Summer: Days 27-29

Oops! I've missed a few days. Sorry about that. (After all, I know you're all anxiously tapping your fingers & waiting to see my summer day count post show up on the blog! ha ha!) Let's see if I can get you caught up.

Monday June 27
On Monday morning, Savannah began a 3 day journalism workshop at the high school. I want to be sad for her losing 3 days of summer for a school thing, but honestly, this ex-yearbook editor mama sort of beams with pride every time I hear her talk about journalism classes. When I was in high school, I was on the yearbook staff for 3 years. During my senior year, it was my world. Everybody has a "thing" in high school that they really love. Journalism was that for me. (Big shocker seeing that I love writing even now, nearly 20 years later!) I try not to project any of my own joy about journalism onto her because she really does love it....but it sure does make me happy! And here's the fun part. My beloved HS journalism teacher, who was as much a good friend as my teacher during my senior year, is now the school's publishing company representative so she was there these last few days to teach my daughter how to use the publishing software that they'll use this coming year.

Aside from Savannah's return to school for a few days, our Monday was pretty uneventful. I loved it!

Tuesday June 28
On Tuesday, I began the 2nd summer session at the preschool where I'm working. (Each session is 4 weeks long.) I had a few new faces join the class this time around. Fortunately, 2 of those new faces are students I've had in the past so they weren't really "new" to me. It's so much fun to see how much these kiddos have grown in the past couple of years since I last had them! One in particular really knocked my socks off. I love these kiddos!

After work on Tuesday, I went through the drive thru at a local Starbuck's with a gift card & ordered a non-coffee drink. The lady at the window was giggling about my coming to a COFFEE place & ordering a NON COFFEE drink, but she was really funny about it and didn't make me feel like a complete psycho. I always get weird reactions from the people there when I order coffee-free things. (Note: I *never* go there without a gift card, so my visits are few & far between. I don't like coffee or tea, but I like frappucinos...or however you spell that!)

Wednesday June 29
This morning I went over & walked through a local rent house for a friend & took pictures of the front/back yards and inside. She lives out of town & needed to see the house before she made a decision. I sure hope they move into the neighborhood! What fun we'd have living closer!

After our stop at the rent house, Samuel, Sarah & I ran a couple of errands. Obviously I have created a bad habit in my children that WILL BE BROKEN! Let me explain.

You see, when Larry and I first met, I found it funny that every time we went somewhere he'd stop for a soda. At first, it was just whenever he needed to get gas -- he'd go inside the station to pay & pick up a drink. I always laughed because we were usually on the way to the theater or going out to eat. You know, where he'd be buying a drink! It seemed silly to spend money on a Coke when he was 10 minutes away from getting one. But being the sweet young lady I was, I never pointed it out (at the time) & told him that I thought he was nutso. I figured out later that he has a genuine excessive thirst problem. He's been tested for diabetes & that's not the problem, but he is just ALWAYS thirsty. Like REALLY REALLY thirsty. There's an actual name for it, but I can't remember right now. Hyper-something.

Anyway, over the years, I've become more apt to stop for a drink now & then, but it's still not every time I leave the house like he does. And the kids have picked up on that little habit and ask to stop for a drink every time we go somewhere. There are MANY MANY times that we will all be in the van & when Larry stops for his drink, the kids will ask for one & he buys it. And sometimes when we're out running errands, the kids will ask me for something. And you know, when it's 112 degrees outside (I'm NOT kidding--it really was that temp on my van thermometer today!!), we're all thirsty, so I get drinks for everyone. I know it's important for them to stay hydrated. But it's gotten out of hand. I can't drive to or from ANYwhere anymore without at least one of the kids saying "Can we stop for a drink???????????" and they say it in this pitiful, pleading voice like they're going to die without a drink. As you know, most gas stations carry far more sodas & "juice" drinks (read: Koolaid-type crap, NOT real juice!) than anything else, so they gravitate toward the junk.

Wow...where am I going with this?

Oh yes....so the kids & I were running errands today & wouldn't you know it? They started begging for drinks. Here's the clincher, folks. We drove a big circle around town doing the errands. And our whole town from one city limit sign to the other is maybe 5 miles long. I only made 2 stops. So it's not like we'd been out for hours & they were really parched. I said NO WAY and stuck to my guns. I know it's not healthy for them & it's sure not healthy for the checkbook. There MUST be an end to this little habit and it's going to get stopped in its tracks this summer! Bottled water travels just fine, so I suspect the kids will be carrying one with us everywhere we go now to keep me from having to listen to the pleas for Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew & the like!

After the errands, the kids & I returned home. On one trip to the bathroom, I spied myself in the mirror & thought "Today is the day!" The day for what, you ask? My friends, it was the day for a haircut! My hair's been almost to my waist for a few months now & I had told myself that when summer came, I was going to cut it "a little". Until today I haven't had any spare time to go do it! I like having long hair & didn't plan to give up a lot of length. I need to be able to yank it up into a ponytail on a regular basis, but I wanted it shorter due to those 105+ degree temps! In the end, I didn't end up changing styles really, but I got a shorter version of it. Like nearly 6" shorter! See?

Before:
After:
And the front (excuse the fact that it's a little messy--this was RIGHT after I got home from the salon & hadn't done anything to style it yet):
After picking up Savannah this afternoon, I came home to upload pictures of my haircut & found that our modem had died. I called the tech line & the lady checked it remotely. Indeed it was a goner. She told me I could either load it up & take it to the local office & trade it for a new one OR she could set up an appointment for a tech to come to the house & install it. The soonest a tech could come would be Saturday, so I opted to go to the office. But at that moment it was 4:25. They close at 5:00. After getting the address from the lady on the phone, I pulled all the cords & wires from the back of our modem & high-tailed it to the office. Of course, once I arrived, the lady at the office said they don't handle trading modems at that office, but she'd be happy to set up a time for a tech to come handle it at my house. Grrrrrrr! However...funny thing...she could have someone come over TONIGHT & do it. Strange how the lady on the phone couldn't do the same thing til Saturday! Oh well, I just wanted it fixed! Without the modem, we had no phone or internet & come on....let's just all stop & realize how dependent we all are on technology. I didn't really want to go without a phone or computer for 3 days. We have cell phones, but they're not internet-accessible ones. They only call & text. So by 8:00 tonight, I had a new modem & was happy to be able to sit down at the keyboard & tap out this blog post!

Hmm....I think that catches you up on me!