by Ashley
Hi guys!
Probably didn’t expect to hear from me this evening, hmm??
Truth is life has been scattered lately! Instead of having posts pre-planned and waiting to go up at “X” time, I’ve just been writing and pressing “publish” whenever I can. Writing as life happens, that is.
At any rate, we’re back in our house. It’s still a bit of a cluster. They had to re-carpet two rooms and although the carpet installers moved things for us, it was still quite an ordeal. The cribs were too big to fit through the door frames so had to be completely disassembled. Even with things finally moved back, it almost feels like we’re in the middle of a move or something! On the good news front, our landlord is going to work with us on some of the costs. I feel uncomfortable disclosing the numbers in our agreement, but I’m happy with the situation. This month will still require us to dive into our emergency fund (both for the house stuff and for the car repairs), but I’m knocking on wood for a calmer week this week!
In other news, I was able to get a couple work applications submitted! I had 2 due on the 15th (which was a Saturday) and one on the 17th (a Monday). I looked at them all and decided to ditch one of the applications. I selected the job I was least likely to get and metaphorically chucked it out. The other two applications I completed late Sunday night (the 16th). I realize this was past the deadline for one of them, but I figured the reviews wouldn’t start until Monday anyway so I just crossed my fingers and hoped it would work out. And guess what…I’ve already heard back on one of the jobs! They’re requesting additional information, which is always a good sign (means I’ve at least made it past the initial round of cuts). It’s for a job here in Tucson and is not a tenure-track position, though it still keeps me in academia. Obviously a tenure-track job is what I’d really like (or maybe its not so obvious….but I spent 6 years in graduate school specifically to try to earn a tenure-track position, so this is a big point of distinction for me). However, I’ve figured that if I get this position I could probably keep teaching at least 2 classes per semester online through my teaching job, and would effectively make my salary higher than most entry-level tenure-track positions. Plus then we wouldn’t have to deal with a cross-country move (so torn on this though, as I’d love to be closer to family). So, we’ll wait and see what happens. I know better than to get my hopes up at this stage in the game.
Also, I’m taking some of your advice and trying to fix my own iPhone screen. Since I initially mentioned that I’d broken my screen again, the crack has progressively gotten worse. There are now pieces of glass that have fallen out and I’ve actually sliced my fingers a few times (small slices, more like paper cuts). At any rate, it needs to be replaced. I found a $15 kit on ebay complete with new screen, all the tools, adhesive material, etc. and it should be here tomorrow. I’m a little nervous. I’ve watched a couple youtube videos and it does NOT look easy. But I did find a cheaper place that can do repairs here in town ($115, whereas last time I paid $150). I figured even if this doesn’t work out, I can still go with the cheaper place and be saving money over what I paid last time. Obviously I would prefer if it just works out with this repair kit and I get away with only a $15 fix (+ cost of a new OtterBox case, as that seems to be the consensus for best/strongest case). I’m still mad at myself over breaking the phone, but in light of the Crap River we just dealt with, it seems like small potatoes.
Meanwhile, I’ve been having to hold myself back from some retail therapy. I’m really not a big shopper, but I’ve been longing to go to Kohl’s and buy myself some new warm tops (now that it’s finally a bit colder in Tucson…sorry to those of you in negative degree weather!!) I think this is partly due to stress, partly due to simple change in weather and wanting newer clothes for the new season, and partly due to all the spending we’ve been doing. It almost feels like “oh, well, we’ve already spent $XXX on hotel and food, what’s another $50 or so for clothes???” Don’t worry, I haven’t done it (and I have plenty of warm-weather clothes, for the record), but the struggle has been real!
And, lastly, I’m SO SO excited for Thanksgiving next week! My Dad is going to come to town and it will be the first time that I’ve hosted a Thanksgiving at our house since the girls have been born (the first year when they were 5 months we went to a friends’ house; last year when they were 17 months husband was in the hospital with his mystery illness and we skipped the holiday all together). I’m starting to think that Novembers are cursed (not really…but kinda), so it will be good to be with family celebrating everything we’re thankful for. I’m trying not to go too overboard with food, so I’ve planned a menu. I plan to write a whole post on this to run it by you all for some suggestions on how you save money at Thanksgiving. The point is, I’m really looking forward to it!! Now I need to find a free Turkey Trot 5K or something. All this eating out has made me bloated and “ugh” feeling!
I hope your weeks are all off to a great start! Let’s get a head start on Thanksgiving week – leave me a comment with something you’re grateful about!
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
Well, at least you can be thankful this year that “Crap River” didn’t occur on Thanksgiving Day while you had company!
I know that wouldn’t be funny, but I can’t help laughing. Cheryl
So, So true!!!
Otter Box is so worth the $$$. I have had my iPhone 4S for almost three years and I have dropped it a few times and the Otter Box saved me from an expensive repair or new phone which I cannot afford at this time.
I have a couple large cracks that are splintering on my samsung 3and I covered them with scotch tape, literally. It hasn’t lifted, I use it all the time and I’m waiting for my contract to come up, in dec. for the record, I did this in April
I get a few funny looks and my work mates howl but it seriously hasn’t effected its capabilities
I love this!!!
Congratulations on getting the job apps finished and hearing back about one so quickly! With all else you have going on and your husband’s business it might be a perfect solution to stay living where you are and visit family more as your finances improve. I’m also glad your landlord stepped up to cover some of the costs as well he should.
We lucked out with our current landlord! We’ve had a ton of landlords in the past (always rented + lots of moves) and our current one is THE BEST!!!
Congrats on getting the job apps submitted on top of everything you had going on. That is impressive. So glad you heard back already:)
As for Thanksgiving, it’s great that you’ve planned a menu. Check to see what ingredients you need. More importantly, be sure to check out your grocery flyers asap. November is the best month of the year (in my opinion, lol) to save on groceries with all of the Thanksgiving sales. It’s a great time to stock up on butter, spices, flour, sugar, etc plus there are a ton of exceptional produce deals right now. At my store, broccoli is $.38/# (regular price is $1.99/pound for fresh), etc. I get the flyers in my mailbox on Wednesday so I plan my shopping trip from there. You’ll go crazy trying to run all over at the different stores so pick one main store and check out their flyer. You can get great deals on turkeys and keep an extra one in the freezer. Don’t wait until the last minute or everything is gone.
Instead of the paper flyers, you can download the app “Favado” and use that. You can set it up to notify you when the stores you’ve picked have sales on certain items
Hi Ashley,
I am a devoted reader but don’t comment often (I wish I could “Like” other comments, because often I agree with them). I will say that you have handled Crap River with humor and smarts. Well done (even though it’s not over).
Something I’m thankful for: I’ve had a weird week, I’ve been clumsy and forgetful for some reason. Yesterday I left my keys in my unlocked car on a very busy street near my office ALL DAY (6:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.) and no one stole my car. I’m incredibly thankful for that.
Hi Manda! Wow – that’s scary! Glad your car is still there! You preggers?? Sounds like a case of pregnancy brain to me! ; )
there’s a place in the mall here who did one of ours for $50. maybe you can find somebody on craigslist who has a little corner store in your area who will do it for you. If you supply the parts you got from ebay, they might do it for $30-$40. it will only take them 10 minutes or so.
Dang, I’ll have to do a little more research. I’d love to find someplace that cheap. I now have the parts, but I’ve been scared to attempt the actual work yet. I REALLY don’t want to end up breaking my phone entirely :/