Cuz I done been NUDGED
I haven't posted here since sometime in *GASP!* September, and predictably... things went on without me just fine in Blade's Land of LJ Friends. Which is good, of course, since I was pretty busy with the new life-making and such.
However, I received a nudge a few days ago from sgatazmy, so I figured this might be a good time for an update. (I seem to have messed up the original posting of this journal entry, so if you think you're experiencing deja vu, yes, I deleted the first one and reposted it.)
The boys have both completed their first grading period at their new middle school (Solo Jr.'s first year, Bladekid's last), and are both making very good grades. They both play in jazz band as an extracurricular. Bladekid also played volleyball this past couple of months, which I wound up coaching because a) there were far too many kids for just one team, and b) the coach had lots of volleyball playing experience but little understanding of how to coach kids. We split up, with our team getting the short end in terms of number of players (but the best of them in terms of commitment and willingness to listen).
We wound up coming in third place in the season-ending tournament, and that with only SIX PLAYERS playing game after game after game. We were quite happy, if exhausted.
Now it seems a school play is about to start rehearsals, so I guess I know what I'll be volunteering on next...
Bladekid's having such a great year. He has lots of friends, he's on the student council, he has a girlfriend...
What are you doing moving on to the next paragraph? Did you not read that my thirteen-year-old son, my child, my BABY, HAS A GIRLFRIEND???
*breathes deeply if a little too fast*
It's okay, I'm better now. (She's a very nice girl.)
So, um, yeah, he's doing well.
Anyway, we're looking ahead a short distance to Christmas, trying to decide how we'll manage it in these tough times. Solo Jr. had no problems coughing up a list, but Bladekid is like me - HATES making Christmas and birthday gift lists - and he's gumming up the works with his hesitation. As am I. We're bad, b-b-b-bad to the bone.
I haven't been writing, because I feel guilty, I think. It's a totally non-productive use of time that doesn't help the family or household, and it makes me nervous to spend time on it. I think I need to find a way past that feeling, but it might have to wait until after the holidays.
I have, however, rediscovered crochet. (This came about after Bladekid started attending the *GASP!* knitting club after school. Seems his best friend, who's from China, urged him to join so he wouldn't feel weird being the only boy. Also, The Girlfriend is in the club.) Anyway, I've discovered that crocheting with strips of plastic grocery bags is a real big thing these days. It's like rag crochet, but it recycles plastic bags into rugs or tote bags or whatever. It's kind of hard to work with, but the idea fascinates me. I'm trying to make a small wastebasket. This is less guilt-making than writing, because at the end of it all, I'll have a physical object. Silly, I know.
I have to say that I still really love Portland. It's truly my kind of place - a mid-sized city with all the diversity of people and events that that implies, and one that is really beautiful with a friendly and upbeat mindset. Oh, and liberal; can't overstate how nice it is to not be the resident "weirdo," the oddity who thinks that society should look out for the poor and the defenseless and make sure everyone gets medical care and not start wars and all that. I'm actually sort of conservative in some ways here. What a refreshing change.
It hardly needs saying, but I will anyway - I still really love solo_from_uncle, too. *Blows Solo a kiss*
(Solo Jr.'s pretty cool, too. Won't blow him a kiss, cuz he sorta hates that I want to kiss him at all, ever. Hee!)
I'm going to try to keep up with LJ a little better in the coming months, so there won't be so much of an info dump each time. I'll have to decide whether to blow twenty bucks (or whatever the going rate is) on a paid account or let this revert to the unpaid variety, so this journal might undergo a change in the next week or so if I decide not to pay for it. But it will probably be filled with the same quirky crap that still manages to be boring, so don't worry. ;)
You may now comment at will.
However, I received a nudge a few days ago from sgatazmy, so I figured this might be a good time for an update. (I seem to have messed up the original posting of this journal entry, so if you think you're experiencing deja vu, yes, I deleted the first one and reposted it.)
The boys have both completed their first grading period at their new middle school (Solo Jr.'s first year, Bladekid's last), and are both making very good grades. They both play in jazz band as an extracurricular. Bladekid also played volleyball this past couple of months, which I wound up coaching because a) there were far too many kids for just one team, and b) the coach had lots of volleyball playing experience but little understanding of how to coach kids. We split up, with our team getting the short end in terms of number of players (but the best of them in terms of commitment and willingness to listen).
We wound up coming in third place in the season-ending tournament, and that with only SIX PLAYERS playing game after game after game. We were quite happy, if exhausted.
Now it seems a school play is about to start rehearsals, so I guess I know what I'll be volunteering on next...
Bladekid's having such a great year. He has lots of friends, he's on the student council, he has a girlfriend...
What are you doing moving on to the next paragraph? Did you not read that my thirteen-year-old son, my child, my BABY, HAS A GIRLFRIEND???
*breathes deeply if a little too fast*
It's okay, I'm better now. (She's a very nice girl.)
So, um, yeah, he's doing well.
Anyway, we're looking ahead a short distance to Christmas, trying to decide how we'll manage it in these tough times. Solo Jr. had no problems coughing up a list, but Bladekid is like me - HATES making Christmas and birthday gift lists - and he's gumming up the works with his hesitation. As am I. We're bad, b-b-b-bad to the bone.
I haven't been writing, because I feel guilty, I think. It's a totally non-productive use of time that doesn't help the family or household, and it makes me nervous to spend time on it. I think I need to find a way past that feeling, but it might have to wait until after the holidays.
I have, however, rediscovered crochet. (This came about after Bladekid started attending the *GASP!* knitting club after school. Seems his best friend, who's from China, urged him to join so he wouldn't feel weird being the only boy. Also, The Girlfriend is in the club.) Anyway, I've discovered that crocheting with strips of plastic grocery bags is a real big thing these days. It's like rag crochet, but it recycles plastic bags into rugs or tote bags or whatever. It's kind of hard to work with, but the idea fascinates me. I'm trying to make a small wastebasket. This is less guilt-making than writing, because at the end of it all, I'll have a physical object. Silly, I know.
I have to say that I still really love Portland. It's truly my kind of place - a mid-sized city with all the diversity of people and events that that implies, and one that is really beautiful with a friendly and upbeat mindset. Oh, and liberal; can't overstate how nice it is to not be the resident "weirdo," the oddity who thinks that society should look out for the poor and the defenseless and make sure everyone gets medical care and not start wars and all that. I'm actually sort of conservative in some ways here. What a refreshing change.
It hardly needs saying, but I will anyway - I still really love solo_from_uncle, too. *Blows Solo a kiss*
(Solo Jr.'s pretty cool, too. Won't blow him a kiss, cuz he sorta hates that I want to kiss him at all, ever. Hee!)
I'm going to try to keep up with LJ a little better in the coming months, so there won't be so much of an info dump each time. I'll have to decide whether to blow twenty bucks (or whatever the going rate is) on a paid account or let this revert to the unpaid variety, so this journal might undergo a change in the next week or so if I decide not to pay for it. But it will probably be filled with the same quirky crap that still manages to be boring, so don't worry. ;)
You may now comment at will.