In our home, we have been sharing and passing around a low grade fever, coughing, and general lethargy. It started about the time we left Michigan. It was a very... good?... no, meaningful trip. Tom's father had a scare the Wednesday before last, and Aunt Teddy, Tom's great aunt, passed away. 

We went up to Michigan for the funeral, and to spend time visiting with Tom's father. The funeral was beautiful; a wonderful Catholic ceremony, full of all the people she had impacted during her 93 years. I can say this, because I hardly knew her, but I thought the funeral was amazing - celebrating the much loved life of a 93 year old woman is a shining example of how I hope to go, when I do. 

We spent time with Tom's dad every day. The last time we went to visit, his father's eyesight had deteriorated, but he has since undergone corrective surgery. To see his dad playing with Harper was really uplifting. 

So the coughing, low-grade fever, and lethargy is worth it. But I am ready to feel 100%

I've recently discovered the fun that is Doctor Who. I am currently watching the first season of the 2005 series. The Doctor has been played by eleven different people, over the span of forty seven years. I've always loved time travel!!

Tom is also excited; I'm not generally a sci-fi kind of gal, and this is something he loves that we can share. The episode I am currently watching is about a killer death robot collected by a conceited power hungry internet genius. And The Doctor will soon save the day!

Thank goodness I don't have to help him... 

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep

Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

 This is the best description of my mind racing at night I've ever found:

Back on the couch, he counts. One little sheep, two little sheep, three little sheep. Why not? The sheep trot up the fences - he's got their fat-assed waddle down cold - but he can't make 'em jump. Do sheep jump? They're unaerodynamic, their legs are too short. And so after imagining a few sort of levitating over the fence- their little legs dangle, wobbling back and forth in a light prairie breeze - he gives up and lets them walk along it. the way real sheep might, and munch on the grass that rings the posts. It's a split-rail fence: he knows real sheep would be penned behind a wire fence, or perhaps an electrified fence, but how relaxing are realistically restrained livestock? The split-rail fence is idyllic, rough-hewn, it allows him to imagine the sheep scratching themselves against the coarse-grained wood. But wait: they're scratching a bit too hard, aren't they? In fact, some of them have got these bald patches, and their skin in pink and inflamed...oh, no! These sheep have scrapie, the ovine mad cow disease - they're doomed! And sure enough, as he comes to this grim realization, the scrapie-afflicted sheep begin to collapse, until they have formed a large fluffy pink-and-white pile at the edge of the meadow.

~Mailman, J. Robert Lennon

A raise. It's not a given, but my (new) boss asked me to draft up a new job description that emphasized my skills, not downplayed them. As is, my position seems to be leaning towards Resarch Analyst. A rough search shows this position pays, on average, twice what I am currently making. While I'm not gunning for that kind of raise, I am hoping that means that I get at least something! (photo credit: Automania @ flickr.com)

Being debt free. We have taxes coming in and generous student grants from CFCC. As we pay off certain bills, we'll have more money in the budget, to finish paying off other bills. And while it will be some time before the student loans from before Tom and I were married are gone, even if we can pay everything else off; we'd have plenty in the budget to start saving for a home of our own. And maybe a newer car. Ride away, little debt train! (photo credit: catherine_arthouse @ flickr.com)

But now, I finally have my very own Wii! Tom and I have been having a lot of fun, not to mention getting a lot more activity in during the days. I've used muscles that haven't been moved in years! (Which I didn't realize until I woke up SORE the day after we got it). And even if I don't want to be active, I can make Miis. I've discovered you can make aliens, bowling balls, insects, and even dogs if you do it right (hint: you can make eyebrows look like practically anything!).

Now it's time to use the rest of the money on more responsible things.