Ouch, Dogs, and Another Busy Weekend

This is short week since my company had Monday off as a holiday (Presidents Day) and I am thankful since I have a busy weekend coming up:

Friday - Wedding shower for a couple from our church. They were married a few weeks ago and wanted the shower after the wedding since they were very busy until now.
Clean the house (I might be able to do some tonight)

Saturday - Men's breakfast at church.
Help our friends move into their new house.

Sunday - Church and some rest (we do not do work on the Sabbath).

Mickey* said he had some PC parts he would let me have once we find them and sort them out. I would like to build a better server at some point, but I am not sure when that is going to happen. While 400 mhz and 512 megs RAM is "okay", it bogs down when hammered. I really would like to see a 1.1 gig with 512 RAM if I can find a way to get it at low or no cost.

I went home last night with a sharp pain in my back, just right of the incision. It hurts when I bend, so I have to squat to do everything. I was in pain during care group and I hurt the entire time I was walking the dogs. Today is only slightly better. I took Tylenol but it wore off already and I do not have any more here at work. When I get home, Vicodin here I come.

Speaking of dogs, my largest (but youngest at 6 years old) has hip problems and the vet suggested putting her on a new food made for large breed dogs with hip problems. It is made by Purina and costs ... $60 for a large bag (40-50 lbs?), twice the price of her old vet food. That bag will last about 2 months. She also is on hip meds that run about $15 a month. I know that sounds like small potatoes, but couple that with an oil leak from my oil pan in my truck and the fact our electricity bill will double (and our natural gas bill will go up 50%), we really are in a pinch. Not to mention that my wife has to start taking meds for her osteopena and I am not sure how much that will cost per month.

I get so overwhelmed when I do my best to help trim expenses (I do not go out for lunch but maybe once a month and that is only $5-6, cut down the cable bill to the minimum, got rid of a few frivolous expenses, moved debt from high interest to low/no interest credit cards, reuse grocery bags, carpool, cut down on dining out, etc,) and I see our monthly bills get larger and larger. I feel that I am in a hole, trying to climb out and the sides are crumbling in. The cost of living has gone up greater than my pay has :-) . I did increase my pay when I removed my son from our health insurance. That saved me $50 a month.

At least I will be able to make a little money (God willing) this summer when I start cutting grass. It will not be much, but it will help. Maybe I can get a paying gig or two doing PC upgrades / repairs. I have done some freebies in the past (and received some reward in barter) and they went well. The problem is that the people who need the help the most cannot afford to pay or expect the help free. I have a big heart so I usually give in. I am sure that is good for something.