Big Day

I'll be finished with my grandma's estate by the end of the day today! Hooray! I'm signing tax papers this morning, then I'll send final checks to the beneficiaries, close the trust account, and voila! One huge load will be off my shoulders.

Remember how I said I was going to do a volunteer vacation with the money from the trust (my fee) and then I said I was going to save it for a trip to the Galapagos? Well, I'm back to the volunteering idea. I'm just more excited about that one. And for some reason Africa has been on my mind a lot lately, so I'm looking into a program that brings volunteers to Ghana for three weeks. It's through Global Volunteers. I think I'd go in January because I won't have any classes during the month of January. My fee from the trust only covers the three weeks while I'm there plus a little spending money (I took $3000 and the trip costs $2795). I'm going to make things to sell and put the proceeds in a "volunteer vacation" savings account. I need another $1500 for airfare and then I figure any profit I make beyond that, I'll donate to the Ghana Scholarship Fund. Good idea, eh? You could do it, too! And if I bring people with me I save $200 per person on my cost. So.....who wants to go to Ghana in January!? Anyone? I know, you need time to think about it. That's fine. Just let me know once you've made up your mind. (And say yes!)

In other news, my sister and her kids are coming to visit for a few days. They'll arrive tonight. (My niece, Cora, was packed and ready to go yesterday. We have big plans to make cupcakes while she's here.) So, today I'll be doing lots of cleaning. And possibly going to buy a rug from someone off Craigslist. Our floor is full of splinters and I don't want little Ezra (who is a crawling maven) to get splinters in his hands and knees. We'll see though. I'm not sure if I'll have time.

I've been pulling lots of weeds in the backyard lately, too. Only in the morning for an hour or so, but one of Jerry's friends is going to help me soon, so that'll be good because the weeds are almost as tall as I am and it's a bit overwhelming--literally.

Oh, I forgot the other good news! Warren is working for the next 8 weeks! Yippee!! He had a very long stretch without work (his last job ended before Thanksgiving--and that was a short one, too) and when we were in New York he was offered a job on the next Twilight movie. So that's what he's doing now. They're done shooting so they're working here in L.A. and he's fairly close to home, so that's nice. I can't wait to get that first paycheck! And the director he worked with on Aliens in the Attic might be starting something up at the end of summer, so if Warren could get a filler job for the summer, then he could work on another movie with the people he worked with in New Zealand and that would make him really happy because he loves those guys. So, keep your fingers crossed!

Oh, yes, and the other good news is that I'm doing very well in my classes! That's right. I got 100% on my first test and have received full marks for all of my assignments to date. It warms my heart when I see the teachers remarks ("Good work!" and "Well done.") on my homework. I'm a glutton for praise in any form, so this whole school and grading thing is right up my alley. Warren said he would grade me on keeping the house clean, too, if that would make me happy. Nice try. That would be like me signing up to take calculus and expecting an A. I know my limits.

Let's see. It's been a while since I posted and I want to catch you up on everything. What else has been happening? Last night was homeschool group "Mom's Night Out." We all dressed up in our finest and went to watch some male strippers then had a private pole dancing lesson. Just kidding. We went out for Thai food. It was very relaxing. I hosted a book club meeting earlier in the week, which was also fun. The book was good (Excellent Women by Barbara Pym) but didn't give us much to discuss. I recently finished Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle and wished we had chosen that one for book club–now that's a thought provoking book. I'm reading The Death of Why (recommended by Susan) right now. It certainly (though unintentionally) makes the case for unschooling.

Hmmm. I guess that's about it. I could write more, and I'd like to, really, because as soon as I stop writing I have to start cleaning. But, I do need to get the house ready for our guests. I hope I get an A for my effort.

Grandma's Anniversay

It's been a year since my grandma died. I went down to Old Man's Beach this morning to remember her. We scattered her ashes off the coast there because that's where her husband used to surf (well into his 80s!). It was a really lovely morning, kind of overcast and there were lots of surfers out in the water. I sat on a blanket and ate the small lunch I had brought from home, then I took a nice long walk on the beach.Kinda cancels out the pretty picture from the ball, eh? Anyway, it seemed like the perfect way to honor her and I'm really glad I made the trek down to Orange County so I could be in a place that had special meaning to her.

As I was writing this post I went back and watched the memorial video that Warren made for her funeral. What a gift to be able to hear her voice even after she is gone. Ain't technology grand?