Old thoughts worth keeping around....

09 Aug 05 Tuesday
Me and My Evil Twin, Lazy Girl (grammatically incorrect on purpose)
Current mood: drained
I've been battling her for years, but no matter what I do, I can't finish her off. I'm beginning to think that I don't really want to, but my conscience keeps saying that she's got to go. Who is she? She's my evil twin, Lazy Girl. Actually, she's more like a part of a split personality. But since I'm not crazy (though others, like George, would beg to differ), I prefer to call her my evil twin. You'd better call her that too, or else you might end up seeing why George thinks I'm crazy!She shows up at the most inopportune times, such as in the morning, when I should be getting ready for work. Or at school, when I should be focused on my work. Or at home, when I should be washing bottles, or cooking dinner, or folding laundry, or exercising, or anything else that I'm supposed to be doing. Lazy Girl prefers to lie on the couch and read, or watch television. She thinks the most fabulous thing in the world is to sleep in, order room service, and then sleep some more. She expects money to grow on trees (she's always pointing out the technological advances that have been made with plants), and the idea of "watching what you eat" is truly ludicrous as far as she's concerned. Now that I think about it, I like many of the same things that Lazy Girl enjoys. Maybe she's not so evil. Maybe we can be friends after all. I mean, I do have summers off...


04 Jul 05 Monday
The new man in my life
Current mood: infatuated
When Alex when he sees a female human being, he immediately goes into flirtation mode.You'd think I'd be mad. But I'm not. I know that appreciating and interacting with other people (even if they're pretty much ALL women) is healthy for him. No jealousy here. I'm the one who holds him at night!But I do worry. You see, Alexander is 7 months old. I don't know about you, but I think that's a little young to start romancing girls. Alas, he doesn't seem to agree! Everywhere we go, Alex smiles (except for the past few days, when his teething experiences are preventing any happiness or contentment whatsoever). He smiles at those of us he knows, and he smiles at those he doesn't....usually. But enter a female, and you'll immediately see his wide, two-bottom-teeth grin, guaranteed! And sometimes, he'll even follow her with his eyes as she walks past. Alex likes women of all ages- at BWI airport, he tried to flirt with a two-year old. At the National Aquarium in Baltimore, he locked eyes with an elderly woman in a wheelchair. And women LOVE Alex. They flock to him like he's chocolate and they ooh and ah. They touch his cheeks (adorably chubby and soft on a baby, yet scary on an adult), while I wince and pray they have clean, virus-free hands. He grabs their pinkies in a heartbreakingly cute way and stares into their faces. Switch Alex with a grown man, and you have a scene from a romantic comedy!The problem is, Alex is 7 months old. He has nothing to offer other than his good looks and cunning charm (try as he might, he can't truly have an intelligent conversation yet). He can't drive. He can't buy dinner, can't buy roses, can't buy anything! And yet, I'm in love with him too....


28 Jun 05 Tuesday
Staying awake for staying awake's sake
Current mood: exhausted
Once upon a time, I used to go to bed early. At first, it was because my parents told me to, and then it became something to do....a way to end an evening of boredom, or to avoid one. There was even a brief period when I simply went to bed early because I was tired. !!!! (Ah, how I took going to bed early for granted in those days! If only I had known, right?) Far too soon after that came a time when going to bed early became an unattainable dream- something of a goal to work toward. And as is the case with most of our lofty aspirations, this dream of retiring early each night becomes more and more the major plot line of a fairy tale in which I am the protagonist. (Dare I mention how I'm considering Sleeping Beauty as a mentor?)I just can't go to bed early. There are far too many reasons to stay awake!For one, I have all this e-mail to read and quite a few that deserve responses. I suppose I could just not read or respond, but past experience has shown that avoidance just creates a larger, more anxiety-inducing inbox. And then there's my television habit...though summer hiatus does much to practically eliminate the addiction. And there are books I'd like to read (not including the ones I have to read...though is there really anything that can't be just skimmed???). Harry Potter the 6th is coming out soon, you know. I'm not sure I remember what the inside of a movie theater looks like.....There are aquariums to peruse and conversations to have and websites to explore and news programs to watch and about which to offer unsolicited commentary to those having the unfortunate fortune of being near you when one of your passions (be it gender equality, education, or the complete and utter uselessness of those stop lights at the on-ramps of freeways) is mentioned.There are babies to care for and play with. I'm finding that the older mine gets, the less I sleep (though I keep reading that this should not be the case). There's so much to ponder where babies are concerned. Will a move to Canada really be necessary by the time 18 years rolls around? Can a baby who has already mastered the art of flirting at six/seven months really make it through his high school and college years without accidentally lending his superior genetics to the creation of another generation?And then there are blogs to read and write.


21 May 05 Saturday
At what temperature do humans melt?
Current mood: cranky
It was hot today. In fact, it's still hot. I know what you're thinking: quit your whining and move away from Phoenix. Ah, but I have the right to complain. This is MY blog. And if you don't like it, you can stop reading. So there.Did I mention it was hot today? And it's supposed to get hotter. Yikes! There was a time I LOVED the heat. You know how when you open the oven you get a blast of dry heat on your face? You can replicate the sensation without an oven on any summer day that you exit a cool building. I used to love that. My best friend in high school loved heat so much she would turn the heat on in her house in the summertime! We would get into a car and sit there for a moment or so before we turned on the AC because the pent up heat was so grand.That was then. This is now. Now I have little to no heat tolerance. I first noticed it when I got pregnant. Whatever hormones turn your body into a baby factory also turn you into a vampire. You don't do anything during the day but sit on your couch with the AC turned down as far as possible without rendering you unable to make your mortgage payment. The shades are drawn; a nice cool beverage is within reach. If you go out, it's after dark and NOT during rush hour. Any contact with the sun could result in fatal heat stroke. It's a sad, sad thing. Maybe someday, when my body is my body again and not the remnants of the baby factory, I won't care that it's so hot. Maybe I'll even open up my own heater store. But until then, IT'S HOT!