IT'S THE WEEKEND

There can be downsides to being married to a man who is an independent contractor and who is paid on a "straight-commission" plan. There is no paid vacation time or sick days. There are tax implications. There are no traditional job benefits (althought his company has an end-run plan for offering retirement benifits...just don't ask me to explain it.). When one gets in a slump or gets sick, there's no salary to back you up. It's truly a "leave-the-cave-kill-something-drag-it-home" mentality.


However, my honey is a very talented and smart man and he believes in what he does very much and he knows how to sell it. He works very diligently, he doesn't slack off and take three-hour lunches and his brain is fully enguaged in working smart when he's in the field. So, because of his diligence, I rarely ever think about those "downsides". He's as consistant as the sun and barring sickness, has never missed getting paycheck of some size on any week in 9 years. If he's worked, he's gotten a paycheck. You can't imagine how unusual that is in his line of work, but God blesses and Joal's that good.

One of the best parts of being an inde contractor, is that he sets his own hours. For some people, this spells disaster, but for Joal, it means he has alot of freedom when it's needed, but he is responsible with the use of it. For example, when I was put on bed rest and subsequently put in the hospital while pregnant with Grey, Joal was off for a total of some 60+ days, sprinkled throughout those last few months. I had the worst pregnancy problems and he was able to be there with me, which I will forever be so grateful for. Joal is my rock and he made those days survivable.

Lately, he's been doing really well (thanks be to God) and we've been seeing him around the house on Fridays quite often. Can I tell you how much I love this? It's like having a holiday weekend, without the holiday! His company operates on a points system for sales and when X number of points are reached, Joal is happy. Of course, Joal's personal X is significantly higher than most people's X. :) With a great week under his belt by 1 PM today, (X+23) he came home! For the weekend! He'll be off tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday! I can so dig a 4-day work week schedule.


I am constantly amazed by this man. He is so wonderful to me. I believe that God honors his diligence and his commitment to us and to God and allows him to be successful. Certianly, we are not promised success in all things but in this God has allowed his hard work and faithfullness to return to us as success in this and it's an amazing gift for which we are grateful.


So now I've gotten all flubbery about my husband and I've forgotten where I was going with this. Oh yeah. Long weekend. Love them--I may even crop tomorrow evening if the store still has room.

In other news, I was at the grocery tonight and got to thinking about my brother in Afghanistan. His batallion suffered a loss last week of two of their soldiers and I ache for him. So, I did what I do when I'm thinking about him, I started packing a box. The USPS has a flat rate Priority $9 box that works perfectly for care packages and I can assure they lose money on every one I pack (not that I care). Leaving the grocery, I called Daniel to see if he had heard from Andy lately. Turns out Daniel had talked to him at the end of last week and gotten a pack of letters to distribute from him just today. (Andy sends all his letters to Daniel and Daniel passes them out.) That made me feel better. Then I got home and started prepping the box and an email appeared in my inbox from Andy. What perfect timing...for me anyway, he said it's 3am there. :) He takes computer time whenever he can get it, apparently. I replied ASAP but apparently he had logged off. That's OK. I'm grateful to know he's safe and sound for tonight. Godspeed little brother. Be safe and strong.

There's a slim chance I may get to see him in January. I'd be grateful for just a few hours. (Ahem. Enough for one night.)

In other news, I have discovered two new items that are life-altering good.


The first is Crystal Light Fruit Punch. I don't know if it's a new flavor or if I just never noticed it before but OH MAN...that is some good stuff. One little pouch in a bottle of water...give it a crazy shaking and poof, Fruit Punch! It's even better when it sits in the freezer for a few minutes. Or on special occasions I mix it with Diet Sprite and add lots of crushed ice. This is as close as I get to a "mixed drink"...but it is mighty fine. :) Did I mention it was 101 degrees here today? You can read more about the flavors here.



The second is a new razor--the Gillette Venus Breeze. Now ordinarily you know I'm not one to discuss personal hygiene matters but this is remarkable. It's a razor with 2 built-in shave gel bars, right on the razor. No need to apply any kind of shaving cream or soap before shaving. It's built-in.
Granted, at $10 a pop it's expensive. I probably never would have tried it but for the free sample I received in the mail but now I have 6 $4 off coupons. (If you would like one, drop me an email.) It works really well and while I don't see myself buying one every week, (I'm insanely cheap on this kind of stuff) it would be nice for trips, not to have to pack gel and multiple razors. Just thought you should know.


May all your weekends be long and
your legs be smooth. LOL!

PS A great photog-blog resource at http://www.goldengod.net/2007/08/05/9-photoblogs-that-will-inspire-you-to-take-better-photos/ Check it out.