Saturday, March 29, 2014

Some Answers

Two posts ago I wrote about my son's college situation. Well, we finally have some answers.

My son did not receive an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. He admitted that he didn't hold out much hope because it is REALLY hard to get in, so he wasn't terribly broken up about it. I think I held out more hope than he did, simply because I would love not to have to pay for college, and I wanted a valid reason to visit Annapolis, MD, because it's a beautiful town.

Anyway, he will be going to the junior college in the fall. He received a $13,000/year merit scholarship and also received a scholarship from our state senator for at least $12,000, with the maximum being $17,500. Now, if he joins the band and gets some money for that, then we could possibly be paying less than $10,000/year for a private college. We are still waiting to hear from some private scholarship opportunities, so I'll post the final numbers when they are, well, final.

One of the things that the band does is march in the New Year's Day parade in London every other year. They didn't go last year, so this year (meaning this December/next January) they may go. The band director said they open it up to whoever else in the family wants to attend (we have to pay for it of course) and I definitely want to go. This is when my battle with my husband begins. He has a hard time leaving anything to chance, much less the future, so trying to convince him that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that is not to be missed will be the challenge. He already said something to the effect, "I'm not sure we'll be going," to which I replied, "I'm going." To me, this is one of the reasons we have savings. Yes, we save for emergencies and possible job loss, but also to do things that add enjoyment to our lives. So I think I can convince him, but it will take some work.

For now, I am grateful that we have a decision and can move forward. My son has already embraced the idea of attending his new school, which fortunately for us, is only 1/2 hour from home. He must live on campus and we won't have any contact with him for six weeks in the beginning, and after that he'll only have certain weekends where he can come home, but we can visit with him on Saturday afternoons and maybe take him to lunch. My office is literally about 10 minutes from the campus, so I could even stalk him at lunchtime if I wanted to. Not that I would, but it's fun to tease him.

We are so proud of him and can't wait to see him all decked out in his uniform.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

I'm Still Here and I'm 50

So it's been about two weeks since my last confession. Hah!

We went away last weekend to a cabin in the middle of the state, but had to cut our trip short because of a snowstorm that never materialized. The place was beautiful in a rural location with rolling hills and a great view of the sunset. I didn't realize that there was no TV service, only Netflix. If the weather was warmer and we could have spent more time outside, I'd be fine with that, but it was too cold to go anywhere, so my husband and I watched "House of Cards" (our new favorite) and my kids played pool. It was nice to get away, but it was anticlimatic because it was just so cold.

The cold. The snow. I've been using that as an excuse all winter to sit on my butt and gain weight. I have done nothing further in my basement, and only tonight finally gathered all of the stuff I am giving to charity because the pickup is tomorrow morning. This winter has destroyed my motivation to do just about anything. I really, really tried to be optimistic in January despite the weather, because I know how quickly time passes, but now I'm just out of my mind with it. I desperately want to sit out in my yard in the sunshine and just warm up. 

We are still waiting to hear on several things about college. My son had an interview today for the potential $18,000 grant to the private military junior college near our home. As far as we know, it went well. I don't know when we'll hear but he has to commit to a college by May 1, so all decisions should be made by the beginning of April. Dealing with the unknown with this whole thing has been incredibly frustrating; thank goodness it's almost over.

Anyway, I turned 50 recently. I remember thinking about how I wanted to spend my 50th birthday way back when I was in my early 40s. I wavered between throwing a really nice party and going away with my extended family. Neither of those things happened; in fact, it was rather uneventful. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I couldn't expect people to come out of the woodwork and wish me a happy birthday, because I never do that for anyone else. My boys got me a gift card to the hair salon, which will come in very handy next week when I go. My husband didn't get me anything, because I told him not to. I really didn't want anything. I treated myself to a nice bottle of wine and some good food for dinner, and that was it. This weekend we're going to dinner with my siblings, and that will be fun. I'm treating myself this last time before Weight Watchers starts next week.

I've got a bunch of posts I want to write, but I haven't made the time to do it. And now, I'm pretty busy in work, and I also have to study for a financial licensing exam that is at the end of next month. The book is quite large and the material is difficult. I was supposed to start two weeks ago and I didn't. I don't really NEED this for my job, but the company is paying for it and it'll look good on a resume, so I'm doing it. I just need to buckle down and study.

I must go to bed now, at the late hour of 8:27 p.m. I am devoid of all energy at the moment. Blech.

Thanks for reading, and please come back again. I promise I will post sooner than two weeks. I still have to do my post on Uggs, and as I near the end of first quarter Project 333, I'll be sharing my thoughts on that.