So, I haven't been around of late. That will change once school starts and the Olympics end. I'm sorry. I've been missing you, but life suddenly got crazy, between the last week before school starts to Olympics to trying to buy a new car (at least new to us). . .

Ok, calm down Eowyn.

1--I am one of those obsessive Olympic people and I will just say here and now that the 4x100 meter swimming relay (men's) was one of the coolest Olympic moments I have ever seen. That is why I watch them, races like that, and then the men's gymnastics meet the next night, etc. I love, love, love the Olympics. I wonder what good stuff I get to watch tonight.

2--The one nice thing about having good Olympics to watch in the prime time is that I'm making progress on the quilt I am quilting. I put the needle down to watch whatever actual event (cuz if I don't, I make mistakes) and the quilt through all the talking and commercials. I made huge progress last night.

3--Wii Fit, still like it, but now I'm getting discouraged because I'm fighting a battle against myself now, and my eating habits. It's frustrating to me to love sugar and to want some Cold Stone every time I drive past, and it's equally frustrating to me that I won't stop. Does that make sense? I want to be healthier and I have a weight loss goal that I'm not getting very far towards. Probably because of Cafe Rio and Wingers etc. I've no idea how to maintain/lose weight and eat out. If anyone has any tricks, (besides the obvious) I'd love to hear them.

4--We are in the car hunt, and there is a good probability that we will have it by the end of the week. Anyone know anyone with a Chrysler Pacifica? We are investigating a 2005 model, fully loaded. But I'd love to talk to someone who actually owns one.

5--5 days till the beginning of school here. I'm glad and sad.

6--And in the meantime, I seem to be cramming as much in as possible. Trip to the children's museum today, soccer practice and games, all sorts of fun things.

7--I hiked from one canyon over a pass to another on Friday. I can't tell you how beautiful and amazing this hike is. I, all my children, and some other family members did the hike and it was astounding. And miracle of miracles, Pablo hike the whole way. He's a bit of a complainer. But he did it. 4 or so miles. He does have a beautiful scab on his knee from a fall, but he was a trooper. Tyrone did most of the way. My legs were fine on the hike. It was my shoulders that hurt from carrying either packs or Tyrone the whole hike. It was amazingly great.

8--Three times this weekend I had a child get away from me. On Saturday at a picnic, Tyrone got in our car and locked himself in. I don't think he was there very long, but long enough to get very hot. My heart still stops when I think of it. Then he did the same thing on Monday morning. It wasn't as hot, but my heart still stopped when I couldn't find and then found him in the car. Then that afternoon I was in a large building on a campus close by (The Wilk, for those in the know) and suddenly found I had lost Pablo. I found him on the other end of the building with some very kind students. I left soon after. I couldn't handle it, so I went home to the safety of my house and tried to relax. It's moments like these when I'm convinced I should never had another child. I can't even keep track of the ones I have.

9--Spent some time with the in-laws (meaning the whole family). This is a struggle for me. There is abuse and lies and just. . .It's a messed up family. I don't feel like I did a very good job of being involved. Sometimes it's easier than others, and apparently this weekend was one of the not-easy times. It's just hard when I know that one wife just barely came back to her hubby after a nasty case of emotional abuse (they are in the honeymoon phase right now. We'll see if it lasts. I don't hold out much hope) and another wife just asked her mom for money for the water bill that's being cut off while they are in the middle of buying a new (to them) car. I just don't get it. Then there are the newlyweds who are very cute, but hard to get in a real conversation with because they are in their newlywed world. Not a good day for me. And it ended with the above mentioned picnic/car/Tyrone incident. Not a good afternoon for me.

10--I did save that afternoon by buying 8-10 more books. I can't remember exactly how many. Expect a very long book review post at the end of the week.

And an aside, because I want to end with 10 for some silly reason. I love the Pendragon series, as anyone who has been reading this blog knows. Just thought I'd point out a couple of things. There is quite a bit of attitude by one character in this series and she occasionally swears. It's a bit irritating, actually. Also I should mention here that every female character in this series is a warrior of some type or another. They are all super strong, super intelligent and willing to do battle. There is a softer side to them, but it's not strong. And there are no mother figures or girly girls. (Actually, I just met one who is a little better than the others in that regard, but she's not, at this point, a very important character.) It makes sense in the context of the story but it's something that I noticed. Also, in one of the books there is a fairly weak plot line. I'll amend that statement later if it turns out to have a bearing in the series, but for now, it seemed a little filler-ish--Actually, it turns out to have a bearing on the story, but it's still weak, in my opinion. Ah well, I'm still loving them. Took me 1/2 an hour to calm down after I read the last, but that's for another post.

Sorry, no links. I'm trying to get done fast to get ready to head out again.