Insecure Writer's Support Group: The Hits Keep Coming

I really wish I could say things are turning around since my last IWSG post. I WISH.

But I can't.

In fact, the hits keep coming. On top of hubby still being out of a job and looking, we've had a leak in a front closet and had to have someone come assess it and the ice dams that were above it. Turns out the access points to the attic are just plain pieces of ply wood with no insulation so we've basically been heating the outside a bit all winter. Not quite sure why the inspection guy didn't note that when he did his inspection or why everyone before him just ignored that fact. But given there's still a few feet of snow on the ground (we've gotten over 180 inches of snow this winter) any repairs have to wait until. Our repair guy noted we should just do it by next October, so while it sucks, it's not an OMG we need this fixed now like our furnace last year when we bought the house. We still spent a good chunk of time with an ax hacking at the ice dams to shrink them and at least stop the leaking in the closet.

BTW it's officially our first anniversary in this house. Nothing quite as celebratory as asking yourself: are we going to be forced to sell?

The toilet also acted up, but after talking to my dad, we got that sorted. It wasn't filling and there seemed to be a clog and once that got unstuck it's been fine. We didn't have to spend anything on that at least.

Then there was some credit card fraud. Someone tried to watch a few Prime movies on our dime. Hubby has been boycotting Amazon for a couple years now and we don't have Prime so getting those charges reversed was easy.

One night at 12:30am, the thermostat started beeping loudly and declared it had a communication error. As of this writing, it still has the error, but we had someone come in (at 1am. I am so glad the business who installed it has a 24/7 emergency line) and confirmed it's working properly and heating, but the tech guy will have to come look and see if he can figure out what the hell that error is about.

And, of course, hubby is still job hunting. He's been getting some rejections lately, so some tweaks he did to his resume has gotten him past the AI bots and real live people are seeing his resume. I told him job hunting online is a lot like submitting stories to publishers. You throw it at everything. You get ghosted a ton. You get rejected a lot. But all you need is that one yes. I know his yes is out there.

At least a couple of the hits have been good. I got a 50 cent raise at my crossing guard job and because Michigan is raising the minimum raise, I got a nice raise at Salvation Army. Having PTO has been nice and there's been a few moments I've needed impromptu time off and not losing that pay is a blessing.

But damn, Mr. Universe. You could chill out some. I am exhausted by it all. I don't know if we can take another hit. We certainly don't have the money for it.

Which reminds me. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ANYONE WHO BOUGHT A BOOK LAST MONTH. After my post, I got a few sales in and I wanted to cry. It's been really trying lately and we don't have family who could lend us money to help get by, so all we've been able to do is cut out as many expenses as possible, but even then, my income alone isn't enough to cover the bills and hubby's unemployment is just about up. The books sales are much needed right now--even though I won't get to see them for 2 months, but who knows where we'll be then.

Cross your fingers for me and go check out my books and knitting if you want to help and are able to (and for me to be able to go back to talking about writing.)

Today's post was part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

Created by the ninja captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh, it's a group for writers struggling with writing insecurity (AKA all of us) to gather and discuss their fears or to celebrate writing victories. If you are a struggling writer or need encouragement and friendship, join us. (Someone might have cookies!)

Remember to visit the co-hosts and give them a shout-out for helping. Ronel Janse Van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Liza @ Middle Passages!