I'm back! I think... no, I am :-p

This will actually be the first of two posts today. The second will be about restarting Twinstock :-) But, I have to first apologize for being MIA lately. I'll try not to make this TOO long of a story, since I'd rather get onto the fun stuff :-) But, to explain my absence...

I've mentioned this here before, but my family's been going through a difficult time. My husband Dave lost his job... in mid-November of last year. He did get a decent severance package (full pay/benefits through the end of last year). We cashed out his 401K, paid off bills... so for awhile we were doing OK. We never thought in a million years, though, that he would STILL be out of work.

Dave has worked continuously since the age of 14. He's had a number of different jobs (most recently in tech support, specifically the supervisory/managerial aspect)... and he has NEVER had this hard of a time finding work. And, it seems to only be getting harder, the longer he's out of work... probably because there is now this giant gap in his work history.

Of course, like many who are dealing with unemployment (which, unfortunately, is quite common nowadays), the problems go beyond just financial. That is a big part of it :-p We've been without health insurance... and, while I do still bring in some money with my web work, Dave finally had to file for unemployment a couple of months ago. That did help a little, but it's still only a fraction of what he was bringing in, so I've also had to borrow (way too much) money from my parents (who have been nice enough to do so, with no specific timeline for payback). I've had to let certain credit cards go into default... all of which in order to make sure the most important monthly bills get paid (rent, utilities, car, food, etc)...

Of course, this has also taken an emotional toll, on both me and my husband. I'll admit, I've felt at the my wit's end lately. Having everybody home all the time... well, I love my family, but working from home in what feels like constant chaos... :-p

Which also includes my 17 and 19 year old stepkids. My 17yo stepdaughter just started 12th grade... my 19yo stepson still won't get anything more than a part time job, despite my constant nagging :-p It's also a constant battle to get them to do even the simplest of chores... which also led to more stress, when they decided to call their Mother and complain to her about how we make them do things like wash dishes and watch the girls (like, if I want to take a shower or something frivolous like that :-p) So, she calls and creates a ruckus, threatening to call child protective services, etc, etc. She, of course, did this from NJ (we live in MD)... where, she has never paid any kind of child support, doesn't come see them, refuses to even have them come visit, even if we deliver them to her, since she claims that she doesn't have enough room, money to feed them, etc... basically, she's just a phone/Facebook buddy to them... but one who still knows how to stir things up, unfortunately :-(

That aside, though... in general, I just keep feeling like, if I just think hard enough, I can find the perfect solution to our problems. But, as yet, that perfect solution has eluded me :-p Honestly, I just haven't been in a great place lately.

The girls have finally started back to school, though... they just started full-time kindergarten! Which took some adjustment time, as well, but I think we're pretty settled into a routine now. Also, we finally decided that Dave should look for volunteer work. While it wouldn't help immediately, in the financial department, we think it's a good idea because, it would get him out of the house and doing something (which would be good for him emotionally)... and might even look good on his resume/lead to actual paid employment.

So, we are fighting our way back... it's just been a hard road lately. And, I kind of let a lot of things slide lately, especially things like TwinHappy and Twinstock. Which I hate, because these things are important to me!

Again, I am fighting my way back here, though! I've decided to simply extend Twinstock until the end of this month. And, I'm going to try and get back to at least doing my weekly TwinTuesday posts...

So, sorry for the novel here... as it is, I'm glossing over a lot of things :-p But, wanted to at least generally explain what has been going on... I am so sorry again, though, for letting certain things slide (I know owe a few people some e-mails!). But for now, will try to just get back in the saddle here... beginning with writing my "Happy Twinstock Thursday" post (look for that shortly)! :-D