Every now and then, I’ll use some of the free online people search engines to look up what my old friends and classmates are doing.  It can be quite amusing… Some people have done great things with their lives, founded companies, discovered great discoveries… you get the idea.  But others have wound up on inmate search rosters.  Some people have changed a lot, usually for the better.  Others haven’t changed a bit.  It can be very entertaining to see what they’ve made of their lives, especially compared to what I have made of my life.

Today my parents and I went out to lunch with a friend from our church.  We went to Chick-Fil-A, which was delicious, of course.  Our friend is an older lady who doesn’t drive anymore, and who doesn’t get out a whole lot, so she always appreciates our visits.  I enjoy talking with her because she is very knowledgeable on community activities and local politics.

Originally my mom was just going to take her out, but we wound up taking the whole family along because we are out of bread at home… and therefore we had could not make sandwiches for our Saturday lunches. :)  I certainly did not complain… even if we were out of bread, it was worthwhile for the visit to Chick-Fil-A, which is new to our area and absolutely delictious.

It occured to me that I should write SOMETHING today.

It’s been a very quiet day.  I’ve done quite a bit of website work… practicing my coding and so forth.

I’ve also been working on some graphics.  Again, practicing and learning.

I spent some time organizing all my photos earlier.  That was kinda fun.

I ordered a new mouse for my computer on Ebay last week but haven’t received it yet.  I’m a teensy bit nervous… if I don’t get the mouse, then that’s $12 down the drain.  Yes, it was cheap, and yes, $12 is not a lot of money… but it’s something, and I don’t want to lose it.

Tonight I am going over to Stephanie’s apartment.  We are going to watch the Sex and the City movie.  I’ll let you know what I think.

Last night Stephanie and I watched Fool’s Gold.  Not a bad movie.  It touches on history, which I LOVE, so I liked that movie.

I discovered something I don’t like about Redbox.  I HATE it when there’s a line.  I don’t mind standing in line, mostly, but when I am at the box, choosing my movie, I HATE having people standing impatiently behind me.  Fool’s Gold was kind of an “impulse” buy because the people behind me were making me feel like I needed to hurry.  That is one of the few things I don’t like about Redbox.  That, and they don’t have nearly enough movies.

On the way home, I stopped to fill my car with gas.  Honestly, I was kind of anxious about it.  The price has been up for awhile around here, hovering between $3.45 and $3.50/gallon.  (Yes, I know that is cheaper than where you live.  We’re blessed around here.  We often have some of the cheapest gas in the nation.  Doesn’t mean I don’t wish it was cheaper!)  Anyway, I kept waiting for it to go down, and because of that, by last night the needle on my gas gauge was hovering on the E.  Now, I drive a little Civic- a small car with a small tank that gets excellent mileage, a fact for which I am continually thankful.  But it’s been quite awhile since I’ve allowed the tank to become so empty, and I was expecting (in fear!!) that it would cost $40 to fill my tank.

I pulled up to a pump at a station selling gas for $3.45/gallon, removed the gas cap, put the nozzle in the tank, and waited.  Nervously.  Fearfully.

I almost cried when the pump stopped at $26.25 worth of gasoline.

I had to fill out a ton of questionnaire information online today for this substitute-teaching position I am applying for.  It was a pain.  I mean, I understand why they need the information but still… WHAT A NUISANCE!

Tomorrow I have to go to the district to get fingerprinted, so that they can run a background check on me.  Again, I understand why they need to do this, and I don’t mind it, really, since my background is squeaky clean (except for two traffic tickets.  But I still say I didn’t deserve the second one.)  But this is about the gazillionth time I’ve gotten a background check, and I just wonder why they have to do this again and again and again.  Whatever.  I’ll jump through your hoops.

Tonight I am going over to my friend Stephanie’s house to watch a movie.  I’m going to pick up a movie at Redbox on the way.  Honestly I have no idea what to get but I am sure I can figure it out.

I’ll let you know how that goes.  Meanwhile… I guess I should go get myself ready to leave.  I have to go soon!

Tonight my friend Abbie and I went to a genealogy class at the local library.  It was SO TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!

I picked Abbie up from her Tae Kwon Do studio (she’s a black belt!), and we grabbed a quick bite at a McDonald’s.  Then we got to the library just as the class was starting.  The class was pretty simple, in a lot of ways- a basic genealogy class.  But, we got a few good handouts, and we learned that our library has subscriptions to websites like Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest.  Learning that fact alone made the whole class worthwhile!

Plus we learned a few more strategies about researching genealogy at the library.  We live near one of the absolute best libraries in the world, and I LOVE it.  I have no doubt that you’ll be hearing much more about my library in the days to come!

I’m debating going to the library to do some work and research tomorrow.  I’m also craving pizza, so I’m thinking about getting pizza for lunch.  It’s been awhile since I’ve had pizza… yumm.

I’m going to the Royals game tonight with some friends.  Yes, I know, the Royals are not a very good team.  Feel free to ridicule, I understand. :)  But I’m loyal to the home team, so I’ll stick up for them.

Anyway, this game is kinda last minute… a bunch of my friends and I just decided to go to the game.  So I kinda took responsibility for looking into prices online.  I have to tell you that their website for buying tickets is very NON user friendly!  After clicking around for a few minutes, I found a 1-800 number, and I called them to ask for help.  Turns out it’s cheaper to just buy the tickets at the window.  If you buy tickets online, you have to pay all kinds of service charges and crazy stuff.  So, to the kind lady on the Royals’ 1-800 number, THANK YOU for being so kind and for telling me that I can save money by purchasing the tickets at the window.  To my readers, I can assure you that I will have lots of stories from tonight!

I went over to Stephanie’s tonight.  We watched the movie Superbad, then watched Sarah Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention.

I ate dinner at Chic-Fil-A… yum!

Right now I’m contemplating my hunger.  I’m weirdly hungry and not sure what to eat… I mean, it’s late so I don’t want to make a huge meal, but we don’t really have a lot of “snack”-y food.  I suppose I could slice an apple- we got a box of apples from the Sibley Orchard and Cider Mill, and I must say, they are WONDERFUL.  Plus the price was just unbeatable.  The only downside, which is not really a downside but you know what I mean, is that we have to eat lots of apples during the next few weeks!

My grandpa and “G2″ (grandma 2) were featured in a July article in the Washington Post!

The article is about relationships and online dating.  Grandpa and G2 met through Match.com.  Both were widowed and both turned to Match.com in a search for companionship.  Their unique and wonderful relationship was featured in this post article (they are near the end of the article).  I’ve hyperlinked this whole paragraph because, frankly, I’m just that excited!

Grandpa, I don’t know if you read my blog, but I want you to know that you chose well.  I love Ruth and am so glad that you have brought her into our family.

Soon I’ll be leaving to go over to my friend Stephanie’s apartment.  Sorry, she doesn’t have a blog.

She and I are going to watch The Love Letter with Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh.  It is definitely one of my top five favorite movies.  Plus, let’s be honest, Campbell Scott is hot.  I wish I had time to find a photo for you.

She and I also trade publishing tips.  She’s aiming to become a children’s book writer.

I will probably stop by Subway on my way over to her house to pick up dinner.  The ‘rents are doing their own thing tonight.  I love Subway sandwiches, especially the hot ones- steak and cheese, meatball, italian… I haven’t tried the beef briscuit sandwich yet but it looks awfully good.

Naturally I have plenty more work to do online afterwards.  Seems like a never-ending battle.