Chaos Theory

I went through a reading slump recently that was kind of driving me crazy. Really, it started in Halifax. I optimistically packed several books in my suitcase and then George and I ended up at a Chapters bookstore (oh Chapters, how I missed you) so I bought myself a copy of Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult. What a crazy person I was.

There was no time for reading! Not really, anyway. I did manage to read a little here and there but I was too busy either trying to bang out all my work for the day as quickly as possible or else I was doing things like visiting Peggy’s Cove, wandering along the boardwalk in downtown Halifax, or you know, being my sister’s maid of honor. There wasn’t much left over for reading.

I think I read about 40 or 50 pages in the three weeks that I was there. Sad. Then when I got back home it took me forever to get through it which was a shame since it was actually a very enjoyable book. There was just so much going on when I got home that I couldn’t get into it until I hit the last third of the book, at which point I had trouble putting it down.

After I finally read the last page I then hemmed and hawed over what to read next, reading the first five or ten pages of different books before tossing them aside. I’m now currently reading Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts, a supernatural thriller - first in a trilogy - that I borrowed from my mother. The fact that my mother actually read a supernatural trilogy and enjoyed it is astounding to me because that’s not what I normally see her reading, but she did say it was good so I grabbed all three of them from her shelf.

I again had trouble getting into it even though I was intrigued. However, I’m now about a hundred pages from the end and I wish I had more hours in the day or needed less sleep or something so that I could just finish it. I’m eager to get started on the other two books.

I think part of my problem is that I’m missing my weakness. A couple of years ago I learned that I missed my calling and should have double-majored (or majored-minored, whatever) in Middle Eastern Studies and Women’s Studies. One of my favorite things to read is any book set in those two areas. It doesn’t matter if it’s fiction (such as my number one favorite book EVER, A Thousand Splendid Suns) or non-fiction (like Not Without My Daughter which I just re-read before starting my current book). If it takes place in a Middle Eastern country and features women as its main characters, I’m all over it.

I need to pick up a couple of those types of books I think. Then when I’m finished my demon-filled small town trilogy I’ll have something else waiting for me to fill the void.

What are you reading right now? What’s your favorite type of book to read?

I felt like complete crap today so now that it’s a little after 10 pm I should probably just go to bed. However, since it’s not a gastro I still have an appetite and I’m hungry (see yesterday’s post - and by the way I did make the biscuits today). I also feel like having a steaming hot cup of green tea first, especially since I just got chilled by taking the dog out for her last pee. THEN it will be bed time.

I am coughing like nobody’s business, pretty much the same way that Breanna was (and still is, but with less frequency), but I have the addition of aching legs. I was so tired and icky today that I was dreading this evening’s PPO meeting. I wanted to go but in the end I emailed in to say I was sick; it turned out there was a parent-teacher night at the high school that was going to result in two people not being there and three people besides myself were also sick. They just postponed the whole thing to next week. Thank God.

I ended up just taking a hot bath to try to get rid of the aches a bit (it worked for about half an hour), I laid on the couch to watch Criminal Minds (holy hell, I will be glued to the TV for next week’s episode let me assure you!), and now I’m going to have my tea and some Tylenol and try to get some sleep.

It’s nothing major, just a nasty cough, but I’m looking forward to having it go away, especially since Breanna’s birthday (FOUR) is on Friday.

I covered my mouth with my elbow whenever I coughed but just to be sure, go wash your hands after reading this. I’d hate to contaminate you!

I’ve heard that a lot of people who are trying to lose weight have had a lot of success by simply not eating anything after 8 pm. This is inconceivable to me because I get so hungry at night that it’s not even funny. I’m a big fan of chips as a snack but I’m also happy with cheese and crackers or making a cup of tea to drink with some cookies.

Tonight there is NOTHING in this place for me to eat. Well, obviously that’s not completely true. It’s not like Mother Hubbard’s cupboard or anything. What I really mean is that there’s nothing here that is the least bit appealing to me.

I did have a waffle because it was something sweet to have with my green tea (which I drank to try to tame this damn explosive cough - alas, it has not worked). It was completely unsatisfying though. I do have some dark chocolate but strangely enough I’m not in the mood for chocolate tonight.

What I really want is some of my grandmother’s baking powder biscuits which I haven’t made in, oh, at least a year now. I’m craving them so badly right now but it’s almost 11 pm. It’s not exactly the time to be baking something up, you know?

I think I’ll have to make them tomorrow (and put some cheddar cheese on the grocery list because a nice slice of cheese on each half of the biscuits is delicious). Still, that doesn’t help me right now. I guess I’ll have to go root through the pantry and the fridge to find a little something or other to help me out.

What do you like to snack on at night?

So here’s the thing. I love salt. This is easily proven. All you need to do is watch with amazement and perhaps disgust at the way I can polish off a whole bag of chips in one evening. I’ve often joked that an excellent gift for me would be one of those blue salt licks that people put out for deer.

I also love chocolate. I’m not too picky. While I prefer dark chocolate, I will just as gladly eat milk chocolate. Plain chocolate, chocolate with fruit in it (Cherry Blossoms), with peanut butter, with mint, with orange, with caramel, whatever. The only thing I really don’t like is chocolate with nuts.

So. Love salt. Love chocolate. The thought of them together was really appealing until I tried chocolate covered pretzels and those were just… ugh. Not my thing.

Then along came Lindt.

I had heard and heard about this chocolate bar and was curious about it but also reluctant because of the pretzels. Then the other day several of my friends were talking about it on Twitter and going on and one about how amazing it was. I asked George to keep an eye out but he had no luck at the convenience store or the grocery store.

Last night I had to go to the pharmacy and they have a pretty good selection of the Lindt bars so I checked while I was there and they did indeed have it (and for just over three bucks, which is pretty good for these!). Naturally I snatched it up and I gave it a try.

Wow. It’s so good. It’s just barely dark chocolate so it’s not too strong. The sea salt is very subtle. The combination is incredible. Every once in awhile I’d bite down on an actual grain of salt and that was even better.

They only thing that could be done to improve this would be if it had just a little more oomph in the salt department and some bigger grains in there. Still, it’s amazing and it’s right up there with the chili cherry bar they make.

(This probably reads like a review, but alas, Lindt didn’t send me a bar to try out. I never would have bothered if it hadn’t been talked up so much, which means I’m a sucker for marketing!)

Originally our Sunday plans included getting some breakfast from McDonald’s to eat at home (healthy, I know, but so good) and then we were going to go to a nice big park that has a pond, a play park, and lots of farm animals (including a pen with goats, where you can go in and pet them which is always fun).

Unfortunately when I took the dog out this morning, it was raining so that was out. Breanna already has a bad cough and I’ve gone and developed one myself so there was no way we were going out in the damp drizzle just to see goats.

We did get breakfast though, so at least there was that.

Since we were staying home anyway there was no way for me to continue to be in denial of the mess that was Hayley and Breanna’s room so I embarked on that once I was done with breakfast. After six hours I finally emerged, exhausted. However the bright side is that seasonal clothing has been switched out, with t-shirts and shorts being packed away and long sleeve shirts and jeans taking up residence in the drawers. I also threw out three bags of garbage (don’t ask what I threw out, even the kids don’t know what’s gone), packed up another garbage bag with clothing for the donation bin, and now the whole room is sparkling clean.

Let’s hope it stays that way for at least a week or I may end up in a padded room.

I’m exhausted after all of that. Between that, making supper, washing the dishes, and making a run to the store for toilet paper it was all I could do to say goodnight to the kids so I could crash on the couch with George to share some red wine and watch Criminal Minds re-runs on A&E.

And now I’m going to go watch the end of the show while sampling the dark chocolate with sea salt that I bought while at the store. People have been talking about it relentlessly on Twitter and God knows I can’t resist chocolate or salt, so together it should be perfect.

I hope your Sunday was more relaxing than mine!