Where does the time go?

Ack! It can't have been a week since I posted. Internet, I have no excuse for my neglect. I also have nothing particularly interesting to post about so I will just list a few of the random thoughts that are floating around in my feeble perimenopausal brain.

1) Thomas went back to school on Monday and things are going great there. We had a couple of very rocky evenings but things seem to be back on track for now. I am enjoying my alone time immensely. I seem to be headed for life as a hermit...I swear the older I get the more I need my solitary time.

1a.)The beginning of school at Oakland also means the beginning of soccer season, which stirs up very mixed feelings in me. I do not mind at all when they play at home, but because they play other small private schools, we occasionally find ourselves driving all over the hinterlands for an away game.

2) I've been better about making Annamarie do her daily reading after school and today Ron and I were both beaming as she read two chapters out loud. She is about 2 years behind grade level, but we were told that she might never read so can I get an amen for our awesome girl who never stops surprising us.

3) The first week of school, Annamarie's class made posters about themselves and they had to list their favorite activities. Every couple of days now when we are in the car, she will list her favorites for me and there are about 100 items on her list, including taking a warm bath, talking to Grammy and Sandy on the phone, praying to God, eating dessert, going to the dog park, hanging out with her family, listening to her iPod, petting Ruby, and on and on. How can you not love a child who is that good at counting her blessings?

4) Another thing I love is music. Have I ever said that before? I flip flop between genres and when I find a new (to me) artist I wonder how I ever lived without this amazing music and I want to share the wonder with everyone I know but I usually end up inflicting it only on my children because they are a captive audience in my car. They have exquisite taste though, disregarding Annamarie's great love for Shania Twain, and Thomas has become a big John Mayer fan. Lately I have been rediscovering how much truly awesome contemporary Christian music is out there. Right now I can't get enough of MercyMe, Third Day, HillSong, and Steven Curtis Chapman. Third Day's Revelation is the song I am currently playing over and over and I can't imagine anything better than a power ballad for Jesus. I am also anxiously awaiting the release of David Cook's album on November 18.

5) Coming home from taking Thomas to school yesterday, I was behind a truck that had this phone number printed on it: 1-800-666-FIRE. I sincerely hope that I won't require this company's services in the future, because I don't know about you, but I am a little bit afraid to dial that number. "Thank you for calling The Fiery Pit of Hell, where your eternal damnation is our number one priority. Please press 1 to arrange for the sale of your soul. Please press 2 to challenge the devil to a fiddle competition..."

6) Oh, and a layout I did yesterday: