I have my humidifier turned off and the windows open, because rain finally arrived a few hours ago, after promising to arrive all day, like a good friend who is never on time, and I want to hear the wind and the chimes, and the choppy water in the pool.

I find the sound of storms to be both restful and inspiring. Yes, the two should be somewhat contradictory. Somehow, however, they are not.

I’ve spent the vast majority of the last two days, and indeed, as much of the past week as possible, asleep. There were vivid dreams and fever dreams, and some were the same, but not all. There was also a desperate wish for a breeze, but it was unusually warm, and when there was wind it was blowing across the window rather than in.

Tonight it is blowing in, and while I should be closing the blinds against the too-early morning arrival of the Pool Guy (the pool is just outside our bedroom window), I cannot bear to seal myself off from moist air.

I watched Becoming Jane earlier, and quite liked it.
I am watching Dedication now, but I do not understand, have never understood, why people think it’s arty to live in bleak surroundings. I find the sets depressing, and am having a difficult time moving past them to the actual story.

I want to spend a week writing in a lighthouse.

I should go to bed now.

I say… And you think…?

1. Chemical :: imbalance
2. Poker :: face
3. Federal :: investigator
4. Mattress :: money
5. Who am I? :: Who are you?
6. Investigation :: underway
7. In good hands :: AllState
8. 8:30 :: in the morning
9. Creditors ::vendors
10. Resource :: materials

Like this meme? Play along at Subliminal.Lunanina.Com

The March-April issue is LIVE, and y’all should go check it out at AllThingsGirl.com. (Remember that submissions are open for upcoming issues as well. Write stuff!)

Well, five days later, my temperature is still spiking and dipping, though not as extremely as it was on Monday, and both Fuzzy and I still have uncontrollable coughing. I have zero voice. He can speak but refuses to, because that’s what makes him cough. He keeps gesturing and expecting me to understand when he doesn’t use conventional mime gestures, and while I understand ASL reasonably well, he doesn’t know any.

“Fuzzy,” I’ve said more than once over the last few days, “you suck at mime.”

If nothing else, neither of us is so ill that we’re loathe to bathe without using one of those shower chairs, but I’ll admit that on Monday evening, when I woke up blistering hot and dizzy four hours after going to bed in fleece and socks, I’d have killed for one.

In other news, we celebrate our thirteenth year of marriage at the end of this month.
And yes, we’re renewing the contract.

Okay, so, I just received in the mail from Sara the most amazing bag that she made, because she’s amazingly talented. And I just realized that I never posted MY part of the PiF meme, so I’m doing it now.

To borrow from her:

It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on.

So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise!

I’m adding the caveat here that something handmade from me MAY end up being a short story or other piece of original writing, because I’m better at words than crafts. Then again, I do have some talents y’all don’t know about.

Oh, and for purposes of this meme, responses MUST be at the blog, NOT on LiveJournal.

The hope being, then, that YOU will pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I don’t often gush about online shopping but let me tell you why buy.com rocks.

First, there’s the fact that they offer books, music, dvd’s and all the cool electronic toys any of us could want at really good prices. It’s true that lots of other online stores do that, but most don’t also show you the going price for the item you’re looking at, and where you can get it. Not just, “average retail price is X” but “You can also get this at Target for X.” I like that they’re honest about these things, especially since their prices are usually the lowest of the bunch.

Then there’s the fact that they take multiple forms of payment: credit/debit cards, paypal, and google checkout, the latter of which nets you a $10 discount if you’re a first-time user. I’m all for saving $10 when I can.

The site itself is easy to navigate, and uses images and text as well as audio and video to display products. Users can even upload video reviews of the products they’ve ordered. Regular multimedia segments include Howie Mandel’s “What’s Shakin'” and Ryan Seacrest’s “Deal of the Week” both of which highlight specific offerings.

Another reason why buy.com rocks is that they offer free shipping, which is great if you’re buying a big-ticket item where shipping is usually based on weight.

I went there to browse through their camera offerings and found one I really like, and am about to order it. I’ll let you know if everything goes smoothly. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for anything from jewelry to sunglasses to flat screen dvds, check out Buy.com.

Still sick, but brain is clearer even if head is not.

Downstairs furnace refusing to put out heat. Upstairs all toasty. Took a nap in guest room (warm, but mattress too firm) last night, and woke after 90 minutes feeling all hot and blistery again.

Came back down to 65-degree bedroom, and snuggled under five layers of covers (sheet, cotton blanket, bedspread, big cotton blanket, big ass comforter) and a heating pad, and slept fitfully.

Breathing would be nice.
Throat feels raw.

Have stopped taking expectorants because when you have chronic post-nasal drip coughing doesn’t expel mucus into your mouth so you can spit it out, but up above your soft palate so you slowly choke yourself to death. Benadryl seems to work best. Benadryl, ibuprofen, and lots of water.

Haven’t really rested. So. Fucking. Tired.
Going back under the blankets now.

Carry on.

…that I’m sitting here feeling like I’m burnt to a crisp because he came down with a nasty flu on Saturday, and, typical of him, didn’t medicate or rest or anything until his fever had already escalated to “lobster” hot.

This morning, I was fine, if a bit scratchy throated, until D and M got on the road heading west, and then I sat down at my desk in the living room, and could literally feel the flu attacking my system. I went from normal to 102 in less than three hours, and have since napped, faded in and out of quasi-nappage, been so cold that despite the fact that the temperature outside was above 85, I was bundled in flannel pajamas, socks, a t-shirt, and a fleece pullover, while underneath four layers of blankets and clutching a heating pad, and currently (even post cool shower) I feel so feverish that I would not be surprised if the flesh on my arms peeled away like the meat from the bone of a chicken leg.

Fuzzy is improving, and just went to fetch dinner as we have nothing illness friendly in the house. Me? I want to bathe in ice water but it would take too much effort.

Did I mention that I got a bag full of free books today (and learned, in the process, that I am not the only person who reuses those nifty little Starbucks bags)?

There are three rules I have when it comes to reading:
1) Read something every day, even if it’s just a blog entry, an article in a magazine, or a chapter of whatever book is in the bathroom.
2) Read a little bit of everything: comedy, drama, chick-lit, serious fiction, biographies, non-fiction…it’s all good, and limiting yourself never is.
3) Never, ever turn down free books.

The unwritten fourth rule of books is to share what you read – either by passing books along to others or writing reviews. The bag I got from Deb this afternoon comes with the requirement that most be reviewed for All Things Girl, either the ‘zine or the blog, and I’m really excited about doing so.

Between Zorro being sick and both of us being sick (we keep passing a cold/sinus/thing back and forth, I think), and just not sleeping well, my schedule is skewed beyond the normal funky hours I tend to keep, which is why I, the one who generally doesn’t work past noon on Fridays, found myself writing news about life insurance policies at 6 PM last night, and working on a music video for a project at eleven last night.

Today was a mix of business and pleasure. We put the order in for the new carpet for the lower hallway and stairs (a commercial grade variegated color called “moss” for the first floor – a mix of sage, clay, coffee and cream, and slate – the swatch looked amazing when we put it near the walls and the cherry floor it will touch.

The upper hall and stairs will get cushy-soft residential carpet in a color called “mocha mist” which is swear is NOT this year’s version of condo cream or apartment gold. It’s a caramel-y warm neutral, but deeper than any of those “we’re about to sell this house” colors, and while it goes well with the current color scheme, will allow us to change the walls without having to redo the carpet AGAIN, should we desire.

It takes 10 or so days for the carpet to arrive.

I cannot wait.

I also met Deb for coffee (this time at the Border’s in Arlington Highlands, where there was an actual bagpiper piping in the square. Apparently, he’s a high school student and a member of the Scottish Rite, and this was some kind of extra credit thing. He was adorable, in the way that freshly scrubbed teenaged boys in kilts tend to be, and somehow it was a perfect cap to a sunny, springy, February day.

We just got back from grocery shopping (London broil 2 for 1, ditto the high-grade chicken breasts. Yay meat!) and I’m doing some pre-cleaning before Fuzzy steam cleans the carpets for the last time. Well, THESE carpets, anyway.

In April, we’ll be tiling the formal dining room.