I have mostly relied on Zillow. That’s how I found the ones I visited. But for now I guess I’ll see if there’s any chance of a closer job before I tour anything else.

Lawyer said from a custody standpoint I can’t get in trouble for the smaller home. Only potential issues are if a city/state has housing ordinances or something. So I’m not gonna worry.

13 weeks of unemployment left The RBT job said full time on one page but PT on the other. Ugh. I left them a voicemail.

I forgot to answer - my unemployment benefits max out at $6110. Mathematically it appears to be 26 weeks. I just applied to another RBT job. Although working with kids full time isn’t my first choice, I would do it to stay closer.

The cats are a stress to contain. I left the house and came back to this. I’ve examined both cats and can’t find wounds. The dumbbells weren’t strong enough to keep the door snake in place. I’ll need to do something else.

I tried Tom’s years ago but it never felt like it worked. I didn’t feel fresh

I’ve tried several aluminum-free ones over the years but they never made me feel clean. And one gave me a terrible rash. I’ve tried Tom’s, Lume, Schmidt’s, Native.

Right! I guess it just happens. my landlords left town for a wedding and left the thermostat on “off” but I’ve been running the a/c. I’m always hot.

Oh yeah I did try white vinegar,too. I can’t remember if I tried dawn. I’ll try the salt mix. And try the Dawn. I don’t ever wash with bleach so I’m assuming it’s just old residue built up. But I didn’t notice how bad the stains were til recently and I don’t want to toss all these shirts.

I have several black t-shirts that have accumulated deodorant residue on the armpits, visible from the outside of the shirt. Is it too late (they’ve been laundered many times) to fix this?? Although I primarily wear clear deodorant, this residue causes these white stains. I’ve already tried a baking soda/water paste with toothbrush scrub. Hydrogen peroxide/water mix Rubbing alcohol do I need to use a wire brush or something? Any other ideas??

Yes I am definitely open to solutions like these 🙂

Yeah, a good pull out bed would definitely be more affordable than a larger apartment. I’ll look around. My current couch folds into a bed but it sucks! Too uncomfortable. I do already own 3 beds but unless there’s a huge living room in a 1 BD, there’s no where to put it. I know ds likes privacy too… so living room is not ideal. But I’ll weigh all my options.

I don’t want to require anyone to sleep on an air mattress/couch 50% of the summer 😕

I will double check but at one point 2 different Mississippi lawyers told me that they couldn’t share (based on gender) and I thought they each required a room… I’ll ask to see if I mis-remembered it and if the rule was just bed. However, I think it was room because I remember discussing with my lawyer that xh wasn’t supposed to be able to label the mudroom as a bedroom. Xh put his stepson in there though, so it didn’t affect our kids. Loophole lol They are no longer in that home and currently the 2 boys share a room.

Just my luck 😩😅😂 so my guy friend from the Halloween/live gig thing and I really like each other. He said he’s willing to try to make it work even if I move. I know that may or may not be realistic but one day at a time. Dammit, universe 🤣

My dad’s house and the room rental both appear to be the same distance to NOLA. Which is roughly 1.5 hrs each way. My gf’s home to NOLA shaves off 17 min.

If they charge rent it will be minimal. I’m gonna contribute with cleaning and child care. She’s out of town and will get the guest room ready for me this week.

I was contemplating the one bedrooms tonight actually. The thing is will it trip me up from hosting my kids… in court xh tried to force all visits to take place at my dad’s. I don’t want to give up my power to host kids at my own home. Host isn’t the right word but you know what I mean. Legally each child needs a bedroom. So the plan was dd sleeps in my room & ds sleeps in the other over holiday visits and their summer visits. I don’t know if I’ll be denied having them over if I have a one bedroom. 🤔☹️

Ok I have a new temp plan. I’m desperate. I asked my gf if I can move in the guest room with my cat as previously discussed (the one that has a daughter that is friends with dd. The dog is a threat to cats but I’ll keep my cat in the room and have to be vigilant about opening doors). We’re discussing details now. I know it may be chaotic but it will allow me to save money. She lives by the interstate too so if I had to commute short-term it would shave off a little time. And I’ll ask my bank if an offer of employment would allow me to increase my cc limit. This month I didn’t have enough cc points to make a payment but I did make a payment using birthday money. The cc keeps going back up since my storage unit, cell phone bill & auto/renters’ ins are all tied to the card.

And drive 3 hrs round trip daily? The gas $$. And wear & tear. My friend that has a cottage can only help me for like a week and I would have to drive back to check on my cat and sure my current landlords will remind me she’s sad and making noises 🙄

Just had a fight with my dad. I need to come up with a way to save money and pay my own expenses if possible because taking money from him has strings attached. I can’t get a loan. I can’t up my cc limit. I’m so screwed. and no, staying in my room rental doesn’t allow me to save up because I get $800/mo and $650 goes to rent and $150 goes to child support. It would only help me save if I was working.

I’m so torn. 😩 my current plan is to just stall and if nothing else comes through just move there but some places require a 12 month lease and I’m scared to commit unless I find something safe. One thing that might work in my favor is maybe other people won’t be eager to move in November? A lot of places have a $1200 deposit. I’d probably also have to pay utility connection fees etc. Some places have a pet deposit and/or pet rent. I outruled a gated apartment complex because they require the 3x rent thing. I could have maybe overlooked the pet rent because it has a fitness center. Man what a mess!!

I’m going to talk to my case worker (or whatever they are called) Monday about the situation. But I do know you don’t lose unemployment if you turn down something for a legit reason. Like if I can’t find a safe property to rent in my budget that seems like a reasonable excuse. But I also might just take it if nothing else happens between then and now and I’d settle for the home with stairs dd hates if absolutely necessary? Well I’d drive by it at night first. And come to think of it the washer and dryer are on the back entrance in a room so I wouldn’t have to lug mine up there.

She took forever to go up one set because of her fears. Stairs are not ideal to me with moving furniture and groceries but I’d do it. The unit with a shorter set of stairs includes a stackable washer/dryer so I wouldn’t have to move my set. I’d sell mine. I’m just so torn now, I’m scrambling to find something else. That drive will be awful wear & tear on my car. I got an email from the AL job saying they might reach out again. So who knows. That would be way closer and even though I’m nervous about the physical demands on event days I’d highly consider it now. 45 min to kids and pay is better than library. Just gonna do my best to figure out something soon. As far as property managers - well I did meet with 2 in person. The guy that owns the safer unit seems like a great landlord, expanded the parking lot when he bought the property and said he and his family live real close and will call the number if they see people parked there that should not be. I don’t think he owns more (that property houses 4 homes. 2 downstairs and 2 upstairs). The first property manager might own more but given my concern for safety I think she took me to her best one already… and it was so-so. One of those streets with horrible roads and no designated parking. But the same price as the nicer place.

I’m applying to more jobs again. I’m worried that I just can’t do the NOLA move. $1200 rent is common and I won’t make 3x that. If they bent on the rent it would be because I have a decent credit score and have 2 former landlords that would speak highly of me. I actually have a friend that fudged their income to get into their rental. They can pay their rent/bills but didn’t meet the salary requirements. I won’t do that. But that’s just to show what an obstacle this kind of thing is. Some landlords are cool with a cat vs dog. It really just depends. But the no pet place isn’t highly desirable to me, anyway.