Trading trucks, dolphins and sharks, glee club and a haircut

Hello folks!

I am still around. (I write that sentence an awful lot).

Things are going okay around the Chaotic Home. I'll try to remember anything that's happened worth posting about.

Oh, this coming Saturday, we're having a photo shoot thanks to an old high school friend who's changing careers.  She needs examples for her portfolio, so has offered to do a whole shoot of my family. We're going to have them done at the family farm, since I'd really love some done outside.  I've seen some where they people have white shirts and blue jeans and just loved them, so that's what we're doing for the main group family photo, then  we'll do just kids, couples, etc. Thankfully Corina and Tyler will be able to be there too, so we'll have the whole family. My brother said we can use his house to change clothes, so we can have other shots done as well.  I told them they can bring whatever clothes they want pictures in. Dressy, casual, cosplay, whatever. I am just REALLY hoping it'll be nice weather Saturday.  When they're done and on her site, I'll link them here.

Corina is still doing well and still at WalMart.  Hopefully she'll be able to keep that job a long time.  She's wanting to take classes to get a real estate license. She's a real people person, so I think she'd do well at it.
Tyler has a job interview for the new Bojangles that's opening soon. So, hopefully he'll get that job and can still go to school this fall and work towards getting his ASE certification as a mechanic. They just got a new-to-them Explorer too.  That old truck we gave them a couple years ago - they traded for a beat up Honda or something, then they traded for an S10 truck which had issues, but they sold it for $1000, then got an amazing deal on the Explorer for $1200.  So just $200 out of their pockets, they have a good vehicle that'll haul stuff and people and should last them years if they take care of it.  I love my Explorer.

Oh speaking of mechanics... Faelyn, my 15 yr old highschool freshman wants to take auto shop at the tech center over the next couple years at school so she can work as a mechanic while going to college to be a marine biologist. My brain is not quite wrapping around it, but I am all for it. She leaves next week for a 3 day trip to Key Largo with the AP Biology class.  They're going to Marine Lab to snorkel and work with dolphins and maybe even sharks and study marine life there. She's not even in the AP Biology class, she was chosen out of all other students to be asked to go along.  It cost $750, but we had just gotten our tax refund, and we wanted to make this happen for her, no matter what.  She's wanted to be a marine biologist for as long as I can remember. This trip will either solidify her career decision or make her realize it'snot something she wants to do.  I can't imagine she'll decide against it though.  Who wouldn't want to snorkel in the Keys for a living! LOL I'm just glad we could do this for her.  She's missed out on so many school trips because we couldn't afford them.

Zoe's chorus class recently was chosen to open for the Purdue Glee Club at the local Performing Arts Center. We got free tickets due to that, so that was a great night out with her.  I've got pics, but I'm at McDonalds and the wifi won't let me upload them.  But I have them on Instagram. Check them out here:

http://instagram.com/p/Wne5ESsYG_/

http://instagram.com/p/WnxpL8sYBs/

Rhiannon's back with her on-again-off-again boyfriend. She's got a job afterschool at a local CPA office doing filing and copying. It's just through tax season, but it's better than standing out in the cold wearing a statue of liberty costume LOL. She's busy with show choir and concert choir.  She's a 2nd alternate for All-State, so not sure if she'll get to go to that this year or not. Hopefully next year.  She's still trying to decide on a college.  She's got her eye on Purdue now after seeing the Purdue Glee Club (they gave the chorus kids free tickets). Most of the members of the Glee Club are in Engineering majors and that's what she wants to do. And they have the Purdue belles as well.  I'd love her to go there, but I'd like her to go to UT as well. Just has to be something she can get a full ride scholarship to or at least a very small student loan.

Christopher is doing well. He's kind of stopped watching what he eats again and we both gained back an inch or two on our waists, so we need to really get back to working on that.  Now that the weather's good (or getting there), I am trying to go walking as soon as I wake up each day.  I can walk a different dog each time. So far, it'snot worked out since I've had to be home to take C back to work on his lunch break just so I can go pick up various kids after school practices.

If fortune and favor shine on us this year, Christopher will get a bonus in April, and we can get the transmission on our van fixed.  Then I'll have a second vehicle and not have to do the ferrying back and forth with one car. That'll free up my days for getting out and exercising more. It's just not something I can do when I get off work at 3am.

Not much else going on with me, except I finally got my hair cut after like 2 years?


That's after a blow out and flat ironed too LOL.  It's usually more like River Song's hair (for those who watch Doctor Who.)

Well, time to go pick up some kids from various stuff. Hope y'all are having a great week!

Patty