2016!

Happy New Year, everyone!  Wow!  I started off the new year with a very nasty cold - so bad that I had to take 2 days off work and pretty much lost those 2 days.  I'm feeling better now, but Rich & Mariah have both caught the bug.  Hopefully, it'll work it's way through the house soon!

In the meantime, I've gotten a good start on my new stitching project for this year.  My new project for this year is Lizzie Kate's 'Boo Club Double Flips'.  Boo Club   Here's my progress so far after 1 week (with 2 days sick & no stitching):



I'll be rotating this with a model for Myrtle Grace Motifs, a new SAL from PalkoLap (I'm doing mine in purples), and a CAL from Moogly.  It's going to be a very productive year!

On the home front, we are in the process of buying a newer mobile home.  There's one down the street from us that is a size between a single & a double wide.  It is 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms.  The kitchen is huge with a marble topped island.  We have several people interested in buying ours and if everything goes right, we'll be moved into the new one by Valentine's Day!

Jobwise, I'm floundering.  I'm praying for a solution and ask that my friends & family pray with me.  My department has gone to later hours and that makes things difficult for me with Rich & Mariah.  There is so much that they can't do on their own & need me to help with.  Me not getting home until 7pm or later makes getting dinner, homework, etc, really late!  I have found a couple of positions that I can do from home, and am very interested in one of them.  Once we get moved and I can set up an office in the spare room, I may try that on.  I love working at my job.  I put in 104 hours in volunteer time last year, most of which was done AT the office!  There aren't many companies that offer that kind of perk.  We have a Faith group that meets once a week for prayer and worship, and I really need that.  We have great benefits & I work with a great group of people.  I just need something with earlier hours!!

School - Mariah is doing great in middle school.  She loves it, but it will end soon.  We've been told that the district has redrawn the boundaries and 6th graders and new students will be going to a different middle school.  Mariah can stay in her current school because she's already there.  If they keep her program the way it is, she will stay.  If it's going to change, then, we're going to go back to homeschooling.

Her counselors and her state caseworker and I have talked at length about this.  The public high school is a lot more geared towards college prep.  We know that Mariah will not be able to go to college.  First, she could not do the math that she would have to do for a degree.  Second, the course load would overwhelm her.  She would have to split a 2 year degree into at least 6 years.  In addition, she needs so many support classes that she has no electives whatsoever and is missing a couple of core classes, such as geography & writing.  So instead of public high school, we have worked out a program where she can not only earn a high school degree, but also experience in a career that she wants.  She will be doing time4learning 3 mornings a week for her core work; a local co op 2 mornings a week for art, music, & drama; the Rec Plex 2 afternoons a week for swimming & basketball; and volunteering at the local pet shelter for career training.  Once she turns 16, she will be able to work part time either at the pet shelter or a nearby pet store.  The co op has proms, school pictures, picnics, etc, so she won't be missing out on any of the fun parts of school.  We actually think she will get a more well-rounded education with this program than by going to the high school!

Well, that's all for now.  How is everyone else doing??