College visits

I really need to get moving on some college visits. I think I've changed my mind about trying to take Becky along, too. I guess we'll just wait until next year, and hopefully, take her by herself to places more targeted to her own interests.

The places I definitely want to visit are Baldwin Wallace and University of Akron. I would like to find a Christian school with Tim's potential major, but thus far I've not succeeded.

Another interesting school

Hope College, in Holland, MI

It's a Christian school, and seems to have some good aspects, as well as potential for Tim's interest in computers.

Night #2...

... in the basement.

Tough Week

Flu, I guess. First Doug started feeling bad over the weekend, and came home sick on Monday. Today's Friday, and he's finally back at work, but now Becky's sick. Having Doug home sick meant delivering meals, drinks, and Tylenol periodically, and wiping down every surface I thought he might have touched.

Becky, unfortunately, tends to get queasy when she has a fever. She has a very high fever now, and hasn't thrown up, so maybe she's outgrowing it. But at least partially because of that history, she likes me to stay close and take good care of her.

So I spent the night in the basement with her (notice I didn't say I slept in the basement with her.)

One blessing is that I don't have to spend Saturday in Columbus at the CAP conference with Tim. I have so much I'd like to accomplish in the next week or so. I'm just going to have to work on it while sitting with my little invalid, I guess.

Colleges

Going through colleges to see if any in our geographical have Tim-like majors...

4 year programs
Calvin College
Baldwin Wallace +
University of Akron +
University of Toledo


I wanted to check Grove City, but their network must be having problems...

Middle of the night

Can't sleep, so I guess I'll do some thinking/planning. I was looking for my notebook, but couldn't find it, so I guess I'll think here...

I want to change my schedule. The kids' school is less of a burden now that it has been in years, so it seems I should be able to get more done with my time.

Stuff I do already (when it could be scheduled)
Housework (Mostly Friday, some Monday)
Laundry (2-3 days a week or one load a day?)
Meal planning and shopping (once or twice a week?)
Cooking (blech, almost every day, though the kids are supposed to be taking a night each)
Homeschooling-includes planning, paperwork, teaching/correcting (mostly Sat. or Mon.)
Church work-offering, teen study, cleaning (Sundays, and every other Saturday?)
Time with kids (more or less daily, I'd hope)
Taking Becky to horse riding, Victoria, HOPE (Tuesday afternoon, Wed. a.m., Friday 2X)
Some writing (So far, just Tuesday evenings)
Some time with church women (here and there)
Computer time (probably too much - periodically through the day)
Reading (when I'm able or can't resist)

What I'd like to add:
More time with church people (prob. not very scheduable)
More time writing (some weekly daytime slot?)
Time spent developing an author's profile (website/blog/contacts) (same as above?)

That's all the thinking I can do right now -- after all, it's 3:30 in the morning, and I've been awake since before 1:00.

I'll try to come back to this and see if it suggests any kind of schedule...

Nice evening

I went out with Kristyn from church last night. I enjoy her company a lot. We had dinner and walked around the Aurora Farms outlet mall.

Other than the fact that I ate too much, it was a very nice evening.

Doug said he and the kids had a nice evening too. Monday is their Bible study night, and he also looked at Trig with Tim and watched some old Dick Van Dyke shows with them.

Ordered it!

For the first time, I was let down by the WTM boards, and did not receive an answer. But with both Doug's and Tim's approval, I decided to make the switch.

We started using it Thursday as a trial, and I know two days aren't much of a trial, but we're already behind for the year, so I went ahead and ordered my own copy, and the companion, on Friday.

I prayed hard during the last week for God to help me figure out what to do, so I'm sure hoping this is it!

Life of Fred

I just emailed the author of the LOF math books... laying out my Precalculus sob story and uncertainties about switching into his curriculum. I ended by asking him to convince me that his was adequate for a kid going into the math/science field.

I can't wait to hear what he has to say.

I put basically the same question on the WTM high school board, and have yet to hear anything...

No Nano

Well, not doing Nano again this year... I just realized this morning that if I were going to, I'd be three days late starting, but besides that, I just don't have time this year.

November is a HORRIBLE month to do it. Thanksgiving... Christmas prep, for me, an anniversary... a busy time in school...

It's just really tough. This year, though, I really want to finish (again) the final edit on FI.

November!

I wasn't even thinking about it, and then I got an email from the coordinator of Cleveland NaNoWriMo. Ack! Do I really want to do that this year? Do I have time? Shouldn't I try and finish the edit job on FI before tackling FUD, or anything else?

UTI

A bad one... the worst I've had in years. I don't want to go to the doctor, though, because if I do, I'll probably end up sitting in a waiting room full of people with H1N1, and I REALLY don't want that.

Blog musings

I've used this space for all kinds of things... I really don't know what to do with it. I've noticed that it is migrating as different parts of my personality become more dominant. Initially, there was a tendency to comment more on politics or social concerns. Then it was abandoned for a while. I thought of having a more homeschool bent to the topics, but I'm really in the final throes of homeschooling. That will become less and less of my life for the next few years and then disappear entirely.

Now I'm just using it for my own record, but I'm wondering if I should give it a more literary bent, since that's hopefully the direction my life is headed.

Should it bother me that I don't have anything about specifically Christian content? That's the one part of my life that is most important and will never change.

Teacher's Conference

Doug and I are going to CVCC for a teacher's conference tonight. I've never had one of these before, so I don't know what to expect.

I think Tim probably has one of the best grades in the class, and I know he's probably the most well behaved kid in there, so I'm not sure what we'll talk about.

I know Tim is more the slow and steady type, so he takes longer than many of the students to finish some of the assignments, and he's lost some points for things being late. Some of the work, like today's assignment, can't be finished at home, so if you work slowly, you just get behind during the hours you're there. I just don't want him to get discouraged.

Tired

I am extraordinarily tired today, and I've got a bit of a sore throat, and generally feel yucky. I sure hope I'm not coming down with something.

PSAT

Tim and Becky both took the PSATs this morning. Tim's a junior, so it 'counts' this year, not that I honestly expect him to make the NSMQT cutoff. He may have had a decent chance at doing so had we done a boatload of test prep, but it wasn't that high a priority. If he ends up missing by only a few points, I'll probably be kicking myself!

Becky's taking it for the same reasons Tim did last year: to get a sense of how close she'd be to NM scholar, and to have a practice run at it before the real thing.

I don't remember how long it took to get their scores. I want to check the WTM forums but they've been down all day.

WTW '81

So this was homecoming weekend at my old high school. Of course, eighteen homecomings have come and gone since I graduated, and I've never known (or really cared much) about it. But things are different now that I'm on Facebook. Not only do I know about it, I get pictures.

I enjoy seeing the pictures, but the whole keg bus and pub crawl thing seems too reminiscent of high school for a bunch of 46 year olds to get that excited about. I guess I've become an old fogy, but by now, shouldn't we all? Isn't there a time for exchanging the ways of a child for the ways of a man, as Paul puts it?

Gray hair is a crown of splendor, according to Proverbs, and is a sign of the wisdom that comes with age. I guess I'm glad to be an old fogy rather than still wanting to get down and party.

I'm probably misjudging... hopefully it was a lot more about reconnecting with old friends than just about drinking!

Empty Calendar

I have nothing written on my calendar today. That doesn't exactly mean I have nothing to do. HA! In fact, as always on Monday, I have a very long 'to do' list. And, unfortunately, it also doesn't mean I don't have anywhere to go. I probably should run three errands today: bank, BMV, and UPS store. Maybe I can save the UPS store for tomorrow when I have to go grocery shopping, since it's next to Marcs.

Ah, well. Life is busy enough, it seems.

The last shall be first...

I had a novel thought this morning during my devotions... Will those of us who are following the Lord in the peace, affluence, and safety of 20th/21st century America be the 11th hour workers receiving the same reward as those who have followed the Lord through hunger, persecution, and suffering?

Lord,

Apart from your grace, I have nothing of value to give these girls tonight. Grant that the words I speak may be imbued with your power to touch hearts and change lives.