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

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

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

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

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

But ... the real reason for this post.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get new brakes --- Soon!

The mechanic told me I have about 20% left.

Oooops!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This weekend I went to my mom and stepdad's place. Saturday night we drove to another town to go to a church concert that one of my moms friends was singing in.

When we got back to their place, it was nearly 10:30 p.m. and it was 95 degrees out. But I needed to do my 4 mile run - all three of us went out together, but I ended up just walk/running the two loops with my mom and stepdad, which put me at a bit over 3 miles.

This morning mom and I got started early (for a Sunday) and made Special K Roast; Cottage Cheese Patties; Banana Quinoa Oatmeal Pancakes; and Crustless Quiche. All of these items are now sitting in my freezer being flash frozen. I put the Special K Roast in muffin pans so it'd be easier to freeze individual portions.

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When I got back home and had put away my laundry and the food, I went to check my mail. I usually only check it maybe 2 or 3 times a week.

I had a very nice surprise today! A very thoughtful and sweet person sent me a bit of money, with the stipulation that it was to be used for something I want.

Hmmm... could that person be reading my blog? No, the money was sent the day before I posted about my salivating over the Garmin.

Well, from some of the comments on my Garmin 305 post, I decided that wasn't the way to go, even if I had the money. But, I have been doing some more looking, and I think that maybe the Garmin 50 with the footpod would work -- I've found it in several places for less than $90.

Although I already have a sportswatch/heart rate monitor, the three big things the Garmin 50 has that I really really would like:

1. Track my distance without having to calibrate step stride or mess with GPS

2. Track my pace/speed

3. Able to upload info to Garmin tracking software - see trends on heart rate, distance, pacing, etc.

I really could have used the Garmin 50 last night. I was supposed to do 4 miles, but my mom and dad only had a 1.5 mile route set up. My stepdad tried to explain the route to me, but there were too many turns, and with my err... directional talents ... I decided to just stick with them. If I'd had the G50 I could have struck out on my own till I hit the 2 mile mark, then just turned right around.

Though the 3 + a bit miles pretty thoroughly wore me out. How am I going to do 5 miles this coming weekend!!!!???

So ... anyone have any experience with the Garmin 50?

This Wednesday my mom is going to be coming over and help me do a major decluttering/disposal/cleaning of my place. Since in about 5-6 weeks time, I'm going to have very little free time anymore (yay!) I figured I need to start getting prepped for moving out earlier than later.

So, anyway. I decided to get a bit of a head start on it today, and took everything out of one of my dresser drawers. Only maybe two of my dresser drawers has actual clothing items in them, the other 4 are either empty or just have "stuff" in them.

Well, as I was cleaning it out, there were a bunch of envelopes. One of them was a mypoints envelope, and I felt something hard in it. So I looked in it, and lo and behold - there was a Walmart gift card!!!! Who knows how long it has been in there - but I checked the balance, and it is worth $25!! I can get a lot of food at Walmart for that!

I wonder what else we might unearth on Wednesday.

Last night I talked to my dad for awhile. He told me I really should check my mail. Unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs with a good bit of lightning thrown in for good measure. So, I didn't get to the mailbox till this morning.

In the mail was a letter from my dad, and an envelope from my grandma. In the letter from my dad was a check for $100 -- for FUN not Savings -- was clearly specified on it. Heh, he knows me so well. It was totally unexpected and so sweet of him.

In the envelope from my grandma was a dvd of Les Meserables (the one with Liam Neeson.) Nice! She and I saw the traveling broadway production of it in San Antonio in 1996??

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I spent a good portion of my evening yesterday trying to figure out how to get comment luv off my other blog. Comment luv is this add on that is supposed to make it so that when a person leaves a comment along with the url to their own blog, then a link to their latest post shows up. Well, not only have I not been able to get it to function like that, I also can't figure out what feed the comments are on --- this is a problem because my recent comments widget and my top posts/most popular posts widget can't work either!

Never did figure out how to get it off, but did end up switching to a totally new template/design. I also made my own header for it. Not completely sure I like it just yet. I may need to do a bit more tweaking of the header.

I posted about my Tom Thumb shopping trip on Living Frugal and Simple.

And on Children's Books for Storytime I posted a review of Mandie and the Secret Tunnel. A great children's mystery book (Christian fiction.)

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I feel bad for E, the gym manager. Three weeks ago his grandfather died. Then on Friday his grandmother died. He asked me to call all the gym workers and let them know that the paychecks wouldn't be ready until Wednesday. One person I called and told this to was so callous - saying 'it's always something.'

While that may be true, the poor guy has lost both of his grandparents in less than a months time!

This same person told me that he refuses to do anything other than sit and watch the gym, do towels, etc. If E wanted him to make phone calls to people regarding invoices due, or call other gym workers on various issues, or update the waiver file, he'd have to pay him extra.

Me on the other hand, sees how much E has to do and how overloaded he is. I see how much free time I have while at the gym, and for two reasons: 1. To help E out; and 2. Hope to help E be more ...errr.. organized -- have volunteered to do anything I can to help lighten his load. (which he has taken me up on -- and I still have plenty of time on my hands!)

In the mail today I got a coupon for $5 off my next $50 purchase at Tom Thumb. So, with the $30 gift card I got the other day, I could get $50 worth of groceries for $15 -- and that's assuming I don't use any coupons. Hmmm... Of course Tom Thumb is more expensive than Walmart, but even so, I think I should be able to get a comprable amount of groceries for $15.

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I logged into my UI account last night, and guess what? It shows the last six weeks of payments as having been processed. Yay, right? Not so quickly. They ALL show as "Benefit paid: $0.00" WHAT!!!!

I checked it again this afternoon, just in case it needed processing time or something. But nope, it said the same thing.

So, I sent my third email to them asking what the hockey sticks is going on! Supposedly they are supposed to get back to you within two business days. Considering the fact I sent my first email about a month ago, and the second one a week ago, and yet to have heard back . .. yeah, we'll see where that goes.

I wish I knew what else I could do to get some answers.

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Today I posted the first of a new Thursday Thirteen series on using Baking Soda called Thirteen Ways To Use Baking Soda In Cooking.

Then I suggested a fantastic children's book about a boy named Walter called Just A Dream.

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I stopped in at Walgreen's tonight to pick up a couple things. There was this lady in front of me who was buying a whole bunch of things on sale or clearance. I think the cashier was getting kind of frazzeled, but he remained polite. He'd finally finished ringing her up and announced the total price . .. then was like "Oh! I forgot your coupons!" Saved her nearly $10.

Although I was halfway annoyed at how long I was in line, I enjoyed watching the whole little show more - especially when the lady saved a nice bit of money.

Oh and a funny. You know how I moan and groan about how math and I just don't agree? Well this lady was asking what 50% of $1.70 was. Someone nearby with a puzzled look on their face piped up ???$.90? A second later I said $.85.

Now why couldn't the GRE ask questions like that??

I got a phone call from E this morning at 6:47 a.m. asking me if I could go in early - as in ASAP. The person who was supposed to be there had gotten a bad sunburn and was pretty ill.

I made it over to the gym by a little after 7:30.

One big accomplishment today -- for the first time since before Christmas break, I did my 30 minute run! Of course, I scaled it back a lot since it had been such a long time, but I ran for a total of 18 out of 35 minutes. Yay!

I found out from E that both of the people who I'd talked to about joining the gym have signed up! Bonus time!

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I got my Cobra letter today. Just for Medical it'll be $398/mo. It didn't mention anything about the 65% Stimulus discount - but it was dated on the 17th.

I'm going to call them on Monday to clarify about that, plus some other items.

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Today's accomplishments:

1. Gym from 7:30 - 5 pm
2. Cashed gym check
3. updated blog
4. 35 minutes exercise session!
5. Checked Craigslist

Saturday Plans:

1. Church
2. poltluck lunch
3. update blog
4. Out on town with friends
5. Clean counters (one of these days I'll actually do this!)

* Watched the Ben Carson story "Gifted Hands' on TNT at my mom's house Saturday night. I'd read the book years ago, and always thought it was a very amazing story.

* My mom and step-dad's dog Millie who I dog sat for a number of times is really failing. She's been pretty much deaf for a few months now, has cataracts, and just this past week her back legs are not supporting her very well. She is such a sweet dog. I'm afraid my mom and stepdad are going to have to make a hard decision soon.

* Coke Rewards program seems to be attempting to lessen the amount of points possible to earn. Starting soon, you'll only be able to enter 120 points per week. It used to be a limit of 10 codes per day with no point limit. I have the feeling the program is going to be eliminated completely soon.

* I had an ING referral bonus. First one of 2009.

* A man who I had a major crush on from Kindergarten till 5th grade friended me on Facebook. He was always so nice to me, even though he was a few years older. When my family moved away when I was in the 3rd grade, he and I exchanged letters and cards all the way till I went to college. His wife and I even graduated in the same class from college.

* I treated my mom and stepdad today to a matinee of "He's Just Not That Into You." We were going to see "New In Town" but we missed the early showing for it, so went with the other one instead. It was pretty funny and sweet.

* One week from today is my 3-year anniversary at work. Time really flies.

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Yesterday's post: Simple Pleasures: Postcards from Malaysia

Todays Post: Sunday Sustenance: Danish Oatmeal Pancakes

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Yesterday I picked up my gym paycheck from E. He didn't give me my timecard this time, so I am not sure how much extra he added to it, but the $35 extra was def. there.

He assured me I was fine to cash it that day - but then I reminded him of the two other checks I had. He asked me to wait till today. Which I did.

My coworker and I went to the bank the gym has an account at during our lunch break. My coworker waited for me in her car. I had to put my thumbprint on each check . . but . . they all cashed! Yay!

After work I stopped by my bank and deposited it, plus another check (refund from old administration company.) So, I added $210 to my extra monies funds today. Although, actually, $35 of it needs to go back into my buffer to pay myself back - so it's actually $175. Still, not bad.

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My post today, continuing the series of Twenty Days and Ways to Show You Care Without Breaking the B... is Day 2: I Care Coupons.

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Quick curious question. What is the deadline for 1099's? Is it different than for W-2's?

Yesterday I stopped by my apartment's management's office to pay my rent and also to check about my lease.

I mentioned to the lady working there that I was trying to figure out what the best thing was to do, go month-to-month, or do a 6-month term.

She told me that whether I go month-to-month or 6 month, I still would have to give a 60-day notice, or pay the reletting fee. If I go with the 6-month term, and leave before it's up, I would be charged the reletting fee, plus probably the remainder of the lease.

I mentioned to her that I had been surprised that the price variation between the month-to-month and the 6 month term was so little - just $45. And that was part of what was making it hard for me to decide.

She then tells me, "Just stop having your nails done, and that will give you the extra $45/month."

She didn't know this of course, but the last time I had my nails 'done' was over two-years ago - and that was a gift from a friend. Of course, even that wasn't really what I think she was talking about. I think she thought I had those fake nails - those would definitely cost in the $45 range.

Nope, just have naturally long nails. I usually don't even notice their length until one of them breaks - then I chop them all off.

It was good advice really, just not anything that helped me much! LOL

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This month I am doing a series of posts called: Twenty Days and Ways To Show Someone You Care Without Breaking The Budget.

Todays post: Day 1: An Indoor Picnic

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I stopped at Albertson's tonight on my way to the library. While there I picked up a couple of the individual portion ice creams, along with some other grocery items.

When I got to the self-checkout and scanned them, the disembodied voice of the scanner told me that the item was recalled and couldn't be purchased.

So I guess you could say that the recall saved me from myself!

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Oh, I almost forgot! I updated my sidebar last night. And . . .

My Car Fund is Fully Funded!!! Woo Hoo! Now I can concentrate on my House Downpayment fund.

I will still continue adding to the Car Fund with HSBC interest, because of course there will be car repairs here and there, so better to have a bit more than a bit less.

Yay! Two days in a row where I was busy the whole day! Plus, I have enough left over to keep me occupied for at least the morning tomorrow.

My company switched HR companies as of Dec. 26. As soon as I got the email with the sign up information, I filled out all my info and signed up for all the benefits I'm eligible for.

I didn't get it done though early enough for my Jan 2 check to be direct deposited. Our Office Manager has been out sick yesterday and today. So this afternoon I asked the owner's daughter if she could see if I had a check in our OM's desk. I did! (I was slightly worried because she told me that our OM hadn't gotten a check on Jan 2.)

I realized tonight that January is a 5 paycheck month.

I'm considering putting $400 of it to my Car Fund, which would finish it. Then in February I'd be able to concentrate really hard on my house down payment savings.

But, I'm also wondering how much I'm going to owe in taxes this year. Last year I owed $144. I made pretty much exactly the same this year at my main job, but from ChaCha and the gym I've probably made an extra $1500, plus I've made a lot more in interest income. So, I'm wondering if I should set it aside for taxes, then whatever remains of it can go towards whichever savings goal I have that needs funding.

OR, I could just go ahead and put $400 of it into my Car Fund, then once I know how much my taxes are, I can just fit it into my budget for March and April.

Hmm.. . I think I like the last idea the best. I deposited my Jan 2 paycheck, and my gym paycheck, plus some cash my dad gave me (for the baggage fees) into my local checking. Once I have transferred them to ING, I will count my Car Fund as fully funded! Woo Hoo!

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I have found another way to make a little side income. (So, yes that means I'll have 3 places I'm earning side income from.)

The website today.com is accepting new bloggers. It can be about any of a variety of topics - but need to be at least 100 words or more per entry. (Ha! No trouble for me!) They pay you for one post per day, plus for page views.

I've been coming up with ideas of things to write about there that are somewhat different from what I post here, although still on a similar vein. It will be challenging for me to keep my posts close to the 100 word mark - but probably good for me too.

If you'd like to check my blog out, it is:

http://thesinglefrugalton.today.com/

I'm going to add it to my sidebar as well.

Oh, if you do join, and get accepted, let me know and I'll add you to my blogroll!

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spending today:

Wal-mart: $9.96 (bananas, Rice Dream, sweet potatoes, 1 frz dinner, sm box Jr Mints)

This afternoon I got a call from T's husband inviting me to a Cookie Party at Mr. B's house. (Mr B was my teacher aide for a year, and was also T's aide for a year - amazing, giving, selfless man - such a hard worker.)

Of course I said yes!

Mr B had baked 4 or 5 dozen sugar cookies in star shapes and tree shapes. He'd also made several kinds of fudge, several types of regular cookies, and loaves of 'friendship' bread.

It was really good to sit and chat with everyone. At first the kids were decorating the sugar cookies, but then they got tired of it. So . . us adults got to get in on the fun.

Mr B sent us all home with a huge bunch of goodies.

I can't have that in my home for more than tonight, so am going to take it into work and share the bounty. (Have already eaten a few too many of the goodies.)

I've invited both T and her family, as well as Mr B and his family to my place at the end of January for a Danish Aebleskeber brunch. I had them all over to my place maybe a bit over two years ago - so it's way past time to do it again!

(Mr B has a long last name that is hard for kids to say. So everyone just called him Mr B--. It just kind of sticks.)

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On my way to the party I stopped at Half Price Bookstore.

I dropped my bag of Spanish materials at the sales desk, then started looking around.

I found a nice calendar for my stepdad, and a book for me.

Finally, I was called to the sales desk. I was offered $6.50 for 5 Spanish learning books/dictionaries, and 3 computer programs (1 of which cost $100.) I just couldn't do it.

I think I'm going to try Craigslist again after I get back from CA. There has to be *someone* who wants to learn Spanish!

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I earned $13 this morning working the morning shift at the gym.

I didn't get any exercise in today, other than the stairs from the garage to the office and back.

I spent $10.48 (calendar and book - but it was off of a gift card I got for my birthday.)

Let's see here . .

* Found out today that I more than likely will be keeping my Friday morning gig opening the gym. I thought it would only be through today, but apparently the person who used to do it isn't available anymore. So, that means a continued 5 hrs a week at the gym in the new year.

* Gulp. Submitted an application and resume to two places in CA today. The first one was ALL online.

It was quite aggravating because after I completed the application, pasted in my resume, pasted in a cover letter and submitted - it then had a background check form asking for drivers license, car license, places lived for last 10 years . . . You had to do it right then - no way to save it and go back later. I finally managed to finish the last bit of it at 8:29 a.m. I'm supposed to be at my Real job at 8:30. Argh!

* Updated my sidebar totals, and added an Extra Monies tracking page for Dec.

* Today was a No Spend Day
(Not for lack of thinking about things I would like to go buy - mainly food items.)

* A good friend of mine from college friended me on Facebook today! Hi DJ!

* I got paid for an unused sick day today in my paycheck. After taxes, ~$74 going to Extra Monies! Yay!

* I contacted an old friend today via email! -- I'd received an email from an address I thought I recognized saying something about "I have a prayer for you". But when I opened it, I saw it was from fanbox something or other site, and recalled getting strange emails with that website before. So, decided not to open it. SO glad I didn't open it, because about 30 minutes later I got an email from my friend telling me that it was a virus! Ack!

* The Beck Diet Solution is being held for me at the library. This is the book that has a bunch of ideas on how to fight negative thinking with positive thinking. I'd sparkmailed the person who had blogged about it to find out the name of the book, and she got back to me right away. So, I'll pick it up tomorrow and start making my keychain cards!

* A funny at work today. {Backstory} We have a 'consultant' doing some auditing for us. Yesterday he'd asked me for 5 paperclips. So, I reach into my side drawer and pull out the DW created 'paper clip pocket made out a notebook paper and staples'. He gave me a funny look, and I explained to him that I tend to give DW a lot of paperclips in the various things I do for him, so he likes to give them back to me at various times and in various modes of container.

{Today} Consultant guy comes by my desk again, and asks to use my stapler. Then he says he needs more paperclips. So, I pull out a second, more full 'notebook/staple packet' and give it to him. He then puts it down on the filing cabinet next to my desk which holds the letterhead and envelopes, and is about 6 inches or so higher than the top of my desk. He tells me he'll be back for it, but needs to go meet with head honcho.

About 30 minutes later I notice J, our CFO walking by my desk casting strange glances towards my area. Then about the same time, A, who's desk is next to mine also starts casting strange glances my way. I figured out what they were staring at.

After explaining what it was, D, our shipping manager (deal with brokers person), says "It's like you're at an airport and you see a strange package."

(After all that, I just went ahead and took it to the office the consultant was working out of!)

Maybe not so funny in the retelling - but it was pretty funny when it happened.

Absolutely incredible.

Tonight I got home from work and checked my mail. I had several birthday cards, a couple Christmas cards ... and then a letter from the Clerk of PA court.

When I saw that I was going 'What in the world??'

Finally I sit down and open it. At first I'm reading it and going 'Uh, ok.' Then I get to the last page and it hits me what it is about!

In a nutshell back in the area of 2003 or 2004 I had $139.xx removed from my checking twice. I had no idea who the money was going to, nor what it was for. I called my CU and let them know that I did not know why the money was going out ... and asked them if they could figure it out. If I remember correctly they were able to give me a phone number to the place, I called them and told them to cancel whatever it was. Then asked for a refund of my money. I was told I'd get it in 60 days. Several months later I called again, and was told it would be put on priority. This went on for at least a year, then a whole bunch of life happened and I forgot about it. Never got the money.

According to this document I received, this happened to a WHOLE bunch of other people as well. Wachovia let this company open up accounts, then they would call people with some mis-leading telemarketing call to get their bank info, which lead into Wachovia cashing unsigned checks. (I think that's the gist of it.)

So, there is now this class-action suit being brought against Wachovia. At first I thought all I would get would be the $35 refund for bank charges (I did end up bouncing a check as a result of the withdrawal at the time.)

THEN I looked at the last page. On the bottom was a check for $139.xx - a refund for the amount that was stolen from my account! I don't think I ever had any of the money returned to me - but don't have the paperwork to show it anymore - so I am EXTREmLY pleased with this amount!

Needless to say I am going to show the teller the paperwork and ask if they can verify the check as legitimate before actually depositing it. But . . I think this really is the real deal!

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I received a $100 from my Grandma for my birthday also in the mail today.

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It was below freezing today here. I had planned on getting to the gym 10 minutes early to get extra running time in, but it ended up I needed all that time plus a bit just to get my windows deiced.

At least I got my 2.1 mile run in this morning. Then today after work I did roughly 40 minutes strength training/stretching.

Today I enjoyed the luxury of being able to sleep in as late as I like.

When I finally deigned to get up and dressed, I headed out to get my car inspected.

I seriously thought that I was going to need to replace my windshield wipers in order to pass inspection. In fact, I was planning on buying new ones before getting inspected.

But instead I stopped at the first place I saw that had the state inspection.

I told the mechanic that I needed my oil changed, my car inspected and most likely new windshield wiper blades.

Roughly 40 minutes later, my car passed inspection and my oil was changed. But I still had the same wipers! The mechanic told me that they were still fine and didn't need to be changed.

I was very happy about that of course - but more so happy that he didn't just say that I needed new ones to make the extra sale.

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This weekend I really need to finish up my defensive driving course. I've one hour completed and 5 more to go. I'd been planning on doing them during my lunch breaks, but then kept getting pulled up front to give the receptionist her lunch break. So . . just need to go ahead and get 'r dun this weekend.

I think when I get the 10% discount back, I'll put it in my extra monies accounting as a rebate - since I've already paid my 6 month premium without the discount.

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I got another ING referral bonus today. Now I need to do some legwork (i.e. typing) so I can send out more referrals.

Good news and not so good news.

I found out today that a third lady from my office has signed up at our gym. This is good of course for E and for the gym.

It is however not so good for me personally. These three ladies and myself all will be in the gym at about the same time in the morning - all of us needing to be DONE at about the same time as well. Not to mention that there are two other new ladies who've been coming in the mornings.

There are two shower stalls in the ladies locker room.

Now, good news part.

One of the ladies who signed up for the gym actually also signed up for a PT course from E. She had asked me personally to introduce her to E.

So I found out today that as staff, I get a $20 referral bonus for her!! I may get another referral bonus for a second of the three ladies who joined up - I didn't directly refer her, but I've talked to her a good bit about the gym and about E - so we'll see on that one.

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I've now used my netbook two times at the gym doing ChaCha. It really works pretty well.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of the keyboard.

I'm needing to do a bit of cleaning this evening, my kitchen especially. So I'm going to do what my coworker suggested to me today -- put my netbook on the kitchen table, turn the volume up loud as possible, then work on cleaning in between questions. That way I can get my cleaning done, but also keep making a bit of money. Ahh. . . the convenience factor.

This coming week I have two extra early morning shifts at the gym, plus my Friday morning early shift and afternoon shift. I started thinking about how much money I'd received from my last 3 gym paychecks which I hadn't allocated yet to any of my Extra Monies funds yet (due to the bounced check). Then I thought about how much I'd be getting soon from ChaCha (at least $145).

I made the leap.

I bought a netbook -- at Target -- for $300.00.

It is the ASUS Eee PC 900. It's just over 2lbs in weight and the screen is 8.9" diagonally.

I have books that weigh more than it, and that are thicker than it.

I also bought a usb mouse to use with it, and a carrying case.

Tonight I connected to my home internet network with it and downloaded the ChaCha toolbar and was able to do a couple queries. I will def. have to use the mouse for that though - at least till I get more accustomed to the touch pad.

I also called my dad and grandma on Skype - which came preloaded. I thought this had a built in webcam, but I found out that it doesn't. So, I'll have to see if I can find an inexpensive one -- but that will come later - after I pay back the loan to myself.

So, at this moment I have a loan of $350 that I owe myself. I will be keeping track of what I earn doing ChaCha at the gym, as well as how many hours of extra gym shifts I do beyond the Friday afternoon shifts (which is what I originally signed on for.) I wonder how long it will take me to pay myself back?

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Oh yes, I must mention the bit of drama in the purchase. My card was initially declined. Imagine my surprise!

The people at the electronics counter graciously let me use their phone to call customer service. Apparentally my trying to make a $350 purchase at Target flagged my account as "unusual activity". I had to answer a bunch of questions and confirm a number of charges from the past few days - then my card was reactivated.

The man on customer service was apologetic, but I told him that I was *thankful* for the flag, even if it was a bit of a hassle and delay. I seriously LOVE how alert WAMU is about their customers credit card usuage. I would SO much rather have my card declined, than to go check my account and see thousands of dollars worth of charges on there that aren't mine - that is SO much more hassle and headache.

* I updated my Extra Monies pages, as well as my tickers.

* The gym paycheck that bounced as well as the next one I got have both been finally taken care of. I picked up my check today (which includes the $98.25 + $10 bounce fee + last two weeks work hours) and was told that I *do not need* to worry about this one bouncing. I'll be putting it in tomorrow. If it bounces, I'm going to insist on money orders from here on out.

* I bought a few groceries at Target this weekend. I wasn't paying close attention to the register, so missed my Morningstar corn dogs ringing up wrong. Luckily I checked my receipt and caught it. The lady at customer service gave me $3 in cash back. Free corndogs! Yay!

* My brother's birthday is tomorrow!! He's going to be 28 years old. He was born on the day Reagan was elected. Hopefully he'll celebrate his 28th birthday with Obama being elected.

* I've been doing quite well with not buying junkfood or eating junk at work. So well in fact, that I've lost nearly 10 pounds since my last post! (Mostly water weight I think though.)

* I'm still considering a laptop. Although a comment made by E on Thursday night when I picked up the keys to be able to open the gym on Friday's has me wondering if it is a good idea or not. He mentioned that they may have to let go of some of their employees.

* I won another weekend contest for ChaCha last week. $10 Yay!

* My mom and I did a 5k together last weekend. We both walked away with first place trophies for our age categories. ......... Of course, we were the only females competing in our respective age categories! LOL!

I was so very proud of my mom for finishing and not taking any shortcuts. We were the last two of 25 people to cross the line. My time was the same as my first 5k (43:37) and my mom finished in 50:00. (She can't run due to joint/bone problems.)

* I finally got to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. It was showing at a second run theatre near where we did our 5k. It cost $3 for my mom, me and my stepdad to see it. Cheap entertainment.

* I think my car's stereo speakers are dying. Today when driving home the sound kept coming in and out, getting louder and softer, going from one side to the other. First time I've noticed that.

How expensive are car stereo speakers to replace??

* I paid $2.11/gallon for gasoline today. I am loving the falling gas prices!

Bear with me folks, this is a bit long today.

This is pretty sad really, my post today. The scale has been going up and up in the past few months, but I kept consoling myself that I was still less than when I started Sparkpeople back in June 2006.

Then this morning I get on the scale and find out that that is no longer true.

What's really sad is that I am exercising, although not as consistently as before. I even have a 5k I'm participating in tomorrow, even though I've not been able to complete 2 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes for several weeks.

What has happened though is that I've gone back to most of my *really* bad eating habits. This has been affecting me both financially (food costs + needing new clothes) and health wise (weight gain, not able to run as fast).

I can't even begin to explain how frustrated and discouraged I feel about this whole situation. One totally of my own making, and my own control.

So . . . I'm working a good bit of hours at the gym. Probably once a week get called to cover an extra shift after work. Then of course, this coming Friday I will start doing the Friday early morning shift for the next 8 weeks.

Usually I spend most of my time at the gym when working, reading. I have attempted to do a weight routine while on shift, but there were so many interruptions I kept losing my place in my counts.

As I've mentioned before, I also am working for ChaCha.

So, I'm thinking that maybe I can knock out three objectives with one stone.

1. Get back on track with food/exercise
2. Reign in spending on junk/extra food
3. Make more side income

The way I'm thinking of doing this is by allocating whatever money I earn from "extra" shifts, as well as the early Friday morning shifts for the next 8 weeks, to a laptop fund.

In order to actually access the money though, I have to earn it. Kind of do a matching funds type thing.

For example:
One day where I don't spend any money on any type of junkfood or unnecessary food, as well as don't consume any office supplied junkfood equals $5.

For every 5 days, I would get a Fund Match of $25.

Once I have "earned" at least $200, I will go ahead and order the laptop I'm thinking of: Sylvania G Netbook and then make a "loan" to myself that I will be able to pay off much faster by using the laptop at the gym to do ChaCha. (Until the loan to myself is paid off, any money I earn doing ChaCha at the gym would go towards the loan.)

I am guessing, if all goes well, it will take me around four weeks to get to the initial $200 mark. Then, roughly another three weeks (when adding additional ChaCha income) to pay it off. So, that would give me 7 weeks of getting back into my good habits, which hopefully would stick even after the laptop is paid off.

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By the by . . if anyone knows of another laptop that would work with Firefox and in the $400 or less range, I'd love to hear about it!

Also, I think I'm right that I could use the laptop purchase as a tax write off on Schedule C since it is largely being purchased to do the ChaCha job. Am I right?

First, the good stuff.

My second monthly ChaCha payment went through of $131.74. $10 of that was money from a contest I'd won. I lurve ChaCha!

I also picked up my check for the gym. It was for $65.50, but then the $20 overpayment from the previous check was subtracted, so it came to $45.50.

So, between ChaCha and the gym, in October I have added a little over $275 to my Extra Monies funds. Most of what I do for both of these require very little effort - just time and consistency.

It looks like my next paycheck for the gym will be at least in the low $100 range - due to an extra shift already worked, 3 Friday afternoons, plus starting to work the early morning shift on Friday Oct 31. Me likey.

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Rant.

Today I went out to eat with two of my coworkers. One of them had a buy one get one free coupon for specific items on the menu - none of which could be turned into a vegetarian friendly food. Not a problem - I'm used to it, and can deal with it.

I've eaten at this place a couple times before, and have found that the Grilled Cheese Panini w/ a side of sweet potatoes can be had for $6 +tax and is filling.

It is however on the children's menu.

So, I place my order for it. I am then told that I can't order off the children's menu. I reply back by saying that I have done it both times I've come before with no problems.

The waiter tells me that if I'd like to speak to the manager he'd be happy to get him. I very briefly considered this, but then decided that I did NOT want to make a scene. I told the waiter that I am a vegetarian and that there was NOTHING else on the menu without meat. He suggested that I get the quesedilla entree and just have the chicken left out.

The quesedilla price: $8.95
The pannini price: $5.95 (includes side dish)

I went ahead and ordered the quesedillas and asked to have spinach and mushrooms added.

Later when I saw the bill, they had charged me $9.95 for my item. I can only assume the extra dollar was for the oh so much more costly than chicken - mushrooms and spinach!

OY VEY!

Needless to say I will NOT willingly go there again - nor will I recommend it to anyone!

I would REALLY like to know just what the problem is with an adult ordering off the children's menu?? The portion size is going to be the same whether an 11 year old orders it, or an ahem.. 32 year old orders it. Is it really worth $4 to them to completely lose a customer??

So I watched CSI:Vegas online this past weekend. It was a very good episode, but I was getting annoyed by all the starts and stops.

I decided it was time to go up to the next DSL tier. It was only $5 more and I felt it would be worth it.

So a few minutes ago I called to upgrade my DSL speed.

YEOW!

There is no $25 option anymore. They don't even have my $20 option anymore. The next higher speed than what I have is now $35!!!!
I just about hung up.

The lady kept trying to tell me that AT&T had given me free installation and that they'd felt like they had lost money with the free installations which is why it had gone up so much. Then she tried to tell me you don't have a phone line charge . . . etc, etc.

Finally I told her, that may all be true, but I don't have $35/mo in my budget for internet. That finally got her to back off.

I guess I will be living with the hiccups of watching tv on the lower speed.

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In other news. E asked me today if I'd be willing to fill in on Friday mornings at one of the gym locations from the end of Oct to Dec 19. It will mean an extra $13/week! Yay! It also will mean that I'll have to get there by 6:20 a.m. which is an hour earlier than I usually get there for working out. For 8 weeks, I can deal with it.

Today I got my gym paycheck. I had worked a couple times at the other gym site where there had been no time cards. So E was going to write my times down on a timecard. He forgot of course - which I found out when I got my previous paycheck.

So today's paycheck included one Friday I hadn't gotten paid for (previous pay period) plus the normal hours in the current time period. But . . the numbers didn't add up.

11.5 hours (3 afternoons of 3.5 hours, plus one 1 hour afternoon) x 6.55 = $75.33

My paycheck today was for $98.25.

I looked at it and looked at it trying to figure out where he came up with that figure. Shoot - I *liked* that figure.

The only thing I could figure out is that he counted one of my 3.5 hour afternoons twice.

So I called him and told him. He told me to write on my current timecard a note to subtract $20 from my next paycheck. That's about $3 less than the difference, but he said he didn't really care much about $3.

We had an interesting exchange about just what $3 could get you.

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I can't say much, but I am very sad about a situation happening with a family member of mine. I hope and pray that the situation will change, but I fear that it won't.

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I think I don't handle change well. At all. Work the past two weeks has totally and completely stressed me out.

Yesterday the furniture was finally moved back into place.

The way I have to place my computer on my desk causes me to have my back towards the kitchen/hallway 99% of the time. There are three heavy traffic patterns which run by my desk now (3 sides). At least twice now I have looked up from what I was doing to find multiple people by my desk looking at me. Also, due to the setup, I now have LESS space.

I keep getting asked how I like the new setup. They don't get what I'm really thinking -- they get - GRIN Oh, it's great!

Trying to think positively -- I will get used to this!

I updated my tickers on my sidebar for September. For details you can check out my September earnings page. There was some actual good movement - thanks to ChaCha and my gym job.

My ING interest increased this month (by $.48) but my HSBC interest went down, even though the actual amount in the account increased, the teaser interest rate dropped on the 15th.

In October there will be a good deal more movement due to a 5 paycheck month. Although, I am considering using *some* of that extra paycheck to help update/upgrade my wardrobe. I haven't fully decided on that one yet though.

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At work the chaotic week - week two has continued. Only the fun was compounded by my main manager being back from vacation. On Monday he was understanding. Yesterday however when I told him I wasn't able to get some information he needed because that program was on my computer which of course wasn't set up - he became the opposite of understanding.

So I spoke to the president's daughter, who I guess you could call the company liasion (sp?). She told me that I could go ahead and set up my computer on the floor until the furniture got moved back in.

Um ok. Miss ingenious here really didn't want to sit on the floor in her skirt and use her computer. So I thought about this little rolling table we have back in the Engineering copy/file room. It has a double purpose - holds extra paper for the copier, and when I do my filing it holds my filing book and the files.

So I cleared the table off and set up my computer on it. For the rest of the day I had many people laughing at me and my setup - good naturedly of course.

I will admit it is a funny setup. But it is much better than trying to use my computer on the floor. Or continuing to share the computer with the receptionist when this particular manager asks me to get something for him and expects it yesterday and doesn't want to hear that I can't do it yet because receptionist is having to use the computer to do something for another person.

Fingers crossed - furniture is supposed to be moved back into office area and set up in the morning. Anxiously awaiting a return to some semblance of normalcy.

I logged in tonight to do a bit of ChaCha'ing and noticed that my earnings were a good bit higher than they had been this morning -- $10 higher!

I checked, and sure enough, I was one of the winners in the Sat. nite contest!!

So now I'm close to $70, with 17 days to go till the next monthly payout. I think I'll have a good bit more than just a $100 this time.

Just a quick note.

Last week at work was such a crazy chaotic week. The powers that be decided they needed to build two new offices within our company's area. Those two new offices of course are being built in the same area where another coworker and I had our desks.

So, other coworker and I had the pleasure of packing up our desks/computers etc and transferring them elsewhere. Coworker got put in the file room, and I got the pleasure of sharing the computer with the front desk receptionist. Fun.

If all has gone well this weekend, the furniture will be able to be moved back into the area by Tuesday morning, and we'll have our desks/computers back.

BTW - we're not getting the offices. There's enough room outside of them in that same area for our desks to fit. Less privacy than before (which wasn't much to speak of anyway.)

Such is life as a peon I guess.

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Up to almost $56 with ChaCha. I took a couple days off from it in order to get other things done. I'll be getting my next gym paycheck on Friday - it'll be for 11 1/2 hours *$5.55 (3 Friday's + a one-hour shift I covered). It'll be a nice start to October's Extra Monies.

I just checked my bank account balance, and saw that my first ChaCha payment has been deposited!

From Aug 26 - Sept 15 I made $101.01 in my spare time. Fun!

I also received my second check from the gym for $49.13. It would've been more, but I didn't have my timecard at the location where I worked the Friday before payday. It'll be on my next check.

So, from gym job (2 paychecks)
1st one: $67.14 and 2nd one: $49.13, then the $101.01 from ChaCha, I added

$217.28 to my Extra Monies fund for Septmeber. (Granted, some of the money was earned in August - but I don't count it as earned until I have it IN the bank.)

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I am SO glad AIG got bailed out. I have my 403b (from when I was teaching) with AIG Valic. That is 5 years worth of contributions. My Roth, 401k and TRD IRA, are all at different places, but combined are maybe 20% of the value (at least what it was two weeks ago) of my AIG 403b.

It makes me sick to look at the value of the 403b though. It is down over $1k from where it was when I made my last contribution June 05. To some, a 1k drop isn't much, but percentage wise for me, it's HUGE.

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I just realized I hadn't posted about my latest 5k!

This past Sunday I completed my 3rd 5k race. I finished with a 43:04 which didn't beat my previous time, but I was satisfied with it. I had to stop to tie my shoes once, the course was much hillier and there was a good gusty wind both ways (nearly blew my hat off a couple times!)

The really really cool thing though is that with my Dad being in CA now, my mom and stepdad have stepped up to be my cheering section at my races. Even better, my mom has said that she would like to participate!!

There is a 5k on Oct 26 which is closer for them to get to - and has a fun walk built into it. So, we're going to do that one together. Well, not totally together, since I'll be running and she'll be "speed" walking.

A friend asked me to fill out a reference for her. I wasn't able to think of a good reason to say no right then, so now am in a bit of a bind as to the best way to fill it out.

I've never said one word to her about what I think of her skills in this area, mainly because I didn't think it was my place or my business. Now I guess I'm going to have to put it out there.

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Sat night I went to the Beach Boy's concert with my mom. We had a BLAST! The crowd had an amazing amount of energy. We got them to come back out and do 3 encores! The venue for the concert was a bit strange - in the same hall where the Dallas Symphony Orchestra plays (they actually accompanied the Beach Boy's). I wasn't accustomed to seeing so many Hawaiian shirts at a DSO concert.

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I'm almost up to $70 with ChaCha. My goal is to reach $100 by the 14th, so I can get paid on the 15th. I think I'll be able to do it, even though it won't be a full month.

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I have another 5k coming up this Sunday. My mom and stepdad will be coming to cheer me on.

I've found at least one race in Oct Nov and Dec that is on a Sunday - so that works well for me.

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I've decided to drop my membership to the Outdoors club. There just wasn't enough things I was interested or able to do to make the monthly fee worthwhile.

Between my meetup groups and my races, I'm really keeping myself pretty busy anyway.

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I got an email from my dad tonight. He was saying that he is near the Texas/NM border and will be crossing into NM in the morning. Getting closer to CA!

He must be quite the sight to see. A huge Penske truck, then a car trailer w/his vehicle on it, then his little trailer. The little trailer my family purchased back in the early 1980's (around the time my brother was born!) It's gone many many miles through numerous states.

Today I got a call from E at the gym asking if I could work the 5:30 to close shift. I was only planning on watching a movie tonight, so I said sure, why not.

While I was at the gym in the afternoon, I found out that we get paid on the first business day of each month, and the 15th of each month. So that means I have a paycheck waiting for me at the other gym location. I'll pick it up on Friday, which is fine, since I won't be able to get by a bank until then anyway.

Then tonight I got another call from E asking if I'd be willing to come in *early* tomorrow and open. The person who was supposed to do it is sick. I of course said YES.

I think I'm going to REALLY like my next paycheck.

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When I checked my email tonight I saw that I'd received another ING referral bonus. YAY!

Of course, I'm still waiting for two of the last three bonuses to go to my available balance column. I think they still earn interest though, which really is all that matters.

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I'm now up to nearly $28 in ChaCha earnings. I think I've become slightly addicted to the sound of a doorbell.

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A new company has moved into our office building. They are taking up at least two complete floors.

This morning I arrived at around 7:15 a.m. and found that the ENTIRE row where I normally park was completely full!! Normally when I get there at that time, there *might* be one or two cars in that section.

So it looks like I'll be parking up on the next level from now on. That's okay though, because that is the same level that the gym is on.

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I forgot to mention yesterday . .

On Sunday my dad and I found mini-blinds at Walmart for about $8. It took us all of about 3 minutes to remove the old ones and install the new ones.

That saved me at least $27.

While we were at Walmart, we also had them fill my tires with air and move the hubcap on my one tire so we could get to the airstem. They did it for no charge.

I am now proud to say that I hold three jobs. My first job (the one that pays the bills) is of course the one at the oil and gas company.

My second job is the 3 1/2 hours on Friday afternoons at the gym.

My third job, which I just started today, is with ChaCha as an expeditor. In slightly over 90 minutes I made $3.30. I know, not a whole lot of money - but it's money I wouldn't have otherwise made in that time period.

I wish we had Firefox on our computers at work so I could do some ChaCha during lunchtime.

My goal is to make $20/week. So, that translates to roughly an hour a day. If I'm able to put in an extra two hours on the weekends, then I could make up to $100/month (give or take).


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Remember my savings goal of a Cruise in 2010? Well, I realized today that I'll turn 35 in December of 2010. So I've decided that it will be my 35th Birthday Cruise. I'm thinking that for the next couple of birthdays/Christmases I'll let everyone know that any cash gifts I receive, half of them will go towards my Cruise fund.