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!
