Tuesday miscellany...

I picked up Yamaarashi-chan from her home after leaving work and drove her over to my place. At first, she seemed a little more depressed than usual, a lot quieter. She didn't want to talk about school or anything at all; I asked if there was anything wrong and she said there wasn't, but I still worry. It's what parents do.

We got home and Omaha was in no mood to cook. It's been a busy week, with off-site meetings, overtime at work, and the usual stresses of daily life. The girls immediately hurtled outdoors to play in the back yard; I'm so glad they get along so well and have a safe place to play. Of course, it's not always fun and games back there. When I went out to tell them it was time to get into the car, Yamaarashi-chan was squatting down and looking at a bug that had crawled into the bucket'o'sidewalk chalk and Kouryou-chan was leaning over her shoulder to see. I startled them both and Yamaarashi-chan backed into Kouryou-chan, smacking the little one in the lip. Ow.

We went to Zoopas, which is one of those all-you-can eat places, but it generally has a great selection of fresh foods. I was so surprised by Yamaarashi-chan's selection: pasta salad, raw broccoli, olives, honeydew, cantaloupe, tofu, some bread. She actually ate most of it, although she did leave most of the broccoli behind. Kouryou-chan, in contrast, ate some of the melon but concentrated on the a dollop of macaroni'n'cheese and a dollop of penne with marinara.

I have got to stop drinking pop in front of the kids. It's a bad habit in the first place; doing it while telling the kids they can only have juice or water is hypocritical of me. And doing it at 7:30 pm was a bad move: I couldn't fall asleep until 11:30 or so. And I can't take Nytol, dammit, because it synergizes with my allergy medicine and makes it impossible for me to get up in the morning.

We got home, played a little Sequence, and then I headed out to take Yamaarashi-chan back to her mother's house. I got home just in time to put Kouryou-chan to bed. Unable to sleep, I actually worked on a story; I had an idea brewing in my head-- two, actually; unfortunately, they are very close in initial set-up... I think I'll have to choose one. I'll probably be a caffiene-based life-form for most of Wednesday.

Oh! And I got through Dialogue Lesson 16 of my Japanese class. Since there are 30 lessons in the first semester, I'm now officially halfway through the class. Now if only I could crack down and get serious on the written lessons... sigh. I was supposed to start them back in Lesson 10. (And yes, for those of you keeping track, this does mean I'm half a week behind schedule on the dialogue. I'll try to make it up... somehow.)

I am totally getting old...

I am totally getting old. This afternoon, Omaha and I met up and went to the local food court for lunch. Once upon a time, I might have letched at the young women there, thinking one was cute or pretty or whatever. Today, my reaction was universally, "And your parents let you out of the house dressed like that?"

Okay, I'm ready for the nursing home. Take me away, Martha Raye, Polident user.

Edit: I have been advised that it is Martha Raye who pimped Polident in the late 1970s and 1980s. Martha Gramm was a famous ballet choreographer who, as far as I can tell, never fronted for anyone.