The train pulled in about 9 a.m. this morning, only 40 minutes late ... What a ride! If Amtrak would like some pointers on why they are losing business, I may be able to offer a few. Last night I don't know if I got any real sleep at all. I was put in the car directly behind the lounge car ... ALL night long people were going into and out of it -swhoosh swhoosh went the doors .. Loud talkers exiting .. and on and on. The one good thing about it was that the seat was much roomier than the ones on the other trains I rode this summer.

My co-worker was there waiting for me and took me to Walmart so I could get groceries. I meant to get cat food but totally blanked! I bought $24.xx worth of fruits and veggies and nuts. Now I just have to actually EAT them!!

My co-worker and I were talking about the Rogue and about my car (Honda). She told me that when she drove it (H) around the other day it sounded to her like my brakes are about ready to be replaced. Ugh. She also called my car a piece of junk. She wasn't trying to be mean (I don't think at least...) She did suggest another mechanic I might want to take my car to for an intensive inspection. So, probably tomorrow I'll do that.

I am so utterly exhausted today - I tried sleeping earlier but couldn't. Kari wasn't quite sure what to make of me being back for the first hour or so. Now though she's been up on my lap while I've been at the computer for the past 4 or so hours.

Kari found $6 for me today. She knocked off an old box of letters on my bookshelf. When I picked them up I noticed some green ... it was a letter from my brother back in 1996 with $6 cash! Isn't that bizarre that in 16 years I didn't find that money??

I bought YNAB 4 today. Mmmm... Yummy. Automatic synching of budget between phone and computer program ... Seweet!! ($40)

Oh ... I did make it into the next decade yesterday morning. Down 10.5 lbs!

I need to run by the Post Office, and then go feed my co-workers cat (the one who picked me up this am.)

I might post the budget I'm looking at either tonight or tomorrow. Maybe I'll wait to finalize it until after I hear what the mechanic says ... dun dun dun...

I did not exercise today .. I need to check with my principal how early people have been arriving at the school - don't want to run in the gym if there's people around! (If too early, then I might just do my elliptical instead.) My co-worker suggested that I might not want to go full force into running here due to oxygen level differences between here and CA ... If I do run, it'll be in the gym so I guess it won't hurt to experiment.

My dad had quite a few diet/healthy eating books in his closet. Most of them I just roll my eyes at, but one did actually intrigue me. I read it in less than an hour - mostly common sense, but just not practiced. It's called "The Full-Plate Diet" and it essentially advocates working up to eating 40+ grams of fiber daily (real foods) and of course drinking plenty of water to go with it. It suggests to eat the fiber rich foods first, then other foods. It has lists of the top 5 fiber foods in various categories (fruit, veggies, grains, something else.) The only food in any of the top 5 categories I don't eat is avacado.

I'm thinking I'm going to really try to get myself working towards eating this way. My normal breakfast is pretty fiber rich - rolled oats w/raisins, a banana and orange juice. I think I'll change the OJ with an actual orange (though I'll want to have that cut up the night before - especially during on school days.)

My lunches and dinners are all over the place. I had gotten away from relying on the vege meats, but they have slowly come back into my diet with a vengence. So .. I'd like to make a change there as well.

I think I'll start buying the fresh spinach again (I stopped after too many packages went bad before I used them up - sometimes before I even opened them ...) Lunch could basically be a big salad of spinach, shredded carrots and squash, diced cauliflower and broccli, silvered almonds, and more rasins. (I love raisins ...) This is something I can take to school with me pretty easily and keep in the teacher fridge until lunch. I may also add a cut up apple or orange or pear on the side.

To make this easier on myself (at first at least) I'll probably buy the pre-diced stuff. I'm WAY too likely to just let it sit in the fridge and mold if I buy stuff I have to actually dice and chop ...

For dinner, a sweet potato and quinoa or baked beans or lentils... (vegetarian!).

Then for a dessert/snack I could do a smoothie with frozen berries and a banana. Also for snacking I need to keep grapes in the fridge.

That would be a pretty fiber rich diet, and also a good amount of protein and numerous vitamins. It also is made up of all foods that I like and enjoy. It also is basically a vegan diet ... which I don't think would be a particularily bad way for me to go considering how my body tends to react to dairy products anymore.. (Poor Thrifty Ray and her DD3 got the pleasure of seeing my body react to the overload of ice cream from Ghiradelli's.. it was SO good, but almost not worth it ... almost..)I won't go strictly vegan because being strictly vegan is more of a whole lifestyle and being vegetarian is difficult enough at times. Besides, when the cafeteria serves grilled cheese and tomato soup ... I want to treat myself!! (I think they had it maybe 6 or 7 times this last school year. Twice during Lent.)

I don't know exactly how this will affect my grocery budget ... but having a good idea of how much I was spending on junk food ... well, I think my overall spending will go down.

Anyway, I won't be able to go full force into it because I have a lot of food in my freezer that I need to use up first. I think though that what I'll do is do breakfast and lunch like I outlined, and then use up the food in the freezer for dinner. Then, once it's gone, go to my dinner plan.

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I've been emailing back and forth with the internet sales person about the Versa for under $15k. I'd finally apologized to him for taking his time, but that I didn't think it was worth driving 200+ miles to see if the car was a good deal for me or not. He wrote back and asked me what *would* make it a good deal ... So I told him $13,500 walk out the door price after trade in. Then I described to him my car. I was pretty prolific in outlining it's good and bad points. Figured it didn't hurt to take a chance and see if a deal could be made... I have the feeling that he doesn't think it is a workable bargain because I haven't heard back from him today.

I think what I'm going to do when I get back is take my car to the local mechanic. Then I'll tell them that I am trying to decide whether or not to take a chance on my car lasting (w/o major repairs) for another year, or trying to sell it and get a newish car. I'll ask him to look over my car carefully and see if there are ANY safety concerns (such as the things holding the engine in, etc.) I'll also ask for a quote on the timing belt (because that absolutely will have to be done if I keep the car much longer.)

I read an article on yahoo today about how to get your car past 100k. In the comment section there were dozens of multiple people commenting that getting past 100k was nothing, and that they had cars easily make the 200k and more with no worries. My car made it to 100k with the only real major repair being the air conditioning going out (around the 50k mile mark.) After 100k is when the computer died (which led to my electric locks unlocking doors but not locking, the windshield wiper functioning from medium speed and up only, cruise control not functioning, the radio frying, and the airbags being disabled. I think it was also around this time that the cig lighter stopped working - for charging my phone.) I'm on my third or fourth starter (can't remember for sure.) So ... I'm kind of curious to see if I *could* get my car to 200k ... but I've got to admit that I'm really getting tired of driving something where about the only thing that works well (usually) is the ac/heat. That isn't a good reason to get a new car though... especially when the only way I can do it is to take out a loan ...

If I look at what I've spent on my car in the last year beyond the normal oil changes/new tires/change fluids stuff, it is nowhere near what a car payment would be. Even if the timing belt/water thingy cost $1k, divided by 12 it still would be less than a car payment. So ... I guess what I am thinking is that I am going to wait. If something else comes up with my car, then I'll be ready with having ideas of where to go to replace it. In the meantime I will be doing heavy duty saving in order to have the smallest possible loan when the time comes. (This is of course assuming that the mechanic doesn't tell me some expensive repairs are needed beyond the timing belt .. then I'll have to reconsider, as well as maybe get a second opinion.)

In one week I will be back in my own home with my own bed and my own cat! Can you tell that I'm more than ready to be back in NM??
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In looking at cars and prices, I'm beginning to wonder if I made a mistake not taking the Rogue. While it would not have been a car I was very excited about driving, it would be approximately the same amount as most cars I'm finding ($wise.) I showed my Egyptian Aunt and Uncle the car I found last night (2010 Versa w/less than 5k miles for $14,989) and my aunt came to me later and told me that I should probably keep it close to my chest that I'm looking at cars in the same price range as what was owed on the Rogue. Ugh! I can see what she's saying ... but if I looked at cars in the under 10k range, they'd be at least five or six years old with 50k+ miles. Someone probably would come up with some reason to be annoyed by that too.

It really would've been easier to have just kept the Rogue. Easier .. but I don't know that it would've made me happier (especially when my gas costs rose - Rogue avg 26mpg, Honda avg 30mgp.) Ok .. so maybe it's not THAT big of a difference in gas mileage... My brother's already changed his plane ticket, I've booked a train ticket and have someone picking me up.

I was pretty much in meltdown mode last week. I'd been doing research on what documents I needed for the DMV to transfer title, and saw a line in the affadavit that said something about "the estate has no creditors outstanding" and since all we've had come in so far of the medical bills is from the ambulance, I was worried about signing my name to that. Then my mind started going to where I imagined that the medical bills wiped out the little bit of cash estate left after paying the funeral expenses ... so then the choice would be to sell the Rogue or the stocks. Selling the stocks would be extremely stupid, so selling the Rogue .. what if I'd been making payments on it for six months and paying for the insurance .. sold my Honda already ... then I'd be out the payments plus have to look for another vehicle.. (this was part of my panic/meltdown thinking) Then I started looking at how to file taxes for a deceased, and it looked like the only way to do that was to petition the court to be appointed as the personal representative (still not sure on this one...) Anyway, my emotional state was way out of whack ... and what made me calm down was making the decision to NOT take the Rogue.

My aunt who works for a health insurance company, and a close friend of my brother's who is a doctor, both have stated that the liklihood of big bills from this isn't big due to dad having both medicare AND his former employer's health plan. Plus all the stuff he had done in the hospital are considered to be just procedures - not actual surgeries. I'll believe it when we're down the road a year from now and have seen the final costs ...

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In other news ... this morning I walked/ran 3 miles in 43:34 minutes. My pace was 14:50 - which is just ten seconds shy of my best 5k race time.

I am so tired - all the time. I keep hoping that my regualar running will at some point translate into energy. I wonder if my synthroid needs to be upped (although I hope not, not sure how much higher it can go - .137mcg.)

When I was feeding the birds this afternoon there was one larger bird that didn't get away. I stood really really still and it stayed put. I slowly stepped forward, and then a little ways towards it. It stayed. Only when I lifted my hand up to take down one of the bags did it fly away. That was pretty cool.

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I did the final steps to link my Bofa and ING accounts today, and then transferred the money. By Tuesday it will be available for me to pay off the credit card I put the funeral expenses on. I'll be very happy to see that balance go back to normal!

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Last night I spent about an hour weeding my dads garden. I only got maybe half-way through - the weeds were really running rampant. As I was taking my bucket of weeds to the garbage, I heard the garage door close and lock. My grandma had locked me out of the house! I knocked on the back window - she went to the front door. I kept on knocking and she finally figured out where the knocking was coming from.

I think I'll probably go weed some more in a half-hour or so (hopefully cooler ..) this time though I'll be sure that she knows I'm outside!

One thing I've noticed while out here in CA this summer is that most of my tops have a number of claw shaped holes in them, as well as some staining. I've seen Kari (my cat) in my closet before, but hadn't really realized how much damage she was inflicting on my clothing.

I decided that while I was in an area with an abundance of places to buy clothes, that I should try to replace a number of tops. So today my grandma and I went clothes shopping. I ended up buying 7 tops total - 3 from Walmart, 1 from Macy's, and 3 from Sears. The least expensive top was $5, and the most was $25. I'm very happy with all of them, and think they will help to upgrade my professional image. I was really hoping I could find a replica of this one particular top I bought at Lane Bryant 4 years ago which I absolutely love, but I didn't find anything close. (I've been looking ever since I realized how much I loved the top ...) It's at home (NM) so if I think about it I'll take a picture of it - maybe one of you have seen it somewhere ...

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***Please be advised, the following is a spewing of my thinking/thoughts arguing back and forth with myself ...

So in thinking about cars I took heed of the advice to look at certified cars. In my area (within 200 miles) there are 0 certified cars that are 2010 or newer AND less than $15k. There are 14 cars that are 2009 and newer AND less than $20k. So ... if I'm going to pay $14k+ for a car ... I'd rather get a brand new (last year model) with full warranty, etc., than a 2 - 4 year old car for the same $ or more.

When I get my next car, I want to be able to run it for a minimum of ten years. (My current car I've had since 1997 - bought new with 37 miles on it.) Since I live out in the boondocks (30+ miles to nearest town with more than two gas stations) I really cannot take many chances with the reliability of a vehcicle.

It would be great if I could find a car like my first one - a Hundayi Sonata that had sat in a grandma's garage and had 33k miles on it and was 4 years old .. in perfect condition. I paid $5k for it (in 1994) and drove it for 3 years, then sold it to my parents in 1997. My dad drove it for two more years (he put more miles on it in two years than it had on it when he bought it from me.)

I'm really looking at the Nissan Versa - mainly because it seems to get similar gas mileage to my Civic, it is a similar size/handling, and from my experiences riding in my co-workers Versa - seemed like a good car for the price range. I'd be open to other cars. Mostly what I'm lusting after is the ability to charge my phone via cig lighter and play my phone over the radio. Everything else I don't care about too much. (ok, I care a lot about gas mileage and size/handling - large part of why I ended up not taking on the Rogue.)

I could put $2 - 4k into my current car - change the timing belt, do whatever needs to be done to make sure the engine doesn't fall out, figure out how to get my cig lighter working again (was told $3-400), and install a radio (and just hope that it doesn't fry like my last radio fried ...), oh yeah, the shocks probably will need replacing soon and possibly the brakes within the next year or two .. Maybe I could get a new hood too ... My car might last another 4 years after all that, or .. the electrical system will go out or the a/c will fail and then my car'd be a goner or need a few thousand more dollars work ... Meanwhile my family would be getting more and more worked up about how unsafe my car is, and I'd be getting further and further behind on having the ability to get a new car with cash.

Or ... I could do all that and my car could keep going fine for another 4 or 5 years, and then I'd have more than enough time to save the funds needed to replace it.

Or .. I could buy a new car (last years model) for around $13-15k. Put down $4k in cash for it up front, and then use dealer financing for the other 8-11k. Depending on the dealer finance rate, either stick with it or borrow 10k from my grandma (5% finance rate) to pay it off. (I read in several places that you can work a better deal on the overall price if you go with dealer financing.) Then either way I went ... aggressively pay the car off within two years (any money left from dads estate after medical bills, using tax refunds and extra paychecks, plus whatever I can sell my Honda for.) Then have 7 - 8 years to save towards the next replacement car (while also having the ability to work on other financial goals.)

Whenever my family starts to chime in on how unsafe they think my car is, I tend to defend my car. But the reality is that every time I take a trip to ABQ (about a two-hour one-way) I do worry. I've kept up with the general maintenance and oil changes - but I've also had multiple minor accidents and mishaps over the years in it. The hood that is currently crumpled (due to me rear ending somoenone in Dec.) is actually the 4th hood my cars had (hail damage, running into a pipe sticking out the back of a truck and something else I can't remember ..) I was told before moving to NM that one of the things holding my engine in was completely corroded and that the other two were just a matter of time. My timing belt was last changed in 2003 or 4?? so it's probably on borrowed time. The computer in my car appears to be working fine right now - although it is the same one that was in my car when my radio fried... (it's the 4th computer in my car - 1st one died, replacement was stolen, 3rd one from junk yard was for a standard car and not automatic ..)

When I get back to NM in a week, I'm not really going to have time to do anything about this one way or the other. School starts on the 15th and I'm WAY behind in everything I feel like I need to have done. So ... maybe I'll wait till November when we have a week off for Thanksgiving. I'd have a lot more to put down by then, and my timing belt should *hopefully* hold out til then ...

(In doing further research about the best time to buy a car, it seems that there really is no consensus. So November might just be as good of a time as any other..)

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I finally made enough Swagbucks to redeem for a $5 AGC today. 1st one this summer!

This morning I got up and got my run in - did 1.5 miles running in 14:39 pace. Then I did another mile walk/run in 15:12 pace. I think I may be getting close to being ready for another 5k. In fact ... I'm looking at a 5k race on August 12 in ABQ ... The weekend before school starts. The race is early in the morning, so I could make a day of it in the big city. It might be kind of fun actually - especially if I can get anyone to come with me.

My first 5k race was Too Hot To Handle and I think it was in mid-July 2008?? My dad was there cheering me on and took before and after pictures, as well as making a short video of it. He loved hearing all about my races when he wasn't able to make them.

Sigh.

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Today we went to the bank and got all my dads accounts closed out. I had them give my grandma a cashiers check for the amount I think was hers. (For some reason dad had an account in his name with her money ...the only way I figured out this was the account she was talking about is because of my dad's meticulous record keeping.) The rest was made in a cashiers check to me. I was going to deposit it into ING via picture deposit, but after opening the app to do it realized the amount was too large.

So tomorrow I'll deposit it into my Bofa account, and once I have ING and Bofa linked, I'll be able to move the money to ING. THEN I'll be able to pay the credit card bill that I put the funeral expenses onto. Whew. It's not due til mid-August, so I'm not worried.

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We had to get two documents notarized today. That cost $30. Thankfully no one else was there so we didn't have to wait. (There was no wait at the bank, but it took nearly two-hours to close out the accounts!)

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Next we stopped at the stock place where my dad had an account and started the process to transfer them to my name.

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Then we went to Walgreen's and picked up a prescription. (There are few Walgreen's in this area, but lots of Rite Aides.)

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Finally we went out to dinner at this Asian food place. Today is my Egypt Aunt and Uncle's 42nd wedding anniversary. They are high-school sweethearts.

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Before all of the above though ... I made a phone call to my internet service provider. I really didn't think it would do any good at all, but decided to try.
I was able to get a reduction of $20/month on my bill!!! Woo hoo!!

Before the phone call, my grandma and I had a nice chat to kind of clear the air about the last couple days worth of drama. She *really* wants me to replace my car. She said if I really want a Versa, that she'd loan me the money to get it this coming October (end of fiscal year) and I could pay it back $150/month. I tried to tell her no outright, but she wasn't taking it. So I finally told her I'd take it under consideration and think about it.

I have about $3k right now that I could put towards a car, and I *might* be able to get $1000 for my car. By October I *might* be able to save $1500 more (if I *really* buckle down.) So ...that's roughly $5500. That would mean a loan of approximately $8000.

I know the timing belt needs to be changed *soon*. I also know that I was told a year ago that one of the things holding the engine in had gone bad, and that it was only a matter of time for one or both of the remaining ones to fail. I also know that there are many other things that could go wrong that I don't know about.

I think I could probably pay this loan off in 14 to 16 months. If I put all of my tax refund to it, and then also the two "extra* paychecks, plus as much as I can afford to throw at it otherwise. I absolutely abhor the idea of the loan, but ... if it is for a car I'm choosing (and that gets good gas mileage) maybe it would be better to get the new car before my current one really starts falling apart and become worth nothing.

**I could also possibly have some money from my dad's estate to put towards it depending on the amount of the medical bills. So, that could cut the payoff date to 8 to 10 months.

I'm not sure if I'm trying to rationalize taking a loan, or if this really may be the thing to do....

My plan (before dad died) was to wait til Oct, 2013 and go to a dealer at the end of the day towards the end of October and ask to see what Versas they have from the last year models stock. Then name the price I'm willing to walk out on. (Depending on the features, I was thinking somewhere between $12 and 13k.) If I take my grandma up on her offer ... I could do the same thing, only in Oct, 2012.

If my car were to break down before Oct 2013 and/or require really expensive repairs, then I might have to take the loan anyway and end up paying more for a car. I had no warning that my car's computer was about to die in the summer of 2009, but yet it did. I definitely cannot afford anything like that again with this car.

I don't have to decide this right now. I can see how much I'm able to put away in savings between now and the beginning of October. I can also check with the local mechanic who's been working on my car and see what he thinks I might really be able to get for it. Then decide one way or the other after running the numbers.

**No, I am not in the market for a used car. I've read all the arguments for and against. I know many people have great success with used cars. IF I had a mechanic I trusted completely AND was in an area where I could have a good number of used vehicles to choose from, I might consider it. Since neither is the case - last year's model is my way to go. **

I had a great time this past weekend meeting SA friends and spending time with my brother. If you are ever in Napa, be sure to take in the Wine Train - it is quite a fascinating experience.

It's been a drama filled 36 hours or so here in LL. The long and short of it is that I am no longer going to be taking over the car loan for my dad's Rogue. It's going to stay with my grandma who will sell it to recoup as much of the loan cost as possible. I will be keeping my paid for 97 Honda Civic and buckling down hard to save for my replacement car (which is sorely needed.)

I feel a sense of relief in that I'm not taking on a debt, but I also feel sad that we're letting dads car go and that I'm not going to have the majorly updated car (2010 model) with all the nifty features. After sitting for 7 weeks, I'm not sure what shape my car will be in ... but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Starting in August I'm going to go on a cash basis for groceries, entertainment and the etc. stuff. I'm also going to attempt to lower my internet bill (only one provider in the area .. but will see if possible.) I need to start looking into the cost for making a will and living trust for a single person, as well as making sure that every bank account I have has a Payable On Death person listed and ALL my other accounts have a beneficiary listed. Then I will probably send my brother a sealed envelope with a list of accounts and passwords and update them twice a year or so (old copies to be destroyed without opening.)

I need to really save aggressively until September of 2013 or until I have at least $10k in my car fund. I probably will have to replace my timing belt sooner than later if I want to be sure my car lasts another 14 months ... so I need to start pricing that out.

Whenever I see a book I want to get for the library on Amazon that I don't have gift card money for ... I MUST learn to say NO!! If I don't, that will derail my car fund faster than anything else.

Last night my aunt and uncle, my grandma and I all went to a free concert put on by an oldies group called The Preps. (I had to Google them, did you?) The community next to LL has an outdoor arena type thing where during the summer they sponsor two concerts a week.

It was a lot of fun, and I actually knew about 60% of the songs they sang (lots of covers, but a few orignal hits from their own group.) I especially liked the song they ended with -- I'm not sure exactly what the title is ... but whenever I hear it I'm reminded of an especially tender/romantic scene in the movie Ghost ... "time goes by so slowly and time can change ... I need your touch..."

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I got a call this morning that the Rogue should be ready to be picked up around 4 today. They had to install a new part in the transmission - hopefully that'll take care of the problem.

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My grandma gave me a little money as a thank-you for taking care of her. It doesn't come close to making up for the loss of summer school ... but that wasn't my reason for staying here and helping out. Plus, if I look at it in terms of money I've saved by being here ... gas, food, impulse purchases, etc. I probably have saved around $600 (including what she gave me.) So ... it's something.

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It's really hard to know what to get my grandma for birthday's/Christmasses because she doesn't really have a need for *things*, so today when we were shopping at Walmart I saw she had slippers on her list. So I helped her pick out a pair, and then when we got to the checkout I informed her that *I* was getting them for her. She protested at first until I explained that it was an early birthday present (her birthday is in September.)

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I'm getting ready for my trip to Northern CA tomorrow. I have a long bus/train trip ahead of me, but I have plenty of reading material on my phone and may download a movie from iTunes to watch. Plus I'm sure I can sleep a bit.

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If you remember I had filled up the bird feeders when we got back from San Jose on Saturday. Well, the birds haven't been eating anything from the hanging bags. I thought maybe it was because we were using the larger bird feed instead of the finer grain (which we'd ran out of.) Today we stopped by this really cool store completely dedicated to birds (with a mini-zoo of a camel, goats, etc) and I found out that I was correct. So this evening when it gets cooler (110 degree high yesterday!!) I'm going to go change out the feed in the bags. (I'm also going to do some weeding in the garden. The section I didn't get to very well last time has really sprung up the weeds!)

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Tomorrow will be my first payday of the new fiscal year. Instead of it being my yearly salary divided by 24 like 2011/12, it will be divided by 26 plus the 1% raise. I'm a little nervous about how that final amount will work out ... but one way or the other, I'll be able to make it work. I'll just need to see what I can cut or minimize - probably Netflix .. and then maybe going to cash only for groceries to keep within a budgeted amount... Maybe I'll try calling my internet company and tell them I can't afford to keep them any longer and see what happens ... although I have no where else to go for internet if they call my bluff ...

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One thing I'm really really going to miss when I go back to NM is the extremely easily access to vegetarian and vegan food here. In the normal run of the mill grocery store they have most of one aisle dedicated to canned veggie foods. Then of course there is the university supermarket which *only* has vegan and vegetarian foods ... Then today grandma and I went to Clark's and they were 80% vegan/vegetarian with a HUGE selection of Amy's foods AND 4 or 5 varieties of vegan pizza.

The university market is having a campmeeting sale through the end of July ... so I am planning on making a large shopping trip there before heading back to NM. Half a case or more of Big Franks, 4 or 5 cans of Nuteena (Nutmeat or whatever they're calling it now) ...etc. It will probably take all of my food budget from June and July ... But it will be so nice to have those things on hand (and they keep for a long time.)

When we were on our San Jose trip last week the Rogue displayed a loud whining sound within the first 100 miles of going up hills and other steep terrain. We turned off the A/C and the radio to be able to hear it better. Once we got back to flat land the whine stopped. My uncle also experienced times where he lost acceleration power going through intersections.

So we got up bright and early (well... bright and early for me for summer time...) and headed to the Nissan dealer. My car was the 3rd in line. It was *just* under the 36k mark (so still under the general warranty), and well under the extended 100k transmission warranty (which my dad LOVED to brag about.) Around 3 this afternoon we got a call telling us that they had found something going on with it, but would need it for a few days to figure it out.

Luckily we have two vehicles here, so we can get by for a few days with just one.

I hope that they figure out whatever is going on with it before I head off to NM, because once I get there it's a minimum 2 hour one-way trip to the dealer!!

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My uncle dropped me off at the fitness center where I did 17 laps around the indoor walk/run track. Unfortunately my gps did not work in there, and I got conflicting reports on how many laps made a mile ... I *think* I did around 2 miles. Then when I was finished I walked home -- 0.9 miles. If I had actually gotten myself out bed this morning at 6:30 then I could have had accurate time/distanc/pacing info (because I would've done it outside..) but making myself get up that early on a summer day when I didn't *absolutely* have to... yeah, not going to happen!

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We had baked sweet potatoes, vege baked beans and salad for dinner tonight. Yum! One of my favorite meals. (not to mention easy peasy!)

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Now I'm waiting for it to get cool enough out to coerce my grandma for her daily walk. We did some walking while grocery shopping today, but I'm not letting her get by with just that.

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This is so cool! I just got off the phone with my brother and he told me it was okay to tell you guys. If you watched (or have read about .. and really, who hasn't at least heard or read) the Bacherlete (sp??) ... you may recognize the name Ali. She was the Bacheorlette from two seasons ago (before Emily.) Well my brother snagged a new travel show being syndicated nationally by NBC to be run after Saturday Night Live. It is hosted by Ali and some other people. One of their first stops is ... the Napa Wine Train!!! They were there today filming - my brother put *everything* together for them. He may even be included in some of the footage.

He doesn't know for sure when this episode will air, but as soon as I know, I'll let y'all in on it.

(He received lots of flirtation from both Ali and her friend who was with her ... no big surprise at all considering his charm and good looks. )

Those of you coming to the SA meetup will have to put up with me showing off my brother for a few minutes.

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I've gotten really tired of carrying my phone with me when I go walking or running. (Most of my workout clothes don't have pockets, and the eh em "extra" pocket isn't so good when you're sweating up a storm ..) So today I bit the bullet and bought a $15 arm band to hold my phone. The only thing I don't like is that I have to take my phone out of it's protective cover to fit it in ...

Ok, going to go drag grandma out for her walk. Then I'll come back and catch up on blogs and forum posts.

I am back at my grandma's house (for a few days at least.)

We (my uncle, grandma and I) traveled up to San Jose on the 3rd. We ended up arriving at my aunts house a little earlier than we thought, and were greeted by a very unhappy uncle. I can't say that I have ever felt less welcome. To give him some space, we went over to my aunt's best friends house (where my uncle and his wife were going to be staying.) A few hours later, after eating supper and relaxing, we went back to my aunts house to find my uncle in a much better mood. A while later my brother arrived.

The morning of the 4th my brother and I went for a "jog" together. (Warmup for him, dying for me ...) Then we put together a nice picnic feast in my aunt and uncles backyard - veggie franks and veggie baked beans, corn on the cob, potato salad, regular salad, watermelon, etc.

That night most people backed out of going to the fireworks, but my brother, uncle and I all went. It was a really awesome display - and both my brother and I felt a little like our dad was there. Neither of us believe in ghosts, etc., but it was more that we knew it was an activity he would've loved. He really loved fireworks - but especially on the 4th - a prelude to his birthday.

The next day my brother and I went on a grueling 3 mile walk/jog (with some tortorous hills!) Then we headed to Lodi where the cemetary is where my dad was to be interred. Our appointment to sign the paperwork, etc. was at 1, but we didn't get seen until nearly 2 - apparentally they were overbooked. Hmm...

While we were working on the paperwork, my uncle (the one who was very unwelcoming) and my aunt's best friend went out and got a flag and enough red roses for everyone in the group. I thought that was really sweet and thoughtful.

Finally the paperwork was done, and payment made and we headed out to where they had already dug the hole for the ashes. We all gathered around while the man put the ashes in the hole, and then we each took turns placing a rose on the ground near the hole. Somebody said a prayer, and then the man started filling up the hole with dirt, and finally covered it with grass sod. We took photos of various groups of people, and then headed to our cars. Before we got to them though, we stopped for a while at the graves of my aunt's (who lives in Egypt) grandparents.

We all went to a late lunch at an Italian restaurant. Their bread was simply out of this world (Strings, if you ever get to Lodi.) We stayed there for awhile talking and laughing and reminiscing. Then everyone took off on their various ways.

Friday we had a late brunch of leftovers from the 4th's lunch, and managed to take off shortly before 2 p.m.

When we got here to LL I was disheartened to see that some of the plants I'd been given from coworkers in NM had pretty much completely withered, even though I'd watered them well before I left. I'm hoping I can still revive them though.

I also realized that I didn't pay the car insurance for my/dad's car -- I'm so used to paying car insurance automatically once every six months that having a monthly due date doesn't register very well. I'll call them tomorrow and make a payment over the phone - once they get my dad's death certificate, I should get a good sized refund. My dad had had a number of tickets recently which caused his rate to go up.

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I'm REALLY looking forward to this coming Friday and meeting up with some of the SA Family. It will be a much needed break. Plus I'll also get to ride the wine train with my brother on Sunday, so that will be quite an experience as well.

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I got an email from my principal yesterday (she's taking care of my cat Kari.) She assured me that Kari was just fine ... then told me this story: She'd gone over to my place in the morning to feed/water Kari, and then had gone off to G to run errands. She'd only locked the doorknob lock on my front door. When she came back a few hours later, she noticed as she was walking up my steps that my screen door was swinging
AND that my front door was swinging! Her heart dropped thinking that Kari had escaped .. But when she walked through the front door, Kari was sitting there on the couch facing the door just looking at her! I can just imagine the look on Kari's face.

It's good to know that Kari won't attempt to escape the house even when she has such a golden opportunity. Truthfully, I think she has an unhealthy fear of the outdoors - seeing as how the only time she gets to see it is when she's in her carrier going between the house and the car.

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Ok, now I'm going to do some blog catching up.

So it looks like I won't be able to enroll in any classes at my alma mater until 2013 Fall semester. Why? 1. The Americorps Education credit is counted as taxable income *the year you use it.* and 2. I am being forced to close out my 401k with the oil and gas company I worked at *by* July 15.

If I use my Education Award *and* rollover my 401k into my ROTH (which really is my only choice since I don't have a 401k with my current employer) that will add over $10,000 in taxable income for 2012. That means I would lose my "savers credit" for putting money into my ROTH, and more than likely bump me into another tax category.

I can't enroll in the Spring 2013 semester because they want you to have it paid mostly by December. So that money would be considered taxable income in 2012, even though it was used to pay for education in 2013. (This is what I ran into for tax year 2011 - I'd paid for my Spring 2011 classes in December, 2010, so all my scholarship money received in 2011 became taxable!)

The savers tax credit is worth about $700 for me. So, I could lose that $700 PLUS have to pay more in overall taxes. Unless I delay taking the classes for one-year. That would mean I'd have 3 years to complete the requirements for renewing my certification. Doable, but much more difficult than spread out over 4 years.

Ugh!!! I do have to count my blessings though ... if my principal wasn't forwarding my mail to me, I would not have even KNOWN about this until long past the deadline (July 15.) Then I would've had no choice on how the matter was handled. (The letter says something about how if you miss the deadline to make a decision, that the account will be handled according to IRS rules - whatever that means.)

I do have to wonder why they are forcing this now. It hasn't even been a full 4 years since I was laid off. I wonder if maybe the company is closing its doors, and so they are having to close out all the 401k accounts??

In thinking about it more, this actually is a good thing to do this now - before I've committed to classes and asked for payment from my education award. At least this happened before the tax consequences would be set in stone. And... I guess not getting the summer school money this summer is turning out to be a blessing too ... sort of. That plus the rollover would have pushed me over the tax savers credit (but not into a different tax category.)

*Yes, I could just pay for the courses with my own money, but I'd only be able to afford one course and then my savings would be pretty much gone. With having car payments now and higher auto insurance, I really don't feel good at all about that idea.

**The deadline for applying for Fall 2012 classes is July 15. I was actually working on that application this weekend, and only needed a couple pieces of information before pushing submit and paying the $60 application fee. So, I'm glad I found this now rather than later.

***ETA - Question?? Rolling over my 401k into my ROTH - will that affect how much I can contribute to it for the 2012 tax year? I already have $700 for 2012 in it, and the 401K would put it into the $5500 range, plus the amount I would otherwise contribute throughout the year.

So the cemetary kept adding on more and more expenses ... estimated cost was reaching upwards of $7k!!!! My aunt basically told them thanks, but no thanks - we'll come up with another plan. Oh boy, did they ever start back pedaling!

In the end it looks like what we're going to do is use my grandma's plot for both my dad's ashes and when grandma dies, her ashes. We'll get a headstone with both her name and dads name on it (hers minus a death date of course.) Basically we'll all arrive just like we're coming for a visit, grandma will sign the necessary paperwork, and the cemetary people will dig the hole. No other fan fare (canopy, chairs, funeral direcotor, car to drive ashes to site, etc.)

That brings the cost down to approximately $1900 + $750 - 1450 for the headstone. Still a lot of money, but considerably less than the first quote ($3300) and WAY less than the recent quotes.

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I think I want to have my body donated to science (organs donated), you get cremated for free, and then have my ashes spread out somewhere ... So basically no cost at all.

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A friend of mine works at Kohl's and she posted today that the newest Kohl's cares books/animals were out. I'm usually two hours away from the nearest Kohl's when they put out their stock, so I decided to see if I could take advantadge of it. I bought 4 hardcover Skippyjon Jones books, a plush SJ toy, and a plush monkey -- $31.xx. My friend had said her store had penquins also .. but to my dissapointment, the Kohl's here did not have penquins. I really wanted two penquins - one for my non-ficiton penquin books, and one to go with my Tacky the Penquin books. They did have a stuffed bumblebee ... I was wracking my brain for any books that would go well with a bumblebee, but really couldn't think of any. My grandma suggested it could go with the song/poem, "Flight of the Bumblebee," but I was looking for a bit more to go on than that.

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I talked to my principal today. She told me that Kari (my cat) is still doing well. That everyday when she goes in to feed and interact with her, that all Kari wants is some loving - doesn't seem too interested in playing at all.

My principal told me that she was worried that I wouldn't be back in time for school to start. I assured her that I would be heading back the last weekend of July. I *have* to have some time to get ready for the next year!

Summer school seems to be going well. The person who took over for me is pretty much using the plans and ideas I left with him. I really hope that they do video the closing program .. I so was looking forward to seeing the kids put it together. I'm just glad to know things are going well...

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I had a major missing my dad moment today. When my grandma and I were at Kohl's, I went to lock the car using the remote. No matter what I did it wouldn't lock. I went around the car and made sure all the doors were shut tight. Still didn't work. My first thought was, "I need to call dad, he'll know what to try/do!" Then .. sigh...

It worked fine on all of our later stops. My brother thinks it probably is the battery. Dad *loved* to do the "lock" function multiple times - especially when around other people - just to get a reaction of some sort. So, that probably wore the battery down. My brother thinks he can change the battery easy peasy - there is a screw on the back of the key fob thingy. I just need to find the right battery for it.

I'm glad I still have my brother to call on.

Argh! My dad's ashes are going to be interred in the same cemtary/gravesite where his father is buried. In fact, there are many relations in the same area of the cemetary. So, we thought it would simply be a matter of digging a hole in the same gravesite as his father's, and redoing the headstone. Ha! Not quite.

This cemetary says that it is *mandatory*since there will be more than three people there to have: a canopy, a car to drive the remains to the gravesite, a funeral director, and ten chairs set up and something else I don't remember right now. It doesn't matter whether we want any of those things or not - we have no choice. (Well, our choice would be to not do it there ... but then it wouldn't be the same ...)

Oh well, I guess I just have to chalk it up to being what it is, and not worry about it.

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I'm still waiting on the death certificates in order to start closing out accounts. I found out about something called "small estates" claim here in CA, so you can avoid probate if the estate is under $150k. You just have to wait 40 days from death to claim it. So for some things I may have to just wait til I can make that claim.

Just a note to everyone ... please, if you haven't done so recently, update your will and your list of accounts and anything else that might possibly be relevant to those you leave behind. It also would be a wonderful gesture to leave information behind about what kind of service you might like, whether or not you want to be cremated, and if you have any wishes as to where you'll be interred. All of that would just make things so much easier.

Once I'm back home in NM, I plan on starting on that process and checking into what it would cost to do a living trust - even though I have few assets, I think that still might be a good easy way to go. (I already told my brother I want to donate my body to science, be cremated, and don't care what happens to my ashes - whatevers least expensive. Also if I happen to have a lot of money in my estate it's to go to caring for whatever animals I have, then to a school library, and finally to a no-kill animal shelter.)

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Anyway, enough with the morbidity.

I was able to get a library card yesterday. This way I will be able to read through some of the children's books which my library and their library share in common. I didn't bring a list of books with me yesterday, so will have to wait til Sunday to go back and get some.

I also signed up for the local fitness center. I went to my first class on Wednesday. A 1 hr torture... er ... Pilates class. When it was finished, I seriously was worried whether or not I'd be able to walk out of the building without triping over my own two feet. I was going to do another class last night, but decided to wait til next week to do another one.

Today was day 10 of being back into jogging. I did 2 miles at a 15:43min pace. Not great, but still pretty good considering how long it's been since I've done any real exercise. If I keep this up, I might just run a few 5ks when I get back to NM (if I can find any.) My brother right now would be all over my backside for using the word "if." He wants us to do a half-marathon in honor of our dad. I told him maybe in another year or two ... (he runs an average 9:40 - 10 minute mile ... on *hills* - the fastest time I got to when running regularly was a little over 12min/mi - and that was only doing one mile!)

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I'm not spending hardly any money while I am here, which is good since I .ah hem.. spent a goodly sum on books, etc. before leaving NM (under the notion that I'd be getting summer school pay ...)

I have one more paycheck at what I had gotten used to this past year, and then the first paycheck in July will be the new amount (spread over 26 payperiods instead of 24 + a 1% raise.) So I'm not going to even think about my budget until I get back home in August. Then I'll figure it out again. Too many variables to think about right now.

My dad always wore one of two watches - one he wore more often than the other, but he wore both. The one which my brother took for his own, has had the band replaced many multiple times over the years. I took the commemerative Lionel train watch with origional band.

This watch's band was so big on my wrist it was more like a bracelet. So today grandma and I went to the mall to a watch repair shop. Before getting there though we passed by a Things Remembered shop, and it gave me the idea of engraving the watch. So at the repair shop I asked if they could remove a link in the band, and if they could engrave the back with my dads first and last name, and birth/death. It cost $45 to do both, but I think it was well worth it.

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In going through my dads files, I have found several versions of a code list. This is a list of all the websites where he has a username and password, and their respective username/password. This is much better than what he had at one time - all that information posted all over his corkboard by his desk.

Anyway, I'm beginning to think that I might do something similar. It's been very frustrating trying to access some sites while away from home. One site in particular keeps telling me that it doesn't recognize my username or my email - yet in a previous password recovery email, it shows both exactly as I'm putting it. I don't know if I'd put the exact password for the sites, but perhaps a hint that would let me know what it is.

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Something else interesting I found as I went through my dads files is a file on N family history. His father was a minister in the church until his death in 71 (at 51 years old.) During that time he also was a treasurer in one of our conferences. The document I found shows that even back in the early 50's that there was greed, corruption and political misdealings in our church high hierarchy. My grandpa must have cleared his name from the accusations, because he went on to minister multiple churches until his death 20 years later.

I also found a letter from my grandma to her dad in which she speaks of her mother. Apparantally her mother was very similar to mine. This helped me a lot in understanding my grandmas attitude/feelings towards my mom.

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I signed up at the local fitness center today. $50 for one month. I also bought a pair of capri style workout pants. I've been using workout shorts/shirt of my dads when I've been jogging in the mornings. I didn't quite want to go to a public exercise class in a mans workout outfit. Tomorrow I'm going to go to a Pilates class. I've done Pilates many times in the privacy of my own home, but never in a public class setting. This should be interesting ... especially since it has been at least two years since the last time I practiced Pilates regularly (and I never did work up to the roll up!)

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I didn't get to the library today. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow.

Hi all,

I had written a long post last night with lots of updates, but in the middle of it we had company (who ended up helping me weed dads garden) and so when I got back to the blog and finished it, copying it before hand slipped my mind completely.

The memorial service went very well. I really think it was something my dad would have been very proud of and would have enjoyed if he'd been there. My brother and other relatives all left Sunday to their respective jobs/homes, so now it is just my grandma and I.

This last week my brother pushed me to get back into jogging ... which I did 5 days in a row with him (at a pace that was barely a warmup for him, but pushing it for me ... for a mile or so.) Today after I texted him my mileage and time, he emailed me and told me that he'd decided that he was going to give up smoking!! Yay!!!!!

Today grandma and I visited the bank where we had found a key for a safe deposit box in my dads things. It had both my dads name and my grandmas, so we were able to get into it without a death certificate. It turned out that everything in it was grandmas. Gold and silver coins, and a lot of $100 bills. I understood the gold and silver, but was perplexd aboute the $100 bills. She told me that it was so she'd have cash for when the banking system failed ... Um ... if the banks fail, somehow I doubt you could get to your safe deposit box ... but maybe I'm wrong. She's almost 91, so she can think whatever she wants to think.

We got a bit of a late start today because we had to wait for my dad's long time friend to come over and figure out what was going on with the sprinklers. Due to that, I ended up not going over to the local gym. I checked out the class offerings and cost on their website. It's $50 for one-month, but there are classes I'm interested in every day of the week. Plus, my grandma has a free membership (80+), so I can get her to come over with me and maybe walk the track (indoor) or relax in the jacuzi. When we were out on our evening walk tonight, she told me I was as bad as my dad (pushing her to be active.) I told her that I resemble that remark.

I got an email from my principal today telling me that Kari is doing fine. Maybe she'd be okay with someone just looking in on her a couple times a day til the end of July????

My poor brother. He got back up to San Jose and found out that our uncle had taken his car to a mechanic friend. They found out a load of problems which need to be fixed for the safety of the car. So he had to take another vacation day advance from his job. So far his boss has been very very understanding (she actually was here for the memorial!) but I'm not sure how far the understanding will go. Unfortunately, a business is a business.

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I got a phone call this evening letting me know that my dad will be cremated tomorrow morning. His death certificates won't be ready til Wednesday or maybe Thursday. The sooner the better to my mind, then I can get a lot of business completed (accounts closed out, etc.) I don't think I'll feel completely settled until all of that is done.

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My brother is contemplating moving here and staying with my grandma for a year. (Moving permenantly, but taking care of her for only a year.) If he does that, then I am contemplating moving here and taking care of her until our aunt is able to retire and move here as well (she has about two years to go.)

I love my job, and I love the people, and the people in my local church have been really supportive ... but I don't really feel at home there (at the church.) Here, in LL, there are at least 7 different churches within a 5 mile radius. Not to mention that the local grocery stores have a large variety of vegetarian foods - just about anything you could ever dream of finding.

My biggest concern is what I would do for a living. However, I have at least 8 to 9 months to figure that out and make a decision. (I'd have to say whether I'm coming back or not by January or perhaps February.) My grandma could end up moving to San Jose to live with her daughter, or something else could come up. Only God knows the future.

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Alright, I'm going to attempt to catch up on the blogs. I'm at least 8 days behind in my reading, so I don't know how many comments I'll be making.

Hi all. Been really busy with family and preparing for the memorial service this week. My brother and I started to gO through dads shed in the backyard yesterday. He had to have 300 or mo more VHS tapes! We also found his old record collection - I'm going to take those, although I'll need to find a record player.

We got one of those scammer calls today where this guy asks for grandma, then when I told them I was her granddaughter, he asked me to guess who he was. I guessed a name ( only young male relative) and he was like " you got it!" then my aunt got on the phone and knew it wasn't that persons voice. He also mentioned something about a surprise trip to S America.

That really steamed me that someone would attempt to prey on my grandma - especially right now.

I have a question - when your ex- husband dies, and it is barely 5 days later, is that an appropriate time to bring up the topic of retirement money owed to you or that you may need to consult a lawyer, but want to make sure it won't throw things in probate? This is after she's been told that it probably is best that she not come due to very hard feelings towards her from her ex's family.

It's so strange how I can be in a roomful of people who loved my dad feeling ok, then someone says something and all I want to do is cry.


In financial news I now have a car payment of $245/mo. I loathe having a car payment and wish I had more saved up. But I know this would've made my dad very very happy, and the rest of my family are very happy about it as well. That makes it a little easier to do. ..plus I plan to pay extra when possible to get rid of it ASAP!!

Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

Hi all, thank you again for all your kind words. I got in this AM and was picked up by my brother. After breakfast our aunt, my brother and I went to the funeral home to fill out the paperwork for cremation. Dads ashes (mostly) are going to be put in his fathers grave.

We all talked it over and agreed to a public memorial service most likely on the 16th. Mom is not going to be invited - Ryan didn't want a big argument and mom understood ... So I acquisessed.

I wish I hadn't gone to the viewing at the hospital - dad was not anywhere near normal looking. We're supposed to have another viewing before he's cremated where he'll be cleaned up.

So ... It looks like I might have a new to me car. My brother wants me to have dads car (and he'll take the motorcycle). It's a 2009 Nissan Rogue with a balance owed (to grandma) of about 14k. I'd so much rather have my dad back.

I made the offer to stay with grandma for the summer, and it was accepted. Meanwhile our aunt is going to try to get my uncle and his wife to move back here from Egypt to take care of grandma for awhile. Be surprised if they do it.

So the news from my aunt wasn't too good. I was considering renting a car and heading there in the morning, but rental cars in G can't go one way out of state. So I debated going in my car. Thankfully someone remIndex me of Amtrak - so I'll be leaving tomorrow night and arriving Thursday morning. I just hope I'm in time. As of tonigh the doctors are giving a 50/50 chance. He had his stent fail and had to have it fixed.

I got the library situated today so it looks presentable again. I also went over all my ideas and info I'd gathered for summer school w the person who probably is going to take lead teacher.

I've been really out of it today. This morning I started to turn on red at a signal I know you can't do that. I caught myself before finishing the turn, but I don't know if I'll get a ticket eventually.

I went to Big Lots and bought 3 digital cameras for $25 each - 12 MP! They'll be used for a summer school project and also for journalism class. I also might do a digital photography class now that I have 5 cameras (bought two from amazon before finding out about this deal)

If I do end up missing summer school, I've been promised that they'll video the final program. I was so excited when I found that material ... I really hope the kids have fun with it. All of their projects will be uploaded to the wiki, so i can see them too.

TY, person taking over, owns a graphic design business. When he saw I made the space website on wix, he told me that his company has made many of the templates for it. Pretty cool.

This afternoon I had a Bart Simpson moment. DOH! Remember how I was thinking about going for my Graduate Academic Certificate at my alma mater, and I was wondering how I was going to afford it AND a new car? Err... if my alma mater accepts Americorp scholarship money, then I already have enough money for the first two courses!!

Now the thing is that the Americorp scholarship money counts as income (I believe only once you use it) so if I want to keep the savers credit for my taxes this year, I will need to wait til Spring 2013 (i.e. January) to take my first class. (Although they usually have you pay ahead of time ... so not sure how I can make sure that it isn't counted in 2012 income.)

My summer school pay + the scholarship would put me over the limit for the savers credit, and that would be a loss of about $700 (not to mention the higher tax bracket.) But anyway, I need to check with my school tomorrow to see if they accept Americorp funds - if they do - then problem solved! Woo hoo!

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This morning I stopped by our thrift store in town. I picked up a green bedsheet which I plan to use as a green backdrop in videos the kids make. I also picked up a plastic tablecloth which I need to find someone to now draw an oversized computer keyboard on. (The younger students will learn the location of the letters on the keyboard by standing and jumping on the keyboard.)

Then I went into G to return library books (gulp! $13 late fine!!!) and stopped at Goodwill. Major score there - 7 different baskets good for books, and an adorable wooden giraffe /basket.

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I decided to not take my trip to ABQ this week since I still have a lot to do to get the library in order for the first summer hours checkout (next Wednesday.)
My mom may be coming in on the 14th, so I'm thinking I'll go up on the 13th and do my thing, then pick her up the next day. She'll be on her own most of the 15th since that is our official planning day for summer school, and then I'd take her back on Sunday the 17th. I'll just have to make sure that I have *everything* ready for that Monday before I leave.

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Today I did a big grocery shop - mainly to finish out the $300 deal on Discover for groceries. I went to Albertson's this time - they were overpriced in some things, but okay on others. I found my Amy's Brown Rice and Veggies ($5.99!!! Arghh!!) and veggie hot dogs ($4.99!!) I didn't have a lot of groceries to get (and my freezer was already pretty full) so I decided to get $50 in Amazon gift cards and 2 $15 gift cards (Starbucks and McDonalds) which I'll use as good behavior prizes for the students. (We'll have an "auction" the last day of the three weeks - I have the 25 posters from the book fair, plus these two cards for auction items. They "earn" Star"bucks" by good behavior, etc.) I was hoping to get 2 or 3 $5 gift cards, but they only had $15, 25, and 50.

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My $8 from Beezag posted today in my Paypal account. Yay!

My Alma Mater (for Master's) is now offering a Graduate Academic Certificate in Technology for School Librarians. It consists of 4 courses for a total of 12 credits.

Since I'm no longer a resident of TX, I'd have to pay out of state tuition. So, for one 3 hour course it would cost $2,300. I may or may not be able to get scholarships (if I can get the departmental one, that was around $200 if I remember correctly.)

The GAC would not do anything for me salary wise. The courses do sound interesting and applicable to my current job. I also need to earn so many CEUs to retain my librarian certification.

I'm not sure if I could count this on my taxes since it would not be coursework towards a degree ...

Maybe I could take one course per year?? That would give me 12 credits towards recertification, plus the certification. However, I'm not sure how I could afford this PLUS get a car.

One other wrench in this ... the courses may require some on campus time. I'm not sure if it is like some of the core courses where you were on campus for two or three days, and the remainder of the time online only, or if it is more than that. If it is the latter, than there is no question of whether I can/should do this, if the former ... well ... maybe I could correspond my class time with my vacations to see my mom ...

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The last two days I've finished most of my laundry, and did one load of dishes. Otherwise I've been doing mega research on solar system/space learning activities for summer school. I have found a wealth of resources dealing with science/math/technology but very very few music/art/kinesthetic activities. (This is for mid-school - lower grades have plenty!) I've got to keep these kids *really* busy for 14 full days (4th of July is during the last week of summer school.) The busier they are, the less chance they will be trouble. I also want to make sure they have a lot of fun, while learning of course.

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I haven't called the horse place yet, because I forgot today was a holiday. Oops. The PO is closed as well, so I can't pick up the packages that are there. I ended up not going into school at all today or yesterday (though I spent the majority of these two days ON school stuff!)

OH! I did also spend some of my time yesterday and today practicing the piano. I really need to learn the notes in the bass clef again (without using mnemonics to figure them out!!) I ordered some note flashcards and am practicing saying the note name as I play it. Kari's not sure what to make of the noise coming from the piano - she'd never heard it on before yesterday.

Yesterday was the last day of school. Yay! Wah! I am happy for the break, and the chance to get a lot of projects done in the library on my relaxed schedule (i.e. not at crack of morning), but I am going to miss the teachers who have left for other pastures. They mostly are the ones I hung around with and did things with this past year.

One of the new hires seems like she might be someone I could get along with, so I am somewhat hopeful. (Although she won't be here til August.)

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Today at church we had a guest speaker. He was really good. One quote I especially liked was, "God does not push or pull people, he draws them in." I need to remember that when it comes to various people in my life.

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So ... I have decided to do my budget a little differently. I divided my categories into two sections - The MUSTS and The Fluctuators. Included in the MUSTS is a Car Payment category an EF category and a Roth category. I then created a "loan" of $10,000 for my car. Using my total savings, I "paid" off $2000 of the loan, then subtracted another $2000 (from summer school) and then finally divided the remaining $6000 into 14 payments. This way I will have my car (mostly) funded by September, 2013. (My goal is to purchase my next car in October - end of month/fiscal year - purchase last year's model.)

Then I changed my EF goal to $2500, subtracted the amount I have right now in my BOFA account, and divided the remainder by 6.

Next I figured out how much I'd need to send to my ROTH each month to have $1800 sent by December, and divided that by 6.

After allocating money to the other MUSTS, the remainder goes into an unbudgeted slush fund which will be used to fund the Fluctuators. At the end of each month (by the 2nd) half of anything left in the slush fund will go to the car payment category.

I am going to treat the car "loan" as a real loan (minus interest). If I *really* had a loan, I'd be throwing everything I had at it till it was paid off ... so I'm hoping that same strategy will work here.

Will see.

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I've bought two Groupons recently - one for a 2 hour horseback ride and one for a Trolley tour of ABQ. In total, they cost $26. My grandma when she learned of these purchases and that I was planning on doing it in one day, insisted on sending me money to make it an overnight stay and a relaxing trip.

So ... I need to call the horse ranch to make sure, but I am thinking of going out Thursday morning for the horseback ride, maybe take in a museum or see if I can find the ABC (Adventist Book Center which sells vege meat products), spend the night at a hotel, do the trolley ride Friday morning (late!) do a Costco run and come back home. My Grandma gave me enough money for a nice hotel AND a meal out, so I might do California Pizza Kitchen again. While there I'll also probably stop at the Apple store and pick up a second battery charger for my phone (I have one, but think I better get a second one for the train trip.)

I think it'll make for a nice short vacation.

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I saw Men in Black 3 on Friday with several of the outgoing teachers. It was awesome! Love me some Will Smith. I paid for one of the teachers tickets (we bought them online just in case of it being sold out like Hunger Games and Avengers were.) Discover is paying 5% on movies ... so I was more than happy to help her out. (She paid me back in cash later.)

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Tomorrow I am going to have a day of major house cleaning. Laundry, dishes, sweeping, scrubbing, etc. My house needs it badly, plus I invited a couple from church to dinner on Friday night!! (They had me over for lunch a couple Sabbaths ago.)

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Oh! I filled up on gas yesterday for only $3.52 gallon!! That was nearly $.20 cheaper than in T! Sweet!

Thursday night was our 8th grade graduation. I had to sit up front on the side because as a specials teacher who works with the 8th graders, I had to give a medal. I didn't realize that I would not only be up front, but would be stepping up on a stage. Note to self: wear a long skirt or dress next year!

Today was my last day of media center classes for this school year. In a way it feels really weird/sad, but in another way it is kind of a relief. I'll have a break of a month (from teaching classes at least) before summer school starts.

I was showing the kids today the abcya site with the animation app (3rd) and one of my 4th grade boys made an Angry Birds animation! I've been showing the app to all my classes this week, as a kind of fun end of year tech project, and have been simply amazed at how quickly they figured it out and how creative their projects were.

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Today our new principal talked to me about next year and brought me my contract. I'm getting a raise of 1 %!! Totally unexpected. Apparently they give everyone a 1% raise every year - had no idea.

I'm definitely getting an aide next year, although probably only for 20 hours a week. Better than nothing.

I also talked to the principal about having summer library hours/checkout one evening a week. She liked that idea (after making sure I knew it would be volunteer hours.)

Some other points I raised with her:

Having a technology club/book club on after school activities days. (Again, was reminded that it would be volunteer hours.)

Having a library focus group - have students from several different grades to discuss new book purchases, make recommendations, etc. She suggested I do it at lunch time once a month. Sounds good to me!

Scrapping K - 12 power and replacing with online databases. She was good with this idea as long as K12Power hadn't already been renewed. (She agreed with my assesment that it was useless - said previous computer teacher wanted something to have the kids login and be kept busy for 30 minutes while she texted. --well, principal didn't quite say the texting part, but I know that from other sources ...--)

Having a keyboarding specific class 20 minutes 2-3x week for 3rd, 4th and 5th during the first quarter. (Common Core standards expect a 4th grader to be able to comfortably type a one page document in one sitting. Typing class once a week for 7 or 8 weeks isn't going to cut it.) Principal thought it was a good idea, but will need to check with teacher's schedules.

Making 1st and 2nd grade 1 hour classes, and extending 3rd - 8th to 1hr 15 min. Principal was okay with this, but again needed to check scheduling.

Discussed need for major overhaul of non-fiction. Principal suggested that we have the fundraising efforts for one month go towards the renovation of our non-fiction section. Woo hoo! (She hadn't realized there was no library budget and didn't seem too surprised when I casually mentioned my "pocket" budget.)

Discussed the many blind spots in the library. Principal had the idea of installing something like a video baby monitor in the worst area.

Discussed me taking teachers on a tour of library/website during pre-school week. I've tried to make teachers aware of the resources we have, but it's kind of like pulling teeth with some of them ...

Discussed computer lab arrangement. Told principal that I didn't like the way it was arranged either, but I'd been told that the configuration was the only possible way to fit 25 computers in that space. Then I also told her that my big dream was to get some kind of grant to totally renovate and redesign the entire media center (to make better use of the space and get rid of the blind spots!)

--Forgot to talk about playaways ... probably best I forgot, because I think I kind of overwhelmed her. I just had been saving up all of these ideas/thoughts ...

I also asked her how she felt I was doing. She told me that she thought I had a pretty good start and was going in the right direction. That made me feel pretty good.

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OH! Before I forget! I had visitors today from a program called Reader to Reader. They donate publisher's seconds to needy schools. I was told about them by the reporter who was here a few weeks ago. They brought a suitcase full of books! I showed them around our library and we talked about what books we already had, and what books/topics were very popular, as well as our majorly outdated non-fiction. They said they'd be sending some more books our way sometime in July! Woo hoo! Later on I was talking to SrN (our current principal) and she told someone who was there that I was great at finding free book resources.

*related to the above --- We had this donor couple visiting our campus this week. The wife couldn't get over how much I smile (get really tired of hearing that, but sometimes it works in my favor.) She and her husband are avid readers. They both fell in love with the kids and our school - I let her do the final storytime with my K class :*(. She absolutely loved it (and I think they enjoyed it too.) Before she left she told me that she and her husband want to make a donation to the library, and then she handed me a $20 bill as a start. Seeeweet! I don't know how much they plan on donating, but if it is a goodly amount, then I'd like to use some of it to get a second magazine rack to put my small graphic novels in. I just haven't been able to bring myself to spend nearly $200 on one when that money could bring more books ... but if I don't have a good way to display the books, what good does it do, right?

Last night I was figuring out the dollar amount of books that I added to our library this year. Combining my contributions, the money gifts from mom's friend, and book fair proceeds (from 2 book fairs), it came out to around $4,000. In all, I think that totaled around 450 books + another 200 or so books that were donated last year and have been slowly added, and then another 40 books that were donated to us from a school in Chicago (they did a one for one promotion at their bookfair and used the money to buy us books off the wishlist I sent.)

So ... as I look at my spending and at where I'm spending, I've come to the realization that I'm stressing myself out trying to make sure I don't overspend in any one particular category. Namely, groceries, but there are other places too. It may be going down a dangerous road here, but I've decided to change up my budget strategy. From this point forward I'm going to put into certain categories the amount that I'd like to shoot for (i.e. groceries), and then of course the fixed categories would have the exact amount. Most other categories will be left empty. Money not allocated to fixed categories or categories such as groceries will go into a general savings fund. I've decided to stop distinguishing my savings categories, and lump them all into one pile. So, that means all my rainy day savings as well as other savings will go into the same pot. At the end of the month if there's anything left in the categories that I put in a "target" amount of funds, that money will be swept into the general savings fund.

I'll still record what I actually spend in multiple categories, I just won't have a specific amount of funds allocated to all of them.

This weekend I spent nearly $500 on books for school/library. I bought 6 sets of 6 books for the summer school kids to use in novel studies, a bunch of space related books/activity guides, some professional resources to help with Common Core, and 36 Hi/Lo books. The Hi/Lo books probably could have (should have) waited, but the others I felt I needed to go ahead with ordering. The average cost of the books is about $8 (mainly thanks to one $26 book, otherwise the average would've been closer to $7 per book.) Oh, this was after the $25 in AGC's. The Hi/Lo books all were part of the 4-3 promotion, so I actually got 6 of them for free (I thought I was going to get 8 free ... not sure why I didn't.) So, generally speaking I got around $650 worth of books for less than $500 (after 4-3 promotion, AGC's, buying good condition used copies ..)

I sometimes wonder if my overarching need to buy books for the library is partly a backlash from the years and years and years where I bought only one or two books a year for myself. Now I have a good excuse to buy books - right?

Part of these thoughts stem from my dad asking me yesterday how much I had saved for my car - and I had to tell him "~$500" and he laughed at me. So I amended what I said to say that altogether in savings I have a good bit more - just not called car savings. Truth be told though, if I needed to replace my car next week, I'd be scraping money together from every piggy hole and couch cushion that wasn't allocated for mandatory expenses ...

So between how much I've been stressing out about my spending, and my realization that no matter what I may call my various savings categories, they all would be spent for one thing if necessary ... I came up with this idea. I figure I'll try it for a few months and see if it helps me to curb my spending better, or if it makes it worse. I can always go back to my other way of doing it if it makes it worse.

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Today I wasn't quite dressed for outside viewing when someone knocked on my door. It was my neighbors - they'd found a medium sized white dog wandering the neighborhood and thought they recognized it - they just weren't sure who's it was. I knew it immediately - our nurse's dog. So after identifying it (I was in bare feet and holey shorts) I went inside and put some jeans on and called our nurse. No answer. I tried a couple other numbers and couldn't get in touch with her. So finally I decided to chance taking the dog inside with Kari. At first Kari was all bushy tailed and hackles, but then she realized that the dog wasn't going to hurt her and became somewhat comfortable and curious. Finally our nurse saw she had missed calls from a TX number and figured it was me, then came and got her dog.

This gives me hope that Kari will do okay, and possibly even do well, with our Title 1 teachers cat this summer. We'll see I guess.

This morning while talking to AL, I became quite worried about her. She'd posted something on FB on Friday that had me wondering what was going on, and then speaking with her this morning I got a clearer picture of what it was. So ... I told her I had to go into G again this afternoon to drop off some paperwork I'd forgotten to complete, and was she interested in maybe going bowling and get something to eat? She told me she'd think about it...

So after school was out today I asked her if she wanted to go with me .. and she agreed! We dropped off my paperwork (for summer school) and then made it over to the bowling place in time to bowl one game before they closed. (I got a 74, she got a 56. Pro Bowlers we are not. ) Then we ate at a local eatery that has great veggie burgers.

We had a *long* talk. To put it simply, I am *still* very worried about her. What she is going through I have no real experience in. I felt all I could do was be there to listen. Those of you who praying folk, I would greatly appreciate it if you could keep AL in your prayers. Specifically she needs to know that she is worth the fight, and that not everyone is going to break her trust.

I spent around $9 at the bowling alley for her and I, and she treated me for supper. I'm really glad that I made the offer, and that she accepted it, even though it made me blow through the remainder of my entertainment budget for the month. However, I have a feeling that I'll be doing some more of that this month ... goodbye dinners for teachers leaving, etc. This is a time to say I think that people are worth more than financial goals.

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I've gotta share! Today I read "Press Here" to my K, 3rd and 4th grade classes. K and 4th both seemed to LOVE it. 3rd was a bit meh on it. I can hardly wait to see the reactions of my 1st and 2nd graders tomorrow. It truly is a FUN book.

I got an email today from the Title 1 teacher. She's going to be gone for 2 months this summer and has decided she doesn't want to take her cat with her. So she knows I'll be here most of the summer. She asked me if I'd let her cat live with me while she is gone, and in the meantime she'd let me have use of her car. Her car is maybe 4 years old??

Hmmm.... I *really* like the idea of having the use of a newer car for two months. It would give my car another two months of leeway/life. I'd have a working radio and cigarette lighter (for charging my phone). I wouldn't have to worry about breaking down on the road ...

The other side of course is liability issues ... If I got into a fender bender in my car (like in Dec.) I could let the non-safety issues go. However, if it happened in her car, I'd have to pay to get it fixed. I'm also not quite sure how the insurance issue would work. Would I need a certified letter from her stating I have permission to drive her car???

The other issue is the cats ... it might be a good test to see if Kari could get along with another cat. It also could show me if some of her behavior issues could be alleviated by another cat ... without me having taken on the lifetime responsibility of a second cat. One issue though is that Title 1 teacher's cat is an indoor/outdoor cat. I would not care for Kari to get that idea in her head .. at all. I also just don't like the idea of an indoor/outdoor cat ... dirt, bugs, etc.

What do y'all think?

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Today I went to see Avengers with RDJ. Love, love, love Mr. Downey. It was an ensemble movie, but he kicked butt the most. Several of the people with our group were not the most ... savvy movie goers. The husband of one of our teachers seems like he may have some hearing loss - no concept of a whisper. Then ... not one, not two, but THREE of our groups cell phones went off during the movie --- AND they were answered!!! ARGHH!!!

I saw this in 3D. Wow! I hated paying the extra $2 for it, but in the end, it was well worth it. I'll probably go the extra dollars for MIB 3 too. I have just enough left in my entertainment budget for one more 3D movie this month.

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After the movie I went to Walmart. I bought color ink (having 2nd - 6th grade make Mother's Day cards - need lots of color ink.) I also bought this hanging climbing tower for Kari - will see how that goes. I bought a second pair of the sandals I bought last time, as well as another pair of a different more fancier type sandal. Then I bought a few groceries too. (I was going to get more sweet potatoes, but the selection was abysmal.)

In all, I spent $99 (groceries, shoes, Kari, etc.) and $45 on ink. I *think* everything will count towards the $300 in May for Discover groceries (Walmart.) If it does, then I'm well on my way.

I haven't post too much lately, been pretty busy with work and had a couple days where I felt like I almost had what was a migraine ...

I haven't been spending very much recently .. which is good since I'd spent way too much earlier this month...

This past week I had 5 no spend days. Friday was a spend day ... I had to go get fingerprinted and drop off paperwork for teaching summer school. Fingerprinting/background check cost $44.00. But it'll be worth it in the end ... 3 weeks of Summer School pays ~$3k. (More than twice what I'd make in 3 weeks during the regular school year ...) The background check is good as long as I don't take a summer off ... and it counts for me transferring my TX license to NM (which I need to do soon!)

I also finally managed to stop at Walgreens and pick up my prescription - only was out of it for 2 1/2 weeks!! (last weekend I tried twice, and they were closed by the time I got there.)

I sent home overdue notices last week for students/teachers - letting them know the last day to return books was May 18. In short order I had about 40 overdue items returned ... still need 50 or so. 2 weeks left of regular library classes, then the 3rd week will be making sure all books are in/no check out. Then the final week where I'll start inventory (though maybe I'll actually start it the previous week ...) This school does it much differently than anywhere else I've worked. Our final day of school/classes is May 25, and our final on contract work day is May 25. Everywhere else I've been, there's been 4 contract work days past the final school day. Interesting way to do it - would hate to be a classroom teacher with that schedule though.

We only have 25 yearbooks left (started with 84.) I hadn't realized we sold quite so many til Thursday when I counted them to double check the money. I have the feeling most of the remaining ones will vanish this coming week. I've gotten lots and lots of compliments on the yearbook - although I made 3 big mistakes. 1. left out picture of school nurse (she'd asked me to use last year's pic, and in my attempt to do so, I unchecked the box "use this photo" ...) 2. added an extra kid to first grade class (sibling of student not in school yet who got picture taken at same time ...) and 3. misspelled art teachers name on specials page. Arghh! Next year my goal is to have no mistakes!!

Talked to my mom today since I hadn't heard back from her since she'd returned from cruise with friend JH. Surprise surprise - she's back with M with whom she's had a total of 7?? breakups and get backs in a year's time. Oy vey.

I'm wondering if I can make hummus in a Ninja blender?? I was thinking that'd make a good addition to my lunch salad instead of relying on trail mix constantly. But I figure it'd be cheaper for me to make it myself than to buy it pre-made. (plus I can control how spicy it is ... in other words very little spicy!)

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I figured out today that I still have full access to my Rocket Spanish account - something I purchased back in 2007. At that time it was only good for a year, so I thought it'd expired. But the upgrade/update has made it lifetime access, and I guess that was retroactive. They've made some cool improvements - including this feature where you can record yourself speaking and match it against the instructors voice. I'd gone through about half of the lessons previously, but am starting back from scratch.

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I was looking at the AASL site to see where the next conference is going to be - it's going to be in SC in October. I'm trying to decide if I want to petition to go to it or not ... it would be great to be around a bunch of practicing school librarians, but I was kind of hoping for a site in CA or TX or maybe TN ... someplace where I could meet up with people I knew. I missed that opportunity this year (ALA was in Dallas in January!) I've got a few months to think about it.

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There's 3 movies out (or out soon) that I want to see: The Raven (I love Poe, though this sounds like it might be on the gruesome side even for Poe ...); Men in Black 3, and The Avengers. Luckily I have plenty left in my entertainment fund to do all 3 movies. (Will Smith/Robert Downey Jr ... mmmm mmmm!)

So I was checking my Mypoints CC statement on Friday and I noticed something strange. There was a charge for $36.xx at a gas station, and then for that same day/time/station there was a credit for that same amount. I know I got the gas, and I don't remember anything weird about the transaction. I'm not sure who I'd ask about why I got the money credited back - someone at the gas station I guess ... though unless the manager is there I don't know who else would have a clue by 4. The gas station is about 20 miles from here, so not exactly a place I can just "stop by" til I find a person who knows what happened.

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I'm considering going 95% vegan. I'm not interested in being 100% vegan because that would be really difficult here, plus I don't want to have to think about every bite I put in my mouth that much or every article of clothing I purchase ...

So anyway ... one thing I'm trying to figure out is how to make a cottage cheese substitute without using tofu. With my hypothyroidism I need to limit my soy/tofu intake as much as possible (which is hard but not impossible as a vegetarian.) I found one recipe that used soy milk instead of tofu, and am wondering if I could use Rice Milk instead for the same effect??

Vegan Soy Milk CC Mostly I want to use this for making casserole dishes (such as my favorite Special K roast.)

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I was invited out to the home of one of our church members yesterday. It was a lot of fun. She'd made Asparagus soup - yum! As well as vegetarian tamales (again - yum!) As we were talking, I found out that she'd met her husband at Weimar while attending an 18-day Diabetes reversal seminar. Weimar is run by the Seventh-day Adventist church and has at it's foundation the idea of NEWSTART. (She was pretty impressed that I remembered most of what that stood for - from 7th grade science.) Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunshine, Temperance (moderation), Air, Rest, Trust (in a higher power.) What you eat while there is essentially a vegan diet, and you learn how to cook numerous vegan dishes. You also get daily massages and hydrotherapy (hot/cold water treatments.)

I've thought about going and participating in a session before, but never had done any real research into it. After talking with her and hearing first hand about it, I was even more interested. I did some research last night on it (i.e. cost) and realized it is probably not something I'd ever be able to afford unless I develop health problems where my insurance would be willing to help with the cost to allay the health problems.

So ... I already know that eating ice cream doesn't agree with me very well anymore and I rarely if ever drink real milk ... so cheese, eggs and cottage cheese would be the main things I would need to figure out how to do without. Even with eggs though I generally use the egg substitute ...

My plan is to finish eating what I already have in my cupboards/fridge/freezer but then from now on, whatever I purchase will be non-dairy.

Two things I won't give up will be honey and chocolate. (Which is part of why I'm not going 100% vegan -- really, technically, I'll just essentially be a bit stricter of a vegetarian. Currently I'm considered a lacto-ovo vegetarian (dairy products.)

I was told we have a health food store in big G - so I may try looking that up and see what they have to offer.

I think by doing this, my grocery bill will actually eventually go down. I'm hoping that my cravings for sugar/junk food will be reduced the more healthily I eat, and I'll feel better overall so will have more energy (mental and physical) to actually *make* food rather than be a mainly microwave cook. (I still would do a lot of microwaving - just of food that I prepared ahead of time myself and froze.)

---Anyway, I probably won't get too serious about this til school is out and I have time to really figure everything out. All I know is that I need to do something to stop the direction of my scale and something to give myself the energy to not be a computer potato.

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This week we have a male candidate coming! I imagine he's interviewing for a mid-school position. I bet our PE teacher would LOVE to have another male teacher at the school so he wouldn't be so outnumbered.

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My hot water went out sometime in the last two days. I discovered it Saturday morning as I was about to take a shower before going to church. No one knows the number for the new maintenance person of course. One of my coworkers has already offered me the use of her guest shower, but it still leaves me with a sinkful of dirty dishes (which I'd planned on washing last night.)

I tried relighting it myself (like the person showed me how to do last time) but I couldn't get it to work. Arghh!

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When I was at Walmart Friday I saw a summer dress with beautiful beading on it's front. I tried it on and it fit perfectly. It'll be a great dress for SrN's special retirement assembly (has a very native american feel to it.) As I was heading to the fitting rooms, I came across a display of flat sandals (the kind with enclosed heels and criss cross open straps.) They had a pair in my size!! Normally it takes me months and months to find a shoe that I like and that is in my size - but here I found *exactly* what I'd been looking for last summer, before I'd even started to formally begin my latest search. (the sandals I wore last summer/early fall are pretty much shot - even with the $50 price tag!) The dress and shoes cost $26 together. I'm thinking of maybe going back and getting a second pair of the sandals - just because I know how hard it is to find them (and because I'm thinking of using one pair for church/dressy occasions, and one pair for every day wear.)

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I called the medical clinic on Monday about my prescription not being refilled. No apologies were offered, but they said they'd take care of it. I finally got a message from Walgreens on Thursday that my prescription was ready for me! I was going to stop by on Friday, but forgot until it was too late. Then it became too late yesterday as well. I'm going to call them today to make sure it isn't the generic, then I'll go in a 3rd time to town - maybe take in "Lucky One" while I'm in town so it's not a trip *just* for a prescription!!

On a whim tonight I decided to log in to all my credit card accounts. I made an interesting discovery (ha ha) when looking at my Discover account. Apparantally they pull surprise categories for the 5% cash back thing. Groceries had not been included previously for April - June, but has been added as a category for May - up to $300. So ... I guess I'll be buying $300 of Walmart gift cards in May - Or I'll see how much I spend in grocery categories in May, then get the remainder of the $300 in grocery gift cards. Seeing as though I was already thinking of doing it this way to try to help curb my grocery bill....

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The other night I dropped my wireless keyboard and the batteries fell out. They needed replacing anyway, so I replaced them. As I was working on replacing them I apparently was depressing the enter key -- and was on a SB search page. When I looked up from working on the batteries I found a Searching Too Fast warning. So I wrote to SB support immediately to explain what happened.

Tonight I get an email back from them all but accusing me of cheating - i.e. using a bot or auto refresher. To my knowledge I've never missed one of those stupid captchas, and I definitely know I don't have a bot or auto refresher. I would do nothing to jeopardize my best source of free books for the library!!

My inclination was to write back a bit of a nasty note ... but I resisted. I'm not sure that any kind of a response would be a good idea. Just roll my eyes at their idiocy and make sure that the enter key doesn't get depressed like that again on a search page. Argh!

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I'm just about through with S4 of Pretender - at least the episodes that Hulu + has available. That's part of why I haven't been too active here lately.

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We've interviewed three people here in the last few weeks. One of them has definitely been given a contract, one definitely not, and the last one I'm not sure of yet. Next year sure is going to be interesting ... To put it one way .. the teachers who are leaving are in their mid-20's/30's. All 3 who've interviewed so far are in their mid 50's to early 60's. The one that was hired - I didn't get a chance to really get a feel for her comfort level with technology - though she did state that she thought FB was a big waste of time and she doesn't have an account. While I agree that it can be a waste of time, here it has been a great way for those teachers who are connected on it to communicate outside of school hours.

Anyway ... I better head off to the haystacks ... tomorrow I have no classes (because my normal classes are all off to a Bishop's Mass in little G for the majority of the day) however, I have a lot to do in the library and computer lab.

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I received my AGC from Mypoints today. $50 in books will be ordered soon.

Arghh!! So last weekend I realized I was down to my last 4 Synthroid - so I called Walgreen's for a refil. Oops, I was out of refills so they had to get approval from my doctor. I didn't hear anything AT ALL from either Walgreen's or my doctor.

So today after potluck I stopped at Walgreen's hoping that it was just an oversight that I hadn't gotten a text saying my prescription was ready. Nope. Apparentally when they called my doctor's office, whoever answered told them that my refill request was denied. That the NP who'd prescribed the previous prescription had left (retired) and I needed to see the new person.

Um ... can we say incompetent? Perhaps disorganized? Perhaps some other words that aren't very nice??? I had blood work done in January - because I'd been low on them and rationing, my numbers were really off. So I had to come back and get more done. Which I did, on Ash Wednesday (I remember that because I ended up missing most of the Ash Wednesday Mass at school.) The appt. was only supposed to be for bloodwork, but I was surprised with .. are you ready for it?? .... the new doctor!

So of course they are closed until Monday. I'll be calling them on Monday and raising a fuss, but even if they immediately call in a new prescription for me I will either have to make an extra trip to G ((35 miles one way) or wait til Friday when I'm going to G anyway. I should ask them if they'll take $10 off my bill I just got from them for gas money to make the extra trip! Hah!

I've been out since Thursday (and that was with skipping a dose on Monday) so if I wait til Friday, it would be ten days off of it - which is really not good for keeping the levels stable.

I thought about asking a co-worker who also takes the same dosage if I could have 4 of hers and then when I get my next scrip replace them, but then I remembered that she takes the generic kind. I won't touch the generic kind with a ten foot pole.

I also thought about asking the clinic if they had any samples at that dosage ... but the likelihood of that is slim to none ...

Seriously though, if the clinic got a call alerting them to the fact that I was trying to get a refill and they denied it -WHY didn't they call me and tell me??? If I had any other place to go here for medical stuff, I would go there in a heartbeat. But they are my only option unless I go 30+ miles away.

It actually is probably good they were closed today - I might have bit somebody's head off.

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In other news ... we had a snowstorm today! About an inch stuck for a few hours - mostly gone already although it is still lightly snowing. Thursday we had a high of 68, and Monday the high is supposed to be in the high 60's/low 70's. Crazy weather.

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My stand fan quit working and our swamp coolers are still covered to prevent them freezing. So Friday when I went grocery shopping I bought a new stand fan. I also bought another $60 worth of groceries. I'm not sure why I bought so much at one time - mostly it was canned soups, veggie baked beans, canned sweet peas (had them at the school cafe last week and got a real hankering for more ...), etc.

No more grocery shopping for me this month, that's for sure!!

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I had 4 new tires put on my car Friday. It came out to $269.xx. Gulp. I can definitely tell a difference in the smoothness of the ride and even the noise level (much quieter.) I was going to only get 3 new tires since one of them was only maybe 2 years old, but my dad talked me into getting them all replaced (and sweetened the pot by insisting on paying for the 4th one even though I told him it wasn't necessary.) I suppose when it finally comes time to let go of my car it will be good to have newer tires on it.

Today I went to ABQ with three of my coworkers - 5th, 6th and IT. The impetus for the trip was to go spend the available Sch $$ before they expired, but of course when you make a 90 minute one-way trip you want to include as much else as possible.

Our first stop was the book warehouse. I ended up spending $134, $91 of which was covered by Sch $$. The remainder I plan on being reimbursed from our book fair cash proceeds. The others with me also bought some books. We all had way too much fun.

6th had a haircut appt, so we headed towards the mall. But first we stopped at Pet Smart where 6th bought dog supplies and I bought cat supplies (including a felliway type collar that is supposed to help calm anxiety in cats ... we'll see ...) At the mall we all got something called Bubble tea - so called because they put these little chewable bubbles inside your drink which you get with most all of your sips. It's good, but different.

While waiting for 6th to finish her hair appointment, the rest of us went to various stores. One was Old Navy where I got a native style top for 60% off.

We were all ready for lunch by this point, so we stopped at Sweet Tomatoes - kind of similar to Souper Salad. It was very good.

IT had never been inside of a Krispy Kreme store, so of course we had to stop there and let her see it in action. We all left with donuts.

I was really wanting some more veggie corn dogs, and 6th grade wanted to go to Sunflower?? Market - so that's where we went next. I didn't find my corndogs, but I did find my very favorite Amy's dish - Brown Rice and Veggies! I got 3 of them at the sale price of $3.99 (Her meals can be up to $5.50 at some places.)

Next, we headed to Costco where I filled up with gas ($3.61/gall ~8 gallons) and also bought 8 veggie/rice burritos for $10.

Our final stop was Papa Murphy's. 5th grade's family has a Good Friday tradition of eating pizza for supper and she was really missing her family. IT and I also both got pizzas (additionally, I bought a $3 S'Mores dessert pizza - couldn't resist for the price/size!) Total for me there was $14 (I added two extra toppings to my pizza - spinach and pineapple.)

Overall I would say that it was a very good day! And I still have 3 days left of my weekend. **Best of all, everything I spent today fits into my budget.

So today the 5th and 6th grade teachers, our Tech person and I all went on an outing together to ABQ. Our first stop was the Sch Book Warehouse. What a blast we had there!

I got quite a few graphic novels, a few sports related books and various other books. I ended up spending $134, $91 of which was covered by Sch $$. Two of the others also ended up buying a few books each. When we were checking out the guy told us that in a few weeks there will be a 50% off sale through May 23rd. We have a half-day on the 23rd. If I can get the remaining Sch $$ (which will be given once Sch gets our book fair check) to NOT expire before then ... can you say Road Trip?!!

After the books we headed over to the mall where 6th grade teacher had a hair cut appointment. Before going in for that we stopped at Petsmart. 6thGRTea bought dog food, etc., and I bought a collar that is supposed to smooth away a cats anxiety (help with scratching, etc.) At the mall we all got Bubble Tea (very different drink - kind of like a smoothie except that most of the times when you sip you get this gel like bubble that you have to chew, and there is something like juice inside of it.)


While we were waiting for the haircut appt to be done, the rest of us walked around the mall. I actually bought a shirt at Old Navy - a very different shirt for me, but I think it'll be good for when we need to wear "traditional" clothing for special masses, etc. It was $12, so not a steal, but a good deal compared to the regular price of $29.

Once we were done at the mall we headed over to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. It is a place similar to Souper Salad.

Next we headed to Sunflower Market (similar to TJs and Whole Foods). Glory be! I found my very favorite Amy's meal - Brown Rice and Veggies. I got 3 of them (I probably would've gotten more if I had a bigger cooler - they were on sale for $3.99 each ...)

Now on to our real treat of the day ... Krispy Kreme! AL (our Tech) had never been to an actual store, so we made sure to watch the process of the doughnuts going through the baking process and got some hot off the press. Mmmm!

Costco was next on our agenda ... filled up with gas ($3.61/gal - 8.4 gallons) and I bought some veggie burritos (8 of them for $10.)

Our final stop was Papa Murphy's. 3 of us bought a pizza (I bought a pineapple/spinach/mushroom one + also a $3 S'mores dessert pizza. Yum!) We stopped there because 5thGrTeacher's family has a Good Friday tradition of eating pizza on Good Friday night.

All in all, this was a really good day. And it all fit into my budget. (The extra money I spent at the warehouse I will probably take out of the cash we earned from the book fair.) If I did this kind of thing very often, then I definitely would need to curb the amount of spending I did ... but it's very rare that this happens, plus it was good to spend time with others - not to mention that it was really good for AL (she texted me tonight asking if the 5th/6th went on outings fairly regularly - I told her that they do, and she asked me if I thought it'd be ok for her to ask to be included - I told her I thought it would be a great idea! I don't usually go with them because they go on Friday nights or Saturdays - but that isn't a problem for her.)

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Tomorrow I'll probably be in G all day. Church in the late morning/early afternoon, potluck, and then movie night at the pastor's house. I'm not sure what I'll do between potluck and movie night ...