And good morning to you. You know, I normally write in the journal later at night (well, later at night for me), but lately that evening stretch is reserved for Brewers games and reading on the front porch. Maybe I should write during the Brewers game. Anyway, Saturday morning, first real summery morning, to me, anyway, of the year. S wanted to sleep on the front porch futon, and he didn’t want to sleep down here alone, so I crashed on the couch. I’m on the front porch now, all the windows open, breeze cutting through, eels playing on the mp3 player, N getting on his shoes, getting ready to play outside with his brothers. The house is crazy messy. I’m sure I’ll get to cleaning sooner or later.

This week was busy, like summer weeks can be, with meetings, paperwork, kids’ baseball, and (as far as this week goes) a Chicago run. Here are the highlights:

• Wednesday JC and I hit Glorioso’s for lunch. We also checked out the bakery on the corner, which reminded me acutely of those in Assisi.
• I’m almost finished with the Walser short stories. This book is truly one of the best I’ve ever read, and I don’t use that phrase lightly.
• I finished season one of Burn Notice. That show is way underrated, if you ask me, and I’m considering getting season two, although I’ve seen some of the episodes already. M and I watch season three’s episodes on USA on Thursday nights. We might watch True Blood next.
• The Brew’s playing well. I’m not afraid of the Cubs. They’ll choke.
• Thursday was our fifteenth wedding anniversary. We celebrated by taking the kids down to Chicago for the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Pics to follow. We also walked through the rest of the museum, which is a lot different than when I was a kid, then stopped at Powell’s and let the boys buy books. T was slightly interested in an alligator hot dog at Hot Doug’s but chickened out before we could find a parking place.
• Lots of meetings yesterday, but work went pretty well, except for the fact the humidity after the torrential rains caused some adhesive to fail leading to a broken picture frame in the office.
• I’m trying to perfect a workout schedule. Here’s what I have so far:

Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday: weights, 30 minutes cardio
Monday: 60 min cardio, usually in two 30 minute stretches
Tuesday: weights, 30 minutes cardio
Wednesday, Friday: Either 1) 30 minutes cardio/60 minutes basketball, or 2) 60 minutes cardio
Saturday: Off

I’m holding myself to the “off” Saturday. If I don’t hold myself to the break I’ll pay for my overzealousness later. I’ve been working out intensely for over a year now. I’m getting a better sense of what I’m doing.

Ok, the boys just hauled a shitload of toys out of the basement. That’s a good thing, right? Have a lovely Saturday.