Monday, Hubby gets a raise!

     Hubby received about a 6% raise.  He was only supposed to get 2%, but he has been with the State so long and he was not up to the 75% scale so they had to raise him up to 75% and then give him the 2%.  It equals out to about $1.10 and hour, which will just cover our medical savings.  So we will not be getting less money in July like I thought.  I would really like to save this raise, but I am afraid to get  his paychecks so low and then get into trouble.  It takes one of his checks and the cleaning check to pay the house payment.  We really have to live on one set of checks a month.  All the other bills come out later.  So our budget is pretty lean.  Anything extra and all gas and groceries come from me.  I don't always like the pressure.   But I am grateful for his benefits and his retirement.


     Yippee!  This is the last week of normal classes at the studio, then I have the summer off.  Well not really but I don't have to be at the studio every single night.   Summers go by too quickly but I do miss the students by the end of August and I am happy to see them when they get back.

     Friday night I baby sat three little dance students, whose parents were opening two different shows in the valley.  They were so fun and cute.  I took them out to jump on the tramp and they asked, " Where are your little girls?"  I think they expected the girls to be home.  I said, "My little girls are all grown up and don't live here any more."  They could not quite wrap their heads around that.  The oldest one is 8 and she didn't think they would ever leave home.  But I can blink my eye and  see all three of my girls jumping on the tramp together!

     We worked so hard in the yard on Saturday.  I started at 8 a.m. and worked until Hubby made me stop at 3:30.  I was mad because I wanted to finish around the deck and get the wave petunias planted out front.  Well I can hardly move.   Yesterday it hurt to get in and out of the car, sit and stand.  My leg and butt muscles are so sore from squatting.   I am sure glad he talked me into quitting when I did.  But I was able weed all around the garden, clean out the pond area, get all the flower boxes dumped in the garden and fresh soil put in.  I have about 40 boxes I plant every year.  Yes I am the Queen of excess when it comes to flowers and gardens.

     Life is so expensive.  I did spend one of my gift certificates.  I still have two more.  But boy did we spend money this weekend.  I don't think I will be able to put anything away this week because, I spent too much.  Last year we were laughing because when we were raking the 100 (yes 100) bags of leaves up our rakes were not working right.  We had worn the tines right off and had to buy new rakes.  Well our pond skimmer was broken in half, our narrow shrub rake was all bent and broken.  All of my hand tools were rusted, slivery handled and one actually broke in half when I was weeding.  Why does everything break at once?  Our fertilizer spreader would not work either and Hubby broke the rope on the lawn mower.  We replaced all the hand tools, but have yet to replace the spreader or get the lawn mower fixed.  I also bought new table cloths for the deck.  (Kay can you come and burn a hole in one please?)

(Side note to Sissie)
     Also the under wire in my unmentionables is coming out.  I had to replace the underwear.  Sissie these were the ones I stole from you a few years ago, would you mind replacing them?


Out My Window:  I am trying to do a little yard work every day for the next two weeks, so I can get all the flower beds done.  We had a large Ponderosa pine fall over into the alley easement behind the house, thank goodness it didn't hit anything.  We cut it up with a chain saw and it is now in the wood pile.  We rarely use the fireplaces or fire pit, but the neighbors help them selves to our wood pile which never seems to grow smaller,something is always falling over!

     Well youngest is here and the baby elephant needs my attention.  I also need to get busy in the shop.

Have a great and productive day!
Kim