Hello Mellow.

And hello to the non existent readers of my long un-updated blog. I was wondering to myself this morning whether any other student mamas nest before the next semester starts. I find myself driven to get the house in as much order as possible, inventory food in the freezer, determine whether I can survive riding the train in the shoes and coat that I have, etc. School starts on January 18 and if the cost of my textbooks are any indication this semester is going to be a challenge. I have no scientific proof that the cost of textbooks is indicative of the difficulty of the course, but it seems logical that harder/more concentrated courses would mean more involved and specific textbooks, which would mean they cost more. Follow? Anyway, we will see, but one of my books is around $200. Yes, for ONE book. Egads. Neall is also going part time and his books are all $40. How does he do that? That must be classified as a super power. "What super power do you have?" "I have the POWER to enroll in classes with CHEAP TEXTBOOKS!" "Ooooohhh, ahhhhhh, woooowwwww!"

I have 3 semesters left before I graduate with a bachelors in Criminology and Communication. I am still on the fence about pursuing a masters in Social Work, but the scales have tipped towards the "no-thank-you-at-least-not-yet" side of the issue. I'm fairly convinced that a masters won't get me a better job, nor will it net me more money. In the jobs that do recommend a masters degree, most offer a way to work for money while pursuing the degree. If I can get someone else to pay for it, I should probably do that. I'm leaving the option open for the future, but for now I think I need to get into the work force and let Neall focus on being full time again. His chosen profession DOES require a masters and he will need to focus full time for about 4 years to get there. Working full time in another field isn't really going to work for our family. I see a role reversal in our near future. That ought to be interesting ;o).

Other than that there isn't a whole lot going on here. Last semester was bad. I squeaked by one of my classes with a B-, ouch. I didn't feel confident about my grade in any of my courses. Here's to a better spring.

OH! I haven't really blogged about the chickens! My gosh are they stinking cute. We have 5 silkie chickens. They came to us at about a day old via the post office (I know, the idea that you can mail chickens is odd, lol). They're outside full time now (thank goodness) and are quite the entertainment. We all love them very much. I am counting the days until I can sit outside in the mornings with my coffee and watch them scratch and peck. It is amazingly calming and I hate that winter has taken the opportunity from me (for the most part). We've had some lovely days but they are usually peppered with thunderstorms or at least rain, and the chickies are spoiled and refuse to come out into it. Silly birds.

Anyway, that's all for now I think. More musings on friendship may follow. That's a topic for writing about when you do not have a preschooler trying to stick dimes in your eyes (don't ask).