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I haven't been here in quite awhile it seems. It could be that everytime I look at my blog, I am reminded that Nikki is no longer a "child" -so to speak. She & her b.f. did break up -for good or bad- the day b4 he left for Italy w/ his parents for 3 weeks. All b/c he's still in h.s. & she's in college in the fall. I kind of wondered if this might happen. Poor thing. How to console someone who doesn't want to talk about what's going on inside her head. She seems okay now. Better at any rate. And we had just met him too. And he seemed like a really nice person. She's always had this romantic ideal of high school sweethearts. Alas, it is not meant to happen for her.

Today & tomorrow she's at orientation @ CU. She didn't want me to go with her. I hope she sorts some things out. She doesn't know what she even wants to do with her life -she's enrolling as open option -or whatever it's called @ CU. We have all suggested that she should do her basics @ community college or Metro State. She won't hear of it. She wants the whole "experience" of living in a dorm, etc etc etc. No matter what anyone says to the contrary, she feels this is a necessary & important event. Did I mention she's not working often enough to save much money?? I'm hoping she'll sit down at financial aid & get a grasp on the idea of how exactly is she going to afford/pay for school. I don't know if it's her friends' influence or what, but she has this attitude of entitlement lately that's really getting on my nerves. I think it's only been the last year or so. Regardless, she doesn't have wealthy parents by any means. And she's been quite adept at avoiding/ignoring reality. Maybe on our long road trip, she and I can have a little heart to heart. Maybe. Hopefully.

Speaking of which, I am taking the girls on a cross country jaunt to PA. Stops in Chicago & Indianapolis to see good friends. And of course visiting more good friends & family in PA. I cannot wait to get on the road. Had the car tuned up today. Had the windows tinted so as to avoid sunburn. Had the stereo installed WITH XM radio so as to avoid musical boredom. Also have on hand two dvd players to occupy antsy children -with hopes of avoiding on-board fighting. I'm a little apprehensive b/c I don't relish the idea of having to stop frequently for potty breaks or snack distributions or breaking up inevitable sibling rivalry. But I think all in all it'll be good for everyone involved. I haven't had a road trip in a few years -other than that one from Galway to Sligo. Or the occasional trip to the mountains. Those are too short to really count as road trips, anyway. Poor Cody will miss us. As will the cat. And G -who will have the unwanted task of caring for our menagarie during our absence. But hey, he can watch whatever he wants, whenever without catching any flack for it. Same goes for eating. And other boy things like leaving the toilet seat up, etc. He keeps trying to convince Lib to stay home with him. She adamantly refuses.

Unfortunately, G & I won't be able to watch our daily dose of world cup soccer together. BUT I will be able to partake of some viewing with my mom -who is a HUGE Germany fan, btw. And that hasn't happened in I don't know how long, if ever. I posted more on that topic on my other blog. While I'm on the topic, so far I'm favoring Brazil & Germany & England. The US, unfortunately, didn't have a chance; they were way out of their league from the get-go. Brazil is just fun to watch -super talented & fancy footwork galore. Germany & England are in it to win (well, really who isn't) but they play hard, not too dirty, & have more than their fair share of talent. Australia play like they'd rather be on the rugby field. They look the part too. Trinidad/Tobago played a good game too. It's just way interesting how these different countries have their own styles of playing & then watching how they match up against each other. It's actually a bit more appealing than american football or hockey, even. The uniqueness of each country is quite fascinating.

I do have pictures to post, but you'll have to wait for that; I'm beat & my eyes are going fuzzy on me now. And it's not even midnight yet!