Blogging as Cure for Insomnia

It’s 2:45 in the morning and I can’t sleep, my body is very unwashed, and downstairs are piles of laundry with my name on them. But I don’t care about any of this BECAUSE I’M SICK! And what else is there for a disease-ridden insomniac to do but blog about her condition?

Here are a few observations and lessons learned during my time of illness:

1)You know how some oranges aren’t very good? They have that weird taste and texture because they’re over-ripe or what-not? Yeah, I can’t taste that, and I’m ever so grateful for it because my body is craving the Vitamin C they (oranges) offer. From the texture I can tell that the orange I’m eating probably isn’t the best tasting, and under normal circumstances I’d spit it out and toss the rest away. But tonight, due to my blessed congestion, all I can tell is that this orange is juicy and vaguely sweet. Of course, if I wasn’t this congested I wouldn’t have these orange cravings in the first place.

2)Seltzer water is strangely delicious when you’re terribly thirsty and/or horribly sick—both of which I have been this weekend. The bubbles feel nice in my slightly cramping stomach, and the coolness of it is refreshing. I like seltzer water.

3)The recent discovery that I like seltzer water may be due in large part to my previously mentioned congestion. In fact, it may be the exclusive reason for my enjoyment of it.

4)Small things mean a great deal when you’re sick. Like the feeling of just brushed teeth, or a boss who says “Take all the time you need to get better because we don’t want your disgusting germs.” Or the luxury of a soft, fuzzy towel after a piping hot shower. Or the relief when the pain killers finally kick in.

5)I LOVE the Vlogbrothers (do a Google search cause I’m too sick to provide a link, then watch as many of their videos on YouTube as you possibly can—they are fantastic). This observation has nothing to do with my sickness, other than that they will be entertaining me with their delightful nerdiness whilst I recover.

6)”Whilst” is a great word.

5)Making lists about your sickness is highly therapeutic, as are hot cups of mint tea.

Well, I’ll leave off for now. There will be plenty of time for more blogging in between the bursts of restless sleep I will no doubt enjoy tomorrow.

Until then.

In which weeds are discussed

I got home this evening and was hit with the I-need-to-do-some-yard-work bug. I blame the decorative grasses. Every fall we tie them up and wrap Christmas lights around them, then each spring they get cut down so the new grass can grow in. When I pulled up this evening I saw those grasses still tied up with green shoots struggling to come in and knew tonight was the night to pull out the electric saw and get to work.

After cutting down the grass, I started cleaning up the yard and weeding the flower beds. While tugging away at a particularly nasty weed, one of the neighbor boys came by on his bike to talk to me. This kid is a unique soul. Last summer he spent a lot of time roaming the neighborhood sans shirt and a knit ski hat pulled over his face—not a ski mask, an actual hat. I think he was pretending to be Batman, or Spiderman, or something-man, but I don’t know how successful a superhero you can be without eyeholes in your mask.

Last night when I got home from work, he was riding his bike in our cul-de-sac. He saw my car heading down the street and changed course straight for me. I slowed down and watched him carefully, but he seemed determined to play a quick round of chicken. Finally, he swerved off into the neighbor’s yard, and I pulled in front of my house. As I opened my car door I heard his little voice accusing me: “Hey dude, er lady. You almost hit me!” I told him I didn’t even get close, but he seemed quite insistent about it. His parents haven’t served me with a lawsuit yet, so I think I’m ok. Right?

Anyway, tonight I’m tugging away at this huge weed, and he rides up next to me and asks, “Whatcha doin’?”

“I’m—pulling—(grunt, grunt, tug, tug)—weeds.”

“Why? Is it because they kill your other plants?”

“That’s—right (pant, pant, tug some more).”

He watches as I keep tugging until finally, the roots pop out with a satisfying rip. Then he looks at me and says, “You know weeds just keep growing back.”

Yes, I do know that. Thanks for reminding me of the futility of my efforts.

That pretty much killed the yard work bug, so I threw away the slaughtered weeds, and put everything away. To the kid’s credit, he did offer to let me move into his house where they apparently don’t have any weeds, but you can understand why I was a little hesitant to take him up on that offer. Instead I grabbed a lawn chair and a book, and enjoyed the fruits of my labors. Why not enjoy those weed-free flower beds while I still can?

wahoo just turned my last final in--the semester is over!!!

Who Said Librarians Weren't Funky?

OK, so they're not funky, but it sure is funny!

Check out the "Flight of the Bumblebee" one that should come up after it. Or just search Youtube for "book cart drill team" and find a strange assortment of librarians with too much time on their hands.

Ok we're testing this out to see if i set it up right. If i did, then this is my first blog post from my cell phone. Woo-hoo!

I Love Google Alerts

Here are a couple things I found interesting as I tried to catch up on all my Google Alerts:

The University of Virginia's Founding Era collection is being digitized and made fully searchable. Available now are the papers of Dolly Madison, George Washington, John Adams, and (most recent) Thomas Jefferson. The only downside is that to actually view the texts you have to sign up for a free trial that only lasts 48 hours, and you can only sign up for a trial every six months. (Or, if you can find enough spare change in the couch, you can just purchase access.) In any case, it looks like quite the undertaking, and they have more collections coming soon.

So I've been hearing about this new book, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I read one review that really blasted it, but most other reviews I've read were positive. I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of this book, but I'll have to read it as I have to read all things connected to Jane Austen. Now it seems the author, Seth Grahame-Smith, will be combining the supernatural with another of my favorite people: Abraham Lincoln. Oh dear.

I've got some book things to blog about on my book blog, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Night!

Here Comes the Sun

So I'm very trunky, ready for school to be over with and summer break to begin. (And yes, you can take this as an official announcement that I'm not taking summer school classes. I should, but I'm not going to.)

I've decided that I want to spend my summer reading, reading, and reading. Reading in bed and reading outdoors. Reading in the shower, and reading on the couch while summer thunderstorms rage outside. Old books, new books, poetry, biography and lots of fiction. Young adult books, kids books, and even the occasional book for adults.

This means I've got to start pulling together a summer reading list now. I've got a small list going in my head already, but what suggestions and recommendations do you have for me? What "must-read" book should I add to my list?