The One Where I Officially Declare Myself on a Roll

Yeah, that's this one.  This blog post.  Because I've now posted every Sunday of 2013, I think.  So I'm going to say I'm on a roll and hope I didn't just jinx next week.

Mark and Brie started their basketball tournaments this week.  Mark's team has won their first two games, and Brie's team won their first game last night.  In addition, she's playing on our ward YW basketball team and they won their game yesterday (59 to 16...so far our girls have the best team in the stake).  Brie isn't a high scoring player (a fact which, in her mind, means she is not a good player), but she is a thinking player and an intense player.  She thinks about the game, about strategy, about what she needs to do and how to do it, and she plays with everything she's got.  Last night's game was a particularly rough game and it was a hard fought victory.  The other team played dirty, the refs let them get away with it, and the parents in the stands were encouraging it.  But she kept her head in the game and played as hard as she could.  I love to watch my girls give all of their effort to something because, whatever the score at the end, as long as they played their best and gave everything they could, they have won in my book.

It's nice to see Mark coaching.  He's such a good coach and he has enjoyed coaching this rec league team made up of a bunch of boys from our ward.  His high school is looking for a new basketball coach and I hope he puts in for the position.

The sun is shining but the wind is blowing.  It's still cold here in Virginia.  A sister in our ward spoke in church today and she served a mission in Siberia where it was 40 degrees below zero frequently during the winter, and for long stretches of time.  Worse than Anchorage, AK for sure.  In Siberia it was winter from August through mid June.  Yikes!  It made me feel like a wimp.

Alyssa is doing well at BYU.  We're grateful for the learning experiences she is having and that she has some good roommates who have become close friends, and we're grateful she has a wonderful bishop.

As sequestration looms on the horizon and seems unavoidable at this point in time, I am becoming more and more unsettled about our financial situation.  If sequestration goes into effect, Department o Defense civilians will be furloughed 22 days from mid-April through the end of September...one day per week, 20% of our income for that time period.  I have had times of peace and comfort when I think about it, but I'm still having moments of complete terror.  Honestly, we're not in a financial situation to absorb a pay cut like that. I'm just not sure how we'll manage.  I've thought about teaching piano lessons again but I don't have the energy by the time I get home from work after being gone for 12 hours.  We're cutting back everywhere we can, trimming unnecessary expenses, etc.  But I just don't know how we're going to do it.  I am trying so hard to hold onto the peaceful feelings I've had and not lose faith.  I pray earnestly multiple times every day for our elected politicians (I refuse to call most of them "leaders" because they are definitely NOT showing leadership in this crisis) to find a way to avoid furloughing civilian employees.  It seems hopeless at this point in time.  But I continue to hope and pray and try to have faith that we'll be ok.  From what I understand, if the furloughs go into effect, about 70-80% of our stake will be affected, either directly because they are civil service employees, or because they work for defense contractors.  We live in a relatively wealthy area (not that everyone is wealthy -- not the case) and I'm grateful that the stake leaders last year really pushed emergency preparedness...hopefully a lot of people are in a better situation than we are with this stuff looming on the horizon.  This is one of those times where I just kick myself over and over and over for the poor decisions I've made....because our debt situation is 100% entirely my fault.  We're trying so hard and just can't get ahead...and this furlough will make it worse.  But somehow things will work out.  I just have to believe that.  Somehow, I just have to believe that.  I've been fighting a headache for a few days and I've finally figured out that it's a tension headache from all of this stress.  I need to get rid of it.

I desperately wish that I was taking ballet classes right now -- I need the therapy ballet provides me...I need the absolute discipline, the absolute focus, the controlled movement, the carefully contained energy, and the weekly opportunity to lose myself in something that I love so deeply and escape the world around me.  Alas, it is definitely not in the budget right now, nor have I been able to find time to work on ballet myself at home.  I need to do that.  I find myself become short-tempered and impatient with my family and people at work and I know it's because I need that outlet for my stress and tension.  *sigh*

I have the opportunity to go out with the sister missionaries this week.  I have to admit to being pretty scared about it but I'm hoping it will be a good experience.

Brie and Mark had the opportunity to go to DC on Friday and meet up with some of Brie's friends and former classmates who are here on a field trip.  I wanted to go with them and meet my dear friend Brenda Taylor, one of the teachers leading the field trip, but I just couldn't get out of work this week.  I think it would have done me a world of good to see her and draw from her faith and strength.  But I'm glad Brie had that opportunity.