morning all. I'm back at work after one day that felt like a fun weekend down at Mom & Dad's.

whenever she hears them, it requires instant holding by mom

It's the rooster-toddler conspiracy! When the roosters realized they weren't getting to you, they drew Ellie into their plot! To wake you up. Or something.

Susan, never underestimate the power of duck nibbles. A lot of small things all in a row are harder to deal with than a few bigger bars with breaks. Ducks will wear you out.

I hope today is better. It didn't get off to the best start when Annabel woke up at 4:30 and climbed into bed with us, then kicked and squirmed until we evicted her to her own bed at 5:15--at which point she fell instantly back asleep, leaving US wide awake. So, despite being a good girl and going to bed before midnight, I'm running on 5 hours of sleep or less. Between that and the amount of crying I did last night, my eyelids feel like they're made of sandpaper. And tonight, I really want to do what got knocked off my list by the shoe shopping and crying last night--namely write and do some housework. Normally Wednesday is the night I don't expect much from myself in those areas because of choir rehearsal, but I can't miss two nights in a row.

But, on the plus side, my feet are completely dry. So maybe my day will get better.

argh. can't figure out what I want for lunch. I'm hungry, but I don't know what I want. and if I figure it out later, my brain will want it, even though my stomach is full

Susan, never underestimate the power of duck nibbles. A lot of small things all in a row are harder to deal with than a few bigger bars with breaks. Ducks will wear you out.

ooh I forgot the fun thing. I was telling Mom that I did something very out of character by going to a bar alone to celebrate New Years and I thought it would be a hoot to keep doing things that are out of character for me this year. I mentioned that I'd often thought about doing stand-up but that I think I am at my funniest when I'm with her, so I asked if she would do it with me and she said yes! Now we just have to find a comedy club that has open-mic night that's not in Downtown Los Angeles.

Squee! Happy family news! I just found out that my "little" cousin (she'll be 17 in the spring and is a junior in HS) is going to be able to graduate a year early, this May! Holy crap! And she's getting into a full scholarship program at Northern Arizona University, so no tuition or room/board because of her high GPA. After two years, she'll be able to transfer to the college of her dreams, wherever that may be.

I am SO PROUD! She's as close as I have to a little sister.

Yay for your cousin, KT!

Excellent news, Kristin! Congratulate her for me. An ex-bf went to school at NAU. It was a kinda nifty school. Except for that freakish white stuff they kept around all winter.

Thanks! I'm positively giddy for her. We spent a fair amount of time talking about how done she was with high school when I was in AZ over Christmas, and I think our talk is partly the reason she pursued other options. Such a proud cousin!