I'm taking the kidlets to the leisure pool at work. $4 each to tire them out before they go to their dad's. Then, a night off!

Got some mowing to do, but it's just tedious, not hard.

I'm trying (and failing) to not have odd sleep patterns.

I need to buy a new toilet seat.

I have to clear up the garden, which seems to be a repository for every stray leaf, twig and bit of detritus in the entire forest.

And I have to call my friend Sean. I learned tonight that his 8-year-old daughter died on Monday. I have no idea what I can say to him other than "I'm sorry" and "Is there anything I can do?"

Headed to the Roadhouse to meet some friends for bacon-and-cheese covered tater toys. Oh yes. Greeting card making party at a friend's house tomorrow, how that's fun. Otherwise the usual: laundry, grocery shopping, dog park, self portrait.

Tonight: chilling by myself (and the dogs) while Scodyboy's at work. Will likely watch a movie and/or read.

Tomorrow: should clean and run errands during the day. May go out with friends tomorrow night.

Sunday: babysitting nephews, which will probably involve cookie-baking.

On preview: Jan, when my brother-in-law's sister lost her son (same age!) last year, a friend of hers coordinated a month or two of people bringing over dinner to her family, so that they wouldn't have to worry about cooking for awhile. If you're feeling particularly organize-y, you could perhaps coordinate something similar? (Or, of course, even just offer to bring over a meal or two yourself.)

Taking the kids grocery shopping tomorrow morning, playing in my brass quintet at a retirement home in the early afternoon.

Don't know what else.

An old friend and I just reconnected (she now lives an hour away). She is leaving for Hawaii, then the east coast for the rest of the summer on Monday so we've made plans to meet for lunch tomorrow. This makes me very happy.

Tomorrow night I am going to celebrate another friends graduation/arrival of summer by having a beach party near Monterey. The plan is to grill a ton of food, then drink, bonfire, play some music, drink some more, dance, sleep in, and then surf on Sunday.

So far this weekend has me:

1. going to see Drag Me To Hell tomorrow night,

2. MC'ing a live jazz show here in town on Sunday afternoon,

3. and then immediately following going to a live gospel show for Rock My Soul, who are interested in having me sing with them, then on...

4. Monday afternoon I'm hosting an in-studio live appearance by Hateful Little Cakes.

But all of that pales in comparison to...

5. Monday morning, when I interview to be the next Grief Counselor/Emergency Room Client Care Provider for Portsmouth Regional Hospital.

Oh, plus I just was at a live show by a band called Mike and Ruthy, formerly of The Mammals - they gave me a free CD! WOOT! Being a DJ has it's privileges when you see live bands around town.

Currently I'm trying to get shitfaced, but it's not quite working as well as I would've hoped.

In about five minutes I'm going to bed. My husband rented the movie, Choke, but I am too tired to stay up. Today was the last day of school. Between volunteering, parties, and crying, because I am a sentimental sap, I am tired.

Tomorrow my eldest kid has his last baseball game of the season. We have had many rainouts and tomorrow is our last make-up game. His team will be in second place if they win.

After the ball game I vow to clean and do laundry. Maybe I'll go somewhere if the opportunity arises. We had plans to go to a local lake for Scouts but that was called off because of the ballgame. I also had tentative plans with a girlfriend to go to the pool at the Y but had to reschedule because of all of this kid stuff.

Sunday I might go to the beach with my parents if it's not raining. I might hang out with my friend and her kids if my parents don't want to go to the beach. We'll see.

Going home to visit my Mom.

Just got back from seeing The Black Keys in concert

Walkathon to benefit a local homeless shelter tomorrow morning with my church

Hopefully buying a Honda Fit tomorrow afternoon

Watching hockey on Saturday night

Church Picnic on Sunday afternoon

Somewhere in there I have to get the neighborhood gazette composed, printed and distributed.

I work tomorrow. All day.

Church on Sunday, possibly gym, possibly nap.

That's it.

I will get my hair cut sometime this weekend.

I have also been itching to buy a pair of high-heeled sandals for a while, but apparently nobody is making anything this year that comes even slightly close to what I have in mind. Still, the search continues.

I really should get my car inspected per state regs.

Well, I am home now, having left my child in the capable hands of TPS for a few hours. Only other plans for the weekend involve having brunch with friends on Sunday. They are moving to Ohio in a few weeks. I will miss them.

It takes a very capable babysitter to watch a baby that sleeps the entire time. It's a good thing you found me. In fact, I'm going to take personal credit for the fact that she slept the whole time. Yea. Because with some other, less trained babysitter, she probably would've woken up and screamed for 4 hours.

Today, I went to work, then had a fairly productive lunch hour that included setting up an appointment with my local tattoo artist and buying an eight-cup Bodum French press at the thrift store for three bucks, then worked some more and ate a little grocery-store sushi for dinner while I finished reading Security, by Stephen Amidon. Tonight, I've been drinking beer, listening to jazz and dinking around on the internet. I'll stick with that for the time being, but, maybe later, I'll play some video games or start reading this newish George Pelecanos book.

Tomorrow, I'm thinking I want to do a little gardening, go to a couple thrift stores (didn't find the boombox of my dreams, which is what I was really looking for) and go for a bike ride. Maybe try to collect all my Atari 2600 and/or Intellivision stuff, too, along with the appropriate gadgets to connect 'em to a projector--one of the other library branches in town does old-school video game programs for adults, but they haven't gone further back than the NES. I'm thinking I might be able to change that.

Sunday, probably another bike ride, this one with my friend R. She's visiting from out of town, so I'll let her borrow one of my bikes. Maybe the funny-looking one, a sort-of retro-urban-freeride mountain bike. It kinda rides like a dangerous toy--I hope it'll be a nice break from her usual co-op fixies.

Somewhere in there, I'll make a bunch of cold-brew iced coffee. And, y'know, eat, sleep, talk to people, all that stuff. This somehow turned out much longer than I anticipated.

Tonight I saw The Brothers Bloom and liked it, though I always get ahead of myself and ruin the endings in movies like that.
I was going to go to bed early so I could wake up for my cooking class, but now that is cancelled.
I could be a good girl and wake up anyway for the gym and then laundry, but instead I think I'll watch tv and sleep late.

Tomorrow night I am going dancing, and Sunday I am doing work.

Tomorrow morning, meeting a new-ish friend and his husband at a "zen teahouse" in my neighborhood. I have no idea how this is gonna go, but I do like tea.

Tomorrow afternoon, probably groceries and such. I'd like to go to the movies, too, but I want to see "Drag Me To Hell" and partner wants to see "Up," which I also want to see, so if we get to the movies at all, we'll probably see "Up."

Sunday, we HAVE to attack the ivy vines growing up the back of our house. They've grown up onto the window screens in several places and while it looks nice and leafy from inside, it'll destroy the screens and eventually grow into the house even through windows that are closed. (It's happened before.) I'm also convinced if it ever reaches our bed, we're dead. So, goodbye ivy. Until next time.

Also, I'm trying to hook up two friends on the west coast, one of whom lives there now, one who's traveling. Cupid is sending text messages instead of flinging arrows... who knew?

Worried about a friend going through a very bad period of depression and too distant for me to visit. This next week could be very stressful for me. I just want it to fly past.

Tonight: Staying up late, drinking wine, playing guitar.

Tomorrow: Seeing The Fixx!

Sunday: mudane shit--mowing, laundry, painting.

Movie glut, trying to get floor refinished before mefi 10, STILL trying to make bedrooms not look like the Collyer brothers, got last stitches out of my gums, weeded out outdated travel books, fighting a depression.

1. Reading Polish tongue-twisters in front of a crowd of possibly quite a lot of people in a park.
2. Doing this twice.
3. Going to a barbecue.
4. Calling the HR person in charge of a summer job in Turkey I think I'm going to get!
5. Writing year-end reports for some students.
6. Laundry!
7. Food shopping - I've been living on eggs and toast this week for some reason and I'm almost certainly about to die of overbreakfasting.

1. Work. (Now.)
2. Pizza night!
3. Snuggling.
4. Watching movies.
5. Weeding the allotment, unless the weather is horrid, which is a distinct possibility.
6. Really should do some cleaning as the flat is grubbalicious.
7. Ooh, I'll try to get all those photos off my camera and onto Flickr.

Friday night:
- got dressed up, walked downtown to meet The Fella, strolled home through the First Friday gallery-going crowd, and visited a few galleries along the way. Love love love the newish installation at the museum.
- stopped at neighborhood sushi place: agedashi tofu, avocado maki, asparagus maki, fried sweet potato roll, vegetable tempura. And beer. Yum.
- got my second full night's sleep in weeks.

Today:
- walk down to the art supply store, pharmacy, maybe the consignment shop. Maybe even a quick visit to the farmers' market in the park.
- sit down with graph paper and try to plan table layout for the wedding.
- a rare Saturday night dinner together, and a movie at home. Maybe an evening walk.
- I think we should go out to the neighborhood bar tonight. I really do.

Maybe possibly meeting up other Meta and MeCha folk over at MoCCa maybe possibly?

Recovering from Lasik surgery. Lying on the bed with my eyes covered, listening to "Love, Actually" on DVD and trying not to cry during the sappy parts.

I guess I'll be spending it feeling like shit. Forgot that tonight was to have been the replacement Brubeck concert (originally my birthday present, but put off because he got sick). Parents showed up, banging on my door ... which I didn't answer, thinking it was the landlord, whom I can't pay until next week because of the vet bill (though he may be using my security deposit to cover this last month- I'm afraid to ask). I assumed I had forgotten, not the concert, but that this was the day I was supposed to drive them to the airport. Apologized for that, said of course I could take them. Heh. I'd have loved to have gone to the concert, but having forgotten it was happening, didn't ask for the night off. So my parents are stuck with a wasted ticket, and I'm feeling like a colossally ungrateful bitch who can't manage the simplest of schedules. Which I am, except the ungrateful part.

My mother accused me of being on drugs. I don't know if she's ever once in my life believed me when I've said I've forgotten something.

I probably should do some work, but I put in so many hours already this week I'm having a hard time leaving the couch. Listening to music and reading sounds a bit more my speed this weekend. That being said I'll probably drag myself to the office for a few hours at some point :(

My daughter's baby is due any day. Any! Day! She lives with me. Her (and baby's) room is finished but I'm trying to make sure all the laundry is done / food is in the house / supplies are all on hand. I keep finding myself taking a huge deep breath. Stressy. I'm feeling more sympathetic to fathers in the birth process now. All this stress, lots of love, not much to do with your hands!

Saw UP last night. . .absolutely loved it! Went to bed after that.

Today, lawn mowing, gardening, other chores. Then watching baseball while wife hemmed some too-long skirts, most of which I had given her.

Tonight, making tomato roasted garlic saffron soup, then 3 episodes of True Blood. Then maybe a grilled cheese sandwich or something like that.

Tomorrow night. . .well I got a ticket to see Neko Case. She is playing big places but she's playing a small place here and had not sold out yet so what the heck. I only have 2 of her songs on my iPod, but it seems too easy not to pass up.

Update:

1. Hanging out with new friend and his partner at the tea house this morning was a blast. Turns out there were about 8 other guys there as well, including a couple of mutual friends of ours, and the tea house itself is VERY cool. Found out they do this every Saturday. Too cool. We'll definitely be joining them in the future.

2. Made our monthly pilgrimage to the 'burbs to visit our favorite eastern European butcher shop, which only opens one Saturday per month (they're open on weekdays but we can't get out there then) and bought gypsy ham, hot Italian sausage, German bologna, and two amazing steaks. Ohh fiddly dee dee, the carnivorous life for me.

3. Partner got the ivy off of all our windows on the back of the house, and watered all the plants and veggies (the latter are in planters on the deck). I, er, worked on photos and uploaded them to Flickr. Hey, that's productive, in its way.

4. Planning to go see UP tomorrow afternoon.

I got my hair cut, which was pretty inexpensive, and then on an impulse had it straightened, which was not. So there goes my shoe budget.