Realizations...

Our yearly pre-tax appointment is always interesting to me. The concept of "here is the amount of money you need to spend or you'll need to pay it in taxes" is a difficult one for me to grasp. I mean, that money isn't just lying around, but magically I better find it or I'll be writing the check anyway this Spring. Until I married a farmer my taxes were easy...
This year I decided to see if the benefit would go a little more my direction. I was able to add to Gabbie's college savings...that is tax deductible thank goodness. And I got a laptop. A nice simple one to take with me on my home health visits so my paperwork can be done onsite (and so if Gabbie has to come with me on a visit I can pop in a DVD to keep her entertained!). It felt silly to buy another computer. Brice still has his from 10 years ago, and I have mine from college. However we can not get rid of either of those. There are very important games on them...Call of Duty, etc. I have to admit I'd miss listening to Brice yelling "Take that!" and pounding on the keys with force to defend his character.

Another realization...the money I wish I had back from paying for things that were done below my level of satisfaction. A few examples...1. My car-a transmission repair that cost more than my yearly student loan bill, and after just 3 days the car was acting up again. 2. Baby monitors-sure, the box says they reach 2000 feet, a significant benefit when I have to run outside and help Brice with something while Gabbie is sleeping. I swear that 500 feet was the max distance I'd get with a clear signal. 3. The doctors office-really, do I have to pay my co-pay when I don't get better? What about the gas and time to drive to the clinic twice, and the extra days of feeling crappy? 4. Things I bought that I didn't need, or thought I needed and didn't use. Example: a child carrier for my bike...have yet to use. I add these numbers up and it makes me sick to my stomach...I could have bought---well, something useful. Then I remember I'm a therapist, and I have yet to make a patient well after 1 visit. So...I guess none of us are perfect. However the transmisison repair one still bugs me.

3rd realization of the day...my husband is incredibly smart. He is preparing to start farming a piece of ground this Spring and in the car he is telling me about soil tests, phosphorus levels, lime, pH, etc. etc. I don't even know how to ask questions. When I talk about my job he can at least keep up and respond. A lot of times when he talks about things I just sit there and try to look intelligent. I'm in trouble if Gabbie inherits his brain. I'll be the family dummy.

My last realization to share...I would sit and type here all day to avoid the dishes which have made my kitchen counters disappear and the laundry covering my basement floor. So with that I wish everyone a Happy New Year!! Be safe and happy :-)

Traveling in my head

I am finding the best way to end a mildly frustrating day is to search for trips online...it may become my new hobby to get through the winter (with a positive attitude anyway). I can fly to Hawaii for less than $550; that's just 11 weeks of consistently donating plasma. I plan to drive there in the middle of the night, accidently leave my cell phone at home, and just lay on the beach...I'll tell Brice my plan when I return.
Okay, now back to more tax preparation, arg. That will quickly remind me why I will not be spending $550 to go to Hawaii!

Survival!

Pictures:  Gabbie trying to understand why the buttons weren't turning the TV on, frozen Dawn dish soap, Gabbie and I sleeping and staying warm, Santa's haul!, and playing Trivial Pursuit in the dark...

Well, immediately after my last post the electricity went off again, and this time did not return until 48 hours later (which actually is quite lucky compared to our neighbors). This gave me muchos amount of time to think...mostly about when did life go from one of survival to one of being most concerned about the luxuries? I'm 110% guilty...when this started on Wednesday night my first thought was "oh darn, I won't get to play my new Wii game I'm getting for Christmas!" Christmas morning thank goodness my thinking changed. As I was holding a flashlight, wearing 2 layers of clothes, gloves, and a hat in my home, simply trying to use the toilet without actually sitting on it because of its cold temperature, I wondered "when did I get Sooooo spoiled?" The rest of Christmas day was actually awesome. My awesome husband made some soup out of items from the fridge before they went bad (using a gas stove), we opened gifts with our gloves on, and were just glad to be sitting together. I will admit the part of me that is still disappointed about no Christmas church, and no lights on the trees, but I am glad that a greater part of me learned to appreciate that some people do live to survive, often (and to me even more frightening) alone. And although we caught ourselves on Chrismas day asking "what day is today?" it struck me that for some, Christmas is like this every year, just another day of trying to stay warm.

I am happy that I rediscovered my love of reading-75 pages of "the DaVinci Code" in a few hours was the most I'd done in probably 5 years (since preparing for my PT boards). As a family we have created some great memories and found a new appreciation in one another-time together holding hands is great, even if we both are wearing a pair of gloves! And neighbors are a wonderful thing. Another wonderful thing-friends who live in town willing to allow us to spend time with them to warm up and revisit some of our 'luxuries'!

Merry Christmas 2009 :-) Definetly one for the memory bank! God Bless!

Christmas 2009

With a sick sleeping child, clean house, enough laundry done, Christmas presents ready to go, another hour before I need to start cooking (assuming we have power) and after months of "I want to start 'blogging' and journaling for our kids to read someday" here I am, joining the 'blogging' world. I wonder if its okay to write sentences that long in 'blogging world' :-)

Of course most people reading this will know, Brice and I have been married for 4 1/2 years, have a 1-year-old daughter-Gabrielle, a dog-Gypsy- we've had as long as we've been married, many farm animals that keep us busy, and a lovely place to live. I have an awesome job where on a daily basis I go home having learned a lesson of some sort from someone wiser than I. We are constantly in-over-our-heads busy, which I usually complain about greatly; yet daily I have a goal of whining less and being more positive. We are involved in our church, community, and are both pretty opinionated about everything! Overall, we love our life together :-)

Anyway, back to the title of this entry. This is the first Christmas Eve as far back as I can remember where I will not be attending church, as it has been cancelled. No traveling, occasionally no power, no one coming for supper. However, it is the least jam packed and rushed Christmas we've had in years! I am okay with that; as long as we can see family another time. We are blessed with good friends, who have offered us to stay with them in town if our power goes out again. We are blessed with utility workers trying to fix the power before the 40 mile an hour winds arrive. And we are blessed with each other, healthy, happy, just praying the rest of the tree in front of the house doesn't land in the house!