Long working weekend for me.

Not looking forward to it much, because the shopping season is kicking into high gear. TRANSLATION: Shoplifting season.

And keys locked in cars
And complaints about the traffic (tip: shop online)
And crashes
And domestic violence
And on and on and on....

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We have extra patrolmen on the road on bikes in the shopping mall area and other shopping areas to thwart any thefts and give quick motorist assist. But we also are in the season of CLICK IT OR TICKET. Which means we also have extra patrols on the road for writing traffic summons too. Plus the 8 or more officers on the road for general patrol and to answer calls for assistance.

It's going to be a busy weekend.

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In other news: Kate has applied to Freed-Hardeman, George Mason, and Radford University. Her top pick is GM and we're excited and nervous for her. She hopes to qualify for some academic excellence scholarship (she did the extra essay and got it turned in on time and has good grades-so we will see).

Thomas is plugging away at college and worrying his GPA to death (he has to maintain a 3.2 to keep his scholarship and you probably know that the first semester is a bit of culture shock and there is a new degree of difficulty in classes for freshmen) Anyway, he is trying.

Cassie held a memorial service for her first car. She bought her little 97 escort wagon a year and half ago for $200 and sunk about 400 or so into since then. It has been a good little car for a while for that price, but with a busted head gasket, the only option was to sell it to a junk yard for $150 (which covered the cost of the towing and diagnostic work). We have been about a month now trying to share our cars with her. It's remarkable how dependent we all are on our vehicles isn't it?

Luckily her boss at the coffee shop says that he will help her get a car and she can do payroll deductions to pay him back. He really values her and doesn't want to lose her to a transportation problem. But it's getting really hard for her to get all the way over to Blacksburg for her second job at the coffee shop---ugh...Praying some solution comes quickly. We've been unsuccessful in finding a car in her range yet.

The puppy is growing and starting to be better behaved. That isn't saying a lot, cuz she's been so bad. (just puppy stuff/shoes/poop etc)

The husband is doing well and we are just plugging along with life.

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What are YOU doing?

I've been absent. Have you noticed?

I can give no reason. I've just not been keeping up with things lately.

I've missed you.

I'll try to be more back.

So Thomas plugged in his phone charger and there was "an explosion". I should have also taken a picture of his finger. He got shocked but thankfully it hurt his finger only and he wasn't electrocuted like I guess he could have been. (yes I cried-it was so scary to think you could lose your big ol' kid just like that)

Half of one of the prongs apparently broke off in there and there was this explosion. and some paper on the floor caught on fire. Ric hurriedly turned off the breaker to that room but didn't know he got the right one and turned it back on and flames shot out of it (fire ball!) We all hollered and he changed it back.

Obviously we slept very poorly.
This all happened at 10:20pm.

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Ric called the electrician that rewired all our outlets two years ago (at 1030 pm) and left a desperate message. Hope to hear back today!