I havent logged in lately and I havent been motivated about money for the past several weeks.

I took the whole week off for Thanksgiving. We've travelled to CA to visit family which is where we are now. Its been nice to get away from the craziness that has been my life lately. Work is crazy with everyone suddenly telling me what they think they want and need.

The end of the semester is looming which means final projects are due soon. I will be very happy to be done with these two classes. I'm so glad that I wont be taking any classes next semester.

DH and I have not been seeing eye to eye for a while, but I think we have sorted it out and things will be settling down again.

Overall, life has not been fun and my focus is not on money. I've been shopping and spending in different ways and on things that I havent bought in some time. I'm still trying to work out a sense of identity. I work around lots of college students. Every year they seem to get younger and younger while I dont feel my life progressing as quickly...or sometimes at all...The administration talks about how much we do for the students to help them suceed and its the staff that delivers. But there really isnt a good deal that's done to support the staff to assist them in maintaining the high levels at which we perform. Gets old. I day dream about finding another job once I get my masters. That would require moving again. A city with something for adults to do does sound tempting.

We are staying with family and living the life of Riley. Its been about shopping (at Marshall's and other discount stores). I've finally been able to find some fashionable clothing for amazing prices. We've eaten like kings, stuffing ourselves until it hurts. My sister in law has been running the kitchen and I soooo appreciate being relieved of those duties. Then we sit around the table afterwards and talk and laugh and get loud until very late at night. Its been wonderful!!! Its a very different life from the one we lead in NM. I'm currently sitting in front of the TV with something on cable playing. Funny how with so many channels and still nothing to watch.

I just flipped it off only to hear the pitter patters of rain. How nice - also something we dont get a lot of in the desert.

The down time has been so good. I've done some of my homework, though not nearly as much as I intended. I will try to make up for that during the 17 hour drive home. I've been on-line and done quite a lot of shopping for things we use regularly. I thought we would find some of those things out here, but we havent had the time to shop as much as I had hoped. Also, since I dont know the area, I'm not sure if I'm getting the best deal or not. I forgot to bring a price book. But I have a feeling that prices here are much higher than I am used to. We did go to a Persian market and I stocked up on the ingrediants that we cant get where we live. The sum total was considerably more than I had planned to spend, but its worth it. I hope to do more cooking in the new year as I believe I will have considerably more free time.