Thankful

Wednesday ended well and I was able to leave a bit early (got three caches on the way home) and had a meager dinner (I do that a lot) before watching some MMA videos on MMA Linker. Oddly enough there are a lot of vids there.

Thursday morning my wife and I got ready to go into downtown Dallas to assist in feeding the displaced. It was a huge operation that was organized, but it needed more leadership. I manned the dessert table helping hand out pie, cobbler, and cookies. It was cold (a cold snap has come through the area) and windy but I was okay. My wife started off cold (imagine that) but warmed up after she moved around a bit (just like I said she would). We only stayed two hours. My wife was tired and my back was sore (I get this way when it gets cold) and there were a lot of helpers there.

I hate downtown Dallas. Maybe by biases are beginning to come back but I really feel unsafe when I am there, especially in the neighborhoods we have gone to help out. My wife still walks around like a victim (she never really is observant or plans her route...she just walks) and I am constantly pulling her over out of the way of small groups of people. Yes, I am sure I am over reacting but I am a protector...that is what I do.

We got home and I had a big lunch of leftover whatever (we did not cook this year) and napped on the couch on an off the next couple of hours, doing little else the rest of the day.

"Black" Friday is the day that I do the last bit of yard work of the year. This year it was cold and I had not gotten my supplies yet. I am beginning to become a procrastinator. I got up and headed over to Lowes (I prefer Home Depot, but my wife had a coupon for Lowes) with a small list of things to get. I got them all but the crock pot my wife wanted...they were out of stock. The trip took an hour, not for traffic, but because I am not used to the way Lowes is laid out. Once I got home I was able to start my tasks.

I started cutting the grass (It had no been mowed in over a month but still was not very high) after spending 20 minutes trying to get the mower started. It finally fired up and I mowed both ours and our neighbor's yard but I was exhausted by the time I finished that first part. Once that was done I pulled out the edger and the trimmer and tidied up both yards. That went quickly because the borders had not grown much either, and that the ground was dry. I was very grateful for that.

One the edging and trimming was done, I pulled out the all organic weed killer and fertilizer I picked up at Lowes. I did not do it for me, but because my wife is really beginning to keep her eye open for natural products. I am not sure how well it will do, but we shall see.

After all that I only had one thing left to do and that was to blow all the grass clippings and the spilled fertilizer back into the yard. That usually is the fastest part of job and today was no different.

Once I was done, I grabbed my geocaching gear and headed out the door. To sum up a long story, it was the most disappointing 4+ hours I have ever spent. While I managed to grab a couple memorable ones (an ammo can that has gone untouched for 7 months and a difficulty 4 nano) I struck out on about 8 or so...maybe more. I did not plan at all for this trip and it showed. Normally I will spend a couple of hours online mapping out my route and reading about what I am looking for (taking notes or printing up key info) but this time I just packed and left.

I got home defeated and tired and unusually hungry. Then I realized that I last ate a full meal the day before at lunch and only coffee, juice, and a banana since. Wow.

I guess that one of the reasons why I did not pay much attention to my hunger was that I have a lot on my mind. Money is becoming a bit tight and I feel that I am fighting an uphill battle. My wife has 2 part time jobs (that total 20 hours a week) that she is quitting and with my pay cut in March and our scheduled debt payments running until June or so (not counting the house), I am beginning to stress out.

"El Gee, God will provide."

Yes he will, but he wants us to use good sense or his blessings will be minimal. I feel that we are not doing all we can. This has monopolized my thoughts the past week.

All in all I am thankful for what God has blessed us with. He has kept me employed in an industry with the same company for a long time with a minimal impact on pay (have only gained 10K in raises in 6+ years). He has kept me warm and dry, fed and clothed. He has blessed us with three very good, reliable vehicles and we have only about $7k in debt, not counting the house (that is car and credit card debt).

Yes He has been good and I am thankful. Now if he can only reduce my stress level :-) .