Cassie's Journal - December 9, 2013

I’ve been drafted!

No, I won’t be shipping out to boot camp or anything – and I’m sure that Michael and I had a lot more fun while he convinced me to help out with the music for some of the younger kids than standard armed forces recruiting methods would be.  Okay, I was actually already drafted before Michael got around to convincing me to keep helping him when we had some alone time in the lounge tonight, and it isn’t as if I would have turned him down anyway; but let’s not let those little facts get in the way of a good story.

We found out about the need for a pianist before first class when Michael was told that he’d be on his own for the two practices he had due to a shortage of volunteers.  The next thing I knew; we were both getting out of class to help out with those practices that were booked for the Kindergarten and Grade One kids.  I had to do some acting while ‘learning’ the songs even though I had them memorized after the first run-through; but everything else about helping the younger kids was really great.  Ryan Bassett was thrilled to have Michael playing or his Grade One class; and his buddies seem to think that he’s done okay in the older cousin department – even if Michael might have lost a few points for bringing his girlfriend along.

That music time was the most fun while we were at school; though we had fun at lunchtime too that included some Christmas-related chat time while we ate and then some basketball in the gym.  Most of the younger kids went outside to play, but we decided not to bother with bundling up for the bit of time we had left of our break by the time we were ready to leave the cafeteria.

Our after school studying was at Michael’s house tonight because we were switching up our family dinner nights this week.  His parents need to work at the Inn tomorrow to help out with a Christmas parties; so they’re only taking one day off this week.  He and Rebecca still have Tuesday off; and I invited both of them to have dinner with us – though Rebecca hasn’t decided yet whether she’ll join us or not yet.  Michael and I had a bit of extra work to do tonight after missing most of two classes, but that really wasn’t a big deal; and we still had some time left for video gaming before Tim and Rowen headed out and Michael and I set the table shortly before dinner was ready.

Jacob had gone all out with a new entree experiment; and I really love getting to try out those amazing dishes – even when they get mixed reviews from the critics.  Anyone reading this who knows Jacob understands that he’s his own biggest critic; and that he wants his culinary guinea pigs to be honest when he tests out his new creations.  Our dining adventure tonight was spicier than most people would enjoy, and there was a biting after-taste that took a while to wear off; so Jacob is putting that recipe back into the work-in-progress file.

Michael, Rebecca, and I took care of the clean-up; we had a little visit in the living room with Jacob and Miranda; and then Michael and I came over to my house so we could practice for the concert as well as do my guitar lesson and a saxophone practice for both our music class and band practice tomorrow.  Mom did a Magi lesson with us too and we joined in for the bedtime story and snack for Ethan and Ehlana; so we were busy pretty much through until the cuddle and make-out time in the lounge – I mean the draftee benefit program that convinced me to help Michael with the Christmas concert music.

Whatever you want to call it, we had fun; and would have liked to play for a while longer than we could under the constraints of a school night curfew.  That’s probably for the best anyway because it’s closing in on three o’clock now; and the only reason I wrapped up my studies and work for the night is because it’s so late.  I’ll put in another long day tomorrow too, but then I’m going to cut back for the rest of the week so I don’t burn out going into the weekend.

The last thing that I should mention tonight is the latest news from Violet, Stephanie, and Christina; since I haven’t really done a college update in a while.  The first day of final exams went fairly well for them – and for Dillon, Jake, and Josiah.  It sounded as though the exams were actually less stressful than all of the studying leading up to them; so maybe they’ll all be able to relax a bit while getting ready for the rest of their exams.  Some of the stories from residential halls are entertaining, but the only thing that really shocks any of my favorite college freshmen is the continuing parties that are going on even when every student should be focused on their studies.  Home may seem downright tedious by comparison to campus action; but I think we’ll manage to help all of our college students to have a good Christmas even if there aren’t any all-night – or weekend – parties; blaring music and non-stop noise; or any of the other craziness they’ve been experiencing over the past four months.

There’s none of that going on here right now either, and that works for me; since I’m ready to wrap this up and join Mandy and the rest of my family in slumber land.  Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Cassie's Journal - December 8, 2013

Happy 13^th Birthday, Lily!

I’m fairly sure that Tai Chi this morning was the only quiet time I had today through until I climbed into my Jacuzzi tonight – and even then I was multi-tasking my usual school night studies, work, and computing while I was the tub time.

The morning highlights included some sister hair and dress-up time with Ehlana and the full shopping and travel report exchange during breakfast that included pretty much everything that had been going on when we weren’t together yesterday.  There was more shopping talk going on at church too, but the main action there for the kids, teens, and Sunday school teachers revolved around the ongoing work needed to get ready for the teen Christmas concert and other holiday activities and crafts.

Snow had continued to fall very lightly all morning, so Michael and I weren’t the only people in town having minor snowball fights after church; though we were on our own for that while walking to the Inn.  His parents had needed to leave before the service had ended, but we were ahead of Rebecca and most of the staff working the lunch shift too; and while I wouldn’t classify that little respite as quiet time; it was quite a bit of fun.

I only helped out at the Inn until the main prep work was finished for the lunch rush, and then I went home to eat and get ready for Lily’s party.  It had pretty much stopped snowing by then and Dad had cleared that half-inch or so of white and fluffy from the driveway, sidewalks, and porches already.  Missing out on that was okay, but I would have liked to be there for the wintry play time Mom and Dad had with Ethan and Ehlana when they’d first got home from church.

Rowen met up with me at my house because Mom was taking us over to Lily’s for the party so we didn’t have to walk.  We picked Michael up at the Inn on our way; but met Tim there.  This had been another group gift opportunity, and as usual; I liked being able to do that instead of buying four smaller gifts for our friends.  It was also the first time I’d been invited to one of Lily’s parties; which gave me a chance to get to know her family a bit better than I did before today.

She’s a member of the Ayres clan, but only distantly related to Uncle Nick, Liz, and their side of the family.  That sometimes seems strange in such a small town when families have the same last name; but then I also don’t usually even think about how connected almost all of the families here really are.  I’m sure that Lily doesn’t mind having a cousin for one of her teachers this year; and probably has other teachers with closer relationships.  It’s probably because it was just Mom and me before moving here that makes my new family ties so much more important to me than for other kids and teens.

Anyway, Lily’s the baby of her family; her parents are closer in age to Michael’s parents than mine; and her oldest brother is in his second year of college now.  He obviously couldn’t be at Lily’s party, but her sister, Alexandria, and brother, Kurt, were there all afternoon – while staying out of the way with their respective boyfriend and girlfriend until we all went to dinner at the Inn.  There really isn’t much to report from the party.  The guys mostly wanted to talk football – and watch it on television when they weren’t playing video games too.  The college championship games from Saturday were big news – particularly the upsets – and the NFL races for playoff spots are heating up too; so the die-hard fans like Tim are really getting into the games now that high school football is done for the season.

I should probably recognize for posterity that my boyfriend did not even attempt to watch football last night or even check the scores while we were hanging out together in the lounge.  Hopefully that won’t damage his future reputation; but I’ve definitely lucked out in the boyfriend department when it comes to things like that.

While the boys were immersed in football and video games, the girls mostly just sat around and talked.  The only excitement for the afternoon was when Lily opened her gifts, and her parents had her do that at the house so that they didn’t need to drag everything to the Inn only to haul it home again later.  Michael and I left for the Inn early so that we could help with getting the first wave of food cooked and out to the buffet tables; and then we re-joined the party.  Tim and Rowen had saved seats for us, and though we were on the edge of the birthday action; we enjoyed an entertaining hour and a half together before Michael and I wished Lily one last happy birthday and went back to work in the kitchen.

The rest of my Sunday evening has been busy and more than a little exhausting.  Michael, Rebecca, and I were sent home early; mostly because we all had homework that needed to get finished by morning.  I stopped in at Michael’s house long enough for a decent goodnight hug and kiss; but then headed home for the night from there.  Except for some bedtime fun while getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for the night; it’s been all work since then.  My homework didn’t take long, but my Magi lesson with Mom took a bit over an hour; and I’ve spent more than three hours on my studies, the family business, and my usual nightly computing since climbing into bed with Mandy.

I really need to crash for a few hours now, but before I do that; let’s take a quick look at the upcoming events schedule.  It’s hard to believe that we only have two weeks left at school before the Christmas break, but most of the college kids only have one week left before they’ll be coming home.  They’re all concentrating on exams right now, but I’m looking forward to having Violet, Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie home again soon.

That’s going to be great, but we have a lot more on the go; including the school Christmas dance on Friday night; a sleepover and babysitting service on Saturday night while the adults go out to a Christmas dinner at the Inn and party at Sheldon’s; and our band has a Seniors’ Christmas party to play at on Friday afternoon, and the Maple Valley Christmas parade on Saturday morning.  We’ll be having our last game night of the year on Thursday too; Michael and I need to find more time to practice for the school Christmas concert between now and next Thursday; and I have all of my regular work to do too, so even the quieter days will be busy.

With all of that to look forward to, I really should get started on my nap time now.  If this weekend is any indication; this whole month is going to add up to a best-ever kind of Christmas and holiday season; and every day will be full of fun and excitement – even with all of the work.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Cassie's Journal - December 7, 2013

Best Christmas shopping day ever so far!

Starting out with a breakfast buffet at the Inn was awesome; and so was getting to spend the travel time each way with Grandma and Grandpa.  I should admit that my appreciation for transportation comfort was fairly high today after riding the school bus last night; and that’s also why some of my favorite ‘country kids’ friends got bonus hugs from me when we bumped into them around the Mall this morning.

Michael and Rebecca were helping out at the Inn up until the first wave of food went out to the buffet tables, and then they joined all of the shoppers in the dining room – Michael with Rowen, Tim, and me; and Rebecca with Jenny, Garth, and a group of their friends.  The place was pretty much full without any extra customers, but Jacob and Miranda were continuing the buffet for most of the morning; and expected to have another full house once we were on the road for Crystal Springs.  I was totally out of the loop for the organization side of the trip, so I got to enjoy the food and have fun with my friends while Mom was very busy with checking her lists and making sure that every kid, teen, and adult was accounted for and in groups and vehicles before she and Aunt Grace hit the road with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden in the minivan with them.

Grandma and Grandpa didn’t even need to wait for the last group today, and we were on the road by shortly before eight o’clock.  Rowen insisted that she and Tim sit in the back so that Michael and I could talk with them and my grandparents from the middle seats, and that worked for me; but they were definitely more comfortable cuddling together for the trip home tonight while Michael and I just ended up settling for holding hands when we conceded that our attempts to span the gap between our seats so we could cuddle weren’t going to work.  I’m sure that Rowen found it convenient that one side of the back bench was filled with shopping bags so that she had to sit in the middle right next to Tim too.  You’re welcome, guys, and I’m glad I could help you out with that, but for the record; I set that up expecting that Michael and I would be switching places with you for the trip home.  Who knew that you’d pick today to decide that the back bench seat isn’t really all that uncomfortable or too cold?

The lack of cuddle time with Michael wasn’t really that big of a deal, and I really did enjoy the time with my grandparents.  It’s funny that they’ve been home all fall, yet we’ve all been so busy that those three hours on the road with them is the most time I’ve spent with them since summer – at least when we weren’t sharing time with the rest of our family and friends.  I should try and fit more of that into my schedule before they start traveling again in the New Year, though as usual; I have no idea how I’m going to make that happen.  I’ll try not to let that kind of stuff bother me, and just be grateful for the time we did get to spend together today.  Even Tim would probably admit that my Grandfather in particular is really good at making travel time fun and entertaining; and he has the best travel stories for sure!

Moving along, we got to the Mall nearly twenty minutes ahead of Mom, Dad, and everyone traveling with them in the last group of vehicles; so Grandma and Grandpa set us free to get started on our shopping adventure.  We were given an ‘emergency’ cell phone too, but even in a big mall, with about ten percent of the entire population of Witch Falls and the Ridge River district; we rarely went more than a couple of minutes without bumping into someone we knew.  Text messages with Mom let us keep in touch.  We met up with them for a bit of joint shopping not long after they were in the mall too; and that included some shopping time with Dawn, Jillian, and their friends too.

Michael and Tim definitely earned some points with those friends, and according to the email Dawn sent me; the comments after we’d left included offers to move to Witch Falls or adopting and helping poor small-town boys like ours to adapt to big-city life.  Since Jillian is the only friend of Dawn’s that I could ever see actually enjoying life in our little town, I don’t think we’ll have to deal with that, and while I have obvious issues with other girls wanting to adopt my boyfriend, Dawn’s friends weren’t looking at Michael or Tim in a big brother sort of way; so I’m sure they’ll figure out soon enough that wouldn’t work for them either.

We were so busy today, that there’s no way to cover everything here; so let’s just go with some highlights.

Getting our pictures taken with Santa as couples was silly and fun – especially since we did that while helping out with the Santa visits for Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, Aiden, Leah, and some of the other kids.  If you want to know the difference between Michael and Tim, ask to see those pictures.  Michael stood next to us while I sat on Santa’s knee while Tim shared the big guy’s lap with Rowen and had an arm around his shoulders.  I’m definitely biased, but Ethan and Ehlana had the cutest Santa pictures; including the one they had taken with Naomi and Aiden that had the girls on Santa’s lap and the boys standing next to them.

I’m sure that it was just random chance that had Ethan next to Naomi and Aiden with Ehlana for that photo – not!

Oh, and Naomi, yes, I saw that even though the camera didn’t catch it.  Thanks for that cute little memory; and I love you.

Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I had some shopping time with the twins and their friends between the time we did those pictures and lunchtime while giving Mom and Dad a bit of a break.  We did half of that shopping together and the other half split up as needed to buy ‘friends’ gifts.  The four of us were on kid control duty before and during lunch while others dealt with getting food or taking shopping bags out to the vehicles.  Dawn’s little family birthday celebration while we ate was entertaining; but I didn’t actually get to spend much time with her.  There was just too much competition for her attention and not enough time before it was time to move on to more shopping fun.  We had another hour of mall time after that when we were on our own again before we moved on to spend a couple of hours at the big-box toy store.

Being there with Michael and Tim was a lot different; though Tim is actually a lot like Aunt Leanne when it comes to playing with the toys – the only difference being which toys they like to play with.  Aunt Leanne wasn’t playing video games when she was there on the Moms’ trip; and the only robotic animals Tim liked were the dinosaurs.

While we spent more time with my family today, Michael and I also had some fun cameo moments with his sister and cousins too.  We had a little shopping time at the toy store with Jessica and Ryan; Rebecca spent a little time with us at both the mall and the toy store when she and Jenny were split up for a while – either because of shopping plans or when Jenny and Garth were having a bit too much fun and she needed a break from them.

The last stop of the day, as usual, was at Wal-Mart.  I had most of my shopping done by then; and spent as much time helping out with younger kids as I did doing anything else.  Grandma and Grandpa were ready to take a break by then, so they relaxed while the rest of us continued playing – though they might have headed home with the other half of the shoppers who had been ready to leave after finishing up at the toy store if they’d had a different group of passengers.  That did give them a chance to talk with Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa before they headed back to Woodvale, and with some of the other parents who took short breaks too.

Just as with everything else today, we didn’t seem to have nearly enough time to say goodbye when we were ready to head home to Witch Falls or Woodvale; but at least we’ll see the Rice family when they’re home for the weekend between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  Since we still had around eighty shoppers from home, we split up and hit drive-thru windows at several fast food joints to speed up the food-to-go process; and Grandpa had us on the highway by seven-thirty.  The trip home was a lot quieter than the one to the city; and then we had another blast of busy while Grandpa dropped Tim, Rowen, Michael, and me off before heading home with plans to go straight to bed after unloading their own purchases.

Michael and I were at my house in time to help unload both the minivan and truck; and we were busy until ten o’clock with that before we helped to tuck Ethan and Ehlana into their beds.  Mom and Dad headed for bed shortly after that too while Michael and I came up to my room.  We practiced the song we’re doing for the Christmas concert first; watched a Christmas movie; wrapped some gifts; and managed to fit in a bit of quality make-out time too before he needed to head home at midnight.

That was a perfect way to end a really great day; and I’ve been smiling the entire time since saying goodnight to Michael in a mostly non-verbal sort of way.  There were a few snowflakes starting to fall when he walked home, and we should have a little dusting on the ground by morning; but we’re only likely going to see a half-inch or so of the white fluffy stuff now instead of the two or three inches they’d called for a few days ago.  That won’t last long, so I really hope we’ll get more snow between now and Christmas!

It’s closing in on one o’clock now, and time for me to get some sleep.  Dad’s going to be playing catch up on his work tomorrow after taking the day off today, but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I have a birthday party to go to tomorrow afternoon that includes dinner at the Inn; and Michael and I are both going to help out in the kitchen before and after dinner too so we’re in for another busy day.  We’ll need to get around to our weekend homework sometime too, but we may end up doing that on our own if we can’t make time to study together.  That’s okay with me once in a while, since I can work faster that way; though it isn’t as much fun as when we’re hanging out together.

That’s enough of the news for today, and I really do want to get off to sleep; so...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Cassie's Journal - December 6, 2013

Happy 12^th Birthday, Dawn!

From what I heard when we texted about fifteen minutes ago, she and her friends are having a blast with their party and sleepover; and we’ll do what we can to keep that fun going tomorrow when we see them in Crystal Springs for the shopping trip.

Back here in Witch Falls, we’re home from my first-ever parade with the school band; and I’m now seriously enjoying being truly warm for the first time in hours while soaking in my Jacuzzi.

Our day started out great, from my perspective, when we woke up and found a little dusting of white fluffy stuff on the ground.  There was barely enough of it on the lawns to make any decent snowballs; though we tried our best to do that on our way to school and before classes started while we stayed outdoors and played until we needed to get into the school and started on our studies.

I had a blast with that little round of winter fun, and just in case tossing snowballs at each other could be considered ‘our first fight’; Michael and I had a little bonus entertainment while we ‘made up’ for the first time too.  Tim thought that was a great idea, and though Rowen was still blushing about their  make-up kiss when we were sitting at our desks and the morning announcements put an end to the teasing and snickers being directed at the four of us; she was also sporting a very content and happy smile.

That was pretty much the most excitement we had through until getting set free for the weekend after last class.  Michael, Rowen, and I had time to check in with our parents; drop book bags off at our homes; and we all got changed into clothes that would be warm enough for being outdoors all evening before meeting up again and heading back to the school.  The bus and driver weren’t there yet – they were busy doing one of the country kids’ routes – but that just gave us time to help with getting the band gear together – the bigger instruments, music stands, and a box of music folders and clips that would hold them to the stands.  The gear and instruments were the main reasons we were taking a bus instead of just getting some volunteer drivers with minivans, and though the bus wasn’t going to be as comfortable for us; it made the trip feel more exciting to me.  We were loaded up and on the road by five, and even with the cold weather; it was non-stop fun from then until we got back to the school at around eleven o’clock.

Before I get to that, I want to mention that Tim wasn’t happy about not being with us tonight.  It’s probably the only time so far that he’s wished that he was in the band too; though I’m sure that had more to do with Rowen than Michael and me.  We’ll see if that motivates him to join the band sometime in the future, but I don’t expect anything else to get in the way of his high school football dreams; so we’ll see whether that happens or not.

There was non-stop entertainment during the bus ride to Pinehurst.  Michael, Rowen, and I were mostly quiet while enjoying the show the older teens put on for us – both intentionally and not.  When we got to town, we needed to get everything set up on the trailer that had already been decorated by our ‘sponsors’ and brought to the park where the parade was being staged.  All we needed to do was set up our chairs, music stands, and haul the drums and bigger instruments from the bus to the trailer.  We had time after that to get hot drinks and food at tables that had been set up to take care of the volunteers and participants; and then we got onto the trailer and had a twenty-minute warm-up as we waited for the parade to start.

That warm-up was musical, not physical, and with the wind-chill tonight; it was well below freezing by the time we hit the road and started performing for the crowds that lined the streets.  Pinehurst is quite a bit bigger than Witch Falls, so the parade route was longer than ours is for the Fourth of July.  I’m sure that’s mostly to accommodate all of the spectators, and there was a great turnout despite the cold.  Since we were sitting on a flatbed trailer, we were high enough above the ground to watch pretty much all of the parade elements that were ahead of us; and it was really cool to see everything lit up and glowing in the dark.

Since I started this update with the news that I’m enjoying a nice long soak in my Jacuzzi, there’s no point in sugar-coating the effects of sitting around in the cold; and even the guys had to admit that they were frozen solid by the time we had everything packed up again and on the bus.  That doesn’t mean that we didn’t have fun too, because we did; and I really loved hearing people singing along to our music; clapping; and cheering us on.  We even had fun with the teens that booed us because our football team beat theirs in the regular season finale this year on our way to the championship.

This parade was about a bit over an hour long this year, and since we were about a third of the way into it; we hit the road at around seven-twenty; and finished up at the other end just before eight-thirty.  It was after nine by the time we had the bus packed up; and then we were set free to enjoy the mini winter carnival that was going on in and around the little downtown park and square.  Michael, Rowen, and I picked up hot chocolate and snacks first; and then we wandered around and joined in for some of the games and activities while the older teens and our few chaperones hung out in other small groups.

While we didn’t really get to have all that much time to play before we needed to be back on the bus and on our way home, most of us were ready to get out of the cold by the time we left for home – though out of the cold was relative; since the bus heater wasn’t exactly keeping us toasty warm.  I did have Michael to cuddle with while Rowen was on her own; so I won’t complain about that too much.  We weren’t quite done with the cold when we got home either, since we still needed to unload the bus and put everything away in the music room before walking home.

That’s why it was past eleven-thirty by the time Michael kissed me goodnight on my front porch before he hurried on to his house and we both went inside at the same time after one last exchange of waves and smiles.  Mom and Dad had already been in bed for a while by then, but Mom met me in the hall on the second floor for a quick chat when I stopped there on my way up to leave a pair of goodnight kisses with my sleeping brother and sister.  She assured me that running my Jacuzzi this late wouldn’t bother her or Dad, so I’m glad that we did talk; since I probably would have skipped the tub time without that assurance.  We didn’t have time for the full update, but we can do that in the morning – if we have time for that around everything else we have going on with the breakfast buffet at the Inn and the shopping trip.

I really need to wrap this up, get out of the tub, dry my hair, and get off to sleep so I’ll be ready for another day of Christmas fun and adventure.  Having guys along for shopping trips isn’t always a good idea, but Christmas shopping is definitely one of those exceptions; and Rowen and I are both sure that we’re going to have one of those best-ever kind of trips for this first one with our boyfriends.  Yes, they’ve been on the trip too before, but that isn’t at all the same; and the trips each way are going to be way more fun with cuddle buddies – especially the trip home when we’re all tired and ready for some quiet time.

Maybe I should check the travel schedule first before spending time dreaming about that tonight, but if Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I aren’t together; that can only be because Aunt Leanne is playing a joke on us anyway.  She isn’t going on this trip, and I’ll miss having her and Uncle Adam with us; but Uncle Adam is taking the on-call doctor work this weekend so that Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace can go for the first time – and be there for Dawn’s belated-birthday lunch too.  I won’t be the only one missing Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam tomorrow, but I’m sure that Aunt Leanne will check out the sales that will be going on in town all weekend; and will have one or more fast food deliveries dropped off at her house tomorrow night too.

Okay, that’s enough of my wandering thoughts for tonight.  It’s time to wrap this up; get out of the tub; ready for bed; and off to sleep.

Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!

Cassie's Journal - December 5, 2013

The extra rest last night helped a lot today, but I’m still shooting for another early bedtime so I’ll be ready for the weekend fun; and this will be another mini-update.

It’s been a fairly quiet day, and at least part of the reason for that is because of the plunge back toward freezing winter temperatures.  That transition always seems uncomfortable when it happens quickly; though we never have a problem when the temperature soars in the other direction – or when the drop is from extreme hot to air conditioning in the summer.  There’s a chance of snow this weekend, and I really love white Christmases; so I’ll get used to the cold and hope for the best.

Then again, I might have a different opinion about that after the parade tomorrow night; but hoping won’t change the fact that it is going to be below freezing; and we’ll be sitting in cold chairs on a flatbed trailer while holding and playing cold metal musical instruments.  Nobody in the band was thinking about that during our practice on Tuesday when we had such a nice weather afternoon; but I’m probably not the only teen thinking about it now – or almost teen in my case.  That seems strange too – being the only non-teen in the band now that Michael and Rowen have both hit the ‘teen’ milestone.

Anyway, there wasn’t anything newsworthy from around school; and I’ve had the usual Thursday night routine of studying at the Inn; working the dinner rush with Michael and his family; and game night.  Michael and I had fun with all of that.  Miranda had some fun with Rowen and Tim for their first study session at the Inn as a couple; the work in the kitchen after they left was fairly easy because there just weren’t very many customers after the much busier than usual Tuesday breakfast and dinner.  The trip on Saturday probably affected that too, but from what Miranda told me tonight; they’re going to be really busy for the next two weeks with extra Christmas party bookings for both lunches and dinners.

Michael and I weren’t in any danger of winning the junior championship tonight, but Rowen and Tim were fired up; and they managed to come in second place this week.  While I really do like to win, getting to spend that time playing with Michael, Ethan, and Ehlana was all fun; and I’m learning to appreciate how Jacob feels about just playing for fun.  I enjoyed staying to help with the clean-up so that Michael and I could walk home together and share a fairly lengthy goodnight kiss too.

I still made it home in time to say goodnight to Ethan and Ehlana when they were tucked in for the night.  Mom did a Magi lesson with me after that while Dad worked in the office; and then I came up to my room about an hour ago to get started on some Jacuzzi and nightly computing multi-tasking.  That wouldn’t have been enough time for a nice long soak and getting my hair dried; but I cheated just a bit with a touch or two of time-phasing.  Mandy and I are tucked into bed now; we’re in normal time; and she’s already asleep.  I’m ready to join her, and don’t have anything else to report tonight; so that’s it for now.  Until next time...

...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!