An Un-Update

For sale in my Etsy store, The Sunflower Tree

There is absolutely nothing of note going on here in our lives right now.  We've been plenty busy, had a great Valentine's weekend, and had our taxes prepared, but nothing that seems noteworthy.  When that happens, I usually attempt something humorous, but it seems that I'm even low on humor of late, which I take to mean that I  have writer's block.  I didn't realize that my last post was twenty-five days ago...I guess I've been uninspired for a month now!  I haven't even tried any new recipes that I can recall.  Really, this is a quiet time of year for me, and many people.  I would say I'm looking forward to warm weather, but really, this winter has been pretty warm (at least, for northern Ohio)!  So, it seems that there's not much to say.  I always enjoy peaceful, quiet times in life anyway.  I despise drama.  I hope everyone else is having a peaceful moment in their lives, too!

I came across this verse in Ecclesiastes, and it seemed fitting to my life and mood right now:
Ecclesiastes 9:1-3, 7-10:

"So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not… Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."

PMS Demons...Read If You Dare

This goes out to all you ladies out there who are still, ever have been, or ever will experience the joys of being a woman each month.  At this time during the month, I always find myself wondering how God in His infinite wisdom would create in us a most unpleasant side effect of being able to bear children.  And at this time during the month, I find myself wanting to eat nothing but chocolate (more so than normal) and so overly emotional about the most insipid situations that I almost can't stand being around myself.

Hang on a second.  I need some M&Ms, STAT.

Okay, where was I?  Oh yes.  Chocolate and ridiculous emotions.  I found myself--

More M&Ms.

So, anyway, I feel so bad for my husband when I go crazy.  Yes, it's going crazy.  There is no other way to describe it.  There is no explanation for being happy and having a good time and laughing hysterically at jokes with your friends one minute, and then being near tears the next because all of a sudden, the joke is mean or insulting.  And really, it's neither funny nor mean. No one else is laughing.  No one else is crying.  And everyone is staring at you, which then flips the anger switch and you suddenly hate everyone.  And then two minutes later, you feel bad about being angry and are suddenly overwhelmed with your love for your fellow commiserators.  These sudden emotional swings then tire you out, and you find yourself leaving your loved-hated friends at 7:30 on a Friday night to go home and eat ice cream, then cookie dough, then Doritos (because you've eaten too much sweet food), then a candy bar (because the Doritos left a salty taste and needed something sweet to balance it out) in the dark.  Then you feel guilty about the fact that you just ate a day's worth of calories in the span of an hour and a half as you watch the most sappy chick-flick that you own, and never even like to watch at any other time of the month.

Where are the Doritos??  Oh no, I don't have any!  How could I let this happen??  Sniffle, sniffle.  Hey, how late is Taco Bell open?

So, this goes on for a week or so.  The emotions are only a part of the equation.  Maybe we wouldn't be quite so emotional if we weren't in constant discomfort 24/7.  There's the bloating and water retention, abdominal cramps, and a constant feeling of peeing your pants.  Good thing we have these pillow-sized, um, "feminine products" to make our lady lives easier.  I mean, seriously--who came up with these things??  Our options are a sticky "diaper" or an uncomfortable "insert", and both will eventually leak and/or cause problems if the wearer is not able to access a bathroom every few hours.  I suppose it could be worse, though; have you ever wondered where the term "on the rag" came from?  I can't imagine what laundry day was like for families of ten people, half of whom were women, when laundry was washed by hand in a giant kettle.

Didn't I buy a five-gallon bucket of chocolate ice cream at the store...?

Since the beginning of time, women have had to bear the brunt of child rearing and aaaaaallllllllll that that entails, including being clinically insane once a month.  Which brings me back to my original question: Why, God, in Your infinite wisdom, must we suffer through the "joys of womanhood" each month?  We can't change it, so I guess we'll just have to deal with it and look forward to menopause.  And that will bring a new set of challenges to endure, and that will be another post for another day. 

Thanks, Eve.

I wonder what Eve ate when she had PMS?  I bet it wasn't fruit!