Stockpiling Altoids

A friend of mine & I share the same love for cinnamon altoids but they are very hard to find! We found one store here in central Iowa that sells them & bought the rest of the altoids that the store had in stock. She came up with the idea- that if we ever started a band, it should be called 'stockpiling altoids'! Since we'll never start a band, I decided to use it for this blog.

So, a blog! Whew! Everybody's doing it, right?! I decided I'd give it a try. It's not even that I'm a writer like my brilliant friend who has started her own blog MaudeRubyPearl, or that I have anything of particulare interest to talk about. I do have a lot to say, however, and it's just the stuff that runs around in my head all day- making me crazy! I'm just a single mom with a baby living in Iowa in the middle of winter! You know that phrase "Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa!"? Well, most of the time I feel like one would ask "Is this hell? No, it's Iowa" I would say! No offense to those of you who live here & love it... but it's just not for me anymore! Sure, it has it's moments & it's wonder & incredible people but right now it's cold & everything looks dead & it's hard not to feel dead inside too!

I will say that this morning was beautiful! It really was! Perhaps it was because this was the first morning I have left the house in 3 days! I know, that's terrible! But I've been sick & my daughter is sick & it's cold outside so why brave it if you don't have to?! The trees were all covered in ice, poor trees. But, it's beautiful- it's my favorite kind of winter morning! A picture perfect winter morning! Now it's noon & I'm over it!!!

Perhaps the only thing worse than being sick in the middle of winter is being sick with a sick child. I always wondered how parents did it. I'm a horrible sick person; I'm such a baby! Now, I still wonder! I wouldn't be able to do it without help from my parents! Those days when you just feel like you could die, your head is pounding, your body aching, you're so exhausted you can hardly get out of bed to pee! Then to top it off, you've got a baby who feels the same way & only wants her mom. Ugh! I still don't know how we make it through! Maybe it helps if that baby has two parents who can take turns, but that is simply not the case here! I really, really don't know how the women do it, the women who have no one, no family or good friends or partners to help out. Ah, the strength of a woman! As for the men... that's a whole other blog!!!