I figure I'll write an entry, just to keep in the habit, and then start on my day and my home. I'm hurting for my caffeine fix something fierce. Mike made coffee last night and used up the last of the cream, and I used the last of the milk for a late dinner of cereal.

It was a pretty good weekend just past. Friday I went out with my mom running chores. I finally got Sara a full-size laundry basket of her own. It's the third we have of that style, but that's good as it's easy to figure out when we have enough for a laundry room trip. (a couple inches above the top is just right to fill both washers) I did a little pricing of a bookcase for her as well, but it's too much for right now.

Ultimately I want to re-do Sara's room completely. Give her a smaller but nicer bed, a proper bookcase and new linens, some curtains, just basically turn it into her room, rather than the crash pad it is now. It's going to cost about $500 or so, but it's worth it. Just means we can't do it all at once on a single month's pay.

When money is budgeted and planned, it always seems like something else unexpected comes up. Like the fundraiser for 3WA. I pledged some money, and I keep my word, so Sara's room is being pushed back another month.

There's a voice in my head (and was said to me) that we have savings, and I could use that... but I know that is a bad idea. We've been "saving" for almost a year now with no savings to show for it. It's just way too easy to consider the savings money as just spending money in another account. I keep saying to myself that we won't ever be able to buy a car if we never have a down payment there and that anyone that suggests that savings are for spending can bite me.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, this weekend. Friday was slow and easy after Mom dropped me back off here. Late Saturday morning we got a phone call from Richard wondering if we were still on for an outing. I had figured that we weren't doing anything and I was going to check out my tents. The boys came over to help with that.

One of my tents I've never seen set-up. I bought it at liquidation world about 3 years ago now for $20, tried to set it up that summer and realized that the shock cord in one of the poles was snapped. Haven't looked at it since. A conversation I had with the Boys at Sara's Gallaher birthday party sparked the idea of fixing the tent and seeing what kind of tent it is.

After sitting around and chatting for a while we went out back into the massive backyard my building has (and we never use) and muddled our way through getting it set-up without shock cords to hold the poles together. It's a huge dome tent. Probably considered an 8-person tent. Which means it'll fit my little family of 3 with all our crap, very comfortably.

After we got the tent set-up we ended up sitting in it and chatting for at least an hour, maybe 2. We discussed camping, of course. See, I'm crazy about camping. I love it. The yearly camping trips are the hands-down best memory of my childhood. I think it's a wonderful way to vacation with a child, and spend some quality time with friends as a teen or adult.

So hopefully Me, Mike and the Boys will be going camping in a couple weeks. I'm looking forward to it. One of the things we talked about in the tent was a bitter memory from last summer. We were having dinner at my Mom's place, all of us, Mike, Sara, Mom, My Sister and me. I really want to go on a family camping trip at some point with everyone, so I brought it up. What I intended as a basic information/planning discussion devolved into a fight about schedules and nothing happened.

I don't want this year to be a repeat of last year. I'm ready to go, I have most of the equipment, I can afford it easily, I just need a way to get there and hopefully someone to go with me. Mike G teased me that I have all the equipment and no way to get anywhere with it. Bittersweet truth. I hope to god that we have a car next year, because I don't think I can be patient much longer.

Ok, I've been avoiding clean up with this for a couple hours now. I go and be good. heh.