Normal Is Getting Later

Dear World,

I'd like to open by saying that I am as of right now exhausted. I have no idea why I can't sleep, but hopefully my own thoughts will be dull enough to lull me into submission.

Yesterday night, at about this time, I made the decision to stop spending money I don't have. I paid off my two store cards with my bank loan and cut my cards into pieces. Being able to see exactly how much I owe is the first step to understanding precisely how bad off I am. Also, the interest rate is much lower, and I'll be able to track how much I'm spending. Jared once told me his secret to never purchasing anything he didn't need to survive: He convinces himself that eventually whatever it is will go down in price. And then if it does, he convinces himself it will again. He's a frugal man. I just figure I should buy what I like because if I like it that much I won't tire of it. The problem is that I like a lot of things, and I don't wear out my clothing or shoes. I've also been the same pant, shoe and shirt size for almost a decade. Admittedly, I'm not the same weight, but where I have filled out hasn't effected my dress size too much (with the exception of that time I got really sick and really skinny Senior year of high school). I've amassed a hideous amount of junk. I can't eBay it off or give it away enough to bring down the piles of stuff laying in the closet. Worst of all I like all of it. Not in the hoarder way of being like "But my stuff..." but in a way that I wear all of it (when it's not being sold, stored or donated) and it's in good condition. Actually, if it's not in good condition it has already left the house. I don't wear anything with a stain... it's all I can focus on if I wear it.

Secondly, switching to the night shift has been awesome. Awesome. I get to operate on my pseudo-normal summer schedule of staying up past 3 am and waking up to the noon drill. Then, I have four hours to throw myself together and pack a lunch. All of which I do completely awake instead of in a half stupor. Best of all I get to carpool with Adam and Jennifer to and from work sometimes. This means I get to work on time, and Jared can sleep a full 8 hours before his 6 am wake up. It also means that I can stay late and pick up more hours. Customer Service training went smoothly and working as a customer service representative has been okay so far. Yesterday, I only asked maybe 20 questions --- today I probably asked ten or under. Improvement, yes?

Today (Saturday) Jared and I are going to get Chinese food after he gets off of work. Tomorrow is our 2nd Anniversary, but I don't think we're doing anything. Tuesday we're going to Swiss Colony in Monroe and stocking up of sweets and treats. Next weekend is Mineral Point Fall Art Tour.

I know I said we were going to go to Chicago last weekend, but that ended up not happening. We decided it'd be less costly to go to Galena Saturday and have a dinner in Dubuque Monday instead. This is a bulleted list of what I have to say about that:

• Gorgonzola is awful if not used in moderation.
• Sushi is better in Chicago than Galena, but we might try Taiko in Dubuque.
• L May is not that great... actually it's not that good. I cook better salmon, and serving dry salmon on sweet potatoes does not an interesting flavor make.
• Jelly Beans were the best meal I had out of the weekend.
• Pesto from the Galena Cannery is awful on pasta, but excellent on crackers.

We also saw Easy A. All I have to say is that the movie was more of a whimper than a shout, and that Stanley Tucci plays an amazing dad. He even had Jared laughing.