Sneeze sneeze Cough cough

I have been sick for a week, starting with a sore throat and concluding with a 102 degree fever last night. Oh, and much sneezing, coughing, and blowing my nose in between. I feel better today after sleeping twelve hours, and my temperature is back to normal. (Luckily, Mark hasn't caught it so far). So the blog has been on hold and I have no new photos to post. Any photos from the past week would show me in my green and red Paul Frank Julius pajamas, blowing my nose every minute, watching daytime tv, sipping hot tea, sleeping, sneezing, coughing, reading, slurping soup, taking medicine...and wishing I was eight and my mom was taking care of me. I will spare you. The most exciting piece of news? My mom finally got her passport and so her visit to Australia is a sure thing now! She is coming right before my birthday in less than two weeks. Also, Mark found a new place for us to rent movies- a mini-mart about a block away- that is cheaper ($2-3) and has a much bigger selection! Since going to the theatre is pricey here, ($14-15/ticket) and there's not alot we like on tv, we tend to rent. (Our beloved Mythbusters show has stopped airing here!) Sometimes I'm able to find stuff at the library but it's never a reliable thing. I am constantly reading and have finished four books in the past week and a half, including a Russian classic, Dead Souls, by Nikolai Gogol. Published in 1842, it is about a Russian character who tries to gain wealth by scheming and meeting landowners from whom he can buy deceased serfs from at cheap rates, then use them as collateral (pretending they are still living) to purchase an estate. It is a very funny and interesting story, and a surprisingly easy read. Due to the author's background and title as well as the premise, I expected it to be somber and hard to relate to, but it is isn't at all.