Change is good.

I set two alarms before I go to bed to make sure I get up on time to put the children on the school bus. One beside my bed - a nice CD player one that allows me the privelege to hear Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture instead of some obnoxious buzzing noise, and the other is my cell phone. I do, however, have a third alarm. Her name is Alice. A person could almost set thier watch by this cat. Seriously. At 6:15 there's the buzzbuzz vibration of my cell phone alarm, followed five minutes later by triumphant trumpets, symbol crashes and (my favorite) real honesttogoodness cannons firing. Should I decide to be lazy for a few more minutes - which is usually the case - Alice begins her morning ritual in the litter box. 6:25 am on the dot ! I don't like having a litter pan in the bedroom, but there's nowhere else to put it. The bathroom is too small, and I don't like the idea of having that in the kitchen where we eat. So, there it is.. in my bedroom... Blech. So, Alice likes t...

Trichotillomania is defined as the compulsive pulling of one's own hair. Some would categorize it as impulse control disorder, others as obsessive compulsive disorder. Either way, it's a real pain in the rear...well, in the head to be more literal. Trich , as some sufferers call it, is something of an enigma. It's considered rare and difficult to treat, not to mention it results in social stigmas that can destroy even the strongest of personalities. Here it is from my perspective... When I was about thirteen I started pulling in my sleep. I would awaken in the morning with strands of hair on my pillow and even clutched in my hands. There would be moments (usually bouts of teen angst or boredom) when I would "zone out", plucking away, only to find hours later that I'd removed large portions of hair from my head. What have I done? How embarrassing ! Everyone was going to think I was crazy... maybe I am crazy . I'd better come up with a lie... and a good one...

I must explain, for those of you who are so unfortunate to have never experienced one, what a "Zen moment" is. It is a frame of time not defined by length, but by the quality of conscious thought accompanied by complete focus, pseudo -silence, and a room temperature between 68 and 73 degrees Fahrenheit . The added smell of vanilla or apples and cinnamon from a nearby Glade air freshener may enhance such moments. Zen moments for me are few and far between, but when they come I'm sure to use them to the best of my ability. Well... Kinda . I do my best thinking in the Throne Room...a trait I've inherited from dear ol ' dad. I realize now that my father had a great many Bathroom Zen Moments when my sister and I were kids... He learned to do shorthand writing in there, and came up with some of the best woodworking plans while paying homage to the Porcelain God... still does, in fact. I believe this is where he schemed most, if not all of, his best Christmas pr...