Before Christmas this year I kept thinking how we were doing so much better than that Christmas two years ago when I blogged about our lack of presents on December 24th and friends showed up on the big day with gifts for the kids and us. I think that was probably the best gift I ever received, being remembered in our time of such need. I’m still grateful for all the friends who swept in and made our holidays brighter. 
Once the tree was up this year, Charlie wasted no time falling asleep underneath it. Both of the boys had a great Christmas, we didn’t break the bank, and although we’re still poor at least we’re still in our home. The more time goes by, however, the more I think our general level of stress would be lower if we just gave up. I hate giving up, though! Do I hate it as much as being insanely miserable? Sometimes you’ve just got to know your limitations.
I really wanted to take advantage of the lunar event this year by working some magic for inner change, but of course the beef & cream cheese rolls for the party took precedence. Yes, the new year passed us by so quickly I barely had the time I wanted to prepare for it. The 31st of December was a blue moon, the second full moon of that month, and we won’t see another until August of 2012. I wonder if that’ll be the night of the big hullabaloo everyone’s buzzing about. I mean, those Mayans had the calendar thing down pretty well from what I’ve heard, but I don’t think the world will end just because their calendar does. Maybe it’ll be the end of bloodthirsty capitalism or prejudice among the human population. It would be a wonderful change of pace for the world if this whole “end” bit turned out to be just a great change of mindset for the people of Earth.
Thanks GreenTree!
I guess I’m just trying to think somewhat positively… As long as I avoid the topic of finance I should be able to pull it off. But then again, pleasantries rarely make a good read. I guess my concern is that as so many of us are struggling to keep our heads above water, the guys with all the cash flow are refusing to change up the system at all. Big scandal of the year to date (or so I saw on the news Jan 1st) was that all these banks who got bailed out spend $871,000 per home that was supposedly saved from foreclosure. My mortgage is less than $100,000 and it’s taken us 2 years to get approved for a program that we now find will save us a whopping $26 a month off our mortgage. Really? THAT is supposed to save us from losing our home?
town with the most selection. When I’m financially stable I’ll be able to use my buying power as a consumer to support the right businesses. As long as we’re all this destitute, we really can’t afford to search out a grocer who’s NOT owned by a major company (Schnucks or Kroger or… oh yeah, that’s it) and spend more there. The reason I’m starting out with this, however, is because I got this glorious hall of sustenance for the week and still managed to stay $5 under budget. Of course, I forgot drinks for Bastian’s sack lunches -but I can get those and we’re still good.
Before I went out yesterday to run the rest (hopefully) of my non-dental errands, mom invited Charlie and me over for lunch. I was reminded of all the times my mother used to tell me that we come from “peasant stock” and how that’s part of the reason our family has traditionally given birth to large babies (mine were 10.1 and 10 pounds respectively). Personally I think this is, to some extent, ridiculous to think about but not necessarily out of the question. In any case, she is an expert at making due and therefore I’m paying homage to her hot dog bun garlic bread. Thanks for lunch, mom, and for a second tip of the day.
There’s also a natural trail that leads down to the actual springs, which have been maintained better in recent years than I remember them being before. The deeper parts of the forest are quiet, and the energies are nice in general. Lots of small creeks flowing between the springs areas and the river.
My computer got bogged down with viruses, my hotmail box became unmanageable, and I never did find a single worthwhile venture that would allow me to WORK from home. I even tried to be devious and check out all the forums that are supposedly for moms who work from home. Half of those are just lists where people advertise their multi-level marketing schemes or the websites that you pay a monthly fee to join that then post even more lists of scams and “legitimate Work From Home” that would miraculously allow you to make $100,000 a week doing absolutely nothing!
schoo
I had another interesting set of dreams last night. At one point I was out to dinner with the kids and a friend’s husband and child. We were waiting for our significant others to arrive, I believe, only in the dream their child was nearly bald. Next the dream shifted and all of us were swimming in a lake somewhere. I saw Charlie jumping off the end of a pier into the murky water and panicked, swimming over to save him. Before I could get there, however, he surfaced and began floating on his back like a pro -spurting water out of his mouth in a fountain up in the air. Next I was in a car with two of my friends (who get along fairly well these days, but aren’t really close with each other) and we were all in the front seat together. I think we were all going to a movie. Somehow they both ended up climbing onto my lap, and it was really difficult to see and drive safely. I slid the seat backward to make more room and the girl who was on the lap of the girl who was on my lap exhaled with relief, because the steering wheel had been digging into her stomach.
