The Friday Chronicles

Oh, what a week...actually, it wasn't a huge week, but it's ending with a mix of ups and downs and most of what I have to talk about happened over the course of the past 12 hours.

...................................................................................

Every year since Beth was born, she's always sat on Santa's lap at Rob's company potluck, held every Christmas Eve (they'd "work" half a day and the party would start at 11:30 a.m.) at the office. Santa was one of the Bobcat salesman and he'd sit inside a Bobcat in the lobby and take pictures with all the employees' kids. This year, obviously, no Christmas party. So we decided to brave the pre-Christmas mall and take her to see him there. The good news: she met Santa and told him what she wanted with no hissy fit and got the picture taken. The bad news: we paid about $17.00 for one 5x7" picture.

Free picture




$17.39 picture


*For those scratching their heads about our lack of finances and our ability to afford that mediocre picture, my mother-in-law very generously sent the money she was going to spend on our kids directly to us to get them what we knew they wanted; that way she wasn't left guessing, so we put some towards a Christmas picture.
....................................................................................

We've discovered that California, as a state, SUCKS. With Rob's first unemployment claim form, it questioned him about the first two weeks of December. One would be inclined to believe that he'd get paid for both weeks. Nope. One week. Why? A "waiting period." Waiting for what, I don't know. So now, we can't make any car payments. We can pay our insurance, but that's it. It'll be another two and a half weeks before he gets two checks and in that time, our utility bill will be late, our rent will be late, and we'll definitely be late with both car payments. Guess maybe I should start garnering moving boxes?

The dining room in our old place, October 2007


....................................................................................

I read an article in "O" today that has the wheels a-turnin' in my head. It was an article on "simple living," which is attached (not exclusively) to The Simple Living Institute. Basically, it means downsizing your life, in varying degrees, to your basic needs. It reminds me of vegetarianism: some vegetarians only cut out red meat, some cut out all meat save for fish, some cut out all meat all-together, some cut out all meat and dairy, etc. You can say you buy too many Starbucks coffees and stop buying them. You can move to the woods in a two-room cottage and live off the land. Or you can land somewhere in the middle.

This intrigues me. With all the stress we're dealing with right now, less would indeed be more for us. We aren't sure what we're going to do just yet, but we're definitely going to simplify. Digital cable will probably be the first to go. We're going to go through all of our stuff tomorrow and find stuff to sell or give away. We need to downsize! Learn to live simply! I feel like a hippy but it's liberating to think of having less and worrying less.

....................................................................................

I saw in the news that the human remains found in Florida were that of Caylee Anthony. Folks, my blood boils when I hear about things like this. Caylee, Rachel & Lillian Entwistle, and Laci & Conner Peterson...it absolutely shatters my heart that there are people out there cold enough, cruel enough, subhuman enough to do things like that. It will be six years ago on Christmas Eve that Laci went missing and to this day, I get very upset when I think about it too much. I was very pregnant with Beth when Scott Peterson was convicted and I remember standing in my living room, holding my belly, bawling tears of relief that justice had been served and yet tears of despair that that trial had to occur at all.

So I guess this is my way of saying: Go hug your kids, your husband or wife or significant other, your dog or your cat, call your mom, your sister or brother, your best friend. Life is so precious and so short.

...................................................................................

I gotta go. I've cried once already today, I can't handle another episode right now! Have a nice weekend, everyone.