My husband is having me read a book on Joomla, a website design software. Haven't gotten far ... wish me luck!

Well, after much prodding from my husband and from a writing teacher, I feel I must finish my novel. I started it 13 years ago and put it aside as my daughter needed more time and I went back to work full time. So I am working on finishing it by the end of the month. I have already written 14 chapters and am editing for content and historical accuracies. I am working hard and once finishedI hope to get it published. Wish me luck! I may even post a bit of it here for feedback.

I was invited to create a workshop for PK-2/3rd grade children this summer during our annual Chautauqua festival. I am thinking of reading a couple of different books on plants and gardening and want to have students create a garden in a glove/shoe or whatever. I am looking for free books and seeds to give to these children this summer. If you would like to lend a hand, please post and I will send you an address to send the materials to. (Probably the school address)

Help us promote reading and gardening!

This new year has brought about a few changes. My daughter driving on her own (BIG CHANGES), my husband's company is taking off, I am taking a creative writing class, and my daughter is beginning an internship at a local paper. Some days I feel very old!

The good thing about growing up and growing older (not old) is that we can have different relationships. We are beginning to have that more mature parent-child relationship. I am not as scared as I was to let her drive by herself, she is not so afraid of growing up, we are adjusting to the possibility of her going to New York for college. I am not happy with that, but I can understand her desire to attend the best college for her career and future.

The husband and I may even have a relationship less founded on who is being the main parent today. When we no longer spend our 'free' time running from one place to the next for our child, we will have to spend time together and figure out who we are as a couple. It has been a long time since we were a couple. Where do we go from here, now that all of the children have grown up? How do we spend our time?

After reading, and explaining why I read, the Southern Vampire Mystery series, my daughter I an I purchased word of the day calendars to enjoy strengthening our vocabularies. We have had some good, aand some not so good, words but todays were wonderful. Mine was "nerd" (thank you Dr. Seuss), which is a fond word since I am married to an 'enginerd', and my daughter's was "onomastics" - people who study proper nouns.

This has been a fun bonding experience for us as I am getting ready (I am getting ready a year in advance) to send her off to college. She is a junior this year and she is preparing, doing the college hunt, taking classes that will help her be ready...oh my, she is growing up so fast.

I boost myself up thinking about all the 'free time' I will have but my husband's computer company is growing and I will be needed more and more. Scary to think of her not being here are my shadow and my buddy but she is driving now and has moved away as children do. She is her own person, still my buddy, but she does not need me as much as she has and I am incredibly proud of her.

We just finished watching the inauguration and were suitably impressed by President Obama's speech writer. Even made me, a die hard republican, have hope for the country at large.

When we watched the two presidents get ready to leave for the luncheon my daughter asked what kind of retirement packaged President Bush would receive. Good question, I know he gets secret service for his life-time, a pension package, but what else?

I wonder what is next for President Bush, where will he go from here?