Another week over

Whew! So glad it's Friday....wish it were next Thursday already! LOL

I've got one day "off", tomorrow, before I hit the store again on Sunday. :p Good news is, that I'm only working through noon on Thursday, and taking the rest of the weekend off! Going to my sister's new 'retirement home', to check out the place and give our stamp of approval. ;) Will be nice to get away for a few days.

Although, M and I did go to Chicago last weekend. I love playing tourist, but it takes days to recover from all the walking! :o I think my hips and shin splints finally stopped aching by Wednesday. LOL My pocketbook is suffering greatly, though. :p Good thing we go only once a year--I can't afford anything more than that! LOL

For whatever reason, M loves it down there...he says he wants to live there someday. :o Umm...no thanks. I like being to take a walk by myself at night, and not have to be looking over my shoulder all the time. And, getting in my car and it taking only 15 minutes to drive a few miles, instead of 2 blocks. Free parking, or only a nominal fee (instead of a minimum of $10). Seeing trees wherever I turn, instead having to go to a park or a zoo (or a cemetery LOL).

Speaking of cemeteries, I truly wish we'd have enough time to visit the one where my ancestors are buried. We just ran out of time. :( So, next trip, I'm definitely having my friend take me there! It's not far from her apartment, and I hear the cemetery is beautiful--for a cemetery. LOL

Some people don't quite understand my desire to visit cemeteries. However, it's not just any cemetery I like to go to. They're cemeteries where I have an attachment of some sort to them--like my (or my DH's) ancestors. :) Even DH rolls his eyes when I want to go visit one. But, I made him take me to one this summer, and he didn't get it until I showed him the gravestones of his great-great grandfather and his children. He was pretty impressed. ;) The history behind them, is usually a mystery, unless you really delve into--and pay for--copies of the death certificates, etc.. Why did these children die so young--and, so many of them, too, from one family? :(

The mystery still remains, regarding my own ancestors. I don't think the cemetery, itself, will give me any concrete answers--it will just verify what we already have documented. But, it's still interesting to go and take pictures of the gravestones (if there are any left), and maybe get an inkling of a little more information by seeing who is buried next to, or near, them. What I really need to do, is find the church records. However, it's difficult, for that time period in Chicago is when there was a fire, or a flood--or some sort of disaster--that destroyed a lot of the paper records from that time. And, most everyone that knows anything at all is already deceased, or has forgotten such information. But, the mystery and the "detective work" is what makes it fun. :) I just wish I had more funds and time to really get involved in it. *sigh* someday. :)

My son is a genius!

Well, okay, not literally, but I'm pretty darned proud of him right now! :)

Just got back from parent/teacher conference...why'd I bother? M's pulling all A's, except for a B in Science (currently a 90%, and he needs 92% for the A)!! There wasn't ONE thing she had a complaint about, and was very impressed with his work, as well as his social skills.

I've noticed a fairly decent improvement over last year. He's always liked to read, but this year, he's really challenging himself, and according to his Lexile scores, he's reading a low 6th grade level right now (he's in 4th grade).

Now, he keeps bugging me about taking piano lessons, and wants to take band (possibly a clarinet). He's already in chorus.

I'm just so excited for him, as I was always afraid he'd take after his father in the school issues. Dh wasn't a bad student, he just didn't apply himself very well, and reading is a chore for him. He's more "street smart" than book smart--learning more from doing than from reading about it. He also can't carry a tune in a bushel basket.

So, all in all, he may look and sometimes act like his father, but his love for learning and musical talent comes from me.

Off I go...

I got the news the other day, that my aunt has finally passed away. :( The waiting is finally over for the family, and perhaps now we can start to heal after the double whammy we got this summer. The funeral is Thursday, so I'll be heading up to my cousin's tomorrow, after work, and should be home again by Thursday evening.

It's still baffling to us survivors, how five siblings can each get cancer, and yet none of them had the same type. Well, I'm not sure about this most recent one, and her brother--I think they both had lung cancer (that metastasized). The overall odds aren't that great, considering the size of the family, but the good news is that one aunt is a (breast cancer) survivor. :)

I hesitate to even put it into words, but I've decided to really try and quit smoking now. I think I'm finally ready. It's not "fun" anymore; I'm getting shortness of breath; they don't taste good--not that they ever really did. I generally just use it as a crutch now...stressful situations, boredom, etc. So, I think it's time. :)

So, I'll sit here and try to come up with something witty to write, while I burn up the last cigarette in my pack. ;) The trip north tomorrow will be a real test. I usually smoke while I'm driving, and it's a four hour trip! :o But, after that, it shouldn't be too hard, as my cousin doesn't smoke and it will be fairly useless (not to mention rude) to try and go outside and smoke at her house. LOL And, considering WHY my aunt probably got the cancer in the first place, should be a pretty good incentive, anyway. Not that it's stopped me before, but I can't think about it that way anymore. I'm getting older, and my mortality odds are getting shorter!

I always fear weight gain. Then again, with groceries costing what they do, and my income not increasing, it shouldn't be too bad on that aspect, either. :p I have to think of the money I'll be saving; and how much better I'll eventually feel. Think POSITIVE!! ;)

There... I'm done...that's it...DO NOT BUY ANYMORE CANCER STICKS!!! Wish me luck! :)

Back to work today

I kind of feel like I was on vacation, after being off for two days in the middle of the week. LOL However, my bubble burst (my own fault, I suppose) this morning, when the Sunday girl called to see if I'd work for her. So, I'll work tomorrow yet, have Saturday off, then work 6 days...off Saturday, and work another 6 days in a row. :p Oh well...better for the paycheck, I guess.--as long as M doesn't get sick again. :)

You know it's getting close to the major holidays when you look outside your window, and your mouth starts to water, and the birds still have their feathers! LOL

According to the neighbors, this happens on a regular basis. Must be true, because I saw this on Tuesday afternoon, and on Wednesday morning, they were back with re-inforcements! There were SIX of them in my front yard. LOL It's just so funny, because they stroll around the neighborhood like they own the place. ;)

October 1st

Yikes! OCTOBER already! And, the weather this week has definitely made a turn to the fall temperatures! Last week, it was in the 70's and 80's, and this week we're lucky to even get to 60, much less 70. :p

M's been sick since last Thursday. :( I knew something was up when he didn't eat dinner Thursday evening, and slept from 6 p.m. on. He didn't seem to have a fever on Friday, so I sent him to school, but by 11:00, we were both home, and he was feeling pretty funky. I took him to the doctor on Saturday morning, and he said M had a "throat infection" and ordered antibiotics. By Sunday, he developed sores in his mouth, and eating was a challenge. :( I left him home by himself on Monday, with hourly check in calls. Then, DH got rained out, so he was able to be home with him the rest of the afternoon (otherwise, I would've left at noon). I called in to the doc's office again that day, and was told that M "MIGHT" have that dreaded Hand, Foot and Mouth disease! :o By Tuesday, his mouth was full of canker sores, but luckily, nothing showed up on the rest of his body. :)

He probably could've gone to school today, but thought I better make a full seven days of staying away from people, just in case. So, together, we cleaned house, moved furniture around in the living room, cleaned out the garden of the last of it's bounty (what little there was), decorated the outdoors with our measly supply of miniature pumpkins, and put the storm windows on the entry doors. :) M also got all his homework done--at least for now. ;) I'm sure he'll have another boatload by tomorrow night. LOL

I feel so guilty about taking off from work. :( One, because we could use the money (my paycheck sucks to begin with); and two, it's the first of the month, and it's always really busy. There's really no one to cover, since the kids went back to college--and, there's another person out this week, on vacation. But, I'm sure they survived--they always do. ;) And, I'm sure I'll hear about it tomorrow. :p