Homeschooling myself

It's already 3 PM and I feel like I've gotten a lot accomplished today! I started out the day by dropping Peter off at work and going to the gym for a workout. Did just about an hour - which is longer than usual, and came home to start playing with all my new software.

First, I had to set up my workspace in the study:

How geeky is that right? I've got my Tablet PC running with my e-mail, FeedDemon, etc..., and am running everything else on the big Dell. Oh, and can't forget my coffee!

Even Jasmine enjoys the setup:

She's as happy as can be sitting in my lap while I work.

Peter introduced me to Lynda.com which is online computer training. It is absolutely awesome! There a short video clips that show you how to do just about anything in many different software applications. As I have CS3 on the brain right now, I started off by checking out the free videos offered for the Fireworks CS3 Essential Training. After watching the Introduction, What's New, and The Interface free segments, I decided to plunk the $25 a month down to unlock everything else. $25 a month for everything really isn't that bad. I intend to use my classroom budget for a yearly subscription next month. After watching just about 30 minutes of clips I feel as if I could actually play around in Fireworks with some success! There are 22 chapters of clips, and I've watched the first 3. I hope to have the rest watched by mid-week so I can move on to Photoshop or Flash.

Peter surprised me with Subway for lunch - complete with yummy Vault drink - that should wake me up a bit!

Two textbook samples arrived in the mail for me today from Thomson Learning:

First impression: I'm not sure what I think about these because they feel so flimsy! The covers are literally paper - my kids will rip that up in like two days! I'm going to have to look for a hard bound option for sure - even if it is more expensive. I'm too burned out from staring at the computers today to even open them up. Maybe tomorrow.

Off to get ready for tonight - we're having a movie date!