Although we are now entering day two of unemployment, we aren’t crying in our milk or anything. It seems word is spreading to more and more people and everyone is really worried about how we are doing.

On Friday when we were broadsided at the end of the night it was bad times but over the weekend we did much discussing, brainstorming and networking. It’s not “all coming up roses” around here but it not “doom and gloom” either.

Things are uncertain and we don’t have much time to get another gig going but there are several good things that have already come out of all this.

Remember that vacation we were bummed to skip out on when I served up a whopping shitcake to you all? Well now we are enjoying unemployment an extended staycation. Yep, all three of us are home and free to do whatever the heck we want, for the next two months or until new employment comes along.

Remember that life’s priorities talk I shared with ya? Well N’s number one priority was to find a job that makes him happy. When we made the priorities lists we were thinking the job hunt would begin in a year or more… That meant sticking it out in the meantime and dreaming of the future possibilities… Funny how life works huh? Now he gets to go right to the possibilities and skip the dreaming and sticking it out. That is good right?

Other good things include me getting some help and backup in my parenting and homemaking duties. Shoot, I might even have more time and focus for writing on here now! Also, Everly will be getting more time with both her parents and not just her exhausted mommy.

We were joking about another one of our priorities on those lists we drafted. N’s work buddies jokingly call it “OTG” (off the grid), we’ll get to put our sustainable and frugal living to the real test. Can we really sustain ourselves using what resources we already have? You know the giant garden, the stockpiled pantry goods and all that…

On my priority list I was also questioning whether or not I would be able to lead a healthy, sustainable lifestyle when convenience and finances made it difficult. This is our test…

It’s like two weeks ago we drafted this list of life tests that not only related to everything we desired but now it ties those desires with the path we must take to achieve those things. Is that magical or what?

So now we focus on the immediate tasks ahead. Brainstorming job possibilities, keeping a open, positive frame of mind, putting ourselves out there in search of leads, enjoying the beauty of the days ahead, marveling in the apparent destiny of it all and trusting that things will work out just the way they are meant to.

I have got to admit, I envy those of you living outside the US sometimes. Today I am just not loving our consumer driven corporate America. There are just too many greedy people out there looking to use one another to get ahead in life, this leaves the rest of us going without and struggling.

Do any of you ever stop to think of the massive divide between incomes these days? Many are making millions annually and I even read that “the United States has one of the highest levels of income inequality“. I don’t doubt it for one second! (want to see it on a graph?)

I was just wondering how many Americans earn at least a 6 figure income and how that would compare to the rest of the population. I couldn’t find any statistics but I am sure it is just sickening, it reminds me of a blog post I just read about life and working.

Do you work to make a living or do you work to build a life for yourself? Think about the question for a moment and try to see the various meanings behind it. Sorry, I don’t mean to give you a brain overload this early in the morning, I am just on a roll.

Those working to make a living are often only working to get by, most of their waking hours are spent on the job and sadly there isn’t much time for enjoying life. N and I have been in this category for a long time now. It is an exhausting state to be in and knowing that you spend all your time at a job that only just covers the bills is demoralizing for anyone.

Working to build a life for yourself is the opposite of working to make a living. When you are making a life for yourself you get to enjoy the little moments and focus on the day to day joys. Your time is spent focusing on the important things in life, family, home etc. Many stay at home moms find themselves in this category while their men are in the other category.

Maybe I am just dreaming here but shouldn’t it be easier to provide for your family and also enjoy the moments in life? Why aren’t more people concerned about this? Working 50-60 hour work weeks for measly pay is not that fair, especially when so many other people are making so much more money for less work.

I guess I am just rambling on here but the income inequality in the US just strikes a nerve for me. Maybe it is because of our financial dealings right now. Oh, I guess I should update you…

The mechanic confirmed that our engine was shot, a new one would cost 5-6 thousand and a used engine would cost 3-4 thousand. We havn’t made a decision about what we want to do yet.

Also, Evansville offered N the job and sent over a potential contract for us to look over. It it is for oh, about half of what the job opening salary was posted as, which means they offered him about $2000 more than what he is already making here. This is disappointing news for us. They will only cover $1500 in moving expenses (which will come out to about $3000) and we don’t really know if a $2000 raise and a lower cost of living are incentive enough to pick up and move 1500 miles away.

In general we are just tired of the contract negotiations, they limit and impact other decisions we make about our life. Plus every time we enter negotiations we find we are just being low balled and taken advantage of, you know so the company can save money or whatever… Too bad the companies never kick back any of their fortune to the little guys, it would sure help us live better.

I have gotten the majority of my big holiday shopping out of the way prior to thanksgiving this year. Yay for me! I try to do this every year and am not always successful, this year I pulled it off though!

Oh, by the way of you still need to do holiday shopping consider doing it from the comfort of your own home! I did all my shopping online and will only be visiting a store or two between now and Christmas. You can even start your “black friday” shopping from home now! Visit your favorite stores on 12am on black friday and get the deals without having to wait in line outside those stores in the wee hours of the morning- unless you really love the chaos of black friday shopping… I didn’t think so!

Okay, back to the topic of the post! So, while I was perusing catalogs looking for more gift ideas I came across some stuff that amused me. I am not sure if your gift recipients would appreciate these gifts as much as I would but I thought it would be interesting to share them with you!

The first one appeals to my cow obsession. I have a cow themed kitchen and I just basically collect and love everything cow.

Anyway, it’s available over at Wireless for $26.95, the cow one is my favorite and it’s just an awesome idea if you ask me! Do you get it? Cow Pie!! He he.. If you want to get it for me you can by following this link.

The next thing I found was in the Signals catalog. It’s perfectly inspirational and totally something that would be special and meaningful to me. It’s a sterling silver perseverance cuff bracelet that is hand -etched. It’s absolutely adorable! Available for $79.95 and it’s the perfect inspirational reminder for any woman (in my opinion). You can get this product by clicking here!

A few years back I found a hilarious gift… It was a dvd rewinder! Yes, someone actually manufactured the product and oh what a great gag gift it was! Are you wanting any unique gifts this year or have you found a funny gift you want to share? Tell us about it!

I am addicted to digital photography! I take way to many photos and even had to buy an external hard drive to store all my photos! I am hoping for a new digital camera or camcorder this holiday season.

I specifically need a digital camera that allows me to change the lens for different types of photos. I really want to be able to shoot macro shots and other close ups on things. I already have a digital camera and I take many photos of the pets and of the garden. It’s nice to be able to capture those special moments! Like this one where my brother is wearing my mom’s sweater (because he is cold) while he is watching me get my first tattoo that my other brother was giving me.

I found another photo that made me laugh so hard when I looked at it. This one is also during the tattoo process.. I was drinking Southern Comfort directly from the bottle a bit and looked very silly, I am wearing mom’s sweater now! It was cold and I was a drunkard.

My tattoo was supposed to be a small star (all us siblings were going to have stars tattooed on us) but the needle broke during the tattoo process. Here is what my finished tattoo looks like, it is a line not a star.

I always take the memorable photos and make a photo collage or a scrapbooking page to give as a gift to those who were in the photo. Memories are great gifts especially when you capture priceless ones! My current digital camera is great and it has captured many fun photos and movies but I am ready for an upgrade maybe a digital SLR camera with some lenses or a nice camcorder that can hook up to the computer! Wink wink…

Here are some videos from the weekend! A video of a chicken pecking my butt at the ranch the day before I got my tattoo and a video of my brother tatooing himself… Enjoy!

I hate shoe shopping! I am too picky I guess and I can never seem to find shoes that are exactly what I need. I like them to look nice and feel nice in addition to serving their purpose for whatever occasion. I am on my feet for long hours and often times I need a presentable pair of shoes that comfortable, warm, supportive and so on.

I found these clogs I really like over at Dansko they are the black Corinne womens clog. They are slip on (which I love) because they are clogs and they seem pretty sturdy and solid but supportive. This is a hint for all my family members who need gift ideas ;-p

I also managed to find some holiday gift ideas at the site that I wont post here because that will give it away to the recipient! You can get free shipping on orders over $100 and there are so many brands to browse! If you have shoes on your holiday shopping list you may want to head over to the site and take a look! Check out Dansko shoes, you will be surprised at how much you will find!