It looks like I was wrong when I said that if I just kept up the exercise, my weight would stay around 120 pounds. At 125 pounds, though I’ve begun dieting, I’d say that’s not true. It’s kind of scary how I can’t stop gaining weight if I eat around 2000 calories a day. Most people stop at some point, but mine never does. I could end up at 200 pounds or more if I kept eating 2000 calories a day.

I was eating macaroni the night before the diet began, and I put a few pieces on a saucer on the floor for Little Buddy. It was so cute how he’d grab a piece, run under the stool I was sitting on and eat it, and repeat the same routine.

We worked some more on the cage and it should be done and ready within a few days. Little Buddy’s going to love having more climbing space, and I’m going to appreciate the shelves being of wire, rather than solid plastic.

Got a letter from Mary on Friday. She’s one strong, resilient person! I can’t believe she can have the faith she’s got in God after all the pain and suffering he’s allowed to be inflicted upon her. It’s like kissing the hand that slaps you, in my opinion.

Anyway, she sent me a 5-page clip to type up and asked for a couple more copies of the latest clips. I don’t know why she’s sending this publisher stuff before the book’s even complete, but that’s what she wanted them for. If she starts asking for too many copies too often I’ll have to put my foot down. Ink’s not cheap.

I asked her to clarify where she’s been and when and she did. She says she was at Estrella from 5/2000-10/2000, then she was extradited to Florida where she remained till 12/2000 when she was brought back to Estrella. She said she also spent 32 hours in jail after slapping her mother in ‘98 and was ordered to take a “diversion” class, whatever that means. So, her child neglect charges run concurrently with her failure to protect charges.

I still think this isn’t any Myra C or Mindy E we’re dealing with here and that she should not be in jail. She was forced to neglect her daughter and prevented from protecting her. If she could’ve saved Gretchen, she would have. Besides, isn’t the fact that she’ll never see her again punishment enough? She has to live with that fact alone for the rest of her life.

Also last Friday, I put the groceries away, then Tom exclaimed, “Happy birthday!”

I was like - huh?

Well, he happened to go into Walgreens, and there he picked me up that nail salon thing I’ve been wanting. It’s an electric nail file/buffer. I just love it, too! It only takes a sec to file little nicks and chips, but doing it with an old-fashioned Emory board takes forever. Shaping’s easier with this thing, too.

“What’s a birthday with just one present,” he said, pulling out yet another box from his bag. It was this spray that you spray your legs and underarms with for removing hair, but I’m sorry to say it didn’t work. The shit they sold in jail worked better than this stuff, and I followed the directions thoroughly. That’s okay, though. The thought was nice.

Tom decided not to bother waiting so we ordered the dolls on Thursday. There’s a chance they could arrive tomorrow, but I highly doubt it. Tuesday’s New Year’s Day, so they should be here Wednesday.

This will probably be my last entry for this year. Just think, 5 years down 2 more to go, then maybe, just maybe, the freeloaders will be out of our lives for good. I won’t believe it till I see it, though.