Last week was a real downer. This week has been taking a turn towards the same path. My internet and computer broke up. Talk about hating the cupid role. Try getting those two to communicate again. My husband finally coaxed them back into an intermittent relationship (mostly because I begged him to). It was time-consuming and even now, isn't nearly where I'd like it to be. It is taking me hours to get through all that I have been unable to do from my phone. Including blogging.
So what have I been up to in the meantime?
Migraines. My neck and shoulders feel as though everything under the skin has turned into stone. I turn my head, and suddenly the room spins. Everything tenses up and I feel as though my head is slowly building up to an eruption as magnificent as Mount Saint Helen's or Vesuvius.
Homework with my three scholars. Frustration with at least one of their teachers. My boys are in second grade and my daughter is in Kindergarten. They have so much homework after being at school all day, that we don't have time to watch a movie or play games during the week. We can't even go to the store or run an errand, really. There isn't any time. They get home just after 3, we are having dinner around 5 (if I'm lucky), and they are in bed by 7. There is only homework, dinner, baths, and maybe a quick Bible study or story time. And then you have teachers that are so lazy, I should get their salary. What do they do all day?! Oh wait... that's right... babysitting the pathetic losers whose parents aren't raising them. And yet they say I'm not doing enough to boost my kids' grades. Sure...
Struggling to contact lawyers. What is it about them? They want to rape your wallet, but when you are trying to contact them, no one wants to answer. They have the Contact Us with your case to review page, but no answer. Then I finally get one on the phone today... Guess who was denied by even them? Seems to be a theme. And by the way, this is concerning disability matters. They said I need to start seeing a doctor to be reevaluated to determine my true diagnosis as the last one I had was done too long ago. Hello, people! I'm unemployed. I'm broke. I have no insurance. And if I was working, I'd have no leave time or money to pay for the doctors visits. That's why my stint with Amazon was cut short. But I digress.
I've also been cleaning out our storage closet. 
I pulled out the box of my "skinny" clothes that I used to wear before I got pregnant last year. I've come to the decision that I can no longer hold on to everything with the mindset of "one day". For starters, it is quite depressing. Then you have the fact that it wastes space. And finally, there is no guarantee that I will ever get my hips to shrink back into those outfits. No guarantee that my tummy will go flat again. So, I did the logical thing. I'm keeping my absolute favorites and letting go of the things I think I can replace in an appropriate size. Some of them, I just need to realize I am no longer the right age for. Like my gamer dresses. My rear has enlarged and now I can no longer bend over in them without giving an unwanted show. The corset I had was a little small when I was smaller, so I need to invest in one that fits properly for my cosplay. Little reasoning's like this have helped me clean out quite a bit. And my bins (I had 3 large storage bins full) of books... Cleaned those up too. Any books that are not truly needed, like a favorite series that I won't ever read again - time to let go. Especially with the knowledge that it might be a couple more years, with a couple more moves, until we are able to buy a house and settle down for sure. Don't know about you, but I hate moving. And the heavier the boxes, the less I want to take them with me...
I sold one of the costumes I had been using. I decided that if I can't be the cosplayer I want to be, its time to cut back on those things as well. I don't often make it to conventions. And even less times do I get to dress up. I went to San Japan to help my friend set up her photography booth. Sadly, I didn't dress up. Honestly and truly, I wanted to. But I didn't want to be alone at her booth in costume and I knew my husband wasn't going to dress up or want to stay too long as he had worked the night before and was already tired. Then I went to the Monster Con they had to get people ready for Halloween. It is a local one that is free, based in a mall that hosts just such events regularly, and is growing in popularity. But once again, I decided to skip the costume. I figured we weren't going to be there long. My husband wanted to go, but also had things he needed to get done. We went to provide support to my photographer friend and our newfound Steampunk/nerdy friend we met through the photographer. They had a booth set up there. I've been questioning whether I should give it up completely, though it is a hobby I love very much. But cosplaying takes time, effort and money. You can buy cheap costumes anywhere. Or you can take the time to create something that will last ages and make you feel accomplished. That is what I do with my cosplay. I just don't have the money right now to continue piecing them together. I'm also limited with my creativity as I'm not as brilliant with my designing abilities. Which again, means that I would need to hire help on some projects. Then you have the price of the ticket to events. Not every one of them are free. The bigger conventions charge anywhere from $20-1,000 depending on the package you want to access. My heart is torn on this one.
I spent some time creating my list of meals and what I would need to make them for the next week or so. My husband and I have been considering shopping exclusively through Amazon. Sadly, shopping for groceries is only cheaper on there if you have Prime. And that is something we could not afford right now. So I've am budgeting and planning our meals very carefully. More so, now that I have no income whatsoever. Besides the odd jobs I've been taking, the unemployment came to an end this week. Talk about an eye opener. I've been trying for disability because of my spinal injuries and deformities (didn't happen though). As well as trying to establish myself as an editor. That too isn't enough to pay the bills. So I am cutting anything that isn't essential out of my life right now. We were careful before, we will double that caution now. Pinterest is amazing with the meal planning though. I have some great recipes that my family has been loving from there.
I'm not fully in the groove. And my computer isn't running quickly or smoothly by any means. But I'm getting there. I've got a couple posts started and I'll be pumping those out just as quick as I can. Looking forward to being back!
I have been working on my budget binder and my menu binder. It helps me so much to save money. We are a single income and life can be good with less. I have sacrificed for many years to raise my children on a single income so I can do the most important thing I will ever do in my life. That is to stay home and raise my children. So new this and that aren't important. Funny thing is my Nana was born during the great depression. She lived through rationing of WW2. So in the 70's when her well struck natural gas on her property, she didn't spend lots of her money of stuff. She still would buy her clothes at the Thrift store. She once told me that stuff was just for us to use while were here on Earth. We can look as good as we want in whatever we can afford. Life will still pass us by whether we are in Oscar dela Renta or Wall mart brands. And I have studied History. For many years folks lived with having very little. Even in the 50's some kids had 3 outfits. Our kids these days are spoiled and so are we. We just went a few days without electricity thanks to hurricane Irma. Kids thought they would die without internet. But we lit candles and played board games. Were all still alive and doing fine.
ReplyDeleteBottom line is God is in control of all our lives. He allows us to have what we have and to live through things to strengthen us for the future. So be of good courage,
We had our budget going quite well. Even have 2 months rent saved up because of it. We are thrifty with what we have. Its just better living that way.
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