Scattered Thoughts

Thomas was sick all week. So no school at all was completed. While I was worrying about this, my best friend reminded me that had he been in public school, he would have missed the entire week, too. That put it into perspective, because now we can just take up where we left off, rather than going to school and having to catch up.

~~~~~

Last night I was looking on eBay at text books. I once thought texts were evil and shouldn't be used, except for math. Well, I've changed my mind. We are using a text book for science this year. I got it from eBay. Thomas has really enjoyed it, and we will read a section and then hit the Internet for further research and discovery.

I think I'm going to buy a Civics text book. Thomas has been asking tons of questions about elections, government, legal matters, etc. He has even, gasp, expressed his desire to become a trial lawyer when he grows up. (NOOOOOO!!! I was a court reporter for 11 years and that is NOT what I want for him, but it's his life and choice. Still, NOOOOOO! I'll say that here, but not to him.)

Maybe I should tell him about some of the most boring trials I have sat through -- one was four days long about ladders. Yes, I am an expert on ladders because of that. I guess those four days did help when we bought a ladder ourselves, because I knew what to get and what not to get.

~~~~~

I have learned I have a love/hate relationship with the month of January. January is so long, so cold and so miserable. We've had a nasty cold spell for quite a period of time. Yesterday it warmed up to a balmy 28 degrees and we were out of this house, at the park, and loving every minute of it. The puppies had a ball.

Love: It's only 31 days. Things settle after the holidays. We can get back into a routine.

Hate: Cold. 31 days of cold. Nasty cold. Ice. Snow. Cold. Brrrrr.

Triple Hate: I had been "green" by setting our thermostat at 67. The house was warm enough, we'd wear a sweater or sweatshirt if we were chilly. It was impossible to keep the house warm enough for our comfort levels during that nasty cold snap. I had to move the thermostat up to 72 which kept the house at 69 degrees. When it warmed up outside, I promptly moved it back to 67.

~~~~~

Puppies: Going well. We're completely in love with these critters. I only wish the cats were. We've started puppy classes, and they are very well behaved. Except when they escape, that is. The classes are in the store room at a Pet Smart type store. It's impossible to keep border collie puppies from jumping over the stacked bags of food and running free. Each class gets better, and I'm thankful they'll be moving the classes to a new facility in February.

At the classes, the instructor told me that she had never seen such independent and confident litter mates. I corrected her by telling her they weren't litter mates. She then corrected herself and said that she meant two puppies from the same home. She said that typically they will only play with each other and be fearful of other pups. She asked if we kept them separated, and I told her that we aim for 90%. SO...even though it's inadvisable to get two puppies at the same time, it is WORKING. We have confident, independent, happy and healthy puppies -- as judged by an expert trainer.

~~~~~

I have a desire to get back to the school room for school. Thomas is resisting. He likes the kitchen better. I don't because we have a small kitchen and now there are two huge dog crates. I feel like I'd have more space in our 9x9 school room. Plus, we can watch the birds at the feeder in the school room. Another plus is the school "mess" would be there rather than my kitchen.

~~~~

I forgot to post a Frugal Friday post. I'll sum up my Frugal week here: Food was cheap as Thomas was sick and didn't eat much. Bob and I ate mostly from the cupboards. We spent a total of $60 at the grocery store this week. We did eat out at Taco Bell on puppy class night as class is in a big town. I think the total was $9. Thomas only ate half his burrito, so I knew he was still sick. Taco Bell is cheap, though, so I enjoyed the "luxury" of that.

I did not spend one dime at the pet store where the puppy classes are held. That is a huge accomplishment for me. I had wanted to buy another large crate for our bedroom, as Tesla is going to outgrow his crate soon. I resisted. I'm still looking for used crates.

I have kept my checkbook up-to-date, which is unusual for me. I usually balance it once or twice a month. I've been aiming for weekly, and soon, daily.

~~~~

That's about it. After having a week off from school, I'm pumped up to start again. I wish Thomas were, but he'll go with the flow.

~~~~

That's it.