Window slammed shut

Law program decided to increase their already expensive tuition by 25% and not post it until I received the bill.  They apologized and I withdrew.  End of story.

Chocolate Cake

Baked and Photographed today.

Which of These Things is Not Like the Others

Survived the first day at school.  Much of the class is young, eager, and wore flip flops.  Let's just say I stood out in my black dress pants, button down shirt, and closed toe shoes.  The interesting part is that about a third of the class is not from the U.S. so it makes for some expressive and divurgent political discussions about the creation and enforcement of international law. 

I survivied my first law class in fourteen years - Whoooosssssshhhhhhh (giant exhale!).

You People Are Good

Remember a couple of posts back, I wrote there had been an opportunity to leave Mouseland that we turned down because it required moving every two to four years which we decided was too much to ask of our kids.  The responses to that post were along the line of a door closed, a window opens.  So last week I receive an email that appears to have nudged open a window.  No, we are not leaving here, but it is an opportunity.  This fall, on a lark, I applied to a program for an advanced degree in international law.  It is a one year program if done full time.  I really never thought I'd get in, but I guess the university didn't look to hard at my transcript because I have been accepted and I start tomorrow.  Not only did the university agree I could enter the program, they agreed that I could do it part time.  So I have managed to schedule two classes around my kids schedule so as not to disturb their universe. Plus the unversity has summer classes (namely the equivalent of thesis writing during the summer).  It is possible that I could be half-way through the program by August.  We are still going to keep looking to leave Mouseland, but in the meantime this gives me the opportunity to learn a new area of law and increase my marketability for when I am ready to return to work (and I can see that day coming as Hew finishes Kindergarten this year!).  And for now I can still pick the kids up from school except twice a month so the impact is pretty limited.  No it is not immediate gratification and I don't get to pack the boxes yet, but still - an open window of opportunity.  Although I admit to being terrified as law school was a horrendous nightmare for me and I have now volunteered to return to it for 24 more credits.

And on an unrelated note, the freeze has left Florida leaving behind a trail of dead citrus and tropical fish, but I still loved it.  It was cold and the grass is dead and the kids wore jackets to school  - and it is so over.  But for now, I have my roses to remind me that even in hell it does freeze over once in awhile.

Just another day

Yesterday, after a bike ride, I began working on these

. . . sanding off the old paint, putting on the new paint, so that this weekend I can paint the walls. Then I made . . .

. . . Julia Child's French Onion Soup as it is still cold here. I follwed the recipe exactly and the only change I would make is to leave out the salt as the stock had plenty without adding extra. But even so, it was divine with . . .

. . . the two loaves of French Bread I made that morning.

I even attempted to make my own mozerella from Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll, but discovered that milk that says pasturized here is really ultra pasturized thus killing off the stuff needed to make the cheese and turning my mozerella attempt into some mushy yuck. Sorry no pictures of that mess.

Today it is German homework, my favorite italian meat sauce, and clean the house as my parents are arriving here after driving 1500+ miles for warmer weather.  I guess visiting wth their grandchildren will have to do as the warm weather  doesn't appear to arriving anytime soon.

Happy Friday!

The Path Not Taken

For a bit now, we have been contemplating a new opportunity.  I always thought that once the opportunity came we'd know exactly what to do - run for the border of Mouseland and never look back.  However, this opportunity comes with a condition that has made us pause in our mad dash to leave.  The new opportunity would require us to move every few years - sometimes nationally and sometimes internationally.  We would have limited input in the locations and some of the potential locations are still "developing".   For Hubby and me, the idea of paid travel every few years sounds like a fun adventure, but it's not just us.  Taking this opportunity means that our children would have to move a lot.  When we inquired about stayng in one location for six years so the kids could start and finish high school in one place (btw - six years because they are two years apart, not because they will need six years to graduate), the answer was resoundingly negative.  We could probably have four years, but not six.

We have tried making the list of positive and negative aspects.  While this opportunity would definately be interesting and challenging, the financial benefits are not any greater then our current situation.  And while we might find living in a developing nation interesting, I don't think our children will see it the same way, especially when they will settle in only to have to start over every two to four years.  And how will I feel when the education choices for them are "limited"?  I think we know the right answer for us and our family, but sacrificing an interesting path doesn't come easy when we have been looking to leave here for so long.  Sometimes I hate being a grown up.

p.s.  Thanks for the encouragement.  After I wrote this, I went for a run and on the last hill (well, the only hill really - afterall this is Florida!) the song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" came on my ipod.  I just had to laugh.  While I love the Rolling Stone version of the song, my new favorite is the Glee version of it.

Winter

I may wish that Florida looks like this, but I'll have to settle for some cold weather here.  A week of lows in the 30s.  Now if it would just snow . . .

Photos taken in Vail, Colorado

December 2009

Thank You Santa!

Maine December 2009

I really think that I'm going to enjoy learning Photoshop!