Temperature is 46 degrees and rising. So, I guess we’ll get NO snowstorms this year? FUCK, that is creepy. I mean, we’re now at March 11 — only 10 days til spring — and NO major snowstorms. Hell, back in january I was slightly creeped out by the exceptionally long and warm January thaw, but kept that "oh, but we’ll get ours!" thing going in the back of my head, and yet, we haven’t gotten ours. At all. Our neighbor always helps us out by snowblowing our driveway, especially the plow-pile, during and after a big storm, and I don’t think he’s even snowblowed HIS driveway this year. So. Weird. On the other hand, I can find some satisfaction that the warmest winter I can remember is happening at the time of historically high oil prices (and historically high oil company profits) so I like to think of it as a little fuck you to Big Oil. It will be interesting to compare our total heating expenses from last season to this one; the oil is certainly way more expensive, but are we using as much?

School news! I’m chipping away at my list, and making some good headway. I’m also really excited to be formulating a plan for my last two classes, ever, as well.  I need to do my practicum and another higher level EDU course to finish. My assistantship will pay for two summer classes (exactly what I have left to do) but taking summer classes isn’t really an appealing option to me right now, because most of them start May 15. You do the math. My advisor is a peach, and set up a whole practicum section for summer, solely for me to register for it, get it paid for via my assistantship, and then give me an Incomplete in it, which I’ll then complete by jumping in with the fall section.  In arranging this, I asked about the last class, which hasn’t been selected yet, because I thought it had to come from this list of four that are on the program of study forms. Apparently, it used to be that way, but now it’s "one of these four, or a higher level EDU course as approved by your advisor." And since my advisor was advising me of that change, I decided to check out the summer schedule again.

I have two options, that I’m hoping will work out.  Option A is a summer class that starts July 10 with a face to face meeting on campus, and then continues online until 8/25 (I think. Ends before fall semester, anyway.) It’s a techie class, as opposed to a theory class, on using Moodle K-12. (Moodle is an open source online course management tool.)  It’s taught by my advisor.  Option B is a non-tech class, about middle school vs jr high organization and curriculum. Obviously an area I’m passionate about, as seeing my middle-school model based program get disassembled and merged into the juniorest of highs, so I would find it interesting as well as a way to finish my degree. The summer section starts 5/15, BUT, there’s a fall section already scheduled for Wednesday evenings, which most 500+ EDU classes are, since most people taking them have day jobs. I also know the professor of that one, and  I’m pretty sure that my extenuating circumstances, once explained, would be an acceptable excuse to do the register/incomplete/fall student thing.  (An evening class isn’t a problem, Dave would just come home early so that I could go to class.) 

Either option (assuming professor B is accomodating) would mean that my degree would be PAID IN FULL this summer.  Option A is preferable, because I would be doing one class at a time, but I could deal with option B too, since I’ll have to take a class anyway, if it was paid before I started, well, YAY. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

On getting the baby room ready, I sent a video from my phone to Amy after she offered to help, just to warn her. Despite that, she still wants to come up before my shower to help me turn it into baby-room and not minefield of crap. My mom is coming next week, and wants to help, too, in the best way she knows how: by purchasing lots of Rubbermaid. It’s a long-running joke that my mom is Rubbermaid’s best customer, there is no problem that can’t be solved without the right combination of plastic bins with lids. It’s very sweet of her, and perhaps a stash of Rubbermaid will help me corral the craft stuff into one closet and the baby stuff to another.  If I can just get the adult stuff filtered out before Amy comes, then it can just be a crafty-ass weekend where I get the bumper cover all sewed up, and get the baby quilt finished. I do want it to look presentable by the time we have guests wanting to see it.

Little lights at the end of all the tunnels, really. CBE starts tomorrow night, Dave’s last game is tonight, we’re going to see the Violent Femmes next week… it’s all good.