No wonder sleep deprivation is used as torture

We've had a really tough time getting Ava to fall asleep this week. And when she goes, it's either really late, or we have to keep holding her after she nods off or she'll wake up. Aaack. I got about 12 hours sleep total in three days.

So last night I tried the method I keep reading and hearing about: bedtime routine. I know: groundbreaking. But since the health department frowns on sacrificing farm animals to ancient Egyptian gods in urban areas, I'm game for almost anything at this point if it will do the trick.

When Ava started acting sleepy around 8pm (rubbing eyes, getting fussy), I gave her a bath, a lotion massage, a swaddle, a sleepy time song and a feeding. She was out in less than 5 minutes! Crazy. But then I guess if someone gave me a hot bath, a massage and a hot meal in bed, I'd be drooling in no time too. She did wake up a couple hours later, but it didn't take long to put her back down. I was so giddy with the sudden availability of evening time I promptly frittered it away online and poking around my e-mail. I blame the sleep deprivation for me not thinking straight.

So far, the method worked again tonight, even after I took her to a volunteer organization meeting I had that was supposed to go until 9pm. Yuck. Since I leave so early in the morning for work, I've come to loath evening meetings because they cut into the time I have to spend with her while she's awake. I leave while she's sleeping and if I go straight home after work, I may get an hour and a half or two tops with her while she's alert. Heavy sigh.

In case there's any doubt, this working mom thing blows sometimes. But times like the picture below (Mom and daughter hair clip night! Yay!) offset the other times somewhat.

High end shopping

I was out running errands one day and came across this sign in a store
window. As you might suspect, I wasn't in a high end shopping mecca.

One question you have to ask is who are the poor schmucks suffering with "off the rack" gold teeth instead of custom ones?

Also, given my MBA, I'm stumped as to whether I'd characterize this business niche as ridiculous or brilliant or ridiculously brilliant. You decide.

Regardless, I wonder if they have gift cards. If so, don't you hope I draw your name next year for Christmas? Fo' shizzle.

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Moblogged from my Treo

Treat for the bag lover in your life

Do you carry a purse or know someone who does? Since that's everyone, unless you're a monk reading this in a monastery in some remote local, check this out. There's a cool tool for hanging a purse on a table when you're out and about.

If you're thinking, "Solution in search of a problem," think again. Every woman who carries a purse at some point ends up at a bar or restaurant without a good place to put her purse, other than on or under her chair (easy to forget, dirty and makes your bag a theft target) or in her lap (cumbersome, increases potential of spilling on purse and prevents leg crossing).

This handy bag hook is the perfect alternative. And apparently, this type of device has been around for decades! Posters on other sites say their grandmothers and moms used one when they were young. So what's old is new again and we get to benefit.

The purse hook comes in several sparkly and vintage-look finishes, is useful and lightweight. It rotates to lie flat for storage, so you can just throw it in your purse in the complimentary velveteen drawstring pouch and go. Here's mine in action. Love it!

They can be found online by Googling handbag hook, but lover of instant gratification that I am, I got mine at a neat new handbag store in downtown Seattle called Clutch. Their bags are from luxurious brands and though many are affordable, most are out of my current handbag price range, what with the bambino to put through college and all.

But I love to go drool over their latest finds and steam up the window while salivating from the sidewalk. They carry several styles of hooks. A purse hook at a handbag store? It makes so much sense it's genius! Happy hooking!

Jazzing up snail mail with Black Heritage and other stamps

Despite my love of almost all things technology-related (spam and e-mails spreading urban legends being notable exceptions) I write a lot of letters, thank you cards and other missives that require the use of the US Postal Service (USPS).

So as a frequent stamp buyer, I was excited to note in the lobby of a local post office a poster for new stamps in the Black Heritage Commemorative Stamp series. These highlight African American achievers and achievements. Despite the urban legend spam that gets resurrected every few months, these are not being discontinued. There's even a sidebar on the USPS page that refutes the legend, saying, "The fact is that the Black Heritage stamp series is one of our most popular. We have no plans whatsoever to discontinue it." Yay!

According to the stamp poster I saw, there's a new series highlighting Black Scientists. Lovely! No, I don't have any particular affinity for science. I'm just glad there's something out there celebrating Black culture that doesn't feature Chingy, T-Pain, Lil' Wayne, Beyoncé or some other entertainment figure. Though I do like Beyoncé and have been known to hum along to a Chingy hook when I'm alone in the car.

So why the science stamp excitement? Because it shows Black achievers in a mainstream and academically rigorous context. For people who don't actually know many (or any) Black people, or who don't live in close proximity to any, or who only see those from a particular socio-economic group, pop culture is their only exposure to African Americans. And pop culture mainly spews imagery that highlights a very limited number of Black people as achievers. Usually it includes those in sports or entertainment, and mainly those of the grill wearing, bling encrusted, hip swaying, or sport playing type. Nothing specifally against any of those per se (okay, I'm anti "grills." These are your teeth people!), but it's a very limited and distorted view of Black people.

Unfortunately, I couldn't buy one of these stamps to show my love because the postal worker informed me they weren't out yet, even though the poster says "available in January." Apparently it should read "late January" or "January-ish" or "Maybe in time for February. That's Black History month anyway, right?" I will refrain from inserting a CP-time crack here.

So I got pretty flowered stamps and colorful Kwanza stamps instead. But there's an even better option out there for jazzing up mailings: personalized stamps. You can put your own picture on real postage stamps. How cool is that?! For info on any of these, try the links below. I haven't used any of them, but Zazzle seems to have the most stamp sizes and text options to choose from. Happy mailing!

Black Heritage Stamps

Zazzle custom stamps

Stamps.com
YourStamps.com

Ava's not so excited by Christmas...yet

Although Ava was too excited to sleep when we first arrived for Christmas breakfast at the in-laws', fatigue finally got the better of her, just as we started opening presents. I suspect next year with her will be completely different. And yes, she does look like a present under the tree, which is how we viewed her this year. Merry Christmas!