Dolla Dolla Bill, Y'all

I don't have a lot of those right now. It's kind of worrying me, as usual. I don't like the idea of not being able to pay for what I need, and just a few days ago getting grain was difficult. It's even worse when you have a needy horse that requires a lot of care, which means a lot of vet bills and a specialized diet. Currently I'm slowly paying off an $800 bill from this summer (Stella's injury racked that one up quite a bit), I have Ernie's most recent bill for his bloodwork that I'm trying to pay off, I'm barely able to make board each month...and I just realized I need about $300 or more worth of hay to make it through the rest of the school year. Eeek.

Money is a sensitive issue with me, as many of you know. I hate talking finances, I hate talking paychecks, I hate talking about money period. I don't want to know how much somebody makes, nor do I want them to know how much I make regardless of whether it's good or could be better.

I'm going back to campus tomorrow to work for the next 5 days before spring semester starts. I need the money (the holidays suck anyway, the $$ issue doesn't help) and I need the time with Ernie and Stella. I miss them; it was nice to have time off, and I think it's needed every once in a while, but I'm ready to go back, rejuvenated or not. I don't know what vehicle I'm going down with, however: my truck is in limbo right now. The Yukon has been having a lot of issues with loud vibrations coming through the steering wheel, and after a million different diagnostics on the thing, we've discovered the drive shaft is all bent to hell. This would explain why it pops out of aligment so much, why it pulls to the left, yada yada yada. The best part? The reason this all happened is because of the ROAD I DRIVE ON! The dirt road to the co-op barn has essentially ruined this truck despite how careful I've been. Bottom line: it may not last much longer, and at this point it's not worth dumping more money into it. We're getting close to the point where if I continue to fix things, I'd be spending more than the care is worth at this time. Not a wise financial move.

Ugh. I've been packing all day, doing multiple loads of laundry, washing saddle pads and polo wraps, grocery shopping, running around like a chicken with my head cut off making sure I have everything. I'll be up at 6AM for the drive back, making a quick pit-stop at the barn to check the horses, and then off to work by 8AM. Hooray vacation!!