Cha cha cha chaannnggesss!!!

Man I don't know where to begin. 

Too many emotions and thoughts going on that I don't know where exactly to start. 

Let's start from the very beginning.....

So Aljay quit his job. 

So wuh ha happend was....

He had pulled a ligament in his back a while ago,

had to go to rehab for it,

had to take time off to heal, 

got workers comp (but the pay was lame),

went back to work (cuz we needed the money),

didn't want to keep working because his back would never heal,

realized it was time to stop working a job that was aging him,

and then quit his job.

In a nutshell.

So what does that mean for our income, livelihood, and financial stability?

I'll answer that in a second. 

First....let me tell you what quitting his job has done for him. 

It's put a smile back on his face.

It has allowed him to physically heal.

It has put him in a better mood

 (which means I'm in a better mood...which means everyone is in a better mood)

It has allowed him to spend more time with the children.

It has allowed him to work on his art.

 It has pushed him to to explore, develop, and challenge his creative artistic abilities.

It has opened his mind to be inspired and motivated again.

It has brought him to the realization that life is to short to be spending time on something that doesn't really make you happy.

And that he can do something he loves and still be able to provide for our family. 

Which brings me back to the money question?

How is it going moneywise?

Are we making it?

Well if we measure success in terms of money then we are surviving hahhaha

We aren't homeless,

we still have food on the table,

and can afford the basic necessities.

In others we are getting by. 

But we do anticipate tougher times ahead coupled with a lot of sacrifice and hard work.

Does it worry us?

Yes the financial aspect of it all does weigh heavily on our minds.

This is a big risk to take.

We have young children, a mortgage, a car payment, bills, bills bills.

Paint supplies cost money

and so do diapers and wipes.

But all in all we feel good about our decision.

 We put in great effort to keep positive,

focus on what we can control,

do our very best,

pray (a ton),

have faith (in God and in each other),

and get to work.

Recently Aljay posted some of his artwork on facebook to get feedback and to possibly sell his artwork. Like any artist he has always been very self conscious about his art (always his worst critic), but the response has been overwhelming. He got so much positive feedback from people that it really boosted his confidence, motivated him to keep at it, and pushed him to keep getting better. He's also been able to sell a few pieces and picked up a few projects from people who wanted custom artwork.

We're not at the point where he's selling artwork for a couple thousand a piece, 

but we are making progress 

(yes 'we' cause it's a team effort, trust me).
Aljay may have to pick up a part time job to help pay  some bills but 

most importantly we have the drive, talent, and motivation to get ourselves to that level.

forreals lol....but not for long!!!

And this whole follow-your-passion, fulfilling-your-dreams, do-what-you-love thing is contagious and I too have been infected.

So in other news....

I got a part time job as a guided studies teacher at a high school nearby. I have been wanting to get my foot back into the education world and luckily came upon this job that will take me a step into the direction that I'm wanting to go....which is towards a Master's degree in Guidance counseling. 

I liked teaching but more so the relationship side and not the curriculum side of it. And it took me a while to figure it out but now I'm really wanting to be a high school guidance counselor...and maybe even a college level counselor (like later on when the kids are closer to getting out of high school). Anywhere along those lines would be a good place for me.

And I've always been discouraged because I want to pay all my undergrad student loans first, work to pay off any type of debt (like the car) before incurring more school debt, support Aljay, and at the same time bear lots of children and be the bestest most amazing Mom. (And then of course there are the thousands of interests and hobbies that I want to get into...but oka thats an entirely separate post)

But I've come to learn that I'm a nicer Mom when I do get to have another identity (in this case a teacher). Don't get me wrong I LOVE being a Mom but having something on the side that allows me time to have some higher cognitive thinking really works for me and makes me a better Mom to my kids. I also think (1) pursuing my education set's a good example to my children and (2) it will provide better career opportunities for when all the kids are a little older and in school....which will creep up fast on me.

So yes I am happy. Wish I could've been attracted to more higher paying professions (teachers pay SUCKS) but I've finally kind of figured out what direction I want to go and I'm slowly getting to where I want to be....at least for now....I'm not sure that I'll ever know exactly what I want to be when I grow up....but forreals who really does?

Moral of the story....

We've made some changes that are 

risky

scary

necessary

nerve wrecking

and a whole bunch of other words that I can't think of right now...

but all in all we are

excited

anxious

motivated

a bit scared

a bit worried

but

eager to face whatever comes.

And now for some quotes since I'm on a "do what you love, and love what you do" type of buzz lol