Money and a Whole Bunch of Way More Important Things

I wish I had something really interesting to write about tonight, but in all honesty, I might bore you. Jared and I have really decided to buckle down on our finances. Not because we have been over indulging - no, we have been eating pasta and freezer pizza and toast - but just because life over here is so stinking expensive! Our savings have depleted miserably, and to give you a little insight to our financial life, we owe over $2,000.00 next month to the government. We aren't even living in the US... seems so unfair, but that is just how it is. I mean, we could not pay it and be on the run for the rest of our lives, but that totally isn't ideal. On top of the tax bomb, we have to buy our plane tickets home still, which are looking really expensive... like at least $800 per person. Anyway, to sum it up, we are going to be flat broke. It has been a while since we have been in that situation. I guess we are just going to have to start eating bugs? ahaha. Not really. We will be just fine. Neither of us are worried about it, just having hardly any savings is not ideal especially when we are living so far from home. We also don't like to pay interest to credit card companies (never have) so that totally isn't an option for us. What we have decided to do, is just cut back and also not worry! It does no good - the Bible tells us that. So, we have been doing really cheap things here in Scotland, and it looks like the only part of Scotland we will have the opportunity to see is Edinburgh. We have 6 days left here and we are determined not to take out any more money so... 15 pounds... What is that, like 2pounds 70pence a day? We can buy two cokes with that! It's all good. Our little shelf on the community fridge is full. I am not writing this down to make you feel bad - not at all! We are having the time of our lives, plus a little financial discipline is good for us. Also, I just want to be as real as possible when writing my blog. I want at truthful entry to read when I look back at this in 20 years (my grandpa is printing it off and making a book!). If I told you that we were spiffy, well, that would not be a lie at all! But if I told you we had the funds to do everything we want to do in Scotland, that would also be true, but we would not be able to pay our taxes if we did, which is like a huge no-brainer. So Highlands, Loch Ness Lake, and St. Andrews, we will just have to look at pictures. As Chelsea would say "Sad Day!" At least we have the opportunity to be here:)

So, to tell you about our week and to stop telling you about our finances: We started it out with a really enjoyable day at the zoo. The sun was shining and the weather was pretty perfect. If you didn’t know, I have been dying to go to a zoo since I heard that Dublin had one. We didn’t end up going to the Dublin one because we had so many other things to go and do. Well, Jared being the sweet husband that he is and knowing how much I love seeing furry animals, he took me to the one here in Edinburgh. Although I do enjoy seeing all the different species and I especially love the large cats and the wolves, I always end up leaving the zoo and having haunting images of the poor animals in cages for the entirety of their lives. They all look so sad at the zoo, and then I feel sad. Also, we went to the zoo before we realized our financial jeopardy and spent 30 pounds just to get in! That is equivalent to about $50.00. It is easy to stop thinking in terms of USD when you haven’t been using it for quite some time- so $30 doesn’t seem that bad, but then I have to remind myself that I get paid in USD not pounds and that the exchange rate really is awful. To top it off when you leave the zoo you get a free pass to come back. Who visits the zoo two times in one vacation? Hmm? They could have given them to us before we went in the first time. Oh well.

We spent a lot of time this week working and also watching “The Office”. Jared moves from one TV series to the next and he started “The Office” from season one this week. That has been fun. We also walked pretty much all over the entire city like 4 times. It is relatively small and compact. The city is divided by a ravine into two sides: Old Town and New Town. It really is a beautiful city with tons of neat architecture and loads of history. We walked “The Royal Mile” from the Castle all the way to the Queen’s house through a historic part of town. We still have to climb to the top of the small inactive volcano right on the edge of the city, but we have all this weekend free. We will probably climb the volcano (called Arthur’s Seat) and also go to the Scotland Museum (free, and also has really good reviews). We aren’t really museum people though, so we will see how it goes.

We did a “ghost tour” on Tuesday night. It was relatively inexpensive and also something that had been recommended to us. A cloaked tour guide takes the group through the city to some of the most “haunted” and dark places and tells the history of murders and of torture that really took place in Edinburgh. It really was a dark place with witch hunts and hangings and lots of war. We also visited the city that is underground in Edinburgh. There are vaults below the bridge there that were once built for shops and such, but too much water leaked in and they became muddy and dirty so they stopped using them. We went in at about 11 PM and the only light in each vault was a single candle. It was spooky for sure. Supposedly, they contain the most paranormal activity in all of Europe according to someone. Throughout the city there are narrow alleyways called closes that we visited. Our tour guide was an older lady who was an excellent story-teller. She took a liking to Jared and made him volunteer in front of everyone. That was the best part of the night for me. I also really enjoyed this group of four old ladies who had most definitely had a drink or two before the tour, but they were so funny! They were spooked at absolutely everything. Jared was standing behind them and he moved a rock to make a noise behind them and needless to say it was hilarious.

Overall this week has been relaxing and very enjoyable. I still love having a kitchen. I have been running about every other day in the park next door and I recently started writing a fiction novel. … … …...... ... I know, right? I think being in the city where Harry Potter began has really inspired me, plus writing a book is on my life list so it must be done. Why not start now? I actually think it might be good… but I bet all writers think that. Wait, did I just call myself a writer? Yep. I think I might become a writer some day.