Nothing from Kim. Gee, what a surprise. Not sure how long it’ll last, though.

Washed the sheets and next, I should do the bathroom. Maybe later. Right now I want to get in some writing. I’ve been working and working out and I just want to do something I can do sitting down for a while.

Tom got a $50 Target card as a bonus at work! That’s where he’s taking me on my birthday, as well as other places, though we decided to put the hair salon on hold. I not only want it to get a little longer before I add the long layers I’d like to have, but I have a busy enough day that day as it is between the dentist, possibly going out to eat, etc.

Tammy left a message updating me on her life. Poor girl’s been stressed and depressed but started a part-time job at a hospice, so this tells me her health can’t be too bad. I sure hope not anyway!

Her youngest girls are having a rough time now with health issues. Sarah slipped in a grocery store and now her ankle is in an air cast. I sent her a quick message as I did with Becky who replied with a quick “thank you,” but she hasn’t picked it up yet.

I had a close call myself a while back that could’ve left me badly hurt. My right foot began to slip on the wet floor causing me to go down into what was almost the perfect case of the splits. But thanks to all the working out I do I was able to catch myself before my ass hit the floor and pull myself back up into a standing position.

While I was delighted to hear Tammy’s sending packages out, which will include birthday and Christmas presents, she really didn’t have to do that. I let her know that Tom and I usually just send ecards for events like that but to let me know if there’s something in particular she’d like. Still, her generosity is greatly appreciated.

This will be my first birthday with my parents dead and gone. Assholes or not, it sure is weird.

As I told her, life is going so, so very well for us now. I still cringe at the thought of being here another year and I know there’s going to be some major problems with this old dump before we can escape it, but every time I get frustrated with the wait, I remind myself – first class. We’re going first class. No more bummy old, little dives! This place would be fine space-wise if it was just one person or two people without all the shit we have since it’s only a little smaller than the apartment I had on Woodside in Springfield, but we do have a lot of stuff. A lot of money too, but not enough to go first class just yet. But we are happy, healthy and losing weight. Eating less food more often is making a huge difference in my metabolism. Tom’s lost 50 pounds and I want to lose 25-45.

So much for thinking the rain would keep the Jes pest away. Why the hell did he have to waste his time and gas coming down here to ask if we had any leaks, something I worry about all the time in this ancient little trailer when we can just call him if we do? It was ok since I was wide awake and saw his truck come down and neither of us had to go out in the rain, but I still wish he’d learn to use the phone! If I’d been asleep I would’ve been pissed. He mentioned doing the roof again like he’s been saying for two years now. I know God’s not going to let us escape that excursion, so since we’ll still be here when he does it, it sure would be nice to be on vacation when it happens.

Once we got settled in here after 8 months of motels I swore I’d never go anywhere again and that I didn’t ever want to travel beyond just going from one room to another. But after being here since April of 2008 with no breaks, I’m definitely ready for a change, if only for a week. Only these days I prefer to vacation in other countries since I’ve pretty much been everywhere I care to go in this country other than Hawaii, and that’s still a possibility. It’s a toss-up between that and Mexico. Tom’s already been to Mexico, but Hawaii is just another state in the US. Bet it wouldn’t feel that way, though, just like it didn’t feel like we were in what is a part of the US when we were in Puerto Rico.

Ponce, Puerto Rico. Damn, I loved it there! I’d hate to live there, though. Too many people. Then again, my favorite language is still Spanish and I love the weather there.

Speaking of “feeling,” we were talking about how our manufactured home in Arizona felt like a real house as many new models are built like real houses. In this old heap of shit, I don’t feel like I’m in a house, but I don’t feel like I’m in a trailer. To me, a trailer is something on wheels that’s bouncy. This thing came in on wheels, but it’s been set on stands and blocks. I’d say it has a more cottage-like feel. In some ways, even the dump we rented in Oregon did too, but that was a definite house. It was built on-site and had an attic.

Nane’s so sweet. She took the time to drop me a line while on break and wish me a nice weekend after telling me to hug the rats for her. LOL, will do. She also got a kick out of one of the dreams I had of her where I came to visit her but she had to work one of those days, so I accompanied her to work. The plan was to be her assistant for the day, but I just could not do a damn thing right to save my life! First I accidentally knocked a big stack of papers off the corner of her desk, then I busted through a chair I sat on, then I was bringing her soup for lunch, tripped and spilled it all over the place. She finally threw me into a small room with a computer and told me to write a story, LOL.

I also dreamed that it became free to call anywhere in the world, so we started talking like every other month. That would make for a nice dream premonition in the end. :)

Lastly, she sent me a sweater with German writing on it. All I remember was “Mein und…” I love it when I dream in other languages, even if it’s only a word or two.

This winter’s rain has really been making up for last winter’s drought. The frogs are croaking up a storm and I’m sure some will come to visit us soon enough. Maybe not, though. I think the only reason we had some last year was due to the dryness and so they were in desperate search of water.

Ooh, Tom’s home early today! But he still has to work tomorrow.