50,000

I have not left the house in four days.  It is by choice, but nonetheless, I've not really had any human contact for nearly a week.  OK, yes, you're right... Kevin and the kids are here.  And Ben came over once.  But other than that? Nothing. Therefore, I have definitely not used up my 50,000 words per day in nearly five days. (What 50,000 words you ask?  Email me.)

According to basic math (the only kind of math I claim the ability to do), I have 250,000 words that are pent up inside me longing to emerge.  The longer I allow the words to remain trapped inside me, the more frivolous and meaningless their expulsion from my being they become.  And, I'm sorry to say, dear blogging friends, you will become the victims of this explosion of scattered thought today.  Thank you for reading!

1.  I tried Truvia sweetener for the first time today... and wouldn't you know it, it DOES taste more like sugar than Splenda or Equal.  I'm so happy.  Of course I only have one box, but perhaps I can add that to my "America List".

2. What's on my "America List"?   It is in a constant state of evolution, but at the moment, the top items are: a) Chocolate chips; b) Kraft Macaroni and Cheese; c) Goldfish crackers; d) Truvia; e) Garbage bags; f) Loreal Children's No-Tangle Shampoo/Conditioner; g) Starbucks beans... 

3. I love Twitter.  Please follow me if you're not already following me... @leahkadwell

4. I am getting caught up on work and actually working on my 2009 goals and most important projects.  Finally!  I'm thrilled about that because the pile up of 'important' work was growing larger and larger and larger as it got put to the back of the queue due to impending urgent work that seemed to be without end.

5. We are on week 3 in a row of homemade pizza nights.  Because of the GEC, we thought one way to save some money would be to stop ordering pizza from Dominos every Friday.  I *must* have pizza on Fridays, however, so we're making homemade.  I love making homemade pizza and it has been a joy to make the dough and sauce, etc.  It doesn't taste as good as Dominos, but it still hits the spot.

6. There are not enough words of joy to express how I feel about using my new rimmed baking sheet or my new round cake pans.  Those items have been on my "America Wish List" for about a year and they finally arrived in my kitchen at the end of April.  Originally I had only a few uses in mind for them.  But now I am basically using them for everything.  I love them.  They bring me copious amounts of delight to use.  And they are so wonderfully non-stick I can't even believe it.  I LOVE THEM!

7. I am completely addicted to 'Twilight' - both the book and the movie.  I stayed up late to read further in the book last night... and only stopped reading because the flashlight I was using faded away into battery depletion.  Had the flashlight continued to work, I would've probably read long into the wee hours of the night.  Thankfully I also have the 'New Moon' book so that when I finish 'Twilight' the reading, the enjoyment and the obsession won't have to stop.

8. I have enjoyed organizing the kids' rooms.  They weren't really messy or 'unorganized' but I just felt the need to go through all the toys, clothes, books and games once again to make sure there was nothing we were keeping that wasn't needed.  As a result? Eight shopping bags full of stuff to give to 'Goodwill', plus the teeter-totter we had inherited from a family six years ago.   Now *that's* what I call joy.  I love moving things out of my house!!  What more can I find?

9. The French Open Tennis Tournament is on.  Oh how I wish I were in Paris to watch it!  Oh and to eat crepes and to sit in the grassy area in front of the Eiffel Tower and to eat gelatto and to walk through the Paris streets trying to find something and to go to the Louvre and to eat desserts and, and, and.... I love Paris!  But seriously, I'm watching the tennis and hope that our dear, beloved, now married and soon-to-be-a-father Roger Federer can finally win the title.  On the women's side rooting for Dinara Safina to win the women's.  Sania Mirza crashed out in the first round.  Tennis!  Tennis!  Tennis!

10. I'll be making brownies for the kids tonight... hopefully I can resist eating them.  We have several bags of chocolate chips that melted in suitcases on the way from the US... and then cooled again and are now one giant, delightful, semi-sweet lump of deliciousness!  Although not very useable for putting in cookies or scones.  So I thought I will melt down the giant lumps and make brownies.  That should work, right? 

OK there's a few hundred/thousand words out of my soul and into your eyes/ears.  I feel much better.  May you have ample opportunity to hit the 50,000 word mark so you don't suffer from the same overabundance to which I have been inflicted today.

~lk