Random Thoughts: January 16, 2008

** Alison's little peanut may have been exposed to RSV. poor baby isn't eating, has a fever, is coughing her wee self silly. and she has a date with the pediatrician this afternoon. please keep Gracie in your thoughts, prayers, whatever you've got. it's bad enough to be sick. it's so much worse when it's a bitty baby.

** 26 days til pitchers & catchers report, people! that is less than a month. do you have *any* idea how excited i am?!

** apparently, being thankful has even more benefits than simply being gracious. people who actually write down the things they are grateful for are more optimistic about the upcoming week, exercise more often and get sick less frequently than those who spent time writing about hassles & mundane events. and it doesn't even have to be something big. even being thankful for a funny email or a fresh pot of coffee counts! i have to say that i am a big believer in venting to get out the negative stuff that builds up, but i think that -- for me, anyway -- it helps to fill up that freed space with something positive, even if it seems trivial to everyone else. there are days that this is a bigger chore than maybe it should be, but it does seem to help. kind of like a mental deep cleansing breath: out with the bad, in with the good.

** speaking of out with the bad, i was reading an article in a magazine just the other day that was really interesting to me. i don't know about the guys, but i think every one of the girls i am friends with will identify with the need for a good cry every so often. and it's amazing how relieved it can make you feel, and this article gives an explanation that makes a lot of sense to me: "Humans evolved the ability to cry in order to remove in their tears chemicals that build up during stress, so they are literally crying it out. Research has shown that emotional tears have a different chemical composition from those generated by an irritant stimulus. ... Many people will try to stanch those tears, but that's not good because our bodies will internalize that grief, which can lead to all sorts of problems, such a hypertension, gastrointestinal distress and anxiety. So go ahead and let yourself cry."

** i have been suffering from a mysterious craving for about three days now. i cannot, for the life of me, figure out *what* it is. i have looked through my well-stocked pantry about 837 times now, and it's not in there.

** i am really over this writers strike. i understand (to a point) and agree that they have a legitimate beef. but doesn't Hollywood understand what i have been forced to resort to watch on tv as a result?! have mercy on me! at least Boston Legal is still turning out new episodes. and there is at least one more coming, since they showed previews for next week!