Friday, July 31, 2015

On this, the last day

I don't have anything particularly newsworthy to bemoan or bemirth about today, so I'll just put down a few random bits on this, the last day of weekday summer before the boy heads back to the realms of full-time employment. 

Before I get too caught up in a whole bunch of not much, I'm currently working through Go Set a Watchman, which (SPOILER ALERT), now you know what my next post is going to be about.  I'm turning into all book reviews all the time now, it seems.

So the girls have become caught up in Jake and the Netherland Pirates, which means that my new nickname is Scurvy Dog.  Alright then.

The boy has been going back and forth with an online company for a new set of glasses.  Certainly, we can pick our frames out in person, but he's been less and less thrilled with the options that have been available the last time or two when he has switched things up.  But then again, when we're sniffing out free frames, we need to be mindful of not always getting our cake, too.  But, and get this, I convinced him to go with a hipster pair of BLUE frames.  And they came today.  And they're really BLUE.  And it just emphasizes how much he needs a haircut.  I could write a weepy saga tale about his emotional investment in finding a slick new set of eyeware, but that's really his story.  Plus, it's less than interesting.

But, like I mentioned, the boy goes back to his full-time gig, which is going to significantly hamper my work time for the next 10 months.  So I'll be switching back to largely a night owl worker, and I have to admit, that just works with my personality.  On the nights when I don't have work to do and I'm faced with an hour or two of unscheduled activity time, I'm a bit on the nutsy side: Should I make something in the kitchen?!  Would I really waste my time reading?!  Maybe I'll find somethinganything (!) to watch because obviously I have too much time on my hands and I don't know how to fill this void!!!  It's unsettling.

Next week is going to feel a lot like wehavetoomuchtimeonourhandsandit'sdrivingusalltothebrink(!!!) unless I morph into cruise director mode.  And so there will be day trips galore, some time spent on Google Maps finding new parks and bakery/coffee shops, and something like trips to three different zoos.  (I challenge that notion of being the Scurvy Dog.)

And finally, pseudo-speaking of cramming everything into a short amount of time, we seem to like trying to make heavy financial decisions or house overhauls in the last waning days of vacation time.  Summer 2015 is ending with figuring out which impossible options are best for refinancing This Olde House and finding my next car.  Here's something that would be significantly helpful in making choices such as these: being able to see the future.  (That would also be quite helpful in deciding how to best save for eking our kids through the weep-worthy cost of their college educations 'cause if you already knew that they would be working through a 2-year program at the local community college versus, say, the private college choices that we both made, that would make a considerable difference in how we thought about saving.  I get now why my dad kept urging me to consider the University of Hawaii; if I'm going to shelling out for the Big Time, then I might as well get a sweet vacation out of it once a year for Friends & Family weekend.)  The only thing that makes these never fun decisions 100% worse is trying to do them while juggling work schedules.  Gag.  Me.  Thoroughly.

I know that I already said "And finally..." but that was a bummer of a way to end this mish-mash of little consequence.  So I'm going to repeat it and try again.  And finally, I made my annual PIE and it is pretty much everything about why I do not enjoy making or eating PIE.  But the boy does enjoy at least the idea of PIE (any kind, really).  And his birthday is coming up, so...there we go.  PIE.  It needs to get outta my fridge so I can replace it with a more worthy effort, namely, BIRTHDAY CAKE.  Cheers to that.



4 comments:

Mariah said...

You need to get a job at a college a few years before your kids start college. Can we say...tuition remission?? $$$ ;)

Amy said...

In all honesty, that's the #1 college savings plan in part because I KNOW, right?!?! and also because, that's really where I want to be long-term anyway. There might be some serious talks about "Either you can go to whatever college you want, or you can come here and have no student loans...your choice" in our futures.

Mariah said...

Three more magic words: Tuition Exchange Program. My employer has membership in three Tuition Exchange consortiums that would allow my child, if they apply or are accepted, to attend any of a long list of colleges/universities throughout the state and country with full tuition remission. So --- there is still the possibility of options for the student with what college to attend, and still receive the financial benefit. But we're still stuffing lots of money away in college funds just in case!

Fugitive said...

Must be nice to have 'lots of money' to be 'stuffing' away for future college expenses. Hmmm...