Thanks!

My wife will be making this tomorrow...  *drool*

This time last year, I did a post about what I was thankful for. I thought about doing another one, but really, the list would be practically the same. My life has not changed much in the last year. And honestly, this is probably a good thing. Because I have a pretty good life, all things considered.

But when I say not much, that means that it has changed some. First of all, my wife’s business is growing. She is already back up to her income level from when she worked for that wretched place that shall not be named. She gets new clients fairly regularly, she has developed new services to provide, and she is generally happier as a business woman than as just another hair dresser. I seriously envy her. She is able to make a good living doing something she loves. I have never had that.

We’ve also gained another kid of sorts (which technically brings us to four). My 17-year old daughter met a guy through Xbox Live a few years ago, and they have more or less been a steady thing. However, things had taken a turn for the worst for this kid, to the point where things were desperate. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that, when he recently turned 18, he was looking for an escape from a very bad situation at home. So, we decided to provide that for him. After a drive through several states and back, we now have an 18-year old who needs a lot of attention and help. And we are happy to do so, because he is really a good kid. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been productive. And we feel better for providing hope to this lost soul. Hope he might never have had otherwise.  One cool thing is that he has the same taste in Xbox games as me (though he does like zombies a bit more than I do).  So, he helps me play Skyrim.

The other kids are doing fine. My oldest is a senior, and chomping at the bit to graduate so she can come “home.” My stepdaughter is growing up fast, and we are now entering the hormonal preteen phase (God help us). The upside is she is starting to develop more reasoning skills, so it’s easier to rationalize with her. Though sometimes she reminds us that she is still only a kid. And my son will be 4 tomorrow. He is growing up so fast. And man does he have his daddy’s temper! He is going to be handful. But, like all of his siblings, he is capable of great love and affection, so in the end, it balances out.

For myself, I soldier on. I am about a third of the way through my Master’s degree. Still not sure what I will be doing with it when I get it. But, really, it’s a delaying action until I can afford to start paying back student loans. I figure that will happen when I no longer have to pay child support every month. I may look into teaching on some level. I have friends who are teachers, and they inspire me at times.

My writing has kind of suffered a bit. I have good days and bad. With all that I have going on in my life, writing sometimes has to take a backseat. However, some days I get some really good work done. Like yesterday, I laid the foundation for an anthology of Western short stories. It’s a genre I have never really worked much in, and have only written a single complete story. So, this will be fun. Theme is boxing in the old west, and the tentative title is “Frontier Fists” (I Googled that, and found nothing, so I think should be ok).

I’m also making some slow progress on my S&P story. I really need to hammer that out. I have the entire plot outlined, and the first couple of pages written. I should probably step back and create a cast list, and some more background work before I really get into writing it.

For reading, I am all over the place. With so much of my “reading” time (such as it is) being taken up by school-related reading, I have yet to read an entire book in months. My to-read pile is so high, that I have decided to stop buying books for a while. You know, unless something really good catches my eye. What? I can quit any time I want!

Been watching movies and TV shows a bit here and there on NetFlix and video. I bought The Expendables 2 yesterday. My hope is to watch it tonight, but we will see. While I was at Target, I also got the DVD release of a Canadian SciFi show called Starhunter. It sounds cool, and the first season stars Michael Pare (Eddie and the Cruisers, Streets of Fire), so that alone makes it worth the $5.

Thanksgiving is going to be with some good friends, and the kids will have lots of grandparents (both real and adopted) around. Saturday is his birthday lunch with family coming down for the afternoon. All in all, I am really looking forward to this weekend. About the only thing that could make it better is if my oldest was here. But, she will be here for Christmas break soon enough.

To all my followers, new and old, have a great holiday season! I am very thankful that you all take a moment of your time to listen to me ramble.