Life, the Universe, and...

I am trying to keep a great outlook on this year. Things haven't gone to hell in a handbasket, and I have a good feeling about it. We are *this close* to getting our lawsuit filed (sorry, more info perhaps after its said and done), and while I am hopeful about it, I am also a bit scared.

We are back to one car--I am pretty sure you saw the great pics of my car taken the day after Christmas. My daughter is doing fine, even though we are both currently carless. We've found a new engine for her car and we're currently saving to purchase it. My dear hubby will be the lucky one installing it.

The insurance company paid off my car completely except for my deductible (which was a relief!), and hopefully another new/used car is in my future.

I am still writing for the newspaper, and I love that. Affordable Baby Organics (whom I also write for) is for sale, and that job is up in the air. Hopefully the new owner will love the writers work and keep us on. I occasionally write for Demand Studios, but I've gotten a bit frustrated with their sorting system, so I only browse titles when I have a lot of time (which isn't now--since we've started homeschooling). I need to get out and start soliciting more work, which is in my plan for the year, but hasn't happened yet as we are still working on a routine for the major (schooling) change in our lives.

Homeschooling. Hello! So far we are still in get the routine down mode. Because we've started in the middle of the year, Steven has been doing a lot of testing to get caught up for the new semester. *k12 works on a yearly basis, so even though Steven was in school for the 1st semester, he has to show mastery of the 1st semester stuff for his grade to move on. That involves taking all the unit assessment tests as well as the semester tests. Which isn't too much fun, but we've been trying to break it up with more fun stuff like Spanish and Art...and Runescape--all electives! Well, Runescape isn't really an elective through k12, but it is a fun game, and far be it from me to ignore Steven's need for some downtime!

And we decided to go vegetarian this year. Well, I did, and the rest of the family is kinda just following along. If you are interested, you can read about my journey at my vegetarian blog: Vegetarian for a Year. The fun thing is that once we get our school routine down, we will be traveling into Vegas a couple of times a month to go to the Farmer's Market and go see Grandma...which I'm sure Grandma will appreciate.

I think I've gotten you pretty much caught up. And this break was made possible by the fact that Steven is in an online class with his teacher/mentor right now (on the awesome computer they sent to us!), so I have a bit of a break. Take it where you can get it!

See ya soon!

"Never, ever stop believing in magic, no matter how old you get. Because if you keep looking long enough and don't give up, sooner or later you're going to find Mary Poppins. And if you're really luck, maybe even get a purple balloon."

~TC Keller (Steve Kluger)

From My Most Excellent Year - A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park

A New Year and a ...New School?

No, we're not moving. Yes, it's the middle of the year. We have decided to homeschool Steven for the rest of the year. Or, kinda homeschool him. :) We are transferring him to Nevada Virtual Academy, which utilizes the awesome K-12 curriculum, but is still considered "public school".

This isn't a decision that we entered into lightly. Our daughter started disliking school in the 7th grade, and it just went downhill from there. Steven has been asking for quite a while to be homeschooled, but his grades are now starting to slip, so we did a lot of soul searching and question asking, and finally made the decision.

And now I'm excited about it. Is that weird?

So, in addition to writing, now I get to teach as well. It really is a new year!