The Maxwell House

According to an article in Wednesday’s Anchorage Daily News, the Alaska methamphetamine business is seeing a shift from small mom & pop labs to larger production facilities (likely supported by lower-48 drug rings).

This may answer the question I posed in a previous article regarding the Valley meth scene. “Is less methamphetamine being produced now that pseudophedrine has been moved from store shelves to behind the counter?” Apparently the answer is no.

There may be a small (very small) benefit to this new arrangement; fewer labs means fewer homes being used for meth production where children are present. However, the larger labs with greater output of the drug will soon mean more parents addicted, and abandoned kids.

Yesterday I caught Jimmy picking his nose. I was so proud! What dexterity, what grace. I’m sure it was an accident; a flailing finger somehow managed to hit its target, but I was very excited nonetheless 🙂

Last week we drove into Anchorage to meet up with my brother, Randy, who was travelling through on his way to the slope. Can anyone relate with the undercurrent of anxiety that trailed me throughout the day? I didn’t let it show, or dwell on the possibility, but I secretly worried that Jimmy would cry the whole day (stuck in the car seat and missing a nap), and that I’d have to listen to his sad protest while stuck in the car for the 2.5 hour roundtrip adventure. I also worried that he would be so distraught that he wouldn’t sit in his highchair in the restaurant and I would be forced to wolf down my meal while juggling a 12 month old. I was still excited to go, but also a bit anxious. The result of our excursion, you ask? Well, Jimmy did manage to cry the entire ride into Anchorage, but we survived, and admittedly turned up U2 a bit louder than usual just to try to stay relaxed (only after tossing back some crackers and a sippy of milk, of course). The rest of the day he was an angel. I actually got to enjoy a relaxed lunch with my brother, and he slept the entire ride home.  The moral for this new mommy? Enjoy the occasional day of not sticking to a schedule, and don’t dwell on the worst thing that could happen. Because even if the worst does happen, it’s always manageable.

I stumbled on to a real gem while clicking around the net the other day. My discovery? Chuck’s weekly column on worldnetdaily.com. Here he comments about world events, politics, and human interest stories. Now a glimpse into brain of a champion is only a click away. Whoa.

My other great find? PrintableChecklists.com, a site that offers some pretty handy checklists ranging from a babysitter’s checklist to a lost pet checklist (which also includes flyers for posting). If there’s one thing I love, it’s a good checklist.