Feeling the Health Return

 This morning, I awoke at my normal time - a bit before 4am - when my alarm light clicked on. I dozed a bit before making myself come to full consciousness. When I did wake up, I noticed that I was actually feeling better. In the past week, I have had a headache, chills, and a really bad cough in the early mornings. I've had lots of interrupted nights with difficulty sleeping and waking up with fevers. 

None of these things happened this morning.

It took 30 minutes before my first coughing fit happened this morning. I am happy that things are finally working to curb all of this ick. I am hoping this will continue through the next week as I am on break.

So, my goal for today is to remember that I am still not 100% better, but I am about 65% better than I was a couple of days ago, and to use my energy accordingly.

My desk chair broke yesterday. The welded supports in the back sheared off - I do not know how to weld, so the chair is a goner. I was trying to remember how long it lasted - it has been at least four years, so that's pretty good, but it means that I have to figure out some seating for my computer desk. I moved the stool over from the craft desk, but I am not interested in moving things back and forth for too long.

The issue here?

I did my budget yesterday. My utility bills have tripled in the past three months, so a look at how I spend and what I spend was completely overdue. So, yesterday's energy blast was used to look at my income (minus my church income since I don't work at the church during the summer), and trying to figure out how much discretionary income I have for the next three paychecks. The answer? None.

Now, don't get worried. I'm not. I have savings especially for this time. It is not a time that sneaks up on me, but the rapid increase in several different bills lately has been a bit of a surprise. I usually have a bit more discretionary income available each of the summer months, but not now.

I am now in the market for a cheap office chair.

Now, I am pretty picky when it comes to office chairs. I like tall desks to accommodate my legs, so my chair is usually a bar stool rather than an office chair. I think I will be stalking some garage sales and thrift stores to see what I can find out in the world. My price point? About five dollars for a sturdy bar stool for my desk. I know that I will be able to find something at some point, but I'm not sure where or when.

2023 will be my year to use things up.

I do not need to purchase any new papers or crafting tools. I have no need to purchase more books. I have plenty of books in my library. I do not need any pens, pencils, markers, colored pencils, stickers, journals, or any of that kind of stuff! I do not need any sort of new stuff. I can cook more and use up the staples that I have in my home already - the food staples, the crafting staples, the clothing that I already have available... all of that.

Is this part of a transformation (my word of the year)? I can argue that it is something that allows me to think differently about how I exist in the world. So, I definitely think that it is.

One of the other root causes behind my new budgetary considerations is that I am actually going on a working vacation with my family and friends this summer - out of the country!! I will need money for food, lodging, and fun, so having as much as possible in savings will help with that indulgence. 

Our last big trip was in 2019. My sister and mom and I went to Kauai. That trip was amazing, and I am glad that we had that time together. I am looking forward to this next trip as well. My family is coming along to keep each other occupied while I am busy at music therapy-related things, and our close family friends are coming, too. This is good because my sister is someone (hello, sister) who likes to go and do things, and I am not as inclined to go somewhere when I am tired. I get tired pretty easily, so she wants to go, and I need rest. Having three other people in the trip will help me find the rest that I need and keep her busy as well. The only downfall is that my family members are sharing a room, so I will not have much alone time. I depend on my alone time to be able to get social. It will be fine, I am sure.

Okay, so I have some motivation to save my pennies and my dollars this summer.

I think I may try a modified envelope stuffing process this summer to help me curb my spending. My tendency to buy fast food on Wednesdays will be diminished because I will have more home time without my church job, but I also (back in February when I felt flush) bought season tickets to our local amphitheater, so I will have some food costs six times this summer. So, no fast food, no food delivery, using up food that I already have in my pantry. We will see how this works. The money that I have left every week from my budgeted amount of cash can go into my bank account (the one that is dedicated to all things music therapy and where my trip costs will come from...) to have to spend while I am on vacation...

I'm not sure if this will work, but it is worth a try.

Time to go take a shower and get ready for the day. Thanks for reading.