Preparations for the 5th of July blowout are well underway. Getting a lot of funny & happy responses to all the family photos I’ve been putting up for everyone to check out on our website. Still trying to get over compulsively checking my email to see if there are any user uploads I need to approve — wish that was a setting I could just turn off and let people upload at will, but oh well.

This weekend we are once again in Alabama for a whirlwind weekend of work to help Joyce & Pete get their house ready for all the company and the party. Felt so weird to me sending them a paper invite to a party at their own house, that I included a note saying so, but that I thought they might just want one for a keepsake. Imagine how funny it was for Pete to use the website to RSVP for a place to sleep at his own house for the party!

Had one of those rare in the office meetings this week, and took that opportunity to get Jenny (my assistant graphics person) trained on a few more things so she can justify working full-time. She had her 17-month-old Maddy with her, and we all had a fun time chasing her around and playing with her in the office. She’s a pretty well-behaved kid right now, all funny no fussy, so it was a weird experience enjoying playing with so little a kid all day.

Otherwise, we discussed the major work issues and our strategy for them — typical work crap, but it has actually led to a pretty busy week for me here. Strangely, though, the list of outstanding items is seeming very manageable. Jenny’s help, for all my complaining, has actually helped me catch up. Btw, she griped to me that she had almost given up on herself for learning this stuff, because it seemed like everything she did was wrong — we just laughed about it.

Alright — time to seek out some lunch, swap out the laundry, and get back to today’s grind so I can not leave a mess behind when we take off for Alabama again.