if you can't see the bright side of life, polish the dull side
Is there anyone in the world who is surprised that the “marriage” between Britney and Kevin would (gasp!) last? Granted, it lasted longer than the 56 hours her first marriage lasted. Her soon to be ex is hawking a “video” he made of their honeymoon and she’s concerned it will “tarnish” her good girl image. What!?! She has a good girl image? Are you serious?
I don’t follow pop culture any longer and really have no interest in this girl, except for the fact that my friend Angie and I were discussing the lack of commitment a lot of couples have today in their marriages. It is too easy for people to just discard their vows like yesterdays news (which is where Britney Spears came into the conversation).
Now, to be fair, I think the a large portion of the problem stems from the fact that people begin with the end in mind. Meaning, they are already thinking, “If this doesn’t work out, then I can always get a divorce”…why would you even get married if that was your mindset?!?! Our society has made it so easy for people to get divorces that very few American kids know what it’s like anymore to have parents that stay together forever, or at least until one of them dies (and I’m not talking about from boredom). Before I get a ton of hate mail, I am divorced. I was married at a young age and it was a huge mistake, because I wasn’t ready mentally or spiritually to make the decision to commit my life to something like that.
People are sold this fantasy of what marriage is…they must think it’s easy. When my husband and I got married, it was in front of a JP. He was very to the point – “You know this isn’t going to be easy, right? You have discussed your views on sex, kids, money, parenting and other important issues, right? Because if you haven’t, I’m not going to marry you today. I’m not going to have another statistic in my courtroom…I don’t want to see you two walking in here in ten years to undo what you’ve done up today. It’s not always going to be fun – you know that too, right? You, sir, understand that there will ALWAYS be women more beautiful? You understand that if I marry you, you must take it seriously – it’s a covenant with God Almighty (yes, he really said that) and you are not only beholden to each other, but to God as well?”
Recently, I had the thought that most people ought to have marriage licenses that work like their driver’s licenses. They have to renew them every 8 years or so. It would drastically reduce the amount of divorces we see, don’tcha think? Or, if they want a new partner, all they have to do is go down to the courthouse and apply for one, stating they “lost” their old one, pay a small fee, and it’s over and done with and they don’t have to think about it for another 8 years. On second thought, that might be too long…
So I don’t think I’ve actually written anything that’s really been happening in my life in…oh, I don’t know….two FOREVERS!
So to catch everyone up:
1. We have not been doing what we KNOW to do in our business to succeed so my hubby can quit his job and go full time – so we have had to take a HARD look at ourselves and make some really serious decisions. We have recommitted ourselves to our goals (we’ve just had to push them out a little) and have now stepped it up so we can achieve success.
2. Our business mentor (who is worth oh…50 million or so) has taken all of our vital info and is going to help us formulate our business plan so we can take a quantum leap and get our business past the next level. We are very excited and humbled that he would take an interest in us and do this with us.
3. In the midst of all of this, I have gained 10 lbs!!! I am also “late” by two weeks. As is this isn’t enough, I had a tubal ligation after I had my daughter 2 years ago. I must say, I am afraid to get the test in case it’s positive…eek. Every time one of my friends has another child, I think, “Ooooh…wish I wouldn’t have had the tubal…” But now faced with the fact that my wish might be coming true…well, all I can say is that a it would be a VERY UNEXPECTED blessing. :o)
4. The fan on our heater shorted out last week, causing an electrical meltdown in the circuit panel. Fortunately, we had just arrived home and my husband smelled the smoke. I checked the breakers and saw the smoke curling out from behind the panel, opened the box and shut off the breaker to the furnace, since I figured that is what it was. Of course, then, we had to call in the Fire Dept because there was NO way we were getting any sleep until we were sure we weren’t going to have a fire break out in the middle of the night. The LEVFD (LE Volunteer Fire Dept) came and gave us a clean bill of health (so to speak) and said to have it looked at next week. The man even pulled out the offending 60 amp breaker and showed us where it was melted and he disconnected it from the box, pushing the wires back into the panel box (apparently, he was worried we might try to mess with them?) At any rate, a man from our church came and took the fan housing and repaired it and is now back installing it. Maybe when it turns cold in the next few weeks, we’ll have heat. If not, we DO have some kerosene space heaters we could use…I just dislike the smell of them.
5. School is truly testing my limits as a sane human being. Katie has decided she cannot spell even the simplest of words (is there some sort of disconnect switch in there???) and consequently, I am spending more time having her correct her spelling on everyday things than almost anything else. Of course, as a homeschooling mom, I feel like I am failing her, but I truly think it’s just a speed bump in the road of homeschooling life.
6. On a brighter note, Katie has discovered that she likes to write poety. Unfortunately, she likes to COPY the work of others…sigh. She has a way to go, but didn’t we ALL at the tender age of 9??? I have, however discussed with her the importance of originality…it’s okay to pattern yourself after the greats, but it is NOT okay to copy them – that’s called plaguerizing and it’s THEFT. Thankfully, she has never tried to pass the work of others off as her own, but she like to COPY it onto a piece of paper and not give due credit. Which, to me…is only a step away from theft…so anyways…
7. So a couple of days ago, I listed our last month expenses and last month bring home and you are just NEVER going to believe what I discovered. We spent EXACTLY as much as we brought home…hmm. It either means that we are great at budgeting, or we need to take another look at some things. My fear is the latter. :oD
So there you go. An update on our current situation as of Friday, November 10th at 5:12 p.m. We now return to our regularly scheduled blog of mindless drivel…
