Recurring Dreams

I was reading about AtHomeDaddy's recurring dream and after commenting I thought I would share the recurring dream I've been having for 20 years.

It started in the spring of 1987 when I was planning on flying with a girlfriend to visit her grandmother in California (the trip didn't work out). I had never flown before and I believe the expected anxiety crept into my dream. In the basic dream I am getting ready for a trip (most of the time by air but also by car). I am late or alternatively, I have just found out I need to leave. I am frantically packing. (I should cut in here to point out that in reality I am a serious planner and make lots of lists and leave nothing to the last minute.) In my dream I am rushing around trying to figure out what to take and cataloging the needed items (toothbrush, clothes, etc.) I also need to say that I dream very realistically and frequently. I have dreams that are so vivid I often confuse them as a real memory.

There are several variations. Leading up to my wedding I dreamed I was late to the church and was trying to gather up all the necessary stuff (curling iron, dress, shoes, etc.). Before the birth of the kids, you guessed it, I was late for the hospital. (Both of my pregnancies were induced.)Sometimes it is not a trip but something else that requires prior planning and lots of stuff.

I often have the dream before I am going to travel. It is not really a nightmare. But for someone like myself who plans meticulously it is very nerve-wracking and I wake up panting with my heart racing. Sometimes, I have the dream when there is no upcoming travel but something else stressful coming up in my life. So I don't need to have the dream interpreted to understand why I dream.

I would be interested to know if anyone else has had an incurring dream for a long time.

Children of Men

I just finished reading P.D. James' Children of Men. I didn't enjoy it at all. It has just been made into a motion picture and it sounded interesting. Despite that it was only 241 pages long(although in a small font) it took me almost 4 days to read it (I read through East of Eden in 5). Several times I thought of giving it up but I thought surely the critics were not wrong and it would improve. My apologies to those of you who liked it. The premise is very original. The book was written in 1991 but is set in 2021. The last human child was born 25 years ago and the human race is in danger of extinction. Sounds interesting to you, too? The story is told both by diary entries by the main character and in third person. The main character spends pages and pages in profound and quite boring intellectual pondering. I kept waiting for the story to get interesting. But sadly, I was disappointed. Well, decide for yourself but I don't think I will attempt anymore of James' books.

20 (or 25) Questions

I found this meme at Old Horsetail Snake, a humorous blog I sometimes read. Since my SIL last week had tagged me for a meme I thought I would do this one and send it on to her. I know it is a bit long. It is perfect for days when you have little to say.

1. What is your occupation? Pharmacist
2. What color are your socks right now? White. They are always white.
3. What are you listening to right now? Country Music
4. What was the last thing you ate? Raisin Bran Crunch
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes. I learned many years ago.
6. Do you like the person who sent this meme to you? Do I like myself? Yes.
7. How old are you today? Do you want my actual age (30 something) or the age I feel (27)?
8. What's your favorite drink? Sprite.
9. Have you ever dyed your hair? No.
10. What is your favorite sport to watch? Auburn football
11. What was the last movie you watched? Miami Vice (don't make the same mistake!)
12. What's your favorite day of the year? Christmas Eve
13. What's your least-favorite day of the year? Fourth of July
14. Hugs or kisses? Definitely, Hershey's Hugs and Kisses.
15. What did you do last night? Played Zoo Tycoon and tried not to snack
16. What's your favorite smell? Coffee (although I don't care to drink it much)
17. What inspires you? Real people keeping it together everyday and blogging about it
18. What are you afraid of? Falling down on hard, cold snow while skiing
19. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheese, always cheese.
20. Your favorite car? 1966 Mustang Convertible, preferably red
21. Number of keys on your key ring? 2 - house, car
22. Your favorite day of the weeks is? Sunday
23. Your favorite holiday? See #12
24. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? I believe I briefly drove my dad's tractor
25. Pets? No, but I wish I had a cat

So now I can tag other people, right? Who reads my blog anyway? I tag Cherry, Gina, Terry, Mom, and Ginnie if you are reading.

Saturday

I got up this morning and did 40 minutes on the NordicTrac before coming to work. I did this because every other Saturday night we have take-out from Rosie's. Rosie's is a great Mexican Restaraunt in our area. They have the best quesadillas and queso. I have been looking forward to this all week. I am not going to let this diet defeat me.

Finally Friday

Did I say that I would weigh in on Friday and update you on my diet? Well, no good news. I am holding steady at an 11 lb loss. My goal of losing 5 more lbs before Easter is looking more difficult. Easter is only 6 weeks away now. I think I am going to have to work harder. Gosh, I don't think I can work any harder. I need some encouragement people!

I worked at my other job yesterday. I had been working there every other Monday but because school was out Monday I agreed to Thursday. So now I have Friday and Saturday at my regular job. Now I am really tired. Last night because I was exhausted but not really sleepy I stayed up too late. This morning I am kinda in a fog. I am tired and moody.

My mother let me know this morning that she and my dad were driving to Alabama on Sunday to visit my grandfather. My "Granddaddy" is 91 years old. He has been very healthy for most of his life. He has caught and infection in his bones that modern medicine cannot defeat. Until last week he was in a rehabilitation home receiving treatment. He has now been sent home and Hospice has been called in. I know that I need to go visit. I have been finding exuses for several weeks not to make the trip. I am going Tuesday. You can hold me to that.

On the postitive side the weather here the last few days has been incredible. The temperature has reached the high 70's. Blue skies and sunshine (and I can see them out my window!). Maybe the groundhog was right. I saw some daffodils blooming yesterday. I can see the little buds on the Bradford Pears. I AM SO READY FOR SPRING.

5 Things My SIL May Not Know About Me

Even though I did this meme a few weeks ago, and even though I previously said there wasn't that much unknown about me that I wanted to share, because my SIL at RoadRage tagged me, I will do this again. I am trying to be a good sport.

1. I have never seen American Idol. Not once. Not even when flipping through the channels.

2. I took dance lessons when I was 3 years old. We even had a recital. I have the pictures and the little shoes and tutu to prove it.

3. My hair has always been long. The last time my hair was above my shoulders I was 2 years old.

4. In high school, I once rocked in a rocking chair for 24 hours to help raise money for our band.

5. I have an inherited, illogical, almost pathological confusion of left and right. Be careful if I ever give you directions.

Weekend

This past weekend was a 4-day holiday for us. The kids were out of school both Friday & Monday so I was off work, too. We spent the weekend at my parents house in Memphis. I had a really good weekend. (You can read all about it at mom's blog.) It was very restful. We went to the movies and to the Children's Museum in Memphis. The original plan was to visit the zoo but it was too cold. (When we visited in July it was too hot.) The trip there and back was also very pleasant (4 hours of mostly open road). Sunday was hubby's birthday so we returned in time to take him out to dinner. Monday I got to sleep late and redeem myself with 40 minutes on the NordicTrac. The last week following the discouraging weigh-in on Monday I went a little out of control. I am not even going to weigh this week. I'm going to take a week to get back on track and will report to you next week.

Oh and I finally watched that Pilates Video (watching counts, right?).

Books

I read over at Thinking About about the Winter Reading Challenge and the Chunkster Challenge. I read a lot but not many of my books are over 400 pages. So not to be left out I followed J's lead and read East of Eden by John Steinbeck. This book qualifies as both a chunkster (600 pages) and a classic. This was quite a good read. It's setting begins right after the Civil War and continues until WW I. Most of the book is set in/near Salinas, California where John Steinbeck grew up. It is an epic in many ways. I don't think I had ever read Steinbeck before and now I think I will give him another look. I just saw that this was made into a movie starring James Dean. How did I miss that?

Now that that is out of the way I am reading something light and juvenile: Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood, by Ann Brashares.

Star Wars Lego

Okay. I have a confession to make. Perhaps, it will paint me in a bad light. Perhaps, some of you will decide to quit checking in on my blog. Perhaps, you will shake your head and say, "I thought she had a job?", or "I thought she read all the time." Here it goes:

I have become addicted to my children's Star Wars Lego game.

I don't know how it could have happened really. I have never been a big video game player. Until this Christmas we had not owned our own game console and our games were restricted to computer games. I have enjoyed a few of these over the years, like Zoo and RollerCoaster Tycoon. My son and husband enjoy a lot of others which I couldn't begin to name.

To start with the new Nintendo GameCube (becuase we don't buy what is the new "thing".) is still in the living room. I had planned to move it to the playroom when my mother gives us her old T.V. (she having inherited a t.v/dvd/vcr). So it has been taking up the living room floor since Christmas. We've all 4 played MarioKart which is mildly entertaining until the crying starts and my son really likes Need For Speed. But it is Star Wars that has me hooked (line and sinker).

The game is fairly easy although there are some challenges too difficult for my 6 year old's skills. You can play with one or 2 players and the second player can drop out at anytime. Perhaps, the game appeals to my goal-orientated personality. Maybe, it is the cute Lego characters. Maybe it is because it is just challenging enough to keep you playing. I have played through the entire game and am now trying to unlock the bonus chapter.

It's starting to disrupt my sleep. I told my husband, "I can stop anytime I want." But I am not so sure. Last night, he suggested a TiVo program (because we are so far behind on our viewing we are running out of space) and I managed to turn the game off. I can only play after the kids are in bed, you see.

My husband doesn't even get to play because the game only has positions to save 3 games so he has been left out. I'm going to finish soon, though. And then I can start on Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy.

I just saw on Amazon that this is available for the PC for under $20. But it looks like I would need a special game controller and some special video card. It is probably for the best.

A little Moody?

You Are 29% Borderline

You're a little moody, but you probably don't have a borderline personality. Everyone has their ups and downs. Just don't make too much of them.

Do You Have a Borderline Personality?

Post-Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is not a big deal at our house. Why is this? Is it because I am married to a man? Does any man really like Valentine's Day? Most men probably only recognize V-Day because they don't want to risk the consequences if they miss it. Silly me let my husband off the hook several years ago and so this day passes by almost unmentioned. The conversation we had last night went something like this:

Hubby, "You know a lot of people really detest Valentine's Day, especially single people."

Me: "Did you know it was Valentine's Day?"

Hubby: "Yes."

Me: "Wouldn't it be better to plead ignorance?"

Hubby: "Huh?"

But I am not totally off the hook either. I didn't do anything special for him, either. I don't want to make him feel bad when there is no reciprocity.

I think I'll go out and by myself some flowers.

(Hubby's blog can be found here.)

Happy Valentine's Day

I am Bert

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Seems a little too close to the truth.

Update

Update on Glasses: Yesterday I had the spare pair of glasses repaired. J also cleaned his room. I don't think he liked that his sister was playing Nintendo without him. Didn't find the other pair of glasses, though.

Diet: Monday afternoon I was feeling really blue. I don't know why I let the scale dictate my moods but I do. In fact, I let a lot of things dictate my moods. I am somewhat of a chameleon in that I reflect the moods of the people around me. This is good if everyone is cheerful but I am also easily brought down. I also sometimes get into a funk because of the book I am reading. So Tuesday I was really bummed. It was raining when I took the kids to school so I decided not to go on J's field trip (he really hadn't wanted me to come anyway). I went home and layed in bed a while but then guilt (or something like it) got me up and on my NordicTrac. At least I can be proud of that.

By the afternoon I was feeling a little better (following my nap). I baked cookies for the kids for Valentines since I have to work today. Then I ate cookies. I made chili for supper but not with the turkey ground so that wasn't good either. Then I ate more cookies after supper.

Today someone is buying us lunch and I was really not in the mood for the WW meal in my little freezer especially since I forgot my jello. So overall, I am being a little self-destructive. Friday, the kids and I are driving to Memphis to visit my mother. I probably won't stick to my diet this weekend, either. Hopefully, I will get out of this funk by next week and get back on track.

Glasses

So I mentioned that I took my son to the eye doctor on Thursday. When we returned home J had lost the screw for his glasses and the lens had popped out. (Not before the appt, when we might have gotten them repaired at the office.) I couldn't find my little screwdriver. No problem. I bought two pairs of glasses the last time we purchased them for just this occasion. Out came the spare pair. I'll take these others in to WM on my next trip.

Yesterday morning trying to get out the door to make it to SS (we have to leave at 7:30am) J can't find his glasses. We proceeded to church without them. J apparently didn't wear them at all on Saturday. (I was at work.) The last time we are sure he had them was Friday morning though I think I would have noticed them missing on Friady night. Most likely, he took them off before his shower on Friday night and layed them down somewhere in his room. His room is a disaster area. How could anyone find anything in there?

So I went into Target yesterday to pick up milk because I hate to go to the WM on our side of town and we were in the same shopping area getting a haircut. The Vision Center in Target is apparently closed on Sunday. So I bought one of those little repair kits. I get home and somehow between Thursday and Sunday the pair missing the screw now has a warped frame and I can't get them back together to use the repair kit.

We had some words over the messy room because I felt certain the glasses could be located if only the room was clean. I would have liked to clean it myself but he dares not let me. (Trust me, lots of stuff would find its way to the trash.) So there will be no more Nintendo for J until the room is clean and or the glasses are found. Who do you think can hold out longer?

Diet

I am not even going to post what my weight was this morning. Needless to say, it wasn't DOWN. I think I am going to start weighing in on Friday. The weekends are the hardest and weighing on Monday is just self-destructive. Better to weigh on Friday after 5 days of careful dieting. Also, my new scale at home is much kinder than the one at the clinic. So I am just going to forget what that number was this morning and weigh again on Friday after exercise.

40 Years

My parents 40th wedding anniversary is today. Forty years ago today my dad stopped the car at the Georgia State Line and took the wedding picture you can see at her post.

Congratulations!

Adventure Books

I just finished reading Lincoln Child's new novel, Deep Storm. I have read everything this author has written (both alone and with Douglas Preston). I am a big fan of the "Adventure Thriller" as I like to call them. My favorites in this class include: Amazonia, Subterranean, Excavation, Deep Fathom, Ice Hunt (all by James Rollins), Riptide, Utopia, Thunderhead, Ice Limit, Relic, Codex (all by Douglas Preston and/or Lincoln Child), Temple, Contest (by Matthew Reilly), Sphere and Jurassic Park (by Michael Crichton).

The basic premise is the same for all the books. A group of scientists/adventurers/ordinary people find themselves in an unfamiliar landscape (dessert, underground, icecap, underwater, jungle, etc) and unearth mysteries while trying to stay alive. The books all describe these unfamiliar settings with great detail. I often find myself transported there myself. There is some "suspension of belief" in all the books requiring you to accept some things as fact which may not be realistic. But these books are fiction, afterall.

Lincoln Child's new book is set in an underwater laboratory (a similar setting to Deep Fathom). It is not as exciting as his previous books but still a good read. I wonder though how many of these books are possible before exhausting the genre. How many exotic landscapes are there anyway? None of these authors has addressed a novel in outer space, though.

If you like "Adventure Thrillers" like I do and like to be transported by your reading to another world I would recommend any of these titles. If I had to pick a few to start then I would recommend: Relic, Codex, or Utopia.

Eye Doctor

Thursday I took my son to the eye doctor. He was diagnosed with amblyopia (sometimes erroneously called "lazy eye") when he was 18 months old. (He is now 8.) Our excellent pediatrician discovered the condition (which has remained undetectable to the casual observer) and sent us to a specialist. In 1999 when he was diagnosed we did not have a pediatric opthomologist in our fair city that our pediatrician respected. So for 6 years we drove the 2.5 hours to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital to see the specialist. He received excellent care there and we only had to make the trip 1 or 2 times per year. Our last trip was in December 2005 and I had a panic attack trying to find parking in the miserable parking garage. (There has been a lot of construction in this area over the years and things changed drastically from one trip to the next.) It is necessary to take the entire day out of school for a trip like that. So I asked our pediatrician if we could find an opthomologist here in Huntsville.

This was our second appt with Dr. Thompson at the Eye Center in Huntsville. (On our first visit in July, even though I had requested in writing (by fax) 10 days in advance for our records to be transferred they had not been sent. The personnel at the Eye Center called Vanderbilt for me and said they would take care of the records. But, at this visit they still had not been sent.) Dr Thompson was very busy and we had to wait while my son's eyes were dilated. So the visit took almost 2 hours. In a moment of desperation J put a post-it note outside the door with a message for anyone passing by to "Please send help!"

So J was not going to get back to school in time for lunch and his eyes were blurry and (he said) stinging from the drops. He wanted to miss the rest of the day. I said, "But J, you do not like to miss school." And my son said, "Your information is outdated."

So we skipped the rest of the day and went home and rested (well, I did anyway.) I had to say no T.V. or Nintendo or Computer because well if your eyes are too blurry to go to school you can't very well play games. So much like a trip to Vandy we took the whole day off. And, little sister didn't even get mad that he missed school and she didn't.

Thermostat

My husband is a bit warm natured. He doesn't really change seasons. He isn't from Florida but he did spend a lot of his growing up years in Texas. Could this be why?

When we first got married the disparity in our "body temps" (so to speak) was so large that in the winter time I slept with an extra blanket on my side of the bed. In warm weather, after he got up in the morning, I would pull up the comforter to stay warm. But after I had children and he had that nasosinus surgery to reduce snoring (or so he wouldn't stop breathing in his sleep) we evened out enough that I no longer need the extra blanket at night. (Neither of us liked having an electric blanket. Although, in winter we do use our electric mattress pad to pre-warm the bed. Having a warm husband, though, makes an electric blanket uneccessary at night.)

I like the to wear sweaters and sweatshirts in the Winter (you can't wear them in the Summer, afterall). I like it to be cool enough to drink Suisse Mocha and snuggle under my afghan in the house. Our house is very expensive to heat and we keep our thermostat on 65' in the winter. (So when they recommend you turn down the thermostat 2' to save energy, well we don't do it.)Also, in North Alabama you have days in the dead of winter where the outside temp reaches the 60's.

My husband has yet to find a day too cold to put the top down on his Miata. He wears shorts year round. He will wear long sleeved T-Shirts and occasionally a jacket in the wintertime. However, I am not sure he has worn a coat since the last time we went skiing. (That nice yellow Columbia coat is hanging there not being worn.) The other day I commented on the fact that he put on his pajamas (undershirt & shorts) and returned to the living room. It had been in the 20's outside that day. He said, "It is the same temperature in the house now as in summer and this is what I wear then."

"Honey", I said. "We do not keep our thermostat on 65' in the summer."

We keep our thermostat at about 70' in the summer. I do not like to be hot. I like it to be cool enough in the house to need my afghan when sitting in the living room. If I am doing housework or cooking I want it cool enough that I don't perspire. I have told people that I went to college and got a degree so that I could have air conditioning. It was one of the sacrifices I made in college to pay the bills. I know that it would be wrong to cool the house to 65' in the summer so that I could wear sweatshirts and drink Suisse Mocha so I don't do it. But my husband would still be comfortable.

Julie & Julia

I just finished Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, by Julie Powell. I first read about this book somewhere on the web on someone's blog (I am sorry I don't remember whose). My mother picked it up first and passed it on to me. (That is how we work. We both read a tremendous amount and share books.) The book is written in the first person style which I really enjoy. The author turns 29 and has a "Oh, no. I'm gonna be 30" kind of crisis. For no real good reason she decides to cook through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol I in a year. The book chronicles the chaos that ensues as she tries to hold her marriage and sanity together through this project. She begins a blog (in 2002 when most of us had yet to hear of blogs) and reaps some publicity which leads of course to the book. I'm not sure what Julie's cooking experience was before the book. I certainly wouldn't attempt to master french cooking. I have always thought I could cook but reading through her harrowing experiences I am not so sure. The recipes seem to require a lot of skill and special tools. MtAoFC was first published 40 years ago and I think the recipes and ingredients are probably outdated. Julie does need to start over quite a lot and there are lots of disasters. What I liked most about this book was how real Julie is. (Although, I could have used a lot less swearing.) She is a real person who has real failures and when it is over she has little more than a sense of accomplishment (and a book deal). Also, she has apparently married a saint. The book is not, as some unsuspecting readers thought, about cooking. The cooking details are there. But this book is a lot more about relationships and the hysteria a lot of women can relate to when we take on too many projects.

If you can tolerate some 'f' words (along with some 'b', 'mf' and 'gd' ) in your reading and you enjoy first person accounts I highly recommend this book.

Diet Update

I am down another pound from last week despite how crazy I went this last weekend. It seems to go that way. If I work really hard I might gain 0.5lb but if I have some serious slip-ups I lose. Or maybe it is that I weighed on Tuesday this week. But of course, I exercised several days last week so maybe that is it. At any rate I am down 11.3lbs total now. A good reason to celebrate, you think? Maybe I deserve a strawberry slushie? (Get thee behind me, Satan.) This week I promise I am finally going to look at the Pilates DVD my sis-in-law (sil) loaned me. What good does it do to lose the pounds if you still have that belly flab sitting there in the middle? (My SIL will probably chime in now on her 25 lbs or so she has lost.)

Good luck to my mother at Bears in Exile. She is heading back to Tennessee this week and has vowed to get back on the program (as we call the Weight Watcher's plan). Last week her friend R* sent her back to my house with a pan of homemade cinnamon rolls and some sourdough bread. Talk about sabotage.

Book Update

I just finished reading Shoot The Moon by Billie Letts. Billie Letts is also the author of Where The Heart Is which was made into a movie starring Ashley Judd. Shoot the Moon is the story of Mark Albright who returns to the small Oklahoma town of DeClune in search of his birth mother and finds himself deeply involved in a 30 year-old murder mystery.

The Old Fox Deceiv'd by Martha Grimes is the second Richard Jury Mystery. I liked it much better than the first. I think I will read the entire series.

Acid Row by Minnette Walters was also very good. The last few books I have read by this author have dealt with the character's quest to solve a mystery considered already solved. This book is about the events leading up to a riot in a London housing project.

No Way Back is the second book I've read by Rick Mofina about the crime reporter Tom Reed. In this story the ususal journalist solves a murder takes on a new twist.

Finally, since my last update I also read Reed's Beach by Brett Lott. I've read quite a few books by this author including, Jewel and A Song I Know By Heart. Reed's Beach deals with a difficult issue - the loss of a child. And was difficult to read from an emotional standpoint. The writing is in a challenging style. I don't think I would recommend it.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Books I Really Loved

1. Horse Whisperer
2. Jewel
3. Such Devoted Sisters
4. Relic
5. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
6. Outlander
7. Codex
8. Utopia -
9. A Painted House
10. Evergreen
11. Blood Lure
12. Beaches
13. We Are All Welcome Here

Snow

The snow came (it is alright to say the word now that it has happened). The temperature was up, though. This morning when I left for work it was misting rain. Now at noon most of the snow has melted. School was delayed 2 hours but for the most part people had to get up and do their thing this morning. No one really profits but the grocery stores.