"Telephone line, give me some time, Im living in twilight"

Hey gang!
I don't have much to report.
My peephone is still working, so that makes me happy. And it hardly stinks at all. Just kidding, it doesn't stink. I have pee that smells like perfume.
We have a damn ground hog that dug under my foundation. We've always had them in our field, and Keith has been wanting to shoot them, but I always say no because I think groundhogs are cute. Now I've changed my mind. We're getting some guy to come and trap it, and he'll take it somewhere else and drop it off.
Braden and JJ start school on Tuesday. Braden's excited because, in his words, "I haven't seen a cute girl in so long, I forget what they look like". JJ, not so much.
I've had students since Monday. A lot of returning kids from last year. It's nice to hear, "Hi Miss. I missed you this summer." And, only two of them got arrested over the summer, so I guess that's good news.

"Slip sliding away..."

Yesterday I took JJ to an early football practice, then I went grocery shopping with Braden (always a treat). I came home to put the groceries away and wait for JJ to call that practice was over. I had my cell phone in my back pocket.
After putting away the groceries, I went to the "powder room". When I finished, as I was pulling my pants up, I heard a "kerplunk". That's right. You guessed it. My phone fell out of my pocket and into the toilet.
I quickly retrieved it, but it was submerged. I have it all apart, hoping it will dry out and work. But, so far, nothing. It won't even turn on.
I am the luckiest person I know.

Dinner is served

This post is mainly for the "women of the house".

Do you make a cooked dinner every night of the week? Do you do all the cooking in your house? Is every meal a well balanced, well planned meal?
I cook at least five - six nights per week. Usually the other night is pizza or chinese. Most meals are a meat, a vegetable and a starch. Sometimes it's just burgers or hotdogs.
The other night I decided to do a "catch as catch can" as my mother used to call them. Everyone was on their own. There were frozen dinners in the freezer, lunch meat in the frig, leftovers, eggs, cereal....whatever.
I never did this before, and my family stood there looking at me like I had two heads. They survived the night, but it made me feel guilty for neglecting my responsibilities as a mom.
Do you ever do a "everybody for themselves" dinner?

"It's raining men...." (not really, thank god)

Yesterday was my first day back to work. It sucked to have the alarm go off at 5:20, but it was good to see everyone again. The teacher I work with got married over the summer. He and his wife both work there. She just got promoted to the Asst. Principal position. It was funny, he showed me pictures from their honeymoon. Later in the afternoon, I got called down to her office and I thought to myself, "now what do they want me to do?", but she wanted to show me their wedding pictures. They were beautiful. A very simple, elegant wedding. We got a new Mental Health Worker in our classroom, and, in my opinion, we have the best team in the whole school.
When I was leaving work yesterday, I heard this strange noise on the skylights...I thought someone was up there working on the roof. Here we were having a hail storm. Golfball sized. I had to stand outside under the entrance for a while before it stopped and I could run to my car, which of course, had the windows down! I got to drive home sitting in a nice puddle of water. Thank god for leather seats!
I wish I had something exciting to regale you with, but alas, this is it. Now that the passport dilemma is over, the vacation has come and gone, the kitchen is nearly finished, and my hair is cut, I'm back to my normal, boring life.

"Summer dreams ripped at the seams"

I can't believe the summer has come and gone. Well, not technically, but for me. I go back to work in two days. Where did the time go? JJ started his two-a-day football practices this week, meaning I've had to get up at 6:am....So, that part won't be so bad, I'll kind of be used to it.

My book group meets Friday night. I look forward to it, as I enjoy spending time with these ladies. We had to read "Water for Elephants" which I really didn't want to read, but found myself loving. If you haven't read it, I recommend it.

Yesterday I had two girls from the Children's Home over to swim. I met them when I was asked to transport them to a supervised visit with their mother. One is 11 and the other just turned 13. They started calling me Aunt Michelle after the second transport. The 13 year old is very needy. All day yesterday, "Aunt Michelle this, Aunt Michelle that." Their foster mom dropped them off at about 1:00, and I practically had to kick them out at 8:00. "We don't want to go. Can't we stay longer? Can we come back tomorrow? Can we come and live with you? We love it here." I explained that there's not enough room for them to live here, but even if they did, they wouldn't love it as much. They asked me to be their foster mom, even though I know the one they have is a darn good one. I told them it would be better if I were just their foster aunt (especially since that what they call me anyway). The 11 year old goes to school with afro's daughter, so I had her over too. I haven't watched young girls interact since Renee was young. Now I'm surrounded by boys and what a difference! "Eww, Aunt Michelle, there's a bug in the pool!"

Today I have to do laundry, and clean my car, inside and out. It's a mess.

Ta Da!

Here it is. It's 95% done. The first picture is the view you get when you walk in from the garage. The second picture is the view from the back door. The third one is standing at one end, looking through to the other. I'm really happy with it. There are a few odds and ends to be done yet...the cabinet to hold the fan above the stove needs to be built, the trim has to go up around the floors, door and window. I have to get curtains and new bar stools (I want wicker and wrought iron ones, but haven't been able to find them, so I'm using my old mismatched ones). I also need some sort of tube or bracket to hold the wires at the desk area.

Can you notice what's up on the computer?

You see my $25 loveseat?

Emma, do you see my cat that looks just like Nesta?

What do you think?

"Gimme a head with hair, long beautiful hair, Shining, gleaming,Streaming, flaxen, waxen"

Yesterday was Braden's birthday. 14. He had a Airsoft/swimming party. About seven kids showed up. Now, I know it's supposed to be about spending time with your friends on your special day, but only one kid showed up with a card for him. He was so disappointed. He had planned what he was going to buy with the money he'd get from his guests. He handled it way better than I thought he would/could. I would never send Braden to a birthday party empty handed. JJ and his friends built a huge bunker at the edge of the woods last week, and they played "capture the flag" with airsoft guns, but they actually played "capture the sprinkler". I could hear them yelling, "we have the package, get it to the base stat!"

I have an appointment today to get my haircut and colored. I haven't had anything professionally done to it in a few years, since I've been letting it grow. It's past my shoulders now. I always want long hair...it's so versatile. I can wear it up, or down. Throw it in a ponytail when I wake up. I want to get some layers cut in it, because it's so long now that the only way I can wear it down is competely straight. I was looking online for pictures of long layered hair, and the only pictures I really liked were of short hair. Now I'm torn. Do I cut off two years worth of "growing out", to get the short cut I really like the best, or do I just stick with my original plan of layers. I know the logical answer is to get the layers this time, then if I'm still not happy, go with a shorter cut. But, I'm far too rash for logical thinking. I keep looking at the picture I printed and love it more each time. Is it wrong that I can type more about my hair, then about my son's birthday? Pros to short hair: less time in the shower, less shampoo/conditioner, less time drying/straightening/curling. Pros to long hair: versatility. I know that's only one pro, but it's a biggie to someone who likes change as much as me. Although if I could only wear it one way, it would cut down on one decision I have to make every morning before I go to work. I'm thinking about Tracee while I type this, because I imagine she would just make the decision and get the most cutting edge haircut, and color, without so much as a second thought.

******Update...the picture on the top is the picture I was originally talking about, but I've since found the picture on the bottom...I think I'll go with that one (first anyway). ********

I hope some of you read this blog before I have to go to my appointment at 2:30.

Oh, and my kitchen isn't finished yet. Don't ask.

Too lazy to look for lyrics

So far, Braden's still at scout camp. He calls a couple of times a day, but he sounds like he's having fun. He's going for his camping, environmental science and sailing merit badges. Keith's going up tomorrow night and staying over with him for the big "chili cook off". Odds are that when he comes home Friday night, Braden will be with him.
My kitchen is progressing. The electricians are finished (but left me a mess when they cut in one of the pendant lights over my sink incorrectly, now I have a nice hole I have to patch/spackle/repaint.) My new countertop is in. Trim guy came and measured yesterday. At the end of this week the rest of my cabinets should go in. I'm really happy with it! You might recall that last summer I was on a kick that I wanted to put regular furniture in my kitchen, like a loveseat, or a big comfy chair. The other day I saw a yellow leather loveseat on Craig's list for sale for $25. Keith and I went to look at it. It's not exactly pretty, but it is kind of old looking. Probably from the 70's. The color works and the size works. Keith hated it immediately and didn't want to buy it. I told him that we could happily stop at a furniture store on the way home and buy a brand new one, and suddenly this one didn't look too bad, so we bought it. It just needs a couple of throw pillows and it will look great in there.
Remember back in March when my back went out? Well, it hasn't been exactly right since then. Every morning when I wake up I have this terrible pain in my right hip that goes across my lower back. Sometimes during the day the pain shoots down my leg and makes my thigh feel numb. Yesterday I weeded all my beds (and that's a lot) and today I am in agony. I've already taken a pain pill (nothing too strong, just prescription strength motrin), and it still hurts. I don't really have anything much planned for the day, thank goodness. Just a friend coming over to swim. I think I can handle that.
My kids have decided that I need to go on The Singing Bee. When we watch, I know all the lyrics. Not that I'll be in California anytime soon, but if I were I know that I'd go on there and they'd play songs that I don't know. It's always easier from the sofa.