Keeping It Frugal in Texas

Last night I registered for my 3 Spring Classes. $2,167 for 9 credits. I'm going to have to make the first official transfer out of my six-month emergency fund to pay for it. Up till now I've only used my other savings.

This summer I'll take a 4 credit class, and then next fall I'll take 9 credits, and in the Spring 2011 I'll take a 3 credit class + the Capstone (1 week "course" where you write 3 1800- 2500 word essays - pass/fail). So, it looks good right now that I'll be able to graduate by May of 2011.

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Monday night I got home to find my landlady had acquired another dog! If you've seen the Legally Blonde movies, or Beverly Hills Chihuahua, then you'll have a good idea what the dog looked like -- except much, much skinnier/bonier. An old friend of hers showed up unannounced and told her that she couldn't take care of the dog anymore -she'd found it in a Wal-mart parking lot - and she wanted my landlady to take it.

So ... she took it. It was a very sweet and affectionate and extremely needy (male) dog - probably about six-years old and possibly used as a breeding dog (ahem..certain er.. actions constantly repeated around the female (spayed)dog Nikki ...)

Landlady put an ad on Craigslist on Tuesday, and today someone followed through and came and picked him up. His name was Bruno the Bruiser, but I thought a more appropriate name for him would be Shadow. (as in wherever the main human went he went, or wherever Nikki went, he went (until she growled at him))

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Not much else going on really. Classes are winding down. I'm still working on putting together my barefoot running paper, and have two assignments left in another class, and then a practice exam in a third class. I'm getting a few extra hours at work tomorrow, and again on Wednesday - which will be helpful since Thursday and Friday we'll be closed.

Just over a month till I see my brother again! I am really, really, really looking forward to that!

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This weekend I'm planning on putting some more hours in at the animal shelter. On Sunday I want to finish a rough draft of my running paper so my mom can help me proof it over Thanksgiving.

Yesterday afternoon I went to the no-kill animal shelter. I spent about 2 1/2 hours walking/interacting with 5 dogs. The last dog I took out was a 1 yr old large Chihuahua named Penny. She was so funny/sweet. As soon as I got her outside, she started running towards this garden area and jumped up on a bench and sat down. So, I sat down next to her, and she jumped up on my lap. We sat there for the next 45 minutes. Finally, I had to get up and take her back inside. I think she'd have been perfectly happy to have stayed much longer.

After Penny, I went into the cat room and petted cats for about 30 minutes.

I might go back on Wednesday, depending on how much I get done on my running paper.

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I stopped at the library today to pick up two James Patterson books on CD which were on hold. One is "Alex Cross's Trial" and the other is "Swimsuit." I've loaded the first into iTunes, and am working on the second one.

I also put my name on the hold list for another James Patterson book, "I, Alex Cross" which isn't out in stores yet. (I came across a free excerpt of it in iTunes - didn't even know he had a new one!)

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Heading towards the library it had been looking a little dark, which I'd thought was weird because it was only 3:30 or so. When coming out of the library, I found out why it'd been getting dark. It was pouring rain! I was completely soaked from head to toe on my way to my car.

Fun! Luckily I'd taken the dogs for their walk already.

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I stopped at Dollar General to pick up some body wash's and spray deodorant for the gym. Unfortunately I couldn't get them, because their card machine was down and they could only take cash. I hope E actually got the supplies I told him we were out of!

After work today I stopped at Wal-mart to get groceries. In the back they had a rack with a bunch of things on major discount.

I got 3 cans of new potatoes for $.34/each, two tubes of Total toothpaste for $1, and 3 3-packs of Trident gum marked $1/each.

When I checked out, the total was *much* higher than I thought it was going to be. There were a lot of people behind me, so I didn't want to challenge it at the register. After paying, I stopped by the door and checked my receipt.

Sure enough, the gum had been charged at $2.97 each.

So I stopped at Customer Service. Thankfully there was no line. The person gave me one free, and then took of $4 for the other two. In total, I received back $6.38.

Today was a good reminder to *always* check your receipt.

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I downloaded an audio book from my library's website a couple days ago called "Chocolate Beach" by Julie Carabino. I've been listening to it - mostly Thursday, then in the car during my commute, and finally finished it today.

It was really good, and funny, and sweet. I could've read the hard copy much faster, but it was kind of nice to be able to just lay back and close my eyes and let the words flow over me.

Brianna is a beach loving, Christian mom of one teenage son who is married to an extremely busy attorney. She works as a tour leader for a bus tour company in Ventura, CA. One night at Bunco, one of the ladies at her table makes a catty remark which becomes a catalyst for many changes in her life. Oh, and yes, chocolate is mentioned often, and even plays a semi-important role. Yum.

So E asked me to open the gym today. He's put the time clock from the location that's closing here. Blech!

J, the lady who reccommended me for the job came in a bit ago. As I figured when I didn't get a call yesterday nor an email- didn't get the job. The lady they hired started yesterday. Apparently. shed been laid off for a year and could start right away.

She probably had more exp. and the fact she didn't need to give a notice ....

Oh well. It wouldve been nice if they had let me know yesterday. Guess it tells me I'm better off not getting the job. With only 5 cannidates it isn't that hard to at least send an email.

So tonight I'm going to go ahead and register for the 3 classes. I think I'm also going to look more into the ideas of tutoring or working with housebound kids.

I kind of wish I hadn't even tried for this.

It's life, right?

Tonight I attended the orientation meeting at the local no-kill shelter. There were about 12 women varying from 14 to 60's in the group. We were taken on a tour of the facilities, and got to go in the kitty room and the cat room, as well as the small dog and large dog rooms.

There was a couple Siamese cats that were just adorable. And there was a 10 year old Maltese who just looked so sad. Can you imagine a 10 year old dog in a shelter? How likely is it he'll ever be adopted? I'm almost tempted ... just so he'll have a home, even if only for a few years.

You don't have to sign up for particular times, just show up when you have time and they're open.

I need to volunteer at least 8 hours, and then I can take another training session to learn how to train the dogs to do various tricks and commands. Or, I can also take another class to work with the big dogs.

The shelter is about a 20 minute drive, so it's not something I could go to on a whim, but maybe once a week would be doable.

I'm really looking forward to spending time with the animals there.

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Today B, one of my co-workers at the gym told me he tried to cash his paycheck today (the one that was over a week late) and he couldn't. His check was about the same as mine. I deposited mine yesterday.

Oh joy. I wonder how long it'll be till I find out how far it bounced? At least I found out the great possibility *before* I started moving money out of the account!

I obtained the list of children and young adult books that I will have to read for one of my classes next semester, and today read one of the high-school level ones.

It is called "If I Stay" and is by Gayle Forman. A very powerful book about the love of family, and the choices we all make. The main character is a 17 year old girl named Mia. I would not recommend reading this if you are in a sad mood. I also would suggest a box of tissues nearby.
It's short, less than 200 pages, but very well worth reading.

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I stopped by the library today to print out some discussion guide questions for the books I'm reading for my class. (We have to post thoughts about the books and do blog posts - so I'm taking notes as I go to be prepared.)

I was going to print out the booklist, but it was 15 pages long, and at $.15 per page, just not worth it.

I checked to see if there were any books on running that I could use as a source for my project, but there weren't any usable ones. I do have "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougal on hold, which will be a great source.

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I also stopped by Wal-mart and by Payless to check out any shoes they had to replace my sandals. Wal-mart had a slim selection of sandals for $5, but none of them fit my wide feet. Payless had some, but all of them had way too much heel to be a comfortable walking shoe.

I was going to stop by the Dollar General, but breezed right past it on the way home without realizing it. (It is less than 1/4 block from my street.)

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I stopped by the bank to deposit my gym paycheck and the check from my dad (iPhone fees). I attempted to do both checks via the drive up ATM, but it couldn't read my dad's check. So, I had to go inside to deposit it. Not painful, just annoying.

I also pulled out the $30 I need to bring tomorrow when I go to my orientation meeting at the no-kill animal shelter.

I am feeling uber exhausted right now - maybe left over from Saturday? - but need to have much more energy for tomorrow night!

My sandals which I have been wearing now for about three years have recently developed quarter size holes in the mid-foot area. The only reason I can think of is that as I have been learning and practicing barefoot running with a mid-foot strike instead of a heel strike, my walking has also become more mid-foot.

So, since I still haven't gone and replaced the $5 sandals yet, when I took the dogs out today for their walk I wore a pair of ballet flat shoes. About half-way in my pinkie toe on my right foot was really being rubbed the wrong way. So, I took my shoes off and walked barefoot the rest of the way.

I got a few strange looks from passing cars, but the majority of the sidewalk was free from debris, and I was enjoying myself quite a bit.

I put Kayla back in the house, and took Nicki back out for our second walk. Shortly after starting, I just felt like running! So, we ran.

On our way back, Nikki actually was acting like *maybe* I'd succeeded in tiring her out just a little bit and was actually keeping almost pace with me. So, I put a little burst of speed on, and of course, found out she wasn't so tired. She did NOT want to let me run ahead of her.

It was truly a beautiful day, and I was really happy to have a chance to do some barefooting. With all the rainy/cold days we were having for awhile, I had stopped doing my barefoot runs and gotten out of the habit.

I'm planning on doing my final paper for one of my classes on barefoot running - how to get started, why it's better for you than shod running, things to watch for, etc. If anyone's interested, I can put it up as a google doc *after* it's graded. (I wouldn't want my professor to google it to see if I copied some other source and find it already online!!)

Financially speaking, barefooting is great on the pocketbook. No shoes to buy!

If you are interested, a great place to read up on it is at Runner's World online in the Barefoot Running forum.

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In yesterday's mail I got my $50 gift card from mypoints for Walmart. That pretty much wiped out all my points. I may use it for some clothes for work (if I get the job) or for groceries, then put the same amount into savings.

If nothing happens to my car this month, I think that this will be the first month since January of this year that I'll actually be able to put money into savings!!!!

Although ... I need to register for my classes for Spring semester, and they usually require a portion upfront. Well... at least I won't have to take out the full amount from savings for it!!

Last Monday the gym manager E asked me what I was doing this weekend. I told him I didn't have any plans. He then told me that they were closing one of our three locations due to the building that location is in wanting to start charging rent. (Apparently their business model includes not paying rent, but just managing a fitness center for the building.) Then he said that they would need help moving. I told him I would be willing to help.

I forgot to ask which day he was planning on this move. Ooops. It turned out that it was Saturday. He knows that I go to church on Saturday, so when he got back to me with the day, he asked me if I could come by 2:30.

Because I had already said I would help, I didn't want to back out on my word. So, I agreed to be there by 2:30.

I've mentioned before that I'm a Seventh-day Adventist. Our beliefs on the day of worship is similar to Jews, in that Sabbath is from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. Working for money, watching t.v. etc., is not part of that time.

So, I decided to consider this an "ox in the ditch" situation, and also not accept any pay for the time I put in. (He was going to pay me my regular hourly wage.)

Well, when I got there at 2:25 there was NO ONE else there, except for him. Earlier that day one of the male "sometimes worker" and his son had come for a few hours and helped him load the heavy equipment, but everyone else had not been willing to come help. His dad, the owner, was at home "supervising" some contract work being done on their house.

So, about 2:30 I started loading up all the boxes of books (the dad/owner had co-written a book a number of years ago - there were LOTS of copies still left unsold.) About 4:30 his dad came and started to pack his office down. By about 5:15 I had finished bringing all the boxes in the gym out to the truck where E had been loading them. About that same time another helper M showed up. He helped E take down and load one last piece of equipment.

About 6:30 we finally got in the truck and headed out to the storage facility (after stopping at Taco Bell for food and drink.) A 10 minute trip took about 45 minutes because of a semi overturned in the ditch.

We finally get to the storage place, and unload everything that was to go in the "dry" building (non-climate controlled.)
About 7:30 S, E's now maybe ex-girlfriend (long story) showed up to help.

Then we started to look for the climate controlled unit. After 20 minutes of fruitless searching, we figure out that E had mixed up the numbers! He called the storage place's manager and worked it out.

About 8:00 we started unloading the book boxes into the climate controlled unit. About 9:30 M left. We closed the door of the storage unit, and the rental truck a little bit after 11 p.m.

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It was a LONG day, but the weather was perfect for it, and I feel good that I decided to help. If I hadn't shown up to help, he probably would not have finished before 5 or 6 this morning! Every muscle in my body aches, and I slept really, really well last night.

E joked that he'd have to be sure to hire all Seventh-day Adventists because they wouldn't accept pay for working on Saturday's. I told him that might be a good idea, except that it'd be hard to find one who'd work on a Saturday in the first place. (unless unusual circumstances)

I did tell him though that he can be expecting a phone call from me around May to help me move wherever I end up going then.

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Oh, I also finally got my paycheck yesterday. (One week late with a $20 bonus for it's lateness.)

Above is a picture of me in my new suit just before heading off to my interview. K, the person who took over at the gym took the picture.

Overall the interview went pretty well. I answered the questions fairly easily, and the interviewer seemed to like me.

Near the end she told me that one thing they were looking for is someone who can look her in the eye and say they'll be there two years. I told her that I could say that with confidence, because my master's program will take that long (especially if I'm working a real full-time job.)

She then told me that if I was truly interested, that she had a test she wanted me to take. A test only given to candidates she feels are a good possibility.

oh, she also asked me if I thought I'd get bored up there, having a degree, etc. I told her that I had done a similar job at TO, and hadn't been bored.

Ok, now the test. Ugh!

First 20 questions were pretty normal ..
Gave me a list of 4 words and I had to mark the word in each set that least/most described me. Ok, no problem.

THEN there were FIVE Analogies!!!! Errghhh!!!!

white is to black: blue is to ____

5 - 66: 7 - ___

Then there were Five questions about completing patterns.

One example: 298, 209, 129, 58, -4, ___

Another: A, F, Z, U, G, L, T

My eyes were bugging out!

Then to complete my fun ... 10 statements which I had to say if I Strongly Agreed, Mildly Agreed, Agreed, Mildly Disagreed, Disagreed, and Strongly Disagreed.

One statement said: I never miss an event in a series I've subscribed to.

At first I was like, what in the world?!
Then I realized they probably meant like a symphony series or a playhouse series where you can "subscribe" for a season. Well... if I could afford to subscribe to a series, darn right I'd not miss any that I'd paid for!!! But I figured out they were looking for attitudes of rigidity or judgmentalness, so I put "mildy disagreed."

When I was finished, she told me that there are four other people they are looking at, and they should make a decision by next Wednesday or so.

Oh, forgot.. benefits

Paid health insurance
Paid long term disability
Paid 15k life insurance
401k 50% of every dollar to 5% :bug eyes:
8 pd holidays including Good Friday

I didn't bring up about my upcoming vacation. I couldn't find a good way to bring it up. If the offer the job to me, then I'll tell them. Maybe something like "I'm interested in the job, however, I have a trip over the holidays which has been planned and paid for since early October. Is that going to be a problem?"

We didn't discuss salary, so I'm not sure what that'll be. Though I imagine it will be more than min wage!

Thanks everyone for your well wishes and encouragement. Ya'll are awesome.

I have an interview scheduled for Friday at 1:30!

It would be awesome to get this - no more late or bounced paychecks! ( still no paycheck for the 2nd - supposedly will get it tomorrow. )

Monday night I stopped at Ross and bought a suit, a business casual outfit, and a new pair of dressy shoes. Total: $60

I needed the suit because none of mine fit right now. It was only $15. The outfit I'll need if I get the job - if I don't get it, I'll take it back. The shoes - my only pair of dress heels have part of the sole coming off -so not a good thing to wear to an interview.

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I finally heard back from the no-kill shelter I applied to volunteer at. I'll be going to an orientation meeting on Tuesday night. I'm looking forward to that!

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I also heard back from the receptionist job I sent a resume in for on Monday night. The contact asked me to fill out an attached application - only there was no attachment! So I replied to her, and she sent me the attachment yesterday.

I printed it out today and typed it out at the library. They didn't have a fax or a scanner. I attempted to find a Kinko's, but after fruitlessly driving around for 30 minutes, decided to wait till tomorrow and fax it from work.

Tonight I got an email asking me for an interview tomorrow at 1:30. I had to say I couldn't do it - I work from 9 to 6:30 tomorrow, and 1:30 is potentially a busy time period at the gym.

Hopefully she'll take the 1:30 slot on Friday I said I could do (would have to get K to come in early, but she usually has no problem doing that.)

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Today was my brother's 29th birthday! I called him and sang Happy Birthday. Then he told me that he'd just been showing a friend of his my video text I'd sent him a couple weeks ago, when the phone rang. Spooky.

I told him about dad buying the Wii for Grandma. He was pretty impressed too.

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I made macaroni and cheese for supper tonight. I'd thought about it before, but hadn't wanted to open up a Rice Dream (milk sub). Tonight though I really wanted some, so I opened up a box. I'd never tried it without real milk - it was yummy. (For added protein I nuked a Bocca Veggie Chicken Patty and tore it up.)

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The gym I work at is closing one of our three locations. E asked me on Monday if I had plans this weekend. When I told him I didn't, he said he might need some help with moving. I thought that he meant *he* would be moving. But I found out later that it was moving their stuff out of the closing gym location.

I'm not sure how much help I'll be - but I'll be on the clock, so the extra bit will be nice.

(in March they're supposed to be opening a brand new facility -- should be interesting)

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paychecks were late this week because E and his parents (check signers) were out of town. To make up for it, they've added $20. I'll have to see my check tomorrow to see if the money actually was added.

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I was accused of being rich on Monday - by the lady who takes the 3 - 7 shift. I had said something about the paychecks being late being more of an annoyance than a hardship. I had a real good laugh about being accused of being rich.

(It was kind of one of those under the breath things - not really directed towards her - just commenting out loud {I think I spend too much time alone sometimes} - she's not really someone I like all that much, though I suspect the feelings mutual -- K on the other hand who comes in on Tuesdays and Fridays, is a sweetheart {frugal} and we get along really well)

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This was my first Halloween since I've been out on my own that I've had a chance to see a lot of kids/costumes. Usually where I've lived there were very few trick or treaters that came by.

Here, we probably had close to 70!! My landlady had to go out and buy more candy because she'd made candy packs for 35 kids.

I'm not sure why, but she pretty much let me be the one to answer the door and hand out the candy. I didn't mind, because it was cool seeing the variety of costumes (and ages!), but I thought it was kind of weird.

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I'm really trying to get back into the mindset of making my food and not just nuking it. It's just so easy to nuke the burrito or the Lean Cuisine - little cleanup and little fuss. But that mindset isn't helping my food budget much. So, the past couple nights I've been actually *cooking* supper! I made quinoa M and T, and then of course tonight, mac and cheese.

I'm going to try to keep the frozen meals just for lunches, and do actual cooking for suppers. Maybe eventually I'll cut out the frozens for lunch as well ... I got back into some bad habits....

Today I was talking to my dad about Christmas plans. We have all agreed that we're NOT going to exchange gifts this year, but that instead we're going to *do* things together. It's been a long time since my brother and I and Dad have all been in the same place at the same time, so that is an amazing gift all by itself.

However, what surprised me was this: Dad bought Grandma a Wii for Christmas!!!

Apparently they were at the gym (where grandma has a free membership due to being over 75) and they wandered over into the video game room. Grandma was playing this bowling game and just loving it. So my dad asked what it was ... it was the Wii.

I told him he's going to have to ask my brother to bring some of his games with him (he has a Wii) and we'll probably end up spending a lot of time playing with it.

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Mostly spent today working on schoolwork and laundry.

When I had the dogs on their walk this afternoon we came across this lady walking three small dogs. We stopped and let each other's dogs sniff each other. It would've been fine, but she had to go and make not one, but three! comments about Kayla's weight! (the pudgy Beagle/Basset) Seriously, one comment is more than enough -- especially when my response was "Yep, that's why we're out walking."

Oh well, more than likely will never see her again.

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Even though it's only 9 pm right now I'm feeling as though it's 10 and am ready to hit the hay. Was thinking of watching a movie, but nothing sounded really appealing. Maybe I'll start a book ... but that's dangerous to do at 9 pm .... hummm..

Thursday evening I got home from work and started to take the dogs for a walk. Before we'd gotten very far, my landlady drove by and stopped me. She told me she had found something that morning and wanted to show it to me.

Here's what she found:



She asked me if I'd be willing to let it sleep with me that night. She guessed that it was only 4 or 5 weeks old. I agreed.

We named him Felix. Such a sweet little fella. We also agreed that with her two dogs and two cats, there were more than enough animals in the house. So, he'd only sleep with me until we could find someone trustworthy to take in the little fella.

Felix got some sleep Thursday night, a good bit more than I did!

When I got home from work today, there was a note telling me that my landlady had found a home for Felix - someone we could be sure wouldn't use him for *Halloween* purposes.

I was a little sad that he was gone already, but happy he found a good home so quickly (and that I'll get a good nights sleep tonight!)

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My mom's gall bladder surgery went well. They were able to go in laprascopically (sp??) so she should recover in a two week time or so. However, my stepdad and she forgot to mention to me that he had a doctor's appointment on Thursday morning and would need someone to stay with my mom.

I got a call Wednesday night asking if I could sit with her in the morning. I had to make a few phone calls (begging) to find someone to cover my morning hours, but I was able to find someone.

I drove over Wednesday night so I wouldn't have to fight morning traffic.

No problems. Stepdad got home about 10:40, and I left.

Problem: Blinding Pouring Rain the ENTIRE way! It took me about 80 minutes to do a 45 minute drive.

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I have not heard back from the animal shelter I applied to volunteer at, nor the job I applied for yet.

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I am looking forward to this weekend - sleep and More Sleep! (oh yeah, laundry too.)

This weekend I went to my mom's place. I'd been planning on going next weekend, but when I found out she was going to have gall bladder surgery on Wednesday, I figured it'd be better to go this weekend.

Anyway... mom came with me today to an international food festival fundraiser being held at my local church. Then after that, we took the dogs for a walk. During the walk, we came across a $5 and a $1 bill!!!

I hardly ever find money on the ground, so this was pretty darn awesome!!

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I also stopped by Walmart and picked up a 50 ft Ethernet cord. Thankfully that seemed to do the trick. I may even be able to view Netflix (streaming) on it (watched a couple youtube vids and they worked really well.)

Where I live they have time Warner cable for Internet. I connect to it via a netgear wireless device. The best signal strength I get is 60%.

I can't play netflix on it, nor can I watch most YouTube videos. That's annoying, but I can live with it.

What I can't live with anymore is the connection constantly going down. Wednesday night I was trying to finish up my reference list for my research paper. There were some items I had a question on and needed my desktop - the iPhone wasn't easily able to do the needed search. The net kept going down. Finally got fed up and called my dad and walked him through finding the info for me.

Tonight it stopped working at 6:15 and still isn't working at 7:20.

Considering that I'm only here till May, I really hate to spend much money on getting the Internet working.

They have a modem I could plug into, but it is Far away.

Any ideas???

This morning the woman who works out at the gym every morning told me that there is a receptionist job open at her company. She said I could use her as a reference. We talk a lot and are sort of Quasi friends.

Although being a receptionist doesn't excite me, having health insurance again and more income defintely does!

If I were to get this, I'd probably have to slow down on school - maybe take an extra semester or two. But if I'm making enough to live on, go to school, AND save .... I think the extra time would be ok.

Tonight I need to get my resume polished and put together a cover letter. Then tomorrow I'll stop at the library, print them out, and fax them in. (she told me to fax it. )

So if it works out, then sometime next year I'll have insurance again!

I've kind of gotten spoiled though, only working 4 days a week and pretty much having nothing to do at work. It sounds like the phones are pretty busy, and there might be some typing letters and other projects to keep a person busy. Their current person is being promoted in the company.

Today after work I headed over to Micheal's to check out their cross stitch supplies. Since I wasn't sure how to get there, I put in the address into my iPhone map function.

Here are part of the instructions:

Take 121 S 11.5 miles
Take the exit
Go on the road for .8 miles
Turn right on McCrumber Street
....

Yes, it actually said "Take the exit" and nothing more. Luckily I could see that I had to pass 35, and as I was about to pass 35, I saw a sign for the McCrumber Street exit, and was able to find it easily.

Gave me a good laugh though.

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I was hunting for those cross stitch kits that included the pattern, thread, needle and a frame. They were ones I could almost always finish in 4 or 5 hours, and usually cost around $3 or $4.

Micheal's did not have any. All they had were kits starting around $10 and up that take 50 hours+ to make - ones I have the tendency (if I even open the package, that is) to start, put in maybe 10 hours worth of work, miss a row and/or add a row, get frustrated and give up on. I have finished maybe one or two of that size.

So I decided to try and find the other store which my landlady had mentioned to me. She wasn't sure if it was still in business or not.

I found it, and it was still in business. However, they do not sell ANY kits. The ladies also told me that they think that the little oval all in one frame kits that I was looking for aren't even made anymore!!

They showed me a large bin of cross stitch pattern magazines and books in the back that were all on sale for $1 each. I looked through them, and realized that I was going to have to change my plan of action. I hadn't wanted to do anything Christmas themed, but to find seperate patterns that fit into four or five different themes, would mean buying four or five different pattern books - plus of course all the ensuing thread.

So, I picked out a Christmas Mini Pattern book which had a pattern for a Bible with candles. Sort of Christmassy, but not too much. Then one of the ladies helped me pick out a good cloth for it, and she serged it for me. Then I picked up the thread. What I'm going to do is make 4 of them and put each of them into a coaster.

I have a project I'm already working on that I can give my mom and stepdad. When all is said and done, all of these items will end up costing right around $25.

Now it's just a matter of actually getting them all done in time!!

If they turn out good, maybe I'll post pictures on here of them.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who responded to my post yesterday. And to others who've responded to previous posts. You all are awesome!

I found out that there is a no kill shelter not too far from me called Operation Kindness. I have to pass a background check, an interview and send two references. Then I do an orientation session. I think this will be a good way to spend my Saturday afternoons, at least twice a month, maybe more.

My landlady also suggested to me the hospital nursery which is really nearby. I'm going to check into that and see what it'd take to be a "hold babies a lot" volunteer. I'm sure there'd be an extensive background check for that one!! (At least I'd sure hope so!)

Oh, I also finished the first draft of my mid-term research paper. The final draft is due Wednesday. It came together pretty nicely once I started typing it out.

I celebrated by going out to IHOP for a late lunch.

I stopped by Wal-mart to see what cross stitch patterns they had. (I've decided I'm going to make a bunch of those small oval patterns as a type of ornament for gifts this year - take about 4 or 5 hours to make and usually cost under $5.) But Wal-mart had NO Cross Stitch materials!!

So, after work tomorrow I plan on either finding a local needlework store my landlady mentioned, or a Micheal's.

If no luck there, then I'm going to see if I can find patterns small enough to work - I need one sports related, one antique car, one garden related, one for my grandma (maybe something teachery???)and one for my aunt (she's a nurse admin, not really sure what she's into).

Oh, I think I haven't mentioned this. But ... for Christmas I'm going to CA again!! This time it will be even better though - because guess who'll be picking me up from the airport in San Jose???? My brother!!!!!!! He'll be able to stay until the morning of Christmas Eve, then will have to leave for work. But that gives us nearly two days together.

After Christmas we're going to visit Reagan's Presidential Library and also go to Solvang - maybe take in Hearst Castle too.

It'll be nice to get out of Texas for a while, but even better to get to see my brother in person again! (It'll be good to see my dad and grandma and aunt and uncle too ..)

Ambituous Saver's dad dying recently got me thinking. My parent's aren't very old, and I don't think I'm in any danger of losing either of them anytime soon ... but my grandma is 88 .. and you just really never know. So, I'm thinking that over Thanksgiving when I'm at my mom's, I'm going to take my camera and buy a memory card for it, especially to record her telling stories about her life, memories of her parents, stories of others in her family, stories of me when I was little, etc. Maybe I could bring the photo albums my mom gave me from her first marriage/college age and video her telling who all the people are.

Then when I'm out in California, I'll do the same thing with all my relatives out there. (may have to get a couple memory cards!) You just never really know .. and if my brother or I ever have kids someday, these videos would be a great way to share vividly with them who we came from.

I may even ask my mom's brother and sister if they'd do something similar (they live in TN and OH) - I'd have to send them question starters and find out what kind of memory cards their cameras use ... but it would be great to get all those memory cards and somehow transfer them onto a DVD. Could be good Christmas gifts for next year.

Like I said in the title - this may be kind of a rant and not really financial. You may want to skip to a different one.

So, you've been warned.

00000000

Ever get the feeling that no matter what you do, you're still standing still and going nowhere fast?

Ever attend some group function where you don't know anyone and have no idea how to break into any of the clusters of people to meet anyone?

Ever hear yourself talking to people (when you finally muster up the courage to actually talk to someone in one of those clusters) and hearing what's coming out of your mouth and think you sound like a bitter, negative and just plain sad person?

Ever find yourself wondering if life is ever going to really change, or if its gonna just stay the same status quo forever?

Ever wonder how you lost the ability to make connections with new people and how you seem to have lost connections with all your friends?

Ever wonder how you're going to get through yet another Saturday night all alone?

Ever wonder how in the world you can get away from someone (like, let's say, your landlady) who doesn't get the hint to stop talking via body language (or still doesn't get the hint when you verbally say you have to get going)?

Yeah, that's me alright.

I attended my local church for the third time today. It was a service in the park. The service part was fine - it was just the standing around feeling like an idiot while all these people who knew each other already formed little clusters everywhere that wasn't so great.

Then once one of those little clusters finally pulled me in, for lack of things to say, I hear myself being a little too brutally honest about why I left teaching and the fishbowl of pastoral/teacher life in the church. And then saw people trying to get away from me as fast as possible as I'm kicking myself in the rear.

I stink at small talk.

Then of course there's having nothing to do on a Saturday night other than surf the internet or watch a movie with my landlady. When what I'd really love to do is go find someone to play card or board games with - or just get out of the house. (If this was a once or twice a month occurrence, that'd be one thing. It's when it is 90% of the time ... and then the other 10% is usually a weekend spent with mom and stepdad .... well...)

Not to mention I had to go and read one of those insightful articles about singles that tell you not to stay home - but get out there and be seen! Ok if you're single, have money to spend, drink, and oh, actually have someplace to go! But lets just say that you're single, broke, don't drink, and better yet, have no place to go - what then?!

Oh yeah, lets talk about the connections thing. It appears that pretty much all of my friends have gotten way too busy in their lives to keep a connection with me. Even my one nearby friend T seems to have pretty much dropped me - haven't seen her in six weeks, and hadn't heard from her in a month before that. And yes, I did attempt to contact her several times.

Other people I've met through various functions - and seem to have made some kind of a connection with - simply vanish.

I'd like to have a life. Really, I would. My life right now consists of working 4 days a week at the gym where I see a few people throughout the day - some of whom don't even bother acknowledging me; coming home and walking the dogs; sitting in front of the computer for hours and hours either doing school work, or more likely, just surfing; and of course the scintillating brief chats with family.

Then of course there is the weekend.

I'm attempting to get back into regularly attending church. For many reasons, one of which is to try to meet new people, and sadly, another partial reason is to fill hours. (more reasons than those two, but they are sadly two of them)

But that still leaves Friday night, Saturday afternoon and evening, and Sunday to fill. In my faith Friday sundown to Saturday sundown is supposed to be "set apart" from the rest of the week. So things like watching TV, doing schoolwork or shopping aren't generally done. (not Jewish)

I want to change my life. I want to figure out how to be that elusive single person who has a life and is perfectly content.

I wish I could figure out the answer.

I've tried meet-ups (meetup.com -site where people of similar interests in local areas can arrange get togethers). Had no luck in making any connections that made it out of the meetings.

I'm trying at church - have tried before as well. Somehow everyone is already part of a couple, or if not, already well stocked with people in the church, so makes it difficult to add myself in. But, I keep hoping that somehow, somewhere, I'll find someone who actually has time and space to add me to their life once in a while.

I would just so love to find one person to go walking with, or several people who like to play games, someone I can connect with like I did with T, but maybe without kids or hubby - and preferably live close enough to actually spend time together, even a couple times a month!

In SO many ways I am blessed. I have a job. I have a roof over my head, and plenty of food to eat. I have plenty of clothes to wear. I have a great family who loves me. I'm having the opportunity to return to school and pursue something that might actually be an enjoyable career.

But is that all there is to life? Work, shelter, and non-husband/children family?

And then of course I take a look at myself in one of the 15 deleted video clips of a message I made for my brother. Do I really look like that? Forget the slow, steady and sensible weight loss, and bring on the speedy as a silver bullet loss! (No, I won't really go that route. I just feel like doing it when I think of my image in those deleted clips.)

.... I was looking at my sidebar and noticed my 3 personal goals. #3 is "Give of myself to others, and enrich my life with friendships old and new."

This entire post is all about me, isn't? How crappy I feel about my life. How I can't seem to make any new connections or maintain old ones. There is nothing about how I'm giving of myself to others.

Maybe that's a large part of my problem. I'm so focused on myself that I've become myopic.

***Warning - Religious talk ahead***

Even though I'm attempting to attend church regularly again, it's not really for the right reasons. First and foremost it should be about improving my walk with Jesus, and in so doing, being a light to others. Not about meeting other people to fulfill *my* needs of friendship/companionship.

I call myself a Christian, but I'm not so sure I can really claim that. A Christian is a follower of Christ. Christ was someone who cared about others so much that he sacrificed his own needs to make sure others were taken care of. He forgave people who were unimaginably evil towards him - he didn't become bitter or continually rehash old hurts.

I've made my sacrifices for others (one person in particular.) But I didn't do it particularly cheerfully, nor leave that time without somewhat of a bitter taste in my mouth for time and resources lost. I say I've forgiven and moved on, but then I hear myself talking (like today at the outdoor church) and realize that I really haven't.

I need to change my focus. It may be the only way to change my life for the better.

Now, just to figure out how to do that.

So this morning I got up earlier than usual for a Wednesday (day off) and drove over to the Brakes Plus shop. There was one car who had arrived ahead of me. The person I talked to said they only had one technician on staff today, so it might be a bit before they could give me an estimate.

I told him that was fine, because I could walk home and get stuff done.

So, I walked back home. The past week we've had wet and cold weather. Today, we had clear skies, but *muggy* weather. I was soaked by the time I got back. (about 8:20 a.m.)

So, I piddle around doing various things until finally I get the call about 10:30. I'm told my rotors are shot and need to be replaced. To have the front brakes done + the rotors would be $310. They also suggested a brake flush and some toolkit thingy which would have added another $90.

I went ahead and did the $310 work.

Was told it'd be a few hours. So, I decided to walk over to the library so I could get a card, and use a computer to print out the journal articles for my research paper. (The question was released last night for our mid-semester paper - due one week from today.)

The walk to the library wasn't bad at all - except for the mugginess, and crossing two pretty busy roads. (with stoplights thankfully.)

After getting my library card, I managed to find a free computer and sat down to get to work. Unfortunately, the computer wouldn't let me set cookies, so I couldn't access the articles I needed to print.

Luckily the person working the information desk was very accommodating and let me work off one of her computers - she even went and fetched my papers for me!! Turned out that she also is a library science student at my uni, but is almost finished. She didn't know about RefWorks, so I told her about it. (great site where you can export document citation info to, and then it will format your references for your research papers.)

The 9 documents I printed out cost me $14.55, but I think it was worth it to have hardcopies to work off of.

When I was done at the library, of course I walked back home. I managed to read through all my documents, and even write an introduction to my paper, when I got the call that my car was ready.

So, I walked over to the brake place and picked up my car. When I got home, I started a load of laundry.

Then I took the dogs for a walk. Because it was so muggy, both dog walks were shortened. (I take both for a walk together, then go out again with Nikki for a longer/faster walk.) In my second walk with Nikki, we came across a lady with her dog who somehow didn't understand about picking up after your dog's #2's. Ick! The lady herself was pretty nice, and I didn't say anything to her about it ... Maybe I should've.

Well, by the time I got back from the 2nd dog walk, I was completely soaked and parched. Finished up my laundry .. and since then have been procrastinating about doing any more work on my paper!!

Tomorrow is a long day at the gym, so I'll take my netbook and all the documents tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be bored enough to actually get some more work done on it.

---
I'm thinking I really need to get a copy of MS Word. For me to have the full functionality of RefWorks, I have to have Word. So far I've gotten by just using Open Office. Maybe if I could find a copy of MS Office that predates the 2007 version? I *detest* the 2007 version! (I'll have to have MS Access for a class I'll be taking this summer .. so one way or the other I'm going to have to get it.)

@ My mom had an outpatient procedure on Friday - they injected something into her back to calm a swollen nerve -- seems to be helping so far, but she may need the injection a couple more times

@ I spent all day Saturday at a library science seminar, and then met with classmates. It was really funny - one lady I had a lot in common with - we were chatting away and I mentioned about my barefoot running - she reacted like she'd met a celebrity! Lol! I'd mentioned it in my intro and she'd remembered it ever since - said her husband would be jazzed. Too bad she lives in Houston , I think we'd have fun together.

@ my dad sent me a check for the monthly iPhone charges + a little extra -for clothes! I thought that was really sweet and hood timing since I had just bought some new pants!

@ Saturday morning I did my official monthly no- s weigh in. Since July 23 when I started ( including two weeks where I wasn't doing great) I have lost 8 pounds!!

@ I don't get what's going on with E ( gym manager). When I went to the south gym on wednesday there were no clean, dry towels. There was a load washed - luckily I arrived 40 minutes earlier than I was supposed to ( wasn't sure about traffic) and barely managed to have a dry towel ready for the first gym visitor. I off handily said something about it to E, and he was like "I don't know why you guys complain about doing the laundry" I wasn't complaining about doing the laundry - I was annoyed that HE hadn't done any the day(s) before, which left me with no clean towels to start the day. According to the person who normally is there on Wed's this is a normal occurrence.

Then on Friday I went to the south gym again after E had supposedly opened it - I found out when I was closing for the day that he hadn't turned on any of the machines!!! Seriously , how does he wonder why people aren't renewing?? Not to mention all 3 locations constantly running out of one supply or another. (like the ladies bathroom on wed having no papertowels!)

I think he's as bored as I am with doing this but he is rebelling against his parents (owners of gym) by doing the bare minimum - and even less!

I worked an extra shift at the gym today. So, that will be a nice little boost on the 15th.

But ... the real reason for this post.

When I got home from work, I had a letter from my old apartment complex. It was kind of thick, so I was wondering what in the world it could be. Were they charging me for things in the apartment??

Well, I opened it up and was shocked to see a check for $314!!!

When I moved in, I paid a $300 pet deposit and a $99 Security Deposit. I am pretty sure that half of the pet deposit was non-refundable.

When I moved out, I didn't put too much effort into cleaning ... so basically wasn't expecting much, if anything back.

They charged me $85 for cleaning, etc, and gave me the remainder!! I'm sure not going to argue with them about it.

That money will come in handy next week when I get my brakes worked on.

I just got back home from work to find a note on my door from my landlady. Essentially it said that the longest that I can stay here is till Oct 2010.

Apparently there was a huge misunderstanding.

When I was looking at this place as a possibility, I remember stating several times that I was looking for something for several *years* because the program I'm in will *take* several years. I guess she didn't hear me say that, or it didn't register or something.

The soonest I'll be finished with my degree program is May 2011.

The thought of having to move again, even a year from now, makes me sick to my stomach.

I *think* Spring classes end in April, and then May you can take a 3-week short class before the regular summer classes begin. So ... probably the best time for me to move somewhere else would be in May.
August wouldn't be a good month, because I think there'd only be a two-week break between the end of summer classes and Fall classes.

I just feel like screaming myself hoarse right now!!!!!

I don't know about any of you, but over the years I have tried many different things to lose weight. I've tried Weight Watcher's several times - both doing actual meetings and doing online only. I've tried ediets, WeighDown, and just simply counting calories through Sparkpeople or Fitday. A few times I tried taking some of those "miracle pills" that just left me jittery and sleep deprived.

All those diets and plans have several things in common: 1. They are complicated with lots of rules to remember or time spent entering information. 2. You develop the mentality of "Well I slipped up today, may as well totally fall off and start again Monday." 3. Most of them cost a lot of money. 4. They're not truly sustainable.

And .... although I lost weight on all of the various plans ... I eventually have always regained it.

So, what does all this have to do with anything?

This past July I was reading a blog on Sparkpeople of a person who has attempted more diet plans and styles than I have. In the post I was reading, she had just discovered the No-S Diet. I was completely intrigued, and so went looking to find out more about it.

It is simple. Not complicated. And completely free. And ... it saves me money on my groceries!!!

Here is the No-S Diet plan: No snacks, no sweets and no seconds, except for (sometimes) on days that begin with S.

So, that means that Monday through Friday I have three meals. Each meal fits on a plate. If a Special event comes up, such as my birthday or a family member's birthday, I can choose to make that day an S day.

S days can also occur when you are sick.

But usually, S days are only Saturdays and Sundays. No rules apply on S days except ... You can't mess up!

Do you see why I love the weekend now?

This is NOT a plan that will help you lose 20 pounds in 8 weeks. You're more likely to lose 4 or 5 pounds in those 8 weeks. But ..... you also are more likely to KEEP those 4 or 5 pounds OFF Forever!

This is truly a plan which can be easily followed for life. It is essentially learning how to maintain an appropriate weight, while working on losing weight.

How does this save me money on my groceries? Well, that's pretty easy. I'm eating less! When it is a weekday (or what we call N days) I can drive home from work without stopping to get a snack.

Before, I would fight and fight with myself about stopping to get something, and would lose the fight more often than not. Now, it's not a question. If it's an N day, I just don't stop!

Believe me, I didn't think I would be able to manage 5 days in a row without chocolate. But so far, I have managed 6 sets of 5 days with NO Chocolate!!! The awesome part is, is that after making it through the 5 days, I can treat myself to a cookie or even a small Dairy Queen Blizzard with No Guilt!

I will have to warn you though -- you may find your tolerance level for sweets diminishing. A few weeks ago I bought a Peanut Buster Parfait and only managed to get 3/4 of the way through it. The chocolate was making me feel sick!!

I haven't followed it perfectly. There have been days where I backed my car into the wall (and a few times even drove over the cliff.) But when that happens, I am learning to say "Mark it* and move on."

*Mark It -- Reinhardt, an engineer and librarian, who developed this system, also developed something called "Habitcal." This is a simple way of marking your S days and your N days to show Success, Failure, or Exempt.

So, if you're looking for a simple (free) way to lose weight and keep it off for life, and probably save on your grocery bill too, check out No-S!

http://www.nosdiet.com

Let me know if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.

I finally managed to get a picture of the two dogs I've been taking for walks most nights. (We didn't go today because when I got home from church it was too hot, and then later it's been raining and they don't like the rain.)

So .... here's Nikki (the one full of energy):




And here's .... Kayla (who is starting to walk a bit faster and further!):



And here's Sierra, one of the two cats - I rarely see Max (the other cat) so haven't been able to capture a picture of him yet:

Note: I'm writing this while at the gym and on my iPhone, so please forgive any typos.

On Wednesday when I got a new tire for my car and bought a bike, I also was given a strong suggestion.

Get new brakes --- Soon!

The mechanic told me I have about 20% left.

Oooops!

I'd known that it had to be coming soon. After all, it has been at least six years since I last had my brakes done. But I'd been hoping to hold out till November so I'd have a couple months of lower expenses before messing with them.

I considered going back to the mechanic I used during my Murphy month. But then I realized that he'd told me my tires were fine and made no mention of my brakes. ( this was after me specifically asking him to tell me if he noticed anything else) Not to mention that he's way out of my way now.

This doesn't seem like something I can put off for very long. I hate to put more money in the car if I'm just going to be trading it in soon. But I was really hoping to wait for a car sales crunch time - esp end of qtr and end of month when they're desperate to make a sale.

The last time I got brakes, I think it was around 100. But I don't think they were as far gone. I'm worried it's going to be a $$$$ job.

I probably just need to take it to a mechanic ( maybe my stepdad can suggest one - he used to live in my new area) and get an estimate.

--------------
I ordered a cashback reward from Chase before moving for $100. It came on Tuesday, so last night I deposited it and my paycheck. Guess all my car troubles and tuition bills are good for something.

It will add up much more slowly now because I can't put my rent on it anymore. Cheaper rent is worth it.

------
I checked into a local bike club. There is only one ride for novice bikers, and it is on Saturday mornings when I'm in church. So that won't work.

I found a book on bike care at my library which I put a hold on. It's written for kids, but I bet the info will still be useful. There was one book for adults, but there were no copies. ( I've asked why they have books in their catalog if they don't actually have any copies. I was told that it means they did have a copy at one time, but it was lost or irreparrably damaged.)

Lux, I checked out the bike tutor site. Lots of good info. The main thing I was looking for though was how to know if your chain is on correctly. My chain had come off the gears when I took it home. I put it on the lowest gear and was able to ride it, but there is a clicking type noise once every revolution.

---
I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Nowhere to go, just relax and see if I can work ahead in some of my classes.

There's another reason I love weekends, but I'll have to save it for another post.

Yesterday I took the bike I'd gotten for free off of freecycle about six-years ago to a bike shop to get tuned up. For the past 3 1/2 years it had been locked up on the balcony outside my apartment, and exposed to all the elements. The bike guy took a look at it, and told me that it needed a lot more than just a tune up, and that he'd suggest starting over with a different bike. (rusted chain, rotted/dried out tires/tubes, etc.)

So, this morning while I was at Wal-mart getting a new tire on my car, I checked out the bikes. I ended up getting an 18-speed trail bike for about the same cost as revamping my old bike (10 speed cruiser.) (I also purchased a helmet and a little carry all bag that attaches to the handlebars.)

I took it out for a short spin this morning, and started to get my bike balance back, but not quite all the way yet.

I will definitely need to get a better bike seat soon, if I want to do anything more than a short bike ride.

*I am planning on looking for a place/someone to teach me basic bike care and maintenance. Now that I have a new/nice bike, I'd like to know how to keep it nice for as long as possible.

----

This move is benefiting me financially, emotionally (related to not having to worry so much about stretching min wage dollars + going to school), and also physically since I have two good excuses to be active every single day.

At my new home I have been taking the landlady's two dogs out for a walk everyday. One of the dogs is quite overweight, and only goes for a short bit. The other one though, I can't seem to tire her out!

So, once I get a bit more steady/confident on my bike, I'll take her out on a short bike ride and see if I can manage to finally tire her out.

In fact, the dogs have come to expect it. Tonight I got caught up watching a television program on TLC that my landlady was watching. Both of the dogs kept paying attention to me - wagging tails, etc. Finally, when the program was over, I stood there talking with* (not really with, more like nodding head and being polite) the landlady.

The larger dog kept staring up at me with her big Beagle eyes, and the hyper one started jumping up on me while wagging her tail. Finally, I managed to get away to the restroom. When I came out, both dogs were laying in front of the door waiting for me. LOL!

--
*In case I don't have a chance to read and comment on others blogs until this weekend - I'm working two long days in a row, so may not be able to catch up on blog reading till Saturday afternoon.

So yesterday I was heading to my mom and stepdad's. We were going to go see "The Promise." I was hungry, so halfway there decided to stop at Sonic and get a grilled cheese. (I love grilled cheese.)

I pulled up a bit too far and managed to hit the cement stop - not hard, but a good bump.

When I finished eating, I started back on my way. I heard a scraping sound. At first I thought it was just the scraping sound you hear sometimes when the bottom of your car somehow manages to get too close to the ground. But, it continued as I began to accelerate onto the highway.

So, I pulled off onto the shoulder and got out to take a look and see if I could figure out what was going on.

Here's what I saw:


I tried putting it back into the wheel well. At first I couldn't figure out how to get it back in at all. Finally, I did manage to get it back in (sort of.) Then I drove slowly along the shoulder - still heard the scraping sound.

Luckily I was very near an exit, so kept my emergency blinkers on and slowly drove towards the exit. With all the car troubles I've had in the past few months, I was worried that the scraping sound was BAD NEWS.

I managed to get off the freeway and parked onto a shoulder on the frontage road. At this point I called my roadside service. (Thankfully, my year began again on September 23.)

During this time I had also called my mom and stepdad. Not knowing how long all of this would take, they went ahead and released our tickets for the program. My mom was planning on coming to pick me up in case my car had to be towed.

Finally the tow truck driver/roadside assistance person showed up. I showed him what the problem was.

He told me that it was the inner fender that had broken out of its proper place, and that there were two options. One, take it to repair shop and have them rebolt it into place, or Two, take a knife and just cut the hanging part off.

I opted for option number two. So, he took a knife and cut it off. I asked if I needed to sign anything, but he told me I didn't. So .. I am thinking that this may not count toward my 4 calls for the year.

So ... thanks Murphy for just teasing me a bit. I guess even he's got a sense of humor.

During the time I was doing my packing on Friday, I made sure to put a change of work clothes and a pair of workout clothes in my gym bag. That way I would be ready and raring to go Monday morning no matter how much had or hadn't been unpacked.

Unfortunately, that bag has not shown up anywhere yet. It may be in the garage - but I just haven't come across it.

In it, is the only pair of non-jeans pants that fit me right now. It is getting cooler here in Texas, and so I am probably going to be wanting long pants sooner rather than later.

Also, the pair of jean capris that I wear to work a lot are starting to wear out. I've had them 3 or 4 years I think.

So, probably this weekend, I ought to look for a new pair of pants - but I don't think I'll replace the capris just yet.

I hate shopping for pants. It is SO hard to find ones that fit me. I might just start off at Lane Bryant (where my lost pair came from) and hope they have some great sale going on right now. Ugh!

Of course, as soon as I buy the new pair, the bag is going to show up. That's how it works. :roll eyes:

I have been quite busy the past few days, and am just now having a few moments to sit down and check in with ya'll.

Midnight Parties:

Friday night about 12:15 p.m. my downstairs neighbors decided that was a perfect time to have a party. Music with a steady beat vibrating my floor, and of course, the best place to congregate was in the foyer. The foyer which is tiled. And in which sound carries easily up the stairs.

After about 20 minutes of this, I finally called the police. About 40 minutes later the music was somewhat turned down, but of course they continued their constant drunken chatter in the foyer. (I could hear the lids of of their bottles clink on the floor.) I finally managed to get to sleep, and was able to sleep in.

Saturday I spent from about 6 pm till midnight packing. I realized I still needed at least a few more hours to be ready, so set my alarm for 5:45 a.m.

At 12:15 p.m. the music started again, although at a lower volume, and the chit chat group began again. About 1:30 I had enough, so I went out and said, "Senors, por favor, ustedes hablamos en el apartmento." (Sirs, please talk in the apartment.) They looked at me like I was loony. Then they responded in rapid fire Spanish. Uh... yeah. Didn't get that, sorry. Pretty much exhausted my knowledge of Spanish just now.

So, I went back to my apartment and had the pleasure of listening to them continue to talk loudly in the foyer until 3 a.m. Then I finally was able to go to sleep.

Needless to say when I woke up Sunday morning, I was dead tired. So, of course I needed some good music with a loud beat to wake me up. :snerk: (I made sure my music could not be heard outside my door - but I do have a subwoofer - so lets just hope the downstairs neighbors weren't light sleepers.)

---
The Move:

Somehow, even with all the stuff I gave away recently, I still have WAY TOO MUCH stuff! It took me way longer to pack then I thought it would - and I even had to ask my mom and stepdad to help me - and we still didn't get everything before the movers arrived. (And the movers arrived an hour late!!)

I've gotta say, it was really, really, nice to not have to carry any boxes down or load up the truck. The three guys got everything taken care of boom, boom, boom!

On the way to my new home, I got us lost. I knew exactly how to go, but somehow I managed to get this idea in my head that we had to take the left exit instead of the right exit!! Luckily I figured it out right away, so it only added maybe 15 minutes (by the time we got turned around.)

My mom and stepdad arrived at the destination well before we did. Mom told me she likes my landlady, and is satisfied with the neighborhood. (She *hated* the apartment complex where I'd been living.)

The movers got everything moved in pretty quickly. The one that I paid at the end was extremely honest. I accidentally gave him an extra $100. He came back and asked me if I'd meant to give him that much. Whooh! I'd meant to give him a $40 tip (they really did a great job.)

I just love the dogs and cats. They are so sweet. Maybe tomorrow I can get pictures of them. (My landlady keeps the lights off pretty much all the time - and doesn't seem to use the a/c either.)

Here is a picture of my room. What you can't see in the picture is my dresser. But I think this gives a pretty good idea of the size of the room.



My drive to work is virtually the same distance and time as before. So, that is good news to me.

Tomorrow I don't work, so I'll be going back to my apartment to try and get the remainder of my stuff and start working on cleaning it. I still need a box large enough for my pictures, so will have to go back again probably on Friday after work. Hopefully at that time, I will be able to turn my keys in.

Ok, I better get going. I still have classwork I need to get done before tomorrow night.