Pondering...

In Buddhist ethics, the Anguttaranikaya identifies four categories of people: (1) those who live neither for their own good nor for the good of others; (2) those who live for the good of others but not for their own good; (3) those who live for their own good but not for the good of others; and (4) those who live for both their own good and for the good of others.

Which am I, and which shall I be?

17 Months

Today, Sprout turns 17 months old. Time flies and flies.

Last night, he nursed constantly (and I can tell you, this is not comfy with a baby with teeth) - the thunder storm kept him on edge practically all night, so it was the only way for him to sleep. We were awake every couple of hours, I think, as I seem to recall looking at the clock at 1, 2 and 4am, at least. So, today he's cranky and I feel like poo.

Think I might crawl into bed with him for a bit of a nap so I can get back to work tonight... time's running out, badly.

Yup. Time flies.

New Blog

I have started a new blog for games, songs, activities, poems, rhymes, etc., for Sprout. I find I am Googling old songs all the time, as my mind seems to be as leaky as a sieve when it comes to everything but the chorus of all the old songs I sang when I was a kid. I don't want to Google them more than once any more, so I wanted a place to put them.

Our song book, here.

Yup - Up Too Late

I can tell I've over done it a bit tonight... just flipped out, because I thought my ear bud was a giant black bug. The imaginary insects are never a sign of well-restedness.

Got a bunch done, though, if that's any consolation... however, Sprout will be up in less than four hours, so... ouch. Tomorrow's gonna be rough.

Yowzers

Got some stuff done, swept the floors, washed the stroller cover (finally - and what a bitch that was to get off), cleaned up the toys, washed down some of Sprout's play things, AND did some good, solid dissertation work.

Not a bad day's returns, really - now if I could be that productive every day, I might get somewhere...

What Day is it?

HA HA - Joke's on Mommy

Remember Dec finally producing the lost remote to the DVD player yesterday? Well, today the DVD player broke down.

Serves me right.

One Mystery Solved... Sort Of

My DVD remote has been MIA since the middle of February, and I searched everywhere. I knew Dec couldn't have removed it from the house, but other than that, I really figured it was lost until we moved.

This morning, while waiting for the eggs to boil, I was checking my email. I looked over to where Dec was playing... lo and behold! He was sitting there, calmly, chewing on the DVD remote.

No fanfare. No ceremony. Still no idea where it had been. He just produced it out of the same thin air he hid it in.

Baby's have strange and mysterious powers.

Thought for Today

You can learn a lot about how kids think about problems by reading the comments on YouTube videos, such as this episode of Arthur, where Buster and Arthur get in trouble over a toy stolen from a drugstore.

Very useful source of info for parents-in-training, I think.

It's Raining All Over the World

They have confirmed that the human remains found yesterday are indeed those of Tori Stafford.

Isn't is amazing how the loss of a child you never knew can make you cry? The clouds this morning suit my mood, as will the thunder we are meant to get later today - sad and angry. There's nothing else to feel about the case right now, except to say I am so relieved she isn't out in the ditch like trash any longer, but can now be laid to rest with dignity.

Miserable wastes of humanity that did this, may you never, ever have another moment's rest or respite as long as your horrible existences stretch on.

Sprout just giggled and plastered a banana sticker to my toe. And then tried to steal my coffee. A good reminder - life must, and does, go on. I have to take him to the doctor today to check on how he's growing; again, I feel the extent of my blessings.

It's likely a good thing I'll be away from the computer today. There's too much to feel to be able to say anything, really.

Rest in peace, Tori.

Mini-Update

Sent in a job application for the fall - fingers crossed!

Still working on dissertation and going day by day.

We're ok, in general.

That's about all for now.

colossal mistake

We have some fruit fly issues right now, but slowly but surely I am winning the war - that is, until I bought more fruit from my local grocery store, and now there seems to be a new wave, likely smuggled in from the produce section. yecch.

Anyway, I made the foolish decision to eat TWO bananas for breakfast this morning, in an attempt to get rid of them. Gross. I have no idea what people see in those things. My stomach has been rebelling ever since, and I can't even describe the heartburn. (It is normal for me to get heartburn from bananas - though this level of discomfort and out-right pain is a little unusual).

Wish I could turn back the clock on that one. Yuck.

I Was Wrong

I actually have 43 cents left after the ATM fees.

SCORE!

That's It

I will have 20 cents left in the bank after they finish charging me today's ATM fees.

So I am finally broke.

bleep

Meal Fatigue

I am so tired of figuring out what to make three times a day, every day. I used to just feel free to skip meals whenever I chose, but moms do not have that luxury. So three times a day, I find myself standing in the kitchen sighing, and trying to guess what he might like this time.

Where the hell are those meal pills they promised us back in the 50s?

Happy Birthday, Tori

Today, Tori Stafford would have been 9.

Rest in peace.

shudder

I think I just saw an earwig on the window sill by the bed, but I don't think I can find and irradicate it without waking the tot... but I'm not sure I can sleep over there knowing it is lurking, nor do I want to leave tot at its mercy.

gah. I hate summer.

Ain't No Road Too Long...

Kiss Make Better?

Well, Sprout's got quite the knot on his head. He got off the futon, and cracked himself on the filing cabinet, silly goose. Why does he always do these things right before nap?

So, now we're waiting the two hours before he can actually go to sleep. He's actually fine - pupils are responding to light, and no nausea, and he's in a great mood... but better safe than sorry, huh?

He's being pretty hilarious, though - groggy from wanting a nap, and playing around here like the little budding comic he is.

Once again, mommy is more concerned by the injury than Little Man. But don't worry - he just gave me a kiss and a hug to make me feel better.

Rise and Shine and Up and At'em.

Back to Work

Keeping on keeping on... Hoping to get this chapter done soon - it's the second most important of the whole shebang!

Drove the first golden spike tonight.

I think I can... I think I can... I think I can...

Oh, the Irony!

Two dead, one missing in possible Ontario tornado

American tourists killed after their cabin reportedly tossed into lake by tornado

Jennifer MacMillan
Globe and Mail Update
Last updated on Friday, Jul. 10, 2009 03:44PM EDT

Two men are dead and a third is missing after a suspected tornado struck a fishing lodge in Northern Ontario, sucking up the tourists' cabin and dropping it into the nearby lake.

The Ontario Provincial Police reported the tourists are men from Oklahoma. The bodies of two of them were found in the water shortly after the storm passed.

Boats and divers from the OPP marine unit are currently searching the water for the third man, along with a helicopter from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

(Bold and Italics by me, for emphasis.)

Source: G&M.

Endangered Missing: Damian Duncan, TN, USA

Please, click to enlarge.

UPDATE: FOUND SAFE! YAY!

I...

... AM SO FRIGGING G.D. SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT MICHAEL FREAKING JACKSON. ARGH!

OK, just needed to unload that.

Carry on.

R.I.P. Mrs Slocombe

Mollie Sugden dies at 86
British comic actress starred in 'Served'
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

British comic actress Mollie Sugden, who played the formidable saleswoman Mrs. Slocombe in the BBC's long running comedy series "Are You Being Served?", died July 1 in London. She was 86.

Sugden built a career playing strong-willed, overbearing women -- she played a snobbish mother in "The Liver Birds," a comedy about two women sharing an apartment in Liverpool in the 1970s -- but it was her role as Betty Slocombe that made her a household name.

As the bossy saleswoman who dominated the underwear section at the Grace Brothers department store, Sugden delivered double entendres in a perfectly outraged voice, shaking her tightly curled, dyed hair.

The show ran from 1973 to 1985 and at its height attracted audiences of over 20 million.

Sugden was born in Keighley, in northern England, and trained at London's prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She met her husband William Moore in 1956 while they were both acting in theater. They married two years later and their twin sons were born six years after that.

Moore died nine years ago. She is survived by two sons.

You Know What Blows My Mind?

Gordon isn't Gordon. He's really Roscoe.

WTF?

Missing Teen: Jodi Henrickson, BC

ZOMG CUTE!

Happy Canada Day!