Ugh

I gotta get up early 3 days in a row.

I happen to work with one of my only friends in this town, and she's going on a cruise this weekend. Lucky dog. Since it is vacation time, half the office is going to be out, too. This left me to fill in at the office. Naturally, I would not deprive my friend of her cruise, but I have grown fond of my solitude at home. It's so much more pleasant not to have to answer stupid questions face-to-face (I can stick out my tongue when I'm on the phone), and I love not having to wear makeup. Now I have to get up, dress up, and otherwise put on a fake smile for every character that walks in the door - and let me tell, I will see quite a few. Because my employer is not exactly high-paying, we get lots of riff-raff, and their lives are colorful to say the least.

I suppose it will be nice to see people - Jeff thinks I need more interaction than I get - though I've been away from the office for nearly a year now, and the vast majority of the people I knew are long gone. Ah, well. It's just Thursday, Friday and Monday. I suppose it could be worse. I just hope that the end of the month duties that she sees to don't wind up slamming me along with the regular job that I have to do.

Perhaps by this weekend I'll have an opportunity to take some pictures (and edit the ones I've already taken). Though I should be doing housework, scrapbooking and picture-taking definitely hits higher on my list of Fun Things to Do.

Every now and then I get in these phases where I can't sleep. Usually I can just take a light dose of an OTC sleeping pill (like Unisom) for about a week and I'm fine.

Not so this time.

I was so tired all day yesterday that I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and just stay there. But I was strong! I resisted! Surely if I didn't take a nap I'd sleep well come bedtime. I even took my trusty little blue pill. I yawned all the way to bed last night, laid my head on the pillow, and

ding!

I was wide awake.

I tossed and turned, stared at the clock, counted sheep, recited poetry... nothing helped. Somewhere in the wee hours of the morning I finally drifted into la-la land, but didn't stay there. I still woke up several times after that.

Somehow I stumbled out of the bed and made my way to computer this morning. I'm struggling to keep my eyes open again, kind of like Mr. Bean at church (if you haven't seen that sketch, you simply must. It's hysterical.)

Tonight, I'm taking two pills - at 5pm!

Back in the Saddle Again

It's been a long time since I felt like scrapbooking. After the convention, though, I felt inspired, and let me tell you - I have been going to town on some scrapbook pages!

I decided to make an album just about myself. Everything to this point has been my son, or my family, or something besides me. So I bought a funky pink plaid binder just for pages about me. So far, there's only one pic of me in there, but that's okay. I'm giving myself permission to scrap about the things I love and the things I hate. It's not about being witty, or having perfect design, or even getting published. It's about giving my grandchildren and great-grandchildren a picture of myself. It's about creating something that people can thumb through long after I'm gone and learn about who I was. No, I don't think I'm anything fascinating or worthy of acclaim, but I'd like to think that my descendants will be as interested in me as I am in my ancestors.

In all this, I'm learning to enjoy it again. Because I'm letting all of my pages (not just the ones about myself) be a little more real, I'm finding joy in it again. Sure, there will always be event pages - you know, birthdays and Christmas and first day of school - but I want my books to tell the story of our lives. The everyday things that made us who we were - in 100 years, those will be far more interesting than endless pictures of birthday cakes and candles.

Weight Woes

My heart just isn't in it.

I simply do not have the drive to lose weight. Instead, I'd rather bury myself in an avalanche of Krispy Kremes and pizza. I just don't have the energy to be healthy right now.

Mom accosted me for not updating my blog, so here goes.

Um. . .

Ah. . .

Well. . .

There's nothing to tell, that's what! I have done a bit of scrapbooking. I hope I can get out with the camera again this weekend. I'm starting to have withdrawal symptoms!

Mostly I'm feeling a little down in the dumps. It's partly the onset of summer. Muggy, steamy, hazy weather does that to me. It's partly because I'm mad at hubby.

Sigh. I need chocolate.

Weight Loss Challenge

I'm officially down 8.2 pounds now. This week will be a challenge, though - Mom & I are going to a scrapbook convention. Though I am eagerly anticipating the weekend of paper and glue, I am not so excited about the food options available to me. Realistically, I don't know what we will get into. We'll be taking some snacks, but meals will be the real problem. With both of us trying to diet, maybe we can keep each other on track. No doubt, it will be a challenge.