Another Month of Quiet

Life is throwing a lot of stuff our way right now. I'm guessing that we aren't the only ones in this predicament. I'm guessing some of you are snowed under as well.

I do have a plan for getting out from under it, however. First and foremost involves finishing my current BIG ExxonMobil project. The trouble with this one is that I did not have access to the existing data when I put in a bid on the work required to create a new database home for it and pull it in. It turns out that it was not laid out in an organized manner and it is taking more effort than I expected to "save" it. Another way to state the problem is this: I am not making any money at all on this project. Yuk!

In other news, my planned trip to PNG has been postponed indefinitely. I was really hoping to be there by the time school starts (August twenty-something) but it appears that is just not going to happen. What a disappointment. Still, I continue to work on the project quite a few hours each week. The good of that is that when we get the signal to "go" we will be ready for it. The bad of it is that I am not getting paid for my work; more freebies.

Then there is the situation with Leo's sister Grace. I know some of you have come here looking for more details about that, but it is really a private matter at the moment. Leo and Jess are suffering, are dealing with it realistically, and are working through a lot of emotions daily. Thanks for keeping them in your thoughts and prayers. When the situation has resolved itself I will post an update here.

Now for a quick smattering of other topics of interest:

• Rachael's 5th child is due to arrive any day now. She will be named Victoria Grace and we are expecting to call her "Tori".
• Rebecca is learning how to create detailed technical drawings for me, and is doing quite a good job at it. I am VERY impressed.
• Leo is suffering with the after-effects of his dental work as well as the summer cold that I passed on to him. This is NOT one of his best trips home.
• Although we haven't done any work on the house for a few months now, as soon as the EM project is finished I am planning on taking some time off to plan for the last big push--kitchen and master bath.

One final note (in reference to the article title)...things are still crazy here and will be for another month or so. That means you probably won't hear from me again during that period, at least in any depth. After that, I expect to be back here again writing regularly so friends and family can keep up with our little adventures. It's not that I don't love you guys, it's just that I've let some "things" in my life take over. It is going to take me a bit of time an effort to get all the animals back in the zoo. When that happens, you'll hear from me.