a sidenote...

Dana (my husband) was told that his contract position is ending on the 30th, the same time my unemployment benefits will be ending. The kids will be with us for the week following Christmas, making it tougher on the food budget. Oh yeah, our food assistance was cut at the end of November. We've reapplied, but these things take time.

It sucks not having enough money to spare so that we can get toys for the kids. At least we'll have food and a roof over our heads, and for that I am thankful. Hopefully the news will improve and we'll have something more concrete. Right now I don't know what we'll be doing after the first week of January.

Update:  It turns out that I am still covered under federal unemployment for a few more weeks, although our budget is still seriously strained.

Ugh... all I can say at this point is ugh.  The cat was *not* happy with the kids coming to visit this weekend, primarily due to the quantity of people and the young ages. Although I've thought that she's a younger cat from looking at her teeth, she acts like an old fart and doesn't want to be bothered or play. I'm guessing she's a lot like me in the anxiety department. She's good with people one on one, but can't handle a lot of excitement from the younger ones, especially the six year-old boy. He wanted to chase her around both outside and in, and she finally hid under a chair and begged me to let her hide in our bedroom.

*sigh*

We've been suckered in by a cat, and now the weather is cold. She's a really pretty calico with green eyes, and although she looks cared for, it's hard to tell if anyone owns her. We've cleaned minimal leaves and twigs off of her only a couple of times over the last two months, and she's never had matted hair. She has no tags, but there's still the possibility that she has a skin implant ID. Dana and I checked for no-kill shelters in our area, and they charge a fee for animals. I guess that's understandable since they have operating costs, but for the same price, we might be able to have her spayed and keep her a while longer. It's tough to decide what to do.