Eyeglasses=ouchie on the finances

You would think that I would enjoy night shift tremendously due to the fact that I get to spend all day with Gordon. This is not the case because my husband is constantly on the move trying to do something or fix something or playing "Civilization" on the computer. I think that the only reason I like night shift is because I get to watch "Gilmore Girls" instead of the news and I spend less on the grocery bill. Gordon has a hard time balancing Nedra time with house time but he's my Gordon and I wouldn't have him any other way.

I finally took the plunge and got new glasses last week because my tax refund came through. Luckily, the optometrist that I saw last year gave me a prescription that was good for two years. I do have to schedule another appointment though because it turns out that the contacts I wear are no longer available. The optometrist also said its good to get your eyes checked each year. I've started dreading even the eye doctor now because my prescription is so horrible and I think that its just going to get worse. I tell Gordon that I shouldn't have done all that late night reading. The good thing about these frames is that it comes with its own personal clip-on so I don't have to get sunglasses or anything. I still have my old pair of prescription sunglasses anyways. I really did try to look for the cheapest pair that looked good on me but even they were expensive. I had to end up paying about $550 dollars for my glasses. Gordon's lucky and gets his glasses for free while I don't have any coverage for my eyes. We probably should look into that since I'm going to be needing glasses in the future. It was a lot more than I was looking to spend; I was hoping to get away with $400 but no such luck. The glasses do look nice on me though and I think these ones won't be slipping down my nose all the time. Next up, contacts and dental cleanings! I don't want to go to the dentist but I should.

It was another quiet week for the Schofield house. Gordon worked on getting his stuff in the garage sorted out and I worked on punching patterns for some more embroidered cards. They really are coming along nicely. I have to put that aside for a week or so and start back on my cards again. I have some good designs in mind that I'm going to make sets out of.

Since I told my mom, I might as well tell everyone else that Gordon and I have decided to start working on an addition to our family. Its been nine months since we've gotten married and not all of us get pregnant on the first go round. I've read that it can take a couple up to four months to conceive a child naturally. I was a bit nervous about this because, let's face it, I'm a worrier. We're not going to put any pressures on ourselves though because just adding a whole degree of "needing" to have a baby would make me worry that I'm not pregnant with each month that passes by. So, we are going to let nature take its course and hopefully we won't have to wait a year to conceive a little Schofield baby. I know that I've been talking about our lack of finances and how much it stresses me that we aren't out of debt yet but I'll talk about that later in the blog.

Gordon got to try out his roasting skills on Saturday. He invited John and Erana over for roast venison. So Saturday was spent cleaning the place up a bit so it looked presentable and Gordon doing some cooking. The venison really shrank when it was roasted but it was good. We also had roasted potatoes and pumpkin. Gordon and I got into a little argument about eating it all the time. I like to have variety and beef and chicken do that for me and the occasional wild game is nice but not all the time for this girl. Gordon has no preference so he doesn't understand why I have preferences. I'm just a picky girl, my family can vouch for me. I also made a fantastic banana cake, from scratch, and made a simple chocolate, whipped cream icing for it. It really tasted yummy and they joked about getting the info for the bakery I got the cake from. It was really nice to spend some time with Gordon's friends. I'm slowly making acquaintances but it will take a while before I get some good friends. Gordon was extra happy because John brought a 18-pack of beer for them to share.

Gordon was talking to them about his housing seminar he went to and all the info he learned. John told us that he took money out of his superannuation, a RNZAF retirement fund, to pay a deposit on his house. Gordon and I said that it would be awhile until all of our debt was cleared and we could work on a deposit for a house. When we heard about the superannuation withdrawal it really made the wheels in my head start spinning. Gordon and I said that we might do the same thing and withdraw a little to add to our deposit for a house down the road. When we were getting ready for bed it hit me that if we were going to take money out down the road for a house why not do it right now and start saving for a house? Either way we would be withdrawing money from the retirement fund to help pay for something. Why not get the debt out of the way so we can start saving now.

We talked it over and decided that taking money out was going to be a one time thing and we are definitely going to monitor our expenses and not live frivolously. Gordon and I talked it over and agreed an amount that would be fine to take out of the retirement fund so that we could pay off the bills. Don't worry, Gordon and I are only taking out enough to cover the debt and my permits which is not a huge chunk of his retirement at all. So hopefully by next month the only payment we will have to make each month is for Big Save furniture. It really makes me happy to think that GE won't get the chance to charge us 25% interest on Gordon's purchases from Harvey Norman. I'm throwing that card away as soon as I'm able! It just makes me happy period to be able to get this debt out of the way.

Gordon makes me very happy and I love being with him. Our money problems though were a huge setback to me feeling content though. It feels like my prayer over our financial situation has been answered. Gordon says that he's learned his lesson from this and is never going to put us in this situation again. Its not all of his fault though, I should have asked him what our financial status was before I suggested we take a cruise for our honeymoon. We've both learned to be happy with what we have and I will never forget the lesson that I was taught. Be grateful for what you have because it can always get worse.

Hopefully, we can set up a small savings account that we can put money into and build up for the children, emergency expenses, and our future house. It makes me very happy to think that I may actually get to go home in the next two years! The airfares are really cheap due to the economy and I may get to come sometime next year with Gordon or sometime this year without Gordon. We won't buy the ticket unless we have the funds though so don't think I'm repeating history. I get to work on making Scrappy Apple a reality and not worry about where the money for my visas is coming from. I get to do little home projects throughout the year to make my house beautiful. I don't have to feel bad about going to Creative Memories workshops. I may get to bring a baby into this world and not worry if we can afford doctors visits or prenatals. Gordon will eventually be able to install a crowbar on our station wagon so we can take caravan trips. I won't have to worry about my sister visiting us and wondering how we'll be able to get by while they are here. Most of all, that sense of guilt that I can't find a job to help pay off this debt has gone away. That doesn't mean I won't try to find a job when I get my permanent work permit though.

Life truly is great and I hope that you all have time to smell the tulips and daffodils. Oh Grandma, I forgot to tell you. The chrysanthemums are blooming out here! I had passed by them before and I just thought they were really bushy daisies, hehe. The winter is coming on fast in New Zealand but I have Gordon to keep me warm. Along with my arsenal of long sleeve tees!