It's Friday night.

Are those clouds funky looking or what?

Also, we have a babysitter for tonight--woot! Who knows what could happen when the adults are unleashed? I predict some beer drinking and some bowling. We are W-I-L-D, I tell you. Wild!

I'll be back on Monday with photos of a couple of recent mini-bookish projects and tales from the first day of classes. Sharpen your pencils, everyone!

I'm totally going to kick Monday's ass.

I may need a vat of coffee to do so, but I am SO gonna get there!

Hello there.

Because yesterday evening Mog wanted to "lay down in the gass." This is the picture I'll be carrying in my head all day today. I hope it gets me through.

Currently addicted to:

JAC's Squidge. Ahhhh....



Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M's. Oh. My. God. These are ridiculously good. Mars, Corp. you are a sweet, evil mistress, you with your delicious candy-coated shell innovations.

Oh, Dr. Pepper, my former beloved. How could I have forsaken you all these years? I loved you in jr. high. I love you still.

Story People

So I don't at all remember how or when I stumbled upon Story People, but I came across them in my internet ramblings one day and signed up for their daily newsletter (which as far as I can tell is much less frequent than daily, but whatever). Sometimes they're wonderful and right on and sometimes they're just plain weird. No wonder I like them, right!? Sounds like me.

Anyway, I enjoyed what I found in my inbox today, even though I'm not big on the idea of angels. Just change "angel" to spirit of the universe, I guess, or something slightly less hokey. Click here to read it. It's really quite lovely.

WTF?

Last night I dreamed that Dave Grohl got drunk and threw up in my hair. I was all, "Dude. I don't care if you are Dave Grohl, that's just gross."

The contents of my pockets.

Left: 56 cents, my cell phone (with the battery duct taped in because the back fell off and I lost it), my car and house keys, a crumpled ticket stub to The Reader from March 18.

Right: 50 cents, a yellow pacifier, a Hot Wheels car, a Walmart receipt totaling 29.33, a sticky note with a doctor's appointment reminder scribbled on it.

These are the things I carry around with me.

Important safety information.

Remember: it pays to read the instructions:

"Do not drop, disassemble, open, crush, bend, deform, puncture, shred, microwave, incinerate, paint, or insert foreign objects into iPod touch."

Um...really? Because the first thing I usually do before using a new $300 electronic appliance is toss it into the microwave to see just how much heat it can take. Damn. Good thing I read this first.

And I can't insert foreign objects into it? What? So, like, don't go shoving those Frosted Flakes into it that I brought back from Mexico? Zucaritas?

That kind of takes all the fun out of it, doesn't it? :)

Today I am...

1) Waiting for one of these hot little gadgets to arrive at my doorstep:



Oh yeah, baby. Just ordered an iPod Touch from the Apple website and can't wait for it to get here. This is quite possibly the biggest splurge I've ever made on myself. Thank you, tax money. I have hereby done my part to stimulate the economy.

2) Keeping my fingers crossed that the tentative peace in the Heicher household will last. We have reached a truce, I think.

3) Being entirely pissed off because the FIRST essay I graded today, the FIRST essay, was clearly plagiarized. Will they never learn? And seriously, the first one? Is there anything that could give a harder kick to my resolve to grade these damn things today?

4) Pleased that I managed to get my shelving hung (with a bit of help and advice from Eli).
Yes, now I need drapes. Wait, do we call them "drapes" or "curtains"? Is there a difference? Does anyone know?





I'm keeping Mom's vintage Nancy Drew books here, along with a copy of a volume of Anais Nin's diary that Molly gave to me years ago, inscribed with a poem she wrote to me (Molly, not Anais Nin), and then some other bits of my mom and Grammy. Mom's senior picture, Grammy's piano music box. Little treasures not for small hands that tend to grab things off the lower shelves.

5) Working on the uberlist. From my 2009 planner that I love, love. I got it here. More about that later.



6) Loving this weather.

7) Trying to convince my friend Danay to get on Facebook already. Give in, girl! :)

8) Loving that I've found an unexpected kindred spirit. And rooting so hard for her.

9) Hating these little bastards:



All in a Monday.

For random fun.

I thank Kate. :)

And tomorrow will be Monday again.

So much activity lately! On Thursday Eliot and I met Tai, Kami, and Millie for lunch at the McDonald's playland. This, of course, is strictly forbidden because of the long-going McDonald's ban Eli and I initiated back in...when...2003? Something like that. So I ate McNuggets for the first time in approximately six years. I have to admit, they were divine. In a disgusting, unidentifiable, compressed meat sort of way.

I have a growing collection of photos of Eliot making this face. It's because he says "cheese!" everytime I point the camera at him. And this is what his face does when he says, "cheese!" What a goofball.



Later that evening, Eli and I went to an Illini basketball game. A good time was had by all, even though I still didn't come home with a giant foam finger. Someday...





Friday I got a haircut and had my eyebrows waxed. No pictures, but the cut is not all that stellar anyway. It's okay. The real thrill was getting my hair washed. I LOVE having people wash my hair. There's really little better than getting my hair washed. I think I actually find it more relaxing than massage. Wait...yep...more relaxing than massage. For sure.

Saturday we spent at Ma Ma's, where Eliot was happy to sample some extra filling for the chocolate pie she was making. And yes, my kid is almost two and still has his nuk. Don't judge me.



Zayda was less happy to get her picture taken. It's mean of me to post it here, but, well, it's me we're talking about, so here she is. I'm fairly sure that's her "Rachel" face. Or one of the incarnations of the "Rachel" face, anyway.



Sunday was spent at Pa's house--again, no pictures. I crashed in the easy chair while Eliot played with Zayda and Pam cooked and cleaned (of course) and Elecia knitted. And Pa napped on the couch. And then ran off to work on something. (of course) We're all pretty predictible, it seems.

I cannot believe that today is the first of March. Where is this year rushing off to? Slow down, you! But bring warm weather soon.

Brrrr...

Feeling compelled to give.

I read this story a few days ago in the Washington Post online edition. (And the link here isn't to the original site, but it's the same story.) I don't remember how I came across it--just wasting time online, as usual, I suppose. But after reading about Adwai Mulual and her situation, I couldn't not do something. I mailed out a check that will go a little ways towards diapers, wipes, or whatever else the babies need.

Please, if you are able, consider helping her too. Here's a website with the address to send donations. I'm sure that every little bit will be appreciated.

This is really something I never do, but her story touched me. My first few weeks of being a parent were so incredibly difficult that my heart goes out to this woman who is not only adjusting to first-time parenthood, but doing so in a foreign country, without her husband, with very limited financial resources...and she's got not one, but FIVE newborns to take care of.

I can't even begin to imagine what she must be going through.

I think what most compelled me to try to help were the nasty comments after the article in the original posting. There was a long section dedicated to comments, and I skimmed down through them, thinking that people would be saying, "How can I help?" and "Where can I send donations?" But I saw none of that. Instead, commenters were making cruel remarks about how their precious tax money shouldn't be going to this woman because she isn't a citizen of the U.S., and she probably took fertility drugs to get this many babies in the first place, and what the hell is she doing coming over here to leech off us... It went on and on. Many of the comments were racist, and all were heartless.

I'm not naive enough to think that I can save the world, or that the U.S. should try as a matter of policy to save the world. But I think it is important to show compassion for our fellow human beings, and to give to those who need our help when we find ourselves able. I don't care if Adwai Mulual is Sudanese. I don't care if she took fertility drugs. I don't care if she intentionally came to the U.S. seeking our medical care or "a handout." She is a human being. Her babies are human beings. I am a human being. And that is all I need to know.

Please send a donation if you can. Even $20 can buy a package of diapers. That's cheaper than a night at the movies. So stay home one night instead, and reach out your hand to a stranger in need.

That is all.

Gotta love the wildlife.

Of course the deer are plentiful around our house, and a week or so ago I saw four wild turkeys run across the field. We've got squirrels, opossums, crows, etc.

But tonight there's a new presence outside my window. An owl, hooting.
Pretty cool, really. Eli's asleep on the couch, gearing up to go into work later. Eliot is in bed.
I'm the only one up. Listening to the hooting. I can't see Mr. Owl; it's too dark. But I can sure hear him. He's got a lot to say.

And I'm thinking that after another 15 minutes or so, all that hooting isn't going to be nearly as cool as it was to begin with.

I'm just saying.