Say What?...and then my jaw dropped.

For those in a hurry...here is the abridged edition. (for a more comprehensive edition continue reading):
DH told me yesterday that he has been laid off of work effective the end of this month. He'll get 6 week severance pay.
Company downsizing.
YIKES!
Need advice on budgeting...and on sticking to a budget.
Did I already say YIKES?????


Here is the long winded version:
Yesterday, I got a call from DH. He said to me "You'll never guess what just happened." Mind you he said this with a quiet voice, not an excited enthuastic voice, so I knew that the ensuing dialogue was not going to be happy. However, what he proceeded to tell me left me with my mouth agape, and truly speechless. (which for me is quite a feat)

When I didn't bother taking a guess (after all he had just told me that I would never guess...so why bother) he went on to tell me that he had just been laid off of work. Not fired, laid off. While I understand that there is a distinction between the two (and for the purposed of explaining what happened to Elle and Sport, it is an important distinction) the results are the same. As of the end of this month, he will no longer be employed at his current job. They're giving him 6 weeks of severance pay, which I guess means in essence that he will continue to receive his paycheck for another 10 weeks. YIKES!

At this point in time DH is optimistic that he will be able to find another job before his paychecks run out. In fact the HR person at his place of employment asked him to bring in his resume and that she would work with him on any changes that need to be made to it. In addition, the HR person said that she will try to help him find a new job...possibly with the same company, in a different department.

I spoke with DH this afternoon and he has been very busy making phone calls and putting the word out that he is looking for a new job. I am glad, that for today a least, he believes that he will be able to get another job soon...and I hope that he is right. When we were first married, DH used to freelance. There were times that he would be on "hiatus" but know that he would have the same job back when the new season started. (During those breaks he was able to enjoy the time off, knowing that he had a job waiting for him) There were other times that the show that he was working on was cancelled...those breaks were filled with looking for work and stressing out that he'd never find another job. The stress level at those times was palpable.

Fortunately during the times that my DH was 'seasonal' we didn't have children, I worked full time plus I also had a private practice in the afternoons. Money was flowing quite freely during those times and his lack of income was just a blip on our radar.

Now we have two children, I work part time and while I am already taking on a full-time caseload, during my part-time hours (for extra money) the lack of DH's paycheck is a huge speed-bump on our radar. The thought of him not having a job (or a paycheck) is actually a huge, big deal on many level...the money level and his mental welfare (mine too).


I have lots of thoughts on this matter. I will save them for another post, once I am able to collect them and put them down to paper. In the meantime, I realize that I need to develop a budget, to prepare for a possibly worse case senario. Over the years I've developed many budgets...I'm just not sure how to stick to them. Food shopping/planning is the hardest for me...I just don't get how to make a shopping list (that would mean that I know what I want to make for dinner more than 5 minutes before I start cooking). Usually every afternoon finds me running to the store for whatever items I need for dinner that night. I realize that this is not at all time or cost efficient and with my DH's impending loss of income, it will not be a wise thing to continue to do.



Does anyone have any suggestions or helpful ideas...they would be greatly appreciated.

The Ballad...Part 3

Here is the ballad that Elle turned in...

Late at night when the moon is high
and the air is calm and still.
I hear a sound outside my window
Beyond the window sill.

Chorus:
I hear the storm that's coming
I can smell the smell of rain
I think before the morning sun
My world will fill with pain.

I open up my window
see a movement in the tree
I fear that something evil
Will be coming after me.

I hear the storm that's coming
I can smell the smell of rain
I think before the morning sun
My world will fill with pain.

A flash as quick as lightening
Bursts before my eyes
I try to call for help
But no one hears my cries.

I hear the storm that's coming
I can smell the smell of rain
I think before the morning sun
My world will fill with pain.

Appearing right before me
with eyes as black as coal.
A vampire stands, shows his fangs
and decides to take my soul.

I hear the storm that's coming
I can smell the smell of rain
I think before the morning sun
My world will fill with pain.

This is the ballad that Elle turned in...what do you think?

The Ballad...Part 2

As promised, here is ballad number 2. Elle did not turn this one in either.

Buzz goes my alarm clock
Monday morning, very early.
My ipod sounds out music
Mom will let me stay home, surely.

Chorus:
I don't want to go to school today.
Oh, please don't make me go.
I don't want to go to school
I think I'll pray for snow.

My father makes me breakfast
I don't think that I can eat.
I don't want to go to school today
Staying home would be a treat.

I don't want to go to school today.
Oh, please don't make me go.
I don't want to go to school
I think I'll pray for snow.

I think I have a fever
I'm sure my temperature is high.
My throat is sore and achy
My mother says "Nice try."

I don't want to go to school today.
Oh, please don't make me go.
I don't want to go to school
I think I'll pray for snow.

My excuses fell on deaf ears
I can't go back to bed
I'd rather be at Disneyland
But I'm stuck at school instead.

I don't want to go to school today.
Oh, please don't make me go.
I don't want to go to school
I think I'll pray for snow.

Fortunately Elle understands the futility of praying for snow, here in Southern California. Stay tuned for Ballad #3...the one that was turned in.

The Ballad...Part 1

As promised, here is the first ballad that Elle wrote. (Keep in mind that we were , excuse the pun, 'warming up')

Ode To A Cold Room

I wake up in the morning
With icicles in my hair.
I see my breath before me
All I can do is stare.

(Chorus)
Cold room
Turn on the heat
Cold room
Let me warm my feet

I sit up in my bed
My bones begin to ache.
I can't even feel my fingers
I don't know how much more I'll take.

(Chorus)
Cold room
Turn on the heat
Cold room
Let me warm my feet

My clothes are hard and solid
Stuck together with some ice.
I need a hammer and chisel
or some heat sure would be nice.

(chorus)
Cold room
Turn on the heat
Cold room
Let me warm my feet

I walk over to the heater
Flick the switch to on, and then.
My mom says the heaters broken,
and it will be fixed....but when?

(chorus)
Cold room
Turn on the heat
Cold room
Let me warm my feet

FYI... Elle did not turn in this ballad to the teacher. Coming soon...The Ballad...Part 2

Two Things

I was tagged for this Two Things meme by Patches over at Claw~less & Ball~less.

Two names you go by... Mommy and Lynn

Two things you are wearing right now...a sweater (it's cold here) and a silver bracelet.

Two things you would want (or have) in a relationship...Trust and and good sense of humor (thank goodness I have both)

Two of your favorite things to do... read a good book and go to Disneyland with my kids

Two things you want very badly at the moment...I don't think that badly is a word, so right now I want a damn dictionary and a massage

Two pets you have or have had...Amber (the good doggie) and Redd (the good, but now deceased kitty)

Two people you think will fill this out...Renee and Patti

Two things that you did last night...Made a lentil loaf for dinner and read my book.

Two things you ate today...Acorn squash...leftover lentil loaf.

Two people you last talked to...DH and my mom

Two things you're doing tomorrow...going to work and taking Sport to basketball practice (unless it's raining, in which case I will just take him to for a piano lesson)

Two longest car rides...When Elle was an infant, it too us eight (8) hours to drive 300 miles to Mammoth Mountain, California and driving from New York to California (via the southern route...of course we didn't do this in one day:~)

Two favorite holidays...Halloween and um... I can't choose just two.

Two favorite beverages... water and water

Two people no longer alive who you'd like to talk to - My dad and my grandma and my grandpa (fine so that was three...so sue me:~)

The semester ends tomorrow...I'm hoping to post the ballads sometime this weekend:~)

A Groaner

In honor of Ralph, who was very creative in his last response to my Disneyland post...Here's a really clever groaner for you. I wish that I could say that I was clever enough to have created it, but I wasn't.

A thief in Paris planned to steal some paintings from the Louvre. After careful planning, he got past security, stole the paintings and made it safely to his van. However, he was captured only two blocks away when his van ran out of gas. When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then make such an obvious error, he replied, "Monsier that is the reason I stole the paintings. I had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh."

See if you have De Gaulle to tell this to someone... I posted it here because I figured I had nothing Toulouse.

Still waiting for the ballads grade...

Ode To A Ballad

Last week, Elle had an assignment in her Language Arts class. The assignment was to write a 4 verse ballad and include a chorus. Elle, asked me if I would help her write it... and since she rarely asks me for my help, I was glad to oblige.

I asked Elle what subject she wanted to write this ballad about. She suggested writing one about her ice cold bedroom (her room is always freezing which is great in the summer, but not so great in the winter). After we wrote that ballad Elle said that she had so much fun writing the first one, and that she wanted to write a second ballad, about school. Finally Elle stated that she decided that she wanted three ballads to choose from and that she wanted to have the third ballad be about a vampire. (she had just finished reading two books about vampires).

After all three ballads were written, Elle chose the darkest of the three (the one about the vampire). I am expecting a call anyday now from the school counselor, telling me that she is concerned about Elle's mental welfare... that should be a fun conversation.

(I will post the three ballads, just as soon as Elle gets her grade. I wouldn't want her teacher to google Elle's ballad and find my blog...I don't know if that would actually happen, but I don't want to take any chances)