Monday, November 06, 2006

What a Weekend...

I’m glad to say that I am getting my routine down. Every day at work, I get two 15-minutes breaks and an hour for lunch. I’ve been using those breaks to work on these blog entries and I think the process is working pretty well. Rather than just sitting in the break room twiddling my thumbs, I’m actually getting stuff done. Just with the breaks, that’s around 2 ½ extra hours in the week to work on blog entries or my comic book scripts. Holy cow! Calculate in the lunch hours and it’s almost enough to qualify as a part-time job. So on to the adventures of Ryan…

It was another good week in the NFL, Jason’s party was fun, and I had a relaxing weekend. It’s always nice to power down on Sunday and just relax. We are still trying to get Lauren’s room situation under control but we aren’t in a big hurry. One step at a time I guess. I’ve told Amy that we can’t put the Christmas Tree up until Lauren’s room is finished. (Gives her a little extra motivation to get it done.) This probably means that we will be decorating for Christmas next weekend. I can’t remember a year where the Christmas Tree wasn’t up by Black Friday. I can’t see any reason why this year will be any different.

Man, money is tight this year though. I mean, I’m not a Scrooge or a Grinch. I love giving presents when I can but this year… Whew, money is really tight. We have all the immediate family draw names out of a hat and then we do a gift exchange to save money. I really wished I could have drawn “Ryan” and saved myself the $20. I know it is only $20 per gift but technically it is $40 because I had to draw for me and Amy… Single income means that I am buying two gifts. That’s like half a days work for me! I’d rather put that money towards my kids’ gifts since this year is going to be pretty shallow.

In the end, it is the thought that counts. Being able to open a present on Christmas morning is a really big deal for my family. So if it sounds like I’m complaining, I’m really not. I just really, really hate being poor.

I know Mom is looking down on me from Heaven right now and scowling. Mom refused to let me say I was “poor.” She would always tell me that I may be “low income” but I’m not “poor.” I have a wife that loves me. I have a great marriage. I have three wonderful kids who are extremely well behaved, well adjusted, and incredibly loving. I have my health. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs.

And when my biggest problem in life is figuring out how we are going to finance the Nintendo Wii, then things aren’t all that bad. I mean, as far as problems go, mine are pretty far down on the list.

Still, nabbing a powerball jackpot would alleviate about 90% of my stress. I had to put a new power steering unit in the Jeep and that wiped out the savings account. It just couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

Amy and I are working towards a goal. We knew this year was going to tough with Amy going back to school and me going back to work. But it is for a greater goal. We just have to keep our eyes on the prize and know that better days are right around the corner…

They are right around the corner, right? I’d keep typing but it is hard to type with your fingers crossed.
More soon.

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