Today... I am not Awake... Am I?

Morning! Welcome back!!!

I must warn you in advance of my current mental state... half asleep, but with a lot to say... LOL... and warn you of the format~ stream of conscience.... this is by far the best way to write as thoughts flow uninterrupted by mundane things like grammar and punctuation... :)

So much going on... at work... need to go through rent books, but, first, Steven has got to have change to work with as he collects rent... ... now he's set and I don't have to climb over people to give him change  :)

Quote I saved from an article... I almost threw this away!

"My advice: Do not give up, and stand up for what you believe in. Only the weak throw in the towel. Once they find you are weak, you're done."

Wish I knew where I got that! Looks like I tore it out of a magazine... it was tucked into the outside pocket of my computer bag... it's ripped... I will trim it neatly and put a nice colorful back on it... maybe frame it (if I can find a free frame that small) or cover it with clear contact paper...

Ok... so this quote is so much my thought process today... funny how things work that way... fits in with things that are going on that I am struggling with... isn't it funny how the struggles come more from interactions than dealing with personal goals and following God's will?!

For me, personally, my living situation is awesome... Matt and I are in our own house... yes, it is very small... only 1200 sq ft... and heated primarily with a wood stove... simple eclectic furnishings...  cozy... homey.... safe... loving... nothing pretentious here... I used to try to have everything neat, clean and organized all the time... then I was married to a jerk who beat me every night because the house was never clean enough... my health suffered... my self-esteem was in the tank... after three long years I was able to convince him, with the help of a great Toledo Police Officer, that he would go to jail if he hit me again... that changed our relationship... the marriage changed to more of a friendship... and I began to find myself again... now I get as much done each day as I can... then I take time for myself~ to knit take a long bath, play on the Internet, write...

ok... so I am still rambling... yup! All over the place with my thoughts today... let's just say it's a sign of brilliance! LOL... but, seriously, I have so many ideas to get on paper/ started... been thinking about self-sufficiency issues... yes, I have a job... full time~ Mon-Sat, 8:30am- 4:30pm... very full time... plus I've been selling Avon... it's adding a bit of extra income~ proportionate to my effort~ LOL... Sell a few extra eggs... sometimes Farmer Fred's harem gives a bountiful supply and we have enough to sell... $.25/each... $3.00/dozen... this little bit of extra money pays for their feed... so... they are self-supporting... most of the time... if they are happy  :)    am going to go back to selling the hats I knit... I donated them to the homeless for about two years... the only way a 'homed' person could get one was to buy it/ trade for new yarn... I am no longer donating... the donating was a request from God... what a fulfilling request... I grew so much from that one!!! Now I am going to accumulate hats to sell... not going to take orders for hats... I just don't enjoy the knitting 'under the gun'... but I'll have a bag of all sorts of pretty hats to sell... I'm thinking $20/each... that'll cover the yarn and some of my time... each hat takes at least eight hours to knit... plus $6 in yarn... $20-6= 14... 14/8=  $1.75/hr for my time... but I would be knitting regardless as it is very relaxing... So... I am getting a stipend for each hat... LOL...

I have been reading a lot about not spending for a month... it has really peaked my imagination... I am seriously considering posting my income vs bills as well as my spending on my blog... too much personal info... maybe... unless you assume that not everyone realizes you pay Com Ed, Nicor, mortgage... seriously! we all pay bills... and we all buy some groceries... all hit fast food places periodically... making myself post it will help me to see better where the money goes... (mostly to bills)... and will help me to realize the little things I buy that could be bought more cautiously... for instance~ I bought a gallon of milk at the little Mexican store by my house the other day and put it on my debit card... then realized I had paid $6.49 for a gallon of milk! that was wasteful and made me realize that I need to weigh out driving across town to Aldi's vs the extra cost of the neighborhood store... Crazy!!!

on to new thoughts... planning Thanksgiving dinner... just need to buy a gallon of milk, bags of potatoes and onions and a couple blocks of Monterrey Jack cheese... getting hungry thinking about it! LOL ... 

I am off to think through our Thanksgiving plans... food... hiking and love...

Happy Tuesday all...

God Bless!!!!!!!!!!