a life of wonder and discovery: money. and photos. and cold. oh my

oh my, so much accomplished yesterday. We finally (no use putting it off anymore with layoff here and soon to be no proof to the bank of employment) changed our bank loan to cover all the crap we've been accumulating on the credit card, pay off my student loan and have a little left over for photography fun. It means another few years of paying off debt instead of being finished next Christmas like we'd planned... but either way, it was necessary. The accident last fall was a blow to our financial plans... new car, weeks without work, Chris losing his job due to the dick running Fentons (please continue to support our boycott of any Fentons establishments at the Forks - it makes a HUGE difference and his business has certainly suffered due to it. If you're unfamiliar with the story, I'll fill you in... perhaps another blog to remind all...). The upside was we spent ample time together as a family, learning how to work with each other and spending that important first year bonding. But financially... not the best.

So the new plan is to consolidate all debts in one place... conveniently lowering payments at layoff time. Yay! I really only had another 16 months left to pay on my student loan and initially kept it up for the low interest rate and income tax rebate on interest. Now, considering my interest is only about 10$ a month, it doesn't amount to much. So this morning, one lump sum payment and NO MORE STUDENT LOAN!!! :) Excited all by myself in the living room.

And. AND! I signed up for the PrairieView photography 1 course I've been wanting to take for years! It means rushed plans to buy a camera before Jan 3. Evenings learning all the stuff I've tried to soak in from books and on my own, to no avail. Hopefully the classroom setting/asking questions/practice will help. Having a friend along for the ride will be fun too ;)

A crazy day yesterday... playgroups and visits and bank appointments and pickups and lunch with hubby. I was exhausted from the beginning but somehow managed to enjoy myself through everything. The cutest babe in the world contentedly nursing and showing off his new moves after an afternoon away... Sweet.