Tuesday night I had my 3rd shift at the parking garage. This time there was a WWE event going on. I got there about 7:40 - 20 minutes early. We didn't end up getting sent to our spots til nearly 9:20 (I clocked in at 7:55.) It seems kind of wasteful to have 8 or so people standing around for an hour+ on the clock waiting for an event to actually end. But oh well, it's more money in my pocket. (I clocked out a bit before 11. So about $33 before taxes.)

Once the cars started coming out, time went by pretty fast. Before I went, I had no energy nor desire to go. By the time I got home though, I was pepped up and couldn't go to sleep for a long time. (Still woke up about 4:45 a.m. ....)

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Before I left for the shift though, I tried calling Vanguard again. I was being transferred to someone when the call ended suddenly. So I called back and got the name and number of the person I was being transferred to. I called and left a voice mail - more than 24 hours later, and I have not gotten a call back.

I'm going to try again tomorrow night (when I don't have to run off to Vacation Bible School like tonight, or have a shift to work.)

Hopefully, third time will be the charm.

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Work. Ugh. Still ongoing saga of 268 page document and the perfectionist who believes there is only one way to do things (she tells me to make a change, I make the change, she insists I should do it her way instead ...) My boss is also frustrated with this person (they had to do a presentation to the other co-workers yesterday - some book the staff is reading.) My boss has told me that if I want off this project, all I have to do is say so. Part of me wants to say OFF, but a larger part of me does not want to do that - kind of feel like being a quitter.

Lady sat up front with me today going over some cross-referencing in the document. I was logged off the phone. Still had at least 6 calls and 7 people come by to buy passes. She got so frustrated with all the interruptions that she told me we'd keep working tomorrow if my boss could cover the not logged in phone calls. She asked me if it always was this busy.

Ummm... the phone wasn't even logged in. Yes, it can sometimes be that busy x50. Other times, not so much. One never knows.

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Tuesday -
DMV - $175 - Car registration
Taco Bell ... $4.19

Wednesday:
Walgreen's - $20.xx (junk, locker lock for gym, deodorant, real food)

Extra Income:
$16 from Pact cashed in

---
Okay, it is now 11:08. I am going to try to go to bed and see if I can get more than 4 1/2 hours sleep ...

Tuesday night I had my 3rd shift at the parking garage. This time there was a WWE event going on. I got there about 7:40 - 20 minutes early. We didn't end up getting sent to our spots til nearly 9:20 (I clocked in at 7:55.) It seems kind of wasteful to have 8 or so people standing around for an hour+ on the clock waiting for an event to actually end. But oh well, it's more money in my pocket. (I clocked out a bit before 11. So about $33 before taxes.)

Once the cars started coming out, time went by pretty fast. Before I went, I had no energy nor desire to go. By the time I got home though, I was pepped up and couldn't go to sleep for a long time. (Still woke up about 4:45 a.m. ....)

----
Before I left for the shift though, I tried calling Vanguard again. I was being transferred to someone when the call ended suddenly. So I called back and got the name and number of the person I was being transferred to. I called and left a voice mail - more than 24 hours later, and I have not gotten a call back.

I'm going to try again tomorrow night (when I don't have to run off to Vacation Bible School like tonight, or have a shift to work.)

Hopefully, third time will be the charm.

---
Work. Ugh. Still ongoing saga of 268 page document and the perfectionist who believes there is only one way to do things (she tells me to make a change, I make the change, she insists I should do it her way instead ...) My boss is also frustrated with this person (they had to do a presentation to the other co-workers yesterday - some book the staff is reading.) My boss has told me that if I want off this project, all I have to do is say so. Part of me wants to say OFF, but a larger part of me does not want to do that - kind of feel like being a quitter.

Lady sat up front with me today going over some cross-referencing in the document. I was logged off the phone. Still had at least 6 calls and 7 people come by to buy passes. She got so frustrated with all the interruptions that she told me we'd keep working tomorrow if my boss could cover the not logged in phone calls. She asked me if it always was this busy.

Ummm... the phone wasn't even logged in. Yes, it can sometimes be that busy x50. Other times, not so much. One never knows.

---
Tuesday -
DMV - $175 - Car registration
Taco Bell ... $4.19

Wednesday:
Walgreen's - $20.xx (junk, locker lock for gym, deodorant, real food)

Extra Income:
$16 from Pact cashed in

I decided to walk to work today. The weather was perfect for it - 55 in the morning, and in the low 70s in the afternoon.

On my way home today I was about ten blocks away from work when a woman standing at a corner waved at me. I went over there and she asked me "Aren't you the person who works at ....?" I told her that I was. She thought it was funny that I was walking instead of taking the bus. So I told her that I only live 1.5 away from work, and enjoy the walk. However, next week (if I decide to walk) I'll probably take the bus on the way home because it's supposed to be in the 90s in the afternoon.

She told me that she calls me all the time asking for directions. She must have come by to buy passes too, although I didn't recognize her.

On the way home I thought of another way I could possibly take the bus for my return trip. It still would mean walking about 8 or 9 blocks, but then I'd be dropped off within a block of my apartment. I might try that next week.

---
My mom has bought her tickets to come here in September - $137! Awesome price! Now we wait to see if my brother actually buys tickets .... or it it'll just be me and her.

---
I redeemed for a $25 PP from SBs today, and thanks to my SBs Visa, I am about 300 towards my next one.

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I got an email from the place I ordered the 2" washers from - total cost with shipping is $18.48. SO much cheaper than Amazon's fractional plates. They are already here in the city, so maybe I'll get them tomorrow before I head out to the gym for my next weight lifting workout.

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I was reading "In the Unlikely Event" by Judy Blume today at work (Great story so far!) when a lady came by to buy a bus pass. She asked me if I liked to read. There followed a nice 5 or 6 minute conversation. (She also is an avid reader.) That was fun.

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No spending today. (I think that makes 5 NSDs for July?)

So yesterday I talked a bit about my car registration expense of $170 and how I was thinking I'd pay it in July, but not count it til August's budget. The more I thought about doing that, the more I didn't like it.

I knew the expense was coming up (couldn't remember exactly how much, but I knew it was probably a July expense.) So ... I could have set money aside for it. I think I didn't do that mainly because I was working off the idea of just "cash-flowing" these kinds of expenses. Which would work fine if it wasn't for the fact of my making a new goal/challenge of taking half of "extra" money for June and July and putting it towards a getaway.

When I thought about having to subtract $170 from my extra amount for the month, it made me not want to do it!

But the more I thought about "cheating" the budget, the more I didn't like that idea.

So I spent some time today reworking my budget. And putting the $170 for car registration in July's spending.

I then figured out that even with taking that out of the equation, if I was really careful this month, I should still have at least $200 for my getaway. $102 for two nights lodging. $36 for park admission, $15 for living history farm - leaves about $50 for gas and food. Might still be doable. Plus maybe in August I can just budget an extra $30 or so to the Vacation category to give me a little leeway.

I also decided that maybe I should just go ahead and go back to setting aside monthly amounts for known, or possibly known expenses which don't occur regularly. So, I readjusted my July budget to reflect that. It drastically reduced my "extra" funds, but I think it probably is also a better reflection of reality.

My system worked for six months, but now some of those "irregular" expenses are coming up and like with the car registration, I almost feel resentful taking them out of my extra cashflow. If it's set aside already, then it won't (maybe) feel so painful/annoying.

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Oh about the shoes! I was almost ready to bite the bullet and purchase the DSW shoes when I decided to give Amazon one more try. (I'd looked on there several months ago when first looking.) I found a pair that aren't *quite* the same, but very close. In the size I need. $37.98. I had $26.xx in my gift card balance (thanks Perk and Bing!) and $1.xx in Discover cashback. So my final cost was 11.78. They'll be here sometime this coming week. (Womens shoes also just happen to be in the 4SBs per dollar category right now.)

If they work, then I will return the other shoes. If not, then I will return them to Amazon and go back to DSW for that pair.

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Doing Stronglifts the weight increments go up by 5 - 10 lbs a workout. That is a lot of increase for a woman. What is suggested to make the increase go a bit slower is to use fractional plates. I checked at the gym on Friday and they do not have them.

On Amazon they have a set for about $50. That's not too much, but of course I wanted to check first to see if there was a cheaper alternative. There is. I bought 6 2" washers for a total of 11.67 (don't know shipping yet - but probably about $7.) They'll be shipped ground, so might be a week or two before I get them. Until they get here, I'll probably just stick with only using the barbell (the barbell by itself is 45lbs.)

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People were shooting off fireworks til at least 1 a.m. last night. Then for whatever reason I woke up about 6 and could not go back to sleep. Got up, but was so tired I ended up skipping church and church picnic/ walking group. Still feeling really tired.

(eating the chocolate desert bread meant for the picnic probably didn't help my tiredness .... no more junk food for me this week!)

So today was the day. I finally made the trek to Dollar Tree to find out if they had the frozen fruit deals like Laura (other Laura ) had mentioned awhile ago.

The first Dollar Tree I ventured into did not have anything other than ice cream. It did however have a mom who was being incredibly rude to her daughter and the mom caught me giving her a dirty look while pressing my lips together to keep from saying something.

So I headed on to the next Dollar Tree - the one that is about 8 miles from my home. (It's a LONG way when you work only 1.5 miles from home and have a grocery store within 1/8th of a mile!) That one had the frozen section!!!!

I bought ten bags of frozen fruit (mangoes, strawberries, peaches, and pineapple), 3 bags of mixed frozen veggies, two vegetable samosa thingys that looked good, a little Hershey's pie, and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels. (I was getting really hungry at this point ... my earlier shoe expedition took WAY longer than expected.)

In all ... I spent $17!! The frozen fruit should probably last me a good 6 weeks, maybe more. The veggies should be enough for July. I'm thinking about taking the frozen fruit out of the bags, putting one cup servings (mixed up) of them in sandwich baggies, and then putting those baggies into a large freezer baggie. That way I'll really know how many servings I have (and it will save me ten or 15 seconds in the morning ...) Maybe I'll do that with the veggies too, that way my servings of them are a little more ... even. (somedays I have a lot more than other days.)

Next time I go up there I'll need to stop at Walmart and/or Sam's first to get non-freezer items to help make the trip a little bit more gas friendly.

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I did buy shoes today. They're not exactly what I'm wanting, but they're the closest I could get at the mall. I spent over an hour going into every store that had a shoe section in the mall. Sears had the shoe I wanted, only not in WW. Online they HAD it in WW, but it was out of stock!! ARghh!!

If anyone knows where I could find black MaryJanes with medium/low heels and a rounded/box toe, in an 8 1/2 W or 9 W, PLEASE tell me or buy two pairs of them for me and I'll paypal you the money and shipping! Seriously.

Why do stores make it SO darn difficult to find WW shoes?? With as many ... larger ... people as there are, you'd think there'd be an incredible market for them.

I SO hate shoe shopping! When I got my last pair, I KNEW I should have gotten two pairs right then and there.

Here is a link to the exact shoe I'm wanting:
http://www.sears.com/i-love-comfort-women-s-mary-jane-girly-black/p-05487533000P?prdNo=22&blockNo=22&blockType=G22

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Okay, so besides Dollar Tree and Mall walking, I also got my library books dropped off, filled up with gas, did some more grocery shopping (at the store 1/8th of a mile from home) and got in a great workout at the gym!

Groceries: $27.80 -- canned black beans (for black bean burgers for lunches), loaf of Orowheat Everything bread, bananas, big bag of washed/cut kale, bag of apples, zucchini, Amy's frozen entree (my Friday night treat), loaf of chocolate bread (for church picnic tomorrow) and a can of Off! spray. (holy cow! Nearly $6 for the Off! spray!!! it better last a good long time!)

Gas: $25.70 - got .07/gallon discount from local grocery store loyalty card.

Shoes: $26.73 (am going to hold off on wearing them until I just can't possibly wear the other ones ... in case I find the ones I really want and can take these back!)

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Workout! I did my second Stronglifts 5x5 workout today - first one using the app. Even though I did it only using the barbell (not adding weights) and it didn't *feel* like it was very hard ... I was sweating majorly by the end.

When I was done though, I did about 15 minutes more of walk/jog/run intervals. Was *really* sweating by the end of that!

--
Now I think I'm going to finish my Alex Cross book (Hope to Die by James Patterson) and just have a nice relaxing evening.

Tomorrow is church, church picnic, and the church biking/walking group. Might finally watch "Boyhood" tomorrow night (borrowed from library.)

Sunday will be my oatmeal banana/greek yogurt pancakes, making a triple batter of black bean burgers to freeze, laundry, another workout, and then going out to eat somewhere with NE (his turn to treat this month!)

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Almost forgot! On the way to the gym I stopped by my PO box (need to close it - was about to close it this last time, but got charged for it before I'd sent in the forwarding order.) I got my bill for my car registration. I knew it was either July or August. Apparently it is July. $170.

Oops. I kind of forgot to budget for that. I'm kind of thinking of cheating just a little bit ... I'll put it on my Discover card for the July spending requirements, but I won't actually count it out of my budget til August. (the CC won't be paid til then anyway, especially if I wait til July 20 or so.)

The reason for this of course is that if I take it out of July's budget, then I'll have very little to put towards my getaway or extra for the EF.

In August I know I'll be getting at least ten hours of overtime (which would count as at least 15 hours of pay) so that would pretty much cover it.

Note -- I will be making sure to set aside $15/mo for next years registration!

I have a good amount of stock in an electric car company - mostly inherited, but some that I personally bought with my own cash or with money rolled over from a company 401k fund. I've been wanting to diversify it a bit with another single stock, but hadn't found anything cheap enough or interesting enough.

With the recent IPO of Fitbit, that changed.

I love my Fitbit, and from the many articles I've read, it seems to be a pretty healthy company (ha ha - no pun intended, really) with good growth potential. I'd forgotten about the initial IPO date, so unfortunately wasn't ready to pull the buy card at the start of the bell Thursday.

So I pulled it this morning. I had $170.00 cash in my brokerage account which was leftover from the rollover where I purchased electric car stock. So I bought 5 Fitbit shares. I want to buy more than that though, so I went ahead and sold 5 electric car shares, which netted a bit over $1k after the trade fees.

I tried buying more Fitbit after work today, but I got a popup saying that if I put the new order through, my other one would be canceled. ???? So I guess I'll have to wait til Monday and hope the price doesn't go up too much by then.

All of this trading and selling and buying was done in an IRA account, so whatever tax consequences there will be won't happen for another 20 years.

When I put my own cash money into the electric car stock, it was roughly around $1k. Enough to buy a good amount of stock, but not enough to hurt if I happened to lose money on it. That's kind of how I figured how much stock I'd go with for Fitbit.

I'm curious to see where this will go.

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Hectic afternoon at work today. Have a new story for my bus chronicles - might do one tomorrow.

---
Did some grocery shopping this afternoon. bread, fruit (bananas and oranges), cheese, frozen vegges, chocolate, soda ... $18.41

Also stopped at a local green grocer type place (OH) and treated myself to some stuff from their deli - curried tofu, cajun yams, and a spinach/lentil, etc. patty. $6.31 It was either that or give in to my strong desire to order pizza ...

---
I'm reading a really good book by Elizabeth Musser right now - Swan House. I've read other books by her, and they were also very good. (Christian, romance, historical, major issues like racism, poverty, etc.)

---
I got paid for my part time parking garage job! $73.65 - that is one 8 hour shift (although it wasn't actually a full 8 hours, because I left 30 minutes early after being told I could if I wanted to.)

I don't know when I'll have another shift though, because it seems like all the available ones are on Saturdays. Sometimes having beliefs that are so different from the mainstream can sure make it hard to find the extra income (and sometimes the main source of income too ... so many jobs I've had to turn down over the year due to Friday night/Saturday issues ...)

Note - I am an Seventh-day Adventist. Similarly to Jews, we celebrate Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

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I think I have settled on what my August trip is going to be - Des Moines -- Friday - Living History Farms; Saturday - Memories Day (visit church my dad was pastor of, visit various places we lived, etc.); Sunday - Adventureland!; Monday - drive home and recover.

I still need to get the addresses from my brother - our dad kept a list of all the places he lived his entire life. My brother has it somewhere. We lived in three different houses in Des Moines. I'm most curious about the house we lived in where my bedroom was in the finished attic, we had a lake within close walking distance, and I had an awesome friend named Tara who lived across a hayfield from us that had a small stream running through it. Lots of good memories there.

I was in 3rd grade when we moved from there to New Mexcio.

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On Sunday I plan on going to Dollar General to buy frozen fruit, and also stop at Sears to see if they have the shoes I want. (dress shoes for work to replace ones that are falling apart) I'm going to try to hold off til July to actually buy them though so I can put it on my Discover card and have it count towards July's $500 spending.

I've also been thinking more about the Nationwide thing of using the debit card 8x in a month to avoid fees. If I give myself a budget of $20/month for treats (which would be much less than I have been spending) that would mean 2x a week I could get about $2 worth of a treat. So in reality it would be money I'd spend anyway (realistically) and $20 not put on the Discover or Swagbucks cards isn't going to be that big of a deal. And it's only for 3 months + 2 weeks.

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A good friend of mine and her family are doing fundraising to pay the fees to adopt a baby boy from Papau, New Guinea. They were missionaries there this past year and were asked to adopt this particular child, but before it could happen, they had to come back to the US. I'm thinking that this might be where my charitable giving will be going starting in July.

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So that's all for now folks ... (bet you thought it was never going to end ...)

This morning when I walked into work I was met by quite an intertesting item in the Lost and Found. My first indication that something different was afoot was the noise. Chirp ... chirp ... chirp ...

I looked on my desk and saw a sweater, a bus pass folder, some keys, and a Wal-mart bag. Hmm... maybe the noise is coming from the bag.

So I look inside the bag. There is a round container with small holes in its sides. Then on top of the container is a removable plastic lid with a small round hole.

The mystery was solved though by the sticker on the lid ... 50 live crickets!

My boss thought I should throw them away. But I wanted to give the person who lost them at least a day to make a claim.

So all day today I was serenaded by the lively chirp, chirp, chirping of 50 crickets.

At the end of the day I took them home with me and let them go on the front lawn near my apartment. They were pretty good sized crickets! I hope they are happier having some freedom (even if short lived) now rather than being fed to some creature!

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NE dropped his phone in water this morning .. and it was ruined. So I still had my Android phone I'd gotten 3 years ago to test out Ting. It's operating system is so outdated I can't run Perk or SBs on it, so it's pretty much useless to me. But for texting and calling it will still work perfectly fine.

I called Ting and had them take the phone off my account and put it on NEs after porting his number to it. What a process (the actual process wasn't that difficult - it was the 20 minute wait for a rep when NE was already running late for work.)

I'm glad I didn't get rid of that phone! (I'd been planning on getting rid of it somehow, just hadn't decided the how or the what.)

---
I called Nationwide bank tonight and found out that due to some issue with the identity verification process when I applied for my account, my application hadn't gone through. So I redid the verification questions over the phone, and had a welcome email about a minute later. Now I just need to figure out if I can have two direct deposits - the main one to CapOne and then a small one to NW. Then a few months from now, I'll have an extra $200. (and will close the account asap w/o fees.)

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Spending - Monday - forgot I bought Allegra D - $20.32
Tuesday -- None

*I didn't have any Allegra left Sunday night, so tried with just the non-d allergy stuff. Misery. I really hope I can find a cheaper alternative, but having a sinus headache when you're trying to sleep or work just isn't worth saving a few dollars.

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Forgot to ask my Firefox question - I have the latest browser and am finding it to be really slow and buggy. Also, I can't delete any of the bookmarks from my favorites bar. I don't know for sure if it is FF fault, or if it is just that my computer is getting too old for the browser.

Just wondering if anyone else uses FF and has similar issues.

So Tuesday night after much hemming and hawing I decided to go for it - or at least see if I could find a parking space in a safe area and reasonable distance from the jazz concert.

I left for the concert about 5:40 with my phone at 56% ... Not smart.

Had to use Google maps to find my way there. Even so, got turned around. Finally found a parking spot that was somewhat reasonably close, and had lots of people / other cars.

Put $.25 in the parking meter - after 6 the spots are free, and I parked about 5:50.

I started walking in the direction I thought it was ... only went two blocks when I saw a woman at an outside restaurant - asked her where the place was and was told to turn around and turn left.

About ten minutes later I found the Jazz concert! I was carrying a book, a water bottle and a blanket. The temperature was a cool 97+ degrees ...

I had brought a $5 bill with me in case there was some vendor food that tempted me, but I didn't even see where the vendors were (although I saw a lot of people with vendor type food.)

I found a place to spread my blanket out and preceded to try to be comfortable sitting on the ground on a blanket in the "cool" weather. Not too long into this my phone died. Oops.

Shortly after 7 the band began playing. It was pretty good music. After about 6 songs though, I'd had my fill of sitting on the ground. (I have circulation issues with my feet ... sitting on the ground for very long makes for sleepy feet.) Amazingly that was the same time they broke for intermission - so it made it easy to slip away.

I'm really glad I went, even though the weather made it almost miserable (saved by good breezes.) However, if I were to go again to something like this, I DEFINITELY want to procure a lawn chair! It also would be nice to have company ..

---
Walking into work today I found a quarter laying on the ground. Thought it was pretty funny since I had just spent a quarter the night before.

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Today was kind of stressful at work. The phone was going constantly - with quite a few memorable calls. Not all for good reasons. I also had a slew of mail in pass orders for the football bus shuttle. I had to really pay attention so I didn't put an bus shuttle order into the front desk receipt book.

I decided to treat myself after work ... Walgreen's has their candy bars on sale 2/$1 - not a great price considering that's what the NORMAL NON-Sale price used to be ... but better than today's "normal" prices.

---
My rent check hasn't been cashed yet. Usually it's cashed within a few days of my putting it in the box. I sent the property manager an email tonight to see if I can find out what's going on. I'd sent her an email a few weeks ago too though, which I haven't gotten a reply on. Hope nothing is wrong.

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I got two more medical bills stemming from my ER visit. One can be paid with AmEx and the other can't. Sigh. I still am not sure how I'm going to get to $1000 spent on that darn card. I'm at about $300 right now - it's so hard finding places that take it. The lure of the $250 cash back made me not consider carefully HOW I could actually do it. I'd always heard that AmEx is'nt accepted everywhere, but the reality is now sinking in ...

I *really* don't want to go the route of gift cards - but I'd rather do that than lose $250! Maybe I can purchase gift cards for the airline I'll most likely book for my CA trip in November .. hmm... (haven't figured out which airline yet.)

---
Tuesday spending:
$.25 - parking meter

Wednesday spending:
$3.89 - treats from Walgreens

Earnings: $.25 from in front of bus garage

So today I wore my sandals to church. (went better with my outfit than black heels .. really need a pair of white sandals, but I've never been able to find a pair that stays on my feet.)

As I was walking to the building, I walked over wet ground and may have stepped in a small puddle.

I get to the church, greet the greeter, and then start down the stairs to go to Sabbath School.

As I reach the second step down, I did my own version of slipping and sliding. My left wrist, forearm, elbow and left side of the ol' gluteas maximus(sp?) took the brunt. Both of my ankles seemed to get into the action as well.

Thankfully no clothing was ripped or dirtied. Also, thankfully I was able to get up and walk (...limp a bit) to the SS group.

Have some majorly sore areas on my left side now though! (One bruise has already shown up on the gm, and I have the feeling another one will be appearing on my forearm.

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I just signed up for an offer with a $200 bonus after 90 days. All you have to do is open an eChecking account with Nationwide and have one direct deposit of $200+ within the first 60 days, and then two-three more of $25+ (to avoid the fee.) You can close the account after getting the bonus with no penalty. The interest rate is abysmal (although not bad for a checking account) Ooohh... reading the fine print a bit closely ... to avoid an $8/month fee you have to make 8 debit card transactions a month. Yuck. I'll have to figure out how to do that without messing up my trying to spend very little (or you have to have a 10k balance. Can't quite do that.)

Well .. if you're interested, here is the link:
http://www.nationwide.com/sem/nf-echecking-personal.html

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I signed up at church today to go to a Kids Against Hunger food packing event next Saturday afternoon. I didn't realize at first, but you are supposed to make a donation to participate. Minimum $10. I already did my charitable giving this month, but I guess I can take it from next months category. I suppose I really should wait til closer to the end of the month to decide where to put the non-tithe charitable money to be sure I have some to put in things that come up.

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Tonight I'm planning on going to a free concert at my church - The Allen Family. I'm pretty sure I went to a concert of their's here last year in June. The name sounds familiar (and so does their picture.) If it is, I remember I really enjoyed the music.

I had been planning on going to help one of our elderly church members pack their moving truck tomorrow morning, but I'll have to see how my arm is doing.

--
NE and I will be going out to eat tomorrow night - it's my turn to pay, so we'll be going to Hu Hot's where I can use my $50 gift card. We also are going to do some driving around the local lakes. Hopefully it won't be too muddy.

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I decided to bake a frozen pizza I'd bought back in Jan/Feb from the local store that was closing. Let's just say that it's not a brand I'd get again even if I could.

Today at work I was talking with the Office Manager about yet another frustration which occurred due to my not knowing about a detour. She suggested I talk to the transit manager about it, but should have an idea in mind to solve the issue. We talked a bit more, and then came up with the idea of using a Google spreadsheet like what we do for the Lost and Found items. That way detours, accidents, delays, etc., can be updated quickly by whoever hears it on the radio .. and I can then see them without my first knowledge being a phone call from a bus rider wondering where the bus is at!

So .. I did talk to the transit manager. He told me he had had a similar idea, and that he would be working on getting something put together. I really hope this does truly happen, because it would mean a lot less having to deal with one particular dispatcher ... I also pointed out to him that my being able to know this stuff would help to make our bus company look better.

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I already have two entries for the Summer Adult Reading Program. The Life List - Lori Spielman and Two Testaments - Elizabeth Musser. Both very good books.

I was asked what some of the prizes were:
Weekly branch drawings - giftcards to various places
Booklover's Gift Bag - filled with goodies and a bookstore giftcard
Grand Prize - Booklover's Gift Bag and a Paperwhite Kindle

Ooo la la!

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Thursday spending: Nada

Friday spending:
Gas - $25.xx
Groceries - Apples, cat food, cat litter, bread, Morningstar Corndogs, frozen veggies, frozen fruit, Apples, Bananas, treat -- $31.19 -- My ten things.

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I had someone ask me something strange on Thursday. An older man came to purchase a bus pass. As I was helping me he asked me what church I went to. I told him which church. He then told me that he'd thought I was a Pentecostal because I seem to like to wear long dresses/skirts and have long hair. Ha!

I told him that I just like to wear those kinds of things sometimes, and that I like long hair. (Although my hair is hardly what I consider "long" right now! He should've seen it before I cut it in September!!)

I just thought that was so funny. Most of the time I wear dress pants or on Friday's jeans, but once in awhile I'll wear a dress or a skirt. And yep, the ones I wear at work anyway are fairly long (my skirt was barely mid-shin on Thursday) - but there is a good reason for that! I never know what kind of bending, stretching, etc. I might have to do ... hence a skirt that only reaches my knees would just not do unless I want to put on a show for other people ..

Say what you want about the actual Bing search engine, but their Customer Service rocks! I replied to the email from the CS person yesterday letting them know my issue was fixed, and thanks! This morning I got a reply back from a different agent thanking me for letting them know AND giving me ten bonus points as a thank you! Sweet!

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At work today I got a replacement headset for the one that quit working on Friday. What a welcome relief it was to get it! The phones were nuts at times today and I felt like I was going to get a permanent crick in my neck from holding it in place with my shoulder while looking for info.

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Went to the library to pick up some books on hold. While there I found out about an Adult Summer reading program! Prizes for reading books! For adults! Wheeeeeeeeee!!!

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I may have my first shift at the parking garage this Sunday. It's from 10 - 6:30 for some Soccer Bash thing. Before taxes, that'll be about an extra $100. Sweet! I'll have to do my grocery shopping on Friday after work or Saturday night though, because NE will be here as soon as I get home on Sunday.

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I am going to be making brownies for the Treat day tonight. My turn. As soon as I finish this post. (From a mix I bought on sale a few weeks ago.)

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Spending Today:

Walgreen's - (medical) $19 (Ten day Allegra D)
Library - $2.60 (late fines, hold not picked up fine - finally had cash with me to pay this.)
Dropped off rent check

I got an email from Bing CS asking me to send a screenshot. When I got home and went to the page to get a screenshot, it was already fixed. 525 credits, which is quite doable.

--

I relisted four items on the FB garage sale - two of them have had multiple people express interest and even say they'd come by and buy it ... No shows. I'm not gonna give up though, because I'd rather have a little cash for these things than just give them to Goodwill.

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Day 2 no spending (outside of normal bills.)

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I bought Kari a cool toy from Amazon a few months ago, and I KNOW I took a video of her playing with it the first time - about three minutes! It was super adorable. But I've looked on both of my phones and on my computer ... and it is nowhere. I'm afraid my delete happy self may have accidentally deleted it, as well as the hundreds of food photos for Pact.

She still plays with it every once in awhile, just too unpredictable to take another video.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LWRFW2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

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We're interviewing for new bus drivers right now. They're looking to hire 8! The interviews started on Friday. Today this one guy came in who had driven all the way from Minneapolis! Not only that, but I knew I recognized his name = he'd called me in April? and asked me to send him a copy of all the maps and schedules. Guess what he did with the All Route maps? He had them majorly enlarged and laminated - $200+ He's pretty much memorized all the routes/schedules and could probably find his way around here from any point A to B.

Boy, I hope he gets the job after putting that kind of time and money into it.

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I'm thinking of watching another movie tonight. I guess I'm in the movie watching mode lately .. haven't really watched much of anything since maybe January?? I should check to see if there's new episodes of OUAT on free Hulu. Hmm...

So ... I spent about an hour entering all the transactions for May into YNAB. I hadn't entered anything since the 12th ... Let's just say it wasn't pretty at all.

The good: $207 in extra income (FB sales, SBs, Pact, Perk, etc.)
Sent 10% of net to EF + $37 ...

The bad: Only had $37 left after an extra $207 in income. Which means I came dangerously close to having to dip into my 10% deposit ... for no real reason.

The ugly: Spent roughly $360 on food/fast food/treats
The most I think I can ever remember spending in one month in those categories ...

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So ... June goals.

The past few months I have been doing an experiment where I did not set out any particular amounts in my flexible spending categories for my budget. For a few months this seemed to work okay ... May though has totally busted this idea. So for June I have decided to modify this approach - I have given myself budgeted amounts in certain categories (Groceries, Treats, Restaurants) and then left the rest unbudgeted (since it isn't the other categories tripping me up.)

My plan/goal for June and perhaps July is thus: 50% of the unbudgeted money will go towards my normal goal of the EF extra deposit (above the 10%.) The other 50% will be used in July (maybe August) to go somewhere for a few days - i.e. get out of town.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been feeling the travel bug. Feeling kind of restless, listless ... bored in a way. So my idea is that the less money I spend in June (and possibly July), the nicer my little out of town excursion will be.

I could say NO FAST FOOD in June - but I'm hoping that knowing that every time I get Fast Food or get some junky item that it is reducing the quality/length of my getaway, will work better for motivation.

We'll see. (Snafu - the cash thing might work, except I have a bunch of cash on hand right now thanks to the FB sales this month. Getting to the bank to deposit it is a major hassle. So if I did cash only for fast food, etc., I'd have a lot of leeway for it.)

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I'm hoping to get a training shift for my part time job this coming week, so that money could definitely help the "extra" category - and help me also maybe to not be quite so bored ...restless.. listless. Hopefully.

This is just the cough that won't go away.

The doctor said my lungs were clear, but sometimes it feels like something is pressing down on my chest or something.

The cough *may* be getting better ... not sure if it is wishful thinking or truth. Although now the cough medicine that was helping me sleep is not being effective, so 3 out of the last 4 nights have had very little/bad sleep.

My mom suggested coconut oil to kill off viruses/bacteria. Not sure if I believe it would help, but maybe if I can find a small amount for not too much ... worth a try I guess.

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My little earphone/headset at work seems to be dying. I came back from my afternoon break and had ten dropped calls in 15 minutes. (New battery - put in a month ago.) So had to use the handset for the remainder. It's kind of funny because at first I really didn't like the headset, but now I am so used to it that the handset just feels SO awkward.

On Monday we're going to figure out where to order a new one (and I'm going to ask if we can get two - one for a backup - apparently these only last about a year or so ...)

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I have been super frustrated with the Swagbuck video apps lately. Either they're having those stupid ads you have to interact with in order to move on, or they're crashing every time you blink. If this keeps up I may focus my video earnings on just Perk. Which stinks because Perk takes F O R E V E R to get to the $25 level.

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My mom was telling me tonight how flooded it is in her area (she lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area) That the swimming pool/rec center in her complex is locked up because of it being flooded.

She said she was kind of feeling aimless after breaking up with latest guy ... so I gave her an assignment. She has to find her local library, GO to the local library, talk with a librarian to find out any volunteer opps, and check out any activities the library may offer -- by Tuesday. She liked my idea/assignment.

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Finances .... I haven't done any looking at my credit card balances in a couple weeks ... or updating in YNAB. I know it isn't going to be pretty. At all. I haven't been saying No to myself a lot .. more like a whole lot of , why not? and go ahead.

Tomorrow I will be working on getting this all updated so I can see how bad it is. My groceries and restaurant (face it, Fast Food) categories are going to ginormous. Since mom and brother aren't coming to visit in June, maybe I might make June a limited spending month. Will think about that more tomorrow and what it might mean.

I do kind of feel the travel bug though. I haven't really gone anywhere further than Kansas City (and that wasn't a "fun" trip) since moving out here a year ago. I'm used to at least one or two out of state flying trips each year.

So maybe I need to think about some kind of short trip I can take - maybe use one or two vacation days. Would have to go alone since NE couldn't take off that much time. This of course will have to wait until I'm feeling much, much better.

I withdrew $15 from Pact yesterday. Payouts this month were pretty low. I *might* be able to cashout $15 from Pinecone this month depending on how quickly todays survey credits. With the $97 I got from FB sales this month and $50 Swagbucks PayPal, I'd be close to $200 in extra money.

Seems like my headache has finally gone away ... so maybe I can sleep some.

Off to the haystacks! (hitting the hay ... catching some zzzz's ... sawing logs, etc., etc.)

So I wasn't at work very long before I knew I had to do something else to get this cough gone. On multiple calls I erupted into a horrible coughing fit. One of which I wasn't able to get to the mute button .. I also was really feeling like I may soon be losing my voice - when talking on the phone I was having to strain to make myself heard.

So I left work early to go to the doctor. She also told me my lungs were clear, but did give me antibiotics for what is probably a sinus infection.

I've taken the first dose tonight ... hopefully it will start helping quickly.

I seriously don't know how much longer my voice will hold out if I keep coughing like this.

When I was in Walgreen's waiting for my prescription I had several nasty looks as I hacked out my lungs (covering my mouth with my elbow of course, even though I'm supposedly not contagious.)

So another $30 out of the FSA money .. I need to check that account soon and see how much is actually left for the year... For next year I plan to take out a much larger amount (had $50/month this year - next year I think I'd be safe at 75 or maybe 100/month.)

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It is really warm and humid tonight. My A/C is set at 78 and has come on a couple times.

I feel for those in Texas and OKlahoma right now with all the flooding and tornadoes. I hope SCFR is okay - I think her home is in the vicinity of some of the recent flooding.

The past few weeks I've made about $97 in sales of items from around my apartment. Tonight I will be spending $20 of it for a 3 shelf bookcase - the person is bringing it to me. (I told them I couldn't come get it til Thursday - they offered to bring it to me! Sweet!)

That extra bookshelf will help me to get my living room really starting to look more finished. I've put in some bids for hanging shelves (to put knicknacks on) but I haven't gotten to them quickly enough.

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I am so freaking tired of coughing! Two weeks ago I went to the doctor and was told .. Oh, it's just allergies. Your lungs are perfectly clear. By the middle of next week you should feel much better.

So two weeks later I am NOT feeling better and the coughing is getting worse - deeper/harder. Of course my temperature is never over 98.6 (normal for me is more like 97.4 .. I'm taking the nasal steroid spray, the allegra D, the cough suppressent, drinking tons of water, eating oranges galore ... This weekend I slept a TON.

I plan on calling the doctor again tomorrow. I don't know how much good it will do, but there's gotta be something. The hard coughing is ... causing other issues. So annoying!

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Cashed out for $25 PP from SBs and a $5 AGC from Bing

On Wednesday I got an email that was sent out to all city employees about a part time job opportunity. It is basically to be a parking ticket attendant for Farmer's Market events and Arena events. It pays $11/hour.

I sent an email indicating my availability and interest. Thursday morning I had a reply asking me for my phone number. The person called me during my lunch hour - apparently I have the job just by virtue of expressing interest and being already employed by the city!

So today I'm supposed to go and fill out payroll paperwork during lunch. That means that I'm going to have to drive rather than walk. (The place I'm going to would be at least a ten - 15 minute walk one way, versus a 3 - 5 minute drive - not to mention the sweat factor...)

I should get at least two 2 hour shifts each week, and possibly longer/more shifts. This is only for the summer season.

It will be kind of a boring job, but it means at least $200/month extra which of course will be going towards my savings goals!

Sweet!

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I sold two more items on Thursday - my ironing board($3) and a set of fleece Queen sheets ($10).

The sheets were an interesting item to sell ... The first person to express interest asked a ton of questions and then after saying she'd come by at a certain time, passed about an hour before! So I sent a message to the next person in line - she had just one question - Are these really fleece and not flannel? Once I reaffirmed what I had posted in my ad (roll eyes) she was at my place 30 minutes later.

Once she got here she told me she was so excited because she didn't even know fleece sheets existed. I told her that they'd been purchased at Costco around 6 years or so ago. I have a full sized bed, and these are Queen.

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Heard from brother dear the other night ... apparently he and mom agreed to hold off on the trip here until September - around her birthday. Oh well ... gives me more time to get my place into shape.

This morning I walked from 17th to 10th street (plus a little maneuvering due to some intersections being torn up.) I got to the spot I wanted to pick up the bus at about 7:27. The bus came by about 7:36.

When I got on and showed the driver my bus station id, he looked at me like I had two heads. I told him - I work at ..... this id is the same as a bus pass. He told me I should be wearing my uniform ... I told him I don't wear a uniform! He let me on ..

Later when I was getting off, he asked me my name and introduced himself. Must be new or something.

I got to the office (after walking another 3 1/2 blocks) about 7:47 a.m. That gave me time to freshen up in the bathroom, fill my water bottle and get settled before I had to start my day. I kind of liked it actually.

--
After work I decided that I would just walk all the way home to see how long that would take me. I also wanted to see what the walking mileage would be.

Turns out it took me about 42 minutes to do 1.66 miles. There were a lot of busy streets I had to cross, so some of that time was spent standing at a corner waiting to cross.

I don't think I'd walk it every time (would have to do laundry more often ... only own two bras ..) but maybe once a week would be good.

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I had misplaced my big medical bill from the ER visit and so was waiting for them to send it again. It came today ... and OH NO! They don't take American Express as a payment form!! I'm not sure how I'm going to do $1000 in 3 months on that card now ... will have to switch all my spending to it from now on. (Want the $250 cash back!)

I should have considered that possibility when I was thinking about getting the AE card. Ugh.

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I've been asked to help out as a Sabbath School Secretary once every 8 weeks (collect the offering envelopes from the various classes) and to help out in the Kindergarten class once or twice a month. I have already accepted the SS Secretary job, but am going to ask some more questions about the Kinder job. It kind of sounds like I'd be the lead teacher?? I really don't want that much responsibility.

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The last time I was at my doctor's office I asked them if I could have copies of my lab test results. So often when someone calls me with them, they run through the numbers like a bear is chasing them.

The ones that were off a bit I already knew, but I was happy to see that all the vitamins/minerals etc. were in the normal range. I guess the fruit smoothies most mornings is doing their job.

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I think I'll probably continue the bus riding, at least on days I don't have obligations/appointments after work. Especially since gas prices definitely don't seem to be falling!

Oh .. the total time in the morning --- Left house at 7:15 arrived at work at 7:47. So 30 minutes.

Walking took about 42 minutes.

Taking the bus home took about 42 minutes (waiting for the bus to come by, then walking home)

Driving ... around 8 - 15 minutes depending on traffic.

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Work was much better today.

Possible solution to issue was discussed.

Last week I started thinking that I'd like to do an experiment. When NE and I went on our little road trip, we took my car. Which meant that my gas tank is much lower than it normally is for this time of month. I did go ahead and add $10 of gas to it on Sunday just in case I didn't like the results of my experiment.

So .. what was my experiment? Riding the bus to work and back home!

Today was day 1.

I caught the bus that goes within a few blocks of my home about 7:35 a.m. That's only ten minutes earlier than I usually leave in the car.

We got downtown at 7:49 ... according to the person I spoke with last week, the bus should have gone on to the bus garage. That person was wrong.

At 7:51 we left with new passengers .. at the first stop I checked to make sure he wasn't going to the garage. He wasn't.

So I got off and preceded to walk roughly 12 blocks to work. I arrived about 8 minutes late.

After work I debated my options. I could catch the inbound bus at 5, go to the transfer center, catch the bus that goes within a few blocks of my house and then be home by 5:40 or so. Little walking involved.

Or I could catch the outbound bus two blocks away from work a bit after 4:45, take it for five or six minutes, get off and walk about ten blocks home.

I chose option two - and got home about 5:10.

Tomorrow I'm trying again - this time I'll start out with the bus that is about ten blocks away from me (nine blocks inbound) and will end up being early for work. However, I will be wearing my tennis shoes and carrying my heels in my bag!

I'll have to leave the apartment by 7:15, which is about 30 minutes earlier than my car time, but I'm also getting in a good bit of exercise. Two birds, one stone.

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I am SO frustrated with the afternoon dispatcher at work. Today I had at least 3 people calling me asking me about a particular bus route. The bus wasn't showing up on the locator screen, so I tried calling dispatch to find out what was going on. It just kept ringing and ringing and ringing. So I had to tell the people that I didn't know what was going on. Ugh.

Finally a 4th person calls and I try again - get the dispatcher. I ask him if anything is going on with that route - he mumbles one word that sounds like yes, and then hangs up on me.

I get that he was probably uber inundated with the drivers calling in, etc., but I have to have information to work with to handle callers! It made me (and our company) sound idiotic to not have that info. This isn't the first time I've had this issue with this particular dispatcher.

I told the office manager what happened - making sure she knew I didn't want him to get into trouble, but that we have to figure out some way for me to be informed of accidents (which is what happened) and other disruptions on the routes fairly soon after they happen. Because people DO call!

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I also had this one caller today whose phone kept cutting in and out and was difficult to understand. So I thought I figured out what he wanted, and gave him the info. Later he called me back and accused me of lying to him! I was flabbergasted! Told him that I hadn't lied to him, but had misunderstood what he was wanting.

Seriously!

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I made a good number of sales on the FB garage page this weekend.

Crockpot - $5
Rice Cooker - $8
iPhone portable charger - $10
Inflatable couch/sleeper - $40

I think there was something else too ..

I also had my share of head shaking moments. One person who was "in line" for a friend - said her friend would be here by 2. Then by 3. At 3:40 I messaged her and told her the friend hadn't shown up. She messaged friend, and told me 'she passed." Ugh!

Then another item that had six people in line for it - first one passed *after* I agreed to lower the price. Then the next 4 ignored my PMs. The 6th one told me she was at a graduation and would get back to me - then did, and asked me my location. (which was posted in the ad - general location) When I told her it, she said she worked on the other side of town and so couldn't come get it. Come on! Reading comprehension, anyone???

I'm going to give the items another go on Tuesday (3 day waiting period to bump posts.) Hopefully some more go!

So NE and I did a road trip to Glenwood, Iowa on Sunday. It was really quite enjoyable. All the rain we've had recently has made everything really green up. We stopped at Mills Lake on the way there - a small, but pretty lake in the Loess Scenic Byway? We also ate at a Mexican restaurant El Portal. It was an awesome place because .... they had veggie fajitas!!!! Usually at a Mexican restaurant I have the option of enchiladas or quesedilas or .... It was SO nice to have something different to choose. It was really yummy too - they included a pineapple ring - so good that flavor plus the other veggies.

Right as we got our check the waiter brought out a desert and told me Happy Mother's Day. Uh thanks ... maybe someday, but probably not.

I didn't end up getting to bed til nearly 11:30 .. on a work night. Still, it was so worth it.

(NE paid for dinner - it was his turn. )

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Anyone else getting that super annoying ad covering the bottom of your screen for CoverGirl? I get it on the blogs and on the forums - it slows the forums down majorly, and when logging in I accidentally clicked on it twice!

I don't mind ads as long as they're not obtrusive like that!

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So it seems my allergies are back at it in full force, even with taking Allegra D. The last couple days not only have I been overtired, but I've also been miserable with sneezing and coughing and just feeling generally ill.

Ugh and double ugh.

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I was reading on a blog or forum or something about how someone felt like their home finally looked like an "adult" lived there and not a college kid. It made me kind of think ... if someone were to come into my apartment, they probably would think "college kid" and not 39 year old.

There's not a whole lot I can do to change that look I think without spending money I don't want to spend. But ... I'm wondering if maybe getting rid of all my moving boxes which are currently stored in my bedroom - some under the bed and some next to it against the wall .. would help. When I move again I'd have to buy new boxes, but boxes aren't *that* expensive ...

I also am thinking I need to let go of my stereo. It was a college graduation gift (half from my dad, half from my pocketbook) which has definitely seen better days. Kari's claws definitely did not help its look.

Then there is the baby dresser which I have hauled around with me since I moved out on my own in 97. It was used for me and my brother ... I'm thinking maybe it's time to finally let it go.

There also is the portable dishwasher ... one of my last major gifts from my dad. I have it sitting next to my loveseat right now as sort of an end table ...

Getting another bookshelf or two, finishing hanging pictures, getting rid of the foldup table, etc., probably would also go a long ways toward "adultizing" my place.

Growing up all our houses were set up so nicely - decorated, good furniture, etc. So I know what it could/should be ... but for some reason I can't make it like that. Somehow the gene of dressing well, doing hair well, caring about makeup, creating a home instead of just a place I live in ... skipped me.

I don't know ... I guess I'm feeling like here I am almost 40 and I'm not married, I don't have kids, if it wasn't for inherited stocks I'd barely have any retirement money (they are 1/2+ of my assets ...) and my place looks like a college kids. This so isn't what I hoped my life would be like at this point.

Not to mention when I see articles say something like "on the low end of the scale are salaries of $35,000/year ..." and I'm thinking - I'd be jumping ecstatically if I made that much! (And at one time I actually made more than that .. had no idea how good I had it.)

And then there is the factor of not really having anyone to talk to/hang out with other than NE here ... and all the friends I've had over the years that I kept in touch with for the longest time .. have kids, have families, have way busy lives ..

Monday was one of those days you can be so glad to not have to repeat.

Work was awful. People calling in very crabby and impatient ... getting told that the cash was $19 off over a 4 day period last week (person who reconciles it was out sick for 4 days ..)

Then I go to the gas station to get gas. First pump doesn't have the cheap gas, so I cancel my card and go to a different pump. Put my card in, and my rewards card ($.42/gallon off) and it shows that I lost the $.42/gallon. I go inside ...by the time I get back to the pump my card has been canceled. I redo it, and my card is rejected. Am about ready to scream like a banshee.

Go inside again, guy runs my credit card and my rewards card. Both work! I fill up for $2.09/gallon.

Then I go to Walgreens to use my $50 cashback. What an ordeal it was to use that money! I'd tried over the weekend in store and online with no luck. Then Monday I decided to see if I could buy ink - of course they were out of the ink I needed. Finally did end up buying a huge thing of cough syrup and a huge container of extra strength pain meds, plus a few miscellaneous items.

--
Tuesday was ok at work. Had a different project to work on along with my usual. Balanced cash box myself to reassure myself. (Can I just say how I think the cash box is almost worse than the crabby callers?)

Came home just so tired and didn't accomplish anything.

I take that back ... I stopped at Goodwill and bought something I can use as a bean masher for my black bean burgers (it's actually a pastry cutter I think) and ... a 3rd chair for my dining table! (I didn't have any cash on me, and hated to charge just $.99 for the pastry cutter ... so was very happy to find a chair that worked for $6.99!)

Oh, I also voted in the city elections.

I also got $25 PayPal from Swagbucks
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Wednesday was good at work. Was given another different project (after finishing the other one.) One that will be ongoing. Also got away from the office for the last 2 1/2 hours making a presentation to the public librarians - actually got up front and talked a little without totally losing it. Impressed myself.

Was heading out to the grocery store when I noticed a wet spot on the carpet. At first I was worried maybe Kari was being naughty ... but then after moving a chair I realized that the furnace was leaking ... Called my landlord and they'll send someone out in the morning to fix it and clean the carpet. (said something about something or other being blocked)

Tonight we're having heavy rain, lots of thunder and lightning and I've gotten an Emergency Alert on my phone about flash flooding. NE is out delivering tonight ...

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I've been reading up a storm the last few weeks. Last week I read a series of 9 books by Marta Perry (Amish stories) and this week I've read around 4 or 5 various books. Instead of getting anything really done with my extra time (while NE is working 5 nights a week ... ) I seem to be spending most of that time reading.

--
I better hit the ol' bed soon otherwise I'll be way tired tomorrow!

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Sunday is NEs and I two year anniversary. Hard to believe it's been that long. A few weeks after that and it'll have been one year since I moved here to NE. Wow. (And I still haven't gotten the necessary stuff to put my front license plate on my car ... thankfully no cop has decided to pull me over )

I had seen this mentioned on the YNAB forums but when I looked at my AmEx account I couldn't find it. But today I was looking at my account and decided to browse the offers, and there it was!

The deal - Spend $20 at Sam's Club and get $20 cash back on AmEx card.

(You do have to be a Sam's Club member already.)

So I thought about what I could get - it had to be something online - not store pickup.

Everything I was thinking about was either store pickup or would have shipping added. Then it hit me - gift cards! I checked their gift cards and they have a good selection.

I chatted with an AmEx CS person to make sure that a gift card purchase would work for the deal. She said it would.

One deal I could've done would be to purchase two $10 Sam's Club gift cards. That would've meant no money spent, and $20 in items I could purchase at the store.

However, I decided to go with something else. NE loves to go to Chinese restaurants, and the Hu Hong place here is one of his favorites. There was a deal where you get two $25 gift cards for $39.98. So ... after the $20 is taken off, you get $50 of food for 19.98!

That will be almost 3 meals out for NE and I.

(Plus it counts towards the spend $1k in 3 months for $250 cash back.)

I spent a lot of money in April. Mostly medical, some overspending in groceries and treats. Bought a couch.

Thank goodness for a 3 paycheck month! I barely squeaked by with putting my 10% of net (of 3 paychecks) into my EF this month. But it got there!

--
Must Spends:
Giving: 10% + 30.00
Rent: 430
Gym: 41.73

Flexible:
Groceries - 160.66
Internet - 65.75
Natural Gas - 23.57
Electricity - 26.93
Auto fuel - 24.26
Restaurants - 14.47
Medical - 877.59
Clothing - 13.48
Household Goods - 113.56
Treats - 52.40
Entertainment - 15.00
Misc. - 26.00

Savings:
EF - 10%
ROTH - $200.00

Extra Monies:
$25 - Swagbucks
3rd Paycheck
$17 Pact
$5 AGC from Bing

Savings Percentage - 17% Gross to Employer Pension, 10% to EF (3 paycheck Net), $200 to ROTH
Roughly 40%

Total EF - 7,992.77

-- $4,007.23 to go to make goal!

I feel really bad for NE right now. His oldest cat, Riddles, is 18ish and he picked him out as a kitten. The last two years or so Ridds had gotten pretty thin (total opposite of all NEs other cats) and the past six months or so NEs had to do more to tempt Ridds into eating.

A couple days ago Riddles had a seizure. Then he had another one yesterday. NE took him into the vet and they did bloodwork. His kidney's are functioning at 15%. NE is preparing himself for possibly having to make a hard decision.

The stress of everything got to him last night at work, and he lost his temper. I really hope he doesn't get fired ... (my assistant teacher was fired for less one year, of course, he's not working around kids.)

Riddles is a pretty special cat. I'll be pretty sad too if the hard decision has to be made.

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My brother placed 76th out of 507 people in a 75 mile bike race this past Sunday. He was pretty stoked.

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I finally got enough points on Perk to cash in for a $25 AGC. It was really slow going this time around.

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I got the medical bill for my Urgent Care visit - $51.xx.

I also got my American Express card - I've never seen a credit card like it - kind of a clear plastic? I won't be running it - just using it to pay the medical stuff and maybe one months tithe/offering to make the $1k spending, so I guess it doesn't really matter too much what it looks like.

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I texted my IT friend from NM tonight (the one with lung cancer.) She texted me back (thankfully!) and told me that her health has been touch and go, but she's still kicking. She also told me that some local yahoos burned down the Family Dollar store this morning!

What serious morons! That town has two places to buy general merchandise/food at - the local mom and pop store (small!) and Family Dollar. Otherwise you have to drive at least 30 miles to get to either big G town.

I have to wonder if they got the idea from the intelligent rioters (sarcasm) ruining Baltimore right now ... Ugh.

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A position opened up at the local bus company. They had interviews last week and again today. Of the 7 people who were slotted for interviews ... only 4 actually showed up! None of the 3 no shows called or emailed or anything to let us know they weren't coming. All I can say is .. Wow. Must be a pretty hot job market out there to blow off an interview.

Still no call from brother. Although he did text me today and let me know that he knows he's being derelict. Will see if it results in actual plans being finalized this weekend or not. Sigh.

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Field trips on Wednesday with the homeschool groups went well. Got to ride a bus through a bus wash twice If you've never taken a tour of your local bus station, you really should.

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Wednesday also apparently was Admin Asst day. My boss gave me a large glass vase full of chocolate. Does she ever know me!

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Thursday night had some excitement in the parking lots around my apartment. A mob of people were shouting and cussing at each other on the lawn near where I park my car. They were at it at least fifteen minutes before moving to the side of the building, and then finally ending up in the parking lot behind my bedroom window. About when the police showed up.

I saw through my peeking out the curtains a guy get patted down by the cop. That's about when I left the window (didn't want to get seen looking out.)

Some of the people stayed out there loudly talking for at least another 15 or 20 minutes. Cursing, talking about tire slashing, knives, guns, kids harrassed at school, gangs ....

Yeah. Not exactly conversation conducive to a restful evening.

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My Fitbit stopped working this week (Monday I think.) I sent an email to Fitbit support and never heard back. I decided to try it out again tonight, and lo and behold, it was working again! (This is the new one I only got less than two months ago.)

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NE had his six week shoulder evaluation on Thursday. His doctor had xrays taken and said everything looks good. NE has added up all the bills for the surgery - $61,000! Thank goodness for insurance!

He will be starting a new work schedule this coming week - nearly 45 hours a week, 5 nights a week. I don't know how long he'll be able to do 5 nights a week. (He used to do 4 ten or 11 hour shifts per week and that was exhausting enough for him.)

He really needs the money for the medical bills, because his eBay sales have been pretty dismal.

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I haven't bought any junkfood this week at all, but I've sure had plenty on a daily basis at work! I've seriously got to stop eating the junk left out "for sharing." I have a bag of Pepitos to snack on, but I think maybe I need something else to keep me away from the "for sharing" temptation.

As I look back at the 40 days I challenged myself to not buy any junkfood, and then the 18 or so days since the challenge ended, I have come to a realization.

For me, there is no middle ground. It has been utterly ridiculous the last 18 days.

The 40 days of the challenge I was able to complete it with very little problems. In fact, I got to the point where I didn't really miss the junkfood. I wasn't exactly any healthier during that time (ER visit and bronchitis anyone??) but that probably would've happened one way or the other.

So I have decided that from this point forward I am not going to purchase any junkfood. I am also not going to participate anymore in the office Treat day (this is partly where I think I got myself in trouble ... all that leftover Easter candy people brought to share ... made me want more, more, more!)

I am going to allow myself three exceptions: 1) If someone offers me something/offers to treat me; 2) If I'm out at a restaurant and I *really* want something (such as the vegan place in O - they have some delectable looking deserts) and 3) If it is my birthday, or some other *very* special occasion

None of these exceptions happen very often.

I also cannot go into Family Dollar or Walgreen's or CVS for anything food related. Period.

I have some pretty big financial goals I'm trying to achieve, and spending $50+ a month on junkfood is not going to help me achieve them.

Junkfood = soda, chocolate, ice cream, pastries, candybars, cookies (sugary kind), pies, cakes, etc.

Whenever I start thinking about buying chocolate, etc., I need to think ... is this worth an extra hour answering the phone? Is it worth putting off the house a little bit longer?

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I updated my net worth in YNAB today. My one stock has been quite volatile the past few months and I haven't wanted to see just how bad it was ... but today I decided to bite the bullet. When including the stock, my networth decreased $15k from January. Not including the stock, my networth increased about $2500 since January. (I'm not going to sell the stock. Even with the volatility, it still is worth WAY more than the original purchase price of around $22 - 28.)

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I went to a free concert Saturday night at my church. It was pretty enjoyable. I even bought a $15 CD from the artist - he is just starting out. (is a member of our church) I was needing a good CD to listen to in the car while the local radio station is doing its pledge drive (didn't they just do that at Christmas? Yikes!)

I think this is the first CD I've bought in at least 4 or 5 years.

I got an offer in the mail today for Blue Cash - spend $1k in 3 months get $250 back. I think that's the one I'm going to go with for my medical bills. That way I don't have to fiddle with trying to make sure I get to $3k in spending, even though it probably *could* happen. $250 is enough reward to not bother with the hassle.

Anyone know if they count Walmart in the grocery category?

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So shockers ... my brother never did call this week.

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I've not been doing well with the whole thing of staying away from buying junkfood this week ... My treats category is through the roof, and it's only the 17th. Ugh.

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I got a notice of a package from UPS sent from Best Buy. I didn't order anything from Best Buy, so have no idea what it is or who sent it. I tried making it where they hold it at the office, but they were wanting to charge me $5.00 to change shipping locations!!! Uh, yeah, no. Whatever it is, it can get sent back (because you know the likelihood of them actually dropping a package off at a time people are *actually* home is, right?)

In reality I'll probably try calling again on Monday and speak to a real person to 1. make sure it is actually for me and not for someone else in the apartments, and 2. make sure there isn't a way to have it held there (I'm sure I've done it before!)

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I'm so glad the work week is over. So very tiring. (read .. boring ..)

In other news ... I read a book this week - Zoo - by James Patterson. Very interesting and page turning. A little bit gory. Something's going on with the animals of the world ... and noone's listening to the main character. This is bad news.

I love James Patterson, and this is one of his stand-a-lone books. (He wrote Alex Cross series and Women's Murder Mystery Club series and and and and and ...)

Next week on Earth Day my boss and I will be doing TWO bus station tours for homeschool groups. They'll be my very first tours. I'll probably have to do them by myself after these two groups. Gulp.

On Wednesday I had a trio of skater kids (long hair, pierced lips ... etc) come in and ask about their "wheelies" they'd left on the bus ... Two MONTHS ago... I told the main one that I remembered them (because I was so flabbergasted when they came in) but that we only keep things for two weeks. So they were long gone. The kid looked so dissapointed.

I like it so much better when I can tell someone - Yep! I've got it right here for you!

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NE hadn't done his taxes. He asked me to print off the forms for him - but my printer was out of ink and the cartridge I'd bought wasn't being recognized. So he was going to print the papers off at the library on Tuesday. Didn't go.

Wednesday he decides he'll just file for an extension. We go to the library and he signs up for a computer. As we're walking around waiting we see a display of papers. One of them is an extension form!

Unfortunately it wasn't until we got to my place and I was filling it out for him (his patience level wasn't very high right then and his eyesight isn't good in dim light) that I realized he'd gotten a state extension form instead of a federal.

Instead of rushing back to the library before it closed, he decided to file the extension online. He thought it would be free. It wasn't - it cost 19.95!! Towards the middle of filling the extension out, he had to run home to get his W-2 form (didn't help his mood at all.) But .. got the extension filed.

This is definitely one area he and I are SOOOOOOO different on. Even if I knew I owed taxes, there's no way I could wait so long to file. I also would not want to do them on paper - I SO love TaxAct, etc. for ease of filing. It would stress me out way too much to wait til April 15!!

I tried to casually suggest setting aside 30% of the money he makes from his eBay sales to cover taxes so he wouldn't have to stress out ... yeah, didn't go over too well. If we ever get to the point of seriously talking marriage .. that is something I'm going to insist on. No way am I going to let something so stupid as taxes get me uber stressed out.

(He might have had the money to pay his taxes this year if it weren't for the shoulder surgery and all the costs from that.)

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Redeemed Bing points for a $5 AGC (just couldn't justify the IHOP card for more points.)

On Sunday I decided to not do a Sam's/Walmart run and instead just filled in with what I needed from the grocery store I could walk to. This was partly because I didn't feel like driving all the way out there, and partly because I thought they'd have my large rewards card ready.* (they didn't)

*I got two rewards cards from this grocery store - a keytag and a large card. I've misplaced the large card - which you have to have in order to use for gas savings. I went to customer service a week ago to ask for a large card (with my points) - they told me it'd be ready by Sunday. So I waited to fill up my car, and of course it wasn't ready. The lady I spoke with said something about them being months behind ... ugh!

I have 11cents/gallon savings currently on my card which I can't use.

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Monday I had a recheck on my Vitamin D levels. Got the call Monday afternoon letting me know my levels were in the normal range.

I don't know if it is because of this or not, but somehow I'm all of a sudden being able to actually lose weight! Even with eating fairly normally. And low activity level.

I'm down 14lbs from my high in January, and almost 2lbs down from my low when I was so sick a few weeks ago. Whatever the reason, I'm NOT complaining!

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I filled up at the gas station for $2.31/gallon (would've been $2.20/gallon if I could've used my card!) I don't forsee any major driving this month, so hopefully that will be it for April's gas.

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After work today I went to the gym for the first time in over 2 weeks. I walked on the track for 30 minutes. I need to figure out a way to keep track of laps or distance - 1 lap is 1/16th of a mile. I didn't push myself too hard, but still felt like I got a good workout in.

Afterwards I stopped at Walgreen's and picked up my Vitamin D and some Easter candy (on sale.)

I have just over 1000 points to get my $50 cashback at Walgreen's. That's just two prescriptions, or a prescription plus a month's worth of walking/logging weight. So I'm starting to ponder what I'll get with my $50 ...

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Tomorrow I get to be away from the office most of the day. My boss and I will be manning a booth at an event at the local university. It would be better if it wasn't going to be rainy and cold ... but still, it's a day away. Plus I get to wear jeans.

I wonder how much free junk ..er...stuff I'll walk away with from the event .. all the vendors give free stuff out - pens, notepads, cups, food, etc.

I put in my first full week at work this past week in a few weeks.

This morning as I woke up and rolled over I was thinking, "What day is it today? Oh yeah, Saturday! I don't have to get up anytime soon."

Health wise I'm feeling much, much better than a week ago. I still have the deep hacking cough which makes people look at me like "why is she out and about spreading germs?" But I've finished my antibiotics so shouldn't be germy.

I somehow have managed to maintain the weight I lost last week, even with a return to almost normal eating habits. I haven't done any real exercise in nearly two weeks now.

Friday after work NE and I went to "The Mother of All Garage Sales" held at the local events center. It cost $3 each to get in. Mostly, it was 30 minutes worth of slow walking.

Most of what was being sold in there was overpriced junk and stuff to clutter your home. Neither NE nor I bought anything - he was hoping to find home/car audio deals. There were a couple vendors in there that made me think of Brooklyn Girl? with all her CVS finds that she resells. Tons of shampoo, etc products.

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I'll be heading off to church here soon. Hopefully I don't annoy people too much with my coughing.

Am debating about whether I'll join the biking/walking group this afternoon. I want to go, but I'm just not sure if I should go - really don't want to exacerbate my cough.

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I'm really frustrated with my brother right now. Back in early February HE raised the idea of having him and mom come out here to NE in May. Since then it's been a game of tag for us to actually connect to finalize plans and let mom in on the plans (you know, so we can make sure she doesn't have plans for that weekend.) Over the last six weeks he's set appointments to talk with me at least 5 times ... which when I text him an hour or so beforehand to make sure we're still on, he cancels for one reason or another.

The last time this happened was this past Sunday. I haven't texted or tried calling him since .. mainly to see if he's going to do anything. Nada.

Times running short if we're going to get reasonable plane tickets - and possibly the hotel accommodations too. He only has ONE weekend available between May and August (otherwise has friend's weddings or work shindigs.)

I feel like saying forget it! But I would really like to have them come out here to visit, etc. Ugh.

I had my followup appointment today with my regular doctor. Of course I forgot to ask her some questions and forgot to mention things. Having NE at the Urgent Care place Friday night was good because he was my backup brain. Anyway, she said that it doesn't look like there is anything to worry about - just rest and get better (I accidentally typed read Freudian Slip?)

On my way home I wanted to stop at the library because my copy of Laura: Pioneer Girl had finally arrived! When I got to that intersection traffic was backed up because of an accident just past the intersection on the side going away from the library.

I ended up going and paying my rent first, and then came back that way. I finally got to pull in and get my book. Now here was the fateful decision I made ... I drove out the backside of the library and debated on whether to go straight or right. Habit made me choose right. For about 30 seconds I thought it was going to be just fine.

Then as soon as traffic cleared coming my direction, there was traffic from the other direction. This went on for 3 or 4 minutes. It only got worse though the closer to 5 it got. Now 90% of the traffic on both sides were those huge honking SUVs.

I had people on my side stop for me several times, but when I'd look to my right, I could not see a thing of what cross traffic looked like.

This went on for ten minutes. There was a line of traffic behind me probably cursing me out. (If no one had been behind me, I would have tried backing up and going the other way ... it's generally a very quiet street.)

Finally someone stopped coming my way and realized that I could not see if the other side was clear AND SO signaled me that it was clear!

This was a good reminder of why I prefer to go to that location on Saturday afternoons instead of a weekday!

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Work was ok today. Very busy and left me feeling pretty drained. I didn't have a sit down with my boss, but she seemed to be in a better mood or something. The vibe was just better I guess.

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I did something I kicked myself for last night. I decided to spend some of my perk tokens on drawings (that's all they're good for.) I saw a drawing for $100k cash. 500 entries for 5000 ... tokens I thought. I had around 30k tokens, so started entering. My token value didn't go down. Weird. I entered again, My token value didn't go down. Stupidly I entered again. Only this time a horrible thought occurred to me ... and I checked my points balance. The balance you can exchange for giftcards ... and it was 15k points less!!! I wanted to throw my phone across the room. Those 15k points represent about 3 weeks worth of running those Perk videos.

So ... no $25 AGC from Perk for me for March. Sigh.

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In good money news, I received my $50 bonus from Discover Checking. I haven't been able to find anything that says how long you have to keep the account open, but I think I'll be safe to withdraw all but $500.

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It is now Friday morning. I sure didn't get much sleep last night. Oh well.

NE brought some bleach over last night and I poured some down my bathroom sink and tub. (opened windows and used the blower too) Worked like a charm. Btw - anyone know where I can get a hair stopper for the tub? I've tried one before, but it was too big for the drain.

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End of 40 day personal challenge!

Although I had a few slip ups, overall I feel pretty satisfied with how it went. I really didn't miss buying junkfood all that much. Going forward I don't think I'll put any restrictions on myself, however, I would like to limit myself most of the time to purchasing only one serving on a trip, and that trip should be one where I have to walk to get it. So if I *really* want something, I have to put forth extra effort to get it.

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I'm going to be adding some projects to my sidebar. Let's see how long it takes me to check them off.