So, James and I headed up to Bremerton, Washington to attend his grandmother's memorial service. It was a beautiful service and I feel like I really got to know his grandmother, even though I'd only met her twice.

For those of you who don't know me well, I have few cousins. On my Mom's side, I have seven first cousins, all female. If I ran into them on the street I bet only four of them would recognize me. (I know this, because one of them actually introduced herself to me before. In college. I'm not naming names.) On my Dad's side I think I have two - again, both girls, but don't ask me names. I've never met them before, and I've only met my Uncle Dennis once. (I've heard it's probably better that way.) Anyway, since I only have female cousins that I hardly spend time with, the idea of male cousins seems foreign to me. A lot of James' cousins are guys, and a lot of them are around our age. I kept thinking, "which one of their wives is James' cousin?" Also, keep in mind that James doesn't look a lot like his family, so I can't rely on THAT comparison. So, I studied a cheat sheet in the car ride up, doing my best to remember names. I think I did pretty well!

Even though it was a sad occasion, I had a wonderful time getting to know many of his cousins and aunts and uncles that I previously hadn't met. I really enjoyed spending time with people who adore James almost as much as I do, and it's no wonder that he is as fond of his family as he is. Really, there's a lot of love in the Wright family... and it was so nice to feel like a part of that. His cousins and aunts and uncles embrace me as their own, but not in an awkward cultish kind of way - they are real people with genuine hearts, and I'm so grateful that I'm a part of that!

In other news, I've been spending some quality time watching CMT. That's "Country Music Television," for all them fancy folks out there. No, it's not because I've developed a strange obsession with Brad Paisley or something. Or even Kid Rock. (I am NOT making that up, Kid Rock has a video getting airtime on CMT. Parallel universe?) CMT now airs Nanny 911, a show where proper English nannies (one is Welsh, though) sweep in, spend a week with a horrifically disfunctional family, and try to minimize their problems. It's always the parent's fault, of course, and it raises my blood pressure every time I watch that show, but I can't turn away! And usually one of the parents does a really great job, and the other one is totally clueless and gives in to their kids' every whim, and all hell breaks loose. Then Nanny establishes rules and the parents are always SO SURPRISED when little Johnny responds to them. "Golly-gee, Molly Sue fell asleep when we turned the tv off in her room and made her sleep in her own bed! Imagine that!" It gives me hope that I'd be a good parent, 'cause I'm pretty sure this teaching gig is hammering in the basics.

I did get a request to post more pictures of Michelle and Samantha's wedding. Click here to go to my Flickr page, and browse away!

Please Vote!

I need some feedback, so please vote on which picture either: sucks the least, or that you like best. The poll is on the right-hand side. And please, give some constructive criticism (you may comment anonymously!). (I do sometimes adjust lighting/color in Photoshop so if you'd like any of that to change, please say so!

Wow! Someone from Dubai visited my blog today.

Welcome! Welcome to my blog!

You probably just did a Google search on skunk+picture+alive, searching for a picture of a live skunk instead of a dead one.

Try it. You'll see.

I also thought maybe they looked up "chill out" (since it was in the previous post) and "skunk" (since it's in half of all others) and I was shocked by what Google turned up. A type of bud specifically designed for... well, maybe you don't want to know. It's not PG.

In other news, I love love love melatonin. Love it. I've been taking it for about 10 days now, and I'm sleeping so much better, having/remembering some crazy dreams, and I'm virtually stress-free. Ask James: I'm in a much better mood and I'm not so tired during the day. If you click on the melatonin link, pay special attention to the "Immune System" and "Dreaming" sections. Very interesting. I heart you, melatonin!

...and so it begins again

First week of Year Two: awesome.

Total amount of time in the past week feeling stressed out: ~3 minutes.

Total number of requests for basic school supplies because they forgot theirs: 1.

Total number of screw-ups I've made: 0?

Percentage of classes voting to have "Chill Out!" be an official class rule: 33%.

A Day in the Life of Two Skunks

Usually the skunks sleep with us at night. Aroma is especially cuddlesome. (Is that a word? It is now.) Then, after they hang out with us in the morning, they go back to sleep... either under the bathroom sink or wedged on top of each other between the toilet and the shower. Maybe it's cooler back there? I dunno, but they love it. Note the sock in the lower left corner, stolen from James. There's also a shirt under there somewhere.









As soon as James and I aren't looking/leave the house, they go about their normal business of destroying/getting around whatever security measures or childlocks we've put up to prevent them from getting onto the kitchen counter. We've had Toby 2.5 years and we still haven't figured something out. And once a skunk gets it into his head that he wants to do something, nothing stops him.










Then, of course, after we've punished them for misbehavior and fed them, we all come back for some quality snuggles. This picture is of Aroma - I was at my computer and she wanted so badly to snuggle, and once I showed her how she could burrow into my shirt, she loved it!














Notice the nose protruding from sleeve:









When one skunk is doing something, the other skunk usually follows. Soon, both skunkies demand attention.










Mmm, snuggles!