I wanna new drug

Sometimes it seems like everything is going wrong.  That's been the story of my life this week.  It seems that I'm perpetually a dollar short and a day late, as the old adage goes; add this to the constant emotional upheaval which seems to accompany raising kids, and my general mental instability, and you've got a storm a-brewing in Meganland.  It has not been pretty.  Needless to say, I want out.  

How does one escape ones troubles, exactly?  Well, I suppose everybody does it differently. Everyone has their "drug of choice" so to speak- the thing they turn to in difficult times to help them cope.  Some people exercise, some people eat, some people meditate, some people use actual drugs.  Well, I already take drugs to help me cope.  Prescription ones, of course (an anti-depressant/anti-anxiety pill, to be precise).  And guess what.  I'm still not coping.  So I'm on to new things.  

Tuesday I had a rough patch- tried to smooth it over with chocolate.   Yesterday was even worse.  So I tried ice-cream.  Still no better.  Today, I gave the bacon double cheeseburger and fries a chance (do I sense I pattern here?).  Alas, still no relief.  And so this evening, grasping at straws, it occurred to me that I haven't had a book to read all week.  And so, despite the fact that I needed to get home and make dinner pronto, I whipped into the used bookstore on the way home from an errand. Grabbed two books from the "chick-lit" section (feeling better already). Got 'em for free because I had credit from a previous visit (another endorphin rush). As I drove away, I swear I felt tears of joy well up in my eyes (yeah, I know I'm overly emotional right now)-  but I'm telling you, I've found my drug.  Just hook me up with a book and I'll be fine.  And you all thought it was Diet Dr. Pepper.

Incidentally, the girl at the register said something interesting to me as I checked out.  I mentioned that I'd been having a tough week, and she said "yeah, I'm hearing that a lot right now- must be because mercury's in retrograde."  Hallelujah!  Now not only do I know how to cope, I understand what the problem was in the first place.  Danged mercury.

The women who amaze me

I try to be a good mom. I try to be a good Mormon. And recently, I'm trying harder to be fiscally responsible. Sometimes I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job (ala my last post). Other times I realize that compared to many of you, I fall woefully short.
In my quest to be fiscally responsible, I have recently begun couponing. An interesting art, to say the least. I'm not a pro, and I don't think I even aspire to be. But I've discovered that occasionally I can poach ideas from the pros and come out smelling pretty sweet. So today I was on my friend Jessica's blog, because she mentioned that she posted some good deals. From there, I went to a mutual friend Katie's blog. Wow. Katie, like me, has five kids. She also, apparently, is the coupon queen. And she posts beautifully about it so that the rest of us can benefit. Thank you, Katie. But here's what really clinches my admiration for this woman- she has a countdown 'til summer vacation arrives. I believe she is truly excited for the days when all of her kiddos will be home all day for a few months. I, on the other hand, am quaking in fear. So here's to you, Katie, for being all that I aspire to be, and looking cute while doing it. (Did I mention she has great hair?) Check out Katie's blog here: http://katiejprice.blogspot.com/ Sorry, among other things, I'm not cool enough to know how to put this in as a link.