Sleep does not come easy to me. More often than not, I find myself lying awake in the dark, sandwiched between Sweets at my back, Quentin curled up at belly and Maggie down deep near my feet. My mind races, not so much turning over the previous day's events but usually looking forward to the next day. When I've been looking at particularly gruesome photos, my brain conjures up a slideshow of ugly images that I cannot stop. Due to all this mental activity, I rarely dream. Last night, Maggie was projectile vomiting every three hours. I had to keep getting up to clean up and comfort her. In between these episodes, I had a troublesome dream. I was in the backyard looking at the flower beds Sweets and I put in this summer. They were covered in a fluffy, weblike substance. I grabbed a broom and started pushing the web off the plants with the handle. The end turned over a wasp's nest. An angry mob flew up and went straight for my face, raining stings on my right cheek, chest and shoulder. I woke up with my face hurting. According to DreamMoods.com "To see a wasp in you dream, signifies angry thoughts and feelings. To dream that you are stung by a wasp, symbolizes growing envy and hatred towards you. To dream that you kill a wasp, signifies your fearlessness to ward off your enemies and maintain your ethics and rights.� Hmm. I'm not sure why anyone would be hating on me except maybe for being part of one of those unbelievably happy couples that I know used to make me roll my eyes back in my bitter spinster days. So much cool stuff has been happening lately. Here's some highlights: * Sweets and I went to a Poloroid Scavenger Hunt in the city hosted by one of my co-workers. We were put on seperate teams and set loose in Tribeca and the West Village. Each team had a list of things to look for and a few hours to do it before reconvening at a pub. The day was perfect. Not too cold. I felt like I was on the Apprentice imagining I was the project manager. When one of the team members kept taking off on his own, I started to understand how hard being on the show must be. Our team didn�t win. But we'll be back next year to kick some butt. We did have a great time stopping dog walkers in Tribeca looking for Poop Alley, convincing a family to pose with us on a blue bench, having shots at lunch time at the Whitehorse Tavern while grilling the super friendly bartender about the neighborhood. * Later that day we met up with Talulah and some of her new friends at Chocolat Michel Cluizel in the ABC Carpet and Home store. Grab a seat at the bar and treat yourself to a lucious hot chocolate, dessert or the main attraction... chocolate bonbons. We ordered coffee and the $7 for six bonbon sampler ( a real bargain since they are $2 each al a carte). The selection is dizzying. As you stroll around the chocolate case, pointing out your selections a girl plates them up and delivers them to your seat at the bar. So good! * I took a few days off last week to hang out with Cyndemouse. We did some serious stuff like painting ceilings, ate at our favorite Indian buffet, shopped around. The best part was making our own wreaths. We bundled up and went out into her yard armed with pruners and a big sack. We came back to the house with trimmings from assorted varieties of pine, cedar and holly trees as well as huge pinecones and sprays of red berries. Back inside, we spread out the materials and within an hour, we each had a beautiful wreath and swag to add some holiday curb appeal to our houses. Sweets got some ribbon and made bows himself to jazz them. When the snow started to fall last night, they looked fantastic. Even more so because they are homemade.