You Can't Always Get What You Want

...but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."

I wasn't sure how to address this, so I didn't say anything for a while. But now you will all know.

Art got laid off from his full-time job at the resort three weeks ago, right before American Thanksgiving (which is also right before his birthday). I won't get into the details, you can read about it on his blog here and here. A word of "warning": his blog is about fitness and healthy living, so you'll have to bypass that before you get to the story. :D

Thankfully, he got himself a part-time job right around that time, and it's with a CrossFit gym. So even though he's only working a few hours a week, he's doing what he loves. We may be struggling to keep our chins above water, but he is happier now than he's been in a long time.

Before he was laid off, I had been praying to God for a miracle, because we were struggling financially then already. I gotta tell you, this isn't the answer I expected. It seems like the opposite of a miracle. But God is using this to really stretch my faith and trust in Him.

And, as if this wasn't enough, Art's car broke down a week before Thanksgiving. It's been in the shop ever since, and for some reason, that mechanic hasn't even touched it. So Art was using his brother's car. And then THAT car broke down yesterday. Seriously God. What is this, Job Round Two? (I'm kidding. Things are not nearly that bad. Moving on.)

So, needless to say, this Christmas will the most meager one either of us have ever experienced. At the same time, the Reason for the Season has never been so clear. (And it certainly should be. We don't have lots of gifts and fancy decorations to get in the way! Not that there's anything wrong with gifts and Christmas decorations. I'm just saying).

I hope you know that I'm not bitter, or asking for pity and sympathy. This isn't a sob story. I haven't had much time to complain or feel sorry for myself.

Already, we've got several avenues of income until Art can get another job, which he is trying very hard to do. He can get unemployment, he has his 401K from his job, I still have some savings left. And he has his part-time job, which is paying pretty good for being part-time. His parents were very generous with their birthday gift to him. We have more than enough to pay rent and bills this month, and I think we'll have enough for January by the time it gets here.

Hopefully by then, he'll have a second job. But even if he doesn't, God will take care of us. Somehow, we'll make it.

Lemon Epipahnes

I had an epiphany just a few minutes ago. I'm watching You've Got Mail on TV, Art just made dinner (which I am always thankful for) and I just had an epiphany.

I don't like lemon. At all.

Art made spaghetti and lemon chicken for dinner today, and I'm glad he did. The spaghetti was excellent. And I'm sure the chicken was good. But I don't like lemon.

How this never occurred to me before, I have no idea.

I don't like lemon water. I've known that for a long time. I don't like lemon in any of my drinks, and I've known that for a long time. No lemon tea for me, thanks.

Once, my dad made a lemony pasta. And I hated it. It was so hard to eat, I'm pretty sure I didn't manage more than a few bites.

And tonight. Art told me to finish my chicken, and I told him I just couldn't! Because I don't like lemon!

Okay, so there is the exception of lemon meringue pie. But I've been racking my brain, and I'm pretty sure that's the only one.

So there you have it. I just found out that I truly don't like lemon, and you just found out too.

Odds 'N Ends

In no particular order, here are some things of note in my life:

- Art put up our Christmas tree. It's three feet tall, and comes with lights. I might buy a few tiny decorations for it. I'm so glad we have a Christmas tree, even if it's so small.

- Our church handed out advent calendars to everyone on Sunday. I like my church a lot. :D

- My Bible study is almost done. Today is our last session. I'm excited (because Beth Moore is so amazing), but I'm also sad, because it was so amazing I don't want it to end!

- I still have a cold, and as of yesterday, I am 100% convinced I have bronchitis. I'm coughing non-stop, and I began wheezing yesterday. Thankfully, there's a large health food store in Bellingham, and they have some nice, natural remedies for these kinds of things (thanks Steve M. for the links). We went to Bellingham last night, and I picked up some natural cough syrup, Elderberry flavor. That stuff tastes so good!! Don't worry, I'm not chugging it. But I've taken it a few times now, and I'm hoping I'll start to see a difference soon.

- I slept without Nyquil last night for the first time in a week! I don't really go for cold medicines, but if I didn't take Nyquil, I would just cough all night, and keep Art up. But last night I didn't need to. Enough talk of colds and stuff. I'm sure you're all dealing with it too. It is "that time" of year.

- We are doing a Secret Santa gift exchange with our friends. It's nice to know that we won't have to buy lots of gifts, because we can't afford it. Man, what I wouldn't do to be earning some money right now.

- Art and I went to Canada last night to see a movie, as a belated birthday celebration. I had a gift card for the cinemas. We saw the new Bond movie. I heard some people say that they didn't like it that much, but I thought it was good. It had a lot of action, and some necessary character development. So Dad, if you haven't seen it yet, go watch it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Um, I think that's all the breaking news I have for now. There won't be anymore all-photos posts for a while. I have a few in-the-making, but they're not done. (Ya'll remember what a hassle it is, right?) Someone suggested I get a little device that I can put my memory card in, and then connect it to any computer, and that way I can skip the whole "old-laptop-doesn't-recognize-my-new-camera" frustration. The only problem is, my memory card isn't removable. So there goes that idea.

Anyway, I hope you are all having a great first week of December!