More People More Problems

So, I had plans to start off the week with a full nights sleep. This was thwarted by my 15 month old who thinks 1 am is the perfect time to play. I am also very sensitive to noises and other people. When someone rolls over, I wake up. I have always enjoyed listening to books on tape as a way to relax. I have the New Testament on CD and listened to the entire book of John then fell asleep. It seems as if the sanitation department has a timer set for when I hit full REM sleep. That is the time they decide to empty the trash bins. There is also an enormous train that likes to blow its whistle. I can imagine the conductor thinking "look at that group of houses! I am going to blow the whistle as long and as loud as I can! ahhahaahaha". Yes, I assume he does an evil laugh at the end. Then the school buses start at around 5:30. My life is full of noise. I did start out the day with an apple and some roasted almonds. Thanks to all the talk of dark chocolate I did have a small piece :) I guess I will have to add "learn to deal with the noise of people" to my list of goals. I miss the country life. Where I grew up there was no noise aside from me and my brothers fighting and the cows in the morning. There was also a creek that ran through our land and in front of our house. I miss that peaceful noise. It reminds me of the Psalmist:
Psalm 23:2
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.


Does anyone know if those walking poles really help with losing weight? I read an article about a year or so ago about them and was wondering if they would help. If you don't know what I am talking about, they look like cross country skiing poles.