So... Off we go.
We moved a few months ago into a larger square footage house with less storage space and a smaller kitchen-dining room-living room. More bedrooms, a huge master bedroom and a big ole family room take up all the extra space given up by the living areas. Lots to do in the house to fix it up and then sell it and move on: some electrical, some plumbing, some landscaping, some cabinetry. We replaced the garage door opener and some master bathroom plumbing already.
Katy has cut way back on her hours in the office, mostly because she spends so much time working with Brennan and preparing to work with Brennan that she doesn't have the time to spend in the office or on work-related tasks. Katy feels like I haven't really been a consistent source of support, and so she's had to pick up the slack, and so she's performed poorly, and so they're referring fewer patients to her. Regardless of accuracy or completeness of that feeling, she is receiving fewer referrals and has reduced her hours.
Brennan was diagnosed some time ago with high-functioning autism. Katy has been going gangbusters with therapy for him. It's called RDI (www.rdiconnect.com), and has been helping him in a way that is impossible to describe. Frequently (more frequently than in the past) we can't point to autistic behaviors or characteristics, and we often can readily identify behaviors that are less intense than even three months ago.
Maura is talking so well and so much that it's like she's two going on eight. Very precocious little girl, very bright. She gets jokes! She'll say, for example, while handing me her coat to help her put it on "Daddy, can you put on my coat?" I'll jokingly reply, "I can't: It's too small for me." She'll laugh and say, "No, put it on me!" Then she turns to Brennan and says, "Daddy and I were playing a game." Amazing.
Working hard at Best Buy (actually employed by Accenture, but assigned to the Best Buy account and working at the Best Buy headquarters campus in Richfield MN). Not really enjoying it, but it's better than begging, I suppose. Guess I'd much rather act. Lots of folks tell me I do a good job on the stage (course, they're all actors too, so I suppose they know that we all need accolades). Katy has said she thinks we should do more to market me -- there's an agency in town called N.U.T.S. (Non-Union Talent Search). They got me some auditions in the past, but nothing ever panned out. They didn't do much to assist with preparation. There are other agencies, but I've not really signed with them, so even when I go to their locations for auditions, my guess is they'll do their best to place their own actors before they place anyone else's talent.
Maybe I should follow up with NUTS to see if my agreement with them is still in effect. If not, maybe I should sign with another agency. I haven't heard from anyone at NUTS for years.....
I did audition for a stage presentation a couple years ago and was cast in the lead, but then had to withdraw because of adopting Maura. Well, that and the fact that the salary they said they'd be paying me was not going to come any time soon.
We (Katy and I) have been attending a financial management class at a church in Apple Valley. The class is called Financial Peace University, from Dave Ramsey (www.daveramsey.com). Very intense focus on getting out of and staying out of debt, and eliminating credit cards altogether, and going on a strictly cash basis. We've always had debt, some times more than others. Right now in addition to the mortgage, we have a 2nd mortgage (home equity line of credit), and a credit card. About $215,000 in debt altogether (the mortgage is about $190,000). Too much, by nearly any measure, so we have felt strongly that we have to make some drastic changes. Like, living on a budget, for one thing. (Yes, that's drastic for us. How do you think we got so far into debt?)
Well, it's time to close this entry. Don't want to spill my guts completely all at once. Believe me: I'd really like to make this consistent. It's therapeutic, if nothing else.
Blessings
