We ended up going to Red Lobster for the all you can eat shrimp. Quin loves that and so that was her choice for where to go. It was definitely nice not having to cook.
Even better than that, Quin's report card just came out and she had one B+ and all the rest A's and made high honor roll. She was so proud of that, and I don't blame her. She did great and I am proud of her, too. She was upset about the B+ that she got. It was in AP English and she said that she is going to get that brought up because she wants to be able to brag to her boyfriend that she is getting all A's like he is. I don't doubt that she'll do it if she puts her mind to it. She's stubborn like that.
Two good things. First, we are finally ready for Halloween. New pumpkins carved and porch decorated and candy and tray to hold it ready to be set up. All that will be left to do is help Quin with her makeup for her costume when she gets home from school.
Second thing is that Russ' mom wanted a day to spend with both of her kids for her birthday. Individually, just a mom and son day for her and Russ, and they did that last week. They went for lunch and then took a cooking class (they both love to cook) and then out for a light dinner and dessert. The cooking class that they took was learning how to make a few different types of pasta from scratch. Russ said that they turned out really well and so he decided that he wanted to make some for Quin and me.
This morning he and Quin went over to his parents house (he is going by to check on it for them every few days while they are out of town) and while they were there they made some pasta from scratch. His mom went out the next day after the class and got the pasta cutter and some special mixing attachment or something for her Kitchen-aid mixer and Russ took advantage of having access to those. He also made sauce and meatballs from scratch and brought some home for lunch for us. It turned out so well. It all tasted very good and Russ was super proud of how nice the pasta, sauce, and meatballs turned out since all of it was made from scratch and nothing came pre-made.
Quin is so happy today. It is her two year anniversary with her boyfriend, Dillin. Unfortunately, he is at college in Florida and they couldn't spend it together, but she is excited that they are at 2 years and things are still going well for them. He won't be home until the day before Thanksgiving, so she will get to see him soon, but she wishes it had been possible that they could have spent the day together today. On the other hand, they listen to the same radio station (a little local station that he is able to listen to online) and she called in for their request hour and had them play "their song" and he was all excited that she did that for him.
Quin is equal parts nervous and excited. Her induction ceremony for the National Honor Society is tomorrow afternoon and she can't wait for it. I have to say, I'm pretty excited about myself. I am so proud of her and excited to see her hard work and dedication to her schooling pay off and be rewarded.
Quin's ceremony today was very nice. It was short, too. Her school is so small that it was a small group being inducted, just 5 girls. The senior members introduced the NHS pillars: scholarship, leadership, character, and service, and then the inductees each came up one by one and read the NHS pledge and lit and then blew out a candle and that was it. Quin is so excited about this. The girls (it is all girls in it this year) are already talking about some of the group volunteering projects they would like to take on together.
Quin is going to have to find something else for individual volunteering now, though. She was volunteering as an intern at the veterinarian's office, but last Wednesday was her last day as a volunteer. Doctor talked to me when I took the dog in and wanted to get my okay before talking to Quin about it, but this Wednesday will be her first day as a paid employee at the vet's office. Her schedule won't change for now, but she will have the opportunity to get first shot at some additional hours around the beginning of the new year on the weekends, but for now she will keep her current schedule. She was thrilled that doctor asked her to come on board as a "real" employee now that she is old enough to be legally employed.
Spyder got a promotion to an experimental position in his company a few months ago (it has to do with efficiency, both in communications and materials) He's gotten through most of his rougher position start-up patches and the position is indeed paying off for the company. They just gave him a raise already for his efforts
Last week, I decided I need to replace my winter boots. The heel support of one collapsed last winter, and even though I can still wear them fine, they're not comfortable now, it's like walking off-kilter. So, I looked around Amazon and found a pair I liked on a lightning sale last week. I went to go order them, and they were sold out already
Today when I checked what they had for shoes on the lightning sale page, the same shoes were on sale again, for a little less!! You bet yer tushie I ordered those FAST I also ordered the first Christmas present of the year, the kids asked for another box of K'Nex & I figured I probably should get it early. I waited on it last year & the price climbed quite a bit. It did dip low enough to rival brick & mortar prices eventually, but I don't want to risk that not happening this time.
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
Congrats to Spyder on his promotion! That is fantastic. Also congrats on getting the shoes that you liked and for getting them at a better price. I love when things like that happen.
Quin is excited again for an outing. We are taking her to the Physics Slam at Fermilab tomorrow evening and she is looking forward to it so much. She is taking physics this year at school and has heard that the Fermilab event is always really interesting. I'm afraid that it is outside of anything that I will understand, but I'm hoping to learn a bit.
Oh that is so cool, Glencairn! I'm a little envious she gets to go there!
My eye is completely better, no more pink eye symptoms for the last few days, YAY!
Spyder fixed the carpet shampooer (he earned a giant smooch on the spot for that) and I got the litter box's nook cleaned. We also found a very deep litter box today, so we'll see if the cat can hang his ass over THAT high of an edge and miss (I doubt it)
And there's snow forecast for tomorrow. Which is funny as all hell because it's about 70 outside right now & I have the windows open. Wore sandals out today, will have to wear snowboots tomorrow (old ones, new ones still haven't shipped yet) LOL, this state, I swear
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
LOL! Nyiah, I was just whining in the other thread about the temperature and snow we're having now and lamenting the disappearance of the warm weather that we had yesterday.
Glad to hear that the pink eye is cleared up, that is fantastic. I remember how uncomfortable it was when I got it and have been hoping to hear that it was clearing up quickly.
Yay for a fixed carpet shampooer and for finding a big litter box. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and hope that it helps out.
We had a really nice time at the physics slam. I understood more than I had expected to, which was pretty nice, and really enjoyed the presentations. There were 5 speakers competing and they each had 10 minutes to explain (in simpler terms) what they do and what their current project is. It was so interesting listening to all of it and hearing some of the stuff that is being done now. My favorite was an astronomer. His talk was the most interesting to me. He was telling us about how they "see" black holes by seeing the effect they have on the things around them and a handful of other things like how they bend space/time near them. He added humor to his talk and it was really enjoyable. The other presenters were wonderful, too. A little bit less humor, but still pretty great. The 5 participants had a question and answer bit after the slam which was also really interesting.
Quin's boyfriend just left and it is about 2 am. His flight in tonight ended up being delayed some and he got home later than he expected. A bit earlier I got a text from him asking if he could come over just for 15 or 20 minutes just to see Quin for a bit even if it is late (please,please,please) and I know how badly Quin was wanting to see him too, so I told them it was okay. Then the flight was delayed even more. He got here about 1:30-ish. Not that I wouldn't have been awake then anyway, I would have, and I know how excited the kids were to see each other and it was nice to be able to accommodate them. It is nice having my acquired teen home for a couple of days because then both teens are happy.
Aw, that was awful sweet of you guys to accommodate him that late into the night, Glencairn!
Spyder & I were surprised a few days ago in the store, stumbling on a small amount of money taped to a card, hanging on a product hanger.Random Acts of Christmas Kindness, they call it. It was just enough to spend a little extra that trip and get the kids holiday themed water bottles we'd eyeballed to replace busted ones, which they absolutely adore
Big Kid is 9 today, but we did her birthday stuff over the weekend, since Spyder had it off. She got the Zoomer Kitty (hasn't stopped playing with it yet, lol) a stuffed tiger from Little Kid, and a bottle of a neat shade of purple nail polish. I'm not sure which of the 3 she got more excited over, lol. Spyder gave her birthday money & took her to a local store that purchases and resells club store merchandise at steep discounts, she loves going there. She got herself a new pair of sandals for spring (that's thinking ahead!) and a big box of chocolates to share with everyone. She had a chocolate truffle cake Spyder picked out (actually, chocolate ruffle was it's title, but the icing was akin to truffle thickness & taste) and black cherry ice cream to go with it, and a happy meal for her birthday dinner choice.
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
Nyiah, That sounds like an awesome birthday for big kid! I'm glad that she had such a nice day, even if it wasn't on her actual birthday. Getting to celebrate with Dad is worth celebrating a day or two early.
I love the idea of the Random Acts of Christmas Kindness. They have so many good ideas on the site that are so small and easy, but would brighten my day so much to be on the receiving end. The cards are cute, too. I think that Quin and I are going to print some of these cards and do some of the ideas and hope that we can help brighten someone else's day a bit. I'm glad that you posted that and how neat that you got to find one for yourselves that let you get a fun treat for the kids.