Monday Musings: Weeks 42 and 43 Spending Reports

Week 42 Spending (Oct. 13-19)
Groceries	$200
Miscellaneous	$7
Clothing	$15
Toiletries	$13
Total	$235

Week 43 Spending (Oct. 20-26)
Groceries	$35
Entertainment	$8
Miscellaneous	$70
Toiletries	$5
Total	$118

I have 9 more weeks left of my spending challenge – 8 weeks until Christmas. This year has flown by unbelievably fast. I plan to cut off my spending record for week 44 on Friday so that makes accounting for monthly expenses a little easier. In the days ahead, Syd and I need to determine how we plan to meet the spending challenge and approach Christmas giving. I had wanted to do homemade gifts for everyone. I did get a few of them done, but not for everyone. I don’t think there is time between now and December 25^th to get that many items made, especially since some of the ones I’ve already started are in various stages of, shall I say, “development.” This is going to be a real dilemma.

We've been needing a new vehicle for a while, and I really worried the kids one day when I stopped at one of those roadside car lots on Highway 82 to look at a turquoise Town N' Country Wagon, circa 1975.

I envisioned "flower power" stickers meandering along the sides of the wagon with vinyl letters announcing "The Newman Family" kind of like on this adorable Beetle.

I was enamored until I discovered the wagon had been used as a hearse and had no second seat, let alone a third seat. 

The deal was off, but I do have some exciting news. On October 13^th, Syd and I travelled to Dallas and were able to pay cash for a Suburban! Now, you must understand that this isn’t the 2015 Suburban that comes in at a cool $48,000. This is a new-to-us version, that has a few years and a few miles on it, but it still has a lot of life left in it. Relieved to be traveling in a "normal" car, the kids are loving the spaciousness -- this baby seats 9 people. We’ve used it to travel to church, but the true test will be an 800-mile roundtrip to San Antonio we plan to make soon. (I wonder how those flowers would look on the Suburban? Hmmm...)

Things around the home front are getting a little better. On Tuesday I went to get a massage for my achy neck and shoulders. Afterwards, I had some time to spare, so I wandered over to the Carter Blood Care donation center and prepared to give them a pint of my rare and much-desired O-negative blood. I completed all of the mini-physical, but when it came time to test my iron level, it came back at a very low 7.8. (Normal for women is 12.0-15.5.) The phlebotomist freaked out, refused to let me leave, called the medical director, and made me talk with him. Once we determined I wasn’t at death’s door, I was sent away with 2 pints of orange juice and orders to get iron supplements. Since then, I have been eating a diet of iron-rich foods (including my favorite: steak) and taking lots of iron. This plan is to continue over the next 4 weeks, and then I get another blood test to determine my progress. I’ve also been told to get extra rest, which isn’t the easiest thing for me to do. I have been pretty tired, so I’m trying to get myself on a somewhat “normal” sleep schedule.

So, it’s 10:47 p.m. on Sunday night, and rather than spending hours delving into the deeper meaning of rest in a spiritual sense and my need for it, I am going to go to bed. Yes – bed before 11 p.m. That’s practically unheard of in my life, unless a major dose of antihistamines is involved! Sweet dreams, everyone.