Monday

Today was a rainy, gloomy kind of day and I did not go floating in the pool again. I tried that last week on a similar day and it was just too cold in the water and I am surely not into being cold!! Yuck! I mostly stayed inside playing games on Facebook! I am so addicted to Word Twist!!

Cameron is usually only here a week and then with Neil a week, but Neil had something to do out of town last week, so Cameron's been here 3 weeks straight, which doesn't happen too often. I wish he was here all the time, but I can tell that he does start to miss his dad after awhile. I took him to meet Neil at our 1/2 way spot - a little grocery store in Port Vincent, around 4pm today, but only after making sure he cleaned his room and his bathroom before he left. He can really leave a mess in there! The housekeeper comes this week and I don't have her clean our bedrooms other than sweeping/mopping, so I do expect him to pick up his trash and make it possible for her to get to the floor.

Walter came home a little early today and took over cooking the chicken I picked up this afternoon. I love when that happens!! He really is a great cook, and well, I suck, so I am very happy that he is in charge of dinner tonight! He brought home some fresh corn on the cob that a co-worker gave him and I can't wait for some of that!!!

A lady is supposed to call me this evening to come see the last 2 kitties. She said that her mom wants 2 of them, so that would solve all of my problems!! I told her i'd be home after 5 and I haven't heard from her yet, so we'll see what happens. I am also planning to "drop off" the outside cats at a place I know to be a "no kill" shelter for cats this week and plan to be done with the cat epidemic! A friend of mine gave me the inside scoop on a drop off location and Walter has agreed to go with me REALLY early one morning and do it. If you know of any of our previous adventures, you know that we will wear our disguises and get the job done!! That makes me laugh just thinking about it!! It's been a long time since we've had a good undercover adventure!!
Walter & I will pick my mom and step-dad up at the New Orleans airport this evening - late!! Their flight should be in around 10:30 or 11:00, so we'll be up late tonight! Walter does so many things for me and I really appreciate him more than I can say!

Wednesday

Walter & I got my folks to the New Orleans airport for 5am this morning, thank goodness! They had a 7:30 flight scheduled, but were hoping to get on a 6:00 flight instead, and they did make it. They will meet up in North Carolina with my step-sister and her family and then fly to St. Martin, which I'm told is in the Netherlands. We will pick them up late Monday night at the airport. I am sure they are going to have a great time! Here is a picture of Cameron last night with my mom & step-dad.
Speaking of Cameron, he's been in a bit of a situation today! He has a cell phone on his dad's plan and his dad (as I've said before) has a very laid-back approach to most everything and told Cameron not to worry about how many calls or texts he uses and that when the bill "looks different," then he'll adjust the plan. Well, this month the bill is going to look different! Cameron looked up his bill balance on the phone today, which i'm sure is for their whole family, but it shows $1,100!! Last bill paid shows $270, so I'm guessing this is "looking different!" My friend, Lesley, is a former employeee of the phone company, so she gave me some good advice on how to try to get the phone company to cancel some or all of the extra charges, so I passed that information on to Neil. Cameron is worried and upset, but I told him he didn't do anything wrong. He's asked Neil several times about how much he can use the phone, but was told not to worry about it. I'm glad that is his phone bill and not mine! And hey, I suggested unlimited texting in the beginning for $20 a month, but who listens to me?? After 5,842 texts this month, they now have unlimited texting!

And speaking of Lesley, Cameron & I stopped by to visit her and her boys after Cameron's orthodontist appointment near her house. It has been about 3 years since i've seen her and it was WONDERFUL to see her today!! Lane was sleeping but I did get to talk to him for a minute by busting up in the bedroom where he was sleeping and it was obvious he has tripled in size since I last saw him! Ryan was sleep walking and wasn't awake enough to chat, but he sure is a cute little boy! I hope Lesley & Mike will come out soon with the boys and visit us and maybe go for a boat ride!

My friend, Courtney, had an interview this morning with my boss, so i'm excited about that! My friend, Kelly, has an interview later this month. The decision for both jobs will be made in July, so i'll be biting my fingernails until then!! I haven't heard from my other friends who I recommended to see if they are interviewing, but I know that at least one other person has interviewed already. I hope there isn't a lot of competition!

Walter barbequed ribs for dinner and they were really good! He is going to a home owners meeting tonight so Cameron & I are just hanging out at home, probably texting!

Tuesday

I got some great news about one of my students this week and had to share! The student is a 6th grade boy who needs braces SOOOO bad but his family can't afford them. His self-esteem is really low due to the way he looks, so after talking with him about it, I emailed some local orthodontists to see if any of them knew of any options for kids like him with no insurance or money to pay for braces, but nobody had anything. I got an email from one of them last week saying that a local church had offered to sponsor a child who had a real need for braces but could not pay for them! I told Walter that it wasn't so much me who did anything, but God working through me to connect this child with this church's help! Anyway, after talking with the child's grandmother, she called and made an appointment to bring him in this Friday! How awesome is that!!??!!

Walter & I took my mom & step-dad to dinner at Hilltop tonight along with Cathy & Brent and had a really nice dinner! Everyone came back over here and watched the world's worst train wreck - The Moment of Truth!! We can't help but watch it!! We will be leaving VERY early in the morning to bring my mom & John to the airport for their trip to St. Martin with my step-sister, Terri, and her family.

Here are some new pictures of the kittens. I have so much fun with them! The first one is Kate's kitty and the rest are still up for grabs. She is coming to visit/possibly get a kitty this weekend. That will be one lucky kitty!

I talked to my supervisor and am more excited than I can say!! There are TWO jobs opening in my office and I just know that two of my friends will get hired! I recommended four people, so we will see what happens. I would be thrilled to work with any of them and would welcome them as awesome assets to our schools. Yay!!

My next door neighbor, Lou, is doing ok after her open heart surgery and hopefully we will get to visit her tomorrow evening. My brother-in-law, Tommy, is in the hospital tonight too after having some dizzy spells. Please keep them in your prayers!

Monday

One down! Four to go! Walter's niece, Kate wants a kitty! She came to look at the last litter that was here, but someone had already claimed the little tabby kitten she wanted, so she didn't end up getting one. She told me yesterday that she'd like one of these tabby kittens, so I will hang on to one for her. Yay!

Cameron's girlfriend, Sarah, came over to hang out with him today, so I was good about making myself scarce. I don't allow girls in the bedrooms, so they have to stay downstairs or outside, but I do try to give them some space. It has been a long time since we've dealt with girlfriends in the house, so it takes some getting used to again, but all the old rules were made for very good reasons, so we're sticking with them!! Sarah seems like a sweet girl and they enjoy spending time together, so we'll see what happens from there. I floated in the pool for awhile, then I spent the afternoon playing with the kitties and cleaning up after them, which is a full time job in itself!

Here is a new picture of my niece, Daphne. She is 10 months old and really a cute little baby! I know exactly how my friend, Lesley, feels since her sister doesn't want her posting pictures of her new nephew on the internet! My brother is the same way but has given me temporary permission while Daphne is young, but he will put a stop to it sooner or later! I am hoping to somehow squeeze a visit to Atlanta in around Daphne's birthday in August, but we'll have to see. One of my bestest friends from graduate school, John, lives about 15 minutes from my brother, so hopefully I could visit with him when I'm there too.
I went to Walmart this morning & bought an air mattress for my mom or step-dad to use Tuesday night. The bed in our guest room was my grandmother's and it is a double bed. Walter and I used the bed at the condo we were renting when we were building our house and we affectionately refer to it as "tiny bed." There is no way for 2 adults to fit comfortably in it, so we'll see how the air mattress works as a 2nd place to sleep! I hate to replace the bed because it is an antique and I love it, but it's a real pain having a guest room that nobody can sleep in!!

19 days until the cruise and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!! I wish it was time to go now!!! Walter & I will have an ocean view balcony suite and we got Cameron & Sean an interior stateroom to share. Here is a picture of what our suite is supposed to look like.

I have a roast in the crock pot for dinner tonight and the house smells sooooo good!! It's making me hungry!

Sunday in the sun!

Walter & I spent most of the day on the river today with Cathy, Brent, Gene, Sandy, & Wendy. It was a beautiful day and we really had a fun time. You don't have to look too hard to see our 52 ounce daiquiri mugs, which were quite a hit and source of amusement! We ate lunch at Hilltop and then stopped at some fun places along the river to hang out throughout the day: Blind River Bar, The Dock, and Swamp Waters.

I've moved the kittens into our bathoom behind a baby gate to see how that will work because my mom & step-dad are spending the night Tuesday so that we can bring them to the airport Wednesday morning and I doubt they will want to share their room with 5 very active, but very cute and sweet kittens!! We are planning to take my parents to dinner along with Cathy & Brent. My step-dad was hit in the hand on the golf course by a stray golf ball and fractured his hand, so we will have a get well dinner and a Father's Day dinner all in one!



The ad I put in the paper for the kittens should come out this week and I really hope there are some people looking for kittens now like their were a few weeks ago when people kept calling for the other kittens that I had already given away!

We really do have some great neighbors and I really do appreciate them. Walter has been breaking his back digging a culvert in the front yard all throughout the weekend and was figuring it would take him a few more hours to fill the ditch with sand and dirt just using his shovel and wheelbarrow. I looked out the window just now and a neighbor from down the street is out there on his tractor moving all of the sand and dirt 100 times quicker than Walter could have by himself. Just another reason I love living here! Speaking of our neighbors, the lady next door, Lou, is having open heart surgery tomorrow, so please keep her in your prayers! Her husband, Leon, has just completed chemotherapy for colon cancer, so they've had a lot to deal with recently. Walter is planning to cook a big pot of gumbo for them and we'll package it into dinner size portions for them.

Nothing much else is going on tonight. Cameron is feeling better and we are just hanging out at home.

Monday

I got a couple of comments about Cameron having a girlfriend - how that is surprising that he's growing up so fast. You'll be more surprised that I dropped my little boy off for driver's ed. this morning! That is shocking to me to think that he is almost old enough to drive. He will go 3 more days this week and then wait until he turns 15 in the fall to do the driving part of driver's ed. And yeah, Joe, I think all the Kindergartener's will love him!!!

Ok, now i'll explain that last comment for anyone who is interested, since Joe said it in his comment about Cameron. My mom lived in Georgia until a few years ago and is/was pretty out of touch with my kids. She means well, but just isn't really the grandmotherly type. For example, only once in my kids' 24 years on this earth has she invited one of them over to spend the night or really even to visit. But we love her and as my social work supervisor, who I consider my own personal therapist, says - that is the way my mom is and I can say things to make her feel bad or start an argument, but i'm really not going to ever change who she is, so it's only an issue if I make it an issue. So anyway, when Cameron started 2nd grade, I had emailed my mom that he was excited to be back in school & was enjoying it, etc. and she replied that she was happy that he was doing so well and that she was sure that all the Kindergartener's would LOVE him!!!! I had vented and laughed to my friend, Joe, about it and just told my mom that I hoped the Kindergartener's would love him, but that I was counting on the 2nd graders liking him too! It always makes me laugh when I think about it.

And I did have lunch with my mom today at the outlet mall near our house and we had a nice time. We went to Cracker Barrel, which was ok today. Sometimes I just love that place, and sometimes it is just ok.

Cameron & I will be leaving for Houston on Friday to visit JP and spend some time with my sister, Donna, and her grandson, Elijah. JP prefers the weekend/morning visits because it is much quieter and less stressful then, so that is when we are going. Cameron & I are staying in a hotel near my sister's house, mostly due to her sons and their drug issues, so we will have a chance to swim in the hotel pool, shop around in Houston, and just hang out and enjoy a mini-vacation. Ever since I was little I have LOVED to order room service, so I think we'll indulge just one night and order it!!!

JP has just turned 24 years old and has been in jail since Feb. 1, 2006 on a murder charge. I wont say much about it since obviously anyone can find these blogs online, but he has opted to have a trial by jury rather than accept a plea deal for 40 years, in which he would be eligible for parole after 75% of his sentence. From what I know of the story, I don't think he should be charged with 1st degree murder and I truly hope the evidence will show that and that the jury will be fair and open to hear what happened. I have turned this over to God and I trust that God has a plan for JP's life and is working His will with JP now. I do not think JP would still be alive today if this hadn't happened, and honestly, he could have just as easily been the one killed in this case. I have dealt with his drug addiction since he was 12 and have tried everything that I knew to do, but he couldn't make the changes necessary to change his life. Occassionally, things would be good for him for short periods of time, but he would fall back in with the wrong crowd and couldn't make the right choices. I pray that this is going to be a new beginning for him. As long as he's drug free, I am going to be here to help him. I have always hated drugs, but now I refuse to be affected by them and refuse to have anyone that I know to use or sell drugs, including my nephews, around my children at all, which makes things difficult within my extended family. My oldest nephew is going to jail for 45 days in July for a drug charge (not the first time) and my younger nephew was recently arrested for dealing drugs. My sister is a wonderful person, but she turns a blind eye to the drugs and has said that "everyone smokes pot" as if there is nothing she can do about it, but I'm having to make a stand against it. I know that Cameron will be exposed to drugs, if he hasn't been already, but that doesn't mean that i'm going to lead him to it and let him be influenced by people he's looked up to all his life. Ok, i'm getting off my soap box.
And here are some pictures of my son, JP:

I floated in the pool for about an hour this afternoon and it was so nice! I got a lot of sun, so I really need to watch how long I stay in there at a time. We are really going to enjoy the pool!

I've also been entertaining myself with my favorite game - The Sims 2 - on my laptop!! The Sims 3 is coming out soon and I am very excited! I think it fulfils my needs to play with dolls, which I never quite grew out of!!

Anyway, Walter & I were out checking chemicals in the pool, which by the way is one of my new job duties, the good neighbors (as opposed to the bad cat neighbors) had company (who are the cutest little old couple in the world) visiting and their dog started scratching at the porch where the kittens live and got everyone all stirred up about what was under there!! I had to confess to Leon, the neighbor, that I am pretty sure kittens have been under there for about 4 or 5 weeks and that I didn't tell him because I was worried that he might fix the hole where the mama cat gets in to feed them. He pulled a board up on his porch and I tried to entice anything living under there to come out with some cat food, but so far, nothing. He promised to leave the board open all night so that the mama cat can get the kittens out easily if they really are under there and she will want to move them somewhere safer. So much for my secret kittens! I just hope I can find them and help them get to the animal shelter. As for the bad cat neighbors, I noticed the lady put a plate of food out on her porch after I put food in her bowls. Maybe she felt bad? At least the cats got some food.

I love Saturdays!!

I have been patient as long as I could, but today I had to have a chicken schwarma sandwich and some cabbage rolls from Albasha! Walter, Brent, Cathy & I went to Albasha for lunch! Unfortunately, they were OUT of cabbage rolls, but we had some fried cheese and I got my delicious sandwich, so it was all good! Brent & Cathy are barbecuing at their house tonight and then Walter & I are going to take them out on a moonlit cruise on the boat! At least that is the plan. Cathy & I picked up 55 ounce frozen daiquiris for tonight, so we may be sound asleep before dinner is over!! Cathy & Brent have invited us to go to New York with them over Labor Day weekend, so we are looking into the possibility of that. We already have a lot planned over the summer, but the trip is totally paid for except for our airfare and it would be way more of a vacation than i've ever had! Brent's boss has a house on the beach and they say it is awesome!
This is me & Cathy:


We are getting prices on screening in our back porch, including a wall that will block our view of the neighbors who can see into our house from their back porch. This will also keep the outside cats off our back porch, so that will be a good thing, plus our cats will be able to go on the back porch.

I am having lunch and going shopping with my mom Monday! She lives about an hour and 15 minutes from me and it's been hard to get together with her since I went back to work because I don't have a day off during the week like I did when I was in graduate school. Up until about 4 years ago, she & my step-dad lived in Georgia for 15 years, so it is really nice to have them closer and to be able to visit with them frequently. My mom is currently being monitored for a small brain aneurysm, so that is obviously a concern to me. So far, the doctor doesn't want to do anything other than monitor her.

We have been testing & cleaning the pool now that it's up, but due to the great quality of our tap water, the water in the pool has a green tint to it. We've been adding chemicals and monitoring it throughout the day, and it's looking a lot better. I am quite sure I will go swimming in it tomorrow. Cathy bought a float like mine today, so maybe we'll get to soak in the sun for a bit. I wasn't in the pool more than an hour yesterday, and keep in mind that I am in the sun ALOT and have a good tan, but I got burned yesterday! I will have to remember to use sunscreen no matter how short of a time I will be in the pool.