Hey guys! For the first time since I joined the board, I missed my birthday wishes on the day. I'm sorry about that. They were wonderful. Thank you for posting them.

Life's been a little bit shitty. We had to file bankruptcy, we may lose the house, though I hope not; the refrigerator is dying, we were getting a car, finally, after a very long time without one through the kindness of a friend and that fell through and kind of broke my heart; and then I broke my middle toe so badly it should have been pinned, but because I tend to infection, the doctor decided not to, and Novocained my foot, which was very weird, and then twisted the toe bone into place, so now I'm supposed to be keeping it elevated and not walking on it unless I have to and stuff.

And I haven't read the board since sometime in July for the first time in forever, so I missed a lot of things that made my heart feel heavy for you guys; Laura, and Nora, and Smonster, and Teppy's lovely MiL, and the fact that you're all some of the most amazing people I've ever met, in person or not.

I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for the happy birthday wishes, and thank you for being such awesome people.

Deena! Always a treat. I hope all the shittiness improves mightily.

hugs galore

-t! So nice to see you. I think the shittiness will improve mightily--and my attitude about it--when I get more sleep. I have a weird velcro'd foot cast thing and it's uncomfortable and the house is ultra hot right now so we're all sleeping in one room with a window air conditioner...not conducive to good sleep, so much, but that will pass soon, too.

Ah, Deena. I'm sorry for the summer of crap! Poor toe.

Oh Deena! I'm sorry for the bad summer. But it's wonderful to see you!

Ew, ultra hot not sleeping uncomfortableness surely isn't calculated to make anything easier. Sorry you are up in the middle of the night, but I'm glad I got to see you before I go to bed myself!

Which I'm going to do now because I can barely keep my eyes open. 'Night!

Unfun, Deena. But it's still so nice to see you here. I hope that things improve and that you get some cool sleep soon too.

Thanks guys! The toe, poor thing, was broken at an angle, and kind of twisted, and the doctor couldn't get it quite right, but he thinks it will be good enough.

In other, cooler news, Kara is getting gothier, and is so thrilled I bought her black and pink shirts, and gray and black pants for the new school year, because that's what Jilli wears. She's going to a new school for 4th grade, so I wanted her to feel a little more confident. Oh! And she'd probably kill me for telling you, but she's started wearing training bras, and has gone from... they're "weird" to "can you get them in more colors?"

Aidan is getting taller and taller and keeps telling me it's my birthday and is so absolutely adorable. Today, every time I sat down to elevate my foot, he crawled into my lap for snuggles. He'll be in second grade this year. So. weird. I told him he's not allowed to grow anymore, and he said okay--first of my kids to agree.

Oh, and Nick has been promoted to manager of the convenience store he works at, and is moving in alone with his girlfriend (they've been in a kind of roomie-sitch), and is madly in love with her and talks about asking her to marry him when he's found the right ring, something funky and vintage and cool. He's also cooking all the time, and has discovered the joys of olive oil and a bit of wine and good cheeses. He's also adorable.

Oh, and Jilli, I found something so cool! It's a Nightmare before Christmas scrabble set--I sent you the link in gmail.

Deena so lovely to see you.

Congratulations Rick!

And if not, why is it so difficult to find bath towels in any shade of purple or lavender?

I finally found purple towels and bought a set. I went to buy a few more, and they were discontinued!