Becoming a 9-5 Family

So we are half way through Week 2 of our new lifestyle, and boy has it been a rollercoaster ride. We are still adjusting to this new schedule that we have never experienced before. Like I said in my earlier post, hubby is home EVERY DAY now. This means we can actually start buying fruit that won't go to waste, and that a whole loaf of bread (sometimes two!) gets eaten without wasting any. It means getting to eat at home every day and packing lunches. Very, very new to me. It seems as if things are getting more expensive right at the time that Murphy is visiting our house. After taking a long, hard look at the bank accounts today, I was slapped with reality and my frugal genes (yes, I have more than one!) kicked into TURBO POWER! or was it TURTLE POWER! ....anyway...

A few posts ago I showed off my 99 cent organic loot. In that lot was a bunch of flour, so I decided that I am done with buying ready-made bread. I actually made a list today and baking bread was on it. I had success thanks to a candy thermometer and the Good Housekeeping Cookbook from the 70s. That thing has never failed me, and if my Mom thinks she is getting it back, well she's just nutty. And because the job market here has been reduced to only two columns of non-nursing jobs, I will be baking all of our bread.

Another thing that I have been doing more of lately is hanging laundry in the house. Thanks to the crazy Arctic air sweeping the nation, I haven't really wanted to be outside handling cold wet clothes. I've been hanging them in open closets and the shower. My Mom started doing this when I was a teenager; we lived in an apartment and running the dryer meant skipping a meal.

I sometimes run the little heater in the bathroom to get things started. I usually leave the clothes overnight and fluff them in the morning.

Sometimes I kick myself for not doing these things all the time, thinking "Just imagine how much we could have saved!", but I've been trying to stay sane about it. I've realized that the ultimate way to be frugal would be living in an eco-village off of the grid somewhere peeing on our plants (I'm not knocking those that do). The rest of us are just doing our best with the mental capacity God gave us that allows for multitasking. Everyday I am trying to do better and realize my own strength,

and that's all I can do, is try. It's all any of us can do.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Switching to Less Pay?!?

Today was my hubby's first day in the police academy. This is the first time that he has been home everyday in the four years that we have been together. It is taking some adjusting to our new found lifestyle, and it made me think about the pros and cons of his old job versus his new job, which is a list that we made before he decided to take it. Before the academy, it was the oilfield. Anyone who knows about that area understands me when I say that it is rough on the body, mind, and relationship. I don't want to lecture anyone on their career and family choices, but this is how we see it:

1. He will be home every day. We will get to see each other, eat dinner together, lean on each other, and stop our marriage over the cell phone! He can go back to college and get on a normal schedule. He won't have to miss big things like birthdays, first steps, and first day of kindergarten.

2. Even though the overall pay is less, he won't have to spend money for travel, doctor's appointments for work-related injuries, and extra wear on the car.

3. Within 14 months, he will be making more than he was at his previous job. In the grand scheme of things, 14 months is not long of a sacrifice to make.

4. This job has a better benefits package.

5. This job does not lay people off!

6. And the point that I am most excited and most nervous about: sometimes you have to get dragged through the mud together and come out on the other side to see what you two are capable of. I think that in the end we will be stronger and have more love for doing it TOGETHER.

So that's my little rant and justification. Keep your fingers crossed!