I have the flu

Current temp: 100.6
24-hour high: 103.2
24-hour low: 95.8

I happen to know that my basal temp is 96.2... so even 100.2 is miserable. I am achy and grumpy and full of oj and diet sprite and ginger ale.
Last night when my temp spiked I alternated between an intense fear that I was going to die and an equally intense hope that I would.

Hope you are doing better than I am today!

Friday News Roundup...

Bean's teacher called me around 1:00. She was fairly shaken up. Bean apparently was eating a hot dog and choked - another teacher had to do the Heimlich Maneuver.
She has a history of eating too much too quickly and choking... this is the third time since she was three that she couldn't take care of it on her own. This scares the crap out of me... mostly because I thought she had grown out of this and she is becoming more independent. I worry that this will happen when there isn't anyone around to help her.
I picked her up and she stuck pretty close to me for a few hours. I think this one shook her up too.

Tonight at dinner we practiced eating small bites and chewing them slowly.

Bean ALSO had an appointment with the oral surgeon today. They are pulling her wisdom teeth and 6 of her baby teeth in three weeks. I was fine until they handed me the "scary surgery" consent/release form. I know that even if they are treating you for a hangnail they have to get this release, but it is difficult as a mother (parent) to look at a list of all of the potential negative outcomes and then sign and say, "Sure, Doc, try not to screw up!"
In times like this my admiration for parents with chronically sick kids multiplies.

Then we went and spent our bookstore gift cards (and then some) from Christmas.
I bought:
Madam Secretary by Madeline Albright
Body Surfing by Anita Shreve
Waiting for Daisy by Peggy Orenstein
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding
A Perfect Divorce by Avery Corman
(and last but not least)
Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I know, right?!?

That should last me through February - maybe even part of March as the semester is about to start.

Then we met Andie for dinner and two (count 'em, two) movies. We ate popcorn and shared Twizzlers and Whoppers. I totally love movie night.
We saw 27 Dresses - very funny. Funnier and smarter than I thought it would be. And then we saw Atonement. Oh my god. Wow. If you haven't read the book you should... and then see the movie. I read the book years ago and my memories of the ending are sort of fuzzy, but some of the scenes from the book that really made an impression on me were in the movie in such amazing detail.

Tomorrow I am sleeping in and then meeting a friend for lunch and then we are off to the LYS for some knitting and lounging and talking and assorted good times.

And guess what kids? I managed to get the day off on Monday!!

Holes! In My Pants!!

I own three pairs of blue jeans. I bought them all at roughly the same time, from the same store, they are the same size.

Only one pair fits.
As in, I don't have to zip them in a horizontal position. As in, they go on, the zipper comes up with ease and they feel good on. The other two pairs?
Ugh. They dig into my waist and make me feel like I'm being cut in half by the end of the day.

Consequently, I really only wear one pair.

Consequently, that one pair has a hole forming. In the buttock. And I didn't notice until about - oh - thirty minutes ago. So I've been wandering around all day with a hole in the buttock of my favorite pair of jeans.
And I'm not young/skinny/trendy enough to patch it with something festive and move on. I would like to divert attention away from that general area. Generally speaking.

Luckily it is cold today so I've been wearing a long sweater and I don't think that anyone else noticed.

The weird thing? I keep having to remind myself not to pull on the edges of the hole that is forming. (I know. I told you it was weird). I like ripping fabric - the sound it makes and how there is this moment of tension when you think it won't rip and then RIIIIIIIIIIIIIP! It's like popping bubble wrap... just odd.

And also? When the hole is in the buttock it is generally best to leave it alone, lest people get the wrong idea.

The student loan fairy finally showed up. I ordered my books and then bought a Trapper Keeper. A green one. And some paper.
And pencils, erasers and glue sticks, but those are for Bean.
I always get really excited about school supplies, but there is something about a Trapper Keeper that is really special. I need to find some scratch-and-sniff stickers for the inside... and some grape Hubba Bubba.

I also might have purchased some yarn... maybe...
And also an expansion pack for my Sims game.

I have the impulse control of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seriously.

BUT tonight is knitting in public at Chipotle!! I haven't been to a KIP meeting in a long time. I'm working on Tofutsie socks and Lizard Ridge, and I have 2 mystery projects going on - unfortunately they will both need to be done around the same time - which would be soon. One of them is almost finished (I think) and one of them requires some collecting and assemblage... and that's all I'm going to say about that.

I am still not sleeping. I don't know what's going on. (That's a lie, isn't it?) OK. I DO know what's going on, but I don't know how to fix it. Yet. I bought some sleeping pills, but by the time I am desperate enough to actually use them it's too late to take them. I need to just start taking them when Bean goes to bed and get sleep whether The Daily Show is on or not.
With the semester starting soon I need to get more regular sleep.

That would also be part of the "take better care of myself" pledge I made for New Year's.

I also talked to Bean this morning... she seems reluctant to leave on the weekends and it occurred to me that she might be feeling like I "need' her to stay home. I looked her in the eye and said, "You know I'm fine, right?" She said yes and looked away. I looked her in the eye again and said, "Even if I cry. Even if I'm sad. I am fine." The look of relief on her little face broke me in half. I need to be better about recognizing her fears.

The Student Loan Fairy is Late - And other disappointments

Disappointment #1
I always get the direct deposit the first day. Always. Now I'm hovering over my bank's website, refreshing my account obsessively.
Hi, student loan people? GIVE ME MY DAMN MONEY. Thank you.
Disappointment #2
The writer's strike is not over. I don't know what it is going to take for the executives to figure out that the writers need to be paid for their work. I'm ready to just download a bunch of stuff to my iPod and turn off the TV entirely.
Oh. Wait.
Disappointment #3
Doctors are conspiring to take away our caffeine.
First it was wanton casual sex, then cigarettes and vodka. Then salt, saturated fat, carbs, high fructose corn syrup and now caffeine.
What's next Doc? Yarn?!?
Is there NO vice I can cling to? Luckily one of my major vices is sleeping and as far as I know sleep is still something that we actually need to survive.
(I am watching the Colbert Report and he is eating Lo Mein. I'm hungry now. For carbs and fat and salt and sex and cigarettes and coffee and vodka. Pretty much in that order).

In brighter news:

I worked on my Lizard Ridge today at work. It's amazing to me how nice this yarn is to work with, considering how scratchy it seems. I bought some wool wash at Twist the other day so I can wash and block some of the squares.

Speaking of Twist... there is a new KAL coming. The Oblique cardigan. I bought some Eco Wool for Mr. Greenjeans, but I might use it for Oblique instead. Or I might buy some more yarn. Whatever.

I finished my first sock of the year (pics when it has a mate). I made SO many mistakes that I am surprised that it actually fits on a human foot... now I have to remember exactly where I screwed up so that I can re-create it. For example, I split the stitches up unevenly between the top and bottom of the foot of the sock. When I got to the toe decreases I had to decrease a LOT more on top... and somehow it fits really nicely.

Sally and I are planning a little weekend trip in a few weeks. It will be so nice to get out of town and have a relaxing weekend. And there will be yarn, cheese and books involved. Score!

I talked to Bean about planning a trip to Italy and she is firmly on board. She said, "So we can stay a month or something?" I said, "Well, I will still have to work... maybe ten days, two weeks." She said, "A month would be cool, though." Luckily, she is still interested in science and technology so when SHE is 32 and I am 53 she will be able to take ME to Italy for a month.

Isn't it nice that the list of things I'm happy about is longer than the list of disappointments?

I Lived Like a Cat!

And now I don't want to live like a person anymore!!

I woke up around 11am and the cats and I had a snack. Then we groomed ourselves - me in the shower of course... living like a cat is fun, but one has to draw the line somewhere!!

My mom's birthday was yesterday so we went out to lunch (that is, I allowed them to feed me) and then I went to Twist for some yarn play. They have the Berocco Comfort SOCK yarn. Yes, it is acrylic, but it is also self-striping and comes in beautiful blues and greens. Sigh. I got some Soxx Appeal yarn, too and signed up for the On Your Toes sock club.

Then it was time for napping. Sammie and I took over the bed and had a lovely sleep. My brother's band was playing at a local bar so Michelle the Wonderful came over, rubbed on my neck for awhile (it's ugly - I carry all of my stress there) and then we went out cattin' around.

We decided that we are all too old to be hanging around bars so as soon as their set was done we all went home. They did a great job - they are all really dedicated to practice and it shows.

Now I'm at work - we have 2 clients in the unit and are expecting 2 more, so it's a full house tonight. Luckily at 8 it will be my turn to sit in the phone center and the other case manager can babysit. I brought a good snack - graham crackers and chocolate milk - and there is a whole season of Robot Chicken on my iPod. I'm all set.

I have also been thinking about planning a big vacation. Sort of a long-term planning thing. I was poking around online looking at vacations and you can rent a house in Italy for $800 a week... so I started thinking about how much fun it would be to go to Italy with Bean (and whoever else wants to go). There are locations in cities and in the country... some near beaches even. We could go and just veg out and eat and sleep and basically reenact the first third of Eat, Pray, Love.

If we start saving now we could have a kick-ass vacation in a few years. Seriously.

Anyone else want to come?!?

One More Day!!

Guess what tomorrow is. Just guess.
Here's a hint:



It's Live Like a Cat Day!!!!



Are you excited????


No. You're not. Excited is dog behavior.

Want to know my plans for Live Like a Cat Day?

No. You don't. Interest is dog behavior.

And also cats don't make plans.
They just go with the flow.
"The flow" being full of food, yarn, napping and food. And napping.