NE surprised me twice on Friday - He showed up at my door at 7:30 just to say hi before I left for work (he was heading to SM - the store closing down.) Then he showed up at my door again at 4:50, just a few minutes after I got home. He had his eye on a speaker in O and thought I might want to go with him.

We did end up taking a road trip to O. I like going there because they have a Hardee's - Their mushroom and swiss sandwich (burger on the side for NE) and onion rings are SO GOOD.

NE did buy the speakers, and is planning on getting them up on eBay this weekend probably.

--
I found out from my boss on Friday that starting on February 9, I will be getting a 15 minute break in the afternoon. I could have asked for one in the morning too, but there's only 3 hours before my lunch break, so I thought that was kind of pointless. She was relieved that I didn't ask for the morning break.

My plan for the afternoon break is to walk on the treadmill while reading a book. Get more steps in daily and be away from the phone!

---
I finished up all my retirement benefit/life insurance paperwork. It won't get delivered til Tuesday though.

I ended up going with a supplemental 10k Life Insurance because if I decide I need it later for a larger amount, I'd have to be medically approved. So for about $1.80/month I'll have 81k of life insurance. If I leave, I can take it with me, the amount I pay would just go up.

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I received $25 PayPal from Mypoints yesterday. I also got my $25 AGC from PerkTV. I now have about $100 in Amazon credit.

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My goals for this weekend - Today is just about relaxation and rejuvenation - probably a trip to the library.

Sunday - Get the living room cleared of boxes and all pictures put up.

Monday - Make veggie patties, cc loaf, etc. to freeze for future lunches. Do some cleaning.

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Weigh In News: Even with my chocolate indulgences and Hardee's last night, I am down almost 2 lbs since my last official weigh in.

Last night Ne told me that a local small grocery store was officially going out of business. It's one that is only two and a half blocks away from me.

I stopped there after work today ... which probably wasn't a good idea because 1) I was hungry; and 2) I was feeling very stressed out about work.

The end result was I spent $25 or so on mostly junk food. Everything was 15% off, and I think they actually lowered their prices on some things. I did get a few non-junk food items like the egg salad, prunes, and Bush's vege baked beans ... but the rest was plain and simple junk food. Chocolate.

I ate one bag of chocolate tonight for supper. Real healthy, right? ugh

(NE likes to tease me about being so frugal but not making my own egg salad ... I'd have to buy mayo to make my own egg salad ... I don't use mayo for anything else, so it'd probably go bad or something before I used it to make egg salad....)

I'm tempted to go back to the store tomorrow to get more Nutella. It was $3.24 with the discount. Cheap. But I know how I am with Nutella. Maybe if I have NE keep the all but one jar at his place - he doesn't have the same problem with it.

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I redeemed a $25 AGC from PerkPoints tonight. I should have it by Friday.

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In my mail I received two offers from Discover.

The first offer was $50 for putting $5000 in a new checking account for about two or three weeks. I'm thinking of doing that. I just have to make sure I can do it without touching the money in the dream account - withdrawing money from that would make me lose the bonus APR at 6 months for no withdrawals.

The second offer was to get $75 if I spend $1000 in 3 months.

I'm thinking I *might* be able to do that. It would mean putting my SBs card away and maybe switching some bills over for a few months. It might be worth it. I think Sam's Club takes Discover, so then I wouldn't have to use my Debit card which I don't like doing since it doesn't earn me any points.

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One bit of good news at work today. I got my retirement benefits information!

The account is with Ameritas and has quite a few Vanguard funds to choose from, along with Fidelity and Morningstar, etc. I already figured out my allocations. Now I just have to get two people to witness my signing the beneficiary information page. (Harder than it sounds. My boss would do it I bet, and NE would do it ... but they'll not likely be in the same place at the same time anytime soon. So .. I've got to figure out a second person.)

I also found out that I get 71,000 of life insurance for $.42/month. The city pays the rest. I will be cancelling my current term insurance. That will save me 15.68/month.

There is also something for post employment health benefits where the city contributes so much a month. I get to elect how I want that money invested. That was fun playing around with percentages.

I also found out that the whole Early Retirement / Regular Retirement stuff was just terminology. No real meaning behind it. So if I'm ready to retire at 55 there'd be no additional benefit to working nine more years to make the 63/25 years of service level. I'd be 100% vested and that's all that really matters.

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Cripes! It's 12:20 a.m. I must get to bed if I'm going to be at all coherrent today.

In the YNAB forums someone mentioned that if you get paid bi-weekly on a thursday or Friday that there are THREE months this year with 3 paychecks.

How awesome is that???

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I got my $25 PayPal from Swagbucks today.

I also sold an item on eBay for $16 during the night - printed out the shipping label before going to work and mailed it off.

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I got my gas bill for December - 36.97. That is down from 42.83 for November. So ... turning down the thermostat from 67 to 64 saved me ... ~$6?

Although my electric bill went up nearly $8 .. mostly I think due to the electric heater.

So ... I'm kind of wondering if using the space heater is all that more efficient than using my gas furnace at 67. Kari loves the space heater, but overall I'm not sure how much it really helps to heat the room.

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I got the bill for my doctor's appointment on Dec 15. ALL I'm being charged is the $25 copay. I'm not having to pay anything for the bloodwork!

Ummm... I think I'm going to like this insurance plan.

Email notifications of post replies seemed to work for a short while ... however they aren't working again.
(to clarify - I am talking about notifications of responses to other people's posts - not my posts.)

---

So I tried baking a potato in the oven sans foil twice now. Ehh... it works, but I really don't like how dry the skin gets. Almost too tough to eat. It was saved by the juice from my baked beans I topped it with, but often I like to eat my sweet potato plain. I did top them both times with olive oil and cut slits in them.

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Five no spend days in January so far! Yesterday I squeaked by temptation just barely ...

Work had some stressful (majorly) elements to it and I WANTED chocolate. I resisted though.

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I got a package from my brother today that UPS "attempted to deliver" during the workday of course. :roll eyes: So I had to drive over there to get it this afternoon -- it was a framed photo of my brother and I the last summer I was out in CA with him. How sweet

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I did two really dumb things yesterday - thankfully no consequences from either one. First, I left my purse in my car when I went in to work. I only realized this at lunch time ... I had to sit on my phone for 20 minutes before it would turn on.

Then when I got home I left my keys in the door AGAIN! The only way I found out about this is when NE came over and found them in the door. UGH!

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I watched episode 4 of POI season 3 tonight .. while stepping of course.

I also redeemed 2500 SBs for a $25 PayPal cash, and have received all $20 in AGC from SBs.

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At work today I hauled a huge load of boxes up from the schedule room on a cart. I think I may have overdone it a bit ... my back is really protesting tonight. Ouch.

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Ok, off to catch up on blogs!

We got a good bit of snow last night (Saturday) so I wasn't really sure I wanted to go out shopping today or not. However, once I got out on the roads around 4pm they were all fairly clear.

If you would like to see a more detailed breakdown of my grocery trip, go to this link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11GJKzDizNZEKsSYZIS4CgdhNBmVXf2dqXIMyU19VHfE/edit#gid=0

I set out with the goal of not purchasing more than ten items. And I did it! (with one caveat - I made one purchase for NE which he'll reimburse me for later - he ended up not coming with me.)

The total of the ten items I purchased for myself is roughly $56.46. Of that, two items were not grocery category items.

So grocery spending today: ~$51.20
Spending Money - ~$1.28
Toiletries - ~$3.43

I also filled up with gas at Sam's for $1.93!!!
Total - $15.58 for 8.037 gallons.

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I did laundry, dishes, cleaned the kitchen, did a trash run, and got my lunch ready for tomorrow.

I've also watched the first part of Labor Day ... wow, so not what I was expecting. I'm anxious to finish it.

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I also posted a couple new items on eBay as well as relisting some.

When I got home from shopping though I had an awesome email from eBay -- I sold a DVD for the BIN price! $6.99. I've already got it packaged up ready to go tomorrow.

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NE will be coming over in a bit, so I'm going to enter my receipts into YNAB and then maybe read a bit on the forums - hopefully not getting lost in a rabbit hole like I did last night ...

OH! I forgot. I also did 30 minutes of stepping while watching Labor Day today. (I have a step I got from freecycle years ago.)

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Next time I go shopping I'm going to make sure I eat something before I go, even if I'm not really hungry. I got so hungry while shopping that I got a Payday bar - technically not chocolate. But still kind of stretching it a bit.

On my way home from work today I saw gas for $1.99 at a local station! Sweet!

I plan on going to Walmart on Sunday and possibly Sam's for a largish shopping trip, and also to satisfy my curiosity about Sam's gas price.

So far no spending in 2015 (outside of bills)

I am having to pay a $.97 late fee on my last electric bill - I saw it and then totally forgot about it. Ooops! Now I have it set up on automatic payment to my credit card so I don't have to worry about it. My most recent bill was up about $10 from last month - still within my budgeted amount, but I'm going to be even more careful about keeping lights turned off.

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I redeemed for $20 worth of AGC yesterday and today from Swagbucks. Although I think I won't redeem for the 5th one tomorrow - I'll keep that for a $25 PayPal instead.

I'm mainly using my AGC credit for buying my pea protein powder for my breakfast smoothies, and I only need to get that ever other month. Plus I am earning AGCs from PerkPoints ... so I think I'd rather get cash when I can.

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On Thursday I did 40 minutes of stepping while watching an episode of POI. I found out that I can still play Ptv while using the Pact app to track movement. Sweet. 3 things at once.

Today at lunch I was able to walk around the conference room for 15 minutes.

I weighed in this morning with a .1 lb loss.

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Work was crazy busy today, but I did manage to finish my Shopaholic to the Stars book by Sophie Kinsella. I LOVE that series. So funny!

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I was looking at the union contract today, and saw that once I hit the 6 month mark, I'll have a required 7% retirement contribution with a 9% match from the city! Wow! I couldn't find anything that says what happens if you contribute more than 7% (i.e. will they match more? or is 9% the max match?)

I'm thinking that next week when our Payroll person is back I'm going to ask her about that.

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.
--------
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 hope everyone has a very good Christmas (or whichever holiday you celebrate.)

We had a pancake and egg breakfast at work today - they have a rotating grill that a couple of bus drivers were making made to order pancakes and eggs. I was so full that I didn't eat my lunch til 3 p.m.!

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Redeemed $9 from Pinecone and $17 from GymPact today. Will go into my Snowflakes fund.

Also got a Christmas card from my mom with $50! I'll put half of that into my spending money (for a treat) and the other half to my savings goals.

*are pictures not working anymore? I tried to upload one of Kari and it's not giving me the usual link to add.

I am happy that this coming week is a 4 day work week. (And so is the next week!!)

Christmas Eve NE and I will be going to a program at my local church. I was bowled over when he said he'd be willing to come with me ... He wants to come late and leave early - I told him that would be fine with me. Just having him there with me at a church event will be all the Christmas gifts I could ever want (well, ok, maybe one other thing could be as good or a little bit better ... )

Christmas Day we'll be cooking a meal together. He really wants to have Rum Cake which is something his mom made for Christmas when he was growing up. I've never had it - never even bought any kind of alcohol before in my life. It's going to feel really weird checking out with a bottle of rum ... (Yes, I know the alcohol cooks out .. still, it is out of my norm.)

We'll be going shopping for the missing ingredients tomorrow. One thing we're going to check the local Goodwills for is a bundt cake pan. For some reason he thought I had one already ... hopefully we can find a cheap one.

He'll have to stop by a local ABC store to pick up the dinner roast on Tuesday. It's only open Mon-Th from 8 to 5, so no way I can make it there before it closes. (It's the only store in town that I know sells the vegetarian dinner roast.)

The local paper has a running list of good places to look at Christmas lights. A running tradition in my family has been to go light looking on Christmas Eve. NE has accommodated me on this last year, and will again this year.

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NE surprised me by getting me a birthday gift! I had told him that dinner and a movie of my choice was a great gift all by itself. He got me a pair of thermal socks all the way from England! (I'm always complaining about my feet being cold.)They are so nice and warm.

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I cashed out for a $25 AGC card from PerkPoints on Friday and had it in my email the same day! Sweet!

I also cashed out for a 500SBs code on Bing today and had it in my email two hours later. Sad though that it's gonna take a LONG time to build it back up at 25 points a day ...

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I had some good news today about one of my banking accounts - Barclay's has raised their interest rates to 1% and 1.05% (savings/dream account) So I decided to keep my money there and not move it like I was thinking about doing. I wonder if Cap one will be raising their rates soon too?

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I spent some time updating my YNAB ... oops. It looks like I spent $68!! on fast food/non-essential food already this month. That is totally ridiculous. I only got fast food 3 x, the rest of it was soda and junkfood (chocolate, banana bread, etc.)

I think I'm going to limit myself to one fast food treat stop per month, plus eating at a restaurant one time per month (if invited/asked.) I'm also putting a moratorium on going into Walgreen's, CVS, Family Dollar and SunMart unless there is a *specific* non-junkfood item I'm getting - if it is just a prescription, I'll go through the drive through!

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I walked to the library today to return a book (Switch) and checked out a couple more. When I got home I checked my email and saw that a book I'd put on hold had come in! It will still be there next Saturday, so I'll get it then (good excuse for a walk!)

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I started using my space heater again yesterday. I hadn't turned it on since I rented the room from the Craigslist landlord from double hockey stick. Kari was so funny - so afraid of it at first, then curious, then fell absolutely in love with it. She's barely moved from in front of it (as long as I have it on.) Guess my lap isn't as warm as in front of the heater!

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I watched a fabulous show recently - The Librarians on TNT. I'd loved the movie trilogy with Noah Wylie, and they brought him back for the tv series. I was sad though to find out that TNT website only let me watch the first one - after that I had to have a cable subscription to stream it.

http://www.savingadvice.com/blogs/image.php?blog=2071&id=12955

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!

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 I ended November quite well ... by losing my keys! On the key ring is my car key fob, apartment key, mailbox key (x2 also for PO box), and laundry room key.
UGH!

They have to be in here somewhere. I had to have them to get into my apartment on Saturday afternoon when I came back from walking to the library. I didn't realize they were missing until Sunday afternoon when I was about to leave to go walk to my landlord's house and drop off my rent check. I looked everywhere! When NE came later, he helped me look again.

Nowhere to be found!

Thankfully I somehow found my spare car key - so I was able to drive to work this morning. However, I had to leave my apartment unlocked!

Tonight I called my landlord and explained what happened, and he had an extra key for my apartment - as well as ONE laundry room key (which he'll get tomorrow from me.)

I can't check my mail until I get the keys back - normally I wouldn't care too much .. but in a couple weeks I may have some cards and such coming ...

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I went to Russ's (grocery store) tonight. I spent $8.57 and NONE of it was junkfood. You have no idea how RARE it is for me to stop in a food store of any kind and NOT leave with some form of chocolate.

I felt really proud of myself.

However, while I was checking out, I had my arm resting on the top of my cart while I waited for my card to go through. All of a sudden the ?manager? jerked the cart away from me and left with it!! I only had two bags and I hadn't put them in the cart yet, but still!! It made it pretty difficult for me to get my gloves and hoodie back on for my walk home.

I thought about saying something to him after my startle was over, but decided to let it go.

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Today at work I found out that I should be able to take two fifteen minute breaks on top of my lunch break. I know it worked that way when I was at the oil and gas company in TX, but since my boss didn't mention anything about it ... I just kind of figured that the 30 minute lunch was it and then just use the bathroom when I needed to quickly. My boss will be back tomorrow, so I'll have to talk to her about it. I'd love to be able to go into the fitness room and walk on the treadmill or something twice a day! Great way to increase my steps.

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I got a $25 windfall in my PayPal account today from Swagbucks. (Which I'll be adding to my tally page on my sidebar.)

I also cashed in for two $5 AGCs.

I cashed out for a 500 SB code on Bing on Saturday, and should have enough for another one by Thursday thanks to the double points weekend.

On PerkTV I have nearly 12,000 points and have made tons of entries for giftcard sweeps with my tokens.

I have 43,000 points on Yougov - a survey site. It's enough for a variety of $25 giftcards, but the best value I think is waiting til I have 100,000 points for a $100 AGC. That's the only one that is point per dollar value. (I have referral links to YouGov, Bing, Ting, Swagbucks all in my sidebar if you're interested. )

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I was going to call to set up a doctor's appointment today, but I forgot I had the number on my old phone. I'd only brought my new one with me to work today.

I'm a burping garlic and pumpkin seeds gal at the moment ...

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.

So on Thursday my already interesting week got even more interesting. This time thankfully it wasn't a scary experience. It was something I would never have thought to have put on a bucket list, but am glad to have experienced it.

What was this experience?

I got to attend my first ever press conference!

The bus company I work at was awarded a sizable money grant that they are going to use to buy 3 new buses and a driving simulator. The mayor, and some other major dignitaries were all there.

It was way cool. There were 4 tv stations covering it, and at least one newspaper reporter (who asked some questions at the end.)

My boss K told me I'll have the chance to attend many more. Whatever gets me away from the phones ...

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Today was very stressful at work. I think I'm just way overtired. I made a mistake this afternoon - a stupid one - that I'm sure to hear about on Monday. I've really been trying to be *uber* careful, and yet still did it (gave the wrong pass to someone basically.)

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We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow. It sure is cold enough for it!

Wednesday the heat wasn't working on my side of the office and I was *freezing* - Thursday it was working - today it was sort of working.

I brought my space heater to the office on Thursday, but haven't used it yet.

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If you haven't heard of PerksTV it is an iPhone (and Android too I think) app. you earn points by watching videos. I finally earned enough to cash out for a $5 AGC today. I wonder how long it will take to arrive?

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I think it is a good thing I got a new phone. My 4S has been having some weird battery issues this week.

I got my sim card in the mail on Wed but haven't had a chance to mess with it yet. I need to call ATT and find out what my ETF is going to be.
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So I'm close to the end of my 60 day eating out challenge. Other than two exceptions I did it with no trouble. I m looking forward to allowing myself the option again, but I think the challenge has successfully reset my resisting eating out muscle so I won't go crazy with it.

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.

So Thursday night around 6:15 I get a call from NE. He had gone to Kansas City, MO to pick up some electronics for his eBay business. Before he got to where he was going, his car broke down! Not only that though - as he tried messing with it, he majorly wrenched his bad shoulder and also landed on his back very hard.

So there was no question in my mind but that I had to go get him. (He didn't ask, but I know that is what he was hoping I would do.)

I called my boss K and told her that I might be a little late to work because of a short night. After she heard why, she told me that if I needed to, I could use one of my PCH days even though I wasn't arranging it a day ahead of time. I am SO glad she was willing to let me do that.

I managed to find NE about 9:30 - about the same time the tow truck driver arrived. He was in *such* pain. He got in my car and we followed the tow truck over to the nearest Wal-mart. I was kind of baffled at why we were taking it to a Wal-mart - I was pretty sure all they did was oil changes/batteries and tires.

Turned out I was right. Just after the car was unloaded, a police officer drove by and let us know that Wal-mart wouldn't be able to do anything for his car. Thankfully the tow truck driver didn't charge to rehook the car.

I found a car garage nearby and we took the car there. (about 4 miles) In all, it cost about $120 for hooking the car up and towing. Ouch.

By the time we had dropped the key and note in the garage drop box and was ready to head out, it was nearly 11:30.

I was totally beat, but managed to drive back. NE needed some stuff from the store, so we stopped in there, and then I dropped him off at home. It was about 2:43 a.m. by the time I walked in my door.

I used up a full tank of gas plus more - need to fill up again.

NE was supposed to work tonight and tomorrow night - but with his arm the way it is, there is no way. He doesn't have health insurance which is why he's just basically lived with a bad shoulder for five+ years. He told me last night that his arm pain was worse than the pain he was in after a car accident about six years ago.

This definitely was not how I planned on using one of my two PCH days, however I am sure glad I had it available and had such an understanding boss! If I would have tried going in to work today, I would have been pretty beat.

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I got an email that my $9 payment from Pinecone came through just fine to my PayPal account, and I also have the $90.xx echeck from Bubblews in my PayPal account.

Today I cashed out for another $55.xx from Bubblews. I'm going to take a break from Bubblews until at least December while I work on my NaNoWriMo project. Hopefully I won't lose all my connections.

So I got an email today from Pinecone telling me that my recent cashout of $9 had been denied - from PayPal. This prompted me to ask to leave work early on Wednesday - one hour early. I figured that I would have to do that in order to get ahold of a human being.

Tonight I decided to look up the number for PayPal so I'd have it ready to go tomorrow. Color me shocked when I saw their customer service hours = 4 a.m. to 10pm PT!

Of course I went ahead and called. I explained my utter frustration with my account being limited and how I hadn't been able to purchase postage for my eBay sale a few weeks ago and then now not being able to receive payment!

The CS rep was very patient with me and told me that all he needed was my birthdate to possibly verify my identity. So, I gave him it. IT still wouldn't verify me!! Ugh!

But he told me to go ahead and try to withdraw money from my account - he didn't see why I couldn't do that. So I did - and it worked!

He wasn't sure why my Pinecone payment didn't go through or why I couldn't purchase postage on eBay. So he transferred me to eBay.

The eBay rep basically told me that he couldn't really help me unless it was happening right then - he told me where/how to find the customer service number for the shipping issue if it were to happen again.

I wrote Pinecone and asked them to try resending the payment. Hopefully it goes through because I'm expecting a Bubblews payment in about ten days or so (of 90 something dollars.)

I've got $33.xx in my Pact app that I've been waiting to withdraw until I figured out the PayPal mess - so maybe I can withdraw that too now - see if it works.

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I wrote the majority of the outline for the book I think I'm going to write. Although as I outlined it, I realized that writing it at work might not be such a good thing. It could be kind of ... emotional ... writing it out. I'm still going to try though.

50,000 words divided by 30 equals 1,666 words a day. There are five weekends in November, so let's say I do 5,000 words each weekend - that would be 25,000 words. That would give me about 1,200 words a day to write during the week. Yikes, that still seems daunting. I'm going to try though.

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I canceled my Amazon Prime membership yesterday. So as of now the only entertainment type thing I'm paying for is Internet (and that is expensive enough!)

I get Hulu+ for "free" through Bing rewards. I do a month of Hulu reward and then a 500 SBs reward each month. The last few days they were letting me do 60 points a day, plus there were a LOT of extra points. Swoon... I'm halfway towards my next 500 SBs reward thanks to the 60+ point days.

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I saw my paycheck for this Thursday - health insurance and dental were taken out. I liked last paycheck so much better ... But I'm not complaining about having health insurance, no sirree!

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I took a walk around the neighborhood today - about 32 minutes of walking. It was a little bit chilly for yoga pants and sandals, but I didn't want to chance my old tennies and didn't feel like wearing long pants or a jacket - not *that* cold yet.

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Did any of you see the article on soda aging people as badly as smoking?? Yikes! Yet reason #50003939393938271 to stop drinking soda. I needed to see that since I've been slipping ...

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!

So I am really ticked at PayPal right now. I made an eBay sale Saturday night and tried printing postage on Monday - no go. Kept getting an error message. Tried again on Tuesday - found out that my "limited" account now includes no money being withdrawn at all. So I have almost $200 in PayPal being held hostage. (Bubblews payments, Pinecone, etc.)

I ended up mailing the package first class postage - PO was closed by the time I got there Tuesday night and that was all the automated machine would let me do. Ugh! Hopefully this won't ruin my perfect rating!

Tomorrow is payday, and since no deductions are coming out of it (other than taxes) I guess it counts as the extra paycheck.

So ... I haven't had the energy to research it out totally yet, but I think I'm going to use it to buy the couch, the Sprint iPhone (to switch to Ting), and a simple printer (for coupons, etc) That'll use most of it - but once I have my phone set up, then I can sell my current iPhone and that will net me a little cash. That I'll put into my general savings.

I might still change my mind - especially about the phone. I know I'll save money switching to Ting, it's just the initial outlay for the phone that is making me hesitate.

In case you're interested, here are some Bubble posts I wrote recently about Paypal and life in general.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/8894602-kari039s-day A story about Kari and fleas.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/8892674-paypal-is-holding-my-mo... My PayPal frustrations.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/8876471-been-sick About being sick and NE being sweet.

I better hit the hay here. Another exciting day answering the same questions over and over ...

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.

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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.

I am still chugging along with my 60 day no eating out challenge -- however Tuesday night I did make an exception and ate out.

What was that exception? NE had a relative that he'd never met come to visit him, and he asked me along. There was no way I could say no to that. (More about it on Bubblews if you're interested.)

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I received my August 31 payment from Bubblews in PayPal yesterday. $111.xx

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Did I get pictures hung and budget / goals sorted last weekend? Nope.

NE did help me move some heavier large things around and hang my mirror. He wasn't feeling too good, so I was doubly appreciative.

Of course ... guess who isn't feeling that great either now? And no sick days to take ....

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I did start working on my budget and kind of updated it. I was also looking / thinking of goals ... and just really couldn't pinpoint anything really.

My computer will probably need to be replaced sooner than later (it's almost 4 years old and has started making some weird noises - doesn't help being moved 4 different times and having had stuff dropped on it...)

I think I might upgrade to the iPhone5 when I finally move to Ting, so I'm not sure how much of a price difference that'll be (after selling my current phone)

I need a new printer - my current printer stopped printing eons ago, and now I am missing all its cords (likely left in NM)I used the scanner function on it once in a while - mostly for teaching stuff. So I think I could get by with a simple b&w printer - for coupons mostly.

I would LOVE to get remote start put on my car for upcoming winter ...

I also want to get a couch ..

Mostly though I really want to up my savings - just general savings and retirement savings. I do not want to still be explaining to people that walking two blocks is better than walking five blocks and taking the bus for one block fifteen years from now.... or even ten years from now...

This weekend I will really think this through more (and maybe get some pictures up too ...) but right now I better get to bed so I have a little energy for tomorrow.

I am still going strong on my 60 day no eating out challenge.

NE came over last night and we made spaghetti - he brought the noodles and a mango for dessert. I had the rest of what we needed. (Although I had to search high and low for my strainer!)

Today I did go shopping - supposedly *just* for bananas and something to scrub my stove with and something to clean my new pan that got burned sauce ... Of course ended up with more .. but not too bad.

On Sunday I shopped at Walmart and tried the savings catcher app again - this time it worked! I got $1.02 back.

I cashed out on Bubblews on Tuesday for $91 (September earnings). I am now up to $7 for October. I won't be spending as much time on it this month, so my goal is just to get to $50 so I can cash out again on the 31st.

I also cashed out $9 in Pinecone payments.

In September I cashed out for two $25 Paypal payments from SBs, so I'm a little behind for October. I was able to cash out for 3 $5 AGCs and am working on the other two.

On the YouGov survey site I have enough points to cash out for a $25 movie certificate. I'm debating if that is what I want to do or not - not sure which one to get - Regal or AMC theaters. It would be enough for NE and I to see a movie together (he and I saw Guardians of the Galaxy on Sunday - his treat. Loved it!)

I found out how much my health insurance is going to cost me - it's taken out pretax. $33/month. Not too bad at all. Next paycheck my dental will come out, but that won't be much at all.

This weekend I have two goals - get my pictures hung and sit down and figure out my budget and new goals.
Now that I have a job and I have a place to live AND I have a good idea of my monthly income ... it is time!

In February when I can start contributing to my retirement plan, things will change again (along with a pay raise.) But will check those eggs when they hatch.

So I'm now five full days into my no eating out challenge. And the news is ... I have been successful at it so far! The really interesting thing though is that other than needing to buy bananas on Wednesday, I have managed to do it with just food I already had on hand.

On Friday I picked up a couple quick/easy/fast vegetarian cookbooks that I plan to look over and pick out a few things from for this week. Then I'll be making my meal plan and doing whatever shopping needs to be done.

I think I have saved at least $30 this week from not eating out or stopping somewhere for a soda/candy/etc. Probably more. It was getting pretty bad. (Especially since when I would stop in for a soda/candy, etc. I would get something else so it wouldn't look like I only came in there for the junk ...)

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I had an interesting Friday night with NE - towed my first car! You can read more about it here if you want to:

http://www.bubblews.com/news/8128150-friday-night-towing-adv...

We also had an interesting situation happen here with regards to tailgating last Saturday - I've been hearing some sirens today, and am hoping it is not part of the fallout; http://www.bubblews.com/news/8078503-tailgating-woes

I have now been at my new job for 8 weeks. Most of the time I really like it. I definitely like my boss K. She is such a fun person to work with. I've had the office manager C tell me she's really glad I'm there - that I have such a good attitude. This definitely is not something I want to do for 25 years, but if it is what makes it possible to retire in 10 - 15 years, I think I can handle it.

Oh, I was wondering if anyone has tried Bing Rewards today. What do you think? {url]http://www.bubblews.com/news/8130036-what039s-happened-to-bing[/url]

My first sewing class is on Tuesday! A needle and thread will be on my shopping list tomorrow.

What is the price of gas where you guys are? I was reading about how prices are expected to fall below $3! It's around $3.20 here right now. Do you think they'll really fall that low?

So I deactivated my profile on the dating site. NE and I got together on Sunday night at IHOP and had a good long talk. Our waitress I think was getting antsy for us to go... But the end all and the be all of it is that neither one of us really want to let go so easily of our 11 years of friendship. He is willing to try counseling to see if we can figure out how to get past some of the issues that caused the break.

He came over again on Monday night and we had a very nice couple hours together. Before he left he totally shocked me by saying that if I'd like to, we could play cards on Wednesday night. He is NOT a big fan of playing games. However he knows how much I love playing games. I've tried to get him to do it before with no luck. So ... there's other things he's doing as well that are showing me he's really trying.

I think the break from each other gave us both some perspective.

I'm still going to do the plans I had been making related to my list of ten things I want to do. I'm just going to add him to my list.

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Today was already a temptation to just stop and get something. I was SO tired and so hungry coming home from work. But I soldiered on and managed to wait til I got home to eat.

I didn't do my grocery shopping on Sunday like I'd planned, but I think I can make do without getting anything other than bananas. (will have to do that tomorrow)

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I really need to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow there's a health fair at the local Public Works department that I get to go to. I would like to be alert for that.

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I completed a survey for Pinecone, so once I'm credited for that, I'll have enough to redeem $6.

I cashed in bing points yesterday for 500SBs (which will either become Paypal cash or Amazon gift cards.)

Thanks again everyone for your comments on my previous post. I'm working on rewording my responses so they fit in the 600 character limit, and then I have to find someone to take a full length photo.

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As my title suggests, I am kind of excited because I made $50 (well, actually $49.78 at the moment) in 14 days on Bubblews! I don't know if I'll be able to keep up that pace or not because I'd really like to spend less time on it, but I am excited to know that if I really needed to, I could make an extra $100 or more a month doing that pretty easily.

One of my most recent bubbles (posts) was inspired by seeing one of the DVDs on sale on our local FB garage sale - The Invention of Lying. I've had some interesting comments - if you'd like to read it, here is the link:

http://www.bubblews.com/news/7329494-lying-good-or-bad

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I got five hours of overtime today - which will equal roughly 8 hours of banked time. This was due to my working the streets alive program - basically a two mile stretch of downtown was closed off for people to walk, bike, skate, etc. We were there giving out loads of free stuff.

One kind of downer thing that happened ... I left my water bottle on the bus (one that I specially bought from Walmart for water) and someone decided to walk off with it.

Oh well. It happens. It was only a $3 bottle anyway.

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One thing I haven't mentioned ... I got my haircut! 7 inches!! I hadn't quite meant for it to be *that* short, but I think I like it. Now I just have to figure out how to style it right.

I'm going to put up a picture here, but don't know how long I'll keep it up.



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I cashed out for $50 from Swagbucks this month - $25 in PayPal and $25 in AGCs.

I have made progress in my apartment - such as getting my piano set up (and even playing it a bit) but still have not gotten the pictures or mirror put up. I was going to ask someone at church on Sabbath, but after Sabbath School I couldn't get in a word edgewise with the leader, and then I didn't make it very far during church. Kind of got one of those tearing up jags that keep hitting at weird times, but somewhat less than a week ago ...

So this week I'll be visiting the local no kill cat shelter and having my third women's bible study group. Then I think it is the next week that my sewing class will start! I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks again everyone for your supportive comments on my last post. It's been really difficult the last few days to not call him up to share this or that. I think he's finding the same thing because he emailed me this morning a link to a story about his next door neighbor getting burgled. This is the longest we've gone without talking to each other in 16 months.

Today for some reason was almost harder than Tuesday.

It'll take time I guess.

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In other news .. I got a package from Pinecone! This is the very first time I have ever received a product to review. I wish they'd sent me an email or something so I would've known to go to my PO box and get it.

Well, I have it now, and now need to use it.

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I cashed out for $25 PayPal from Swagbucks today. Thanks to all the spending I did on moving expenses, new matteress, etc, I had plenty of Swagbucks for both the PayPal and the 5 $5 AGC's.

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Thursday night I did one of the things on my list of ten things I want to do - I attended a women's Bible study group. Kind of hard to really call it a group though - only three of us were there. Bit uncomfortable. But maybe it'll grow, and maybe the small size will help me to speak out more .. although one of the ladies has a really strong personality and likes to talk ... I tend to clam up around people like that.

I started writing out my list of ten things, but then realized it was getting pretty long as I added my thoughts/reasons. So I decided to make it into several posts on Bubblews. I'll post links to them when they are all posted. (Speaking of Bubblews, I made $16 since Sept. 1.)

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After work today I stopped at a local store called Open Harvest. It is kind of a co op store. Kind of expensive, but it did have some really good deals on some things. I'm considering paying to be a "member" because it is really close to where I live, and has lots of veggie foods I like. It would be $25/year and there are discounts at the store itself, as well as at other stores in town.

I'm thinking about it.

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I think Kari has fleas. Probably got them at NEs because they were scratching a good bit before we moved out. What flea meds could I get without seeing a vet that aren't expensive but work well?

This morning I bought three things I found from the online FB garage sale: a table, a camera and a paper shredder.

It was quite interesting getting the table home in my little Yaris. Bungee cords were involved.

I did a good bit of unpacking and organizing. I did manage to find places for most of my baking glassware. There are just a few pieces I have nowhere to put except the linen closet in the bathroom. I figure I can always give them a quick wipe before use.

I haven't come across my cordless drill yet - which I need for hanging pictures and for putting together my new table. So that will have to wait.

I did laundry here for the first time - there are 3 washers and 1 dryer ... Good thing I don't use a dryer very often.

I cashed out for two $5 AGC's from Swagbucks.

I have about 8 boxes of books and office related stuff I need to figure out what I'm going to do with. I only have two bookcases left that are in good shape (I broke one on last Sunday.) I am considering ... gulp ... letting go of more books. Some of the books I have kept with the intention of having them for my kid(s) later on. That dream I think is passing away quickly. Plus by the time a kid today would want to read them, paperbacks probably won't even be known anymore.

There are around 4 or 5 boxes of pictures and decorative stuff. I think I can do most of that myself, but really hope that I can get help with the mirror ..

Tomorrow I need to get my rent check over to the landlord's (and set it up to go auto-magically from Cap One so I don't have to think about it again.) I also need to call the utility companies and make sure my accounts are set up properly - haven't gotten anything in the mail, but lights and gas are both on.

I've decided I'm going to go with CB's routine of ten items per week buying at the grocery, etc. Even with all the food I ate down before coming out here, I still have PLENTY. I just need to use it!

I want to figure out how to use my rice cooker to make quinoa and steam veggies (it's supposed to do both at the same time ... never used it, owned it 3 years?) Then I'm going to try making sweet potatoes in the crockpot. YUM!

I also have a lot of sweet potato noodles that I bought that I need to use up. And the list goes on.

On Monday I started a part-time job where I call people to survey them about their opinions on the healthcare in their area. Monday and Tuesday nights were training and orientation, and then Wednesday, Thursday and tonight I spent calling people using the training study. About two hours in to my shift tonight I got the message that my session had been ended by my supervisor.

The reason it was ended was because I'd received high enough evaluations on the completed surveys to move on to an actual client survey! I didn't make any phone calls yet on this new project, but I will start making them on Monday.

This job definitely does not pay much - but it does at least guarantee a minimum amount per hour as long as you are following their policies, and the possibility of making more in bonuses if you complete so many surveys in an hour, or later on for positive attitude, etc.

The way I'm looking at it right now is, it's a job. It's something. Not what I'd want to do full time or for very long, but it will bring some income in.

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In other news, I just redeemed for $54.44 on the bubblews site. It took awhile, but I think the next one will come much faster. (If you want to read some of my latest postings, click on the link on the left hand side of my profile. That'll take you to a list of my postings there.)

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I recently got the bill for my new ISP. I was quite incensed by some of the charges and called to complain. About $45 worth of charges were removed after I spoke with the CS agent. I'm still not happy with the ISP, but I unfortunately don't have much choice.

So Friday morning I had an interview at a staffing agency. It went okay I think, although I think she thought I wanted too much for salary. I asked about how I did on the assessment tests I had to take prior to the interview - I scored an 87 on Word and Excel, a 91 on Office Skills, a 60 WPM on typing, 7200kph on the ten-key, and can't remember on the alpha-numeric. All the numbers were well above what they look for.

So, I guess only time will tell. She did have me fill out an I-9 and W-4 form, so maybe that is a good sign that she thinks there will be something available for me at some point.

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On Sunday I start the collecting signatures job. Not really excited about it, other than earning some money and having something to do.

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I'm also planning on finding a pond with some ducks to feed on Sunday - as a way of honoring my dad. My 3rd Father's Day without him. This was my brother's idea (I'd suggested all of us going to Schlotsky's (sp?) but was voted down. Like my brother's idea better.)

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I talked with a former co-worker tonight for a long time. She initially had called to try to get me interested in an MLM business. As soon as she told me the name, I let her know I had absolutely no interest - that I had gone to one of their presentations when I lived in the DFW area. After a few minutes of reassuring her that I meant it, we spent a lot of time just chit chatting. It was good to talk with her, and I hope she has success with her MLM venture.

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I have received two cash back rewards recently. One for my BofA Cash Rewards card - $100, and one for my Cap One QuickSilver card - $100. I used the CapOne card to pay for my rental truck and tow dolly and rent my PO box - $649 total. I'll be cancelling the CapOne card as soon as I have it paid off - I wish I could keep it because of the cute cat logo, but it doesn't offer enough rewards to warrant keeping it.