Egg Salad

While packing my husband's lunch this morning I had cause to ponder favorite foods. "Why is it", I asked myself, "that I only make egg salad during Lent, even though it is among our favorite foods?". Laziness is part of the answer, although it is no more difficult to make egg salad sandwiches than peanut butter and jelly. But then I realized that it also the lack of foresight to boil the eggs the day before! Aha, so no egg salad without foresight. So my lack of virtues like advance planning also affects what we eat. (Well, duh! If I don't shop we don't eat...shopping is advance planning...so I'm not sure this is a good excuse. I mean, I occasionally, at least, remember to shop.) The other times we have egg salad is when my husband has a craving (in advance) for egg salad and HE boils the eggs. I never seem to advance plan my cravings either. (Although if I get one of those cravings that hangs around for days I do eventually go buy whatever it is I'm needing...Usually, its fresh baked bagels...Must stop, I'm getting hungry.)

Sweet Silence

Just for today, you don't have to listen to me, because I just want to be quiet. Josh is gone to a friend's house and I have blessed quiet. No book on tape, no bouncy balls, no one reading me the sports page...Why does winter break seem so long? I didn't get any quiet at work either...so I really need it now. Maybe a nice quiet vacation in solitary confinement? As long as I have a bed and some books I'll be happy.

Speaking of books...I am so far behind in my reading that I've had to renew everything lately. Maybe I should quit blogging and just read. Nah then I would miss my IM time. But at least its quiet! (And NO meetings tonight! Yay!)

Blogging addiction?

I was wondering about the possibilities of being addicted to blogs, and so I did what I usually do and googled it ("blogging addiction"). What I found are lots of people blogging about their addiction to blogging. I also found an interesting article from the NY Times, "For Some, The Blogging Never Stops", which tells about a guy who locked himself in the bathroom with his laptop while he was on his honeymoon so he could blog (trying to hide it from his new wife...boy, is she in for it). It also confirms that most people who blog do it for themselves "just to get it off my chest", rather than because they have an audience. Personally, I don't find that to be my experience at all. I am writing solely for the tiny audience I have amassed (all 2 or 3 of you) and in fact struggle with what to say that won't be too contoversial, or reveal the extent of my mental instability. I think blogging is a little like standing naked, or with very little clothing, in a crowd. But I wouldn't feel comfortable with that either. So again I wonder why I'm blogging...Is it just a habit now? Is it becoming an addiction? Is it because my fans would miss me? I certainly find myself more comfortable with commenting on other blogs, the cloaked effect. Or maybe because I have no original thoughts, but can respond to stimuli (rather like a planaria).

Teaching Josh to sew (again)

Odyssey of the Mind encourages create thinking and independence. So, since Josh decided they needed to sew a "skirt" (actually more of a dust ruffle) for their robot "monster", I need to teach him to use the sewing machine so he can do it himself. Some of you readers may remember that I taught Josh to sew last year when he created the "lovely" Medusa costumes. He loved it! But he hasn't sewn much of anything since. Therefore this year he needs a memory refresher, as well as some calming when he gets all excited about the bobbin thread getting stuck (or whatever). And I'm finding that I need to talk him through each step just to keep him going...I forgot how much patience it takes to teach something you could accomplish in minutes by yourself. But I have to admit I'm impressed by the results. At least he's not afraid to admit to enjoying the sewing. And I am proud of his accomplishments. If only I could figure out how to get those results without nagging. One step at a time...

Random stuff I did today

Lectored at 7:30 mass.
Had French toast at Breakfast Club.
Went to a discussion on prayer.
Came home and made some chai and checked my email and read blogs.
IMed with Elizabeth about foreign travel and taxes, while playing spider solitaire.
Made sweet & sour pork for dinner, and made dessert too.
Started reading "Servants of the Map" for our book discussion.
Almost finished a book I started reading over a week ago (that's how busy last week was).
Watched DS9 with Josh. (Sent him to bed and watched another episode).
Watched network TV retrospective of Saturday Night Live (the first 5 years, when it really was funny...and/or I was a teen and everything was funny).
Blogged.
Went to bed (soon I hope).

What I didn't do:
Odyssey of the Mind meetings.
Go to the library.
Exercise.
Laundry.

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle

I have always been a fan of crossword puzzles, and now science tells me that doing them will exercise my brain and stave off Alzheimer's disease. Well, finally I found something that I like doing that is good for me.

Conventional wisdom has it that the Monday New York Times puzzle is easy and they get progressively harder as the week goes on. Personally I usually won't bother with anything before Thursday because there's just no challenge in it. (The Sunday puzzle is usually challenging, but not as difficult as the Saturday.) I spent the last week, as I do many weeks, working a little at a time on that Saturday puzzle, eraser at the ready, for a little while each day, with a cup of tea, before falling asleep at night, or even in the bathroom. But I did solve it! Every letter! And now, happily, its Saturday again and time for a new challenge (just as soon as I finish Friday's puzzle...)

Time Warp

I haven't blogged since Wednesday since I've been terribly busy since then (I think). I know I've done lots of running, and yet I don't really feel that I've accomplished anything...Where does time go? I guess I just waste too much of it sitting here at the keyboard. Blogging , or playing free cell, or even (gasp) working. And then there's the sitting on the couch part...when time goes from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. in an instant. The only time that time goes infinitely slow is when I try to get back to sleep at 4 a.m.

If only I could stop time every now and then so I could catch up. I'd let you come too...

Its snowing!

It is snowing this morning. Its so very beautiful and peaceful. Its covering the ugly mud left by yesterday's thaw. And muting all the usual morning traffic noise. I think I could just sit and watch it for hours. Perhaps I could just skip out on the rest of the day? Probably not. But I am going to just sit here and enjoy it for a few minutes.

Today's Favorite Quote

The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created--created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination.

--John Schaar

St. Valentine's Day

My sources tell me that St. Valentine was an early Christian who gave support and love to other Christians by writing them letters. Support and love. What more can we want any day of the year?

One of my earliest memories of Valentine's Day was finding a gift from my mother at the breakfast table. It was just a trinket sort of gift (I honestly don't remember what), in a paper lunch sack that Mom had decorated with hearts. That little gesture has stuck with me through the years. I guess I like it so much because I knew that Mom loved me no matter how many of those dumb paper valentines I got (or didn't get) at school. Valentine's Day is just about loving another person.

Introspection

I sat in on a program at the library on Thursday and was asked to do something I generally avoid: think about my life. You see, like most people I live behind a mask. And perhaps like some people I also have another shield that prevents me from looking too hard into my own soul. Or maybe just that I look, but I'm terrified of what I might find, and so I always turn back before I get too deep. Every once in a while I hit a nerve...or allow something to get through, and inevitably (for good or bad) I end up in tears. So now I'm fearful that the real me is locked up somewhere. (Okay I'm sure she is). But I'm afraid to go find her. It might make me do something drastic like enroll in Library School. (Last time I "looked" I ended up in the pool 3 days a week, and I'm still struggling against that decision.) The next biggest obstacle is that I hide so well, either by reading, or sleeping, or watching "Deep Space 9" re-runs or blogging...and that I've grown to love the diversions more than the prospect of "finding myself". I mean, why bring on such pain when I can take the lazy way out?

Why am I even thinking about this now? Well, there's that whole Lenten renewal thing...maybe I could find just one little thing to make me a better person...or even one big thing. And then there was Rosalie on Thursday, singing Believe in Yourself from The Wiz. Then I found these lyrics to What Would I do If I Could Feel?

What would I do, If I could suddenly feel
And to know once again, That what I feel is real?

I could cry, I could smile
I might lay back for a while
Oh, tell me what
What would I do if I could feel?

What would I do, If I could reach inside of me
And to know how it feels, To say I like what I see?

Then I'd be more than glad to share
All that I have inside of here
And the songs
My heart might bring
You'd be more Than glad to sing
And if tears should fall from my eyes
Just think of all the wounds
They could mend
And just think of all the time
I could spend
Just being vuln'rable again

Oh, tell me what
What would I do
If I could feel?

Squirrel Fishing

I was chatting with my college-aged kids about their propensity to take pictures of squirrels and other wildlife, including baiting them with food to get them to come close. Matthew then introduced me to the concept of squirrel fishing. Sure, I said, new, novel, crazy...Well the researcher in me just had to Google it. 300,000 or so hits...Apparently lots of college kids think this is a great sport. Check it out!

Spontaneous Combustion

I have been coaching Odyssey of the Mind for years now, or so it seems. Sheila and I decided that a weekly practice session of hands-on spontaneous problems would be great practice for the kids this year, and they would love and cherish us for our efforts. Okay, I just made up that last part, but it sure would be nice if they cared even a little! We decided that since burnout was imminent, today would be our last day to meet. I could barely get the kids to settle down. As usual, all they wanted to know was what we brought them to eat (and drink). I laid it on the line for them...i.e you can have a fabulous long-term problem presentation, but if you can't focus for the 5 minutes a spontaneous problem takes YOU WON'T WIN!
I don't think they paid attention to a word I said, but I have hopes that some of our advice from the last few months has sunk in. (My problem is that while I can sometimes read people, I can never tell what a kid is thinking.)
Its a good thing that it at least was amusing to watch the kids try to wrap a frying pan, floppy disk, 4 pencils, 3 golfballs, wastebasket, ladle, 2 plastic glasses, 2 rubber balls and 2 pieces of cardboard with just 7 sheets of copy paper. And it was gratifying that all 3 teams eventually figured out that they could put everything in the wastebasket and wrap it to get the most points. I was still a little disappointed by the level of teamwork...but I guess maybe my expectations are higher than 10-12 year olds can meet.
Now all we have to do is get the long term problems ready to go...just 3 weeks left!

Random Thoughts while working at the Reference Desk

• I meet some of the nicest people while helping them find books.
• I meet some of the nastiest people while helping them with computer problems.
• My favorite parents are the ones who not only let their kid jump from one green square to the next, but do it with them.
• I love the folks who apologize for bothering me...they are usually the most patient.
  
• After the 4th request to repeat their question do I apologize to a patron for my hearing impairment, or admit that I can't understand their accent?
• Do some teachers ever step foot in a library before they give their class an assignment? I think not.
• Do you think the Bib records could include what color the book is?
• Did I say there are no stupid questions? I was wrong.
  
• Is there a sign on my forehead that says, "Tell me all your problems."?
  
• Where are that child's parents?
• Yes, purple is my favorite color. No, you can't have this sweater.
  
• I need chocolate.
• Is it time to go home yet?
  

Tossing and Turning all night

Sometimes I wonder why I bother to go to bed at all. After spending another night tossing and turning (perhaps the residual effects of the pseudoephidrine I've been taking for my cold?) and waking totally unrefreshed, I say again, why bother? I know that I'm in for another day of dragging this poor body around, feeling achy, acting prickly, and generally just not giving a damn. The main problem with having FMS is that unless you get good sleep you feel crappy, and with FMS you rarely get good sleep. See my dilemma? So I apologize in advamce for biting your head off when you ask how I am today, or just ignoring you, which sometimes is just the easiest way to go.

Aqua Basics

Why do I start the week with water aerobics? After being told by doctors to exercise to give me more energy and make me feel better, I finally decided to give it a try. And exercising in water is a great workout with less pain than on land. The buoyancy helps make it low impact (for which my hips thank me). And the water keeps you cooler so there's no sweat (or at least you don't notice it). But does it work....Well, how do you assess whether you feel better than you did a year ago? I'm still tired all the time. And I never get high on endorphins, or if I do I haven't noticed. And as for the exercise addiction some people get. Uhuh, not me. I keep going three days a week because of guilt. Its just that simple. I feel like I'm wasting money if I skip a class. And then everybody asks where you were last time and you either have to lie and make up some lame excuse, or admit you were just too lazy to come. There is a nice feeling of camaraderie in the class though. A bunch of ladies who all need someone to help them along and keep them moving. No Denise Austin videos alone in the living room for us. Not enough motivation there, and too easy to cheat. No we go for the group torture theory. I have to admit Dawn is great at that...She keeps us going (although I do worry about her obsession with keeping our buttocks tight. I mean how do you answer a question like "How's your buttocks?" MYOB I always say. But I guess she's making our buttocks her business...someone has to). And I do feel young in a class where older ladies are the norm. But it makes me feel pressured to work hard too. Don't want any little old ladies showing me up. Okay, I admit there isn't really anyone who fits the little old lady mold. I mean these women are more active than I am! God preserve me so well. And I guess that answers why I work my butt off in the pool 3 days a week, praying that it helps keep me young.

Online Activism

Hey while you are here online why don't you give few clicks to help those less fortunate than you? I make a daily visit to the Hunger Site at http://www.thehungersite.com/
I also click on the connecting links for Breast Cancer, Child Health, Literacy, Saving Rainforests, and Animal Rescue. I don't know how much it helps, but I feel a small sense of daily satisfaction. So maybe if you did it too, I could feel responsible for that too!

Mystery lovers take note

I have among my quirks the need to read books by a particular author in the order in which they were written. I find it helps me know and love the characters, and to follow their growth, or lack thereof. I was introduced to a terrific website that lists authors and/or their characters alphabetically. And then lists their books in chronological order. Check it out at http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/

Happy Reading!

If at first you don't succeed, Blog, Blog again

I'm not sure anyone cares what I have to say, but I'm home sick today so I thought I'd try this blogging thing again. Too bad I don't really have anything relevant to say.

Perhaps I could just describe how I'm feeling achy and sneezing and my nose is runny. But, no, you don't want to hear that. After all I might be contagious. The good thing is I have an excuse to cancel my dentist appointment, skip my water aerobics class, say no to helping at Chess Club at school, and to just stay home and blog, read and eat bonbons (that is if I had any bonbons) .

Well, I hear my pillow calling me back to bed...TTYL