Countdown

I love Photoshop. I had to get my picture taken for the paper, and wouldn't you know, I have the world's biggest zit on my chin. That little band-aid button is a miracle. If only I could apply a little tap to my face and the real zit would be gone, too.

My new designer had Army duties last week, so I had to put the paper together myself. I was supposed to be writing a paper that's due on Friday, and I really thought I would be responsible to my homework. But I wasn't. I worked on the newspaper instead. I did a fine job. Only one major sin and several minor ones. Forgive me, Paper.

The kids are home for spring break. Tomorrow Kayleigh goes to an indoor water park, and she's pretty excited. A little nervous, too. And I told her to shave her pits. I won't make her, though. She can be a natural girl like me if she wants to be. But I shave my pits occasionally. Just so you know. If there's some formal occasion where they might be seen.

We bought the book Hungry Planet, which is pretty cool. Kelsey was fascinated by it and read it for about an hour when she was supposed to go to bed. It profiles 30 families (I think) in 24 countries (I think) and what they eat for a week. They buy a week's worth of groceries and get the family picture taken standing next to it all. There are recipes, so if you're heavy into seal meat, you're in luck. Each person gets to say their favorite food, like chocolate, pizza, polar bear. And there is a write-up about each family. It was pretty neat. There were statistics about global health, diet, longevity, population density, income. I was going to try to have my family choose a family from the book and then eat what they eat for a week as a little social experiment and then write about it for the paper, but I've wimped out on the idea given my family's chilly response.

I got new glasses. They're red. They're cool. They're too tight and hurting my nose and ears. I need to get them adjusted, but I can't seem to get there to get it done. Maybe tomorrow. I tried taking my picture in PhotoBooth to show them off, but Kelsey and I got to giggling and having too much fun and I never did import the picture. My favorite snap you can't see the glasses very well anyway.

Eric has lost about 30 pounds since last fall. Good god. I think I've gained it all. He is on so many drugs that make you fat that he tried very hard to keep it under control and to lose some weight he's piled on over the years. He looks great and feels better and he's wearing pants he forgot he had. He's back to having a nonexistent male butt.

Week 11. Counting them down. Spring break next week. I'm going to miss MATC when I'm done. Well, I'm going to miss the people and my job. It's a nice place to be and a fun place to work.

Oh! We had a guest speaker in my feature writing class yesterday. He called himself a rebel journalist. He was very proud of the fact that he has an agenda and lives where he's reporting from, which is Mexico. He is 70, which surprised me a bit. He seemed younger in his attire. To hear him speak, he is merely subsisting on his income, but he does it because he loves it and it's the right and only thing to do. He does have a gut, though, so he must be earning enough money for plenty of cerveza y pan dulce. It was interesting listening to him, but the biggest lesson I learned from him is never to eat potato chips while you're speaking to a group, don't speak with your mouth full, and don't wipe the grease and salt on your sleeve. Charming fellow. He chastized me a little for wanting to earn a living (!) as a writer. He said corporate journalism isn't real journalism. I don't agree. He passed a couple of his books around. I read a few pages, and they were so boring I don't know who would ever read them. It's no wonder he doesn't make any money. Jesus.

St. Patrick's Day Youthenasia

St. Patrick's Day was my dad's birthday. He loved it. He had a green tie with little bits of orange, which pleased him since he wasn't Catholic. He usually was completely hammered by the end of the day, and very unpleasant to be around. One year, he was too trashed to even have his party, so I was a very disappointed little girl. We always ate the damned corned beef and cabbage, which I thought was horrible. Some traditions aren't worth holding onto.

This St. Patrick's Day started with Kelsey coming into our room at 7:01, saying her jawbone hurt. It was terribly swollen on her jaw and behind her ear. She looks like she has the mumps. She has no other symptoms. We took her to urgent care, where they just said it was a swollen gland, which I assumed. They said come back in a few days if it's not better, give her Tylenol and an ice pack. Kelsey was afraid the doctor was going to euthenize her. She said, "What if they have to kill me?" Poor kid.

We got home from the doctor and Kayleigh had sewn a frog prince while we were gone. It's cute. It has a cape and a crown with a jewel on it.

We spent last night at my mom's watching the boys' state basketball tournament. She loves watching the state tournaments. I rubbed her feet and greased 'em up while Milwaukee Vincent destroyed Kimberly. Her feet get so swollen. She has also been having a lot of chest pain, and it scares her. She's worried that any moment will be her last. She peeled her nitro patch off while we were there. She had left it on too long.

extended absence

Yeah, so, I'm busy.

Love, hugs, handshakes, nods.