life update

Wow, it's been over a month since my last blog...so much for my promise for weekly updates. I guess I just don't really fell like I have super-important stuff to say. Anyway, here's what's been going on in my life lately.

I took a week off of work a couple of weeks ago; I guess you would call it a stay-cation. I didn't go anywhere because, with her new job, Jenny doesn't have enough vacation time built up for a week off. I did get some work done around the house, though. I weeded the backyard, brought in trunkloads of mulch (anybody have a truck I can borrow, for crying out loud???), planting three trees in our yard, and did a touch of painting. A touch more painting than I could have done, but a fair touch less than I should have done. I'm particularly excited about the trees- we have a flowering tree in the front yard (Cranberry? Cranapple? I forget, gah!), a flowering tree in the side yard (Pear), and a mighty (well, certainly not yet) Pin Oak in the back yard. We decided to get the trees because we only had one in the yard, and sadly, it's dying. It's lived a full life, I'm sure- it appears to be an old growth tree, possibly older than our 87 year old house.

We went to the Botanical Gardens a couple of weeks ago. It sure was crowded, but we were pleasantly surprised that we didn't have to pay to get in. Evidently, admission is free on Saturdays before noon. The vistas were beautiful, as always, and the Japenese Garden was especially compelling. I even ran into one of my colleagues there. After the Gardens, we decided to try out Ted Drewes. Evidently, we were bad people for having spent 6 years in St. Louis and never having gone to Ted Drewes. It was quite good. Probably not worth a trip to South County for in and of itself, but certainly one of the best ice cream-style snacks I've had in a long time.
We had dinner at the Boathouse in Forest Park, and I highly recommend it. It used to be that there'd be 1-2 hour waits for dinner on the weekend, but they've expanded their seating, and we were in within 15 minutes. Major bonus- dogs are allowed for patio seating, so Penny got to enjoy dinner with us.

I'll be starting classes in the Fall semester, so less than one month away, and it's finally feeling "real" to me. To be honest, I'm a bit nervous. Not so much about whether or not I can handle the classes, but more along the lines of just how much free time it's going to take up. I really like my free time, so time will tell just how people taking classes will or won't be!

Jenny's job is still going well. She is getting rave reviews from customers, and she has settled into the workflow. It's nice to see her not coming home miserable.

Well, I'm running long, so I'll finish up for now. One question before I go- I'm "hoping to" get a Wii for my birthday, which is coming right up- August 7. Oh, and it's my 30th(!!!) If you have/have played Wii, what games would you recommend?

-Douglas