Good News all around...

First, a big welcome to Mackenzie Rose. She was born Friday the 20th, sometime in the morning. She weighed something and was about so long (yea, I got the actual numbers somewhere but Melissa is at my desk and I'm using the laptop in the other room.) This makes number 2 for my sister and number 5 (grandkids) for my parents. Thankfully everything went well and the baby and mother are both doing fine. We took the girls down on Saturday and let them meet their new cousin. We got a few decent pictures of her and the girls and have already forwarded them on to grandma. I'll check with my sister and see if she minds if I upload the pics to my online albums; at least for a little while.

Second, we just got the results of our job study at work. I've been there for a little over 5 years and we've been in some type of job study since I've been there. Basically they look at what we do and compare it with other state agencies to see if we're being paid accordingly. They can't compare us to outside corporations because outside companies aren't using tax payers money. So after a few months of waiting patiently (yea right) they published their findings. Today I found out that sometime after April 1 but before July 1 I should go from a grade 12 to a grade 13 and my job title will change from Computer Specialist to Intermediate Information Specialist. What does that mean? Basically I keep on doing what I've been doing and make about 6% more. Currently their is also some talk going on in Jefferson City about getting a COLA (cost of living adjustment.) It seems they are trying to decide between giving us a 4% raise or $1600. For some of us, the $1600/yr would be better. Either way, it's much appreciated.

I know most people see both of us working and assume that we've got everything under control, financially. Truth is, we were both pretty stupid in college and ran up some extensive credit card debt. Add that to our student loans and mortgage payment and rent payment (because our house still hasn't sold - topic for a different blog) and you can see that we live paycheck to paycheck. Sometimes I think people only focus on what we bring in and never take into consideration what we have to pay out. We're slowly climbing out of the debt pit but it's not an easy task. Why am I telling you all this? I have no idea. I guess I'm just saying that to say this. Don't base your thoughts of a person on what they make or don't make because you have no idea how much else comes with it.

I think that's enough for one night. I didn't get much sleep last night so I'm heading for bed. Everyone take it easy.