where did the week go?

it's thursday! obvious, maybe, but i'm amazed - where has the week gone? it's been a crazier-than-usual one, because j&c have vacation bible school all week this week, and it's at *night*. which, to me, is just entirely contrary to the whole concept of vbs as a whole, in terms of planning. every vbs i ever attended (and i attended a boatload of 'em) was during the day, usually in the morning. i guess they put this at night to work with the folks who have to go off to jobs and could not help during the day. but man. it makes for a crazy schedule, because the church is a 15 minute drive from here, and vbs doesn't begin until 1830.....i have to be there early to help because i volunteered to help with the little ones in cate's group so i could be with her. so i stop work at about 1630 or 1700, shove dinner into everyone's gullets, get the kids changed, and hit the road by 1800. oh, and i also fit a 2 mile walk in there somewhere, so i have to get a quick shower too so i don't clear the church. ;o)

so between work, housekeeping stuff, kids, and vbs, this week has literally flown by. almost the only time i am not moving is when i am asleep! lol. it's been a good week, though, although one of the ladies i'm in vbs with is a unique person in that she is a) an expert on every topic in the entire world, bar none, and b) is one of those folks who likes you to know every...single...thing about her, her life, her family, her opinions, her politics, her religion, and her children, within 5 minutes of meeting you. it's a fire hydrant conversation - it all rushes out at you, and all you can do is try to stay on your feet. ;o) she seems nice enough, which is good - it helps offset the TMI aspect of being in the same room with her. i do pretty well holding my own, conversationally, but by the time we leave and come home, i am so ready to leave. lol!

as an example! 10 minutes after i met her, she was giving me a detailed story of how she was in a car crash with her sister and her cousin when she was 17, and her cousin was driving the car, and she was in the front passenger seat, and her sister was in the back seat. apparently, there was a head-on with another car, and this woman was the only survivor. frankly, that's mind-blowing in and of itself, and no doubt it is a tremendous story, but that's a lot to lay on someone 10 minutes after you meet them, yeah? anyhoo, she has some interesting viewpoints, and we have had some fun discussions, so all is not lost. i have been listening to her talk for 3 nights now, and i strongly suspect she feels like no one listens to her at home - her mother in law lives with her, and there is a language barrier (MIL is from columbia, speaks almost no english), and both of her children are still very young (2 and 4), and from what she says, her husband is not all that good at communication. so i suspect she is overcompensating for that by unloading on anyone in the vicinity.... and i can completely understand that, so i listen. :o)

last night at vbs was particularly funny, though - in c's group, there are four little children - daisy, c, keegan, and jonathan. normally, keegan cries each night when his mama drops him off - and cries and cries for about 15 or 20 minutes, then it's done and he's good to go till the next night. last night was no exception. but when i got there, daisy was crying, which was so unusual - and it took me a while to settle her down. it was a funny feeling, trying to comfort another child besides my own - i know exactly what to say or do to make my own feel better, and i know how they fit in my arms, in my lap - but this was a strange little body, lighter than i'm used to, a different shape, a different smell - it's funny how that affects your interactions with the child. but i did eventually get her to start giggling by pretending a toy tractor was colliding with us repeatedly, and by making razzberry noises with my lips. soon, she was all smiles and giggles. WHEW. lol!

j is also loving vbs - he is old enough now to really be into this kind of thing, and he looks forward to it each night. the theme for the vbs is tumbleweed gulch, so it's all very western-themed... he wears his black cowboy hat each night when we go to VBS. so, so, so cute. my lil' cowpoke. :o)

the home life is pretty good. kind of a blur for this week, to be honest, but still good. yesterday was crazy. i had to do 6 loads of laundry, and i just did laundry what, last weekend? sometimes i think they purposely get things dirty just to put the clothes in the hamper. ;o) all i will say is what i have said many, many times before.... THANK GOODNESS FOR WASHING MACHINES AND DRYERS. 'nuff said!!!!!!

we're trying to get our mortgage refinanced. i'm the finances handler for the household, and really hoping that works out - my goal is to roll up any remaining payments on the truck and tractor and the like into the main mortgage and refi the whole shebang and save a little money each month. by my reckoning, if it all works out, we could end up saving quite a tidy little sum, which would be shoved into savings and then we could use it for christmas, or for when c begins school in the fall of 2008. that's a ways off, i know, but when you're talking about private school tuition, it behooves one to begin saving well ahead of time.

d's birthday was tuesday. he is now officially 15. yay, d! he got a card from his mom on monday - she lives in nc. she and m are most definitely not each other's favorite people...... i think the word "hate" is probably not too mild here. it was one of those divorces you see on television where one person ends up just shooting the other one and claiming temporary insanity. i'm serious. it was bad! i met him a few years after he got divorced, and i saw first-hand for my own little self just how evil she can be... whoo. bad stuff, i say. bad! so anyway, dan got a card from her, and oddly, i found myself scrutinizing the handwriting on the front. i guess i was trying to see some sign of the bad there. it just seems like handwriting ought to reflect your true personality. think about that one.

and while we're on the topic of writing, here's a fun idea. write a short story, with 2 main characters, and have each character assigned either a specific typeface or a specific type treatment (italics, bold, etc). it could be fun. or have a longer book, with each character's dialogue given a different color. i know, i know. i'm insane. but it's fun.

not much else to report from la la land. i'm a little sleepy today - i stayed up later than i should have last night, chatting with d, and now i'm sleepy sleepy. i did go for my walk last night, though, which made me very happy. i'm going to try to step it up to 4 miles at a pop next week when i don't have to squeegee it in between work and dinner/leaving for vbs. as it is, i barely have the time i need for 2 miles!

oh! my new ipod holder will be here T O D A Y. yay! i bought it online from pacific designs - it is awesome. dan has one, which is how i found out about them... the holder i have now is open on the top, so the ipod slips out. not good! i love getting stuff in the mail. love it, love it, love it, love it. there's just something delightful about it. i don't know why. :o)

still no word on the honda. the news last night was that the mechanic finally got his hands on a diagnostic manual for this particular vehicle, and he feels that will assist him in the completion of what has become a monthlong task...... to be fair, HE has only had it 2 weeks, but STILL. i feel like my whole summer is leaking away and i can't get out to take the kids anywhere. ergh. so much for the paid membership to the private pool. lol! i'm hopeful we'll know something tonight, though.

work-wise, i'm excited because i'm supposed to go to az for 4 days in august for an advanced class. it'll be so fun to get back out there, see all my friends from work, and have a little adult time without small ones clinging to my legs. although, even as i type that, i know after 1 day i'll be missing them like crazy. :o) but i am looking forward to the trip... just waiting for my final confirmation that i am approved to go so i can buy my plane ticket. i still don't have the approval, so i'm chomping at the bit - i was even checking out ticket prices last night. lol!

c is deconstructing my sofa right now, so i better go reconstruct it. she is such a sweetie, even when she is pulling my hair out (and yes, she pulls out individual strands of my hair. don't ask).

talk soon!