Links and My Already Long Week

Too agitated yesterday to post, even though I had a lot to say!  First, a couple of links to brighten your day:

How Social Networks Predict Epidemics (~18 min. video)

The Child-Driven Education (~17 min. video)

Although they're worth watching, you can absorb most of the content through listening, so it's perfect for entertainment while you're chopping veggies for dinner.  :-)

I discovered TED Talks (the source of the links) about a week ago in my recent quest to update my understanding of the internet.  There is a lot going on in networking and education that is web-centric and that's a large part of what motivated me to start blogging.

So what's happening with me lately?  Still spending my time between classes relaxing, after a fashion.  I have a hard time being idle for long periods (notice my entire family laughing in the background and clarifying that "long periods" means an hour).  So in the last week or so, I have:

• Repaired two shirt hems
• Progressed on two more sewing projects (bench cushions and replacing the zipper on a shirt)
• Finalized a cross-stitch design and started work on it (for a friend's wedding gift and I think I may have waited too long to finish in time...)
• Made steady progress on The Way of Kings.  I'm on page 462 of 1007 and I hope to finish it by Saturday, before my next class starts.

The highlight of my week so far was the grocery run I made yesterday, wherein I got out of the store with a week's worth of groceries for $41.  That's right, terribly mundane, but what can I say?  The goal was $275 for groceries this month; we average about $305/month.  We've spent $241 at the commissary and subtracting $24 for dog food and treats leaves me at $227 for September. Barring any major milk crises this week, I think we're going to make it!  I recommend CouponMom for those of you who don't have a good source for printable coupons.

One last note: the older I get, the more I realize what a useful tool social etiquette can be when properly applied.  Beyond saying please and thank you, the phrase "I'm sorry but I have prior plans" is helping my psyche feel a lot better today.  ;-)