"Life as a Newlywed" or "Broke as a Joke"

Yes, I said it. Broke as a Joke. And we are. Jason and I are trying to get out of debt and save as much as we can, be responsible with our money.

This is tough. Why? We live in LA. We rent a two bedroom home. We are paying for one car. Two sets of student loans. The rest of the credit card debt from our honeymoon. Cell phones. Insurance - health and car. Cable and internet. Gas- in the house and in our cars. Electricity. Groceries.

And God is so good - somehow every month we make it, and we put the extra down on debt, the rest into savings and start fresh for another month.

It would help if I had a regular salary and/or I was paid more than once a month. I'm working on that.

It would also help if the cost of living in LA wasn't so damn high.

So every month we suck it up, we make it happen, and we pray that someday we'll be able to do more than rent a home. And we pray that God will provide me enough work that we can pay all the bills next month.

Today, ]subbing Art at a local high school became one of the longest days of my life. It felt like an eternity. It was paid babysitting - take roll, make sure they're working on their projects. Do not teach a lesson. Sit on your butt and entertain yourself for SIX AND A HALF HOURS. Torture. Longest day ever. I have to get a new job.

Beyond being broke and hating my job, life as a newlywed is beautiful.

I love my husband more and more every day. My heart is so full sometimes I feel like it will burst.

I'm adapting to having free time in the afternoons, evenings and on the weekends. Last Saturday, I turned to Jason and said, "Honey, when's the last time I had an entire weekend off?" We couldn't think of one except for during our Honeymoon. I can't think of more than a single weekend here and there for the past four years. But here I am, with endless weekends off in front of me. Weekends are something to look forward to! Who knew?

Having lots of matching time off for the first time in our relationship has been so incredible for us. We have dinner together in the evenings (Yes, I cook! And I'm getting better and better at it!), we've been working out together and then sitting down for a movie or a game before heading to bed.

It's so good. So sweet. So comfortable.

And since being broke seems to be a rite of passage for young couples, I'm going to embrace every moment.