Just another day in paradise....

Have I already titled a post like that? Hell if I know. I'm counting down til vacation. Counting down til my day off on Thursday works too.

I got to talk to the boys today. They sounded ok---they had been hiking around the Grand Canyon someplace, and are going to 4 corners tomorrow. Ben finished the HP book, of course Chris and their dad had already finished it. So we talked about the book and their trip and stuff.

Ron's uncle and aunt from Cleveland area came down to WV last night and out to our house tonight. EEK---not them--they're cool, but my house is in the middle of a major reorganization(like when isn;t it....)so not exactly the shape I would have liked it to be in, but oh well... Shellie kept them well entertained by literally performing selections from the Hannah Montana show.

By the way, it has been so long since I played this game---someone remind me what kind of car is a pididdle and which is a pidaddle. I know one is a "one eye", but I forget which as well as what the other is. I know I am hopeless.

The superintendent of schools here in the co. and I have been emailing back and forth the last couple of days on the school supply issue. I am losing the battle on getting reimbursed for the supplemental paperbacks I had to buy for Chris summer reading program for honors, but I can deal with that---he knows I do not agree with it, but states that a resolution for parents in my situation is trying to be reached--maybe a book buyback or something. We'll see. I probably won;t sell the books back, because Ben is headed down the same academic path his brother has blazed, so at some point I figure he will need the same books. But I only have to buy supplemental supplies for them to use here at home, not for school. So that does help some. We'll see how it goes as the school year gets into full swing in the next few weeks. I guess I am just not as angry as I was when it all first came up.

Well, I guess that is it for tonight, unless I find something while surfing that catches my attention.

Who?????

Ok I decided to check out a couple of blogs before I signed off, and on Don't Print This, there is a quiz to see which Harry Potter kid you would be. I am apparently Ginny Weasley.

Hey she gets the hero of the book and is greatly loved by her family and friends. Plus she has a temper like mine.

I can live with that.

The never ending saga.....

Pictures and pictures and more pictures.....you get the point....

I have edited pics until I am blue in the face. The problem is, I do not have a photo editing program that I am completely happy with. I have the one that came with my HP camera, Adobe, and one I managed to salvage from my old HP camera. To get the results I want, I have to combine all 3. Not efficient. Neither am I which is why I need all the help I can get. So I have been on and off the computer today, working on them just long enough to get irritated, then coming back to it later when my head has cleared. No comments from the peanut gallery needed, thanks anyway for playing.

Tonight we played the game of "What do you want for dinner?" Bob Evans here we come.

Shellie tried to get me to take her to lunch today. She got told her choice was to get a Kid's Cuisine from the local FasChek as we drove by, or to eat frozen pizza from the freezer at home. After being told she was not allowed to eat the kid's meal in the family room--ketchup you know-- she opted for the pizza. Then she spilled grape koolaid on the couch right after I had told her to be careful how she was squeezing the bottle. Oops. Her dad has now banished her to the kitchen for everything she eats or drinks, no exceptions. Fortunately the couch is microfiber, so it cleaned really easy, but that's not the point.

As I have finished Harry Potter the 7th, I am now re reading my VC Andrews collection. Right now I am reading "Heaven". There are 6 or so books in that series, and this is the first.

Not too much else going on right now. I think I'll go read for a while.

Endings.......

Ok, I am a geek, a nerd, a bookworm....Whatever.

I finished the 7th and final HP book about half an hour ago. My oldest son finished it earlier today--but he also had a cross country plane ride to do it on. No details will I leak, but I was surprised by quite a bit, had some thoughts confirmed, and enjoyed working my way to the end.

I honestly hope they continue to make the last 2 movies, even if they go straight to DVD. I think this last book would make a hell of a flick.

I wish more people would write books like this, that engage your imagination and emotions. That even make you want to root for the "bad" people, because you can see their humanity. Books that enthrall young and middle-aged and old alike. Because the underlying theme is so universal.
Now it is off to craft land--I need to crop and otherwise mutilate the 300 plus pictures I downloaded from my camera today---fun fun fun. It is what I get for not having a working computer for 3 months. Then at some point in the next few days, I want to visit some quilting
websites to get some tips on how to feed a queen size quilt through the standard sewing machine so I don;t have to do the quilting part by hand. AYE YI YI.

Wish me luck.

522 pages done, only 200+ to go.....

Obviously I am talking about the last Harry Potter book. I got two chapters read yesterday afternoon, several more late last night, and am now on page 522. No I'm not going to give away any of the plot--you will just have to read it for yourself. Suffice it to say that there are a few things I have read that gave me a surprise, but then these books generally do.

I'm going to have to get up with Ron in the morning and get into the garden and get the rest of the beans and peppers picked, as well as some tomatoes and some zucchini. It's going wild out there!

Mom and Dad just stopped by and checked out our new dining room table. Oak dark burnished finish with 8 very sturdy chairs---they had better be--it took me almost 4 months for the order to come in--after I was told 2-4 weeks or so, so imagine how long it would take to get replacements.

Halllelujah!! I don't mean to sound whatever, but we have had my stepdaughters since Wednesday night and I'm ready to take my house back. I love them dearly, but I don;t feel like my home is my own when they are here for more than a night or two. And Kris and I were probably coming to the end of our good period together---starting to irritate each other some.
Kate was pretty good--actuallly had her nose stuck in the first HP book all week.

Well, gotta go into work in a little bit, so better get done what I got on here to do in the first place.PICTURES!!!!!!!!!

Thoughts on turning 40....

Actually I have none. It's a birthday and I am not listed on the obituary page. Must be a good day.

I don't get why people freak over turning older. It beats the alternative by a mile and a half at least. But the only thing that even remotely bothered me was the fact that for the last 7 years I have had that day off and this year I didn;t. We normally take a nearly kid free vacation---all we usually have to have is Shellie, since she is ours and there is no visitation for her. The boys are at their dad's and the girls staying with their mom instead of being here on the odd day or so is no problem. But this year we didn;t schedule for us--we scheduled around when the boys would be here, so I worked on my birthday.

And got my driver's license renewed.

And paid the taxes on the cars to renew their registration.

And changed my address on my voter's registration.

And went to work.

But today I got my computer back, so all is right with the world again.

Damn this margarita is good.

Thank you Ronnie!!!!!!

I'm BAAAACCCKKKKK...........

I know--just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water---da dum da dum da dum---or however the Jaws theme goes. Thanks a whole bunch, more than I can say, to my brother the computer guru. He found a power supply for $30 for my faithful 5 yr old HP Pavilion---even after the HP guy laughed me off the phone----and he fixed it and updated it in no time. After 3 months of being offline----Halllelujah!!!

So yeah I have a lot stored up that i would love to talk about--from the table games the state is forcing through, to the stupid teachers and the stupider school board who don't know what in the f$%#%#$ hell they are talking about to dumbass drivers and so on and so forth---and I assure you that we will get into all of it (for those of you who don;t like to hear anything contrary to your own views--THIS IS YOUR WARNING!!!!!) right now I am dying to get into the 7th and final Harry Potter book, so I may not rant for too long today.

Not to mention the fresh from the garden zucchini, beans, fried green tomatoes, etc that we will be cooking for my delayed birthday dinner in just a bit. MMMMMMMMMM..........

Now it is off to email land, so I can email my boys and let them know I am back online--as they are in CT with their dad for summer visitation.......

At least my priorities are not completely screwed up......