Why is May Such a Busy Month?

Busy, busy, busy! Not only here at Challenges & Adventures, but I notice it around other blogs as well. For me, we have several family b-days, plus there is Mother's Day, Memorial Day and Cinqo D'Mayo! There is the end of the school year activities and baseball heats up. Plus with spring solidly in place the call to be outside beckons us.

Which is all great, and family memories have been made, but it really sucks where blogging is concerned. I know you understand.

I have been loving my bike rides and have been exploring parts of the trails I haven't known about. I really need to find a bottle holder for my bike so i can carry my water bottle. And I can't wait til my hubby and son can get bikes and join me on my outings.

We took the Joe-boy to see Night of the Museum 2 yesterday. It was cute and he loved it, but for us adults it wasn't quite on par with the first one. We then went over to my brother's for a bar-b-q. My sis-in-law made yummy chicken shikabas.

On Sat the same sis in law and I went to the city farmers market. What fun! The booth that took my breath away was the gal who was selling peony blooms! She had hundreds of light pink and soft white peonies for sale. Did I mention that peonies are one of my top 5 fav flowers? I have had wonderful peony plants at a couple different homes we've had and I miss cutting bouquets of peonies every spring. Alas, I didn't buy any as I knew by the time we got home they'd be wilted. We had lots more shopping and fun. We checked out the Idaho Shakespeare Festival outdoor theatre. We are deciding which play we want to see together and when. And then we ended up at Barnes & Nobles to check out the latest mysteries and the sewing/crafting magazines. And of course, we didn't walk out empty handed.

Next up, the Joe-boy has 2 more weeks of school and then a half day of summer school for 6 or 7 weeks. There are more kids movies coming out and I'm sure we'll see a few of those. "Up" from Disney/Pixar looks especially delightful.

So what was your May like? And what does June hold for you and your family?

A New Bike for Moi

I have had on my wishlist a new bike to ride ever since we moved to Boise. Boise is one of those bike-friendly towns (it even has a sign that says so) that has bike paths all over the place. So when we moved here I just knew I wanted a bike. But being poor starving students, I knew that there were other more pressing needs. But recently we had a bit of a financial blessing come our way, and after spying a great deal at a local store, I decided the time had come. The hubster was all for it, esp since I think he has grown tired of hearing how much I want a bike. We picked it up and brought it home. I rode it around the parking lot a bit, but it wasn't til the next day that I was able to take it out on its maiden voyage. I crossed the street to the college, I wound around the students and other bikers and finally made it to the greenbelt. I tested the gear shifting, shook my long, glorious brown hair in the wind and was lifted to new heights of ecstacy! (how's that for exaggeration?) But seriously, it was great! I love biking and it felt so good to be back. I went farther up the trail than we have been on it by just walking. I stopped for a breather on the way back and forgot how sore my palms can get from pressing down on the handlebars. But I'm confident that my palms with toughen up even as I find time to ride longer and longer rides.

Now the hubster is talking about getting a bike for himself. And we still have on our wishlist our desire to get Joe his special needs bike that I can hook up behind mine. Maybe this will be the year of the bikes? Who knows!

School's Out!

Hey treasured readers---

Michael's last final was last night! Woo hoo!!! School is officially over for the next 3 months for the hubster. And because, the Joe boy isn't out of school for another few weeks, that meeans some "you & me" time for us together during the day. Yes, I have a honey-do list for the man, but I also have some fun date afternoons planned as well. All work and no play does not work in our house!

We still aren't sure what the summer holds. The hubster is still looking and applying for that elusive internship. The economic slump doesn't help. He would consider going to summer school, but the university isn't offering anything in his field that would be beneficial.

The Joe-boy does have morning summer school for 6 weeks. And it actually starts earlier than the regular school year--what's up with that??? I am so not into getting up early in the summer! But we will make up for that the last 6 weeks of summer by sleeping in as long as we want.

I would like to do some traveling this summer, but that is doubtful at this point. Maybe next summer .... We will definitely be spending a bit of time at the pool and lake and river, for sure. And I'm sure the library will see our faces every week.

So what's on your summer agenda? Any travel plans, or are you doing a stay-cation?

Til next time ...

Going Back to School Part 2

hello treasured readers,
thank you all that gave me such great encouragement to go for it! when I shared my interest in going back to school. It encouraged me to hear of your stories, your families stories and others that you knew that succeeded in going back to school.

Today I was able to tour the school and talk with the financial aide person, a wonderful woman named Lori. We hit it off right away, partly due to finding out that we are both Seattle transplants to Idaho. The school is called Oliver Findley and the 5 month program I'm looking into is ....

drumroll please ....

....

....

not yet ....

....

....

yes, i'm irritating this way! ....

....

A NAIL TECH!!!!!

If you want a manicure, a pedicure, or a set of acrylic nails I would be the one you would want to come to. I am really, REALLY excited about doing this! In fact if you could see and hear me, you'd see me squealing in my mind right about now.

What I found out today seems promising. The Pell grant would cover about 80% of the cost. So I would need to find another scholarship or get a student loan for about $700. There are 2 upcoming sessions, one in August and one in October. I'm trying to figure out what our summer will look like so I can make a decision whether the August start date is doable. Josiah doesn't go back to school til the last week of August, so that will impact my decision. Mike and I will be discussing this over the next few days and weeks. So I would appreciate your prayers as we make decisions. I hate making mistakes and will agonize over things for a long time, adding unnecessary anxiety to my life.

I'll keep you updated as time goes on. Until next time ....

Going Back to School?

If you are a regular reader here at Challenges and Adventures, you know that the hubster has been attending BSU. He will be graduating next spring with a degree in Supply Chain Management. (It's in the business dept) When we first moved up to Boise the idea of me going back to school came up. But going to the university full time didn't seem like the right fit for me or our family. But over the months, I have been mulling over another idea. Going to a trade school in order to learn a skill. Some positives are the shorter length of time in school, graduating with a skill that is marketable, and having a skill that allows me to work part time around my families schedule and needs.

I have been doing some research online and narrowed down the ideas to one skill I would really enjoy learning and working at. I called a school here in Boise and have a tour set up for next week to meet the financial aid woman and see the campus. I'm pretty sure that I would be able to get some financial aid of some sort, but I won't commit until I know that for sure. In the meantime, I've been thinking about how going back to school will impact our lives. I would be gone 8 hours 5 days a week. I would have 2 days to get my household chores caught up with, do any crafts, sewing and knitting, think up new blogs and catch up on the ones I like to read .... At times it seems overwhelming to have that much time committed to school. And yet, its only for 5 months. I can do almost anything for 5 months. Its worth it to improve our lives. And Michael is very supportive of this idea.

So how bout you? Would you go back to school mid-life? Do you know people who have done so and succeeded? Any tips on keeping up with all my other responsibilities while going to school?

Til next time ....