My Real Life

1.  I think I could be a competitive eater.

Whenever I watch tv shows about competitive eaters, I think to myself, “I could do that.”

I wouldn’t want to dip my hot dog buns in water before eating them, and I probably wouldn’t win any competitions, but I could totally be a competitive eater.

2.  Strange follow-up to number 1, but, more and more, I’m hearing about the “clique-ishness” in the Diabetic community from Type 1 diabetics toward Type 2 diabetics.

I’ve read three articles and heard one person on talk radio, in the past week, refer to Type 2 diabetics as “not real diabetics,” “diabetics who brought it on themselves,” and “the fat kind of diabetics.”

My assumption is that those of us who suffer from Type 2 diabetes haven’t been diabetic since birth, so clearly we brought it on ourselves.

Clique-ishness of any kind gets my ire up, but clique-ishness within a group of people all suffering from the same condition???

Seriously???

So, here I’ll make my stand and then let it go, because it ain’t worth it to stress about it:

a.  I am a real diabetic.

b.  I eat well, I exercise, and I take care of myself.  I stray, occasionally, but I’m also a human.

c.  I’m not even the slightest bit overweight.  I have some extra skin leftover from 4 monstrously sized babies, and that cold probably shave 5 pounds off my numbers, but even with it, I’m not overweight.

It’s genetic for me, and there’s nothing I could have done to prevent it.  Now that I have it, I’m doing what I can to stave off the insulin injections, through diet and exercise.

Not fat. Not lazy.

So there.

3.  We have one more week of school to go.

I know this in my head.

I see this on paper.

In my mind, it is summer.

These weekends have this summer feel to them.

Nights sitting on the deck, listening to music while the kids play.

Going hiking with Monkey Girl.

A feeling of peace and relaxation that has taken over me.

I don’t care what the calendar says.

Summer is here.

4.  Is it in the genetic DNA of every child to try to go up the slide backward?

I mean, I get it.

We all have a little salmon in us.

That desire to go against the flow, swim upstream, climb the slide.

But, is it actually genetically coded in us?

Because, I’ve never been to a playground where at least one child isn’t climbing up the slide.

And, as the picture shows, my own are no exception.

And I’m cool with that.

5.  We love parks.

In my quest for simplicity, I’m feeling like here is where I want to be today:

We could spend all of our time outside, and when we were inside, we could read by the fire and I could write.

We could play games and tell stories and hang out.

We wouldn’t have a lot of “stuff” and wouldn’t be bogged down with anything other than what we wanted to do.

Let’s be honest…

I’d be kinda cool with this place, too:

However, there’s a lot more room for “stuff” here, and that is what I’m trying to avoid.

But still…it’s pretty darn nice.

If you could up and move your family today, for a little vacation, where would you like to be?

I know, I know.

Lots of random thoughts lately.

I’ve been sick with high fever, and maybe it’s making me think random thoughts more than usual.

Or, maybe it’s just allowed me to ignore my edit button, and if it comes into my head, it’s coming out of my fingers on the blog.

Either way, here are some more random thoughts to entertain you this Sunday.

1.  How is possible that my temperature is 102.6 right now, and yet I am absolutely freezing and shivering with the chills?

(I don’t need an actual scientific explanation…I’m just pondering.)

Monkey in the Middle keeps telling me I should get out from under the blanket because my fever is so high, and I keep trying to explain that I’m freezing.  Thank goodness, he’s never been really sick, so he doesn’t understand.  Here’s hoping he never does.

2.  Here’s a conversation that happened here yesterday:

Baby Monkey: I wish I was an elf so I could go into houses at night and use a flashlight.

Real Man:  Well, you can use a flashlight in our house at night.

Baby Monkey:  No, I want to go into OTHER people’s houses and use a flashlight at night.

Real Man:  Oh, so you want to be a criminal!

Baby Monkey:  No, Dad.  An elf.

3.  I’d like to direct your attention to my friend, Shane’s, blog.

I think I’ve sent you there before, but this week, he’s writing about the songs of summer and how they define certain times in our lives.

He nailed it.

Check it out.

4.  I’m on the hunt.

I’m on the hunt for a mug.

Anyone who has ever opened our mug cabinet might think this is a strange ambition, considering the sheer amount of mugs we have in this house.

They’ve accumulated from both of our childhoods and through our entire relationship.

We’ve got mugs with Disney characters, with our names, with Thomas Kinkaide pictures, and almost every other kind of mug there is.

However, I want something special.

I drink a lot of tea, and little mugs don’t do it for me.

However, I don’t just want a plain, big mug.

I want to find “the perfect” mug.

I want a mug that has some kind of saying about writing on it.

I love quotes from authors about the craft of writing.

And, since I do most of my writing at my desk with a mug of tea by my side, I can’t help but feel that it would be inspirational.

(Can’t you see it?  My novel finally gets published and I dedicate the book to my mug?)

So, if you happen to see such a mug in your travels, my dear readers, please give me a heads up.

‘Cuz I’m on the hunt.

5.  We Bought a Zoo.

No, WE didn’t buy a zoo, but we watched the movie last night for family movie night.

Loved it.

Seriously.

Watch it.

(Just be mindful of the language…we weren’t quite ready for some of the swears and did a lot of impromptu coughing to cover up.)