I have never met my mother-in-law. I've only ever heard her voice on a voicemail she left for Nate for his birthday. I've never seen a picture of her.

Long story short, she hasn't been involved in Nate's life since he was 15ish. For a reason I'd rather not get in to right now.

Nate's brother recently made contact with her again. She knows Nate is married, but that's about it. She knows my name. She has no idea what I look like, or even what her youngest son looks like now. Nate wants to call her, but for a myriad of reasons, he can't make himself do it. So, I got her address. Pretty easy considering I already had her phone number. I want to send her a letter and a few pictures of me and Nate. I know the things I want to tell her, the things I want to ask her, but I'm struggling with how to word it all and work it all out.

I also need to pick some good pictures to print out and send her.

If you're wondering, yes, Nate knows what I'm doing. I wouldn't deceive my husband, especially over something that is so directly involving him.

So..what do I do? "Hey Joyce! I'm the daughter-in-law you didn't know existed until recently! How've you been?"

I'll figure it out. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's writing letters.

I spent today at home thanks to a migraine. It sucked.

Perhaps I'm Pathetic...

I am still addicted to Degrassi.

I'm 24, and should be over this show, but alas, I am not.

Anyhow, I've finally decided on a Halloween costume for this year, now I just have to go shopping to find the coat in my price range. I'm going as Carmen SanDiego.

Yes, I am that big of a nerd. I've got everything but the two most important pieces: the coat and the hat. I found the hat. I need to find the coat.

This is my mission.

Today would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday. As a Beatles fan, and a music fan in general, I can't help but wonder what changes (if any) he could have brought to the music world had he not been murdered.

Think about it. Look at what Paul McCartney did. Look at what George Harrison did. Can you imagine a music world with John Lennon still in it? Holy shit!

I leave you with this for today:

Mr. Happy

This is Mr. Happy. During some of our last days at FYE, we had gotten to the point where we just didn't have anything else to do. No shipments, barely anything to straighten, and nothing left to throw away because we needed it for the next couple of weeks. So...we played. We played with whatever toys, leftover supplies, and mystery boxes of stuff we found while cleaning. I found a big bag of balloons we would use for the various sales, and decided that nothing would make me happier than balloons. Like all retail stores, we also had a boat load of permanent markers. Enter Mr. Happy. I had a great day with Mr. Happy...until Bryan killed him. Bryan, the senior assistant manager, put packing tape on Mr. Happy. He died a horrible, gruesome death. All I have left of him is this picture snapped with my cell phone.

Rest in peace, Mr. Happy.

(you can also see how bare our shelves were getting towards the end, too!)

New goal, starting today.

I've set myself a little bit of a goal. I want to blog every day. Be it a sentence, a paragraph, or a full-on rant, I want to write something publicly every day.

I'm starting this today, and I'm hoping I remember this goal and stick with it.

Today I have nothing much to say, except that I have picked an old hobby back up: I've started to crochet again. My first project was supposed to be a potholder, but I decided to just keep going and it's rapidly turning into a black scarf with orange stripes. My first color change was rather sloppy, so I've cheated with the others and so far it's working out. No, it is by no means a professional (or good, really) scarf, but it is mine, it is for me, and I'm content with it. I figure by the time I get through this one I'll be prepared enough to learn a new stitch or two and maybe tackle a scarf for my niece or a hat for myself.

I've been compelled to pick up a useful craft, and now I have. Huzzah for me!

And as this point...I have nothing more to say.

Park 51 ranting.

I spent 5 minutes doing some research this morning. This hot-button issue of the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" got Nate & I thinking. We decided to figure out exactly what the controversy is, exactly why people are so upset. After my brief foray into the issue, I've decided that, thus far, nobody has presented a good argument for why Park 51 shouldn't be built. For one, it's two blocks away from Ground Zero, not immediately in the face of the memorial. Also, I refuse to hold an entire religion responsible for the actions of a small percentage. That's like saying all Catholics are child molesters thanks to those handful of horrible priests. I won't do it. Given, most of my information comes from Google and the Park 51 website, but honestly, if they achieve half of the proposed goals in their mission statement, I see it as a good thing. A community center fostering togetherness, education, recreation, and understanding. Oh, that's right, Americans don't like people who tell them to get along. Honestly, though, nobody has presented me with a sound case against the building of Park 51. The one thing I can think of against it is the fear for the safety of those who would want to use the center. I can only imagine some moron attacking a group of college students walking in for an art exhibition in one of the galleries. It doesn't seem fair to me. It is private property, they have a constitutional right to build whatever the hell they want on that property so long as it is within the letter of the law. Last time I checked, a mosque was legal, a recreation center was legal, a gym was legal, and art galleries were legal. What is the big deal? Why is nobody considering the constitutional rights of these American Citizens to peacefully worship however and wherever the hell they choose? I'm frustrated my the lack of any cohesive argument from the opposition. Given, I may just be optimistically buying into the hype that the Park 51 developers have put out into the world, but I'd much rather believe in the goodness of people than assume that everyone in the world is bad and out to get me based on religious differences.