<p>Congrats Esobay</p>
<p>Eso - more congrats for your DS! I’m so happy for him and for you!</p>
<p>GSharp - good memory! I was planning to send birthday wishes to your D2 (through you, of course), but haven’t managed to check in here until now! Happy Birthday to your very busy D2! Thinking of her as she finishes up her thesis. Have fun proofreading! Oh, and thanks for the good wishes! :)</p>
<p>Funny about becoming airport buddies with Justice Scalia. </p>
<p>Yike about it being one month to the big day! Good luck finding shoes!</p>
<p>My D and her friends had a great time on spring break. D and one friend are here now, and more are on their way! Should be fun. </p>
<p>Alice - hope your S’s tournament is going well!</p>
<p>Off to throw in another load of laundry! I have such an exciting life.</p>
<p>Well haven’t posted in the thread lately so perhaps a catchup is in order. Dd is doing great - part of the beyond group she’ll graduate April 2015. This weekend she ran a 5k mud run. Pictures were hysterical. She’s planning on grad school in psychology so I’ll be around a while. </p>
<p>Ds is still in Phoenix. Enjoyed having spring training come to him this year. It’s really odd not having him play anymore - I keep having vivid dreams of him pitching. Sometime good dreams other times not so great - just like the old days watching him pitch in college. </p>
<p>DW and I are busy planning for an outside landscaping makeover. The drought in ca has convinced us we need to put in a cistern system. Planning on 30000 gallons storage - which is a huge set of six tanks. Thus the need for new landscaping to hide them. Also doing (potentially) an outdoor kitchen. Planning on a pizza oven and BBQ thus far. So it promises to be an interesting summer. </p>
<p>Work is also keeping me inanely busy. Just had 8 people added to my team along with a bunch more responsibilities. Travel schedule has me on an airplane 4 of the 5 weeks in April - and I’m at SFO now outbound. Ought to be interesting wish me luck. </p>
<p>Thanks for the update scualum! </p>
<p>The boys are home for Spring Break. We went up to Hollywood to see Book of Mormon yesterday. I thought it was hysterically funny. Both D1 and S2’s teams are still alive in the Sweet Sixteen. Woo hoo! </p>
<p>I realize it has been a while when I had to go through 3 pages of posts before I could answer.</p>
<p>Nice to see you @artloversplus and I certainly remember meeting you in the lobby of Ida Noyes before Grace aka UChicago imparted her words of wisdom. Good luck to your D on the med school stuff, I know many friends of my D have gone that route after a gap year with good success. And contrats to esobay’s S on the grad acceptance, I know how sweet the funding is, my D will be able to frugally support herself next year, not sure if she realizes how frugally yet as she apartment ships, but she will learn.</p>
<p>Nice to hear from you scualum! Becoming an airport poster like G#. Maybe you two will bump into each other somewhere.</p>
<p>D is working on her thesis but I don’t think they do this fancy binding thing at her school, at least not that I have heard of. Want to make sure she got the info that we got in the mail about ordering her cap and gown. Maybe artlover and I can meet up again at the ceremony to bookend the four years in style!?</p>
<p>Speaking of bookends, I certainly plan to have a drink with YDS at the Tavern for that purpose! Maybe we can invite pmartin to join us.</p>
<p>Drive-By Post…
<a href=“GWAR front man Dave Brockie found dead in home”>http://www.timesdispatch.com/entertainment-life/music-movies-tv/music/gwar-front-man-david-brockie-found-dead-in-home/article_f5e793f0-b34b-11e3-bedd-001a4bcf6878.html</a></p>
<p>I never post here anymore, but I came on to see whether you’d heard the news, G#.</p>
<p>I just did a little catching up. Everyone has exciting news! I’ll have to check back in sooner next time so I can get the wedding recap!</p>
<p>Whoa, it’s been years since I was here last. Way too many pages for me to scroll through to catch up. But I’m coming on here to say hi, especially to GSharp. I was sorry to hear about one of your favorite musicians.</p>
<p>For anyone who can even remember: my oldest finally has a full time job. It’s still very early, but we so happy for him. My middle son is also gainfully employed. So that leaves me to worry about my 2014 soon-to-be graduate. No job on the horizon, but he “isn’t worried”. But then, he never worries; I do!</p>
<p>S who is on co-op finally signed up for Fall semester classes (registration opened March 10). Fortunately he didn’t get closed out of any of them but I was wondering when he might get on the stick and sign up. When he’s not on campus I think he just doesn’t feel any pressure to do the campus stuff… :rolleyes:</p>
<p>He also got into the dorm of his choice. 
Five years in the dorm…he needs to get a job OUT OF TOWN and learn to live on his own, don’t you think? :D</p>
<p>hey maybe with the new emoticons we can have this kind of ~O) Is p56 still stopping by to pour?</p>
<p>momannoyed- since my D was technically on a LOA last quarter, she was not able to register for spring classes until the drop add period started. Luckily, the types of classes she takes (think languages with alternative alphabets) did not fill up.</p>
<p>B-) B-) </p>
<p>Thanks for the coffee, Jackie. No news on my end, but good to see some of my old friends drop by.</p>
<p>Thought I would stop by, too! Things are going OK. Oldest son is taking 3 classes - they are all in math that is way above my understanding! He has his ups and downs, mentally. We are trying a new med that seems to be helping. It will be a couple of months before we can really tell, though. </p>
<p>Middle son just turned 19. He did a Christian gap year program - three months of classes in Florida, then seven weeks of service in Jordan. He and his group volunteered in a Syrian refugee camp for a week while they were there. He came back all grown up! Cheerful, cooperative, and about 50 pounds thinner! He looks great. He’s still trying to figure out his next step. We told him that since he’s not going to college at this point, he needs to either pay us rent or help out about 18 hours a week around the house before he gets a job. So we’re getting a lot of household projects taken care of! </p>
<p>Youngest child is 15 and studying in Cadiz, Spain this semester (February through June). She is thriving. 100% immersed in Spanish, since her host family speaks no English. Her classmates and teachers are very kind. Going off to college will be a breeze for her after this experience.</p>
<p>DH and I had very little work in 2013, so things were tough. But this year the phone is ringing again and we’re busy. Whew!</p>
<p>Catching up & glad to see some ‘old friends’ from our ‘original’ group! My College news: DGS finished his thesis and is back in Boston after a nice Spring Break. I’m looking forward to his graduation week starting May 27 - LIMOMOMOMOF2 - do you have a ‘link’ or any information about actual ‘goings on’ so I can plan the days activities? I’m a little nervous about keeping up as my days have been mostly housebound since DH’s stroke and this will be my first venture away from home. (Our son will be coming down to Fla. to stay with DH so I can go to graduation.) In other news, our youngest grandchild has been accepted to McGill University Class of 2017 (As he’s coming from the UK, he will graduate in 3 yrs., and since he’s a Canadian citizen, tuition will be nominal - HOORAY! A nice $$ break for the family after siblings’ Princeton and EHL tuition it’s much appreciated!) </p>
<p>Love my extended screenname, Bubbe. 
I’ll try to find the graduation link and send it to you in a PM. I’m glad you’ll be able to make the graduation. The big day sounds pretty packed, but I think it’s all spaced out well enough that you should be ok.</p>
<p>Coffee, anyone? I put some out on the buffet, but alas no exciting foods to go along with it. Nice to “see” some of the visitors here. Bubble - so glad you will get to attend graduation. S is en route back to school after spring break (punctuated by a frisbee concussion and a stomach bug). But of course, he is not going to go to school once he gets there because he is DONE. He will continue to co-captain the team, and relax a bit before REAL work starts. Happy Friday. </p>
<p>Thanks for the coffee, alice! I could actually use something to calm me down right now…S locked himself out of his car at work, and we can’t find the spare key. He may have lost it some time ago… Aargh! </p>
<p>I have turned his room upside down, checking spare jacket/pant pockets, under his night stand, etc., and no luck. I told him to call AAA and they will bail him out. Then we have to spend the $ to have a spare key made (they cost more than they used to because of anti-theft provisions.) :(</p>
<p>While searching, I noticed he seems to be missing a jacket, a nice one I bought him and don’t see anywhere now. Maybe it’s with the spare key?</p>
<p>Edit: This runs in the family. I buy DH two caps every winter, and by spring they are invariably both gone. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>R.I.P Dave Brockie (aka Oderus Urungus). I feel reasonably certain that the “cause of death” unofficially will be “Poor Life Choices,” but he was still an icon in the Virginia music world.</p>
<p>The plane can’t get me home fast enough this week!!!</p>
<p>Hero of the Week – esobay’s newly accepted DS (with stipend, no less)!!!</p>
<p>LIMOMOF2 – I hope you enjoyed your Birthday Week! Like my kid, did you spend the day in a tiara too? 
Oh, BTW, I think your laundry is ready… maybe a weekend of folding ahead. Livin’ life on the edge. ;)</p>
<p>Scualum, YDS, Lima, ML, and Bubbe… um, my invite must’ve gotten lost in the mail.</p>
<p>Scualum – Speaking of invites, we can’t wait to try out the new pizza oven and BBQ. Welcome to the “friendly” skies. Maybe we’ll cross paths. I’ll be the worn-out, haggard one. Oh wait, that makes me indistinguishable from everyone else in the airport. ;)</p>
<p>Jackief – Wishing your D the best with her thesis!!! You’ll know if they do the binding thing because it comes with a credit card request. ;)</p>
<p>YDS – The rules are still the same… just skip my posts and you’ll be OK ;)</p>
<p>Momannoyed – I wonder how D2 is gonna make out with that living on her own thing too. Note to self… check spare keys.</p>
<p>ML – It is always good to hear encouraging news from the “Longhorn” family! I know you are super-proud of all of your kids… as well you should be! D2 spent a couple of summers in Spain fending for herself with a family that essentially spoke no English… it was good for her. I thought of you when D2 sent me her thesis with an Acknowledgement to Philippians 4:13 for helping her with its completion.</p>
<p>Bubbe – DW has already checked out D2’s graduation activities schedule (all 4 days) and fore-warned me that she is going to take time to rest at the hotel.</p>
<p>
Your S sure knows how to enjoy a trip. ;)</p>
<p>In wedding news, 3 weeks and the final bills continue to trickle in. D1 informed me that she and another friend who is getting married split the cost of purchasing 6 (yes ,6) chandeliers which they are going to load with battery operated candles. The venue approved it (as long as “the men”, aka me and the groomsmen, hang them), so I guess it’s OK.</p>
<p>In college news, the proof reading is done and D2 has submitted the electronic version of her thesis and sent it to the printers so that she can turn it in next week! You have no idea how happy she was to have that done. I get an acknowledgement for helping proof the paper and she said that her advisor liked my comments (score one for dad!). I was happy to see that D2 used some of my feedback, and happier that she saw fit to not use some of it too. She said that her advisor told her multiple times that she is a “great writer” which is one of her loves, so that made her happy. She also said that her advisor told her that even though D2 has turned in her thesis, she is not to be a stranger and told her to come back for office hours next week so they can talk about D2’s future and career plans. D2 told me that her advisor has already created a list of her strengths to discuss.</p>
<p>Sssshhhh! DW hasn’t seen the final version of the thesis yet, but I thought that the Moms here would appreciate the dedication… “Mom: thank you for the many, many hours you put into raising me, for entertaining me with magnetic letters and Dick and Jane, driving me all over the state for dance classes, and finally driving me to Princeton, New Jersey.” :)</p>
<p>G#, what a sweet dedication!</p>
<p>Love the chandelier idea. Lighting is always a great mood & scene setter, and splitting the cost makes sense. When my S got married a little over a year ago, there were special small lights strung from the ceiling (rafters?) in the reception venue, courtesy of some deal they made with the design guy, who had already done this for an earlier event. Gorgeous. Of course, when we were planning my daughter’s wedding, I was a total novice and so was she. Beyond flowers, it didn’t occur to us to make any amendments to any venue. Who knew? :D</p>
<p>D2 has a gem of an advisor who obviously loves her–good news for future networking & job search.</p>
<p>Haven’t heard back from S so I presume AAA came through for him…</p>
<p>GSharpM7 - Been through (2) Princeton Thesis’ (daughter '78 & granddaughter '10 ) - I didn’t understand a word of either! LOL! </p>