Two, and three.

There were three weeks of a semi-break. Damm didn't have school, I was working but not a prohibitive schedule, we had time to relax. And then it was over. Summer school started, my work continued, and relax time got squished. I'm not complaining-we were the ones who decided going back to school was a good thing, and by gum we're gonna see it through. Two more years. Four semesters. In other news: behold, the girl that reads a lot! I'm finishing some of the historical books I picked up this past year, but I'm also diving into Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series. Historical fun, bodice ripping, with a good dose of modern reality. I love the series, and am eagerly awaiting her next installment (not sure when that's happening). I tried to reread Carol Nelson Douglas's Midnight Louis series but I've discovered that her books are quite a bit darker than I remembered. So that's a fail. Next up is David Gemmel's Troy series; I like his other book...

That's the line I greeted my coworkers with yesterday. Let me hasten to assure you that the meds I'm on were prescribed by a doctor. I just had gotten a wee bit giddy with the lack of pain. You see, for the last week I've had pain in my jaw, neck, and raging headaches. I'm guessing it's TMJ; the doctor has yet to confirm my diagnosis. He wants to wait and see what happens while I'm on the pain reliever thingy and muscle relaxant. I can agree with that; in the past I've had some pretty wacky stress symptoms that eventually went away. I'm hoping that's what this is, otherwise I'm facing a future without gum. I chew gum all the time. Maybe that's what happened to my jaw: it decided to protest the gum chewing. So that was yesterday. I'm still having some symptoms, but I'm trying to relax my face and neck muscles and follow all the advice I can get on how to relieve TMJ. I'm no longer giddy. That's good. People are not used to seei...

The cell was an air bubble 20 leagues below the oceans surface. A simple rock structure with a small grated hole in the bottom. There was no other entrance or exit. The walls were mold covered stone with no cracks or divots. The few bits of floor that were not under water were also covered in mold. The cell's single occupant slept in one corner that was ever so slightly higher than the rest of the room. He drank from a small leak located in that same corner. He ate curious fish that came up poking puckering mouths at the waters surface. He rounded off his diet of fish with scrapings off the wall. Every morning was the same routine. Wake up, do pushups, wallstands, curlups, jumping jacks, every varation of exercise imaginable. After roughly three hours, sit in meditation for a few hours, try and catch a fish. Nap until the daily dose of fresh air. Repeat. Stretch deply before bed. Stare at the ceiling until sleep comes. Every day. Every year. Every five years frustrat...

I have been reading the Amelia Peabody series, written by Elizabeth Peters. This has had a deleterious affect on my speech patterns. Amelia Peabody likes to talk a lot, and since her lectures and soliloquies are a result of her perspicacious cogitation, she uses a lot of high-sounding words. I'm about halfway through the series, and I'm sure my children and husband will be relieved when I have finished them. But wait! Elizabeth Peters is really Barbara Mertz, who also writes under the pseudonym Barbara Michaels. I have plenty of material to go. If you are ever interested in Egyptology, check out B. Mertz's Temples, Tombs, & Hieroglyphs . Should I ever pen a historical book, mine will probably sound like hers. My papers this semester certainly reflected her influence. Only one teacher got annoyed (I still managed an A in his class though). Which brings me to a fun piece of information: we both landed 4.0's this semester. I wasn't really worried, but if I don...

We are done with finals, we are done with school this semester. For three weeks. Then Damm has summer courses. I am off for the entire summer, but I'll hopefully be working as many hours at my store as they can give me. No rest for those of us who scramble through college. I really have nothing to say today, other than announcing we're finally done. Give my brain the weekend to recuperate and then I'm sure we'll cook something up. Until then, The Orcs, who are busily devouring all the fiction-type books we couldn't read during the semester and watching lots and lots of movies.