what to think about when there is nothing to think about...

I cannot sleep. Sleep seems to be my enemy and tonight it's worse than normal. What's a girl to do but blog, right?

For me, being awake at night is so stressful. At least I haven't started crying yet, but I guess the night is still young.

Like most with insomnia - I cannot turn my brain off to peacefully drift to la la land. Tonight, I've started keeping track of everything I'm thinking about when I should be sleeping. Here's the short list.

Stuff I need to purchase at Target tomorrow
Where to go to lunch with Sister/Auntie Haley
The fact that I don't visit my grandma enough
Who will take care of my kids if I die
That one song - I cannot remember the title, or most of the lyrics, but I've been singing it to myself all night long
stupid nap - why did I take a stupid nap. oh yeah, because i was tired and I don't sleep at night
why there is a mysterious truck parked on my street in front of a house that doesn't drive a truck
work - why are some teachers so dumb? and needy? and driving me crazy all the time.
I need to get Elliott's new room organized and put together.
Ross needs to bring my bins of baby clothes upstairs so I can sort, organize, and wash.
In a few short weeks I'm going to have more laundry to do than I ever imagined.
Sad that I don't get to go to Washington DC with the fam and cousins in June - have fun without me and my opinions
blood sugar - why is it so high all the time
sick baby - praying and crossing fingers that this kid doesn't need the NICU like his older brother
sick of doctor's appointments three times a week
need to plan cub scouts
sleep
must sleep
cannot function without....







sleep

Flip at the Zoo

(Note: Ross bought me a "new to me" (refurbished and used) flip digital video camera because I'm fat and depressed. It's a lot of fun and I really like it. So easy to use. It's going to be my new way to do video. awesome. If you want to learn more, click here.)

Spartacus had the day off of school yesterday. Yeah for end of the 3rd term. He needed someone to hang with and buy him lunch and who better than the monkey and I to oblige.

It was a tough call (not for lunch because the boys both enjoy the corn dog immensely) about what do to with our afternoon of adventure. The Zoo or the Aquarium.

Hmmm......

tough call, especially for someone (me) who doesn't care for fish and sharks.

We opted to brave the cold and go for elephants and monkeys and bears, oh my. Along with half the student body of Copper Hills high school. Yeah for prom activities. And to that boy who was throwing snowballs at the penguins because "they like it" - shame on you!

The best thing about going to the zoo when it's really cold on a Friday morning right after a snow storm? No one is there and we had a zoo pass. Yeah for the yearly pass. And - the Monkey wouldn't ride in his stroller - he wanted to push it most of the zoo. You'd think that after walking an entire zoo he'd be tired. Nope. No nap yesterday (made for a super fun evening, too).





We were bundled up (not really). Uncle MeMe was wearing shorts - and slippers - and a jacket. He claims cold legs build character.

Whatever.

We signed the guest book for the gorilla that died of cancer - told her that we'd miss her. We walked and walked and walked - the animals weren't too interested in being seen, but we still had a grand time.

Thanks Uncle MeMe for wanting to hang out with us - and not your friends.

We had a good day.

Try and guess what I'm thinking about

IMGP4039, originally uploaded by bookemdano1978.

What's the perfect treat for a pregnant diabetic with sometimes moderately high blood pressure?

Sugar you say?

Yes, you are correct.

On Monday, I made cookies with the intention of taking them to a sick friend. Well, because my brain doesn't work, my two year old is crazy, flip flops and snow don't mix, and the fact that said friend is still sick, but much worse, I didn't deliver the cookies.

I've been eating them.

Oops.

Today - sugar bomb of the week numero deux. I had to make treats for Pack Meeting. The plan was to make two batches of cupcakes - 48 in all.

There were only enough eggs in the house for one batch - and the snow has dampened my mood so much that I chose to neither go to the store or call a neighbor.

Now I'm short 25 cupcakes (the Monkey ate one this morning).

But....

BUT....

The 23 I do have? They are beautiful.

Yellow butter cake mix - store bought

Homemade white chocolate icing - dyed sky blue for the cub scouts.

What happened to the left over icing? Well, there wasn't much, but my tummy is happy.

Very.

very.

Happy.

My blood sugar? Not so much.

Any excuse will do

I was supposed to visit a friend this morning. She e-mailed me that she wasn't feeling well - a touch of food poisoning. That, combined with the fact that it's butt cold outside left me with only one choice.

Make cookies.

From scratch.

No cheating with a cake mix.

The Monkey and I embarked on a cookie adventure and guess what - when someone (me) exercises a bit of will power and there isn't anyone else around to eat all the cookie dough, my recipe sure makes a butt load of cookies.

And, they are sooooo goood! Because they are so good - and I've been baking them for, oh, I don't know 20 years maybe, I thought I'd share my recipe. Well, share my thoughts on how to make them.

First, start with all the right ingredients.


shortening ( 1 cup)
sugars (white and brown. I like more brown so it's usually 1/2 c. white and 1 c. brown)
eggs (2)
vanilla

Mix well (I prefer to do it by hand, and not cheat using an electric mixer)

Then add:
salt (just enough)
baking soda (just enough)
flour (enough to make the dough not be sticky anymore)

mix into the "wet" ingredients

add chocolate chips to your hearts content. the dough should look like this:


bake at 375 degrees for 7 min then check.


They should still be squishy, but like, 90 percent done. If you're not sure, give the cookies another minute, but no more than two. When done, they should look something like this:


Finally, test on a sugar fiend - the 2 year old closest to you. If he gives you a goofy look with chocolate chips all over his face - you've made the cookies correctly.

Spring has sprung?

Not sure about you, but I'm swooning with the warm weather and can't wait for it to be an every day thing.

Yes, I know it's supposed to snow this weekend but still.

Spring is on it's way - the flowers and bikes do not lie.

a few things....

Are you wearing your red today? go Utes!

I couldn't survive without this right now. Seriously. It's saving my face - and my under eye circles. Try it, you'll love it.

After a week or so of looking and not committing, I bought this bag for the new bambino's stuff. I hope that this time around I'm much wiser about what I need to carry - and can do it in a bit mre stylish manner.

For my wedding anniversary in a month, I want new bedding. I found this today - it's very pretty (hint, hint)

I heard this version of this song yesterday and can't get it out of my head. You'll like it, listen.

Some people

I know this lady. She lives in the neighborhood that adjoins mine. My husband is friends with her husband through church. Long before I knew who she was married to, I knew who she was. The only time I have participated in a church sport in the last 4 years was 4 years ago. We were new and I thought I ought to give being social a try.

I went to play volleyball and she was there. Laughing, yelling, being dumb. I don't do dumb. During one of the first rally's of the game she kicked the ball. Over the net. Why not right?

Bad form.

I was so enraged that I swore to never play again and her image was ingrained on my brain.

Occasionally, at church functions and while out and about we run into her. She isn't the sharpest crayon in the box. Her husband pretty much has to be in charge of everything I think. She never remembers my name. She never remembers my kids name. When I encounter her, the conversation usually starts with "Hey - I think I'm supposed to know you, right?"

Last week we got lunch at the Chick-fil-a. As we were pulling away from the drive through, she was parking her mini van at a store. Diagonally. Across almost three full spaces.

The other day, the monkey and I went to target for a few essentials like diapers, wipes, and Cadbury mini eggs. At the same time I was trying to get a cart and my boy was darting away from me faster than a cheetah, she walked in.

I got the, "Hey - I think I'm supposed to know you, right?"

I said, "Yes, my husband is...."

Oh yeah - she said. What's your name?

Annie I told her.

Right - that's similar to my name, i should remember that (snort, laugh)
side note: our names are not similar

Yeah, maybe next time I say.

Do you work?

Yes I do.

Wow! How do you do that? I mean, you do it every day?

Yes - I do. I'm busy. Every day.

At this point I start walking away. She keeps talking. Not sure what she's saying but I do the obligatory, "Oh yeah, really" sort of stuff.

We finally escape to go and find our diapers.

I don't know

we had a busy weekend, which included many activities like:
rearranging the furniture in the whole house to get the carpet cleaned
putting all the furniture back after the carpets were cleaned
admiring the very clean and very soft carpet
going out to eat
trip to IKEA and not paying for stuff
buying baby stuff
junior jazz tournament championship games
junior jazz player poster printing
dungeons and dragons oh wait I mean fantasy baseball draft parties
return trip to IKEA to pay for the stuff I walked out with the day before
putting together IKEA stuff
watching a little boy scream "I love, I love" at the top of his lungs at the site of the newly built IKEA stuff in his new room
church meetings
summer business venture planning
budget planning
shaved ice trailer purchasing
park playing...

you know the regular sort of stuff.

The weather has just been so beautiful that it was necessary for father and son on Saturday to go to the park and leave the mama alone for a bit. They went. They ran. They played. They had a great time. So great in fact that it was all the monkey could talk about for most of the remainder of the weekend.

That boy of mine is a jabber box. He doesn't stop talking. I love it (most of the time at least) and besides all of his other little vernacular ticks like clicking at the end of words that end in a "K" sound (like coke, and truck) or pronouncing certain words wrong as if he's cursing up a storm (like sheet and beach, you can figure it out) he's got a new little oddity. Whenever we ask him a question, his first response is, "I don't know" even tough he knows full well the answer to the question. It's pretty funny.

watch him in action.

i love...

It's been a while on the old blog that I've written and you've read anything truly positive. Sorry. It's just my nature. However, I've been inspired, by of all things this:

Isn't the packaging on this glitter absolutely beautiful? I mean come on, the shade of green just screams SPRING, but the shape of the bottle, the label, the white cap. It's just fabulous. There is something about good old Martha and her clean lines that just makes me feel good.

I've had this glitter for a few days, admiring the bottle. I finally used it yesterday with my cub scouts. We painted "spring birdhouses" and the boys did a great job. There was one left over and I painted it. I tried to make some little glitter shamrocks on the roof, they didn't turn out so great but the sparkle adds a nice touch.



Now, on to what's important.
I love...

...the sound of birds chirping in the morning...

...a little boy who "yuves" me and says please, thank you, and "sorry mama" when he steps on my toes...

...that the arrival of "the squirt" is very close (7-8 weeks?) and hope that all will be well...

...a husband who tries real hard, even if he's not home much...

...sun on my face, even if there is a bit of haze...

...singing songs all day long...

...2 year old laughter that's absolutely contagious...

...the fact that no one at the NST office has to ask me when my last cigarette or drug use was...

...tulip sprouts that survive snow bursts and the thought of planting flowers soon...

...making new friends...


...living my life with lots of help from family and friends. thanks everyone for pitching in...


On a side note - my monkey is NUTS! I'm not sure where he gets it all, but two of his favorite sayings of the week are:

"I farted out my bum"
and
"chubby, chubby, mama"

If you are the person that taught him the second phrase - why?

Early Morning Conversation

6:45 am, still dark outside

him: I'm leaving now, see you later. I love you.
me: why were you sleeping on the floor when I got up to go to the bathroom at 4 am?

him: I don't know. I got up to go to the bathroom at 3:00 and it just seemed like a good idea at the time.
me: you're strange.

a tasty treat sampler

Not a huge fan of doughnuts. Will I eat one? You betcha. Is that my preferred sugary treat? Nope.

At book club last week, everyone seemed to know about Beyone Glaze but me. So, this morning the Monkey and I went on an adventure after our fortnight run to Target and got us some fancy doughnuts.

We found their new store front after a typical goose chase and got ourselves 6 specialty flavor sugar coated treats.



There were a lot of flavors to choose from, but we stuck with some pretty standard flavors, I guess.

(left to right: Caramel Apple, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Ganache, Raspberry Mango, Key Lime Pie and Cherry Chocolate.)

I devoured the cherry chocolate when I got home. It was okay, but I'd have liked MORE cherry chocolaty-ness - the standard glaze overpowered the flavor a bit.



Will we go back? Yeah, probably. If I ever need to wow someone with pretty doughnuts. I think though that I'd prefer a cupcake from here.

I don't get it....

My day yesterday was full of a lot of things that I just don't get. A few highlights...

severe disorganization

lack of planning

people who think it's the job of someone else to take care of their stuff, whatever it may be

cheerleaders who cannot throw

dancers at basketball games (or any other athletic event for that matter. Why? Dancing and basketball DO NOT MIX)

mascots

sports anthems - is anyone else curious why Queen songs (We are the Champions) are the quintisential sports anthems. Um, I don't think that the girls in Queen did the sports thing.

Wyoming is a Pepsi state...

...and in our house, we don't drink Pepsi. Good thing we took enough cokes to last us a week - and drank most of them.

we made it home from our whirlwind adventure to scenic Casper all in one piece. the trip was fine and dandy - except that Elliott and I didn't sleep pretty much at all and he fell off his bed twice. Once when he was asleep and once when he was awake.

it seems that my perception of beds is off. Or, hotel's lie. We were supposed to have a room with two queen beds - well, they were queen size beds for ants! Here is my diagram explaining the problem.


Currently, I have sleep issues - the issue being that unless conditions are perfect, I don't sleep. I'm used to having the parting of the red sea down the middle of my bed every night and sleeping in such close quarters with a snorer and flopper, with me being a tosser/turner/flopper/get up and use the bathroom-er just didn't work. I was pretty much awake for nearly three days straight. Oh well, I slept pretty good last night, in my own bed.

My favorite part of the hotel room was this lamp on the bedside table.

It was the best looking of the three lamps in our room.

and the bathroom sink was pretty cool, too. Fit with backwards faucets and decades of caulk.


And....let's not forget the wall decor and fancy bricks.


I wish that the people who I was presenting with would have spent the time to give me some recommendations on a place to stay (there was a brand new Marriott down the freeway three minutes), restaurants, that sort of thing but we were really winging it. On our first night, we ate at a restaurant next door to a place with a giant Bugs Bunny outside.



and what giant bunny would be complete with out his own pile of permanent refuse (scat, shat, poo...whatever you want to call it, it was there) underneath his coat tails?



We spent a lot of time at the mall - where Elliott played and fell down, on his head, on his bruised bump.


and drove a stroller car - and screamed when we made him get out (that dopey look in his eyes? that basically sums up the experience for all three of us).


On a more positive note?
Wind farms are cool -


and the creepy hotels wireless connection worked perfectly. That's always a bonus.

I love my husband for taking two days off of work to chauffeur me around and my little boy for putting up with hours in the car, a crappy bed, no sleep, lots of greasy food and pretty much yelling at us and claiming he farted and calling me "Dumb Mama" the entire drive home. We do now know our ABCD's forward and almost backwards - the song of choice in the car.

The Griswalds.....go

Photo 3, originally uploaded by bookemdano1978.

You know how sometimes you say yes to stuff months in advance and then when it finally comes time to do that thing you don't want to do it and it didn't turn out being anything like you thought?

Well, were doing one of those things now.

Hello Casper, Wyoming.

What was initially billed as a NEED for a two day training has turned into a 2 hour conference gig in the "lovely" city of Casper. I drug my family along because I am at the cusp of the safe flying window and airplanes oogg me out. We had a good drive yesterday, with lots of nothing to look at and checked into our hotel room around 5:30.

I'll share pictures later, but icky doesn't begin to describe the conference center/hotel were at. I'm sure 35 years ago, this place was stylin', but that was the past.

Our room may have been converted for us just yesterday from smoking to non. The walls have thick carpety wall paper, and the faucets turn on backwards. The beds are TINY and no one slept last night. I was up from about Midnight to 4 am, the MOnkey from 230 to 4 and our poor dad had to deal with both of us all through the night.

Today though, things should be on the up and up - minus the fact that my laptop isn't working (good thing I brought a backup) and the people I'm supposed to present with this afternoon still haven't officially contacted me. Coordinating a presentation is way over-rated though, right?

wish us luck...we're headed to the mall.