Category Archives: Family

Vive le Weekend!

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Albeit a short weekend, it’s still a day off! As of this moment, I have 37.5 hours left before I have to clock in again. About 14 of those hours will be spent sleeping. How much can I do in 23 hours? For starters: this blog post!

There are so many things I need to get done. One might think that just because you have time off work, you must spend all of that time doing personal things that need to get done. I protest! I think it’s important to spend at least half of your time off doing things you enjoy doing as well. I enjoy being lazy resting. I just worked 11 days in a row, including 50 hours in the past six days. I think some rest is not only well-deserved but downright necessary!

I have a couple of movies I bought for $1.99 each at a nearby Blockbuster that’s closing. I plan on watching at least one of those. I also must give my seriously neglected camera a workout. I long to create a new piece of jewelry, too. However, you can’t force creativity to happen in a small window of time. So that may not happen … unless I watch movies at the same time. I do enjoy multitasking!

The main things I need to do are office related (including taxes). After working so much, personal office work is the last thing I want to do, though. :roll:

Nope! Twenty-three hours is just not enough time! Once a new manager is in place and the new staff is put on the weekend schedule, I think I might press for a full 4×10 work schedule so I can have my Sundays back. Having a full two days off in a row is more important to one’s mental well-being than I realized.

Vive le weekend!

Rethinking Goals and Schedules

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After two (or has it been three?) weeks in a row of mandatory five hours overtime with a max of ten (and of course, I do the full ten), I decided to take my full day off yesterday and not start before my scheduled late start time today. I didn’t even touch my own computer in that time. Refreshing and relaxing!

Experiencing that feeling made me want to rethink my goals and schedules. To get everything done, I generally multitask or switch gears quickly several times per day. My goal of five blog posts per week is now ridiculous in my head. I mean, who am I posting for? Why is it important to gather “followers” to my blog? What self satisfaction do I really get from that? I’d like to think that someone out there finds helpful information in some of my posts, but often, I post to ramble. So my goal is now modified to three posts per week. My weekly photo self assignments has been modified to at least twice per month.

Finally, I’m still pushing for a modified work schedule. The 4×10 (four ten-hour days) schedule is becoming more popular and has been mentioned as a possibility for the department I work in as well. Since I work two half days per week, I’ve suggested a twist on this for myself: 3×10 + 2×5. So five hours on Sunday afternoons and Wednesdays, and ten hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays with Thursdays off. Then I would still work the first Saturday (ten hours) of each month in exchange for the preceding Monday off. Ten hour days may sound like a lot to some of you reading, but I’d rather get work out of the way like this and get an extra day off to relax and feel more like this…

P.S. I clocked in today to find that we now have mandatory overtime of TEN hours overtime this week. It’s a good thing I already worked an extra two hours on Sunday. :)

Patience & Perseverance

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Good things come to those who wait. I usually doubt that or at least wonder exactly how long we have to wait for those good things to finally come. The statement came true for Josh yesterday. He had been searching for a used car and saving money. There’s this one dealership that’s great for working with all sorts of credit (even lack thereof), but the one car he thought about test driving wouldn’t even start on the lot!

So we went across the street to a Mazda dealership to check out their used pre-loved cars. It turns out that they have a first-time buyer program. Who knew?! After some tense phone calls the next morning, they finally gave in and met his price. He finally has his own brand new car – a Mazda 3. He actually has TWO cars now. We have to figure out how to arrange everything in the garage to get the MG Midget to fit until he figures out what to do with it. The HOA will only be so patient, I’m sure! Plus, I want the driveway space back since there are so many cars on the street by evening taking up parking already. :O

Four Years From Now…

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… there could be only three people living in this house: Greg, Miranda, and myself.
… Miranda will be graduating from high school.
… our dogs will be 12 and 13, and hopefully still with us.
… we will be credit card debt free!
… we will only have one car payment.
… we may be able to take a nice vacation in another country just for us.

Bring it, 2016!

Social Classes | Impact on Relationships

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The Ritual Cobb Salad Lunch scene in Julie & Julia got me again. The differences in the social classes are blaringly apparent, and I can totally relate to how Julie felt sitting there with her friends who went on to have successful careers while she was stuck working for the government in a cubicle. This is the only scene those friends are in, but I’m sure they lived in nice apartments in New York, while Julie lived over a restaurant in sort of a run-down studio apartment.

I understand getting together with old friends like this occasionally, but I bet she didn’t make it a habit of hanging out with them at that point. It just doesn’t happen. Different social classes just don’t mix. Why? Lack of commonality. Why would you choose to be around those with whom you don’t have a lot in common? We generally choose to be around people of the same means and with similar situations because we understand one another.

Sometimes it’s hard when there are people in your own family who are not of the same means or with similar situations. I imagine it’s just as hard on either side of that coin. While it’s hard for those less fortunate to hear of purchases and travels, it might sometimes be hard for those more fortunate to wonder if they need to tiptoe around the less fortunate so as not to bring them down.

Truly, I am happy for those more fortunate. I know that someday, we will get there. We will be the ones traveling and experiencing great places! We just did things a little back asswards and have to fix it now. For the next three years and two months (yes, I’m counting), we won’t be doing much of anything. We have a plan, and we are not backpedaling on this one! The only really scary thing about that is the thought of a family emergency coming up requiring a road trip. 8O Heaven forbid. Everyone stay healthy and alive!!!

Past Bliss the Anguish of Today

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Raw and Exposed

One doesn’t realize how true this is until one has lived it:

“But as in ethics, evil is a consequence of good, so in fact, out of joy is sorrow born. Either the memory of past bliss is the anguish of today, or the agonies which are have their origin in the ecstasies which might have been.” ~Edgar Allan Poe

The memory of having lived a lifestyle of more lavish giving, even though the giving was beyond our means even then, and now to be able to give so little makes it harder because we do know otherwise. I see how the memory of past bliss is the anguish of today.

I can’t help but wonder how many people say they are tightening their belts, but they are just saying the words. How many are tightening their belts to be able to afford extras here and there, and how many are tightening their belts to simply get by?

I wonder how many people who are fortunate enough not to have to tighten their belts understand that some of the people who say they can’t afford certain luxuries really mean that? For some, it’s hard enough to say those few words as they swallow some pride. To have to go into more detail to prove that they really mean it would be humiliating. I’m sure those who don’t understand don’t intend to humiliate, though. Maybe they just think it can’t be that bad.

I guess we’ve just done a good job of hiding the fact that, yeah, it is that bad. Not bad enough to need assistance, but definitely bad enough to have to cut out almost all extras, except an occasional dinner out or trip to the theater to see a new movie. Even when those extras are afforded, they are usually deals like $5 movies with smuggled in snacks and drinks. We’re always on the lookout for fun free things to do, too.

With that said, the look of excitement on our girls’ faces when they opened the Christmas gift that revealed that we’re taking them to see Wicked in May was priceless. A true surprise! For less than an iPad or even an eReader with WiFi, four of us will experience the magic of theater that will be something we remember for a lifetime. I was so excited to give this gift, too! I couldn’t wait for them to open it!

So while that past bliss may be the anguish of today, just how much anguish we allow it to be is up to us. There will be some things that stand out more than others, naturally. But we can create a new bliss with what we have now (or the lack thereof). Sympathy is  unnecessary, but empathy is appreciated.

Christmas 2011 | Still in the Grip of Change

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I don’t send Christmas letters in cards. I don’t even send many Christmas cards. I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s a combination of poor advanced planning and letting time get away from me (due in part to working any and all overtime allowed). In fact, I wrote in three handmade Christmas cards this morning through tears because I won’t see those people on Christmas. There were only three cards because I only had three stamps left. So this is my “Christmas letter”.

That’s me in the photo. I thought it was fitting to use because I know times were tight at that time, and times are tight for us now. I can’t help but feel bad about not being able to give as much as we have in the past; yet, I’m not at all sad about not receiving as much. Look how happy I was with that doll! I’m sure she wasn’t the latest and “greatest” doll in the big name store, and I didn’t care a bit! It was a doll, and it was mine, and I loved it!

Since we’re not able to spend Christmas with extended family, my favorite thing about the day is spending time around the table playing games that make us burst with laughter, grazing on ham throughout the day, and lounging in the family room watching movies together. The few minutes first thing in the morning spent opening a few gifts have become a very minor part of the day. What is it that’s written in a great book about three things … faith, hope, and love? The greatest of these is love. You can’t wrap that in a box and tie it up with ribbon. We can only hope for a brighter future and have faith that it will come to exist!

Here’s where the family newsletter comes in…

For those who missed the major change that happened in our lives about this time last year, you can read about that here. Big adjustments were made, including credit counseling and entering a debt management program to get rid of credit card debt in five years (less than four years to go now!). So even when it seemed that we could give more freely, we really couldn’t – we charged it. Never a good plan. Don’t do it! So we truly are living on cash now. The only card we swipe now is the debit card.

Since then, I did get a raise at the normal annual review time. This is good, considering that many places are foregoing raises in this economy. Then about five months later, I was promoted and received another raise! Don’t get too excited – I still basically do the same thing, just more of it. :) Greg even gets a few more dollars in his weekly paycheck now. It’s funny, though, how movies and television used to make getting a raise seem so huge, but really it’s more about the recognition of a job well done because the extra money (minus taxes) might be just enough to cover a fast food dinner from the value menu for the family each week. :D

Ali had a summer job this year and bought a car with her own money! She’s not currently working through the school year as she’s heavily involved in all things theater (even choir) on top of AP classes. She recently played Scrooge’s little sister, Fan, in A Christmas Carol!

Jason graduated from Redstone College and is now a certified airframe & powerplant mechanic. Then he moved out! Now he’s going to be moving again from just six miles away to six hours away in New Mexico, where he’ll be working as an A&P mechanic for Great Lakes Airlines.

Josh got a full-time maintenance job working nights at Walmart. He’s saving for a car that he’ll most likely have to pay cash for, which means waiting longer to get more than a beater. The whole credit game is odd. You have to work for money to buy a car, but you need transportation to get to work! Fortunately, he gets a ride most nights from a friend who also works there and can use one of our cars at night other times.

Miranda is still too young to work, but she talks about wanting to get a work permit as soon as she can to start working earlier than 16. We’ll see how that works out, but I admire her desire! She’s also involved in theater and choir, including a separate a Capella group that sounds amazing! She is part of a six-girl singing and dancing ensemble in the “Beauty School Dropout” scene in their spring musical, GREASE!

So our wallets may not be full of money, but our hearts are full of love. That is something we can give to all! We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope for a more prosperous New Year!

Thanksgiving 2011 | Changes Continue

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Happy Thanksgiving

Keeping in line with the steady stream of changes that have happened over the past year, how we’re spending Thanksgiving has also changed. We’re staying home and keeping it very simple. If we had gone anywhere else, some of the family would have been left behind due to work schedules, and we wouldn’t have seen them at all.

I’m cooking a turkey breast and a spiral sliced ham. Oh yes, my friends, there will be plenty of leftovers for us this year! :D No yams allowed, either. I don’t hate them, but I can live without them. There will be corn and fresh-from-produce green beans and mashed potatoes. These potatoes will have some skin left on and won’t be whipped to creamy submission but will maintain some hearty lumps giving us something to bite into. Yum! Of course there will be dinner rolls – the simple brown ‘n serve kind. And for the stuffing … wait for it … Stove Top baby! Awwwww yeah! That’s right! Not a lot of people in this family eat stuffing anyway, and a couple of us love Stove Top Stuffing. :lol:

I baked two Marie Callender’s frozen pies yesterday: Cherry and Pumpkin. I’m thankful for the gene that makes me a fairly laid back person who has no problem saying, “Sure! go ahead and slice into that pie already!” the day before Thanksgiving! Instead of looking at it like a bit of staged perfection has been ruined, I see it as spreading it out longer. Those who really know me know that I like to bend rules. ;)

I echo everyone’s thanks for health, family, and friends. This year, especially, I’m thankful for so much more. I’m also hopeful that these things continue to be constant in our lives. There was a time when we’d just go out and buy things we didn’t necessarily need. That has changed. Things are really tight. It makes me look at those things differently. So, yes, I am thankful for the over-abundance of material items we have that we couldn’t afford to replace now.

I’m also thankful, and this may sound weird, that each and every person in this world is different. We’re all unique. Even twins! If we were the same … if we all held the same opinions, what a boring world we would live in!

I’m thankful for Facebook! :lol: Whatever it’s original intent, I love that it keeps far away (and not-so-far away) family and friends connected conveniently without the need to find mutually convenient times to sit and talk on the phone for an hour or more at a time.

I’m thankful for Pandora! An extra thanks to them for lifting their monthly listening limit, too!

I’m thankful for Xfinity, where I can catch up on shows without relying on DVR.

I’m thankful for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, which I’m about to go watch with my girls while baking cookies! :)

New Office Progress

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I fully planned on working 11 hours today to round out my 50 hours and then work on moving everything to the new office later tomorrow or Sunday, but nope! I never had a chance to clock back in because I enticed Jason and Kennah over by texting Jason that I have egg nog! So the move has begun earlier than expected. All electronics are now in place and running faster than ever because I am completely hardwired down here. Yep! Desktop computer, work laptop, and work phone … all connected via ethernet. :)

I knew with my desk in this position, there would certainly be some ugly wire cluster truck going on. Maybe I can entice Josh to work his zip-tie magic again and make it a little better. It’s all kind of blocking the bottom drawer of my file cabinet, too. That’s not good. Oh well. Once everything is down here, I’ll work out the kinks.

It feels weird down here. I’ve used this room once before for crafting before Greg started using it to sleep in during the day when he worked nights. Then Jason took it over. I’m so far away from all the hub-bub. That’s good while I’m working, but if I’m on my computer or crafting, I think the kids might be less likely to come in and talk. I have already found that I need music going while Greg’s gaming in the next room on his computer. He shouts into that headset like he does on a cell phone! 8O If I work in the evening, I’ll have to put earbuds in! {As if on cue, he just shouted “BOOM!” and I jumped!}

So I’ll get my first taste of a new morning routine (and longer commute) tomorrow because I do still plan on finishing my overtime.