I'm planning on a day of peace and quiet. The current plan is to go off to church, relax and refocus during meditation, and meet some new people. Then I'll come home, kick off my shoes, and read a bit.
Last night I filled out the girls' FAFSA's online. The new FAFAs are easier than the old ones, which involved a lot of number crunching. The new FAFSAs only require you to put in total taxable income and untaxed income in certain categories. Since it specifically says "Do not count untaxable Social Security Income", it was fairly easy to just use the "0" and the "return" button.
Yesterday I spent most of the day stressing out again, both at the event (where I was a "floater" and ended up covering the turtle table in the afternoon), getting ready for tomorrow's trip, and worrying about Cay's college costs. Worst case scenario we'll have to find some way to make up an $11K annual deficit (approximately equal to my total annual income) Best case scenario she'll still have to max out her subsidized loans, but will be able to pay for her college without tapping into unsubsidized loans. Total annual cost for her (not including summer residency) is about $41K. Annual tuition alone is nearly $29K. The good news is that she's up for talent scholarships, that can pay up to total tuition cost, leaving her just with room, board, fees and books (still a hefty amount!) to cover with student loans.
And on top of that, I have to come up with the $400 deposit by March 15th. That kinda stinks, because I hit the loan shark office for a payday advance this month to pay for some of the other costs and get more food in the house before I leave tomorrow. Right now the plan is to pay that off next week, then see what we have left after bills on the first. Right now I'm hoping really hard for a low electric bill. I've got a plan in place for after that. If I can't save $400 out of Feb and March's checks by doing food pantries all month (I don't know what that's going to do to my weight or blood sugar) I can start selling off furniture. I'll know more on Feb 3rd, when I run the budget and pay off the Feb bills and loan.
I can also try for a larger installment loan at the loan shark office, but that's my last choice because the interest they charge is prohibitive.
And off course during all this I've been getting very little sleep. My blood sugar has been fine, I've been averaging 1400 calories/ day, and my weight is stable, but I'm breaking up my meals more and grazing through the day. That keeps me from feeling too hungry and it seems to help a lot with the sugar, although I'm noshing in smaller amounts more frequently.
It's no surprise to me that researchers have discovered that lack of sleep might result in more feelings of hunger. I could have told them that and saved them some grant money.
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