2 more sleeps

one of the small problems with maintaining the mindset of an 8 year old is the inability to NOT get excited about one's birthday. at 46 I have alot of friends in denial and defferal modes. me, I want to celebrate. turn on the music and dance, dress up and be outrageous, be the center of attention, have cake & candles, party with my friends and have all of them have a good time too! LUCKY FOR ME that i also have a bunch of friends that love to have a good excuse for a party and several friends with birthdays close to mine, so we are planning a multibirthdaycostumehalloweenbash and abby is even breaking out the disco ball! dance hall fame is bright in our future - so me and all of my other single digit minded confederates will be hootin' and a howlin' saturday night, S_A_ T_U_R D_A_Y_ NIGHT (the denial & deferral crowd will recognize that song heh heh heh) I'm sure by sunday that my knee will hate me, too bad!

i figure that it is another year survived, and if i'm doing it right, lived well. i didn't break too many toys. i lost a few friends and made a double handful of new ones. i've been in the "new" job a year and half now, and i think i enjoy it more than when i started if that is humanly possible. i've kicked the sugar addiction and replaced it with crackbook. i exercize more and managed to lose some weight, though that is a constant bloody struggle that occasionally puts even my persistance to the mat. i haven't quit smoking, but i used to smoke at least a pack a day and for almost 2 years now, a pack of smokes generally lasts me about 4 days - so long as i don't go to the patio. my back is in much better shape since i started taking belly dancing classes (and practicing at home) however now my knee is buggered, there's a "foreign object" floating around getting stuck in the most excruciatingly inconvenient places - waiting for an appointment with Dr. Babar (remember the books - really that's his name!) gotta love it.

my grandkids are terrific and they keep me on the ball. i got my first emails from them since before summer and it just made my freakin' day (we do spelling and since they are in french immersion the dk makes struggling attempts at remembering her french grammar and says thank you when corrected by the children). i say with pride that my family has made great strides in actually being a family this year. my daughter started having SUNDAY DINNER, and my son started going over every week - for a whole year!!! I think they may have only missed 1 or 2 sundays (mom's heart growing bigger than grinch's - but don't tell). Chris (Amanda's man) has become a regular part of the family, he's pretty hilarious actually. Amanda & Murray have managed a truce from the dysfunctional remains of their earlier lives. the kids get to visit with the uncle they just adore (Seth is convinced that uncle Murray is really a NINJA) and dk pops in about once a month to share the wealth and not interfere too much (stop laughing - i work really hard at that - and it's hard). dad & viv's health is stable and Mikey is doing well. the seesters and their families have aslo gained a little stability this year - YAY!!!

and it's thursday and though i'm not completely caught up i am not behind either - it's about the balance sister.