I turned 38 today.  It doesn't feel very different.  I was talking to my kids and said it was just one more year closer to 40.  You know what they told me? They said that 40 wasn't considered so bad anymore, like I had missed the memo that I was still cool.  I love them.  Still, I'm one more year closer to 40.  

So, working at home isn't such a great option if you want to make more than $15.00 an hour.  When I hit the "submit" button on the application, I could practically hear the laughter in my declination notice.  Hehe.

This weekend I made Mike take some down time. There was no cleaning.  No talking about work.  No going INTO work.  I did all of the cooking...  he took care of the laundry while I wasn't paying attention, though.  Which is good because I kinda forgot about it.  He needed the breather.  He needs more of them, actually.  I wish he could decompress a little more but you love the guy  you love, right?  He's amazing.  I'm so lucky.

Matt took his first ever solo trip to Fort Collins to visit his girl.  They went to a baseball game, out to dinner, stayed in a fancy hotel and had a wonderful weekend together.  I'm happy for them, their new experiences...  but I'm sad for Hannah.  I think she's lonely.  Maybe I'll send her a care package.


Zach has had all kinds of cool stuff going on.  He's in a program at school called Pro-Start which basically means he's taking culinary arts classes in high school.  He's got himself a fancy little chef jacket, too.  Ooooo.  Anyway, he was recommended by his teacher to go help a local deli get a big order ready and, when all was said and done, they liked him so much they offered him a job on the spot.  He also volunteered to cater a teacher's rehearsal dinner on Friday and really loved it!  I'm really proud of him.  He's showing himself to be dedicated to his choices and I think that's great.  Also, he was nominated for Homecoming King.  Nifty, eh?  I think so.


Ian has been struggling a little.  I think he's missing on simple things, like making sure his name is on his work.  This is, obviously, impacting his grades.  We're working through it, though, and I expect everything to turn around here shortly.  I just ordered him the next two books in the series he's reading and I'm super excited that he loves to read as much as I do.  He's having some issues with a kid at school but we're trying to see how it's going to play out before we get too involved.  I love him and I want to see him successful...  I don't think handling all of his challenges for him will help him get there.  I'm just glad it appears to be very minor at this time.  We'll see how it goes.


I just finished reading The Jungle.  Talk about getting an adjustment to my perspective.  Wow. 

Oooo.  Like the new Blogger interface.

So, anyway, work kind of blows.  Mike plays Powerball twice a week and I find myself silently cheering him on as I verbally condemn him.  I want him to win so we can retire rich and live the rest of our lives in pursuit of whatever the hell we want.  But, because I'm me, I can't actively encourage him to buy lottery tickets.  It's lame.

You know, having boys has been such an amazing experience for me. They have blessed me with a relatively quiet, stress-free home existence.  Until recently.  It's like everything they could do to fuck up my life, and their own, they decided to do this summer.  I love them.  They're smart, entertaining, funny, loving and affectionate.  They're surprisingly vulnerable and strong at the same time.  I want to beat them all upside their heads with something spiky.  This summer, this job, my kids...  seriously, I think I have an ulcer.  I may lose 20 pounds in the next 2 months because I'm too stressed to eat anything without feeling sick.

I was able to chat with David a little today.  I vote all of my friends move to Denver.