I’ve
been contemplating what things I have to do this week. Admittedly, not much.
Our
family schedule isn’t packed with appointments, even counting video and phone
ones. We’ve cut our grocery shopping trips to just once a week. This cuts costs
because we’re using less gas and also not have $60 shopping trips just to get
$20 worth of needed things. We’re also doing meal planning and trying hard to
stick to the shopping list. Though that doesn’t always work.
For example, last Friday Melinda, Royce, and I discussed our meal plan for the
week, one of which was tacos. Melinda then checked our supplies and wrote our
shopping list. I did the shopping. I noted she didn’t list chips or shells but
I knew we didn’t have any, so I got some of both. Unfortunately, while I
noticed she didn’t list tomatoes and shredded cheese, I thought we had some. I
didn’t see or even think about lettuce.
Guess
when we realized we didn’t have lettuce?
Melinda
figured it out while she was preparing the vegetables. At the time my husband
and I were across town at a doctor’s appointment. Between the length of the
appointment and rush hour traffic, we arrived not long before dinner time. So
we ate our tacos without lettuce.
It
is December and I’m sure many people are still rushing around trying to get last-minute
gifts, but I prefer to plan. I have exactly one gift left to wrap. Other than
that all I need to do is the treats for the stockings, which I can’t do much in
advance unless I want to buy those two or three times before I need them.
The
only other things to do are chores and finances, both of which are under
control at the moment, by some miracle. So I’m left with three choices. Tidying
up my currently a bit of a disaster corner of the room, do some handcrafts, or
work on my writing.
I
have no projects right now. I have some ideas but I don’t have the yarn yet. I
do have handcraft supplies, but I don’t have any ideas for them. The yarn I
have is all leftovers from other projects, so not enough for the projects I
have in mind.
So
writing.
I
could edit any of the three wips I’ve managed to get to the end on. Just which
one and what edits do they need? Two of them need quite a bit of work since
they could both use some content changes. For the other one, I need to do some line
edits but I think the story itself is working.
I
could work on it, but I’m honestly afraid too. Mostly because I figured out the
content errors on the other two while I was attempting to do some line edits.
So I guess that means figuring out which one will be easier to fix. The one I
may have to revert to a previous version on or the one I have to either add to
or change a great deal of the content and fix a timeline issue. The timeline
issue was why I stalled out on working on it last month.
Of
course, I also need to look for employment since it’s clear we can’t cover our
budget with just my husband’s income anymore. I was hoping between not having
to go many places (i.e.: using less gas) and having fewer people to feed (my
oldest son moved out) not to mention not needing supplies to pack any lunches
that our budgetary needs would decrease.
Good
news. Our gas budget has gone down. Last month we used about a quarter of what
I usually budget for. (Two tanks instead of eight in a month.) And the cost of
gas seems to be coming down.
More
good news. Even though we are now buying Kleenex and disinfectant wipes, we’re
still not spending as much on household supplies.
Bad
news. Grocery prices must be increasing or we’re just plain eating more because
our budgetary needs in this area have increased over the last couple of months,
even with our efforts to cut costs.
All
of which means we need more money coming in.
This
means, I have to figure out how to get my unemployment benefits started (I am
eligible) and try to look for work, which, because of current conditions, means
looking and applying online. I guess I’m busy after all.
Another thing on my schedule in the next week is celebrating my son’s birthday,
though I don’t know when.
He
is currently working extra-long days and workweeks. His weekends start on
Monday and he is usually spending the day catching up on sleep. His birthday is
Monday. So maybe Tuesday.
Happy
birthday Tony.
Smile.
Make the day a brighter day.
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