Uh...hi.

Okay. I couldn't leave that post up as the last thing I said. I was really only cranky for the one day. In fact, everything worked out just as well as it could have. Josh and I are going out tonight on a date, and I can still go to see Annie with Julie on Sunday after the meeting.

The kids have been with Mom since Tuesday evening, and I hear they are having a wonderful time. They even went fishing. (I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous....much.) I've largely been lonely, but I also did a lot of taiko PR stuff, and did some shopping for Grant and even tried to do the temp service thing, but they were mysteriously not available both times I stopped by. Today, I had intended to check out a book from the library, read furiously all day, hopefully finish the book and start on the one Helena lent me. But I called the library this morning, and both copies of that book are checked out, currently. So I'm just kind of drifting around the house, trying not to bother Josh while he's homeworking. Well, and I proofread his paper. And I was on the phone a lot with my mom and brother for the purpose of birthday spying. Grant is not the only one with a birthday next week. Both my dad and brother have them, too. Today's spying was mostly for Dad.

I've eaten so many gummy snacks in the last 2 days, it's a wonder I haven't made myself sick. I bought milk yesterday, though, so now I can snack on breakfast cereal instead.

Yesterday was a little stressful from the taiko department. But, you know, if you just stop opening emails from certain people, it's amazing how your frustration can cool down!

So, life is good.

Tomorrow, birthday at the bouncy place. Then, meeting and Annie on Sunday. Monday is Dad's birthday. Maybe I should make a cake while Mom is here and send it home with her? Hmm. Lots of people to buy presents for. I love buying presents. Wish I were independently wealthy. Although being dependently wealthy might not be so bad, either.

Well, I hope you are about to have a super fun weekend! It's a shame no good movies are out. If you are bored, though, you could always come out with us tonight!!!

Happy Friday!

Not In The Script

I'm cranky.

This is how today was supposed to go: Grant's last t-ball game was scheduled for 6:30. My mom and dad were going to show up to surprise him, and then they were going to take the kids back to their place for the week, coming back Saturday morning in time for all of us to go to our friend Amelia's 4th birthday party. During the week, I was going to read some books so I can return them to their owners, sneak some toys out of the kids' closets that they don't play with and will never think of again unless you ask them if they still want them, do some birthday shopping for Grant, PR for taiko, finally watch the Netflix movies we haven't had time for, go in person to a temp. service and give my information/take the usual tests, proof read more papers for Josh, and still somehow get caught up on sleep. I even had hopes that I could Rosetta Stone some languages, and maybe talk Josh into going out on Friday.

Grant's game was cancelled due to heat. It's so much cooler than it has been that it really and truly caught me off guard. I called my mom, and the new plan is that they will still come, but tomorrow right before I leave for taiko. And they'll come back Friday, not Saturday. I shouldn't be so upset about this, but I feel like I've suddenly lost a lot of time that I didn't realize I was counting on, but was. I really needed the time tonight. Tonight is gone. Tomorrow is gone. Tomorrow night is taiko. So that starts my time Wednesday morning. If I do the temp stuff and the birthday shopping, that will probably take all day (the nearest mall, and the nearest temp service, for that matter, is 45 minutes away). Then Thursday I have to get the PR stuff done. Depending on how long that takes, how many other papers Josh is going to give me, and what else comes up last minute, it's very likely that I won't realistically have time for anything else. Then Friday morning I will clean because my parents are coming again. So...the same stuff that always gets sacrificed will be again.

And it's REALLY not such a big deal. I'm upset anyway, though.

I saw Hall Pass with Josh last week. It wasn't as funny as Date Night, which I thought was okay, but mostly annoying, so that's not a good sign. I spent most of Hall Pass thinking, "Okay, you're trying to pass this guy off as a nice guy. Whether or not that is believable, I don't see anyone as nice as your wanting me to think he is hanging out with that other guy for ANY reason. He has no redeeming qualities. Not funny. Not nice. Not smart. Not charming. Not even wealthy. Nothing. And you want me to believe they're best friends?" I don't recommend the movie. It's not funny, and has nothing else going for it. It certainly wasn't worth giving up sleep time for.

However, Josh showed me the pilot episode of Better Off Ted, and I DID think that was funny. And appealing. And lovable. I couldn't say about the rest of the series, but the pilot is worth seeing.

I actually spent most of the day planning for Grant's 7th birthday party. I'm going to have lunch with my grandmother and some family at 11:30. We're going to a place that is actually co-owned by an old friend of their family. Then we will meet all Grant's buddies for ice cream at 1. After that, for those who are willing, cake will be served at my house, and water balloons will be thrown by the kids....at the kids (or any willing grown - ups). The birthday party ends at 4, but we plan for some friends to stay the whole evening. I'm trying to make the whole thing as low pressure as possible. I am asking people to eat ice cream with us, but coming to the birthday party doesn't have to go with that. And then some friends can stay on, but it's not expected or anything. I had fun making all the plans. I hope it will be a good day.

I'm about to make dinner for my children. Then I guess I will snuggle in bed and read The Happy Hollisters to them. Or maybe watch a movie. I can proof read while they do that.

I wish they would fix this site so that my spacing wouldn't be erased during the posting process.

La, la, la!

Today was pretty good.

Abbie's immunization records are in the mail and on their way to me, so that is one thing that is scratched off my list. 2 out of 4 of the next 2 months' present recipients are taken care of. Really need to get some things for my son, though. I have started looking for a professional babysitter, too, because I'm not going to wait. I don't care what I have to do to pay for it, I am done with people changing plans on me at the last second and making me scramble around for someone, and have any successes rewarded with officially becoming the crappy friend who imposes for free. And I'm done feeling like I have no right to complain when my wishes are not respected, because someone is doing me a favor. I'm also done letting people who are supposed to care about me make me feel awful about myself and my life. Done. Believe it or not, folks, I am a naturally generous and helpful person. I haven't felt that way in a long time. I'm taking it back. It's a shame I didn't win the lottery last night, though. That's going to add difficulty to this little adventure.

I'm so excited about our taiko show tomorrow. I wasn't until yesterday, and then it occurred to me that, from an audience's perspective, this is going to be such a new and fun show! We will be debuting our yatai drum style, and a new style that we learned with a song Laura brought back from her time with the KODO apprentices...and the song itself will be played for the first time in any of our performances, too! Plus, Tsurugi no Mai is one of my personal favorites to watch. I'll be playing in the big Tenchi, but that might not actually be a plus....

Abbie has had an issue with breaking things these last few days. It wouldn't be so maddening to me if she were just touching stuff and breaking it. In these cases, she touches something I've just told her to stop touching, and then breaks it. That's quite a distinction. I'm feeling rather volcanic about the subject. Also, please note that to date it has never been her own things that she has broken. In other Abbie news...she's reading lots. She is going to have NOTHING to do in kindergarten.

Grant was getting a little on the obnoxious boy side, but then snapped suddenly back into my own sweet, sunshiny and helpful boy. Yay! His t-ball game was cancelled due to heat on Monday, and the same goes for practice tonight.

Are you ready for some news? It turns out that Josh really is going to have a change in schedule. I'm going to try not to dwell on the fact that I now require babysitting on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. It means that Josh will be able to be at Grant's birthday party all day! It means that I can sign up for taiko stuff on Friday nights! It means that if someone were to get married/baptized/older on a Saturday, we could all go together! And...drumroll, please...it means that we can go OUT with our FRIENDS. I cannot wait. Oh, yes, Friends. There will be Karaoke.

Well, we had cup-o-ramen for dinner. It was fun, and didn't heat up the house. I think when Josh gets done flying today, we're going to meet at Carson's Ice Cream. I swear we go there twice a week these days. That's okay. I don't have a problem forcing down a scoop of cherry nut in a waffle cone!

Ah, the brightness of the future! Let us hope that the light at the end of my tunnel is not a train.

I hope that you are in the midst of a deeply satisfying week. Peace be with you! And, I also hope that I win the lottery. I would build a house (see how I support my local construction workers?) and put in secret passages and a beautiful garden.

Virus - Movie - Invitation Rant

As predicted, I got whatever Abbie had. I've been sick.

I saw a new movie lately! Dragonfly, with Kevin Costner. I can see why it got decent reviews. Costner's acting limitations were barely noticeable. Although, his character was not exactly the glowing type, and could probably have been played by any man, and some large animals, many with better success. But that's okay. It wasn't a bad little film. Once again, though, I was annoyed at the blurb's saying that it had a "surprising twist". Really, folks, if you want me to be surprised at your little twist, then don't spend screen time meticulously setting it up! Really! I had it figured out half way through the film. But - I was entertained. I'm calling it...Un-bad. I give it a solid C. If you haven't got anything better to do with your time, you should give it a watch. But most of us have better things to do.

I also watched Akira Kurusawa's Dreams again. It was wonderful, of course, but I would like to mention that I have serious doubts that Kurusawa really dreams that slowly. Dang! My dreams have a significantly lower attention span. I suspect many minutes were added for the sake of art.

I have some new positions I want to apply for, so that is good. I got a very pretty rejection from Lindenwood. Ah! So nice. They are, in fact, the only ones from this last round of applications to respond at all. A tricky complication is that two of the positions I want to apply for are at the place where the girl who didn't like me works. I swear, one look was all it took, and I could tell I was wasting my time, no matter what my resume did or didn't say. I still don't know what was wrong with the way I looked. I wasn't inappropriately or indecently dressed. It was all over before I said anything, so it couldn't be my voice... Well, nothing I can do, so no point in wondering, really. But I wonder if I should mail my information in this time, instead....

Forgive me for speaking, for a moment, about something that has always bothered me, but especially since I have been frequently exposed to it this summer: The Inner Envelope Problem. Wedding invitations traditionally consist of an exterior envelope, with address and stamp, and an inner envelope which actually holds the invitation and whatever excess pamphleture the host and hostess have inflicted on the recipient. Somewhere along the line, it was noticed that the inner envelope was quite possibly a waste of fancy paper that could be otherwise put to use for the printing of resumes, etc. The solution? No more inner envelope. However, in our evident haste to conserve, we have neglected something of import: The function of the inner envelope. The inner envelope, as I'm sure you all know, besides encasing the precious invitation and all associated glitter in a clean, pristine, womblike shell, untouched by the base hands of the United States Postal Service, also carries information relevant to the invitation. That is, the names of those invited. For instance, if the outer envelope were addressed to: The Magill Family, the inner would read: Uncle Phil, Aunt Lil, and Baby Jill. This summer, I have been invited to many weddings. None of these invitations included the inner envelope. None of them said "Family" on the outside, either. In the case of one, I knew my children were invited, but as for the others...it has been my extremely awkward duty to ask. Do you know how horrible that is? It's so rude! I feel like I am requesting that members of my family be invited who were not originally, and I feel like a creep. The moral of this story is simple: If you insist on taking away the inner envelope, please, please, PLEASE address the outer envelope with the names of all your intended guests. Writer's cramp, be damned. Suck it up. All brides get writer's cramp. Just wait until you're doing the Thank You notes. You were going to write Thank You notes, right?

No new news here, that I can recall. I've heard from my cousin Hannah, and Uncle Pete, and Brother....not my parents, though. They are still on vacation. Their dogs are still pretty happy. My house smells overwhelmingly of dog. I have plans to have the carpets steam cleaned after they return home. In fact, I'm going to do a serious cleaning of the whole house.

Today is so hot that Grant's T-ball game has been postponed. Summer, you know.

I wish something happy would arrive for me in the mail. ..but I have no reason to expect it at present. Maybe I should order some books? Just kidding. I will behave.

I hope you are all having a good start to your week.

Fire, Water, Wind.

Well, hello, there! I am so super busy from now until infinity, that I just can't seem to find the time to do things like...laundry. ^_^ I am feeling very loved, and am absolutely drowning in invitations. I'm actually trying hard to fit everything in, but one or two might not make the cuts.

Went to Heather's on Saturday for Nee's birthday, which was great. Love those girls. Spent a lot of time with Heather's mom, and she is great, too. Helped when I could, took pictures with 3 people's cameras, had a good time, and Nee loved her presents from us. Yay!

On Sunday I got up extra early for no good reason, so I got my shower out of the way and we left for Versailles exactly on time, even considering that I forgot I was going to have to fill up with gas before we left town. Got to Gran's in the late morning (it's a very long drive) and hung out with my Aunt Laurel and cousin Fawn in the kitchen. I had wanted to bring a watermelon, but it was not practical, so I ended up bringing candy that wasn't very sought after. Oh, well. But the rest of the food was great, and after everyone showed up, we had a full and happy house. It was a great day. Hot, but not as bad as the day before, and we did some daytime fireworks: smoke bombs, snakes, a few ground flowers and firecrackers, champagne poppers, and some parachutes that mostly didn't deploy. (Yipe!) After dessert (confetti cake decorated like a flag by my mother, and also angel food cake with strawberries!) we had games of bocce ball. All the granddaughters we invited to come up and choose from Gran's pill box collection at the top of the stairs. Lately, she's been finding she's ready to give away some of her beloved things. Remember how she gave me her Agatha Christie books? Well, she actually borrows some of them back, sometimes. That tickles me! Anyway, I think me and Hannah are the super sentimental ones of the group, and also are old enough to remember Gran's things in the other house. We were the first ones up there, trying to pick ones that we remembered, or associated with Gran. Toward the evening, everyone was moving inside, and Grant was just at the beginning of a Chutes and Ladders game with Kelsey and Sky when I got the call.

My neighbor, Becky, called to say that there had, in my absence, been a terrible storm that blew down my fence and set my dogs free. Another neighbor had caught the dogs, and I gave Becky the OK to put them in my house. I had to leave Gran's immediately. I hurried as much as you can in 3 hours of wind and rain. The dogs were good in the house (relief!), and the fence had 3 sections down. My back was KILLING me. And so, by then, was my head. At least I came home early enough to not have to navigate neighborhood fireworks displays.

I hear that after I left, Gran let the girls shop for pictures in the attic. Gran had so many pictures that she used to rotate them every season, or sometimes more frequently.

Yesterday, my dad came first thing, and he and Josh put the fence back up in no time. Mom also brought the dogs, so that they could leave straight from their house for their trip. They left after lunch, and I have, of course, had all 4 dogs ever since. Thank goodness the fence was such an easy fix.

I think Abbie is catching a cold, and I also think she is giving it to me.

I talked to Brother yesterday. He was frantically cleaning, since Mom and Dad are going there tonight. They are going to go to one of my Viguerie cousin's weddings in some other part of Colorado. Brother didn't get referred be the temp agency to the job in Boulder after all. But a few weeks ago, I told him he should apply directly to the company, and he did, so he is less upset than one would expect.

We are all reasonably cheerful here at my house. I'm off to taiko tonight, and Josh is currently asleep. I have proofread two of his papers since I got home, and I think he is happy to have turned them in. He did turn them in...right? Hmm. Maybe I should check on that.

Probably I should try to get something done. Well, I did just make ham and cheese sandwiches for the kids. Does that count? Hope today is good to you.

MUAH!