Well, this has been a long week. Nod to you, Zack, with my song choice.

I've gotten to spend lots of time with my Billy-Boy and we wile away the hours snarking over things.

The Stevie Nicks concert was not so great in terms of service, so I complained and got free good tickets to any upcoming event at the venue (I know, right?), with free parking and free dinner. I chose Leonard Cohen, because really…the man spent so long in a Buddhist monastery, the chances of him touring again are…questionable to say the least.

I have an opportunity to go overseas. I'm not sure about taking it. Max is still really young and even though I love his trainer (who also boards dogs) I'd be gone at least 2 weeks to Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal and…I don't know if I can do that. Financially, sure. Emotionally…not so much. Still, Rome, Venice, Milan, Florence, Pisa, Palermo (strictly a catacomb visit),(yeah, I'll probably get dragged to the Vatican, too), Paris (you know where THIS cataphile will be for most of the trip there), Nice, Marseilles, Madrid, Granada, Barcelona, Lisbon, Evora (strictly a bone chapel visit)…it's very tempting (because I wouldn't be paying a dime). I actually can just be left in Venice without the rest of the trip. It suits my philosophy of life. Still, there's Max (who just lost one of his canines). I kind of want to be here for him.

I've gotten to spend a great deal of time with my neighbor's grandchildren and revamped the onelittle girl's wardrobe because she was getting teased so much (she was taken away from her parents for a while due to neglect and…well…things haven't improved much). Tomorrow is her birthday and I've gone all out because I have no idea if they'll get her anything or not (they were just evicted from like…their millionth place). It was kind of nice having a little girl again (I miss M, who I see less and less…though she still runs over here and ignores her Dad whenever possible). Well, I suppose I've got two of them, because their other granddaughter came over for a bit and I've always been close to -both- those girls. AND…omg…what do I find out? My neighbor's youngest son informs my parent that he never turned down the chance to do work around our house because he always had a thing for me…and still does. And J is cute. He's also married with two kids, but unhappily married and hey…if he left her…I'm not sure I'd say -no-. And yes, I'm still engaged. N and I haven't gotten to spend much time together lately. And the bonus of marrying into my neighbor's family is that the guys are like my -brothers- and their sister is like -my- sister. I've known them for um…17 years. It's a nice thing.

There's also a really hot ticket lurking around on the Tribe (ok, a couple, ya'll know who you are). So -will- I marry N? That's the plan, but I've learned plans change and to go with the flow. And my registry is down to 11 items. How cool is that? Despite spending like $200 on dressing a six year old and making sure her birthday is decent, I still managed to snag another item off the registry. And so…I'll be done around Christmas.

A comes August 1st and I really can't wait. A week with my best friend. I think we're just going to be chilling out a lot and taking in the sights. I can't wait. I think it's really going to settle me down some and prepare me for the autumn. N should be here in October. I've still got Barenaked Ladies in August. I've got Leonard Cohen and Madonna now in November.

And that, ladies and gents, is what's going on lately. Mmm. Also, my Toys for Tots box overflows and wow…it's taking up a huge area of the spare room. Not even August. Months more to prepare. I love my charity work. Got to get working on the rest. It's nice not owing money on the house anymore. I get to do so much more good in the world. Anyway, catch you later.