It's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time.

That title is a Led Zeppelin reference, in case you didn't know. Yeah, so I've been really lazy lately and not updating. What's new? Well, it's a new year now, and things are diff... wait, no, things are the same. We no longer have someone living in our basement, I'm due for a raise at work soon, and I've finally made a decent handmade shampoo. My body also decided to come up with what I think is a bad case of eczema. My calves are covered in red patches, and my hands and forearms, too. I've created a really good ointment for them, though, made out of evening primrose oil (infused with a magical combination of herbs... shh! trade secret!), and unrefined shea butter. The unrefined shea smells really rich and nutty, so I tried adding some lemon essential oil to counter that smell a little. Now it just smells bad. But, it works well, and that's what I care about.

We bought Jack a car the other day. We were sick and tired of his other one. Besides, we have to renew the plates this month and that requires a safety inspection and emissions inspection, which would no doubt have failed miserably. So, what the hey? Let's just go buy a new car. Okay, so it used, but it's 100000 times better than Jack's old car. It's a 2001 Hyundai Sonata (yes, we stuck with the Huyndai again) and it was only 5 grand. We can pay that off this year.

I'm playing through Final Fantasy X-2 for the fifth or sixth time. I like that game. I know I'm a loser, but that's okay. I'm entertained. At the end of X-2, you have the option of saving the game with all the stuff you've collected and all the abilities you've learned (who WOULDN'T do that??). So, all my characters have pretty much mastered all of the dresspheres, I have about 3 million gil, I have 100% completion (okay, I've had that one for a while), and I have 3 Cat Nip accessories (you hit for 9999 every time when your HP is low, which is awesome for the gunner's trigger happy-- it kicks Squall's Lionheart in the pants). I also have 2 Iron Duke accessories (all stats +100%, including HP and MP), and a Key to Success accessory (double all-- items, ap, exp, etc.). Okay, so now that you know more than you cared to about my FFX-2 game, you can sleep well.

I keep having nightmares about teaching. I keep dreaming that I go back to teach, but I'm so embarrassed for having left in the first place. In my dream, even after going back, I rue the fact that I went back, becoming miserable all over again. I wish there was a magic pill you could take to keep you from having nightmares. All your dreams would be pleasant and you wake up refreshed.

I got these pH strips and started testing things around the house. Milk is sightly above neutral, orange juice is about 3, the shampoo I made is about 5, dishwashing liquid is a smashing 11, Dawn soap is neutral, soda is about a 1, spit is neutral, and pee is slightly acidic. Don't ask.

Catch you on the flip side.