Grrr.

So my comments have disappeared. I looked at the template, and the script has been removed. WTF??? I checked in the FAQ and the comment utility lists- and upon clicking on the chosen utility, received a note saying this account has been suspended.

NOW what did I do??

Urk-

Still not sure

But since I have pictures to post, I'll be at my other spot today-

Other Spot

I think I'm going home.

Sarah has some very salient points- not the least of which is that Upsaid is paid through May and I can put my photos there. I do like it here, though, and when the other is down (which, truly, I hope is infrequently), I'll blog here. This withdrawl crap is for the birds. ;-)

So, pop on in and visit at The First Classic Adventures, but if that's not there, I'll be here. Either way, I'll be around.

Hmmm...

So, I hear *the other place* is up and running again- now with a new server. I don't know what to do. The trust is gone. The romance isn't what it used to be not so long ago.

And yet, is the relationship worth saving? I dunno. But I AM going to be backing up regularly from now on!

What about you guys?

And a good morning to all!

I stayed up far too late last night working on the blog. *yawn* Still don't have it quite right, but that's ok. I don't have my home anywhere near ready for company either. As I've said before, if you're coming to see us, you're welcome anytime. If you're coming to see the place, you'll have to make an appointment.

We have a cookie making playdate with Melissa in MD and her two daughters today. I'm excited about it. Didn't get to play with recipes over the weekend as I'd hoped, but I'm hoping something we make will turn out well. (Wheat-free, dairy free cookies- suggestions, anyone?) John is wearing his bat-suit in honor of the occasion- I'm sure the girls will be thrilled to know that. :-)

Zorak is back at work. These three-day weekends are killing us. We get accustomed to snuggling in a little deeper in the mornings, and then *wham* come Monday he has to extricate himself from the snuggle spot WAY too early. Still, it's a wonderful thing to be able to complain about.

Oooh, hey, isn't Christmas this week? Wow. That went fast. Guess I ought to get my cards out, huh? And go buy wrapping paper. Probably should hang stockings, too. Ah, well, here's an irony for you. I've always said Zorak is the Grinch, but it looks like I've been a bit of a slacker myself this year. *sigh* I'm glad the kids are too young to be scarred by my inability to get organized amidst the moves. Next year will be good.

Oh! Yes. That's another goal- we are paying down our debts and will be buying a home in November, when our lease expires. I'm so excited. We've put a financial plan down to pay down the debts. Zorak is going to call the student loan people to make his payment arrangements (we go into repayment in April, but would like to see if we can adjust the payment according to his income). We've set up a savings plan and now it's just a matter of sitting back and DOING IT. (That would probably be the tricky part, eh?) However, as an archer needs a target at which to aim, so we need clear goals in order to attain them. So that's this year's big goal- purchase a home.

ARGH- John has had way too much wheat over the weekend. He's whiney and debilitated and completely incapable of doing anything for himself this morning. *aigh*
"Honey, eat your breakfast."
(tears bubble to the edges of his eyes) *But HOW? How do I eat?*
"John, you know how to eat."
*(actually crying) I don't know HOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW."

I wonder if Melissa will accept the pre-apology Jess and I instituted? We just apologized pre-emptively for anything our children would do in the future. It's worked wonders for us. Hee hee.

OK, so I'm off to wrangle the whinester and get more food for the bottomless pit that is my oldest. Have a wonderful Monday, all! I'll be back this evening to add all my favorite people whose blogs are available. ;-)

Titles, goals, and other stuff

OK, so we have comment capability and a title section now. Please continue to ignore the orange carpet (background) and lack of window treatments (sidebar) as I'm still moving in, and as most of you know, I've done ENOUGH moving recently in real life that this just wasn't on my list of things I'd planned to do this weekend.
*strike that- I couldn't live w/ the decor and had to change it. C'mon in and have a cup of coffee and a visit. It'll feel like home in no time.*
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Goals. I have goals, as I'm sure most of us do. (I say most because I have actually met individuals who endeavor NOT to achieve, attain, or accomplish diddly in their meager lifetimes. I, however, plan to make the most of the meager and enjoy it thoroughly.) That said, here are some general rambling thoughts on goals for the coming months.

My goals fall into several categories, mostly based on some random mode of connection which even I have yet to solve. But it's there. Just trust me on that.

Schooling:
I'd like to start up next term with a hearty mix of determination and preparedness. This is my upbeat way of saying this year has been a bit of a bust thus far and I'd like to correct that. Oh, the boys have learned quite a lot. They have grown and developed and experienced so much. One's reading has continued to flourish and the other has finally developed an interest in things not mechanical or musical (ie- the boy has discovered BOOKS, glorious books!) We just haven't been what I would call "academically grounded" thus far. On the plus side, one child turned five in Sept and he is partially through first grade, while the other child is just three and is doing great in a pre-k course of study- so it's not like we're falling behind at this point. I'll list our academic goals and materials in the sidebar ... someday.

Home and hearth:
We've been blessed with a family and a home in which to house us. I've been entrusted with the care and maintenance of our home, and my goal for the upcoming months is to continue to grow and develop my abilities as a hometender. I hope to create in our home an inviting, warm, safe enjoyable place for both those who visit and those who live here.

Personal:
On a completely petty and less-than-noble note, I'd really like to get back into my skinny jeans. Or at least my not-large jeans. And breathe. Granted, I'm asking a lot there. Kind of an ironic "have my cake and eat it too" considering that's probably what gets in the way of being able to breathe while I'm in the darned things. Still, it's a goal. It's my goal. I'll blow it if I want to!

That's it for right now. I'm feeling vague, and I'm enjoying that sensation so I don't want to ruin it with details. Sorry. I'll be better about it later.

Maybe.

I can't put photos up here, can I? Darn it, and *the other place* still owes me six months worth of pre-paid hosting. Grrrr. So how do we get that back if they have disappeared for good? *sigh*

I'm quite the growly bear tonight. Sorry.

For something more upbeat, did you know it's much easier to set a budget when you have an income? And it becomes a virtual cakewalk when your income exceeds your expenditures! Wow, and here I thought I was just very bad at math. Nope. It wasn't me this time. (Although, for the record, we've become quite well-versed in the art of creative mathematics for budgeting purposes while Zorak was in school.)

So, it's a time for goals. I don't set New Year's Resolutions. It's not that I've anything against them, really I don't. I just know that I am G-R-E-A-T out of the gate, and then I start wobbling and slipping and the next thing you know, I'm face down in a heaping pile of good intentions and self-depricating guilt. That's no good. So I go for goals. Yeah, they sound better, you can extend deadlines, and they're more just suggestions if you get really desperate.

Ewww- the cranky baby is no longer cranky, but he smells awful. Be back later to talk about goals!

So. Here we are. I can't believe the week this has been, and nowhere to blog about it! Oh, wait, we have blogger! (As well as a mass-exodus to blogger from some other realm of the blogosphere! *Hi guys!*)

I have two highly-charged, cranky children who are fretting over impending bedtime, as well as a gassy and unbelievably un-cooperative infant trying to gnaw off my shoulder, so you're just going to have to deal with the lack of formatting for the time being. (Shyah- like I'm the format queen, right? These sidebars are going to be just like my poor kitchen curtains were in New Mexico unless something truly striking happens...)

However, I've heard the collective sighing all day from refugees as they marched bravely into new territory, searching for a blogging home. Perhaps we have found it. I think I like it- I'm not sure. My first thought was, "Look, Ma! No HTML!" But we'll see. :-) So who's out there? I'm going to have to rebuild all my out-dated sidebar links and "what we're reading" lists and, and, and ... ooooo, wait! That means they'll be up-to-date for the first time in ages! Well, weee-dawgies! Bring 'em on- you know who you are! I need your url info! :-)

Be back later to play a bit.

Dy

A wonderful Monday to you

Good morning!
 
Yes, I'm blogging before dark today. Our recent schedule has us up far too late for even me to blog regularly in the evenings anymore. I thought I'd try a quick blog while the oats are cooking.
 
Since swim lessons are in full swing, we aren't doing any schooling this week aside from our normal reading, which, really, I've begun to think of as just "part of our day" rather than school. School, too, has become less an entity in itself over the last two years and more just a part of our day, as well, although it can, and does, get scootched about here and there (one of the perks of going year round- we can do that without guilt or worry!)
 
Last night an online friend of mine shared the news that her family will begin homeschooling this summer. I am overjoyed for them, and think it's going to be a fantastic adventure. Ironically, it was this family who acted as the catalyst for what became our foray into the home education realm two years ago. It's interesting how lives take twists and turns. The complexity and beauty of that pattern seldom fail to astound me.
 
Today, after we wade through the clean clothing and put it all away, the boys and I will go down to the County offices to ask a million questions and poke around like the curious small children we are. ;-)
 
Tonight, I think Zorak and I are going out for a dinner date for my birthday. I cannot believe another year has passed. I feel no monumental change in who I am or where I'm going, no need to reassess life's path. Age is not a pouncing lion that attacks you once a year, it is more a friend that walks your journey with you and makes the changes appear oh-so-gradual. As a matter of fact, it's easy to forget completely until I look at the boys and realize how much they've grown and changed each year. Then it's a little scary. Last night, I picked up James to move him into his room and it wasn't like picking up a little guy. I kept lifting and lifting and lifting... and there was more boy coiled up on the bed! Ack! He doesn't fit neatly on my lap anymore, and he doesn't have the same heft and center of gravity as a little guy. I am so thankful that I can be with the boys each day, even on the exhausting, repetitive, never-complete-a-sentence days, and yet, even being home with them I feel like I am missing something or not managing to store up enough memories. On my 30th birthday, I had a just-turned three year old, a four year old and was out-to-here pregnant. On my 31st birthday, I have a four year old, an almost-six year old (because that's always how you look at the more subjective aspects of time when you're feeling reflective), and a cruising, climbing almost-one year old. Time is slipping through the cracks and leaving me with an increasingly older brood to tend and nurture and love. It's that amazing, complex, beautiful pattern of life again. Savor it.
 
Dy