What The Efffff!! - Insomnia?

Thalidomide - which is what Revlimid is derived from - is an effing sleep hypnotic.

Why am I awake at 0425?????? Why have I been awake since 0205?

This never happens to me. If sleeping were an Olympic event, Michael Phelps would be eating out of a Frosted Flakes box with MY picture on it!

I left work and did some prep work on my chicken parmagiana. I was carefully following Bubba's recipe. He used to cook for Kath and I at the Speakeasy. He had taught us painstakingly how to cook his signature dish because he feared for our ability to catch good Italian husbands without it.

Tonight's work took a while. There were interruptions. First I had to clean the kitchen. Then I moved the laundry along. Then I had to catch the relevent parts of Bill O'Reilly (Jen would say it was all relevent). Dennis Miller's advice to Palin was awesome. I'll dig up the vid and post it. A mere transcript wouldn't do it justice.

Then Grace called to discuss my first day on Revlimid. She won't read the blog unless pressed. She feels she is deserving of her own personal update. Something about being my sister and trumping the rest of you. Her hemo doc gave her a book on multiple myeloma so it was a spirited discussion. Someone tried to beep into the phone call but I didn't dare try to take it. Grace would have had my head.

Finally we argued to a draw. Then the "Air Force" called on her heels. Same deal - he wanted a personal update. He has a connection to the company that manufactures Revlimid and I am the first person he has known who is on it.

Meanwhile I am trimming, cutting, pounding and marinating chicken. I haven't cooked seriously in a long time. There was a period of my life when I could have hung out with Martha Stewart. But it's been years. However, I am back at it for a while. I wanted to make something else for the Campos down the street. Joan's daughters were teasing my the other morning when I showed up with the chicken soup. But that's what you do, you cook stuff.

The Air Force starts to question my activities and there is much sighing and nashing of teeth over how I can do this without the proper amount of Italian direction......and he proceeds to give it. I try to distract him with the story of my new knife. Well, it's not new and it's not mine, but whatever.

My Frankie did a favor for a guy who sells fancy knives. The guy gives Frank a set of really nice knives. Nicer than anything I have ever had. Of course this was over a year ago I think. At first the boys just played Samuri with them. Now, in the past when I would cut chicken, there was endless frustration. I would throw away more than I wanted to because I never had anything that could trim closely enough. Most of the time I used scissors because things would get slippery and I like my fingers. But this knife was beautiful. I trimmed the chicken quickly and what was left after trimming was substantially less. I was very happy.

The Air Force was not distracted. There was despair and muttering. Especially when he heard me pounding the chicken and asked me if I was using a mallet. I told him not to ask questions he didn't want the answers to and continued to pound the chicken with the rounded end of a soup ladle. What is it the Marines say "Improvise - Adapt - Overcome".

Plus the Red Sox had to be monitored.

Then the boys came in from celebrating Danny's 21st birthday. Danny is one of my extras. Danny & Bill compliment my two biological sons Frank & Tom. I love them all equally. Danny is kind and considerate. I would say he was the most considerate and that's something because they are all very nice. Danny is also the most ambitious. He has always been a very hard worker. Although he is the second youngest, I would say he is the most mature. The others are just catching up with him.

I don't know what time my head hit the pillow, but it was the 5th and the Sox were down 1 nothing. But now the boys could keep an eye on it. I knew nothing would get past me. Sure enough in the sixth there was yelling and Frankie came bursting into my room to tell me about Jason Bay. I wasn't conscious of who scored in the ninth, only that the final was 4 to 1. Don't worry, I've had plenty of time to read all about it.

Why am I still awake???????