Quick takes (why not?)

1. This was going to be all lighthearted and barely about my kids at ALL but then Lucy up and barfed all over my mom's car this morning on our way back from Target and so OBVIOUSLY I have to say something about that because DIDN'T WE JUST GET THROUGH THREE WHOLE STINKING WEEKS OF ILLNESS? We have NEVER, in the entire history of this family, had a stretch of sickness this long. And Dave hasn't gotten anything at all, which sounds pretty unfair and made me KIND of want to murder him until I remembered that A) he had a painful case of shingles five years ago at a ridiculously young age and B) before he was officially diagnosed, we convinced him that a spider had laid eggs in his neck. (Was actually shingles - not sure whether spider eggs would have been better or worse.) Also he had to go through the embarrassment of filling a Valtrex prescription at the CVS with a really hot pharmacist who probably hears “I swear I'm taking this for shingles and not genital herpes!” a thousand times a day and NEVER ACTUALLY BELIEVES IT.

Yeah, so my kid barfed and now we're all ticking time bombs too, LA DEE FRICKING DA.

2. I don't have a ton of puppy-related complaints this week (he has made huge strides lately) but I will tell you that the time it takes to tape off a 10-foot section of wall in order to paint some trim increases EXPONENTIALLY if there is a puppy awake in your general vicinity. If I could get the tape onto the wall I was golden; however, only one out of five pieces of tape that I tore off actually made it ON to the wall. The other four pieces were pounced upon and then chewed up by a dog, and what should have been a five-minute project took TWENTY. Twenty minutes to put up ten feet of tape. That was two days ago and I can't imagine how long it's going to take me to PAINT it. Before I got the tape up I cleared the area of a bookshelf and books and it took me FIVE DAYS to get everything put away. It seems like every time I start a project, no matter how small, I have so many interruptions that the small act of storing five boxes of books in the attic takes the better part of a morning, what with the letting a dog out for six false-alarm pees, and getting Lucy a snack and helping her tear a page out of her coloring book (my kids are SO ABOVE coloring pages while they're STILL INSIDE the book) and answering the door for the heat repair guy and HEY, look at that, it's NOON ALREADY soooo... I guess... let's break for lunch? We can put boxes in the attic this AFTERNOON or something.

3. I turned 35 a couple of weeks ago and since then I have found at least five gray hairs. I tell you this with complete honesty: it isn't so much the gray hairs that bother me so much as the fact that eventually I will probably want to COVER them if they continue to multiply and I STILL have PTSD from my horrific hair-dye experience last year. I cannot IMAGINE a time when I will willingly apply hair dye to my head again, whether by my own hand or someone else's, and yet, I know that time will come and I am DREADING IT. Dreading the thought of choosing a color myself (Lord help me, I've proven that I'm not able to do that) and dreading the thought of trusting someone else to choose and apply it for me. And I could be years away from gray hair actually BOTHERING me, I realize. I just... I JUST DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S ENOUGH TIME.

4. Books I have read since the beginning of 2013 and would recommend: The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes. Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. Books I have read since the beginning of 2013 and thought the lead character was too annoying to make me want to recommend it to someone else: Brand New Human Being, by Emily Jeanne Miller. Books I have returned to the library because I just didn't care to finish them: Seating Arrangements, by Maggie Shipstead. Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, by Anna Quindlen. (May check it out again – just couldn't get into it this time around.) Books currently in the queue: Happier at Home, by Gretchen Rubin. Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver. (I'm going to try to keep up with my reading list here, since so many of you ask/email about it.)

5. I am in love with a particular candle sold at Target. Its this Lemon Verbena soy candle and it costs $7.69 and I have been putting off buying one for something like eight months. EIGHT MONTHS. Why, I ask you, is it fine for me to randomly spend $20 on clearance t-shirts for boys or to throw a $6 nail polish in my cart, but SO DIFFICULT to commit to buying a $7 candle? I walk by this stupid candle nine times a month, pick it up, smell it, AND PUT IT BACK. Why? WHY? It makes no sense. In my last two trips to Target I've bought two $6 clearance belts and three $3 coin purses, a grand total of TWENTY-ONE DOLLARS, also known as THREE CANDLES. Why can't I just DO IT? I love burning candles and the only ones I've let myself buy in the last six months have been cheapy Glade ones in holiday scents. They were fine, did the job or whatever, but never made me TRULY HAPPY. Today I finally pulled the trigger and bought the stupid $7 Lemon Verbena, and you guys. It felt SO GOOD and it's been burning in the kitchen since I got home and my house smells like old school wood-polishing Pledge and reminds me of my childhood (I think) and I am SO HAPPY ABOUT IT. Also feel a little smug because I almost bought the big three-wick tin candle ($3 more) but went with the $7.69 jar candle instead, and then on a whim, checked the bottoms to see that the three-wick candle only burns for 20 hours while they jar candle burns for FIFTY. (Smug!)

(Tapping out at five quick takes today. Must return to Barfy Preschooler watching her 85^th consecutive episode of Wonder Pets. She had Sprite for the first time this afternoon and wept when I said I only had one can. OH THE MISERY OF BEING FOUR.)

Comments

[Jaime]

My daughter barfed all over me last week. It was not a pleasant time. However, she just lay around after it and it made life so much easier because she was being still and not aggravating her brother, as she is currently doing judging by the screams coming from upstairs that I am pointedly ignoring.

I hope Lucy feels better soon!

[Swistle]

I read the whole Anna Quinlan, alternating among these reactions: "This is so annoying," "This is pretty boring," and "THIS IS AWESOME, I SHOULD BUY THIS AS A GIFT FOR A___ and C____ and S_____!!" So I recommended it to my mom, but wasn't surprised when she couldn't get through it.

I should get that lemon verbena candle. I LOVE lemon verbena. SO SMART TO CHECK THE BURN TIME.

[HereWeGoAJen]

I found my first gray hairs six years ago and they haven't started to bother me yet. So maybe you have some time left?

[Susie]

I talk myself out of much desired small purchases ALL THE TIME, while simultaneously spending money on dumb things. I do not understand why I do this, but it helps to know I am not alone. And good for you, overcoming the irrationality!

I hope the barfing was isolated. And I mean, that sucks about Dave's shingles, but maybe it's time he at least got a cold, just to show his solidarity? I don't know.

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

Why are some things so difficult to justify and others so easy? I could completely see myself doing the same dance and retreat with the candle. "But do I really need this?" No... but I don't really need the two costume jewelry necklaces I just bought like they were nothing either.

Here's hoping the barfing was an isolated incident.

[Elsha]

I talk myself out of buying things (things I need even!) all the time, but then when I don't want to cook? Fast food it is! Why do I do this? I would spend less on the stuff!

Hope there's no more barfing!

[Lauren]

I totally gave up on Seating Arrangements, too. Flat-out gave up. I just thought all of the characters were annoying. I'm reading a book right now called The Expats, by Chris Pavone, and am really enjoying it. It's certainly no great work of literature, but it's the kind of book where I really want to see what happens next, and it's an easy read, and it's exactly what I needed right now.

And now I totally want to buy that lemon verbena candle. What is UP with the three-wick candles? I always have bad luck with them when I do make the mistake of buying them, and it seems they can't help but burn down faster. It's a conspiracy by the candle makers, I tell you. Down with three-wick candles!

[Jenn]

I can't wait to check out those books. I skipped my December hair appointment (I tend to go every 8-10 weeks)and what do you know one day I was looking in the mirror and from the middle of my head a wiry grey hair was sticking straight up. Upon closer inspection there were others like it. It surprised me how much it bothered me (my mom has that really pretty gray/blonde thing going, so I thought I might be cool with it)I have a hair appointment tomorrow. I love the lemon verbena, makes the house smell freshly cleaned.

[Lisa Y]

My children also demand that I rip out the picture they want to color. I don't understand this even one little bit but I comply because then it takes them awhile to color the picture they won't need anything for several connected minutes.

I have The Grays. Lori does not have them and since we are identical twins and I have children and she doesn't, what conclusion can we draw? My husband cuts his own hair and he is actually crazy good at it. Like the top is longer and he fades the sides and everything. Plus he is generally detail-oriented and good at everything. So I have recently purchased a home highlighting kit with the idea of having him do it for me. He says he will, but now I'm getting a little scared.

I really enjoyed Happier at Home. And I tend to like Barbara Kingsolver, so I'll have to check out Flight Behavior.

I have recently discovered how much I like to have a good-smelling candle in the kitchen, but do I ever think to buy one during the approximately 120 trips I make to the store per week? No.

[alimartell]

...ack. And car barf is the worst!! (Not that I need to tell you this...)

I hope she feels better soon.

Also, I have heard such good things about Wild. I may have to pick that one up.

[Maggie]

And to think today I was feeling wistful about Having A Pet. Took care of that! Thanks Em!

[Betsy]

Coming out of the woodwork to sayI miss you.