Welcome back to me!

I'm supposed to be balancing the checkbook (or the electronic equivalent thereof). But I've let it go too long and it's not going to be fun trying to match up the debit transactions for which I don't have receipts. And I simply refuse to just take the bank's word for what our balance is. I guess I like to feel like I have some control over our money.

Or, I should be thinking about heading up to bed. A good night's sleep is important, after all!

Or, I could just keep playing "Bejeweled" for awhile. That game is addictive for me! Just one more game...

But, I did promise to write again soon. So let's see if there's anything on my mind.

I should at least mention how very proud I am of my son. I try to not write or post or tweet much about him in too much detail. He's old enough to talk about his own activities if he so chooses. Otherwise, I try to respect his privacy. (He does not have a Facebook account...by his own choice. I tell him what the family is up to, and he texts his friends, so it's not like he's a hermit. He just doesn't feel drawn to it, and I'm proud of his choice.)

But I can't just ignore his recent involvement in the school musical. He was in the pit orchestra, as he was last year. There were lots of after-school rehearsals, and two on the weekend before opening night. That makes for some long days, to be sure. He gets tired, but it's what some might call a "good" tired. It's the adrenaline rush of successfully getting through a particularly tough song. It's doing something he enjoys and that's appreciated. It's being part of a team that must work together to produce a fabulous result. This was something he chose to do on his own. I'm sure his teacher encouraged him to participate. But I don't think I ever said, "You should be in pit. It will look good on college applications." Or, "Join pit. That will make sure you practice your instrument more." He wanted to do it. The talent displayed by everyone involved was impressive. (Were we that good at stuff in high school?) I positively beam when I see him playing and he's in his performance zone. He works at it, he enjoys it, and he's pretty darn good at it. It's one of those moments where I have to accept the fact that my "baby" is growing into his own unique individual.

As for me, I haven't been up to much of anything out of the ordinary lately. Well, I've been running to school to pick up my son from rehearsal. And I've been making things for the bake sale. (Burned my finger pretty good last week. The kitchen just isn't where I was meant to be!)

I did miss the second annual girlfriends' trip. Last year, the three of us went up to the condo of the parents of one of my friends. Two beautiful days of laziness, chattiness, shopping, wine, and just all-around quality time with the girls. It just wasn't practical for me to go this year. So...they went without me! Actually, I am glad they did. They deserve the time away, too, and I would have felt terrible if they cancelled just because of me. With the magic of text messages and Skype, I spent some virtual time on the trip. I heard all about their adventures. Jealous? A little. But I was honored to be included by the means available to us. They bought me a gift since I wasn't there to buy my own kitschy stuff. And, they bought me a souvenir. I can't tell you what it is, because that would ruin some of its charm (and you might think we are all cuckoo). But we now each have one of these items. Our girl-power has been multiplied. We just might be unstoppable if we join forces. Don't worry--we promise to only use our powers for good. (Note: I see that in my last post I already named what they brought for me. But I'm not going to describe how fabulous it is! You'll just have to use your imagination.)

Let me check my last post to see what I'd contemplated discussing here. Hmmm... There's a new celebrity court case. Not worth discussing, really, much like most of the other celebrity court cases. For me, 11/11/11 passed without incident, neither wondrous nor terrible. We didn't get much snow last week. Enough to remind us that winter is not far off, but not enough to get worked up about. Andy Rooney? I enjoyed his spots when I happened to catch him on TV. May he and his eyebrows rest in peace.

So life goes on for me regardless of the date or of the weather. As a mom and as one of the girls. And sometimes...as a blogger.