Painting and nursing

My son Jonathon missed four days of school last week due to a stomach virus. Mike tended to him, as I was at work most of the time. Kristina came home mid-week from college for a long weekend and spent a day helping Jonathon with some math homework. Now both husband and daughter have the same illness -- just in time for the weekend (when we planned to get quite a bit of work done). I had something similar about three weeks ago, so I'm hoping that it hasn't mutated enough to reinfect me, but I am washing my hands like a maniac and spraying Lysol liberally on doorknobs, handles, remotes, keyboards, and other common items. Now, more than ever, it's important that I stay well, as if I don't work, we don't get that pay.

The drywall guy finished today. He was incredibly slow, but did a really great job! I was able to prime and paint a few of the smaller areas today and then move furniture back to where it was suppose to go (with the help of my son, who is fully recovered). I'm hoping my husband feels well enough tomorrow to do a few things like reattaching some baseboard that we had to remove so I can put my office back in order. I haven't painted for some time and I had forgotten what a satisfying job it is -- giving immediate gratification for a job well done. Tomorrow I plan to prime and paint the larger areas, including the downstairs bathroom, a large under the stairs storage area, and the garage. It will be so nice to get the bathroom vanity back into place and out of the middle of my living room!

The plumbers are coming to finish the master bathroom plumbing on Monday. The quote they provided was very reasonable, so I was thankful. I'm hoping that they can finish that job in a day or so, and then we can get on with putting that bathroom together. I was talking to my mom the other day and she was worried about the stress my husband's unemployment might be putting on the family. I told her that while we weren't happy about it and, of course we worried about money now more than ever, the greatest stress in my life just now is the chaos my house is in due to the construction and remodel. Once everything is done, I think I'll have a real sense of peace.

One nice benefit to the chaos is that we are sorting through our belongings as we put things back -- culling out anything we do not need or want any more. I'll try to sell them online for some extra cash and, what does sell, we'll donate. One of my resolutions is to be much better at keeping records of those types of things, so that when tax time rolls around next year, I can take all of the deductions I should.

Well, I've got to squeeze a bit more painting in before bedtime. I'm feeling a sense of urgency to get as much done as possible -- just in case the dreaded stomach virus hits me again (but I'm praying that doesn't happen. I just HATE being sick!).

Some Days Are Better Than Others

Last week Mike was informed that the purchase of his company will not go through after all. Apparently, the delay in financing was just too much and the senior stockholders in the company demanded that the company refile for Chapter 7 and be liquidated instead of saved. So, Mike is officially unemployed at this point.

We had a tough few days as we attempted to process the information. While we always knew logically that this could happen, we always felt that the company would be saved (and thus were in some denial about the possibility of unemployment). Of course, this happened in the middle of the re-plumb of the house and remodel of the master bathroom.

I'm happy to say that the re-plumb went fairly well, passed the city inspection, and now we're just waiting for their drywall guy to patch up all the holes. What wasn't so great was that when we did the initial quote/walk-through with the owner of the plumbing company, he indicated verbally that most of our master bathroom plumbing (for the remodel) would be no extra charge, as they would already be doing plumbing in that area. However, once the re-plumb started, he indicated that the two jobs were to be entirely separate (due to the class action claim), and he would give us a quote for the master bathroom when the re-plumb was done. That is supposed to happen today -- so I'm crossing my fingers he is a man of his word and that no outlandish fee is quoted, as we just can't afford another huge cost just now (we had to spend $2000 of our own money to hire this particular company, as opposed to the company the class action people usually use (we were not impressed at all with them), to use the materials that every plumber we talked to recommended (instead of the materials included in the class action claim) and to continue the re-plumb to the street so that we would not have a possibility of future leaks under the slab (which is an expensive problem with the substandard pipes).

We spent the weekend productively, doing taxes to figure exactly how much we owed and making a spreadsheet of our finances, including current income, money that is expected in soon, unusual expenses (like the bathroom remodeling costs and taxes), and a regular monthly budget. It made us feel a lot better to see that we'll still have some savings left after our unusual expenses and that we'll be bringing in enough to live on if we are careful with our spending.

Mike was able to get into the dentist for his cleaning before the benefits expired at the end of the month (the kids and I were just in last month). Our health insurance continues, as it is military and not through his work. We were also informed by the company (two days before the end of the month) that we had to use up any money in our FlexPay account by 2/28, or loose it. So, we had to go on an unexpected shopping spree to purchase over the counter medications and other covered items so that we could submit a claim for the amount we had paid in this year. We'll use all of the items eventually, but it was frustrating that the company did not let us know about the situation until two days before the deadline.

I'll be happy to see the progress on the drywall patching when I come home from work today and hopefully the quote from the plumber for the master bathroom plumbing is not horrible. I'm so eager to have my house put back together again and items put away. Living in chaos, especially during this particular time and situation, is stressful -- and we need as much peace of mind as we can get just now :)

Better News

Even in light of our recent scary news, I'm still excited about the replumb (which starts Monday and should be finished by Saturday). It means that I no longer have to worry about our sub-standard pipes bursting and causing tens of thousands in damage. Plus, it means that we can then move forward with finishing the master bathroom!

We have 98% of all supplies needed already purchased and paid for. The contractor built out the new tub deck the other day and will be coming back to finish the shower when the plumbers are done. My husband is using his unexpected time off to do work we anticipated we would have to do in the evenings and weekends, which will speed things up. He put in our new fan/light combos above the new shower and toilet area yesterday. They look great and much quieter than the old unit we had before. The electrician is working as I type, putting in two new recessed lights in the ceiling, installing new GFI outlets, and repositioning the old vanity light outlets to their new location (to work with those bargain mirror/lights that I purchased for $25 each!)

Today, I am spending some time painting the new vanity feet (at first, we had planned to refinish the entire vanity, but then decided it would be easier/cheaper to go with the original finish (and we grew to love it). However, Mike had stripped the feet before we made that decision, so I need to restore them now. The base coat is done, but I need to experiment a bit to find the perfect combination/technique for putting on the grayish glaze that gives the vanity an antique look.

I'm also going to try my hand at cutting up our old mirror into two pieces that will fit the new mirror/lights (if you remember, the woman sold them because the original mirrors had broken). I feel quite confident that I can at least cut rectangles to size. I'm not sure about the curved cut that would be required for the corners -- but our local glass shop charges just $5 per cut, so they can always finish it up for me and the total cost would still just be $45 per mirror/light (a huge savings over buying them new at $150-$225). We're trying to reuse what we can and recycle the rest on Freecycle, Craigslist, or by donating to Restore (where all proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity).

When the electrician is done today, then we can put up the new drywall on the ceiling. I'm just trying to decide if I want to tape, mud, and texturize that ceiling or if we want to pay a bit extra to the plumber to have his drywall man do it for us. Hanging the drywall is labor intensive, but not difficult. However, we learned from past experience that the taping and mudding require a certain skill and we don't really have that skill. Plus, the texturizing we did on the walls during the remodel of the kitchen and other rooms (when we first bought the house) was kind of a nightmare. Neither of us really want to go there again if we can help it. However, I'm thinking that the ceiling is kind of a different animal. The taping and mudding do not have to be as exact, as the texturizing is heavier (and hides imperfections) -- plus, since the texturizing is done by hand (and I already have all those tools and got quite a bit of practice the first time around), I think I can do that job without too much frustration or difficulty. That would allow us to paint the ceiling and get the light fixtures put together and in place, even before the replumb is done. We can always have the plumber's drywall guy just tape, mud and texturize the walls for us -- which is the part we don't do as well. I just really want to see something "finished" in that bathroom. It's those little things that really keep me excited and motivated about finishing.

I know that Mike took some "before" pictures of the bathroom and has been taking some pictures as the job has progressed. Next time, I'll try to post some pictures so you can see for yourself how things are going.

Scary news

Mike called me at work the other day to let me know (before I heard it on the news) that all of the employees of his company had been "furloughed" without pay until further notice. Basically, the sale of the company to the new buyers has been taking longer than anyone anticipated. The great majority of the funding is coming from a Russian bank and the bankruptcy court wants to make sure (in light of current global economic troubles) that the bank is solvent and the funds are good. Because of this, the interim funding that the new buyers provided to keep the company running during the transition is quickly dwindling. They hope by having everyone but a skeleton crew go home, that they can conserve enough funds to keep things going until the sale is finalized. Then (they say) everyone can come back to work.

The same day this happened, we had several other businesses go under in our state, leaving around 2000 people without jobs/paychecks. The governor took action to help speed up unemployment benefits -- and apparently those employees in my husband's company who have been furloughed will be able to apply for unemployment benefits (even though they have not been technically laid off or fired). I'm not sure how that will work and I'm hoping its not even necessary, since the new buyers seem to think it's just a matter of days before things are finalized.

At my job, the president of the company issued an email to all employees, explaining that the company has lost $2 million more per month for the past two months than they had anticipated (which seems to indicate that MORE than $2 million per month was lost). Apparently, people are not going to get medical care as they used to and, if they do get care, they are less likely to pay. The president basically said that the company cannot continue to hemorrhage money like this and stay solvent. They are trying desperately not to lay off any employees, but that may not work. Of course, temporary employees like myself will be the first to go if things get worse. As it is, the past several weeks I've been told to go home when there are not enough providers in our office to keep everyone busy all the time. Of course, as I'm a temp employee, when I go home, that means I don't get paid for that time off. It's a particular concern now that my husband is also not getting paid.

We are hopeful that things work out for my Mike's company and that he is told to report back to work within the next week or so. In the meantime, I'm doing as much freelance work as I can and also asking to be flexed out to other departments within my company (if my department does not need me and some other department can use me). We've got a few major expenses coming up immediately that we had saved for -- but its scary to use those funds on the replumb and bathroom remodel when we don't know for sure that my husband will be employed or not. However, not to spend the money is not really an option at this point, as the bathroom has to be put back together and the replumb must take place or we will loose the option. Granted, we could not do the additional work (of continuing the replumb to the street) -- but we both agree it is a good investment for a future sale of the house (not to mention that the piece of mind that we will not have a leak under our foundation/slab is priceless). We did start the refinancing process on our home about a month ago, locking in a 5% fixed rate (down from the 6.375% we had originally). We close on that new loan on Monday, which will save us about $250 per month on our mortgage payment. Every little bit helps at this point.

Nearly everyone I know has been effected to some degree by this horrible economy. I don't know that I agree with everything that the government has done to try to fix it -- and I expect things will not get better for quite some time. I know that there are some that are much worse off than we are, even with our current problems. I'm grateful every day for our savings and for my husband's military retirement pay, which is enough to pay our mortgage under the worse circumstances. We've also finished paying for my daughter's college for this year -- so we have some time until the fall semester starts to figure out how to deal with that. Once the replumb and bathroom remodel is done, then I think I'll be able to take a deep breath, reassess, and draw up a new budget so that we can all feel more at ease, knowing everything will be paid, even if Mike becomes truly unemployed.

Change

I didn't have a great night last night. I was up until midnight with indigestion and then finally was able to sleep for about four hours. Then, around 4am, I started sleeping fitfully, having a dream that kept getting interrupted (but then it would start up again where it left off when I dozed back to sleep again).

The dream was quite vivid. In it, I was apparently giving a speech at a company meeting about "Change." There have really been some changes at work in some departments (in real life). They have brought in a "LEAN team" in order to standardize things and make things run more smoothly. This has generated quite a bit of hostility and push back from those who thought things were fine just as they were. However, I haven't been working in those particular departments for months -- so I'm not sure what brought on the "Change" dream.

In the dream, I was writing notes for my speech. I clearly remember that it went something like this:

Almost no one welcomes change. It's usually hard and sometimes terrifying. It's hard to understand why change has to happen -- as you may think things are running fine, just as they are. This is true both in a professional and personal setting. However, life IS change -- if we are stagnant, things never have a chance to improve. Can change fail? Well, yes -- but the alternative is unacceptable, as to keep the status quo, never taking a risk, never exploring options, might mean a safe life -- but not a successful life.

At that point, my dream dissolved into something a bit different. I was watching myself give a speech (but I knew in my dream that I was not really giving this particular speech and it was just my imagination) and I was talking about how I had worked this job for months, had done a good job, and had been assured a full time job, which never materialized -- and "that is bullshit." Clearly, I must have some issues with the fact that there is a hiring freeze! LOL! I imagine they are linked to the uncertainty of my husband's job just now (the sale to the major investor in the company went through, and they've been told there will be some news about the future of employees this week).

Anyway -- the point of this post is that I woke up really thinking about change (as I felt my "speech" was a good one that made sense). I wondered to myself if I needed to embrace change more. Certainly there are things in life I am not particularly happy with -- but I've been living with the status quo because change would be hard and stressful -- and I didn't want that in my life just now. Perhaps my subconscious is telling me it's time to really examine my life and make the changes that need to be made in order to improve my mental and physical well being. So, that is my goal for this week -- and I'm going to start a positive change by heading back to the gym (for the first time in months). Mike and I worked out a schedule so that each of us can go on alternate mornings (while the other gets our son off to school). With both of us committed and with a plan, it should work out for each of us.

I'll keep you updated on what changes I decide to make in my life.

Remodeling Bargains

We still have not heard any official news about my Mike's job. The company is due to be sold to the highest bidder sometime next week. I suppose, at that time, he'll be terminated and then either re-hired or not. Of course, the new owners could elect to pay him less than he was making before and we may not have much choice but to accept, as otherwise his only alternative would be to start over in a different field (as he is in a highly specialized field at this point, and there are no other employers in that field in our area).

With this in mind, and the master bathroom now down to the studs in some areas (preparing for the replumbing that will happen in a few weeks (knock wood), we've been trying to get all of the things we need for the remodeled bathroom, at bargain prices. We already purchased the vanity (on sale for about 50% off after shipping costs), the bathtub (purchased at 45% off retail) and a toilet. All of these have been paid for in full, as we are trying not to incur further debt. In my spare time, I do a lot of online searching for items we still need, such as lighting, mirrors, and fixtures.

The other day, I was on Craigslist and happened to see a post about some mirrors with built-in lighting. I appreciated that a picture was posted, as I had seen these mirrors during my online search and had liked them -- but I had not liked the $135-$266 cost I found them selling for in various places. The Craigslist poster mentioned that the mirrors had broken in transit, and that was the reason she was selling the items -- for $50 each. I did some calculations, made some calls, and determined that I could replace the broken mirrors within the frames for about $40 each, which would still be a significant savings over what I would spend buying them online. So, my husband and I set up a time and went to see the mirrors, which were still in their boxes and in excellent condition (except for the actual mirror). The globes for the attached lighting fixtures were in great shape, as were the frames themselves. When I told the woman I liked the mirrors, she then told me that they would be $25 each -- half of what I had expected to spend. So, for $65 each, we have both the vanity mirrors and lighting in the bag! You can see a picture of our bargain at the top of the post.

I'm finding Craigslist to be a valuable resource. Yesterday, I found a post from someone selling over 2500 square feet of porcelain tile for just $1 a square foot! We're going to take a look at that this weekend and perhaps we can find what we need for our floor, tub deck, and shower.

Grocery Savings

While I was at work the other day, a customer came up to my desk requesting a pen and piece of paper. She was holding a magazine, so I asked her if she needed something larger than a Post-it, as I thought she was going to copy a recipe. She told me that she was just writing down a website where you could print out coupons. That led to a discussion about how both of us are bargain hunters and the ways we are trying to save money in these uncertain economic times.

One way I save big on groceries is to purchase 4 Sunday newspapers. Sometimes, if I time it right, I can get these for free -- as on Sunday evening the grocery store cuts off the front page header on all remaining copies to give back to the publisher -- and then cannot sell the newspaper. So, at that point, they give them away free! The reason I purchase 4 newspapers is that I like multiple coupons when I go shopping. That way, if there is a great deal (made even better with the coupon), I can buy one item for each coupon I possess. I also do not cut out my coupons before shopping. Instead, I go through the inserts, logging each coupon into a spreadsheet I created, which lists the item, the amount off (and how many you need to buy (i.e.: $1.00/2 would mean you save $1.00 off a purchase of two of that particular item). It also shows the date of insert, type of insert (i.e.: Smartsource, P&G, etc), expiration date, and the number of coupons I have on hand. The inserts themselves are put into a manila folder with the date of the insert printed on the outside.

When I go shopping, I print out my spreadsheet and refer to it as I make my ways up and down the aisles. I don't limit myself to a strict shopping list, as sometimes I find things that are nearly free -- so I stock up whether I currently need that particular item or not. Then, these items go into my freezer or pantry and eventually they are used. If its a great deal on something I already have WAY too much of, such as salad dressing -- but I can get a bottle for 25 cents after coupon, then I go ahead and purchase it and donate it to a local food bank. It doesn't cost me but a few dollars to get a bag full of groceries to help out someone else. While this way of shopping takes longer than just throwing things into the cart and paying full price, it also saves me some big bucks. For example, on one recent shopping trip, my total would have been around $300 without coupons. With my coupons, I saved over $75!

Another way I save money (and time) is to do once a month freezer cooking (or OAMC, as it's called on the net). Basically, this means that you stock up on meat when it's at a great price, and then do a cooking session, turning that meat into many different meals that can be frozen, and then thawed and cooked later on. This is wonderful when you are working full time, as you can do all of your cooking on the weekend.

For example, the other day boneless, skinless chicken breasts were on sale for $1.59 per pound. I purchased about 25-30 pounds or so. I usually have the other ingredients I would need for my cooking sessions on hand (purchased earlier using coupons to maximize my savings). Out of that chicken, I made two pans of chicken enchiladas, 3 pans of "Chicken Supreme" (a great recipe the whole family loves), four containers of my chicken soup base (which can be used for chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings, etc), 3 meals worth of stuffed chicken breasts, 2 containers of Alice Springs Chicken (an Outback Steakhouse copycat recipe), and several meals worth of chicken breasts in various marinades, that just need to be thawed and then grilled. I have a spreadsheet on my freezer that lists the various items currently inside and, when we pull something out for dinner, we just make a tick mark, so we know how many of that particular item are left. I do the same sort of cooking sessions for pork, beef, and ground beef. There is a great Yahoo Groups email list that deals exclusively with OAMC -- do a search for "Frozen Assets" to find it and sign up.