Time for a big update

Wow, I got so busy that I didn't do anything in here for WAY too long.

School started, just one class, my favorite one, the College Writing. I met a girl in there who is in the Associate Accounting program, too. She will be starting her second year this fall though. She is so nice, I've already asked her a ton of questions, about classes, teachers, the homework load, and she is very patient and helpful. I have turned in one essay so far for class, the first draft, the teacher will be giving them back tomorrow night. I worry/wonder about her reaction to mine. It was a very personal essay, the assignment was to write our own "this I believe" essay, like the ones they have on NPR. The title of mine is "Butt Out", the basic premise is that I believe that people should butt out of other people's lives. Nacho Business.

I sold the van last week. Car soup didn't help at all. A guy that JP knows from Guards (who is NOT in Iraq) called asking if I was planning on selling it. We got to negotiating, and I got $2500 for it. So I was able to pay my summer tuition, and pay some of those annoying bills that don't have a place in the budget. Plus, now I can take it off our insurance, not that it will go down much, but it's better anyway.

I am typing this on my new laptop. I need one for the fall when I start with my actual accounting classes. But I wanted to have it early so I could get used to it. JP ordered it for me from over there. It's a Dell Inspiron... I really love it. He set me up with a DVD burner on it too, so as I make movies on the hard disk camcorder, I can make movies and send them over to him. I'm still working on that, the installing and downloading stuff. I am pretty computer stupid, but I'm getting better.

Mom got a job, I'm so happy for her. It's a good one for now anyway. She is the Assistant Manager of the Murphy gas station out by Walmart. It's just nice to see her happy again. I'm sure this Friday will be a really good day for her, it's her first payday. I had really gotten used to her and I being here together, so when she's gone all day, I miss her. I feel like we don't talk as much anymore, but that's okay, we can get together and have a good gab, and catch up on her days off.

The kids and I went down to Dad and Lorna's cabin this weekend, fishing yesterday and swimming today. It was pretty good, she was well behaved at least. Dad, as always, is wonderful and blind. I love him, but in his case, I really think it's either a case of 'love is blind' or 'ignorance is bliss'... I had a wonderful "ah ha!" moment the weekend before, down in Jackson. I found out that the sisters, Sue, Peg and Jeanne don't really care for my step monster. They hide it so well, I had no idea. When Jeanne slipped and said "Mike and Pauli will be here soon" the other two sisters actually did a little "I wish" thing! The general consensus seems to be that someone needs to remove the sizeable stick from out of her ass and beat her with it. I like that, my aunts are the best. My cousin Don is pretty great, too. His wife too. They found me a sitter so I could go out bar hopping that night. Don even danced with me, because, as a rule, I do not dance with women... Just one of the things Steven and I have in common.

I've been working with Comet on her fetching, she is so smart, I just showed her the ball, and said "ball" a couple of times, then after that, I could just tell her "Comet, get the ball" and she would. I'm not talking right after I throw it, and she's going to get it anyway. I'm talking dead ball, laying out in the yard, she didn't see it thrown, I tell her to get the ball and point, and she goes and picks it up. Smart dog. And big. We took all 4 girls to the vet a couple of weeks ago for their heartworm tests, Hailey is 59 lbs, Comet is 64. Mom's girls came in at 74 and 75, so they're still the heaviest, but Comet is the tallest. She is only 10 months old, I can't wait to see just how big she's going to get. I worry about how she and JP will get along. I know he will like her, they met at Christmas, and he seemed to like her a lot. But I worry that she will never listen to him the way she listens to me...But then again, Hailey doesn't either, and she grew up with both of us. I'm just the Alpha bitch to them, I guess.

Alex is the best kid ever. Right before our trip down to Mississippi and Florida, he got a report card, it was so bad. There were 3 F's, 2 D's and one B. He wasn't turning in assignments, he was not prepared for class, so he was being assigned detentions, just no effort at all. In a matter of 8 weeks, with help from Grandma, his final report card is 3 A's, 2 B's and one (high) C. I am so proud of the effort, and the work. He has really turned it around. The best part was his Celebrity Day project. Each kid has to chose a famous person, living or dead, research them, write up a Q&A for them, and an introduction to be read right before this "person" comes in to be interviewed. Then the kids have to become the person. For Alex, this meant coloring his hair black, going to thrift stores, my closet, mom's closet and eBay to get a costume together, including the bowler hat, the cane and the mustache. My son became Charlie Chaplin. Thanks to mom, he was in full stage makeup, he looked great. He was incredible. That day at school, the kids get a limo ride, returned to the school where they are bombarded with paparazzi, flashbulbs going off, red carpet, it was so cool. I know all of this because mom and I volunteered to help out that day, so we were there. Then the kids were divided into groups of 10 to 15, and each went to a different classroom, to be interviewed. These were videotaped, so I can get a copy of that. Their grade was based on the questions, the interview (how well they knew the answers) and the introduction they had written. At the end of it all, the students got to vote on who had the best costume... Yep, he won it, of course he did. He is awesome. His grade was a perfect 75/75. He knew his stuff, and was so much better than the other kids, I don't mean to sound biased, but he really was.

I found out something that people in this house are doing, sneaky behind my back. Eric got a bike for his last birthday. It's pretty big, I didn't want to have to buy him another one for a few years. He is (was) afraid of it, so he never rode it. Mom let me in on the secret. While I'm off at class every Tuesday and Thursday nights, Mom and Alex are helping Eric learn to ride his bike. He wants to keep it a secret so he can surprise me with it. From the sound of it, he's getting the hang of it, with a wonderful big brother right there being helpful and supportive. Alex continues to amaze me. He is really maturing. I hope JP is going to be ok with this. When he left, Alex was a kid, when he gets back, he's going to have to get used to his son having a girlfriend, wanting money to take his woman out on a date, to a school dance, being on the phone with her all the damn time... What am I saying? "I hope JP is ok with this"...Like it or not buddy, you've got a teenage son. And apparently, he's a chick magnet, based on the number of phone calls from girls. I don't even answer my phone anymore, it's never for me.

I should get to bed, I have a lot of installing and downloading crap to do tomorrow, I got a webcam for my laptop tonight. Plus I need to fix the error I'm getting when I try to burn DVD's. I have class tomorrow night, and a date with JP at 11pm, so I should go to bed now, and sleep in tomorrow.

A lot of things have changed and are changing around here, and I hope he knows that nothing will change how much we love him and miss him and want him HERE. I worry that the adjustment will be tough for him when he gets home, but hopefully I will get better at updating this, so he can get a heads up on things, so it won't be quite a shock to him. I worry about that.