Urban Pests

1. Miss P's "crabby sandwich napkin song". Purple napkin a prop, not part of the lyrics.
   
2. Two-year-old's interpretation of being dosed with Tylenol for croup-related malaise: "Mama gave me medicine to make me stop crying."
3. Dog D. chasing the beam emitted from Maglite we used for raccoon-hunting expedition; she has no interest whatsoever in raccoons: Moving lights are higher on the hierarchy of potential threat.
   
4. Parker assuring self, brother, and me (in that order) that "raccoons are deathly afraid of dogs." Renzo standing on the porch, poised to bolt inside, not believing his sister for one single minute nor the web's plentiful proof of procyon lotor's amusing, rascally, and mostly benevolent nature.
5. Wikipedia*: "The first [urban raccoon] sightings were recorded in a suburb of Cincinnati in the 1920's."

*A highly addictive virtual substance; often abused by seekers of pointless knowledge. Please note: Original link cunningly points to additional links, thus exponentially increasing probability of addiction.

Lent

1. It's Wednesday, or it was about an hour and half ago.
2. Ashes.
3. Love's Executioner.
4. Soap operas: 15 hours worth of TV in about an hour.
   
5. While writing a lit review.
   

Seemingly Unrelated

1. Neighbor had baby number five at home. And she and her husband can support them all. While juggling bowling balls and dull steak knives.
   
2. I've grown enough sense to know that wanting another pet is not the same as needing one.
3. Saw a raccoon tonight; I can't help thinking they are cute, even though they used to turn over my flower garden on a regular basis.
4. They don't any more, largely due to a (different) neighbor whose sole purpose in life is transporting litters of pesky raccoons to the mountains. Whilst stoned and/or drunk.
   
5. The word "whilst". I periodically try to revive speech patterns from Victorian-era novels. That usually lasts one day in a row.
   

Spin

1. Resistance to forming good habits* becomes a plus when applied to bad habits**.
2. Molasses-like RAM on this laptop matches current brain RAM.
3. On the other hand, neither aforementioned device runs hot, so using them in bed*** does not mask menopausal symptoms.
4. At least I'm not bleeding.
5. And I don't get grand mal seizures.

* For instance, I don't write here everyday
**But I don't drink or smoke
*** No, not that way

Wearing Clodhoppers

1. Linda's visit last weekend: like a salve on my soul. I have that sense of being home when I'm with her, feel so blessed that she lets me into tender heart.
   
2. Feeling deep down that my daughter is happy. That's worth a million small graces.
3. Unconditional canine love.
4. Invited to Phi Alpha Phi honor society.
5. The smell of rain.
   

Consecutive Days?

Well, I was posting every day for awhile. And then I didn't.

A million excuses, but the biggest one is my biggest bitch against myself: I just get so overwhelmed by what normal people can take on--and what I myself used to be able to handle. Just frozen into inaction, which feeds the inadequacy, which freezes me to the point of brittleness.

This time I'll pick back up, post rather ungracefully about grace.

Dog-Day Afternoon

1. A big storm on the way.
   
2. Holing up.
3. Facebook. There, I said it.
4. House. Ditto
5. My dogs.
   

Migraine (and How it Became a Grace)

1. Sleeping in.
2. Art everywhere I look.
3. Seeing the world in terms of possible research.
4. Diet Coke with vitamins & minerals, because it's like Fig Newtons for breakfast--really healthy if you think about it in just the right way.
5. Lists.
   

Giggling Long-Distance

1. I'm sort of keeping up on my grace posts!
2. Turned in paper #2 for my writing class. Pretty much at the stroke of midnight, but still.
3. One of my dearest friends, L., is coming to visit me this weekend and I am so looking forward to the long talks, the giggling, the food and drink, the pure comfort of her presence. Geography keeps us apart too much; usually when we do see each other it's at huge family gatherings passing each other in the kitchen. This visit I only have to share her with my ex-husband and his wife. Fortunately I like them too.
4. A quick poke on FB led to a call from my friend S., who lives across the world. Between my phone phobia (I don't answer unless the moon and sun are aligned perfectly), the hours that I keep (mornings and I do not get along), and the time difference (11 hours?), we rarely speak on the phone (and I thank her for not giving up on me). She gave me a much-needed pep talk on facing the blank page (head-on) and the usual giggles and insights and love, which I'm sure I returned in spades.
5. Did you notice the giggling part?
   

Two Days Late and You Know the Rest

1. Made it to my first class on time. Just.
2. Guilty pleasure: The Bachelor. I admit it, I like some reality shows. My favorite is Big Brother.
3. Cold, windy, but brilliantly clear day.
4. Mail from Kerry!
5. I can now return the turquoise pashmina scarf Mom lent me last summer.
   

The Prince and Princess P.

1. Watching Prince Caspian again, with Parker sighing each time he comes on-screen. I think she has a little crush.
2. Trimming the kids' hair; I love cutting hair (of people I love).
3. Then quiet the rest of the day. I like quiet.
4. Discovering an old song, new to me: A Stone's Throw Away (Style Council).
5. Arm asleep at keyboard, sweet Delilah's fuzzy face using it as a headrest.
   

This One's for You, Baby

1. Spending the day with my birthday girl, who is 27 years old (!) and really could have chosen to spend the day with any number of other people. I am blessed to have such an spirited, intelligent, talented, and beautiful person in my life; lucky to count her among my best friends. Happy birthday to my baby, Celeste Nicole. I owe you a cake.
   
2. Mexican food from the local hole-in-the-wall; comfort food.
3. Extra RAM in my antique laptop.
   
4. Friday night sleepover with the grandkids. Cuddling on sofa, discovering the eight flavors of Necco Wafers, finishing (and loving) The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
5. The sound of rain coming down hard on a corrugated tin roof.
   

Behavior

1. Basil's Bavarian Bakery DUPLEX Sandwich Cremes from the vending machine in the admin building ~ only $1.00!
2. Seeing my lovely friend Michelle on Wednesday afternoons, passing between classes with the softest hug.
3. The trend I'm seeing of American women happily holding hands in public, Japanese schoolgirl style.
4. Having my dog read my mind; behaving* perfectly (almost) on the train.
5. This makes me want to get out the glue gun, some rhinestones, and my cellphone.

*not getting up at every stop or every 2 minutes, whichever comes sooner

Trumped

1. The engineer person who held the train for me this morning
2. Bluetooth that works well
3. Cloudy skies, chance of rain: even though I need the sunshine, we could really use the rain here. Concern about drought therefore trumps SAD.
4. The wind kicking up, leaves scattering everywhere
5. Brown rice spicy shrimp sushi
   

Memory Leak

Okay, some whining first: I am doing this tonight because I don't want to bag on my commitment, not because I feel like it. My computer is running so slowly, it is painful. I'm pretty patient, but this is ridiculous. It appears that I have a memory leak (with already minimal RAM) somewhere and I just don't feel like continuing to put energy into it. But anyway.

Progress

1. Finished and submitted my first term paper of the semester (610/8000 words)
2. Poetic language possibly seeping into scientific paper
3. Operant conditioning when applied correctly really does work wonders with bratty dog
4. Absolutely love what I am studying this semester
5. Warm winter day
   

OCD Procrastinator*

1. Flair from my sister: "OCD procrastinator. Do it right, but do it later."
2. Once a week class that's done in an hour, rather than the advertised three hours.
3. Clean house.
4. No naked house cleaners.
5. Old baggy jeans. That are still baggy.

*Neglected to post yesterday, so this is Monday's; another one to follow!

Middle of the Ish

1. Waking up earlyish on a Sunday, with just a little prodding from Lilah
2. Going back to sleep midmorning on my comfy couch, sunlight warming me
3. Feeling on top of school (I usually feel out of control until midsemester, get it briefly together, only to flail my way to finals certain that I'm going to fail everything), and so enjoying it. Even though I've felt certain since the beginning about what I want to do, I get this shock of joy that I really do love the field I've chosen.
   
4. Lila making piggish noises out of pure happiness
5. Getting to bed earlyish, with a good-so-far book: Special Topics in Calamity Physics