I'm at home sick today (2nd day - not Covid) and can't sleep anymore ... so I thought it was a perfect time to check on my SA family.

Although I have been absent, you all have been on my mind. It's just this site is more difficult to keep up with on a phone, and that seems to be what I mostly use anymore.

So ... updates:

1. I have a new job! It's at the same agency I started working at in 2019, but a step up. I started it in March. I've been training my replacement for the last two months, and think she's nearly ready to fly on her own. (I *really* like her. She's known as Laura 2 at work ...}  This is a good thing , because ....

2. In August I'm taking a week off to go to Texas. At first it was going to be more like 7 business days - because I was going to move my mom here. She had started having lots of falls, R (her live in quasi bf) moved out, and she couldn't care for herself. In mid-May I got her placed into an Assisted Living place, and we had estate paperwork drawn up, as well as making me her POA. Much mama drama ensued. Finally two weeks ago the straw that broke this camels back, happened. I no longer am moving her here. Bro and I will still be going to visit her, but we will not be helping her sell the house or anything else.

3. Remember back in September when I reached my Healthy Wage goal? Yeah ... in the past 4 months I gained back everything I lost, plus 20lbs. Plus my exercise routine was completely abandonded. I had only enough spoons (energy) for dealing with mama drama. The past two weeks I have restarted my exercise routine - slowly. Food is an issue I'll deal with later,

4. We bought $10k I-bonds in May.

5. DHs hours keep getting cut because the restraunt can't keep cooks. This, in addition to crazy gas prices ($619 in June!) and my wonderful raise has pretty much been swallowed whole. Le Sigh.

6. On top of inflation and cut hours hitting our budget hard, our oldest furbaby Munchkin has had numerous trips to the vet to get her thyroid and blood pressure under control. Plus meds and special food. $$$ I did sign us up for Petco Vital Care which has more than paid for itself.