The one where I'm not on the verge of fortune and fame and I have Rickets

Guess what day it is? That's right, Saturday!! My favorite day of the week. Well, right now. During the summer that will change as Saturday becomes the day of the week that everyone is home. Right now it's the day of the week where I'm the only one home. So it's my writing day. That glorious day where nobody bothers me and I can stick to my own schedule. Which, of course, is actually no schedule at all. I write, I research, I read, and every few hours I get up to potty and grab a new drink or some food. It's like heaven. Well, heaven for writers anyway.

And while we're on the subject of writers, let me clear up some confusion. I do have a publisher wanting to take a look at my novel when it's finished. This is in NO WAY a guarantee of publication. I mean, she could decide it's the worst novel in the history of novels. (No wait, I'm pretty sure I read that one posted on the Internet somewhere) Anyway, it could conceivably suck. Or it could be good, but not fit her tastes. I mean, there are a million little "ifs" in there. And should the Universe favor me on that day and she does accept it? I'm still not going to be rich or famous. It's a small publishing company that does a lot of E-publishing. Which means that you would be able to purchase the book as a download or for E-readers. I think they do some print publishing based on popularity so there is a chance that it would make it to paperback. But it won't be a hardcover bestseller is my point. Not that first one anyway. Don't worry, I still plan to take the world by storm, I'm just sneaking in the back way. I'm totally cool with this, because personally I think that E-books are the wave of the future. You are immediately accessible to a global market. They are convenient, cheaper (both for the publisher and the reader), and more manageable. And it's not about the money (of course I wouldn't turn down the money), it's about making people leave the light on when they get done reading my book.

And speaking of leaving the light on...Lu and I tried Tina's nightmare inducing suggestion of cheese before bed last night. Nope. Another fail. Apparently I am nightmare resistant. Lu and I talked it over and neither of us has ever woken up screaming. I have woken up momentarily terrified. But never full on screaming. And I've read scary books my entire life. I've watched scary movies my entire life. I've had trouble going to sleep, had to turn a light on when I got up to go to the bathroom (hubby really gets cranky about this), jumped on to the bed from three feet away (you know, so nothing under the bed can grab me), and hidden my eyes as I drive past scarecrows. But I don't believe I've ever had a full on nightmare. I feel so gypped.

In other news, I have Rickets. Okay, maybe not Rickets per se, but a serious vitamin D deficiency. It's all the buzz on the health boards right now. That vitamin D deficiency is cropping up and causing all sorts of problems. Crunchy joints, anyone? So when I went to see the orthopedic doctor for my follow up knee appointment, I mentioned it to her.

Me: So I was told that I should get my vitamin D level checked.

DR: I was just reading an article on that last night! And my daughter, who's your age (gee, thanks for throwing my age in) had hers checked and she was significantly low. If it's low you have to take 50,000 mg a week for eight weeks and then 1000 mg a week after that, plus 1000mg of calcium.

Me: For real? Dude, that sounds like a lot. Can't I just drink milk or something?

DR: No, because the problem is that your body probably isn't absorbing it the way it should either.

Me: So I have Rickets?

DR: They did use Rickets as the example in the article, in the slide illustration.

Me: My mom used to tell me when I was little that I had to go play outside in the sun or I'd get Rickets.

DR: She was right.

Me: Um. No. I think she just wanted to get rid of me and my creepy imaginary friend for awhile.

DR:*crickets chirping*

Me: And now I have Rickets anyway so fat lot of good that did. At least the imaginary friend is gone right? I hope he didn't get Rickets.

DR: Okay, so I think we're done here.


Earlier this week the nurse from the Doctor's office called to report that I was indeed vitamin D deficient. They gave me samples of the Vitamin D and I have to take 10,000 mg a day Monday through Friday to make 50,000 mg per week for 8 weeks. Then it lowers to 1000 a day. Of course, I looked the whole thing up online, because enquiring minds want to know. This is the best article I found on the subject. I guess what floored me the most was learning that the sunscreen I use is totally blocking my Vitamin D absorption. So even though I spent hours outside by the ocean or lake or mowing the lawn, I'm getting zero benefit in the vitamin D department. The hell?! Now I can't even yell at my mom for not putting sunscreen on me when I was four and letting me get that horrible sunburn on my shoulders. Turns out she was doing me a favor.

It also amazes me that Vitamin D deficiency is directly linked to Fibromyalgia, a disease that I've been diagnosed with. So I'm pretty excited about what kind of effect increasing my Vitamin D may have on my physical well-being. I'm not convinced it's a miracle cure or anything, but even feeling a bit better helps. So I would urge all of you to think about asking for this test at your next check-up. I know I will be urging my family to get it done.

And that's it from me. I have scaring to do and the last weekend of a conference to attend. Hope y'all have a great weekend!
♥Spot

The one where the nightmare quest continues...

So the nightmare quest continues. I really wasn't trying Thursday night to cause nightmares. For one thing, the kids would be getting home late and for another, frankly, I'd run out of ideas for the moment. But due to a snafu or miscommunication between Hubby and I, he and I didn't end up eating dinner until about 9 that night. Leftover pork chops and corn on the cob. And guess what? No, I didn't have a nightmare, but I did have a bad dream. What's the difference Spot? I hear you asking me. I consider a nightmare to be one where you are absolutely terrified. You wake up disoriented, panicked, heart pounding, clammy sweat, your body poised for fight or flight. That is a nightmare. And I haven't had one in months. A bad dream is simply scary while you're in it, but you wake up with the full realization that it was a dream. And roll over and go back to sleep.

I had a bad dream. A weird bad dream, no less. I was around thirteen. I lived in a huge house with my parents (who oddly enough, were my actual parents, though younger than they are now), and a lot of little brothers and sisters. (which is weird because I only have one sister). Anyway, the parents had a friend over, a male (not someone from my real life, total stranger). He was obviously a close friend of my parents but I got a totally creepy vibe from him and didn't want to be around him. So I left the room they were in watching TV and started down a long hallway. The friend followed me. Then he started making suggestive comments and threats about how he was going to come back when everyone was asleep. I was very scared in the dream! As soon as he left I locked the door, and then ran through the house locking windows and doors. The house got bigger and bigger and more maze like and I was frantically trying to get everything locked up to protect myself and my siblings, knowing I was only seconds ahead of this guy every time (because I could see his face looking in the windows), and that he was getting increasingly angrier with every lock he encountered. And then I woke up, shrugged and went back to sleep. I'm sure a psychiatrist would have a field day with this one! But I'm blaming the pork chops.

Dreaming is a funny thing isn't it? I know some people say that they can have lucid dreams where they control what's happening. I have never had one of those. I do have a weird recurring dream that I have every couple of years. I wake up crying and missing someone I've never even met. I have a friend who says it must be a past life memory. And isn't that an intriguing thought??

So far, all I've gotten from my quest is one bad/weird dream and a whole lot of sleep deprivation. Eating before bed is definitely not conducive to a good night's sleep. And when four people in the same household are suffering, it gets a little cranky. So I think we'll try again maybe one night next week.

Oh, and I did get a story idea from this experiment. And since I needed one for a competition, I guess at least the experiment wasn't a total fail.

tell me your dreams,
♥Spot

The one where I try to induce nightmares...

So I read this article the other day on "Urban Myths that are really true". And one of them was that candy causes nightmares. I'd never heard that before and couldn't think of any time I'd seen a definite correlation. So I did what we always do in my house in that kind of situation. I decided to conduct an experiment. I announced close to bedtime that everyone had to eat some candy because I wanted them to have nightmares. Sean and I had Jelly Beans, but I only had yellow and orange, because those are the only ones I'll eat. Luckily, Sean loves me enough (or I pester him enough) that he picks out those ones and hands them to me. Luke and Lu had gummy worms. When I felt we were sufficiently sugared up, I wished everyone scary nightmares.

Lu: You really just wished us nightmares?

Me: Duh. The experiment will be a failure if you don't have any.

Luke: You just mean like weird dreams, right?

Me: Um. No. I want full on, wake up screaming nightmares. I haven't had one of those in forever!

Luke: You're like seriously excited about this. Why?

Me: I love to be scared. Nightmares are the best! They make great story ideas.

Lu: I'm totally facebooking this. *and she did. Her status-My mother just made me eat candy before bed because she wants to see if I have nightmares. Can we say best mom ever award?!?! Lmao.*

Sean: I hope you feel good about the cavities I'm going to get because you made us eat candy so late at night.

Me: I didn't say you couldn't brush your teeth, Sean. You're not blaming that on me.

Sean: This is so going in my notebook for my future therapist.

Fast forward to morning. No one had a nightmare. I was super bummed. We did all confess to very strange dreams. I knew I'd had one, but had forgotten it by the time I actually got up. Sean's was almost a nightmare. He and Lu were having a party and she drank all the whiskey and half the wine, even though she hates wine. But overall we decided it wasn't scary enough to be a nightmare.

The next night, we tried ice cream. With chocolate and caramel sauce. Still, no one woke up screaming. Again, a few weird and almost lucid dreams. I have to commend my children on allowing me to mess with their digestion and sleep patterns in my quest for a scientific way to induce nightmares. I have had a few suggestions from helpful people, but most of them involve alcohol or illegal drugs. Not happening. Alcohol has never made me have nightmares. I'm open to other suggestions though. Anyone got some??

In the name of science,
♥Spot