Today we were 15 minutes late for riding class, though I drove like a bat out of hell (and the kids STILL strolled in...). Erwin is apparently home for aidilfitri so they had a replacement teacher, Anna from South Africa. Alexis was very positive about her: "She's tougher than Erwin but very very nice!" she enthused. I think Anna gave lots of praise and encouragement, so that was a real boost.

While the girls did something active, I ate nasi lemak and played sudoku on Isabel's DS Lite. :P It's a pity the rest of the day wasn't as relaxing. It's the second Sunday I'm on duty and I idiotically decided to make lunch in between looking at the stories for the day. I made mac and cheese for the kids and panfried cod in lemon butter sauce (hey, if the kids liked fish, i'd have made it for them too) and a lettuce/green beans/walnut/boiled egg salad. It was abeautiful meal and I ate it standing up washing dishes in a hurry to get to work.

I must admit I feel somewhat harried with Poni gone, the kids neglected and work unavoidable. I feel like I am falling behind in all aspects. It didn't help that there was the familiarly sarcastic and overly dramatic email from a certain associate editor about a Mind Your Body story. There is nothing like a communication such as that to ruin my afternoon and I felt out of sorts for hours. I did fix the story though, I think. I hope. I also decided I would not let this person get to me because it would probably hurt me more than him in the long run to be affected by it.

This afternoon Isabel said she hoped I never got cancer and could I please see the doctor quickly if I did? Sometimes I think we are all candidates for the big C given the kind of poison we harbour in our hearts and minds, engendered from guilt, fear and self doubt.