Another Hot August Night

It was sooo hot today (105 degrees) so I had to prioritize my morning in order to get things finished up before it got too hot, besides writing in the evening is kind of nice. The house is quiet for a change and I don't feel rushed. The moon is absolutely beautiful right now. It looks like it is parked right at the end of our street above the trees. If it weren't so humid outside it would be nice to just sit in the garden swing and relax. Today I wrapped up my Hardpan submission with only two days to spare. That is a load off my mind and now I have to just wait for a reply, hopefully a positive one. Yesterday we got Kristin's license and textbooks all taken care of and her window replaced so now she can put last week behind her. I really dislike seeing the kids go through tribulations but at the same time I know it prepares them for life. Kristin has had more than her fair share lately but maybe it is best to get them all over with. It always breaks my heart when they hurt. I try not to pamper them too much, I just let them know I have an ear if they need it and both kids are pretty good about sharing what is on their mind. I'm pretty excited about tomorrow. Erik has the day off and he thought it would be fun to go clamming, something we have never done. After he looked at the tide report though I think we settled for just spending the afternoon in San Francisco because neither of us relish the idea of getting up at 5:00 a.m. We'll see how energetic we are in the morning. Just getting out of this heat will be nice and traffic shouldn't be too bad. I like doing stuff with the kids or maybe it's just that I like that they would want to do something with me. We don't usually get into too much trouble, although there have been ocassions...it's just nice to be free to do stuff because I know after next week I will be a prisoner of a relentless academic schedule. I'm actually quite excited about the semester starting. There is a certain level of autonomy that I am unable to obtain any other way since I am not working. I love to be around the students and the professors. If anyone would have told me twenty years ago that I would be making a career change I would have thought they were crazy. I am happy where I am and that I have waited because learning is so much more valuable to me now and I haven't been jaded by the system enough to stop caring like so many teachers today. If I have everything calculated correctly, I should be in a position to pour myself into other people's kids right about the same time mine are leaving home, so maybe that empty nest won't have such a negative impact on me. In any case, I am looking forward to the next chapter. I did not post a yummy recipe yesterday because I had a request for chocolate chip cookies and I figured everyone already has a recipe for that...but Erik and I prepared cous cous last night for dinner (actually I cooked it and he decorated it) and so we will post a picture of that. It was quite delicious. We've really been getting into the organic scene lately and eating much healthier, not that we ate that unhealthy before but we are just trying out a lot of new things to see if we like them. It has been my experience that cous cous is best when prepared in chicken broth and accompanied with avocado and tomato slices. Overall it has a nice nutty flavor that goes well with just about any other entree that you would normally serve rice or pasta with.