My oldest son is finishing his Science homework on the other end of the table. Two dogs are wrestling through our feet. M and the other boys are upstairs for reasons unknown. I’m ok. After 5PM. I’m thinking of watching the USA/Canada hockey game with the boys, but I’d be just as happy reading in the bedroom upstairs, where I’ve left the humidifier running all day. The space probably feels like a greenhouse by now. I love that air.

Last night I crashed early, by 9PM, after reading essays from that travel book. This morning I rose by 5, drank coffee, read the paper, and watched some of the news before getting gas for the car and walking into the gym as the doors opened at 6AM. Thirty minutes of the stairmaster and upper body weights/abs later I returned home, downed the yogurt/protein powder, and took a shower. By 10 I started laundry and downloaded a dozen or so old CDs onto the Zune. When was the last time I heard The Cure’s Greatest Hits? Not sure. I’ll listen tomorrow. After a quick quesadilla lunch I started in with the cakes. Man, I tell you, nothing calms me down lately like baking. I’ve said that before, I don’t care, I love the feeling of holding the mixer while the batter thickens. N helps, usually, with the spatula on the sides. See results below, by the way. I needed runnier frosting, apparently, which makes sense. I did not know runnier frosting existed. Must explore recipes. Maybe we should have just dusted it with powdered sugar. That would have worked, too. Hm. I learn a little more every week. That’s what baking is about, right? Ok, I also made simple pasta for dinner and read about Christianity in the middle ages. I can do my homework tomorrow. I’m glad I had a chance to read quietly, though, as the house seemed consistently loud again today. I’ve got to get out more. The coffee shop isn’t this loud, you know? M was out of the house most of the day, either shopping or with one of the kids at the coffee shop. I’m particularly sensitive to noise lately, for whatever reason, and Corey keeps saying he can handle the rush of his existence better when he builds time away from the currents. I agree. I should be smarter about these patterns by now.

So tomorrow should be easier since I hit the office yesterday. Tuesday should be easier still. What are we starting? The sixth week of the semester? I can live with that. Feb. 21st. One month until spring. Get some sleep. Snow is coming.