PractiGal

Word Cloud

My very own word cloud!

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I need some Zzzzz!

It's been months since I've dealt with insomnia, but very inconveniently, I'm dealing with it this week. Not that there's ever a convenient time. Of course it happens when life is hectic -- that's when my brain won't shut off just because it's time for sleep.

So after the first night of insomnia (Monday), I had one of my busiest days in a long time. The beginning of the month is always a busy time for me with my job, and added to that I had my performance appraisal and a meeting to attend in the office. Then I had to hoover down a good lunch (since I had an appointment to give blood last night & I wanted to make sure I was well-nourished & hydrated), play with and read to my little guy (the best part of the day, by far), make & eat dinner, go sit & wait at the Red Cross, and then go grocery shopping. On a good day that would be tiring, but on a day when I was going on very little sleep? It was a little nuts.

Of course, I figured I'd sleep great after such a busy day. But nope. And here I am on day 2. I had a highly caffeinated morning, which I don't usually do.

Running up and down the stairs doing piles of laundry and scrubbing the tub should prepare me for major zonkitude tonight, right?

Oh My Nose!

After a quick search on broken noses, I don't think mine is broken. However, I would not be surprised if there was some damage done to the cartilage.

My son, who's not yet 2, has a good sized head. My husband seems to think it's exceptionally large, though I disagree. I think it's proportional to his rather large 2-year-old body. He's a very sturdy boy and flails his head around mercilessly. Like a battering ram sometimes.

This weekend, he took aim at my face, which he struck with his mighty forehead. I took what felt like a crushing blow to my nose.

It's definitely swollen and very tender to the touch. It actually hurts to blow my nose now, too.

On the plus side, it's not black & blue, and there's been no bleeding. From what I've read, those are some signs that your nose needs immediate attention.

My husband thinks it might be crooked now, but I'm not sure about that. I definitely think it's swollen though. If it keeps up, I'll call my doctor. I'm sure they'd have some good laughs over this at the doctor's office.

Now I know how Marcia Brady felt.

At least I don't have to worry about what I'll do if I run into the "big man on campus."

Super Bowl Sunday for a non-football fan

I've never been a football fan, and neither has my husband, so Super Bowl Sunday is just like any other day for us.  Sure, I've been to Super Bowl parties, because I'm not one to turn down a chance to socialize and eat great food. The Super Bowl commercials are fun, and you never know who (or what!) might make an appearance at half-time.

Super Bowl Sunday is actually a great time to go out and do something. Most people are caught up in the festivities, so it's a great time to go to the grocery store, or even on a date.

Many years ago, I went on a date on Super Bowl Sunday. This was years before I met my husband, with another gent who wasn't into sports. We went out to dinner at a huuuuge restaurant called the Spaghetti Warehouse. It was so quiet when we walked in, I thought maybe they were closing for the evening. But no, apparently people don't go out to eat at restaurants that don't have TVs on Super Bowl Sunday. There were about 4 customers in the restaurant, so the service was amazing. We could actually carry on a conversation without shouting too!

Next stop? The movie theater. There were only a couple of other people in the theater, too. So we truly had our choice of seats.

The movie?  Schindler's List.

Yes, I saw this intense, emotional film on Super Bowl Sunday. I'm sure some football fans ended that day in tears, as did I,  but for a different reason.

That date stands out as one of the more unusual dates I've had -- both going out where hardly anyone else was out, and seeing a very intense movie with someone I barely knew.

Are you a football fan? Are you watching the Super Bowl? What do you do instead, if you're not a fan?

Anyone have some cheese to go with my whine?

Do you ever have times where it feels like your money is just slipping through your fingers faster than it's coming in?

Next week our town & county property taxes are due. While I love NY, I do not love it at tax time. Ouch.

My credit card bill is due next week too. Double ouch.

And I still haven't figured this one out, but eBay's slapping me with a big late fee. In December, I sold some toddler boots, for about $5 or $6. The seller's fee I owed eBay was $1.01. I saw the invoice in my e-mail, but I'm set up to pay everything automatically, so I didn't think of it again. Until I got a notice the other day that I was past due. Past due? How could that be?  I checked my PayPal account -- yep there's money there to cover it. I check my eBay payment settings, and they were set to hit a bank account, rather than PayPal, which is fine. But somehow my bank account info was wiped out on eBay. Great. They tried to hit an account which, according to their records, didn't exist.

My late fee? $15.

And you know what? Yelling at the computer doesn't make it any better. Nor does it make the money in my accounts multiply!

Snippets of Daily Life

We're at the stage with a young'n in the house where we spell things. A-l-o-t.

Have you seen T-h-o-m-a-s?

Are you going for a w-a-l-k?

I'm going to give him a b-a-t-h after dinner.

Because if we didn't spell these things, he'd be up the stairs climbing into the tub or ready to go out the door instantly. Of course tots don't get the concept of later.

I wonder how long before the little guy comes up to me and says, "Mom, have you seen my big T-h-o-m-a-s?  I want to bring him in the b-a-t-h-t-u-b with me."

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Just about every night after dinner, our son wants to dance. "Deet" as he says. The only reason I know what he wants to do is that he stands in front of the stereo -- pointing, while bobbing up and down, bending his knees.  Right now, dancing mostly consists of spinning in circles and running around the dining room table.

Anyway, he'll "dance" to anything, but he seems especially fond of Raffi. We have one tape that we inherited from cousins, and I've gotten a bunch of CDs from the library. And you know what?  I actually like Raffi. He's kind of grown on me. I can't believe I'm admitting that to the Internet, but it's true. Maybe it's just that I like seeing how much joy the music brings to my son. But why, then, am I going around humming the songs when he's asleep? or when I'm at the grocery store?

I know that this music drives other parents insane. Is it just that I've only heard the songs 500 times so far, rather than 5,000 or 50,000? Eventually, I'll reach a breaking point where it will drive me insane, right?

If my enjoyment of this music continues for much longer, I'm thinking I might need help. Yes, h-e-l-p.

Between the music and my wardrobe, I'm thinking that someone may need to host an intervention.

Because that's what friends do -- right?

Update on Q&A

I know -- I'm pokey. I'm still chewing on these questions from my "Got A Question?" post:

from Kristi:  What is one thing you cannot do that you most wish you could do, and why?

from Anita:  If you could pick a new career for yourself and would be instantaneously trained for it at no expense - - what would you do?

from Barbara: What historical figure has inspired you the most?  What person in your personal life has inspired you?

from Jody: What do you wish for your son?  What do you hope he never has to experience?

The fact that I'm having a hard time with Kristi's and Anita's questions makes me think that I'm either very content with my life the way things are, or I'm just not good at pie-in-the-sky thinking! Maybe I need to have a glass of wine or two and just let my mind go to respond to those...

Barbara's question is interesting too, as I've never been much of a history buff. But I'm still thinking. I definitely can think of some people in my personal life -- that part will be easier.

As for Jody's question, I could probably ramble on that topic for days. I'm working on focusing my ideas to write something that's concise and easy to read! And something that I can give to my son...

That's where I am with those... still chewing!