Have I told you lately ....

.... that my kids are great? Daughter #2 had asked if we could go out tonight and I said sure (knowing full well that I wasn't going to want to cook when I got home today). So we all went out and she totally surprised me. When I went to sit down there were several friends sitting at our table and they all yelled "Surprise!" when I turned the corner. I was very surprised. Very. Thank you all for coming and making me feel special. And thank you to T and J for coming and representing my new team. That made me feel great! Daughter #2 had even made an awesome ice cream cake!! I can't believe that she and the boys pulled this off without making me suspect a thing!
S and I got up at 3:45 Central time this morning to leave for the airport. The Atlanta airport does not like her at all. You can ask her about it, but it may give me reason for pause before I travel with her again! :)
I had such a good time with her and K. It was a good weekend and I loved being with them. I am grateful to them for inviting me to come along and for the time together. It meant a lot. Oh, and be sure to ask S how her book proposal went!!
I did manage to get my laundry done this afternoon so I've at least done that much before I have to pack again. Tomorrow the carpenters come to tear out one of the counters. We have to empty out all of the cupboards over the next 2 days so that they can re-finish them. My house is looking worse every day. The refrigerator is now in the middle of the kitchen. Which makes things very interesting.
Darling Daughter #2 and Son #1 cleaned the house as best they could this weekend. I am grateful. I hope that it will one day be able to be clean again, but at the moment .... I'm not so sure. I may always have a coat of chalk dust all over this house from now on!
Thank you C for the cheese ball today! It's great.
And thank you to CT for offering bring dinner tomorrow. She has also had her house torn up and feels for me. Yay for friends who can relate.
Let's just hope we all survive this.
I am making no promises!

I am ticked!

Yes, I admit it. I am a bit miffed. No, it's more than miffed ... it really is ticked.
"Why", you may ask, "are you ticked when you are in the lovely state of NC with two neat women and you're not at home listening to the jack hammering in the kitchen?!"
Well, since you asked, I'll tell you.
Today is my birthday (thanks for sharing, Wendee!).
OK, I'm not actually ticked that today is my birthday. That would be stupid. And a complete waste of energy.
I'm ticked because since today is my birthday -- I am now older than Jim.
Yep, that's it. And yes, I guess that makes me vain. Whatever.
He was always older than me. I'm ticked that I'm getting older and greyer and he's not. And I'm sure he's up there chuckling about it right now. Because he would.
Well, I would -- so I'm pretty sure he would.
Anyway, it's a fact that I must now face. I will -- I'll just have to pout about it for a while.
The conference is going well .... I'm learning a lot. I'm still not sure where all of this is heading but it's interesting.
Thanks for all of the birthday wishes ... and the lovely song, Mom. Oh, and thanks to D for leaving her lovely singing on my voice mail. I'll have to come up with some way to blackmail you for that. :)
And thank you to my children and friends who've texted and/or called today. It's great to know I'm being thought of (in a good way!).
I hear that the kids are surviving and the house is still standing. I'm not sure if Daughter #2 has convinced one of the sons to saw her cast off -- I would not put it past her!
We finish the conference and drive back to VA tomorrow. Then return home on Tuesday.
Then head to SD on Friday.
I'm really going to great lenghs to avoid the kitchen.
Well, I have an hour to pout .... I mean rest, before I have to be back at the conference.
Hopefully I'll have time to post tomorrow night, but after the 400 mile drive back I may not want to sit at a computer.
I should leave you with another question but I'm going to let you rest your minds.
Don't get too over-joyed ... if I post tomorrow I'll have one ready.
Prepare yourselves.
:)

Changes

This is my little dorky husband. Still on the honeymoon. I love him. So. Very. Much.

So I picked out a couple of tiles today. I really like them. And my old tile starts getting ripped out tomorrow!! Changes. I hope they are good for me. I think they will be --- when they're done. I'm just setting my mind on the fact that my house will be a wreck. For a very long time. Those of you who know me know that this is huge for me. I do not like my house to be a mess. I do not like any room to be a mess. Or disorganized. So, this is a very big deal. Probably not for many people. But it is for me. So if I look like a nervous wreck for the next few months, you'll all know why. But I am looking forward to having it done. I'm looking forward to the house looking different. My kids are not. They would like things to remain the same. I do not. I need them to be different. And I now have a dictatorship -- so I get what I want. I also have the check book.

In other news --- I'm going to have to get another shot in my shoulder in a couple of days. My shoulder started hurting in Cabo and it has gotten worse over the last few days. Today I thought I was going to cry. Not because of the pain but because it surprised and depressed me. I thought this was behind me. But Dr. K says that sometimes it takes several injections. Of course it does ---- for me. Sigh. I wonder how many margaritas it will take to make me not care when he does it? Any guesses? I don't want to throw up on him -- I just want to not care. Can you get Demerol in a pill?! That helped me to not care during labor -- I figure it would work for a huge injection into my muscles.

Daughter #1 leaves for Boston on Tuesday. Another day that I'm trying to push out of my mind. Denial --- not just a river in Egypt.
Another change. But not as fun as the changes to the house. But I am excited for her and for what lies ahead of her. I hope she enjoys this time in her life.

Let's see --- what else is going on? Oh, Son #2 has taken to walking around the house without a shirt on. For those of you who remember the picture of his butt not being covered by his pants ...... imagine. Ugh. The boy loves to show off his body. Or as much as he can get away with. I told him to enjoy it while he can. I doubt that any of those parts will be uncovered on and after August 16th. Meanwhile, I hope that my teeth are not ground to stubs by then. Picking my battles. With a lot of effort.

Oh ---- here's a job for you --- all of you!
I'm supposed to take two pieces of writing with me to the writer's conference next week. I will take 2 of my blog entries but I have absolutely no idea which ones. Can you make recommendations for me? SS --- what do you think? I've never done this before and I still don't consider myself a writer, but I'm going to play along and want to be prepared. I need your help.

So, please give me your thoughts. Don't make me beg --- everyone asks what they can do .... now you know. You have an assignment.

Or you could bring me dinner.

Whatever. I'm not picky.

:)