Catch-Up Time

So, I have been absent from my blog post to say the least. What I originally wanted to start off with a daily blog quickly turned into a every other day post, to weekly post, an all time low of a monthly post. This blogging experience has gone horribly off target.

Over the course of five months my life quickly began to feel as if it was about to crumble around me. As stated in my previous post my in-laws moved in and that became a whole set of problems that I was either unprepared for or blissfully ignorant to see. Thus the family Drama began and of which out of respect for my family and husband I will not dwell on. Let's just say I never thought I would have "in-law" issues but now I've got'em and I'm trying to make the most of it with positive feelings and knowing that God will lead me through this.

More family drama came in the form of health issues with my side of the family, lots of stressful nights, sleepless nights, and many prayers. For every step forward my side of the family takes, we also take one step back so it feels as if we've been in this health rut for over a year now. Yet, I continue to pray for the health of my family and that once again God will help us all through this. (On the bright side my husband's family are all doing well).

With all of these things going on in my life at once it began to affect my work. All of this took a toll on my health and a few old health issues resurfaced. After a long process I was able to take FMLA time off from work. I cannot begin to explain how much I needed this and what a relief it is to have one less worry on my back. Now I could focus on getting myself better. Most of the time off is unpaid so the penny pinching side of me has taken over.

My husband has been wonderful and supportive through all of this and even applied for a possible promotion to help with the finances. He made to the top four candidates for the position and interviewed last week. We still have not heard back from the hiring/interview team who got the job but we are still praying they have decided to select him. That would make a WORLD of difference for our family and nothing but positive ripple effects.

Thus we have decided to cut back on our expenses, budget, and live frugal. We now shop store brands at our local grocery store, have a meal plan, shop the clearance sections, and more than ever use coupons. Our goal is to make every hard earned dollar count! I hope you will join me as I post new ways that we've found to save a buck and our peace of mind.