Wow, it has been a while since I posted.  Blogger looks all different.  Well, the last time I posted, it was the Dunn Co fair and everyone was miserable.  the labor day fair came to town here though and it was much more fun.  the weather was cool and comfortable and the kids each (even Emma) received 20 whole dollars from grandpa to go ride with.  I always wondered what its like for town kids to live right next to the fair and how fun it must be.   I think as long as they have a pocket full of money it is, but for the most part, I had them save every penny until the rides were cheap on Sunday and they could get the most for their money.  I thought living in town would be harder too, with all the street dances, beer garden action, demo derbies, tractor pulls, karaoke nonsense going on, but it wasn't too bad.  The street dance kept me up, but it was over by 2:00a.m.
At night, Curt and I would stroll downtown to see what was up and have a beer.  I really enjoy doing that with him, kind of like our little time together.  Lucas is old enough to watch his sisters for the hour or 2 that we are gone, so its really not an issue.  We have been going and having our 1 drink and visiting with whoever is down there.  I get a kick out of the regular barflies that can't get over the fact that we only have 1 drink and then leave.  they wonder what the point is.  Of course, the one person that has mentioned it is also a regular customer of Curt's and is drinking beer at 8 in the morning every day.  It's kind of neat though, people are always ready to visit and because Curt does what he does, he is well known.
when the fair was over though, it was over fast.  overnight the park went from being full and loud to being empty and eerily quiet.  the only signs that something beg was going on was the crushed grass.

So cold this morning!  I was wondering if we will have snow by Halloween this year.  Our new furnace should be in by next month (finally) and our new refrigerator comes on Friday (YAY).  I think I'll be moving back upstairs to my office to work if this cold keeps up.  the porch is not insulated at all.  I'll miss the sunshine though and being able to see the comings and goings of my street.

this last weekend I kind of rudely crashed a conversation between 2 friends on facebook (it was going nowhere) in which K had asked M if she wanted to "hang out".  M patiently waited for a reply after she agreed, but K, true to form, was all talk and no walk.  M and I ended up hanging out.  M needed brakes on her truck, and I like to go shopping with friends.  We ended up going to M's house, which is just lovely BTW and visiting for a while.  I enjoyed my day immensely and am looking forward to the bonfire at M's this weekend.  M's hubby is also very nice and we got to meet him as well.  Curt and He have a lot in common and I think they will be friends.

My parents had not seen M since high school. Neither of them recognized her and dad asked over and over who it was.  when I told him over and over he just looked at me blankly...it took about 5 minutes and 7 repeats before he realized who she was.  So funny.  My mom asked M if she would ever gain weight.  Ugh.  I gave her a dirty look on our way out.  Really.  I know she means it in goof humor, no one in my family is thin at all, as a matter of fact, she made fun of Curtis for the longest time for being under 200 pounds when we met, but comments on personal appearance is kind of a sore spot with me and maybe I took offense more than M, but I still kind of apologized later for mom.  Eh.

Sunday was Dean's birthday, the big 18.  When he was 10, I took every penny I could scrape up from the sale of his mom's house and put it in a CD.  I wanted that money to be safe from anyone (even myself) so that when Dean came of age, he would be able to have a car.  It was very important to me and when we were going through all the house troubles last year, it was very hard for me to leave that money alone.  I did though, thank goodness, so you can imagine my dismay when Dean freaked out wanting his money to go to a hookah bar and treat his friends blah, blah, blah.  OMG I almost started crying.  First of all, the CD wasn't going to mature until 2014, so there would be a penalty, secondly, no matter how hard up financially I have been over the years, that money was never touched.  the thought that Dean might take it out and squirrel it away makes me sick to my stomach.  I am in complete control of the money of course, he really was unable to empty the account without me, but after a few days of cooling off and discussion, he assured me he was going to use it for a car and insurance.  He promises to not be an idiot, but he wanted the money accessible so if a car presents itself or he and Curt go to auction, he has it in his hand.  yesterday, I gave him his money and I hope to GOD he doesn't dissapoint me.   We went straight down to DMV and got his permit and Curt is setting up a date to take Dean to the auction to choose a car.  Now that I look back, I remember that I thought I could rule the world because I was 18 too.  It should be an interesting ride, hopefully dean will at least go into his new life with a decent car.  I think he realized that this money could very well have been spent years ago.  he just assumed it was his and he had every right to it.  The fact is, that money normally would have been a wonderful security deposit on a bigger place or in the case of buying our trailer house, it would have been the down payment.  Instead of using it as such through, I came up with my own down payment and put deans money in a CD.  Also, he has a little money put away from his social security checks, which I could have spent as well, but didn't.  I think he realized that he is pretty frigging lucky that his Aunt Jessie cared about his future as much as she does.  His attitude changed considerably yesterday.  Hopefully he will listen, but ultimately, I have to let him do his own thing.

And, I have to go to work...