I'm working hard at making due. I've been making, sewing, baking, and cooking things (blankets for kids, decorations for the house, penguin costume for Halloween for Genny, muffins, and dinner home every night). I put a lot of food by this fall, so we'd have it this winter and spring.

We've been living tight -- every penny accounted for. I've exhausted my retirement money -- there wasn't much to start with, and now, there's even less. Mike didn't get a raise this year because his company simply couldn't afford it. He is at the top of his pay grade anyhow, so next year, he'll probably get a promotion and a raise, if things improve some.

We're probably going to go ahead and file bankruptcy. I keep applying for work, but nothing has shaken loose yet -- just lots of possibilities. I haven't been able to work recently because the car is dead and needs to be towed to be repaired.

It's hard work being poor and always looking for the best and next way to pinch a penny.

I'm flu-y and achy.

I wish my bed were more sufficient some days. I basically crawled into bed at 630 last night, got woken up to eat and went back about 730 and haven't really left the room other than to eat. Everything hurts -- in a most excrutiating manner.

It makes me mad because I had big plans for the kitchen. Was going to clean it like mad today.

I start my doctor appointments next week for the bariatric surgery preparation.
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I got one blanket for Christmas finished yesterday and clipped all the threads and cleaned everything up. It's for a teen boy, so it's skulls...kind of cool and fun.
I've got a pirate one for me and for Genny. I've also got some fabric for Genny's nightgowns -- colorful cherries and pink camo pirate flannels. I've got big yellow roses for me and some plain dark flannels for night shirts for the men.

I am definitely slipping into winter mode -- sewing. I guess that's better than baking, in my case, though I have gone on a few muffin sprees because the ingredients are cheap and the kids eat them all darned week. I have one or two and then promptly make a concerted effort to "forget" them.

Ok, I'm taking my quilt and heading back to bed.

Everyone assumes I'm a Democrat and to be completely honest, in my heart of hearts, I'm not. Just because I will not vote for John McCain under any circumstances, I am not a Democrat.

I remember distinctly as a teacher explained the ballot to me as a child how amazing I found our system of government, how as she explained it, anyone could be president. That sense of pride and thrill with the US system of government has stayed with me all this time. As age and the cynicism that comes with age have progressed, I've been mortally disappointed to discover that despite what we say, the US is in fact, on a 2 party system, masquerading as a democracy.

As this election reaches dirtier and dirtier heights, I decided to do some reading. Because when McCain started going dirty, I thought Obama might have the class to stay above it, but he gave in, too. I never liked Obama anyhow, so it wasn't mortally disappointing, but somewhat disappointing that both of the people likely to represent our government are both dirty disgusting politicians.

To be honest, I'm much more of a Hilary girl because she incorporates many of the green party tenets in her platform, but even so, she still fell short, even for me.

Mike and I have been discussing this. And the one thing that sticks with me most is that every vote cast means funding for the party for whom it was cast. Would I like the greens to take over the Presidency eventually by providing funding per my vote or am I going to vote simply because I am adamantly opposed to John McCain thrashing our country for another 4 years?

This, folks, is a quandry.

I'm in a pool to be hired by AT&T. I didn't get the social worker job I wanted, but I learned a lot in the interview, so that's good, too.

I was kind of goofing around in youtube last night and I found this video that had me with tears streaming down my face. I swear it seemed like a cross between Duke Nukem and a monster truck rally meets drunken frat boys on crack.