Summertime Storms ...

The beginning of June is always a wonderful month for fantastic storms. The heat and the humidity bashed into a cold front today and caused the clouds to topple over one another just over my house. Luckily, no tornado and some much needed rain.

Memorial Day 2007 - Road Trip ...

Happy Memorial Day!

This year we took a road trip to Champaign to visit the in-laws. Although Jake loves car rides, we decided to drop Jake off with my dad because most people believe he's not a big socializer (I think he's just misunderstood). Farley, however, went along for the journey. As you can see in the second image, Farley and Jake are still working out their differences; ironically, though, Jake looks happier than Farley (I think he thought we were taking Farley back to wherever he came from). After the long ride, Farley slept even more and enjoyed the afternoon playing. As for mingling with the family, everyone is doing well and the food was good. Jake was a little disappointed when we arrived to pick him up and we told him Farley was non-returnable.

Laughing is good for you ...

Many websites state that laughter is not only good for relieving stress and tension, but it burns calories, too. I would like to laugh a lot, and my hopes are that you reading this entry will laugh, too. On that note, the youngest model in the house thought he would contribute to the blog. Enjoy your weekend!

Student Loan Repayment ...

For those of you employed as prosecutors or public defenders, the John R. Justice Prosecutors and Public Defenders Incentive Act was passed by the House on May 15, 2007. In summary, it provides $10,000 per year to pay off student loans with a three year guarantee to work in this public arena. There are requisites, of course, such as being employed full time and not being in default status. Also, a maximum of $60,000 is available per borrower. Lastly, as usual, it's available only if the funding exists. As many of you in the public sector are aware, this bill is vitally important not only to enticing future attorneys, but in retaining trained and qualified ones, a practice which substantially bolsters the entire field of law. I'm all for the spirit in which it was introduced. Currently, the Senate has an identical bill scheduled for debate. Hopefully, the Senate will pass it.

Link: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-916
Link: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-442

Winds of change ...

Okay, according to many, there is no climate change taking place. Today, the sand from two hills on our farm blew so hard that you couldn't see through them. I walked outside and my shoes were completely dusty; Rochelle had to change her white socks because they turned brown where they weren't covered by her shoes (good thing I wear black socks). Amazingly, this storm finally rolled through right at sunset. It was amazing as the freezing rain just pummeled the ground and a fog instantly formed; even more amazing was this sunset that sheared through all of that percussion. It only lasted a few moments, but it was stunning.

Summer is almost here ...

Today, it was absolutely windy, dry, and hot. It felt like it was in the upper 80's. No matter what the weather is like during the day, though, it seems like the sunsets are always beautiful.