Dates, Books & Twin Studies

The kids are gone, I am able to spend my time any way that I wish, and guess what??? I have to wake up at 6:30 and can't manage to go back to sleep. I know that doesn't sound too incredibly early for some, but when my kids are gone I fantasize about the idea of sleeping late. It never seems to happen, and this drives me crazy, although I did stay up until about eleven last night. Hootie hoot....the kids are gone and I turn into a party girl. Okay, well I wasn't exactly a party girl, I was just sitting here alone, but I still managed to have a good time.

Actually a kind of funny thing happened. I was sitting here last night typing my last post when I received an IM from someone that I use to date about five years ago. Well it wasn't exactly him, it was his eleven year old daughter. I have never met her, but she asked me if her father asked me out on a date would I go. Wow, this is kind of different. I wasn't sure if she knew who I was, or if she just got on her dad's screenname and just picked someone. She told me that her dad was handsome, and I told her that I knew that because I use to date him. She said she knew that, because he talks about me all the time, and has a picture of me that she has seen. Wow, we have hardly spoken in the past five years. Not for any particular reason, are paths just have not crossed.

Well I guess I should give a little background here. His name is Wayne. I actually met him at a bar five years ago. Yes, at a bar, I know I don't go to bars much, but this was an exception. My girlfriends took me out for my birthday. So I met him on my birthday five years ago. We dated for a little while, not very long, and for the life of me I cannot recall why we stopped dating. I have an idea why, but I can't be sure. When I met him I was actually rebounding from a breakup, that I was not really over. I am sure that probably had something to do with it, but I can't be for certain. He was a really sweet guy, so I doubt that he really did anything to upset me. I guess it was just wrong timing.

So back to last night. The daughter eventually convinced me to call him, so I did. He was surprised, and yes, we are having a date this week. We haven't figure out exactly when yet, but we will. You know the funny thing is that my birthday is this week. Kind of funny how things work out, huh?

So that was my night, now lets talk about my morning....

Like I said I woke up at 6:30 am. I opened the fridge and grab me some of that left over pizza. Yes... the one with sausage & jalapenos, yes.... I ate it this morning, and it was still yummy.

Then I decided to get on the computer. Last night I requested some recommendations on some fictional books to read, and thanks to Donna I now have a few to check out. She suggested a site for a book club that also gives some recommendations. This was perfect, thanks.

Last night I said that I didn't read fiction so I didn't know anything about titles/authors in that category. It kind of sounded as if I never read any fictional novels, but that is not the case. I have read some, but it is not nearly as often as I would like to admit.

Right now I am reading Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen, which I am enjoying. The book club had some discussions about authors David Sadaris, and Augusten Burroughs. I have read books by both of these authors, Naked and Running with Scissors. Actually Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Demin, by David Sadaris is a book sitting on my shelf waiting to be red. Naked had me cracking up it was so funny to me, but I can understand that it might not be for everyone. They discussed The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom. This book I purchased and took to work to try to read, which is impossible, but someone asked to borrow it so I let them. That book went through like five other people before it got back to me, then I gave it to my mother so that she could read it. Everyone loved it, but unfortunately I now don't have a copy to read myself. Guess I'll have to pick it up again. Although I did read Tuesdays with Morrie, now this book I zoomed through and it made me cry, and actually made me think deeply about my life and about the importance of people in my life. I have given this book away as gifts, a great book. Mitch Albom is a sports writer here in Detroit, even though I don't get into sports sometimes I read his column just because. The DaVinci Code, now who hasn't read that book? I found that book to be a page turner, I loved it. I lent that book out to many people, and it still hasn't found its way back to me as of yet.

Okay, one more book to discuss that will take me on to something else. Years ago I read I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb. I thought this book was great. Shortly after that I came across his other book, Shes Come Undone. Which is another book on my shelf that I have intended to get to, but haven't yet. Maybe I'll read that during my time off of work. Anyways, I Know This Much is True is about identical twins. One twin narrates the story, the other twin is schiztophrenic. I won't go into the details of the book, but I loved the story. Having identical twins myself possibly made the story even that much more interesting to me. GREAT BOOK.

So as I promised this takes me onto something else, something about my twins. Yesterday I received a letter in the mail. A letter from the Department of Community Health, and Michigan State University. They are writing because my sons are possible candidates for a study of eating, mood, and hormone relationships in identical and fraternal twins. It states "it is an investigation of the relationship between these characteristics and how genes and the environment influence the development of attitudes and behaviors." Some people might find it offensive for someone to probe into their lives, but I find it very interesting.

Let me quote some of the sections in their newsletter:

Why use Twin Studies?

Twins are an invaluable resource for the fields of both medicine and psychology. Twin study findings have been influential in detecting and treating various diseases and psychological disorders. Twin studies allow researchers to examine the role of genes in the develpment of a trait or disorder.........Results from twin studies may suggest that a particular trait or disorder has a genetic component, but this does not provide information about the location of this gene or genes. Nevertheless, twin designs and methods are extremely useful for understanding the extent to which psychological and medical disorders, as well as behaviors and traits, are influenced by genetic factors. This information can then be used to develp better ways to prevent and treat disorders and maladaptive behaviors.

Our Current Twin Studies

We are currently conducting four twins studies at MSU. The first study includes same-sex and opposite-sex male and female twin pairs and examines genetic and environmental influences on personality characteristics and behavioral adjustments.

The second study focuses on the relationship between mood, hormones and eating attitues and behaviors. Participants in this study include same-sex female twins who complete questionnaires and provide a small blood sample from a finger prick.

The third study uses adolescent twins to assess the relationship between hormones and behavior during puberty and determine whether these relationships are genetically influenced. The mothers of the twins are also assessed in order to obtain more detailed information about the twins during their pubertal development.

The final study is examining relationships between changes in hormone levels and changes in behaviors across the menstrual cycle. This study will help determine whether hormones influence behavior and if associations between hormones and behavior are due to shared genetic effects.

Not sure how things will work out, but I'm interested in seeing how it does. I think I'll respond and see what the details are.