What I need....

1. Sleep. I know i sound like a broken record, but i need sleep! I do not exaggerate when i say i have not slept more than 2 hours in a row without interruption since June 4th. Ever since my doctor talked me into to going off hormones cold turkey. My night sweats are terrible. I think i was up 10 times last night. I bought some of that NyquilZZZ the sleep aid without the cold medicine, but it didn't work. And now i am catching myself myself getting ready to do stupid stuff like throwing my good mail in the recycle and bringing my junk mail inside. Not only that, i find myself forgetting to turn off the burner after making my coffee. I don't do stuff like this normally.

I yelled at a lady a couple of weeks ago for having her large dog in her car with the windows all rolled up for over an hour while she was in the doctor's office. (The reason i know it was over an hour is because i went to lunch and then came back to see if the car was gone. I was shocked to see it still there since i had told the doctor's office to try and find her before i left for lunch. I even told the lady to take off her Obama bumper sticker because she was a disgrace to Democrats.) Two other people were there concerned and one lady had called 911 about the dog and a man was considering breaking the window. When she walked out of the doctor's office i just went off. Funny thing is, i am not even a dog person.

It's a good thing i'm not President. 

2. In fact, i know this will sound sexist, but maybe we should not be electing any menopausal women to the Presidency for this very reason. (Sorry HIllary!)

3. Actually, it might be okay because she would probably forget the codes to launching the nuclear weapons anyway.

4. What else i need: I need a sunscreen that won't break out my face. It doesn't exist. I've spent more money on moisterizers and sunscreen than i have books. Well, ok, maybe not, but i've spent a lot. I break out like a 14 year old when i use them. Ironically, the only thing that clears up my skin IS the sun.

5. I need to be able to set my Kindlefire so that it stays vertical when i am reading in bed. I am constantly having to tap it back from horizontal mode because i read on my side.

6. Which by the way, i finally figured out how to download and borrow books from the library. Just yesterday i downloaded 6 books. Pretty cool. I have 21 days to read them. It took over an hour and a half and half the battery life, but i did it!

7. I need my mom to quit calling me every day just because she knows i'm on vacation. Just now as i was writing this blog she called me again. She has called me every day this week and it makes me crazy. She knows i hate going shopping, especially at the mall, yet it doesn't stop her from asking me over and over. I do not like being the only daughter. She never calls my brothers like she calls me. And she likes THEM better.

8. I need to catch a fish on this flyfishing trip. I've missed a year of doing this. It's sort of like riding a bike in terms of casting, etc. For example right now i couldn't tell you how to tie a swirl knot, but once i get on the river, my hands remember. (Sort of like how your hands remember a password better than your mind.) But i have forgotten that thrill of having a fish online. I've been flyfishing for 15 years but i'm still not that great at it. I just have a really nice cast. In spite of the years and coaching, I still don't feel like a real flyfisher.  I'm looking forward to this trip. I just hope the bed has nice linens!

9. I need to go for a long run today.  Unlike flyfishing, after 32 years of running i finally feel like a real runner since that race. For some reason i don't hate it as much as i used to. I've upped my mileage, keeping with 5 days a week, even when it's hot outside, and my knees feel pretty good. And i like my weight right now even though i have not been real good about eating this summer.

10. I need to be more social. I was thinking about this the other day. I used to organize things more, 99 card parties, wine get togethers, pool gatherings and i don't do that anymore. I am not even sure why. I used to never worry about hosting anything and now i seem to have some anxiety about it. I like my own company too much. Or rather i don't and feel like others wouldn't either... not sure what it means. I want to blame that on menopause too.

What do y'all need?

Why would anyone choose George Costanza over Brad Pitt?

Menu of the Day:

What's in my glass: it was going to be Fresca, but then i was cooking and thought what the hell and poured a glass of Bonterra chardonnay.

Music: Tom Petty mix. I love Tom Petty so much! I watched his DVD "Running Down the Dream" twice now, read a biography on him. He is one of the most likable and funniest guys in rock and roll and he truly knows how to tell a story. I wish he were in my family.

What I'm procrastinating about: I need to go buy more of that wonderful Clinique Even Better foundation. (I think i gave a product endorsement on how much i love this foundation before.) I just detest going to the mall. Seriously, i would rather go to the dentist and truthfully, i do visit the dentist more in a year than i do the mall. (I am thankful for online shopping!)

Latest Netflix: I'm been watching Grey's Anatomy Season 7. I'm on disk 3 now. I love this show, even as i hate some of the characters (Meredith for one and Sandra Oh now that she's lost her mojo...THAT is getting old already for me.) After this i plan to hook up to Mad Men.

Latest book: I am reading a book i like called The Good Father. I finished one i liked called The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman. I think I already posted about The Shelter. I've liked all of these books i bought for summer so far. (By the way Amanda, how are you liking Wild?)

The Stupidest Thing We Did This Week: We had a garage sale. We have always given our stuff away to Caring for Kids, family members, or to the ARC (Associated Retarded Citizens.... BTW....shouldn't the ARC AND the NAACP change their names?) We made $147 i think. We took a whole day to organize ahead of time and nearly a whole day after to pack it up.  Brian took a vacation day on Friday. But we tried to make it as vacation-y as we could: We hung around playing gin rummy and drinking gin & tonics to pass the time. It was a 32 condo unit sale and i thought it would be super busy. It wasn't. The most exciting sale was my George Costanza poster. (Seen at left on the photo above.) A girl gave me $5 when i only wanted a dollar. But i told her it was promised to a friend on Facebook, because it was, so she made me a better offer. Besides it would have cost more than a dollar to mail it to my FB friend.

Anyway, we will never do THAT again. It was nice to clear out boxes from our storage but it was not worth the effort to hang around trying to sell our stuff.

What i'm struggling with: SLEEP.... I have never been a good sleeper, but now it's worse.... ever since June 4th when my doctor took me off the birth control pills and left me with no hormones i cannot sleep because of night sweats. I haven't slept more than two hours at a time without waking up since June 4th. I have very little energy though i still make myself go out for my runs, thinking it will help with that, only it doesn't. I go for an appointment in August and i'm going to beg them for hormones. I can't do sleeping pills, i just want my estrogen back!

My original post subject was called "Raging Against Aging" but i think raging might be too strong a word... Even for me. Plus aside from what feels like a little arthritis in my middle finger... haha, go figure.... i'm not exactly what you call aging in a huge way. But i do need to get some sleep.

What I'm looking forward to: We are going flyfishing and staying in a cabin on the Yakima River. And then I come back and go to Cannon Beach with galpals Sarah and Julie (louielouie and jj here) where we will be taking a cooking class between beach walks.

What's up with y'all?

P.S. Can you believe NOBODY offered me anything for Brad Pitt and Kevin Costner?

I am a Taurus Bitch

Lately my favorite part of the newspaper while I've been on vacation is not my normal favorite: Opinion page with Letters to the Editor or anything about politics... it's the one with Dear Abby, Sodoku (of which i have not managed to complete one) and the Word Jumble (which i am really pretty good at, but not so great at solving the corny riddles. I think the riddles are difficult cause i just don't like stuff that's corny. ) And the horoscopes. 

I've never been one to read my horoscope, and now i know why. I've been increasingly frustrated these past vacation days as I've checked out my daily horoscope. I wish I had saved some of them to prove my point about how much it is assumed that Taurus folks are always being challenged with being nice. (Also evidenced above by the online clipart i found for this blog post.)

Today's was enough to make me blog about: 


"As bad as you can be, you are also capable of being just as good. Keep reaching out for someone who might need your time. By late afternoon, others will not be able to resist you to the same level." 

What does that last sentence mean anyway? Louie, i think this is on your shoulders since you're coming to the pool! 

I'm going to change my birthday. Which one is the lamb? Aries, right? 

Boring Blog Post

Here's a photo from last night. It's taken from Brian's iPhone and it's dark, but you can see the view.

That's Troy's (my brother) girlfriend on the left. I'm on the right. And THAT is HER view from her place on the Puget Sound. Going to dinner at her house is like having a one day vacation. (It reminds me of the place we go on Vashon Island.)


I loved my first week of vacation. Nice and lazy, but next week will be busier.


It was so warm today i broke down and bought a bottle of Bombay gin at Albertson's and we had our first gin and tonic by the pool. And the kids weren't even there today! It felt like the old days. (Only we still miss Dorothy.) 


My Vacation to Do List for the Next Week: 


1. Go see my Brian The Nephew skydive next Saturday on his 30th birthday.
2. Then later go to see Brian The Husband's band play that afternoon.
3. I might follow through with a garage sale with our condo community on Friday. Not sure i want to go through our storage to organize it though.
4. louie's house tomorrow for Emma The Daughter of Louie's bday.
5. Another bday party on the 12th for Brian the Husband's side of the family.
6. Having his mom and niece overnight for that party.
7. A game of gin for money this evening on the patio. (Updated to say that i lost $3, but it was VERY close.)
8. Maybe happy hour with louie and jj. Not sure which day.
9. Grey's Anatomy in the morning. I forgot to watch Season 7 i just realized. So i changed from Mad Men in the Morning plan to Grey's.
10. Making my bed.
11. Working on my tan.
12. Running a lot.
13. Naps, because i am not sleeping well AT ALL since i went off damn birth control pills. It's been a month now and i don't think i have slept more than two hours in a row since. The good thing is i can go back to sleep most nights. But i'm up every two hours.


Seems like i'm forgetting something. hmmmm.




Well, i needed to change the blog to keep my goal of one a week average by end of year. So this is it.

The Eve of Vacation Day #1

Tomorrow is my first day of vacation. Is there a better feeling in the world that the first day of vacation? I don't even think Christmas morning when you're 6 years old is competition.

I like to think of it as 17 weekends in a row.

I am weird in that i love staying home on vacation and doing what i do. Stay up late. Get up late, watch HG TV, maybe a DVD series (this year my series will be Mad Men), going for a nice easy 5 mile run, good coffee, reading outside on the patio or at the pool. Riding my bike to the  Farmer's Market. Cooking. More reading. And occasionally having folks over or meeting them for wine.

We do have an almost week long trip to flyfish the Yakima and found a new cabin to stay in right on the river so i just have to walk outside. And then a trip with the GalPals to Cannon Beach the next day after we get home, where i don't even have to unpack. AND we get to take a cooking class while we are there!

I finished reading Wild on Saturday - the book about hiking. Which is also strange for me in that i never ever want to hike, nor have i ever. But i thought it was a good read, even though she irritated me sometimes with how she did not use CAUTION as she started out. (reference to my previous blog post). But what she accomplished was amazing and i liked her more and more as i kept reading.

I am totally attracted to survivors and problem solving people.

What are allofy'alls plans for vacation?

P.S. Amanda, i'm sending the book with Brian to give to you tomorrow at work. Let me know what you think, since you are a hiker.  You are likely to have a different perspective.