Abby started her new 2nd semester schedule on Monday. None of her classes begin before 11am! Don't think that means there's any less chance that Abby won't oversleep! We called her during the week and reminded her to incorporate more studying into her free time this semester. I'm sure she's enjoying having a roommate that's around more.

Tuesday night I attended my monthly Art Guild meeting. Our speaker that night was the president of the Art Guild who gave us all tips on critiquing artwork. All the artists in our group had brought in a few pieces that we could then all critique. It's really cool to see how talented and diverse our group is. I am going to paint again someday and this group is inspiring me.

Bryn's days of driving the car were numbered. We had to lay down the law. If she didn't have a steady income (i.e., JOB) to pay for gas and insurance by the first day of 2nd semester, no more car. And what do you know... she had an interview on Jan 28th and is hired the same day! Just one day before the start of 2nd semester! So Bryn is now gainfully employed at Wolff Tanning. She'll work 3 to 4 4-hour shifts per week. Abby's friend, Kendal, works there but of course is now off to college so the place came well-recommended. Her first day of work was Saturday morning where she learned to wash towels, how to clean the tanning beds and arrange the room, what to wear, etc.

Friday night I got to use one of my Christmas presents. Bryn had purchased 2 tickets to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for me as a gift. It wasn't any ordinary concert: it was a tribute to composer Richard Rodgers, who wrote many songs for big musicals. And, the concert was directed by none other than Marvin Hamlisch himself!!! How cool is that! Bryn was going to accompany me, but she came home sick from school Friday. Jeff happily escorted me. We recognized 2 people in the chorus: Dr John Puchner, who taught the girls piano lessons for years and Christine Williams, the wife of my co-worker, Mike.

Saturday we headed to Appleton for our nephew's, Mitchell, Confirmation at St. Thomas More. Mitchell chose his Grandpa George as his sponsor. The mass was at 5pm, and after almost 2 hours I was hungry!!! Debbie, Terry and Maggie put out a good spread and we had a great time visiting everybody. Baby Chayse looked so different already! This is Debbie's last year of teaching her kids' religion classes, but she says she'll be doing it again.