Zee Moon, She Is Full

Good GRIEF have we been having a full moon kind of day (started last night, actually). Weird feelings, weird circumstances. In general, people going a little nuts and things a little out of kilter. Sort of like the beginning of Julius Caesar with things unnatural (but no dogs whelping in the streets).

Here are the full moon dates and times for the rest of this year. Trust me, we need to know 'em. Glad it's Friday. :-)

Jan 30 06:17

Feb 28 16:37

Mar 30 02:25

Apr 28 12:18

May 27 23:06

Jun 26 11:30

Jul 26 01:36

Aug 24 17:05

Sep 23 09:17

Oct 23 01:37

Nov 21 17:28

Dec 21 08:14

This Could Revolutionize More than Big Banking

Paraphrase of an audio clip I heard earlier, of an interview with Larry Winget: whenever your mouth writes a check, make sure your butt can cash it. Translation: keep your word!

House of Yacks

Our friends' playful, big-eyed one year old baby girl was the carrier of a potent stomach virus that wreaked havoc on my household earlier this week. Here I thought it was the eggplant I cooked for dinner on Monday...no guilt though...after retracing our steps from Sunday, we checked with our friends and sure enough their deadly gastronomical experience began that evening, just hours after we'd all been together. Ugh. All five of us were home suffering on Tuesday. Never seen anything like it.

Took lots of ribbing in my office over it. Our administrative support person told me she'd been here eleven years and had never remembered my calling in sick. I think she's right. The last time I had a stomach virus was twelve years ago when I was pregnant with Son #2. If I never get one again, it'll be too soon. I am hereby grateful for some pretty basic things:

• eating without apparent strategy (to calm a queasy belly, to balance fiber content)
• having a cold drink (which one can't do with a sick stomach)
• tasting yummy food (instead of having food taste like tin)
• roaming freely about the house (instead of being confined to the couch)
• lack of a headache (as opposed to two full days of Tylenol having no effect)

Still, I'm not quite sure when I'll be able to look at eggplant parmigiana again...

Reading is Pun-damental

Here's a recent cryptoquip from our village paper:

If a young bear liked reading a novel every thirty days, could you call him a book-of-the-month cub?

Still don't know who writes these things.

Two recent Newsday cryptoquotes that fit in nicely with my personal philosophy:

The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you. -- John E. Southard

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly. -- Richard Bach

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Even in today's troubled times, it can't hurt to hope for peace on earth.

Dogs and Cobras and...

I have not yet seen the continuing education bulletin from our district for the spring session, though I have been keeping an eye out...HOWEVER...I have joined the office yoga group which meets for half an hour at lunchtime on Wednesdays. They do the same kind of yoga that I used to do with the evening group. Because it's only half an hour, it doesn't wipe me out like the evening session did (I was completely useless after each class!) but it does invigorate and relax me, all at the same time.

It's funny, but I used to have a hard time with the upward facing dog and the cobra poses -- both require you to lie flat on your tummy and then stretch your torso up and arch the back -- but during the past two weeks of lunch yoga I've gotten into those postures quite easily. What does that mean? Ah, who cares? Forget I asked.

Boxed In

Last night, as I'm tucking in my sixth grader, my third grader shows up at the door of his brother's room, with his homework planner in hand. "Mom?" The look on his face and the tone in his voice make it pretty obvious that he needs something for the next day and he hasn't told me about it yet. Sigh. If it's something I have to buy or cook, he's clearly out of luck.

When I get out into the hallway to see him, the suspense is already giving me a headache. "I need to bring in an empty tissue box tomorrow." %$#@, I think I just replaced the one in the bathroom a couple of days ago. We look. Sure enough, it's almost full. I glance at my son, who's still looking at me hopefully. Sigh. This is why parents do the goofy things we do. I search in his room (across the hall from the bathroom) for something that will help.

Not that we're expecting visitors in the next few days, but if you happen to drop by the house and use the bathroom, maybe you won't think it's quite so odd to see this:

Signed,

Mom whose kid went to sleep with a smile on his face.

Color Me Exhausted

One of my recent projects (other than taking down all the Hanukkah and Christmas decorations) has been to clean the basement. It's been very good for my soul and has inspired me to organize the upstairs part of the house better, too. And did you know that several charities will come right to your door to pick up donated goods? e.g. Vietnam Veterans of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters, National Lupus Foundation, Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. So much better than taking anything that's still in good condition to a landfill.

Assuming the stuff in your basement is still usable and not junk, these charities are very happy to take clothes, toys, electronics, knick knacks and dishes (packed appropriately if fragile), small furniture items, bedding, and so on. Anything very large, or a very large donation, needs a special pickup arrangement rather than "a truck will be in your neighborhood on this day." Last week the Ovarian Cancer folks received three boxes full of old (working) cameras, wall phones, mugs, picture frames, serving trays, dish towels, and other household things. Another great resource for giving away good but unwanted "stuff" is Freecycle (www.freecycle.org). Also, if you work in an office that has a kitchenette, they may appreciate having some of your unwanted cups, plates, and silverware to use for lunches etc. AND some of your coworkers may know someone who has a use for your soon-to-be-discarded items.

Day care centers are usually very happy to get kid oriented stuff. This morning I brought a Lego bin of crayons and a diaper box full of coloring books (either blank or almost all blank) to the preschool where Son #3 goes to before school care. Every time I thought I'd found the last batch of coloring books or crayons in a corner or a box or a bin, another treasure trove appeared. I think crayons breed if you leave a bunch unattended for long periods of time, but have no data as to whether the color combination makes any difference. Might make a good research paper if I can figure it out.

Anyway, I'm tired but happy. We may actually get to have a finished basement someday.

The New Year Is A-Pun Us

Why not begin January with a groan? This was the cryptoquip solution in one of my recent village newspapers (yes, one of my attempted improvements in life has been to reduce clutter so I'm trying to stay reasonably current with my puzzles...I used to hoard them until my next plane ride, LOL).

WHEN I WALKED UP TO THE BAR WITH THIS PERSON WHO DOES SILENT DRAMA, I SAID, "MAKE MIME A DOUBLE."

I don't know who writes these quips, and it's probably a good thing he doesn't sign his name. Puns like these have been known to incite violence in others. Not me! I love 'em! Happy New Year!