breathe deep

I've been on this quest lately to reduce our overhead costs and I was contemplating it somewhat this morning as I awakened and was cursing myself because I forgot to get coffee beans on our trip out yesterday for the second day in a row.  I abhor having to run and get coffee on the weekends, because even though we live in coffee mecca, none of the billion and one little coffee shops within a couple blocks of our house open at the crack of dawn on the weekends.

I had to actually get in the cruiser and drive to the only place open early on a Sunday:  Starbucks.

So much for reducing costs this weekend.

But, I have truly been on a kick.  I successfully talked Moose into letting me dump one of our largest monthly bills.  And that bill is known to me as the dreaded Comcast bill.  A month ago, we were spending $224 a month on a cable/internet/phone bundle and everytime that bill came in, it would irritate me to no end.  We watch very little t.v. and yet over a hundred dollars of that bill was cable + DVR.

For years now, I've actually wanted to get rid of comcast, but I think we told ourselves it would be hard with the boys, who like their disney in the morning and I honestly think we were just a little scared to cut ourselves off completely from the mainstream TV world.

However, then I started investigating internet service providers and found I could get us internet + mobile internet in the entire Portland Metro area for $45 a month and things began to slide into place.  Moose agreed the bill was ridiculous.  We never ever use the home phone.  We hate comcast.

And several weeks ago, we dumped them completely.  It was a huge load off of my shoulders.

Honestly, the boys don't even seem to notice.

But, what I've noticed is that my mind has begun to clear.  In the evenings, there isn't the distraction of TV to make me wonder what to do.  I had actually been watching a bit more TV in the evenings since I've been pregnant.  Maybe that's why I've begun to hear my voice again.

There's no incessant, mindless static to clutter it.  Instead, it's just me and my thoughts... oh and NPR.

National Public Radio makes it all incredibly tolerable.  We can still get our news.  We can still get amazing shows.  They just happen to be shows you listen to, instead of watch.

If you've never really listened to your public broadcasting radio station, I urge you to give it a shot.  Unbelievable, quality shows that keep you better informed than you'll ever be watching TV.

In two weeks, I have my level 2 ultrasound to look at the anatomy of the baby and to hopefully find out that all important question:  just what am I carrying anyway??

I am incredibly excited for this ultrasound, but these always carry a certain amount of anxiety for me.  This ultrasound was the horrible ultrasound for Max that let us know our life was about to change forever.  I'm trying to keep that anxiety to a minimum, barely allowing it to register on my radar.  But, the truth is.... it is there in the background and I imagine it will only increase as the days tick off.

Breathe deep, I tell myself whenever I start to feel it creeping forward.

Breathe deep and relax.....