In Case You Missed Me...

Well at long last, a post... Sorry about the long absence. My computer was only down for about a week but during that time I get a lot done. By a lot I mean so much more then I normally do it is mind boggling. I decided to take a quick blogging break and try to catch up a little... It didn't really work out like I'd hoped... Do these things ever? I am still way behind in a lot of things and have missed all of you guys tons. I did set three goals for myself to accomplish before I started blogging again and I am almost there...

My three goals were:
1. Get to know at least one person here better and work on becoming friends. Success... I have met a lot of people here but have been so wrapped up in my own stuff I wasn't spending any real time with people outside my immediate family. During my week off from blogging I realised how much I had come to depend on you guys as my friends since the move and although I love y'all bunches, being an extrovert I need some non-bloggy friends too. Mission mostly accomplished... I have spent quality time with one of my cousins getting to know her better. She is a few years older then me which mattered a lot when we were kids but not so much now. We are not only working on building a friendship, but she get along great with Paul and the girlies too so we all enjoy visiting. I also ran into a woman I met at church at Wal-Mart and got her phone number. Her husband is in the Coast Guard and she moved here from Alaska around the same time we moved here. I called her up and made lunch plans... She is great and we have gotten together a couple times. We seem to have a lot in common.
2. Finish Unpacking at least 50% of the boxes I still have in the basement. As the kids would say... Epic Fail!! Nope... I didn't even come close on this one... I don't think sifting through three of them even counts a little, but I have hope... The post holiday winter months are coming and I will have plenty of time to work on this then... (Stop rolling your eyes... I may... you never know!)
3. Complete the three things that have been on my to-do list for more then three months. Semi success here... The three things were, 1. organize my closet... done. (WooHoo... Holla!!) 2. Turn extra hall closet into a pantry... Fail... but I do have a family work day planned to get to this... 3. Mail the huge stack of birthday gifts and give-aways I have piled up by the back door (Some of which have been there over two months... sorry guys!) I am so close on this one... This morning I loaded them into my car and announced I was going to the post office before I pick up Sparky today.. (That means there is hope...)

Another reason I haven't posted in awhile is that my mother and I have been having some difficulty getting along lately. I have been feeling very negative and I didn't want to spew that all over you. I hope living here is going to work, but at this point I honestly just don't know. I still don't wish to spew our issues all over you, so suffice it to say things have improved a little from our all time low last week, but just a little at this point.

October is also my birthday month and I usually celebrate every chance I get... all month long... and yes, I know this is crazy, but I love birthdays (mine and everyone else's...) and holidays... I can't help it. That being said, with all the tension in the house hold I haven't been much in the "birthday mood"... My actual birthday is the 30th so I am hoping to muster a more fun mood by then. The thing is, I share my birthday with my mother (Yep, the same day) and I don't feel like "celebrating" with her right now, so (without sounding like a five year old) I feel like I can't celebrate my own... There is always next year...

October is also "Leaf Peeping" month in Maine... In an area mostly dependant on tourism, this is our final hurrah... The town just one town south of us (and about a mile down the road...) has about 8000 people who live there, but during the fall they host cruse ships that literally drop off thousands of people for a day into town. There are also weekend excursion trains running every weekend from Portland so this exponentially increases the day time population of this little area. This is also the town my cousin's bakery is in (Yes, the same cousin mentioned above.) and she gets slammed every time. In the past she has had trouble getting enough people to help her on a "spot-work" basis, but we signed up this year so I have been busy serving pastries to tourists... It turns out the French don't like to order "Sticky Buns"... Oh... they sure like to eat them, but not to order them by name... Go figure... The leaves are past "peak" now, so things are slowing down... (More sticky buns for me!)

Also like is in the air... Another big change in our household is the introduction of a "boyfriend." This is all new for us... The girls have been asked out by several different boys over the years but none of them ever got past the asking phase... Cate is a really serious girl and doesn't see the need to "date" a bunch of guys... Her theory is the Lord will let her know when the right guy comes along. Sparky, as you know is going to public school this. She has been asked out a lot since starting school...(Almost to comic levels... almost...) The answer was usually the same, "No, but thank you." That was to all but one boy who she told "lets get to know each other better and see what happens." That was a little over a month ago and about a week ago he asked again and she said yes. How do I feel about this? I know I should have mixed feelings but he has spent quite a bit of time getting to know us too and I really like him in spite of myself... He is a really nice, mature, respectful young man who when he looks at Sparky it is like she is a rare treasure... How could a mother not like that? He seems to be liked by everyone who has met him, and even seems to have won over Paul... Ahhh high school romance... the joy... the angst... (PS... I met his mom this past weekend at his football game... She seems like a really nice lady. Also she told me she did a happy dance when she found out Sparky took a purity pledge... I guess it's not just moms of girls who get nervous...)

I have lots more to share, but I don't want to flood y'all with it all at once. I hope a few of you are still stopping by... I've really have missed ya!

Thanks for listening,