. I'm losing my job next week. The humorous part? Well....OK, nothing really funny about that. But I'll keep trying to find something funny about it, damn it.

But seriously (or not)....I do try to see the funny side of many things.

And, I'm traditionally rather snarky. People who REALLY know me understand this. Those who don't...well, whatever. The point is....I find many things funny.

Which is why I find it hilarious that I was unfollowed today on Twitter for talking about last night's episode of True Blood with another TB fanatic and friend. Yes, really.

Apparently I broke some cardinal rule that states one must not discuss any plot points of True Blood until everyone in the world has watched the previous night's episode. Never mind that you can go to the EW.com Web site RIGHT FREAKIN' NOW and read all about it....spoilers and all.

So here's my PSA for the day: if you don't want to hear about True Blood next Monday, don't read my Tweets because you can bet your bottom dollar that I WILL BE TWEETING WITH MY FRIEND about whether or not LaFayette was turned into a vampire by Eric, Pam and Chow.

Absolutely true

Olivia the graduate

Olivia graduated from preschool today!
Of course, I got a little teary-eyed...
but then again, so did Olivia.
(She tends to 'freak out' a little bit when
she is in front of a lot of people!)
Congratulations Olivia!
Off to kindergarten you go.....

I'm going to add this to my resume