Alabaster Mom

We're back from 8 nights in the woods. Once again, my generous friend let us use his cabin. After going up there for 16 years, it has begun to feel almost like a second home to us. We just love it so much. I would be tempted to live "up north" permanently if not for the outrageous winters and lack of employment opportunities. Once we arrived in the area, we quickly learned that some awful storms swept through in July, washing out many of the roads. So, that was one little snag with our trip - it was harder to get around. Most of the time, on this annual trip, we just sit around the cabin or hang out by the lake, so it wasn't the end of the world. I did make an attempt to be somewhat active during this vacation. We arrived on Friday night. I got up Saturday morning and hit the farmers' market and a yoga class. The drive "into town" used to take 25 minutes and now took closer to an hour, but we needed some supplies so I was bound to make the journey rega...

I've been sick for about a week and a half now. So far, my family members haven't caught whatever I have but if they do, I will be sure to extend to them every bit as much helpfulness as they've shared with me during my illness. It never fails to amaze me how someone could watch me horking up a lung and drowning in my own mucus and still say, "Sooooo, what's for dinner?"  Having the plague didn't keep me from going to the state fair and then the county fair, though. No sirree! Summer's not over yet!  We went to the state fair last Saturday.  We seem to do the same stuff at the fair every year, but it's still fun. I'm not sure if my husband truly enjoys it though. Crowds make him really uncomfortable. I mean, of course the state fair is crowded because, um, the whole state is invited. Maybe just the kid and I should go next year. After so many years of attending, we have the parking situation down to a science. If we get there early, we can ...

I haven't written recently because, well, there's not much going on. Since my last entry . . . let's see . . . I went to a party, spent a staggering amount of money on school supplies and school shoes, paid our property taxes, baked a bunch of stuff for a pet expo (hosted by German Shepherd Rescue), attended a meeting at church, went to the gym a couple of times, checked out a building with my church peeps (our lease is up and we are trying to purchase a new sanctuary), had my puppy neutered and microchipped, went grocery shopping, volunteered at that pet expo (won a few things in the raffle - woot!), attended a tall ships' festival with the family, and took my kid to a local amusement park. This week, we don't have a ton of excitement going on.  The tween is in two different programs this week (one for choir and one for middle school) so we have to drive her around and somehow still work enough hours so as not to get in trouble with boss-type people. This weekend...