It Is What It Is- BFF 178

       On the weeks of the small paychecks you simply can’t pay everyone that thinks they need paying.  You pay the bills that take top priority and let the others slide, buy groceries, and put a little go-go juice in the vehicles.  The thing about bills is no matter how much the bill collectors hound you and claim that if you don’t make the payment today over the phone, the world won’t come to an end if you don’t.  We get paid on Fridays.  It doesn’t matter if you call me Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.  If you didn’t get paid the previous Friday, it is not happening this week.  When I get the money, you get the money.  It is what it is.

        I have always had a home phone until recently.  Then I realized that the only people that ever call on the home phone are telemarketers and the occasional bill collectors.   In other words, the only people who actually ever called the house phone were those that I really don’t give a rats a$$ if I ever talk to.  So in the grand scheme of things I decided that I really didn’t need a home phone so I canceled it.  On the same line of thinking I figured out I didn’t have to pay over $250.00 a month to have a cell phone with unlimited everything.  We got Straight Talk pay as you go android phones that do absolutely everything my high priced T mobile phone could do and pay a jaw dropping $45.00 a month per line.  That is only $90.00 a month for unlimited everything!!  Ka-ching!  I can just hear all the money I am saving!!    Why pay more??  In the price wars, you lose T mobile!!  It is what it is.

     Although I am trying to lose weight, I accept the fact that it will be a rough and tough battle.  Although when I look in the mirror I see a woman the size of a barn, I am always happy when I see people bigger than me when I am out and about.  I know I am not a skinny Minnie, but if you don’t like the way I look you can look the other way.  I am a work in progress!!  It is what it is.  

     Even though my husband is quite vocal about his hatred of cats, I like them.  I put up with his dogs and as long as he is married to me and I have breath in my body he will put up with my cats.  I have seen him sneaking around petting cats when no one is looking, so he fools absolutely no one.  For all his blustering about, he is gone more than he is not so if I want cats I will have cats.  It is what it is.
     

      I keep to myself, am not afraid to speak my mind, and will fight for my husband and kids.  I am loyal to those I love and to my friends.  I am gifted in the fact I can usually find something amusing in just about every situation.  You will never have to guess what I am thinking because I tell it just like it is and rarely sugar coat things.  I am what I am and it is what it is until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.

Manic Monday-BFF 175

        While most normal folks find Mondays off the charts and manic, I can just as easily encounter manic days anytime. Even though I am a stay at home mommy, my life isn’t all  ice cream, and fanciful unicorns pooping butterflies and rainbows.  It would be really nice if it was, but it isn’t. While most folks thank G0d for Fridays, I am the oddball that dreads it.  I may not trade places with someone like in "Freaky Friday", but they usually are just as crazy.


         

          Friday is payday at our house. What that means for me is that the realities of the bills that make a steady stream to my door finally need to be dealt with. I can ignore them any other day, but not Friday. Friday morning I have no excuse because there is always money in the account. I have always hated math, and on Fridays I have to use math to figure down to the last cent where every bit of that money will go. Once I finally have a game plan it is time to grab my keys, head for the door and the open road with the soul ambition of paying bills. It is the day that for about 5 minutes there is money in the account. Once the bills are paid and the groceries are bought, I am sent back to the land of “without” at warp speed, broke until the next Friday. I can admit with a smile that I am used to this existence to the point that if I actually have extra money, I hardly know how to react. 

        I remember the days moons ago when I worked a full time job. Although a distant memory, I still remember dreading returning to work Monday after the weekend. Once at work, the week would roll along smoothly enough. Before I knew what hit me it was hump day, then Friday rolled around again with the promise of the weekend stretching out before me. During the school year Monday means getting up early once again and ensuring both kids are dressed, pressed, and on their school buses. 

        Now that both of my kids are at school, the rest of the day stretches out before me in a lazy hazy kind of way. After the bus pulls away I return to a relatively quiet house punctuated by the earth shattering snores of my Boston terrier. This is especially welcome on days like today when I have rolled out of bed with a killer migraine, a slightly queasy stomach, and a good old fashioned attack of TMJ. It is so nice on days like this when I don’t have to face the outside world. I can just hibernate and be miserable alone, blogging when the spirit moves me. 


      

         That wasn’t completely in the cards today though. I realized 3 seconds after my son’s bus pulled away that I had forgotten to put his red folder in his back pack. I rushed it to school, only to be shocked to find a set of parents screaming in the office. Evidently the mother wanted to take their child out of school. The woman took one look at me and rushed from the room declaring that she needed to pray. What in the world?? She rushed back in and continued her tirade. I honestly didn’t know what to think and was mesmerized at the scene playing out before me. I am sure that my jaw dropped and my eyes bugged out of my head as I stared at her in fascination. Whether rude to stare or not, the spectacle she was creating was too good to miss.  

     So you see, any slight diversion in the same ole same ole from my routine can result in a manic day, and it doesn’t have to fall on Monday until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.

Priorities : When We Stand Together

      Get you priorities straight!! Have you ever heard that one before?? Well I have, and it rings through my scattered brain every Friday without fail.   Every time Friday rolls around, I get to revisit where my priorities lie.  I personally hate Fridays.  It is payday, and it is also the day when I have to sit down and figure out to the last penny what will be paid, and what won’t.  There used to be a day when we went and got what we wanted and then paid bills with what was left.  Sadly those days are gone.  Somewhere along the line we became more responsible and kissed the days of living la vita loca goodbye.  Bottom line, every decision I make is made with my husband’s input.  I may do the math and the organization, but I give him final approval even offering several different scenarios. 

       When figuring out where the money is going to go,  I have to prioritize what is the most important for that week, and what to let slide.  For example, you absolutely have to have a place to live.  So the house payment trumps just about everything else.   The vehicle payment must be paid because you need a mode of transportation.  It is a good idea to keep the utilities paid  because truly at 34 degrees or lower, who wants to be without heat?? Not I said the frog.  My truck driving husband thinks his cell phone bill should trump all because he is on the road and needs it desperately.  Actually, I get the necessity of having a cell phone however, T mobile charges one unG0dly amount each month for the privilege of having coverage nationwide, and unlimited everything.  His list of priorities definitely differ from mine on that score.  While I am rooting for internet, internet, internet so I can update my website, he is moaning cell phone, cell phone, cell phone.  When it gets down to it you have to prioritize to ensure you have shelter, warmth, and food for your belly.  Anything else is comes after that.

   

         At the end of the day I eventually get it all figured out.  If this was a perfect world I would be able to tell you that there is enough money for everything and that everything is paid up to date.  Unfortunately, that is just not how life works.  I will say that by the time I have decided on a course of action, I stick to it to the letter and usually feel good about what I was able to accomplish.

        If you are looking for what my priorities are in general, my kids and husband are number 1.  They come first in all instances.  Once everyone else has been taken care of, the bills that are going to be paid are paid, and everyone has what they need…then and only then do I worry about me.  
       
       I will say there are exceptions to that rule too.  For example, when “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” was released on DVD, you can bet I had my happy a$$ at the store picking up my copy as soon as the doors on my son’s bus had closed and the bus was on its way down the road.  What can I say?  I do have my weaknesses.  When it comes to money, every now and  then I simply can’t resist a small indulgence.  That was one of the rare times I told my husband what I was doing instead of asking his opinion.  On the most part we are aligned in our priorities and I think that is why our marriage works.  When we stand together, we can accomplish anything.  Until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.