Deena, I'm currently awaiting call and/or email about job interview I had today.

Laura, that's when we took up jigsaw puzzles, just for the Zen. Calm-ma to you guys.

Happy Teppy Day!

I got my cable bill and it was more expensive than I thought, even with the changes I made. Turns out I've got Stars and HBO so now I'm watching Dawn of the Dead.

Earlier this evening I sat outside and read and then watched the fireflies as it got darker. There was some kind of squirrel war going on up in the oak trees, but I didn't have bincoulars so I couldn't see. It looked like one squirrel was trying to get into a nest and the other was defending it. I couldn't hear the squirrels but I could hear the leaves shake.

I have very short hair. My husband scowled when he saw it.

I have no camera, but it's barely three inches long, dark reddish brown, very wavy because it's not *quite* long enough to go into curls yet.

And my head is so much cooler, and it's not in my face or on my neck.

Erika, that sucks and blows. I'm so sorry.

We just had a very yummalicious dinner, thanks to the farmers' market this morning and Trader Joe's this afternoon.

On the menu:

• Mozz atop fresh heirloom tomatoes, doused in balsamic vin and garnished with ground pepper and fresh basil leaves
• Couscous salad with cherry tomatoes, basil, mini-onions, and sundried tomatoes (premade at Trader Joes)
• Freshly picked sweet, white corn on the cob, boiled but still crisp
• BBQ chicken breasts and lemon salmon, grilled by Drew
• 2004 Shiraz
• Dessert: strawberries marinated in red wine, sugar, & balsamic vin over mini-bundt cakes & topped with homemade whipped cream (flavoried with gourmet Mexican vanilla)

We ate out on the patio and were very happy. I can has FEAST? YUM.

Yummmmmy. Good food with good people. Sounds delightful.

Wow connie! Wasn't your hair pretty long? What a change. It's going to freak you the next time you wash it.

Yum.

The suddenly much shorter hair always is like that when you first wash it. Scrub, scrub, scrub, dude, where's my hair?

Oo, Connie! Sorry the hubs doesn't get it, but I'm sure it looks awesome!

Cass, you have been a topic of conversation today; first because of the lisianthus I bought at the farmers' market for the dining room (which always makes me think of you), next because of meara's growing love of Portland (so much so that she came back before she left it!), and finally because I miss you and want to teleport you here (or me there) to hang out. Pout. it's been too long, chica.

Awww, I love lisanthium. I haven't had any here in ages and ages. I need to find a crack dealer here. And I adore meara and Portland and you and you should all come here and bask in the hippie hippie vibe of it all.

I'm glad you're cool for the summer, connie.

Shocking revelation tonight as Emmett and I watched VH-1's Top 100 Songs of the Eighties. First of all, "When Doves Cry" was only #5. Second of all, Emmett's teammate Arlo is a dead ringer for Jon Bon Jovi. It was when Jon was shaking out his perm and smiling into the camera that we realized that was Arlo's smile.

So imagine Jon Bon Jovi as a star 10 y.o. athlete without the poodle do.

ION, Emmett is distraught. Our next door neighbors Maria and Mo are moving away to Switzerland for five years. Their dog Maklo is Emmett's...well. Emmett will tell you that he is half dog and Maklo is his brother. He will tell you this randomly at any time because it's just a part of how he sees himself in the world.

When EM separated from me, she moved next door into a basement room with Maria and Mo. Emmett was 2 1/2 and Maklo was a puppy. That's where his dog love took root and even if he only sees Maklo a couple times a month, just knowing he was next door was enough. He regularly goes over to see Maklo, and if the people aren't home, Emmett sticks his fingers through the mail slot and let's Maklo sniff them and he talks to Maklo.

When Emmett stops on the street to pet dogs, people always ask if he has a dog and he always says, "No, but I live next to one" and they don't really understand how important that is to him.

I just put him to bed and he called me because he was crying about Maklo moving away. "I'm just so sad. I'm going to miss him so much."

And he will.

In case anybody wondered, I finished the tests around 2, went to acrossthehall!Teacher's, had wine, watched Supernatural, fell asleep, woke up, went back, had MORE wine, watched more Supernatural and half of Phantom of the Opera, came home.

I think I passed sections 1 and 3 (language development and cultural... culture, or something, did I mention the wine?) but am not so sure about 2 (er, assessment and instruction). I wrote 4 essays between 7:30 and 1:30 PM. It sucks and I hated it.

Tomorrow, Pride. I didn't go to the meeting, so I'm not on the safety committee, and given my sleep debt will probably not make it there before noon. But if anybody's going to be there, give me a call or a text.

Now I must force my drunken sleepy self to make food and sleep. Thanks everyone for the ma!