Nimble Nic

I have been really spotty in updating all of you. Sorry, lah. Too busy and tired at the end of the workdays. Also, company now blocks blogspot so cannot even use lunch hour. A lot has happened in the summer and it was very enjoyable. There are a tonne of photos to sort through and I have a very strong suspicion they will forever remain unstructured because it takes time to organize them and that is one commodity in very scarce supply.

Today is Nic's 17th birthday - we got her a new bedset and a chocolate mousse cake from the Cheesecake factory at StoneRidge Mall. However, almost the whole cake is now in the fridge because we are so full from dinner at Applebee's. In her senior year at high school, she has turned all brown from marching daily in the sun. But she looks more athletic too and in my heart of hearts, I am actually glad because it is exercise that she would otherwise not get. She used to be so hard muscled. Let's hope she puts as much energy and heart into her studies. This is a critical year for her.

Today, I made a boo-boo. I hassled everyone (save Nic who was off to marching band in school) into waking up early to go to the dental clinic by 8:30 am. But of course, the appointment is three weeks away so the receptionist was very amused. She gamely tried to help by trying to see if there was another date that would serve us better. So silly. So we went shopping instead broken in between by the half man's first golf lesson with First Tee. 'Cept it was his usual coach at the golf academy so in reality, it just seems like more of the same. Life's joke on us.

Fall is only six days away. The nights come earlier now and you can start to feel a bit of the chill in the air. At the golf academy, even though the sun was out, there was a merciless wind just at the spot where the kids were having their putting lessons and I gave up the fight and retreated to the relative warmth and calm of the car. And took a power nap.

By the way, we decided to renew the lease and would not be moving. It is just as well. Too much work and costs. We did get the carpet steam cleaned though - I just feel so much better knowing at least it is somewhat cleaner. The kids are helping out more too -Nic with the bathrooms weekends and the half man with the vacuuming.

And did I mention the half man now is quite the chef? He has been taking delight in whipping up cookies, brownies, pancakes and french toasts for the family breakfast and tea. Today, he made a bunch of muffins that really looked very pretty - they are for his sister for her birthday and still sitting in the oven. But usually he leaves a mess for his poor mother to clean up. And we cannot eat them brownies and cookies fast enough to keep up. Help!

And in the latest twist to father-son bonding, he has been giving Spanish lessons to his dad. Mucho gusto.