It's been a bit since I last posted. One big reason is because something happened which made me really ticked off, and I didn't want to spew it all out here.

Long story short. My mom has filed for divorce and has moved out. This, after she assured me that she and stepdad had a plan in place if things weren't working between them. So, that leaves me in the very awkward position of renting a room in the home of my soon to be ex stepdad. Yay!

I've been told that I'm welcome to stay. Which is what I've decided to do. One year with four different addresses is way more than enough.

Ugh.

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My ankle is pretty much healed. Tailbone, not so much. Today between driving to church, SS, church, then driving home, meant over 4 hours of sitting. Even with the modified donut, it was too much.

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Things have worked out with my library mentor. I'll be doing a storytime for the church school on Tuesday - kind of a dry run. Then at my mentors school on Thursday. Tuesday I'm also going to be working with my ASL teacher to start learning the signs for my video blog storytime.

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I seem to be back on track with my eating now - which is good, because usually when my eating is off kilter, so are my finances.

April might be a very tight month financially. Although it wouldve been more so if one of my tutorees hadn't decided to not go away over Spring Break.

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So, can anyone tell me. What's the point of getting married or being in a relationship??? Seriously, as lonely as I feel sometimes, is it that much better to be in a relationship or marriage where your partner isn't willing or able to give it a chance - to work through the hard times? I know there are people out there who ARE willing to do the hard stuff of relationships/marriage, but how do you know if you found someone who isn't going to just run away when it gets too hard?
I guess you could say I feel ready to give up on the whole idea of another relationship, let alone marriage.

What happened to divorce not being part of a married persons vocabulary? (except in instances of abuse or infidelity)

This morning I woke up to an inch of snow on the ground. Other areas south of us got several inches. School wasn't canceled, so I worked with my tutoring student.

When I got home I was tired due to not sleeping well (thanks to my tailbone) and was also feeling frustrated at how the tutoring student seems to be trying to sabotage himself. He got a passing grade on his last two quizzes and test - so now he wants to cut our biology study time in half (other half on English). Everyone here who works with him thinks it's a bad idea. But his parents in Korea have agreed to it. So unless he starts understanding it lots better on his own, this last test where he made a 79, may be his highest grade. Ugh.

Anyway. I decided to take a nap. Of course I'd barely laid down when my dad called me to rub in that he was out in barefeet picking oranges. Then I got a call from my ASL teacher telling me class was canceled tonight due to possible ice on the road.

So finally I took my nap. When I got up I talked to my stepdad. Apparantally my mom thinks I've been leaving my dishes in the sink and oatmeal on the counter. Well, the dish in question is actually a pot. I don't use a pot to make my oatmeal. The oatmeal on the counter is a namebrand. My oatmeal is not - plus I keep my scoop in it. I told him no big deal, that I'd put her stuff away if I see it left out. He said he'll talk to her about it.

Seriously, I could care less. It's just slightly annoying to have it assumed that the stuff is mine when I've tried to be ultra concious about putting things away after myself.

In other news (actual financial) I haven't eaten out since Thursday! I'm starting to earn points for the challenge a bit late, but better late than never, right?

Oh, class being canceled tonight means that I'll probably only have one more tank of gas for Feb. That'll mean I'll come in under gas budget this month! Which is good, because last month I went over.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the fact that I'm almost 35 and the prospects ... well, there just aren't any. Then the other night I got a call from the elevator guy (ex bf). He ended up asking me if I thought it would be offensive to a woman he'd dated about a month sending her a text message saying he wanted to break it off. Of course he'd already sent it ... In the course of our conversation he said something about how maybe it's just easier being single.

Take it to today. There's this person I know. She's really a fantastic person in so many ways. Until it comes to money. She and 3rd husband have had lots and lots of issues regarding her way of dealing with money. She and second hubby had the same problems.

She gets it into her head that "she's making money, so why can't she get what she wants!" Yeah. Alrighty.

So today I find out that she has gotten herself an iPhone on a 10-day trial. Mind you, she wasn't at a two-year contract renewal point. So ... full price.

Normally, I would have no problem with this. The problem however is that she is attempting to hide the fact that she has a different phone from hubby. He will NOT be happy. And she knows this. (Needless to say, this is a pattern with her. Hiding purchases. Justifying with "I make money so I should be able to spend it how I want!)

I don't know what the point of a 10-day trial period is, unless you're not sure you'll get good reception. Because once you have the phone and use it for more than a few days, You are hooked.

My guess is she's going to wait until the 10 days are up and then let hubby in on it. Yep, that's going to be fun.

Yeah, so, being single, while not quite a great thing (you know - lack of companionship, cuddles, etc. etc.), it may not be that bad after all. If I mess up my finances, it's all on me. Nobody else can do anything to mess up my financial picture. (Of course if you find someone who has a similar money view as you ... then that becomes a moot point.)

So ... last night on my way to my ASL class, I decided to stop at Sonic and get a grilled cheese sandwich. I was about halfway finished, when I got a phone call. We talked for about 20 minutes.

All this time my car had been turned off. But ... maybe my lights were on???

My car wouldn't start. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luckily I still had my jumper cables in my trunk. Thankfully the lady next to me in her month-old truck was not only willing to jump start me, but knew how to do it.

I drove to my class and turned my car off. It restarted right away. After class it started up, and today I've had no problems.

I just can't tell you how tempted I am to take up the offers from my relatives (dad, uncle, grandma) to get a new car.

Just that big dollar figure being owed to a relative makes me go back to keep on trying to keep my lil' ol' Honda moving along.

Background: it's a Honda Civic 97 with ~121k miles. Lots of mechanical problems, etc. summer of 09.)

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Got my final paycheck from the gym today. $144!!! Woo Hoo!

The forecasters had been saying we might get a mix of rain and snow sometime late Thursday, but that it'd be more rain than snow.

Then ... this morning I woke up a little earlier than my alarm and saw an email from the host parent of the Korean student I'm working with. It said school had been canceled. Curious, I got up and looked out my window ...






It is supposed to keep snowing until midnight tonight, so I suspect school will at the least be delayed or canceled tomorrow.

Yesterday when I was done working with the Korean boy, I stopped across the street and got my oil changed, radiator flushed and brake fluid replaced. My uncle (over Christmas) had told me I should do the radiator fluid soon ... so I finally did it. I'm glad I got all that out of the way yesterday.

Tutoring is going well. I think I'm making a pretty good impression on the host parent. The host parent apparently is the sister of the school's registrar. I may have the possibility of another tutoring student or two from the same school. I met the mom of the autistic boy on Monday, but he was sick, so we haven't talked anymore since then.

I may have a very full schedule soon!

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Tuesday night I had my first ASL class. I loved it! We're going to have a test each week, and we'll have potlucks with the deaf members, and they'll come in and tell us stories and eventually we'll have to sign a paragraph length story while the rest of us write it down. I've found a couple apps on my iPhone to help me practice. There's a total of 10 people in my class, plus two or three instructors.

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I haven't done well at all on the no eating out challenge this month. Somehow telling myself I'm not going to do it has caused me to do more of it than usual. Well, at least I know I won't be doing it today or probably tomorrow!

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Almost forgot. I need a business name for my tutoring. When it was just the one or two kids, I didn't really need anything formal. But if I start getting more ...

So ... any ideas? I was thinking of just registering my name as a dba, but am not sure if that's a good idea. Or, maybe I could use the name of my classroom website I used to have (can't put it on here, because part of my last name is in it) ?
When I had a business before, I had LAN enterprises - don't know if I could use that again - plus it doesn't sound very appealing for tutoring.

For the last six months or so, I've been sweating doing my 2009 taxes. From the calculations I'd made with the 2008 turbo tax, it sure looked like I was going to end up owing around $1500 due to Self-employment taxes. It really worried me how I was going to make my savings last for tuition AND paying the tax.

I was basing this off of making roughly $10k at the gym (plus the w-2 income from January/Feb). Today, though, I found out I'd made about $7500. And that right there made all the difference. Seriously.

First, I qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit. That put me down to owing about $200. Then, I put in my education expenses. That brought me to a REFUND!!!! of ..... $62!!!

This puts me in a real conundrum as to how to do estimated taxes for 2010. I more than likely will make less than 12k for 2010, and will have a similar amount of an educational deduction. So ... with EITC and the education credit, I doubt I'll end up owing more than a few hundred dollars, if that. Maybe just go ahead and send in $300 a quarter, and then get it all back later (most likely)? Just to be safe? I probably need to talk to a small business tax person - I just hate to do that since *every penny* counts right now.

Ugh! I'd so much rather be getting W-2's than have to be messing with all of this kind of stuff.

I hadn't checked my 401k from my former company for a couple months. Today, I logged in just to see how it was doing.

There was NO money in the account!

The last time I'd looked, I had over $4,000.00!!!

It was after business hours, so I sent an email asking what had happened to my money!! A small portion of it was employer matched money (maybe $400 or so) but the rest of it was money I'd put in - either through a rollover, or from my salary.

I've had a 401k from when I was teaching continue to be held for me, now for nearly 5 years. This makes me more than slightly perturbed.

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This has been one spendy month. Nearly $200 spent on gas (when a normal month *might* be $90). Then of course renting a truck to move, and paying rent (for Feb.) to two places (guess that actually would count towards Feb and not Jan.)

Next month will hopefully be better. I'll be making another tuition payment (I took the three payment plan - just to spread out the pain a little bit).

On Wednesday I left my tutoring bag at the school - in it was my iPhone charger along with a marker board and other supplies. So, I had to go to Walmart and get another phone charger - because I was going to be at the gym all day Thursday, and had to have my phone working.

Yesterday as I was leaving the gym to go to my Thursday tutoring session, I got a call from the headmaster of the school I'd interviewed at on Wednesday. After I'd interviewed, apparently someone else with more experience working with 8th graders and who could do Reading Recovery applied - and they went with her.

Of course I thought I'd be starting Monday, so had already told E he needed to find someone else. I'd also told a couple gym regulars ... So, had to call E and grovel. He gave me hours - but less, and instead of Tuesdays, Mondays.

So I did my tutoring session (without the markerboard) and headed home. And got royally lost - even with the gps on my phone. It was raining cats and dogs and super dark. I was nearly out of gas when I finally found a gas station.

I pulled off the freeway and filled up. Across the street was an AT&T store. My phone has been coming close to dying on me 3 or 4 times in the last week when I've been far away from any place to recharge it. So ... I went in and I bought one of those portable battery chargers ... $50. I also had the guy change my texting plan to the $15/1500 text plan (this last bill I had 400 texts over my plan limit of 200). Then ... I somewhat impetuously decided to sign up for the talking gps function. I figured I could try it out for a month and see if it was better than the free gps (no talking/no auto rerouting) option. $10/mo extra.

I tried out the new gps function today. I really really like it. Sometimes its a little slow on telling you turns, but if you miss a turn, it automatically reroutes. SO nice not having to mess with touching the screen to see the next turn. You also can be choosy about how you want them to make your route. SO nice.

I guess you could say I did a little bit of retail therapy. At least I don't do it very often, right? And these were all things I'd been thinking about and debating about pretty much since I first got my phone in September (I think)?

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After a nice week weather wise, it was really strange to go outside today and be freezing my tail end off again. I hope it goes away soon and we get back our low 50's!

Today was my first tutoring session with I, the sixth-grade boy. He didn't have any actual math homework, so I taught him the concepts for his next two-days assignments, then he played the various math iPhone games I'd downloaded. (math was estimating multiplying fractions, and multiplying fractions). It went pretty well, except we ran out of things to work on before our time was up. I don't think that'll be a normal occurrence though.

His mom gave me $60, and said she'll give me the remainder on Wed. and Th.

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I arrived at the school's library early so I could be sure to have a parking spot (and to make sure I didn't get lost). The school librarian was still there when I arrived. We talked for a few minutes, and then a bright idea hit me.

I asked her if she was certified, and she said yes. Then I asked if she had her Master's, and she said yes! Then she told me that she'd just finished mentoring a library student last semester!! So ... I asked her if she'd be willing to be my mentor, since I'd just moved to this area and needed a nearby person. She said yes!!

(in the library program, you have to have a mentor as you go through it who essentially checks off that you've completed various skill tasks required for graduation)

Seriously, I felt like this was a God-thing.

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I have an interview on Wednesday at noon for the keyboarding teacher position. I SO hope I get it!

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One of the ASL books I ordered on Friday came today. That was some real quick shipping! And now I have a piece of mail with my current name and address on it, so I can get a library card (once I find where the local branch is located!)

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Spending:

Business expense: iPhone math apps - $7

Today my 5 male helpers and I got all my things completely moved out of my former landlady's house. They are now all either in storage, or at my new home.

Yahoo!

Former Landlady (FL) did a number of things that messed with my mind. First, on Friday when I went over to pack everything, I got another note.

"Laura, the kids have been having trouble remembering what food is ours and what is yours. So, I packed up all your food into bags and boxes." FL

And ... she had! Even the food in the freezer - which was really strange, since she didn't even have any food in there.

Before I left, I had a chance encounter with her. I spoke up, and told her thank you for bagging/boxing up my food. She completely ignored me.

Um.. okay.

Then... today. When I got there, I had yet another note. "Laura, I wish you all the best. You are a great person. Leave the key under the mat, and make sure you have your mail forwarded." FL

She had moved all my pantry boxes, etc. into one huge pile next to my room. The whole time we were there, she stayed shut up in her room with the animals. I was glad I'd had a chance to say goodbye to them (the animals) on Friday.

My dad offered me a good suggestion I think. I'm going to write her a note and ask her if she'd tell me what had happened. That I don't understand why her attitude towards me changed so drastically. Then, if she wants to tell me, she can, in writing. Which, seems to be her favorite way of communicating.

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Tomorrow I start my first day of tutoring with my new student. There is a slim possibility of a 5-hour a week position teaching keyboarding to 8th grade students at a local Christian school. If I get that ... then I *will* be quitting the gym!!!!

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On February 3, I'll be starting to take a class at my church on American Sign Language. I was talking to the instructor at church this weekend, and she told me that if I really enjoyed it, and did well with it, that I could take the next level with her. That would enable me to know enough to interpret sermons. (like she does)

That *really* intrigues me. Not only would it be an awesome skill to have as a librarian, but it would also be an awesome way to give back a little at church.

She was giving some stats during the announcements. Out of 10+ million baptized Seventh-day Adventists worldwide, there are less than 100 baptized deaf members. Our little church of less than 200 members has 10 of them.

So, if I can become good enough, someday when I move to wherever my librarian job will be, I may be able to help bring in new deaf members.I just think that would be SO cool.

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I spent several hours tonight sketching out my assignments for the coming semester. There are some weeks which look like real hair pullers. But, if I can keep pretty much on schedule, I should be able to do just fine.

They also put out the summer schedule. So today I put in my advising form for the last of the three Master's classes where you have to be on campus. I'm hoping that my form gets put through early enough that I get into the particular section. It's the only one that doesn't meet on Saturday.

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Spending ... ugh...let's see, what do I remember?

Truck rental: $18x.xx (added insurance)

won't get reimbursed for cost because the storage place I used was not the one with the reimbursement coupon

Gas: my car $23.xx
rental truck: $27.xx

Offering: 1.xx

books for ASL class: $23.xx
(used on Amazon)

Change of address form: $1

Driver's License change: $11

Hmm.. I'm sure I'm forgetting something... oh well.

*My mom paid for the pizza today, which was very nice of her. The guys ate almost every slice of the 3 large pizzas and most of the salad my mom added on the side.

Classes started on Tuesday. Two of my classes were up and running with no problem, but the third one was having some technical difficulties. It finally was up and running today.

I knew I was in a different section for my Children's Lit class, but hadn't realized that the required reading list would be different. As far as I can tell, the books I read over vacation are NOT on the new list. Ugh! Even better, with the other list, I didn't have to read Goosebumps - there were several other series I could choose from. Now, I have no choice. Double ugh! Also, the other section had you write book reviews as blog entries - this one only has you write the book reviews. I'll probably still put them up on my blog - if I'm going to take the time to write reviews, may as well put them on my blog!!

Anyway, only one of my classes looks like it will be a lot of work - the cataloging class. I have to do a research paper/project for it. I already chose to do it on graphic novels and comics, since I have somewhat of a knowledge base from the class I took this past summer.

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I will be starting to tutor a 6th grade boy next Monday in ... Math. Don't laugh too hard, I'm trying not to. As long as it keeps to stuff like adding fractions with unlike denominators, and very basic algebra, I should be okay. I hope.

3 1/2 hours a week for $100. It will definitely help the budget, since I'm spending more on gas, and had to cut my hours at the gym (both due to longer commute).

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The last couple days I've been feeling really yucky. Don't know if it is allergies, my body releasing stress, or what. All I know is that all I want to do is sleep, when I need to be doing schoolwork, and Friday will be packing and of course Sunday moving all the big stuff!

Ugh!

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Almost totally forgot! My 5 year blogaversery was on Tuesday! Hard to believe that I've been nattering on about my thoughts on money and life here for 5 years. Like I've said before though, I'm so glad to have found this community here.

SA'ers are the best!

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Spending:

Gas: lots of fillups 3 x in the last 9 days!!! ugh!!! roughly $87 total

Groceries: $12 - Costco veggie patties
$1.23 - frozen veggies
$29.32 - misc. groceries

Storage Unit: $35 (Jan rent + admin. fee)

For the most part things are going well in my new place. This morning I was slightly annoyed when I went to eat breakfast and there were no bananas left. Which is why I made a grocery store trip today .. bananas for the counter, and bananas for the fridge (plus other stuff).

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Oh yeah, I figured out a way to get to the gym without paying so much in tolls. It only adds about 5 minutes or so to my driving time (as long as there's not much traffic). So, I'm hoping that'll work out long term. Or ... I'll get another tutoring student or two and be able to quit the gym completely!

I'm starting to get settled in to my new home. Slowly, I am making my room into my own. It is so nice to have space to move around without bumping into furniture. I'd say that this room is at least twice as big as my former room.

I didn't leave quite early enough to make it on time for Sabbath School yesterday. Luckily I wasn't the only one running late. I mentioned to everyone that I needed a couple guys on the 23rd. Then I found out I had made a mistake -- I thought for some reason that the 23rd was a Sunday. Nope, Sunday is the 24th! So, I am going to have to call the truck place and change my reservation to the 24th. Ooops.

After church I stopped by my former landlady's to pick up my textbooks, and also see about getting some other things. She was home I think, but I didn't see her. Apparently she was not very disappointed about my leaving ... she'd already moved my stereo and toaster oven along with some other things right by my room. Oh well.

I went to the animal shelter after that, and spent a bit over two hours. There was this one dog there that I just absolutely fell in love with. It was only 8 months old, and so sweet, and so beautiful. It was adopted before I left! There was also this cat - the kind with the smushed nose - 10 years old. It's owner had died, and that's how it ended up in the shelter. It was gorgeous and so friendly/loving. My heart broke for it.

My worst fear with my cat was something happening to me, and no one willing to take care of it -- part of why I bought life insurance (don't have it anymore though).

On the way home I stopped at Dairy Queen. I love their blizzards.

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No-S update: I am down 20 lbs from my highest weight (of about June, 2009) and 17 lbs since July 23 when I started No-S.



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I'm not sure what's going on, but I didn't receive notice of any replies to my previous post. I only found out I had replies when I came here today to catch up on the blogs. I also haven't been receiving notices of new comments on other people's blogs I've subscribed to.

Anyone else having that problem?

You know how when you see drivers do idiotic moves in front of you, or near you, it seems as though there never are any cops around to see it?

Well, today as I was driving home (oh glorious word - home, as in the place where I can use the kitchen in a relaxed manner, have a bathroom right off my room ...) a red pickup truck was in the center turning lane next to me. The driver of the pickup truck cut in front of me to get into my lane, causing me to have to brake hard in order to avoid him. Then, a few moments later, the same truck pulled back into the center turning lane, again, causing me to brake hard.

Unluckily for this truck driver, directly behind me was a cop. The cop smoothly pulled into the center turn lane, and followed the pickup truck into the parking lot with lights on.

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As I mentioned above, the word "home" has a much better meaning for me now. As of Thursday night, I essentially moved in to my mom and stepdad's home. Sweet bliss.

I had wanted to avoid my landlady seeing me haul off my computer and also get my frozen foods on Thursday. However, I'd forgotten she doesn't have her kids on Thursdays, so I couldn't do it without her seeing/hearing. I ended up getting my computer, some clothes, etc. All 4 animals greeted me, and the black cat Sierra, nearly escaped out the front door during my last trip to the car.

I decided to try again today to pick up food from the pantry, as well as fridge food and freezer food, and of course my computer keyboard I'd left behind. Unfortunately, I guess the kids got out of school early today for whatever reason.

So, again I got everything I wanted to get, except for the fridge and freezer food - landlady was in living room/kitchen with a friend talking the entire time. All 4 animals greeted me, and hung around me most of the time I was there.

On my way to the house, I stopped at the bank and got a cashier's check for Feb. rent and wrote a note to my landlady giving 30-day notice. I was worried that she might try to say I had abandoned my stuff or something (since she could NOT have not noticed all my activity on Thursday.)

I left the note, and the check, taped to her bedroom door just before leaving. I had hoped to not go back until Friday to pack the remainder of my things, but I realized tonight that I'll have to go back once again tomorrow - I left my textbooks there. Ugh. I just hope she's not home.

The hardest part of all this is seeing the confused looks on the dogs faces - especially Nikki's. Today when I walked in the door, Kayla, the dog who slept in my room, *ran* full flight to me with her butt wiggling vigorously. It just about broke my heart.

Ugh. It wouldn't have been any easier in May to leave the animals ... but it still isn't easy. I would've liked the opportunity to at least have taken the dogs on one last walk ... oh well. In a few years I'll have a place of my own again, and hopefully be making enough money where I can afford a dog and a cat - animals that I can train and spoil and love however much I want to!

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Spending today:

Deli - $4.68 (breakfast and lunch)
Gas - $25.46
Feb rent - old place: $290

I didn't get any groceries today. I'd been planning on getting some more bananas, but just ran out of time before sunset.

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This morning was my first run from my new home to the gym. It took about 45 minutes, which wasn't too bad. What wasn't so great were all the tolls. I'm going to have to experiment to find a way with less tolls, and not too much added time.

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Today was payday. Even with the extra shift I worked on Wednesday, it was a paltry amount.

$317.68

So ... $31.77 - Giving; Savings; Tax Savings

I met with my mom and stepdad last night. It went really well. If my mom can remember that I'm 34, not 15, then I think it'll be a good situation. 

I found a storage unit right near mom's. The smallest non- climate control unit is $20 move in, then $79/mo for 150 sq feet. The awesome thing is that they reimburse you for the cost (actual - not taxes, etc.) of your rental truck. 

So I rented a truck that is probably bigger than I need, and got it for less. The person I talked to quoted me $123+ tax. Then I added a dolly for $10. She then told me the total was $166!! I was silent, then asked her to please break that price down. I guess she thought she was about to lose me .. Because she did something that got the final cost to $142!

The actual cost of the truck is $110, so once I'm reimbursed, it'll only cost $32!

I have E and A already lined up to help (from gym) and should be able to get another guy or two from church. Will pay in pizza hut and water.

I'll be starting to stay at my moms tonight, but I won't pay my first rent till Feb. 1 ($200). I'm going to write landlady a short note telling her there'll be movers at her house on the 23rd, and that I'll be coming by on Friday to defrost my freezer and get everything packed. I'll mail it, along with a cashiers check for feb rent, on Saturday. She might get it by Tuesday. 

It's going to be so hard leaving these animals. The black cat Sierra has been cuddling up with me a lot this past week. She's always greeted me in the mornings, but now she's even been laying on my lap.

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I found out something really awesome yesterday! Little House on the Prarie starring Melissa Gilbert as Ma is going to be playing at the Dallas Summer Musicals this May!!!

I've decided this is how my birthday money will be spent, and I'll take my mom along for mothers day. (she named me after Laura Ingalls - she watched it the whole time she was pregnant).

The Lippizanier stallions are also coming to Dallas (feb 21). I saw them back in the late 80's and remember how fantastic they were. 

If I had disposable income, I would buy season tickets x 2 for DSM and go to as many programs as I could. They also have Wicked and Shrek ...  

Gym went well. Had a new member sign up.

Made it to the meet the possible tutoring student on time.

Maybe it's because I'm feeling so stressed out in general, but I don't think it went that great. The kid was great, but I didn't know what the eck I was doing. I took the kid home, and got royally lost on the way back.

So I get home. The dogs greet me. Excited to be taken on a walk.

I go get a doggie bag. I go to get Nikki's sweater. No sweater to be found. I debate about asking landlady where it is ... but then a little intuition comes in, and I check the leashes. Gone.

What kind of person does this?!

I so felt like going into the living room and throwing things at her and yelling and telling her just where she can shove her asinine behavior. It's bad enough when her behavior is hostile to me, but so much worse when it affects the dogs - completely innocent in the matter. They don't understand why I'm not taking them out. They saw me get the bag - a clear sign to them. Then we don't go anywhere.

I've called my mom. We're moving up our expectations discussion to Wednesday evening. Hopefully I can be moving the most important items (computer, clothes, frozen food) to my mom's after that. And not have to spend another night in this hostile environment.

I'm going to take pictures of anything I leave behind at that point so that if once she realizes what's going on, she decides to retaliate by messing with my stuff, I can prove it. Probably need to get a current newspaper to photograph with it all.

Tomorrow I'm going to start working out the details of a condensed schedule for me with the other gym workers. That way I won't have to drive in so far 4 days a week.

My mom thinks I should write out a letter saying why I'm leaving. Thinks that my room still being so cold is a breach of contract - I'm not sure about that, because she did "try" to make it warmer by "insulating" with cardboard and plywood and provided me with extra blankets. My mom thinks I shouldn't pay her anything for Feb rent. I'm thinking that would come back to bite me later - she might be able to come after me legally somehow. (small claims court?) Plus, it wouldn't really feel honorable. Even if she's not being very honorable, two wrongs don't make a right.

The sooner I get out of here the better. I just will really really miss the animals.

I didn't have a talk with my landlady this weekend. She came home Friday night slamming doors and loudly complaining about how if she has to turn up the heat (presumably for me) then she (meaning me) should pay for it. It was pretty obvious she wanted me to hear it. Pretty silly really, because no matter how much she turns up the heat, it's not going to help how cold it is in my room.

So, anyway, after that, I realized that she isn't in any kind of mood to have a rational discussion.

---
Yesterday at church I made my need known for a new living situation as soon as possible. One possibility arose, but I think it's pretty slim.

An older lady (maybe late 70's) had been renting out a room to someone up till Christmas. The person had been there for a year and a half, and apparently was driving her crazy, so she finally told the person to go.

From her one question of me (do you have a car?) I surmised that the problem had been the tenant was asking for rides a lot.

She didn't sound too enthused about taking on another tenant, but promised that she'd think about it.

I know nothing about what the space is like, nor how much it would cost ... but I figure if it works out that the lady is open to my coming there, it may just work out in the other details. (Gotta have a little faith, right?)

My other option that I'm looking at again (which I chose to not go with before) is living with my mom and stepdad. I stayed with them this weekend, and my mom offered it again to me. I told her that I wanted her to sit down with D and work out what their expectations of me would be (i.e. what would it take for them to both be comfortable having me in the house all the time) and then I'd take a look at it and see if I could live with those expectations. I also told her that if we did it, I'd want to have a weekly conference where we'd feel free to constructively share what's working and what's not working, so if anything's bugging anyone, it won't take more than a week to get it out and figure out a solution.

I would have to rent a storage unit for the majority of my stuff, and my commute to the gym would nearly double. But .. if I can find enough tutoring students, I could quit the gym, or cut way back -- and be much closer to where most of the tutoring students would be located.

I'm thinking of offering $150/month, plus whatever household chores they'd like me to do. Then $30/month more for utilities. That would give me $110 month towards the extra gas and rental of storage unit.

We both would just have to keep in mind that this is short term. Who knows, maybe this summer I'll manage to find a school in desperate need of a librarian, and can get my emergency certification and then move to wherever that school is. (Dream, dream ...dream..)

---
One way or another, my personal deadline for getting out of here is two weeks from today. I wish I could do it this coming Sunday, but I don't think that's possible.

It is not healthy for me to live in this environment.

--
Saturday I made it over to the animal shelter. I ended up only being there a bit over an hour. There were a lot of new dogs. Penny and Lenny were both gone - hopefully adopted (and not in the back sick or something). There were also a lot of people there - part of why I didn't stay very long.

I went to a free music concert at our sister church. It was pretty good - not enough to buy the lady's cd, but I did leave $1 offering for her.

After the concert I went over to my mom's. We watched the Cowboys stomp the Eagles. Then today we played with the Wii for a while. I showed mom and stepdad how to do the boxing, and we played skee ball and darts on another game. They're thinking about getting the Wii Fit.

Mom made a cottage cheese roast for me. There were enough leftovers for me to have lunch the whole week! I'd been thinking about making enough quiona and cornbread, and opening up a can of baked beans for lunches. But this way I don't have to *use* my landlady's cooking stuff. Heaven forbid!

---
Today I cleaned out my car. There was a bunch of stuff I threw away.

I'll say 20 points worth (for the challenge)

I also cleared out a good bit of stuff from my pantry that I don't think I'll ever get around to actually using. I'm going to see if I can find a place to donate it.

I'll give myself another 20 points for that.

----
I've decided to not replace my printer just yet. Once I move, I will either replace it, or maybe work out a deal with my mom on using theirs. (maybe buy every other ink cartridge? or pay 1/3rd of cost?)

---

I wish I had a temperature gauge to find out what the temp is in my room right now. My feet are freezing, my hands are slightly cold, but the rest of me is okay.

It sure was nice sleeping in a *warm* room last night!

---
Oh, I forgot to mention this before. When I got back last Sunday, there was a sign on the washing machine saying that it was broken. However, on both Wednesday and on Saturday when I got home from church ... guess what I heard? The washing machine.

So this lady is trying to make me mad with the animals, and to top it off not letting me use the washing machine. Jokes on her though, cuz when she's not here, the animals still choose to be in my room, and I washed most of my clothes before I came back! (and did some more at my mom's this weekend)

I'm SO ready to get out of here!!

So, I did a stupid thing this morning. I didn't know I had done it until I got home this afternoon.

How did I find out? By one of my landlady's famous notes!

What had I done? I left my space heater on. Major stupidity, but NOT done on purpose. I hadn't turned it on since before I went on vacation, and just plain forgot it was on this morning as I was stumbling around getting ready to go to work.

Understandably, she was ticked. I'd be too. But, instead of saying, "Hey Laura, you left your space heater on this morning. That's incredibly dangerous. Please don't let it happen again!" then I could respond with abject apologies, and make sure it doesn't happen again .. and we could move on ...

Nope, she writes me a note telling me that she'd found out my space heater was on, and that she's decided to give me notice of an earlier move out date. June.

She then goes on to say that she's selling her house this summer.

--
Today I was studying my SS quarterly lesson on the fruits of the spirit - specifically love. It really hit me hard, all the uncharitable thoughts I've been having towards my landlady.

I had decided that instead of reacting to all this by taking flight and possibly leaving bad blood, I should be the adult and see if we could talk it out and clear the air. Maybe I'd be able to find out what was really going on here.

After getting that note this afternoon, my resolve to have that talk with her weakened measurably. I was again ready to schedule the movers to come get my stuff ASAP and take whatever place I could find.

Thankfully I decided to call my dad first.

After talking with him, I've decided that I'm going to write her a note saying that we need to talk, and when would be a good time for her. Leave the ball in her court.

I'm thinking of leaving it on the kitchen table in the morning before I go to church.

If she bites, then I'll start by saying how sorry I am about the space heater thing, and continue by saying that I think there've been some frustrations building, and I'd like to hear what she thinks. Then go from there.

Hopefully the conversation can make it tenable for me to live here until May. If not, then an intensive search for a new home will begin.

---
I also received a disturbing piece of mail from a government agency resulting from a failed company I owned in 2000. I'm going to make some calls on Monday to figure out what to do about it. (I thought it was taken care of way back then!)

---

In gym related news ...

K, another worker at the gym, talked to the owner yesterday for quite awhile. She expressed to him our frustration with not having enough supplies to keep the bathrooms stocked, and sometimes not even to do the towels. He agreed that wasn't a good thing, and that now that he's done with his "football middle age thing" (my words, not his) he's going to pay more attention to his business.

So ... this morning I texted E to tell him we were out of laundry detergent - and I had a full load to wash. He then called me and told me that he'd be in later with a lot of supplies. I'd heard that one before, so kind of rolled my eyes. Miracles do happen! We now have more than enough shampoo, deodorant, hairspray, detergent, etc., to last a few months! (no body wash yet .. he's still going to get that). Now we are to tell him whenever the supply closet (which I organized today) gets down to one of anything - and he'll make sure it gets replaced.

If this actually happens, it will make life so much easier at the gym!

---
The tutoring session I was supposed to attend yesterday (in order to meet a possible tutoring student) was rescheduled for Monday - due to bad weather closing the school & the mom feeling sick.

Mom told me that there may be another lady with a second grade boy who'd be more able to afford my $25/hr rate than her rate.

So, I could possibly have 6 hours/week of tutoring (or more). That would be very, very helpful.

---
What's up with sweet potatoes?!

Last week when I went to Walmart for my weekly grocery shopping, they didn't have any. Then this week they had some, but they were completely unappealing.

I ended up finding some at Albertsons, but they were $1.29/lb versus the russett's for $.98/lb!

I thought I saw on some list somewhere that winter is their growing season?!

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I had to stop by my bank today to figure out what was going on. On Tuesday I had deposited two checks, but they were not showing up online, either as a pending or completed transaction. The teller wasn't able to tell me why it wasn't showing up, but she said that it did show up in my account. Weird.

---
Spending today:

Wal-mart: $5.87 (fruit, egg sub, treat)
Albertsons: $3.21 (sweet potatoes)

Today didn't start out great. I got a phone call from E asking me to come in and work a shift. As I half-heartedly got ready to go in, I got a text saying it was a joke, and thanks for my flexibility. I was ticked off. Thankfully I was very careful in my text response, and found out that he'd truly needed me to come in - but had found another way to take care of it. E needs to learn the right time to say "just joking" and the wrong time. (today was my day off)

---

Won't go into it, but the situation with my landlady still isn't getting better. I went out to Target this afternoon to look at printers, and then saw "Love Happens" at the dollar theater.

When I got home, I was just overwhelmed with the desire to get out of here asap! So I checked out Craigslist (again - been doing a lot of that lately). Miracles! There were at least 4 really good possibilities which had just been listed today!! One is for $300/mo with the additional responsibility of pet sitting their dog! Another one is just a few blocks from where I am now ($255/month). I'm kind of wondering if this isn't God providing a way out for me ...

--
Here are the printers I'm considering. I'd love to hear what you all think about the options - or know about ink costs for them. (i.e. can I use the Walgreen's refills, etc.?)

1. $39 HP Deskjet F2430 All-in-One Printer

2. $40 Canon Pixma MP250 Photo All-In-One Inkjet Printer/Copier/Scanner

3. $45 HP Deskjet F4235 Multi-function Inkjet Printer, Copier & Scanner

4. $49 HP F2480 All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner

5. $49 Canon Pixma MP490 Photo All-In-One Inkjet Printer, Copier, Scanner - Energy Star Compliant

There are three things I mainly want to be able to do: 1) print stuff for school (research papers, etc) 2) print coupons and 3) scan photos

*all prices are off of walmart.com

Thanks!

In my post yesterday I mentioned about how the situation where I am living is going downhill. One of the tensions is the issue of dishes.

So, today after work I stopped at Albertson's and went to the paper goods aisle.

For $6.88, I got:

100 paper plates
50 Foam Cups (hot chocolate, cider)
20 Party Cups (juice/water/milk)
48 piece variety set of plastic ware

So, the materials cost $6.88, but the value of achieving peace of mind (at least regarding this one issue)? Priceless!

----
After thinking about it carefully, I decided to not get a portable DVD player. It just would not really get enough use to justify the expense. Once school starts on the 19th, I doubt I'll have very much free time at all - either at work, or at home. So, I can make do with two streaming movies from Netflix a month, and then take the physical DVD's to my mom's house when I go visit her.

What I really do need to get is a printer with scanning capability, and a replacement power cord for my netbook.

Although I can't get on the internet at the gym via Wi Fi, I can use my netbook to type up discussion postings and journal entries for my classes. I have the feeling that I will definitely need to be spending my time wisely this coming semester - there is a lot of reading required for my Children's Lit class, as well as quite a bit of writing. My two other classes also appear to have a good bit of requirements. I don't think this coming semester will be as easy as the last one. I'm ready for it though.

---
If it works out with the student on
Thursday, and I can just find tutoring students for 6 more hours a week ... I am going to quit my job at the gym. Or .. maybe cut back to only two days a week ..

10 hours a week of tutoring would give me $1000/month income (pre-tax) which would be $150/mo more than my gym income at 29.5 hours. I also would save on tolls. I might save on gas, but that would depend on how the hours are spread out.

---
When I stopped by Compass today to deposit my paycheck, there was a couple up ahead of me at the teller. The husband was asking the teller what was the "inactivity fee" about that they'd gotten a letter about. She explained that it was just a letter letting them know well in advance of the change in terms, and that all they had to do was make one charge per year to avoid it. They didn't seem to like that idea very much, and were considering closing the account. The teller than used the "it's good to have in case of an emergency!" They ended up not closing it.

(I wasn't trying to listen in .. the participants were just loud!)

Overall, my California trip went really well. My very favorite part of the trip was the day my dad, grandma and I spent with my brother in San Francisco and finally at his home in Napa. We stopped at Ghiradelli's and had hot chocolate, then somehow wound up under the Golden Gate bridge where we discovered a part of San Francisco none of us had been to before - Fort Point. Later, we played three games of Rook, and finally played Wii bowling.

We were planning on visiting Hearst Castle on our way from San Jose to Loma Linda, but we got started at nearly 1 p.m., and by the time we were within 30 minutes of Hearst, it was past time for the last tour of the day. So, we all agreed to continue on to Solvang.

A *lot* of eating out was done on this trip. So much so, that if I don't eat out again until this summer, it'd be just fine with me! On New Year's Eve we ate out at the Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills (by the Farmer's Market/Grove). The tip for that meal, and the hot chocolate at Ghiradelli's, were the only things I paid for the entire trip.

My grandma wasn't quite sure what her Wii was all about. She kept calling it "wi fi". Once we got to her place, and I set it up so we could bowl, she got the hang of it.

In Denver, (layover) I experienced my first deicing while on a plane. I was quite happy that my return trip was non-stop.

I got quite a few new clothes. We went shopping at an outlet place - Coldwater Creek, Liz Claiborne, and Izod's sister store, all contributed to my wardrobe. Then we also hit up JC Penny's for one more item we couldn't find at the outlet place. All in all, for just a bit over $100 I got - two dressy tank tops; a new purse; a short sleeved sweater top; two other tops, and a dress.

---
One downer of my trip, which really had nothing to do with the trip at all. I got a call from E telling me my hours had been cut to 27. When I asked him where those hours had been cut (thinking only 4 had been cut) he told me Thursday. I used to work from 8 to close - he was putting me as noon to close.

I asked him if I could have 8 to 3 instead, to keep my schedule basically the same. He told me that K was the one wanting the morning hours. So then I told him to cut a few hours on T and F to equal out the 4 instead. He then tells me that those hours had already been cut!!

So then I asked him how he was figuring 27 hours, because it sounded like 8 hours were gone from my schedule. In the end, he made it so I have 29.5 hours.

I was expecting a cut in hours, but it still hurts (financially).

---
I had an interesting homecoming (to where I live). I was greeted at the door by all 4 animals. The two dogs raring to go for a walk.

However, the first acknowledgment/greeting I received from any of the humans was 6 hours later when I went out to the living room and told the daughter that Kayla was outside whining. She snottily informed me that Kayla was not whining. Umm ... ok. I just walked out to the living room for no reason, and happened to see Kayla at the door.

My next acknowledgment was from my landlady this afternoon after I had placed the doggy bag in the trashcan. A short curt "Be sure to lock the door!"

Nice. Adding to that the lovely argument I got to overhear last night between the mom and the kids ... is it May yet???

At least the animals are friendly to me.

---
The dishes situation is completely ridiculous. I had a mug of hot chocolate last night. I rinsed out the mug and the spoon, and placed them in the (empty) dishwasher.

Tonight, I went out to the kitchen to put groceries away, and found this note taped to the mug cabinet "Wash your own dishes!!"

I am seriously contemplating buying paper plates, cups, and plastic ware. I hate the waste and the expense, but it might just be worth it for the peace of mind.

I am also contemplating about whether it would be all that horrible to move during the semester if I found the right situation ...

---
Something which may help me be a bit more flexible in how much I can budget for housing ... my mom is letting me "have" one of her students for the $25/hr rate. She's been tutoring him at the $50/hr rate, but the mom just isn't able to keep going at that rate.

It would be 4 hours a week, so $100/wk. But it would be about an hour's drive one-way (assuming no major traffic snafus.)

If I do well with this kid, then it might lead to more people willing for me to tutor their child. So, this could be a good thing - especially with my hours being cut.

I'll be meeting the mom/child on Thursday to try it out.

My two biggest concerns are: 1)My mom is going to somehow hold this over me - that there is going to be some kind of extra expectation of me which hasn't been stated yet (like "I'd be glad to help you with getting a different car, but you have to promise me that you'll keep it clean and neat."), and 2) That for one reason or another the child and I won't gel, or I'll have no idea what I'm doing, and completely mess it up, and that somehow that will end up messing up my mom's tutoring business ...

I guess I shouldn't worry over milk that hasn't spilled yet ...

-----
While I was in San Jose, I ended up telling my Uncle about all my car troubles this year. He basically offered to either co-sign on a loan for a new car, or pay for it up front, and have me pay him back when I can.

The offer does appeal to me very much. Every time I get in my car I wonder if something is going to go wrong.

My dad recently replaced his car. He looked for months for a used car, or even for a few years old car (like an 09 leftover on the lot). He found that the used vehicles were going for as much, or more, as the new vehicles.

My uncle is big on Subaru's. They're good cars .. if I could find one that was similar in size and gas mileage to my Honda, I might go for it.

I just am not sure how I feel about going into such large debt to a relative. Paying it back in good time would depend so much on my finding a *real* job (i.e. not minimum wage!) once I graduate. But if my car dies on me, or gives me more mechanical headaches ... I'll end up having to do it anyway, plus have used up more savings to try to fix it.

Ugh! I've got such a headache thinking about all this!!

---
Spending:

Gas: $22.41 (Sunday)

Deli: $4

Groceries: $22.78 (replenishing things I ate up before the trip, etc.)

Almost forgot -- extra monies:
Brother - $40 (birthday money)
Grandma - $50
Dad - $200 (cell phone, space heater, baggage fees, + extra just because)

I'm thinking about getting a portable DVD player - something I can take to the gym to watch movies on, or use at home (since my computer's dvd program still isn't working!).

$10 of my brother's gift goes to saving/giving, but I could put the other $30 towards a portable DVD. Then if I used $30 of the money grandma gave me -- I'd have $60. If I used $25 of the extra my dad gave me, that would give me $85 to buy one.

I've seen them for right around $80, but need to do some research to see if I can find one for less. (I was told by all three that they *did not* want me to put all the money into savings or just bills - they want me to use it for something frivolous.)

I also kind of really need a new printer. It needs to have the scanning capability. Two or three rounds of printing out journal articles for research papers at the library would probably equal out to the cost of one. (my mid-term paper research cost about $18 in printing costs at the library)

---
Sorry if this is all over the place. I think jet lag + plane leaving 6:20 a.m. CA time on Sunday, and then getting up at 5:30 this morning for work all are coming together to make me very tired and out of sorts.

Yesterday I did go to church, and I did exchange the Terry's Oranges for the correct flavor, but I did not go to the animal shelter. I didn't go today either. I have however kept myself pretty busy.

I spent a great deal of time yesterday evening copying 5 audiobooks onto my computer, and then transferring them to my iPhone. I had to delete a few I already had on there (and had listened to already).

Today I got up kind of late (because I was up till past midnight loading the audiobooks!) I first went to the dollar theater for the early showing of Ice Age 3. It was really cute - well worth the dollar.

Then I went to the library and dropped off the audiobooks from Saturday night, and picked up 4 more. I would've picked up 5, but several of the ones I was looking for were checked out.

When I got home, I started cleaning and sorting through everything, and then finally got my big suitcase out.

I had to empty that also - I'd stored most of my out of season clothing and some clothes which I'd not been able to fit into when I moved in here in September. But ... two pairs of jeans which were in that category, now fit again! Yahoo! (Thanks No-S!!)

While I was doing all this packing and cleaning and sorting, I was also working on loading up my next 4 audiobooks. I wonder if I'll really have time to listen to 7 books (8 if I get the one off the website). No matter how many I actually get to, it will make for a great head start for next semester! I just have to be sure to jot down notes about the various books.

My suitcase and laundry basket are both out in the car now. (I didn't think it would be much fun to try to drag them outside at 6 in the morning tomorrow!) So, I am pretty much all ready to go!

I've been keeping an eye on the weather in Denver, and am a tad bit nervous. My layover will be there on Tuesday afternoon. They are supposed to get hit with snow by Wednesday sometime.

---
Tomorrow I'm heading over to my mom's straight after work. I'm supposed to help her finish up her baking. She's making a bunch of cookies, etc. for my brother's Christmas present. She's already spent at least one full day on this ... I really hope she hasn't made a lot. There's only so much room in my bag!

---
I have a business idea in my head. I don't know if it would work or not .. or if anyone would be willing to pay me as much as I'd need for it to work.

I'm also not sure what the best title would be ...

My idea is to offer my services from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. Monday - Thursday; and from 2 - 5 p.m. on Friday's. (I may be willing to do an occasional Sunday as well, depending on schoolwork load.)

My services would include: grocery shopping; folding laundry; picking up dry cleaning; picking up a max of two kids from school; tutoring/supervising homework/music practice, fixing after school snack/cleanup, maybe fixing supper or starting it, etc; chauffeuring kids to after school activities; etc. During the summer, I would offer enrichment activities and taking kids to the park, museums, playdates, etc. Other tasks could be negotiated.

Pricing would start at $25/hour for the first 20 hours per week. Hours 21 - 30 would be priced at $15/hour.

If I could get even 20 hours a week doing this, I would be able to quit the gym. I would still have the morning hours, plus most of Friday and Sunday to do schoolwork.

My mom charges (and gets) $50/hour for tutoring. Of course she already has her Master's ...

I'd have to up my car insurance for carrying kids. I'd also need to put together a contract spelling out everything parents and I agree to. Probably would also need some kind of medical release and accident waiver, etc.

What do you think of something like -- Mom's Assistant? or Mom's Third Hand???

Do you think my rate may be too much?

Anyway, just kind of mulling the idea in my head. I really would like to get out of the gym, and it would be nice to make more money than I am now (wouldn't take much!)

Oh yeah, my selling points: Texas state certified teacher with 8 years of experience, in grad school working on Master's; excellent driving record; love to play games (board games, catch, swings, etc.) believe strongly in interactive learning; may be able to save money on groceries (clipping coupons for items frequently on their list - maybe sign up for grocery game for their favorite store, and make suggestions as to what they might want to stock up on ...)

Yesterday at the gym I only had 6 people come in the entire day. I was there from 7:30 until 7 p.m. Four of those people informed me that they wouldn't be back till after the holidays.

Today ... I was at the gym from 6:30 until 2. Two people came + 1 other person who paid their bill.

E and I were talking about the amount of people expected to actually be around during the next few weeks. He decided that he'd close G2 on Wednesday of each of the next two weeks, and just have G3 open till 3 pm those days. That makes a lot more sense, but kind of stinks for those who were planning on working those days.

K, the lady who takes over on Fridays at 2, told me she had a job interview and offer this morning. She is hesitating on accepting it for two reasons - one of the days she'd have to work is her church choir day; and the other is how far of a drive it would be. Otherwise, it'd be great - 24 hours a week with a certain and unchangeable schedule for $10/hour.

K is an older lady, recently divorced (ex-h was a cheating scoundrel), has two grown children, and has MS. We get along pretty well, and I'll miss talking with her if she takes the job, but I think it'll be better for her - much more stable than the gym. E keeps changing her schedule, and recently reduced her hours to 17/week. I'm just waiting for him to do that to me. Ugh.

--
My brother is finally on facebook! I tried to get him to get on it when I first did, but he obviously didn't.

---
Tomorrow there is potluck after church, and then I might be going to a get together at the SS leader's house. He mentioned it last Sabbath, but was kind of vague on the details.

I bought an apple cheese danish dessert for potluck tomorrow. I had been planning on making my corn pudding again, but the kitchen was overrun by teenagers making cookies. Oh well.

Depending on if I go to the get together, I probably will spend a few hours at the animal shelter in the afternoon. If I don't do it Saturday afternoon, I want to be sure to do it on Sunday. Although I'm thinking about seeing another movie on Sunday at the dollar theater - either Ice Age 3 or Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Ice Age has been there for awhile now, so there's more chance that Meatballs would still be there when I get back from CA.

I need to download the audiobooks to my phone, return them to the library, and get a few more and download them. Oh yeah, I need to pack too. Maybe I won't have time on Sunday to see a movie.

---
Deposited my paycheck today.

My groceries today included a couple of things I could have put off till next year, the cheese danish, and a food gift for my stepdad - so a bit more than I'd really planned on.

Walmart - $14.69

I need to go and exchange the food gift tomorrow though. I bought a Terry's Chocolate Orange ... only I bought the Toffee Crunch version instead of the milk chocolate one. Not paying enough attention I guess.

--
I've been checking the weather in San Jose and Loma Linda the past few days. It seems like San Jose is about the same as Dallas weather wise right now. I really don't want to take my big new coat (a number of reasons - one being how bulky it is) but am not sure if my purple coat will cut it.

Are bags still $15 for the first one you check-in?

I'll be taking a box of food goodies for my brother from our mom. Any precautions I should make? (will be in my checked suitcase) I know not to have anything wrapped ... but other than that?

---
Almost forgot. I bought a Flashcards app from iTunes ($3.99). It'll come in handy next semester when I'm having to learn various terms for one particular class. But the reason I went ahead and bought it now is that I've started to get serious about memorizing Bible verses. I made up 18 flashcards this morning which I can study on the plane while in airplane mode, or of course during my 3 hour layover in Denver. My goal is to have all 18 memorized perfectly by January 1. Then I'll add more. I have two down pretty good already. I figure it's good brain work, and it's good for the soul too.

(Also in the flashcards app they have a list of 300 GRE words/def/sample sentences you can download to study. I downloaded them as well - may as well work on my vocabulary too.)

*Today my mom took me to her hairdresser and had me get a cut and highlights. It looks very nice. It'd been several years since I last had highlights put in - last time I think was at Fantastic Sam's for around $60. This lady charged at lest 4x that amount. :OO: If I'd realized how much she charged, I probably would have chosen my mom's other idea - spa pedicure and manicure. But irregardless, I really do like my cut and color.

*My mom went on a trip to Nashville this past weekend with two of her tutoring students who she watches sometimes on the weekends. The mom of the younger girl had bought her two four-inch ceremonial daggers, and had given her permission to take it to school. :OO: My mom did not know this. One of the daggers was still in the girls backpack as they went through airport security.

Luckily they chose to not call the police or any of the many other things they could have done. That was one lucky 11 year old!

*My uncle D who lives in Ohio and has never been sick a day in his life, went into the hospital yesterday with heart attack symptoms. He had surgery today where they placed two shunts in his heart, and appears to be doing okay.

* When I got to my mom's place on Tuesday night she wasn't there yet (out tutoring). So my stepdad and I had a chance to talk for a couple hours. That was really nice - we don't talk all that much usually because my mom and I tend to chat to each other mainly. We also watched a movie my mom would not have liked, but I liked it.."State of Play" with Ben Affleck, etc. I'd equate it with Primal Fear (Richard Gere) and perhaps Michael Clayton (George Clooney). Good twists and turns and an unexpected ending.

*I took my practice exam for school librarian certification on Saturday night. Today I got my results. An 80% was passing ... I got a 79%. I am very extremely happy with that, seeing as how I've only taken one class dealing with the subject matter on the exam. A year from now, I bet I'll be able to ace it.

*We have a new housemate. *He* moved in yesterday afternoon. Apparently he sleeps during the day, and works at night. This should be interesting.

*My mom didn't have a 4 candle for my brownie cake. So, instead of turning 34 yesterday, I turned 35. She told me my other two choices were 32 or 37. I was okay with the 35.

*Payday was Tuesday: $549.xx

While I did get paid for the 6 hours of cleaning, it was at the normal 7.25 rate. Pretty cheap cleaning labor if you ask me. Although, I probably wouldn't have thought anything of it if E hadn't said that he'd try to get us $10/hr for that time. Oh well.

So ..$55 - Giving; $55 - Savings; $55 - Tax Savings. That leaves $384 for other bills, etc.

My Dec. 30 check is going to only have 5 days on it, so will be quite small.

*I am probably going to have to up my texting plan for my phone. Before getting the iPhone, I very rarely used the texting function. Now though, I have a number of people who I text back and forth with regularly - including E (mostly about gym business - easier to make sure he has a written record of what I relay to him than just verbal).

My last bill I was 199 texts over my 200 limit - which equaled to about $20 extra dollars. So, I paid $25 for 399 texts. I have the feeling that this months is going to be similar, if not more.

So ... I think that I'll have to go to the $15/month plan for 1500 texts. I don't see myself ever using that many texts in a month ... but then again I never thought I'd actually use up the full 200. Ugh!

*Spending Dec. 15/16

Deli: $4.68 - Breakfast/lunch (treat)
Costco: $16 - 10 pk Rice Dream milk sub.

I have two dollars cash + some change left of my spending money. I don't think there's anything I'll need to get before Friday when I'll take out my next cash infusion (and deposit my paycheck).

Groceries this week should be extremely minimal, since it'll basically just be for the weekend. I'll be going back to my mom's Monday after work, and then Tuesday fly away to San Jose!

My invitation to purchase the beta version of YNAB 3 came around 5 p.m. today.

I purchased it quickly. $34.95

I don't remember exactly when I first started using YNAB, but it was before I bought my current computer, and this is at least three years old. When I first started with it, it was a very effective spreadsheet program. I'd been getting so frustrated trying to find a program that would do virtual envelopes like I wanted to do them. Then I saw the link in a SA poster's signature (Jesse) - someone who was pretty active in the forums and seemed pretty intelligent.

I checked out his program, and instantly was jazzed! Live life on last month's income! What a concept! Plus it did perfectly what I'd been looking for with virtual envelopes, without paying the monthly fee (Mevelopes - I'm looking at you!)

One thing that has amazed me from the beginning is how customer service oriented Jesse has been. A number of times I had questions, emailed him, and received a personal response in less than 24 hours. A few years ago he started a forum for YNAB users. There are many long time users who are more than happy to help out new users with questions. Some of them have become employees of Jesse in growing the YNAB business and product (because they love it so much!) Customer service is still top notch.

One thing many Ynaber's have been asking for is the program to work on a Mac. With the YNAB 3 version, it will now do just that!

Right now with paying tuition and buying textbooks, etc., I'm not really able to use it as well as I'd like -- but even so, it is helping me to assign my actual incoming dollars jobs until they're gone, and I have to go to savings.

YNAB is what helped me be able to not panic (too much) when I was laid off in February, and to not worry (too much)when it took *forever* to get unemployment checks to start, and not to worry overly much when paychecks from the gym bounced or were late.

I'm really looking forward now to the upcoming iPhone app - but that'll probably not be till they get most of the bugs worked out of the beta desktop version.

---
I received my last textbook today. So now I have all the textbooks I'll need for next semester. That's just one less bit of pressure.

--
I tried a new strength training routine today. Used a bunch of combination moves -- *attempted* an elbow plank w/donkey kick -- will be sore tomorrow I think.

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I better get going - need to pack to go to my mom's tomorrow. Mmmm brownie cake!

Earlier this afternoon I wanted to take a nap. In order to do so, I had to carefully manipulate Max who was sprawled completely across the middle, and find enough space on the edge. Later, Nikki came and jumped up - she found space behind my back.

I eventually had to get up (to take my practice exam) and both animals left as well.

While I was taking my exam, both animals returned and were trying to get my attention. I told them I couldn't pay attention to them right then, because I was taking a timed test. They both eventually ended up on the bed again. Max on top, and Nikki wrapped up under the covers - peeking out her head once in a while.



---
The practice exam, my very last assignment for the semester, had a time limit of 3 hours. So, I figured if I started it around 6, and finished by 9, I'd have time to mess around on the internet for a bit and then head off to bed.

Well... it was 80 multiple choice questions. Even with the animal interruptions and taking my time on each question, I was finished in roughly 50 minutes.

No more schoolwork (assigned at least) until January 19!

-----

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do the rest of the evening.

I think I've used up my allotment of Netflix streaming for December (I'm on the $4.99/mo plan - two DVD's at home a month + 4 or 5 hours streaming). So, until I figure out how to get the DVD program working again, I can't watch movies on my computer.

Really don't feel like watching t.v.

Eh.. I'll figure out something I'm sure.

Tomorrow I'm thinking that I'll make my Oatmeal/Banana/Quinoa/Chocolate pancakes for breakfast, plus some to freeze for later. Then will try to find the dollar theater to see "Invention of Lying."
Then I suppose I could put some time into organizing my room better. Maybe I'll go over to the animal shelter too and volunteer some ..

-----

Recently I've gotten a hankering for The Cheesecake Factory's Eggplant sandwich. I've had it twice, and it was *so* good, yet definitely not cheap. I wonder how difficult it would be to make that myself? I've bought eggplants before with the intention of making something with them ... but they completely deteriorated before I got to them. Maybe because I was just too intimidated to figure out how to actually cook one - so I procrastinated??

---
So far no spending today .. but it's only 7:42 and I'm bored.. hopefully I can figure out something to do for the next few hours that won't cost anything.

--
Oh yes, the No-S update - or "Why I Love the Weekends!" I started the No-S eating plan on July 23rd. It went well for the first month or so, and then had a few bumps and bruises for a few weeks. Since then though, I've done well on it.

As of today, I have lost 12.8 lbs since starting! Which is 17.2 lbs less than my highest weight (reached in June).

I just can't express fully how happy and content I am with this way of eating and living.

So ... this morning as I was getting ready to leave to head off to work, I managed to crack the toilet seat. (go ahead and laugh manically here - I did, silently.)

I left a note saying what happened and asking if landlady would like me to get a new one, or if she wanted me to just give her whatever an equivalent one would cost. (I didn't use the word equivalent ... I guess I kind of thought that would be understood.)

I got home today and asked if she'd seen my note. She told me that she had, and that she'd gone ahead and bought one at Wal-Mart for $20.

As she said this, I was thinking that sounded like a lot of money for a toilet seat. Then she told me, "They had toilet seats from $5 all the way up to $70. So I decided to get one near the middle in quality." She also told me that if I couldn't afford the $20, to not worry about it.

I was the one who broke it, so I feel like I should pay for at least part of it. I'm not so sure that I should have to pay for an upgraded version though. Am I being cheap? Is $10 a fair amount, or should I just bite the bullet and give her the full $20?
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I stopped by the bank today and got out my $40 for groceries/misc. + I decided to take out an extra $20 to treat myself to something(s) special for my birthday (15th).

I'm not sure exactly what I want to do yet - maybe go to a first run movie and eat out at IHOP? Or go to a movie at the Studio Movie Grill and get a grilled cheese + dessert? Get a pedicure before heading out to CA (although with the weather they're having, not so sure I'll be baring my feet all that much)? Get a new pair of jeans? Or maybe just use part of it now, and save the rest for spending money on my trip... (Can you tell what are some of the things I'm really missing being able to do?? Not that I did any of them often, but it sure was nice to be able to do it once in a while without having to think about it *too* hard.)

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I didn't really have much I had to get for groceries today. I just needed enough to get through for the next 8 days (really 7 - I'm going to be at my mom's Tuesday for supper - she's making a brownie cake for me! Yum!- and also Wednesday for breakfast and lunch).

I was really wanting some marshmallows for my hot cocoa last weekend, but I'd already done my shopping for the week. So today I was looking at the marshmallows and saw the store brand for $.92 (minis). But then I saw a new product which intrigued me. A bag of chocolate coated marshmallows for $1.00. I *almost* bought those instead. But then the frugalite in me said that there was only enough for two cups of cocoa, while the other bag had enough for at least 10, and for less money.

So, anyway, my groceries today totaled: $17.38.

I also put some change in the bell ringer's thing - not sure how much, maybe $1.xx.

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I am now completely finished with two of my classes. On Sunday I'll be taking a 3-hour practice exam, and be finished with the third class.

Today I picked up from the library 5 books on CD which are on the book list for my Children's Lit class next semester, plus another book on the list. I can only check out 5 audiobooks at a time, so I'm planning on getting them loaded onto my iPhone this weekend, and then getting 5 more. (I found a total of 15 audiobooks from the list.)

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I've been really trying to work on certain ... words ... in my vocabulary. 99% of the people who know me probably have never ever heard me mutter them out loud. But *I* hear myself mutter them, not to mention think them. I feel for me, especially as I'm getting older, those words are an immature response to situations or descriptions. (Not passing judgment on anyone else - this is *just* for me.)

So, I've been doing a lot of thinking. There's a particular forum on Delphi which I have slightly participated in, but read very regularly since 2004. It mostly consists of women. The frequent posters can be very funny - and I find myself frequently laughing out loud at some of the things they post. They also can be very caring, rallying behind posters who are in some trouble or another (whom they're able to verify as a real situation). However, they have a tendency to use certain words a lot. And, they can be quite biting and critical and sarcastic.

I'm debating on whether I should continue to read there. If I fill my mind with some of the topics (and words they use) there, how am I going to be able to stop myself from thinking/muttering some of those same words/sarcastic attitudes?

However, I need to find something else to fill my time that I've spent there. Part of it maybe I can use to work on memorizing scripture. I'm not sure though where I can find a good, *clean* source of humor though. Any suggestions?
--
Oh, for any of you who are fans of Goldie Hawn or Chevy Chase. Last night I watched (from Netflix Instant) the movie "Foul Play." If I read correctly, it was the first big part Chevy Chase had in a movie.
It's a comedy/murder mystery somewhat similar to Alfred Hitchcock style. It was really funny - Goldie plays a librarian. Chevy plays the detective who protects her from ... the Albino; the Dwarf; and Scarface. Oh, and I *loved* the Johnny Tidbits character - comedic gold!

It's set in the 70's. I think Goldie is sporting a Farrah Fawcett (sp?) do.

Tonight when I got home I found that I had another textbook arrive. 3 down, 2 to go.

I also had a package from a dentist's office. They sent a brochure, a letter worth $50 off my first appointment, and ... a toothbrush! I can always use a free toothbrush.

---

A few days ago I downloaded the newest version of AVG. As it was downloading, it told me that I needed to update a DVD playing program called Roxio something or other. I looked everywhere in my computer, but didn't see anything by that name. So ... thinking that Windows Media Player plays DVD's, I made the oh so smart decesion to just delete any programs with DVD in the title. :bigeyes:

AVG finished installing perfectly at that point.

Last night I decided I wanted to watch a movie. I put my movie in, and hit "play DVD" in WMP. I got the error message saying it couldn't play DVD's - that I needed to change my screen resolution and colors. So ... I tried that. I tried all possible combination. Still didn't work.

In the end, I watched a movie off of the Netflix streaming.

I'm hoping there's an easy and inexpensive solution to my dumb mistake. Anyone? Pretty please?

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Spending:
Deli - breakfast: $3.01

About two months or so ago, I decided that I was going to go see a movie at the dollar theater after work. I wasn't totally sure where it was, but knew it should be close to 35.

So, I plugged the address into my iPhone's map function and set off. The directions had me exit off of 35 and then continue along a road that changed names three times. It had me going, and going, and going. Finally it had me turn into a swanky residential area. The name of the street/subdivision *was* the name of the street for the theater, but obviously there was no theater there.

This past Thanksgiving, my mom, stepdad and I all went to Julie & Julia at this theater. It was fairly near Cracker Barrel. I tried to fix in my mind where it was so I could find it again on my own.

Tonight I was bored and had finished everything I possibly could finish as far as schoolwork and laundry, so I decided to go see "The Invention of Lying."

I took off along the frontage road because I wasn't positive which exit it was off of. When I found what I *thought* was it, it turned out to be one in a mall. Not a dollar theater.

Frustrated, I turned around and headed back home (and stopped by Taco Bell!)

I'm going to have to get precise directions of how to get there from my stepdad. Hopefully, the third time going there will be the charm!

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Today, two of my textbooks arrived. Yay! One of them (the $66 one) arrived in a wet package. There was some water damage on the top and bottom edges, but it still looks good - and will still read just fine!

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My heater:

While the heater isn't exactly making my room *warm* it definitely did it's job last night by helping to take some of the chill off. We got down in the low 20's.

I was fairly comfortable today sitting at he computer with just a sweatshirt, etc., and a throw blanket on my lap. (gloves on my hands)

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A little bit ago the city's fire department had one of its trucks drive through our street. They do this every year. When you hear their sirens, you run out with a canned good. They then throw candy out on the street and go on. It was kind of exciting. The fireman on the truck didn't have a coat on - yowsa! He must have been cold!

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Spending:

Taco Bell: $3.75

This afternoon of course it has warmed up to about 50 degrees and it's okay in shirt sleeves in my room. Tonight though it's supposed to get into the 20's, so a little heat will be good!

I stopped at Home Depot on my way home from work. They didn't have the DeLonghi model in stock which was highly recommended to me by a number of you. So instead I got something that I think is fairly similar, and was about the same price. I have 90 days to return it if it doesn't work like I need it to.

I got the Pelonsi Convection Oil Filled Radiator HO-0218.

I'd read for the other model that you're supposed to run it for a number of hours outside to get rid of the chemical smell. However, when I read the instructions for this one, it didn't say anything about that. After setting it up (with the ever so unhelpful diagram) I put it outside anyway. I'll probably just leave it out for two hours or so.

I'm not sure that my landlady was too happy with me getting it. She made the comment that it is pretty big, and wondered about the wattage. I assured her that I'd only run it when I was actually here.

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Last night as I lay in bed dressed in three layers (shirt, sweatshirt and fleece jacket) trying to get warm, I felt very frustrated about this living situation. I don't really mind the smallness of the room. I love having the animals to interact with, etc. There really are a lot of good things about here.

What is really starting to grate on me though is having to pass by all their rooms anytime I need to use the restroom. Or getting up in the morning and having to find my way around in complete darkness because the nightlight has been turned off. Or having the daughter come and tell me to turn the kitchen light off, as I'm standing at the back porch door waiting for Kayla to come back (twice within ten minutes she came to my room whining to be let out). Or the whole dishes situation ... yes, that is still not really resolved. And then there is the fact that the landlady is almost always either in a bad/sullen mood or in a talk-your-ear-off forever with no understanding of cues that you really really need to go.

Ugh. Sorry about the vent. I guess this whole freezing room thing has just culminated my other little frustrations.

*I think I'm going to add to my prayer request list that I'm able to find some kind of small mother-in-law type apartment for $400/month (including utilities) or less to move into this coming May. That way I won't have to deal with the owner's family too much, and have a bit more privacy.

It's probably a long shot, but really, finding this place for $290/month with all the storage space, was quite a long shot - and He worked it out.

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In other news ... today I found out that my brother has both a car charger and the extra battery pack charger for the iPhone. And, he said that he'd let me use them both while I'm out there. Yay!

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Spending:

Space Heater: $38.98 Home Depot

I think, that maybe, just maybe, having the move out plans for May just might be a good thing. Though I sure will hate leaving the animals.

Back when I first moved in, I managed to capture pictures of the two dogs and one of the cats. However, the second cat proved to be quite elusive to having photos taken of him. On Sunday, inexplicably, Max, the cat, came into my room and laid on my bed. That is where he stayed for a number of hours, mostly sleeping.

Without further ado, here is Max:



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In the forums I asked for ideas on how to best winter proof the sliding glass patio door which my bed is right next to. Several people suggested plastic, and another suggested insulation plus plastic.

When I made the suggestion to my landlady last night, she did not care for the idea of insulation out in the open. Said something about fiberglass. I didn't push it because at that point I could tell she wasn't in a good mood.

Today when I got home I found this:



My landlady had covered up the sliding glass doors with plywood and cardboard (as well as the windows on another wall). It is actually warmer in here. Now all I need to do is get a little space heater and I think I'll be able to live with it.

Any suggestions for space heaters for small spaces? (100 square feet or so)

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The knit hat ($1) I'd bought last week at the dollar store was good, except that it didn't cover my ears. So today after work I went hunting for a hat which would cover my ears. I found this ($5) at Big Lots (and got a scarf ($4) too):



Love my fashion statement? Hah! So do I! (At least my ears will be nice and toasty when walking the dogs!)

Oh! They also had the gloves where you can take the top off and expose your fingertips - pre-made for $3!

I'm quite happy with my $1 solution I made by cutting off the fingertips of just the thumb and forefinger.

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And last, but certainly not least ... drum roll please ...... I got my grade back on my Barefoot Running paper! If you haven't guessed already, I got an A.

If you care to give it a gander, you can read it here: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfc49ps8_0dqx4mjdf

I need to probably add some pictures and such to it to make it easier on the eyes when reading - but for my assignment I could only do 4 pages for the position statement, and I used every bit of that.

Today I decided to take it pretty easy in order to try to get past this cold or whatever that has had a hold of me this week. Had a pretty nice day, sleeping in and relaxing.

This afternoon I took the dogs out for a walk. Before I left, I checked the temp. on my iPhone and it said 47 F. I figured that was a lot better than the 28 F it had said at 8 a.m.!

I went out wearing this coat:



To put it mildly, the wind was *cold*. It whipped right through my coat and my sweatshirt I had on. We had a very short walk.

When I came back in I mentioned to my landlady how cold it was outside, and how the wind just went right through my layers like I had nothing on. She then asked me if I had a warmer coat. I told her that I didn't.

So then she asked me what size I wore, and I told her. She then brought out this:



I tried it on, and it fit perfectly. She told me her ex-husband had bought it for her a few years ago and she'd never liked it and only worn it a few times. The jacket is now mine!

****Warning: Religious slant ahead***

The funny thing is that I have been praying for the last few weeks to be able to deal better with her. I've been asking God to help me find ways to show her his love, and give me patience in dealing with her talkativeness.

Well, he kind of turned it right around on me with HER showing me God's love! He sure has a sense of humor.

****End Religious slant****

I watched two Lifetime Christmas movies tonight. The first one had the stereotypical two people are thrown together who are seemingly vastly different. They both end up spending *two days* together with one of their families. They end up falling in love. The end.

The second one was a *little* bit better. This time it was the stereotypical two people who are completely at odds with each other from the beginning. Big town girl with high-power job and great fiance finds fiance cheating with her boss. Loses temper and job. Finds a job in a small town. Small town guy is sexy man in town. Rep as a player. Then over a period of 9 months or so, they grow to like each other - and even end up sleeping with each other. Then one of them gets a phone call with an enticing job offer. They fight, and the one takes the job offer in anger. They miss each other terribly. Small town guy gets in some kind of bad accident. Big town girl finds out (both about the accident and that small town guy really isn't a player), and rushes back. Happily ever after. The end.

This I think is why I've pretty much stopped watching t.v. Most romantic movies, whether Lifetime or other, follow about three or maybe four different formulas. Rarely do they ever end without the two main people getting together by the end. (One notable exception was with Jennifer Anniston and Vince Vaughn "The Breakup.")

Romance fiction, whether Christian or non, also pretty much follow set formulas. But somehow I can stand that a bit more than with the movies .... not sure why.

Anyway, watching these movies tonight just kind of got me into a bit of a rant about it all.