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Hello ... :)

June 4th, 2016 at 05:53 pm

It's been a bit.

Sunday will make two weeks since I did the major move in to our home. All but one cat and one DH are also moved in. DH and last cat eta move in tomorrow.DH has been waiting for some eggs to hatch first. So .. two possibly three chicks will also be arriving tomorrow (oh, some turtles will be coming too)

We've (or I should say, (I've) been dog sitting for the past week. That's been fun - getting two sets of cats acclimated to each other and to their new home. while also taking care of a dog. Sweet dog. Sweet dog who unfortunately has some kind of a skin infection which causes him to itch constantly. Which the owner failed to mention to us.


I got the name of his vet only by calling him the night after he dropped the poor dog off and seeing how miserable he was. of course this was on a Saturday of a holiday weekend.

Sunday I spent $40 at Petco on itch relief spray and oatmeal shampoo, as well as a couple chew bones. DH and I gave Koky a bath - which helped some. The itch spray also seemed to help some.

Tuesday after work I called the vet anf found out this was an ongoing issue - mostly due to inconsistency on the owner's part of giving meds.

Wednesday after work I picked up the new order of meds - to the tune of $97. Ouch. But they seem to be doing the trick! He's still itching, but not nearly as much.

We've got him for three more weeks. It will be much easier once DH is here full time so I don't have to rush home from work to take the dog out. I enjoy taking him on walks - it's just stressful when I know he must be desperate to go out and traffic is inching along.

The first week traffic was a dream - 15 minutes give or take. This past week though, construction season started ... 25 - 30+ minutes! Ugh!

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We're in serious talks about privacy fence again. This week we've seen adult neighbors crossing through our back yard multiple times ... but more annoying .. their German Shepherd has been allowed free reign to come into our yard! I *really* don't like this - especially since I am going out in my yard with Koky multiple times a day. Koky would not intimidate a GS.

DH is chomping at the teeth to give neighbors a piece of his mind, but realizes it might not be a good idea.

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I saw some cube shelving at Big Lots which I thought might work for the bedroom and the office - a buy one get 50% off the second sale. DH and I went to look at them in store on Thursday and well ... I was disappointed with their in real life look.

Budget ... ??? What's that?

I broke the tub faucet last week ... didn't think a pipe was broken. Til the next morning when I heard a dripping sound in the basement. I thought it was new leakage due to some fierce rains. Nope - DH discovered it was a broken pipe. Oops.

We haven't gotten the bill yet from the plumber.

Our home warranty person is going to submit it for us (not insurance, but the warranty plan) to see if they'll cover the broken pipe ( faucet isn't covered)

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The Internet/cable got installed on Saturday. What a fiasco. The guy was here at least two hours. Then there are only two cable hookups in the house - the living room and the basement. I'd bought a wi fi extender which i put in the office. After nearly four frustrating hours I finally got it working on my computer - sort of. The connection kept dropping!

So on Sunday I bought a 50 ft coaxial cable and ran it from the living room to my computer in the office. Internet was back! But now we have a cable cord running through the house ... A some point we're going to have someone come out and run it through the floor or ceiling.

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Lots more .. but at any rate, I'm glad it's the weekend and I can take some time to breathe a little. (and catch up on the net!)

30 Days! And Updates

March 26th, 2016 at 02:39 am

Just 30 days to go til I change my last name and add Mrs to it. Smile

Mr FT and I had a heart to heart a few nights ago about the househunting. I suggested maybe taking a break from it - he realized that part of my frustration was from feeling like he was dismissing all of my suggestions. It's going much better now (not taking a break.) Who knew, communication, right? Smile

We may have found another really good candidate. It'd be about a 30 minute commute. 3+ acres. We plan on driving out to give it a closer look tomorrow - plus find out the policy on chickens.

Chickens ... the main reason we totally gave up on the house we love. The house we love(d) is now off market.

There is a second home we are going to drive by tomorrow that is actually in L town.

Mr FT has agreed that if we don't find THE house by the end of April, he will be willing to look for a house that is "good enough" for 4 or 5 years. Just so we can get ourselves into ONE household!

Hopefully one of these two homes we're looking at tomorrow will be THE one. Smile

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My aunt from Ohio is going to be making us a quilt! She made me a handmade Cabbage Patch doll when I was 5 or 6 - Rosie - which I still have. Smile I'm really looking forward to seeing it! (Speaking of, maybe I should remove the quilt from my registry ... not that anyone is even USING the darn thing. Ufta! What a waste of hours that seems to have been ...)

My bridal shower is in less than a week!! I really have no idea what to expect. I've been to lots of them over the years, but none since I've lived here. Will be interesting. Smile

We have all but one of the six rooms at the bed and breakfast reserved now. Mr FT's relative may or may not be coming ... We're not sure if she has her panties in a wad because we didn't send out invites to his other relatives (whom he has never met ...) or if it really is just that she's not doing well. No response to my message asking if she'd gotten the invite, and a two word response to Mr FTs message ...

Oh well, I built into the wedding budget this possibility (that we'd be on for two rooms.) If they do come, it will be a nice surprise.

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This Sunday I MUST do some major cleaning of my apartment and my car. Will be having way too many relatives probably wanting to come over and see the place /see Kari to wait to the last minute.

I've been doing more cooking lately, but not been doing so well at cleaning as I go. So .. hence the need for major cleaning. Smile

Tonight I made fried quinoa and asparagus with leftover cooked quinoa (from last Sunday) and asparagus I bought for $.88/lb at a new local fresh grocer last week. Yummy!

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I'm in the midst of working on several projects related to the wedding - slideshow' typing up / putting together final product of ceremony schedule; typing up final unity candle version; typing up / emailing photographer list of must shots; typing up wedding weekend schedule; working with Mr FT to finish up music playlist for rehearsal dinner ...

Just a few things left. Smile Oh yeah, I still need to get the baby's breath for my hair. Forgot to ask the lady who made my bouquet/boutonniere for some.

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With all that's been going on, I've gotten REALLY behind on my budget / recording spending. It's not going to be pretty once I do get it caught up. Especially since some things could go into multiple categories ... Really do need to get it done though soon. Maybe tomorrow night.

Speaking of spending ... my phone bill is going to be the highest it's been since starting to use Ting this month. It's already at $39, and I think my text bucket is going to go into the next level (if it didn't already tonight.) Sigh. Still better than $76+/month no matter how much I actually used. Once this wedding stuff is finished and we're in a house together, the bill will drop significantly.

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I ordered a Hello Fresh delivery through Swagbucks - 1000 SBs, plus a $40 off coupon. That should come tomorrow. It'll be enough for 6 meals for me. $19 is still a lot for that much food - put it on pause for the next week (and will continue to do that for a few weeks, til it's safe to cancel.)

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Work has been up and down this week. Had a few days of major irritability ... but my talk with Mr FT on Wednesday night helped a lot, plus better sleep, so Thursday and Friday were decent.

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Next week need to make the downpayment for the photographer, also for the cake, and probably should check in with the caterer as well. Plus decide how many pizzas / what kind for the rehearsal dinner and figure out how to do rootbeer floats (two cartons of ice cream - one dairy, one non-dairy? Scoop your own?)

Then two weeks from Sunday will be meeting with photographer at the bed and breakfast.

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With all of this, I have been sorely lax in much of any kind of physical activity. Thankfully it hasn't been affecting the scale too much (even though I've eaten my share of junk ...) Am looking forward to getting to a place where I can put a more normal schedule together again.

Mr FT talks about getting back to "normalcy" too ... Smile It will be fun to discover what "normalcy" will mean when it's the two of us +cats in our new home. Smile

Makeup Trial, Unity Wording, Cooking Skills - Cook Smarts discount?

March 16th, 2016 at 02:04 am

Today I had my make up trial. It was a lady who does airbrushing. Have you ever had airbrushing done? It seriously tickles!

I really liked the lady. She was so friendly and talkative. I had to have her redo my lipstick though because it was just way too dark for my tastes - thought it made me look pasty in contrast.

I've got fake eyelashes on. Weird. Really weird. Though I do have to say I like how they look. Not enough to wear them regularly. Smile

With tip, it cost me $37 for the trial.

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So I was working on the wording for the unity ceremony today. I'm planning on doing it in two parts. The first part where my mom and Mr FTs sister light our candles, and then we light one candle. Then the second part where my uncle will issue a challenge to the guests to support us, and then we light all the candles of everyone.

I'm not sure if I like the wording 100% yet. So .. if you all could offer your take on it, I'd appreciate it. Smile

"The two outside candles have been lit as a symbol of your lives at this moment. They are two distinct lights, each capable of going their own way. To bring bliss and happiness into your home, there must be a merging of the two lights.

From now on, your thoughts will be for each other, rather than just for your individual selves. Your plans mutual, your joys and sorrows shared.

As you take your candle and together light the center one, you merge two lights into one.

***help needed here mostly**
Although you are now one, you are also still your own distinct person, as shown by your candles still burning.

***Music interlude - Brother singing "God Bless This Broken Road"

"Family and friends of FT and Mr FT, the vows which they have made today are sacred and holy and should not be broken. However, as FT and Mr FT face their new life together, their relationship is sure to be tested at one point or another by conflict, temptation, strife or change.

Will you, family and friends, promise to help them keep their vows, by reminding them of their love for each other and helping them cross through stressful times with the wisdom of your counsel? At times of joy, will you celebrate with them, nourishing their love for one another? (Guests say yes, or I will.)

As a symbol of your commitment to this couple, and the uniting of two families and ***friendships ???**, please accept the light from the person next to you."

Background instrumental music plays while people light candles - We've Only Just Begun.

Closing prayer, ask people to blow out candles, Intro of couple, Recessional.

This is kind of a mishmash of wording examples I've found, as well as some revising on my own. I'm just not sure how well it flows or how much sense it makes.

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I discovered a website that offers cooking skills lessons (plant based!) for $49 for 60 days. It looks like it really breaks it down into manageable bites. (ha ha!) I'm really tempted by it.

Cook Smarts - the meal planning website that offers vegetarian options for all meal plans, and is whole food/non-processesed mainly - has a 15% discount now through the 22nd. Am also tempted with this.

Although at the moment I have about 3 weeks worth of lunches in my freezer after a cooking palooza on Sunday. (My second use of the freezer dinner trays! Getting my money's worth out of them.)

Just a Cold ..

March 12th, 2016 at 01:39 am

So yesterday (Thursday) I went home from work early due to feeling majorly "crummy." I ended up sleeping for at least 5 hours before Mr FT came over. I wasn't the greatest company for him, but he was understanding.

This morning I still wasn't feeling all that great ... so decided to stay home again. I had a doctor's appointment already to get some bloodwork done (recheck TSH) so called and had an appointment added to see the doctor.

I slept most of the morning after getting the appointment made, and would have slept more, but got calls from the Realtor and from Mr FT.

---- We may have found a house that works for us. Two possible ones actually. One is $52k and the other is $120k. The 52k one doesn't have a basement, but it does have a HUGE garage/storage shed. Mr FT thinks we could partition off part of it, insulate it, and make it part of his "man cave" instead of using a basement. Hey, if it works, and we get into a house for $52k ... I'm all for it!

The $52k house was built in 1880! About the same time the town was started. Yep, you're reading that right. Both of the houses we are looking at are NOT in L town. Both houses would mean a commute of about 35-40 minutes.

Yuck I know. Especially in winter.

But ... both houses come with LOTS of land. 1 acre for one, and 1/2 an acre for the other.

We're going to go actually look at both of them on Sunday.

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I got a weird text from my boss today. She was asking me if I was unhappy at work. I texted back that I wasn't, with a couple of question marks, but no response.

My first thought was that maybe the CC I applied to back in January? didn't respect my request to NOT contact current employer. But it seems like its been a long time for that to happen...

The other thought was that she was thinking I wasn't really sick this week, and just taking time off because I don't want to be at work. In case that's the case, I got a note from the doctor. (felt kind of like a little kid doing it ... but, whatever.)

The third thought I had was that little miss busy body had taken my little off hand joke on Thursday morning as literal, and gone to my boss about it. One of our copiers has a bad part. The technician was in another town, and so talked me through resetting the code over the phone. One of my co-workers (who is invited to the wedding) jokingly told me that now I can add copier repair to my resume. I found that funny ... and without thinking, when talking to busy body co-worker, repeated that.

If it's the first issue - then that's going to be a headache to clear up. And is going to make me quite upset at the CC.

If it's either of the other two issues, then I think those will be easy enough to clear up.

Oy vey!

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Mr FT has asked me to go with him on Wednesday to get his suit / tux picked out. Whew!

April 24 is getting closer and closer ....

Tuesday I have my makeup trial. Hopefully she can work miracles with undereye bags ... and make my eyes actually look open when I smile (I squint when I smile big - when I concentrate on NOT squinting, my smile looks all weird.)

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I cashed out for $9 from Pinecone, and $5 from Bing.

RSVPs! Fired Realtor! health coaching!

February 27th, 2016 at 03:52 am

I'd made a new email account for dealing with all the wedding related stuff /websites so that once it's all done and over with, I won't have residual "email subscriptions" to deal with. Smile

Of course, I forgot my password for the account. So, I had to reset it.

When I finally got in, I found out that 4 people have used the website to RSVP! Sweet! My first responses. Smile

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So ... on Monday? I called C and told him that we were interested in looking at other houses. Told him we had two or three we were thinking of.

C tells me = great! Find another 2 or 3 and email me the list so I can get it set up for Sunday.

Huh?

Ok ... so Mr FT and I scour some more, and find another 5 or 6 possibilities. Mr FT drives by them and ... we're down to 2 possibilities.

I email C Tuesday night to let him know that Mr FT would be emailing him the list soon. Crickets.

Mr FT emailed C the list (of two) on Thursday morning. Crickets.

I emailed C today to find out where to meet him on Sunday. Crickets.

Mr FT and I have decided to take this Sunday off from wedding and house hunting. C will be replaced by a Realtor recommended by my boss next week.

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I had one of *those* calls today. Multiple calls where same person is cursing. Multiple calls where said person gets hung up on. Send caller to boss at one point - boss hangs up on person. Person calls back yet again - much calmer at first. Gets a 2 ride ticket freebie. Starts cursing again. Gets hung up on.

I didn't deal with it well (at the time I did, but later ...) Made a Wal-mart run. Junk food ensued.

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On Wednesday we had our annual county/city employee health fair. Lots of freebies. One of the booths was our health insurance provider. They're starting a new program this year where they are providing a health coach for free.

I signed up for it.

Got an email from the coach today because she couldn't find me in the system. I explained that the health insurance place had changed my name prematurely.

I also told her kind of what I was hoping she could help me with - namely figuring out how to make healthy and tasty meals which work for both Mr FT and I - especially ones where I can make something good without needing to taste test it (i.e. meat dishes.)

She told me she could help me with that.

I'm supposed to call her sometime next week to chat for 30 minutes - to kind of lay out the beginning framework. Not sure when to do it, since the only 30 minute time frame I have during her hours is my lunch break. Maybe I can take something to eat that I can eat in small bites at my desk between phone calls ...

Once Mr FT is on my plan (for real) he could also use her services if he wants to.

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ETA - Well, nevermind then. Mr FT just called me to tell me that he got an email from C asking him to call him tonight. So, we may be going ahead with Sunday househunting plans after all. I'm leaving it up to Mr FT to decide.

Enjoying Day Off

February 15th, 2016 at 03:27 pm

I'm glad I took Saturday "off" - ended up sleeping a good portion of it (partially because my Internet went on the fritz, so sleep sounded good.) Smile

I did go to Walmart Saturday night and picked up $40 in groceries and a gift for Mr FT. I have about $15 left in groceries for the month, but that should be fine as long as I stick to just the bare basics. Smile No Trader Joe's for me this month though.

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Sunday was a long and busy day. I started out by getting to S's house at 10 a.m. to help make the food for the Valentine's Ladies Tea. Another lady showed up to help also thankfully. Between the three of us, we were able to get out the door by 1:15 p.m. One of the things I did was make egg salad sandwiches, cut the crusts off, then cut in 1/3rds. Enough for 60 people.

Then we raced over to the place where the Tea was being held. Raced around getting things set up and adding a few last minute appetizers.

The tea itself took about two hours. Afterwards I helped clean up (and got to take home leftovers!)

I got home about 5 p.m.

About 6:10 Mr FT showed up with this:

He had a box of breadsticks thrown in for free because they'd forgotten to print our ticket, and so our order was late.

After we finished eating, we worked on the home loan application. Big Grin Submitted about 9 p.m. Yikes!!!

Mr FT left about midnight.

Long day. Soo glad for today being off.

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I've got a spaghetti squash, butternut squash and 7 sweet potatoes in the oven right now. Later I'm going to cook up a big pot of quinoa and veggies (broccoli and carrots.) Using up stuff in my fridge before it goes bad - plus lots of pre prepared lunches/dinners for the next few weeks.

I'm going to be making my new invitations today. Hope to get them out in the mail tomorrow.

Later today I am meeting with the potential photographer.

Oh, almost forgot! I found someone to do the video for $35!! DVD and highlights!
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Cashed out PerkTV for a $25 Amazon Gift Card (should be here Wednesday.)

I will probably need to get some more gas today.

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Mr FT and I are continuing budget negotiations. Figuring out just how we're going to merge our finances and make a budget work for two different styles (more regimented and more go with the flow.) We're figuring it out. Smile

Cars and "toys" are going to be our own responsibility. (Toys = boat, large screen tv for Mr FT; home gym equipment for me.) Cable is in discussion ... (I have no use for it, but Mr FT misses it a lot (football) and doesn't buy that I won't ever watch something with it.)

Brother Confirmed!!

January 23rd, 2016 at 09:25 pm

While I was at church today I got a text from my brother confirming that he WILL be free the weekend of April 23/24. So I'm definitely getting hitched on the 24th! Big Grin

I also talked to the person who does the photography for the church. She told me she's not done any weddings, but she recommended someone in the church who does. I'll contact him tomorrow. I'll also contact several people I found advertising on Craigslist - one of them said they only charged $300 for 2 hours? Wondering if that's a scam, or they're really inexperienced??

Instead of doing Chinese buffet food for the reception, I've decided to make it an afternoon tea reception. People aren't going to be very hungry after the breakfast/brunch provided by the b&b.

I'm going to check on Craigslist and FB garage sale to see how many teapots/saucers/teacups I can borrow/rent/buy to use. I also found someone who rents out cake stands - can use them for the cake, but also for putting the finger foods on (for the tea.)

Part of the ceremony will be a community unity service. Mr FT and I will each light our own candle, and then use it to light a big candle. Then light the candle of someone on either side of us (probably my mom and his sister) and then progressively light all the guests candles. Kind of symbolically saying that everyone there is standing behind us/with us.

I'm thinking that this is when I'll have my brother sing "Broken Roads" by Rascal Flatts. (If you've never heard it, it's a beautiful song, and I think it is very fitting to Mr FT and I's relationship.)

I really like the idea of entering to Edelweiss - it's like a symbol of me saying goodbye to my single life (like the Von Trapps were saying goodbye to Austria.) I don't want to do the traditional marching thing (have no sense of rhythm) and won't have anyone marching in front of me.

I'm thinking of using teapots as part of my centerpiece decorations. I also have an email in to someone on Craigslist who has some beautiful light purple decorations - seeing if she'll sell me just a portion of what she has.

--

What did you do for hair/makeup for your wedding? (i.e. Did you do it yourself, go to a salon, have someone come to you? Something else?)



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Confession time. I broke down today and ordered pizza delivery. I haven't done that in a LONG time. With tip, it'll be $16. It's coming out of my spending money. (Yes, I know I could go to the store and get it cheaper. I just don't want to go out again - so cold!)

I Think I Get How Weddings are Stressful ...

January 21st, 2016 at 02:30 am

First off - thank you everyone for your comments on my 24 hour post. Ya'll made me blush. Smile

--
So .. last night I talked with my mom to go over some of the wedding stuff. I told her I was planning on asking Uncle J to officiate. She told me that I better be prepared that I'd be expected to pay for Uncle and Aunt J's expenses.

I was like, "What!!" I'd planned on giving him something like $100 as a thank you, but not paying for two plane tickets and a hotel room!

So .. I call my Aunt N (the one paying for my dress.) She tells me that couldn't be further from the truth. That Uncle J is honored that I want him to do it (she'd told him) but that he might have a problem with the date.

So .. I call Uncle J. Talk to him about being the officiant. He then tells me about having a flight to Egypt on April 26 - not back til June. Aunt J is going to be in Egypt at that time too. (Yes, both of their names begin wtih J. They were high school sweethearts. Too cute.)

So ... I very reluctantly figured out that maybe April 17 would work. He reminded me that was Aunt N's birthday. Also, Grandma was having some friends from Singapore fly into LAX she wants to see.

So ... I ask Uncle J if him being here on the 24th would be too close to leaving for Egypt. He said he was more than happy to do it.

Whew!

Now I'm waiting to hear back from my brother if that weekend will be okay for him. He's a bit preoccupied right now though. So who knows when I'll hear back.

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Can I say how much I don't like Amazon's registry? The results when searching are abysmal! And I haven't figured out how to put things in there that don't come up in the search results (like for say example - different colors of the item you want!)

Supposedly there's a universal option - but I haven't gotten that to work yet. Mr FT however is able to get in to the registry and add stuff from his computer. So that way we can both work on it when we have time.

(I haven't started a Target or Bed Bath Beyond one yet - am hoping to figure out the universal thing so only have one registry to work with!)

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The last two days at work were very stressful. In fact, yesterday I went to my supervisor and asked her how bad it would be if I asked to be relieved of helping one certain person. Help which is NOT part of my job description.

Apparently this person also had gone to my supervisor. She was frustrated with me as well.

So ... today we had a meeting. I don't know if it was the stress of everything, overtiredness, or just utter frustration ... but I embarrassed myself by crying! Ugh! I hate that.

Once the tears start, it's very hard to get them to stop. And then it's hard for me to talk. (Name something that drives Mr FT up the wall ... Smile )

I acknowledged my part in it (not being as careful as I should be in double checking the work output) and we figured out how to maybe make it work better.

We'll see I guess.

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So ... between my mom, grandma and aunt, I am being given $2500 towards wedding expenses. That's (hopefully) going to be more than 1/2 the cost.

So ... I have no clue how to word the invitations.

Mr FT bio parents are both dead, and he has an almost non-existant relationship with his stepdad. And then of course, my dad is also dead.

What I WANT to say is: Mr FT and Ms. FT invite you to come share in the celebration of our marriage on April 24, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. at place. (Or something similar.)

Not sure though if that is the "proper" wording, especially now that over half of it is being funded by mom/aunt/grandma.

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I got halfway home tonight and realized I left my phone at my desk. So turned around to get it - What a nightmare! At one particular light where I was trying to turn left, I sat through FOUR rounds of lights!

By the time I got my phone and was on my way back home, it was getting late - I was worried I would miss R at the church (wanted to ask her about her daughter doing photography.)

So I decided instead of going home and getting something to eat, then going to the library (to drop off the now overdue DVDs) and then to the church - I would stop at Walgreen's and pick up something to eat, then go on.

That's what I did. Spent $2.93 on a payday bar, york patty and a big thing of sparkling water. Then I got to the church, and R was nowhere to be found. Ugh.

I had also planned on printing out the labels for the church library books - my printer isn't working that great. (It prints, but not great quality.) My friend C is introducing me this week as the church librarian .. had kind of hoped to get some more books PUT in the library before hand.

Oh well ... right?

Going to try to get to bed a bit early tonight.

Friday, Yay! (2 of 2)

January 9th, 2016 at 12:50 am

I couldn't think of a name for my post today, other than one celebrating the fact that it is the end of my work week. Two days off from answering phones (and the one incessant man who keeps calling asking for information and getting annoyed when I try to find out where exactly he's trying to catch the bus at - I cringe when I hear his voice. Oh well.)

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I cashed out for a $25 PayPal from Swagbucks last night. Today I got 200 swagups because my Groupon and Living Social purchases just happened to be within the timeframe of a shopping promotion (not on purpose.)

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I've been reading Forks Over Knives the past couple days at work (Kindle app on computer Big Grin ) and the book has some pretty appealing recipes.

I haven't made any goals/resolutions/ etc. but in trying to keep this month low-spend, I'm also trying to eat as much as possible from what I already have on hand. Since treats tend to go fast .. that means I haven't been eating as much junk. The scale is liking this.

So .. anyway ... I'm really working on eating more healthfully. Both to save money, and to maybe see if I could get rid of my allergies so I could stop taking Allegra!

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Today at work I got called into the staff meeting and was given a certificate of recognition. I guess that's all there is to that. Oh well, I guess that certificate (with the text my boss wrote) will be a good addition to my application for the librarian position ... being an asset and customer service oriented and all. Smile
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I'm continuing to do well with my minigoal #1. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to say it's a habit yet .. but I think it's pretty close to that.

So, January 16 I'll probably add a second minigoal. Smile
--
In January so far, other than bills, I have had 7 NSDs. Big Grin

365 Days of Pictures Which Make Me Smile #6

January 7th, 2016 at 12:49 am

This isn't my picture, but a picture of a project/Christmas gift that someone (Pep) on the YNAB forums made for his mom for Christmas.

Here is a link to his journal: http://forum.youneedabudget.com/discussion/42718/pep-pep-hooray#latest (You do have to be logged in to view journals.)

I wanted to share this picture today for two reasons: 1. It shows how much thought and love can go into a homemade gift. and 2. It makes me smile! Smile


--
Today wasn't the best at work. I found out that I made a foolish mistake on Tuesday - as in got the order book for one agency when the order was actually for a different one. The two agencies names had one letter different. The passes got delivered to the wrong agency ... so the grumpy guy who does the deliveries with whom I finally seemed to be making *some* progress with ... will have to go get the wrongly delivered passes and take them to the correct place. Ugh.

I think part of why I made that mistake is because I haven't been sleeping well the last few nights. I've been taking melatonin for a few weeks, and at first thought that it was helping ... but now am not so sure.

I really hope to get a decent nights sleep tonight because I kind of feel like I'm running on fumes. And that + coming up on that "time" makes for one very cranky Laura.

I did not stop for Coke and Chocolate. Which is definitely what I would have done before on a day like this.

Cooking and 5% Interest! (1 of 2)

January 6th, 2016 at 12:56 am

Tonight I was in the cooking mood for whatever reason. Smile I made a corn casserole, a big pot of quinoa, and am still working on roasting the butternut squash.

It's amazing I have any energy right now, seeing as though I woke up about 3:30 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep ...

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Work was so so today. Pretty busy at times, and had a meeting to discuss how we handle getting out route detour information to the public, as well as an issue related to the big route changes coming in August.

--
Speaking of work ...

Remember quite a while ago I mentioned that there was a librarian position open at the local community college? I kind of bailed out on actually applying for it - just couldn't do it to my boss.

Well ... the person they hired for that job didn't work out. The position is available again. Taking applications til the 18th.

A part of me is wondering if this is God nudging me to where I need to go. I didn't listen the first time, so He's giving me a second chance.

The job description DOES state clearly that they want someone with at least 1 year of *college* level library experience. If that is truly a big factor, then I won't have a chance anyway.

But I'll never know if I don't try. I am going to try. Gulp.

As much as I love my boss, I don't know if I can really take 15 years of giving directions over the phone ... and dealing with some of the people I deal with on a daily basis.

---
So ... on to the other topic. What am I talking about? 5% interest? Unheard of!

Well this is something I saw I the MMM forums a few weeks ago and decided to test it out for myself. I wanted to see how easy it would be.

Here's what I did - I signed up for a Brink's Mastercard PrePaid Card. Once I got it, I activated it and started the process of adding it as an external account to my checking account. Then I had to verify the transactions.

Next, I set up a money transfer from checking to my card. That went through today.

Finally, I moved the money from the card and set up a savings account.

The savings account pays 5% interest up to $5,000. If you ever want to get money back into your checking, all you have to do is move the money back onto the card, and then do an ETF/ACH transfer.

To avoid the inactivity fee, I also set up a recurring transfer of $2 to my card from checking once a month.

That's it. All there is to it. Smile

A more detailed guide: http://thefinancebuff.com/netspend-5-percent-savings-account.html

Now, I also earned an extra $20 right up front - by using a referral code. That person (from the MMM forum) also received $20 after I funded $40+ on my card.

This is a great way to put away up to $15k per person (see detailed link) that you are saving for an EF or a house downpayment, etc.

If you are interested, and would also like to help me out Big Grin My referral link is: http://www.brinksprepaidmastercard.com/prepaid-debit-card/applyNow.m?ctxName=b_raf&uref=3469171546

Mango is another card which pays 6%, but requires a lot more work. This card (Brink's) is paying you $270 (in a year) for less than an hour's work.

365 Days of Pictures Which Make Me Smile #4

January 5th, 2016 at 02:52 am

I know I've already put a picture up of Kari, but there are lots of things she does which make me smile. Some of them would be difficult to catch on camera though - but you can bet I'll try. Smile

Kari just absolutely LOVES the tab from an orange juice container. I presently have two of them floating around the apartment right now, and am not sure what I'm going to do when they both are lost. (Have found out that Orange Juice is NOT vegetarian, except for certain varieties. Plus, I'm just overall trying to not drink juice.)

Why does she love the orange juice tab? I think it's because it has such flexibility and is so light. She bats it around and runs after it for many minutes. (In cat time, many minutes is a long time.) Smile

But what I really love is when she brings it to me to engage in a game of fetch. Smile

In this picture she is sitting next to the tab waiting for me to pick it up and toss it for her.

---
Today was crazy busy at work. I was so tired when I got home that I didn't want to do anything - but still wanted to accomplish my mini-goal. So ... I shredded stuff for about 15 minutes give or take. Goal accomplished. Smile

(Kari got in the act by walking on top of the shredder and stepping on the forward/reverse button a few times ...)

365 Days of Pictures Which Make Me Smile #3

January 3rd, 2016 at 10:13 pm

If you have read many of my blogs, especially when I have just hit up Target .... you have read of my favorite find of 2015. Amy's Chinese Noodles w/Cashew Sauce.

I lucked upon 2 containers of it on a recent Walmart trip, and today enjoyed the second one. Smile



----
I'm continuing to do pretty well with my Mini-Goal of spending 15 minutes+ a day doing something to improve my environment. So far, I'd say I'm at about a 90% success rate.

I also have played around a lot more in the New YNAB app, and am more and more leaning towards migrating 100% to it. It will be even better once they get reports, etc. added, but right now it's pretty fantastic I think. Smile

I cashed out for a $25 AGC from Swagbucks last night - one of the ones on sale for 2200SBs. I'll probably be able to cash out for the $25 PayPal card by the end of this week, if not sooner. (CC rewards, Monthly bonus, Shop&Earn etc.) Not a bad start to the year. Smile

I can't remember if I mentioned this already or not, but I was able to cash out $10 from PACT very recently. It was pretty funny in a way - two weeks in a row of close to $5 payouts - guess a lot of people weren't keeping their PACTs. Bad for them, good for me. Smile (I'm saving all the cashouts from PACT and eventually from Achievemint to purchase the Fitbit that has GPS - can't recall it's name. That way I won't have to use the GPS on my phone - save data!)

Am now just goofing off a bit on the net while I wait for NE to come over. He's supposed to have my Christmas gift with him - should've arrived Saturday. Here's hoping! Smile

2015 Spending / Savings

December 27th, 2015 at 10:14 pm

Patient Saver's post made me curious to see what my totals were for the year. This is really the first year I've actually managed to almost 100% of the time track my finances faithfully. I've been using YNAB since around 2006, but would go months+ at a time without tracking ...

So ... I think this will give me a good basis to start with at least.

I'm going to go with my biggest expense to smallest, then look at savings.

---
Rent - 5,160 - 430/month
Groceries - 2153.25 - 179.74/month average
This is a lot more than I would like to spend on groceries. I would like to get my average down to 150/month for 2016 - including any treat type foods. (This groceries figure does not include treats.)

Tithe - 10% of net - rent (This is what my dad, a pastor told me was a good way to figure for tithe.)

Medical - $1286.91 - 107.24/month
This includes an $800 ER bill from fainting in March. Here's hoping that there won't be any big bills like this in 2016! (Not included is the $700 of FSA money which was completely spent.)

Vacation - 974.88 - $81.xx/month
About $500 of this was reimbursed by my aunt for my CA trip. Most of the rest was from when my mom came out here to visit me.

Internet - 865.91 - 72.16
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. I hate how much I am paying for this, but unless I gave up Internet completely, it is unavoidable. (Nothing cheaper available that has WiFi.)

Restaurants - $545.42 - $5.45
OH MY WORD! This is an entirely ridiculous amount of money to have spent eating out / fast food places. $35 of it is for a restaurants $200 credit, but still. Way too much money. My goal in 2016 is to not eat at fast food place or restaurants unless I'm with someone else. Hopefully this will cut this amount down a lot. (Plus using the $200 credit for gift certificates.)

Electronics - $463.38
Thanks to losing my phone this year ... plus a couple cheap smartphones for PerkTv use, etc.

Electricity - 452.54 - 37.71/average

Giving - 451.80 - 37.65 average
Not as much as I'd like to do. For 2016 I've added two new categories to up this amount a little.

Car Insurance - 433.60 - 36.13 average

Household - 419.23 - 34.94 average
This includes $100 to the housecleaner UGH, plus replacing shower curtain, etc. Cleaning supplies, new to me loveseat, bookcase etc.

Treats - 397.69 - 33.14 average
I think I actually spent more in this category than this that got "lumped" in to the groceries category ... Really need to get this one WAY down.

Gym - 395.63 - 32.97 average
Sigh. I signed up in March and by September pretty much have stopped going. I have a two-year contract - I really need to get over there and see what it would cost to get out of it. Or somehow get myself going there again.

Kari - 337 - 28.08 average
Stocking up on cat food/wet food/litter, replacing litter boxes/scoops, license fees, etc.

Auto Fuel - 326.84 - 27.24 average
Not too bad I guess. This includes several extra tanks in March when I was driving back and forth from the hospital for NE.

Phone - 321.69 - 26.81 average
This includes the ETF from ATT and several months of no phone bills due to Ting credits.

Car Care - 312.11 - $26.09 average
A couple of oil changes, transmission fluid, wiper blades, etc.

Natural Gas - 306.50 - 25.54 average
The sad thing is that there is a $14/month "customer fee" irregardless of actual usage. So really the lowest possible to get this would be about $18/month. And they are talking about raising the "customer fee."

Clothing - 193.51 - 16.13/average
This is two pairs of shoes for work/church, bras, new pair of jeans, and misc. items throughout the year.

Car Tax - 175.09
Yearly car tax

Beauty - 154.26 - 12.86 average
The majority of this is from my treating my aunt and grandma to a mani/pedi at Thanksgiving time

Gifts - 83.01 - 6.92 average
I actually spent more than this, but was able to use Amazon money to pay for most gifts.

Miscellaneous - 80.85
This includes library fines, and other small things that don't really need a category.

Tax Prep - 34.98
This will be less this year since I only have to do one state's taxes.

Entertainment - 15
Bought a CD from a concert

Movies - 10
Two movies (matinees)

iTunes - 6.41
A couple of apps

Savings:
7% of my gross salary is automatically deducted to my 401b, plus a matching 9% from my company.

On my own, I also put $2500 into ROTH savings.

Between cash savings, retirement savings, stock growth, etc., my networth went up roughly 20k this year. (At one point it was up much, much, much more ....)

So .. of my total income this year, I kept ~18% of it, plus the ROTH savings, plus the 7% which was automatically taken from my paycheck.

So, a rough estimate of my savings rate for the year would be about 35%. Not great, but not horrible either.

2016 will be interesting because I'll hopefully be saving a LOT more until August, but then will be spending a HUGE chunk around September.


Lovely Birthday Dinner, etc.

December 19th, 2015 at 04:10 am

Thursday when I got home from work I was SO hungry and SO cold ... but I knew we were going to be eating out, so I didn't want to spoil my appetite.

So .. I bumped the heat way up (it was COLD) and did about 20 minutes or so of cleaning/picking up. Then I started getting ready - actually putting on makeup! and actually fixing! my hair .. :big grin:

My manicure from when I was out in CA was still good on my left hand, but several of the right hand fingers were looking pretty sad. So ... I spent about 25 minutes taking the polish off. Then, just as I was finishing the second coat of polish, NE called saying he was on his way over! Uh ...

So he came over and I finished getting ready. Then before we left I used a coupon code that had come in my email from Restaurants.com to get a $25 gift certificate for $4.25. *Still have not heard back from customer service about my missing $200 credit!*

The fancy restaurant we went to is a repurposed home built in the late 1890s. The restaurant itself has been in business around 22 years. It is really beautiful inside the home. I kind of wanted to explore it, but thought that might be a little unclassy ... Smile

A few minutes after we were seated, our waiter came by to get our orders. As soon as I mentioned that I was vegetarian, he went and got the chef! to come talk to me. The chef (who turned out to be the waiter's dad) sat and talked with us for at least 6 or 7 minutes. I think he was a bit flummoxed when I told him I didn't like spicy foods... Smile When I told him that I do eat eggs, he was like "Oh, a fake vegetarian." LOL! (It was especially funny because NE teases me almost along the same lines.)

A little while later our entrees were brought out. OH MY WORD! The dish the chef created was this HUGE mound of spinach linguine with lots of veggies. I mean HUGE. I ate as much as I could last night, had some for lunch today, some for dinner tonight, and have enough probably for dinner tomorrow too! It wasn't the best tasting dish I've ever had, but it was pretty good.

The cool factor was mainly though that the chef came by personally to figure out what to make for me. Smile

I wish we could have had someone along to take a picture of us outside of the place - very nice backdrop. Oh well.. Smile

---
So far so good with my mini goals. I've been getting in a lot of practice with Oh Well at work. Smile I also have been making sure to get some cleaning/picking up in each of the past 3 days.

---
I cashed out for $12 from Pinecone today (thanks CCF and LibLady for alerting me about the $3 status!)

---
I think my afghan came from my aunt today - but I had to arrange delivery to a closer pickup spot for tomorrow. (Otherwise I'd probably never get it - since they like to come at 9 or 10 a.m. on weekdays ...)

Speaking of deliveries - I'm still waiting on the package from my mom - with birthday and Christmas gifts. She mailed them a week ago Saturday - I'm the only person who hasn't received their package yet.

It could possibly be in my mailbox right now ... but of course my mailbox key isn't working again! I stopped by the PO to mail my mom's package (I know, procrastinate much ...) and went to the window to ask about who I needed to talk to. I was told that it was my property managers job to take care of it.

So ... I made the dreaded call and spoke to PMs wife Frown Frown She said she'd have him take a look tomorrow. (Hopefully NOT a look in my apartment ... much better, but still needs work.)

I really do not like the cluster mailbox thing where you have to have a key to get your mail ... (Key was working just fine on Wednesday. But on Thursday neither I nor NE could get it open.)

---
My boss and I were talking yesterday and were discussing the person who retired from my position. I mentioned to her how I've had several people bemoan the fact that I don't decorate for all the holidays/dress up for Halloween, etc. She told me she was GLAD I don't do that. Big Grin What was really funny though was that about 15 minutes after she left, one of the main bemoaners came by to buy a pass!

I'd also said something to her about how it seemed like finally after nearly 1 1/2 years that people have accepted that I'm a stickler for following policy (previous person *wasn't*) Then ... today I have not one, but TWO different people challenge me on the policy. Oh brother!

(For low income passes the only requirement is to show a photo id - plus only can purchase one pass per person per month - this gives a %55 discount from the regular fare pass. The policy used to be much more involved - people had to sign a log with name/address. Then before that they had to prove their income with bank statements/tax returns, etc. So it's NOTHING now - just a photo id!)

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So anyway, I'm glad for the weekend. Smile

On Sunday NE and I will probably do some shopping for our Christmas dinner / Rum cakes. He wants to do 4 this year. 1 for his sister, 1 for his friend, 1 for us, and 1 for a mutual friend.

Thankfully we have plenty of rum left from last year (that was the most expensive thing we bought last year!) He's probably going to come over here early on Christmas Eve to make the first two - since I won't get home til at least 4:45, and the CE concert starts at 6, then we'll be doing C lights looking. Smile

We're doing tater tot casserole (vegetarian) for Christmas Dinner. I know, not exactly traditional, but he really doesn't want to do a vegge dinner roast or tofurkey. So ... we compromised.

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I need to update my sidebar - maybe tomorrow. Smile

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I finally managed to get a doctor's appointment set up for the end of January. It took two days of calling during my breaks and leaving voicemails. But it's set up now. One of the things I'm hoping to do is have the doctor write me a prescription for Allegra D and Flonase so that I can use my FSA money for them. I'd much rather use pre-tax money for that stuff than post-tax .. or maybe pay for it with my regular card, then get reimbursed - so, pre-tax plus cashback. Smile

Anyway, it's past 10, so I should be signing off here. (In preparation for that mini-goal ...)

Mini-Goals for Year 40 (Not a Mini-Post :D )

December 17th, 2015 at 01:35 am

Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes. Smile

It was a pretty low-key birthday ovearall. Tomorrow night NE and I will be going out to a fancy restaurant here (still working on the gift certificate problem ..)

NE stopped by between deliveries to tell me happy birthday in person. Smile

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So ... what are my mini-goals for year 40?

I've been thinking about a lot of the different goals I've had, and how I've managed to do some .. for awhile, and others not really at all. I think maybe part of it was that some of the goals were too big / too much all at once.

So .. I decided that I'm going to try doing mini-goals. I'm going to choose one or two things to focus on for 30 days (or so) and not worry about the rest. Then if those goals are doing well, I'll add something new.

I'm hoping that by doing it this way, the mini-goals will become deeply ingrained habits.

So ... here are some of the mini-goals I'm thinking about:

MG1: Do something for 15 minutes (or more) every day that helps improve my environment. (Cleaning, decluttering, putting up pictures, etc.)

MG2: Say "Oh Well." When someone does something that gets you flustered or upset, or you're thinking that you'd really like something (junkfood) but know you aren't going to have it ... say "Oh Well." That's their problem / I'd rather be healthy / I'd rather have the money for ....

MG3: Do something active for at least 15 minutes everyday intentionally.

MG4: Do something for your spiritual health at least 15 minutes a day (read the Bible, pray, memorize verses, etc.)

MG5: Do something for your personal growth at least 15 minutes a day (play the piano, use Duolingo to practice Spanish, etc.)

MG6: Do something for others at least 2x a week (work on church library, volunteer, etc.)

MG7: Connect with others at least 2x a week (email/letter/phone call) Have at least 1x a week be someone different than the week before.

MG8: Turn off computer/phone by 10 p.m.

MG9 - Floss every day before going to bed.

MG10 - Give yourself a manicure or pedicure once a week.

Others may be added as I think of them. Smile

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Financial Goals:

Main Financial Goal - Make spending decisions based on category balances only.

I have 3 main savings goals for this coming year -

High Priority - House Downpayment. This is where my regular savings, 90% of Windfalls (bonuses, tax refunds, SBs paypal earnings, survey earnings, etc.) will go. I'm hoping to hit $4k by September, and then probably sell up to ten shares of stock to add to the amount. (Goal of house purchase in September. Starting the process in August.)

Medium Priority Car Replacement - This will be getting a set amount of $50/month til #1 isn't needed.

Low Priority Remote Car starter - Leftover amounts in groceries, gas and utilities will be funneled here. (Would like to have $350 by September/October.)

Other Goals/Decisions:

I am no longer going to be purchasing ready made treats/sweets for consumption at home or at work. I can purchase the *ingredients* to MAKE treats for myself (such as chocolate chips to go into cookies) but not store-bought cookies.

Eating out / Fast Food is only going to be something that happens WITH another person.

Soda is an OH WELL item.

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Today I started with MG1 and 2. (My focus for the next 30 days.) When I got home from work, as soon as I changed into something warm, I spent about 45 minutes picking up, putting away, throwing away. The place already looks much better. (It will need several more days of 15 minute sessions to be looking "good.")

I'm hoping I can develop the attitude (in my mind at least) of Oh Well at work in dealing with some of the people that whine and complain. That way maybe I can deal with it for 15 more years.

The Oh Well is also going to be replacing my habit of Coke and Chocolate on stressful days. Oh Well - the day stunk like donkey balls - I'll live another day. (Thankfully there are quite a few short weeks in this coming 30 day period which hopefully will help make this habit easier to form! Big Grin )

Last Day of Year 39

December 15th, 2015 at 01:09 am

So ... I had lots of ideas and plans for year 39. Those plans and ideas worked about as well as most New Year's resolutions. Smile

Nevertheless, a new decade of life means maybe plans and ideas and goals can be a bit better off than just another set of resolutions. We'll see I guess.

Financially I did okay. As of now I have quite a few LTP (long term planning) funds fully funded and have started on the Car and House funds.

Health/weight wise ... um ... If I remember what I started at last December ... Well ... I pretty much maintained I guess. I pretty much haven't been to the gym in at least 3 months (although I have been exercising - just not at the gym.)

Friendship wise ... While I still don't have anyone here I "hang out" with outside of church activities, I am a little more involved. Maybe eventually that will lead to something. Someday.

Relationship wise .... Mostly good, with some frustrations that rear themselves at times overly much. But that generally tends to happen when I'm way overtired.

Job wise - Most days/most of the time it's ok. I have a great boss, and a couple co-workers I also like. The co-workers who were causing drama before have pretty much completely laid off. So ... it's tolerable.

It's definitely helping being able to take time off now and then to get away. Like today - I took off to have a long weekend as my birthday present to myself. Although I might have taken today off anyway because Sunday I did something to my back, plus feeling miserable cold/allergies. (My back is feeling better tonight, as are my cold/allergies.)

--
Yesterday NE and I went to the local urgent care place because NE had a finger infection. (Most likely from him biting off a hang nail ... When I asked him if he was going to stop doing that - Why? 1st problem in 49 years? - Ohhhhkaaayyy.)

While we were waiting for his prescription to get filled, we went over to SuperTarget. I had $2 coupons for cat litter (Scoop Away 25lb) plus the Savings Catcher had 25% off it. I unfortunately forgot my Red Card though - asked at the front desk and was told to bring my receipt the next time and they'd make an adjustment.

Of course ... I wasn't used to having NE along on a shopping trip, so I also spaced using the coupons (but not the savings catcher!)

I went back to Target today and was able to get both the 5% adjustment and the $4 in coupons! (I also bought a 3rd box with a coupon. Kari is SET for litter for a long time!)

--
While I was out today I also stopped at Walmart - mainly to pick up a few iBotta items - definitely things I'll use, but didn't need right now. I also was really wanting to find a Terry's Chocolate Orange .... no luck. Stopped at a few other places too. All sold out. Frown

---
I cashed out for $20 from iBotta today, and also for $25 PayPal from Swagbucks.

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I got a postcard from my doctor letting me know that I need to schedule a baseline mammogram .... Oh the joys of my new decade. Smile I was going to do it today, but then realized that I don't know what my bosses schedule is like ... so need to get that info first.

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My aunt (who Thrifty Ray has met) has really gotten into knitting since retiring. While I was in CA over Thanksgiving she made me slippers, and had me pick out the yarn for an afghan. She texted me today to let me know that it was finished! I might have it here by Friday. So cool! (Or should I say, so warm!)

Now that we can post pics again, I'll post a picture of it when I get it. Smile

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If I'm on the upward mend of this cold on top of allergies thing, then hopefully within the next few days I'll have the energy to get my apartment back into shape. I'd really hate for the property manager to come in right now ... (not dirty, just really, really cluttered/messy)

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Oh! I almost forgot. I logged in to restaurant . com today to buy the gift certificate for the fancy place NE and I will be going to on Thursday night. Only to find out that my $200 credit seemed to have completely disappeared!! I checked on Living Social to make sure they hadn't reversed the offer I'd purchased or something ...

I wrote customer service and got a form reply telling me how to redeem an offer. Ugh! I replied ... nothing back yet.

SO VEry Aggravating. (I bought a $200 r.com gift certificate for $35 from Living Social. I hadn't used any of it yet!)

Doings

December 13th, 2015 at 12:50 am

Well it seems like I have developed a cold on top of my allergies. Ugh. So having Allegra D (24 hr) and Flonase in my system daily, and STILL sneezing, sniffling and coughing ... not much else to do but tough it out.

I've been incredibly tired and having a hard time getting myself to do anything I don't absolutely have to do. So ... the robe that I was asked to mend near the end of November ... which was needed by today ... guess when I actually started on it? This morning about 5 a.m. I finished it about 8:30 a.m. (Reattaching braiding on edges in places the cloth had pulled away, and sewing armholes together to a less huge gap.)

I took it with me to church today and gave it to the lady in charge of costumes (it's for a drive through Nativity tonight.)

Church was awesome - it was the spoken/musical Christmas story week. Smile I think this year's story was based on a TransSiberian Orchestra musical? (One of the songs was Music Box Blues, the rest were normal Christmas sonts - i.e. Silent Night, etc.) I wish I'd been a little more with it/not so sleepy - but still very much enjoyed it.

---
I did not go to the Friday night concert. I realized by Wednesday that I just would NOT be up to it -plus I had that darn robe to do! Part of it also was that I didn't have any money set aside in a concert category - my fun money had pretty much been spent between the Groupon pizza deal and the Living Social Restaurant.com deal. I need to make a separate category for concerts which is NOT to be whacked from for other things. Even if I just put a few dollars in it each month ... Smile

---
I was looking on Amazon for a purse (mine is getting really shabby.) While on there I looked at my gift card balance. Ouch! I've been buying ebooks $.99 and $1.99 here and there ... and it's really cut into my balance! So ... back to my old rule of only "buying" the freebies!

I did find a purse that I think will work, but I'm going to wait until I have something else to order with it - free shipping. (The purse is $14)

---
Year 40 is quickly approaching. (Like ... Tuesday quickly. Yikes.) I'm thinking about some changes I'd like to make. Some health wise, some financial, one other possible major change ...

I found a house which would be so perfect ... $55k! Has a one-car garage, enclosed front porch, backyard, fence, basement (990 sq ft, 2 br, 1.5 bath)... If there's one out there now, then maybe in August when I can seriously start looking, there's bound to be another one - maybe even more perfect. Smile

---
I got my $25 Walmart card from SBs on Friday. So ... I printed it out and went shopping. Smile I had been thinking of getting an Ampore Pedicure device (had a $5 coupon plus a $5 rebate) but just couldn't do $20+ after coupon/rebate. Especially when I found something similar for $10. Smile

After coupons I spent $44.xx total. Minus the giftcard, it was about $19.xx. I got $4.75 in rebates from iBotta, $.60 rebate from MobiSave, $.20 from Snap, $.25 from Checkout 51, and $1 from SavingStar. (None of which I've actually cashed out on yet though.)

I'm $.30 away from cashout on iBotta. I would have been over the cashout limit, but didn't realize one of the items required 2 purchases. Ugh.

---
I cashed out for another $25 AGC from Perk today. Will get that on Monday.

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I did some more messing with my YNAB budget this weekend. I realized that my health insurance OOP is $2000, but through my FSA I have about $800. So ... I reduced that category to $1200 and spread the $800 into other categories.

I also eliminated another LTP category, which added $65 into the budget.

What this all means is that I'll now focus my LTP savings on 3 goals - House Downpayment, Car Replacement, and the Remote Starter.

Speaking of the Remote Starter - On Groupon there was a deal to get it done for $170 in O town. Less than half of the price I was quoted here. Unfortunately, there was only $23 in that category. Smile Maybe that deal will come around again when I have the money ready for it.

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Oh! If you remember me talking about the vegge hot pockets I made last Sunday? Well I had a good amount of veggie filling leftover.

Finally on Thursday night I managed to do something with the leftovers! I added a couple eggs, some more flavorings, and a box of Jiffy cornbread mix. Then I formed "patties" and baked them for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

They are YUMMY! Even NE liked them (he wasn't too sure about my adding the Jiffy mix to the batter - but turns out it worked out just right!)

I really need to get the remaining hot pockets and patties frozen though ...

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I almost forgot a funny from my grocery shopping ... two of the rebates were for loose carrots. It didn't specify a quantity. So ... I bought ONE loose bulk carrot. It cost $.10. 1 rebate was for $.50, and the other was for $.20. So ... I made $.60 profit. Smile

This & That

December 9th, 2015 at 02:13 am

NE and I went out for pizza Sunday night. I found a Groupon deal for $9 for $20 worth of food. The waitress was a little bit ... not with it. She wasn't very attentive to us, but when I got the check and was looking it over, I noticed a handwritten $1.75 on the bottom. Not even loudly, I said, "What's this $1.75?"

From across the room, waitress shouts out that it was the drink (NE's.) I figured that out almost as soon as I said it - but it being handwritten had thrown me.
(She'd forgotten to include it on our ticket at first because she thought we were getting the special which included a drink.)

--
I also bought a deal from Living Social which I think will be really good. It was $35 for a $200 Restaurant.com gift card. I already used $10 of it to buy a $25 gift certificate for a local fancy restaurant we're going to for my birthday. (It will be pretty easy to spend $50 there.)

--
There's a Steven Curtis Chapman concert here this week. I was really, really tempted to buy a ticket. $25. But ... I really didn't want to go by myself. Plus I just haven't seemed to pick up any energy - in fact I went home early from work yesterday. Frown

I've decided to not go.

---
I did some shopping on Sunday - made back around $7 between ibotta and MobiSave. Spent about $35 grocery money and $20 cat money.

I also did some cooking. I've been buying single carrots and red peppers, etc., because there've been iBotta rebates on them - so wanted to use them. Smile

I chopped up the zucchini, carrots, onion, broccoli, (actually put in the food processor ... Big Grin )and then took two cans of Pilsbury's Grands and a can of Pillsubry Croissants (coupon/rebate deal) and made veggie hot pockets! Yummy!

Of course ... I still haven't gotten started on fixing the robe for the Nativity drive through that is happening on the 12th. It really shouldn't take too long to do, just have to DO it! Smile

Other than Sunday, I haven't spent any money this week.

--
Hard to believe there is only one week left of my 30's. If what happened at work yesterday is any indication - my 40's won't find me being any less klutzy. (Dropped one of those big calculators and broke it completely. Offered to pay for a replacement - my boss told me not to worry about it.)

---
How many of you actually wear robes? I keep being given robes as gifts ... and well, I've never seen the point of them really. So ... they end up hanging around somewhere in my house for years, and then get given away. My mom is sending a robe for NE ... he isn't a robe person either.

Maybe if I was someone more into fixing up my face, etc. before getting dressed or something? Or if I had other people (other than partner) living with me?

Really, what is the purpose of a robe? Just curious really if I'm the oddball out on this one or not. Smile

November Recap

December 2nd, 2015 at 01:21 am

I obviously did not stick with the moratorium on purchasing junk food/fast food this month. However, I did much better than previous months. So ... there is that.

Some of the spending comes from budgeted money / reimbursed funds. For example, I treated myself and my aunt/grandma to manis/pedis and to a meal out.

I also made the decision this month to make my larger "savings" category more granular. I had nearly the $10k goal amount I set for my EF - but decided to reduce it and spread it amoungst smaller/more specific categories. Some of the money in LTP is new, most is not.

I forgot my password for iBotta, otherwise I'd have another $10 in my extra funds (which would go into the Remote Starter fund.)

I did buy several Christmas gifts, but they were all covered with AGC money. I still have over half of what I started with left too. Smile

Spending
Tithe - 10%
Charitable - 30
Rent - 430
Gym - 41.73
Groceries - 124.65
Phone - 25.80
Internet - 85.07
Natural Gas - 22.36
Electricity - 32.68
Fuel - 15.58
Medical - 12.86
Kari - 22 (license renewal, new scooper)
Beauty - 106
Car Care - 229.65 (transmission flush, wipers, rotation, etc.)
Household - 22.49
Vacation - 75
Treats - 28.17
Restaurants - 61.49

Extra Income
Walmart: Savings Catcher - $5.18
Perk AGC - $25
MobiSave - $13.75
Bing AGC - $10
Swagbucks AGC - $25
Swagbucks PP - $25
Pact - $10
Pinecone - $15
SavingStar - $5.16
Interest - $26.xx

Long Term Planning
01 Income Replacement (expenses only) - Funded
02 House Downpayment - +40
03 Car Replacemennt - +25
04 Car Deductible - Funded
05 Health Ins OOP - Funded
06 Vet Emergency - +611.70
07 Travel Emergency +611.70
08 Future - +$50
09 Remote Starter +9.89
10 New Computer +65
11 New Phone +65

P.S. Thanks everyone for your comments yesterday/today.

PPS - Work was pretty good today. Smile

Snow! Errands ... Last day of Vacation :(

December 1st, 2015 at 12:47 am

We had our first real snow last night/today! It was so beautiful this morning when I finally made myself get out of bed and going. Smile

I wasn't sure I wanted to go out driving in it however .. so settled in for a relaxing morning. One thing I ended up doing was signing up for a 3 month Spotify trial for $.99 on Swagbucks - 300 SBs. I gotta say .. I like it so far. Not enough to justify $10/month after the trial, but I do like it. Smile

Early this afternoon the snow started melting ... so I made myself get out and do some errands. Smile

First thing I did was deposit the money my aunt gave me for my airplane ticket. (cash) Then I went to a credit union I'd opened an account at when I first moved here and closed out my accounts - $37.

That $37 wasn't accounted for in my budget (in fact, I thought I only had $35.) So I decided I'd let myself play with the money a bit.

That sent me to Walmart. The first thing I did was take a sample video cassette of each type to the photo counter. I found out it would cost $25 for each 2 hour length DVD -- plus I wouldn't be able to do any editing before hand.

I got the name of two other places in town where I might be able to both watch/edit beforehand AND transfer to DVD. If memory serves me correctly, the videos are going to need a LOT of editing ...

My first priority really are the slides though. The cost at Walmart for 40 slides/DVD was about $25. Ouch. I'd be roughly guessing here, but I think I have at least 3 or 4000 slides. And I only took the ones starting in 1977 - the year my parents got married (I was 2 yrs old.) I don't plan on using ALL the slides, but even if I culled 10% ... this may be a multi-year project. Multi-year Christmas gifts ... Smile

I bought about $20 worth of groceries, etc. at Walmart (3 of which work for iBotta rebates.) It won't come out of my grocery budget though, since it was unbudgeted money. Smile

I had about $13 left. Then I stopped at the library to return some overdue books. I walked out with about $2. Frown Darn you library fines!

---
Question ... how would you react?

Every week I do NE's and I's laundry. He only has a few pieces of clothing he wears all week. So I add in my own stuff to make a full load. He provides the quarters. I provide the detergent and labor.

Last night after he collected his clothes from where I'd left them, he made a remark about our socks being mixed together. I was a bit miffed, and told him all it took was 2 seconds for him to pick out his own socks. He replied something about "should do laundry right." I told him he was more than welcome to do his own laundry if he thought I wasn't doing it right.

He thinks I was making too big of a deal of it. Notice - no where in there was any thanks for doing my laundry, etc.

To me, I don't mind doing the laundry. What irks me to high heaven is being told I'm not "doing it right" - especially when coupled with no expression of appreciation for my doing it in the first place. (He thinks he shouldn't have to tell me thanks since he's providing the quarters and I'm doing my laundry at the same time. Notice - he didn't do his laundry while I was gone - even though he had a key to the laundry room here and could've used my soap ...)

Anyway .. just curious about how other's might react in this situation.

---
So not excited about going back to work tomorrow. At least I have several holidays to look forward to this month.

Two weeks left of Year 39. Yikes!

A Bit of Shopping

November 29th, 2015 at 11:36 pm

Well I took my list of what I wanted to get at CVS, Target and Walmart along with the list of what coupons and available rebates I had and went shopping.

I ran into my first glitch at CVS - they didn't have the 5ct Allegra D 24 hr or 10ct Allegra D 24 hr. I only had a coupon with me for those sizes. Ugh. So I ended up just getting a pack of Orbit gum ($.50 after rebate.)

Then I headed to Target. I couldn't find the bread I wanted, so I got a different kind. Then when checking the cereal out, I realized that the Any Cereal rebate was vamooshed! As was the Any Cookies rebate. Ugh. Both had been there as of 11:30 p.m.

I got out of Target for $47.xx - that was after coupons, Target discounts, and using the 5% debit card (which I got today.) Part of the haul included 2 Terry's Chocolate Oranges (which I have been looking all over for!) and two large jugs of Gold Peak Sweet Tea for NE (thank you gift for taking care of Kari while I was gone.) (I have to mention ... I managed to control myself and ONLY buy two Amy's meals. Smile )

Next I hit up Walmart. I couldn't find some of the things I wanted (like Challenge Cream Cheese) but got most of what was on my list. After using $20.18 in gift cards ($15 from Bounts, $5.18 from Savings Catcher) and ~$7 in coupons, I walked about paying $5.47.

I'll be getting $4.50 back from MobiSave, $4.60 from iBotta, and $3 from SavingStar. I've submitted my new Walmart receipt to Savings Catcher - so will have to wait and see if I get anything from that.

I'll have to go back to CVS tomorrow with a coupon for the 10ct 24 hr Allegra D ($5 off) because I'm down to one left. I found two $5 coupons and a $4 one - all expire on December 29. I'm not sure how I'll be able to use all of them before they expire (unless NE decides he needs some Allegra D ... Big Grin )

Other than the Allegra though, I think I will be done with spending for the coming week (outside of rent,etc.).

---
ION - The great weight loss challenge ... I managed to lose 1 lb this month. Smile Better than nothing, right? NE will weigh in when he gets here later - hope he's done better than me.

Back in NE

November 29th, 2015 at 05:48 am

I got back to NE mid-afternoon on Friday. Been mostly resting and relaxing since then.

The trip went pretty well. As expected, my brother didn't come. So I ended up going through the shed with all of dad's things by myself on Tuesday. Tuesday night I FaceTimed with my brother so he could pick out what he wanted to send up with our Aunt.

I left everything out on the back porch - most of it was under a roof (one of the last projects my dad finished with a lifetime buddy of his.) Guess what? That night around 3:30 a.m. I woke up to the sound of RAIN!

I ran out to the porch and got everything under cover that hadn't been. A box of books got ruined, but that was the worst of it.

I spent a lot of time on Wednesday going through my dad's slides and trying to repackage them into smaller packages.

Part of Wednesday also was spent taking my grandma and Aunt out for a mani/pedi and out to eat (my treat.)

Thursday we had one guest for dinner. We had WAY too much food for 4 people. There was even a "turkey" - I think they got it at the Village Market (Loma Linda) - it looked like a real turkey - even had a hole where you put stuffing in! Weird.

I took home a LOT of slides and a few other things of my dad's. I had brought my biggest suitcase with the bare minimum of stuff in it. I ended up filling it completely, plus a large backpack of dad's AND a reusable grocery bag my aunt gave me.

Even so ... my suitcase weighed in at 55lb! Which meant a $75!!!!! overweight fee. Ugh!

My aunt lent me a machine to feed the slides into my computer.

I bought something on Amazon for a Christmas gift which apparently gave me a year's unlimited storage space on Amazon Drive. ???? I'll take it! I'm going to have a lot of photos and video's to upload.

That's the other thing I took - numerous home videos in two different formats, and a bunch of recorded sermons on cassette tape. I'm going to have to figure out how to get the videos into a watchable format.

My plan is to get everything onto DVDs and then give them as gifts to Mom, brother, aunt, grandma next year. Hopefully I can get it all done by then.

---
Tomorrow I plan on doing some shopping.

I have $21 in Walmart gift card money. I also have about $31 left in grocery money. I also have around $50 in the Medical category (allergy meds!)If I get everything I'm planning on, I'll get back somewhere between $10 - 15 from iBotta, and $5 or so from MobiSave, and a $3-4 from the other apps.

I went through iBotta, Saving Star, MobiSave, SavingStar, etc., and also printed out a bunch of coupons. Tomorrow I'm going to double check the Target app because there were a lot of things expiring today.

I have a printed out list of everything I have a rebate and/or coupon for (that I want/can use.)

I'm looking forward to shopping. Smile

---
I redeemed a $25 AGC from PerkTv on Friday.

I completed my 5 months of spending $500 on Discover - so in a week or so I should get my $75 cashback bonus.

---
I'm glad to be back, although I was glad I made the trip out to CA!

Interesting Afternoon

November 22nd, 2015 at 02:05 am

I had a really bad night of sleep - finally woke up around 4 a.m. and then went back to sleep around 5 ... next thing I knew it was 9 a.m. Oops! I ended up being 25 minutes late for Sabbath School. With the way I was feeling (miserable x 2) I *almost* just didn't go.

Church service was really really good. We had a guest speaker who was born in Russia as an atheist. At the age of 24? he was given one-year to live. Someone gave him a Bible - he read it and started following some of the health principles. Started getting better. A while later he was given a book by Ellen G White about health principles. Now it's 26 years later ...

He was there to talk about his work with the Muslim population and to raise funds for an outreach project which is set to go except for the funds.

Church usually gets out about 12:15 or so ... today was 12:52. He was really good and interesting, so other than worrying about my afternoon plans, I didn't mind. Smile

--
So after church (still feeling miserable) I ate lunch with the others who were going to a place here which serves the homeless/refugee/low-income people in our city.

I came very close to deciding not to go.

When we got to the center I was put at a table with one of the staff. We had clipoards with surveys in three languages (English, Spanish, Arabic) which people were required to fill out.

This wasn't *quite* what I'd been expecting to do ... but I went with it.

I'd been there for a couple hours when another staff member came to our table and we started talking.

He came from Iraq in 2013 where he was a university professor (taught Iraq Civil Code or something like that.) We talked about a lot of things - such as how nobody *wants* to leave their home country - to leave behind friends, family, tradition, good jobs. I asked him about what he thought about ISIS/Daesh and about the US involvement in Iraq. He pretty much praised Bush, Jr. for his strong arm/stance and vilified Obama as weak - even saying that he strongly thinks that Obama is pretty much responsible for the rise of ISIS. Something about the US being able to tell people in Turkey? to stop funding the ISIS - but they haven't - and that's what's made ISIS so strong.

When we were talking about refugees - he was telling me about how beautiful Syria is - how the people are very clever/intelligent/beautiful/handsome. He also mentioned that Steve Jobs actually had a Syrian background.

About this time is when we were interrupted to go bag apples. Smile

All in all, I am SO glad that I decided to tough it out and go despite how I felt.

On the way home though I was feeling *really* hungry (only had a sandwich at lunch because wasn't that hungry) and thirsty ... so stopped at Walgreen's for a drink and snack. $5.18. Ouch.

--
Oh, at church today I was given a robe to fix the braiding on (for our Christmas drive through pageant) - hope I can do a decent job on it. I can hardly remember the last time I did any sewing. (I have til Dec 12 to get what I can done on it.)

--
Now I'm just trying to keep warm without turning my heat on ... Smile

Ten Days off! :D

November 21st, 2015 at 04:00 am

When 4:30 hit today I was SO SO happy. My boss isn't too excited about me being gone (she's going to have to do some of the things I usually do.)

From 4:30 today til 8:00 a.m. December 1 I will not have to answer the question of, "Where's the bus?"

Yahoo!!

---
I got my $15 Pinecone payment today, and yesterday cashed out for $10 from Pact. I'm still waiting for my $25 from Swagbucks (PayPal.)

---
I think I figured out why my sinus/allergy issues flared up badly again this week. My flonase was just about out! IOW I hadn't been getting any really good sprays.

Yesterday I opened a new one, and it worked wonders! (not that I got much more sleep ... but at least no horrible head splitting sinus headache at 3:30 a.m.!)

I am looking at that MyPurMist thing CB mentioned. Have to decide how to fund purchasing it if I decide to. I have more than enough in AGC, but really don't want to use those for that. But ... there is the AmEx deal of getting $15 back if you spend $60 on Amazon .. or the Chase thing of 10% back of what you spend. (Although AmEx is the better deal by far.) The AmEx deal is good through the end of December I think, so I have time to decide what to do.
---
NE and I have decided to do homemade pizza for our early Thanksgiving Sunday night. Since I already have the cheese, mushrooms, and cream cheese, he's going to buy the pizza kit and his hamburger (for his side of the pizza.)

My plane leaves at 7 a.m. Monday morning, and from what I'm hearing it's being suggested to be at the airport 2 hours early. So ... that means leaving here by 4 a.m. Yuck and double yuck. I can at least try to sleep on the plane though.

---
I haven't spent any money since Monday I think - except for gas on Thursday. $2.17/gallon ... not bad. Smile (Although I've heard in some places it's under $2/gallon!)

I only bought $15 worth since there's really only a few days left in November where I'll be driving my car. I sent the remainder of my gas category to my Remote Starter fund. Smile A whole $4.66. Yep, I'll get that sometime this century. ($350 needed.)

I am planning on buying some sweet potatoes this week. They are $.36/lb at Aldi's and one of the apps has a $.20 rebate on them. Smile

Ibotta has quite a few real food rebates for November. When I get back from CA I plan on a grocery trip to make use of them. Smile (Probably go to Walmart - have around $20 in gift card money between Savings Catcher, Bounts, etc.)

Cooking, etc

November 17th, 2015 at 03:27 am

Sunday I actually managed to motivate myself to do some housework. In about 30 minutes I got my place looking/smelling almost as good as it did after the housecleaner lady was here. Smile

I also spent some time at the church working in the library. I got the rest of the books recorded in LibraryThing and did some reorganizing/labeling. I realized though that the labels that were left for me aren't going to work. Am thinking about how to do it better ... (Also trying to figure out how to check books out via LibraryThing's app.)

I earned a $10 ECB from CVS for setting up the prescription reminder service. I tried finding things that also had rebates or ECB to make it stretch further. But except for one item with a $1 rebate from MobiSave, CVS didn't have what I was looking for. So I did end up spending just $.40 more than the $10 ECB plus got $1 rebate (MobiSave.)

This month I've gotten $8 from MobiSave - they nearly immediately send the money to your paypal - no waiting to reach a payout amount. Pretty cool. Smile

I also went to the local grocery store and got bananas ($.39/lb) and some other stuff (can't remember right now.) That was under $10.

Sunday night NE and I went to a Mexican restaurant in Seward, NE - we both got fajitas. His were beef, mine were veggie. Smile I had leftovers for lunch today. Yum! (NE's treat this month.)

We're planning on doing something next Sunday as "our" Thanksgiving meal since I'll be in CA next week. Might just make a pizza or something.

--
Tonight I was debating about going to see a local high school's production of Fiddler on the Roof. It would have been $8 at the door. I was really tempted, but ended up deciding to stay home instead.

Cooked up my sweet potatoes and a cups worth of quinoa which I'm dividing up for dinners.

Tomorrow night I'm planning on cooking up some veggies and soup, and also grilling/frying those Quorn patties. Then add that to my dinner rotations.

---
I think it was yesterday that I cashed out mypoints for a $25 AGC. I'm thinking it will be a long time before the next cash out there.

---
NE applied for a Paypal credit card and was approved instantly. (I think that made him feel pretty good.) All the better for improving the credit score. Smile (I wonder if the paypal card has the Fico feature?

---
Walgreen's had a really tempting offer today - buy a Fitbit Charge ($129) and get 30k points. That's roughly $40. Maybe they'll have the same deal again next year ... When I get my next Achievemint app money ($100 - 71% of the way there!), I'll set it aside in the Health category so I can get the charge if I really want it next year. Smile

---
It makes me so sad what some people are posting on FB about the recent events. And how infantile some governors are acting. Mine included. Ugh.

Surprise Call

November 15th, 2015 at 01:23 am

Today at church our pastor started a sermon series about "reasons to believe the Bible" Today's was about scientific facts in the Bible. Such as the Bible writers talking about the Earth being round - centuries before the idea had even been postulated.

Anyway, it was pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

---
After church one of the ladies I have gone walking with in the past asked if I wanted to go today (the official group is disbanded for the year.) So we set a time and a place.

About an hour or so after I got home, I got a hip call from my mom. It was kind of funny because she was talking to someone about what movie to go see - I kept trying to get her attention to no avail.

As soon as I hung up, the phone rang again. It was a high-school friend of my mom's who was in town and wanted to meet me.

So I got going earlier than planned and went and met the lady/husband/son/son's girlfriend. They seemed like nice people. I couldn't stay very long though because I had to get to the park.

We had a good walk - about an hour. My allergies are really acting up right now though. Frown I'm so sleepy and am thinking about going to bed even though it's just past 7 pm!

--
I redeemed for a $5 Walmart gc from Bounts today.
I also received $2 in rebates from MobiSave.

I haven't done very well with my moratorium on spending on sweets/fast food this week. I just have to say NO! Not an option!

---
I talked to my Grandma today. It doesn't sound like my brother will be there for Thanksgiving. I'm not shocked, but I am disappointed. It actually kind of sounds like it might just be me, Grandma and my aunt there. That'll be interesting.

---
When I was talking about my car service a few days ago, I forgot to mention that I found out how much it would cost to have a remote starter installed. $349.

Yeowch! I ... made a category for it. I'm going to throw "leftovers" from groceries/gas into it. If there ever are "leftovers" in the groceries category ... Smile Maybe by next winter I can get it. Smile

One month left in my thirties. Yikes.

Work, etc.

November 11th, 2015 at 03:45 am

So today was one of those days at work.

I had the person who kept interrupting me before I could answer their question ...

I had the person who started taking Jesus's name in vain all because they were going to have a 30 minute wait at the main transfer station ...

I had the person who came to the window on their cell phone and acted very annoyed with every question I asked / every time I spoke to them ...

Then I had someone ask me why we have a sign up about no cell phones at the window --- point to above reason ---

Then I had the person who had no earthly idea of their location and expected me to know where they were by just rattling off some business names (gas station, other places that are multiple locations ...)

So yeah ...

Not to mention that the office is super duper COLD. I think it's colder inside than it is outside! I wore a sweater today which helped, but my hands were still freezing!

Then CW who loaded a time sensitive project on me a few months ago started telling me about a new project she wants me to do. Supposedly NOT a time sensitive one - but to do whenever I have time to fill.

She of course went on and on and on off on different rabbit trails. I told her I'd be happy to do it - I just can't log off the phone very often nor for very long. (Like I had to log off the phone when she came to tell me about this project .. 25 minutes later ...)

Seriously, if she'd stop talking so much to people about how little time she has and how much she is overwhelmed, she might just get done what she needs to get done! I would guess she wastes at least 6+ hours a week talking about this to various people at the office (mostly me or my supervisor.)

She's a nice person, but I try to avoid her if I can just because she can be a time suck.

---
I think I've decided to NOT do the transmission flush for my car tomorrow. I did some more reading on it, and it looks like it's not recc'd until at least 100k. I am still going to get my tires rotated and my belts looked at (Toyota Yaris's don't have timing belts - the have timing chains, which almost never need to be replaced.)

---
So .. today was not a no spend day. I gave in to temptation. I stopped at Walgreen's hoping they had the chocolate oranges in.

Nope. But I did still end up buying a couple of candy bars and a Coke. Also bought toilet cleaner. ~$6 total

I was also WAY tempted to stop by BK. But I managed to resist that one. Yay me?

Thinking I'd have a sweet potato for dinner. Nope. Checked them and they'd all gone bad. Argh.

So .. finally opened up a box of Quorn Chic'n Cutlets I bought in September? Microwaved two of them according to directions.

Yuck. Double yuck. SO bland. I had to smother them in ketchup to eat.

I think the only thing to do is to fry them in breading or something. Which kind of negates the whole healthy factor (and since I'll need to use eggs to get the breading to stick ... makes them not vegan. Not that I really care about that.)

I've got around 5 more boxes of Cutlets left. 3 boxes of nuggets (which I *think* are breaded.)

These are definitely NOT going to be a good deterrent to my "stop at BK or eat at home" argument with myself ...

--
Decided to NOT go to a movie tonight. Just too tired (didn't sleep well last night at all.)

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be nasty. I'm so glad I won't have to field phone calls on a day like tomorrow will probably be. Doubly glad to have tomorrow off.

--
Almost forgot - a bus funny -

Guy calls me and tells me he left a horse statue on the bus. I clarify with him until I get the picture that it is a 6 inch wooden statue of a horse. He had it sitting on the seat next to him. Not in a bag or anything - just out on the seat.

Another one - guy calls complaining about a couple who brought on two large dogs on the bus. Says that the bus driver told the couple they had to pay $1 per dog.

Um ... Had my supervisor talk to this guy. She figured out that he had no real idea what time this happened or for sure which bus route. She thinks he was making it all up. (No, we don't charge for animals brought on to the bus.)

Bizarre.

Made an Appointment for Car Service, etc

November 10th, 2015 at 01:06 am

So today I finished lunch with ten minutes to spare (helps to bring a PBJ sandwich ...) so gave Brakes Plus a call. I set up an appointment for Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. to get my transmission flushed, tires rotated and belts checked/possibly replaced (they've been squealing.)

In all, it will come in at around $200 after a $25 coupon I have. All accounted for in my car care category. Smile

The weather forecast is saying that Wednesday isn't going to be pretty - bad thunderstorms / possibly hail. Hopefully I'll not be out when that's going on.

--
Wednesday afternoon I'll be going to the church to work on the library some more. (I've been asked to be the official "Church Librarian."

We've bought some new shelves, some book containers, and weeded out the oldest/grungiest books. Not many books were left ... (maybe 100.)

The pastor apparently has several boxes of books for me to go through and possibly add.

I'm going to set up a LibraryThing account for the church library. I'm also going to be looking for volunteers to staff the library after church to assist with check-in / check- out. (Using either a laptop or a small tablet.)

... I'm not sure I'm going to get much cleaning/cooking done on my day off. Big Grin

---
I've seen several people mention seeing The Intern and saying it was funny. I may end up going to see that Tuesday night. Although that's also when the storms are supposed to start ... so I'll see. I haven't been to a movie in the theater for a good while.

---
Free entertainment for my cat = the little lid you pull off from an orange juice container. Kari loves to play "fetch" with it (with me throwing it) or play with it all by herself. Smile

---
So far - 7 NSDs in November! My budget's loving me right now. Smile

Coupons and MobiSave

November 8th, 2015 at 08:05 pm

So I realized that I was about out of allergy medicine today. I remembered that I'd gotten an email from CVS a few days ago offering me $5 off $15. Usually they won't let you use those on psueduedorphine (SP?) products ... So I looked to see what else they had.

Toilet paper .. buy $15 worth and get $5 in ECB. Ok, I'm down to my last 4 rolls (from about a year ago or so ... big pkg from Sam's.)

So I go to CVS planning on doing the toilet paper deal, use the $5 coupon on the toilet paper, and then the $5 ECB get some chocolate. (Technically NOT spending money on it ... Big Grin )

Well when I get there I ask at the pharmacy for the cost of the Allegra D and my Syntrhoid just in case it's cheaper than Walgreen's. The Allegra D is cheaper! (Synthroid is the same.)

So I buy the Allegra D - the lady uses the $5 coupon on it! I tell her that I didn't think it could be used for that .. but she says, "it worked" shrug. O....kay.... So instead of $16.96 ($2 cheaper than Walgreen's) it was $11.96.

I have a coupon on the MobiSave app to save $5 on Allegra D 24hr 10 count. So 2 weeks worth of Allegra is ending up costing me about $7! Suh-weet!

I also decided to go ahead and transfer my prescription to them. (CVS)

Then I picked up $15 worth of toilet paper (actually, $17 after taxes.) That should last me a year. Smile

I did end up spending $2 after the $5 ECB for chocolate. I was really hoping to find a chocolate orange ... but they only had a dark chocolate version. So I got some other items.

It made me happy to do everything I wanted to do in one store. Smile (The cheaper Allegra D also definitely made me happy! Here's hoping the MobiSave coupon keeps repeating indefinitely!!)

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I also paid my tithe/charitable giving today for October and November.. Oops. Totally spaced doing it last month. It works out though, because I put it all on my Discover card and it puts me close to the required $500 spend for November. If I use it while in CA, I should have it easily covered. Then I can stop using it!

(I'll have completed the spend $500/mo for 5 months get $75 deal.)

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I have Wednesday off. I was thinking about seeing a movie Tuesday night ($5 all day Tuesday) but just don't see any I care enough about to see.

I'm thinking of doing a cooking / freezing / cleaning day on Wednesday. So today I'm taking it easy. Smile It will be so nice to have a 4 day work week.

Then not too long later, I'll have TEN days away from work in a row! Oh my, I won't know what to do with myself ... Big Grin (5 of those days I'll be here, 5 I'll be in CA.) Not looking forward to that at all, nope, not at all. Smile

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Almost forgot:
Redeemed $5 AGC from Bing
Redeemed $25 AGC from PerkTV

Spent $45.xx AGC for 2 canisters of protein powder (bought 2 to get free shipping - instead of trying to figure out something else to get to $35 for the free shipping - will last a LONG time.)


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