Wasting Time at Work

Volleyball season is over. Our team placed dead last in the tournament, but was selected to receive the sportsmanship award which is voted on by the coaches. Also, Alexys received All-Conference as did another niece of mine, Lakin.

Lindsey was on a trip for wrestling. She still hasn’t won a match in this sport dominated by boys, but for the first time ever she lasted all three rounds without getting pinned and only lost by 2 points! I wasn’t too sure what to think of her choice of activity, but she seems to be enjoying it and already has plans to join again next year.

We are definitely into our fall weather. The wind is howling and the rain is coming down hard. I don’t mind hearing the rain on my window except when it comes during the night when I should be asleep! Our mountain tops are starting to turn white. I so cannot wait for snow! Snow means colder temps and I love the cold!

Our guidance counselor is fighting harder than ever against her cancer. She’s been on chemo for 10 months so far. She was hoping to be done, but when she went north for her latest appointment, she received some sad news. Her CAT scan showed cancer in her liver and fluid around her right lung. When they tested the fluid, it too had cancer cells. We lost our interpreter in May to brain cancer. Losing our counselor would be devastating. She’s such a loving lady. Even the toughest kids love the time they spend with her and are better for it. She touches our lives daily and always has a smile even when we know she’s so tired.
I’m at work and have things to do. I guess I better get to them

Hello? Anybody There?

Okay, let’s see if I remember how to do this. I haven’t forgotten about my blog. I just haven’t really felt like I had anything interesting enough to say. One of the downfalls of living on a small island is that life moves very slow. There is not a lot of change, and when change does come, it comes slowly.
How many times do you want to hear “The new road is almost finished”? Even I’m bored with that…and I’m here watching it happen.
I guess that’s good, in a way. Life moving slow, I mean. It allows one time to really soak it all in. Stop and smell the roses? I could tell you how many new blooms the neighbors bush got this year because there’s nothing else to do but stop and smell the roses.
My nieces and nephews are about the only indication that time is moving on. (Besides the “natural highlights” in my hair.) They’re growing up so fast. Alexys will be graduating high school this year. Lucione is a junior and Lindsey a freshman. Even Craig and Mikayla are growing up. They are in 5th and 3rd grades this year. They now have a new baby sister, Emily. I don’t see her often enough, but believe me, she’s cute.
My husband and I are doing very well. He’s working full time now…at HOME. If you know anything about me, you know that I’m loving having him home. That whole commuting to California thing was awful. My job is actually not so bad this year. We zipped right through our 1st quarter. I’m not wishing for summer yet, so things are good.
I haven’t done this in so long, I don’t even remember what I’ve shared and what I haven’t. I guess I should go back and read some of my posts.
Connie, if you read this, I owe you an apology. I promised to call you if I ever found myself in your neck of the woods. In September I was in Anchorage for an entire week. I didn’t call because I was there for medical reasons and didn’t want anybody to see me in my condition. Especially someone who’d see me for the very first time. Very selfish on my part and I apologize. I wish I would have swallowed my pride and made arrangements to meet you and possibly pay a visit to Millie. You are not the only one I snubbed, though, if that helps any. I have family up there who I neglected to call.
We’re definitely into our winter weather here. No snow on the ground yet, but our mountains are white.  The rain is cold and our frequent winds have been gusting pretty good.
I guess this is it for now. I’m just curious if anyone stops by anymore. Jayleigh, I know you said you have been. I apologize for not keeping up with this. Thanks for not giving up on me!

BUSY

I've been so busy I can't keep track of what day it is!

Work has been hectic. I'm so ready for the break. One month left...I can handle one more month. My boss and I have been butting heads. I've even gotten stubborn a few times and given him the cold shoulder. I don't know why it bothers him, but it does. So when I see him treating others badly, which has been more than usual lately, I make sure he knows I'm ignoring him. Sometimes it takes a day or two, but he always comes around and straightens up. I started to worry I was putting my job in jeopardy, but I passed my evaluation with flying colors. Go figure.

My nieces have been keeping me busy, also. Lindsey was busy with a basketball tournament. Her team got 2nd place, but she was the 3-point AND the free-throw champ! Space Cadet didn't make it to a single tournament game. The first two, for no good reason...then she left town to watch Lucione in the music festival. I made sure I was at every game even though I haven't been feeling all that well. She played very well and was a good sport through the whole thing.

Lucione had her 16th birthday on the 14th. I can't believe how old that makes me feel. haha

She is now officially old enough to date. That's scarier to me than being old enough to get her license.

Work is going to be very busy from now until the end. We've got Prom this weekend, then the elementary concert, the high school concert, a scene showcase, high school graduation, middle school promotion (Lindsey will be promoted to HIGH SCHOOL!), Sea Week field trips, Field Day...and probably more I'm not remembering.

The weather finally turned toward spring. We haven't had snow since Friday! The sun is shining and the temp is eeking up towards 50 degrees ever so slowly.

Hopefully, I'll be back to write again soon. Until then, I hope anyone who reads this is happy and well!

I'm SO Ready For Friday

This week cannot end soon enough!

Yesterday was an emotional day for me. An uncle of mine passed away last month. March 3rd...the same day I left for a week-long trip. I was already traveling when I got the news. I continued my trip and have been riddled with guilt about it ever since. I didn't miss any of the services, though, because they scheduled them for the 10th and 11th. I returned home on the 9th.

This uncle of mine, had a nick-name for just about everyone he knew. His name for me was, "Big Ape". I cannot remember how we started calling each other that, but it was not meant to be mean. We always said it with a smile. For as long as I can remember, we exchanged apes. Stuffed gorillas for Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, birthdays, whatever...I've lost count of the number of apes exchanged between us.

Within the last year, he moved out of his house into a small apartment. He could not take all of his belongings because of space limitations. He took only the necessities. Yesterday, his oldest son was cleaning out the apartment. He found one of the apes I had given to my uncle. He came to the school to find me. I had my back to the door and I heard, "I'm looking for Big Ape."

I spun around to see who dared call me by my uncle's nick-name. I was happy to see my cousin standing there. He was holding something and when I realized what it was, I let out a little gasp. He asked if I remembered it. I told him, "Of course I do."

He said, "This was one of Dad's favorites out of all his apes. I found it while cleaning his apartment today. I think he'd be happy to know you were getting it back."

I thanked him, we hugged, and he left. I thought I was okay and for a while I was. Then I saw Space Cadet. I told her about the ape and she asked if I was okay. I said I was, but then felt a tear run down my cheek. She hugged me and I started to really cry. She cried with me and we talked about my uncle for a while. She, too, had a nick-name from him. I never knew that.

I brought the ape home and was emotional all night long. I think because I wasn't here for that week before his services, it didn't really sink in that he was gone. I was exhausted from my trip and didn't have the quality time with my family right after his death so I don't think I really dealt with it properly. Yesterday was the first time I admitted to myself that he is indeed gone.

After my emotional day yesterday, I was hoping for a smooth day at work. No such luck. The copy machine broke down, Space Cadet was having phone issues so calls were not going where they should...if they were able to get through at all. And the kids....oh, the kids. One of my nephews ran away so I was one of 4 people sent out to hunt for him. I found him on the beach. He almost refused to return to school with me but we decided that he needed to return and face the consequences before he made it worse for himself. Luckily, he finally agreed to come with me but I had to keep his mind distracted by playing dumb. I let him tell me how to fish, all the while acting like I had no idea. His dad showed up and took him home, which I did not agree with. He WANTED to leave school. He got what he wanted.

Anyway, we got through that and then a boy got a bloody nose and panicked. Took a while to calm him down and a little girl fell and hurt her arm. She got hysterical. So much so, that I thought she'd hyperventilate. Got her calmed down and relaxed just in time for an emergency call at the junior high.

So now I am drained. Whew!

I'm So Bad

I think of my blog often...even tried to make a pact with a friend that I would (we both would) get better at posting and reading each other's blogs. That was back in January. I don't know how she's doing because this is my first time on Blogger since then.

I've been up to a whole lot of nothing since our trip to Juneau. I'm glad school will be ending soon. This has been a tough school year for me. Seven more Mondays. I can handle that, right?

My family is doing okay. Lindsey sprained her ankle last night, but other than that, no major disasters lately. One of my God-Daughters got her acceptance letter to Stanford. Needless to say, she is extremely excited and I am extremely proud!

We are still getting wet snow showers off and on. We call that herring weather. The first opening was right off the beach by our graveyard. We could actually drive down there and watch them fish. It was pretty cool.

In between snow showers, it's beginning to look a lot like Spring. :o)

Trying to Get Back Into This

I'm having a hard time getting back into writing in this blog. I enjoy writing and reading what others have written, but just haven't been making the time.

A lot has happened in the past few months. Two of my colleagues have been diagnosed with cancer. One of them, for the 3rd time. The other for a 2nd time and this was a total surprise. I feel terrible because I didn't know he was leaving to go to the doctor. It helps to know that the last time we spoke, we were teasing each other. He loved to tease me and it always tickled him when I would tease back. He has brain cancer and the prognosis is not good. He most likely will not return to the island. He had kidney cancer a couple years ago. They just took his kidney and he received no form of treatment.

Our guidance counselor has cancer for the third time. It's breast cancer again, but it has spread to her lung. She's undergoing chemotherapy. She was in remission for 2 years. Before that, she had been in remission for almost 10 years.

My uncle who tried to take my house away is speaking to me again. He came to see me at work after speaking with my mom. He didn't apologize, but that doesn't bother me. I'm just glad he's talking to me again. I didn't like being ignored.

Our high school basketball season is in full swing. My nieces are doing well. In fact, I'm related to all but one of team members! I'm sure if I dug deep enough, I'd end up being related to her, too. haha

The slow count-down to the regional tournament has begun. Michael and I leave on March 3rd and will be in Juneau until the 9th. We're leaving a little earlier than we normally would because Michael's sister lives there and we want an extra day or two to visit before the hectic tournament schedule begins.

I'll try to get better at posting. This is all I have for now.

Pop Your Stress Away

Updates

My sister is out of the hospital. She was sent home with six different medications. Pain killers, iron pills, anti-biotics, and three others I don't remember at the moment. The only one she has taken is the anti-biotics. She still hasn't scheduled her appointment to have her staples removed. She doesn't seem too concerned. That makes ME concerned. The doctors won't let my mom make the appointments because my sister is an adult. She won't make them herself because she thinks its my mom's job to take care of her. Sometimes dealing with my sister can be extremely frustrating.

My father-in-law is home. He was on a triple dose of his blood thinner meds. Thankfully, there was no damage to his heart as a result of it. I'm not sure who was responsible for prescribing such a high dosage, but I hope they figure it out and do something about it.

My aunt with cancer is still in Anchorage. They were not able to find cancer with a PET scan, or any of the other tests they ran on her. But the surgeon who removed her uterus is insisting there is cancer so they are going ahead with the treatment. I believe she starts radiation tomorrow. I sincerely hope the surgeon knows what he's talking about because, from what I understand, one can only have radiation treatment once. Should they treat the wrong area it would all be a waste. If she doesn't have cancer and should somehow get cancer in the future, what will that mean? I really, really hope that surgeon knows what he's doing. I'm told the PET scan is THE test for finding cancer...it is supposedly the most accurate of all available resources. I don't understand why there is a discrepancy.

On a lighter note, I woke up to see SNOW on our mountains! I was so happy about that. :o) Not as happy as I will be to wake up to a snow covered car, haha, but happy.

Not much else to report on after a laid-back, uneventful weekend.

Oh, Lindsey played in a basketball tournament this weekend and made the All-Tourney Team! She scored 20 of the teams 34 points in the final game!

Motion Sickness

So the roller coaster has slowed down a bit, but has not stopped.

Yesterday my father in law was medi-vacced because he was experiencing pain in his left arm and they were concerned about his heart. He has had heart surgery in the past. A triple bypass, I believe, so we were all scared. It turned out that his medication dosage was wrong. He's taking blood thinner  and they gave him twice the dosage he should have had. He did not have any heart damage as a result, thank goodness! My aunt in the hospital with cancer is my father-in-law's sister (but that's not how she became my aunt...more about her in another post) so needless to say, we were quite relieved to know Dad is okay.

Our town elections were on the 6th. With a bigger turn-out than we've had in years, our entire administration has been replaced. Mayor, Secretary, Treasure...all with young, un-experienced people. I'm a bit nervous about how things will go the next 2 years, but I guess everyone deserves a chance.

I was so ready for some good news and I bet you're already tired of hearing about my worries and woes, so I'll share. :o)

My laptop came in! That's right...I'm at work, typing this on my brand new GREEN laptop! I love it...absolutely love it! I'm online via a wireless connection that was a snap to set up. Makes me want wireless at my house, but I'll take my ancient dial-up for now. I got this mainly for travel, anyway. I'm planning so far ahead. haha. I'm going to Juneau in March for a week...and wanted a laptop to take with me. It took a lot of encouragement from Michael, though, let me tell ya. I love to spend money on other people. Spending it on myself is a chore. Even if it's "free" money.

My lunch break is just about over. I better stop here. Hope you are all happy and well. The week is almost over!

Too Much Going On

Well, it's been 2 months since my last post. I highly doubt anyone even visits anymore, but here's my attempt to catch up.

First of all, work was super crazy this year at the beginning. It wasn't till we neared the end of the 1st quarter, things settled down for me. I finally feel like I'm in a routine and am very happy about that. There are a couple teachers I have "issues" with, but nothing worth mentioning and definitely nothing I can't handle.

My life at home has been a roller coaster with huge drops, intense climbs uphill, and crazy loop-de-loops. I hate roller coasters.

If my life consisted of nothing but work and Michael, it would be a piece of cake. But I've got a huge extended family and for some reason, we love our drama.

My uncle still won't talk to me after our big house ordeal. We see each other all the time at family functions but he just won't interact with me. If I smile or say, "Hi Uncle John" he just looks away. I'M the one who lost in the whole thing. It was never his house to take. He didn't lose anything. I lost the place I had called home for more than 5 years and probably the only reason my mom had to move home. Without a house to come home to, I doubt she'll ever return.

My Aunty Rita went north to Anchorage for a hysterectomy. During the surgery, they found cancer in her cervix. She's back up there now for a week of further tests. Hopefully, they'll find that her cancer, although believed to be in stage 3, will be treatable and she'll start radiation by next Monday.

My sister is in the hospital in California. She's been bleeding for the past 2 months. She had extreme abdominal pain late Saturday night and my mom called an ambulance. She was extrenely anemic and in need of a blood transfusion. They stabalized her, took some x-rays, and discovered her uterus is FULL of fibroid tumors. She was to have surgery today at Noon...2 and a half hours ago now. They said they wouldn't know until they had her open whether they could take the tumors or if they'd have to do a hysterectomy. I haven't slept in 2 days because I know my sister. She's stubborn, combative, and mean tempered. I'm worried that the doctors and nurses will grow tired of being belittled and lectured every time they enter her room. She won't let my mom visit or even call. When I called she said, "Hang up I'm trying to sleep." When SHE called my dad, she hung up on him. My dad is so hurt. We both stayed home from work today because we're too stressed from worrying about a loved one who wants nothing to do with us. He called me and I told him what I knew about fibroid tumors, reassured him that my sister isn't directing ALL her anger towards him, but the rest of us, too. We talked for over half an hour. That's a long time for my dad to talk but I think he felt better once we hung up. He promised to stop by later on. He said my sister really hurt him and he needs to feel good again. I hope I can live up to the challenge.

Other than that, I'm just waiting for the temps to cool. We have snow on the mountains, but it's still too high up for my liking. :o) We were in the 30's all day yesterday and I loved it. We even had some very thin ice on the more shallow ponds around the island. Today it's 45. :o(

I'm patiently awaiting the arrival of my new GREEN Dell laptop. They shipped it next day...but they shipped it DHL and we don't have DHL near here. The nearest is Anchorage. They signed for it last week and I'm assuming they put it in regular mail. Trouble is, we've had a lot of high winds lately. When the wind isn't blowing, it's foggy. So that probably slowed the mail a bit. I've always been told I'm a very patient person. This is definitely putting me to the test!

If anyone reads this, I hope you are happy and well.

Happy Birthday, Lindsey!

Today is Lindsey’s birthday. She’s a whopping 14 years old. I was looking through some old pictures last night. She was such a cute little girl! Too bad she was so nuts and attached to her mother. We didn’t have her as much as we did Lucione. You’d never know it by how close we are now, though.

She tells me I’m her favorite aunt and her 2nd Mom. She’ll sometimes ask me for permission to do something while I’m sitting right next to her mother! She’s got a 4.0 in school and when asked why, she’ll tell you it’s “because Aunty Carrie makes me do my homework”.

She has grown into a beautiful young lady. She’s recently had braces put on her teeth and is taking it all in stride. She doesn’t complain about the pain, even when the wires pop out, which has to be really frustrating.

She is very athletic. She proudly announced the other day that she can run a mile in 11 minutes. She loves to climb the rock wall at the gym. She is an excellent basketball player and enjoys volleyball, as well.

Lindsey has started to crush on boys. I can’t believe that my little tomboy now applies make-up, straightens her hair, and wears fashionable clothes.

I’m at work, so can’t post pictures. I’ll try to remember to put some up later tonight if I can find the time before her party.

Why I Haven't Been Posting

Mainly, I haven't been posting because I couldn't find time! Michael was unemployed all of July and August right along with me so we kept busy. We were rarely home and when we were the last thing I wanted to do was sit at my computer.

It was so nice having so much time with him. We spent a lot of time outdoors, visiting family and friends, and just being together. It was really nice and if my pocketbook wasn't almost empty, I'd be sad that it is over! :o)

I miraculously managed to make my final paycheck last all summer long. I'm just now starting to get nervous about needing money. At least I was, then my dad gave me some money for my birthday. He said he didn't have time to shop so just gave me money. Little did he know the money is a lifesaver and I am so grateful he didn't shop!

The whole month of August was a whirlwind. We started off with two potlaches. One of our dance groups reached their 20 year anniversary and another their 10 so they each had a potlatch to celebrate. We also had our new road dedicated. It's not complete yet, but I think they wanted to have the dedication ceremony on the anniversary of the ground breaking ceremony.

I've seen articles and blog posts about this road. I don't think anyone really knows the "real" story. When they talk about this being another "Road to Nowhere" (That is what a new road on the neighboring island has been dubbed), it only shows they don't understand the full impact of what this road will offer. I've even seen it written that "The road isn't even complete or connected to the town. They can't figure out how." That is entirely false. The road is built, just not paved and ready to use. The last few yards that connect the road to our town were done last to keep people from going where they didn't belong. It IS connected now, but remains closed. This road will have a huge impact on our lives when it is open. It will allow us to go to Town to shop, work, eat, or even see a movie and then COME BACK home. We won't have to move over there to work, or spend a night in a hotel just to watch a movie. It will also force our grocery store and gas station to have competitive prices. They will no longer have a monopoly because we will have a choice. The road will help tourism because it will provide easier and quick access. This road has also helped the military. I saw an interview on CNN a while ago...they were interviewing a soldier who had been to Iraq. He was in charge of building roads for their military vehicles to travel. When asked how he learned to do this, he said, "I learned it on a little island in Alaska, called Annette." Tens of thousands of men and women have been through here for the past 10 years. If nothing else that's good ever comes from this road, they got some necessary training and were able to use what they learned in service for our country.

The day after our road dedication, was our Founders Day. We celebrated 120 years this year. We had a parade, fun and games, food booths, and fireworks. It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of out-of-town visitors and many family and friends who came home for the occasion.

We had family visiting until around the 10th. Then we started in with birthdays. August is full of family birthdays. I don't care if I never have another piece of cake! I'm still trying to finish up my own.

On the 20th I headed back to work. We had two seperate two day workshops. That made for an exhausting week. On the 27th, the kids started school. The first week was so much fun. Some of the kids acted as if they hadn't seen each other in years and I KNOW they played together all summer long! :o)

I didn't have any visitors on my birthday because we were at a memorial service. Michael's dziish (grandmother)passed away at the age of 97. She was a wonderful lady who loved everyone and was loved by all. She called everyone her baby. She wasn't afraid to tell you if she thought you were doing wrong. But was always quick to tell you when you had made her happy or proud. She will definitely be missed by all who knew her.

So there you go...we had a lot going on...I just didn't make time to come and tell you about it. Hopefully now that I'm back on a regular schedule, I'll find time to write a post every now and then. Certainly more than the one a month I've been averaging!

Not Enough Time

I was going to use this day to catch you up on the past month because I was supposed to have all kinds of free time. But, things happen and we can't help it...so this is a short post to let you know that I'll try again tomorrow.

I was supposed to have free time because Michael was supposed to be cooking my birthday dinner. But then my best friends grandmother (who also happens to be Michael's aunt) passed away on Tuesday so now we have to go to a memorial service.

I'll try again tomorrow.

Fifteen Years

Fifteen years ago today, at this exact time, I was up at my cousins house watching her steam my wedding dress. I was wondering if I was doing the right thing...if I was even mature enough to know what the right thing was. I was scared and excited all at the same time. It doesn't feel like it's been 15 years. Sometimes it barely feels like its been 15 months!

So much has happened in the past 15 years but some things have remained the same. We're still madly in love with each other, for one thing! :o) I'm not the same person I was 15 years ago, but I'm so happy I did not let my doubts scare me out of "taking the plunge".

I'll come back tomorrow and try to fill you in on the last month.

Visitors

I am so looking forward to the next few days! We're going to have so many visitors I don't think there will be enough time in the day to visit them all!

My cousin Evie is coming home...with two of her daughters, my favorite twins, and their new baby brother.

My cousin Vicki is home with her son and daughter.

My nephew Cameron is home with his lady and their tiny son.

Michael's big brother is home with his wife and daughter...and their son and his wife will be here in a few days.

My nephew Thomas is home for a visit.

My friend Eileen is here for a couple weeks.

I'm going to meet my cousin Ian for the first time ever!

I'm also going to meet my cousin Marilee for the first time ever!

Michael's sister Colleen is coming...with her son and her daughter (who is bringing her two kids).

Michael's sister Vivian will be here soon.

My best friends sisters are coming home...one tomorrow the other in about 4 days.

And those are just the ones I can think of at the moment. There will be a lot more because there will be 2 potlatches. So that means dance groups, too.

I wish I could count my mom as one of the visitors but I'm starting to wonder if she's ever going to come home again ever. My uncle said some really awful things about her when he was fighting for the house.

But that's not what this is about. This is about all of the fun reunions that are going to happen in the next few days. Even I'm looking forward to all of the get-togethers and I'm not usually a big fan of crowds. hehe I can't wait!

*************
On an unrelated note (or maybe along the same lines, i.e. reunions)...

I had a dream last night. My phone rang and it was an Unknown Caller. Normally I don't answer the phone if I don't know who's calling. The answering machine came on and I could tell there was a caller on the other end but they weren't talking. Convinced it wasn't a solicitor, I picked up the phone and said hello.

Nobody spoke at first but I heard a little giggle. I said, "Hello?" The second time someone replied.

She said, "Hi, Carrie. It's Millie."

Eight Random Things About Me

1. All right, here are the rules.
2. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
3. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
4. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
5. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So I've been tagged...by Connie...to do this meme. Eight random things shouldn't be hard, right? Except that it is. Ha! I'm not sure I can think of 8 things I haven't listed already. Hmmmm....

1. I love to sing in choirs. I was a part of at least one choir each year from 7th grade all the way through my time at college. Two of the college choirs were by audition only and the concert choir (open to all) was bigger than my whole highschool. We were on Good Morning America once when the World Mountain Bike Championships (or something like that) took place in the same town and we performed a patriotic medley. I haven't been in a choir in a few years...but I'm always singing in the car!

2. I have only held 2 jobs my entire life. My first job, in a t-shirt transfer shop, lasted an entire month. I quit when the shop owner started going through the garbage after my shift to see what I had been up to. If she didn't trust me, she shouldn't have left me alone after a single 15 minute training session! I haven't shopped in her store since. I'm kinda stubborn that way. I'm still working my 2nd job. I've been a school district employee since February of 1993.

3. I love to color. I don't care what it is. A children's coloring book, a geometric design, a coloring page from the internet, whatever. With crayons more than markers. The only things I will not color are my own drawings. I have the most fun when coloring with kids. For some reason, they think it's so funny for an adult to sit down and color with them! Some of my fondest childhood memories are of me sitting on the couch with Jerry, a family friend, and coloring. I always wanted my pages to look as nice as his.

4. I am incredibly shy. It's hard for me to form new friendships because its hard for me to approach people I don't know. Once you've gained my trust, though, good luck getting rid of me!

5. I love musicals. Any musical. My mom used to perform in the theater. I'd go to all of her rehearsals and have the entire show memorized before opening night. But I'd still go see it every chance I got. You can't beat live theater, but I'll watch any musical in any format. I drove my dad bonkers watching Annie over and over again on HBO when I was small. It wasn't so much that I watched it...I sang along. heehee

6. I've never broken a bone, but have had over a dozen surgical operations. Most of them before the age of 5.

7. I used to be scared of clowns. When I was really small, my uncle dressed as a hobo for our 4th of July parade. He thought it would be fun to pick me up and carry me but I didn't recognize him with his make-up and got hysterical. I was scared of clowns for years as a result. So much so, that when my mom took me and my sister to Barnum and Bailey's "Greatest Show on Earth" in Seattle, I missed most of the circus acts. The dressing room was below our seats and everytime I saw a clown heading to the dressing room, I put myself to sleep.

8. I have ridden an elephant.

So now comes the part where I'm supposed to tag 8 more people. I don't think I know 8 more bloggers who haven't already posted this or something similar. I'll just skip that part. Unless you read this and decide you want to participate!

Where is the Sun?

We had a very nice holiday despite the weather. It didn't rain all that hard and it wasn't constant so it wasn't as unbearable as we feared it would be.

The parade moved fast because of the weather, but there were a lot of participants. I'd post a small video of the firework display, but since they autoplay and I don't know how to disable that, I won't. I don't think fireworks and In The Garden would be a good mix. haha If you know how to find my Bebo page, you can view it there.

Michael's birthday was on the 3rd. He always tells me not to plan a party but his family always shows up anyway. It's a good thing I had cake to serve. I made spice cake with an apple filling. It was a huge hit and we had maybe about 1/4 of the cake left by the time they all left.

We went to Ketchikan on Friday so I could buy Michael his birthday gift. He needed a new chainsaw and I didn't trust myself to order one over the phone. We had to go so he could look at them and get the one he wanted. We went to a couple of movies while we were over there, too. It made for a very long day but it was nice to get away from home for the night.

He's been out of work for just over a week now. I've enjoyed having him home all day. I never understood how my friends could complain about too much time together. Why get married if you don't want to spend time with your husband? That just never made sense to me. Rick's wife is actually disappointed that he and Michael haven't gone back to California this year.

We had a few hours of mostly sunny skies yesterday but now we are back to rain. We haven't really had a summer this year. I don't remember, but my friend commented today that we shouldn't be seeing fireweed yet...that it usually blooms toward the end of summer. All I know is we haven't had enough sun. I really hope it clears up by the first week of August. We've got all kinds of people coming from out of town for our Founders Day celebrations, dance group anniversaries, and road dedication.

This has just been a rambling post full of nothing that really matters. I guess I should stop. I hope the rest of you had a safe, enjoyable holiday!

Okay, I Can Take a Hint

I'm sorry I haven't posted. I meant to. I just didn't.

I really haven't been up to a whole lot. Just relaxing, reading, and spending as little time on the computer as possible.

Michael is still working. He should have been done weeks ago but little things keep happening to prolong the job so he's still plugging away. The job with housing has started so he'll probably try to get hired there rather than go to California again. That's good because the pay will be better but I won't deny I'm a little disappointed. If he had gone to California I would have gone with him and that would have allowed me to see my mom and sister.

The more I think about it, the more I think we should be thinking about a permanent move. Not necessarily to California, but somewhere. Somewhere where he can find a more permanent job. Everytime we think we're ready we feel the pull of our family and end up staying. We're a couple of gumboots hopelessly stuck on this rock.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy here. There are plenty of things to love about this place. Especially this time of year. Everything is green and gorgeous and, aside from the mosquitoes, its a great time to be outdoors. Summer is a good time to be here.

Speaking of Summer, todays the first day of the season. Last year, Millie had this idea to stay up and watch the sun rise on the first day of summer. "Let's stay up and watch the start of summer", she said. So we did. Well, she didn't quite last till sunrise but we had fun trying. This time of year we'd chat first thing in the morning. She'd tell me where they were going to fish that day. I'd wish her luck and wait patiently for her to get back home to tell me how many fish they got. My days started and ended with Millie. I can't believe its coming up on 6 months since I've talked with her. My last contact with her was on the phone the day before she collapsed. I called her to thank her for the gift card she gave me for Christmas and let her know what I bought with it. I can't remember if I told her I love her.

Warming Up

The weather is warming up. We were staying in the mid-to-high 50's all week. Now we're creeping up into the 60's. Tomorrow we're supposed to see 70. That's warm for here. Kids will be swimming in the ocean before too long if this keeps up.

Lucione got her job. She starts on Monday. She called me all excited on Thursday when she found out. She said, "Remember when I used to be a tight wad? I'm gonna be like that again!"

When she was really small, she LOVED money. She didn't spend it, but she loved to hoarde it. She had a stash here at my house, and another stash or two with her yaya. Whenever she'd find money, be it a dollar bill or a penny, she'd put it in her stash and every few months her yaya or her uncle and I would take her to the bank to make a deposit. She loved to see her balance go up! Too little to really understand what she was doing, but she loved it and we made a big deal out of her deposits.

A few years later, when she began to realize you could actually BUY things with money, she had big dreams of how she would spend her fortune. But still her money sits in the bank. She likes to plan...but can't part with her money. Which is a good thing, because her dreams were always full of Cool Ranch Doritos and Coke.

Michael was supposed to work today but the boss didn't show up. Same boss who killed the eggs last year. My goofy cousin. He decided to go and gather seaweed on the beach and didn't bother to call off work so Michael sat there for the better part of an hour until he finally decided to come back home. The boss just called...said he "forgot" to tell him last night. Funny how the rest of the crew knew all about it. Michael always gets forgotten.

But, the upside to that is, it's 63 degrees and we have a free afternoon! I'm so glad its warming up. I went to open my bedroom window this morning and realized I didn't even shut it last night. I didn't even feel a chill!