I was getting ready to retire for the evening, but thought I should take the opportunity to give a brief synopsis of my life as of late:

I got a call from my sister, Kathy, tonight & found out that her oldest daughter moved into her dorm at the aeronautical engineering school she'll be starting on Monday - congrats, Jenn! I shiver with anticipation born of simultaneous fear & excitement at the thought of my kid moving out. Also in recent family news, on Tuesday, August 19th, my brother, Allen, celebrated 9 months clean & sober! He also got hired on as a mobile DJ! He has his first solo gig tomorrow & I'm really stoked for him. And last, but not least, a happy belated birthday to my oldest brother, Deland on the 16th & to my cousin, Nissa, on the 14th.

Tyson will be starting 7th grade on Wednesday, September 3rd. Seth offered to take him school clothes shopping next weekend, which I thought was very cool. He & I are still making a valiant effort at being friendly toward one another and, for the most part, succeeding. I don't think Ty wants to do cross country this year because of how badly it injured his knee last year. He wants to save the knee for basketball season. He'll actually get to play for the school team for the first time this year!

Next week is the last week of the summer term for me. I'm so over it I can hardly stand it! (Mostly because of my math class.) I didn't really get a whole lot of feedback on grades throughout the term, but I'm pretty sure I'll get an A in my Core & Cardio & in Public Speaking (although I give my persuasive speech on Monday or Wednesday, which is worth 45% of my grade, so that definitely remains to be seen). I'm not so sure about Math, but I do know I'll pass & I learned a lot about what NOT to do this term. Instead of taking Math 95, I've arranged to take Math 93 fall term & 94 winter term, so that I can work at a little slower pace & hopefully retain the knowledge better & be more successful in the higher math classes as a result. There was no way I could make arrangements to go to Italy this year, but I am going to start planning for next year. They have a great sociology & language program & my Ford scholarship will pay 90% of my expenses whether I'm here or there, so I think I'd be a fool to not take the opportunity.

My friend, Samantha, has been staying with me off & on until she can save up for a place. It's been fun having her here & she & Ty get along great. TG stayed with me most of last week, but he had work & I had school. I never seem to see or hear from him on the weekends anymore, so I don't really know what to think... Time will tell, I suppose. Tomorrow night, they're showing Princess Bride in the park on a theater-sized screen, so I invited a bunch of girlfriends to join me. I'm planning to go, even if nobody else shows. I think it's a cool idea & summer is almost over. I feel like I missed out on a lot this summer. I haven't been to the lake at all or taken any roadtrips or gone camping. I've hardly spent any time laying out by the pool, either, believe it or not. My friends, Donna & Dave, are having an end-of-the-summer BBQ/party for their son, Dave, who moved to Vegas in December. Their parties are da bomb, so if nothing else, I have that to look forward to. As soon as I get out of school, I'll be doing some fill-in transcription for Brenda & her docs for a week, so I'll be a busy girl, but after that, I intend to make the most of the summer break!