I've been up since 3:15 this morning, and it has nothing to do with blood sugar! My poor little brain is churning because of my job, which increased in frustration levels yesterday. I problem-solve in the middle of the night (unfortunately) which can make me snappish. Yesterday as I left work, I told my co-worker that I was going to take advantage of our spring-like weather and throw myself onto the grass and stare at the clouds going by, just so I could try to relax. Instead, I took all the kids on a long walk (which ended up in a potty emergency, isn't it fun being a parent?) down our gorgeous new hike/bike trail. I'll post pictures later. Not of the potty emergency. Of course, all this took time, and then Nora and I stayed up late trying to organize & prepare for her Spanish final next week, about which she is greatly concerned.
I got on the computer this morning and did some more problem solving. It seems you don't have to drive all over the place (as suggested in a meeting yesterday) to get the information you need -- all you need to do is google. GOOGLE!!! I'm going to present my findings today. And I'm also going to start looking around for new opportunities. I think it is time...
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
Motor Mouth
Dominic just turned 7. He is, and has been since the womb, a force of nature. He was actually twins, but at about 8 weeks I lost the other twin. My theory is that Dominic, in utero, delivered one of the karate kicks that he is now practicing in class. "Hi-YA! Don't crowd me!!"
So he had his annual check up today. He asked everyone he possibly could if he was going to get a shot. Last year when he had to have a vaccine, we practically needed a straight jacket to keep him still. I thought that maybe watching Daniel give himself shots every day without writhing in pain would have allayed his fears, but no such luck.
Dominic was lucky today. No vaccine, no TB test. He will have to have a blood draw at the lab later to test for celiac, but not TODAY. Once free from that fear, he was free to talk. And talk. He told the doctor everything under the sun. And as usual, when he talks about his brother, he says, "Daniel has diabetes. And celiac. It's really bad. He has to have shots and test his blood sugar and he can't eat gluten. Do you know gluten? He can't have the stuff I have. He has to look at a lot of blood."
He did that the other day to the guy who came to the door soliciting funds for US Pirg.
He tells grocery clerks. Teachers. Everyone. You.
Diabetes/celiac is obviously something he thinks about quite a bit. So recently when he said that when he grows up he's going to be a scientist, I asked if he was going to try to figure out how to cure diseases.
"No. I'm going to build hovercrafts. And robot arms and legs. And these nails that will come out above and below your eye so that if your eye falls out it will stop it from falling out and pop it back in."
No plans for a cure here. But if your eye ever pops out, you know who to turn to.
So he had his annual check up today. He asked everyone he possibly could if he was going to get a shot. Last year when he had to have a vaccine, we practically needed a straight jacket to keep him still. I thought that maybe watching Daniel give himself shots every day without writhing in pain would have allayed his fears, but no such luck.
Dominic was lucky today. No vaccine, no TB test. He will have to have a blood draw at the lab later to test for celiac, but not TODAY. Once free from that fear, he was free to talk. And talk. He told the doctor everything under the sun. And as usual, when he talks about his brother, he says, "Daniel has diabetes. And celiac. It's really bad. He has to have shots and test his blood sugar and he can't eat gluten. Do you know gluten? He can't have the stuff I have. He has to look at a lot of blood."
He did that the other day to the guy who came to the door soliciting funds for US Pirg.
He tells grocery clerks. Teachers. Everyone. You.
Diabetes/celiac is obviously something he thinks about quite a bit. So recently when he said that when he grows up he's going to be a scientist, I asked if he was going to try to figure out how to cure diseases.
"No. I'm going to build hovercrafts. And robot arms and legs. And these nails that will come out above and below your eye so that if your eye falls out it will stop it from falling out and pop it back in."
No plans for a cure here. But if your eye ever pops out, you know who to turn to.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Amylia's Meme
Thanks to Amylia for the meme!
Age at my next birthday:
(the CD/MP3 generation might not recognize a 45!)
A place I'd like to travel:
A favorite place:
A favorite thing:
A favorite food:
A favorite color:
A favorite flower:
The city I live in:
The name of a past pet:
My Cosmo was furrier but had just as much bite.
Nickname I've had:
College Major:
First Job:
Hope for 2008:
Age at my next birthday:
(the CD/MP3 generation might not recognize a 45!)
A place I'd like to travel:
A favorite place:
A favorite thing:
A favorite food:
A favorite color:
A favorite flower:
The city I live in:
The name of a past pet:
My Cosmo was furrier but had just as much bite.
Nickname I've had:
College Major:
First Job:
Hope for 2008:
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Doing the Blah Blah Blah
I've just started reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I'm only a few chapters into the book so I can't say too much about it yet. A friend recommended the book to me and it is intriguing -- it is supposed to help unblock creativity, whether you are a writer, an artist, a lawyer, a dancer, a mom. So here I am, living vicariously through friends who are actors & artists & writers, thinking about my sad, lonely poems crumbling to dust in their manila folders in the basement (okay, the poems aren't sad poems, they are just sad to be in the basement) and about the characters that run around in my head, trying to get out & see the light of day. So I think, "Yeah! Go, girl! Unblock your muse, fly, be free!"
So here's the first exercise. Morning pages. Every day get up and write, longhand, 3 pages. It can and probably will be total junk. It doesn't matter if all you write is "I don't know what to write" enough times to fill up 3 pages. Any old BLAH BLAH BLAH. Eventually more words will come. This is a great exercise. My poetry teachers in grad school had similar instructions, and it works. The more you write, the more you WILL write. Julia Cameron says that this particular method works not only for people who want to write, but also for people who are trying to unblock creativity for other venues.
And I believe her, I really do. But Julia, honey, I get up at 5:25 every morning so I can get clean, get 3 kids out the door, and then leave for work. I come home in time to get kids from the bus & help with homework & get dinner on the table. I whisk them off to after dinner activities, or go to yoga to clear my head. Collapse into bed. Start all over. When can I get these 3 pages written? Longhand?
Get up at 5, she says (in my head). You want to do this? You NEED to do this? Then just do it!
Just do it. I sound like a frikkin' Nike ad.
I read through so many lovely blogs when I can -- usually in the last hour or so before conking out (like right now). I wonder how some moms can organize their lives to write as often as they do... to distill their days into lovely bits so easily... Are they all up, pre dawn-crack, writing morning pages? Julia sez that if I'm feeling jealous, then I probably need to unblock.
Today I am trying to decide what is more important to me at this moment. That last half hour of sleep, or sandblasting the clogged creative passages. Living with envy or without sleep. I don't have an answer yet.
BLAH BLAH BLAH. Is this 3 pages yet?
So here's the first exercise. Morning pages. Every day get up and write, longhand, 3 pages. It can and probably will be total junk. It doesn't matter if all you write is "I don't know what to write" enough times to fill up 3 pages. Any old BLAH BLAH BLAH. Eventually more words will come. This is a great exercise. My poetry teachers in grad school had similar instructions, and it works. The more you write, the more you WILL write. Julia Cameron says that this particular method works not only for people who want to write, but also for people who are trying to unblock creativity for other venues.
And I believe her, I really do. But Julia, honey, I get up at 5:25 every morning so I can get clean, get 3 kids out the door, and then leave for work. I come home in time to get kids from the bus & help with homework & get dinner on the table. I whisk them off to after dinner activities, or go to yoga to clear my head. Collapse into bed. Start all over. When can I get these 3 pages written? Longhand?
Get up at 5, she says (in my head). You want to do this? You NEED to do this? Then just do it!
Just do it. I sound like a frikkin' Nike ad.
I read through so many lovely blogs when I can -- usually in the last hour or so before conking out (like right now). I wonder how some moms can organize their lives to write as often as they do... to distill their days into lovely bits so easily... Are they all up, pre dawn-crack, writing morning pages? Julia sez that if I'm feeling jealous, then I probably need to unblock.
Today I am trying to decide what is more important to me at this moment. That last half hour of sleep, or sandblasting the clogged creative passages. Living with envy or without sleep. I don't have an answer yet.
BLAH BLAH BLAH. Is this 3 pages yet?
Friday, January 4, 2008
For keeps
Matt and I were married twice. The first time, in 1991, we eloped. We went to the courthouse, brought 1 friend along, and tied the knot. You see, we planned on a wedding in 1992, even set the date and found a place. But then Matt got a job offer in Saudi Arabia. I was accepted to grad school in Pittsburgh. We decided that Matt would take the job opportunity and I would start grad school and visit Matt over the winter break.
There was just on catch. I couldn't visit Matt in Saudi Arabia unless I was his wife. Hence the elopement. We eloped with great glee. My friend Jeanne threw rice. We went to the place that we reserved for our wedding the following year and took pictures. We didn't tell anyone (trying not to hurt feelings of close relatives). That was June of 1991.
In May of 1992, Matt flew back from Saudi Arabia and we got married again. At the reserved spot with all the friends and family there. It was a great party and we weren't nervous because we were already married! We had a few weeks to pack up all our gifts, my apartment at school, sell a car, and prepare to move me over to Saudi.
One of the gifts we got was a cream whipper. I'd never seen one before. It is basically a metal cannister that you fill with cream and to which you can attach a CO2 cartridge. The cannister is pressurized with the CO2, then you shake it and out comes whipped cream. It's your own re-usable Reddi-whip. The people packing
our s
tuff for Saudi Arabia would not allow us to ship it because of the CO2 cartridges. So we asked my mom to hold on to it. And then forgot about it.
Fast forward 15 years. My mom is cleaning out one of her rooms and... whaddaya know. The cream whipper. She gave it back to me last week. I cleaned it out and tested it tonight on Dominic's birthday pie. And on his face, Nora's face, Matt's face. It worked pretty well! This funny little cannister was a gift to me thi
s week -- it brought me back in time for a little while to the beginning of my marriage, the start of our grand adventure. The time before we started testing out those "better or worse" vows.
2007 was a challenging year for us. Many days (and late nights) I struggled to deal with Daniel's diabetes & celiac diagnoses, and just fell apart. Matt put me back together. When I weaken, he is strong. He is positive and steadfast. I am so thankful that I get to share this life with him.
There was just on catch. I couldn't visit Matt in Saudi Arabia unless I was his wife. Hence the elopement. We eloped with great glee. My friend Jeanne threw rice. We went to the place that we reserved for our wedding the following year and took pictures. We didn't tell anyone (trying not to hurt feelings of close relatives). That was June of 1991.
In May of 1992, Matt flew back from Saudi Arabia and we got married again. At the reserved spot with all the friends and family there. It was a great party and we weren't nervous because we were already married! We had a few weeks to pack up all our gifts, my apartment at school, sell a car, and prepare to move me over to Saudi.
One of the gifts we got was a cream whipper. I'd never seen one before. It is basically a metal cannister that you fill with cream and to which you can attach a CO2 cartridge. The cannister is pressurized with the CO2, then you shake it and out comes whipped cream. It's your own re-usable Reddi-whip. The people packing
our s
tuff for Saudi Arabia would not allow us to ship it because of the CO2 cartridges. So we asked my mom to hold on to it. And then forgot about it.Fast forward 15 years. My mom is cleaning out one of her rooms and... whaddaya know. The cream whipper. She gave it back to me last week. I cleaned it out and tested it tonight on Dominic's birthday pie. And on his face, Nora's face, Matt's face. It worked pretty well! This funny little cannister was a gift to me thi
s week -- it brought me back in time for a little while to the beginning of my marriage, the start of our grand adventure. The time before we started testing out those "better or worse" vows.2007 was a challenging year for us. Many days (and late nights) I struggled to deal with Daniel's diabetes & celiac diagnoses, and just fell apart. Matt put me back together. When I weaken, he is strong. He is positive and steadfast. I am so thankful that I get to share this life with him.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Bumble
We now have a hamster and his name is Bumble. Nora got his cage & food & other supplies & a book about hamsters for Christmas, but had to wait to get Bumble until we returned from our trip.
Bumble is enjoying his new, super cool cage and has taken a few lengthy spins on his (mostly silent) wheel. We gave him a few dark green lettuce leaves from our salad, and he *loved* them. I swear he could smell them the minute we entered the room.
Isn't he cute?
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Man Proposes and God Disposes
You can say, "man plans and God laughs," or "from your mouth to God's ears," or any variation on a theme. Last year's resolution was to SIMPLIFY. Of course, that didn't happen this year.
However, diabetes & celiac in our family has certainly caused me to organize. I believe it is true that one way to simplify life is to bring order to the chaos. To "simpliforganize." Organimplify? Anyway, I think I did the best I could, under the circumstances.
This year I may go back to the standard resolutions: lose a few pounds. Take time for myself to exercise more often. Write more. Express my constant gratitude for family, friends, love.
Scheduling time for writing and doing it consistently has been a resolution for years. Funny how this year I have used writing to organize my mind and help me find my way. The consistency was born of necessity. By doing so I have "met" the most amazing people online, the wonderful diabetes OC, celiac gurus, active yoginis, and astonishingly creative photographers. Whereas in everyday life I might overhear someone's conversation at a subway stop or a restaurant and think, "wow, what a great observation on life!" I would never intrude on that person's conversation. How rude! But online I can read observations, enjoy other people's photography or videos, follow conversations. I can add my own comment, give another viewpoint, concur with the author, praise a poem or a picture. Let someone know, "I like what you said. I'm listening."
Okay, I lied in the middle of the last paragraph. I might intrude on someone's conversation. I was at a Starbucks in Connecticut a few days ago with my sister in law & niece. I was waiting to pick up our drinks when I overheard another customer talking to the barrista about staying away from wheat, and how it was making her well. But how hard it was during Christmas, and how she had trouble getting any baked goods to taste good.
Yeah, I jumped right in. Talked about celiac, about different flours, and xanthan gum. Bob's Red Mill, Pamela's mixes, and the importance of staying gluten free. About the pile of gluten free cookies & biscotti I baked for Daniel. Failures & successes in baking. We talked for a little while, and then she thanked me so much for taking the time. Most people, she said, don't talk to people they don't know, and our little conversation really helped her. She laughed and said that she would start going totally gluten free, but she was going to cheat up until her birthday, January 23. "No way," I said, "that's my birthday!"
Just one of those things, you know? Got a little shiver. She thanked me and thanked me. Just as I thank you and thank you, all you many people out there who are listening, commenting, agreeing or arguing. Thanks for sharing this corner of the world, letting me vent or praise, answering my questions and giving me strength. Thanks for all these serendipitous electronic bitch sessions. A happy & healthy new year to you all.
However, diabetes & celiac in our family has certainly caused me to organize. I believe it is true that one way to simplify life is to bring order to the chaos. To "simpliforganize." Organimplify? Anyway, I think I did the best I could, under the circumstances.
This year I may go back to the standard resolutions: lose a few pounds. Take time for myself to exercise more often. Write more. Express my constant gratitude for family, friends, love.
Scheduling time for writing and doing it consistently has been a resolution for years. Funny how this year I have used writing to organize my mind and help me find my way. The consistency was born of necessity. By doing so I have "met" the most amazing people online, the wonderful diabetes OC, celiac gurus, active yoginis, and astonishingly creative photographers. Whereas in everyday life I might overhear someone's conversation at a subway stop or a restaurant and think, "wow, what a great observation on life!" I would never intrude on that person's conversation. How rude! But online I can read observations, enjoy other people's photography or videos, follow conversations. I can add my own comment, give another viewpoint, concur with the author, praise a poem or a picture. Let someone know, "I like what you said. I'm listening."
Okay, I lied in the middle of the last paragraph. I might intrude on someone's conversation. I was at a Starbucks in Connecticut a few days ago with my sister in law & niece. I was waiting to pick up our drinks when I overheard another customer talking to the barrista about staying away from wheat, and how it was making her well. But how hard it was during Christmas, and how she had trouble getting any baked goods to taste good.
Yeah, I jumped right in. Talked about celiac, about different flours, and xanthan gum. Bob's Red Mill, Pamela's mixes, and the importance of staying gluten free. About the pile of gluten free cookies & biscotti I baked for Daniel. Failures & successes in baking. We talked for a little while, and then she thanked me so much for taking the time. Most people, she said, don't talk to people they don't know, and our little conversation really helped her. She laughed and said that she would start going totally gluten free, but she was going to cheat up until her birthday, January 23. "No way," I said, "that's my birthday!"
Just one of those things, you know? Got a little shiver. She thanked me and thanked me. Just as I thank you and thank you, all you many people out there who are listening, commenting, agreeing or arguing. Thanks for sharing this corner of the world, letting me vent or praise, answering my questions and giving me strength. Thanks for all these serendipitous electronic bitch sessions. A happy & healthy new year to you all.
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