That’s why I haven’t been around here. I’ve been over there.

So, since you saw me last, I’ve quit my job, finished off another 8-week term at school (with two “A”s and an ongoing class), and started to settle into unemployment. That’s the main thing I’ve been doing, really. Being unemployed.

The benefit to giving a really long notice is that I had all kinds of time to transition into this new phase. Prior to this, I’d only been jobless for one month of my adult life, and I was ridiculously miserable; but it looks like four and a half years of reorienting myself toward “significance” as opposed to “success” have been quite effective. I’m okay. I’m sitting at home all day, every day, doing nothing but schoolwork, housework, and cooking, and I’m okay. I don’t even mind being a “kept woman”, which I thought might pose a problem.

In fact, I’m really enjoying being at home. I’m still detoxing from the office gossip and bullying, so I’m still getting headaches and sometimes waking up early. The difference is that when I feel sick or tired, I can take the time to stop, close my eyes and rest, or turn on the Wii and do some yoga. One of my worries was filling my day, but I am not having any trouble with that at all. Most days, I’m left wondering where all the time went!

The only down side to this arrangement is that I REALLLLLLY HATE housework.

I’m exploring a few options to see if I might be able to avoid “going back to work” when school is done. The first part of that is cutting expenses. Changing grocery stores and clipping coupons have cut our grocery expenses by 1/3. I’m planting a garden in the spring to see if I can cut it down even further, in terms of both fresh and home-canned produce. I’m even . . . very reluctantly . . . [gasp] . . . trying to convince myself that it won’t kill me to try and find clothes at a second-hand store. The other side of making this arrangement permanent is increasing cash flow. I’m looking around to see if there’s anywhere I can dabble in writing, just to bring in some extra cash for our “wants”, like building a front porch and buying bedroom furniture. Web design is next in line - if I can find a way to contribute substantially to the business, that just may be my ticket!

I’m very blessed that all those years of living ridiculously beneath our means have paid off so very nicely. To look at his salary, you might think that Jeremy doesn’t make nearly enough to live comfortably, but we are doing very well. In fact, if it weren’t for some of the larger things we really want to take care of, like the porch and bedroom, we could live like this indefinitely. We’re only feeling a pinch because we’re still forcing ourselves to save. We didn’t cut back on our giving. We haven’t touched our “safety net” savings. And we’re eating well - often better than when I was working, even, because now I have the time it takes to construct good meals using cheap ingredients. (You’d be amazed what you can do with chicken thighs!)

On the other hand, it’s Christmas. Up until today, I was getting excited that I was going to make it through the whole season without any Scrooginess. I was wrong. Ba humbug.

But other than that, Life Is Good(TM).