ugh

I feel awful today. I'm tired and sad and sluggish and my muscles ache and I just feel out and out bad. I have a million things I could be doing (including at least making an attempt to be fun with my kids) but my arms and legs feel like they are weighted down with lead and I cannot get up the energy to do anything at all.

I feel like this a lot, but have enough good days that it hides the bad. I'm sure there is some reason for it, but on days I feel like this I cannot muster the energy to figure it out and on days I feel great I don't want to be bothered. I just want to live my life. I have some suspicions as to what it could be: Vit D deficiency, PPD, Dairy or wheat intolerance, Fibromyalgia....but I don't ever seem to follow up and so therefore have done nothing to change my circumstance.

Even here I'm just whining and complaining instead of dealing.

Ugh.

So many posts....so little time to blog!!

I've got so many things rattling around in my head that I've been wanting to blog about that I'm almost paralyzed. So here I am...I have about 20 minutes give or take...WHAT am I going to write about? I'll try to touch on a few things.

First up - The Fourth of July: disapointment abounds. This year I was excited to attend the Needham (MA) Fourth of July Parade for the first time since I was in High School. I wanted to share the experience with my children and my husband and to be reminded about the fun small town setting in which I grew up. Disappointment one: my son didn't want to go. I decided not to make him (although this is a subject I want to explore further later) and just took my two daughters. Disappointment two: few floats and unfortunately (not the parade's fault) we chose a spot that happened to be where all the bands simply marched on beat instead of playing a song. Disappointment three: fellow parade goers are obnoxious and discourteous. That was the biggest thing. On both sides of us were children with snaps. You know, those horrible little things that when you throw them on the ground make a snapping sound. I guess I'm a bit of a curmudgeon as I don't really care for them in the best of circumstances, but I found it completely offensive that these kids were tossing snaps AT THE PEOPLE IN THE PARADE and their parents not only didn't stop them, but encouraged them!! There were a few people on horseback and the kids were trying to throw them so the horse would step on them. Do you find this as offensive as I do?? Seriously, if I'm being a no fun stick in the mud just let me know.

Okay, still with me? Here's my second thing and then I'll stop for today. What ever happened to mandatory family fun?? I believe in my heart of hearts that growing up in a family and taking vacations is all about being carted around to events that you don't think you want to go to and making the best of it. And not only that but coming away with great memories (whether they are memories of a surprisingly good time or a predictably horrible time). When Jack said he didn't want to go to the parade, I let it go. I felt under the circumstances (not everyone was going anyway) it was best to just let him stay home, but I really regret it. Okay, he probably would have hated it and ruined it for the rest of us but that's what family fun is all about, am I right? Again, maybe I'm crazy.

Review: The Death of a Pope

Recently, while on my vacation, I read the novel The Death of a Pope by Piers Paul Read. Set in the time between the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI, it is a suspenseful thriller about a suspected terrorist and the innocent woman who comes to love him. While not what I would consider *great* literature, it is a fantastic book for those who enjoy the likes of James Patterson and who are looking for something better than (blah!) Dan Brown. I found the plot a tiny bit predicatable, but who cares! It's authentically Catholic and kept me up reading until midnight. Who could ask for more from a vacation book! I would have liked a bit more character development, but I'm fairly creative and have enjoyed developing the characters myself, haha! Plus I am still pondering some of the deeper issues raised regarding social justice and the Catholic Church.
So.....I would tell you, if you want something light that will challange some of your assumptions and keep you up in the wee hours of the night, head over to The Catholic Company and get this book!