Expect the Unexpected

November was a perfect example of how being financially challenged hasn't kept me from having wonderful life experiences. Dinner at Cheesecake Factory for daughter #1's birthday (is there anything that makes you feel more human than dining out?) and spending Thanksgiving in Seattle with daughter #3's new in laws. Travel, celebrations, making new acquaintances...does it get any better than that?

I think that part of the fun is learning how to make do and get by while keeping expenses down. The rumor out there, perpetrated by the media, was that Thanksgiving airfare was so expensive that no one would be able to afford to go anywhere and even if you could the airports would be such a madhouse why would you want to? My ticket to Seattle cost $350 and the airports were quiet both ways, even though I flew on the two busiest travel days of the year - the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after. A perfect example of why I hate the media and never believe anything that comes from it.

A couple of interesting and completely unforeseen opportunities have come my way recently. A year ago I felt that I had no future, now the future is wide open and anything could happen. One thing I've learned is to never despair about or be afraid of the future because it rarely turns out how you think it will.

Speaking of making do and getting by, I don't have TV and am getting increasingly frustrated by the situation because I especially love all of the holiday programming. A friend suggested buying a converter box in order to at least get the local channels. I bought the box, turned on my TV, couldn't get it working properly and a couple of days later the picture tube flat lined. I am certainly technology challenged in my current residence. It's not that we don't have cable, we do - just not television. I hope to change that very soon.