A normal, boring woman as usual……

Crafting and sewing, that is.  It is therapy to me, but lately, I have not picked up the sewing machine nor the jewelry pliers OR the scissors for cutting out squares for making quilts at all?  Could it be summer that is keeping me away from the “therapy sessions” or is it the fact my mind needs a break from crafting?  Or is it the fact that the house will always remain messy and have to clean up as usual that I will never have the time to sit down and do it?  Or is it the fact that DS is still the “handful” one that distracts me from doing so?

Yesterday, DS and I went to pick DH up from work and when DH came out with co-workers, they looked like they were in distress.  DH told me that his boss could not give him a raise because “it was not in the budget”.  On the other hand, a 22-year-old guy, recently a new father, was given a 2-dollar raise (3 dollars more than what DH made), which got the whole staff SHAKING their heads, why?  For starters, this 22-year-old guy was ALWAYS late for work (believe me, when I passed his house after dropping DH off at work, he was out of the house into his truck the TIME his shift STARTED), and always leaves whenever he pleases (which got the foreman mad!), and one day two weeks ago, he had to deliver an auger to a farm 25 miles from the city, and he got into an ACCIDENT which the RCMP found HIM at fault, as he was SPEEDING carelessly, and not only he lost control on the highway, the auger flipped and the car behind the truck and auger, ran into the ditch and flipped, too.  The driver of the car walked away with little or no injuries (thanks to the seltbelt!).  He was fined $225.  And the farmer who bought the auger was ANGRY that he had to pay extra to replace the auger he originally selected.  And he GOT a RAISE?  DH’s other co-worker is a father of two, same age as DH (32) and is a HARDWORKER. And he was denied a raise the whole three years he worked in.  He can’t figure out WHY.  So tomorrow (officially) is his last day, and is going to work at another rival dealership (which my dad normally gets his tractor parts from) starting this Monday.  When DH’s co-worker told his boss that he was leaving, he simply said,”nice working with you”.  Dh and his foreman are keeping themselves ZIPPED until they find something better.  I know DH worked hard to work in a company that he has exact qualifications for, but to be able to gain more experience that he liked, but for a pay 2 dollars more than a minimum wage?  We made sacrifices on this part.

I know from earlier posts that other moms convinced me to take up part time work, like selling Avon and MK, as well as Partylite and Discovery, but there are so many moms PROMOTING themselves in this city, how do I go about winning more customers from them?  Meanwhile, I will trying to keep going with crafts and hopefully sell them out.

I hope life gets better for all of us.

And that is where the “Frugal Living” board comes in on CPO.

Well, lately, it has been bothering me that DH was looking at homes for sale online and whined that he was sick and tired of renting, and announced it was time to own a REAL home.  My reaction?  DO I HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN?  I can remember the time when my bachelor-farmer uncle passed away from heart failure due to cancer and diabetes, he loved us 10 nephews and nieces that he left us the inheritances, just enough for me to put to a down payment towards the house.  But the bank was so unsure of our credit history and suggested we have a co-signor, which my Dad was the only person who agreed to doing it.  But when my dad was about to co-sign, he had to read the terms and conditions of CHMC, and he DECLINED.  Actually, I don’t blame him.  We have been warned before by our family members who battle CHMC and lost, forced to pay the money which should have been used towards renovations and repairs.  But my dad had a better way.  With my inheritance and his inheritance ( life insurance beneficiary money) from my uncle’s estate, we bought the house in FULL (through a private sale without the use of realtor) with DH as the non-owning spouse.  It was cheap, but it was better than as what dad said,”better to have it our own than to have some bank own something”.  We were planning alot of renovations and budgets (so far, we got the plumbing replaced, from copper to strong PVC piping that improved the clean water quality and made the flow of the water FASTER, as well, it was DARN CHEAP, nothing leaked at ALL, as well as painting the walls to the colors we love).  Well, suddenly, I was laid off from the cooking job and the wife of the boss did something to tick me off, so I was not called back to the job, which upsets me.  But my doctor told me that I need to take it easy since I was pregnant at that time, so I couldn’t work at all.  My DH worked with dad as a farm hand to make ends meet, and we did ok.  DH actively updated his resume to the mine every week, and it was a constant chore that after eight years of updating, he gave up.  The mine office administration would NOT look at the locals’ resumes at all, they were looking for resumes coming from OUT of PROVINCE.  After DS was born, we were experiencing problems with the whole town in GENERAL, from jobs to people.  And when one day the power was cut off for one day due to missed payment, my MIL angrily paid the power bill to get it back on.  It was to the point that night after the power came back on, I put DS to bed and DH and I sat down and talked about our future living here in town.  I said,”If no one are willing to hire us, then why are we still here in town?  We may as well leave!”  So it did not take long to make the painful decision to leave town for the city, with the house on the market PRIVATELY (the local realtors wanted too much money for  fees and closing costs, in which we will never anything in return).  My dad and MIL were angry at us for our decision to stick to, but my mom and FIL were very supportive as we have to do what right for us as a family.  So we went back to renting in the city, and it is a fourplex townhouse at a reasonable rent rate.  Four months after we moved to the city, the house was finally sold to a distant cousin of my DH, who decided to moved back to his hometown after living in Ontario for 35 years, and was recently widowed (his wife died and had to be travelled back here to be buried with her family members).  “W”, the cousin, asked us what was our plan for the house, so we told him about the renovation plans, and he pretty much did what we told him, replace the old carpet in the living for hardwood flooring, and installed new carpets in the two bedrooms.  I find that selling the house privately was much proved difficult because of potential buyers and their style and their likings.  But it is all over for now, and I am not sure if I miss the house or not, it is the hometown I don’t miss at all.  I wish I could swear and make offensive comments against the town, but it is all over.

Until now,……

DH is waiting for the inheritance to come through from his mom’s estate, but I doubt it will be much, as when MIL found out she had cancer two years ago, she was on a lifetime of going on a spending spree, from buying a huge camper to brag to her camping neighbours, to buying a handycam that we can never afford, as well have the house renovated (my FIL didn’t want to, as he hated change) to buying things that we can never afford.  Dh believed that FIL can help with the co-signing now that she is not here anymore, and I still have doubts, STILL.  I would love to go to work to bring more money home, but I have to pay for childcare and all that.  But I still have nagging doubts to wait LONGER than usual, but still put away more money as usual.

Ugh, I don’t want to ever think of going through the process of buying a house again ever, even with the non-stop rising prices of homes.