Duluth

We're going camping near Duluth this weekend. I work for a couple of hours and then the kids and I will head to Plymouth to pick up Dar from work and drive the rest of the way together. He didn't want his car sitting all weekend, so I drove him to meet his carpool this morning. That meant getting up at O'Dark:30. I don't know how he does it every day! If I had my way I'd be up most of the night and then sleep most of the morning...until at least noon! Oh well...c'est la vie, right?

So we've got the tent, the lawn chairs, the firewood, the sweatshirts and jackets all packed. The low tonight at Duluth is supposed to be 31! Highs all weekend in the 50's. So it'll be a chilly weekend, but fun still. We plan on relaxing, hiking, exploring. We used to go camping every fall up there while we were dating, but I don't think we've been since we had kids. We used to stay at Jay Cooke State Park, but state parks are so expensive these days, it's a private campground called Indian Point right on the St. Louis River for us.

So how's Cassie doing? She's doing good! She had a slight relapse last weekend, but we've worked through that one. One thing I've discovered is when she's freaking out if I can get her to be still long enough to start rubbing her back, she calms down. She's very high-touch and that seems to sooth her even when she is screaming that she hates me! lol

They are at mid-quarter at her new school and she's doing quite well there too. She's got an A, a B+, a B, a B-, a C and one class that's missing a couple of scores so the grade isn't up yet. We are very proud of her! She's been getting all her homework done and assignments turned in, attending every day, and generally behaving herself. We talked last night about what the difference is. She said she thinks better and isn't so distracted. She also said because the two bad-influence girls aren't around her, she's not tempted to skip. She also said she used to worry about whether or not she was going to skip. I thought that was interesting. But she's hanging out with kids who go to school, do their homework, and generally behave themselves. All of that helps, I believe. I'm just very thankful to the Lord that we seem to be on the other side of all of this. Keep praying...God is hearing our prayers and answering them with Yes and Amen!

Another fairly "big" thing in my life is that I'm getting tested for diabetes. I've been getting nagged for a long time to get tested, and I've been gradually feeling crappier and crappier. Like the "shakies" that I used to get a lot, then was able to control by eating smarter, have been slowly increasing in frequency again, no matter how healthy I'm eating. I also finally met a dr that I like (well, she's an RN, but she's thorough, pleasant, helpful, and gentle), so I made an appt with her last week. I go in this morning for a bunch of labwork, then full physical next Friday. In the meantime she's had me start counting carbs. I'm supposed to eat between 30-45 carb grams per meal/snack and eat every 2-3 hours. So after calorie counting for the past year, I'm re-learning how to count...carbs this time. I'm surprised by things that have larger numbers of carbs and lower calories, or lower numbers of carbs and higher calories. It's a whole new ballgame for me! Zsaaaaaaaaaaaaa (that would be from Allie Cat walking across the laptop keys while I was texting with my hubby and not looking for a minute. Cats! lol)

Anyway, I'm off to shower, go get my labs done, change the fish water, finish packing the van, work for a couple of hours, change clothes, and head to Duluth! See you on Monday!