Indeedy.

Alright. So. Remember in my last post how I felt really optimistic about this year? Turns out I had every right to be. The T-Dub just gave me a pretty meaty promotion. Well, I say promotion, but since I'm already doing several people's worth of work, it's more like I'm just being recognized for the work I already do. Though I am getting a lot more responsibilities as well, mind. The new position is basically my old position with some training thrown in, and a few obstructions taken out of the way. I'm basically in charge of making sure all of the ads that we create for our web site don't suck. And if they do, I'm who you go to. The ads we don't create are on their own. I'll still be doing Illustrations for the newsroom. There is a raise as well.

WOO HOO! Enough of one that I can quit the part-time job I had to get in order to make some ends meet. Also, Jennifer's sister Grace is working again, and Jennifer is watching her son Zane during the day now. So there is some extra scratch as well. I think we can finally stop living paycheck to paycheck and start putting away some money. See the trick is to stick to the same budget we had before. Most of the new money gets socked away, and the rest is gravy.

♥ I have to give Jennifer some big-ass props here, because her awesome budgeting is what makes it possible to live on one income and not feel like the Joads. She takes care of 3 rambunctious boys all day long, and takes care of most of the house-related business as well. She is awesome. Anybody that thinks being a stay-at-home mom isn't hard work is full of shit. All I do is draw pictures and carry heavy things. She does everything else. I picked a good one. ♥

So yeah. Awesome. This year is starting off well.

-JP

2009 year in review...

Can't say I'm too sad to see 2009 go. There were some good points, but they were few and far between. 2009 saw the Powers in mostly a holding pattern, waiting for wages, recession and everything else to come out of their collective funk. The new year and the new decade hold nothing but promise...

In 2009:

-I turned 34.
-Jack turned 4.
-Joseph turned 2.
-Jennifer had a birthday as well, but she'd kill me if I revealed her age. To me she is perpetually 25, so let's just leave it at that.
-I saw massive lay offs at my work place and as a result, I have taken on a lot more duties, but somehow am not getting paid any more.
-I blew up my car.
-Eventually I bought a new one.
-Watched Joseph get double pneumonia and have to be hospitalized because of it, more than once. It weakened his immune system, and he seemed to get every cold and virus that went around, each one knocking him on his ass. He is only just now getting up to full speed.
-Jennifer watched a good friend's kid during the day for a few months, and though the experience was a good one, and the girl was awesome, it was insanely stressful on all of us. We couldn't really figure out why.
-We moved. Again. This time into town again. Glenpool was great and all, but it didn't really offer enough to stay. Everything we wanted to do usually happened in town, so there was a lot of driving involved in our lives. Now that we are back in town, our stress level has gone way down, along with our gasoline bills.
-Jackson started at a really kick ass school. He in insanely smart, but a tad sensitive and a little socially awkward (just like I was). The Tulsa school system is in such poor shape right now, that we are seriously considering home schooling the boys. Not in a creepy overly religious way or anything, but we both feel that things like music and art and science are important in a child's development, not regurgitating facts on some stupid standardized test.
-I started working at a local independent coffee shop to help make ends meet. I like the social aspect of it a great deal, but I thought I had moved on from sweeping floors and cleaning toilets for close to minimum wage.
-My work sent me to New York for a week long training trip. I had a really good time. Saw some really awesome friends, watched a taping of David Letterman, ate a lot of really good food, and did some touristy stuff. Oh, and learned all about the new ad serving system for the TW's website.
-I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is the first full calendar year that Jennifer has stayed home with the boys. I have to say, this is one of the best decisions we have ever made. Having two kids in day care would be cost prohibitive, and the last time we tried it we came away with nothing but one kid bullied horribly and the other one getting pink eye. Jennifer is the best mom a kid could hope for, and I'm happy she can be with them every day.
-I saw my sister-in-law start divorce proceedings. This is not a good thing. Although I know in my heart that she will be better off in the long run, watching her go through all the hardship associated with it is gut-wrenching. She's a great girl, a wonderful mother, and deserves all the best. She doesn't need this shit.
-Saw Jackson and Joseph get smarter and smarter. Jack is turning into quite a little brainiac, and Joe is starting to assert himself in amazing and wonderful ways. Their cousin Zane as well. He's a great kid. I realize that for the time being, I'm really his only male adult figure, and I'm trying to take that as seriously as possible.
-We took a few trips. Went to Texas in the early summer, and back to Denver for Thanksgiving. We had a great time.
-Work was good. I need to do more and get paid more, but on the whole, I love my job.
-I saw the country go in a really weird direction. It seems like politics has become a giant game of football. Way too complicated, and each side only cares about winning. Neither cares about sportsmanship. Each will do whatever it takes to stop each play, giving no thought to strategy or the bigger picture, and after three quarters of no score, each side is getting desperate and starting to play dirty. Each side also has completely rabid fans who will fanatically support the team no matter what. Even when playing very very badly.

I have really high hopes for the new year and the new decade. We have a lot of home improvements planned, and are really excited about them. The boys have the whole world at their fingertips, and my wife the the coolest person ever.

I am optimistic in a way I haven't been in a long long time.

-JP