What a difference 24 hours can make!
After a self-induced restless night, I made it through yesterday. It was no surprise that I felt tired most of the day, but only getting a few hours of sleep does that to a person. Despite my lack of sleep, the day turned out okay. While not my usual type of post, I’d say that blogging away my stress was indeed therapeutic. I feel it helped me identify what was stressing me out, at which point I could then do something about it. And I did!
I was out the door a little after 7:00 to bring our vehicle in for service. Our mechanic ran a complete diagnostic, and as he suspected, the car had a faulty timing solenoid. There are two and have something to do with the oil flow. Can you tell that I have zero interest in anything mechanical? While only one was triggering the code, when one goes bad, the other one is likely to follow. Given that, it is more cost-effective to replace both at the same time. The car also is due for an oil change, and there is a bulb out so we will get all that taken care of at once. Total price $415, but I do have a $30 coupon to help offset it. I’ll schedule the repair once they get the parts.
As for my oversight on two bills, for now, I’ll pay one from savings. Our road dues don’t have a set pay by date, so I’ll take care of that in January. If we can somehow swing it before then, all the better.
After reviewing our finances a bit more, I need to remind myself of a few things. Hubs and I both get holiday pay; I also receive a small annual bonus in December, and I have an increase in my hours. Another thing is we noticed that Hubs had been shorted on his last paycheck. Money will still be tight, but we should still be okay.
The house still needs a good cleaning, but I did take care of the dirty dishes. I started my day by putting sheets in the wash and doing a little tidying up. Amazing what even a 20-minute “sweep” of the house will do. I function so much better when the house is picked up.
It’s a new day, and I have a list of things to tackle. Hope everyone has a great day!
Glad things are rolling along better after having that restless night! I function better when the house is tidier, too. And my daughter, when she was a teen, used to clean her room before she studied because she said being in neat surroundings helped her study better. Now you’ve got me curious. I’m going to dig into it and see if it’s a universal thing with the human brain.
A teen who cleaned her room? You were truly blessed! I’d be curious what you find out regarding if this is a universal thing with the human brain. Interesting.
I finally found a study about visual clutter and the brain. It took me a couple of reads through to understand it, but it seems they’re saying clutter does mess with your thinking and ability to mentally work through things, but you can have stuff around you that’s organized and it won’t have such a detrimental effect. The study is here: http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/2/587#sec-14.
I am that way too – I have to clean up a bit before I start anything. Mainly in the kitchen though – I will not cook unless the kitchen is clean! LOL I am sorry you had a rough night. I know exactly how that goes. You did wonderful by getting up and getting it done. Sometimes, when I have a particularly rough night, I do all those little things – laundry, mail off a letter. Then I end up tying up 20 or so loose ends and the world looks so much brighter!
You have a good plan moving forward.
Usually, I keep a super tidy house. Having it messy drives me crazy! I am also a person who starts with doing one thing and then ends up doing 20 more!
A bad sleep night usually leaves me very cranky the next day. I’m glad you are feeling better. Speaking of a sink full of dishes….off to clean up mine!
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I’m sure my hubby would say I also was a bit cranky for the lack of sleep!
Rotten sleep when you are stressed does no one good. I wish I had the time to sweep my house, it is getting ugly here. Keep your chin up.
At our age, sleep is more important than ever! I’d gladly come help you sweep your house if I lived closer!
I’m glad you are feeling better and more positive! I also function better when my workspace is organized and clean.
Thanks, Michelle. How anyone functions in a messy space is beyond me.
Hang in there Lucy, I am glad you were better after your sleepless night, I hope it helped to blog about it. You guys have come so far this year, just think where you would be if you hadn’t started your debt free journey.
Thanks, Chris. I always appreciate your encouraging words. Yes, it did help to blog about it!
I swear we are “sistahs from another mutha”. I also cannot function in clutter, move from one project to another but I figure in the end if they all get done, I am good.
Good news! hubs has work starting on Monday in Aspen which is 4 hours away so he will stay there, leaving home on Sunday afternoon and returning Friday by dinner, so I get the best of both worlds …my alone time in the evenings and together time on the weekends.
First paycheck will come just as I am draining the last of the savings
Glad I’m not the only one! The chaos of clutter drives me bonkers!
That is such great news about your hubby going back to work! I cannot even begin to imagine the stress this must have put you under. Fantastic to start getting those checks again! Snoopy dance time!