My Grandma was a big supporter of earplugs.

In her typical, disorganized fashion, the earplugs could be found on her bedside table, by the roll of tp on the bathroom counter, or perhaps in the crack of cushions on her sofa. The thing about her earplugs was that they looked like great big boogers. Squishy, soft, moldable. They were, in fact, the wax kind that fit every nook and cranny of your ear canal. I was both fascinated and totally grossed out by the plugs.

And now I stand, on the other side of childhood, needing earplugs. In a few days I’ll be heading to our nation’s capital for the first time — and for five nights will be subject to the amazingly enormous snores of my father (and a few wee ones from Mom, too). The plugs will be my last hope before sleeping in the bathtub.

I wonder if Grandma was onto something with those little snot balls…

I’m in a music rut… Sitting, stuck, thinking and singing old songs. Help! Leave a comment with an album or song that you absolutely can’t live without. Or give a list of albums you can’t live without. Whatever pleases you. Your inspiration is needed.

Bernadette Peters and Monica Bellucci have the same lips.

I wonder what most folks would think about me when reading the following statement, “Diabetes, a disease caused largely by obesity and lack of exercise, has been an increasing worry for decades. From the mid-1960s to the mid-’90s, the number of cases tripled.”

I read this sentence from an article on cnn.com this evening and groaned in frustration!! The truth is that diabetes is caused LARGELY by obesity and lack of exercise — about 90% of diabetics are struck with the condition for these reasons. But I’m exasperated because 10% of us are Type 1 diabetics (also called insulin-dependent or juvenile onset) due to matters far beyond our control. Researchers believe Type 1 is probably caused by a faulty immune system that mistakenly attacks the islet cells which produce insulin within the pancreas. Most people with Type 1 will be diagnosed before age 40, thus the “juvenile” title.

What bugs me most about the general diabetes label is that miseducated, well-meaning individuals think I can exercise off my diabetes or that I shouldn’t be eating sweets, much like Type 2s. So, to set the record straight… My body does not produce any insulin, and will not, without medical intervention, ever produce insulin in the future. And though I must watch my diet, watching it means counting all the carbohydrates and proportionately administering insulin.

The last thing that worries me about the article is that the numbers of Type 2 diabetics is increasing dramatically. Actually, this is a problem of epidemic proportions that all of us should be concerned about. But my main worry is entirely selfish… With Type 2s increasing, I imagine the bulk of research money will be focused on this aspect of diabetes and not as much on curing Type 1.

Glad I got this issue of my chest. Feelin’ better already! (Now go forth a more educated person today.)

Here’s what I love about good music — it’s timeless and full of meaning… I’ve adored “Mysterious Ways” for as long as I’ve heard it. I think my love is based on the line, If you want to kiss the sky better learn how to kneel, On your knees boy! Most of the time, though, I make up my own words, and definitely my own meanings, to songs. So today I found the lyrics to one of my favorite rock songs… And discovered why I like it (and U2) even more:

Johnny take a walk with your sister the moon
Let her pale light in to fill up your room
You’ve been living underground
Eating from a can
You’ve been running away
From what you don’t understand…
Love

She’s slippy
Your’re sliding down
She’ll be there when you hit the ground

It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright
She moves in mysterious ways
It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright
She moves in mysterious ways
Johnny take a dive with your sister in the rain
Let her talk about the things you can’t explain
To touch is to heal
To hurt is to steal
If you want to kiss the sky
Better learn how to kneel

(on your knees boy)
She’s the wave
She turns the tide
She sees the man inside the child

It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright
She moves in mysterious ways
It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright
She moves in mysterious ways
It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright
Lift my days, light up my nights
One day you will look…back
And you’ll see…where
You were held…how
By this love…while
You could stand…there
You could move on this moment
Follow this feeling
It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright
She moves in mysterious ways
It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright
She moves in mysterious ways
It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright

We move through miracle days
Spirit moves in mysterious ways
She moves with it
She moves with it
Lift my days, light up my nights

COME up here, O dusty feet!  
  Here is fairy bread to eat.  
Here in my retiring room,  
  Children, you may dine  
On the golden smell of broom      
  And the shade of pine;  
And when you have eaten well,  
Fairy stories hear and tell.  

Robert Louis Stevenson

Apple’s Music Store is the greatest idea. LOVE it. You can download a song for a mere $.99, and oftentimes an album for $9.99. This morning I’m enjoying my small but growing download list… A few Britney Spears’ songs, U2’s Mysterious Ways, Where It’s At by Beck, and Can’t Help Falling in Love by the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.

What makes us think and feel the way we do?

Was it PMS, or was it due to the fact that I’m waiting for an adoption to take place? Was it my already strong pro-life stance, or was the sheer exhaustion of my run-down immune system at the end of the work week?

At any rate, after reading this last Friday, I cried for a good five minutes. May God have mercy on our nation.