Lucky Robin's Personal Finance Blog

Well, DH and I made it to 25 years of marriage. You know all those couples that people say it will never last about? That was never us. We were the couple people said were going to make it and I am happy that we have proved them all right. We were a good match from day one. We are best friends and the loves of each others lives. We may not be able to control what the world is currently throwing at us, but we will get through it together like we always do everything.

I still wish we hadn't had to cancel our vacation, though. Still, it wasn't worth the risk.

I called the doctor today to see about getting a home nebulizer for my asthma. I had a really bad attack the other day after walking into the grocery store and getting hit by the fumes of a leaf blower. It felt like my lungs got burned. I had to use a ton of my inhalers. And it's not like I can just go to the hospital and get one, not with the risks involved. I don't know if I will have to go the the doctor or if they will just call it in, since they really don't want people coming in unless they absolutely have to. I am waiting to hear back from them. I also called about getting new c-pap supplies.

I am glad they are finally closing the Canadian border. It should have been done 5 or 6 day ago, really. I haven't heard yet whether or not they have closed the Mexican one, but I think that they should if they haven't. No one should be coming into or out of this country right now other then truckers.

I read that they are sending out Navy hospital ships. Trump invoked a war time power of being able to tell businesses what to manufacture so hopefully we can get these medical things sorted. I always felt it was a horrible idea to manufacture most of our drugs in China. Or to make most of our medical supplies there. And now with them talking about they can just shut it down to us whenever they want to it is more evident than ever how rotten an idea it is.

I still think China is lying about how bad it is in China. And I'm pretty ticked off that China is spreading propaganda that we actually developed this virus and released it in China. No, if we had developed it, we'd have a vaccine in waiting for our own people and to come to the rescue of the rest of the world. Plus we don't do that sort of thing. Considering how many viruses come out of China over and over again, they have a lot of gall trying to blame it on us.

I don't think it is ever a good idea to rely on other countries for basic needs. The U.S. has done it for too long and know we are paying for it.

I think I will be holding on to the extra cash for now that was going to go to extra debt payment. Hopefully I won't need it for anything, but considering the crisis, I'd rather have it in the emergency fund since it is pretty low. If this passes in the next couple of weeks then it will go to debt. I will still make at least $1000 a month payment, though.

I mean, it seems like DH will just be able to work from home and we won't have any income disruption, but I just want to have that little extra bit of security right now. I'd like to keep our little section of this world from burning down around us as long as possible. We don't have to worry about it for now, though as he is on vacation pay this week even though we cancelled our trip.

Welp, it isn't just WA state military and their families, it is all military and their families who have been advised not to travel anywhere for 60 days. It's coming. I don't want to be an alarmist, but I would highly recommend if you don't have enough food in your house for 60 days, you better get on it. IT is past time. From what I have seen, the Asian markets still have lots of food because people are treating them like they are the cause of the virus. Also, I'd look at any other specialty markets like Mexican and Russian or food co-ops (the hippy dippy granola places you might not shop normally, but I do) if you can't find items in mainstream stores.

Also, realize that regular stores are changing their hours to shut down and clean and fully restock what they can and some are closing down in some places period. Stores that are changing their hours that I know of are Safeway, Fred Meyer, Kroeger, Trader Joe's, and Walmart. There are more, those are the ones I remember off the top of my head. I forgot to save the link or I'd put it here.

Deaths are at 42 in Washington state and cases are at 772. 3 of the cases are in my county. No deaths so far in my county. I really hope the mockers and the scoffers start taking this more seriously. It's going to get so much worse before it gets better.

Elective surgeries are being cancelled in Seattle area hospitals, including early stage cancer surgeries. How is that elective? Anyway, they are also saying that if you have a doctor's appointment you can only bring in one person to help you if you are weak or disabled, that if you are at the hospital you can have no visitors, unless you are a child and then one parent can stay.

I am not sure when it will hit us, but my sister has surgery scheduled to have a mass removed and a hysterectomy on the 17th, so I guess we'll see. I hope she can have it done because she has been in a lot of pain. Then again, I don't want her to catch anything there. She is eleven years older than me and is considered higher risk since she is above 60. Otherwise she has been in good health, though. Of the three of us girls she was always the healthiest. If we go into quarantine here, she's moving in.

People need to stop saying this is just another version of the flu. It bloody well isn't. People need to wake up or they are going to starve to death when this hits quarantine if the supply line shuts down. And if you think it can't, there is a city in New Jersey that has been quarantined. Others have invoked curfews. Bars are being shut down until this is over in one state. It is happening.

I wish the news media would just shut up with all their posturing, though. I am so sick unto death of them making this political. A virus is not political. The media is almost a worse plague upon us with their partisan behavior. It is not helpful, particularly now, to try to spread propaganda and fear. Stop trying to score points. They need to report the facts and keep their opinions, which generally have no basis in fact, in the toilet where they belong. On both sides. Same with the politicians who are trying to jockey for position and benefit from a crisis. Just put your heads down and do the work that the American people voted you in for. Stop trying to score points. It is loathsome. /Rant

It's getting crazy out there. Stay safe, my SA brothers and sisters. And prepare if you have not. If it all comes to nothing you won't have to shop for a long time and if it doesn't, you won't have to worry about not having food.

Edited to add: Governor Inslee is signing an executive order to close down all bars and restaurants and to limit any gatherings to 50 people or less. Frankly, they need to stop all gatherings. And close the Canadian border now. They've called out the National Guard. I saw trucks that I thought might be army earlier today. We are ready to bunker down.

We rescheduled our vacation for mid-May with the idea that it might have to be moved again, but hopefully not. DH is still taking the week off, though. We decided not to go to the library. We can still check out digital books while it is shut down. And I do have a few unread free books on my Kindle app as well as a couple books I have not read yet.

My MIL gave her granddaughter half her toilet paper, not realizing she would not be able to get more and so she was left with only 6 rolls. DH kept an eye out as he was doing several small errands today. Most places were empty, but Walgreens had 12 9 packs of Charmin, so he picked up 2 for his mother. There was a limit of 4.

While I have two and a half cases of TP for 4 people (Mom has her own), I went ahead and ordered 48 brown wash cloths and 4 squeeze bottles for my family. While I hope it doesn't come to it, we can fill the squeeze bottles with warm water and use that to wash off and the wash cloths to dry off with. We also have a case of paper towels and a couple boxes of baby wipes. We'll see how things progress. I also have two buckets with lids, one for each bathroom, that used washcloths can be stored in until we have enough to wash or run out. If it doesn't come down to that we'll have lots of brown wash cloths we can use for something else, like garage rags or if never used at all, kitchen use.

There are murmurings that we may not be allowed to travel domestically in Washington state. I saw one source saying that the DoD has started recommending no domestic travel for the military and their families here. I think civilians will be next. I have not found a second source to confirm it, though. I don't know if travel restrictions will mean staying in your house or just not leaving your city. I'm looking to see if I can find more out on it, but there might not be until tomorrow.

Last night I thawed out two packages of beef soup bones and made bone broth in the Instant Pot and today I am making a beef soup with the meat that fell off the bones, 4 stalks of celery, 1 yellow onion, 1 head of minced garlic, 4 red potatoes and 3 Russet potatoes that were starting to sprout a bit and needed using up. I dug out the sprouts and they were perfectly edible.

I seasoned it with ginger (for the health benefits), onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and threw a couple sprigs of thyme on top (also for the health benefits) that I fished out before serving. The flavor was fantastic. Best beef soup I've ever made. I would have used carrots, but my daughter doesn't like them cooked. I am freezing the extra, which was 3 quarts of soup, in some old soup takeout containers from the Polynesian restaurant.

Tomorrow I will make turkey soup, but will start the broth off tonight like I did with the beef. It will be the same but with a couple of white carrots, which tend to be the least sweet, and I'll add some poultry seasoning and sage (for the health benefits and the flavor), too, but leave out the ginger. DD doesn't always get her way about the carrots, because the rest of us like them. Turkey isn't as sweet as beef though and can use it.

We have a lot more beef soup bones and some lamb soup bones in the freezer in the garage. I think we will likely be on a soup kick for a while. Just because it is the most soothing food when you don't feel well and it seems to open up the sinuses to hover over a bowl of steaming brothy goodness.

Soup will definitely make the food we have stretch as it is quite filling and a big pot feeds us one night and the rest goes into the freezer to feed us for two more meals. Although DH will supplement with more protein. The rest of us don't tend to need to. We had leftover pot roast so that worked out.

I have gotten a request for ham and pinto bean soup which I have never made before, I really don't like beans, but both kids like it as their grandmother used to make it before she went off pork. I'll have to ask her if she does anything special. DD hasn't eaten beans in a couple of years and decided she wanted to test them again. They bothered her badly after her gall bladder came out. I'm not sure if there are any dry beans left in the stores, though, and maybe not even any canned, so it may be a moot point until after all this is over.

Not really much else going on. Just standing at the edge and waiting to see who falls off.

The governor finally decided to close all of the schools in Washington state. I don't think our district would have if it hadn't been taken out of their hands. I am glad it was done. If states who didn't even have any deaths were closing them, why my state, with the highest death toll in the country, took so long is beyond me.

We now have 2 cases in my county and 568 cases in the state. There have been 37 deaths. There has been a homeless man who left quarantine before he got his test results, robbed a store, and got on a bus. Apparently the security guard couldn't stop him. There was only one. Not enough resources were given to that quarantine site.

The library closes on Monday until the end of April, so DH is going to try to get over there tomorrow, turn in the books that we are done with, and check out some more. I'll give him a list of the author's I am interested in. I think they closed the library because they figured that was where parents would dump their kids all day if the schools were closed, which is not okay in regular circumstances, but especially now.

The YMCA is closing down its care program for a month. So far our gym hasn't closed, but they are wiping down machines every hour with bleach as well as shower handles, faucet handles, locker handles, and blow dryers. They have also quit selling snacks and water bottles out of their little fridge because they can't stop people from touching more than they are buying.

We are going to postpone our vacation until September. I am worried about if we go into quarantine and we are away from home and they introduce check points and won't let us travel back and we'd have no place to stay and not a lot of extra money to pay for a hotel. That is kind of the paranoid part of my brain, but guess, what? The paranoid part of my brain has been right so far on everything, so it isn't helping very much to try to call it out.

I think I've read too many books of apocalyptic fiction. Because my mind jumps to people without a place to go being put into FEMA camps and martial law as a possible future scenario. But New York has called out the National Guard and that is one step below martial law, so maybe it isn't paranoid at all.

It really depends on how fast it goes from social distancing, to soft quarantine, to hard quarantine. Look how fast it went in Italy. Look at what China did. Look at Iran. I am trying really hard to not let my mind run away with me, but you don't see what it is like here. You don't feel the tension.

For instance, yesterday there were only two checkers at the store who were for over 15 items and one lane was studiously being ignored. I looked into the short lane and saw it was the lady who likes to lick her fingers and touch her face while she checks your groceries and also licks her fingers to count out any cash change. And I was like, "Nope."

A manager came out and tried to direct people into her lane and we all were refusing to go, with variations of I'll wait. And there was a lot of tension. He was getting a little frustrated that no one wanted to move and finally someone said, "That woman is constantly licking her fingers and handling the food, the money, her face, her hair, and rubbing her eyes. It's gross and it is dangerous right now." And everyone nodded and agreed.

We were talking in line afterwards but apparently no one has reported this, but we all avoid her because of it. Plus she is really slow to check as well, but it is mostly the grossness. The manager quit bugging us then, but he didn't look happy. He also didn't go and talk to the cashier. Hopefully, he actually does.

If you sneeze or cough in the store everyone gives you worried looks and moves quite a ways away. You hear, "It's just allergies," a lot. People are pulling up their shirts over their faces to cough and sneeze so it doesn't have room to go anywhere. I haven't seen masks yet, but I expect to any day now. I am seeing a lot of people who normally are out and about with their kids not taking them places and the park parking lots are deserted when you drive by them.

People seem to have such a wariness about them, like we are all living just waiting for the hammer to drop. And maybe we are. Every day just brings more and more stress as this thing progresses. There is not a lot of chit chat going on between strangers like there used to be, unless something happens (like that manager trying to get us to go into the licky lady's lane). It's changing. It's not oppressive yet, but it is so far from the same that it is like we moved to a place where people aren't automatically pretty friendly. So far there is no open hostility.

I hope this is over soon. I just want it to be the end of April now and hopefully see the back end of this.

I'm coughing again, started last night. Headache. Chest tightness. And my temperature is starting to go up. Yeah, there's that, too.

My doctor is worried. He says one confirmed case of Covid-19 means 100's of unconfirmed cases and is frustrated by the lack of tests available. They are saying that if you have a cough or respiratory symptoms you need to triage in the parking lot by calling from your phone. They will send a nurse in proper gear out to assess you.

They prefer you go to the after hours clinic if you suspect it, though, so less people will be put at risk. Blood tests are being done with gloves, face masks, and eye protection in their attached lab for non-Covid-19 work ups. Usually it is done with just gloves. 19 people with a high probability of the disease are waiting on test results in my county, but still only 1 confirmed case in my county. 4 more died in King County.

My county is still not closing the schools even though the colleges have shut down to online classes only. They have closed all of the senior centers, though. I really just don't think people understand at the public school level how bad this is likely about to get. They have not taken the time to educate themselves. They always whine think of the children, but right now it is more like think of the inconvenience if everyone loses their babysitters. I mean they are quite literally treating the teachers like that is all they are, babysitters.

We are looking at probably a hard quarantine in some of the counties within a week according to some sources. I am reading a lot of local articles and city, county, and the state website to keep track of everything as well as listening to local radio. TV reporting is full of propaganda and agendas. Flights in and out of Washington and California may be suspended soon.

DH's work is making sure that everyone is set up to work from home, not just the main engineers and designers. They have not gone to that yet, but may have to at any time. And of course if you get sick you need to stay home.

I went to pick up milk, eggs, ice cream, carrots, and green onions today and took a stroll down the paper products aisle. It wasn't as bad as the store I was in last week, but it was pretty bad. Almost all of the name brand stuff was gone and there was a huge dent in the store brand tissues. TP only had about six packages. I then decided to look at everything else.

Eggs and butter were almost gone, except for the organic butter and pasture raised (expensive) eggs, but there was still a bit. Sour cream had a big dent in it. There was milk, but it was about 1/3 what is normally there, and most of that was organic. Still plenty of cheese and yogurt and lots of fruits and vegetables, but the convenience packs (like precut broccoli, snow peas, and cauliflower) were mostly gone. There was a full meat counter and bakery and bread aisle, and most of the frozen stuff was there except there was almost no ice cream. I ended up buying the ingredients to make ice cream instead.

There were no bags of white or brown rice but Minute rice and boxed mixes and bags of lentils were there. There were only 2 bags of mixed beans, no single variety bags of beans, a massive dent in tortillas, but still about half, half the pasta as normal, about half the canned goods as usual with empty spots in the canned beans, canned pasta sauces (though the glass jarred sauces were at about 2/3), and canned tomatoes (except the ones imported from Italy) and corn were either gone or only six or so cans of them on the shelf. There was tomato paste and canned fruit was plentiful. Bottled water was about 1/3 of normal and that was mostly the cheap brands, but it was there. It had limits on how much you could buy, though. The medicines are pretty low but nothing appeared to be out.

I think this is my last visit to a store for about 3 weeks. I got enough milk and eggs to last that and powdered of both if we run out. We are going to hunker down for the most part. DH can work from home if it comes to that.

Nationally, it's in Kansas now. The new James Bond and the live action Mulan movies have postponed their openings. Disneyland and Disney World are being shuttered for 30 days, but will continue to pay their employees. Broadway has been shut down. The NBA is on a 30 day hiatus. Did you read about that stupid basketball player deliberately touching a bunch of microphones and recorders at a press conference because he didn't believe stuff was serious and then touched everyone's lockers and bags in a locker room, coming down with the virus a few days later and infecting one (so far) of his teammates? Idiot. He should be suspended from the league or given a massive fine. He apologized today, but his career is probably in the toilet. Maybe Nike will hire him.

Mountain Rose Herbs sent out an email today. Apparently a lot of people have been ordering extra medicinal herbs. Not only are they being overwhelmed with orders, but their supply chain has been slowed and disrupted so orders will take longer to fill. Glad I got my elderberries weeks ago.

Capitol One sent out an email today urging everyone to use their online and phone options for banking.

People are whining about not allowing flight in and out of the EU, saying it won't help because the disease is already here. Yeah, it's here, but this isn't about keeping it out, it is about slowing it down so it doesn't get worse by spreading it around more and everyone getting sick all at once.

Even Obama is coming out to support the reason why. We need to slow it down enough that it doesn't overtax our medical system to the breaking point like in Italy. Italy is discussing leaving the elderly to die and using their hospital beds for younger people who have more time left to live, because their government healthcare system is overtaxed by the cases they have.

I feel like I am living in the start of a dystopian novel. Well, maybe I'll write one some day and have my feelings recorded here to look back on. It is scary. I am not panicking, but the feeling of unease in my stomach is not going away anymore. It is what it is. All we can do is do our best to protect ourselves and our loves ones, hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. And district ourselves with YouTube and Netflix.

As an aside I have done a book inventory to make sure there is enough reading material in the house (there is) in case we lose the internet. Now I don't think that will happen, but better entertained than bored. We also have quite a few board games and decks of cards, so I think we are good.

Life goes on.

Well, today the hospital, which is part of the network of all of our specialty doctors, sent out warning emails and so did our primary doctor's network. They are working to identify those who may have been exposed to the woman at the hospital who has Covid-19. No saying yet if my daughter and husband were, but they were there during that time period. They were in the ER and I don't know if this woman was, but I'm not sure where else she would be unless she came in via a different area or was already in the hospital.

There are so many different areas of our ER department. Illness goes one way, stitches and broken bodies go another way, psychotics and drug reactions go another. Illness is subdivided so they aren't putting people who are vomiting near people who have respiratory symptoms, that sort of thing.

King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties are all on soft quarantine and gatherings of 250 people or more have been banned for the state. King County bought a hotel as a recovery center for those who don't need to be in the hospital anymore but can't go into general population. The city it was in threw a NIMBY fit, but was overruled by a judge. And likely would have been overruled by the governor or the President if not. Small people in power don't seem to get that they will not have the authority they once did in a state of emergency. They haven't called out the national guard yet, but if soft quarantines go hard, that is very likely the next step. Other sites are being readied as well.

We still only have one confirmed case as of today in my county, but that is how it starts and I have no illusions that we won't. We are a county with an international, if small, airport. We are a county with a sea port and an oil refinery that ships everywhere. We are a county on the border of Canada. It is coming.

Universities here are switching to online only classes. Many public schools are being shut down for two weeks, some for six. Other schools are shutting down all after school activities. They are starting a vaccine study in Seattle. Our county is not closing schools, although the native school is shutting down for a day to sanitize the school. The reason the school district is giving is it would be an undue burden on parents who would have to find alternative care. They may change their tune in a week or two, though.

I'm not sure about our vacation next week. We won't be leaving the cottage and will be cooking all our meals so as to limit exposure. We may just buy some trip insurance, it's only $45, but DH sent an email to the lady who owns the place we will be staying to see what happens with a refund if full quarantine occurs. Still waiting to hear back.

We might just be able to bump the dates a month or two or something. I am sure movement between counties will be shut down if we get hard quarantines. I don't want to get stuck in the wrong county and not able to get home if stuff gets weird. But if this is all overblown, I'd still like to go. Only I'm not sure that is smart.

Life is getting complicated.

Being in the state with the highest death rate to Covid-19 has been interesting and to be truthful, worrisome. We had a diagnosis in my county today. It was someone who had gone to the hospital. My daughter went to the hospital within that period of time, with my husband. Closer every day.

There's a lot of little things that have been going on since people started dying, but those things are now becoming bigger and I think we might be looking at a hard quarantine soon in King county (they've been under a soft one). And maybe a soft one where I live soon. Fortunately DH can work from home if it comes to it.

My credit union emailed a list of assurances and rules today. They are providing hand sanitizer at every ATM and teller window. That their tellers are going to be wearing gloves (that's going to be fun to watch them try to count money with gloves on), telling sick employees to stay home, performing environmental cleaning and sanitizing high-touch locations including counter tops, ATMs and door handles, asking patrons to use pens or gloves at ATM's and to use hand sanitizer before and after using the credit union. They have never issued any such notice before, but things are getting a little scary in parts of Washington and we have community spread.

Most of the grocery stores have always had hand sanitizer wipes by the entry doors and the meat counter, but now they have it by the deli, the bakery, the pharmacy, and the freezer area. The two stores that never had hand sanitizer at least now have it by the doors.

We vote by mail in my state and for the last week they have been telling us not to lick our envelopes. Actually, they are telling us not to lick any envelopes, but to use a damp sponge to moisten it. They are telling us not to shake hands with anyone and to wash our hands after handling money or at least use sanitizer and when we can to use debit and credit cards so that you aren't having to hand something to a clerk and get back what they touched.

The CDC told our state specifically to be ready for quarantine and to prepare by stocking up on food, water, and medicine a week ago, although those that waited this long are probably out of luck on a lot of items. Our county has also encouraged stocking up. The paper aisles are empty of many supplies. The CDC has told us to get extra prescriptions right now if we can. We are also being told to avoid large gatherings of people.

I know that a lot of people are not worried about this and are brushing it off, maybe because their state has not been hit very hard or they just don't believe it. I have always believed in being prepared and this is something that saved us when DH was out of work for 10 months a couple years back. We barely had to buy food at all and it helped so much. I don't have that level of preps anymore, but we can easily get through 3 months if this turns out to be worse than currently thought.

I would encourage everyone to have at least two weeks' worth of food in the house right now beyond what you normally have. What's the worst that can happen if this doesn't hit you hard? You'll have food that you can eat and not have to go shopping as soon. And if it does hit hard, you won't have to go out during the worst of it so you can feed yourself.

The trick is to try to be prepared, but not panicked and alert, but not alarmed. Just food for thought.

$431.17 Tithe
_500.00 Utilities
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
__75.00 Household Envelope
_115.17 Internet
__36.00 Garbage
_100.00 Car Insurance Fund
_100.00 Gas Money
_100.00 Blow Money Adults
_120.00 Kids' Allowances
_100.00 Gift/Christmas Envelope
_100.00 Clothing Envelope
1000.00 Citi
1000.00 Monster Mom Loan Payment
__78.00 Miscellaneous
-------------
4255.34 Total Money Out

I really wish I'd been well enough to cook in February. Our takeout expenses were through the roof. That's what the Citi payment was for. We had takeout nearly every night in February. And the next Citi payment will be for vacation. Some of which we will get back after as it is a damage deposit on the cottage. I have put the card away and we will go back to a normal amount of takeout in the future. It is what it is, but we are able to pay the card off in full and carry no interest. Sometimes health issues make for bad money choices, but people needed to eat, so what are you going to do? Pay the piper, that's what.

$5000.00 Balance Forward
-1000.00 Payment Made
-----------
$4000.00 New Balance

With the amount of overtime DH is getting, I think we will have this paid off in April, instead of May or June like we had figured at the beginning of the year. He got 15 this week which will be on the next paycheck and will get at least 10 this coming week, maybe 15 again, which will also be on the next paycheck.

I really hope the overtime continues for a while after that, too, because then we can get our three month's of income saved up for. We are about $1600 shy of one month's income. I know some people save for expenses, but I would rather have income. So that is $14,600 we need to save, which I will just round to $15,000.

With 20 hours of overtime per paycheck and keeping our takeout budget under control, we could save $1500 a paycheck, or 10 paychecks until goal. Without it, we could save $1000 a paycheck, or 15 paychecks. Either way we would have it this year, either by August or the end of October. And then we can finally start seriously saving on a down payment for a house, while slowing working towards getting the EF to six month's income.

And DH may get a raise in July. I don't know. When he got his last raise they said he wouldn't get another one before July of 2020, which would be 18 months from his last one. That doesn't mean he will get one, but his boss told him they wouldn't be able to ask the higher ups for one again until then. I am hoping there will be one, since he's really made himself invaluable. His boss says so and so does his boss's boss.

I will be glad when we can move out of here, but it will take a couple years of hard savings, so maybe by the end of 2023 or start of 2024. My eldest sister is going to move in when we move out so mom won't be alone. And so might one of my middle sister's sons. Actually he might move down here for a job and take up residence in the attic, which has two bedrooms and a storage area long before that. It has no heat, but he can use a space heater. The internet doesn't reach up there and it is only wired for 2 prong outlets and not very many, so it is not ideal, but beggar's can't be choosers.

I had $28 left in the grocery envelope from the last pay period and I had enough quarters for a roll in the coin jar, so I added that to the EF today.

$4367.64 Balance Forward
+__38.00 Amount Added
-----------
$4405.64 New Balance

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.

$4364.77 Balance Forward
+___2.87 February Interest Added
-------------
$4367.64 New Balance

$19,108.94 401K
+10,021.12 IRA
---------------
$29,130.06 Total Retirement

$30K is so close I can taste it.

I had money left from the previous pay period, so $285.55 of what is paid out here is from there. There was no overtime on this pay check, between DH helping take care of Mom and getting sick. There will be on the next one.

$318.53 Tithe
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
__50.00 Household Envelope
1285.55 Citi
__61.74 Life Insurance DH
__60.46 Life Insurance Me
_100.00 Adult Spending Money
_120.00 Kids' Allowances
__50.00 Car Maintenance Fund
-----------
3446.28 Total Money Out

I was still able to make a $1000 payment this payday despite blowing out the takeout budget. I just didn't add anything to the clothing envelope or the laptop envelope this payday. That means we have paid of $2000 this month.

$6000.00 Balance Forward
-1000.00 Payment Made
-----------
$5000.00 New Balance

There was $18 left in the grocery envelope when I re-funded it today, so I transferred that to the Emergency Fund.

$4346.77 Balance Forward
___18.00 Amount Added
-----------
$4364.77 New Balance

These are my to do lists for the next couple weeks. I will likely get all of the financial ones done this week and hold off on the more physical activities until next week. I am finally able to drive today to go to the doctor. I still have a full head and runny nose and exhaustion, but the worst from having the flu is behind me. I spent a good ten days in bed. That was the worst flu I've ever had and I am behind on everything.

1. Get ready for taxes
--gather my Youtube/Google income for DH
--gather my hobby income for DH
--gather my Thrive income for DH
--gather the interest income for DH
--gather the charitable donations paperwork for DH

2. Medical Fund Bank Account Spreadsheet
--Bring up to Date
--Balance against bank account

3. FSA
--get proper receipts to submit for the orthotics

4. Prepare the March Budget Spreadsheet

5. Reminder second half of vacation payment is due March 2

Non-Financial

1. Grocery List
--go through flyers to check sales
--check online for digital coupons
--make meal plan
--make list

2. Go through onion storage and throw out any bad ones

3. Go through squash storage and throw out any bad ones

4. Check potatoes for sprouts or bad spots
--throw out bad ones
--set aside sprouted ones for quick use

5. Garage Chest Freezer Inventory

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.

...but I woke up with this awful chest cough that set in in the middle of the night. Guess DH and I won't be going out to celebrate after all. But I bought ribeyes a couple of days ago on sale, and DS will cook them, throw baked potatoes in the instant pot, and open a can of green beans to nuke, so I will still get my dinner cooked by someone else, which is all I really wanted. I might have to eat it in bed, but so be it. And DS is making these really good gluten free brownies instead of cake.

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.

Well, the last two weeks were a bit of a whirlwind of downs followed by ups. While the IRA dipped down to around $9200, it has more than recovered. The 401K never dipped to the point of a loss, but it mostly held even due to contributions until this week when it went up again. All in all, we are up $1273.21 since January 14th, with $440 being contributions from us and $440 being contributions from work. So almost $400 up.

$18,463.14 401K
+10,036.12 IRA
----------------
$28,499.26 Total Retirement

I forgot to post this yesterday, but there was $40 left in the grocery envelope when I refilled it on Friday, and I had enough nickles for a roll in my coin jar, so I deposited that $42.00 into the Emergency Fund.

$4304.77 Balance Forward
+__42.00 Amount Added
---------------
$4346.77 New Balance

There was 19 hours of overtime on DH's paycheck this pay period, which was an additional $1070.87 over the new normal pay period. Part of the $800 to Citi was the initial payment and deposit for our vacation in March. Some of it was the new baking supplies and the induction skillets and sauté pan and gluten free flours, a sweatshirt and dress for my DD, a dress and a pair of boots for my birthday, etc.

$425.72 Tithe
_500.00 Utilities
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
_100.00 Household Envelope
_280.00 Family Chiropractor Monthly Plan
_111.08 Internet
__36.00 Garbage
_100.00 Car Insurance Fund
_100.00 Gas Money
_100.00 Blow Money Adults
__90.00 Allowances Kids
1000.00 Monster Mom Loan
_800.00 Citi
_100.00 Gift Fund
-------------
4142.80 Total Money Out

$7000.00 Balance Forward
-1000.00 Payment Made
----------
$6000.00 New Balance

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.

Although below is my plan for the week, with Mom's surgery and us unsure what day she is coming home for sure, things may get swapped around so that an easier meal is made that day. And there is the very real possibility that exhaustion may lead to one or two nights of take out. I hope not, though, because I feel much better when I cook myself. We do have two gluten free options for restaurants, though, so at least there is that.

I am trying to find other restaurants that have good options, too. I mean I know that any place that serves, steak, baked potato, and a veg is okay, but that gets pricey when feeding four people. We do have a gluten free burger place (beef, chicken, or turkey), although they do serve wheat buns as well, and a Polynesian place that does not use wheat flour. But I hope to avoid that. I am going to need as much nutrition as possible while taking on my mom's care. Plus it is always cheaper.

Monday:
Chicken Rotini Alfredo (brown rice rotini)
Green Beans
Bananas

Tuesday:
Five Spice Chicken Stir-fry with broccoli, carrots, celery, and onions
Rice
Blueberries

Wednesday:
Gluten Free Pancakes
Ham
Cucumbers
Apples

Thursday:
Beef Chuck Roast
Baked Potatoes
Broccoli
Oranges

Friday:
Black Pepper Chicken (onions, celery)
Rice
Home Canned Pears

Saturday:
Gluten Free Pizza
Salad
Canned pineapple

Sunday:
Salmon
Baked Potatoes
Green Beans
Home Canned Nectarines

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.