June update

Well, the squirrel babies are grown, and Earie may be working on litter #2. Compared to the youngsters, she looks faded and tired. I'll miss her when she's gone; squirrels don't live overly long and we've known her for quite a while now.

I caught two moles under our bird feeder and transported them to an overgrown area by a school But, there's still at least one more under there. That area of the yard is pretty popular with all kinds of critters. Birds of all shapes, sizes and colors, obviously, and squirrels, moles, and rabbits who like the fresh shoots sprouting from spilled seed. Someone visits our deck overnight and is pushing around the brick-like dish we feed Earie from. Twice I found it on the ground; this morning I found it broken on the sidewalk. It'll still work to hold some seed, but we were miffed nonetheless. One of the youngsters knows to get food from it as well, and likes to work his teeth on it.

So, that's the update on the critters on our lot!

over a year? really??

I can't believe it's been over a year since I posted here. I've been super busy with multiple organizations a projects, unfortunately none of them being my master's thesis.

Since this blog seems to be squirrel-centric, I may as well update you on Earie. She had babies!!! Last weekend, we saw three little rapscallions being all squirrelly in our backyard, trees, and lilac bush. Is it silly to say they look a lot like her? So far this week, we've only seen one... the daredevil one I assume, though he's still a little chicken-shit when he notices us. Or a bird swoops by. Or a rabbit wiggles its nose. I hope the other two are OK (i.e. - still alive). So adorable to see them climbing all over mom while she's trying to eat. Then she'll tackle one for a quick cleaning/wrestling session. I hope we see them all again this weekend. I gotta carry the camera around with me and get some pics.

In much sadder news, we lost Jake, our cat, in January. I still miss him a lot. Being home kind of sucks, which has encouraged me to spend more time at work, so I suppose that's a good thing, as we're busier than we've ever been - lots of potential student inquiries, but a lot of fighting for funding. We are a nonprofit, and will take donations if you're so inclined!! http://www.tri-state-grad.org .

Speaking of, better get back to it!!

Still

I still need a vacation (refer to November post).

Squirrel update

You've likely seen the photo of the squirrel on our deck. She's not just any squirrel, she's a bright spot in our lives. Her name is "earie" as when we first saw her (we think) she had a little case of mange that seemed to affect her ear tufts. But, we'd know who she was no matter what she looked like. She comes by at least every day for food and water, and helps herself to the seed on the porch when the door is left open for the cat. She runs around, dancing and prancing, hoping someone will see her and bring out some food. She's eaten from our hands quite often, and she's just plain fun to "play" with.

We've witnessed her being "wooed". We've seen her scratch up mouthfuls of thatch for a nest. We've seen her trying to run with stale bread. We've seen her "bathe" in the tree outside our bathroom.

She's doing fine, though it's frigid cold here. We bring out seed when she reminds us, and keep the heated water dish full for her (as well as neighborhood cats and a possum). I hope she makes it to spring so we can enjoy her this spring when the weather is nice.

Busyness is definitely overrated

Since I last wrote, I've been busy with work and home. I don't remember what's it's like to have nothing to do. All I know is that I have a ton of things I don't particularly want to do. I'm feeling tired of being in school, tired of always having something at home break and need attention, tired of the kids not doing what they know they need to do, from brushing their teeth to searching for scholarships, tired of having to provide food every day for ungrateful people, tired of feeling guilty about being tired of all of this. I'd say I need a little vacation or to get away, but I know the situation will be the same when I get back. *sigh*

Yeah, it is.

Busyness really is overrated. September and October are often very busy months for us, and this year is no different. School, multiple projects at work, fall yardwork, homecoming, play practices, appointments, weddings, funerals, kids having to be here or there, daily and seasonal housework...

I'd love to write more, but I'm too busy!

Royalty in the family

When our oldest came home from school a few weeks ago and told us he had a shot at being homecoming royalty, I thought, "well, yeah, everyone has a shot." Then, he made the cut to the top 25, and I thought, "Hm... interesting." Then last week he came singing down the sidewalk into the house and excitedly whispered to me while doing a little dance, "I'm on the homecoming court!"

I grew up in a smaller town of less than 10,000 people. There were just over 100 kids in my graduating class. Homecoming was a big deal in my town. I have to assume it's the same thing in a bigger city high school. Apparently, his classmates rank him in the top twelve or so of over 300 kids. I just had no idea that he rated so high.

I feel bad saying that, but how is a parent (or pseudo-parent) to judge where in their kid's society their kid is?

So, now we have to line up a tux, go to coronation, go to the parade, and whatever else it seems that the parents of homecoming royalty should do. Weird weird weird.

Olive Garden

We went to Olive Garden for dinner last night, all four of us.
Before tip: $72.
How much do we average at the grocery store per week: $65.
I don't think we'll go back to the Olive Garden for a long, long time.

Where'd my inheritance go??

I learned something recently that everyone should know. When people are planning their estate (yes, you should PLAN!!), they often think charity and heirs are weighed the same in the eyes of the taxing government. This is not the case.

In your 401K or other retirement vehicle, you name your beneficiaries. If you list a person, the funds will be taxed twice: once as part of your final tax return and again as part of your estate. So, this money that you worked your ass off for will amount to less than 25% in the pockets of your heirs. See, the government approved these accounts as RETIREMENT accounts, not as vehicles for passing funds through to your kids. They figure that you're dead and can't use it anymore, so they may as well take it.

However, if you name a legitimate charity/nonprofit as the beneficiary of the retirement account, *all* taxes are avoided and the organization will receive everything. It's a much better deal than letting the government take the bulk of it.

The lesson is to name your favorite organizations as beneficiaries in your retirement accounts, and leave the rest of your estate (life insurance, savings, other investments) to your kids. A secondary lesson is to always use up your retirement money first, then dig into your other investments.

Please spread the word...

Senioritis

It's a very strange feeling to deal with when people you first met as children come of an age that you really remember.

"Our" oldest had his senior pictures taken last weekend. This boy became part of my life over six years ago when he was 11. He entered his teen years fully taking on the role of teenager... moody, argumentative, uncommunicative, etc. Eventually, however, he grew into a somewhat fun, attractive young man (no job, no license, and still loves Pokemon... but still).

I very much remember what I was doing at his age, and I'm divided on whether I want him to be having as much fun as I did 15 years ago.

Regardless, this next year will be a strange one. We want him to become responsible, to go to college, to work hard in school, to get scholarships, to get a job, and to be able to survive on his own. However, I just can't see this 11 year old kid going out into the world on his own.