Beauty Sleep

I'm going to be getting a new CPAP machine. (I had one, but it got old and broke, as machinery and body parts are wont to do.)

For those not familiar, go read up on sleep apnea (specifically central sleep apnea) and CPAP machines. That's ok. We'll wait.

Back now? Good.

No, no. I couldn't get normal obstructive sleep apnea. I have central sleep apnea - the kind that happens when your brain forgets to make your lungs breathe. (For years I've been telling doctors whenever I awake from anesthetic that I actually forget to breathe. This started when I was about 21 and had my back surgery. Everyone kept saying, "Oh no. It's like when a kid holds their breath and turns blue. Eventually they'll pass out and resume breathing out of reflex." Um...with me, not so much. My brain actually shuts down that function for some odd reason.) Leave it to me to be different. LOL! Just add it to my laundry list of "weird."

According to my study, I only had one "obstructive" episode the entire night. The other twenty-one episodes were non-obstructive. Yes, every three minutes I stop breathing. (One would think this would kill a body, but believe it or not, it's not considered severe until you hit the 40 mark.)

So in a few weeks I'll have a new CPAP machine, and hopefully be sleeping a lot better. Huzzah to modern science!

There are really very, very few pictures of me

I'm either the one taking pictures (like my father - there are hardly any pictures of him at all anywhere. That makes me kind of sad.) Or I'm just not happy with the pictures and delete them. (It's no secret that I'm not comfortable being me sometimes.)

But Manya happened to get a pretty good one today. We went out to lunch and she got to play with her Mother's Day gift. (I have to admit the iPhone takes really good pictures!)

In a blink of an eye

Tonight we attended middle school orientation.

When did she go from this:


To this:


I think I'm more worried about middle school than she is.

Who needs six-pack abs when I've got a keg.

Slimquick, I did what you said.

* I ate more fiber.
* I took your three tablets before each breakfast and lunch.
* I cut my meals down.
* I ate more veggies and fruit.
* I drank gobs of water (even though I already do). You rarely find me without a water bottle nearby.
* I danced my tush off to the point I couldn't walk for two days and started being more active (or at least trying what with the crappy joints and all).

And yet... I. GAINED. FIVE. POUNDS.

Don't feed me crap about muscle weighing more than fat. Pounds is pounds. (A ton of feathers is still just as heavy as a ton of bricks.) Even my favorite doctor said so. (If it were muscle, and not fat, there would still be a change in the way clothes fit and the way I look. There's change all right. I'M. FATTER.)

Slimquick, I am not your bitch.

Brownies and muffins and cake - oh my!

Yes, I bake when I'm nervous. I'll likely not sleep again tonight.

Pray (if you're the praying type - or shake your fanny or dance nekkid or whatever you do for luck) that I get this loan tomorrow.

1. The car is a '98 - 10 years old or older.
2. We have crappy credit that I'm trying to rebuild (through this loan and I. NEED. THIS. CAR!)
3. They said depending on our credit and the age of the car, we'll likely only get a percentage of the loan. I'm not sure if this means that we're asking for too much and they'll deny - or that they'll say "we won't give you $5,000 but we'll give you $4,000. This might still make it doable if I can call in a few short-term favors.) I'm not asking for much - $5,000 (which isn't much in the grand scheme of things to a bank, but to us it's huge). The car blue books at $5,800 and he's not asking much over that. Out the door (title, inspection, etc) it'll be $7,000.

And most of all... I. NEED. THIS. CAR.

So go! Pray! Chant! Dance nekkid! Cross your fingers! Your eyes! Anything!

So there's two batches of chocolate chip muffins (HUGE muffins. We don't make no sissy muffins here), one big pan of brownies, and shortly there'll be cake. (Or maybe there won't be because if I can't sleep then I'll get hungry. And if I get hungry I'll have a piece of cake. And if I have a piece of cake, I'll want milk to go with it... Hey, that sounds like the makings of a good story!)

Muffin, anyone?

Countdown to insanity

I should get fitted for my straight jacket now. (STFU - the old one doesn't fit.)

There's 29 days of school left until summer vacation.

Help me.

Mother's Day Quiz...

Should you wake up mom:
a. with litling tones of "I love you, mom! Happy Mother's Day!"
b. by screaming in her face, "KASIA BIT ME!!"

When mom wakes up and sees the kitchen she is surprised by:
a. a clean kitchen (with the exception of the floor) like it was left when she went to bed.
b. a total wreck, including tape and wrapping paper leftover from wrapping mom's presents and evidence that someone had ice cream for breakfast.

Should mom:
a. go out to a nice dinner, paid for out of bill money, for FIL (birthday), MIL, SIL, BIL, and nephew?
b. get dinner made for her (or taken out to dinner by her family)?

When mom says, "If you guys straighten up the kitchen, we can watch a movie together!" you:
a. clean up the kitchen, lickety split. It's a win-win!
b. fight until you both lose the movie and are sent to bed early.
c. scream at your mother about how it's always about everyone else in the house and it's never about you to the point you make your mother cry.
d. B and C, but not A.

My girls did try to make me some nice stuff though. They both worked hard on anagrams and a note to me. And they bought me a gift from the garage sale down the street with their own money. I had to giggle though. Bug saw a garden nick nack amongst the dining room table clutter and thought I'd like it, so she wrapped it up as a gift. (I had bought this for myself a week or so ago and never showed it to them. I just hadn't put it in the garden yet!) At least she knows what I like! LOL!

(And daddies, just remember - Father's Day is payback for Mother's Day.)

Act your age!

I, like many other moms, want to give my kids what I couldn't have (or didn't have) as a kid. And I want to help them grow at the same time. Such a dilemma, eh?

Well Kellogg's has launched Childhood is Calling. Check out the report "Just Being Kids." It's an interesting read. Here are just a few of the tips:

Schedule downtime - These days, we're just so swamped with life - flitting here and there, TKD, AWANA, Polish dance, tournaments, performances, school events, etc...

Communicate - Really take time to listen to your kids. Gone are the days of "you'll do what I want you to do and you have no choices." If you give them choices and really listen to what they have to say, you'll be surprised. (Yeah, ok, sometimes my kids still don't get choices, but we try to balance it out.) Have *them* create a game and play it by *their* rules.

Strike a pose balance - All fun and no work makes for a messy house. All work and no play makes for a crabby Chicka crabby kids and a boring home environment (that is unless you play Cleaning Games! Hah!)

Make Learning Fun - Go out with your handy, dandy bug guide and scout out what insects are in your garden. Are they good, helpful bugs? Or should we squash them get rid of them? Go to the park and look for different kinds of flowers. (just be sure ahead of time you know what poison ivy and poison oak look like or you'll be learning what the healing powers of Caldicort are!)

Meal Prep Can Be Magical - Yep. It's magic when the kids work together and play "head chef" and "saucier" and "runner." The food tastes pretty good, too.

We play a lot of "remember when..." and I have to admit the standard reply to "Mom, I'm bored" is "go clean your room!" But this is a neat site for you to refresh your kid activity and reconnect ideas.

But go check out the site. There's lots more to see and do, including recipes, games, etc

Typos...

When typing about thirsting for the lord and that he is the only one who can satisfy you, don't type "thrusting" in place of "thirsting."

I'm just sayin'...

Trying to stick it in backwards and upside down

I grabbed it gently and stuck it in and nothing happened. I pulled it out. A little more forcefully I stuck it in again expecting something magical to begin. Again, nothing. Should I be more gentle? Should I shove it in harder? In and out repeatedly and still nothing's happening.

Hmm... Maybe it's just because it's so small. Maybe size really IS everything. It fits in there tight enough. I'll try to stick it in and pull it out again and see what happens, but I'm getting a little sweaty from the effort already. Maybe the rubber is getting in the way.


Oh you sicko. I didn't mean that! This little bitty jump drive finally arrived. It's so cute! But I'm not for cute. I'm for service. Serve me!!

Normally USB items have the little USB insignia on the top, correct? (Yep. Just checked all the cords and jumps that I have.) Weird! This one has it on the bottom. It also comes with a nifty little cord and a rubber case where you just peel back one end and stick it in your port. So I flip it around (with the USB insignia on the bottom), stick it back in and VOILA!! Magic.