Why am I drinking cheap beer?

"Because it numbs the pain." is not the correct answer. My reasons for drinking will be detailed in another post, but for now the issue is not the drinking itself, but the quality of which I drink. Let me provide you with a little background.

Before I had Owen (BO, as i like to call it), I was working on my 9th year at the Palace of Auburn Hills. As a manager, I had a few areas of responsibility but most of my tenure was spent as the Backstage Catering Coordinator. I loved my job and yes, it was as cool as it sounds. The Restaurant Management Group became my family (literally, I met and married Dan while employed there!) and I actually looked forward to going to work everyday. Ok, not EVERYday, but the vast majority of them.
The day before my devastating ultrasound was inadvertently my last day at the Palace. I started my maternity leave and found another job at the end of my 3 months. The decision not to return to the Palace was one of the hardest of my life. They were so wonderful to us during Owen's "scary time" giving Dan ample time off and sending well wishes everyday. However, the fact of the matter was, that I couldn't continue to work the hours and raise Owen. At least both of us couldn't. We were an event based business which meant nights, weekends, 12 hour days. All non-issues when we were a carefree childless couple. When was offered a 9 to 5 position (the holy grail of jobs in the restaurant business) as the business manager of an Irish Pub, I had to take it.

Flash forward to one year later. I am unhappy with my current situation and have come to the realization that the 9 to 5 life isn't a trade off for loving your job. So I quit. No back up. No money saved. Michigan economy. YIKES!!
Luckily, I had the good sense to go crawling back to the Palace begging for mercy. Ok, it wasn't quite that bad. When I originally left, my boss told me that I was welcome back if it didn't work out. Much to their credit they kept their promise!

So here's the current situation. I am back on a part-time basis working events in the backstage catering coordinator capacity. Time-wise it's the perfect scenario. I am at a job I love, but don't have the crazy hours of a full time manager. Pocketbook wise - holy crap! Loosing half of my salary is one hell of an adjustment for my family.
Let me make this very clear. Dan and I are not wealthy people by any means but in our younger days we always found money for the "extras". Vacations, nice dinners with wine by the bottle (ok bottles plural if we are being honest) and a new wardrobe - for me of course - at least twice a year. Jeeze, just writing that depleted our bank account a little! Even after Owen was born, the occasional purse party splurge (don't rat me out to the Feds!) wouldn't put us in the poorhouse. Those days are a thing of the past. I don't normally like to talk about money, but my new part-time status isn't just about the money, it's about a lifestyle change.

In a way, it's been good. Dan and I have really been able to weed out the extras and figure out what we truly need to survive. And yes, if you are working it out in your head, that includes beer. Just cheaper beer. Hell, if we can live like this when we are back in the clear, we might actually be able to...possibly...maybe...SAVE!
In another way, it hasn't been good. You try breaking an addiction as powerful as my US Weekly addiction! I die a little bit every time I go through a grocery store checkout line.
All in all though, it's about Owen. I've learned that a 79 cent pack of markers can provide endless enjoyment - minus incidentals like repainting and bathing. We have agreed that if at any point we struggle to provide for Owen, it's monster.com for me. Until then, I'll just keep enjoying my nightly Busch Light.

A Pictoral Tribute to Past Good Times (which are now over)

Fun at a bar

Fun at a wedding

Fun with friends out to dinner (that's Dan's twin in the green)

Fun at dinner (look at all the wine!)

Fun with the girls