And still, really busy

Eh.

So, yeah, things are still hectic around here, both at work and in the evenings. It's almost (a very small *almost*) enough to make me long for the carefree idle days I spent in the portable. All by myself. All alone. Nothing to do. No one to talk to. No responsibilities. All alone.

Or not.

We had a really nice visit in Texas last weekend and I've written several posts about it. But they are all in my head because this is the first chance I've had to sit at the computer to write and I've got one of those headaches that feels like something is poking through the back of my eye. I had the same headache earlier today but it was the other eye. Needless to say, I don't feel like writing much tonight. I think the next four days are pretty good so hopefully I'll get a chance to sit down and write.

In the meantime, the bed is calling my name.

Here, just really busy

Thanks for asking, Natalie. I am definitely still around. Life has just been really, really busy since before Spring Break. I haven't had much free time to idle away on the computer, much less write something witty and entertaining on my blog. There's not time tonight to write a lengthy update as I should be working on a project now but in a nutshell, things are busy but good. We'll be in Texas for a family reunion/60th anniversary party for my grandparents this weekend and then hopefully things will calm down and I'll post about all the fun stuff that's been happening complete with pictures.

As a (very) short recap of Spring Break, I met my mom, sisters, and niece in Ft. Worth for a Girls' Weekend. I had a fabulous time visiting with them. And after tearing up the phone lines for the week beforehand, we were finally able to decide on our coordinating outfits for our picture, an early Mother's Day gift for my mom (that's her in the middle).

And "The Girls" but we're not in chronological order which is how we normally tend to arrange ourselves for photographs (I'm the middle child which everyone says explains so much. I'm never sure how to take that comment.).

Probably not something to be indignant about but I am

Given reports about the onslaught of applications at passport offices and long processing times, Paul and I are working on getting our passports well in advance of our trip in September when we will actually need them. As is always the case with us, it was a comical process just trying to fill in the form. Filling in the parental information, I realized that I didn't know my deceased father's birth year which isn't too bad since he died when I was two. Paul didn't know the year either of his both-still-living parents were born. And he was a little cloudy on his father's birthday. And where both of them were born.

So, we got that paperwork filled out and started getting the other needed paperwork in order. Because I only have one certified copy of my birth certificate, I looked at getting a second certified certificate just in case the one I send in with the passport goes missing. The county clerk's office directed me to the official Texas Dept. of Health website where I learned it costs $22 to get a copy of your birth certificate. $22! Why? I'm a proud Texan. I'm glad to have been born and raised in that fine state. But $22 for my birth certificate? There is no reason that it should cost that much for me to get a copy of something that, in my opinion, should be free for me. Or at least cheaper--it's only $10 in New Mexico. I can get a copy of my transcript from Tech for free but not my birth certificate from the state. Nope. For that, I have to spend $22. And you can guarantee that I will complain about it the entire time. That thing better be on really nice paper.

Like gold-plated paper.

It's better than being a Close Talker

So I called my sister Amy to ask her a question. Paul made me go in the other room because "you tend to yell when you get on the phone with your family." I could totally be offended by that except 1) it's true and 2) they're yelling back at me on the other end.

We are a family of Loud Talkers.