witzend
Well-Known Member
I've been taking a board break for a while, and I wanted to let you know how we have been doing. Pretty well, actually.
Christmas here saw snow like we haven't had in 40 years, so it was easy to not go shopping or go overboard or break any Wise Men. Well, the Wise Men I couldn't break because I had given the other two away, but that's beside the point.
(No temper tantrums.) Since we rarely get snow, they only plow the main roads. So, 18 inches of snow with 1 inch of ice plus 8 more inches of snow tends to give everyone an excuse to not go overboard for Christmas. L did a little Christmas morning thing at her house, we stayed for about an hour or so (M too) and went home before it started snowing too hard again.
M lost his job sometime after Thanksgiving and sometime before Christmas. L knew about it, which explained her sudden interest in gleefully talking to me again and wanting to go use the massage gift certificate I gave her last Christmas. I didn't go. M told his dad once I finally hounded him into calling M. I never mentioned it to L, although she knows we know now. She also has decided that she doesn't need to spend an hour getting a massage or spend any time with with me. I've encouraged him to apply for unemployment while he looks for a new job. I don't think he is doing that, but I am leaving it up to his dad to deal with. He will, or he won't.
My boss has been borrowing money to meet payroll for the past three months. He asks for advice (lose the employee who makes the most and is sick all of the time) and doesn't take it. Then he won't follow up on quotes for jobs because he is too busy worrying about how to make payroll. Um, make money? So, I have been looking for jobs on Craigslist and will post an ad this week that I am looking for work. It's pretty tough because really I only have the energy to work 6 - 8 hours a week. It really only pays the lease on my SUV and my cell phone.
My lease runs out in August, and a new lightrail line from home to husband's work is installed in September. His work gives free passes to the lightrail, and the stop near our home is a seven minute busride away. We are seriously thinking about becoming a one-car (the one we already own) family. I have mentioned it to husband before and gotten some grimaces, but last night I explained the numbers, and it really piqued his interest. If you figure the car payment, gas, insurance, and parking we will save about $700 out of pocket a month. That's the same as a $8,400 after tax raise a year. That made him sit up and notice!
I hope you are all doing well. I have been keeping up a little. I am staying busy with other things and will check in from time to time to update, or to offer my point of view when I feel I have something different or fresh to offer.
Christmas here saw snow like we haven't had in 40 years, so it was easy to not go shopping or go overboard or break any Wise Men. Well, the Wise Men I couldn't break because I had given the other two away, but that's beside the point.
(No temper tantrums.) Since we rarely get snow, they only plow the main roads. So, 18 inches of snow with 1 inch of ice plus 8 more inches of snow tends to give everyone an excuse to not go overboard for Christmas. L did a little Christmas morning thing at her house, we stayed for about an hour or so (M too) and went home before it started snowing too hard again. M lost his job sometime after Thanksgiving and sometime before Christmas. L knew about it, which explained her sudden interest in gleefully talking to me again and wanting to go use the massage gift certificate I gave her last Christmas. I didn't go. M told his dad once I finally hounded him into calling M. I never mentioned it to L, although she knows we know now. She also has decided that she doesn't need to spend an hour getting a massage or spend any time with with me. I've encouraged him to apply for unemployment while he looks for a new job. I don't think he is doing that, but I am leaving it up to his dad to deal with. He will, or he won't.
My boss has been borrowing money to meet payroll for the past three months. He asks for advice (lose the employee who makes the most and is sick all of the time) and doesn't take it. Then he won't follow up on quotes for jobs because he is too busy worrying about how to make payroll. Um, make money? So, I have been looking for jobs on Craigslist and will post an ad this week that I am looking for work. It's pretty tough because really I only have the energy to work 6 - 8 hours a week. It really only pays the lease on my SUV and my cell phone.
My lease runs out in August, and a new lightrail line from home to husband's work is installed in September. His work gives free passes to the lightrail, and the stop near our home is a seven minute busride away. We are seriously thinking about becoming a one-car (the one we already own) family. I have mentioned it to husband before and gotten some grimaces, but last night I explained the numbers, and it really piqued his interest. If you figure the car payment, gas, insurance, and parking we will save about $700 out of pocket a month. That's the same as a $8,400 after tax raise a year. That made him sit up and notice!
I hope you are all doing well. I have been keeping up a little. I am staying busy with other things and will check in from time to time to update, or to offer my point of view when I feel I have something different or fresh to offer.
