I thinking about perhaps homeschooling my son next year instead of sending him to second grade at the public school. He’s behind in a couple of content areas (particularly reading and writing), and I want to take care of that before he lags even more. I think the best way to do this is to keep him at home where I can give him individual attention on a daily basis. This is actually something I’ve been considering for a while, but have been afraid to pursue. Now that I’ve had several grad courses in Education, particularly in how to teach reading, I feel a lot more confident about my abilities to homeschool.

There are other things to consider, though. I really do think the social aspect of public school is something positive, so I’m worried about removing Alex from daily contact with his friends. I have thought about after school tutoring sessions instead, but he’s so busy with sports and playing outside that I don’t want to overwhelm him. After all, he’s just 7!

I don’t know… I keep going back and forth on this. I guess the only thing I can say at this point is “we’ll see”.

I know we’re a long way away from tax season yet, but I like to keep my paperwork organized so that I can file and get my refund as soon as possible. I’m usually pretty good about holding onto all the important documents and receipts I need for home business deductions, but this year has been a different story. I’ve been trying to juggle grad school, a full-time job, and family responsibilities all year long, and as a result have not had much extra time to devote to bookkeeping. I’ve misplaced or lost a bunch of receipts and as a result will lose out on the deductions. Maybe if I had my own epson receipt printer, I could generate duplicates! After all, I know exactly which receipts are missing and can easily check online to see how much the items cost.

I hate to have this happen, especially since I’m losing out on more than $500 worth of deductions. I guess this will have to serve as a lesson about the value of staying organized. Damn.

I’ve been reading all summer about how the Chicago Blackhawks are scrambling to get their budget under control so they can begin the 2010-11 season under the salary cap. It’s been a painful process that has forced the franchise to part with very popular players like Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, and Andrew Ladd.

All I can say is that I feel the Hawks’ pain. I’m currently going over my own household budget numbers to see how I can possibly come up with enough money to pay for my grad school tuition in the fall and winter — and it ain’t pretty. I just don’t see where the extra money is going to come from. We’re already scrimping and saving and cutting back wherever possible. We switched to cheap insurance a long time ago, we’re not wasteful of water or energy, we use coupons at the grocery store, we save all our errands for one day so we don’t waste gasoline, etc.

Ugh, this is so stressful! I might end up taking fewer classes in the fall and/or winter in order to reduce my tuition burden. I really don’t want to stretch grad school out any longer than necessary, but that might be the only option left here.

One of our favorite things to do in the summer is attend the various county fairs and carnivals that take place around the area. These fairs usually last just a few days, and feature cheesy rides, unwinnable games, and deep-fried food. What’s not to love?! We usually end up spend between $20-$25 per ticket, and have an absolute blast.

While we never win prizes from the games, we don’t exactly go home empty-handed, either. That’s because there are usually at least a handful of local sponsors giving out promotional items at booths set up around the fair. This means we can get a couple of t-shirts, hats, water bottles, key chains, or frisbees just for taking a minute to fill out a form. Yes, the form is usually followed up by a sales pitch — but who’s to say you have to give your real telephone number or email address?

Anyway, I’ve been scouring the paper and there are still quite a few more fairs coming up. This is going to be a great summer!

My skin is never great, but it is definitely at its worst in the summer. The heat and humidity, not to mention my constant sweating, really do a number on my face. I’m always oily through my T-zone, which not only looks disgusting, but also leads to rather severe breakouts. And yeah, since I’m in my mid-thirties, this can be particularly embarrassing.

I have tried practically every over-the-counter cream and topical lotion out there, as well as quite a few very expensive prescription medications, but nothing really works. In fact, my skin usually gets even worse, turning red and flaky because of the harsh chemicals. So this summer I’m thinking of trying an oral treatment like Acneticin. I’ve read a lot of literature that says because acne problems start within the body, it doesn’t make much sense for treatments to work from the outside in. Maybe if I get something that treats me from the inside out, I’ll have better results. Here’s hoping, at any rate!

In anticipation of completing my Master’s degree in early 2011, I’m currently updating my résumé to reflect my new credentials. I want to start looking for a job in my field (ESL) right now so I can slide right into a good gig as soon as I graduate. I would like to work at a nearby community college or high school, so I’m already doing a bit of research into hiring processes, upcoming openings, etc.

I haven’t been to a job interview in forever, but one thing HR people immediately notice about my résumé is that I used to work in a factory. Yes, in an actual factory operating punch presses and other industrial equipment. Apparently recruiters don’t often see someone with a blue-collar background applying for white-collar positions, so I always get a lot of questions and comments about my factory experiences.

Truth be told, I loved working in a factory. I’m the kind of person that enjoys mindless, repetitive work because it allows me to think about other things. I mean, who wants to actually focus on work for eight hours? I even used to memorize poetry by taping a poem by my machine so I could look at it all day. That was fun for me.

Heck, if I could find a factory job that paid well enough, I’d apply for it now — Master’s degree and all!

We’re big motocross fans in this family, and one trend we’ve been noticing lately is that more and more riders are purchasing motor homes to serve as headquarters during the race season. Motor homes allow riders to travel to out-of-state events in comfort and style, while also saving money on hotel rooms and meals.

We’re not serious racers, but we’ve toyed with the idea of buying some kind of bigger RV that we could use both for motocross and for summer road trips. We’re looking into some of the costs associated with this purchase, such as parking and maintenance fees, and with the kind of upkeep required for the water supply and cooking gas. Plus we have to be aware of how much motor home repairs cost in case something breaks down in the future. After all, we would definitely buy a used vehicle, so anything could happen.

This is not a decision we need to make this month or even this year. But I think it would be awesome to have a motor home someday!