The past three weeks have been full of great ups and low downs. We lost a family member after a brief illness, and we dealt with all of those emotions for several weeks prior to the death. Thankfully she is no longer in pain. Thankfully life as we know it is starting to return to the new normal we find ourselves a part of. 

Our daughter was able to come home prior to the death, which was good. We hadn’t seen her in nearly 6 months, as she has been in the Navy at boot camp, school, and recovering from a knee injury for that time. I ran and cried like a little baby at the airport. Even though she is technically my stepdaughter, I’ve raised her with her father since she was eight, with little interaction and zero monetary help from her mother. So, she’s as close to mine as it get really. 

She got engaged in leave, so we have a happy event in our future. We love her fiancé and can’t really think she could find anyone much better than he is. He is a welcome addition to our family. 

I got my hair cut off Han it has been in a long time. I love it shorter, although the crazy ass curls are harder to control the shorter it gets. I’m determined though, as having it straighter really gives my self esteem a boost, since having the stupid curls has always been a bane to me. Everyone always says how lucky u am to have curls. They have no idea. They have straight hair. They can make it wavy. They can wear it Ina kind ponytail that doesn’t look like Rosanna Rossana Dana. I can’t. I have one choice most days – curly frizz. And I hate it. 

We are, for the second time in 11 years, actually getting a net tax refund. Net meaning we owe to federal and get a refund from state, but I’ll take it. It still pisses me off to think that people who work 1/256th as much as I do get huge $8-9K tax refunds. The math just doesn’t make sense. You shouldn’t get more back than you pay in, bottom line. 

We planted some inexpensive flowers last weekend. Some were gifts from the funeral, and a few we added to the collection courtesy of Lowe’s and it’s fabulous plant department. I love flowers. We are going to plant a flower bed in a week or two. Just need to get everything laid out the way we want it. 

Just getting the damn taxes done has taken a load off my mind. Now I know where we stand, and I know I don’t owe the IRS a ton of money like I have in some prior years. So that’s nice. 

We were able to enjoy two sunny and warm weekends. We really needed some outside time after being cooped up inside the house with forty hundred relatives and friends for weeks. I enjoyed the time we spent together, but I am certainly glad to have my free time back. I was so exhausted I came home from work three days last week and just about collapsed on the sofa. 

Sprin is shortly ahead. The flowers are happy. The birds are chirping. Southern Living had given me my southern girl heritage and love of its flavor back, after a long hiatus. Life is good.