For those of you who found yourself completely confused!

By Superman's post below.

The back story is that we were discussing our soon-to-be-graduated-from-college son's plans for the future and Superman was talking about how we don't have "doctor/lawyer" expectations for our children. We want them to be educated and then to find something they love doing.

(Pretty typical conversation, right?)

Then, out of the blue, Superman says to all of us (who were on Skype): "If Buttercup grows up, goes to college, and then ends up living in the forest talking to Squirrels, I'll be happy."

I started cracking up, Buttercup said, "I didn't know I wanted to live in the forest talking to squirrels." Valiant, of course, ran with it and started calling her the "squirrel whisperer". And Superman had to replay what he said to figure out what had us all in stitches.

Make sense now? Yes, I thought a little back story would help!

P.S. He did rearrange his furniture: Couch is under the window, loveseat is where the couch was and the chair has its back to the dining area. Looks much better and makes much better use of the space.

Day 86: Funny Stuff

Dear Family-

Being away is certainly hard, but it is nice to get in a solid laugh when you can. Half the time I do not know where it comes from, but somethings keep me laughing for a while. The funny thing is that I could picture Buttercup as the Squirrel Whisperer coming true!

Love you!

Day 85: Help needed!

Dear Erin-

My living room/dining room is not working for me.  I can not find a comfortable way to be in the room for very long.  Every thing feels awkward.  Any ideas?

Day 84: Night of the living terror

Dear Family-

I know this is going to sound weird, but I am starting to have nightly battles over my body.  Somehow, some way a stupid, annoying, and very persistent mosquito is managing to get in and terrorize me for several hours at night.  It is not like it is biting me and waking me up, but it announces itself first by buzzing my ears.  It is kind of like the proverbial glove slap to the face to initiate a duel.    It buzzes my ears and wakes me up and then it continues if I try to go back to sleep.  So, I have to get up and grab some paper towels and proceed to chase the damn thing around the room until I finally kill it.  Last night I ended up on the couch because I couldn't find the darn thing.  It somehow got out of my bedroom and followed me at about 4:30 AM.  I went back to my bedroom and of course it followed me.  It woke me up about 20 minutes after I laid down again.  This time it was on so I turned on the light and scoured every inch of the apartment until I squashed the SOB on the ceiling.  I finally got back to sleep and then you guys Skyped me.  I am sorry if I was out of it, but I had just gone one on one for several hours and was pretty exhausted.  Wish me luck tonight!

Love you!

Day 83: People will eat anything...

Dear Family-

The other day I got to watch one of my coworkers devour a bag of pork rinds.  I do not know why, but from the first time that I ever saw one, I thought they looked foul and they turned my stomach.  My coworker meticulously placed several drops of Tabasco on each one before devouring it.  The description of a pork rind is "offers a square of skin that cracks when you bite into it, giving way to a little pocket of hot fat and a salty layer of pork meat.".  Excuse me while I go puke!  That got me thinking.  What do we eat on a regular basis that other people would think is gross?  No, you can't say SPAM.

Love you!

Day 82: Some Home Cooking

Hello Family!

I wanted to share with you the fruits of your wonderful care packages!  The other day I was walking through the PX and saw that they had received a shipment of frozen pork chops.  Needless to say, I got pretty excited.  I purchased a pack for about $6 and brought them home for my next weekend day off.  Using the rice and soup you sent, I was able to make one of my most favorite meals in the whole world.  As you can see from the picture, I did not have any potatoes, but it was fabulous even still.  So, I wanted to thank you for all of the time and effort you put in to sending those packages.  It really felt great to have something that you really like when you don't usually have many options.

Love you all!  

Day 79: Study, study, and more study

Dear Family-

It has been a while since I have posted, but there is a good reason.  I am getting ready to take a certification exam and I am spending all my computing time (free time) reviewing questions for the exam.  I had forgotten how much goes in to getting ready for an exam.  I should say that I had forgotten how much I put in to getting ready for an exam.  Exams are not cheap to take and this one at $258 is the single most expensive test that I have ever taken.  I have been reviewing the book and taking practice tests over and over making sure that I know the material.  I am taking the test on Tuesday morning so wish me luck!

Love you!