I finally was able to reach Tyson on his cell phone last Thursday. I called when I was on my break from work & he was over at Kyle's. They were having air-soft gun wars & playing Jack 3 & just having a great visit. I guess he ended up staying the night there for two nights. I got to talk to Kyle, which was SO cool, but weird, since his voice has changed with puberty...He sounds just like Brett! This was the first time I'd talked to him since Shannon died. I tried to just keep it really light & let him know that I loved & missed him.

On Friday, Kristin & I went out with her boyfriend, Loren to Chadwick's. I wasn't going to go, because I'd decided that I didn't want to look like a tramp, but Kathy insisted, lol!! I'm glad I did, though, because I got to actually talk to & kinda sing with the guy that I think is cute there. I'm learning a new song, Whiskey Lullaby, so that we can sing it together next time. Yesterday, Kristin & got our hair cut, then drove up to Applegate Lake in the jeep & laid out & swam & sat on a log out in the water. It was a perfect, lazy day. After I dropped her off, I went over to Samantha's place & hung out until about 11:30 looking at more pics & yearbooks that she got out of storage. We're planning for her to come over next weekend so we can do some karaoke at my place & look at some of my pics so she can see what I was like after moving away.

When I came home last night, there was a message from Tyson, so I called him back this morning & got to talk for a while. He said that he's still having a great time, but I guess he had a weird experiece. He said that, right before Shannon died, he had a dream (involving the ocean, which is really weird, since she had some disconcerting ocean dreams that she'd told me about!) that he had again last week, two days before this guy died that they were just camping with. He said that, in the dream, there is a list of names in the water & he doesn't remember them until after they die, but Shannon's name & this guys's name were on the list. So, he's a little shaken up by that. He's earning money by doing yardwork for some of the neighbors there, so he's planning to buy an air-soft gun from Kyle. I'm really proud of him for working so hard this summer for his own money!

The camping trip go postponed for another couple of weeks, btw, so that hopefully Shannon's litte sister & her family can join us, since they also live in Eugene.

Hey! Samantha was here!! YEAH!! (I obviously still can't add comments to my own shoutbox, but whatever...)

I went on a bike ride on Sunday and when I was riding by one house, I noticed that they had a free sign posted on some patio furniture, so I came back with my jeep & picked it up. Total score! The table is rectangular with a smoky glass top & the chairs are the metal kind with the straps, so all I need to do now is get some cushions for them (there were only three, but who cares?). I should also note that the flowers I planted a couple of weeks ago are still thriving, thus far...

I've been trying to reach Tyson on the new cell phone I got him a couple of days prior to his leaving with his dad, with no luck! I did get a message from him here at home on Saturday night when I was out with Gary & Twyla, but he was breaking up really bad, so I couldn't really hear what he was saying. Ever since then, I decided I'd just try to reach him at their home number, and I've called all day & night, but there was no answer! (They don't have a machine, either.) I finally got really pissed off this morning & wrote him a letter! Then, Seth called tonight & Tyson's staying the night with Kyle. Apparently, they've been camping for the last few days that I've been trying to call, which is what he told me in the message. Anyway, I chewed Seth out & told him to chew Tyson out for not calling me every few days, since that was why I got the cell phones, after all!

I guess I never posted about going out with Gary & Twyla for his b'day. We met at Oh's, a sushi place where they cook your food right there at the table. They had two other couples there. I offered to be the designated driver so that Gary could take advantage of the fact that Twyla's a slutty drunk. Dinner was scrumptious! Afterward, we did end up going to Chadwick's & the comedians were the best I've seen yet. Too bad G & T were so wasted they didn't notice! Anyway, fun was had by all, until Twyla brought the night to an abrupt end when she ran into the men's bathroom puking (much to the dismay of the gentleman using the facilities)! Her friend, Jamie, saw her throwing up & decided she would show some sympathy by joining in. During this time, I was sitting at the table by myself trying to avoid the attentions of a certain elderly gentleman who asked me to sit with him. Needless to say, I wasn't too disappointed when they came to retrieve me! I had fun laughing at the drunks & had the most action I've got in a long time (thank you, Twyla)!

Krista called last night & we're going to try planning a camping trip for this weekend in Eugene, since Lisa & her mom had to cancel going to Chadwick's this weekend. It would be really nice to get out of town. I love road trips, and it's been forever since I was in Eugene (since Tyson was 3 months old, to be exact)!

You're an Expert Kisser

You're a kissing pro, but it's all about quality and not quantity You've perfected your kissing technique and can knock anyone's socks off And you're adaptable, giving each partner what they crave When it comes down to it, your kisses are truly unforgettable

What Kind of Kisser Are You?

All right, all right, already! Just so's ya know, I can't disable my cookies to comment on my shoutbox at home. Well, let's see...the past week or so has been pretty eventful. Seth came & picked up Tyson for pretty much the rest of the summer last Wednesday. On Monday, I had the toothache from hell & had the dentist call me in some Vicodin (never taken it before, I'm not a junkie!) & tried to just sleep through the pain until I had my root canals on Tuesday. That all went way better than expected & I'm painfree! It sucked that during Ty's last couple of days with me I was in such a funk. You know how snappy you can be when you're in pain? Yeah...add to that the sluggish stupor the Vicodin put me into. Oh well, I guess it couldn't be helped & it's all over now.

On Thursday, I called up my friend, Samantha, who is the girl I went to school with & haven't seen in 18 years. I went to her place & met her kids & hubby, as well as another friend of hers. It was quite a trip! I think it's really cool that we're back in contact after all this time. Tonight, I'm going to dinner with Gary & Twyla at Oh's, one of those sushi places where they cook the food at your table, etc. I don't know what's going on afterward. They said something about a movie or bowling. Bowling would be fun - it's been a while!

Last night, I was invited to go to comedy at an icky meat-market club here in town with an ex-coworker & friend, but she had to cancel at the last minute, so Kristin & I went to comedy at Chadwick's, then stayed for karaoke. It was good times. I even left with a phone number & an invite to go rafting this morning, but that guy's not necessarily dating material. I did manage to get a hug out of the cutie pie who sang to me last time, but that was about all the interaction there. I'd like to see him again (maybe outside the bar!) but I have no clue if he'd even be interested. I don't want to keep going back to the bar to see him, though, because I don't want him to think I'm a barfly! I'm supposed to go back next weekend with Susan, Lisa, Lisa's boyfriend, mom & step-dad, plus I've invited my friend Mike down from Gold Beach to see if he & Susan would hit it off. I haven't heard back from him, yet...

It's funny, when I was married, I liked to go every once in a while if there was a good band or something, but I also thought it was pretty lame that he never wanted to do anything more original. Is there someone out there who likes to do cheesy stuff like a picnic at the lake by candlelight or a hot air balloon ride or horseback riding? Even roller skating would be more fun than always doing the same ol' thing at the bar! And road trips are always good! All I know is, I don't want to settle for less, so it's looking more & more like I'm doomed to wander the planet alone, just like the Incredible Hulk (stolen from The Wedding Singer, one of the BEST movies ever)!

10 Favorite Cancelled Television Shows (in no particular order):

1) Ally McBeal
2) Silk Stalkings
3) Quantum Leap
4) Reunion
5) Charlie's Angels
6) Facts of Life
7) Love Connecion
8) Married with Children
9) That 70s Show
10) Ellen

Tyson stayed the night with a friend last night, so I had a beer & rented Grandma's Boy finally. Extremely juvenille, so of course, I loved it. This morning I picked him up from his friend's house (whom he vows he will NEVER stay the night with again, since they are so strict & "weird") & took him straight to his Grandma Robbin's, where he was paid to do some yardwork. While he was doing that, I came home & did some MAJOR spring cleaning & finally sorted through all my candle stuff. While he was gone, another friend invited him to stay the night, so I took him there when he got back, then went to the local nursery & picked up some flowers & came home & planted them & rearranged my whole back patio. It still doesn't look great, but it's an improvement. Let's hope these flowers live. I tend to have great luck with indoor plants, even starting them myself, but anything I've planted in a pot dies almost instantaneously. I got some advice from the lady at the nursery, though, so I'm hoping this time will be better!

Part of my spring cleaning involved cleaning all these boxes out of the closet that I basically stored when I moved in & haven't touched. I was going through them & ran across my journal that Seth got me for our first Christmas, at 19 y/o & when I was pregnant with Tyson. It has up to 2001. It's not like it's telling me anything I don't know, but gosh, it just makes me realize how much I was in denial for so long & even when Tyson was just a year old, I was writing about feeling guilty, but that it would be a huge relief if I didn't have to live with chaos every day. I can't believe I waited so long to escape that!

Anyway, I just wanted to write about that; it was kinda interesting. I need to do my transcription while Tyson's gone, now that the house is spotless & my yard is nice. Oh - btw, the Rob Thomas/Jason Mraz concert is tomorrow night, and I want to take Tyson SO badly!!! I really can't go, though, 'cause I'm super broke, so I'll (hopefully/probably) do the right thing & take him to a kids festival that costs $2 a pop to get into, vs. the $50 it would take for our concert tickets....

For not having any plans, the 4th of July went really well. Ty & I ended up in Central Pt. for their parade. Afterward, they had live music & booths at the park and, over at Jewett Elementary, they had the whole field covered with bouncy rides of all types. They were supposed to also have the sumo wrestling suits, which we were really looking forward to, but apparently they didn't do that because of the heat. We still stayed for most of the day & went back & forth on a hay ride between the two events. Finally, around 4 pm, we decided to go chill at home for a little while, then went to Medford for the fireworks display. It worked out really well. There was a funny lady who pulled up & blasted the simulcast from her car & we sang together to "I'm Proud to Be An American", "America the Beautiful" and, of course, "The Star-Spangled Banner". It did make for a late night, and this whole week has been pretty rough to get through at work, but hark - the end is nigh! I managed to work enough hours on Monday & throughout the week to not use any more vacation time, so that's a relief!

I talked to Seth the other night, and it sounds like he wants to have Tyson come stay with him, after all. He'll be picking him up on July 19th & wants to have him for a month (at least for now). It kinda sucks, because that's when the fair starts here, so Tyson will miss that, along with the cool Y camp I was planning to send him to, complete with tipis (aka "tee-pees"), archery, fishing, etc. I know it's important for him to have the time with his Dad, and I want that, but it just seems like it's always at the least convenient times!

Well, not much else has been happening - I've been completely anti-social, even online, so if you are feeling neglected, know that you are not alone - I've been neglecting everyone! I'll try to snap out of it!