I think India is trying to kill me.

I don't mean with a knife or poison or anything like that...that I know of anyway. But with stress. This morning on my drive to work, after we had had our usual "discussion" on why she wasn't going to miss school again today, and why I wouldn't just take her late in the day and why she WAS going to go to work tonight no matter what. I noticed that my arms were hurting. Both of them all the way down both arms and I realized that I was clenching the steering wheel and probably my jaw if I'd stopped to notice with a death grip from stress. If it shows in that way I am sure that it is working on me from the inside out as well.

My oldest daughter, was easy and I believe that youngest one will be too as she has been thus far. But from the beginning of India's life I have known that she would be quite a handful. She was mean and feisty from the very beginning of her life. Don't get me wrong, she is funny, and talented and smart and beautiful but a handful to say the very least and always has been. I think God said "I gave you a simple one the first time and I'll but you a break with the third one too but this middle child the spirit I have assigned her is going to take love and patience. So here she is...do your best."

I know it is a good portion my fault as well. With that mindset and personality I probably should have been less forgiving on her missteps. I need to set some much more "black and white" rules. It's just been a very rough year with her and I don't see any light yet at the end of the tunnel. I am so worried about her future, I can't see her getting herself up to go to college each day, studying and holding herself accountable. She HAS the ability to do all this and more but whether she will choose to do so is what is scaring me. She likes to have money and things and if she just works a register somewhere without a degree for the rest of her life, unless she refocuses her priorities totally, she is not going to be a happy girl.

On a happy note, my MAD Bathroom Companion came yesterday in the mail. I have been content reading it. It's so full of total silliness and NOT serious things that I find it relaxing to goof off reading it :) I've pretty much caught everything up here at the South office so I just might kick back and read for a bit when I'm done here. When I get to the North office I have some collections work to do and will most likely stay too busy to do much else.

I plugged in the card from the camera and found that I hadn't actually taken a single picture since the last bunch you can see in the last post.

We had a great IRC meeting last night and darn if I didn't neglect to take some pictures there too. I really should have too because we had an impromptu cookout during the meeting and everyone was full and had fun. I was very pleased with the turnout and the meeting was extremely productive. We were making a ton of plan for Field Day and much was talked about and done.

That'll do pig, that'll do.

I have been so neglectful about posting to the blog. It's not that I don't have a ton of things to write about, it's because I HAVE so many things to talk about that there isn't much time in between them.

First of....I got a Kindle 2 and I love it. I have ready sooooo many more books then I did before because no matter where I am I have it right there in my purse with me and I don't have to lug around 3 or 4 books or have one here and one there incase I forgot to bring a book with me. I have found myself having to wait outside of places for the kids to finish with this or that and the Kindle has been great. It has a very basic browser in it and other than looking up basic information, I have found that it really isn't all that cool. It plays MP3's too which was cool for a while to have some classical music there to read to but it takes up a lot of room so I took those offr. But for the purpose of a book reader and the ease of getting the next book you want in a matter of seconds....it is wonderful. I almost go into withdrawal when I don't have it with me.

I have the entire computer room done now except the floor. It is going to be painted with a dutch boy paint that appears to be quite durable. We painted the desk top in the stuff and have drug heavy equipment back and forth across it and not a single scratch so I think the floor is going to hold up quite nicely. It is a pain for floors and decks and porches. It seems to have been made to withstand alot of traffic. Also when you leave a glass there and the glass sweats all over and leaves a big pool. It wipes right up without a trace. So it is a good sealant as well.

I got the entire back yard privacy fence up. I left the ends open as I have heard that that makes you vulnerable to robberies if you close your yard in in such a way that no one can see whats going on. It has been so pleasant to sit out on the deck.
The fence needs to be sprayed with a clear sealant, the deck needs to be washed and power washed and painted and the front porch needs cleaned up and repainted as well. In addition, the first and probably most pending job is the garden. It needs the weeks taken out of it and it tilled so I can get the garden growing. I guess I am going to be busy for a bit.