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June 19, 2008
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions regarding our life.
Q: Has Brian gotten a job, yet?
A: No. When Brian gets a job, we will be so happy that we'll tell the entire world.
Q: Why doesn't Brian just get a temporary job until a "real" job comes along?
A: There are a couple of reasons for this. One is, most places where this sort of low-pay job is normally available-Wal-Mart, Meijers, Home Depot, Lowes etc-simply aren't hiring right now. In fact, they have laid off workers. But the main reason is that our son is only four years old, and would require day care if both of his parents were working. Day care costs between $200-$240/week in the area in which we live. So if Brian gives up unemployment to take a low-pay service job, if one were available, we will be worse off financially than we are now. Right now, Brian is essentially paid to watch Derek during the day. If Brian did get a low-pay job, almost all of the money he earned would go towards day care expenses, meaning Brian would have almost no income. Plus, Derek would no longer qualify for state-subsidized health insurance. Not only would Brian and I still not have health insurance, but Derek would lose his, too.
Posted by Jessica at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)
June 10, 2008
New Julip joins the herd, and Derek gets a bike!
This is an older Julip palomino Arab Stallion, it dates to the late 70's or early 80's.
I received it from my friend Mel, who lives in Indiana. I bought it from her with some money I received from selling some of my other Julips (just a few that weren't my favorites.)
I figured that I needed something positive to write about, and Julips are pretty pleasant things for me to talk about.
I was happy that I could add to my collection while helping fellow collectors add to theirs. Voila! We are all happy!
(With the Julip trade I arranged I was also able to work out a deal where another Julip and two Magpies will be joining my little stable.)
Mel sent me this photo of the palomino Arab so that I could post it, she knows my digital camera is kaput. Thanks, Mel!
In other news, Derek needed a new bike. He had outgrown his tricycle, his knees were banging on the handlebars. So the search was on! We checked in stores, but the little toddler-sized bikes were very costly (around $100), so we gave that idea up very quickly. I then advertised on my Yahoo Garage Sale Group for my area that I wanted a toddler boy's bike with training wheels. A woman was very kind and said she had one in her garage sale and would hold it for me. The best part was that it cost only $3! It was in almost brand-new condition. It needed a small tire repair, which Brian was happy to do. That cost about $5. So Derek got an almost brand-new bike for only $7! It is bright yellow with black accents and has flame decals all over it as if it would like to blast off into outer space! Derek is very proud of it and loves to ride it. I wish I had a photo to share with everybody!
Posted by Jessica at 09:58 AM | Comments (0)