Sleepless Nights

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  • Why I’ve resolved to stop thinking so much

    It was 1.30am and I wasn’t sleeping. The heat in the house was stifling and opening the windows only helped a little.

    I got out of bed and stood, looking at the streetlight and the myriad moths battering themselves to death against it. Sometimes, the bats will hunt under the streetlight and I will stand, watching, entranced for long minutes.

    Last night there were no bats, but the breeze had cooled down and it was pleasant, standing there.

    I was busy contemplating everything; the growing blob inside me; plans for the morning; ways to make sure we didn’t run out of chocolate.

    Deep in thought I didn’t notice the cat, as she wrapped herself around my ankle and, suddenly, viciously bit me on the toe, kicking her back legs against me for better leverage.

    I can only say that thinking is dangerous and you should not do it.

    Especially near cats.

  • All she needs is a goat and a sense of humour

    I get a lot of really weird and crappy pitches to host guest posts on Sleepless Nights. Normally, I either send a polite email back, explaining why their post won’t fit, or I ignore them. Last night however, I couldn’t help myself and this exchange ensued, leaving me amused.

    Subject: Proposal for a guest post for your blog

    Hey,

    I am Kate and I work for Parentingclan.com I’m trying to grow it by reaching out to other bloggers. I’ve been reading your site somedaywewillsleep.com some time and I’m a big fan. I’m interested in writing a guest post for you — something you’ve never posted on — and I have some ideas that I think your readers would love:

    1.       Over parenting or Attached parenting: Which one would you choose?
    2.       Change your child from spoiled to disciplined
    3.       Make your toddler get down of your nerves

    I know you’re busy, so I can write everything up and send it to you in one document, which you can drop right into WordPress. I’ll handle all editing, bylines, etc (feel free to edit) so this is super-easy for you. Plus I can give you 2-3 articles per month if that’s okay with your end as well.

    All I want is li’l credit in terms of two do follow backlinks in author’s bio and no link would be embedded anywhere in the content.
    Let me know what you think of the same.

    Thanks,

    Re: Proposal for a guest post for your blog

    Hi Kate,

    How do you get toddlers to get down off your nerves? I have a lot of trouble with my toddler climbing my nerves and I’m not sure how safe a ladder they make.

    I’d also be interested in what you consider disciplined. I’m currently aiming to teach my children how to argue effectively, because I’m certain that a future in politics is the only possible choice for a female who insists that she is right all of the time and everyone else knows nothing.

    Cheers,
    Veronica

    Re:Re: Proposal for a guest post for your blog

    Hey Veronica,

    I don’t have a toddler of my own yet. But yes my cousin has 2 of them. So I get to learn a lot from her like the way she handles them.
    So if you want I can send you some of the tips in the form of an articlE.

    What say ???

    Re:Re:Re: Proposal for a guest post for your blog.

    Hi Kate,

    I’m not quite sure how you can write articles about toddlers if you don’t have any of your own. They’re an acquired taste, like oysters, or avocado. They smell worse though and have a tendency to leak bodily fluids everywhere.

    Maybe you could babysit and toilet train a small goat for a month and then write about that? It would give you a crash course in managing a toddler and child services wouldn’t mind I don’t think. I think my readers would be fascinated by your goat experience.

    Veronica

    —

    So far there is no word on the goat experiment. I can only assume that she loved my idea so much, she is out there right now looking for a goat to babysit, so that she can report back.

    {img source}

  • The state of my garden, and my headspace

    I don’t do resolutions and I find posts recapping the year terribly boring. If I like you, I’ve been reading your blog for the past year and know what you’ve been up to. You don’t have to tell me again.

    I’ve been a bit stuck as to what to post about, everyone is writing the same thing and really, Internet? Do I really need to hear about how you’re going to lose weight and exercise and eat right and bungee jump?

    How about you resolve to be happy instead. Surely happiness is easier to achieve than an arbitrary number on a scale that will jump up and down depending on what you ate for breakfast and how much you peed this morning.

    Here’s my idea:

    Do things that make you happy.

    Hang out with people that make you smile.

    Eat food you love.

    I think Shae said something very similar yesterday.

    ANYWAY.

    My garden is surviving, despite the weeds that are trying to take over. I’m calling it an experiment, while I work out what is more weed-like. Grass, or mint? So far, they’re neck and neck, but I have high hopes for the mint. I can tell you that feverfew is tougher than grass however. Also tougher than the jostaberries, chamomile, apple tree (three inches tall) and strawberries it is planted next to. Like I said, it’s an experiment.

    I wandered around this morning and took some photos. It’s sunny and warm and it made me want to get my camera out. Of course, the fact that the paddock is filled with bees and butterflies helped.

    The blackberries have exploded and I gingerly stood near them taking photos, very aware of the fact that I could step on a snake at any moment. While I’m sure snakebite would make for a terribly dramatic blog post, it’s not something I want to experience. I also did not get stung by bees, which was nice.

    And of course, there are weeds everywhere. But even weeds are pretty, sometimes.

    Last season, I planted wild strawberries from seed. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but the plants are amazingly tough, they don’t produce runners, and the fruit is prolific and super sweet. I think I’m probably a convert and am planning on planting more, ASAP.

    The blackcurrant bush this year has almost doubled in size and for the first time, I picked enough fruit off it to make jam. Sure, it was only 3/4 of a small jar, but it is delicious.

    And my largest pumpkin vine is flowering. This year they’re in close to the house, and hopefully won’t be decimated by frost. I have no idea what type of pumpkin this is – I planted Sugar Pie and then a heirloom variety mix. They’re in a small bed, but I’m hoping I can drape them up over the fence to help with space constraints. Otherwise, we can add them to my experiment and work out which is tougher: pumpkins, grass, tomatoes, or peas.

    I’ll keep you posted.

    Happy New Year, Internet. Let’s hope 2012 is not all Apocalypse-y and stuff. That would be nice.

  • Exciting news

    I appear to have fallen pregnant immediately after the miscarriage. Which is a) lovely and b) absolutely ridiculous.

    I should never expect my body to do anything sensible and of course, getting pregnant twice in three months (after failing to fall pregnant for over two years) is EXACTLY the kind of shit my body pulls on a regular basis.

    I am cautiously optimistic, feeling lots more like I’ve been hit by a bus than last time and the nausea feels more like morning sickness and less like an EDS reaction to progesterone. Which is me saying that eating dry toast and crackers eases it slightly, whereas EDS + progesterone nausea needs drugs to fix it. We’re getting some of that too.

    Am I making sense, Internet?

    By my reckoning, I’m about 5 weeks now, which is early still.

    But there we go.

    Pregnant.

  • You don’t get to police the Internet

    Say that something gets written. Something you don’t agree with. In fact, it’s something that your moral standards find so terribly offensive that you’re moved to write something grumpy and grumble to your peers.

    And say, that in your grumbling, more offensive things are said. The torches get lit and the pitchforks come out. The mob moves in, only to find itself met by another, equally angry mob.

    People demand that everyone mark everyone else as spam on twitter so that the offensive content cannot continue. It doesn’t matter what side of the argument you’re on, the other side is WRONG and you must shut down the discussion, in case someone hears it.

    Offensive remarks are made on all sides and suddenly, there’s a flame war happening, with torches and BURN THE WITCH and shouting. Everyone is a bit hot under the collar.

    While I can see that Mob A has some valid points, Mob B has some valid points too.

    It all just feels like mud slinging, until someone shouts “LET’S TELL ON THEM! SHUT DOWN THE OFFENSIVENESS! STOP IT SPREADING!!”

    Because I have been here before. I have seen this happen before and no doubt I will see this happen again. Chickenliver vs Boobs, Injuries and Dr Pepper anyone?

    Cries of “BREACH OF TOS” “HORRIBLE HUMAN BEING” “I WOULD NEVER DO THAT!!!!!” get thrown around and people get angry. Blogs get reported (here there and everywhere, because everyone has a pitchfork by this point) and everyone feels vindicated.

    BECAUSE I’M RIGHT.

    Only, what if you’re not right? What if the other side is right? What if neither of you is right? What if this is not a black and white issue, but the whole thing is various shades of grey?

    Do you have the right to police the Internet, just because you’re standing on the (slippery) moral high ground and think that you’re right?

    Do you have the right to incite a mob to flag and mark as spam, just because something doesn’t fit with your sense of moral standards?

    The Internet is a huge place and there is something to offend everybody. There is also a red X in the corner of your screen that you can click to make the offensiveness go away.

    You can choose to stay silent, or speak out, as you choose. But whatever you do, you have to own that choice and wear the consequences. You have to own your words and stand by them.

    There is always someone who is going to disagree with you and there is a whole other conversation that needs to be had about transparency and business practices, but right now, I’m watching the mobs try to police each other and wondering why no one has realised that this whole thing isn’t really all that important.