Kooza

We had a fun-filled weekend! Saturday, Paul and I went to see Cirque du Soleil (Kooza) at the United Center. Paul has seen many of these; I've seen one before. It was a great show! We went to dinner afterwards (using some gift cards from his sister). Overall, a nice date night with the husband!

Sunday, we went to a combined birthday party at the Hall house. It's always so nice to have all the kids together! Here's the best picture of the day:

Such beautiful children!! And I'm not just saying that because I'm the proud Aunt Becky. ☺ Seeing Robert and Charlotte together is so cute--he loves babies and little kids and is SO GOOD with her, and it's obvious how crazy she is about him.

We still haven't had any calls on the house. I've been watching some of the others in the neighborhood, and many are selling. I'm not sure why ours isn't, but I can tell you it's incredibly frustrating to see homes that are not that much different from ours selling for more $$. I just don't know what to do anymore. How do I market this place? We've cleaned it, emptied it, and fixed it up, but still nothing. We haven't had a showing in weeks. I may just start hosting open houses myself on Sundays. I don't know what else to do.

This week will be an easier one for me. My evening tutoring will end after tonight (the couple is moving to Belgium next week), so that will free up some time. The vet clinic will close early on Thursday, so I have the day off (depending on the weather, I may spend the day at my friend Peggy's pool). YAY! I do have to work Saturday though.

Paul is spending today at his sister's. She has chemo this morning/afternoon, so he's staying with the kids all day. It'll be good for him to do this--he's been so worried and stressed out about her. I still have to work today, so he's on his own. He hasn't done this before (spent an entire day with the kids) so it'll be interesting to see how it works for him. He's AMAZING with kids but this could be a challenge for him.

Let's hope the sun stays out all week!

Smelly smell

Yesterday, I spent an hour reading t-shirts on this site. It's a collection of photos that people send in (mostly) from Japan of the "English" they find on things. It's HYSTERICAL! The sad part is, they're all accurate. Those of you who have heard my Vigorous Throw-Up story know what I mean. It's amazing that people will wear something just because it has English wording on it. I suppose, though, that we're no better with the kanji characters I see on things. Change one of those itty bitty lines and you could end up with a completely different word. We could be as ridiculous as what's found across the pond. Here are some examples....

Oh, how I miss Japan! ☺

The last few days, I've really been missing my STUFF. The stuff in storage that, for whatever stupid reason, I didn't think I'd really need at any point. And now, I'm finding that I do. Like a glue gun. Very handy when doing crafts, costs a few dollars at Hobby Lobby....I have 2 that I packed. I swore I wouldn't go out and buy anything that I have in storage, so last night I ended up doing a craft project with wood glue, the only thing left in the closet. Gluing ribbon to plastic with wood glue...it just DOESN'T WORK. I want my stuff back!!! I WANT IT ALL BACK! I'm tired of living here.

It annoys me that we lowered the price of this house more than a week ago and haven't had a single call about it. What does one do to advertise a house?? I have it on the MLS, realtor.com, zillow.com, kijiji.com, and occasionally on craigslist. Still, no nibbles. I don't know what else to do. I'm seriously losing patience quickly and those of you who know me well know that I usually have little of that to spare. I want so badly to move from here, I can taste it. Paul announced last night that, in his research of schools systems in Kane county, he found that Batavia has a pretty good system! I really like Batavia (that's where the dream house is located) so I'm happy to think we might end up there. Why? For one, it's closer to the highway--this means more to me than to Paul. Second, it's closer to Oswego. Someday, if we have kids, my sister will be the one babysitting and this will make the trip much shorter! Of course, Batavia is WAY farther from the vet clinic, but WAY closer to Waubonsee.

Fertility doctor appointment for next Monday has been changed to July 7th (to accomodate Paul, who's spending all day next Monday with his sister, who has chemo). The second is July 9th, so that will be a week of either major disappointment or sheer elation. It will end with a lot of happiness anyway because we'll be at Waynee World that weekend for the annual Baumann (etc.) weekend up there. Looking very forward to that!!

It rained yesterday and more is expected today. I did sneak in a scooter ride yesterday afternoon, which was nice, but I think I'm driving the car to work today. OOOH! I see sun!!

FEEL ENJOY! ☺

♪♪♪♪ LSD ♪♪♪♪

♪ Ok, I know 2 posts in one day is a bit excessive. I just mowed the lawn and I'm totally JAMMING to the song Lake Shore Drive (this doesn't have the best sound) by Aliotta-Haynes-Jeremiah on my I-Pod (or, as I usually call it, my faux-Pod). ♪ This is my all-time favorite song! ♪ I don't think there's another song out there that puts me in a better mood. YES, I know that there are certain other meanings within this song. I don't care about those, but I do care that it has a great beat and it's just a really fun song.

And that's all I have to say in this post. ☺

Go Cubs go!

I think this says it all. :)

(Feel free to email me if you have no idea what this means).

This past weekend was action-packed, as they all seem to be these days. Birthday parties, work, more parties. Last night had a little bit of relaxation, which was nice. Definitely needed.

The house price has officially been lowered. I think I had the slight expectation of increased traffic through here, but of course, that hasn't happened. I'm more impatient than I thought--I want this place SOLD!! I keep dreaming about that house we saw. If you're interested in seeing it, click here. It's pretty--there's actually a wet bar in the family room. PERFECT for entertaining! That's what we hope for--a house in which we can host parties and get-togethers, and have enough room for people to stay over if they visit (my friend Cathy said she can totally see herself [and her boys] sleeping in the basement!). Cath, there would actually be a ROOM you could stay in. :)

I think our biggest fear with this is that we'll have little to no negotiating room. A house 2 doors down from us sold for $190K. It was a foreclosure that, from what we heard, was a DUMP on the inside. Some people bought it and are fixing it up. The thought of our house selling for the same $$ as that one is depressing, especially given all we've done to it. Keep your fingers crossed that it sells soon! I'm pretty sure we won't be lowering the price any further.

In infertility news, well, there really isn't any. I set up 2 appointments in the next couple of weeks to see 2 different doctors. We won't know much until those happen. I'm ready to try anything at this point, even if it's starting the adoption process. Ignoring this whole issue hasn't made it go away. Again, my patience is being tested. HOOCHIE MAMA, is it ever.

A few days of good weather this week means for more scooter riding! It almost didn't start on Saturday--not sure what happened, but it did eventually. I charge the battery on occasion, which seems to help. I haven't had any problems so far this year (someone knock something wood for me, please).

More later!

Reeeeelax.

I solved my sign-on problems! Not sure how, but who cares. I'm in.

Last weekend was a whirlwind of activity! First, Kim's wedding Friday night. WOW. She was stunning and everything seemed to go off without a hitch. We had such a good time! Here's the moneyshot:

I took over 700 photos from 11:30am until about midnight. It was so much fun!! Pictures are on my photo site if anyone's interested in seeing them. Mind you, they're not the greatest--I'm still learning how to use this camera with the flashes, etc., but I think I got a few good shots. That's all I hope for--a few really, really good ones. I think the one above hit the mark.

After the reception (at the Shedd Aquarium), we headed to Hoffman Estates for the Relay for Life. Everyone at the vet clinic was participating on a team there, but for obvious reasons, I wasn't there. I did see my good friend Kevin (his sister, Lisa, is my boss at the clinic), so that was nice! We stayed for a bit and talked, then came home and crashed at 3am.

The next day, we took it easy in the morning, then in the evening, we helped out at a fundraiser for Paul's sister, MariaElena. It was thrown by his aunt at a hall in Elgin. She had some singers and there was some dancing (apparently, the older crowd was upset because of the kids on the dance floor). Overall, it was a nice event, however there were only about 40-50 people who attended (including family and close friends), so not as successful as his aunt had hoped. I'll have pictures up on my site later.

Sunday, we spent the day at Paul's sister's for Father's Day. Usually, we host Father's Day here with Paul's family, but because our house is on the market (and we only have a limited number of forks and knives), we decided it would be best to have it elsewhere. It was nice and rather relaxing, however for the first time in a long time, I did not take the camera. :) I needed a break. I do not, for one minute, ever mind taking photos, but sometimes, it's nice not to be obligated to do it.

This week, I started tutoring a new ESL student. She's from Korea and very nice! Her English isn't all that great, so I hope I can do a lot of good. I really enjoy tutoring!! I never have much to prepare ahead of time, and I definitely have nothing to grade, so it has some huge advantages. Plus, the pay is pretty damned good. This month will be a major boom to my checking account.

There's been no talk of babies in the house lately. We both just seem to avoid the subject. Paul is so stressed out with everything (his sister, the house), so I kind of avoid making things worse. We're still trying to decide how much to lower the price of the house (well, Paul's still trying to decide...). It's been slow and we're both anxious to find a new place. One in particular that we saw and liked is now under contract, but thankfully, our #1 pick (in Batavia) is still available. Not sure how much longer it will be though...

Enjoy the beautiful scooter-riding weather!!

Something's up...

UGH!! I started typing and got a good couple paragraphs into this entry, then lost it all (don't ask). Bummer, dude. I'm just glad I got into it--my computer's been wacky lately and wasn't letting me in, but I managed to find some top-secret backdoor way in (that I'll likely never find again!). Not sure what I did, but I'm here, so I'll try to make it worth my while.

We went house hunting yesterday. It was a lot of fun! I enjoy seeing other peoples houses. :) This was simply a fact-finding mission--no buying yet, until we sell ours. We started in St. Charles but there were only a couple on the list here, then the rest were in Batavia. WOW! We found a couple interesting houses there (I'm sure there are tons more we haven't seen yet) and fell in love with one. It was on the northern side, near the border of Geneva, and it was PERFECT. Everything about it impressed us--the inside, the outside, the neighborhood...all of it. It's only been on the market a couple of days and I have no doubt it'll sell quickly. I'll be sad when it does (if it's not us buying it!!). Because of our 3.5 combined mortgages, we're not really in a position to add one more. So we wait.

Our house hasn't had any nibbles. It's been a week or so since the last showing. I'm not really feeling very good about this right now. Paul and I talked a little about staying here and expanding it (going up, possibly going back), but I think there are too many things we'd want done for it to be humanly possible. We're on the edge of lowering the price, but I hate to do that--I think it's already low enough, however that seems to be the advice we're getting from everyone. So...we wait.

In the meantime, we're still plugging away here. I did get another tutoring job, so I'll start that next week (it'll be Mondays and Wednesdays from 10-12 in Naperville--a bit of a ride, but if I can ride the scooter, it's worth it!). The really stinky part is, there will be a couple weeks overlapping where I'm driving to Naperville twice a day, morning and evening, for tutoring. This doesn't excite me, but the money's pretty good and again, if I can ride the scooter in the morning, that'll make the entire experience better. Both jobs are within a couple miles of each other, but still a good 35-40 minute drive from home. Worth it?? We'll see.

Happy Birthday (Wed) to my dad! And CONGRATS to my Godson, J'Mal, on graduating HS yesterday. I can't believe he's 18 (soon to be 19) and headed to EIU in the fall. What happened to the little 2 lb. 1/2 oz. baby born way too early???

And this weekend is my cousin Kim's wedding! YAY! I'm SO EXCITED!!! I get to be a guest photographer (haha) and I couldn't be more excited to do that. Look for the pictures next week on my photo site (link is on the right).

Rain, rain, go away

How's a girl supposed to ride her cool scooter with all this damn rain? Just ain't right.

Thanks to all who have made donations to NF. Since my last mention of it, I got 2 more (Kate and my dad). So far, Team Whittenhall is in 6th place for donations with just over $2400. I'm still a little away from my goal, but there are still 3 days left. It's NOT TOO LATE!! :) Just click on the link to the right and make your donation. Fast, easy, and a GREAT cause. And it's tax-deductible.

Yesterday afternoon and evening, Paul and I took some time to go through houses online. We're just looking (not yet buying) and this Sunday, we'll be going out to actually see some, just to get an idea of what's out there. It's exciting!! I actually did quite a bit of research this past weekend and made a nice list of houses that I liked. Thankfully, Paul and I have similar tastes when it comes to this sort of thing and he was in agreement with a lot that I'd picked out. We've had very little action in our house this past week, which is disappointing. I knew this process would take time...I'm just impatient.

I might have another tutoring job. The company for whom I work contacted me a couple days ago about a Korean woman who lives in Naperville (needs ESL). She requested lessons on T-TH mornings, which I can't do, so I'm waiting to hear back if she'll switch to M-W mornings. That would work out well for me. She's only approved for 60 hours but with both my other tutoring gigs ending in July, this might take me through to the end of summer. And what's one more job?? Shoot, that'll put me up to 4 (and STILL not working 40 hours!). Tee hee!

Hasta luego!

Getting things done

Last Friday, I got a bill in the mail from FCI (the first fertility doctor we went to). I opened it up and low and behold, it's a $350 bill for the cryopreservation of our embryo. Last fall, at the time of our embryo transplant (our first IVF attempt), we had been told that they were putting in the 3 "best" embryos (of 6). I use that term loosely because the embryos they had were not all that great. We were told the 3 remaining ones looked pretty bad--one had already died away, one was very slow, and the other wasn't really doing anything at all. Two weeks later, we were informed that one lone embryo had made it to the stage at which they would freeze it, so they did. We doubted the viability and quality of this embryo and, since we'd made the decision to change doctors (and taking the embryo with us was a lengthy and expensive thing to do), we went ahead and donated the embryo to research. It wasn't a tough decision--as I said, we didn't think the embryo was of good quality, so it made sense to donate it. Paul and I both believe strongly in stem cell research so the choice was easy.

Anyway, before donating the embryo, I had called to have this cryopreservation charge removed, since we weren't keeping the embryo. I spoke to several people and they agreed to remove the charge. That factored (a small part) into our donation decision.

Then this bill shows up.

I called the office today to ask about it and was informed that this charge should never have been reversed. They claimed to have sent out 2 letters in the last month explaining this (I received nothing). I was blown away that they would do this. I (as calmly as I could muster) explained that having this charge removed was a factor in our decision to donate the embryo (it wasn't as much as I said it did) and we couldn't afford to do this. One rep had to talk to a supervisor, and that person had to go to the director....blah, blah, blah.

After 2 hours and much angst, they decided ("a one-time decision") to AGAIN remove the charge for us. I tried to sound thankful and grateful, but I was still seething.

You just don't pull that kind of stuff on infertiles. It's not funny.

But it's done and I can cross that off my list. Now, onto more positive things like bathing the dog and going to the bank.....

JUST DO IT.

How is it on my one day to sleep in, I wake up at 5am? Ugh. It wasn't even the kind of wake-up where I could lay in bed for an hour. I was too restless so...here I sit.

**IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO

MAKE A DONATION TO NF!!**

As many know, Paul and I are participating in the Great Steps for NF walk on Saturday the 7th with the Whittenhall's. If you have a chance, click on my donation site (also on the right-hand side of the screen) for more info. It's a very worthy cause and I thank those who have already donated (Matt! Mom! Leslie! Peggy!). I have a $250 goal and right now, I'm $75 away from it. HELP ME GET TO THAT GOAL! Come on...you know you want to. Donate as little or as much as you want. It's tax-deductible, people. Just do it. (Dad...are you out there????)

I'm headed outside to finish planting some flowers and plants. We have a busy day today! This afternoon, we'll drive to Minooka for the first birthday of the son of Paul's cousins. He was adopted recently from Guatemala and he's beautiful! Should be a lot of fun! For those of you who were on the dance floor at the wedding, there were 3 adorable little blond girls who kicked up their heels with anyone who would join them--this is their family we're seeing today.

Keep your fingers crossed for nice weather! I'm hoping to ride the scooter this week (of course, that's my goal EVERY week!!!).

40 hours.....BLECH!

I give many kuddos to kiddos who work 40 hour work weeks. I've put in a measly 32 hours in the last 4 days and I'm POOPED! I have 4-4.5 more tomorrow to put in as well, so this will be a record week for me at the vet clinic. This isn't quite what I bargained for, but with the loss of my friend Tracy's grandmother, we all had to put in a few extra hours this week. The best thing to come out of this week was my renewed appreciation for my many part-time jobs....and my less-than-40 hour work weeks. Teaching adds on a few that don't always show up on a time card, but working at home is a lot more fun than sitting in an office!

It seems as though our appointment with the next fertility doctor has been postponed. Sucks, since it was scheduled for June 25--what seems like a million years away--and will now be scheduled for an even later date. I haven't called them back yet, but I will next week (when I'm not working like a dog...hahahahaha). I want to contact at least one other (possibly 2) to schedule a consult. I just want verification that our last attempt was just that...OUR LAST. If any of them give me any glimmer of hope, I think I'll lose my mind. As much as I would love to be pregnant, a big part of me just want closure. If they tell me that's it, fine...boom...done, I'll go onto other things, but right now, I still wonder about the possibility of going through this again. Can I handle it emotionally? I don't think I could go through another cancellation. That was way more upsetting than going through an entire cycle and having it not work. At least we could say we tried. Having it cancelled wasn't expected and seemed so incomplete. And unfair.

Anyway, other than that, life is good. We're hoping for a vacation this summer. Our thought is to drive up to French-speaking Canada for a week or 10 days. This would be after our big WAYNEE WORLD weekend in early July! WOO HOO! I can't wait for that.

Happy June!

MDW

WOW. What a GREAT weekend we had! We headed up Friday night to Waynee World (for those who don't know what this is, it's my cousin Jack's house on Klinger Lake). We got there about 10:30pm and expected to be greeted by a gaggle of people, but the gaggle was just one: Jack. It was the 3 of us and a dog named Boo the whole weekend. The weather was amazing--sunny the whole time, hazy on Sunday but still very nice. We took 2 tours around the lake on the pontoon (which I found out is 7 miles all the way around and about a mile across), but because of gas prices, boat rides were at a minimum. That's ok--Paul and I don't require much of that. We burned a lot of branches Saturday night (bonfire) and it was awesome! We returned Monday afternoon (stopping at Matt's party on the way back). I had to teach last night and needed time to clean up and prepare.

Speaking of teaching, my new gig is nice! I'm teaching French to a young couple who's moving to Belgium in July. They're both really nice and I've pretty much overwhelmed them so far, but they're catching on. I like that it's a short-term thing. I still want part of my summer off.

Time off is not the name of the game this week though. The vet clinic work has stepped up (a few people are going out of town and I'm filling in). What was once a nice, easy <15 hour a week job is now going to be 32+ hours this week. I know...there are people putting in 40 hours this week, but I still have 2 other jobs that I do in addition to the clinic, plus I have an online class to create and a book to write this summer. AND...pool time at Peggy's. That's a must-have. We're going to try to fit in a vacation this summer. We're planning to drive up to Quebec and Montreal. Crazy idea with gas prices what they are, but still cheaper than flying. And more fun--we like road trips!

The house situation is still the same...a few showings here and there, but that's as far as it goes. We'll be going out in a few weeks to look at what's out there, but because of the 3.5 properties we own (between the 2 of us), we pretty much have to sell ours before buying another. Stinks, but it is what it is.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!! Remember that today and tomorrow are the last days to shop at Jewel and use your Jewel Shop N Share tickets for MariaElena. I've dropped a bundle there (twice). Seems to me it would be easier to just hand her the $20 she'd rack up from my shopping sprees, but they're not really into that idea, so I'm forced to shop instead. :) If you need tickets, EMAIL ME!!

Refund

We're still waiting for our IVF refund from the last doctor. Bastards charged us for procedures not performed way back when. A refund was promised but has yet to be delivered. I guess I have some calls to make.

On the subject of IVF, we've decided to go talk to another doctor. Or two. Or three. I haven't decided yet--I have an appointment at the end of June with one in Naperville that my good friend Leslie recommended. There's another in Buffalo Grove that I'm a little interested in talking to, and Paul's cousin Missy has talked well about hers in Hinsdale. I can remember wanting to see a doctor as close to home as possible. Hmmph. That idea's out the window. Now I just want answers. And hope. I admit I haven't completely given up yet. If they all tell me that egg donation is my only option, so be it. Sadly, it won't happen that way for us, but at least I'll know there's nothing more that can be done on our own.

Today was a 12 hour day at the vet clinic. And it was packed full of excitement, ending with a dog that was found by some people and brought into us. A sweet little guy (part Pekingese) that I thought I might be taking home with me. Alas, he had a microchip and within a very short time, he was returned to his very grateful owner. Makes me so glad both of my animals are chipped. I like happy endings!

Last night, I taught my last class at WCC and now I have the summer off! However, I start teaching a couple tomorrow night. They're moving to Belgium in July so it's a short gig but will be (semi) well-paid. The online course I have to develop won't start until next spring so thankfully, I have a little time to put it together!

Paul and I are off for a much-needed weekend away at Waynee World. We're both looking forward to being away from here and relaxing!! I don't know how many people are expected up there--being a holiday weekend, it might be pretty busy. We'll take the dog and head up there Friday night, then come back Sunday night or Monday morning. I have to get the house clean in case it's shown while we're gone! Speaking of which, we had a little nibble last weekend that I think fizzled out, and a few more showings this week (after a couple weeks of nothing). It's really a tough market! I want so bad to go look at houses but I'm afraid of falling in love with something and losing out. We absolutely cannot buy anything until this house is sold (thanks to us owning 3.5 properties between the 2 of us!). It's totally frustrating.

On a happier note, the weather is going to warm up this weekend!! YAY! I haven't been on the scooter too much (and a few times have been in the rain! YIKES!) but I know the days are near when I'll be riding it every day to work and back, or wherever. It's running really well and an absolute blast to ride!! There's also the savings on gas, even though I load it up (a whopping 2 gallons) with the more expensive stuff. Makes me feel better in general, even if it's unnecessary. Sucks that my husband won't get within 5 feet of it. No, it's not an image thing--he's just a big chicken. And he's the first to admit it.

Enjoy the long weekend!!

WOW! We had a GREAT time in Texas this past weekend for my cousin's wedding. I'm so glad we went--my mom, sister, and I were the only ones on the groom's side (outside of his parents and siblings) who went. It was hotter than blazes down there! I ended up a few shades of pink which are now developing into quite the itchy peel. It was an effort to get through my class last night without constantly scratching my chest (which consequently looks like I'm scratching my boobs).

The next few weeks are going to be busybusybusy! Next Monday is the final exam for my class--I also have a meeting that day to discuss the online course I need to create for this fall. I don't know how I'm going to get that done in time, especially with a new teaching position (private tutoring in French) starting immediately afterwards.

I also have to work extra hours at the vet clinic, since one of my co-workers will be out of town for a few days. That's becoming a problem--there are only 5 of us who work there, including the doctor. There's one certified technician, an office manager, and 2 vet assistants. When one of us is sick or has to be gone, there's almost no one to fill in. A few weeks ago, I would have given my right arm to stay home on the couch--I had a HORRIBLE cold and felt miserable. I tried calling in sick, but there was no one to work and I felt a huge obligation to go in. It was awful. Unfortunately, they have no way of hiring anyone else right now, so we're kind of stuck. I'm really not fond of working Saturdays, but I have to for now. I really hope they can hire someone on soon.

I'm still collecting donations for the Great Steps for NF (neurofibromatosis) walk I'm doing on June 7th. If you'd like to make a donation, it would be very much appreciated! Just contact me for details on how. All donations are tax-deductible, of course. I think there's now a way to do this online, but I'm still trying to figure out how that works. In the meantime, I take cash and checks! Or even PayPal!

It's going to be a chilly week in Chicago. I need to say a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kumiko!! I have yet to send her an email but I'm going to get on that as soon as I'm finished here. If you'd like to send her a note, email me for her info! She loves getting emails from here. The Japanese don't really celebrate birthdays so it's always a treat for her to get a flood of emails from everyone!

Horizons

The realization of being infertile is slowly settling in to my brain and my being. It doesn't make me happy, but I'm not as sad as I was a week ago. I just have to accept it. I think about what's next. The adoption process is long, frustrating, and expensive, all huge turn-offs to me right now. I have a lot on the horizon the next few months...starting the process isn't really on the list at the moment. I'm sure it will be down the road.

On the horizon: weddings!! I have one this weekend in Texasn for my cousin Greg--my mom, sister, and I will be sharing a room at the resort where everything's taking place. THANKFULLY they have a bunch of nice pools. The weather is expected to be HOT HOT HOT so I don't need to hang out in the room too much. Hahahaha! My mom wants to journal everything that happens. I don't think they'll all be happy journal entries. The next wedding is in June--my cousin Kim's (coincidentally, the aforementioned Greg's sister). The reception will be at the Shedd Aquarium. YES! My mother finally got to plan a family wedding where she works! She started there too late for any of her children, but she pounced on the chance to plan Kim's.

Also in the plan: creating an online French course for Waubonsee CC. I think I've gotten in WAY over my head with this one. I know nothing about it and can probably learn what I need to, but doing this before the fall semester starts may be the real challenge. I get paid to create it, then paid to teach it. Nice.

I've also possibly added another job to my schedule: tutoring French. I currently tutor a guy in ESL (we've worked together for a year and a half--he's French but living with his wife and 2 kids and working here; they're all VERY nice!). The same company for whom I work asked me to tutor an American couple who's moving to Belgium in July. The job will be short-term, but could be really fun! I enjoy the one-on-one teaching. I still have to work out the hours, but it could be good money until they leave! Classes at WCC end May 19th so this will fill in those hours very nicely.

I'm still at the vet clinic. I have a love interest there--his name is Tuga and he's a 7 year old eclectus parrot. Tuga's in...shall we say, the prime of his life, and lookin' for love in all the wrong places. He's developed quite the crush on me and has subsequently taken to biting his owner when I'm around (the doctor of the clinic). I've warned Paul, who's already threatened that if things get any worse with Tuga, he'll have to come kick some serious feathered ass. Tuga's not intimidated though. He continues to happily hump my hand and regurgitate on me (as birds apparently do when in love). Here's a picture of him:

He's really quite beautiful--about 8 inches high (not including his long tail feathers, the one's Paul would kick if given the opportunity). He used to be SO MEAN when I started there, but I was determined to tame him a bit by paying attention to him and taking him out of his cage to sit nearby while I worked. Apparently, this worked a little too well. I can no longer have him sit near me because he does everything he can to perch himself on my hand. When I'm there and leave him in his cage, he screams and causes such a ruckus! It's amusing as hell though.

So that's the latest from here. I leave Thursday for Texas and expect to have a GREAT time! Even in the same room as my mom and Kate. As Kate says, she and I are a good time. It's quite true (though not everyone would think so). Hasta luego!

p.s. Still no takers on the house. It's been about a week since the last showing, but we have an open house scheduled for the 18th (thanks, Mom!). Once we move, we'll probably have a "new" old addition to the family--SALSA. Yes, you read that right, but I'll save that for another post...

Send me money.

That's about as blunt as one could be! Why do I want your money? On Saturday June 7th, I'm taking part in the annual fundraiser, Great Steps for NF (neurofibromatosis), held at the Riverwalk in Naperville. Each year, Paul and I join Team Whittenhall, which includes the ever-popular Ben (whose father, Paul, was in our wedding party, and is one of my-Paul's oldest and best friends). Ben is 12 (I think...) and was diagnosed at an early age with NF. If you're unfamiliar with NF, google it sometime to get a good idea of what's involved. Anyway, each year we ask all those we know and love to donate to this very worthy cause. If you'd like to send a little something (any amount will help!), your donation will be tax-deductible and come along with my undying gratitude. Email me for the address. I can take donations via check, cash, or PayPal.

That's all for now. Thanks for helping support this great cause!!