Harried

We have been reconnected since late last week...and are enjoying the return of Dish Network. We will never leave you again, Dish. I promise. NEVER.....

There are various happenings to report - none particularly stellar but hey, that's what this blog is about - just a way to chronicle my daily happenings so in my old age, I can read back and remember....

B's band (Suburban Summer - the best name they've ever had, in my opinion) had a big gig on Friday night at The Fat Cat in Modesto - the happening place to be in Modesto on Friday night. Tickets printed, etc.... And sadly, the gig did not happen because one of their band members is not yet 18 and they were not allowed to take the stage. Bummer. They are playing again this Sunday at Slim's in San Francisco and this is an 'all ages' venue, so we don't think there will be any problem. And I'm looking forward to going 'cuz I don't have work on Monday (technically) so we can sleep in. Should be fun.

B. has registered for his second college semester and seems excited. He's now thinking about minoring in psychology - a good choice for law enforcement, I think. I will be paying the tuition tonight and he'll be officially on his way to completing his first year of college. We still haven't seen any grades - and he did drop his Theater class - he had no interest in the history of theater and decided to drop it. He did that without consulting us but oh well - he's 18 now, so he doesn't technically have to consult us for anything. Sometimes, the lack of communication royally pisses me off but I'm learning to adjust. Trying to let go. Which would be a whole heck of a lot easier if he weren't still living with us, but that day will come soon enough.

I am off all next week - at least on paper. I do plan to be off as much as I can, but the timing of the December board meeting combined with the number of items on the agenda that are 'mine' might complicate that a bit. So I'm plugging away at work to get as much done as I can and hope for the best. We'll see....it's just us this year and then J. and the boys will go visit his brother in Oakland with a turkey dinner in tow.

H. is around and dealing with his parents ability to get online and check his grades - which led to him being totally and completely restricted until he's 30. Really. It's that bad. Poor kid. He works hard; we loosen up on the 'restrictions'; he goes out and 'chills' with friends; and then WHAMMO, we check grades again and reel him back in. It's like the great 'circle of life' in Lion King, only it's the dismal 'slow moving drain' of high school grades.

I am still holding firm to not turning on the heat until December. The kids have moved the space heaters back into their rooms - to take the chill off the room they are in without having to heat massive amounts of space where there is no one needing to be warmer. It would work like a dream IF they would pay attention to the thermostat control AND the timer. The other night, I kept hearing something odd - I'm a mom with bat ears and can hear the slightest difference in our houses noises, especially at night - so I investigated. I realize the low hum is coming from H.'s room - so I knock quietly and open the door. I am immediately assaulted by a blast of warm (VERY WARM) air and realize that H. has the space heater on. It is a balmy SEVENTY EIGHT degrees in his room - and he is sound asleep in shorts and a tank top ON TOP OF HIS BED SPREAD. Have you tried moving a 6 foot tall 16 year old from the top of his bed covers to under his bed covers when he's asleep? It was impossible - and H. in his deep sleep mode - kept mumbling 'why are you doing this to me?' I said 'because I'm turning off your heater and you are going to be cold in about two hours'. I finally gave up - he got a stern reminder the next morning that the beauty of the space heaters is to use the timer and the thermostat. We don't need each room we're sleeping in to be a tropical paradise - we just need to take the chill of while we're falling asleep....

It's a lot colder here this past week and I don't think making it without heat until December 1st will work - but it's a good goal.

J. left the house this morning in a shirt and tie - a Cal tie because it's Big Game week, don't you know! It's the one time each year that he wears a tie - and I always resist dressing in red. Not because I care about Stanford - but just because it keeps the fire in our marriage for me to taunt his obsession with all things Cal. We used to joke that one of the kids might GO to Standford - and then high school happened and we realized that was totally out of the question. So the only way to taunt J. would be for me to wear red - and thankfully, I don't own a lot of red clothing....so he's safe.

OK, time to leave the house for work. I'm 'late' and threw off the space time continuum this morning by 'sleeping in' until 5:53. Totally forgetting that H. has a 7AM class on Wednesdays and would be in the shower by 6:15 - which he was. And he used up most of the hot water, which made my shower at 6:30 invigorating and refreshing and very, very fast. I do feel rested, though, and have been doing a better job of waking up at 3 or 4 and just going back to sleep. My body is cooperating and actually GOING BACK TO SLEEP - so it's a win-win!