july 4th weekend is going to be relatively quiet for us, although we are doing more than we usually do. up until last year, we did a whole lot of nothing. and last year, we were on the road - a surprisingly quiet road, but on the road never the less. this had quite a bit to do with cali fireworks shows costing money, bbq's costing money, and any kind of travel/visiting costing money, and us having no money of which to speak. this year, well, we're still not going to a fireworks show, but we are doing something.

we were supposed to go to the house of a friend of saxy's - a man he's worked with/for upon occasion. it was going to be a pot luck kind of thing, so saxy picked up the ingredients for his potato salad and we bought a few other things - chicken, hamburgers, some chips, that kind of thing. when we called again last night to double check on time and that we had all the food we'd need, he told us that something came up and he had to cancel.

instead of wasting the effort that went into a bbq elsewhere, we decided to have a bbq here. we've allowed the girls to each invite a friend or two (with a couple of jewel's friends not allowed for various reasons), although it looks like only one of the 3 or 4 will actually make it (holiday weekend - pretty much expected most of them to be gone, but we made an effort). this morning, saxy picked up a few other things to complete our bbq table since it was previously going to be supplemented by food at the friend's house and now it's not. we'll be starting the food around 4. we'd start earlier, but saxy has to go deliver a check to someone.

for music, we're watching live 8 on vh1 (which is a bit weird, considering we're going to be eating and it's about poverty and hunger). the focus for this concert is africa and other developing countries, but i always wonder - do they think of the poor and starving here at home? yes, we're one of the richest countries in the world, but not everyone here is able to make a living. of those that are, many are one missed paycheck from living on the streets. sometimes i think we focus on africa and other countries just so we can ignore the unemployed, the poor, and the homeless on our own streets. anyway, so we're listening and watching that until 8pm tonight.

i've even dressed up a little, sorta. the purple socks don't quite match, but i didn't say i dressed well. ;) anyway, dressed and put a little makeup on so kitten can take some pictures. i hate having my picture taken, but promised she could today. she put up my hair (something all the girls like to do is play with my hair) and is working on the other kids even as i type. once we get copies of the pictures, i'll see what i can do about getting some of them up.

it's a comfortable day, really. we had a problem this morning, but that was saxy's fault instead of jewel's. he really needs to learn how to lighten up, but that's not anything you can teach, unfortunately. beyond that, though, it's been nice. i'm working on a chapter revision, and have several other chapters printed out for my attentions. it'd be nice if this atmosphere made it through the weekend, but that's probably too much to ask for.

for the first time we've done anything holidayish for the 4th, it's nice. tomorrow we have no plans, but monday saxy, kitten, and i will go with mcat and probably his lady friend to see "war of the worlds." no fireworks, but that's okay. maybe we'll luck out and be able to see something from the house. probably not, with all the trees around, but that's okay. even without fireworks, so far it's a good 4th of the july weekend for us.