So what's your Thang?

Have you ever had the feeling that there's some big purpose to your life, but you just don't know what it is? That there's some big, very specific reason you've been created, that you're meant to fulfill? Like Tiger Woods was created to golf. Like Michael Jordan was created to play basketball. Like Michael Phelps was created to swim fast. I think they're three examples of the few lucky people that actually discover what their Thang* is for the time they're here. It's their Thang and that's why they gain so much fame and accolades from the greater public. I feel like there's something inside all of us that if we're lucky enough to just figure out what it is and pursue it with all our hearts and souls that we could all be MJ's or TW's or MP's of our specific Thangs. But sadly, so many of us live the whole expanse of our lives never knowing what it is, or that it was even there for us at all.

Tonight I'm feeling like I have a Thang Unrealized. I'm not sure what exactly it is, but I think I might already have the general idea...

I spoke before about having tickets to see Marc Broussard. And of course, I failed to report back in any sort of timely manner. Well, better late than never, right?

It. Was. AWESOME. It was the ideal venue; the only way to see a musician like him. It was in one of those little dive, hole-in-the-wall-type places with a cash bar (luckily I had hit the ATM on my way). Just a couple hundred people. Small stage. Very low-tech. Very intimate. Just him and four, maybe five other guys. And we rocked. Right there with him. So cool.

This guy is doing his Thang. At the ripe old age of 26. He has the blues in his genes. He has the ultimate blues/soul voice. He's got a heart and soul from which the most amazing lyrics & melodies emerge**.

It's his purpose. It's his Thang. And he's running with it.

This week I've had him constantly playing on my iPod. And isn't it funny how a song never made much of an impression on you the first 258 times you listened to them, and then all of a sudden it tweaks something inside you and you're all...WOW! Where did that come from?

Here lately his music has been stirring something inside me. Agitating me. Exciting me.

And frustrating me.

I know my Thang is somewhere in the realm of music. I'm a pretty damn good flute player, but my down & dirty musical knowledge is pretty limited. I know how to turn notes on a page into sounds in your ears, but as for writing music or understanding how the music actually got there, I don't have a clue. Gah, how I'm kicking myself for not picking music as my major in college! I'd know all that shit right now.

My performance experience has basically been confined to the classical genre. Eh, throw showtunes, movie soundtracks, oldies-but-goodies in there. But still...sitting in a concert band, or a flute choir, or smaller ensemble.

There's a couple of tracks on Marc's third album S.O.S.: Save Our Soul that has some pretty rockin' flute licks in it. I could SO do that. I could rock it now if you give me a sheet with music on it and a little time to work it up, but I want to know how to just pick it up and go.

Improvisation, baby. Yeah. That's where it's at.

I know my way around a keyboard, too. But again...can only plunk out notes off the page of an old hymnal and such.

Did I mention I can sing, too? I absolutely love to sing. In a formal churchy-type choir, I'm an alto. Could even sing tenor if they'd let me. (Sexists.)

I wanna be a backup singer. Sure, I'd like to step to the front from time to time, but I get major fulfillment out of adding that harmony. I adore harmony. And to be the one that can hear that complimentary melody in my head, add it to what someone else is already singing and bring a whole other aura to the sound is SO COOL.

(Don't ever agree to go to a karaoke bar with me. You'll be there to close the place down, whether you like it or not. I'm just saying...)

And yes, I can sing well. I might be a little rough around the edges stylistically and could definitely use some formal training, but because I have been cursed blessed with close-to-perfect pitch, I know it more than most when someone's out of tune. So most of the time, I'm not. Out of tune, that is.

As an instrumentalist, I've never had much of a desire to be a soloist. You know...like James Galway or Jean-Pierre Rampal. I have no desire to record a full CD of me playing my flute. I love being part of a group. Big or small, it doesn't matter. I love contributing my own unique part to the whole. I love listening to my partners and appreciating what they're adding to the whole.

Jamming, I think it's called. ;-)

Music is my Thang. I know that. But right now it's still unrealized. I believe that's how it should be for now, though. Right now my priorities are elsewhere. But I also think that this new position I'm at in my life will cultivate a plethora of opportunities that will be busting down my door.

This isn't the time, though.

But it's coming.

I feel it.

*HT to Bill Cosby and his children's show "Little Bill" for reminding me that we all have a thaaaaaaaaaaang, however I sorta took the concept a little further.

**Did you listen to his stuff in my earlier post? Did you? DID YOU? Go back and listen now.

NOW. GO ON!

And no, do not collect $200.

Life is good.

I'm starting to feel normal again. Granted, it's a different normal now. My days are starting to feel routine, which in this case, is a good thing. I like the security this routine of life brings me. I like knowing that at 5:00, I get to see my boys. I like knowing that around 5:30, I'll start stressing out over what to make for dinner. I like preparing dinner in my kitchen while the IB runs around playing. He'll come into the kitchen and see steam rising from something on the stove, or see that the oven's on, and say,

"HOT."

But in a whisper, not with his voice. That's the way he's always said that word.

I like chatting with the RK about his day. I like watching the two of them play and making each other laugh. Yeah, that's cool.

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The IB and I went grocery shopping Monday night. (The RK had to stay at home to read, since he hadn't done any of his homework during the three hours from the time he got home from school 'til it was time to go to the store. This made him cry. I felt horrible. But the fact is, I would feel even more horrible if he had come along, we all got home around 8:00 PM, and no homework was done yet.) We passed a man in the bread aisle, and all on his own, the IB raises his little hand, and says, "Hi!" The guy said hi back, and we continued on our way. A couple aisles over, in the soup section I believe, we run into the same guy. He grabs a can, and then drops it. The IB witnesses this and says, "Uh oh!" The guy chuckles a little bit, and then states,

"I'm glad he's not mine."

My reply:

"I'm so glad he is mine."

The IB wasn't even misbehaving yet. He was in his prime of IB cuteness. Either this guy was a kid-hater, or else his statement came out far from how he intended it. I have a suspicion he meant that I 'have quite a handful there.' Whatever he meant, I thought I had a pretty great comeback.

I might not have said the same thing back to him if he had made his statement in the freezer section, though. Oy.

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I got a phone call from the IX at lunchtime yesterday. I guess things are pretty dire in his world right now, because he was calling to ask me for money. He said they're in danger of losing their electricity, and even getting evicted. He actually had the nerve to suggest I cash-advance my credit cards.

No way. Huh-uh. Not a chance.

I told him that I've busted my ass to establish a secure (relatively speaking) financial situation, and that there's no way I'm going to jeopardize it all to bail him out of this crisis he's brought on himself. (Hmmm...seems like I've heard this before somewhere else.) Okay, that last part I didn't say. I think it went more like I wasn't going to jeopardize it to 'help him out.' He agreed with me on that, anyway. I told him that while I just can't give him a big chunk of money, I would be willing to fill his tank from time to time if he needed gas to get to work, and that if his weekends with the boys were in jeopardy because he can't afford to buy the extra groceries, that I could send some groceries with the boys on those weekends.

I'll do whatever I have to to make sure he keeps that job. After all, about half of his paycheck is going straight into my bank account. I can't go without it.

And as for his weekends with the boys, I'll step up to help him keep a good relationship with them going.

I know how hard it must've been for him to make that call. It took him forever to actually give me any clear idea of what it was he was calling about. (Although after the incident last week, I had a pretty good idea already.) It's a shame that he's carrying on the same immature & careless behavior he learned from his mom (whom I'm sure he called, and of course she couldn't help. In fact, she owes money to him. Us, actually. She's a piece of work, really. I'd write more about her, but I just don't really care anymore.)

I actually feel a little sorry for him. I don't know why, but I do. Don't get me wrong, though...there's a huge feeling of vindication in it all, too. Should it go as far as him getting evicted, well...he can just sleep in his car for all I care. I hope it'd be good for him and he might learn something from it. My boys are being well taken care of right here, so they wouldn't have to suffer any major disadvantage from it. And they're all I care about.

And then this one question pops up into my head, but I'm not really sure I want to know his answer to it.

"Is she worth it?"

Hearing about his plight is motivating me to work even harder, too. I have to admit, it feels pretty damn good to have this upper hand on him right now. Granted my situation is far from comfortable, but my bills get paid. And it motivates me to keep working towards improving the quality of life for me and the boys.

Oh, but he better not lose his job. And I absolutely hate the fact that I'm still so dependent on him for that. Grr.

I want to go back to school. I want to be qualified for better, higher-paying jobs. I just have no idea how or when I could do that. Perhaps if I can just hang on for three more years until the IB starts school...just hang on 'til then. Heck...maybe even before that. As he grows & matures, he'll need less and less of my immediate attention to where I could actually take a class or two. (That sounds kinda bad. I hope y'all know what I mean.)

I'm also contemplating doing a big sell-off on the internet of stuff around the house. I have a feeling I could bring in quite a nice little chunk of change if I did.

Today, though, we have a cozy home. Food in our bellies. We have each other. We're good for now.

The Year of La Vida Loca

Greetings blogosphere! Gosh, where do I start? That itch to divulge all these thoughts, ideas, opinions, and ramblings going on in my head has been growing to a point where I need to scratch it. So I'm scratching it.

So how the heck is everyone? Is anyone even still out there? Have I been away so long that that I've finally slipped out of my former readers' minds? I guess I have a lot of ground to make up since my last entry exactly 233 days ago.

But I feel like prioritizing my life is crucial. And given the new chapter my life began last winter, keeping up with this blog was just not possible. Working a full-time job and then coming home to take care of my two precious boys had proven to be indescribably time-consuming and....well, exhausting. As I grow older, the one thing I'm discovering is that the first place I start to feel exhaustion is my mind. When all is said and done at the end of a long day, my babies are tucked snugly into their cozy beds, and I would finally have the opportunity to sit in front of my trusty little computer and write, my brain was well on its way to termination of all activity for the day. Trust me...you probably wouldn't have had any idea what I was saying if I had even tried!

But now, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting a handle on this new life of mine. The sense of being completely overwhelmed is receding somewhat, and progress is being made. Slowly, but surely. Right now I'm feeling quite encouraged.

This past weekend was just me and the RK. I asked the IX if he could only take the IB for this weekend so the RK and I could dig out his bedroom from the insane, massive amounts of junk and dust it had succumbed to over the course of the last couple of years. And now, it's beeeee-u-ti-ful. The RK and I have made a pact to not let it get to the state it was in again.

We filled up four garbage bags full of crap. Lots of toys with missing integral parts, strange random little objects that neither of us had any idea where they had come from, etc. And we passed down quite a few objects to the IB. A bunch of stuff went from one bedroom closet over to the other. Lots of books. A few toys. A sizeable amount of stuffed animals. Anyway, the RK and I both have a very satisfied and accomplished feeling tonight over that bedroom. And now, I just need to get my room taken care of. I'm so ashamed of its condition, I don't even care to speak of it. {Shudder}

The RK and I really needed this weekend to spend with just each other. The IB takes up so much of my attention, and often a lot of the RK's as well. So it was really nice to have it just the two of us. We went out to dinner last night, where he wolfed down a full-sized adult burger. He said it was the best burger he'd ever had. Yesterday we ended up being lazy all day, watching movies, napping, playing Wii (that he got for his birthday from my mom back in June). We didn't have to worry about keeping tabs on the incredible two-year-old force of destruction that is the IB. We need to do this on a regular basis, I think. Before the IB came along, it was just the RK for nine years; but what I think is kinda cool is that he and I both agreed it's really hard to remember what that was like now. And in a good way...neither of us really miss it all that much!

So in the interest of not going for the longest post in the history of the blogosphere, I'm going to try to catch up on everything that has gone on in my life this year in subsequent posts, but I'll hit the big points briefly in this initial re-introduction.

First up, my job. It's still going well, but it's had its ups and downs. I've been working really hard to integrate into the dynamics of the office, with mixed results. It turns out I came in right before a huge and unplanned shake-up in how things were being run, and because of that, I, as the very lowest man on the totem pole, ended up taking quite a bit of heat as revelations came out and adjustments had to be made. But I'm still there. And more determined than ever. Again...details to follow.

Next, P. We had a really good run of it until early May. Really good. And then, all of a sudden, he felt the need to come up with some lame excuse about why it wasn't going to work out, and that was that. (Again...details to follow.) I was very hurt and confused, but compared to what I had gone through with my divorce, it wasn't all that difficult to pick up and carry on with life as usual.

..so at that point, the idea of a fun, exciting summer was at the forefront of my mind, and I decided to re-up my subscription on the dating site for a month. I met a few guys, but nothing panned out to bring that 'summer' idea to fruition. And now at this point, I'm perfectly happy flying solo...cuz ya know what? Dating is stressful! I've really been enjoying just being me, not freaking out over all my insecurities, not having the anxiety that comes with starting to let someone brand new into my life. Or shall I say, our lives.

OK, there I hit the biggest points, and will expound on them more in future posts. As well as add some others. I'm gonna keep writing, though, and hope that some of my previous readers will find their way back here (perhaps with a few new ones as well). Because I have been thinking of you, and keeping up with your tales...at least a few of you. So anyway, if any of you did happen to keep this feed in your readers, drop me a comment and say hi! You have no idea how that would thrill me. Maybe I'll finally come completely out of the shadows and start dropping a few comments of my own as well...

Reporting back

OK, so the interview didn't turn out to be the exciting and hope-filled venture I thought it'd be. But I definitely think it's a good thing I ended up there. You see, it turns out my interview was with a recruiting firm. I've never heard of the company before, but it's obviously a well-respected and very successful company, given their extremely professional-looking office suite with lots of awards and honors decorating the lobby.

The woman I interviewed with got down and dirty, going over my resume, asking me all kinds of questions about what kind of job I wanted ideally, my strengths, my weaknesses, etc. As for that first criterium, I told her what I wanted, but at this point, I'll be happy if I'm getting paid to make coffee and pick up drycleaning.

The actual job that I had applied for doesn't sound like it's a good possibility, as well as all the other jobs I've applied for thus far. I guess that the job title of 'receptionist' is a lot more than answering phones nowadays! Functional knowledge of MS Office is a must, even for this bottom-feeding position.

The recruiter said that given my sorry excuse for a resume (meaning, I have no recent job experience or college degree on it), my best bet will more than likely be getting into a temp pool. Fine...whatever. Just as long as it comes with a decent paycheck! I just wanna work! She wanted me to do some skills testing before I left, but once we got to that point in the appointment, we discover their computer system has just locked up. So she says, "OK then...I'll send you an email in a little while with a link in it and you can take the tests at home."

Heh...so I go about the course of my day after this...chase the IB around the house, get the RK off the bus, homework, dinner, blah, blah, blah... So I get both my kids in bed and settle in with my beloved laptop and get crackin'. I did the five-minute typing test first, and I scored 64 WPM with an average of 1 mistake per minute, for a net score of 63 WPM. Not too shabby...

Next is the Word 2003 test. It was 30 questions, and I got 28 correct. I wasn't too worried about this test; I've used Word quite a bit over the years.

Up next: Excel 2003. This one I was a little more nervous about. I've used Excel quite a bit, but never in an actual spreadsheet functionality. I've only used it for making phone lists, rosters, etc. Not for anything remotely related to math or calculating. I was very pleased to have scored another 28/30, but I took quite a bit longer to complete it than the Word test. I was still very impressed with my score, though.

Regarding these previous two tests: The right-click shortcut menus were blitzing out on me, so a lot of functions that I normally do using this shortcut I had to figure out a different way to do them. And thinking back, I think one of the two mistakes I made on each test was because of this. The other ones I have a feeling I'll feel like a big dummy when I learn what I did wrong.

And finally....PowerPoint 2003. I've never used PowerPoint before. I barely know what it's for or what it does. But I'm pretty resourceful and determined when it comes to computer applications, so I'll give it a shot. I spent about 30 minutes on it, and only got 20/30 correct. 67%. But frankly, I think that's pretty darn good for never even having opened up the program before! And just think of the presentations I could create if I actually get some training on the software!

The recruiter told me they have training on computer applications there as well, so I definitely plan on taking advantage of that. I still have a lot to learn about Excel, and PP for sure. And I'm eager to become skilled and proficient; to become a valuable asset to some company who doesn't even know yet how much they need me.

So now the ball's in her court, and she's gonna start selling me to prospective employers. See what I mean about it being a good thing I wound up there? Now I'm not in this job hunt alone...I've got someone out there working with me to get me gainfully employed! And I'm so eager to start getting some experience, something to start padding my resume with.

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Now for a funny story. The other night, I sent the RK up to take a shower, and when he got out, he came downstairs with one of the IB's bath toys suction-cupped right in the middle of his forehead. We laughed, and cut up, I took some pictures, and when he pulled it off, there was a nice, perfectly round circle right between his eyes.

So yesterday morning, the RK gets up, and in place of that red circle is a bruise! Ha! I desperately tried not to laugh, but I'm ashamed to admit I failed miserably. So off to school he goes... When he gets home yesterday, I ask him, "Did anyone say anything about the bruise on your forehead?"

He says, "Yeah, my teacher and Mrs. B the music teacher. I told them that [the IB] accidentally hit me with one of his toys last night."

I bust out with a ginormous belly laugh, saying, "Poor little [IB]...taking the fall for your silly actions!"

We laughed it off, but this did raise a bit of a red flag with me in how he was effortlessly able to come up with a story to save himself from embarrassment. This was a pretty harmless fib, but it's definitely raised my awareness for the potential of this happening again, with perhaps more serious connotations. Tucking it away in the back of my mind...

(I think he learned more of a lesson about sticking stuff on his face, though, as opposed to learning how to throw blame.)

Must run...I hope to be back later today!

I must finish my resume and get it out there. I'm so terrified. This job market sucks. Why in the world would anyone hire me? At least at a job that pays what I need to take care of my family. I MUST do this, since the man who said he'd take care of us has no longer decided he really wants to.

So let's see...I have...one...two...three...22 days before this lameass child support arrangement kicks in and I'm on my own to find a way to come up with more than half of what this household needs to function.

And that means daycare for the IB. Don't EVEN get me started on how I feel about this.

I hate that man. I don't know how he can stand to look at himself in the mirror. How does he sleep at night? So disgusting.

Oh dear Lord, please take care of us! Give me courage. Increase my faith. Ease my mind. Give me everything I need to get this taken care of.

I got nuthin' for this post's title

I have a rather shameful confession to make. It's my explanation for not posting in a few days. And it might be a reason why I won't post any more often for the next few weeks. I mentioned a while back that I'm really into this season of Big Brother. Well, I cracked. I found myself last Wednesday night punching in my credit card number to start receiving the live feeds of the goings-on in the house which is located on the CBS lot in Los Angeles. So now, my computer time is mostly spent keeping up with all the craziness (oh lordy, you have no idea) that dominates the house this season.

The cool thing about this feature is you get to see it all happen live, learning who wins competitions, hearing the strategy sessions, witnessing people completely lose their minds in this voluntary exile, all before the severely edited episodes are broadcast on TV. It's fun. It passes the time. It gives me an escape of sorts.

So the feeds are suspended right now because from what I could gather, the houseguests are being treated to a big fancy dinner party in the house tonight. The BB powers-that-be aren't letting us watch it live; we'll just have to wait to see it all on a future broadcast episode, I guess. So be it. This gives me a chance to let y'all know I'm still around. (We actually don't get to see competitions or ceremonies on the feeds...they always put up the BB theme music with the same old trivia questions from seasons past. But once the events are over, we learn the results from the ensuing conversations among the houseguests.)

My weekend was very dull. I was so lonely, I just laid around most of the time trying to find any teeninesy bit of motivation within me to do something productive. One thing I'm learning about myself, though, is that if I don't have anyone else around to do anything for, I don't do anything. Being all by myself completely strips away any desire to get anything knocked off my to-do list. It's really quite sad. I'm gonna work on that, though. Sunday I perked up a little bit and got the lawn mowed, along with some inside chores. That baby gate still isn't installed at the bottom of the stairs, so I'm really having to keep a close eye on the IB when he's in free range mode.

Did anyone venture outside last night to catch the peak of the Perseid meteor shower? The RK and I made a rather weak attempt at it before it got too late, but we didn't see much. After he went to bed, I'd step outside from time to time and gaze heavenward, and was finally rewarded close to 2 AM when I saw three shooting stars all within about 15 seconds of each other. The best time to witness it was around 4:00-5:00 AM, and I just wasn't up to that challenge, and certainly the RK wasn't. Even going to bed and setting the alarm was too much to ask of either of us. At least I finally got a little taste of it. All of you dear readers who are located in West Texas (especially you, Bob) should jump at these chances...West Texas is one of the best places in the nation to get away from city lights to behold such wonderful occurences as this!

While I'm on an astronomical topic -- did you know that you can go to the NASA website and find out when you'll be able to spot the space station or the space shuttle in orbit? I've actually done this a couple of times, and it's so cool. It doesn't look like much more than an airplane flying overhead, but you can still tell that it's much further away and going much, much faster. It's pretty amazing to think that there are actually people up there, orbiting this big ol' rock. Oh what I wouldn't give to see the planet from their point of view! Anyway, click on the link, find your city and state, and see when you might have the chance to experience this. And set an alarm clock to remind you...it's so easy to forget about it when the time comes. Definitely one thing that makes this so awesome for me is having a ten-year-old son to do this with. We usually watch all the launches and landings as well, learning more and more about the space program with each event.

I think the best time I spotted the shuttle flying overhead was a couple of years ago, before it had docked with the International Space Station. It was chasing it, catching up to it, so what I saw was two bright not-quite-airplanes-not-quite-shooting-stars cutting a path in the early morning sky. This I did set my alarm for, and looking back on it, I'm so glad I did. I'll keep doing stuff like this every chance I get. I think it's one way to truly soak in and appreciate this amazing age we live in. And who knows where it's gonna go from here?

The shuttle program began when I was a little bit younger than the RK. I remember for the first handful of launches and landings, all the teachers in my school would secure a TV for their classrooms so we could watch. I think it's such a shame that the marvel of it is mostly lost now, and is only reignited when tragedies occur. I'm very grateful to the cable news channels that still break away from their boring, monotonous political drivel to cover the launches and landings. But if even that goes away, thank goodness my dish service carries the NASA channel!

I'm so exhausted. The RK had at least one friend over all day long today, starting at the stroke of 10:00 AM. And for the first time since the RK's birthday, we actually headed down to the pool for a while late this afternoon. And the IB loved it...he's definitely at home in the water. He was so cute in his little swimmy diaper... :) I hope we make it down there a few more times before the season's over.

Oooo, I just started craving some pistachios and a Coke.

My life is pathetic. This really is the most interesting stuff going on in my life right now.

It's a rainy, humid, dreary day again. Fine by me, really...I don't need to worry about watering the grass. My poor little petunias that I've had hanging on my front porch are almost dead, but not quite. I need to go clean out the dead stems to make room for their renaissance, which I'm bound and determined to make happen. Anyway, I took them off their hooks and set them between my burning bushes so the rain can get to them.

I finally couldn't go another day without doing some grocery shopping, so the boys and I headed out on Tuesday. I shopped the sales, going to two different stores, and I even had coupons in hand. All in all, I spent about $176, with my receipts indicating I saved over $45 on sale items and with coupons. SCORE!

I've always been a not-very-good grocery shopper. I'm bad at planning ahead, and also, if I'm not hungry when I go to the store, I won't hardly buy anything at all. My pantry gets to the point where there's tons of stuff in there, but none of it can be put together to make a decent meal. I'm trying to change that. I'm trying to get it so my pantry always has a few staples to eat on, thus making it not 'necessary' to go out for fast food.

So I'm quite proud of myself that I did buy so many groceries. I never feel guilty about spending a lot of money if it's at the grocery store, because I know that the more food I buy to eat at home, the less I'll spend on eating out.

Another thing I hate about my grocery purchase and consumption habits: I rarely buy a lot of fresh produce, because I know that the odds aren't in their favor to be eaten before they rot. Growing up, I was never a big fan of fresh fruit or veggies...gimme a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos over an apple anyday. And I think a lot of that has to do with the convenience, or lack thereof, of eating fresh fruit. It's messy, sometimes it's difficult (ex. apples, oranges), and other times you have to time it just right (ex. peaches, plums). I mean, what if I'm not in the mood for a peach when it reaches its peak of ripeness? Or what if I'm craving that peach when it's still hard as a rock? That frustrates me.

As for veggies, I'm getting better. I must admit, though, that most veggies I buy either come in a can, or they're around 0°F. That way, I can fix 'em whenever I want. I love big, fresh tossed salads. I'm thrilled over this latest trend of buying pre-torn lettuce in bags, or other more exotic leafy veggies. I always buy a tomato, cucumber, onion, and green pepper to add to it. And then I make my salad, enjoy it one time, put the rest in a storage container, and then more times than not, it sits in my fridge getting nasty, only to be dumped out a week or more later. Argh.

On Tuesday, I did buy peaches, plums, salad fixin's, strawberries, green grapes, & a baby watermelon. I'm once again renewing my efforts to enjoy the deliciousness of the naturally healthy, unprocessed, perfect-just-the-way-it-is food that God has lovingly given us without letting it spoil. Maybe this time around I'll do a little bit better than the last time I tried. We'll see.

The RK has a couple of his friends over right now. One of them is Friend, and the other is another boy in the same grade. I guess Friend and FriendZ have had some issues before, which Friend's mom filled me in about a little while ago on the phone. So I'm glad to know the circumstances, and I'll be keeping an eye & an ear out for any rise of discord amongst them. I have to admit, though, I love it when the RK has buddies over to help pass the time. I think it's so cool when my driveway is used for bicycle parking. Even I recognize how lame and boring I am, and I'm more than happy to have my house be the designated hang-out house for the RK's friends. I so desperately want the RK to have fond memories of his summers, and lollygagging around with buddies, I think, is up there with the best kind of summer memories a person can have. I don't think it tops spending a summer on the farm with the coolest aunt or grandma, though. Unfortunately, there's no one like that in my family to offer the creation of such memories.

The IB has reached another milestone, which can lead to some hazardous situations. He can now climb the entire flight of stairs in the house! I helped him acquire this skill by putting one of his favorite little toys about three or four steps up, and as he climbs up to it, I keep putting it higher and higher. And he just laughs, and keeps pluggin' along! I think it's saying quite a lot about his personality that he doesn't get frustrated or mad when I keep moving the toy further away. I view that as him having a very determined spirit; he sees this as encouragement, rather than discouragement. And he has fun while working so hard. So for now, I must keep a close eye on him while he's roaming free, and hopefully I'll find the opportunity to put up that baby gate that's been sitting out in the garage for weeks at the bottom of the stairs.

I just heard the dryer stop, so I guess I better go get the load of laundry folded.