Awww poor Terra and Chi. Hope you two start feeling better.

I feel better after that little outrage. So far today feels a lot better. Not quite to the half way mark.

Yes Tristan will be 11 in May, so another 7 years. It seems like a long time, but the past 5 have flown by. Then we will be able to financially stable ourselves. Don't get me wrong. I love the kids, but I feel like this neverending struggle to get ahead. I mean simple stuff like the contribution to Mene, no problem. But I've been juggling bills and just praying that nothing breaks. It isn't a fun situation to be in. Times like this makes me wish I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. :P

I hear you. If anything breaks it's always a "okay, how do we do this?" repair.

*laughs* That's exactly how we live around here. Right now the Fridge is getting old and will need to be replaced fairly soon, same with the hot water heater, and the furnace. We're still making them work until they finally kick the bucket though. I haven't paid off our clothes washer yet....I think maybe once that is paid off, we will look to doing some sort of rent to own or a loan of some sort to replace the next big purchase. Unless this time I can have the money put aside. Not going to hold my breath though.

Anyways, it's mid week for me today. A good feeling. I'm hoping I can make it through unscathed. If I can budget $40 I can pick up another 4 piece plate set (discounted from $70) that matches the one I bought with mom's christmas money. There is only one left though that's the only discounted one since they uh discounted it. I'm hoping that it is still there friday. Service for 4 works well with me and Aaron but when the kids get here we're running out of stuff constantly. >_<

Since we're on the topic of money...

I read on Craigslist there's a "new" apartment complex opening up which is about 5 minute drive to and from BOTH of my jobs. And the college. And Terra's daycare. Just five minutes to all of those places, as opposed to 35-40 minutes each.

I emailed the ad owner and apparently it's a remodeled Victorian style house which has been created into eight rental units. Brand new flooring, fixtures, appliances, etc. We could really use a place in our work area for a year or so while we decide what to do about an actual house. I told the owner we're interested depending on price. They said they should know the price by next week as they're working out an agreement with Time Warner Cable. Heat, water, sewer (and apparently internet and cable??) are included. It can also come furnished, which is why we're considering it.

Anyway, we have an appointment to view it next Wednesday!

Oh that sounds super awesome! Especially since everything is included like it is. I just hope it is an affordable price range. Our old apartment included water and heat, which was nice, but the actual place was a bit of a dive.

I'm not sure what we will do after this place...we haven't thought that far ahead. I love where we live right now, given the circumstances, HOWEVER the lady who owns it is a total bitch.

I hope it's affordable too. I've seen some furnished two bedrooms advertised at $700-750/mo with everything included, so here's hoping. Electric wouldn't be included, but if everything else is, score. We'd not have to transfer our land line and could instead just keep cell phones. I'll let you know how it goes next week. Fingers crossed!

If it's $600-650, we're likely leaping on it. Dunno. Where we live in a low income area (the entire county I'm in, I mean), people usually can't afford more than $500-600 a month on minimum wage. I'm hoping these people have already done this research. I know they're from the area, so here's hoping!

Will you eventually have the option to own where you are, or does it not work like that?

The trailer yes, the land no....

But moving a trailer is an expensive endevour....

The trailer yes, the land no....

But moving a trailer is an expensive endevour....

Yes, it is. And land is expensive to boot. I imagine you have quite a few years left to pay on it... Or is that the problem? You rent the land without the option of owning it?

We pay lot rent on it, with no option to buy it outright. The trailer itself will be paid off after our last payment in August 2014 I believe...Not much longer, thank goodness!

Well, that's something. You'd at least have a technically movable house someday. Plus if you guys decide to move you could always advertise the trailer being for sale if someone can move it. I've seen some of those come up on my local swap and barter sites...

That's what we'll do. I think that we will either have a property we can move it to, or my parent's property eventually....

In the meantime we're just taking it day by day. Maybe Aaron will get a secure job and we will catch up on bills and will have the ability to look at a proper house and a mortgage....

Whatever's safe and whatever's home... <3 Doesn't matter the type of home. :3

*waddles her way in*

So how are you doing, Chi? Any interesting stories to pass along? Did you and Kin do anything fun for valentines day?

I'm tired, but it's my own doing. See, I've been making healthier eating choices and exercising a bit, one of which was to knock out the gluten (which I know I'm intolerant to) and cut back sugar. I ended up not missing sugar and ditched it all. Well, today I had not only sugar, but gluten and fried food. I'm in so much pain. >>;

We didn't do anything for Valentines. Cole was sick and I was interning. Terra's off the wall, though allegedly it's normal development. I'm rolling with the flow.

How about you?

That stinks about Cole being sick over Valentine's Day. We didn't do anything, really. I bought Aaron the first 3 seasons of Robot Chicken on DVD for $20 with shipping off of eBay. When Aaron finally got around to doing something for me, we were pretty broke so I got a small tub of gummy butterflies and a little valentine heart with three mini Reese's peanut butter cups (my favorite, but he overpaid for it...a $1.19!!) I cooked him a really nice meal the night before in the slow cooker. I ended up taking that day off work as I was in so much pain due to my period. I smoked a little and then stumbled through the kitchen to throw together the crockpot meal, and then double checked that everything but the crockpot was off before climbing into bed to sleep it off. (Trust me it was pretty freakin painful. Luckily it's only that bad every couple months...)

Other than that, I've been kinda laying low and trying to get caught up bills wise. We filed our taxes a week ago today with H and R Block. (zOMG they're expensive!!) We had a lot of crap go on in 2012 and wanted to make sure that it was done correctly. Aaron cashed out his 401k and that really hurt us in a bad way, plus he got about $1k behind in child support. We're just expecting the government to take out for that so we may be paying H and R $230 if that happens. I was hoping to do something cool for my 30th, but it is just not in the cards. Ah well. Aaron's 30th was really low key, too, but I think he wanted it that way.

Also, good news about work -- It's looking like Aaron is more than likely going to get a job offer at the place he's been temping. It would mean a sizable increase in pay and health benefits again. The bad side means going back to nightshift work. However, I may be able to drop down my hours and just work part time again. Aaron's even talking about trying to make it work on me working days and him nights. Not sure on that just yet. We're not wanting to count our chickens though before they hatch, so I'm not trying to emotionally become too invested. I'm just kinda prepping myself for the worst still, which is he goes back on unemployment until the temp agency finds another job for him.

I'm going to cross fingers and toes that he gets the job. Medical benefits alone are worth it. Plus then you guys can figure out what to do in terms of your work. Would you both be able to work some of the same hours so you would get to see each other?

Then again, no point in ruminating if it's not quite time to do so, right? Fingers crossed, all the same. ^-^

Yep! We should be hearing something soon as he was only due to work for 6 months and that would have him finishing up in mid April, ironically around my birthday. The guys at his place of work seem to really like him and think he's a hard worker. I feel bad for him as he had a particular rough run in with one of the full time employed people today. What is happening is the company is expanding and a bunch of new positions have opened up. Well HR didn't make it apparent that the postings on the public community board as far as jobs go is for full time employed people and temps are not included. He didn't know that, and started to write his name down as being interested for a position and the guy nearly ripped his head off. Apparently Aaron said nothing about it to anyone else, but there was an announcment over the intercom for him to go to the office and he was talked to about his recent outburst. The other people at work were busy apologizing for his unprofessionalism and the boss guy that Aaron was working with spoke with him and apologized, but also was telling him the procedure for temps to apply through the temp agency (so they can get the tax benefits, etc) and said he would notify him as soon as they're up and is expecting him to apply. The boss has even been training him how to do things that temps aren't expected to do and there's been other little things they've done here and there to show their approval.

It does sound promising... and hopefully you guys know soon so that you can better plan. *nodnod*

I'm still waiting to hear back on a price for an apartment close to the school/daycare/work environment. We go meet the owner(s) on Wednesday to check out the furnished apartments. They're interviewing a bunch of people apparently. I have enough community swing that I'd like to think we could get it. Any recommendation needed I'd be able to get, for which I'm ridiculously grateful.

That's where working the type of job you do can really be awesome. All that time you've spent doing that internship for your college credits, while not getting paid. That and I hope maybe you'll find something in a field where the money might not be as good but you'll be able to help people who may not be able to get help themselves.

I'm still doing the same old and just been keeping my nose to the grindstone. I guess work has gotten a little better? The people on my team are all pretty cool that I'm on now, which makes it more fun to sit and banter. There's still days though that I'm not really wanting to be there.

I have recommendations from my undergrad experience, plus my current paid job as a case manager. I have yet to make an impact at my internship, but hopefully by the time I leave I'll have a letter of recommendation. Since graduating though, I've been asked to come back as a guest speaker in some classes (done it once already), plus I'm doing little side things for my undergrad university, such as community-based feedback to help construct education programs and helping the university's accreditation review (something new this year).

For whatever reason, people have liked me. It's humbling...

As for money, I have a good wage at my case management job, but I don't have enough hours to make a living from it. The position caps at 20. Again though, I've made an impression there where my supervisor and one of the directors have both asked me not to leave, to see if they can find something for me that will give me full time with benefits. Nothing's set in stone yet...

I just need to get my unpaid internship hours in, then the money will come. I don't want to be rich. I just want to be comfortable and not scrape by. If the car breaks down, I want to be able to handle it without issue.

I have days where I don't want to do my job (either my job-job or my internship). I think it goes with the territory. I think we all hate people from time to time. We're human!

Yes but I think it would be easier for you to roll out of bed in the morning when you feel like your work is going to benefit someone in the long run. I guess I could say I can make people happy, but it's always at a price. What I'm finding is that it's more about the illusion of being helpful and finding ways to pick your words to make it paint a better picture when all and all it's a couple clicks of the mouse and I've got them sorted...or I can't. Either way, finding a way to make me or the company look the best I can given the circumstances.

It's nice though because even those days where I really don't want to be bothered I can put my headset down and turn my music on full blast, and just go through the motions.

I honestly feel like Lucy with her sign in Peanuts. Almost all the answers can be found on the website, but sometimes they just need someone to talk to and to voice their opinions. Other times I need to put my thinking cap and find a way to fix an odd error they're getting.

The thing that still rattles me is all the smoke and mirrors. The higher ups literally tell us only enough to get by, and it's like we have to put pieces of the puzzle together to figure out what certain things mean.

There is something to be said when you have fulfillment with work. When going to work re-energizes you and makes you think in ways you wouldn't normally. I usually end up thinking about the world at large and how to help my particular community. Sometimes it feels like it's its own entity.

I had a friend who once worked customer support for a phone company. He had mentioned more than once that the higher-ups wouldn't give them direct answers, and they were encouraged to string a customer along for a while before providing an answer. Some organizations are just odd..

There is something to be said about working from home. Sometimes I think I'd like it. Then other times I know me too well. I do not do well if I don't get out. I don't. I get anxious and depressed. It goes away if I see people. As introverted as I am, it doesn't matter. Human beings need socialization, even outside a strong support system at home. We wilt and whither without it. It exacerbates negative symptoms.

Urggggh. Just typed a nice long paragraph out to you and somehow accidentally deleted the whole thing.

Just basically how working from home is difficult at times as you do feel like a shut in. Tie that with my inability to drive (still) and yes it presents its own problems. I could sit and talk with my neighbors, but they're all quite elderly and I do want someone closer to my age. There has been a couple of girls who have moved out. One got a plot of land and moved her trailer out there. My stepson wants to get together with her boy, but every time she is always busy. The other one ended up moving in with some guy she met on Zoosk and since I can't drive and she apparently never came to town we never saw eachother. She's moved further down south now. The girl I'm talking to now lives a few streets up and the problem with her is she is so busy trying to juggle work, a marriage, and a child....And lets just say both boys in her life don't do much to help her out either. :/

Socializing is tricky, and not being able to drive makes it harder for sure. I work with a lot of people in a similar boat, and it's rough. :<