And day didn't end any better

Work was slow, the boss was out of town, and I needed to renew my drivers license but remember, I was having a bad hair day. In Texas you can renew your license for like 10 years without appearing in person. Your picture stays the same that whole time. But sooner or later you have to go down to DPS for an "in person" renewal. Its my turn.

You definitely want your hair to look good if you have to live with the picture for 10 years. So I thought, "I'll take an early lunch, get a quick wash & cut at the nearby salon and head to DPS. Nothing else had gone right so why did I expect this to?

The salon wasn't busy but only had 1 employee there. I was very disappointed in the cleanliness of the store in general. There was hair clippings all over, on the floor, all of the chairs, the glass shelves in front of each chair. There was no where to set my purse that wouldn’t get someone else’s hair on it. The stylist even used a hairbrush that was full of hair on me. The haircut is uneven. She had only to cut 2” off my long straight hair. She applied “Bedhead” which made my hair look greasy and unwashed and then just blow-dried it. It looked like a homeless person’s hair. (for the record I was at TGF) I ran home and tried as best I could to fix it and proceded to DPS.

I get in line to get a number. There are 200 people in the 1,000 sq feet of office space. 50 of them are ahead of me in line to get a number. I wait. And I wait. After 1 hour I still don't have a number but only 20 people are ahead of me now and I have to pee. Real Bad. I look around but I don't see anything that looks like the way to the bathroom. I start asking people around me.

"Theys ain't got no pubblic resterrooms and ifs you get outta line you gotta gotoda back ofs da line."

Are you shitting me!

I see someone that already has a number and ask how long they've been there. TWO AND A HALF HOURS! They are currently in the line to get the photo taken.

I said "screw this" and I left and went back to the office with my greasy hair.

The rest of the day sucked, but that's another story.

Do Over

This morning has not gone great. I'd like to call a "do over".

I had a hard time waking up, the dog stepped on my bad toe in his rush to the backyard, my hair is misbehaving, my make-up sub-par, I forgot my lunch, the school bus held me up for 10 min, a dumptruck hit a mustang and tied up traffic, and I got to work 15 min. late.

That a girl!

Big Princess called to tell me about the 1st day of class.

Math-took a placement test and was out of class in less than 30 min. No Chapel today. Brit Lit-teacher didn't show after 15 min. so we all left.

What?

Yeah, you know the rule: Teacher no show-we all go.

Are you kidding me? You all left?

Mom, surely you've heard of the rule. There's a certain amount of time you have to wait, then you can leave. If the teacher has a PhD you must wait 15 min.

Who told you about this rule?

A guy in the class....

She still thinks like she's in high school but I know this will change. In fact, her next comment has me convinced she will adapt quite quickly.

I've got some free time tomorrow so I thought I'd go down and sell my plasma. They give you $40 and you can do it every 2 weeks. That's like $80 a month.

Coming home without her

I fogot to tell you about the return trip from college.

Best Friend is being dropped off at her grandparents about 20 minutes down the road. This poses no problem except her dad can't give directions to save himself. He is confused as to which way the exit numbers go, up or down. He then realizes we are only 5 minutes away from the exit and he's got to go so he can met us at the exit.

Once Best Friend is gone its like the party's over. No chattering of girls, no giggling, no singing to the radio or requests for better music. Little princess lays down and immediately falls alseep.

I should be so lucky.

I asked Big Daddy to drive home. I wanted to crochet. What I forgot was he tends to drive like a retard. He tailgates in the slow lane. The speed limit is 70, he never got above 65 mph. Don't even ask about turn signals. He kept swerving so much I finally had to ask if that was just a standard lane change or was he avoiding debris on the road. I was a nervous wreck and I'm a fearless driver but I couldn't even read a magazine. I suggested we stop at the outlet mall to get him a pair of shoes just so I could recover. But it was sooo hot that I didn't want to shop.

We finally made it home and all took a nap.

The end.

Big Princess goes to school

We all went to take Big Princess to college, 2 vehicles + 1 friend. Move-in started at 9 am Saturday and I wanted to get there early so that the upper classmen that help move all your crap to your room would be fresh and ready to roll when we pulled up. I figured in the Texas heat they would only be eager to help for a couple hours before the heat sapped their enthusiasim for moving 50 freshmen boxes to the third floor. So figuring a 1 hr 45 min. drive, we left the house at 7 am and had everything loaded the night before. (Extra 15 minutes = Starbucks, duh!)

This plan would have been exceptional except for the fact that Austin decided Saturday morning would be a great time to do road construction and had the highway down to 1 lane, 1 friggin lane. Our 2 hour drive turned into 3 and a half hours. Thank goodness we had several Queen cd's to choose from and Starbucks. Nothing beats sipping Starbuck's iced mocha and belting out Queen songs at the top of your lungs. Did I mention that Big Daddy was in the other vehicle, the one not full of girls?

Move-in went fine. Big Daddy didn't understand why he had to assemble the 6' wire storage unit (because it gave him something to do besides watch us unpack) or why I insisted on totally unpacking her. (I didn't want her to have an excuse to stay in her room after we left.) The only problem was that her sheets didn't fit her bed, extra long twin, go figure. I told her to pick up a set a the brand new WalMart. We got her registered and all that rigamarole, took her to lunch, met her room mate and her parents and said our good-byes. No problems from Big Daddy, little princess or I, but Big Princess and Best Friend hugged for like 10 minutes, on the edge of crying, rocking back and forth. I finally had to warn Big Princess that her room mate might interpert this as lesbian behavior and to break it up.

So far, other than professing boredness, Big Princess' major problems have been the Walmart not carrying extra long twin sheets, (calm down, I shipped her a mattress cover and sheets yesterday) and the last text book costing $75 and that would take all the cash she had (hello, the checking account we set up together is for this type of thing and not pizza or gas).

I do miss her and I have called her everyday but I'm excited for her too. I do hate that she is at an age where she won't give me much detail. I want to know everything but I guess part of growing up is not telling your mom everything.

And let the games begin

I was supposed to drive Big Princess' truck to work today. She was going to clean the minivan and start loading her crap, I mean absolutely necessary stuff into the back so we would only have to get up at 5 am tomorrow.

I go out the front door and turn towards the street where her baby is parked and Whoa! Someone has "done" her windows for her.

There's no way in hell I'm driving to work with such things as:
"Go ahead douche bag, call me"
"1-800-sex-meup"
"honk, if you want a piece of this"
"Good luck at college"
among many other things on the window.

I jumped in my vehicle and left quickly. I did call her and tell her why I didn't take her car. I also reminded her that Big Daddy was supposed to drive her truck to college for her (don't want her burning up the clutch in rush hour traffic) but unless she washed it today, it wasn't happening tomorrow.

We both knew immediately who the guilty party is. Here's a little tip, if you're going to vandalize someone's car don't write the same phrases you say everyday.

School Reform

My two-cents on school scheduling:

Elementry school should be year round. The kids tend to forget what they've learned over long breaks. The teachers usually spend the first month or two reteaching what the kids learned before summer break. Elementry school should take place M-F 8 am to 5 pm. I'm not saying they should be in classrooms learning for 9 hours a day. They should have more recess, sports involvement, art, dance, music. It should be at the child's and parents' choice as to which of these activities they want to particapate in. One child might only want to do music, another will want to try it all, some may choose recesses filled with jump rope, jacks and kickball in leiu of structured activities. Can you imagine the children this will produce? It will also save parents on daycare or worse, leaving the kids home alone. These very young are also not exposed to older middle or high school kids.

Middle school will run a more traditional calendar. Summers off but shortened to two months. This will allow the time for summer enrichment camps and down time. Middle school should never get out before 5 pm. Most sexual/drug experimentation takes place between 3-6 pm. These kids should rarely be unsupervised and never unsupervised as a group. They also need more physical fitness. Schools need to quit making students tryout for sports and just let them participate. Right now, in middle schools across the country some student will not make a middle school team and will never tryout again. This is before they even have a chance to build any skills or develop a life-long love of physical activity.

High school students need more freedom to pursue what's important to them. They also need a good long stretch of Summer to work so they can pay for college and other necessities. High school summer break should be atleast 3 months, plus 2-3 weeks between semesters to attend camps, visit colleges, take mission trips. What they don't need are assignments during these breaks. My daughter always had assignments over Christmas, Spring and Summer breaks. Trust me she didn't put any effort into it and usually began the project 2 days prior to school starting again. I didn't used to agree but a later starting time did seem to benefit these students. The biggest plus is that they weren't on the road while I was trying to get to work. The 9 am start time actually had my daughter attending study groups and getting help from teachers prior to school.

While I know no one actually cares what I think, I just thought someone should think.

Just dreaming of what I'd like to be when I grow up...

I’d like to have my own restaurant but only serve lunch. I just don’t like regular early mornings and I really want to cut out of work by 3 pm every day and I’m not interested in working weekends either. But I enjoy feeding people so it seems like a good idea.

Yeah, I know how many restaurants fail and I do know enough about the business to know how hard you have to work. But I like the idea of the old fashioned lunch counter.

I’d serve a standard but rotating menu with a daily special.

Monday would be meatloaf but every Monday would be a different type of meatloaf. I do have 20+ different recipes for meatloaf (Stuffed, Pizza, Mexican, & BBQ meatloaf being just a few of my specialties).

Tuesdays I’d make sandwiches the focus. With my special recipes for Dilled Cucumber Tuna and Pineapple Chicken Salad then all I need is a real Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and a hot roast beef dip to satisfy both men and women.

Wednesday is Soup Day. I make some fabulous potato soups and tomato bisque. Oh, and people rave over my chicken and noodles (little princess’ all time favorite food). Trust me, people who don’t even like soup will come on Wednesdays.

Thursday can be casserole day. Get that tuna casserole that you loved as a child or how about Shepherd’s Pie. Maybe you’d like Cheeseburger casserole or a lovely Cheesy Chicken and Rice casserole.

Friday will be the best Lunch Special ever dreamed up. Every lunch plate comes with a free slice of pie. Yes, you heard right! Free pie! Carmel Apple, Pecan, Chess, Cherry, Strawberry, Peanutbutter Banana Cream, Shoofly and Dark Chocolate Moose pies will satisfy everyone’s palate. Oh, I almost forgot the pie my husband dreams about Raspberry Cream pie.

I’d have a suggestion box for new specials and the winners would receive free lunch on that Special’s Day. Customers would have regular seats they called their own and bring special friends on their birthdays.

What would I call it? “Mom’s” Then when someone asked you where you were going for lunch you’d just say, “I’m going to Mom’s”.

Even a rock can bleed

Big Princess received some funds from the local Lions Club for supplies for her Moldova trip. I know she's only been home a day but they had a meeting today and she leaves for college this weekend. So if she plans to ask them for support next year she needed to get in front of them today and update them on how their money was put to good use. She even managed to get a couple of rolls of film developed and I picked about 8 photos to take with us.

Its an early breakfast Lions Club with more women than you would imagine and ages probably 35 to 90. Big Princess doesn't like mornings and she's not overly fond of people over 30 years old but she understands the obligation she has. She didn't grumble too much as I reminded her that she probably ought to give a few minutes thought as to what she was going to say to the group.

She went before them and explained a little about the country and the orphans and the sad state of affairs at the orphanage. Then I asked her to tell them about some of the children.

My rock solid daughter began to talk and then burst into tears. She sobbed as she tried to finish telling them about two little girls. A woman came up and handed her a tissue. Big Princess pulled it together, thanked them for their support and came and sat beside me with her eyes downcast. I've never been more moved as a mother.

I'm a little nervous

I realized last night that things are going well... too well.

Everything is falling into place and my wildly spinning life is starting to, I don't know, spin more slowly, on its own, without me running madly from place to place worrying that something will come crashing down.

There aren't 50 appointments on any 30 days worth of calendar. Our finances are in a better place and we have a plan to become debt free in motion. I can answer the phone without checking to see who's calling first. Well, I still do that. After all, it might be family. This month there was still money in the checking account after all the bills were paid. I was confused by this and had to recheck the budget to see if I had screwed up.

So much has been done to the house in terms of desperately needed home repairs, the children are well stocked with clothing and supplies for school, the pets have their vacinations, and the community service schedule has been worked out.

We are down to:
SAMMs family shelter 1x/month
Lions Club 2x/month
4-H 1x/month
Girl Scouts 2x/month
SA Ferret club 1x/month
American Legion 1x/month
Family Service Assoc. at Christmas only

That's only 8 commited days per month, down from 15 days. This I can handle.

You know what's bugging me? I can't get one single person to take Big Princess' place at the shelter. Its 3 hours once a month. You go and play with children while their parents take classes on things like parenting and budgeting to break the cycle of homelessness.

Its not like I'm asking them to bath beggers and lepers.

Not one single person has offered to take her place and I've asked the congregation for 2 months now. You can't give up 3 hours of TV once a month to play with children?

Oh well, things are going so well that I am faithful that it will work out. All things in God's time.

Mark is Spencer

Last Thursday...
Little princess wastes no time and manages to get herself a boyfriend during the 4 hour orientation.

me: So how did orientation go?

lp: "Good, I found all my classes, know my locker combination and I've got a boyfriend. I like to call him Mark."

me: Wait, you like to call him Mark? What's his real name?

lp: "I don't know. That's why I like to call him Mark."

Fastforward to Monday first day of school, 4 pm

me: So, how was the first day?

lp: "Great, I didn't have any problems, I don't have any homework and I found out my boyfriend's name."

me: Oh, what is Mark's name?

lp: "Its Spencer. At least I think its Spencer."

What the hex she talking about?

I ran across someone trying to sum hex numbers in excel. Not being an expert in excel she couldn't figure it out. Now, I have an expert rating in excel but I'd never heard of hex numbers. Shoot, the only numbers I know are 1, 2, 3, 4... (if you want to know the answer, you'll have to ask me.)

The Hexadecimal Number Base System
A big problem with the binary system is verbosity. To represent the value 202 requires eight binary digits. The decimal version requires only three decimal digits and, thus, represents numbers much more compactly than does the binary numbering system. This fact was not lost on the engineers who designed binary computer systems.

When dealing with large values, binary numbers quickly become too unwieldy. The hexadecimal (base 16) numbering system solves these problems. Hexadecimal numbers offer the two features:

hex numbers are very compact
it is easy to convert from hex to binary and binary to hex.

Since we'll often need to enter hexadecimal numbers into the computer system, we'll need a different mechanism for representing hexadecimal numbers since you cannot enter a subscript to denote the radix of the associated value.

The Hexadecimal system is based on the binary system using a Nibble or 4-bit boundary. In Assembly Language programming, most assemblers require the first digit of a hexadecimal number to be 0, and we place an H at the end of the number to denote the number base.

The Hexadecimal Number System:

uses base 16
includes only the digits 0 through 9 and the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F

In the Hexadecimal number system, the hex values greater than 9 carry the following decimal value:

Binary Octal Decimal Hex
0000B 00Q 00 00H
0001B 01Q 01 01H
0010B 02Q 02 02H
0011B 03Q 03 03H
0100B 04Q 04 04H
0101B 05Q 05 05H
0110B 06Q 06 06H
0111B 07Q 07 07H
1000B 10Q 08 08H
1001B 11Q 09 09H
1010B 12Q 10 0AH
1011B 13Q 11 0BH
1100B 14Q 12 0CH
1101B 15Q 13 0DH
1110B 16Q 14 0EH
1111B 17Q 15 0FH
1 0000B 20Q 16 10H

This table provides all the information you'll ever need to convert from one number base into any other number base for the decimal values from 0 to 16.

To convert a hexadecimal number into a binary number, simply brake the binary number into 4-bit groups beginning with the LSB and substitute the corresponding four bits in binary for each hexadecimal digit in the number.

For example, to convert 0ABCDh into a binary value, simply convert each hexadecimal digit according to the table above. The binary equivalent is:

0ABCDH = 0000 1010 1011 1100 1101

To convert a binary number into hexadecimal format is almost as easy. The first step is to pad the binary number with leading zeros to make sure that the the binary number contains multiples of four bits. For example, given the binary number 10 1100 1010, the first step would be to add two bits in the MSB position so that it contains 12 bits. The revised binary value is 0010 1100 1010.

The next step is to separate the binary value into groups of four bits, e.g., 0010 1100 1010. Finally, look up these binary values in the table above and substitute the appropriate hexadecimal digits, e.g., 2CA.

The weighted values for each position is as follows:

16^3 16^2 16^1 16^0
4096 256 16 1


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Daughter went to Moldova and all I got was this broken heart

Big Princess got to visit an infant orphanage just outside Chesinau last weekend, where kids from birth to about 4 or 5 years old live. This was the only time they would get to visit with them since they are there to work with the older kids at a difference orphanage, so they brought candy and little toys for quick party and play time. As they got ready to leave, they realized that they brought candy and toys to 27 little ones who don't even have a pair of shoes. The team was so moved by this realization that they “passed the hat” amongst the approx. 27 people on the team and raised $725. Mind you, they were told not to bring much money, safety reasons and all. Big Princess took $100 for lunch each day and souvenirs. I’m betting she’s a little hungry and that I’m not getting much in the souvenirs department. We’ll both survive. I’m also betting that the final $100 Big Princess owed on this trip to one Very Special Person (the mostly cash that I pressed into his hands at the airport) probably won't make it back to his bank.

Now where did I put that 400' Waterfall?

WHISKEYTOWN, Calif. (AP) - After years of rumors, park officials say they've recently discovered a 400-foot waterfall in a remote corner of northern California's Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

The wildlife biologist credited with the find, Russ Weatherbee, says he became intrigued a couple of years ago after finding a map from the 1960's marked with a note reading "Whiskeytown falls." When he first went looking for the spot he didn't find anything, but tried again after looking at global imaging system maps. He says the initial map had been a mile off. The park superintendent says it's remarkable that such a spectacle should evade even park officials for nearly 40 years.

An effort is now under way to clear a trail to the newly found waterfall. It's expected to be finished by next summer.

(And who says there's nothing good left to discover?)

Orientated

The principal warned us today that their middle school egos are very fragile and we as parents should be very careful of what we say to them. Ha!

Little princess' alarm didn't go off. She decided since she was running late she should attempt to straighten her curly hair (but only the front, since that's all she can see in the mirror), and I have 1/2 a pound of pop tart crumbs in the passenger seat. I found out that her bus stop is 3 houses from a registered sex offender and a block and a half from our house so I can't see her at the bus stop.

ps. the dog didn't get breakfast

Little guppie in the Sea of Middle School

My baby starts middle school tomorrow. Well, she has orientation and I'm nervous.

Middle school has to be the hardest 3 years of anyone's life. People will say "I'd love to go back to middle school. Where you don't have to worry about bills or even what to be when you grow up."

I always answer, "Are you kidding me? Back to where your body betrayed you with smells and never growing the right thing in the right place at the right time? (think back to B.O., boobs, acne, facial/body hair) Back to where you never felt comfortable in your own skin? Back to when kids were cruel for the fun of it? Back to when your parents were their dumbest?"

I'd love to think it was just me that sucked at middle school. But I know differently. I teach Sunday School to 6th graders and you can see the wear and tear of middle school on them. Their stories of cruelty, both that they give and take, are sometimes shocking. Girls are the worst with their emotional torture. I've seen girls broken to the point that their parents move to another district to save their child.

Little princess can be emotionally fragile and she can be cruel with her words. Not many of the kids she went to school with last year will be at her middle school and those that are might be on other teams and she won't see them all year. Its a big place with 2,000 students in 3 grades.

I had this same talk with Big Princess almost exactly 7 years ago. "Honey, you were the big fish in the little pond of 5th grade. Now you are gonna be a guppie in the sea of middle school. Now is the time to give thought to how you want other people to see you. Middle school is almost a fresh start. Do you want to be the funny girl, the smart girl, the kind girl? It may look like its about the popular girl or the pretty girl, but its not. Please give some serious thought to the woman you want to become."

But remember, middle school is when your parents are at their dumbest so I'm not expecting her to take much advice.

The difference

Pocahontas talking to an enchanted tree and living peacefully among the birds and forest animals: That's spirituality.

Pocahontas receiving a tithing statement from her church: That's religion.

Can you believe she wrote again

This must be very strange for Big Princess. She's been away from home before, but I've never heard from her this much. I'm getting a kick out of her random updates.

well today was our first real day with the kids and apparently the boys think im pretty because of my eyes...but for some reason im a little suspicious due to the fact that they keep reassuring me that they are gentlemen...but im gonna give one of them my pair of flip flops....they seem to think i'm funny but it's not like they get my knock knock jokes.

as faras getting you something cool well...our shopping day was rained out so we dont know if we are even going to get to go shopping but i do have something in mind for you from the amsterdam airpport... so we'll see.

other than that ive been having a good time. you are probably at lunch right now...we are eating dinner right now....tell me all of the work you did on my..oh wait, little princess' room.
love
Big Princess

Little Princess gets her own room

Well, with Big Princess out of the country, Little Princess pushed for me to start the remodeling job. So we took 2 cats and 2 dogs in for shots, went to brunch at IHOP and hit the paint store. We had some squabbling over color choice but since I'm buying-I've got final say. And I'm not having any room in my house orange and purple or green and orange. She finally agreed to pink and purple but grumbled all the way home.

I made her clear everything out and do some of the prep work but she wanted to paint and I wasn't having it. I made a big enough mess on my own and I'm the neat one. (Does anyone know how to get dried paint out of carpet?) This weekend's goal was to get one and a half walls and trim done so we could reassemble the bunkbeds and thereby create lots of space. It was a lot of work and every bone in my body hurts. (Oh yeah, add 2 trips to the gym with Big Daddy and grocery shopping.)

Next weekend's goal--finish painting and (hopefully) get the desk assembled. That only leaves the closet doors, pictures and curtains. Oh, I forgot, the little school desk is going to be sanded and painted. Week 4's goal?

In the end, little princess is thrilled with the colors and says she will trust me in the future (yeah right) and she has effectively erased her Big sister from the room.

Big Princess Reports In

Let me just say that her typing skills need a lot of work. I can't believe she sent me 2 emails and that she misses and loves me.

its sunday at 11 p.m. and its only 3 p.m. there. i know you won't get this until monday but oh well. any ways this is really hard because some of these people are driving me crazy...seriously....crazy. so i am definetly working on my patience skills. we went to the orphanage today for the pizza party and it was so much fun. the kids were so cute! the language thing isn't that hard either a couple of them actually understand some english. i think the understanding isn't a problem between the kids and i but the other mission people and i. i'm getting lots of sleep and bathing and brushing my teeth everyday. i know you are so proud. we went to mcdonalds today and the value meal was the equivalent of less than four dollars. i got a mcgreek...pretty much a cheap gyro but it was good. so anyways hopefully i'll be getting some response from you tomorrow. love you lots

hey. we made it here okay and if you want to email me just do my regular email address. lets see the plane from s.a. to atlanta was the smallest plane ive ever been on. then from atlanta to amsterdam was the biggest plane ive ever been on and the air moldova was the cummiest plane ive ever been on...i also slept through the takeoff but whatever. the plane food has been good, and the food at the team house is excellent. the people here are testing my patience but i have patience to spare...lets see i pretty much slept from 8:30 p.m. here to 8:30 a.m. i was mucho tired. well thats all for now we are getting ready to eat some lunch...miss you a lot,

Big Princess-Safely in Moldova

We made it here safe and sound! (just 26 hours of travel) Just wanted to let everyone know that all team members and all our baggage are in Chisinau, Moldova!

Thank you so much for your prayers, we appreciate them so much!

Please continue to pray for our preparations this weekend before we start
camp Monday, time spent visiting other orphanages briefly this weekend and
hearing from children who will share their stories and how Children's
Emergency Relief International (CERI) has impacted their lives. Continue to
pray for safety and health for our very diverse group!

We'll write more soon and hopefully send some pictures.

Grateful to be here,
Team Leader/PICU Nurse*

(Of course she signed her message with her name. But I don't use anyone's name)

Tweet no more my sweet

Well, little princess was crying her heart out as I left for work. For the second time this week her actions caused the death of my birds.

Wednesday night she left the door open and the cats ate one little guy, Kiwi. He was new and very young. We found only a couple of his green feathers. I was upset but atleast we managed to find Clyde. He was slightly mauled, all his tail feathers had been plucked and he was traumatized. I wasn't sure he would make it thru the night. I figured he might die of shock. But he was recovering.

You see, its only a slight miracle that he has lived this long. It was probably his 5th time being stalked by the cats. Little princess (and sometimes Big Princess) just can't seem to close the door behind her. I really thought after Kiwi's death that she would remember, atleast for a while.

I awaken this morning to find the door open. I didn't even go in the room, I just woke little princess up. Sure enough,the cage was open and Clyde, my sweet little blue breasted singing bird will tweet no more.

Apparently birds only have five lives, while cats get seven. I know a cat which has about used his up.

Don't cry for me

We leave for the airport in 10 min. Me and Big Princess. I won't cry...unless someone else starts it first. Then all bets are off.

More puzzle pieces

I feel like I'm getting my life back. Or atleast control of my life.

The cat girls called and after 3 months, they are coming back for their 3 cats. The pet sitting job went from 2 weeks into all summer. The cats tear up the house, harrass the birds, hate the ferrets, and basically I can't wait until they are gone. The princesses will cry (a lot).

The sunroom window that Big Daddy broke six months ago finally got replaced. Now the dog can't break in and the cats can't break out and it won't flood everytime it rains. It took so long because early estimates came in at $500 and we didn't have it. But I found someone who did it for $150. I'm so happy and pleased that I want to send him a $25 bonus.

The indoor cat (the only one not spayed) that escaped 3 months ago was finally caught this morning. She's still pregnant so thank God we don't have to try and find her kittens and we can take good care of her and them.

The tent we borrowed for Big Princess' graduation was finally returned this weekend. And Big Princess is delivering all the baby stuff I've gathered for a friend. I've got my livingroom back!!!

I'm feeling fabulous. I think its due to everything falling into place.

Puzzle Pieces

The puzzle pieces are falling into place with amazing speed. We’ve had the border done for some time now and were left with those 50 pieces that all look exactly the same.

One of the bigger pieces has finally fit. We found a vehicle for Big Princess last weekend. I was starting to panic. We were down to one week before she left and we didn’t have many options. I thought she was going to end up with a car with no air conditioning and no radio (in south Texas that’s pretty much a death sentence). I started asking everyone I saw, “Hey, got a cheap car for sale?” Hey, it worked. Our neighbor (hot neighbor) was willing to sell us his truck at the slightly more than Big Princess had price. There was some minor title trouble that caused me to have to tell a small harmless fib so we could title the vehicle. But its got low mileage, cold a/c and a cd/radio. It’s also a 5 speed so now I have to teach her how to drive it. I like that fact. Most kids her age can’t drive a standard so no one will be borrowing her truck. Ha! And she can load her own gear at the end of the year and come home. We don't have to go get her! giggle giggle

Big Princess leaves in less than 24 hours for Moldova to work at an orphanage. It will probably be the biggest thing she has ever done. She’s still $100 short of paying for the trip. She raised $1,500 and has been paying back a church member for the balance. While he’s not worried about her paying him off before she leaves, we both want it handled so she can go with a free heart. I swung back by the house this morning and picked up the 8 scarves I’ve crocheted for the orphanage for Christmas. I made her $100 in 15 minutes. It must be 98 degrees outside but there are 4 women wearing winter scarves in my office. And heck, its still 20 weeks til Christmas, I’ll crochet faster.