Hi All!
Can't believe it's been so long since I've posted here! A lot has happened since I last posted. About 10 days ago I found a duplex which would rent to me (but not my dad). My dad managed to find another temporary place. A week ago today we moved the bulk of my belongings into my new place. It's nice enough - not very big, doesn't have a dishwasher - BUT it DOES have a working wahser and dryer!! Woo hoo! It also has a small storage building, which is very helpful with my overflow.

I STILL have not found a job. I call all of the employment agencies every week to make sure my name stays in the forefront of their minds, but so far, no luck. ARGHH!!! On Tuesday I will be going into Dallas for an "information" session and possible interview, for an audio visual company. They apparantally will hire people with no experience and train them. They have a website, but it doesn't give any more information than the newspaper ad did. I'm really really hoping this is legit. Of course, if gas prices jump because of Katrina, driving into Dallas might just not be financially feasible, unless the pay is really great.

For those of you who may remember me talking about my exbf Scott - a few weeks ago we had what you could call a revealing conversation. It revealed to me, at least, in no uncertain terms, that it was long past time to end our communication. It's amazing how freeing it is to not have to wonder any more about his intentions, or about whether or not I should move to Lincoln, NE.

This past weekend I made the most I could of half a tank of gas. On Friday I drove into Irving (a city North of Dallas) and spent four hours stuffing envelopes and answering phones for Pathways - which earned $40 towards my training. Then I drove to Garland (a town East of Dallas) where I spent the night with one of my best friends and her family. On Saturday I went to church with my friend's family, then we had another friend of mine over for Sabbath dinner/afternoon. It was so great spending time with my friends and with my two favorite kids in the world! Saturday night though was an evening like none other I have ever experienced before! I attended the birthday party for one of my classmates in Pathways. The party started at this place called "Dueling Piano's Karaoke Bar". I had thought that Karaoke meant that people got up front and sang - but they had actual *good* singers /piano players who played/sang - then the whole crowd sang along. All the songs were old favorites that were easy to sing along with, i.e. "These Boots Were Made For Walking" "Piano Man" "Country Roads Take Me Home" etc. We stayed there for a couple hours. The only money I spent was for the cover charge ($7) since water was free. Then we moved on to another bar in downtown Dallas. We got there early enough so that we didn't have to pay a cover charge. Let's just say this was a place I *would not* visit on my own (though, I wouldn't ever go to any bar by myself anyway). But with the group I was with, I had a blast. One of the woman in the group later told me that she'd spent $40 on drinks, and I told her that I'd not spent a dime.

I ended up not getting home this morning till nearly 3am!! My darling cat of course woke me up at 6:30 for his morning meal - he didn't care that I'd had barely 3 1/2 hours sleep - he wanted to be fed!!

Needless to say, I royally dragged today. It took me till nearly this afternoon before I finally got myself into gear and got some more stuff done in my new place. I did manage to get all the food put away (finally!). Dad and I also went to Wal-mart and picked up one of those 3 drawer storage bins to put the silverware in (there's 3 drawers in the kitchen --NARROW drawers!). So the kitchen is finally starting to take some shape. Next up is my office, then my bedroom My place is about 100 sq ft smaller than where I lived in Dallas - but it's cut up into two bedrooms, which greatly reduces actual space.

My mom is starting a new job tomorrow with UofPhoneix. She's not too excited about it, but it is at least a job. I hope she likes it better than she thinks she will.

Well, I better sign off. I promise that I WILL post more regularly (especially now that I have more reliable internet access!)

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura