A Year Without - Day 8

I have been up since about 3:30 today. I heard Sammy miserably crying "Maaaaaama!" several times. He told me his feet hurt. When I asked where, he pointed to his arches. I massaged them, and he said they felt better. I covered him up, turned up the heater because it was FREEZING in the house, and he went right back to sleep.

It is extremely drafty in this house this year. We are having to set the heater higher than normal in order not to be unbearably cold. Even our guests commented on it. I guess I need to get window film from Lowe's and cover the windows.

I couldn't get back to sleep, so I tried to write, get some laundry done, and work on the mail. But when I got to the laundry, B heard me and decided to investigate. When he saw me, he said his usual "Eeeeeeeat!"

So I cooked breakfast. We had a little bit left of the "natural" pork sausage Costco started carrying. I really like this one, and hope they don't go back to the other. I decided I REALLLLLLY wanted eggs over medium and some toast to dip in the yolks. I overcooked my eggs, and set the oven on fire making the toast. (It was quite pretty. The heating element on the bottom lit up and burned around like a sparkler. Unfortunately, as we found out later, it left me with a non-functioning oven. And untoasted bread.)

We didn't get to talk to the Daddy when he got off of work this morning (night time for him) because we were already gone to music class. :(

Sammy had a poop accident in his pants during Benny's music class. And didn't tell me. Later, during his class, the teacher came out and asked me if I had any extra pants for him. When I went to clean him up, oh the mess! He had nasty, thick, sticky, sandy poop down both legs, almost to his socks. When I asked him why he didn't go to the potty, he said, "I was having too much fun playing with the toys." I was very lucky that the teacher's daughter had extra pants for her kids, that she let us borrow. And wipies. It took nearly half a pack to clean him up.

It was not a good day for me. Waking up at 3, ruining my eggs, the flaming oven, and now this. I was the camel's back, and that was my straw.

When they started giving me flak about getting buckled and being hungry in the truck, I yelled at everyone. I could not take any more. I told the kids we were going to go home, they were going to eat whatever I decided to fix them, and they were going to take a nap. And THEN we could talk about reading our new books. They must have figured out that I meant business, because they were all silent on the way home. Even though I turned off the music. Because I was so past the end of my rope, I couldn't take that, either.

B fell asleep on the way home (not surprising considering his wakeup time) so I put him down to nap on the bed as soon as we got home. Then I tried to figure out what to do about lunch. My original plan had been to grab lunch at the Costco deli and do some shopping, take Sammy to get some arch supports for his shoes at Junior Bootery, and a half a dozen other errands that are about to go stale. But now we had to go straight home. I was so exhausted from being hopping mad and being up since 3, I couldn't figure out what to fix. So I opened up and warmed up a can of beans. And told them that's what they were getting, and I didn't want to hear anything back except "Yes, ma'am." or "Thank you, Mama." When it was heated up, I apologized for letting my anger get the best of me, but Katie sat on the couch harumphing and crossing her arms as tightly as she could across her chest over and over, and giving me the stinkiest stink-eye that ever did stink. (I highly suspect that my picking up on/assuming the feelings of those I'm close to has passed on to the next generation. Great. I'm going to have to be very careful about controlling strong emotions now.)

We had a playdate scheduled in the late afternoon. I was SO drained I thought about cancelling it. But I was SOOOOO drained, I thought it might be better to have someone else entertaining the kids so I could nap, cool down, or whatever else might bring me back to an even keel.

After lunch, I had Senor Poopy Butt take a bath, which he wouldn't do without me in the room to supervise. Then I sent him and his sister off to watch a movie so I could nap with the baby. Not sure how long I was out (maybe 50 minutes?) but when I woke up, I was alone, and heard them all 3 playing elsewhere while the movie was still running in their bedroom.

Our playdate came, and the company helped my blood pressure a lot. Zachary distracted Sammy and Katie in the basement. Benny popped back and forth between the kids and the grownups. I was going to make steak and sweet potato fries for supper, but when I turned on the oven, it never preheated. So we went to plan B - pizza & wings from NYPD Pizzeria. Kerry worked on her Jesse tree ornaments, and I just sat around like a bump on a log. Because that was all I had the energy to do.

The Daddy had said he might try to get up early and Skype with us, since he missed us that morning. But we didn't hear from him. That's probably okay. I collapsed into bed shortly after the playdates left, about 8, and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

A Year Without - Day 7

Still feeling blah today, although I did manage to actually get some stuff done. This morning we cleaned the "grown-up" half of the big room in the basement. I.e. reclaimed it from all the toys that had migrated over but weren't supposed to be there.

Some time in the last few months, we started catching a Denver PBS station (12) in addition to our local one. While we were in the basement, I re-searched for channels on that box, and was surprised that it found it. There was a lot of interference, though. We really need a stronger antenna for that location.

We had leftover turkey and green beans for lunch. And Katie had her favorite "cucumbeh salad" with the last cucumber.

This evening we had dance class. We managed to forget the shoe bag, and I didn't realize it until we were 5 minutes down the road. So we had to turn around, and that made us really late. I hate being late!

On the way home, in the 22-degree freezing cold, Benny, for unbeknownst reasons, refused to get buckled. And fought with me for at least 5 minutes until I could force him into his buckles. NOT FUN. I look forward to getting a minivan so I can get it, get the heater going, and buckle the kids in from INSIDE the vehicle.

That pretty much sapped the little bit of energy I'd managed to muster. I stopped at our favorite drive-thru, Monica's Tacos, for supper. They only gave me one order of beans instead of two, and they put cheese on the beans in my burrito plate, when I specifically asked for "No cheese on anything." Is it Monday?

This evening the kids watched Bob the Builder on Netflix in the basement while I Skyped with my mom, and worked on a photo project for a friend. (And tried to watch House, but it was a rerun.) Then everyone got a bath (well, everyone but mom) and we went to bed. The closest thing we've had so far to an ordinary day.

On the way up the stairs, and every time I got out of the rocking chair today, I noticed that my belly was feeling really heavy. The baby must have had a growth spurt yesterday. Maybe that explains why had no energy!

A Year Without - Day 6

Happy Birthday to my love!!!

I have been up 3:30 this morning. I am not sleeping well. Any night. Last night I kept dreaming I would sleep through a Skype call from my hubby. Then I'd wake up to check, but there was nothing. THEN, I'd toss and turn for a while before I could fall back to sleep. Repeat all night, until I give up trying to rest. I guess I am more anxious to talk to him than I realize. (So if you talk to me, and I seem extra-distracted, or extra-grumpy, now you know why. And I'm sorry!)

The kids woke up with runny noses this morning, and we ran out of our liquid Vitamin D yesterday. :( They were also CRAZY today - Katie and Benny, usually my two peas in a love pod, were yelling and fighting with each other all morning. I don't know if I should attribute it to missing Dad, or being sick, or being hungry (it got better after lunch), or what. I don't know if I even care. I'm just glad it stopped. I couldn't take much more of it. I am starting to think that my ability to cope is directly related to my level of rest.

Today I am feeling physically blah. I don't know if it's the bad sleep, or that I've forgotten to take my vitamins (I can't even remember whether I remembered to take them or not. How sad is that?) or that I've been eating white rice and too much (not white) bread lately, or what. I basically sat in the rocking chair in the living room most of the day, unable to do much more than sit.

There are a bunch of light bulbs burned out around here. Most of them happened before the tall man left. Why I did not get more and insist that he replace them before he left, when I know I can barely reach them on the stepstool and should not be reaching on a stepstool in my condition, I do not know. (Oh, yes I do. It's because my ability to plan ahead functions at about 25% most days. That is not a skill anyone ever taught me. And now I'm just an old dog.)

People keep saying that I am strong. I'm not so sure about that. I'm doing what I have to do for the good of my family. Am I strong just because I'm not having a mental breakdown every day? Or running home to my Mama. (I seriously considered it. Some other day I'll talk about why I decided not to.) It's not like I haven't begged at least 25 local people for help while he is gone. How strong does that sound?

My 5yo pulled off his toenail today. The whole thing. His 2nd toe had been looking infected. We put triple antibiotic on it for a few nights, and that made it look better. When Robyn got here, she told me that his toe looked exactly like what eczema has done to one of her toes in the past. I have no experience with eczema, so I hadn't even considered that as a cause. But I put his steroid cream on it, and that made it look better, too. Anyway, today when I went to check it, I noticed the nail was missing. I asked him if he pulled it off or it fell off, and he said he pulled it off. (Blech!!!) When I asked him why, he said it was hurting. I had no idea it was hurting, because every time I check it, I poke and prod it and ask him if it hurts, and he always says "No, it doesn't hurt." Boys!

This afternoon Kerry's husband and live-in BIL picked up the innerspring futon mattress they'd let us borrow for David and Robyn's visit, so David wouldn't have to sleep on an air mattress with his pelvis injury. While they were here, I asked them to pull down all our Christmas boxes from the high shelf in the garage. The kids were SOOOOOO excited! They couldn't wait to put up the tree. As in they wanted to put it up before our friends even left! The stand to our full-sized tree broke several years ago, so the only functional tree we have is a 3' one. But that's a good size for a mama who is feeling quite overwhelmed. We put the tree on a table in the corner of the living room. As fast as I could pull ornaments out of the box, they would each come back for another and run to put it on the tree. When I broke the first ball, I decided to mostly skip the breakable stuff. This turned out to be a good decision, as they mostly can't keep their curious little fingers off their favorite ornaments.

Early morning I finally got to IM and briefly Skype with my honey. :D It was so nice to see him. The anxiety that I'd been carrying, that I wasn't even aware of, is mostly gone now. The kids were so very happy to see him, too. He is very loved, and very missed. (And hopefully I will sleep better tonight than I have been.)

Chicks and Salsa

Chicks and Salsa by Aaron Reynolds

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My kids LOOOOOVE this book! The 1yo makes me read it to him every time he sees it! They all love to yell "Ole!" with me after the animals try new foods.

View all my reviews

A Year Without - Day 5

I deemed today "catch-up day." There was so much laundry to be done. At least 4 loads lurking on my bathroom floor, 2 comforters and a sleeping bag littering the laundry room floor, plus random pieces strewn all over the house. (Have you ever played the "Nanny Mania" game? I used to think it was rather far-fetched, until my kids started getting big enough to undress themselves, and help themselves to things in the kitchen!) I am not usually this bad about washing the laundry (putting it away, yes, but not washing it), but I got behind when I had to wash so many sheets, etc. during last week's stomach virus. I also had an extra load or two of dirty dishes, due to being more interested in visiting with my company than cleaning my house during the short time they were here. I did well until about 3:30 p.m., when I just lost all my steam. Oh well. There is always tomorrow to finish. Or next week.

Today we introduced two of our friends to Skype. Kerry has an Android phone, and I was/am curious how its Skype app works, since that is the kind of phone I hope to get when I can finally replace my Palm Treo dinosaur, so I convinced her to set up an account. We chatted on our computers for a little while, and hopefully will get to try the phone here in the coming week. Then I had the brilliant idea to ask my Roomie if she had Skype. She didn't, but set it up, and we were able to chat with AND SEE her and Mason this afternoon. That was fun!!! I am sure we will be doing it on a regular basis, if we can mesh our schedules.

Poor B, both times he heard the Skype ring today, came running to computer, excitedly saying "Daaaaaaaaaad!!!" And was a bit sad when I told him it was not Dad, but someone else.

On the "Pu'up" front, B is still adamant about only wearing them, and not diapers. I suppose after almost a week of this, I should admit defeat and pack up the diapers to get them out of the way.

This evening as I was nursing B to sleep, I noticed that my Skype online status was set to "invisible." I wondered if that was why I hadn't heard from my hubby. I changed it. Hopefully I will get a call from him tonight.

A little later, while I was writing this post, Katie came running up to my bedroom from the basement, with tears in her eyes, saying "I thought you were gone!" I can see I'm not the only one severely missing The Daddy.

When he was going to bed, Sammy couldn't find his most favorite stuffed animal "Ophiana," an echidna we got from our Australian IACE exchange cadets back when we lived in NM, nor the "comic book" that Aunt Robyn had helped him write while they were here, which he desperately wanted for a bedtime story. This ensued a 30+ minute failure of a search, all over the house. Eventually I convinced him to give up, but not without many tears.

Overall I think I can safely say we are hanging in there pretty well so far. Yes, everyone is more emotional than usual, and yes, we are experiencing a lot more tears. But with love and hugs and prayers, I think we will get through it.

A Year Without - Day 4

I usually avoid the Black Friday shopping madness, but our new Cloth Diaper Market had a super-fabulous deal (like almost 50% off) on something I'd been eyeing for the kids for almost a year. (It's a surprise; you'll have to wait a month to see what it is.) So I left the kids in Robyn's care and took off for a tiny bit of alone time.

When I got home, David and Robyn were trying to make some copies made for something they had to get in the mail today, but we discovered the kids had most inconveniently used the last sheets of printer paper to make comic books or art or something. So I ran to Costco to get another pack of paper. And picked up some more printer ink while I was there. Not a trip I'd planned, but at least I was able to pop in and out without dealing with kids and carseat buckles in the freezing cold.

Rachel turned 10 last week. While she was here, I asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She eventually settled on us all going to play Glow Golf. Katie had a free pass that she won on hole 18 when we went there for Zachary's birthday party in July. Because of David's injury and his difficulty walking, we had to get him a wheelchair. That was a bit of an adventure in itself, as one of the footrests broke pretty much immediately after he sat in it. The kids all had fun playing Glow Golf while Robyn (with David in tow) got some shopping done at a store she likes but doesn't have back home. Kerry, Zachary, and Uncle Andy met us at Glow Golf, but then Zachary took off for the opposite course after we started playing, so we didn't get to talk to them much. We tried to play both courses, but my kids were done about halfway through the second one. Katie got another free pass on hole 18, and Sammy was super-sad that he did not. Sammy attempted the laser maze, although the noise inside it really got to him, and he got scared halfway through. Rachel tried it, too.

By this time it was past time to go, and Benny was melting down. I don't recall him not getting enough sleep last night, but only 2 or 3 other times in his life have I seen him SO upset from being overtired. He started crying when I wouldn't change his pullup on the kiddy jump seat in the mommy's bathroom (like that's even possible!) and screamed pretty much all the way home.

It turned out to be a good decision that I made the gumbo yesterday, because I would not have had the time or energy to do it today. I left it on low while we were golfing, so it was warm and waiting for us when we got back home.

We spent the rest of the day lazing around, kids playing Wii, grownups eating gumbo and talking. Our guests left after supper, so they would be able to make Rachel's skating show rehearsal tomorrow morning. Not long after that, I put B to bed, relaxed a bit myself, and then got the bigs in bed.

This morning I figured out that even though I hadn't heard personally from the hubby, he had actually made a few posts on Facebook. So at least I knew indirectly he was OK. Still looking forward to a personal email or a late-night Skype from him.

A Year Without - Day 3

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for this year. Babies. Baby on the way. An income for our family, generated by someone who loves us so much, he'd even endure going away to provide for us. Climate control. Warm clothes. A pantry, freezer, and fridge full of food. Friends here to celebrate with us. God is great!

This is the first year I didn't have to set an alarm to get the turkey cooking. Benny's normal 6:30 wake-up was just the right time. (Although, honestly, if it hadn't been, we would have snacked more and eaten later. Because I was tired.) Unfortunately, I was so tired at that hour of the morning, I didn't even notice that I put the turkey in the roasting pan UPSIDE DOWN. But it turned out to be a fortunate mistake. It was THE juciest turkey I've ever made. David even thought I'd done it on purpose.

It was a nice, relaxed day. Just like we like our holidays around here. Cooking in the morning. Eating lunch (but not gorging on it until we were miserable! A big key to actually enjoying the holidays!) and relaxing in the afternoon/evening.

Here is our menu for the day:

Salad (Spinach, Romaine, Roma Tomatoes, Mini Cucumbers)

Wild Rice Blend

Green Beans (flavored nicely with Newman's Own Tuscan Italian Dressing)

Baked Sweet Potatoes (the way God made them, not adulterated with marshmallows or any of the other things I don't understand why people put into them)

Cranberry Relish (WOW! Going to make this stuff every year from now on!)

Turkey (I use The FlyLady's Recipe)

Apple Pie (photo on yesterday's post)

Peach Cobbler

I was rather proud of myself that everything on the table started out fresh, not canned or frozen (well, except for the pie crusts), and was healthy for everyone at the table, despite 4 of the 7 of us having multiple allergies, intolerances, and other food issues.

Some time in the afternoon, I decided to make tomorrow's gumbo today. I remembered that somehow, I always end up making David's gumbo the last day he's in town, and it always tastes so much better the next day, after he's long gone. So this year I was determined to fix that. It made for a long day of cooking, but I think was ultimately worth it. I unfortunately didn't remember that there was NO ROOM IN THE FRIDGE for a giant pot of gumbo, nor were there any/enough containers to hold all seven quarts of it. Robyn wisely pointed out that it was below freezing outside, so we ended up putting the whole pot in the bed of my truck in the garage. Hooray for Colorado weather!

While I was cooking the gumbo, Robyn & David napped again. The kids played a lot of multiplayer Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. Even Katie got in on the game. They seemed to really enjoy it.

Later in the evening, I finally had some free time to show Rachel Dance Dance Revolution, like I'd been wanting to since she arrived. She was really good at it! (It was a lot of fun, but I should not have turned off the jumps before I tried to play. Even though I was wearing a belly band, and holding my belly for the jumps, and even though this baby only weighs 6 oz., I was SOOOOOORE when it was all over.)

Katie and Rachel (and R&D&I) watched like 4 or 5 episodes of Liberty's Kids before I had to get the big kids ready for bed. Poor B had fallen asleep sprawled out on the floor before I even finished the gumbo!

I waited all day to hear from my honey, but there was nothing. I am trying not to think about how sad that made me. Hopefully he is OK, and will Skype me tonight. (And hopefully I will not be so exhaustedly asleep that I will miss it.)

A Year Without - Day 2

Today went by pretty quickly. Poor Rachel got woken up when B made me go downstairs for something to "eeeeeat! Me eeeeeat!" and "ink! Mama ink!" about 6:30. The other kids weren't too far behind in waking. We had a nice and leisurely breakfast of oat bran (which B won't eat), eggs (which S can't eat), and toast (which K won't eat). But I couldn't get it ready fast enough for hungry B, who found the leftover blueberry pie on the countertop, and kept saying, "Pie-ee!" over and over and over. I never did manage to convince him that we were saving the pie for after lunch. But eventually he realized I wasn't going to give him any now, and ate what I gave him. (But when he wasn't looking, I stirred some of the juice and blueberries into my and Sammy's oat bran. Sneaky mommy!)

David and Robyn slept in a little, despite the kid noise, which was good, since they didn't arrive until close to 2.

I didn't get to go shopping for the last-minute groceries the day before, with all the cleaning, and the being too sad to get dressed, but that worked out OK. The bigs stayed home and played with Rachel, and Robyn decided to accompany me to Costco.

Just as I was getting ready to leave, my computer started mysteriously ringing. It was The Daddy. Hooray for Skype! It was so nice to see his face, and hear his voice. He had finally arrived at his hotel in Doha, Qatar. It was about 11:00 here, so the poor guy had been travelling for 30 hours. All the kids got to say hi to him. I could have talked all day, but I could tell he desperately needed sleep. And the groceries weren't going to get themselves. He said he'd call again when he could. I hope he is able to call before he checks out of the hotel in another few hours. Yes, I'll be asleep, but it may be the last chance he gets for a reliable internet connection for quite a while.

I made my first apple pie this evening, while the guests caught a nap. (Or maybe it was my second. I can't remember.) I used the bought crust, so it wasn't homemade. But that was the plan all along. There's only so much I can do in one day. I did slice and peel the apples myself. David has Type 2 diabetes, so I had to use splenda instead of sugar. (We usually try to stay away from the artificial chemicals around here.) All I did was mix the apples, some Splenda, a generous helping of cinnamon, and a couple of teaspoons of No-Egg (for thickener) around in bowl. I even figured out how to lattice the top. When I pulled the extra crust from around the sides, a bit of inspiration hit.

(Unfortunately, I am no artist, and it turned out looking more like a cherry than an apple. And next time I need to remember to use more apples/make a heaping mound under the crust. The pie was a little too sunken.)

Robyn introduced me to cranberry relish tonight. Wow! All I could say was, "Why would anyone eat canned cranberry CRAP when they could have this?!?!?!" It was amazing. So fresh. So REAL FOOD. All she did was mix a bag of cranberries, an orange, 3-4 cups of pecans, and a bit of Splenda (again, we would normally use turbinado or honey or something around here. But we didn't want to upset David's blood sugar) in a food processor. It was a good thing she made such a big batch, because Rachel had a bowl of it as soon as she figured out what was going on in the kitchen. ;)

The kids had a fabulous time playing with Rachel today. Sammy showed her some Wii games, and Katie played with the Dora toys that Rachel had handed down to her last year or the year before. Katie was hanging on her all day. And Rachel was eating it up. It warms my heart so much to see them loving on each other.

The B decided today that he no longer wears diapers. Occasionally he'd been wearing Sammy's "pu'ups" after bath, just like Sammy. Today there was no diapering. Any time I mentioned the word diaper, the reply was an adamant "Pu'up!!!!" So while we were at Costco, I bought him some in his size. I am not happy AT ALL about this development. I didn't (and don't want to) factor the cost of multiple daily pull-ups into the budget. And I don't want to think about those nasty chemicals on my baby's bottom. But even the pull-up-type cloth we have is still a diaper to him. And he is INSISTENT! I guess next week we might have to start really working on the potty thing, to see if we can make these things last longer. Changing poopy pullups is only slightly worse than changing poopy underwear. (Hmmm, there's a thought. I wonder if he'd wear the training underwear if I pulled it out of storage. I might try that if I can ever get caught up on the laundry.) Oh, and I wish Huggies would print the sizes on these stinkin' things!

Today, again, we were a little too busy to be sad about the absent Daddy. But in retrospect, his presence was greatly missed. I couldn't help thinking how he would have been sitting in his rocking chair, telling stories with David all day long, chasing the kids, catching my eye and giving me a bit of a smile when he thought nobody was looking. I hope he is getting some good rest in that hotel bed right now. No telling what kind of accommodations he will have when he gets to his final destination.

Love you, honey!

A Year Without - Day 1

The daddy left via cab at 5:15 this morning. Until 12 hours before that, we had thought his flight out was in the evening. It's a good thing we are flexible in this house.

At lunchtime I told the kids that we would officially declare our house a "safe place to talk about feelings." Then I told them that I was feeling sad that Daddy was gone, and that I missed him. Sam said he was feeling, "glad. Because Daddy has a job." Our boy is very astute, and I think he was picking up on how NOT having a job was affecting his Daddy. Katie said, "I am feewing EXCITED!" When I asked her why, she said it was because her Daddy was earning money to take care of us. The B indicated that he was happy, because his cup was "Aah-whoa" (his favorite color).

There was not much time to be sad today, though. Our Thanksgiving guests will arrive from New Mexico some time while we are asleep. We spent the whole day cleaning and organizing. Nobody in this house can seem to pack for a trip without leaving the house looking like a tornado hit it. (Don't take that as a complaint. I do realize I am the biggest culprit. Luckily, yesterday, *I* wasn't packing.) I'd managed to get the guest room straightened enough last week, but today we still had to pick up toys from the basement, hallway, living room, and dining room, get the dining room table cleaned off, catch up on the dishes so we could find the countertops, vac all the carpets... You get the idea. It was a very busy day. We didn't finish, but I was ready to collapse onto a soft bed. And of course the kids won't get themselves ready for bed. So I called it good enough. The guests have a clear path to their sleeping places, and there's nothing growing in the bathrooms. Anything else is just icing anyway.

We had blueberry pie for supper tonight. I bought a box of 8 pie crusts at Costco a few weeks back, because Sammy had been asking about making a pie for a while, and they miraculously didn't have any eggs, peanuts, dairy, or soy in them. Yes, I *should* make my own crust, but I figure I can attempt that after I get the fillings figured out. Anyway, I wanted to make a pie with this crust before I attempt to do one for Thanksgiving dinner. And after I made the pie, I was too tired (read lazy) to make anything else for dinner. I only used 1 cup of sugar instead of the 2 the recipe called for. It was plenty sweet enough, but it was super-runny. Next time I need to make sure to put some kind of thickener in it.

NOW there is time to be sad. I miss my honey. When I'm tired or sad (and tonight I'm both) there's no better place to rest my head than the hollow of his shoulder. It will be months before I can do that again. I look forward to it.

A Year Without

My awesome hubby took a job away from us for a year. We won't get to see him much while he's gone, but we should be able to communicate often enough via Skype and email, and in a more one-sided manner, through this blog.

I've been toying with the idea of playing one of the post-a-day games that other people are doing on their blogs. I had thought I'd do photos. But this seems like the kind of thing I'd like to keep a journal of. And there's not much chance I'll actually sit down and hand-write anything.

So here goes nothing. I don't promise to actually write every day. But I will try to write about every day. (Then I will be sneaky and back-date it, so nobody knows just how sporadic and inconsistent I really am.)