I had a major fibromyalgia flare when we got back from Seattle followed by a cold I'm pretty sure I caught at the hospital, so I haven't been updating anything for a while. I still feel a little cruddy, but at least I am now upright. We are still on a wait and see with DD's tumor. We get another scan in 6 months. As for payday, there were a few hours of overtime on it, and here's what we did.

$337.18 Tithe
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
1000.00 Medical Fund
__75.00 Household Envelope
_753.08 Citi
__71.99 Life Insurance DH
__60.46 Life Insurance Me
_100.00 Spending Money Adults
_120.00 Allowances Kids
_100.00 Car Insurance Fund
_150.00 Gift/Christmas Fund
_100.00 Clothing Fund
_100.00 Laptop Fund
----------------
3367.71 Total Money Out

I transferred $1000 out of the EF and into the medical fund. We have four pairs of glasses to pay for in the next couple of months and I wanted there to be enough money in there to deal with it.

$8846.98
-1000.00
-------------
$7846.98

My new skillet was delivered today. It's a 12 inch Michaelangelo that works on induction cooktops. It's a really pretty blue granite design. It is non-stick, but not the kind that poisons you. It isn't ceramic, but it is similar to that. It is made in Italy, not China. Most of the induction stuff I have is made in China, but the brand I normally use doesn't have a 12 inch skillet and these days I try to buy elsewhere if I can. The North American continent doesn't seem to actually make any induction cookware that is any good, though.

They also have a ten inch skillet that is a purple (though they call it red) granite design. If I like this skillet, I might get that one later on down the road. It isn't super heavy. Much lighter than cast iron and a bit lighter than stainless steel, but not super light like a Green Pan. And it came with a lid. It was $42. I'll give it a good workout this week. I am hoping this pan will be what I am looking for for this size. It had good reviews.

We got the rest of the beans weeded today and the 3rd and 4th row replanted. I did not see any rabbit damage today at all and some of the stripped stems are coming back. We got some weeding done along the fence, too, all along the back of the strawberries and some of the overgrown raspberry plants pulled out and more morning glory. Do not, I repeat, do not ever plant morning glory. And if you must plant it in a pot it cannot escape from and put it on concrete that has no cracks in it. I am still annoyed 15 years after the fact with the neighbor who planted it on their property and let is spread to five other houses.

I planted 15 broccoli plants today and some spinach. The potatoes are really growing. We'll have to hill them on Tuesday, since tomorrow we are going down to Virginia Mason to meet with two different doctors and have some labs run for DD. One of the doctors is the liver specialist about her tumor. DS will stay here with my mom. She's been a little unsteady on her feet lately, so DS will be keeping an eye on her.

I cleaned off my desk today. It really needed it. I am working towards being more organized in my bedroom. It is an uphill battle, but it becomes easier as I clear out more things. Now that Good Will is open again and taking donations, that will help a lot. But my desk has nothing to do with that. My desk has to do with this thing called procrastination. I just had a lot of stuff I needed to recycle or shred for recycling.

I found my pocket Constitution, which also has the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. It also has a few other federalist papers and things about being a juror. It's cool to have that and it was always helpful when I was homeschooling the subject of history. Each kid has one, too, as well as DH. I think it is something every American ought to have copies of, really.

Well, I best be off to bed. I've got an early morning ahead of me.

I just went through yesterday's mail (I quarantine mail for 24 hours) and received a refund check from one of my doctor's offices. Quite a hefty check, too, of $208.44. I will take that to the bank tomorrow and deposit it into the medical fund. At first, I was thinking about just putting it into the EF since it would have put me above $9000, but since it originally came out of the medical fund, it should go back in there.

It's pretty low and it is time to start rebuilding it for next year since we finally hit the out of pocket max for our insurance. We do still use it to buy our OTC meds, too, so it definitely needs a deposit or two to keep up with that anyway. I put in $300 on payday, so this will be an even nicer cushion for that account.

MIL hasn't given us a check so far this year so I don't know if we can rely on that at all to help get it back up for next year's deductible and out of pocket max, but I am hopeful that she will. It might not be until Christmas, but the last couple years she has given us one in June and one in December. DH hasn't talked to her about it, so I don't know if it will happen and I can't rely on it. If it does it is a nice bonus. That's the only way I can think of it.

Even if she does give us a check, I might just dump it into the Emergency Fund anyway and just continue to add our own money into the medical fund. It would give us a big boost on getting to where we are going with the EF. It would be nice, but we can't expect it every year.

DH had some overtime on this paycheck so we had $361.93 extra in take home pay. Part of that went to keep the tithe at 10% and the rest to the medical fund since it is getting quite low. We have hit the out of pocket max now, though, so it is just a question of building it back up again. There was about $127 left in checking, just some carry over which will stay in there for next payday.

$354.86 Tithe
_500.00 Utilities
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
_300.00 Medical Fund
__75.00 Household Fund
_280.00 Chiropractor Family Plan
_115.17 Internet
__36.00 Garbage
_100.00 Car Maintenance Envelope
_100.00 Gas Money
_100.00 Spending Money Adults
_120.00 Allowances Kids
1000.00 Monster Mom Loan
-------------
3481.03 Total Money Out

The guys came back from fishing with a lot of spot prawns, hopefully the first of many successful trips. They got two of their pots picked even though they were in the area. Poachers are rotten people. It's not that hard to get your own pots. If you can afford your own boat, you can afford your own pots and bait. Some people are just bad to the core like that. Still, we have plenty for dinner tomorrow and some for the freezer.

I did some cleaning in the kitchen today and I made two batches of hard ice cream, one strawberry, which I haven't made before, and one chocolate. I use the no ice cream machine method. All it requires is a mixer and sometimes a blender, depending on what flavor you are making. Besides chocolate, in the past I have done maple cookie and vanilla. I want to try blackberry, orange, maple pecan, and root beer flavors this summer. Maybe a mint chip for the others (not one I care for). It's super easy. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes of hands on time and then into the freezer for 8 hours.

I do have a hard ice cream maker but it only does one pint at a time. I also have a soft ice cream maker. One day when I have more space I will use them again, but this really is just so simple.

I got some laundry done today and some dishes as well. I didn't do any gardening, though. I also took DD to physical therapy, did a quick grocery run for ice cream ingredients, and then went back to wait to pick her up. While waiting I read a book that is on my phone. When DD came out I tried to start up the car, but the battery was dead. I had to call a towing service to come jump start me since DH was out to sea. He is never home when this happens! The jump cost $85. If DH had been around it would have cost nothing. They were fast to come though. I probably waited 15 minutes from the time I called, if that.

We will be buying a new battery and I am going to bite the bullet and go back on AAA. The local service they used to use that I hated has now gone out of business and the good one that is left in town is what they have to use. So my issues with AAA have been resolved. If I order now, the cards should come before the trip to Virginia Mason in Seattle June 22nd.

I am still waiting to hear back from the liver doctor. If she wants to see DD, I am hoping we can make it for the same day as it is in the building across the street from where her other appointment will be. It would be nice to just make one trip this month instead of two.

Where is everyone? It has been awfully quiet the last couple of days.

If anyone wants to see the latest, I put up a new gardening video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEEbhPc9BRo I've made a ton of progress since the last one.

The last time I had gluten was on May 21st and I started my diet on May 23rd. As of today I have lost 10.4 pounds, dropped a clothing size, which gives me a lot of new options with capri pants and shorts and sweat pants, if not jeans. My shirts are a lot looser, too, and longer than they were before, or at least they go down further.

I feel better, too. I am not having near the trouble with mucus pooling in my throat that I was when I was on wheat. It isn't gone, we are in cottonwood season, but it isn't where I feel like I am almost drowning in it. I also haven't had to use my asthma inhalers since dropping gluten and I am barely using my nasal spray at all, and certainly not first thing when I get up so I can breathe. I always thought it was dairy that was my problem, but I've had milk and cheese through this, so it doesn't seem to be.

I have also noticed that it has become a struggle to meet my daily calories for a safe daily intake. I'm just not hungry or craving bread all the time. I do push myself to eat at least 1200 calories a day, and I am happier if I can get it closer to 1400 to 1500. I've never had to worry about that when wheat was in my diet.

My stamina is also getting better and my legs are getting stronger. I was having trouble standing for more than five minutes at a time since having what we suspect was Covid19 back in February. Not with walking, mind, just standing in one place. Two night ago I was able to stand the entire time I was cooking instead of having to pull up a chair. Not to mention how much longer I can work in the garden, including doing things like shoveling. I was so weak when we started putting in the garden in April.

I've also noticed my RA symptoms don't seem as bad, despite using my hands a lot and my fibromyalgia, while still noticeable, is not as bad, but that may just be from the increased exercise.

I'm not sure if I have a gluten intolerance or just a wheat allergy. I know I don't have celiac. Considering the mucus output going down so much, I think it is an allergy.

Franz now has a gluten free bread line that tastes good. It has two types of bread, hamburger buns, hot dog buns, and bagels. That's the same as what Udi has, but Udi comes frozen. I like the Franz better as it is softer. I am still learning to bake gluten free, just haven't stumbled on any great recipes yet. I am going to attempt to make cornbread this week though, as I found a recipe that looks promising.

Mostly I am happy with just eating meat, veggies, and fruit, though. The bread craving is gone, so unless I am going to have a hot dog or hamburger on the grill, I don't feel much of a need for it. The kids do, though, so I buy the gluten free bread mostly just for them. They've been off wheat since the beginning of the year and both feel better and have dropped weight as well.

I read wheat belly years ago and was just not ready to give it up. Now I wish I had tried. I might have saved myself a lot of weight gain and physical pain and breathing issues.

I took DD to her primary doctor today as a follow up for her ER visit. He did prescribe her more valium, but only another 10 days worth. I wish he could have seen what a difference it has made to her day to day living, but all he's worried about is it being an addictive substance. Not so much about helping with pain and making those tight muscles relax. My mother has been on valium since I was a child and takes 3 times as much. We understand that it can be abused. But when the doctor is in charge of prescribing it, I don't see the issue. It's not like we're going to go out on a street corner for it. Just use it until things ease up and then wean off.

She has no reflex action in her left leg. Didn't matter where he tapped the thing on her knee or ankle, it didn't kick. He also poked her and there was no reaction. Her leg has been numb for a few weeks. So something serious is going on, but we won't know much more until the MRI on June 2nd. She restarts physical therapy on Saturday. I hope it helps and doesn't make things worse.

Then even if things are serious, her weight may be a detriment to getting surgery if she needs it. They say lose weight like that is an easy thing when you have to take prednisone every day to live and it makes you gain weight. I know what she eats. We don't have junk food in the house and she doesn't go anywhere to buy food or have an income to do it. I'm lucky if I can get 1200 calories into her in a day because she is so nauseated all the time and she isn't even able to cook her own food because of all the pain. She is not overeating. If anything she doesn't eat enough. It would help if her pituitary worked properly. And her digestive system. Her inflammation level in her blood work is off the chart, not to mention her neutraphils are crazy high.

I just want a healthy kid. Is that so much to ask? Why does she have to have five diseases, something wrong with her back, hip, and leg, and a liver tumor? How much can one body take? But sure, doctor, let's worry about addiction instead of quality of life, okay? Because that's more important than being able to function on even a basic level.

/Rant

What a nice little vacation DH and I had. It was wonderful to get away from the kids and to get away from my mom and have no cares in the world for a few days. The sea air was fantastic, 2 out of 3 sunsets were gorgeous and 1 was spectacular. I loved just being able to sit on the deck and stare out at the sea while DH cooked on the BBQ. DH made all of the meals, so I didn't even have to do that much. I really felt relaxed and unwound for the first time since mid-September.

It was also great to sit in the hot tub and just watch the ducks and seagulls and the dog that went for a swim every afternoon at the same time. I love seeing the tide go in and out as well and seeing all the shells left behind on the beach. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you can see the seals, too.

It was good to have some alone time and DH and I had a serious talk about weight loss needing to happen and that I wasn't buying anymore junk food, I wanted it out of the house. He has agreed and is doing well since we got back. As am I. It is nice to have the whole family on board for a change. It was always so hard on me when I tried by myself. DS has been doing great since the start of the year. He lost 30 pounds. DD has lost some, too, but that is more due to the liver tumor and not wanting to eat much.

Speaking of the liver tumor, it has grown from 2.7 cm in October to 4.1 cm. We are waiting to hear back from the hepatology doctor about what steps to take next. I think she has to have some kind of nuclear medicine test, at least that was what the hospital recommended after her recent CT scan.

We've been working hard in the garden since we got back, but today is a day off because we worked for 7 hours straight yesterday and are sunburned and sore. We got a lot done, though. There is still so much to do, though. But I am good with a day off for everyone. It also rained all morning and early afternoon so not too much could be done, anyway.

I have pictures I would like to share, but am having trouble getting it to work.

I really put my body through the ringer on Friday. I got a ton done, but I have been basically non-functional with a Fibromyalgia flare since. Today I was able to go sit outside and watch DH turn the compost pile while I kept him company. It was kind of peaceful as we were at the back of the property in a little hidden away area that almost makes you feel like you are in a forest. Almost, because you can still see one the neighbor's fence and top of their house, but it was restful (for me) with the birds twittering and the squirrels and cottontails bravely running nearby.

I think tomorrow I might be able to do some garden work again, but I am going to take it easy and be gentle with myself. I can't go down like this. DS will be free to help starting tomorrow afternoon. If it is still bad, I will simply keep him company and direct him on what to do. I can't do anymore digging. It wrecked my legs and made it hard to walk. But I can do some things, so I will leave the hard stuff to DS.

I went to Winco last night to get chicken and they had signs up every four feet in the meat department saying to be mindful of other customers and not overbuy meat in a day right now so as not to overwhelm their supply. They did say we could come back daily, though. I say we will have limits within a week. I got four packs of legs and four packs of thighs, which was what I'd intended, but I am going to go back tomorrow and get some more legs to can.

I was hoping they'd have a good pork sale, but the ads were lousy, so I will just buy chicken legs for canning and do a batch a day until I have a month's supply on the shelf. Legs are the easiest to can as you can do it bone in. You are basically just filling your jars. I may pick up a couple of hams to can, too.

As these meat processing facilities continue to close over employee illness, we may go from limits to rations for meat. It would not surprise me in the least. I want to be ready. I don't think it should be limited to an amount per family, it should be limited to so much per person in your family, which is what rations would do. Right now in some areas they are limiting a large family to the same amount as a small family. That will eventually cause problems. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but I don't think anyone still thought we'd be on lock down this long, either.

No matter what happens, I want to be ready for it.

Today I worked on turning the compost. I got the second bin turned into the third bin all the way down to the level that all that was left was composted soil. It is rich, black, and full of worms. Such beautiful homemade dirt. Yes, things like this make me so happy. I am a garden geek, what can I say?

Tomorrow I will work on filling our large containers with some compost at the twelve inch from the top mark and then putting more compost about 4 inches from the top. That gives seeds and starts a good starting place, but also gives them a boost when the roots get a foot down.

After all that soil gets moved out then I will turn bin one over into bin two, then we will replace the outer wall of bin one with a bigger pallet. The one we have on it is too small for the amount of animal bedding that goes into it. When that is replaced then bin three will be turned back over into bin one. Lots of work ahead of us, but I only do that when it is raining, because it is under the shelter of trees, so I can still work outside without getting wet.

I might also weed tomorrow as it is supposed to rain until 1:30, but then be clear and nice. The soil will be lose from the rain and more likely to give up the weeds. Then Friday is supposed to be clear all day. We need to get as much weeding done as possible before the weekend as it is supposed to rain Saturday through Monday. I don't mind working in a light rain, but the guys are whiners. I guess it is from growing up working in the berry fields in the summers, rain or shine. As long as I have a rain coat and a hat to protect my glasses from rain drops, and it isn't cold, I am fine working in the rain.

My kids are driving me crazy today. I've avoided my mother for my own mental health. I hate caffeine withdrawal. And I might be rapid cycling. I hope not. That usually happens before mania. I have been level for such a long time, 3 years I think, but I feel like I am on the doorstep of mania. I guess I'll get a lot done if I go over the edge. And I might even finish my book. But I won't sleep and that is always the hardest part of a manic episode for me.

I have done so much work in the garden the past three days I am practically falling down exhausted at bed time. But I've got my peas, carrots, and radishes planted, a lot of weeding done, and tackled the overgrown climbing rose bushes today. That was a major chore and I got my fair share of thorns poked into me, but it looks so much better and the blooms this year should be outstanding. That took me three hours to do.

Tomorrow I want to work on the potato planting area and get the big weeds out. The soil is pretty loose there, but there are some things that will require digging out with a shovel, like Russian thistles and pernicious creeping buttercup. But then I can easily shake all the soil back out so we can keep that. I think I can get that done in an hour or two, even though it is a big area. It's just not horrifically overgrown like some areas.

The pesky squirrel and her babies are still under the turkey coop roof so that is still on hold to be torn down. I just want them to move out already. That coop in on prime ground.

After the potato area is done I want to start loading the truck with the weeds and branches and rose clippings so they are out of the way and off the ground where I need to pull yet more weeds. I'll probably be wiped out by then but if I can I'd like to start work on the corn and beans area. We are reversing them this year from last year so we aren't planting them in the same place. Then next year we can rotate them with the new potato bed, too. I will be glad when the guys are done with the attic so I can get help in the garden again. Nephew moves in on the first.

Of course all that is contingent on it not raining. If it is raining I will be canning beef chuck roast instead from the $3.49/lb sale.

Also mid-day tomorrow I have to take DD to the rheumatologist. I am really wishing DD had gone with a telemedicine appointment, but she had the option of going in. I don't know if they will let me go in with her, but the rate at which she's been having panic attacks means it would be a bad idea for her to go alone.

I am going to try to kick my real sugar Pepsi habit again. In February I started drinking it after a couple years of not and it is making me feel cruddy, after the initial lift from the sugar and caffeine. But I got addicted, so it is pretty hard to quit. I know I will feel a lot better if I do, though.

Okay, off to bed with me now.

I'm pretty wiped out today from working in the garden yesterday, but I am still hoping to get at least an hour in later today when the sun moves behind a tree. Yesterday I got the rest of the dirt out of the one long raised bed and then got the rotten wood all torn down. Then I started working on weeding the next bed. I got one 8 foot by 3 foot section finished and then about 2 more feet by 2 feet additional done.

I moved 2 wheelbarrow loads of soil as well. Today DS will help with moving soil while I continue to weed. He puts the dirt into the wheelbarrow and then I help him unload it. That is easier for me to do since the wheelbarrow is at a good height for me and the soil is all loose at that point. At least we will do that if I can get my body moving. Some days are much harder than others. It might not get done until tomorrow. I have to pace myself within my body's limitations.

If I don't do it today, I am going to sit down and make myself do a one hour writing sprint. I just need to get over the hump on something and then I can move along on the book again. I tell myself I have to be a productive human being for at least one hour a day, so I don't fall into a slump of just watching YouTube or Netflix all day, every day. That is not good for the mental health.

I sat down and have made up two budgets. One I am calling an emergency budget and one I am calling an extreme no income budget. The emergency budget is for if DH has to go down to 32 hours a week again. The extreme budget is for if he gets laid off. It was looking like we were going to weather this okay, but what with the oil companies getting slammed this week, I don't know. He works as a lead engineer for a construction company that does work for refineries. So this could trickle down to hurt his company.

Anyway, I figured out that with an extreme budget we can get by on $1683.18 a month excluding medical. That's cutting out everything that isn't a bill and cutting the grocery budget in half. Without an income there is no tithe, either, which also cuts things down a fair amount. If DH gets laid off they will continue to pay their portion of medical for two months. I am not sure how much our portion is, but I think it is around $450 a month, so I would have to add that in. After that it would be the full amount for the COBRA. DH would qualify for unemployment so that would basically go to pay medical and if anything was left, to the Emergency Fund, for future months.

With what is in the EF now, that will last four and a half months. We will be harvesting from the garden by then, too. Of course we are going to continue to add as much to the EF as we can between now and any possible future layoff. I feel better having some kind of a plan in place. It is scary to think about, but it is scarier not to think about it at this point. Better to know what we might be getting into.

I hate living with uncertainty. I always have. I just pray his job continues, even if it is at reduced hours. The medical insurance is the big thing. It is what absolutely leveled us last time. When you have people on life-saving drugs, it is sometimes the only thing.

My husband's cousin has a confirmed case of Covid19. She is a receptionist at a doctor's office. She's in her late 50's. She has two daughters and 3 grandchildren.

We are under a stay at home order here in Washington. We can go to the doctor, the pharmacy, and the grocery store, but that is all. We have enough food in to not have to go to the grocery store for two months if it comes down to that.

They are going to close down the airports and ground flights.

So far DH's job is secure since he can work from home and his work's clients are continuing with everything.

Pelosi is evil. That is all.

The last couple of days have been really crazy, but we are as prepared as we can be to a hunker down in place order, which could come down at any moment. Inslee seems a little hesitant to shoot that arrow, but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't happen by the end of the weekend.

The banks are closed now except for drive-thru. Toilet paper is selling for $1 a roll. I am glad we got it before this mess started. I usually stock up quite a bit every couple of months or so, as I hate going to Costco. We also have our emergency squeeze water bottles and 48 brown wash cloths, with 2 buckets with lids to fall back on if what we have is not enough. And enough laundry soap to handle doing a load of those daily.

We have locked up all our outbuildings. One of them has a big chest freezer full of food and we decided not to leave that unlocked anymore. People on our neighborhood forum are already trying to suss out who has food and toilet paper. Yeah, it might be all innocent, but it might not be, either. There's a lot of "I'll come to your house if I run out," going around that forum for the people that do say something. That's not the sort of information you give out unless you are completely anonymous and there is no way to track you. Not in a situation like this where you might be targeted for what you have. They are also asking about whether or not people are armed, so it is not just me being paranoid.

I was able to get an at home nebulizer and medicine for it for my asthma and I did my first treatment and man, it feels great to take full breaths again. My bronchials haven't been like this in months. I was even able to go outside and do a little work in the garden with my son. I mostly supervised and kept him company, but I did shovel some compost for about 20 minutes. It was light-weight stuff. I saved the heavy stuff for DS. We didn't get it done, because the timer went off for dinner to come out of the oven, but we will work some more on it tomorrow.

As for the raised beds we got one of them weeded and we will weed the long bed tomorrow and maybe get some of the soil transferred to the one we did today and then transplant all of the strawberries into it and repeat with the other green bed. It has sunk so much over the winter, it really needs to be filled up. And since we are taking out the other beds the soil has to be moved.

I was not going to do a big garden this year, but as I look at what is going around in the world with this virus, I have changed my mind. There may be shortages. DS promises he will help with the upkeep. I went through all of my seeds to see what I have and there is plenty there so I don't have to order any seeds.

We can start planting parsnips, carrots, and radishes as soon as we get the beds ready and I can start cabbage, kohlrabi, and broccoli in the house under the grow light. We need to order seed potatoes and I need to get some bunching onions started as well. We do need to build some kind of thing to keep the deer out. I don't want them eating any of our food this year. I think I want individual cages on each garden bed. I also worry about keeping out people if things get really bad, but what are you going to do? It's all in the back yard, it's not really easy to see from the road, especially with all the cars in the driveway.

My order of seed pods for my Aerogarden finally processed today, so hopefully that means they will actually be shipped soon. The have completely sold out of the farm units. I wish I'd jumped the gun on that like I wanted to, but I still have the Bounty and will grow my lettuce there to save bed space. It takes 9 seed pots, so we shouldn't have to buy greens at all during the late spring and summer once it gets going. I bought a total of 27 pods so I can keep it going, into the fall and winter as well.

In more personal news with my eldest sister, it turns out that while the mass was benign, the uterus itself had stage 3 cancer. Makes me really glad I had a complete hysterectomy when I was 33. So now she has to deal with going down and getting further tests to make sure it hasn't spread anywhere else in her body. I thought this was all over with and she was free and clear, but she is not. She has moved in with us for the duration. It's a full house, but it is nice to have someone else around to keep Mom distracted. She behaves herself better when my sister is here, although that may change with it becoming more permanent. Pray for my sister if you would.

I haven't been posting much at all. February was an atrocious month for my health. I had bronchitis, then influenza a, then a 3 day stomach bug (vomiting the whole time), then a sinus infection. It never stopped, just went from one thing into the next, all the while I didn't have Enbrel for 5 weeks. Getting it okayed by the new insurance was an absolute nightmare. And not because they ever planned to deny it, but because everyone involved but me kept dropping the ball.

First the receptionist did not give my new insurance information to the approval specialist and it was two weeks before I checked up on them because they said give it two weeks. Then the approval specialist quit. Then they hired a new one. From that point on I went in and plopped myself down in the waiting room once a week. Okay, two of those times was an appointment for my daughter and one for me, but still, once a week I was in there.

After five weeks without meds they finally go, "Oh, we can get you samples," so I was able to get shots again. Then on Friday the approval specialist said it had finally gone through and I should hear from the speciality pharmacy any day now. I heard from them on Tuesday, but I was out doing appointments and couldn't call back until Wednesday, but it is all set up now and my prescription should arrive next Tuesday.

I have two sample shots left, one I take tomorrow, so that will put me one up on the prescription for back up. Hopefully the company does not change insurances again, because it was horrible to be without that drug. The rheumatologist said that she'd been thinking of doing a trial of a month without the drug to make sure it was really helping and now we don't have to do that. It is definitely really helping, because those weeks I did not have it I went into a full on flare, the most painful one of my life, and it took two weeks of having it again before that went away.

In the middle of all that I was taking care of my mother after her shoulder surgery, except when I got the flu and I literally went to bed for ten days. DH and DS pitched in there. Then eldest sister got really, really sick with massive bleeding. They thought it might be cancer, but the biopsy came back clean, but she will have to have a hysterectomy due to a mass. She's 61, so it's not like she needs that.

So I have been miserable up until about four days ago. I am still sick but have been on antibiotics for six days now. And my brain is functioning again. While I was so sick I watched a lot of mindless youtube videos (mostly reddit readers) because I couldn't hold plots in my head until about two weeks ago. Not even sitcom ones. I haven't read a book in a month, but I think my brain is working enough to do that again.

I still have to take it easy because I have so little strength, but I am slowly trying to get the house back in order and make meals again.

As for finances, I have stayed on top of that. It took all my brain power, but I did. Today I worked out the March budget. There were 20 hours of overtime on this paycheck and there will be 20 hours on the next one (as projected, one week has already been worked of that, so ten down). We will be paying for our vacation with part of the OT (I did have money in savings I could use, but would rather not) tomorrow.

If all goes to plan, we will be about to pay of $2500 in debt this month. $1000 this week and $1500 the next payday. If not, $2000. We did spend a lot on takeout while I was so ill, so some of the OT is going to pay the credit card. And by part, I mean around $1000. But with DH working on so much OT, taking care of mom, taking care of his mom's stuff, take us to the doctor because I was too sick to drive, and having to do laundry and cleaning, he was far too exhausted to cook. And I literally could not get out of bed for a good chunk of time. But still, $2500. That will leave a balance of $2500.

Oh, and our back up refrigerator died on my 50th birthday on February 12th. That was fun. I was too sick to do anything for a milestone, but oh, well. We picked out a new fridge on the 16th. It was the first time I went out and it sapped all my energy for the next few days. Most people could probably get by on one fridge, but I have two tubs of dough going at any one time, and we buy in bulk, usually for a month at a time, so a case of oranges, a case of apples, 20 pounds of potatoes, 20 pounds of sweet potatoes, plus my ferments, and all of the cheese take up a lot of space. It also helps in the summer when I am harvesting a lot of veggies and might not be able to can it or blanch and freeze it on the day I harvest.

We did get one with an ice maker and filtered water, so we can stop buying ice and we don't have to have a filter on the kitchen sink anymore or two gallons of water taking up space in the main fridge. I can see everything now and we can have meal prep in the main fridge. It is nice. But man, refrigerators are expensive now. This one didn't even have all the bells and whistles, it was just a simple side by side. The really fancy ones, what I all my dream fridges, are over $3K.

It cost $1100, but would have cost $1500 if it hadn't been on a President's Day sale. It could have been cheaper with out the ice maker and water in the door, but only by $200. MIL paid for it. We didn't ask her to, but apparently she'd been spending a lot of money on SIL's family so far this year and wanted to even it up. She wouldn't have even known about it, but since she called me on my birthday I mentioned it and that we were going to look at Habitat for Humanity's store where we got our last back up fridge for $25. And she said, "Oh, just get a new one, I'll pay for it."

I did go around with her about that for a bit because I had done some online research before I talked to her and I knew how much they were and that's when she told me how much she spent on SIL and her kids and grandkids and I stopped hemming and hawing and accepted the offer. She said we could spend up to $5K if I wanted. I don't think I could ever do that on an appliance. Maybe for a stove, washer, and dryers, too! No, if we ever get the dream fridge we are paying for it ourselves.

Anyway, that is why I have been so quiet for the last several weeks. Now if you all could pray for me that I can beat this darn set of illnesses down, not contract Covid-19 (killed 10 people here so far), and be able to go on our vacation in a week and a half for our 25th wedding anniversary, I would really, really appreciate it. I can be sick there, too, but I really would like to be able to enjoy the seaside.

My sister is still not doing well. Continued prayers would be appreciated. She needs to have surgery, but her doctor wasn't in today due to it being a holiday. It is something she has been putting off because she doesn't have medical insurance. This is going to be rough for her.

I was able to get out of bed today, but am still very much under the weather. I still can't drive because my head spins. DD is about a day behind me. DH and DS seem to be getting better faster than us, they always do, but are still pretty bad off. So far my Mom has not caught it.

Sister is spending the night here tonight so she isn't alone and so DH can take her back to the ER if she needs to go. I hope she doesn't catch this. That's the last thing she needs right now.

We have blown our takeout budget out of the water this week, but no one feels good enough to cook, so we won't be paying off as much to Mom, but so be it. We have gotten a lot of egg flower (drop) soup. Nice hot broth with protein and no gluten. I think I could live on it for another week, but I am hoping I will feel up to making dinner starting tomorrow. Who knows, though?

Please pray for my eldest sister. My husband is taking her into the ER.

Things are going a lot better with my mom today. I am hoping that means the end of all the horrible, emotionally and physically exhausting days! She apologized for being so cranky and for taking me for granted. That was nice to hear, but honestly I am so used to it now I simply vent here and move on.

I took DD to physical therapy and then I went to take a three page approval thing my insurance needs to my rheumatologist's office to have them fill out and fax in, but no one was there. There was an open sign on the door and it was office hours, but the office was dark and locked. I'll call tomorrow and make sure someone is there.

Then I went over to the foot and ankle clinic which is just across the parking lot to try to get an itemized receipt for the down payment for the orthotics that the FSA wanted (it had one thing missing from the receipt I had), but the bookkeeper had just stepped out, so the receptionist left a detailed note and she was to print it out when she came back so that I could have it in the morning. So that's another trip to the two doctor's offices tomorrow, but I have nothing else on the agenda.

DD had a very tough time at PT today. The pool has a limit of four people in it at once and she had a scheduled therapy session, but they also have drop in hours for people who have finished therapy but pay an extra fee each month to come in, but they have to get out if a session is scheduled and it is overlimit. Well, at one point there were seven other people in the pool (all women between 60 and 80, they actually said their ages in the course of their conversation) besides DD and her assistant therapist. She was getting crowded back into a corner even though she was on one of the underwater treadmills. She came close to having a panic attack. She has a hard time speaking up for herself due to her panic disorder.

I guess the therapist didn't speak up at all to tell the extra women to get out of the pool, either. My daughter had a hard time even hearing because the other women were being so loud. The therapist did tell them to get back a couple of times, but they crowded in again. DD felt cornered. According to DD they were making statements that were racist, homophobic, transphobic, as well as nasty talk about young people and entitlement while shooting dirty looks at her (they really didn't like having to move for a young person), and vicious political talk (not sure which side, don't care) all at top volume. DD has a very short haircut (her hair actually hurts her when it is over an inch long) and a very androgynous appearance due to her body type and the swollen steroid face so I am sure they were making assumptions. It has happened on more occasions than I can count and she has been mistaken for a boy wearing girl's clothes as well.

It was inappropriate talk for where they were. As much as I support freedom of speech there is a time and a place to show your nastiness and a medical facility where people are in pain is not that place. You need to be conscious of other people, especially in a place that echoes every word said like the pool area. I seriously can't believe people talk that way in public. What happened to kindness and behaving yourself in public?

When she came out and told me about it on the way home, I called and reported it. I didn't act mad, just wanted them to know what had happened. I'm not usually one to rock the boat, but I will stand up for myself and my kids strongly in situations like this. The woman I reported it to said I should also call the head of the physical therapy department and tell him everything I told her and that what happened to her today was not okay. I left a voice mail and supposedly I should hear back tomorrow. We'll see.

Hopefully they have a way of tracking the women. I'm sure there is a sign in sheet or check in or something. Then they can talk to them and tell them not to act that way there in the future. Whether they will listen or not is up to them, but I do believe they should at least be spoken to. If I had been there, I would have said something directly. More importantly, I hope it will at least result in an enforcement of the pool limit. If there had only been the two other people in there with them like there was supposed to be, I don't think they would have gotten so out of hand.

It has been a rough week. Mom had her surgery last Tuesday and they sent her home Wednesday night. It was far too early for them to send her home. Not only was she incoherent, she was combative, and couldn't walk without starting to fall over. I about yanked my shoulder out of the socket catching her from falling.

Unfortunately they did not take me seriously at the hospital the night before when I told them how bad it would be if they sent her home early. If there is a next time I am going to the pre-op appointment and making it very clear that this is not okay. This has happened every time, it is just a little better if she is in the hospital those first three days.

She was also trying to manipulate everyone into giving her too many pills. Not the painkillers, but her diazepam (which is Valium). She took 6 in one day by getting my husband and son to give her two (that's her dose) when I had already given her two. She was beyond incoherent that day. I instituted a write down everything time and date pad so that can't happen again. I had asked DH to do that from the start, but he had not (I was still in massive pain, so didn't do it myself at that point).

She did not regain her ability to speak in complete sentences until yesterday. She's still a little slow, but at least now she is making sense most of the time, about 80 percent, which is where she normally is nowadays. She was able to walk without help on Saturday.

DH did take off Thursday and Friday, but he had to go back to work today. There is overtime being offered again this week (he couldn't get any last week because of helping me with Mom and needing take sick leave). It wasn't an easy day as she wanted a shower, which took an hour to do, but she was very cooperative. It is just hard to give a shower to someone else, even with a bench seat and a detachable sprayer. Easier than without one. She needed it though. It had been a week (she had to wait that long).

She still isn't wanting to eat much, but I got her to eat Jello (3 times) and a cheeseburger (she had some frozen) and some milk. Not the best of nutrition, but it is better than nothing.

I am starting to feel better now that I had an Embrel shot again. It was getting really bad with the pain without it. If I had any doubt it was helping before this, it is totally gone now. Things still aren't worked out completely with my shots, but on Thursday the doctor gave me two shots to take home, so I took one that day and I have one more, and if it takes longer than that to get my prescription moving, than I can get more. According to my doctor, everything has been approved with the new insurance since last week, but I have not heard anything from the pharmacy yet about the shot.

DH is going to see if he can't move things along for me as I don't have time to be on the phone right now between taking care of Mom and shuttling DD to appointments. I can get more samples if I need to, but I sure wish they would have told me that before I went 4 weeks without.

I am still not sure if we will be able to leave Mom long enough on Wednesday for DH and me to go out for my birthday, but I hope so. I so need to get away for a couple of hours and just not have to focus on anyone else.

Mom made it through surgery with flying colors as she always does. I went up and saw her for about half an hour and she was eating and alert. I didn't stay longer, though, because she was very tired. She wasn't in any pain because the nerve block hadn't worn off yet. I'm sure tomorrow will be a lot harder.

It snowed today for about 4 hours. Ugh. Now it is sleeting though, so I am sure it will be gone by morning. At least I hope so.

I made it about halfway through the SOTU speech, but will save the rest for tomorrow. I'm going to hit the bed early tonight. I've never actually listened to one of these before for any president. Dude can talk. Watched a bit of the senate today, too. Dudes can talk. Lots of talk, talk, talk.

The last week was hard on retirement, but the IRA has almost completely rebounded this week and I'm still ahead on the 401K, so the total balance is still higher than it was the last time I reported in, but I probably won't put the balance until after the addition of payday, which is Friday, so won't see it hit until Monday. I hope it keeps going back up.

I need to get bread baked tomorrow. And maybe hamburger buns, too. I also have to take DD to the neurologist. It's just for her 3 month migraine check. Her meds aren't quite cutting it, so we may have to adjust. One of these days we'll get it right. We have a lot of appointments this week and Mom will be coming home during some point. DH is working late again tonight. It's 10 p.m. and he is still there. He doesn't want to take more sick leave than he has to.

January was a tough month and I am happy to see the back of it. I still don't have my Embrel shots coming because of the doctor's office dropping the ball, so I've had a lot of pain for the month of Jan. I lost 12 pounds, I had a nasty stomach virus and a nasty sinus infection, not at the same time, went off gluten, and I tried to do an eat from the pantry challenge and mostly succeeded. I did buy a few things, but most of the money I saved went into buying bulk meat for the freezer, $3.49/lb chuck roast and $1.99/lb boneless skinless chicken thighs. Tonight we are getting takeout for the first time in ages.

My mom's surgery is on the fourth and we are hoping they will keep her in the hospital until Friday, but she might be coming home sooner than that. DH is taking some sick leave, but the bulk of taking care of Mom will still fall on me and my son. This should be her last surgery. I did locate my power of attorney, her living will, and the actual will a couple of weeks ago, so I have all the paperwork I need should something go wrong. She also added me to her bank account so I can do that if needed.

I am not looking forward to February either, although I will have some time off on the 12th as DH and I are going out to dinner for my 50th birthday. I really wish I was on my shot. This is just going to be such an overwhelming time for me and to have it be in pain because I don't have my meds is just stressing me out.

We've got our vacation set up for mid-March for our 25th wedding anniversary now and I will likely need it very much after caring for Mom and shuttling her around everywhere. She will be allowed to drive by then so will be able to do for herself again at that point.

I know I just need to take a deep breath and calm down and make sure that whatever I do during this month that I make an effort to do my exercises, try to find time to destress, and continue to eat as healthy as I can. Oh, and get good sleep. Last time my mom had surgery it ended up with me falling off the good eating wagon and I gained back all the weight I had lost. I do not want that to happen again. I worked hard to be here and I want to keep seeing the scale going down. It's going to take a lot of focus. Hopefully I can maintain that.

No, not on money stuff. I have been trying to be a good citizen and watch all of this impeachment stuff and I did watch all of the opening arguments, but my gosh, I'm only 3 hours into yesterday's livestream of the question asking and it is so mind-numbingly tedious I just don't think I can do it anymore. I feel sorry for those poor senators. They don't get near enough breaks. They must have bladders of steel. I hope none of them have circulation issues because I can just feel the blood pooling in their legs from not being able to get up and walk around enough. I might try again tomorrow, but ugh, no more tonight.

I did a quick run at the grocery store tonight and bought some organic Russet potatoes. I was out and I didn't know when I'd get a chance to swing by Trader Joe's and get bags, so I just bought open stock at the closest grocery. It was $1.29 a pound, so not bad. Not as good as TJ's, but not bad.

Has anyone had a good, sweet navel orange at all this orange season? I haven't. They've all been sour or barely sweet. It has been such a bummer to me. They are picking them before they are ripe and it is awful. Orange season is my favorite fruit season and this is the second year in a row the grower's have ruined it by picking too soon.

I am so tired. I have been in bed for most of the week with a stomach virus. It was bad. I didn't eat for two days. It went through everyone in the house except Mom. I'm not sure where it came from, but probably the doctor's office when I took DS in for his physical. I use the hand sanitizer, but I still get sick every time I go to a doctor's office within 3 days. Although DH could have brought it home from work, too. I haven't slept well with it, either, so I am running on empty.

I also still have not gotten my Embrel shots for 3 weeks now. I thought the insurance was dragging it's heels. Nope. No one ever told the lady who does the approval that I had brought in my insurance card two weeks ago and asked the to get the ball rolling. I was so ticked off, but it does no good to get mad. It wasn't her fault, it was the fault of one of the receptionists who wasn't even there. But I talked to the actual approval lady this time and she is going to call me when it is taken care of.

I have to take DS back to the doctor tomorrow. Hopefully I won't catch the plague this time.

So the new paycheck amount with the FSA money being taken out of it is $105 and some change, but the difference in paycheck amount is $87 and change because more being taken out pretax affected it post tax. That's not bad at all. We did get the FSA debit card thing sorted out. It was because it was Walgreens and they have sell other things, so we had to make sure it was run as a pharmacy purchase. Anyway, I've done up all the bills already since I could see the pending paycheck amount. I have a bit of money to transfer to saving tomorrow, but other than that the bills and budget are done and the yearly budget is done. Here's the where it all went:

$318.63 Tithe
_500.00 Utilities
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
_100.00 Household Envelope
_280.00 Chiropractor
_111.08 Internet (gotta do something about this!)
__36.00 Garbage
_100.00 Car Insurance Fund
_100.00 Gas Money
_100.00 Blow Money (Adults)
_120.00 Allowances (Kids)
1000.00 Monster Mom Loan
------------
3165.71 Total Money Out

I got nothing done today except make dinner and go to the chiropractor. I just don't have the energy yet and I think I will have to take it easy for a few more days. We aren't out of clothes yet and the towels can wait another day to be folded. We'll survive. I just wish I wasn't so cold. Even under an electric blanket turned up to high and with a space heater going in my room, my hands and feet are like ice cubes.

Tomorrow I have to take DD to physical therapy or I wouldn't even leave the house. I really don't want to sit there for an hour, but she wants me at the first appointment. Some days I just want to clip those apron strings hard, but with a disabled child I never will.

Mom is driving us all crazy right now. She's arguing historical facts and also things the End Times are right now and no one wants to listen to her anymore. I have to limit how much time I talk to her right now because she's going through an irrational period.

I think after we have finished paying off our debt to her we are going to take all of the bills except her TV/phone/internet and just pay them directly. Right now we pay for all of the garbage and then are giving her $500 a month for gas, electric, and water/sewer. But she is constantly complaining about how high everything is. I mean, I think she contributes about $50 a month to it total for the joint bills during the cold season and nothing during the warm season, but she just goes on and on.

So if we just take them and pay them it will be one less thing for her to complain about and then she can keep that $50. We're thinking about $200 in rent, too, maybe. It will mean achieving our goals a little slower, but will be worth the down tick on all the unnecessary stress she puts on us and herself freaking out over a 31 day billing month being more expensive than a 30 day billing month. Heaven help the March after February freakout.

We may need to install a handicapped ramp off the back porch, too, which will cost $1000. Mom is having issues getting up and down stairs and DD and I would also use a ramp if we had one. Mom doesn't want to pay for it, so if we do we'll have to save up for it or take that future month's contribution to the EF to pay for it. We are going to be here another six years so it is not the end of the world if we have to pay for it ourselves. We will get the use out of it. RA is a degenerative disease so I know that it would be nice just for me, really. Although, I can still do stairs fine, I don't like them and go down them sideways.

Oh, well. It's 1:45 a.m. I need to get to bed.

I am still exhausted, but DS and I had enough stamina to get dishes done today. We got 4 loads done. Everyone was sick for the past week, even DH, though no one as bad as me. I took it in fits and starts, though. It is the first productive thing I have done, besides make dinner, in a while. Tomorrow I will try to tackle laundry. There are at least 3 loads of towels to fold (DH did manage that much) and I need to put away the pile of clean clothes on my bed. I am done with the prednisone but I never got the energy rush of the previous times. That's a bummer because I have been only getting a few hours of sleep due to it. It would have been better to be productive, but Oh well. I just have 4 days left on the antibiotics. I hope that kicks it.

DD has been off wheat for 6 days now and continues to improve. DS's acne is clearing up. Neither one is having stomach issues at all and DD has not felt the constant nausea she's had for the past couple years, either. Can it really be so simple that this was what made her digest so slowly and painfully and bloat to a rock hard stomach? She doesn't have celiac at all, they tested for it, but obviously she does have an issue with wheat, otherwise stopping it would not have been so positive for her. If this is all it takes to stay out of the ER and stop spending so much of our medical budget on it, that's a miracle in itself.

Speaking of medical, it's weird to start having to spend for it again. We maxed out in July, I think it was, and everything had been free since. I know a few months of DD's physical therapy, which she starts on Wednesday will eat up a large portion of the deductible. Our HSA card is not working as they said it would. They said we could start using it on January 1st, up to the full amount of the yearly draw, but when DH tried to use it for 2 prescriptions, less than $25 total, but it didn't go through. He's going to try to get that sorted out tomorrow. We may just end up submitting everything each month, which will be a pain, but whatever.

Once I see what the exact new amount is of the Friday's paycheck on Thursday (things will change a bit due to the HSA withdrawals), I can complete my 2020 budget template and my January budget. They are pretty much the same, I will just be adjusting a bit. I think it is around $113, but it will also affect that amount of tax taken out, so I've got it roughly, just not perfectly. I prepared that part before Christmas, I think.

Tomorrow I will catch up the Medical Fund savings account by entering it all into the spreadsheet. I've let is slide, just making sure there was a hefty balance on the things we did buy, mostly OTC meds. Nowhere near the balance of nearly $2000 (haven't transferred the other $2000 in there, still in the online account), but now I have to reconcile the account. Which is fine.

DH and I really need to get on the ball to figure out our 25th Wedding Anniversary getaway. I was too tired to look at places, but it's mid-March, so maybe tomorrow. He has done some preliminary looking. All I really know is I want to be near a view of the water.

I also want DH to take me out to dinner for my 50th birthday mid-February. It will be a week after my mother's shoulder surgery so the kids will stay home to take care of her. I want a good ribeye or prime rib, a sweet potato, and either mixed veggies or their salad. Not their broccoli, they don't cook it long enough, and no bread. I don't want to have to cook myself so we will just go to Outback one county over.

I need to try to get myself to the library tomorrow. I haven't had a book since before Christmas, not that I could focus for long, but it has still been driving me crazy. I was so out of focus, I could not even concentrate on a movie plot. Watched a lot of mindless stuff, like Say Yes to the Dress, I Didn't Know I was Pregnant, and Paternity Court on Youtube. Yesterday, I was finally able to switch to documentaries and a movie (action adventure, so straight-forward plot).

I dragged myself to the doctor on Monday and after 4 days on antibiotics and prednisone, I am starting to see a minor improvement. I had some wheezing in my upper chest, that wasn't quite bronchitis and a massive sinus infection. I waited too long to go, but I always think it is just a cold that never leaves. I am sleeping a lot, but in fits and starts. That's the prednisone. It always messes up sleep. I am starting to get a little strength back though, and my desire for real food instead of take out has come roaring back.

I did manage to make dinner two nights in a row, beef stew with gluten free flour for the gravy, and herb baked chicken, herb roasted potatoes (different herbs), and broccoli last night. Tonight's dinner is loaded baked potato soup, although I might make steaks on the side. Usually I don't, but that can be a very carb heavy meal if I just go with the bacon as the only protein source. It depends on how much energy I have. This will be my first time making it using gluten free flour in the roux. The stew gravy went well, though, so I can't imagine the roux will be bad.

I baked my first loaf of gluten free bread last night. It turned out pretty well despite me leaving out the sugar. I was wondering why it took so long to rise, but the yeast didn't have any sugar to eat. Next time it should rise in the allotted time frame. I didn't realize until I tasted it that I had done that, but when I thought back to it, I didn't remember putting sugar in with the warm water and yeast to proof it. It still bubbled without the sugar, so I know the yeast was active, just it would have been more active with it.

It looks like bread and it tastes like bread and is nice and soft, but I can definitely taste the eggs in it. I don't usually make egg breads. There are other recipes I will be trying to, but I will do this one again properly first. The interesting thing about gluten free bread is that if you cool it upright on a rack the top will sink, but if you cool it on it's side, rotating it occasionally, the top doesn't sink. Also, you have to wait three hours for it to cool before slicing it. Slice it sooner and it will crumble, but that goes away completely with the cooling time. I did a lot of research before starting this journey.

I will be attempting gluten free pizza dough tomorrow. I may do one with gluten free flour instead of two and do the second one with cauliflower crust. The second I know is good. On the agenda for when I feel a lot better will be learning how to make gluten free cookies, brownies, and cakes. Not often, though. Just on occasion. There is a birthday in February (mine) and March (DS's) that I want to make gluten free cakes for and I want to make sure they taste good first so I will have to experiment a bit.

DH and I need to start looking for a place to go to for our little holiday getaway for our 25th wedding anniversary in March. We don't want to go too far away, within a couple hours driving distance, but I am not sure if we want to go back to the place we were at before in March. It has quite a steep hill down to it and there is often snow on the ground still in March in that area so it might make it hard to get back up out of there and we don't have chains for the van. I do want to be by the water, though. It really recharges my batteries.

MIL gave us a check for $6000 and the Christmas bonus was deposited for $911.26. The bonus was $1300 before taxes. I really wish they did not tax bonuses at 25%. I mean, maybe if your bonus is in the 5 digits, or even mid to high 4 digits, but when it isn't even the amount of a paycheck? The government is irritating at times. I know we'll get a better tax refund due to them taking so much, but I'd really rather have it now and not when we get that back. I complain about this every year.

So plans for the money are to have DH get his crown, around $1000, and my chipped tooth repaired, around $300. Then we'll put $2000 into the Medical Fund. It is at a little over $1800 so this will give us enough money to cover the deductible and the out of pocket max between this and the FSA. We'll put $2000 into the Emergency Fund, save some of the money for our romantic getaway in March for our 25th wedding anniversary, and order a few things I have been putting off.

Then since we won't have to be paying anything into the Medical Fund for next year after this coming payday, we will take the money that we were paying into that to pay on debt. DH and I have an agreement that we won't use money from his mom to pay the debt to my mom. That's not what it is for and it is not why she gave it to us. She wants us to use it for medical, for vacation, and to beef our EF back up.

I'm not sure where we are going yet for our trip, maybe the same place as in September, but it won't be far from home. I think we will just buy some really good food to take with us and a good skillet (can't trust what is in the rentals to not be warped). I am thinking some ribeye steaks, some crab or shrimp or lobster, potatoes, and good vegetables for dinners, bacon, toast, and eggs for breakfasts, and sandwich fixings or burgers for lunches. We both like my cooking better than restaurants and DH helps with the chopping and peeling for dinner and makes breakfast so it doesn't all fall on me.

I am very relieved to get this money, though. It takes a lot of the stress for next year away in one fell swoop.

Retirement has popped up a lot over the last couple of days, but after the vote last night, I am waiting to see what the stock market does when I get up in the morning before I update it. I just hope it doesn't put us back under $25K, though it was almost to $26K today before the vote.

I'll do a grocery rundown probably tomorrow after we've been to Costco, but there was a great sale at Fred Meyer today on Afrin. $4.99 a bottle. It is usually $10.99, so at this price we really stocked up. I got 10 bottles. We go through this stuff fast around here, due to allergies and colds. I know you aren't supposed to use it consistently, but my son and I are addicted to breathing so we do. None of the prescription nasal sprays work for us. Now we have a bit of a stockpile at a fantastic price.

I used some of my allowance money that I have been saving to order a tenor ocarina and a music book. I really like my bass one, and am progressing quickly, but it is a little too big for my hands, so I will probably pass that on to DH. I tried one of my son's tenor ones and it fits my hands a lot better. Although I am getting one that is less traditionally shaped, also, because it will be easier on my hands. It is shaped sort of like a spear head. It was modeled on the Adegan crystal (which I don't care about) and is hot pink. It's very pretty. This is what it looks and sounds like if you are curious about my latest musical obsession:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6_uZ9b6qFQ and my current one looks and sounds like this minus the triforce symbol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4RUyqASPKM

I was also tempted to get the 6 hole one that is shaped like a Tardis but it is in G Major, and all the song books are written in C Major. I may still get it for my birthday in February, just because I'm a Whovian from way back, but as a collector's thing more than a music thing. Although you can play Doomsday on it, so I might just learn to play that if it doesn't break my heart and that song easily does. Smashes it to bits and washes away the pieces with my tears.

Anyway the one I did buy and the 30 lesson music book cost a total of $87. Free shipping as they are having that until the 15th. I have $63 left of Christmas money, but I may just put it in my allowance folder and save it. I'm saving up for a new computer. Not hard or anything, just so that when this one goes I can replace it immediately. I reckon I probably have about a year left on it, assuming I don't spill anything on it. The DVD drive doesn't work and hasn't for about a year, which is annoying since I like to watch DVD's on my computer better than on a TV. And the mouse pad thing has been on the fritz for about 18 months so I use a regular mouse with my laptop.

I seriously think I may get a desktop this time. They seem to last a lot longer and the keyboards hold up to the amount of typing I do much better. I can't even count how many laptops I have worn the keys out on. Never had that happen on a desktop keyboard. I do like the convenience of a laptop, though. We'll see. I have quite some time yet to figure it out.

Not too much going on on the financial front today, but I did have to run to the store and spent $10.99. I had buy some breadcrumbs for the meatloaf I made for dinner tonight as I only had 1/3 cup and I needed a cup. They have stopped carrying the brand I normally have so I had to read all the ingredients on the different ones they had. We ended up going with Kikkoman as it only has four: wheat, salt, cane sugar, and yeast. Eventually I would like to find a good gluten free breadcrumb, but the one they had had xanthum gum which is derived from soy and triggers DD's soy allergy. I also picked up some of those Simply crunchy Cheetos for DD.

I still have quite a bit left in the grocery envelope, $100, and I refill it on Friday. I think that I will just get out $300 this time and throw the extra $100 into the Medical Fund.

Oh, we did find out what the bonus will be and how much additional (it's a percentage of income) they will put into the 401K, but we aren't allowed to talk about it until it has been issued. It's not quite as good on the money as last year, but still good. I don't remember what they put into the 401K last year. I'll have to ask DH. I think most of the bonus will go into the Medical Fund, though.

We still don't know if MIL is going to give us more money this year or wait until the start of next year or at all. That's why I'm throwing so much into the Medical Fund. I just want to be ready for it since DH needs a crown. Otherwise I'd throw it at the Mom loan which I still might if we find out from MIL before we get it.

I did order all the clothes I wanted last night. It is my Christmas present from MIL. I have a lot of shirts that I have been sewing up the holes in for a couple of years. They used to just be in the seams, but now the fabric is wearing out in other places. I love these shirts otherwise I would have replaced them long ago, but now I have to give up on them. So I went ahead and ordered 5 t-shirts and 6 long sleeved t-shirts. 4 of them are on back order, but that's okay, 3 of those were short-sleeved and what I need now is long-sleeved.

On the old shirts, I will cut off the backs and make them into handkerchiefs. We get to a point in the winter when our noses are too tender for tissues due to colds and having them is a Godsend. Or my other option would be to cut them into strips for a rug, but DH has yet to build my rug loom, so I don't see the point in that, although if he did than I could use the whole t-shirts.

I'm not even sure I'd want to take on a new project right now like making a rug since I am already typing a lot each week and learning to play a new instrument, though. I probably have enough on my plate as far as hobbies go.