Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Interesting Revelations

I took J to a nutritionist today.  Well, technically he's a nutritionist; he also practices applied kinesiology and energy work (I'm not quite sure how else to explain it).  While a lot of people will dismiss this as hokey, out there, and a load of crap, I find it fascinating.

Before we left, J was very hesitant.  He did not want to go see a doctor.  I can't say I blame him; as a healthy kid, most of his experience with doctors involves annual checkups, which means shots.  I explained that G was a different kind of doctor, and that I thought he might actually like seeing him.

As we pulled into G's driveway, J was curious:  where is the doctor's office?  This is a house, he announced.  I explained that G practices from his home.  That immediately put J at ease.  Before we entered his office, G offered him a glass of water, which thrilled J.  G also offered some books for J to look through while G and I discussed his diet, behavior, any concerns, and so on.  Amazingly, J was calm and very well behaved for well over an hour.

While much of what G told me was not news - specifically, his ability to maintain focus is low, some of it was news - the cause of the lack of focus, and how to remedy it.  Probably the most interesting thing G discovered was that chicken is not a good for for J.  He also told me that it's not good for me, either.  Neither J nor I am allergic to it, but for whatever reason our bodies can't utilize its nutrition, so it's as if we ate Twinkies instead.  At least J and I like pork and beef; I'll have to make some slight modifications to our family's diet.

Oh, and the other really cool thing that G told me is that J needs to be more grounded, as in spending more time physically connected with the earth.  He suggested jumping on a trampoline, and that by jumping on it, J would benefit (by gaining improved focus) for approximately nine hours.  I'd be a fool not to bring the trampoline back up from the basement.  If he jumped for a few minutes in the morning, imagine how it would help him during the school day!

The next four days will be transitional - J's body will be adjusting to the changes of energy within his body.  I am curious to see how J responds!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Brain on Vacation

It must be a summer thing.  I had a few bursts of inspiration, but I'm having a tough time with consistency.  I want to write an entry every night, just to "keep my chops," but my brain doesn't always want to comply.

My faithful reader has posed an insightful question that has gotten me thinking.  I hope it hasn't slowed my creative flow, but it certainly started more wheels turning.  Those wheels are raising questions, some of which can be easily answered, and some that have me scratching my head.

I can find classes to improve my writing easily enough.  I'm sure I can find plenty of classes that I can take from the comfort of my couch (aka "The Vortex"), while drinking a nice glass of Chardonnay.  I don't think you can do that (the Chardonnay part) if you take a class in a building at a real place, but I digress...

The questions that have me scratching my head have less to do with the craft of writing, and more to do with the creative process.  If these are "well, DUH!" questions, I apologize.  I never took a creative writing class in college, nor do I know anyone who writes fiction for a living, so I don't know any professionals I can approach.

Regarding the creative process,
  • Do most ideas come in dreams?  Are they sparked by a real event, or by an existing work (book, movie, TV show, etc.)?  How do you know if you've hit on an idea worth pursuing?  Do you know?
  • When you get an idea, what is it, usually? The climax? The conflict?  One scene?
  • Say you've got this small kernel of an idea.  How do you massage it into something worth writing?
  • When writing fiction, how much of that world have you fleshed out?  Can you picture every physical aspect of your characters as if they were real people?  What about the setting?  With how much detail?  If you're writing from the perspective of one character, while you know their motivations, do you know what the other characters are thinking?  In essence, do you need to play the all-knowing God to the universe you've created?
  • Regarding the above, what if you don't know all of the answers?  As the author, are you expected to hold a Ph.D. in your story, and can defend any questions about it that might be posed to you?  Or does it not matter, as long as the story makes sense?
Here are some of my... whatever.  Fears, hesitations, questions:
  • I have a lot of experience writing non-fiction, and am curious to try writing fiction.  My biggest fear is coming up with a worthwhile plot.  I can write great, full-bodied character sketches, describe setting and action within scenes, but I never felt confident creating a plot that had a conflict or climax that was compelling.
  • I have a lot to say, but how do I know whether other people will give a crap about it?
  • Is it a matter of who I know, or how persistent I am?
  • I feel like I'm a bit old to be trying to break into (yet) another field in which I have no real world experience, yet I think I could really excel once I find my niche.
  • This might come as a complete shock - SHOCK! - to some, but I have been described as "verbose" (yeah, the results from that standardized test back in third grade stuck)
I guess I had more to say than I thought I did.  But I seem to think in bullet points... I don't think editors give final approval to pieces written entirely in bullet points...

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Working in Mysterious Ways

[Note:  This entry talks about religion, and specifically my experience at church today.  I'm warning you only because I know that religion can make people uncomfortable.]


I went to church this morning with J.  It was the first time in a long time, quite possibly years, since I've gone to mass regularly.  Maybe even since I was pregnant with him. 

We went to the family mass.  After the greeting, the children are invited to go to the basement of the church for the children's liturgy and return just before the Profession of Faith.  I was impressed with and proud of J; when the kids left, he got up and went with no hint of hesitation.  When he came back, he had a worksheet and a note.  The note stated that he was chosen to carry the Lectionary Book next week.  I asked J how he was chosen for this.  He said that they asked if anyone wanted a job, and so he raised his hand.  I just hope he wasn't chosen because he was wearing what one might describe as "play clothes" instead of "church clothes."  Either way, J is looking forward to mass next week and said that T would like going downstairs with him, too. 

I've been wanting to go back to church regularly, and I brought J as a sort of trial run.  I figure it will be more motivating for me (and easier on Hubster) if J will come with me. 

This week's homily seemed so tailor made for me that it could only be Divine Intervention.  The priest spoke about praying to God, and how sometimes we don't get what we pray for.  He explained that just because we don't get what we ask for, it doesn't mean that God hasn't answered our prayers.  Rather, it could be that what we ask for is not what is best for us.  I believe this completely, and hearing it explained to me (and the rest of the congregation) was very comforting.

I feel like I need some big conclusion, but Hubster just threw me a Klondike bar.  Forgive me, but I'm gonna tear into that right now.  Mmmm...

Thursday, July 22, 2010

They're On To Me

Tonight after dinner, T said that he thinks Mommy was a vampire because I have sharp teeth. 

Hub agreed, and said that Mommy is into vampires.  I suppose my little obsession is no longer a secret...

I should probably go upstairs and read some more Twilight.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Weather With You

Today was yet another wacky weather day.

It started out nastily hot and humid, but fortunately for me, J and T were at camp.  While they were gone, S and I took a quick run to the library, to the grocery store for a half gallon of milk, then back home to hang out until pickup.

After camp, we all headed to the lake.  It was still nastily hot and humid, but at least we could go in the water.  A was there with I, K met us after her lifeguarding class, and J and T had swimming lessons, so it was a nice afternoon all around.

Just as I was about to pack up, some rumbling thunder caused the lifeguards to call everyone out of the water.  As we walked home, a breeze picked up, the humidity broke, and the temperature cooled significantly.  It certainly felt like something was coming.

The something took another hour, but it did come.  So did thunderstorm and tornado warnings.  Along with a lot of rain.  Fortunately, no tornado or hail.  [It's rather unusual for this many thunderstorms in July.  I hope it's clear for J's birthday party next Saturday]

It's still rumbling now, here and there.  It sounds like the rain has passed, but I hope that it takes the humidity with it.  Don't know if this means anything, but the crickets are going crazy.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Little Blessings

A couple of things happened yesterday for which I am grateful, and I wanted to acknowledge them.

First, filed under "Perfect Timing That I Could Not Have Planned If I Tried" -
Last week J attended science camp at his elementary school, but this week he is attending camp with T at the local parochial school.  The timing of the locations was perfect because, due to sewers being installed, the road heading to the elementary school is closed further up, and I don't know how I would have gotten there aside from taking a ridiculously long detour.  This would have been especially inconvenient since both J and T's camps ran from 9-12 at two different locations.  This week they're at camp together, so I only have to make one dropoff and one pickup, and there are no detours.  Had the weeks and locations been switched, I would have spent much more time in transit.  I am very grateful that I do not have to worry about that.
Second, filed under "Just What I Needed Exactly When I Needed It" -
Mondays are my yoga nights.  Last week I missed yoga because the Hubster had to work late (quarter close, blech) and my parents were unable to help out as my mom was sick.  I did some sun salutations at home, but let's be honest - without an instructor to guide and push me, I didn't work as hard or practice for as long as I would have had I attended class.
Last night's class was comprised of mostly twisting postures, designed to stretch out the spinal column.  Amazingly, my back and shoulders have been so tight and this class was the perfect antidote to my tension.  I was very grateful to E for designing my perfect class last night.
And then when I got home, I asked the Hubster if I could watch "New Moon" (he was half asleep watching "Tommy Boy").  He said sure, and went up to bed.  Aaahhh, me and Jacob and Edward.  Swoon!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Wrong Choice

On my weekly shopping run, I decided to stop and pick up a bottle of wine. 

I had recently read (and cut out) an newspaper item that listed good, better, and best choices for different varieties of wine.  But of course, I couldn't remember what the "best" choices were for Chardonnay - was it Mondavi or Kendall Jackson?  I went with the Mondavi (CK Mondavi, not Robert Mondavi), which was so the wrong choice.

I should have known that things weren't going to go so smoothly when I cut the foil off what was a screwtopped bottle.  (at least I have a VacuVin sealer)  I grabbed a glass, and poured myself some wine.  I wasn't too thrilled with the wine's smell; there was a strong alcohol smell instead of fruit.  Unfortunately, that strong alcohol smell translated into a strong alcohol taste as well.

Although it wasn't the greatest, the wine still did what it was supposed to do - I felt sufficiently relaxed and happy after drinking it.  And motivated me to make a note in my iPhone listing the good, better, and best Chardonnay choices.

That said, I'm still going to dump it out as soon as I can buy a bottle of Kendall Jackson.

Friday, July 16, 2010

In Case You're Wondering, I'm Still Cranky

For two reasons:
  1. My monthly bill arrived.  And I'm crampy.
  2. It's been so freakin' humid that I'm ready to melt
That damned humidity arrived early this year.  Usually it's not until August when the "three Hs" take up residence here in the northeast. 

I can't stand humidity.  And we've had a buttload of it lately.  I ended up not taking the kids to the lake after lunch today as punishment (T took forever to eat his lunch, making it not worth going since S needed to take a nap), and it turned out to be a blessing and not a curse.  Instead, we went after S's nap and had dinner there, and a friend told me that it was so humid that she ended up leaving after less than an hour.

Did I mention that it's That Time of the month?  Yeah, that added little bonus of cramps, bloating, fatigue, irritability, and everything else that goes with the monthly joy of being female makes enduring humid weather (and its effect on certain little people with whom I share a home) that much more of a challenge.

What do I do to survive?  Air conditioning.  Television.  And time outs for Mommy.

Fret not, dear readers.  I should be back to (relatively) normal by Monday.  Or tomorrow, if I remember to pick up a bottle of Chardonnay during my weekly grocery run.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Cranky Cop

My kids are driving me crazy.  I put them to bed a good half an hour ago, and since then this herd of elephants has taken over the second floor. 

I'm at a loss.  When they just don't want to go to bed, I don't mind if they read.  But that would be too easy.  No, instead they have to incite chaos.  T likes to take items from the hamper and line them up outside the bathroom door while I wash my face.  Or dump them down the stairs.  Sometimes J will suggest things for T to do, and T is only too happy to comply.

I threaten them with all sorts of things.  I dangle carrots (buying lunch or ice cream at the lake instead of bringing snacks from home), but they don't seem to care.  They still misbehave.  Apparently a cheeseburger from the canteen isn't worth going straight to bed.  Even tomorrow night's watermelon bingo event isn't enough to get them to lay down.  I was really looking forward to going to that stupid bingo tomorrow night.

I guess the upside is that I haven't yet spent a penny at the canteen this summer.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Click, Clack, Mmmm?

Been busy typing tonight.  There's a topic I've been meaning to write about for quite some time, and I decided that tonight was the night to put pen to paper fingers to keyboard.  It's not finished by any means, but I think it's a good start. 

In case you're wondering, I have decided what I want to do as a professional.  (can you guess?)  I want to write.  For money.  And I am pretty confident that I can do it.  I can see myself writing articles for publication in parenting magazines, and I have a couple of ideas that I want to flesh out, possibly as nonfiction books.  Of course, such writing will require more discipline, time, experience, and finesse than I currently possess, but I am not worried that all of those things and more will come.

So I suppose that I need to add "take writing courses" to my list of things to do.  I'm actually getting excited typing this.  It makes it feel real, that it will happen.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Grandma Raccoon Saves the Day

The garbage was starting to smell, so I decided to empty it.  Except when I opened the garbage can outside, there was a visitor camped out inside.  Yup, another raccoon.
Background:  Two summers ago, a raccoon got stuck inside our garbage can.  Hubster put a rock on top of it so it wouldn't escape.  I called Animal Control but since the Dog Warden was on vacation, I was told to call the town police department.  The officer I spoke to told me to tip the garbage can over and let the raccoon out myself.  I explained that, being six months pregnant and having a four-year-old and two-year-old in the house, I didn't think that was the best idea.  So an officer was dispatched to our house with a snare to retrieve the offending raccoon.  When he tipped the garbage can over in our backyard, the animal wouldn't budge.  When he poked it with the snare, it growled.  So he managed to get the raccoon out of the garbage can and then SHOT IT.  In my backyard.  In the middle of the afternoon.
So once again, I call Animal Control.  Since it's 6:30pm, they're not there.  I call the police department next.  The officer tells me that the Dog Warden will return at 7pm but he will take my contact information and pass along the message.

I get a call shortly after 7pm, and AC suggests that I tip the garbage can over myself and let the animal out.  Once again, I explain that I have three small children at home and I don't think that's the best idea.  So he tells me that someone will be at my house shortly.

Maybe ten minutes later I get another call from AC.  I am told that a volunteer, a "nice older lady" who rehabilitates animals will be over to get the raccoon out of my garbage can.  I joke that he's trying to make me feel badly that I won't do it myself.  He laughs, says nothing to refute my statement, and we hang up.

At 7:30 this very nice, seventy-ish year old woman pulls into my driveway.  She gets the garbage can and rolls it across the street (the lots across the street are undeveloped).  She tips the can over, but the little critter won't budge.  Again.  She finds a hoe (the community garden is also across the street) and nudges the raccoon out of the can and the kids and I watch it scamper off.  The woman tells me that it was a baby, terrified to move.  I thank her for her time as Hubster arrives home from work.

So yeah, Grandma Raccoon saved the day.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Tug of War

I got a call yesterday from Hub's aunt.  We'll call her A.  She called to say hi, see how we're doing, and said several times that she's reaching out in an effort to maintain family bonds (I can't remember the exact phrase she used, but it was basically her way of saying "hey - don't forget about me here!").

Talk about an awkward phone call.  I'm pretty sure it was a fishing expedition, wanting to know when we were next having a family get together.  I last saw her when she came to our house for Christmas.  That was an interesting holiday - MIL later told me that she was ready to cut her off because she used the phrase "blow job" in company of the boys.  Some background:
A is MIL's younger sister.  She used to model for a famous designer back in the 60s and 70s.  She was married to a designer who worked for said famous person, but shortly before Hub and I married they divorced (the ex is gay).  She lived fast and hard, and has some very wealthy friends, so she's never really had to work a "real" job or pay for things like vacations, clothing, or jewelry.  I don't know the specifics, but I suspect that when they were in their 20s and 30s, MIL was seriously jealous that her sister got by pretty much entirely on her looks.  Over the past ten years, they've gone from estranged to working it out to getting along and full circle back to estranged.  When J was born, MIL told me not to invite A to J's baptism (they were estranged at the time).  I told her then that what was between MIL and A had nothing to do with me, that A was family and as far as I was concerned she was welcome. 
Well, yesterday's call really got my feathers ruffled.  I told Hubster that the phone call was extremely awkward, that it puts me in between his mother and his aunt, and that I need to know whether or not he wants A at our family events.  I reminded him that A also put my aunt in an extremely awkward position by asking her point blank what was going on for Christmas (knowing that we host).  He said that he is fine with her being invited to our family events.

So, my question is this:  do I call her back and invite her, or let Hubster do it?  My gut says his aunt, his call, but I think you know me well enough by now to know that I had to hash this out on the Interwebz.  Thanks for humoring me.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Hefty Price for Success

A true story.

In the spring of 1987, my family moved from Ohio to Pennsylvania.  Because I had such a positive experience as a member of the marching band in my previous high school, I decided to try out for the band front at my new school.  After tryouts, the results were posted on the band office door, with each girl's name and score listed by rank.  The highest twenty girls made the kick line, and the next thirty girls made the flag line.  I was both surprised and a little bit disappointed that I scored highest.  It was gratifying to have received the highest score, but at my previous school, the colorguard viewed the kickline as the "bimbo bridgade" - not as talented, and eye candy for the horny men at the football games.  Quite a conundrum for the new girl who didn't get why kickline was the Holy Grail for so many!

The girls who wanted to be captain of the squads had to write an essay explaining why they should be chosen to lead their squad.  I was unaware at the time I submitted my essay that there were already two girls who were the anticipated leaders for next year.  Imagine my further surprise when I - me, the new girl - was named one of the kick line captains!

The excitement of my achievement was relatively short lived.  While my new friends (two of whom were also on the kickline and who are still good friends to this day) congratulated me and were sincerely happy for my success, there were several girls who didn't know me but decided that they hated me anyway because I took what they felt was rightfully theirs.  And there were several girls in the band front who decided that they weren't going to give me the time of day for the same reason.

So let's recap:  I had been a student at this new school for probably six or seven weeks when I had tried out for, made, and was named captain of the kickline, then became an instant pariah amongst a certain crowd (who had spoken all of maybe ten sentences to me) because of it.

What should have been a crowning achievement in my high school career was forever tarnished.

On the upside, by the spring of our senior year, some of the girls who initially hated me actually sought me out to apologize for how they treated me.  I do appreciate that these girls did that, but the damage had already been done.

No wonder fear, and fear of success, has been such a factor in my life.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Got to Get the Timing Down

I went to my naturopath this week to review the results of my neurotransmitter test.  It wasn't much of a surprise.

Turns out that I have high norepinepherine levels and low serotonin levels.  What does that mean?  Well, an excess of norepinepherine will cause irritability and anxiety, and low serotonin levels will cause insomnia.  Sounds like a recipe for someone you really want to spend time with, doesn't it?  A sleep-deprived, anxious cranky stay-at-home mom?

As a result, I have added some new supplements to my regimen.  Hopefully the 5-HTP and 200mg of Zen (seriously, that's what it's called) will help transform me into smooth, (relatively) even-tempered mamma.

In other news, a visit to a certain author's website got me inspired.  I've been producing, in fits and starts, snippets of scenes, beginnings of ideas, and tonight, a more fleshed out outline.  I'm hopeful that I can get something out of this.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

What Do *I* Want?

I'm pretty tired tonight.  The insomnia from the last two nights, coupled with four hours in the sun at the lake with the kids today, has finally caught up to me.  I passed up dinner with the girls at one of my all-time favorite restaurants that's how tired I am.  But I digress...

I was posed a very thought-provoking question earlier this evening:
What do I want?  As an individual, and as a professional, what do I want?
I will be chewing on this for a while now.  I promise to report back when I get closer to the answer.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Melting

We're in the midst of a nasty heat wave here on the East Coast. 

It's 9:30pm as I type and it's currently 86 degrees out.  The last time I experienced this kind of heat at this hour of the night was when my brother moved to Arizona about ten years ago.  And since this is the east and not the desert, we also have humidity mixed in with the ruthless heat, making it ruthless and oppressive.

I don't do very well in this weather.  Earlier today the Hubster commented that he thought I loved summer.  I explained that I did, but when it's 80 degrees with low humidity.  I do not do well in excessive heat and humidity.  Did I say that already?  It makes me lethargic, headachy, cranky, and just not very pleasant to be around in general.  I spent much of the day inside, enjoying the air conditioning.  I did venture out for about a half an hour to join the kids in the sprinkler, but I still ended up with sweat dripping down my chest.

It was, as a neighbor friend would say, a three shower day.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Stupid Twilight Gripes

With all of the renewed Twilight hubbub (and having seen Eclipse earlier in the week), I've rewatched Twilight and started thinking about stupid things that bother me about the series (WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS):
  • One of the main conflicts of the series is the Bella/Jacob/Edward triangle.  In New Moon, we learn that Jacob is a shape shifting wolf and that the wolves imprint on their soul mates.  So hypothetically, if Bella chose Jacob, who does not imprint on her, will he eventually imprint on someone else?  Does each wolf only imprint on one person?  If that person on whom a wolf is supposed to imprint is never born, will s/he imprint on someone else?
  • Is it me, or is it intentional that Bill Hader's character in Adventureland supposed to look like a caricature of Charlie Swan?
  • How can Jasper be the newest vampire in the Cullen clan?  He was a confederate soldier, and the Civil War took place in the 1860s.  Shouldn't Edward be the newest, since he was a victim of the Spanish (1918) influenza? 
That's all I can think of for now.  I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that are fresh in my mind.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Another Holiday to Remember

Most people spend the fourth of July at the beach, at a barbecue, going to see fireworks.  Not me.

I spent my fourth at the pediatrician's office with J.  He's got this rash that started a few days ago, and then had a 24-hour fever that started on Thursday evening (the highlight of that was him vomiting in the upstairs hallway).  The rash has gotten progressively worse, so I decided to call the ped's office, who wanted me to bring him in.

The rash is poison ivy, and the poor kid has it all over.  I'll just leave it at that.  While the doctor was checking J, she also looked in his mouth and showed me a lesion on the back of his throat.  It's a good thing I brought him in, because not only does the poor kid have poison ivy, but he's also got the Coxsackie virus. 

So J is on prednisone for the poison ivy, which may aggravate the Coxsackie.  Just wonderful.

And I'm pretty sure that S has the virus, too.  He was running a pretty high fever today, was incredibly irritable, drooling, chewing his fingers,  pretty much everything the pediatrician said an 18-month-old would do if he had it.

On the up side, S's fever broke shortly before dinner.  We're going to take a day off from the lake and then hope all is well come Tuesday.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

I Figured It Out

Why I have this ridiculous girlie crush on Robert Pattinson, that is.  (note:  I thought he was cute when he appeared as Cedric Diggory in the fourth Harry Potter movie, but I really got bitten - pun intended? - when he starred in Twilight)

He reminds me of a guy I dated back when I lived on Long Island.  I met him on a business trip to Puerto Rico, and we would get together at random intervals.  He was tall, dirty blonde hair and blue eyes (another WASP, go figure), kind of scrawny, but super smart and rather wild.

I came across a picture of RPattz on msnbc.com a while back, and something about his eyebrows and eyes remind me of this guy. 

That said, I think the Hubster is quite the hottie.  My MIL thinks he looks like Tom Hanks, but I see more George Clooney.  Yum...  I think I'm gonna go plant a big smooch on him now.  ;)

Friday, July 2, 2010

Sparkly Vampires

As I mentioned yesterday, I went out with some girlfriends on Wednesday for dinner and a movie. 

We went to see Eclipse.  It was an experience.

For those who aren't serious Twi-hards, Eclipse is the third movie based on the four books in the Twilight series.  It also opened at 12:01 Wednesday morning.  The target audience for the Twilight series is pre-teen and teenage girls.  And horny suburban moms.  Moving on...

We arrived at the theater at 7:10 for a 7:30 showing.  Fortunately K had preordered our tickets, so rather than wait in line, we only had to go to the ticket kiosk and have them printed out.  So with approximately fifteen minutes to showtime, you would think that we would have plenty of seats from which to choose, right?

Wrong!  The theater was packed!  The farthest back we could sit was in the third row.  Not only were we sitting waaaaay down in front, we were also the oldest women in the theater who weren't chaperoning their daughters.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The movie was not great cinema by any stretch, but it was fun.  I enjoyed watching the very easy on the eyes Robert Pattinson (sorry, Taylor Lautner, your abs are amazing, but I just can't get past your very cute but very young looking face).  Listening to all the young girls squeal when Jacob told Edward that "I'm much hotter than you!" and when Bella and Jacob kissed made me laugh out loud.  The whole experience made me want to get all MST3K, but I refrained out of respect to myself and my friends.

Now I want to reread the whole series and watch the movies in order (I haven't yet seen New Moon, but I do know whether Bella chooses Jacob or Edward), and see Breaking Dawn when it's in the theaters.

Mmm, sparkly vampires...

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Wheat is Whack

Last night I had a girls' night out.  Two friends and I went to dinner and a movie together.  More on the movie tomorrow, but about that dinner...

We went to a local Italian restaurant for dinner.  We all shared a margherita pizza and a house salad.  They were both delicious (at the time).  However, I paid dearly for my dinner choice hours later.

I got back from the movie shortly before 10pm.  John went to bed, and I stayed up for about an hour.  For some reason I wasn't sleepy.  Even after washing and brushing up, I wasn't particularly tired.  I laid in bed for an hour before falling asleep.  I woke up at 1am because I was itchy.  Turns out I had hives all over my arms and back.  I ran downstairs and took some Benadryl and tried to go back to sleep.

Did I mention that I break out in hives every time I have lettuce?  Yeah, the blood test I did in March came back negative, but I am pretty sure that I'm allergic to lettuce. 

And I'm also allergic to wheat.  I don't react the same way I do to lettuce, but I did feel foggy and a little nauseous all day.  Oh, and I was pretty darn cranky too.

So what have we learned today?  Wheat and salads are delicious, but I must avoid them - especially in the same meal - lest I put myself in the hospital from a severe allergic reaction and/or spend the following day in a ragingly bad mood.