Positivity is hard to achieve

I spend a lot of my time reminding myself that I need to be positive. Negativity is harmful to relationships as well as the body, it accomplishes nothing. I've been there too often in my life and I don't like myself that way.
There are times where it's so hard to be positive instead. We loaned our car to a neighbor in need last year and when it came time to return it, he asked if he could buy it. We needed to get rid of it anyway, too small for us and we couldn't make payments on the car and a minivan as well. It worked out for all involved, so we agreed. Skimming over the following year - we have not once been paid on time. We kept our payment a month AHEAD and in 6 weeks he destroyed that buffer. We are not rich, never have been and never will be, we can't afford to pay for someone else's car. We tried being nice ... well, Mike has. Once month late and I wanted the car back, pronto. But Mike is a nice guy and I went along with it. Every single month for a year we have gotten stupid, obvious, excuses for why the money is late and sometimes he outright lied his ass off about it. Apparently, his bank is very unprofessional and misses his night deposits every time. He moved and we made a new agreement to get the last of the balance in 3 payments. HA! We have a mortgage and three kids and Mike commutes 30 miles to work and 30 miles back every day, we need to not pay for a car we don't HAVE. The insurance has still not bee switched, he has made us so late on our bills that we've had to sacrifice our grocery and gas budgets to cover everything. Obligations (such as gifts, swaps, contributions) are defaulted on, we can't go out to eat or take anyone else out to celebrate anything. We have to check the bank balance before we can get 1 single cup of coffee... I drink one cup a week. That's it!!
This Ass Hat has claimed boss trouble, job changes, moving, marital issuse, traffic, times of day, month, and week, phone service... he's blamed his wife, his boss, his bank, and still we never ever get the money on time.
He was supposed to give us last months AND this months. He was a week late in giving us last months money and has lied three times already about why he is stiffing us the rest.
We have two options - get the car ourselves or calls the cops. We're stuck because he lives hours away and we don't have his address, but if we call the cops they will stop him at gunpoint and impound the car. We can't pay those fees and as much as I want to see him drop kicked, no one deserves a gun in their face for not paying a bill.

weekends are great

I love winter weekends. Since the cold is intense and the windchill is -4, that may seem a little strange, but hear me out. The house is warm, we have plenty of food and lots to keep ourselves entertained. The van is out of gas so that will be a worry come tomorrow, but in the mean time I get my family altogether in one place for two days at a time.
All summer it felt like we were never together. I know we were, obviously, but the meals we made we fast and usually cold to combat the heat. During the heat of the day the kids would escape by watching cartoons in front off the air conditioner. The long bright summer evenings had the kids playing outside and Mike working late. There were upsides, obviously, but I felt like I never actually SAW them.
When the weather is cold, we all spend time together. The meals are hot and take longer to cook and eat, the kids and Mike help me prepare them. We sit together at the table and talk, play games and all snuggle in one room for our movies and popcorn.
Maybe I'm just being sentimental,maybe it's because it's our first winter in our new house, or the boys getting older... but I love it. These last few days have brought corn snow and graupel, lots of wind and cold, making it seem even homier in here.