Me and KC, Again?

I'm planning a trip to the city where my daughter and KC live. My second son, G,  also lives there and KK and I will be staying with him. We're driving down on Friday and I planned on dropping KK off at G's apartment on Friday, then spending the rest of the day with my daughter and the baby. 

Daughter has been telling me that she got hired for a call center and they are sending her to California for 4 weeks for training. She is taking KC with her because there is an on-site daycare. She also has a new boyfriend and even though they've been dating for less than 2 weeks, they're in love and planning on getting married.

Today she asked me if I would take KC home with me this weekend. She still claims she's going to California for training, but the friend she is living with is being a bitch and she just can't stand to be around her anymore. Her new bf, who doesn't have a job, is also living with a friend and his friend will let her stay, but not KC.

Her long-range goal is move back here with the bf, take KC back, and enter the family program she was in prior to leaving KC with me the first time. This program is for homeless families. The families sleep at local churches for a week at a time and spend their days at the program house, looking for work and attending workshops. Since Daughter fought with all of the other families in the program and conned the program directors into paying for her ticket to Texas, I would be amazed if they let her come back. 

My ability to take Casey hinges on finding daycare for him. In my limited spare time this week, that's what I'll be doing.

Getting Organized

I finally got my desk cleaned off and set up my laptop and extra monitor. I also made a dinner menu and have mostly stuck to it. We were suppose to have homemade pizza pockets last night, but KK ate the pepperoni, so we had Skip (make it yourself or skip it). We'll have the pizza pockets tonight instead of the crock pot chicken macaroni and cheese. I'm going to have to do something different with that one, since I read the entire recipe after I bought the ingredients and it's not a crock pot recipe. That's what I get for finding meal ideas on Pinterest.

Being Social

I'm a very shy introvert and it's hard for me to go out and socialize with my friends when I'm feeling good. This summer I didn't feel good and saw one friend, once a week, because she insisted. Now that the depression is lifting and I'm physically feeling better, it's time to go out. Tonight, it's a wine tasting with one friend, tomorrow it's pizza with another, and next weekend a group of us are going out to dinner and a movie. Good times are coming.

Cookies!

One of the best parts at working in a Tutoring Center is taking cookies to work. I love to make cookies, but neither KK or I are big sweets eaters. For the last 3 years I've made a batch or two of cookies every Sunday night, saved 4 or 5, and taken the rest to work. The students and teachers enjoy the cookies and I get happy brownie points.

Pinterest has also helped in the cookie department. I've spent the summer pinning new cookie recipes and plan to try at least 2 a month. Not today, today's cookie was cake mix Chocolate Chocolate Chip because I haven't had time or the money to stock up on good ingredients. Besides, they're moist, delicious, and filled with chocolate.

Back to Work!

I'm back to my old tutoring/computer lab monitoring job at the college. I went in Wednesday to find out my hours and was asked if I could work Thursday - Sunday from 9-4. I was confused when I got to the lab and found it open, but didn't ask any questions. Then I got an email from my supervisor that the hours were 8-4 Thursday & Friday and 10-4 Saturday & Sunday. He still doesn't have the semester schedule finished and it starts on Monday. He's definitely not an anal-retentive SJ.

I've put in 3 applications this week, plus when I looked on-line at the State Jobs site I saw that my application had gone out to 2 different universities for 4 different jobs. The jobs I applied for are at this college and I really hope I get one of them. They're entry-level and low paying, but they include benefits and are still better than minimum wage. 

My dad loaned me money to tide me over until my financial aide gets here, work is starting, and the temperature is going down, as is my stress level. I do so much better within a routine, now all I have to do is finish rearranging and cleaning my house and life will be just peachy.

I Need My Schedule

Last Fall I made a budget for the year that included setting aside enough money to pay all my bills through July, thus giving me approximately 2 1/2 months to find a job. Unfortunately, I didn't plan for cancer, surgery, and grandbaby, so this month has been very, very tight. I start working next weekend at the college and plan on getting a part time retail job to help cover expenses, but in order to do that, I need to have a work schedule. It was suppose to be emailed last Monday, then last Friday, and then today...nope, still not there.

I'm not sure if the Universe is trying to drive me crazy or teach me flexibility. Either way, I'm pretty sure it hates me.

Confessions of a People Pleaser

A couple of weeks ago my mom called to let me know that my step-dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. She was understandably upset and very concerned about her financial future without my dad. Her retirement funds will only cover about half of what it takes to keep her home. Her solution was to invite me to move in with her, anticipating that as a newly graduated computer/web technician I would make more than enough to make up the difference.

A few days later my second son offered to allow me and my youngest son (his bio-brother) to live with him, free, until I got a job. My youngest son, who has not seen his brother for 5 years and has missed him dearly, is very much in favor of this move and has been badgering me for the last 2 weeks about making a decision.

When these conversations took place I was in the midst of an anxiety phase, worrying how I was going to pay rent, bills, and finding a babysitter so I could get a job. So, I may have given both my mom and my son the impression I was ready and willing to move in with them. Since then, the baby went back to his mama, second son repaid me money he had borrowed and I was able to pay bills, and I have a part time job that starts at the end of the month which, when coupled with my left-over financial aid, will be enough to get buy frugally until the end of the school year.

I don't want to move from my little college town. My mom lives several states to the east in a small Utah town that is about the same size as mine, so the job opportunities are going to be about the same there as they are here. My son lives in the largest city in my state, so moving there makes more sense. But, I don't want to move.

Now, I just have to face the music and tell both of them, I don't want to move. *Sigh*