Too Tight for Tea and the Sea Creature Next Door

Ahh sweet mother. . .there is nothing better than a piping hot cup of latte in the morning. Even my own, cobbled together with non-espresso coffee and microwaved milk. Delish!

A friend from out of town is in town and I met her and another "friend" (acquaintance now, really) for tea at the Four Seasons on Friday afternoon. While I do love high tea, it was hard to enjoy it because I knew it's really just too expensive a thing for me to be doing right now. Over fifty bucks including downtown parking, for teeny sandwiches and cookies just slightly bigger than your thumbprint. Kooky, really.

But what's done is done and I must try not to live in perpetual financial regret.

Today we're actually meeting these same friends for lunch. This time Craze is coming and we're going to an Indian buffet, so hopefully we can both have a good meal without doing too much financial damage. I really do look forward to eating out nowadays since it's been relegated to the "not now, maybe later" list of things we put off until the day when we have more household income.

I have a call with a company next Friday about some consulting work (it got postponed from last week). I'm really crossing my fingers that they need help. Oh, how I want to work and bring in the cash again. I do not enjoy being SO cash strapped.

In other news, my gypsy (and I mean REAL gypsies!) next door neighbor, just got colored contact lenses that make her look crazy. She is very olive skinned with dark, dark eyes but suddenly now has light, aquamarine eyes that make her look like the love child of the Man from Atlantis and some kind of Sci Fi Channel creature. Weird! So weird in fact, that it's hard not to look at her face without staring at those crazy eyes. How can she possibly think this is a good look for her?

I'm dumbfounded, really. The other thing I find surprising is that she's an unmarried mother of three with no job who lives (and has always lived) with her parents. How can she justify the expense of colored contact lenses when her parents are supporting her and her three kids? Grandma is a waitress at a local diner and grandpa has not one but two blue collar jobs to support all of them (plus their 30-something son who also never works).

I guess if I remind myself that Ms. Crazy Eyes is the same woman who I regularly saw outside smoking last summer throughout the duration of her third pregnancy, I shouldn't be very surprised. . .

But still I am. . .

The older I get the more I realize that people and their behaviors are a never-ending mystery.

Rich In Lots of Ways (Just Not the Money One)

Just back from the doc's today for my monthly exam. Apparently, everything in my last ultrasound was great and looked just as it should. And my doctor also said that she is really pleased with how I've been managing my weight so far (which, as a heavy girl my entire life, is the first time anyone has every patted me on the back for weight management!).

She said, at my current rate of gaining, I may weigh less than I did before I got pregnant after I give birth. Wow! Wouldn't that be great?!? "Yes, I shed pounds with the nine-month pregnancy diet. Worked for me!"

Still no work to be had, though. Lots of people said they might need help in September, but nothing has materialized yet. I am in super frugality mode. Luckily, Craze gets his monthly bonus next week and it might be a really good one, since he's been working really hard and doing extra jobs. I just wish I'd get one good job to come a long. That would be truly great!

The good news on the money front is, we pretty much have all the baby stuff we need for our December arrival--almost all of it gleaned economically from craig's list and yard sales this summer. I just need to get the room painted and organized. And we're still having a baby shower in a couple of weeks, so more baby gifts to come from my lovely in-laws. Given my own lack of real family support, I am truly blessed with the BEST in-laws. Everyone, from my brother-in-law's wife, to my mother-in-law and even Craze's aunts, could not have been nicer or more generous to me over the past few years. I may not have a rich husband, but he's made me rich in so many other ways!

The bad news on the money front? We seem to be going through another breakdown phase. The attic fan got fixed about a week ago, which set us back $325. Then yesterday in our "Thank You, Hurricane Gustav" Day of pouring rain here in Chicago, our upstairs skylight started to leak for the first time ever. Oh. . .and today on the way to the doc appointment, I realized there's something seriously up with the car. It's a stick shift and wouldn't get in gear, literally. Lots of engine revving and SLOW moving. Luckily, it didn't break down on me on the expressway.

I guess even in disrepair and an economic crunch, there are still things to be thankful for!