this and that

1. When I was pregnant with Asher, I found this AMAZING Thai dish that involved a peanut sauce and chicken and I never remembered the name of it (my coworker recommended it, and after that I referred to it as the great Thai peanut chicken thing) but I loved it and craved it all the time. Then the coworker that recommended it (and always reminded me of its actual name) moved away and I never remembered how to order it and whenever I tried to describe it to the waitress I was always met with blank stares. Alas, the great Thai peanut chicken thing craving was never satisfied. Until TONIGHT, when I made Carrie's citrus ginger stir-fry without the pepper flakes and discovered the EXACT sauce from my favorite unnamed Thai dish. This is wonderful. This is glorious, even, for a pregnant woman who can't have sugar to discover something protein-based to eat besides (for the love of all that is holy) peanut butter and scrambled eggs. HOORAY for Thai peanut sauce that I can make at home and double hooray for Carrie, who gave me the recipe. This is by far the best recipe so far from my New Year's Resolution. If you want it, email me and I'll share.

2. Angela at Reality Testing said that I should write a post about Sugar, my sister's effeminately male cat, who taunted the ex-police dog in the adjacent yard one too many times and was bitten IN HALF while my dad was on a business trip to France. My dad came home just in time to write a check to the vet that equaled exactly the amount of money he'd made in France. Maybe one day soon we could have a pet story contest and I can tell about Sugar.

3. I am not going to vote for Mike Huckabee, but he's been on tv and NPR all day defending why he's still in the race, and the guy's got some good points. Since when is the democratic process hindered by competition? Also, McCain has won states in the primaries that he can't possibly win in the fall, like California. Huckabee has won the states that are the bread and butter of the Republican party. I may not belong to his political party, but I think he's right to stay in the race.

4. In my opinion, the hardest part about working at home is the thankless aspect of my job. There is no public recognition for staying on top of laundry or having a happy, well-rested baby. In the best possible moment, the most I can hope for is to do it all over again the next day. So when dinner turns out to be the secret recipe I'd forgotten I loved, and Brian says that his job is easier than mine, and that he appreciates the work I did today - it makes my day. A little encouragement goes a long way for me these days.

5. I also discovered Bare Naked Granola this week, thanks to a buy one, get one free sale at my grocery store. LOVE Bare Naked Granola. And it only has 3 grams of sugar (to 5 grams of protein) per serving. I know that I could make my own granola, and maybe someday I'll let that be my new meal of the week recipe. But for now, I'm stocking up on a cheap low-sugar protein source that is not (for the love of all things holy, again) peanut butter or scrambled eggs.

6. Sleep is better, thanks for asking. My doctor said I could take medicine for it, but the trick to medicine is the longer you take it, the less effective it is. He recommended "good sleep hygiene" as my first try, and medication if that didn't help. "Good sleep hygiene" is a ridiculous phrase, but it basically means to do the same things for myself that I do for Asher's bedtime. Do the same thing every night, go to bed at the same time, and don't fall asleep in front of the tv. Do you know that it has worked? Not sleeping on the couch is a biggie - when I fall asleep too early, I basically take a nap, and then my body is tricked into believing it no longer needs rest (which it emphatically does). Right now I go to bed at 10 pm, and I do not lie down on the couch before that time, lest I am tempted to doze off. I've slept much better as a result. I still wake up more often than I do when I'm not pregnant, but I've been able to fall back asleep immediately every time. Hooray for "good sleep hygiene." But you seriously need a cooler name.

That's all I've got. Happy Monday everyone.