Almost Human (Finally!)

Well, I must say that I am feeling much better now. Then again, even the slightest bit better would feel momentous after last week. I hope with everything I have that none of you gentle readers come down with the flu EVER! I don't think anyone enjoys that "hit by a truck" feeling, but it would have been preferable to what I felt last week. So, now that I'm back to being able to move around, I realize that everything in my life is running about 10 days behind! The tree hasn't even come down yet! I must spend a couple of days trying to get back on schedule. I'm hoping that I can keep moving for most of today. I tried yesterday and pretty much collapsed around 3:00 and ended up taking a nap. I don't even like naps! Sheesh! And yes, I get pretty whiny when I am sick. It's a good thing that doesn't happen often -- T-man would probably start living in his workshop if it did.

In these first couple of weeks of the new year, I'm finding a lot of "resolutions" and "life-style change lists" amongst the blogging beaders on the world wide web. It's interesting to me that several people put "organizing my paperwork" and "organizing my workspace" right up there on top. It's nice to know that there are others like me -- unorganized, creative folks who just want to make stuff. Don't you just hate it when real life intrudes?? So, what are your beady/artsy/creativity inspired goals for 2008? Please don't be shy. Share with us. Come on. You know you want to.

So This is Christmas

Okay, I've finally got a bit of Christmas spirit. Pam wanted to know if I had gotten it from a bottle. *snicker* Not yet, but I am spending Christmas Eve where I am not very wanted and don't really want to be, so it may well come from a bottle that afternoon and into that night. I'll try to be good, but I'm not promising anything. Oh, the things we do for love. Pass the spiked nog, please. My recipe for egg nog calls for egg nog (duh), cinnamon, Cool Whip (or comparable whipped topping) and Bicardi black or gold label rum. Put everything in the glass/punch bowl to taste. Yum!!! But not yet -- we'll have the first cups Sunday night, then Monday night, then Tuesday night. And then we'll have it again New Year's morning, but probably without the rum.

Hey, guess what? I slept last night. I realize it was from sheer exhaustion, but I did sleep. T-man had to leave at 2:30 this morning to be in Plano by 7:00. For you non-Texans, that's driving from just south of Austin up to just north of Dallas. And he got there just before 7:00 as planned. I vaguely remember him leaving. He should be home about the same time as A. I would have gone with him, but I had already promised to eat lunch with A at school. She was honored for her scholastic performance this past six weeks. She was very happy that I was there. She's going to be in junior high next year. Hard to believe, isn't it? (That was directed to all the adopted aunties in her life!)

We're putting the tree up tonight, but no one knows that yet. Tomorrow night, we want to take A to look at lights she hasn't seen since she was just a year old --- 37^th Street in Austin and the Trail of Lights at Zilker Park. We used to walk to the Trail of Lights from our old house in Austin when N was in grade school and A was just a sprout. It should be fun.

I have my first big beady income to-do for 2008 already planned. See? Making plans for changes is already working. So, first there was getting up earlier. The next change on the list is to become more active and work with my army of doctors to get all this excess weight off me one way or another. I'm stopping short of liposuction, but if I thought it would work without being in horrendous pain and the insurance company would pay for it, I'd do it. My third 2008 lifestyle change will be listed tomorrow morning (and maybe a couple more). Remember -- changes, not resolutions! There's a rumor that if you do something for 90 days it becomes part of your lifestyle. Three months doesn't seem that long in the great scheme of things, and that's how I have to look at it -- it's not that long in the great scheme of things and I'll be a better, healthier, happier person for it.

Have I mentioned that I have some of the best friends a person could ask for? The other High Priestesses of the Temple of the Goddess of Beading have arranged for me to attend the 2008 Texas Bead Retreat. This will be the very first time I've been able to go. This is a picture of us taken this past April. By the way, those tumblers are full of Cosmos. Never again, never again, never again. My Bead Angels are flexing their fingers, ready for more work regarding that first beady income to-do. I'll get a picture of them next time we are all together. I'm already planning our first pot-luck bead class for 2008, which T-man will be teaching. And Pam and I have some things we'll be working on very soon.

Go check out Art Bead Scene's 12 Days of Beading. It's great, with quite a few links for wonderfully beady things. Don't forget Suzanne Cooper's Countdown to Christmas. And tomorrow will be Margot Potter's last installment of Ornament Thursday, with lots of eye candy.

Tomorrow is cookie baking day. Just imagine my children when they get home, greeted by the smell of freshly baked cookies (mmmmmm) and the sight of mom covered in flour and drinking wine straight from the bottle (Oh MOM!). Did you know that Costco sells this giant box of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix? It makes 18 dozen cookies, I kid you not. Sorry, no homemade cookies here, except for the Tollhouse cookies. I leave all that to my youngest sister who proudly shows off her baking skills every Christmas. I will take my homemade lemon curd pie to Mom's, though. So tune in tomorrow beadlings (and others) for more items for change, maybe a picture of the tree, and other various and sundry STUFF that makes my world go round!

Insomnia, Insomnia, Insomnia

If you say it over and over, it's almost hypnotic -- insomnia. It could almost be a mantra -- insomnia. It's like the words to a song (with BIG apologies to Def Leppard):

"Oh, I got insomnia, insomnia
Oh can you feel it, do you believe it?
It's such a horrible insomnia
Insomnia
(insomnia)
Insomnia
(when you get that feelin)
You better believe it!
(better try sleepin')
Cos it'd be a miracle, if I could sleep
Oh babe, you say you will
(rock me to sleep)
Start rockin' baby
(oh)
Baby
(oh)
Snore
(snore)
Snore
(CRAP)
No snores for me"

Crapola, I haven't had more than 12 hours total over the past three nights and it's starting to show. Many, many years ago Steve Martin (he's so dreamy to me because he's so friggin' intelligent!) was on David Letterman. It was probably during the height of his stand-up popularity and he came out with these tiny paper bags taped under his eyes. When Letterman asked about them, Steve burst into tears and went on about how tired he was and how he hadn't gotten any sleep and it caused the bags under his eyes and the makeup department couldn't hide them. Well, today I have those very same bags.

It would be different if I hadn't gotten sleep because I drove nine hours straight through to Alpine right after T-man got home from work, or we drove 20 hours straight through to Pennsylvania, or (here's the big one) I was driving straight through to a bead retreat in Napa Valley (someday, kids, someday). I can handle that type of staying awake. Remember when we were younger and pulling an all nighter (for whatever reason) was NOTHING?? We even got up the next day and stumbled to class, even if class wasn't until 1:00. I won't be able to get a nap today either, because I must go to COSTCO (say that with an echo to get the full effect). Yes, it's grocery day. I'll clear some more stuff out of the living room and try to bead a bit tonight and probably head to bed around 8:00.

Back to yesterday's topic of lifestyle changes for 2008. Don't laugh too hard when you read this one, okay?. One of the big things I want to change (drum roll please) is to start getting up earlier. Yep, yep, yep, the insomniac wants to cut her sleep time even more!!! There you go. That's what I leave you with today. I want to become an early riser. That and the fact that there is no Steve Martin fansite and I can be the first to register one on Rotten Tomatoes. Hmmm . . .