6.

6. No sixth excuse—writer’s packing for her trip to Kansas!

In fact, there aren’t any more excuses. Writer has a bad habit of not finishing what she starts!

7.

7. My dog ate my homework, or I guess, rather, my blog post.

Well, actually, I don't have a dog. But I do have a cat and a rooster. Technically speaking, he's not my rooster. I'm not sure who he belongs to, but he does live in the parking lot of my building and sometimes hangs out by the front of my car.

My cat is another story. She is mine and as big as a small dog. If she had an affinity for eating paper she could put away my homework and yours too. Her name is Sagwa, named after the children's cartoon, thanks to my neice and nephew. Her favorite activites include sleeping on her blanket, eating, pushing Beckie and I off the couch, chasing Beckie's cat Max through the house, and sprawling in a very unladylike fashion in the middle of the livingroom floor.

This has nothing to do with why I haven't posted to my blog this summer, except that it's an example of the kind of tangents that often distract me from the task at hand.

Addendum to 7.

Beckie hasn't seen the rooster in several days and thinks he may have become dinner for the parking lot pavers. Yikes!! I'm gonna miss his fluffy little head. Or a less dramatic possibility is that he's hiding somewhere because of the rain. We'll hope for the best and keep you posted.

8.

8. Trips to the valley filled up every spare weekend--no time to blog! Maybe not every spare weekend, but I have made lots of trips over the mountains this spring and summer. Here are a few of the highlights.



Every year on Mother's Day weekend, Zillah, WA celebrates Community Days! And my family goes to the annual Lion's Club breakfast. "One egg please."





After the breakfast, comes the parade . . .






and after the parade comes one of the smallest little carnivals you've ever seen. But when you're under the age of ten, all you really need is a really tall slide!

The next time I went to the Valley was in June for a candle party my friend was having. I had just finished a quilt for her little girl and was able to give it to her at the party.

Here is her precious baby girl surrounded by her new "princess" quilt.

And here are the yummy candles I got at the party.

Gold Canyon Candles are fantastic!

July brought a bittersweet trip to the Valley for the 4th of July weekend and the "Thrill'ah in Zillah." As I began my 3 hour trip home, my sister called me to tell me that a dear friend had died, and then had the audacity to tell me not to wreck through my tears! I usually enjoy the beautiful drive but on this day it was juxtaposed by mourning the loss of our friend and grieving for the wife and children he left behind.

The 3 hours were also therapeutic and by the time I got to the Valley I felt ready to join my family and the celebration.

But first, my sister and I had fun putting together a new table we purchased for my Dad for father's day! Who says girls aren't good at spatial reasoning?

The fun continued Friday afternoon by showing our friends some of the fun sights around Zillah. "Tip me over and pour me out!"

Friday and Saturday evening found us around the campfire perfecting our smore making abilities!

And Sunday morning brought worship, celebration, and tears!

I didn't make it home in August, but the second weekend in September I travelled home to see my Grandparents and celebrate the recent marriage of a cousin.

My grandma and I sat out on their porch after breakfast chatting the morning away. Here we are . . . learning about the finer points of taking a self portrait from a flattering angle.

And I'm not sure what that is behind my head, but for the record I am not wearing some kind of "bun covering."

9.

9. I've been so busy updating my Facebook picture albums that I forgot to blog.

But, in the words of Jessica's friend Andrea, Facebook isn't "a real blog?" But, oh that's right. I do have a "real blog"; however, it's not speaking to me right now (see "Blog Star" post). Or rather, it's not speaking for me right now.

10.

10. Neighborhood hooligans broke in and stole my computer! How am I supposed to keep up with my posts when I don't have a computer? . . . er, wait, that happened in November of 2007.

However, I was recently reminded of the break-in while posting pictures on Facebook about moving.

This picture shows our old house the way it looked before we started tearing it apart and packing it up to move. Notice the afore mentioned computer in the foreground. Which brings me back to the hooligans, since they were a major part of our reasoning for moving.



Since Jess moved out, Beckie and I decided we needed to downsize and vacate our downward spiraling neighborhood. In July 2008 we moved into a great little apartment complex with a more central location and a fantastic view.

It's been an adjustment cramming our lives into 980 square feet (our previous home was 1600 sf), but we're making it work.

Those of you who've been privy to my preparedness (or lack thereof) during other moves would have been impressed at how ready and on the ball I was. Note the above picture taken several days before the actual move. It's amazing how much less hectic moving is when you are only working one job.




While the move was stressfulf for Beckie and me, I think it was more stressful for our cats. During the actual moving day, they were locked in Jessica's old room together. We think they bonded.


This is as close as they ever get to each other. They never shared the sliding glass door at our old house!

Here's Beckie's cat, Max. As soon as we put this rug down, he plopped right down in the middle of it. "Finally, something that reminds me of home" he seemed to say.

My cat, Sagwa, paced around the new apartment for a couple of days until we uncovered a chair that had been in my room at the other house. In this case, familiarity breeds a good nap!

Top Ten Excuses for Not Blogging

Hello, my name is Angela and I am a blog neglector.

My blogging goal for 2008 was to publish at least one post a month and I was doing okay . . . until summer :( Since the beginning of June I haven't posted once. Shame on me.

Here are my top 10 excuses for not posting a blog in the last 2 1/2 months.

So what? I'm still a blog star!

(Singing heard earlier today coming from Angela's computer.)

"Na na na na na na na

na na na na na na

Na na na na na na na

na na na na na na"

"Guess I just lost my author

I don't know where she went.

So I'm gonna write my own post,

Use a few words to vent."

"I've gotta brand new attitude,

And I know I'll do alright.

Don't need her punctuation,

Or stories about her life!"

"So, So What?

I'm still a blog star!

I'll write my own posts,

And I don't need her!"

"And guess what?

I'm having more fun,

And now that we're done,

I'm gonna show her . . . "

(CLICK)

(Angela shuts her computer.)