Outnumbered Party of One

Depending on the age of your kids, this post will make you laugh, cry or be very very glad your kids or grown. Or you will think that I am extremely disorganized which means that 1)You are correct 2)You are a better person than I am 3)I'm not having the type of week that I can be happy that you have it all together so I don't want to hear about it. 4)I'm still new at this being outnumbered thing and the only way I'm not losing it is by telling myself that it (and I) will get better in time (like when the last one leaves for college...)


Some mornings make me want to cry...or nap...or never EVER leave the house ever again.

Here is an example of what might happen on any given morning that we have to leave the house early in the morning (before say...10 am).

Probably somewhere around 530 or 600: Teddy wakes up and wants to nurse. He is too tired to do an effective job, so he keeps falling asleep, and waking back up outraged and 'starving.' By the time he is actually done eating, it's 30 minutes before I have to get up and I'm so stressed about getting every possible minute of sleep I can't fall asleep until 5 minutes before the alarm goes off.

Alarm goes off. For a more concrete example, we'll say 700. I get up trying very hard to not wake the baby sleeping on my arm. I get dressed very quickly, use the toilet and sink two floors down so I don't wake the kids before I get a chance to get coffee made. The flush of the toilet wakes Gus. C'MON! I hear his door slam. I race up two flights of stairs to head him off. Too late! He jumps into my bed with the baby. "Hi baby!! Mommy look! Baby is awake!!" He gives him a germ laden kiss and a pat on the head then runs downstairs yelling "EAT-EAT!" Now the baby is screaming, but if I don't follow Gus immediately, half my fridge will be on the kitchen floor by the time I calm the baby and Gus will have picked out breakfast, whether that's strawberries and yogurt, or pickles, or raw eggs (apparently, eggs are "ucky" when eaten raw with shells on...). Why don't we lock the fridge? Well, that would require remembering to do so before bed...and knowing where the lock is at any given time.

I get Gus settled with an appropriate breakfast, dress the baby, nurse the baby, clean Gus up and get him dressed shoes and all which will hopefully stay on. It's probably somewhere around 740 by the time all this is done. My coffee is cold and untouched. I have not eaten. I give Gus a coloring book or other task that were I not trying to go somewhere would keep him occupied for an hour and put the baby in the bouncer. I start packing a diaper bag. I'm interrupted about 6 times by requests for food, Gus messing with the baby, Gus messing with the cats, random tantrums, wanton stuff scattering just to make me crazy, or going to the bathroom to eat toothpaste or "warsh hands" (and face and hair and shirt and floor). I'm trying so hard not to plop him in front of the TV all the time, partially because he becomes a miniature zombie, but also because if we have to leave before he's done with his "show," it will be a screaming, physical wrestling match to get him in the car. I digress...

I lose my sense of humor about the delays and strap both kids into car seats so I can finish packing. It's probably 830 by now and I'm still hungry and caffeine deprived...and LATE!

I do a once through the house. Do a cat head count. Double check that I have spare clothes for both kids and plenty of diapers. Make sure I have Blanket and Paci and 'Warter' (that's water for those of you whose toddlers don't have southern accents). Grab a granola bar and a Pepsi for me. Turn the car on. Remember that I forgot to give the cat his medicine which reminds me that I forgot Teddy's medicine...and oh, yeah there's a load of laundry in the washer that will be mildewed if I don't switch it before I leave but there are clothes in the dryer, where's a laundry basket to put these in!

 Run back in two or three more times to get so-and-so's casserole dish or that shirt they left over here the last time they were here or the paperwork for the doctor's visit.

Leave. Maybe make it out of the neighborhood or even to the toll road before I remember what else I forgot. Decide if it's worth going back for. Look in the rear view mirror. That's right, I was interrupted getting dressed. I forgot to comb my hair. AGAIN.

This last part usually has pieces that get missed. For example Thursday when I went to Michigan for the day (I was gone about 15 hours) I came home to find 5 trains in the toilet upstairs, the water in the downstairs sink running full blast, the cats completely out of food not that it would have mattered because one had been locked in the office and one was in the garage because SOMEONE opened the garage door into the laundry room. Once last week Gus went with no pants while his dried in the dryer because he soaked through his diaper and I didn't bring a spare. On a different day he went without a shirt while I hand washed it because an aunt spoiled him with chocolate...while teething...in a white shirt. (Chocolate is horrible to get out once it's set). Gus had to wear one of Teddy's diapers when I forgot to bring enough of his. If I forget the blanket or paci and we are going to be out of the house for naptime...oh man...

I feel that I am really at a disadvantage here because the same kids that make getting out the door so hard also stole pieces of my brain in utero. I pretty sure at my pre-children intelligence level I could have handled getting in a car and leaving even with two midgets in tow with a lot more efficiency (or more importantly, dignity).

I caught myself daydreaming on the drive to Michigan. In my fantasy world my morning looks like this.

My alarm goes off, I get dressed, grab my coffee and have a bowl of cereal that is NOT soggy from sitting for an hour while I'm constantly interrupted. I grab my keys, my phone and my purse (which has NOT unpacked itself while my back was turned and distributed it's contents to different parts of the house).

Then I LEAVE. Period.

Budget Smudget

Rob and I began working on our new budget this week. We figure we have lived here for three months now so we have a general idea of how much it's going to cost us to live here. I went to update my old budget spreadsheet and discovered that it doesn't exactly reflect our current lives. We have been off budget for about eight months now with preparing to move, moving, and settling in here.

Our old budget made me want to laugh hysterically, cry, or shoot myself in the head. It had categories such as "entertainment" which included things like the symphony and movie theaters and fancy dinners. "Travel" which was trips to see family and drives under eight hours to friends. Needless to say, we don't drive anywhere more than an hour with Gus right now unless under threat of death and I'm pretty sure the last time I was at the symphony was while pregnant. We haven't gone to a movie since we took him, spent the whole movie in the hallway with Gus and the movie people took pity on us and gave us two free tickets, which we never got to use.

What was missing was even funnier. No category for buying a new wardrobe every two months for a sprouting weed. No category for a toddler eating us out of house and home. No category for bulk packages of smarties to use as bribes. No reflection of the quadrupled volume of laundry soap we go through now. No budgeted area for toys. No budget for my ruined clothing or shoes that have chunks chewed out of them.

Do they have boarding school for toddlers? Maybe that would be cheaper?

Man that fish was "This Big!"

I took Gus to the botanical gardens today in an effort to get some cute pictures. That was a complete failure. He did, however, really enjoy running around...and throwing his shoe at the fish...and attempting to jump in the pond himself.

Luckily the shoe landed on a ledge out over the pond, but out of reach over a rickety railing. As I was trying to figure out how to retrieve it, a really nice giant wandered up, took off his shoe and sock and retrieved it with his toes. Gus (and mommy) were very impressed.

After that fun episode, we wandered to the other side of the pond where Gus dropped to his belly, shimmied under the railing and had his head and arms into the pond before I managed to catch his feet. There I was, holding a squirming, dripping toddler by the ankle and briefly debating if I should hand off my camera to one of the other people there and ask them to take a picture of me and my 'catch.' He sure is longer than any fish I've ever caught!

Look!

Gus has a new word--

Look!

Most of the three hours back from Indy (in addition to most of the last two days) he tugs my hand points at something "Look!" Then I give whatever it is its name and he finds something else for me to name. I feel like Adam in the Bible.

Mama! Look!

That's a tree...

Look!

That's a truck...

Look!

That's the carpet...

Look!

That's mommy's toe...

Look!

That's grass...

It's a feeling of great power, being the namer of things. The up-to-no-good part of me wants to tell him something incorrect and laugh while Rob tries to figure out why Gus calls shoes flamingos.

Sarah Vs. the Black Thumb (part whatever)

My vegetable garden is in! HA! Stop laughing, it's only the end of June and in my family that's actually not half bad!

I am so not going to have vegetables before three feet of snow blows in off the lake in early October...

I'm telling myself this is so I can learn how to make seeds sprout (and I have the whole summer to try over and over again until I get it right. By next year, I might know what I'm doing.

That sounds plausible right?

Baby-proof? Ha!

"Never underestimate the problem solving abilities of those who really do have all day." -Andy Kerr

A checklist:

Baby gates-scaled

Lever style doorknob locks-conquered

Stove knob covers-mastered

Oven lock-Mom, this one only kept me out for a day, you're really going to have to try harder than this!

Adhesive strap type cupboard lock-ripped off (C'mon, I figured this out before I was ten months old!)

Interior mounted latch type cupboard lock-no problem, get a stick and scoot the chemicals to the opening, reach in and pull them out

Stuff relocated to higher ground-this only works if you bolt the chairs to the floor and take away anything I could stack and climb

To Do:

Lazy susan lock

Doors and cupboards locked with keys

Ahh! So far it's been a very productive month!

--Gus

What Goes In...

Today is diaper laundry day. Ah, the joy of discovery, consternation and straight up "What in the world?"

Let me back up...

Three weeks ago, I messed up and bought waaay too many hot dog buns. No problem, we'll have hot dogs for three or four nights right? Problem was I didn't have them all stashed in the same place so we would be to the last bun or two (and fantasizing about cereal, salad, macaroni and cheese--basically anything but hot dogs) and another sweep of the kitchen would reveal two more packages. If I had known that I had seven packages of buns I would have reversed my position on frozen bread and thrown those suckers in the freezer. To my credit, I did have Gus eat a slightly more balanced diet than Rob and I, even though I'm certain Gus was the one person in the family who didn't mind the "All hot dogs, all the time" state of existence regardless of what they do to his diapers.

So after two weeks of hot dogs for lunch and dinner...we go camping! Yay! More hot dogs! and marshmallows, and greasy burgers, and massive amounts of fruit and sand and rocks and coins and sidewalk chalk. This kid's digestive system is getting run through its paces. Lucky for me, I had opted for disposable diapers for the trip. If I were smart, I would have used them for the week after we got back while his system was still trying to sift through all that sludge.

This week's diapers have been by far the raunchiest diapers I have ever seen in my life. If I were pregnant right now, I would have thrown them all away and ordered new ones rather than having to look at a single one for a second time.

As if that weren't enough fun...we have had to sift and squish through every poopy diaper this week looking for the coin he swallowed (which I finally found today).

Incidentally...we start potty training tomorrow!

Grasping at Sanity

See that crazy lady with two carts? The one who is wearing a blissful smile like she's on a beach somewhere in her head? Don't judge me. Before today, in the last month I had been out of the house for a total of five hours...count 'em...FIVE hours without my child. Do you know what that sort of closeness does to a person?

My pastor's wife took Gus for me today for about five hours...so I could go to Walmart. I was supposed to go other places. I spent the entire time there. Having recently transplanted from a city with a reasonable cost of living and multiple grocery shopping options I was able to snub the blue and white wonder with all the ferociousness I possess. Now, we live in a place where we can't afford the milk. Seriously. Since I refuse to pay $4.00/gallon for the cheapest milk on the shelf, I now drive twenty minutes to grocery shop and I have a diminutive man on my hands that won't let me make more than one stop (no shopping the circulars or couponing for me for a bit!), I have been forced to choose between abandoning our savings plan or sucking it up and shopping at Walmart.

I was shopping for a 20 person camping trip this weekend so I guessed correctly and grabbed two carts at the beginning. Before hitting the grocery section I grabbed a gallon of bubbles and a pack of disposable diapers, immediately announcing to everyone that I was a mother. Probably every fourth person I passed had some sort of comment, either directly to me or whispered to the person with them.

"I wonder how many kids she has?"

"Boy you sure have your hands full, don't you?"

"Now there's a woman on a mission!"

"It's difficult for you to maneuver, let me get out of your way."

"Mommy! Mommy! That lady has two carts! Mommy! That lady has two carts! She has two carts! Look at how many carts she has mommy! Look! Mommy! She's getting lots of stuff mommy! Why does she need two carts mommy! Mommy! Look at that lady!"

"Did you hire a baby sitter or guilt your husband into staying home with them?"

Ahh, nothing like making yourself a spectacle. It was almost as bad as the time I bought twenty 100 oz. bottles of Tide at once, also at a Walmart if I remember correctly... Twenty bottles of Tide and a pack of Gum. $51.00 for three years worth of laundry detergent and a week of minty fresh breath. Totally worth the staring and whispering that followed me through the store.

I had so much fun I've almost forgiven Walmart for being, well, Walmart. Go ahead and stare people of Walmart, you may think I'm nuts but this is the most sane I've felt in three months!

Poison Control

After a lovely breakfast, I was changing over laundry when I smelled diaper rash cream. I looked around the corner and found my son, slathering diaper rash cream all over himself and in his hair. An inspection of his mouth showed that he had also eaten some. I read the back of the tube which emphatically stated to call poison control immediately. I'm not sure why their number isn't already in my phone being as I call them at least twice a month but after I looked it up, I put it in my phone as my number one speed dial.

The nice lady laughed and said it was probably fine, but since it was in his eyelashes to put him in the shower for 20 minutes to do an eye flush. She also said that it might affect his diapers and cause vomiting later if he had ingested a significant amount.

While I had her on the phone, I asked about bug spray since he had gotten a mouthful of that yesterday. Apparently, high concentrations of DEET cause seizures in little kids so that is one more thing to worry about at our upcoming camping trip. I'm not sure it is possible to babyproof a campsite. Lock everything dangerous in cars? The fire too?

After we showered and he had a nap, I fed him a watermelon snack. Twenty minutes later he was throwing up what appeared to be blood. After a minor short lived freak out, I remembered what he had eaten and stopped looking for a local pediatrician. As a side note, I probably should get that lined up before it becomes urgent.

He seems totally fine now, but I have to wonder what is the attraction to eating stuff like that? Bug spray? dryer lint? diaper rash creme? crayons? play dough? febreeze? hair mouse? cat food? That stuff can't taste good. Milk out of a bottle? No thanks! I'd rather dump it in mommy's shoe and lick it up that way.

What's that Smell?

Watching a child grow from tiny, squalling newborn into a robust toddler involves all the senses. The delicate feel of their skin, the amazing overnight changes visible in their features as they grow, the random things that end up in your mouth as a parent (saliva, pacifiers that have been dropped who knows where, occasionally some things much nastier) and of course the darling little coos to the ear splitting shrieks. But the parade of smells...there is just something about the odors of childhood that amazes me.

I remember when he was a newborn and I would sit and hold him with my nose pressed to his scalp, inhaling what has to be the most delicious non-smell food in the world. Two weeks later colic and a horrible case of reflux set in leaving him smelling like baby spit up most of the time, that sort of 'off' milk smell that doesn't discourage proximity but can usually be fixed by changing their clothes. The diapers of this period also weren't terribly off-putting, with the sickly sweet smell of breast milk poop.

Fast forward 8 months and he is a mobile stink machine on wheels. As a result of consuming copious amounts of table food and an inadequate digestive system, washing diapers had become a distasteful act, not to be done until absolutely imperative. On the plus side, the reflux had all but gone away and we went a couple months without him throwing up at all.

By the time he had been on cows milk a month I was back to doing diaper laundry every other day. Any longer than that in the diaper pail and an accidental breath through my nose left me losing me lunch in the trash can. These days find me wandering into a room olfactory stations blaring...what is that smell? I sniff high and low to find the culprit whether it be the smell of raw fear emanating from my cats, a week old bottle stuffed in a toy bin or the darling emissions coming from a 25 pound midget. Occasionally, I find that the lingering odor is smeared poop on my own clothes from (hopefully) the last diaper change. I can't begin to count the number of times I've smelled something in public and without breaking in conversation lifted Gus to nose level to smell his diaper. If it wasn't him, I've embarrassed whoever I was talking to that tried to stink and not claim it.

Today I walked into his room after nap time and smelled the unmistakable stench of vomit. I pulled him out of the crib and sniffed him down. Nope-clean. I smelled each stuffed animal and blanket as it came out of the crib. No dice. I found a sock at one corner of the crib that reeked and upon further inspection, Gus had removed it, thrown up in it and tucked in in the corner of the crib and taken a nap. None of the crib bedding smelled except where it had contacted the sock and his clothes were fine. Laying the sock on the ground while I stripped the bed I was distracted by a tug on my leg. Staring up at me was a sweet child. He grinned at me, said "Please?" and handed me the offending sock. Ugh...

And then of course there is the vague odor of urine that every toddler seems to have clinging to them. No amount of baby wiping or sponge bathing seems to get rid of that sour diaper smell the way their bottoms sitting in a bath tub for 30 minutes can do. Unfortunately Gus has eczema. He cannot be bathed everyday without breaking out into a ferocious rash that resembles what I imagine morphing into a lizard would look like. Most of the time he gets a bath every 3 or 4 days. So every 3 or 4 days, I hold him close and breath in his sweet smell.

I truly believe God eases us into this. If I had been handed as fully mobile, loud but not terribly communicative, drooling, sticky, stinky toddler that I have now, I'm pretty sure I would have feigned insanity rather than voluntarily taken it home with me. Lucky for both of us, they gave me a sweet smelling, mild tempered, tiny, angelic newborn. I was given an opportunity to love and grow attached to this wrinkled creature so now, when it vomits in a sock and hands it to me, I just sigh, throw the sock in the laundry and sent the midget on its way with a kiss on the head and a pat on the bottom. And then go wash my hands in bleach.

Quick update

Rundown of the last couple weeks...

1. Joe got married, I got a new sister! Yay!
2. We all got sick in TN...not yay!
3. Gus turned six months old
4. Gus went on his first camping trip and handled the great outdoors like a champ!
5. Gus cut his first two teeth
6. We are all still sick...yuck
7. Gus is still in his not sleeping holding pattern
8. Gus hit 29 inches, the limit on the current car seat but I feel too yucky to go shopping for a bigger one
9. Spite family reunion where we got to eat lots of middle eastern food and meet all the new cousins that have entered the world in the last year or so
10. Four days back from camping and the laundry is still not caught up from camping (see no., 6 above)
11. Chana moved to Germany taking my favorite niece and brother-in-law with her...sad :(
12. I acknowledged defeat in the gardening sector
13. We are still in geographical limbo
14. We got Gus's six month photos done..Thanks Gail! He is adorable...as always

Well there is my five minute update. When things settle down and I feel better I will post more.

Apparently I Smell

I have noticed a very interesting little trend in the last couple months that has exponentially increased in the last couple weeks. Everywhere I go in the house I have at least one, usually two shadows. I suppose they are smelling the hormonal changes, but every time I sit down one of them jumps on my lap and rubs their faces on my belly. It is sorta weird, very funny and slightly inconvenient. Every time I stop moving I get swarmed by kitties winding around my feet, sitting on my lap or keyboard or desk or in between me and my dinner... I wonder if they will be this friendly with the baby?

Pumpkin

I finally figured out how to get pictures from my phone to the computer...so here is Rob's pumpkin, a month and a half late but hey...

It was supposed to have fangs and horns, but he said real babies were much scarier and I am inclined to agree with him.

Sarah Vs. Well, Umm, Old People

Old Lady: Where on your menu are the bacon and eggs?
Me: Umm, we don't have any
Old Lady: Why not? That is what I am in the mood for.
Me: Well, ma'am, this is a steakhouse that is never open for breakfast.
Old Lady: Well, now I have no idea what I want, I really wanted bacon and eggs.
Me: Well we have bacon and we have eggs, I see no reason why we couldn't make you a bacon and egg plate. Do you want toast too?
Old Lady: Yes please, do you have wheat toast?
Me: Well no, we have white bread, and we don't have a toaster, but we could grill it a little for you.
Old Lady: That will be fine, with some jam.
Me: All we have is mint jelly and raspberry puree for the cheesecake.
Old Lady: I guess that will have to do then.

In the kitchen

Me: I have an order for bacon eggs, toast and the raspberry syrup we put on cheesecake.
Cook: What?
Me: Its an old lady, she wants what she wants.
Cook: Why doesn't she go to Denny's across the street? Or Cracker Barrel?
Me: Well, her husband is getting a filet and a martini, I don't think he could get that at Denny's or Cracker Barrel.

At least they thought I was charming and accommodating and complemented me. Sometimes this "no rules" policy thing gets really funny.

Frankenberry

My friend Sarah and I go grocery shopping on Sundays together.

Sarah: Oo! look, Frankenberry cereal for a dollar a box!
Me: I haven't had that since I was a kid, grab me a box too.
Me: (Inspecting the box) I can't remember what it tastes like
Sarah: It tastes like sugar now put it in the cart

For the record, it tastes like the berry part of Crunch Berry cereal mixed with the marshmallows from Lucky Charms. Weird.

The Wiki Name Game

Still rather undecided about what to name our son, Rob and I played the Wikipedia game last night to get some ideas for a name. We went to Wikipedia, hit 'random article' and wrote down the first five male names that we found. After going through about fifteen articles, we finally found our five names...

1. Joseph
2. Joseph
3. Joseph (and these were all from separate articles)
4. Thomas
5. Walter


The really funny thing is we picked out the name Joseph for our firstborn when we got married four odd years ago and that was the name we had picked out until about two months into the pregnancy. We rejected it because my brother's name is Joseph and we didn't want it to get confusing. Here we are poised at the six month mark and it is still the only name we can agree on. Weird...

Smile!

This just made me smile today...

Have a wonderful day!

Wipeout

So for those of you who do watch TV, there is a new game show called wipeout. They have an obstacle called the big balls which consists of (surprise!) four large red bouncy balls that resemble frosting balloons on a cake. Now if the contestant takes too long contemplating how to make it across the big balls, they are 'motivated' by a large red pendulum.

An example of someone who almost gets motivated... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nym7HiwkUL4

I had my own encounter with the motivator last night. I came home from work and my hubby had decided to help me get around to tackling the laundry pile that I had been ignoring quite deliberately for four days. He has figured out that if he starts it I will fold it and put it away so it doesn't get wrinkly. Also, if it is in my kitchen it is much harder to ignore than in a hamper in the bedroom...

My Band

Here is my album cover from my band's first album. This was a lot of fun.

Rules

Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random” or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RandomThe first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.
Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7daysThird picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.(If you spend more than 5 minutes, you're doing it wrong.)

Band name @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snabba_cash

Quotation

What if there is a ruling that, uh, you cannot apply civil penalties to, uh, practicing sodomites?----Howard Phillips

25 Random Things...

Since I did this for facebook, I figure it should get posted here too although I modified some of it and fixed some errors in reason (thanks sissy!)

1. I have a small library in my office which is meticulously organized and cataloged...the only part of my house that is.
2. I cannot throw away my old floppy disks, even though we don't have a computer that will read them anymore.
3. I am slightly obsessive about list making.
4. The tape dispenser from my parents house is on my desk. It might be older than I am.
5. Current reading selection: Paradise Lost
6: Current music selection: Mozart's Mass in C Minor. If you haven't heard it...hear it...awesome.
7. Am either a very liberal republican or a very conservative democrat. Or something else entirely.
8. The four most populous authors in my book collection are Orson Scott Card, Raymond Feist, Dean Koontz and L.E. Modesitt Jr. So far haven't read much by those guys that I didn't like.
9. Am a member of the laziest book club ever. Originally formed to give moral support while we tackled books we were too scared to read on our own. Unfortunately, we have been giving each other reassurance and excuses not to read the selection.
10. Love snow, love cold, love Indiana, hate vacuuming
11. Love bandannas, wear them every chance I get
12. I am really not as grouchy as everyone seems to think I am
13. Correction on number 1, my pantry is a lesson in classic OCD behavior as well, closet too. Pretty much anywhere that you cant see when you walk in the door is meticulous. The main areas are a disaster.
14. I find paperwork very overwhelming. My mailman is lucky if I empty the mailbox twice a month. I'm really not trying to drive him crazy, I just forget until I realize I haven't paid bills in a while.
15. I wish Indy had a better recycling program
16. I have never gotten my Christmas cards out on time
17. I love Indianapolis. It is the perfect size city. Very little crime comparatively. Traffic is awesome for a big city. It has cultural activities and eccentric ones as well. It also has a sledding hill with a concrete strip at the bottom of it. Kinda sick if you ask me.
18. I wanted to be a trucker for a year in college.
19. I bite off more than I can chew regularly. I wouldn't know how to function any other way.
20. Last year after spending a winter in Alabama, when it snowed for the first time, I wrapped up in a comforter and took some tea out on the balcony and watched it snow for two hours.
21. I feel with the amount of mood swings and intense feelings I have, I should have been a poet or an artist or something angsty.
22. I am supposed to be writing a paper on economic forecasting for a Fortune 500 company of my choice. Sigh...
23. I love my parents and siblings and miss them like crazy. Sometimes I get angry with the nature of adulthood, how it separates us from loved ones.
24. I am terrified of dogs, but want a really really huge one someday, Malmut probably.
25. I think it is funny how disturbed my parents are by my sleep schedule, especially considering that I probably sleep far more hours than they do.