Day Eight - One More Week of Break

I woke up late this morning - well, late for me anyway - and then goofed off for a couple of hours before actually starting my morning. It was thundering and we got a bit of rain, so things were nice and relaxed. I woke to find that voters in my state supported something that I also support. It was interesting to look over the county by county results to see that the measure only passed in counties where there were bigger populations. Most of the smaller, more rural counties did not vote against the measure. Most of those counties only registered about 2,000 votes as well. I am curious about who voted and who did not.

I go back to work next Thursday, but I have a week still until everything starts to happen again. The new school year will bring changes, but I think I am ready. There are many things that are unknown at this point, but I am going to try to relax about stepping into the unknown and not knowing that I have secured the safety net personally. 

Yesterday was a good day. I met with my pain doctor for the first time who watched me walk and answered my questions as well as reassured me that if this happened again that I would not have to wait three months before getting in to see him. I then went and stood in line to vote on the aforementioned important constitutional amendment measure. Then I went home for a bit before going to see Thor: Love and Thunder. I giggled all the way through it. I will go see that again because I enjoyed it so much, and because I can! My Unlimited Movie Pass is one luxury that I will NOT give up, even in the worst budget crisis.

This month has been financially difficult for me. July is always tighter than the other months of the year, but this July has been brutal. I lost a week of pay due to COVID. I also do not work for the church during June, July, and I work in August for paid time off later in the year, so I was down that salary as well. Medical bills came in and were paid off. My car registration is always due in July, and that takes a chunk out every year. I also had other expenses that were not anticipated - start of lawn care to help my back and take care of my yard. I have now worked an entire month, so my salary will be back up where it needs to be, and I can budget for my yard care costs. I am still waiting for an outstanding bill to come in for my MRI, and then those expenses will be taken care of. I am a bit disgusted because we are changing insurance companies so this year of deductibles and co-insurance payments has basically been wasted. Such is life, I guess.

I am in a pretty good spot, emotionally and mentally. I am feeling more positive about things going on in my life. I am feeling optimistic about the year ahead. I am feeling pretty good as well. My back pain is at a very low level. I have gained too much weight, so I will need to figure out how to change that situation, but that's about all that is happening right now. I am feeling creative and ready to make things. I am hoping that this optimism and creativity will continue once I get back into the work routine, but we will see.

For now, though, I am concentrating on chipping away at my to-do list as well as completing ideas and generating new ones. My ideas book is currently sitting in my backpack, but I am going to make use of it pretty soon. Today may be the day to sort through my projects and get things a bit more organized. Considering it is already 9am, it seems like it is more than time to get going on something.

Over the past two days, I have started some lyric sheets for sale in my TPT store. They are simple files but may have value for someone other than me someday. I'm sticking to my original songs and songs in the public domain for the moment, but I am also getting a chance to make them look pretty and get them arranged for my clients to use. Others should be able to make use of them as well. Eventually, I will put them into a growing bundle so people only have to buy the files once and then get all the updates without having to pay again, but I only have two files so far, so it is not really practical to set that up yet. I will start it once I have 10 lyric sheet files available for purchase.

Today may also be the day that I get out my laminator and finish up some projects for my music therapy clients. I printed out the binder pages. They need to be trimmed, laminated, scored (for easier use in the book itself), hole punched, and put into their poly folders. I found some pretty folders to use as my large group folders. This will let me use the rainbow sets for other things - either visuals or storage. We will see...

Now, though, I think I will sit and stare at the clouds rolling around the sky. I will listen for the occasional roll of thunder while hoping that the power stays on.

Happy Wednesday, all. I have eight days to be a woman of leisure, and I am going to enjoy those days.