Up all night

Ever since I realized they opened a new library branch five minutes from my house, I've been there a couple times a month loading up on books. I've generally been on a chick-lit guilty pleasure kick, reading anything easy and cute and doesn't require my brain. The only book I'll mention from that set of books as surprisingly worth reading was Marion Keyes' Rachel's Holiday. This was decidedly not chick-lit fodder, but instead the story of a young woman who is put in a drug rehab center in Ireland and her journey through sobriety. It was very good.

I also read about half of Joyce Carol Oates' The Falls, a very gothic, dreary book about a woman whose first husband commits suicide in Niagara Falls, and so on and so forth. I can't really say why I stopped reading; it was generally well written and interesting. It was just so dreary!

The last novel I read was The Other Boleyn Girl, at the insistence of NPR Junky (who disabled her blog so I can't link), and also recommended by my friend Autumn who is a literary assistant in NYC (although she recommended the book-on-CD because the writing wasn't great but the story was). I .... well, I liked it very much, oddly. I'm not into period/epic stories/movies/etc, ever really. I try to read them or watch movies and it just grates on my nerves. So I got through the whole thing, which is a good sign. Also, I thought it was due back at the library today so I stayed up until after midnight last night to finish it. Also a good sign. I think my only qualm with it is actually what probably made me enjoy it. It felt like chick-lit fodder. I know that there is a historical story (although not true to history) and that some or all of the drama may or may not have happened, but it just felt like another summer read, with no real meat. So, if that is your general reading material, you should pick it up. I thought I should feel more satisfied with it, like it should have been more of a meal but instead was like those passed-appetizers of mini beef Wellington. Tasty but unsubstantial. Am I carrying the analogy too far?

Do you have any book suggestions?

Success with iBert and Ernie

iBert is a big hit. We've gone bike riding every day this week except once when Christen worked late and I was sick and annoyed. It's been really great, actually. Christen and I talk more, and Spencer gets to look at the water and the cars (and Daddy on the bike next to him). It's a great activity for us as a family and so cheap and healthy! We live right off the trailhead for the Upper Tampa Bay Trail, so we usually take that up through Westchase and back again. Monday I needed a couple extra things for dinner, so Spencer and I rode up to Publix and back. Tonight we rode 10 miles. I'm excited for what the weekends hold for us on our bikes!

I'm a believer (maybe)

I've been having back pain for two years. It's not every day, it's not always seriously painful, and it doesn't go anywhere. It doesn't hurt when I walk, or exercise, or lay down. It doesn't bother me when I sleep, or stretch, or anything. The only time it ever hurts is when I sit for long periods of time. At that point it aches, and when I try to get up, I get sharp pains in my very low back. These pains can be pretty severe so that I try to roll off my couch rather than stand straight away.

I was afraid there was something seriously wrong. Of course, this means that I don't go to a doctor because I'm scared of what he'll tell me. Being in the business that I am (and I know you don't know exactly what that is), I see a lot of records from a lot of quack doctors. There are some good ones, sure, but a lot of them are too busy lining their pockets instead of helping their patients. I don't exactly hold chiropractors in high regard. I mean, come on. They aren't really doctors; they don't go to medical school. My dad's best friend is a retired chiropractor. He's actually very well respected in the field. Same with the father of a good friend of mine. He's retired and now owns a vineyard a couple counties north. But since they're both retired, I was unsure of who to turn to.

Enter my new chiropractor. I've only had two sessions and my back is so much better! I'm hoping that by next week I should be able to finish treatment and only go back on a prn basis. Hallelujah! It really is amazing. It doesn't appear that there was anything wrong with my back, it just needed to be realligned. :) Yay for no pain! Let's hope it lasts!

cough cough

I'm sick. And I'm a baby about being sick; this I know about myself. But I'm going to drag myself to work and hope not to cough on anyone because I've been sick since yesterday and it's just getting worse so I need to prepare myself for the possibility of being dead tomorrow and having to call in. Hope not; too much work to do. Thankfully I have high cube walls (6 feet) so I can quarantine myself.

Toodles!

meet iBert

I love my iBert. I've had my eye on him for quite awhile, but I also wanted a new bike to go with him. Last weekend I ordered him off amazon (evidently there is one specialty store on Davis Island that carries them, and that's it for the whole of the Tampa area). Then I picked a bike at Target, and this weekend we got that home. Last night we put it all together and Spencer and I took our inaugural trip around the block last night before dinner. Today we overdid it a bit -- 5 1/2 miles! It was very fun except for the last mile or so when he was bored and started hanging off the side to mess with my leg which threw off my center of balance. I can't wait until my husband finishes fixing up his own bike and can join us!

bad precedent

I still can't sleep, so I got Spencer up for a little midnight snuggle. He's not a snuggler, but if I catch him while he's sleepy and not fighting it, he'll lay on me and rub my arm like a true snuggler. I know it's bad precedent, but he's such a sweetie when he forgets how much he wants to get down and play. The biggest mistake I made was picking him up 6 hours after he went to bed. He was still sleepy, but not tired enough to just fall asleep on me while we rocked. He laid there and rubbed my arm and pinched my elbow and I got to hold him close for a few minutes. Then I realized we both need some sleep so I laid him back down with his cookie monster and he hugged him and smiled at me.He's still awake (I left him about 10 minutes ago) but he's just babbling to himself (and maybe a little to Cookie) until he drifts back off to sleep.

He's such a sweetheart.

under the influence

I should know better than to have a cup of coffee at 8:30 pm. I don't drink a lot of coffee, and I do decaf more often that not. Since I don't really drink soda anymore and only rarely partake in tea, I've become fairly sensitive to caffeine. At 9:45 I couldn't figure out why I was wide awake.

D'oh.

Off to do some reading (The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates).