Mood:  bright

It has been pointed out by Ed, Shurree, and others that I have neglected my blog now for months. Considering that I pay to host my own website, I am feeling financially guilty now, and must rectify this situation immediately.

Many things have happened since I last updated my blog. To sum up:

·         Matt was called back in March and again in May (currently) to provide temporary work at his old job. Thus, unemployment stops and he gets a paycheck for two weeks at a time. Today marks two weeks back at his job – temporarily – as they announced more layoffs yesterday at a company meeting. Hopefully Matt will be able to finish out the week before he is laid off again.

·         My Dad and Pat bought a new house in Lancaster and moved in a few weeks ago! I am very excited for them both.

·         We took a vacation (really our Honeymoon after 6+ years of waiting) to South Padre Island, Texas renting a beach house from April 20-27. It was fabulous. $1,800 for seven full days(!) plus tax and $125 cleaning fee. The Banana Cabana (that’s the house’s name) was luxurious and had its own private pool. It would have slept ten people easily. Four bedrooms, awesome couch, amazing kitchen with an array of cooking gizmos that I was impressed with from the get go. Granite countertops, plush mattresses, sunken Jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom suite. Three full bathrooms overall! Hammocks and a grill – wow – just awesome. We went grocery shopping the second day and stayed in for a perfect Honeymoon. I cooked for us – grilled jumbo prawns, HUGE scallops, salmon, mahi mahi, a porterhouse steak for Matt, spaghetti Bolognese, Mexican food with fresh Pico de Gallo. ANYWAY – we were alone together, relaxed, and snuggly. I got to float in a pool for days on end and got a nice tan, too.

·         My car has signaled that it is nearing the end of its life. The orange Service Engine Soon light came on and from what the guys at Firestone said, my catalytic converters (Pathfinders have two) are on their way to the happy hunting grounds. Replacing them, the sensors, etc would run me about $3,300 so we are readying ourselves for some car hunting. Any suggestions on what not to buy and what to buy? I like trucks and SUVs as both Matt and I are tall people – so no Cooper Minis and stuff made for average size people. My Pathfinder works, but we’d both appreciate a vehicle with more head and leg room.

·         We suspect that Matt’s debit card number was swiped by the scallywags at Simple Simon Pizza/Taco Tico in Wellington as over $243 in iTunes charges have appeared on our bank account. Bank of America fraud protection contacted us, froze Matt’s debit card – then cancelled it. Matt went in Monday and filed a police report with the City of Wellington PD and we’re in the process of filling out all kinds of paperwork to get the information the bank has on the transactions origins and such so the police can investigate and don’t have to file a subpoena. What fun and excitement! NOT!

·         Planning for summer vacation has had its ups and downs. The children will most likely not be going to Delaware with their grandparents this summer as they have for the last four years due to circumstances beyond our control. Long story there involving Kyle, counselors, and well, more stuff than I can mention online. It looks like Matt’s parents are going to come visit us instead of the children going there – which is tougher on them with the super long drive from Pennsylvania and such in the middle of summer heat. We haven’t seen them since Christmas of 2008, so it will be nice to visit with Debbie and Ed, and see how much Kayla has grown up in the passing months. I believe Deanna is going to escape from her job for a bit to come if she can. Now that I have learned how to knit, perhaps she can share some of her knitting knowledge with me?

·         Speaking of knitting, I have three feet of my first scarf done! It isn’t perfect, but it is fun. When I finish it, I will post a picture online.

·         Matt and I are going movie crazy this summer. We’ve already seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine (we took Kyle to this), and last weekend we saw Star Trek. We are going to take the children to see Star Trek this weekend. We are planning on taking them to Night at the Museum on May 29, and Land of the Lost (which opens June 5). Also on our list of movies this summer is Transformers 2, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and GI Joe: Rise of Cobra. It will definitely be a blockbuster summer!