Almost there

Yesterday I had a message from a friend I haven't seen in a long time. She read my last post and just happened to have a dehydrator she no longer wanted. I called her and we had a nice chat about her plans for retirement, and a whole new world that has been opened up to her because she went to a mind/body/spirit retreat in NM over the summer. Her excitement for what lies ahead was contagious. She dropped off the dehydrator today, and I am so excited to start experimenting...and pretending like I am Matthew Kenney.

I often pass by a convent that is home to a group of Carmelite Sisters [of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus]. I love that there is a convent less than a mile away from my house, and I mostly enjoy running by it and thinking about what those women are doing. I would like to visit soon. The convent is the end building in a row of old houses that, until last year, served as the Villa Teresa school. Due to funding issues, and aging nuns, they had to close. It feels a little lonely.

It's September. Jake gets his first full paycheck since the end of May at the end of this month (19 days!). When we entered into the summer months, after two jobs fell through, we were worried we could potentially be $10,000 short by the time the end of this month rolled around. We did some more math, started donating plasma, and thought we'd be around $1,500 short. Jake got more than he had in the past for playing for his summer camps (YES!). That coupled with some summer gigs, and a few other things, and with only 19 days left, we have, let me see... $572.73 in our checking and $10.19 in savings. I think we might make it! I went grocery shopping today and used our plasma cards for the first time. When you donate plasma, they just credit an account that you have access to through a card they give you on your first visit. I don't think we'll be regular donors anymore. On two separate occasions, Jake's line infiltrated. After the second time, my mom sent a check in the mail with a note for Jake to give his veins a rest. I'm so happy we saved those cards. As I swiped and they were approved, I felt like it was free money.

We have a few things that will come out at the end of the month, but Jake has a few recitals left to play. The one blow was a bill I got a few days ago for two of Magnolia's well-child visits that were a YEAR ago. A month or so after the visits, we got several checks from our insurance company saying that we may owe that much to our provider. I called the doctor's office, they said we had a few things pending, but didn't owe anything, so I deposited the checks and forgot about them. For real, it was a year ago. So when I got the bill, I was like, "What in the world?!?" It's over $400, and it's due on the 18th. I'm calling tomorrow to see if I can have it pushed back to the 1st. Their year-long delay and our month of September just don't match up very well.

And lastly, in an attempt to avoid the nail biting budgeting sessions that took place at the beginning and all throughout our summer, Jake started looking around at church jobs. He found one. He'll be playing at a nearby church for their Sunday services as well as choir/musical group practices on Wednesday. We recently drew up a get-out-of-debt plan (aka: pay off our student loans) that would take five years. With the extra income from the church, we're looking at 2-2.5 years. Like, whoa. We also frequently include getting a raise from OCU in our prayers. I'm just sure it will happen. ;) Well, I'm really sure that the hours he puts in, and the quality of musicianship he brings certainly warrants more financial breathing room than we currently have. Yes, of that I am definitely sure. Either way, I can't help but feel grateful (and perhaps even more so when the 19 days are over and we're still in the black). The impossible is happening.      

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