Happy New Year everyone!

NE and I had a relaxing evening at my place. He picked up a pizza for us, and we had the final two slices of Rum cake. We also watched part of Armageddon - we didn't finish it because after stopping it to ring in midnight, we both realized we were ready to call it a night.

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So ... December spending.

I'll just highlight the non-fixed categories -

Spending:

Phone: 202.76 (Pro-rated December bill from ATT and final ETF bill)

Groceries - $148 out of $150

Auto Fuel: $23.51 (budgeted $30)

Spending Money: 90.80 (lots of room for improvement here - this is money spent on unnecessary food mainly and replacing a PO box key)

Restaurants - $15.81 (fast food - came from budgeted spending money)

Clothing - $3.20

Household goods: $21.17 (two chairs from goodwill, bundt cake pan, etc)

Kari - 22.70 - cat food, litter (bought several bags on sale with coupon)

Savings

Snowflakes and Windfalls! $279.35 (Swagbucks, Pinecone, GymPact, Class Action suit, Christmas money, etc.) This money was distributed to my other savings goals in my January budget.

EF: 200
Car Replacement/Repair: 200
Vacation: 150
ROTH: 200
Electronics: 79.77 (spent 5.30 on a new charging cable)


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Other:
Received $50 in AGC from Swagbucks and PerkTv (not included in Windfalls amount)

Had a previous balance of $27

Spent: $26.37 on pea protein powder for morning smoothies and $1.99 on an ebook.
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January Budget
Tithe: 125
Giving: 25
Rent: 430
Phone: 0 (covered by Ting credit)
Internet: 65.60
Electricity: 40
Natural Gas: 45
Groceries: 150
Auto Fuel: 30
Spending Money: 95.80 (20 budgeted plus 20% December Windfall money)
Medical: 25
Kari: 30
Car Insurance: 45 (I think my 6 month premium is due in January)
Life Insurance: 16
EF: 150
Car Replace/Repair: 75
Vacation: 151.60 (budgeted plus windfall)
ROTH: 200
Electronics: 40
House: 163.67 (budgeted plus windfall)

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Per Patient Saver's Weight Loss Challenge ...

I plan to lose 15lbs by March 31. That averages out to about 1lb per week.

My plan is: Reducing my junkfood intake by only purchasing it one time per month.

Getting at least ten minutes of movement everyday outside of any other normal exercise.

Joining the weekly exercise class at my church starting on Jan 11 ($20 for 10 weeks)

Being more careful about logging what I *really* am eating on MFP.

Checking in here at SA once a week with my progress report.

I emailed Ting with my final ETF bill from ATT on Monday. Today I received the 50% credit - The ETF was $155 +$30 in taxes and fees!! So I got a $77 credit.

I also on Monday saw my first bill from Ting. Right away I realized something was off - they charged me for two activated phones! (Over a year ago I had tried them out with an Android phone, and that didn't last long. Not because of Ting, but because of the phone.)
I received a $6 credit for that today.

So right now I have a $99 credit which will get me 3 months of free phone service, with a little left over (if my usage remains steady.)

I used to pay about $77/month to ATT. So I'm saving around $47/month. Between the new phone and the ETF (unrefunded part) I spent about $450 to switch.

In the first three months I'll save $77 x 3 (231), then in the next 5 months I'll save $47 x 6 (235). So ... it'll take about 8 months to break even from switching. Possibly less if I can find people to refer and switch. The savings will be going to my electronics fund - I need roughly $400 for a new computer, and roughly $350 for the next phone. Once those are funded, the savings would go to other saving goals (i.e. EF/House)

My first monthly bill with Ting ended yesterday - $21.00 +taxes. So that will be covered by my $50 credit. I don't forsee my January bill being any larger, so that will also be covered. Nice.

I need to log in to my ATT account to see if they've posted my final bill yet so I can get that sent off to Ting for the ETF fees reimbursement.

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I talked to my brother yesterday for a bit. He told me that he is preparing for a 40 mile race for the diabetes cure (bicycle) and has decided to stop drinking for at least four months starting Jan 1. Possibly for the entire year!! He wants to really focus in on getting as in shape as possible for the race.

I know how difficult this will be for him, so told him that I would do something equally difficult for me -- only purchase chocolate ONE time per month in 2015.

My diet is fairly healthy otherwise if you take away the chocolate ... so by doing this, I'll hopefully be able to lose some weight. Especially considering that as of this morning I'm now back to my highest weight ever.

We also talked about tentative plans for him and our mom to come out here in May as kind of a Mother's Day thing - the last time the three of us were together was nearly 4 years ago when I graduated with my Masters.

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I finally made a sale on eBay again! It's been at least two months since my last sale. Only $4.99 (roughly $2 profit after shipping and fees) but still, a sale! Just got the payment, so I can get it out in the mail tomorrow.

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I have $22 left in my grocery category for December. That is even with spending a good bit on Christmas dinner food (leftovers for two meals worth after ..) There are a few things I need for this week, and possibly doing a Chef Boyardee pizza for New Years. Otherwise, I think it's safe to say, I'll actually have underspent my grocery category for the first time in forever! (Of course, it has helped to take out the junk food spending and put it in my spending category ... hopefully that category will go down significantly in January.)

I'm going to wait til New Year's Day to do a definitive post on my December budget, but let's just say that I'm very happy with how much came in for my windfall category this month. I don't see the same for January, unless I can make some eBay sales (need to post some more items to help that along!)

I have been doing a lot more thinking the past two weeks about my Year 39 goals. As much as I'd like to save up for a house downpayment, I think it would be smarter to get a larger EF in place. I currently have roughly $5100, which I could stretch out for 4 or 5 months. I have decided to make my goal to be a 1 year EF - or $12,000. So that means trying to save around $7900 this year.

Partly how I'll do this is reduce the amount I put toward my car repair/replace fund. Instead of $150/month, I'm going to put $75/month. My car is a 2010 model, so I don't expect any big expenses beyond oil changes and tires, etc. for awhile. If something bigger comes up, then I'll use EF funds.

It is looking more and more likely that there is going to be a high school reunion. The place I graduated from in 1993! shut it's doors in 2006? I went to my ten year reunion, but that was the last one we had. Members of classes from 1992 - 2006 have been talking and organizing on FB about getting together. This is something I think I would really like to do.

Of course I also have my mom (TX) and my CA family clamoring for me to come visit them as soon as I have vacation days available (Feb 1!)It's highly likely that my CA family would probably pay for my ticket ... but I don't want to assume that. (Nor am I sure I really want to accept that ...)

So I'll have around 12 vacation days accumulated by next December. (I have 3 right now I think.

I really would like to go to CA - mainly because my grandma is getting on in years and I just hate to not see her as much as I can while she's still alive and lucid. But ... I haven't been back to TX since my mom got married Dec 2012, and I know she's feeling like I've kind of abandoned her.

May and July are probably the best months for me to go anywhere since I could tack my vacation days to paid holidays, thus helping to stretch them a bit.

I think I'll wait to make any final plans until I see how the plans for the reunion flesh out. In the meantime though, I need to put aside money for trip expenses.

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The third goal is kind of related to the reunion I'd like to lose at least 30 lbs. By June would be nice.

Right now my weight fluctuates up and down two or three pounds for seemingly no reason at all ... So hopefully once I get my thyroid back under control, I can make progress again.

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So for my two financial goals .... Windfalls/Snowflakes will be allocated like this:
60% to EF
20% to Spending Money
20% to HS Reunion/trips



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My boss K lent me this fantastic book - Unbroken - it is a movie that is either coming out soon or has already come out. I finished it today. It's about Louie Lamperini(sp?) who was a 1936 Olympian, and then during WW2 was shot down, survived 40+days adrift on the ocean, and then was captured by the Japanese and terribly tortured. Amazing story!

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I have spent some of my spending money this week ... gave in to temptations. Chocolate ... BK ... banana bread. But not *too* bad.

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I received my last Bubblews payment (from October earnings) $55.xx - that will be going into my Snowflake category

I also cashed out for another $25 PP payment from Swagbucks. When that comes, it'll also to to my Snowflake category.

By Tuesday I think I'll have enough Bing points again for a 500 SB reward (thanks to the double points weekend!) Might be able to do a second one this month too - especially if they have another double points weekend this month.

I'm at about 20k PerkPoints - need another 4500 to get a $25 AGC or iTunes card. Hoping I'll be there by Thursday.

I entered a 12 days of Wellness contest at work. Basically it's self reported - do one different activity from one of four categories daily. It ends on Dec 23rd. One of the items was "take the stairs twice." I laughed loudly at that one ... the first day of the contest I went up and down the stairs at least 7 times ...

I have started walking in circles for the last 10-15 minutes of my lunch each day. Once I finish the main portion of my lunch and just have my treat left (usually a granola bar) I can walk and read. It's adding around 2k steps to my day so far.

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Tomorrow I need to go to the library to pick up a hold (and return Switch.) That'll be a good 2.5 miles round trip.

NE and I *might* be making a trip to Independence, MO tomorrow if the speaker he's evening isn't sold by then. Since I'm taking Monday off, I can go with him on the road trip without worrying about being overtired for work. (His car is in good working order now, so I'm not worried about a breakdown. Also, no snow in the forecast!)

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I am thinking about couch/chairs again. NE would like to invite his friend and family to dinner. His place (NEs) isn't an option ... would take a LOT of work to get it company ready (a LOT LOT LOT.) My place ... need to finish unpacking/decluttering - but main issue is seating. I have my office chair, my bed and two decrepit wood chairs (one of which has a broken seat - can sit on it with a pillow on top of the seat.)

Last weekend I finished up my bathroom. Tommorrow/Monday I'd like to get at least three boxes unpacked / settled. Then have a goal of three boxes per week. Once that's done, then I'm going to look seriously again at Craigslist, etc for couches/chairs.

It isn't just for this one time dinner I'm thinking of ... it would be nice to just have my place in a state where I *could* invite people over if I wanted to. Right now I would not want to invite anyone over because there'd be nowhere for them to sit.

If you were not wanting to switch to Ting because you have a GSM phone ... great news! Early 2015 Ting will be adding a GSM network to their plan! (If I would've known this, I could have waited a few more months and kept my ATT phone. Oh well.)

If you are on the fence about switching - here's a sweet deal for this month (good til Jan 5.) Instead of just 25% of your ETF (up to $75) now Ting is paying 50% of your ETF up to $100!

Today I found out that my 6 month ETF with ATT is 181.81. So Ting will pay $90.91 (in Ting credit) of my ETF. My final bill for ATT is 21.24, and I have a $50 Ting credit so won't have any charges.

I budgeted $200 for phone charges this month so will need to add a little bit to it, but then the next 5 or 6 months at least I will have no phone bill due to the Ting credits on my account! That's money that can go to my savings goals!!

Sweet!

I got back a bit ago from my shopping excursion.

On the way to Walmart I stopped at Family Dollar and picked up:
phone charging cord ($5) and a bottle of flavored water ($.85)

Electronics: $5
Spending Money: $.85

Then I stopped by the PO. It looks like my mailbox keys for the PO came off my key chain while they were missing. I'll have to see if I can make it over there tomorrow before 5 to see about getting replacements. Ugh.

Next I got to Walmart.

I got everything on my list, plus a few other things (of course)

Sweet potatoes - 2.3lbs for $1.50
Carrots - $1.98 (16oz)
Pumpkin Puree - 1.43
eggs (1 doz) - 1.98
PB2 Powder (pb aisle) 4.68
Welches Strawberry Jelly (no HFCS) 2.98
2 Rice Dream milks 2.24 each (-$2 cpns)
small bag kitkats - 1.28 (spending money)
Smart Balance butter w/flaxseed - 2.98
Wild Roots Flaxseed (2lb bag) - 3.50
Snappeas Ceasar (2) 1.50 (-$1 coupons) (spending money)
Fage Greek Yogurt large cont. - $3.47
3lb frozen fruit - 9.28
Frozen Mixed veggies 5lb - 5.98
frozen papaya 2lb - 5.98
1.69 lb bananas - $.61
Purina Beyond Grain Free 3lb -9.67 ($3 cpn)
Tyd Bowl cleaner - .97
Clorox Bowl fresh - 1.97
2 items I'm not sure what they are - 7.38

Total - 74.79 before coupons
After coupons and tax - $68.16

Kari - 9.97 - 3 = 6.67
Spending Money - 4.28 - 1 cpn = 3.28
Groceries - 58.21

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Then I went over to Sam's Club and got gas

2.61/gallon - spent $23.41 to fill up

Auto fuel - $23.41

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finally I hit up the local health food store for pumpkin seeds. They have a $5 min for credit cards ...

So, 1 lb pumpkin seeds - $6.31 (will last a LONG time)

Groceries: 6.31 + 58.21 = 64.52

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And that should conclude my spending for this week.

This morning as I opened my door to head to work, I heard a jangle. When I looked down on the ground .. there were my keys!!

I was deliriously happy to have my car fob back.

My boss wanted me to call my landlord right away and have him change my locks. I didn't have his number in my new phone ... and couldn't remember his last name. (I've been having a good bit of brain fog lately .. the key incident is just one of many ... NEED to get my thyroid medicine going again. Badly.)

I did call him when I got home from work. He had no problem with rekeying the doors at no charge to me. He's going to do it in the morning.

Last night a bit after 9 I heard someone messing with my door lock. It got both Kari's and I's attention, but both of us were way too comfy to get up. Now if the door had opened ... it would have been a different story.

NE tonight was really getting on my nerves telling me all about what he would have done if he'd heard someone turning a key in the lock... He couldn't understand why I didn't get up to look out the window or open the door .. Um yeah, that wasn't the thought running through my head at the time, thanks.

Anyway ...

I talked to my boss K about the 15 minute break thing. Apparently it is a hornet's nest and part of the drama drama drama ... I told her I would be fine either way - with or without. Oy vey.

I also had a day off approved .. the 15th. Make for a long birthday weekend.

Of course, it won't be all fun and games ... I finally called the doctor today. (forgot my phone yesterday at home .. yet another brain fogggggg) The first time they could get me in was --- the 15th!

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I stopped at a local health food store today to see if they had anything papaya. No luck. I'm considering ordering seeds online - add them to my morning smoothies. I'd rather find a local source though.

While there I did pick up a container of Kale for $1.40. I've thought of trying Kale before, but it sounded like so much work. Will try it in my smoothie tomorrow.

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I got my gas bill for November - $30.41. I have $40 budgeted, so that means $8.59 goes into the savings categories.

So in about two weeks here I will be 39. That means that in 1 year and 2 weeks I'll be 40. It's really, really hard for me to see myself as a 40 year old ...

I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to get myself better set for life in ten - fifteen years - the time I'd really like to be at least Financially Independent if not able to kiss the 40 hour work week goodbye.

One thing I'm realizing will play heavily into my financial well being in the future is my health. If I continue the way I am now, my medical bills will more than likely prohibit my FI or early retirement. Plus it would more than likely make life not all that enjoyable.

Financial health and body health I think go hand in hand in the long run.

So thinking long and hard, I've come up with some long term savings goals. These are things that I hope will help me along the road to eventual Financial Independence.

I currently have a networth of approximately $200k. About 35% of that is in two taxable accounts, and the remainder is in ROTH, 403(b), IRA, etc. Included in that is also about $5100 in an EF that is pretty hard to access (earning .90% APR) I have no debt.

Starting in February I'll be able to contribute to my workplace retirement account. Once I see those numbers I'll have to figure out how much I'll continue sending to my ROTH, and how much I'll contribute to the 401k above the required amount.

So I'm going to borrow a term from CyNewbie of YNAB - Big Bodacious Goals for my 39th year of life:

1. Save $2,500 in Car Replacement/Repairs category
2. Save $3,000 in Taxable Account category
3. Save $3,000 in House Downpayment category
4. Save $500 to replace computer

I'll be adding the above goals to my sidebar soon.

Any Windfalls or Snowflakes will be handled like this:
1. Amazon gift cards - pays for protein powder for smoothies, or any ebooks I want, etc.

2. Non-gift cards: (i.e. cash, PayPal funds, tax refunds, 3rd paychecks, overtime)Leftover money from Utilities(gas, electric, phone), Fuel, Grocery categories. *Birthday/Christmas cash I might treat a little differently - maybe a 50/25/25 split.

***20% to Spending Money
***40% to Taxable Account
***40% to House Downpayment

Below is my budget. Pre-tax I have health insurance, health account (Fafa??) and dental insurance taken out right now.

So .. after those deductions, my net income is about $1647/month (until January 30, then I'll be getting a raise of 4-5%)

Tithe: 145
Giving: 25
Rent: 430
Internet: 66 (ugh!! wish I could get this lower)
Phone: 40
Electric: 50
Apt Gas: 40
Groceries: 150
Spending Money: 20
Medical: 25 (have 50/mo deducted pre-tax)
Kari (Cat): 40 (food, litter, vet)
Car Gas: 50

Savings/Rainy Day:
EF: 25
Car Ins: 45 (pay 2x a year)
Life Ins: 16 (pay 1x a year)
Car Replace/Repair/etc: 150
Vacation: 50
ROTH: 200
Computer/Electronics: 40
Taxable Investments: 25
House Downpayment: 25

Clothing, Restaurants/eating out, Household stuff, Entertainment, misc. all come from the Spending Money category.

I don't have cable, and I am not currently paying for any subscription services. I have been using Bing to get free Hulu+, but am seriously considering stopping that. I just don't use it that much.

As part of my effort to improve both my physical health and my financial health, I am going to start doing this --- Any food "treats" (i.e junkfood) won't come out of the grocery category, but will come out of the spending money category. Since I would like to be able to use this for other things than food, I'm hoping it will help me to curb my impulse to purchase (and consume) this stuff.

I bought an Epson all in one year old printer w/full ink cartridges (except yellow) for $35 from the local FB garage sale. There was another one for $25 that didn't have ink. I've already used it to print my Sam's Club voucher and some coupons. Works great!

The $35 comes from my spending money.

I also cashed out my Pact money - $37 - which goes into my Spending Money category (just covers the printer!)

I did get on Bubblews today - but only for 1 hour. (maybe I stretched it a few minutes past that ...) I am not going to let myself be on there for more than an hour a day - whatever I accomplish in that time is what I accomplish.

I cashed out on Bing for a 500 SB reward - got the code and redeemed it already. Also cashed out 2 more $5 AGC cards for a total of 4 so far this month.

I did buy some groceries - I had to pick up printer paper - so went ahead and did my ONE shop for the week. I've got plenty of food, so I don't think it should be an issue.

I finally took my broken bookshelf out to the dumpster and also sorted through some more boxes - made a trash box and a donate box (both full already.) Have a lot more to go, but feel like I accomplished a little something.

Today I finally broke open my POI Season 3 DVDs and watched the first episode - can't get my money back on them (by selling) until I watch them, and the longer I wait, the less others will be willing to pay!

I'm about to head out to the store again - not for myself, but for NE - he needs some groceries and a charger for his phone (forgot to get from his car before.)

I downloaded two new SBs apps for iOS - have exhausted 3 of the 4 and am working on the 4th one now. I am considering signing up for the accelerator, although I need to double check terms - if CC SBs count towards the 1500 they'll match or not. (it basically means an extra 500Sbs each month)

I also downloaded PerkTv on my new iPhone and have been running that most of the day. It's another app where you can exchange for gift cards.

What I haven't done at all this weekend ... is write anything towards the 50k words. I'm actually not sure if I want to do it now - especially after talking to my mom on Thursday (before I got the stranded in Kansas City call from NE.) She was very supportive and everything, but I'm thinking maybe it's too soon. Some of the stuff I might want/need to put in wouldn't be too flattering to her. Maybe I'll figure something else out.

I stayed up pretty late last night updating my YNAB budget.

Even though I haven't gone out to eat in 6? weeks (I think that's right?)I still have spent WAY too much money at grocery stores. That's the thing about credit card statements - it's there in your face how often you shopped at different places.

So my goal for November is to not grocery shop more than once per week - at any type of grocery store. I would really like to try out the vegan restaurant that Ceejay mentioned before the day after Thanksgiving - maybe can get NE to go with me - That'll be my reward for keeping to only once a week grocery shopping for November (and the end of my 60 day no eating out challenge)

So here is my basic budget. The phone cost will be changing soon (thankfully!) but the Internet can't be cut - believe me, I've looked for something cheaper. It boggles my mind that I paid half that in a boondock town in NM with no competition ...

Giving:
Tithe: $125
Offering/Charity: $20

Fixed:
Rent: 430
House Gas: 50
House Electric: 50
Phone: 75 (hopefully will be 30 soon)
Internet: 65 (ugh!)
Auto gas: 70 (usually more like $35, but like to have a buffer for months where I use more)

Not Fixed:
Groceries - 200 (would like to get to 150 or less)
Medical - 50 (monthly prescription, co-pays)

Spending Money - Funded only by outside sources such as Pinecone surveys, Bubblews, Swagbucks, etc.
Used for
Restaurants
Clothing
Household Goods
Entertainment
Gifts
Wants that don't fall into the other categories

Savings:
Car Fund (maintenance, repairs, replacement, etc): 200
Car Insurance: 42 (paid every six months)
Life Insurance: 16 (paid once a year)
Vacation: 25
Technology (i.e. computer - will need new one soon): 25
ROTH: 200

Slush Fund: Whatever is left after the above categories are funded. When this gets over $2500, it will go to:

60% House Fund
40% Emergency Fund (I have 4 months worth saved right now.)

I want to keep my Slush fund at $2500, so if it goes below that, then I will just go back to funding it again until it's back there. You could call it kind of my Buffer fund between my regular budget and my actual EF.

The Slush Fund would be used in case I have a larger expense in one of my budgeted categories than I have funds for. Also to be used for any cat expenses above cat litter and cat food (those are included in groceries category.)

ETA - With the exception of Spending Money, Charitable, and Savings - any leftover money on the last day of the month will be swept into the Slush Fund.

ETA 2 - I wanted to mention that my phone purchase was totally funded by the Spending Money category - earnings from surveys, Bubblews, etc. When I sell my 4S, the proceeds will go back into the Spending Money category to kind of repay myself. Also the difference between my 75 phone bill and my new bill will also go into my spending Money category until I've "repaid" myself.

I have done some spending this weekend (other than groceries and gas) -

1. I bought an iPhone 5S from Glyde for $348. It is listed as in excellent condition and should be here in a week. Once it is here and I can verify that it works well, then I'll be listing my current iPhone 4S on Glyde and see what I can get for it.

Then I can also fully switch to Ting and tell ATT goodbye forever!

2. I bought a year's membership to Sam's Club via a Living Social deal. $45 - you get the membership, a $20 gift card and 4 free food items (2 of which I'll probably let NE have since it's meat items) So the membership will really cost $25 for the year.

I can get cat litter there so much more cheaply, as well as some other food staples (rice milk, quinoa, lentils, etc.)

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I'm still going fairly strong with the no eating out challenge. Five weeks down, and on week six. Sunday I did stop at DQ with NE -- it was the last day they were open for the season and everything was half-price. So .. we splurged a bit as part of an actual outing date. (We don't have too many actual outing dates - most "dates" are stay at home.)

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I think I'm going to slow way down on Bubblews. It was taking way too much of my time ... and with the recent changes, it really isn't worth it anymore. In a few days I'll be able to redeem for another $55 payment. So, all in all I made around $300 something since June with it. Not too shabby.

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I'm debating if I really need a couch. I don't really spend anytime in my living room - all my time is either in my bedroom/computer area or kitchen. Even in NM when I had a couch and loveseat (the missions) I think I can count on two hands the number of times I sat on them or others sat on them - other than when I had company overnight and slept on the couch. If I need a sleeping couch, I've got something for that. (inflatable)

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On Saturday I walked 1.1 miles to my local library branch to pick up something that was on hold. The walk was great, except ... I decided to wear a brand new pair of tennis shoes (bought for $15 on sale a few months ago.) By the time I got to the library, one of my heels had developed a large blister and had that blister pop. The other heel had a small one do the same thing.

Thank goodness the librarian had band aids!

It's nice to know that I can easily walk to the library here. In NM I could walk to the PO, but I can't here. I'd much rather be able to walk to the library.

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I start my belly dancing class on Wednesday night!! I am a little nervous about doing it in front of other people - in front of my mirror is one thing ... but I hope I'll have fun.

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I'm getting seriously bored at work. There is a LOT of downtime. I just have to keep reminding myself that it pays decent and has really good benefits. Especially health insurance which starts on Nov 1!!

I'm considering trying to write a book or something on my downtime (between spurts of phone calls and people buying passes.) I haven't quite figured out what it would be about yet though. Maybe a fictionalized version of some of my family's story. It would be something to keep keep my brain busy at least. (and probably look better to be typing away at something on the computer rather than reading the newspaper or a book --- reading the newspaper - or at least scanning it, is actually one of my tasks .. I just extend it to thoroughly reading it.)

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3 months and one week til I get a pay raise and am eligible to take vacation and sick days. I can hardly wait!

This past week I haven't felt the greatest. I powered through the last 3 days of work ... then got in a good nap before NE came over Friday night. But Saturday and most of today ... I vegetated. lots of sleep, lots of doing nothing.

Well, not totally nothing. I did *finally* get the cheese cleaned out from my oven so that I can use it again. That stuff was pretty hard encased on the oven bottom. I didn't get it all off, but after testing it, it was enough so I won't get to test out my smoke alarm anytime soon.

I also did a load of dishes. (Can I say how much I love having a full sized dishwasher again?)

I thought about doing laundry, but then realized that if I washed out a couple bras, I could get by another week. This would be my 4th week - all clean tops, reusing a couple skirts and jeans. Can you say - she has too many clothes?

NE will be coming by tonight and we'll be making pizza from a Chef Boyrdee kit. I need to get cheese and pineapple. He's bringing the hamburger for his half. (pineapple only goes on my half) Maybe we'll watch Edge of Tomorrow - rent it off Amazon.

With all the rest I've had this weekend, I am feeling much better than I have in awhile. Here's hoping it'll last. I need to get a flu shot soon, but don't want to get it when I'm feeling sick.

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I am starting on my 4th week of the no eating out challenge. Overall I think it is saving me money (at least from what I'd been doing since living here.)

NE's stepsister that we went out to dinner with on Tuesday night (first time ever meeting each other - NE and stepsister) posted some photos she took of us on FB. The one with NE and I looked fine, but the one with NE, her and I ... I guess I don't see myself standing next to skinny people too often. Ugh.

So I am thinking of adding something new to this challenge. Not only no eating out, but no spending more than $5 on junk food per week. I would eliminate it completely, but I think that would backfire.

I also feel like I'm spending way too much time on the Internet (Bubblews esp.) So when I get home from work I am going to do 30 minutes of piano, 30 minutes of some form of exercise, 15 minutes of language practice and 15 minutes of cleaning/organizing.
Then I can get on the computer.

On the nights NE isn't here, I'm going to limit my computer time to 2 hours. Outside of that I'm going to read books or magazines! (Not surf Internet!)

I haven't quite figured out how to regulate the weekend days better yet ... Maybe 15 minutes of Internet time for every 30 minutes doing something else (piano, reading, cleaning, making something, exercise, etc)

Like I said, I spend WAY too much time on the Internet.

----

I have been watching this awesome new show on Hulu+ called A to Z - it's the story of a relationship. Two episodes so far and I absolutely love it. I also have been watching Selfie - not as good as A to Z, but it has plenty of LOL moments. Plus I love how it's playing on the My Fair Lady storyline.

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I am still thinking about my goals. This month I have an extra paycheck, so if I used that money, I could wipe out several wants - couch, printer, remote start on car in one fell swoop. And have some left over to put into general savings.

I love YNAB and have used it off and on for years and years. But ... I am starting to think that a different approach might work better for me. Since I'm not attacking a debt monster, and I don't have any big huge things to save up for other than retirement ...

Maybe something like this - still live off of last month's income (per YNAB)

Put the amount needed into the Must Have categories. Then the remainder goes into a non-tracked category - kind of a whatever it's needed for without having to be tracked.

Must haves would be: tithe/offering, rent, utilities, Internet, phone, auto fuel, insurances, ROTH contributions, car savings, general savings, emergency savings,

Groceries, clothing, household goods, hair care, etc., etc., etc. would come out of whatever is left and not be tracked explicitly.

So for example, I go to Walmart and I spend $70 on grocery items, cat food, makeup, and maybe a new pair of shoes. Instead of painstakingly splitting all those items out, I'd just track it as "Walmart:Non-Tracked"

My reasoning is that I can do pretty good for a few months tracking minutia, but then it stops working for me ... I miss a receipt or two or three .. This way I will still be tracking it, but it won't have to be detailed - so if I miss entering a receipt or two or three, I can just get the info from my CC site and not worry about the details.

I would want the amount in this category to build up so I have money available for bigger things (vacations, couches, etc. ...) Maybe put a minimum amount that has to be left in there if making a bigger spend/purchase. (This is what would keep me from willy nilly spending everything just because it's there - I'd want to be careful with the spending so I have it for other bigger things.)

Whatever extra monies I get (like from Bubblews, etc.) would automatically go into the Non-Tracked category. Extra paychecks or amounts larger than say $500 would be figured out as it happens.

Anyway ... haven't figured it all out yet.

Today I was supposed to unpack a lot of boxes and get things more organized.

What did I actually do?

Surf the Internet (bubblews, YNAB forums, Facebook garage sale forums ...)

Watch Suits on Amazon Prime

Went over to NEs and got my frozen stuff - also washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Needed badly.

Other than that .. not much.

I found a table I'm picking up tomorrow for $20 (no chairs, but chairs I can find more easily than a nice table.)

I also found a paper shredder to replace the one I left behind on accident ($15 for about the same size one I had.)

I also talked to my brother for awhile, which was good.

Oh yeah, I also worked on my YNAB budget -figured out where my retirement accounts were at, and guestimated my monthly budget. The retirement accounts look nice, but the monthly budget looks abysmal. Adding in rent and utilities to the mix leaves almost nothing for savings.

I'm hoping that the reality will look a little rosier.

--
I've been really overconsuming on the junk food. Really a lot. I'm kind of scared to get out my scale and see what it says.

I'm hoping my food budget will help to reign me in on this. We'll see. I think I might try taking back a couple things I bought tonight.

---
I figured out as I was doing my budget that I had overpaid one of my credit cards - the one I use for gas. By $335. I set the wheels in motion to get that sent back to me so I can use it for expenses.

I also figured out that my retirement accounts had all grown nicely - mainly thanks to an electric car.

---
I saw Target had a microwave on sale for $38 today. I was going to go get that, and return the one I bought for $49 (same exact one) from Walmart. But before I drove out there I called - they didn't have any left of course.

With the end of another week, it means that the countdown continues -- 3 weeks til school is over -- only 1 week of media classes left. Today I started telling kids in my Friday classes that I was leaving. Most of them seemed dissapointed, and a couple of them even made me a quick card during their choice time. (They had a typing final today, then the remainder of the period for choice time on the computer.)

We also had the talent show today. It was pretty awesome.

My back is not doing any better. In fact today it is worse than it has ever been. I had found the names of several chiropractors to call on Thursday, but my back didn't feel too bad on Thursday and I got super busy ... Ugh. I haven't gone for a real walk in nearly 3 weeks - due to weather (wind/cold) and my back. Today the weather was absolutely gorgeous and I was jonesing for some fresh air ... so I told myself I was going for a walk no matter what! Last period I was walking by the coat hooks and jarred my back as I was going by -- pain! Then just as I was about to head out the door on my walk, I knocked over my walking stick and nearly tripped on it - major jarring. In the end, a route that normally takes me 32-34 minutes took me 42 minutes - and that was with shortening it a bit!

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Yesterday I got my oil changed (third day in a row stopping at place for oil change ...) They also changed my air filter. $56! Ouch!

---
I checked my BofA cash rewards balance and saw that I have my $100 bonus pending. Once it's there, I'll transfer it to my checking for the 10% bonus.

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I've made arrangements with our two maintenance guys at the school to pack my truck for me after school is over. $50 for both of them. I figure it'll take less than two hours. I think hiring them will be a good idea - both to save my back and to make sure NE isn't too tired for the drive the next day.

I'm also considering hiring one of the teacher assistants to do a final cleaning of my place for $50. I was told that this is a standard rate. It sure would save me a lot of headache on that last day.

I'll be having my place inspected sometime in the next two weeks - to see how much I owe in damages. Thanks to my darling cat, I'll be owing a good bit. Blinds broken (better for checking out what's going on outside of course!) - check. Edge of couch (mission owned) shredded - check. Edges of door frames shredded - check. Bulge in linoleum (two summers ago when the air hadn't been turned on yet and I was in CA) torn to pieces - check. Etc. At least there is no toilet accidents.

I told AL, who was Kari's original owner -- Thanks AL for giving me a cat that is going to cost me a pretty penny! (I was joking with her.)

---
I started watching a new show on Amazon Prime yesterday - Suits. I am hooked! Best of all, in episode 3 (which I watched today) a Tesla was featured!! (Oh.. I did sell 13 of my Tsla stocks when it hit back to 216 last week. This was from my 27 shares I consider touchable - shares not from inheritance or rollover IRA.)

I received an email from Ting today saying that they have lowered their prices on data! How often do you hear of a company that lowers their prices?? When I move to NE, I totally plan on switching to Ting. (I'm just not too sure of Sprint's network here. NE has Sprint, and when he calls me within NM I can always hear static.)

--
I called my Internet service provider this afternoon. I had to agree to a 12 month contract to get the deal (but if where I move to doesn't have this provider, then I'm good to go.) The cost without the promotional deal would be nearly $60 - with the promotion it'll be approximately $30. I can deal with that.

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I had totally forgotten that I'd opened up a dream account with Barclay's and set up automatic transfers. So last night I received two emails telling me that my transfer was successful. Huh?! I was completely paniccing and it didn't help that their customer service isn't open on the weekend. After about ten minutes though of thinking it through, I recalled the dream account and calmed down. I did call them today though to be 100% sure.

--
I got my resume/cover letter faxed off today. Now the wait begins.

Well I finally called the company that is not named today and ... was told that I need to keep looking for the box with the scanner for the next two weeks, and if I don't find it, call back on the 17th and they'll mark it as a "lost asset." I will not be held liable for it!Here I've been stressing about it for *months* and it was as simple as this. Ugh!

Thanks everyone for your advice/suggestions/commiseration.

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I got my January Internet bill on Thursday. It was almost double the normal bill - so that means that whatever promotion I was under is over again. I was going to call them today, but they're only open M-F, so will have to call them on Monday. Hopefully I can get it lowered by quite a bit. (Especially considering how slow/spotty the service can be sometimes!!)

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NE was here visiting this past week. I used the third of my four personal days to be able to spend a whole day with him. I'll be using the last personal day near the end of this month to go out there to NE. Feb 10 will make 9 months! We went out to eat Thursday night, and I managed to forget to bring my purse! Luckily he had his wallet, so he paid (and luckily I didn't get pulled over - no driver's license!) We have the agreement that whoever is "hosting" the other generally drives and pays for meals/entertainment. (I paid him back when we got back home.) He drove home through the Denver area so he could purchase some stereo equipment (he resells on Ebay) - as he was walking out the guys door, he missed a step and fell. Luckily, his pride was the most damaged in the fall.

I can hardly wait til the end of May when we will no longer have to make a huge trip to see each other!!

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Speaking of the move .. NE accessed the stuff that I plan on moving with me (I'm planning on donating my elliptical and probably my computer desk/hutch .. and debating about my stereo system.) He thinks that I should be able to fit everything in to one of the larger rental trailers along with our two vehicles. I *think* that even with adding in gas costs for two vehicles, this would work out somewhat cheaper than renting the small truck and car dolly.

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I was going to fax my cover letter and resume on Friday for that tech job in NE - but got way busy during the day, and then after school I helped the 3rd grade teacher select photos for the Americ@orps conference she and the first grade teacher are going to in a few weeks (the same one I went to last year.) By the time we were finished, the office was locked up (where the fax machine is.) So .. will do it on Monday - have everything printed out and ready to go (including a cover sheet.)

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Getting gas on Friday evening in big G was a nightmare! My tank was on the last flashing button so I HAD to get some, otherwise I would've driven off and done it later. I pull up and there is a sign on all the pumps saying that they were out of regular fuel, but that the mid-level fuel was the same price. So just as I'm about to swipe my card, someone comes out and takes off the sign and says they have regular fuel again. Okay... I swipe my card and am about to remove the pump, when I get the message the transaction was cancelled. Huh? I hadn't even typed in my zipcode - and I knew the card was good - had just used it at Walmart. So, I tried it a second time. It was canceled again, and given the message to see cashier. I went inside, and there was a line of 20+ people! Finally I get up there and ask for $35 on my pump. Go pump, and it comes out to $32.01 - am told to go inside for refund. UGH! 20+ people again in line. Finally get my refund.

A transaction that should have taken maybe 5 minutes tops, ended up taking over 20 minutes -- all with frozen groceries in the car. At least I wont' have to fill up again for awhile.

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I recently downloaded a new app (new to me at least) called Receipt Hog. You take a picture of your receipt and earn coins which eventually you can redeem for gift cards or Paypal cash. So far it seems to work pretty well, and an added bonus is that you have a digital record of your receipts. You get bonuses for referrals, but I think the only way to get referrals is via FB/Twitter or email. Too bad they don't just have a link I could place on my sidebar.

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Another new app I *just* downloaded last night is Achievemint! I've been using the website for the past year, but they just recently came out with an app. I've earned almost $40 from it just from connecting GymPact, Fitbit, Monitor Your Weight and My Fitness Pal. Now with the app, I am able to set up "habits" which correspond with the apps I already have connected and earn even more points! I'll be cashing out when I get to $50 (which shouldn't be too much longer at the rate I'm earning points now!)

About GymPact - I can't remember if I mentioned it or not - but they have expanded the ways you can earn money. It's made it so I've been able to cash out for $10 TWICE since December. They added connectivity to My Fitness Pal - you can bet how many days you'll log your calories and then get paid for it (if you make your bet.) You also can bet how many servings of fruit/veggies you'll eat in the week (up to 35) - take a picture of what you eat, and the community votes on whether it's acceptable or not. (They have renamed themselves just Pact, but I think you still can find it searching gympact.) New users might still be able to get a $5 starting code (was MFP, but I'm not sure when that one expires.)

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I have three months left to be able to do ten regular pushups -- or pay NE $100. Um .... I still can't do one regular pushup. Part of the problem is that I haven't been terribly consistent doing my pushup workout routine .. really need to get on that.

As for diet@bet -- I have a *small* possibility that I may be able to win Round 3. I'm within 1 - 2 lbs of my round 3 goal weight - Feb 5 or 6 is weigh in day. I think I'll definitely make it for the Round 4 weigh in (March 5/6) and 100% sure I'll get the final weigh in (May 5/6.) I've had several people who did not know I was working on losing weight recently comment that I looked like I'd been losing weight. (About 23 lbs lost since September.) My Lane Bryant corduroys that I got on clearance for $5 years ago are getting to the point where I need a belt to hold them up (well, they stay up fine, just kind of ride down to where if I don't have a long top on and raise my arms .... belly button assault.)

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I cashed out about a week ago for 500 SBs from Bing - I'm going to use the code probably on Monday so I don't have to worry about making the goals that day. Although it might be better to save it for the birthday bash day, since the goal that day will probably be pretty high and be time consuming to reach. Hmmm..

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I think I've got most of the tax documents I need now. I plan on finishing my taxes this weekend. I'd forgotten about the money from summer school - so I'm not sure how that will affect my refund - I *think* I'll still be under the tax saver's credit limit (so I'll still get a credit for putting money in my ROTH.) I'll also be able to do my state taxes, so I can find out what kind of refund I'll get from that. Whatever refund I get will be going to the Moving/NE fund. If I get that tech job, it'll make the move SO much simpler - (i.e. renting an apartment with a contract in hand is much easier than trying to rent an apartment without a job already ... plus since it's a Catholic school, they hopefully would be on the same salary schedule - so I might only have to go for July without a paycheck. Oh, I also checked out the salary schedule in that town for Catholic school teachers ... the *starting* salary is a good $10k more than I make right now - assuming that's for people with only a degree and no experience.)

The first week back was hard to get back into the swing of things, but somehow I managed to get through it.

I did end up losing Round 2 of the diet*bet I'm participating in - a $40 loss! I'll get it for Round 3!! (need 5.2 lbs by Feb 5)
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After getting my final paycheck for 2013 I logged into Tax@ct and did my preliminary taxes. In 2013 I upped my allowances so I got more money in each paycheck. Before inputting info for American Ed credit and tax savers credit, that gave me a refund of $52. After inputting the info, it gave me a credit of about $400. The state info wasn't ready, so I don't know what that'll be like yet. Whatever money I get back from taxes will be going straight to the moving fund!

In doing my taxes I was glad to find out that I was correct in figuring out that I would not owe any capital gains on the stocks I sold earlier in 2013.

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I wrote to Bings customer service about my first reward email that I think I'd deleted (hadn't realized what it'd look like.) They resent me the info! So I had the $5 AGC from the first reward, and then 500 SBs from the second reward. That gave me enough SBs to redeem for a $15 AGC (with enough left over for my February 5 $5 AGC's.)

I also took a Pinecone survey yesterday, so that'll be another $3 soon.

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I've now added to my list of apps/websites that are paying me to exercise / eat right.

Previous list:
GymPact (now just Pact) - pays you to workout, to log calories through My Fitness Pal, and to eat fruits/veggies

Achievemint.com - pays you for steps, RunKeeper activities, MFP food logging, monitoring your weight, etc.

Walgreen's Balance Rewards - Pays for fitbit steps, and monitoring weight

NEW

earndit.com - earn points for steps and turn into prizes and/or giftcards

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Some excitement with my car this week ...

I'd noticed the low tire pressure light on for a couple weeks (before vacation) but figured it was just from the cold weather. Thursday after school I noticed that my tire was completely flat. My purse was at home (.7/10 mile) so I drove home to get it. I'd helped NE change his tire this Christmas so thought I'd try my hand at it on mine ... couldn't get the spare tire out of the trunk. Decided that if my tire was ruined, it was already ruined, and if it wasn't, that a mile or so wasn't going to make that much of a difference.

At the mechanics he took my tire off and showed me the nail in my tire. He also emptied out several cups worth of black dust, and showed me the side of the tire. Yep. Ruined. So I tell him I'll go ahead and get a new tire. It's $88 -gulp. This mechanic doesn't take plastic ... all I had on me was $10. So I went across the street to the local mom and pop store and got $100.

When I went to pay, the lady at first was like -- "It's $88." I told her, yes, I gave you $100. Oh (she recounts it.) Then she gives me a $10 bill. I'm puzzled and tell her that I think my change is closer to $12 - she says the mechanic told her not to worry about change. Huh?! She then gives me $2 and apologizes saying she wasn't feeling very well. Um ... okay.

So the tire was supposed to be there on Friday. I left work as soon as the last bus was gone and got over there. Apparently the tire delivery guy was sick, so no tire. The mechanic had fixed my old tire so I could drive on it - but had also warned me that with it being so thin on one side that there was danger of a blowout. My tire should be here by Tuesday. So that made for a staying at home kind of weekend.

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I looked on Craigslist for a few hours yesterday at housing options in NE. I know it's WAY early but still it's good to have some ideas. I found a studio apartment (404sf)for $300/month that allows cats! I hope that option is still available in June.

I also found this really cool option that is about 30 minutes from NEs place out in the country. It is a very rustic cabin - no running water, but has electricity - you have to park about 1500 feet away from the front door. It has a wood stove for backup heat. It's not really practical, but it sure was fun to think about.

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I found out that my car loan isn't quite at the $1000 mark yet. After my December payment it was at a balance of ~$1300. So after the January payment it is now at a balance of ~$1000. That means that my last $300 payment will be in April instead of March. That's a bit frustrating, but at least it will still be paid off before I move.

I opened my front door about 2:15 a.m. - about two hours later than I'd thought I'd be getting home. My first flight was delayed 90+ minutes due to the lack of a full flight crew (one of the crew members was on a plane that was delayed in another city.) Thankfully my connecting flight was also delayed - and it actually waited for us! A small miracle considering it was the last flight out for the night (to ABQ at least.)

Overall, I had a very good trip. There was some family drama in CA due to my diabetic uncle who wasn't managing his blood sugars very well ... but the NE part of my trip was quite lovely. I am really looking forward to when I can make NE my home state.

I'd been thinking about trying to get to a gym while I was there, but ended up not bothering. I went to Walmart and Target and just walked around in there, and then did my pushup routine in NEs apartment. Somehow I managed to only gain .02lbs! I'd call that maintaining really. My weigh in for my 6mo dietbet is tomorrow - I need 1.3 lbs loss to make it. Kind of doubt that'll happen, but miracles do happen.

My aunt gave me a $200 check to help out with my traveling expenses. I thought that was really nice of her - she'd said that she wanted to help me out, and I thought maybe $100 at the most. So it was really unexpected (and appreciated.) I'll be putting that money into my travel/moving category.

I'm going to be heading out to do some grocery shopping in a few minutes. I'm totally out of cat food, plus some other things.

I opened a Barclay's Dream Account today. I moved $1k out of my EF Barclay's savings into it, and set up an auto transfer of $50 for 6 months. It won't be new money going into it, but that'll earn a little more than what it was earning.

One goal I have for the upcoming five months or so ... pack one box of items or purge one box worth of items per week (until I'm at the point where what's left I *have* to keep out.) That way I'm not panicking in May trying to get everything done.

I've decided to donate my elliptical to the school - I don't really use it, and there are staff members who DO use the equipment in the gym. So that'll save space on the moving truck. I'm also considering letting go of my stereo (never use) and my pantry cupboard (falling apart.) Possibly letting go of my computer desk/hutch as well (replace when I get to NE with something smaller.)

I desperately need to go through my clothing and reduce it by 50%. I have SO many clothes! I need to reduce my kitchen stuff too. It would be good if I could fit all my clothes into my 3 suitcases (with the exception of my big winter coat) and all my kitchen supplies/dishes into 6 medium boxes. My office/books stuff also could be greatly reduced. I'd like to be able to get all of that stuff into ten medium boxes or less.

I'd like to be able to use the smallest Uhaul truck with car towing capacity when I make my move. So the more I can reduce, the better! (I plan on finding the smallest, most inexpensive - yet relatively safe - place to rent that allows cats. No matter what kind of job I find.)

First semester is over. Yay! We barely managed to get the first issue of the school newspaper out yesterday.

Had two nice surprises yesterday - the mission gave all of us $50 Walmart gift cards! This is the first bonus I've received since I started working here - I had just figured they didn't do bonuses. The second nice surprise was that my assistant gave me a gift - totally wasn't expecting one. She gave me a beautiful necklace with a tiny turtle charm, a cross necklace/earring set (which I can't wear because my ears aren't pierces, but I can give it to my mom), and a bunch of Hershey's miniatures. I rarely ever wear jewelry - mainly because I forget I have any ... so it's amusing whenever someone gives me a piece. (Amusing in the way of wondering if they'd noticed I 99.99% of the time don't wear any.)

My junior year of college I had a glamor shot photo done. NE saw it years ago when we first met, and the image stuck with him I guess. (probably because I look so different from normal everyday in it ... i.e. I was wearing a lot of makeup and my hair was gussied up.) This last summer we were talking about a lot of different things, and the picture / makeup thing came up. He told me that he'd really like to see me in makeup once in awhile.

So ... last night when I was at Walmart I decided to use some of the giftcard bonus to buy foundation, eye shadow and an eye liner. I already had lipstick and mascara. I was also thinking about buying blush, but just couldn't figure out a good color. Figuring out the color for the foundation was difficult enough - I ended up buying one of the more expensive brands that had one of those testing sheets that you put your hand under to see skin tone. I really don't remember the last time I bought foundation. I plan on putting it on before leaving to NE on Christmas Day - hopefully most of it will still be on by the time I get there. A small Christmas gift to NE. (I really probably need to go to somewhere like Macy's and get my colors figured out again - when I was in high-school a friend of mine who was really good with makeup helped me figure out colors - hence brownish eyeshadow/liner - but skin tone can change as you get older.)

I don't mind wearing makeup, especially on special occasions. I just don't usually think about it or want to take the time to do it. If I remember to put on lipstick and mascara that's a major miracle most of the time...

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I bought some semi-healthy snack type foods at Walmart that I can take with me for my trip. NE and I have different eating schedules - I can't go more than 4 or 5 awake hours without something, whereas he can go much longer. So, it'll make life much easier to just have some foods I can snack on until he's ready to actually eat a meal.

(Dietbet) I have two pounds to lose by January 5. I was really hoping to be at Round 2 goal weight *before* leaving on my trip so all I'd have to do was maintain. I've decided to not stress out about it and focus on maintaining. I still can meet Round 3's goal (8% total of starting weight - which would be about 5 lbs from where I am right now) by February 5. I'm not going to go overboard on eating, but I'm also not going to obsess (too much) about calories, etc. I will however try to get in as much activity as possible. If I lose, great. If I maintain, fine. If I gain a little ... well, that's life.

I am looking into gyms in NEs town - especially hoping to find some kind of trial membership pass or something. Too bad there aren't any Planet Fitness in NE - then I could just pay $10 and use it while I was there and cancel.

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I've made a total of 14 soaps now (2 with the messed up bug oil drops.) I bought some more soap cases at Walmart last night, but forgot to get the washcloths or ribbon! Doh! When I get to ABQ this afternoon, I'll get those things to add. I'll take pictures of everything and will eventually do them in a blog post here. Just not sure when. I'm going to give one of the soap/soap case to my co-worker who is looking in on Kari for me while I'm gone. I may also send one to my mom (along with the earrings) and maybe give one to my IT friend/coworker (she's having lung cancer surgery on Tuesday - please keep her in your prayers. )

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Looking at 2013:

Financially speaking, this was not a banner year. I spent a lot of money and saved very little. I did not meet any of my financial goals - though I came close on two of them.

1. Pay off car loan - Nope. Have roughly $1000 left.
2. $5k in EF - Not even close. I didn't really even add anything to my EF this year. I have money in savings, but I haven't earmarked it for anything specific yet because I just don't know how much all my traveling and eventual move is going to cost. So, in effect, the money that might have gone to the EF is in my liquid savings.

I'm not really sure how much I added to that this year, because it keeps getting spent. Right now I have approximately $3k in liquid savings.

3. $3k to ROTH - I put $2400 in this year. When I do my taxes I'll see if squeezing another $600 will make that much of a difference in taxes or not. If not, then I'm not going to worry about it.

4. $1k to FIRE fund - Nope. Zilch.

Even though I didn't meet my financial goals, my networth did increase substantially. It actually broke the 6 figure mark.

Personally:
2013 was a banner year for me. I managed to get the courage/gumption/nerve whathaveyou up to jump in and see if a real relationship was possible with NE. It was.

This year I have also managed to actually stop my soda habit. Other than a few sips of NEs soda, I haven't had any since mid-September. Stopping my soda habit has been a yearly goal for a long time, but other than a few times, I've never managed to stick with it very long.

Also, in October a switch seemed to go off that has finally made it possible for me to lose weight. I still have slip-ups (like .. my birthday and yesterday with the Hershey's miniatures ...)but more often than not, I'm doing pretty well.

Health (other than weight):
This has not been a good health year for me at all. I really suspect that I had mono starting sometime in late February/early March and have pretty much been recovering since then. I am however starting to have more good energy level/ feeling level days than low energy/yuck feeling days, so hopefully I'm getting close to the end of it.

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2014 - Looking ahead

Financial:

Goals for first six-seven months - will have to re-access after moving at end of May.

1. Pay off car loan (by March)
2. Increase monthly ROTH contribution to $300 starting in April
3. In April and May - $200 to Moving Fund, as well as any tax return money
4. Move to NE at the end of May
5. Find a new job in NE (preferably one with benefits and better pay)
6. Find an inexpensive and relatively safe place to live in NE.

Personal:
1. Continue healthier lifestyle
2. Continue to grow in relationship with NE
3. After moving to NE, find a church family that fits me and get active in it

So my week off is quickly coming to a close. Overall, it was a very good week. The only downside to it was that what started out as a head cold/bad allergies, became a sinus infection and deep chest cough.

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While I was at the doctor yesterday to get antibiotics for my sinus infection, I was of course weighed in. It was a nice confirmation of the accuracy of the new scale I got a few months ago (my other one was getting really unreliable.) I did gain a lb over the week, but considering how some of the food I was eating was much higher sodium than usual, I'm not too surprised. I'm still well under where I need to be to win round 1.

The doctor visit was $25.31, and the antibiotics was $10. (Of course, while I was at Walgreen's I picked up some more Nyquil, a pair of leggings (something I'd been thinking about so I can wear a skirt/dress even when it's cold), and ... a Fitbit Zip ... again, something I'd been thinking about for awhile.) So the total cost of my Walgreen's trip was $90.xx.

I also dropped off a couple bags of stuff to Goodwill - things that a former teacher had given me before she moved last summer but I just had never gotten around to getting rid of (used a few items from it, but mostly not useful to me.)

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Having NE here was really great. He is such a sweet, sweet man. He *really* does not like social situations much at all, but he willingly agreed to go to the faculty Thanksgiving meal so that my coworkers would know that he was real and not something I had imagined. At the dinner he went and got me a drink ... I know that might not be a big deal to some people, but other than my brother/dad, I've never had a boyfriend do something like that for me. It just made me feel really special.

The tater tot casserole NE made was scrumptious! He doesn't have a working oven in his apartment, so I'm going to attempt to make banana pudding while I'm there over Christmas break. (I made cornbread casserole for the Tdinner - lots of compliments, including NE who isn't shy about saying what he really thinks about food.)

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These next three weeks will be busy ones. Christmas dinner coming up this coming Saturday, preparing for the Christmas program, my birthday, and then the final push for the end of the semester. I will be SO ready to get on the plane on the 21st!!

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There were some financial things I'd planned on accomplishing on Friday, but between being sick and trying to get into the doctor at the last minute, they did not get accomplished. At some point though I really do need to get them done.

I did receive a $6 payment from PineCone in my paypal account - which I've already transferred. I have around $28 in PineCone checks that need to get deposited ... I wonder how many checks I can photo deposit at a time to CapOne? I guess I'll just have to experiment and find out.

It seems as though I'm mostly having a chance to do an actual blog post on Saturdays. I've gotten into so many other things/forums, etc. that am just keeping up.

So anyway ..

I'm at about 2 1/2% lost of my starting weight for the 6 month diet bet. Round 1 weigh in is on Thursday, December 5, so unless I really mess up the week NE is here, I think I'm going to make it. That means I'll get back at least 12.50 (bet is $25/month - half put towards rounds 1 - 5, and half put towards round 6.)

I have been spending a lot of money on food ... but the vast majority of it has been healthy food. I've bought from Amazon chia seeds, ground flaxseed, pea protein powder and am thinking about buying green tea too (I keep forgetting to get it at the store.)

This past week I actually had two and half days where I was feeling almost 80% .. so close to normal! I don't know if it is because of the increase in fruits//veggies and reduction of junky/processed foods, or is a placebo effect. But it was good while it lasted. (Thursday morning I woke up with a sore throat and was exhausted all day Th/Fri.) -- I don't know if the sore throat has any connection with the 45 minute walk I took Wed afternoon in the cold wind or not.

I plan to start a new exercise routine tomorrow - 3 days of ~30 minutes of interval cardio training, and 3 days of bodyweight strength training. (I apologize if some of my words are missing letters - I think I need to replace the batteries in my keyboard.) For the strength training I'm looking at a couple of resources - nerdfitness, Al Kavadlo, and another one I can't remember. I also took a look at You Are Your Own Gym and Convict Conditioning - both of them require a pullup bar, which I don't have, nor do I feel safe putting one up on any of my doors in here. Maybe when NE is here I can get his opinion.

Anyway, all these people advocate strongly that it isn't necessary to workout for umpteen hours a week to lose weight/ get fit - 3 hours a week is good enough as long as it includes 90 minutes of strength training AND a healthy diet (defined slightly differently by different people - but mostly either "clean" or "paleo.") Being vegetarian, neither clean or paleo quite work for me, but what I'm taking away from both ideas is the idea of limiting processed foods as much as I can, and reducing intake of foods with added sugars. (Also, of course increasing fruits/veggies.) That I can do (mostly.)

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After church today I stopped by Walmart. I was halfway there (parking lot) when I remembered the toaster oven in my trunk. So I found a cart and went back to my car and put it in. I was a bit worried at first from the reaction of the guy at customer service that they weren't going to take it back for a refund/store credit -- but they did! $34.93

I bought: bananas, apples, spinach, Welch's sparkling grape juice (for Thanksgiving dinner), frozen veggies, frozen berry medley (large pkg), sweet potatoes, Kellog's Nourish Oatmeal (surprisingly not that bad for a processed food!), Sunbelt Granola bars (box), lightbulbs, vitamin B complex, vitamin d3, a measuring tape, a set of measuring utensils, a jump rope and ... junk alert ... Terry's Chocolate Orange and SnapPea Crisps. (I might be missing a few things) All this for $70.94 - a $.60 coupon and the $34 gift card. (I need to wean myself off the Sunbelt bars ... they are so good though, and it's a way to get in a little chocolate every day along with fiber/protein .. am thinking of maybe getting chocolate covered almonds - have one serving of those when I need a pick me up right after work ..) (Haven't been able to find my measuring tape, and I want to have a measure other than the scale and a few items of clothing to mark my progress.)

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I had our first Technology Club for this year on Tuesday. I'd planned on having the kids work on the Tynker computer programming lessons. Of course, our computer filters did not like that the lessons were downloads. Ugh. I'd asked about how much the premium program (with 16 guided lessons instead of the 5 free ones) would cost - $25/student. Yeah .... no.

So I'm looking at another option - getting a couple copies of the beginner's book for Google Sketch UP and have students work through it. I haven't checked to see if they are available on amazon yet or not (so I could use my gift card money.) I don't have another Tech Club until after Thanksgiving, so have a little time to figure it out.

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I'm excited/little bit nervous about this coming Wednesday. We are having an author visit - my first ever that I planned (and my second ever in my life - first time I met a real published author was my Sophomore year in college - Kay Rizzo - that was TOO cool! (I loved her books.) The author sounds like a really nice, down to earth person (he'd have to be to be willing to change the date of his visit!) I think the kids are starting to get excited as well, although none of them have actually read any of his books (mainly because only one of his books is available on Amazon in a non ebook format - and the one that is available is only available used - so I bought one copy.) I'm buying two sets of his children's series (Wind*claw*chronicles) for the library (and for him to sign!)

Only 5 more school days til Vacation break, and only 9 more days til NE arrives!!! (Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited? )

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My lightbulbs in my office burned out Friday afternoon which is why I bought some today. I didn't know what size/style to get, and ended up getting ones that are too big for the light fixture. They fit in the sockets and work - but I can't put the light fixture back on over them. Oops. At least I can see in here again.

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Last night I was talking to NE about how much I miss the Dallas Summer Musicals (got into my head because of a post by a friend talking about how Ghosts (patrick swayze) is being made into a DSM production.) Then I segwayed into how much fun it was to see Kenny G and Jim Brickman in concert, etc. I haven't been to a DSM or any other concert since I was laid off at my oil and gas job five? years ago. He made the comment that I'm not *that* far from a good sized city (about 90 minutes depending on traffic and where you go.) That made me remember that when my family lived there when I was in elementary school that we went to a playhouse that did a production of Oklahoma! and I think that's where we saw a production of Steel Magnolias too.

So this morning I opened my Groupon app just to clear the big red number, and scrolled down a little bit. Guess what I saw????!!! Jim Brickman will be in concert here on Dec 18!!!!!!! Tickets are $17. I am SO tempted. I really would not want to drive there and back by myself (honestly, wouldn't want to go by myself anyway), so if I do this, I need to figure out someone here to ask if they'd go with me. I'd probably offer to cover their ticket if they'd be willing to drive on the way back (am NOT great driving late at night.) The only caveat is that it is on a Wednesday, which is one of my 3 weekly Skype dates with NE. I'd really hate to miss one of those .. but then again we'd be seeing each other in person a week later .. If I did go, it would be something like my 4th Jim Brickman concert, so if I didn't go, it wouldn't be like I was missing out on a new experience. I am conflicted, and need to make a decision by Monday (when the deal runs out.) The total cost of this would be about $30 in gas, and $34 in tickets (if paying for guest.)(plus I'd be really tired Th/Fri .. but this is worth that cost to me)

What do y'all think?

Well for the most part I've been doing pretty well with the 6 month diet**bet. It's mostly kept me away from junky foods and got me out exercising more. I'll be doing my first official mid-bet weigh in on Tuesday morning - that will qualify me to be in a drawing for what they call "consistency" prizes.

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I received $20 in AGC from Swagbucks, and am now just waiting for the last $5 card.

I also got my credit for the last bill cycle - only two days after the payment posted. I guess they heard enough complaints about how long the last one took to credit? Either way, I'll take it. I now have more than enough SBs for my December $25 AGCs and am now working on extras.

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After work on Friday I stopped at the public library to pick up a book for one of my 6th graders - she asked me if we had The Great Gatsby. We (being an elementary library) of course didn't have it. I didn't tell her it wasn't really a book most 6th graders would want to read/be able to understand -- remembering that when I was 13 I read both War and Peace and Ana Karenina - and did book reports on them! It was a lot smaller than I remembered.

I also picked up groceries - somehow I managed to spend $80!! All but $5 of it was for healthy foods. And here I was planning on trying to eat down my pantry and freezer before buying more stuff ... Ooops. Next week I'll definitely just stick to bananas and maybe orange juice.

I did buy a strawberry/bannana smoothie from McDonald's that is in Walmart. I was pretty hungry and thirsty, and figure that a smoothie was better than a soda!

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So .. about the sigh... I had my doctor appointment Friday morning. I had already eliminated the possibility I was *really* hoping for before going. So after explaining to her how I've been feeling and my other health concerns, she told me that it could just be chronic fatigue syndrome and/or peri-menopause. Ugh. I'm 37. Not the words I wanted to hear coming out of my doctor's mouth, even though my Internet research told me that was one possibility. She's testing various hormones to see if this might be the direction I'm headed. I wanted to go home and curl up in a ball for the rest of the day, but I had to get to work. Work was a good distraction.

What really frustrated me though was that she told me that about the only thing I could do that would help my energy/health would be to do 20 minutes a day of activity/exercise. When I told her that I'd been pretty consistent for over 4 months of 5+ days a week of 40+ minutes of exercise (summer)and it had done NOTHING for how I was feeling, all she said was "it takes time." Arghh!

This is when I really wished I lived in a bigger city and had more choices of doctors - or wish I could be back in Dallas and back with my doctor there. I really liked that doctor - she was my doctor for ten years!

Oh yeah, on Monday night I had a sweet potato and asparagus about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday morning when I woke up and rolled to my back, I had my very first experience with acid reflux. When I told my doctor about this, all she said was "make sure you eat 3 hours before you go to bed." Ummmm....thanks.

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My mom keeps asking me if I'm depressed, and I keep telling her that no, I'm not. I'm just so frustrated with my health. 10 months ago I did not feel like I do now. I felt good/healthy much more often than I didn't. Now I feel lucky on days where most of the day I feel half-way decent.

My former principal as we were walking out of Mass on Thursday said to me, "You've been sick a lot this year." I was a bit taken aback, and told her, "Well, I *have* been sick a lot this year, but I have only taken two sick days." She seemed kind of surprised to hear that and later on said something about me being too young to have health issues. I wish.

Her statement to me does make me wonder about what is being said about me around the school. If most of them knew what a struggle it is for me some mornings to NOT call in sick ... and how I spend most of my weekends trying to make sure I rest enough in order to make it through the work week ...

I stayed home today from work - just haven't been feeling all that well and today was the best day of any to stay home (least classes.)

I had a great time in NE, although I did end up staying at a hotel Thursday night due to the weather here. It was really wet and cold here in T, and I was worried about it being icy at 4 a.m. Turns out it was a good thing I did that - because it was very icy here even at 7a.m.

So other than my airfare, I spent $67 on the hotel, $33 on a mani/pedi (in ABQ), $16 on snack foods at Walmart, and $7 at the airport. On the way back home I stopped at Walmart again and spent $49 on groceries ($6 of it was candy for the Halloween party.)

Our book fair starts on Friday, and the first day of sales will be on Tuesday. I'll need to pick up some snack foods for my helpers (6th and 7th graders)

I have arranged my first ever author visit! It'll happen on November 20. We had at first set it for the 13th, but the group of teachers putting together the family literacy evening had to change to the 20th. That made me a bit annoyed because my church is having a cooking class with a semi-famous tv chef on the 20th that I was thinking about going to. Oh well.

I finally received my SBs for my credit card today. I promptly cashed out for $40 in AGCs - leaving me with enough for my November 5 $5 AGCs plus some. I also received the email from AASL (school librarian org.) with my code for $100 in books from Capstone. I need to figure out what I'm going to use that money for - last year I bought a set of super hero comics which have gotten pretty good use.

Tomorrow one of my church members is bringing over their family dog. I'm going to be dogsitting it through the end of October. She mentioned something about paying me for it, but I'm okay with not getting anything for it. I have people look in on Kari all the time when I'm gone, and they never ask for/accept any kind of payment. The dog is pretty old and apparently isn't one for walks and sleeps most of the time. Will be interesting to see how he and Kari get along.

So today I finally got around to doing yet another fresh start in YNAB. Ugh. While my networth has gone up thanks to a particular electric car, everything else is not going in the right direction. In fact, between all of my credit cards, the amount is more than my next 1 1/2 paychecks. (I get paid every 2 weeks.) I have the money to pay them in full, it's just some of that money is being pulled from other places.

Included on the CC statment is the cost of the tickets for my upcoming trip to NE. I have not yet purchased my Christmas tickets - going to CA and then to NE and then back here. October is a 3 paycheck month, so that will cover that with no problem. I do think I'm going to have to resign myself to the fact that I probably am not going to be able to make the trip to TX for my friend's sons graduation. Right around that time I'm going to need any extra money to pay for moving expenses .. not for a trip.

I decided to cancel hulu+ and only keep Netflix. I almost canceled Netflix too, but there are times I really want to watch a movie or watch a bunch of episodes in a row ... I'm also deleting the HayDay app from my phone/iPad so that I won't be tempted to buy more in-app stuff ... or waste numerous hours playing it. It just isn't worth it (using my fun money for this game.)

I think I've figured out what I'm going to do for Christmas gifts - make insect repellant soap! I can get the supplies to make quite a few of them for about $30. I just need to figure out a nice way to package them. (If you want a link to the recipe, let me know.) This is also something that I can kind of make my "signature gift" because everyone can use something like this, and it is always needed (during certain seasons at least.) It'll also travel well once I figure out good packaging for it.)

I'm not sure if that by itself is "enough" though... what might be something good/easy/cheap to pair with it??

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My goals for October:

1. Update YNAB every time I make a purchase.
2. Stay within grocery budget ($150)
3. No unnecessary spending outside of fun money
-- fun money will probably be spent on a mani/pedi and whatever I need while out in NE.
4. Have more non-spending days (not including bills) than spending days.
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I was debating on whether or not I should stay in a hotel the night before my trip, or just leave early enough from here to make it to the airport. My flight leaves at 7 a.m. and it takes approximately 90 minutes to get to the airport. I'd want to be there by no later than 5:45, so that would mean leaving here around 4 a.m. It would be so much more relaxing to be up there Thursday night ... but is it $60 worth of more relaxing? I can always sleep on the plane ... right?

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Oh, funny thing. As I was checking my various credit cards I found out that I had overpaid on my gas card (I had it set on auto pay, but prepaid some of it one month for some reason.) So it had a credit of $85.15. Guess what my gas budget is for October? This is what happens when you're not paying attention...

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I have about $2200 left on my car loan. At $300/month, that means it will be paid off by about April (I may make a $400 payment to get it finished.)

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Question ... if your networth has gone above the $100k mark (mainly due to one stock) - should you increase your car insurance coverage to the max? Before this stock, I didn't have anything really in the way of assets ... but now?? Should I think about an umbrella policy, or am I still low enough in assets to not worry about that? If I were in an accident (at-fault) can they go after retirement accounts, or are they protected from lawsuits? (If so, then my non-retirement assets are closer to $40k - mostly in the one stock. So if that goes south ... then my networth quickly goes south as well.)

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Upcoming expenses -
$20 - Tolls from summer NE trip
$65 - medical (after insurance from two visits)
$24 - refill prescription
$30 - soap making supplies for gifts
$30 - mani/pedi (fun money)
$11 - Kari's nails trimmed (Kari's budget line)
$12 - cupcakes for Halloween Festival cake walk
$6 - candy for Halloween (all staff put together candy to hand out to neighborhood kids - usually 200+ kids)
$10 - snacks for book fair volunteers (I AM NOT buying books from the book fair this year!!!!)
$150 - Renew ALA and AASL professional membership

$20? - treat for meal in NE (grocery budget or maybe vacation budget?)

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I need to check to see if the local library has season 2 of Person of Interest. If not .. then I'm going to have to start setting aside some money to buy it. It's $27 for the whole season on Amazon Instant, or $43 for the DVDs. If I get the DVDs I can sell them to Second Spin for $14.25. Hmm.. It would almost end up costing the same, so probably the Instant is the way to go - less hassle and can watch on my iPad in bed snuggled up and warm. That is .. if the library doesn't have it. Maybe I can set aside whatever I earn from Pinecone towards it, or ... one of every five AGCs I earn could be put towards it rather than books for the library... If only it was on Hulu+ or Netflix. This is the one downside to not owning a tv - certain stations that put the first six full episodes of a show up on their website for free and get you hooked, and then stop - and don't let any of the regular sites air them.
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I just got an email notification that my $15 AGC from Swagbucks had credited to my account. That was fast - I think I ordered it on Wednesday?!

Only 3 more weeks til I make my trip to NE. I can hardly wait (even though it will be only for 2 1/2 days - better than nothing!)

As soon as I get back from my trip, it will be time to start preparing for the book fair. This year since we have an in-service on the Monday of book fair week, we will be having our pre-view day on the Friday before (Oct 18 I think.) I feel bad for the kids in my Friday classes - 3 Fridays in a row with no real class. But what can I do?

This Monday we have an in-service day. The local Diocesan changed the policy that everyone has to do the 3 hour training on s*x predators *every* year, instead of just once every five years. Ugh. So looking forward to it. (would be okay if they have different videos, but I highly, highly, doubt that.)

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I'm feeling pretty dissapointed about something right now. I knew the likeliness of it was extremely minimal, but certain things led me to hope that just *maybe.* Sigh. Maybe another time. Probably never. If it had happened, it sure would have turned my world upside down financially/emotionally - but it would've been worth it. Completely worth it.

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My mom turned 62 this last week, and my grandma 92. I think it's kind of funny that they're almost exactly 30 years apart - but really do not like each other. (well, the not liking part is sad, not funny) My grandma is going to be going on a Panama Canal cruise with my aunt in a bit more than a week from now. She is getting pretty excited about it. I hope when I'm 92 I'm as active and with-it as she is.

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I need to get Kari in to get her nails trimmed this week. I would have done it this past Thursday but I ended up going into ABQ to meet up with a high-school friend and her family. I hadn't seen her in 20 years!! (Which is impossible right, since we both are 29 .. again and again and again. ) She has two boys - a 3rd and 6th grader. Polite and well-behaved. Her husband seemed like a nice guy. It was good to catch up. I really paid for the trip though - doing a 3 hour round trip after work, and then having a full, busy day at work the next day... Can you say exhausted?

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I heard from one of my walking buddies yesterday. She asked me if I was still doing GymPact ... Um.... I was embarrassed to have to tell her that I really haven't walked much since school started. Between the rainy afternoons and not having anyone to walk with... it's hard to get out there. It seems like the rain has become less frequent the past few days, so I really just need to get myself out there and do it. No excuses! My clothes sure tell the difference between walking and not walking ...

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I can't think of anything too much on the financial front right now. Bought some groceries and prizes for a trivia contest on Friday (prize drawing will be on the 30th - but Wal-mart had a ton of stuff on clearance.) ~$100

Payday was on Thursday.

Besides my trips with/to/for NE this year, I have at least two other trips I'd like to take. One is to TX for my best friends son's 8th grade graduation. I held him when he was a week old, saw him graduate from pre-school and kindergarten, and saw him baptized. If at all possible, I don't want to miss his 8th grade graduation. It will depend on several factors - one being when our 8th grade graduation is here and if I can do both. The other is to NC to visit my former walking buddy.

So ... seeing how I have a lot in the way of trips that I want to do, I really need to pull the reigns in on my spending. I'm still paying my cards off every month in full, contributing to my ROTH, and doing double car payments ... but otherwise my savings is at a standstill.

Groceries/Walmart seems to be my biggest money drain. So .. I am seriously (again) considering going to a cash basis for groceries. Still considering how to best do that here.
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I have around $18 in checks from Pinecone that I need to deposit. Just need to do it - easy peasy taking a picture of it. That money will go to my travel budget.

Yesterday I had to go to Walmart to pick up some hangars which I'd meant to pick up on Monday, but forgot.

After getting the hangars, I was of course near the kitchen section. I've been thinking about getting a new toaster oven for awhile, and have been really annoyed with the lid on my blender not getting clean (after having been through the dishwashing cycle multiple times..) I toyed with the idea of buying a $15 one serving blender and a new toaster oven. The only thing wrong with my current toaster oven is that it desperately needs to be cleaned and has been in my back room for the last two years.... (It's okay, you can call me lazy.)

I did talk myself out of both of the purchases. The blender because well ... I have a perfectly wonderful blender (a Ninja!) and all the lid probably really needs is some actual elbow grease and it will be fine. I just have to get motivated enough to want to make my smoothies again to actually put the elbow grease in! As far as the toaster oven ... I haven't used the one I have in two years (more really ... I think the last time it was out and in use was five years ago???) So if I haven't seen fit to use it in two years++ AND the only thing wrong with it is needing to be cleaned??

So I guess I saved money by talking myself out of those purchases. Now just to get to the cleaning of the items I already own!!

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NE and I talked a long time last night, and I think we've worked through what we needed to. It is weird how sometimes things seem so much more serious in the written form than when talked about face to face.

I was doing some searching for online couples counseling and came across a couple interesting links. One is called power of two marriage - I did the free three day trial. It has some really good information/lessons on communication (along with a lot of other stuff too.) I worked my way through most of the communication videos/activities.

The other thing I found was a VH1 program called Couples Therapy where they take 5 celebrity couples who are having Issues (to say the least) and take them through counseling. I watched a few full episodes ... even though it is made for entertainment value mostly, it still seems to offer *some* valuable insights.

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Yesterday I just managed to make the daily goal on Swagbucks. I think I got 4 of the codes? I made it today too. Thanks to the hotel com offer, between my two hotel stays I'll have enough SBs for two AGCs, otherwise I'd really be behind the 8 ball for August (more so than I am already.)

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Today will be a no spend day. The first I think I've had in a lonnnnngggg time.

I plan on doing a refresh on my YNAB budget and attempt to get my spending back under control. I just have spent way too much this summer.

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Almost forgot. I messed up with my internet provider. I'd had them send me a new modem because my old one kept dropping my Skype calls. I kept forgetting to send the old one back... so they charged me for it. $119. Ugh. No way to send it back and get refunded after 30 days. It still was good I called though, because my 6 month promotional period had ended and my bill was going up to $45 + taxes. Got it back to $25 + taxes.

What a summer it has been. Summer school, CA trip, and finally a long sojourn in NE. Now about three weeks til the first day to report back to work.

I have so much to catch up on, I'm not really even sure where to begin.

Finances - Oh boy. I really am not sure how much I spent between CA and NE, but to put it mildly ... it was way too much. Gas and lodging I have hard numbers for the NE trip -gas $237.xx; 2 hotel stays - $105.xx. I averaged 35.8 mpg (that's including around town driving in the average - otherwise it would probably be closer to 37mpg.)

I went a little nuts with the close proximity of fast food places and other shopping places. Seriously, a little nuts. NE treated for most of the meals we ate together - but that was just one meal a day. I bought groceries for myself to supplement, and ... the fast food ... Less than a block from his apartment - McDonald's (smoothie anyone???) and Pizza Hut (personal pan pizza???) Amazingly I seem to have only gained a pound (maybe it was due to all the walking I did as well?)

Then of course there was the Adventist Book Center (or ABC as Adventists know it.) I restrained myself on books (only 2! both on sale) but the veggie foods?? Total spent $71. I also checked out a Goodwill store and came away with 20+ books for the library (one, a brand new hardcover 2006 Guinness World Record book!!! Score!!) as well as a few other items (such as a pretty casserole dish, a pannini maker and a glass container for NEs change.) All for ... $28.xx!! (less than the cost of the WR book alone brand new!) I also went to the mall ... it was SO hot ... and I wanted to see if my gym pact anywhere function really worked ... It did. I also managed to spend money at JC Penny's (super clearance sale!) and then at Dress Barn (lace skirt/white blouse for $30.)

I messed up with one of my credit cards. I thought I had them all on auto pay full bill - but I left one out. Ooops. Thankfully when I got the notice that my payment was late, I was able to call them and get the finance charge and late payment fee dismissed. Thanks to my history of no late payments and always paying in full.
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As I mentioned, I did a lot of walking. NEs place is less than 3/4 of a mile from Wilderness Park. There are some really fantastic walking/biking trails there. Most nights when NE was working, I did 3 - 5 mile walks (usually 4 miles.) It was SO beautiful! (and HOT!)

Other things NE and I did together - spent a lot of time at various area lakes with him showing me some of his favorite fishing spots as he was growing up. We also went out to Tuttle Creek where he caught a lizard, took a picture of it, and then let it go. We saw Man of Steel - loved it! Went out to eat at a lot of fast food places - mostly that are only NE/Lincoln places (Runza, Gregs, Tastee's --- all for Cheese Frenchies! Yum!!) I ate more fried foods in the three weeks I was there than I usually do in a year! We did eat at a few sit-down restaurants - IHOP, Olive Garden and a local place Beacon Hill Bar and Grill. I treated for IHOP.

NEs aunt died while I was still out in CA, and the TN family held the memorial service for her without inviting NE or his sister ... so we didn't do any big road trips.

Kari and the five cats ... Kari eventually settled down enough to where she was comfortable being out and about in the apartment -but not without hissing and batting at the other cats. The five cats just kind of tolerated her I think... Kari knocked down a 5 gallon aquarium (empty thankfully!) which shattered all over the place. She also took a great liking to a pair of expensive speakers as a scratching post ... Ugh. I hope when NE comes here to visit, that he and Kari will be able to like each other without the other 5 cats running over every time .. NE just barely got to the point of being able to touch her without being hissed at.

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I attempted to hook my computer up to NEs modem, but could not get it to work. Until tonight I was slightly worried that I had jostled the modem or something in it during the trip to NE - but it is working perfectly. So, I was pretty much without a computer (although NE did let me use his laptop .. I didn't do too much on it because of its small size.) I really did not accomplish much at all - other than reading several books, watching stuff on Hulu and Netflix (and getting a warning notice from aTT that I'd gone over the 3 GB limit and my service will be slow next month ... ummmm thought I had unlimited data??) I forgot some books I needed to do stuff for my elective classes (from the six=month class.) Still, all in all, I kept pretty busy/occupied while NE was at work.

I am happy that I went. The time there definitely helped me see some things more clearly, and see some things that need to be addressed. He really tried to be thoughtful and do things he thought I would like. One thing that was clear is that I won't have to worry about him complaining about my housekeeping ... We did a lot of talking about different things - from current events, past events, views on issues, to possible future scenarios. It was definitely a good thing.

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So ... in other news... my great Uncle (my grandma's sister's husband) died this past week. I wasn't close to him or anything, but I did like him from the times we'd interacted. Then in other big, but not really surprising news (sadly) ... my mom and the man she married in December are getting divorced - his idea. Basically he decided that he couldn't handle her health issues (more later), that she drove him nuts always wanting to go do things instead of sitting and meditating for eons of hours, etc. She is coming out of this pretty badly ... gave most of her furniture away when she moved in with him, gave up her tutoring students/business, gave up Buddy her dog, etc.

Her health issues --- about 15+ years ago she had a pituitary tumor which was removed by them going through her nasal cavity. It has returned, bigger than ever with the addition of lesions. She's going to need surgery to get rid of it, but due to the larger size and the legions, they are having to figure out the best course of action. She is staying at an extended stay place right now, and last week slipped and fell hard on her back/neck. She has had multiple back and neck surgeries ... So far it doesn't appear to have caused any more damages, but still not good.

Oh the REALLY big news?? My brother called my mom today!! (He had cut off contact with her in June after our dad died due to a number of reasons.) He told me he decided that it was time to let go and get past it. I was completely ecstatic!!

In mixed news ... I am now without any walking partners. Both of the co-workers I walked with this past year have gotten different jobs. One of the former teaching assts is taking one of the positions, another vacant position is being taken by someone who I don't think will be living here, and I don't know what's going to happen with the third one. The third one is my only hope for a new walking partner...

I have more I am thinking about, but this is already way too long. Tomorrow - what I found when I arrived home ... and lifestyle/diet thoughts/plans/thinking.

(lost entry )

Babysitting today went fairly well. They were a bit harder to keep entertained than the last few times, even with the addition of my iPad. Got paid $35, so a little better than a Saturday night job.
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SBS - with today's earnings have enough for May's 5 $5 cards. Am now working on the extra cards for May.
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Drama, drama, school drama. More of it. (Yes, even on the weekend.) Related to our contracts. Supposedly one teacher has already had her contract given to her, and the rest of us have to wait til May 10's In-service mtg. Am planning on casually asking principal tomorrow about contracts w/o letting on about one teacher who supposedly already has hers. Oy vey.
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Thinking about the ten item grocery list CCF posted about. I couldn't do a static list, but a flexible one could work I think. It may help with my escalating grocery budget too.

Things like oatmeal, brown sugar, raisins, peanut butter, and jelly are only purchased a few times a year. Bread, Rice Dream, Cottage cheese 1 - 2 x a month. So that leaves a lot of open spaces for fresh fruits and veggies (and frozen berries for smoothies.)

So today I received my $25 AGC from SBs and put it into my gift card balance on Amazon. While I was there, I noticed that the sign up bonus for the Amazon credit card was $60! That is the most I've ever seen it at. So ... I succumbed and applied. I was approved (although I had to give my physical address - need to figure out how to let them know my mailing address - don't get mail at my house.)

Guess how long it took me to spend the $60 credit? I'll have some cool new books for the kids on Monday.

I had a dentist appointment on Tuesday and told them about my tooth pain from Baltimore (February trip.) The DA and dentist looked at it, and took an xray. It looks like I will be needing a root canal. The only place to have that done is in ABQ, so I will be trying to get an appointment for the last week of May (after school is out.) Good thing I didn't spend my tax refund yet I guess (might mean my car doesn't get paid off by June, but it still will be paid off no later than December!!)

I also had a doctors appointment this week. I had her do the thyroid bloodwork, but also asked her to check my Vitamin D levels. She also added in checking magnesium levels (I think because of the leg tingles?) I got a call today asking me to come in for a follow up appointment - so she must have seen something in my bloodwork. I *think* the follow up appointment is included in the office visit fee from Monday - at least I hope it is!

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I received my payment from Second Spin for Person of Interest - $11.00. (They didn't reimburse shipping - I thought they did that??) Of course I promptly turned around and gave in to the temptation to purchase the first ten episodes of Warehouse 13 S4 on Amazon... (have 3 episodes left to watch now)

I have not gotten much accomplished at all over Spring Break. Not really all that surprised ... am good at making plans and having ideas of what all I want to accomplish, and then end up not getting ten percent of it done. I still have 3 days though, right?

My cough is much, much better. Not gone completely, but so much better. I'm still using generic Vicks at night, and taking generic Allegra D. Between the two, it seems to be helping.

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I called Vangaurd today to check on the status of my rolling over the IRA from the bank CD. They processed the paperwork today, and it should be taken care of within a week to ten days. Yay! Now maybe that money will actually earn its keep.

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I have done very poorly in March (and now April) at keeping track of my spending. I am thinking of doing a fresh start in YNAB (budgeting program.) I will have to say though, that this has been one of the longer consistent stints of tracking my finances - nearly 8 months. So, I guess I should pat myself on the back for that. Maybe this next stint will last longer. One can always hope.

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After my doctors appt tomorrow, I plan on going into the school for a few hours. I *have* to do this because I *have* to finish putting together my information for certification in NM!!! Sometimes I am such a bad procrastinator ... I'm pretty sure I have everything I need to send in for it, and have had it for a couple of weeks!! Mailing anything though nowadays is just not something that sticks out in my mind as a to do ...

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A friend of mine was talking/emailing me about some of their experiences on a dating site. It made me wonder how long it had been since I'd put my profile on hold on that site ... checked into it, and it was 2007!! Um... a few years. I decided to unhold it and put together an updated profile. Not surprisingly, no interest yet. (I was honest about my weight - a question they ask for the profile - so ...) It probably doesn't help either that my life isn't all that terribly interesting (unless you get into family drama stuff, then maybe it's a little *too* interesting, as in run off screaming fast as possible interesting....)

So anyway ... instead of cleaning like I should be doing, I'm going to go finish watching the last 3 episodes of Warehouse 13. Maybe I'll get to cleaning after that....

Tuesday night I slept well, still from the after effects of the cough syrup with coedine. Wednesday night ... not so well. Partly I think due to the Mucinex I took around 6 p.m.

So Thursday I decided to stop at the dollar store and pick up something someone had suggested to me. Vicks vapor rub - although I picked up the two dollar generic version. Guess what? I got nearly a full six hours of sleep uninterrupted by coughing! Yay! Of course, as soon as I woke up and started moving a bit, my chest/lungs felt full/heavy and the coughing fits began again in earnest. But ... I got a good nights sleep!

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I'm still waiting for the reimbursement check for my book seminar that I went on the first week of March. My statement with the hotel charge on it is due in two weeks ... Of course I can pay it no problem, just would rather have the reimbursement money first to pay it with. Oh well.

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Had some strange weather here this afternoon. Phone weather app said it was in the mid-50's when my colleague and I went for our walk. It was really windy, and the wind got colder and colder as we walked. As we were nearing back home, both of us saw little white pellets bouncing off her dogs body. It was sleeting! For all of maybe a minute .. then it turned to rain, and then it was gone .. all about three minutes or so. No mention of rain or precipitation in the forecast.

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I finally got my Person of Interest season 1 DVD set mailed off to Second Spin yesterday. I bought it from Amazon for about $24, and sold it to SS for $11. I'd missed 8 episodes of the first season thanks to CBS stopping showing full episodes after episode 13 (I think.)

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Yesterday was payday. I haven't updated my budget files in awhile. I'd been doing so well at keeping up with that, but I may have to do another fresh start. Oh well.

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Wednesday night when I was having trouble sleeping, I watched a newish B-flick disaster movie on Netflix -- SuperCyclone. Hoo boy! This is one I'd love to have the Mystery Science Theater crowd "view". I've seen some poorly acted films with bad writing, but this one .. takes the cake! It was fun though.

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Only 4 more school days til Spring Break - all ten days of it! We ALL are so ready for it! Most of the kids this week have been really sweet though I have to say.

Yesterday afternoon I had my second graders and was showing them some new books. One of them said, "Miss N why does your voice sound so strange?" I told them that I'd been really sick and coughing a lot. One of them then piped up, "Oh yeah, that was you coughing during Mass. It was really loud." Hah!

My 4 year olds really surprised me. Every time we start with the song "Hello Everybody" and then sing a variety of mostly action verses. They usually sing with me pretty well, but Thursday I didn't have much of a voice to sing too loudly .. so they picked up the volume quite well.