Thursday, June 28, 2007

Days Sneak Up on You If You're Not Careful

How did it get to be Thursday already?
I mean, I've still got last week's paycheck in my bag...my laundry has yet to be put away...the one-box-a-day of unpacking has come to a standstill...I have yet to go grocery shopping for the week!
 
Wasn't I just wondering what I could fake for lunch for Monday?  And now we're almost halfway done with Thursday?
 
It boggles the mind.
 
On the positive side of the spectrum, the weekend is only hours away...well, about 30 hours away, but that's nothin' compared to it being a whole week away, right?

Also, HELLO, I have a whole paycheck in my bag!  I must be doing better if I'm not living paycheck-to-paycheck anymore/just yet/for now.  Come ask me how I feel after I fork over the money for the gum surgery 3 weeks or so from now...or for the crown a month after that???  Eeep.  I will never look at even shoddy dental coverage offers with anything but the respect they deserve.
 
A coworker of mine is also having vast amounts of work done on her teeth.  The comment she made that has stayed with me as I think about the upcoming bills is: I don't know how my parents prioritized all this with FIVE KIDS! 
 
Cuz we are both running into the same nice big realization...we are single with no dependants (not counting the friends I've adopted as family) and yet the idea of spending gobs of money on ourselves is just, eep!  What do you cut to keep making things go?  And if you did have to do it for 5 other people on the same salary?!?  INSANE!
 
Now of course for the reality...our dollars are not buying the same amount that our parents' dollars were just 20 years ago.  That is becoming so painfully obvious with every stop at the gas pump and every quarter gallon of milk I buy. (Which is STILL more $$ than my mom spent on gallons for us.)  The canary in the mine shaft for me was always milk and bread prices.  That little bird has been dead for years now.  I used to be a vegetarian in college cuz I just couldn't afford to buy meat.  Tofu they sold by the ton for pennies...if it came down to that again, I'm not all that sure if I could even afford tofu.
 
There was a blip I heard on NPR about some Senator/Governor/person in politics going on the "Food Stamp Diet" to prove a point or 20.  It used to be that food stamps guaranteed you the minimum daily allowances as placed forth by the government.  So you had that pyramid we all grew up with covered.  (Which, I remember being told, is what a pregnant woman should be eating to ensure the health of her fetus and all that jazz.)  Well, such is not the case anymore, apparently.  To cut back, the gov'ment's been subbing carbs for veggies.  This is appalling.  Why on earth would the government want to keep a section of their people hungry and dumb?  Look, if you aren't eating right, you're not thinking right.  Send a hungry kid to school and they are not going to learn jack, trust an ex-teacher on that one.
 
I think I'm thinking too much.  And Andy thinks I should pay attention to politics and what's going on in the world?  I'd go bonkers.  My blood pressure is happy where it is at this point, thankyouverymuch.
 
Now, what next to tackle on that never-ending to-do list?

3 comments:

Bezzie said...

Yeah doing it for one kid is hard enough. I look at these people with more than just the average 2 kids and am amazed. I still don't know how my mom did it.

Anonymous said...

It does seem that it's expensive to eat fresh, healthy food. What's cheap? Boxed macaroni and chese, Ramen noodles, etc...not so healthy.

There were four kids in my family and we had a huge garden. Looking back, I'd say it was a necessity and not a hobby!

Rick Andreoli said...

Um... because hungry and dumb people don't vote. I know it sounds like a major conspiracy, but it doesn't mean I'm wrong.

It's also why they enjoy cutting back on education. The dumber people are, the better it is for the controlling elite.

I'll stop now. I sound like someone's ex-husband (but without as much crazy in my eyes).