When I got home today from taking our 19 yr old cat, Baby, to the vet (who we were thinking we'd have to let go of two weeks ago .. but he's holding on,) I got a Facetime call from my mom.

I had literally just walked in the door. If she'd called a few minutes earlier, I would've missed the call.

I think I've mentioned before that I was adopted by my dad. My mom, is my biological mom, but the man who was my dad, adopted me when I was 2 1/2, shortly after marrying my mom. He died back in June of 2012.

So ... the news my mom had for me today. My biological dad, who still lived in the town I was born in, had died. His memorial service will be on Saturday.

I wasn't really sure how I felt about it when she told me, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it now.

He never made any attempt to reach out to me over the years - not even when I attended college for two years in my birth town. (Not why I went there, but ... still...) So, I don't know that I feel a sense of loss per se ... unless it is the loss of the opportunity to ever show off what he missed out on (if I ever actually lose enough weight to feel like showing off ...)

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Sammy, mama cat, is doing okay. After getting a shot (pain meds? antibiotics? don't recall) she perked up a lot.

Our cats (Baby and Sammy this year) are sure eating through our pet funds this year.

So our 15 year old Siamese (chocolate point my husband thinks)usually sleeps on the pillow near me. Two nights ago she wasn't there when I woke up. I thought that was weird, but we're in the time of year where the cats don't sleep on the bed so much.

Then I couldn't find her when I fed everyone breakfast. Very unusual, but I had to get to work.

When DH came up shortly before going to work, I asked him if he'd seen her - he hadn't. He went looking and found her in the one place I hadn't looked.

(Already) long story short - I took her to the new vet at Petco (Thrive.) They couldn't do too much because they were closing early due to the curfew (first curfew ever in our city.) They did bloodwork and x-rays - the vet told me he was really concerned, and that we should take her to an emergency vet to be rehydrated over night.

So ... I rushed back home. DH then took the car (and Sammy) to the overnight vet, and went to work. (We currently have ONE working vehicle out of 4....)

It looks like Sammy most likely has cancer. DH will be picking her up tonight and bringing her home (then back to work.) We're going into wait and see mode, but the likely outcome will be the Rainbow Bridge.

She's such a good cat, and she's mama to one of our other cats. It'll leave a huge hole in our household.

It's also taking a huge bite out of our vet fund ... just as we got it fully funded again. Sigh. So far - $250 for Thrive vet, $457 down payment on emergency vet - probably another $500+ when DH picks her up tonight.

If she was only 8 or 9, maybe we'd look into finding the cancer and treating it. But she's 15, why put her through all that when there's no guarantee it'll do any good.

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In other news ...
I made my monthly contribution to my IRA today - and decided to buy a share of VGT etf stock with part of it. The 4 shares I bought with my fun money already made nearly $45.

Time sure does seem to be passing quickly. It seems like I just barely finish the data process for one month when its time to start the process all over again.

I took a couple days off this week to attempt to get some home projects done. I did actually manage to accomplish a few things - changed out my winter clothes for spring/summer clothes, and used a Rug Doctor on our upstairs carpets. I also strongly hinted to my DH about wanting to have someone come and tile our bathroom - get rid of the carpet!! (No, he doesn't want us to DIY - he thinks it would be too easy to do a bad job.)

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So ... I had a Zoom with my supervisor yesterday. I found out that they are not replacing the second receptionist at our office due to budget cuts (she retired in January I think.) Guess what? I get to be the main receptionists permanent break giver now - and back up if she's gone on vacation or sick. Woo hoo! (can you read the sarcasm? if not, add a lot and you'll get close) It doesn't start until we are all back to "normal" working in office.

I just have to repeat to myself - at least I still have a job. We did actually technically fire someone - although the term was = we chose to not renew her contract (after 19 years!)

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I was looking at paydays - it looks like we're going to have a 6 paycheck month in July! I told DH if he wanted to take 2 or 3 days off, July would be the easy month to do it without affecting our budget. I doubt he'll actually do it though, it would cut into his spending money too much. (which, I will say, he's been putting a lot of it into the stocks/etf's and has done pretty well)

But, he can't say he didn't have the opportunity!

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I have something like 16 vacation days left (and still accruing) since I didn't use 9 days for Ireland. I need to look into it more, but I think we can sell back vacation days in August - though with the budget cuts, maybe not?? I really need to get a better handle on that - I usually use all my vacation time each year, so don't worry too much about it. (My supervisor was telling me that the receptionist is wanting to take the week after Christmas off and wanted to know if it would conflict with my vacation plans - I told her nope, the only day I plan to take off is the weekend of my birthday (15th.) But then we looked at the date, and it is a Tuesday, so we were both saying - may as well take Monday and Tuesday! Do up my 45th birthday big! -- likely not actually do anything ... but will be nice to have a really long weekend.)

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So ... by September 22 I need to have lost about 20 pounds or I will be saying say'o'nara (sp?) to nearly $1k (HealthyWage.) Yeah, I don't like that idea. (About $300 of it would be my actual money, the rest would be winnings.)

I've been fighting the same five - ten pounds most of the past five months. (Mainly because I keep jumping off the cliff into junkfood'ville and have trouble climbing out.)

At any rate, I am committing to absolutely NO:
Dairy
Processed foods (that means Amy's, Laura!!)
flour of any kind
sugar (this includes my beloved date sugar ..)

My focus is going to be on eating as much as possible foods without labels - legumes, whole grains (not processed into flour), vegetables, greens, and fruit (not dried, but whole.)

This is for the month of June. I will reevaluate at the end of June to see if it is actually working, and if I want to keep going with it.

I do hope to eliminate processed food and dairy completely from my diet, but one way or the other, whole grains flour will come back into my diet, and possibly the "healthier" sweetners like date sugar.

My DH is doing keto - one meal a day. He eats around 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. So ... we aren't eating together at all anymore. This makes it so I can change my eating timing to around ten a.m. to six p.m. - which is healthier than going as late as 8 p.m. and pushing up against bedtime.

(DH has lost 25lbs in two weeks. He is ecstatic. I'm happy for him, but also worried about what some of the weight he's losing is actually comprised of. Not to mention the copious amounts of meat he's eating ... and fat - but - silver lining -- he's eating spinach!!)

This will definitely save us money in our date night category! (i.e. no eating out, even if I was willing to go to a restaurant right now)

So on Thursday I had my 6-month evaluation meeting. I got a high enough score for a raise. It should be about $.60/hr.

I'm glad I have the supervisor I have and don't have a particular co-worker for a supervisor.

It looks like we'll still be WFH till at least the beginning of June. I wouldn't mind longer ...

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DH asked me to convert his index funds in his ROTH into an ETF a few months ago. So ... I looked at our accounts a few days ago and saw that my index funds had lost around 7% this year, while DHs ETF had gained 11%. HMPF! (We're down about $30k from our high.)

I didn't want to sell any of my index funds at a loss, but I did want to play a little with his ETF. So .. I used $1k of my fun money (thanks to no Ireland trip) to buy 4 shares. I'm going to possibly buy 1-2 a year. I don't want to tie a lot of money up in it - but a little bit won't hurt.

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DH has decided to do time limited keto - eating within a 4 hour window to start. So that eliminates our meals together, and probably eating out too. ( He was talking about we still could do Chinese buffets ... um a buffet?? I don't know when I'll be ok going to a buffet again.) Plus I don't think he was thinking about timing.

I really hope he focuses on getting the full 30% of low-carb veggies/greens ("allowed") and doesn't just eat meat. Sigh.

He probably has a kidney stone again. He had to have a laser procedure in Feb? to get rid of one. Helpfully completed his out of pocket for the year. Yay? It was not pleasant and he doesn't want to do it again. He may have no choice.

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Mom just HAD to get a haircut on Monday.

She and her hairdresser started with masks ...

Yesterday she got a call saying that the person who had an appointment directly before her had tested positive for Covid.

Her hairdresser is in quarantine, and of course has had to cancel all her appointments.

Mom didn't understand why she needed to self-quarantine.

Oy vey.

May 14 will mark six months in my new job. I had a Soom call with my supervisor yesterday (we do this bi-weekly) and she brought up that it was time for my 6-month eval so I can get my raise. I'm glad she brought it up so I didn't have to!

Overall, I am SO much happier in this job than the bus company. There is a co-worker whom I'm probably going to have to have a strong conversation with once we're back to in-office operations. I'm so not looking forward to that.

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Our May budget looks really good. We had enough to cover all the basic amounts fully, with $100 leftover, plus the $2400 stimulus money. That money is being doled out to car repairs, pets, medical, income bridge fund, and a little bit to vacation.

If my raise hits in May, then our June budget will look pretty nice too. (It'll be about a $.60/hr raise.)

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I've been doing well with my eating reset. 8 days I haven't bought chocolate, soda, junkfood or fastfood/takeout.

When I was at Aldi yesterday I ran into a church member with whom I worked with when I was at the bus company (he worked in the mayor's office doing communications.) It was nice to chat and catch up a bit. He's on our church board - it sounds like they are talking about having church services at a locally owned campground (where we can effectively social distance.)

It'll be weird to go back to church after all this time ... it'll be harder still to go back to working in the office. But from what I'm hearing, that won't happen till at least the end of May. Cases have been multiplying here lately, and our peak is predicted to happen around May 11. (Although our governor is capitulating to the minority asking to reopen. Our Mayor is kicking back on that ... I'm actually pretty impressed with her - a first year mayor. I'd vote for her again. Nearly 70% of Americans polled would rather stay closed down and kick this thing NOW, rather than reopen too soon.)

I watched a youtube video about the 1918 Spanish Flu. OMW! I only pray that Covid-19 doesn't follow the same pattern. Horrific. I'd heard/read about it before, but not to this level of detail. I'm actually curious why there aren't any fictional / real life books about it (other than scientific non-fiction) - at least that I've come across. There's books revolving around the Chicago fire, around the 1906? San Francisco earthquake, etc., but not the 1918 flu. I'm going to have to do some searching on that, because that just doesn't seem right - that big of a thing being ignored by fiction writers?? I mean the reality of what happened with it makes the movie Outbreak seem mild in comparison.

Youtube video - 1918 Spanish Flu historical documentary | Swine Flu

DH and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on Thursday. It was a really good day. I took off from work a few hours early. Then we drove to Glenwood, Iowa and got carryout from our favorite Mexican restaurant and then went to a nearby park to eat.

DH surprised me with flowers, a really sweet note in a card, and ... (long story) he bought himself a wedding ring. Overall, since we had our CA trip in September, things have been going much better. And in the last few weeks, even better. I'm looking forward to seeing where this coming year leads us.

DH is still doing his delivery job, although a few less hours due to early closing. I had changed some things on my paycheck prior to this whole pandemic ... so it is evening out. Plus of course the $2400 stimulus (which came in time to pay the $1100 medical bill for an outpatient procedure in March.)

We have maxed out our 3% Kasasa checking account. So I did some looking, and saw that Capital One was at 1.5% - so opened a savings account there. (I still had my checking account open from when it was ING. That's how I fund my IRA - it has my maiden name on it and was already attached. Vanguard won't let me add our joint account since DHs name is primary or something like that.)

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My eating has been pretty bad recently. But I have made a conscious decision to stop and regroup. For at least the next two weeks, my focus is to: 1. Not buy chocolate/junkfood - not an option; 2. Fast food/takeout on my own is not an option; 3. Eat the food we already have on hand. Once these seem to be going well, I'll add in an exercise intention/focus.

Today I finally opened my Gridler I bought a few weeks ago. I used it to make waffles. Yum! It was so much easier to use than my mini-waffle maker.

I made a big pot of Great Northern Beans for DH (he found a cheap source for them.) I also used up some leftover lentils to make a "meatloaf." I'll be freezing it tomorrow after the flavors meld some (though I'm not sure where I'll put it, since the freezer is pretty full.)

I'm really going to miss working from home when we have to go back.

Well, this is my second week working from home. Overall I'm really enjoying it. I think it'll be hard to go back to the normal routine.

I did go into the office for a few hours yesterday and saw my boss. It's pretty obvious she's an extrovert she was so happy to see me.

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DH is still doing his pizza delivery. He says business has picked up some this week, and tips are bigger. When all the universities shut down, deliveries took a hit.

I asked him tonight if I could locate a mask for him, would he wear it. Nope, he'd feel like a dork.

I'm keeping in mind my locus of control. I can control what I do, but not what others do.

If I knew for sure things would be okay in 4 weeks or so, and he could get his hours back, I'd tell him to take a month's vacation. But I don't think either of those are true.

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My Ireland trip is canceled obviously. I got my refund a few days ago. Sigh.

I bought something thats been on my wishlist for several months - a 5 - in - 1 griddler w/ removable waffle irons. It should be here next week.

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Have not been doing well with the eating. If I continue like this, there's no way I'll meet my Healthy Wage goal in September. Ugh.

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Well, not much else to say, other than Wash your hands and stay home! Be safe my friends.

About 5 weeks in to my new job, and I'm still quite happy. I spent a day at old job training my replacement last week. They made a really good choice.

We're not going anywhere for Christmas, per our usual. I purchased and sent mom our Christmas gift already. She sent us a check - which is what I had asked for - money towards my Ireland trip. She specified that some of the money was for DH which I think made him feel good.

I was approved for the BOFA $200 bonus card. I'm also debating about the Chase savings/checking bonuses.

I won a RunBet on Thursday - $8.87 profit.

Not much else to report.

Not to much going on.

I'm loving my new job. and getting used to being a bus commuter. I've had my warmer clothing be useful several times.

DH and I ate at IHOP for Thanksgiving .... we were going to go to Golden Corral, but we left too late. DH wasn't a happy camper. But he did get his turkey. I didn't really care one way or another.

I spent part of Thursday updating the budget. At our budget DH had $200 to play around with once all our baseline categories were funded. He divided it between car maintenance and medical - which is exactly what I would've done too.

I might go to Aldi this afternoon for some groceries, but otherwise this is a no spend day for me (well, I do need to pay a car registration renewal)

So far today I got a load of laundry and dishes done, vacuumed, and got all my warm weather clothes put away and put out my cold weather clothes.

I still need to get in a 30 minute run, but otherwise, I'm ready to relax.

What can I say? So far, so good!

Best thing so far - I have my own office!!
Next best thing - once I get trained on the databases, I will be BUSY!
Next best thing - my new supervisor seems easy to get along with so far
Next best thing - people seem happy for me to be there - very friendly so far
Next best thing - Flex time!! I worked an extra 15 minutes on Friday, so tomorrow I get to leave 15 minutes early. This Friday I'm going to my former supervisor's retirement party - and am able to use my two breaks plus work an extra 30 minutes - so I don't have to use vacation time.

I've taken the bus every day. So far the weather has only needed a light jacket, but I think that will change on Thursday. Brrr!

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I made my deposit for the Ireland trip! I have u7ntil Dec 16 to make the first installment payment. I'm going to be looking into a credit card rewards for that. Maybe BOFA - $200 after spending $500 I think. Then maybe a second one with a bigger spend requirement / bonus for the remainder.

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My DH has been sick this last weekend. I told him to stay home. That our budget would be fine next month if he misses a few days. He wouldn't do it. He wanted to know how we could afford it, if I'm bellyaching about finding $90 / month for parking downtown. Ugh! Not the same thing! Even after close to 4 years, I'm not sure he gets the whole budget thing.

He did finally agree to go to an urgent care place where he got antibiotics for his issue, and is now feeling better.

I really wish he had paid sick days.

Today was my last day at the bus company. So weird! Some people stopped by especially to say bye ... others not so much. Oh well. I got to say bye to those I really wanted to.

I *think* I left it to where the new supervisor and whoever is the new me will be able to be successful. The new supervisor has my email and permission to email me if needed.

Something seriously funny - I was on my afternoon break and had just finished my Lara bar when an important trick hit me that I hadn't told J. I ran to her office to tell her before I forgot ... C was in there and had JUST finished telling her the same thing! (Essentially the trick is how to forward calls to the answering service - esp. for route questions. At least until she gets more familiar with it all.)

I had a lot more at the office than I realized - took two trips to get it all out!

DH is going to drop me off tomorrow so I can take a box of stuff with me - which would be a bit impractical on the bus. I'm going to have to be much more organized ... no more leaving my purse or phone at home ... or waiting til morning to make my lunch or decide what to wear ...

DH asked me if the hassle was really worth saving $3/day ($90/mo parking garage) -- I asked him where exactly that $90 would come from? Date night? Vacation? Where?? With my last paycheck increase we are just now hitting our basic budget. (We had enough to cover the essentials before, but now we have enough to cover the essentials plus the basic funding level for sinking funds like pets, car repair, medical, etc.)

So .. the bus it is, plus DH willing to drop off once in a while.

The temperature has seemed to get better today, and the forecast looks decent (high of 40 tomorrow) so a good way to start my bus adventures. I ordered some high waisted silk long johns that should be here tomorrow.

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OOOHH!

I saw this on the YNAB forum and signed up for it - took a few days to get it, but I used it today and it worked!!

If you use Synthroid and have insurance, sign up at this link (synthroid . com before breakfast club) They'll send you a membership card which makes your Synthroid only $25!! (I've been paying $38 .. and it seems to be a little more every month.)

If you don't have insurance, I think there are other prescription savings cards you can sign up for. But this is the first I've seen for someone with insurance. (I take that back, my DH has a couple meds we were given a coupon for which lasted a year.)

I only have two days left working at the bus company! It's been a busy time trying to prepare information for my successor. I wouldn't be so concerned about it if it wasn't for the fact that one week after I'm gone, my supervisor is retiring. So the lady who got my supervisor's job knows little about the bus company or about buses in general. The big kahuna has said he might try to arrange with my new supervisor for me to come back for a day to train my replacement once they've hired one.

The application closed on Friday, and apparently LOTS of people applied. We had several anxious people call this week wanting to know the status of their application. Obviously never applied for a government job before. I'm kind of curious to meet whoever gets hired.

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We had a day this week where the morning temp was 12 degrees. So I decided to test out my new coat and hat/muff thing. Toasty warm! And not too bad hat hair.

I still need to work on keeping my hands warm though ... That's always an issue though, so nothing new. Sigh.

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I won $10.45 in my RunBet which finished on Wednesday. Then turned around and started another one! The treadmill sure is coming in handy (for me at least ...) My current Stepbet closes this Sunday, and it looks like about a $6 profit.

I'm still doing Intermittent Fasting (from 8 pm to 12 noon approximately.) The scale is moving SLOWLY in the right direction, but even better is my stomach seems to be going away too (again, SLOWLY.) I do think I;ll need every bit of a year to win my Healthy Wage bet at this rate ...

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Anyone who is a member of the original YNAB forums - they are shutting them down on November 30. Check the forums for an alternative solution people have come up with.

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In case you are a The Crown fan ... the new season starts on the 17th!!

I'd also like to recommend Holiday in the Wild. Sweet and not too sappy.

Netflix + treadmill = RunBet WIN!

My day started with luxuriously enjoying a little extra sleep. Then I got up and got the budget updated and ready for our belated November budget meeting. I was very happy to note that we were actually able to meet ALL the basic budget funding with $20 left over.

Our medical fund got very low though because we ran out of FSA money in September ... but now we have a new influx so we can rebuild the fund.

November will have a 3 paycheck month and 5 weekends for DH, plus one paycheck for me from my new job. So .. I think December is going to be FLUSH!

After playing with YNAB, it was time to get ready ... to go see Phantom of the Opera with a friend from church! She arrived right at 12:30 and we found parking for only $5!

The Phantom was phenomenal as expected.

When I got home DH was awake and working on the CRV trying to fix a melted headlight wire (
I think ...) Once it got dark, he gave up on it, and then we did the feeding of the cats. (They get the special treat twice a week - canned food with supplements ...)

Next we headed to the restaurant I'd chosen for my celebratory dinner - a sushi place we'd been to before. I ordered the vegetable sushi plate and DH got the mongolian grill. I used the chopsticks to eat and didn't make too much of a mess. We splurged and ordered a piece of cake. Yum. A couple of the sushi rolls have slices of mushrooms. After the first time we went there, I bought some dried shitake mushrooms and tried to replicate .... not so much. I still have half a bag of dried mushrooms I need to figure out how to cook so they aren't like rubber ...

When we got home I checked my grades to see if anything new was graded - my teacher takes FOREVER to grade things. My midterm was graded! I got a 97% which put me at a 97% average. Sweet!

Our evening ended with DH and I spending a few hours doing our budget meeting and just hanging out.

All in all, a very wonderful Sunday.

(Made all the better by having taken Monday off work so I could fully enjoy my Sunday.)

Hi All,

So ... I didn't get the job I interviewed for at the beginning of October. Sigh. In asking for feedback, I was told that all 3 (THREE!) of us scored high, but that the one had the highest score. They also told me that I might want to focus more on current experience - I had focused more on previous places/experience because I was trying to target management skills.

I also had brought a sheet of paper in with me with notes, and was told that I might have projected more confidence without it. I'd never brought a sheet in with me before ... and won't do it again.

Thankfully, the same day I received the disappointing news, I also got a different interview scheduled! That happened this past Tuesday.

This job is working at a city agency which helps seniors. They really have an amazing breadth of resources they offer. My job would be a lot of data entry, data verification, data reports, and also helping to put out fires at different centers (the agency covers 8 counties.) It would be one step up from the position I am currently in - which obviously means not a huge pay increase, but I would go to the next step in pay, so *some* increase AND the ceiling is higher.

I should know about this by the end of this week. Sigh. I was a whole lot nervous going into this one - didn't use a skills reminder paper, and made sure to emphasize current related experience.

They had completely different questions than what I was expecting. Mostly directly related to the required job skills. None of the usual - what is your strength/weakness, tell about how you handle a conflict, etc. They did have one very different question - tell us about how you are amazing. I was pretty stumped on that one ... but did come up with something which I think worked (the person who would be my boss said "that is amazing!")

In other news ... I am SERIOUSLY contemplating taking a trip to Ireland this coming May with the community college I'm taking classes at. It's from May 18 - 28, and cost $3200. That covers airfare, hotels, ground transportation, breakfast and supper, costs of entrance to various sites, and something else. The only thing it doesn't cover is the cost of the 3 credit class you have to enroll for as part of it.

I looked up airfare to Dublin, and found the cheapest flight is $1200. So ... 9 days of hotels, probably another $800 (sharing rooms), and the rest the cost of food/entrances/transportation.

I have $1600 that I had set aside for going to France when I thought my brother/sil were going to have a formal wedding ceremony there (doesn't look like that's happening ... they just bought a house - $623k!!) So, that is about half the cost. The total is due in April, so that gives me about 6 months to come up with the other half.

I haven't done the BOFA credit card bonus for $200 yet, so I could do that. Then I'll keep my eye out for more checking bonuses - I just got a $300 bonus from BOFA, but need to keep that open a couple more months with direct deposit. Otherwise I'd go for the Chase Bank checking deal and get up to $600 bonus (can't split my direct deposit unfortunately.)

I'll just have to keep on the lookout. Plus just will have to really be careful on my spending. Plus if people as me for gift ideas ...

My DH thinks I'm silly to be spending so much money on a trip. I agree, it's a lot of money ... but IRELAND?!

I have a couple more weeks to make the final decision. But I really think I'm going to do it! (I am waiting to hear if I get the job first too - would need to run the vacation dates by my new boss first to make sure that's not a bad time to leave.)

This afternoon I received an email with my scheduled interview time. Monday at 1:15 p.m.!!!!

I really hadn't been expecting it to happen so quickly, but I am glad it is kind of ... pull the bandaid off ... hurts less?

Hopefully they'll move just as quickly with making their decision??

If I get it, in less than a month I could possibly have a completely new job! And be working on finding a replacement for me. (Too bad the woman doing light duty wouldn't want to do it, she does a great job. But makes a LOT more as a bus driver.)

I told my aunt about it, and she asked me if I had a cute outfit picked out. I told her I hadn't really figured that one out yet. She then offered to pay for one, so I could get something new.

With my weight gain this year, my options in my closet which would be appropriate for a higher level position interview ... well ... not much there. So, I took her up on it.

I stopped at Lane Bryant after work, because even though they are on the expensive side, I figured I had a better shot of finding *something* decent in my size quickly. (rather than the billards shot in the dark of going to other department stores or thrift stores ...)

I ended up getting a blue dress and a blue suit jacket. (I also bought this brown skirt I fell in love with, but the jacket which would have gone with it was $100 alone ... I did buy a turtleneck that looks really nice with it.) It was a buy one get one 50% off. Even so, I spent WAY too much money. (Especially considering I had just declared a moratorium on spending for two weeks. Of course, I hadn't expected the interview to happen so soon either!)

There is another job posting which is closing tomorrow - I need to finish my cover letter for it. Then I need to focus on figuring out answers to interview questions.

The lady at LB kept saying something about unbuttoning my jacket when I sat down. Is that customary?? I never did that before when interviewing. Although, I suppose it makes a better appearance when sitting, and then rebuttoning when standing up.

Hopefully I won't need a second interview (the position closing tomorrow) but the outfit I got today will work for that as well. Also will be a nice church outfit (with or without the jacket)

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I am sad to have lost several months of blog posts. Although I haven't been that active here the past year or so, so not that many posts of mine lost.

On another forum I'm on, someone figured out a way to download posts. Once I'm past this interview stuff, I will see if I can find out what that was, and if it would work for a site like this. 15 years of blog posts would take a LONG time to copy and paste.

I have been blogging here since January, 2005. There have been a few times the blogs were down, but thankfully so far, they have always come back!

This latest round though has made me want to do two things: 1. figure out a way to store all my posts somewhere else as a double safe-guard; and 2. Create a backup place for us to gather in case something more permanent ever happens. (*Please note, this isn't anything against James, the current site owner. I just feel it would be good to have a backup.)

I haven't quite figured out #1 yet (really should be working on another job application right now ...), but I do think I have come up with a solution for #2. It's not perfect by any means (though it does have some neat features like a real time chat box) but it would do in an emergency.

I have it set so that I have to approve any new members - so hopefully that would limit spam. There's two sections, one is a general one, viewable by people not logged in, and one for the Journals, viewable only by members who are logged in. Again, hopefully this would help keep the spam (and rude commenters) down.

Anyway ... if you are interested in joining as a placeholder (i.e. in case of emergency) then please leave a comment down below. Please make sure to use the email in your comment with which you would register - that way I know it is you when I go to approve registrations. (###Please#### Do Not Post Your Email IN the comment.)

This is a free forum (and one that has been used by another forum I'm part of - in anticipation of our current forums demise) so as long as the host is around, this could be an option.

If you'd like to be a moderator (i.e. at this point, just someone to be my second - in case something happens to me, a second person who has some access authority to the forum) please let me know.

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Okay ... in other news ...

I have declared a moratorium on purchasing anything other than food, gas, or medically necessary items for the next two weeks. Looking at my spending the past few months ... not good. The money WAS in my budget/spending category, but I've just been a little too free with it. Not really thinking through purchases.

HealthyWage - doing ok. Not eating til noon was *really* hard the first couple of days, and then again on the weekend. But overall, it is getting easier. I need to work on the stopping eating at almost comfortably full. That would probably help the weight loss.

RunBet - I have completed 2 of the 3 required runs for the first week. I have to do the 3rd one tomorrow or else.

StepBet - I canceled (refunded) out of the first one I joined, and then switched to a different one. We're still in our warm-up week. The bet really starts on Monday.

***I might possibly be having a job interview next week!!** GULP

What books/sites would anyone recommend for current information on how to be a good manager/supervisor? I know the website Ask A Manager, but am not sure what would be some other quality resources.

I'm also applying for another position which closes on Thursday. It would be a step up in position, but not a pay raise initially - eventually it would be though, since the ceiling is higher than my current one. (government jobs have pay ranges - you start at the bottom, unless you're in the middle of it or something, and then the yearly merit raises stop once you reach the ceiling - though you still get cost of living raises.)

SO READY to do something else.

Okay, I really need to stop procrastinating.

Just checking in. Not really too much to report. The most interesting? thing going on recently is all the flooding in my state (NE) and Iowa.

The immediate impact has only been felt as water restrictions - which were mandatory for two days, and then voluntary for 3 days. Seeing all the pictures of the animals who were stuck in the water or snow for days - their flesh eaten away at … All those homes and people's livelihoods GONE. So sad.


The longer term impact I think will be felt much further away than just the Midwest. I expect meat prices to go up, and probably wheat/corn too.


Being so close to so much devastation, and yet not really being affected by it, makes you wonder how that happens. How do people move forward after losing everything but their lives?


We work so hard to be financially smart. To work towards financial goals like retirement or being debt free or paying off a house … Yet all that work and effort could be gone in an instant through no fault of your own.


I was talking to my insurance person (the company that has our home insurance and auto is pulling out of NE) and she was telling me that the majority of the people don't have flood insurance. So FEMA is their only hope.

Then you see what is happening in Africa, and our flooding issues become insignificant.

Sigh.

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In other news … I finished my second class - an A+ of course. I start my 3rd one in a few weeks - Business English. Not particularly looking forward to that - but a refresh of grammar probably won't hurt.


DH and I took a road trip to Des Moines plus 2 hours last Sunday. He wanted to attend a fish swap and buy a huge tub thing from some guy out in the country. We stopped at Bennigan's for dinner - so DH got his corned beef meal. That was a LONG ten hours of driving.


DH is really getting going on the fish thing - has been breeding like crazy. He has a contact at a local fish store that is buying some off of him. There's fish tanks all over the basement …


He's lost 70lbs since his heart attack (Oct) and just got his most recent bloodwork - cholesterol under 100!! Blood sugar was back in normal range. He's done it completely by just losing weight - not by eating healthier … just less.


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A CD that paid 5% for 12 months came due this month. I had them put the money back into cash. I'll be moving it into our checking which pays 4%. (The renewal rate was something ridiculous - around 2%)


I haven't filed our taxes yet. In no hurry since we owe.


I got back to my highest weight … sigh.


Am trying a method espoused by a book titled Mini-habits for weight loss. I picked four super small habits which I religiously try to accomplish - 1. Do one (wall) pushup. 2. Walk/run/dance for one minute. 3. Eat one salad. 4. Fill water bottle and drink it all.


I also added two more mini-habits - 1. Clean something for one minute. 2. Open a French app.


About 9 days into it, and I only missed 100% on last Sunday with the marathon drive. Most days I'm doing way more than the minimum. It seems to be working - I'm back down 3 lbs and I'm getting things done at home.

Anyway, this is pretty long now. I will try to check in more often. I do read everyone's blogs, even if I'm not leaving many comments anymore.

I was playing SwagIQ tonight and not really listening to the guy rambling about the winners, when all of the sudden I heard "creditcardfree!"

Was that you CCF?!

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I stayed home and vegged all weekend. Finished Season 2 of Handmaid's Tale. Got myself a week and a half ahead in my online class. (You're allowed to work ahead.) Not much else really.

DH and I went out to eat Sunday night at Hacienda Rael. I got the veggie fajitas. I ate 1/3 Sunday night, and then had some for breakfast and dinner today. Yummy!

I'm 8 days out with no added sugar! (Partly why I holed myself up this weekend - my sweet tooth was saying go out and get something …)

Tonight I made something that might be very dangerous. I soaked 8 mejoodl dates, and then pitted them. Put them in my small food processor, added a Tbsp of cacoa powder (the non-sugar kind), about 1/4 cup of almond milk, and 2 Tbsp of natural pb. OH MY YUM!!! I could have eaten the whole thing right then and there.

But I put it in the freezer to set (after scoring it into 6 pieces.) I'm going to try to restrain myself to one a day.

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I cashed out for another $50 SBs PayPal. It was a payout from a focus group I did a bit over a month ago. I'm glad I was patient - was getting ready to email to find out what the delay was about.

I made over $500 in spending money this month! $200 from signing up for Doordash via Swagbucks, and then a couple other offers credited, plus CC cash rewards, etc. If only I could do that every month!

My plane ticket for France is fully funded, and now I'm working on funding lodging/travel expenses.

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I'm starting my 4th book of 2019 - Atomic Habits by James Clear. It has to be back to the library by Thursday - it has holds on it. So, I'll have to read quickly. My first non-fiction book of the year. (I'm going to try to do 1 non-fiction per month. Not counting cookbooks …)

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I won another Stepbet - it looks like a $10.50 payout ($50.50 altogether.) If we get a treadmill, then I'm going to do the Runbet again.

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Right now we have spent the least on groceries in nearly a year! There's still 9 days left of course … but I don't need anything for this week, and won't need much for next week.

So DH found an insurance company that will cover him (did I mention he'd been given the pink slip by Farmer's??) His current liability only for 3 vehicles is $332 for 6 months. As of February, liability only (with slightly higher coverages) will be $882 for 6 months.


Ever since August I have been saving more than normal for his car insurance renewal - but nowhere near enough for this.


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The vehicle which he has been dragging his feet on selling is $349 of that. I'm of half a mind to tell him he can pay that portion out of his spending money - then when he actually sells the darn thing, he can be reimbursed for whatever portion they reimburse.

But in reality, it probably is a good thing he hadn't sold it yet. Since his CRV developed bad suspension issues. We were quoted $1700+ by Brakes Plus. The husband of a lady who I go to church with, did the labor for $285 and DH ebayed the parts for another $230.

Of course, it now desperately needs new tires - to the tune of $500. We have $440 in our car repair fund.

A couple of times DH has mentioned that we really should have at least $1k in our car repair fund. Um … yeah, we would have that - if his cars weren't needing repairs all the time!
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The property appraisals came out last weekend. Our house had a $25k increase. Um …. There are also rumblings about increasing property taxes.

That's about a $55/mo increase - which isn't terrible … but when you couple it with the huge hike in insurance premiums, increased ROTH contributions to max out, and other piddly increases in various services … Ugh.

We're going to have to seriously reconsider how we do the budget. And I know he's going to hate my suggestion. Not that I'm going to like it much either. But the money has to come from somewhere, right?

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Oh, we still are deciding on if we are getting a treadmill or not. DH is worried we'd get shocked when using it since our plugs aren't grounded. So .. he's looking into joining a health club.

That's fine - it's just it only benefits him, and it'd make it easier to not do it.

So if he decides to go the gym route, that's another monthly expense to add.

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Some of this is mitigated by a 3rd paycheck this month. That will cover the increased insurance premium and the shortfall in the tires. I had other ideas for the money … but what can you do?

I also received a very generous check from my aunt for Christmas. When she told me about it, it almost sounded to me like she wanted it to all be for me only. I did not tell DH this, because I didn't want him to feel bad.

It's not his fault that he basically has no family left, nor that my family is pretty generous. I feel when I'm given money like that - that it belongs to us equally. My mom has sent me $100 for my birthday before - but none for him on his birthday. I split it with him (again, he doesn't know it was meant just for me.)


I have 3 family members who could quite possibly pass on in the next year to two years. Cancer, old age and Parkinson's/defeated attitude. I have travel money set aside for this. 2 of the 3 I'd probably be reimbursed at least plane fare.


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I have not done any shops for Shipt. I have tried, but it really doesn't seem to be busy in my area.

I kind of have given up on it.


I signed up for Door Dash through SBs when it had the $200 bonus. I actually kind of like it! I have done 10 orders over 4 dashes and made about $72 + the $200 bonus came through early from SBs.


When it stays light out longer, I might do a few hours during the week, and a few on the weekend.


I was going to dash last weekend, but decided the weather wasn't something I wanted to deal with in my car. This weekend could be a repeat of that unfortunately.


I managed to finish reading/read 3 books in one day … thanks to being snowed in. (2 by Tracie Peterson - Embers of Love/Hearts Aglow, 1 by Petersheim called The Divide) I started the 3rd book in the Peterson series - Hope Rendered.

I had read about half of Embers of Love while on … Jury Duty! Yes, last week (and this week) I was slated for jury duty. I actually got further than Ii ever have before - into the courtroom and sitting in the pews to listen to the voir dire (sp?) After 2 hours, all but 12 of us were dismissed.

I learned one thing though that made me glad I didn't get on the jury - if we were sequestered, not only no tv, no Internet, etc. But NO books!! Sorry, I'm not down with that.

I'm curious to find out how much I'll be paid for my time. For work, I just had to keep track of my time away, but got paid normally.

Looking back at 2018 financially …

We increased our EF by $1200.

I had a goal to increase by $3000, but we had several weeks where DH was off work due to his heart attack, plus lots more medical costs. So I'm ok with it only increasing that much.


We fully funded both of our IRA's to the tune of $12k. ($1k of that funding did come from selling non-IRA stock the month after DHs hospital stay.)


We sold all of the electric car stock at $350/share. It went up to $369 a few weeks later, but is now at around $300 … so I'm glad to be off that roller coaster ride. All the funds were put into an index fund - either in the taxable account or our IRA's.


DH successfully raised and sold his first batch of angel fish. Fish are his main hobby right now (he owned two pet stores when he was younger.) This hobby comes from his fun money so it doesn't really affect our finances.


I paid for my cruise vacation with my mom fully out of my fun money - earned via Swagbucks, Earnably, Earnhoney, YouGov, credit card rewards, etc. etc.


Our medical fund was pretty much wiped out this year … but we had the money set aside for it. I'm putting it all on a credit card which will give me $500 cash back. So … a small win there.


DH has lost 45 lbs+ since Oct. I have gained 30lbs since January ….


At work my employer added 9% of my salary to my retirement, took 6% of my salary, and then I added another 11% or so. I increased the amount in February when I got a step raise, but since the new contract hasn't been signed yet, I haven't gotten my cost of living raise yet (usually in August) so that's all I increased it.


We paid $2k cash for some yardwork / improvements. This hopefully will reap dividends in ease of maintenance going forward.

I completed one course towards my AA degree - advanced typing, with a 97%. As soon as I get the official grade report, I'll be putting in for reimbursement.
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Looking forward:

I will be taking 2 -3 more courses towards my AA degree in 2019. (Microsoft Applications 1 and 2, and possibly Intro to Accounting)


My supervisor will be retiring in November … so I'm not sure how that is going to affect things at work. She's working on our main boss to reclassify me to a higher level of pay.

I would like to add $2k to our EF.


I want to save $2k towards our medical deductible again.


We will fully fund our IRA's at $13k this year.


We need to focus on putting money towards our car repair fund. 3 of our 4 vehicles are really old and eating up money.


We will either be purchasing a treadmill or DH will be signing up for a gym membership. Purchasing a treadmill may involve getting an electrician to ground some of our electrical outlets - this is something we are still researching.


Hopefully a fence will happen this year. We have the money set aside for it - its just getting someone to actually do it!


DH wants to continue to grow his fish business.


I'm continuing to save towards a possible France trip - once my SIL is able to leave the US again. I have $600 of my $2000 goal.


Some of my usual earnings sites are getting more difficult to earn from. I have signed up with Shipt and Doordash to hopefully make up for lost fun money from those sites. My goal is to bring in $200/month besides what I can manage on the various sites.


I must stop the weight gain. The big culprit is my not avoiding the junkfood - i.e. sugar and chocolate. I have managed to avoid soda for over 2 years now - mainly by not allowing myself even a "sip" of DHs when eating out. I think that may be the only way for me to overcome the sugar/junkfood thing too - just say 100% NO.


This will also help the grocery spending …


I'm doing well overall with a whole foods plant based diet - except when I make exceptions for the junk I crave. No more exceptions! Lets see the power of this way of eating.


I bought a pedal exerciser thing from Aldi, and am looking at one of those bike stands if we don't get a treadmill.

First, the good news.

I checked on our insurer's site today to see if there was any update to the $42k hospital charge for my DH's 3 day stay. It showed that it has been paid, and we have $0 obligation! (We more than met his deductible for 2018 and out of pocket.)

So … that is a huge relief to not have to fight that.

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The not so great news …

We dropped off our CRV last night at a local auto shop. This morning they called DH and told him that it had some major alignment issues, and possibly bad ball bearings. To the tune of $1400. Plus the vehicle needs new tires.

This may or may not be all that's wrong with it. (The check engine light has been flashing on and off for a month or more.)

We have about $500 in the car repairs fund.

DH has about $1300 in his car replacement fund.

We are discussing whether or not it would be prudent to try to sell the CRV (might get 3 or 400 for it in current condition) or to borrow from the EF and fix it. Hoping that the fix will do the trick.

We might be able to get another $500 or so from the Prizm (which DH planned to sell already.)

A $2000 vehicle won't be great … but spending $1400 + tires when we're not sure it's going to fix the problem …

Ugh.

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We are going out to a pizza place tonight called Mellow Mushroom. I found it highly recommended on the Happy Cow app (for vegetarian and vegan places.) DH can have his meat, and I can get tofu or tempeh plus tons of vegetable options for toppings!

It's a bit on the expensive side, but it is my choice to celebrate the waning days of my 42nd year. Tomorrow will be my last day, then Saturday I'll be a new number.

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My mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday / Christmas. I told her, "Of course, you know you don't have to get me anything?" She responded, "But you know I will anyway." So, I gave her a list of 6 or 7 different ideas.

So far, I have already received: a pedal for my keyboard (sustain sound) and a new piano bench! Now I won't have to worry about the bench breaking in the middle of me playing a song.

She said she's going to send the kitchen items for Christmas - an immersion blender and a food processor (are the two ideas I gave.)

(Our little food processor I bought at Aldi's a couple years ago had the plastic container thing crack. I still can use it, sort of. I asked for a 10 cup one, because more than a few times I could definitely have used a larger one.)

So Friday morning the garage door remote wasn't working. I had to get out of my car to close the door. I wasn't thinking about where I was stepping, or how.

Both feet slipped right out from under me and I landed flat on my back. I don't think I hit my head. (I was wearing a banana clip, so unless I hit the side of my head …)

I was able to get right up with no issues and continued to work. A few hours later I started really feeling it.

My supervisor let me leave 30 minutes early so I could go to my chiropractor. So frustrating because I'd just gotten my back to feeling good.

DH got a strongly worded email suggesting that something needed to be done about the driveway. He did put some salt down when he got home from work.

I bought a couple gel packs from Walgreens that can be frozen or heated, and a thing of Tiger balm. DH says I smell like I'm in a horse barn. Oh well, it's helping.

I've spent most of the weekend icing/resting my back.
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I applied for the Citi Savor card. A $500 bonus after a $3k spend. That will be easy - just pay all the medical bills on it, and will be mostly there.

Lemonade out of lemons and all that.

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Speaking of insurance. I think I mentioned the check we received for $932 from the insurance company. I had no idea what it was for.

We also had received a bill from the ambulance company for $1004.

Come to find out that since the ambulance wasn't under contract with our insurance, they couldn't pay them directly. So .. they sent us the money to pay them.

Works for me - that's nearly 1/3 of the CC spend needed. It just seems really bizarre.

We are still waiting to find out what the insurance is going to do about the $42k bill. I sent an email tonight asking about the status.

I received a check from the insurance company for $936. I have NO CLUE what it is for. I emailed them to see if they can tell me before I cash it.


DH is now down 45 lbs! since October.


My back has been giving me fits the last month or so. Last week it started to seize … So, I went to a chiropractor for the first time in my life. 2 x last week, and 1x so far this week. My back is feeling SO much better!


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DH met with a lawyer last week - to the tune of $300. OUCH!


Once he heard the backstory, he was flabbergasted because it seemed DH's insurance dropped the ball. He knew the lady's attorney (bicyclist DH hit) and contacted him. Sounds like other attorney was pretty ticked at the ball that was dropped.


So... hoping this is the end of it for us.


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I found out that my credit union has raised its checking to 4% and up to $40k! Sweet! Pretty soon, I'll have to pull the money back in from the 4% CD's if rates keep going up.


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I'm being called for jury duty the first two weeks of January. I talked to my supervisor today, and she told me that I'd just have to keep track of any hours spent on jury duty. But I would be paid my normal salary, plus keep any jury duty pay.


Sweet!

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I decided to NOT bite the bullet on an Instacart subscription. But … if there's any money left in the grocery category, I'll put it towards it.


I'm determined this month to not overspend the grocery category!

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A fascinating article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_godfather_of_fake_news

Last week when I was shopping at Aldi's, I saw that they had launched their partnership with Instacart. That made me quite happy. Aldi's is about a 10 minute drive past my house. That isn't too bad if I'm starting from home, but if I'm going there after work, it then becomes a 30 minute one way drive.

I signed up for the two week free trial of Express where you don't pay any extra fees (other than a tip for the delivery person of course.) I've already used it twice. I had been on the fence about it when they didn't have Aldi's included, because all the other stores are on my way home. But now I'm really considering it.

It's $99 for one year of Express service. That works out to an extra $1.94/week if I use the service every week. Which, I probably would.

I'm still debating on it though.

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We ended up going to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving. I had planned on making a lentil roast and sweet potato rolls, but DH thought that making turkey for just one person/one meal would be too much effort.


So instead of putting in hours in the kitchen, I put in nearly 6 hours doing yard work. Blowing leaves out of the edges/bushes and bagging them up. I bagged 9 1/2 bags worth of leaves.

After we ate, DH put together the contraption that goes on the leaf blower to clean the gutters. He had to end up duct taping it on - so, no more leaf blower. It did the job of cleaning the gutters though.

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I've been watching Christmas movies on Netflix, also, the show Sisters. I also watched "Precious" on Amazon Prime - powerful movie.

It's been nice to have time to do that.


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It's supposed to snow here starting around 2 a.m. We may get 3+ inches. Of course, DH took our snow blower in to be fixed on Monday …


It's hard to think about snow when we've had highs in the 50's+ the last few days.


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We got the bill for DH's ambulance ride - the one we were told, "Don't worry about it - it's all included." Yeah … all except for $1k … I'm waiting to see what the real bill will be.


We're also still waiting on the revised EOB for the $42k hospital stay. I have received EOB's showing they are covering the Cardiac Care, so I know they've received the necessary info.


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DH got a call from his insurance agent this week. They had been sent a form asking for our financial information. We thought that was weird - how would they know what our assets were?


At any rate this has spurred DH to find an attorney to figure out how best to deal with all this. He had been working on it before the heart attack, but then it kind of fell to the side in priority.

(This is in reference to the accident he got into in August - he hit a cyclist while turning right - while on a delivery.)

From what we can tell, his employer should pick up the tab for this - but we're looking into a lawyer to see what, if anything, we need to do to protect ourselves.

Once this is over, we will be getting umbrella insurance!

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Is it just me, or are others having someone make rude comments on very old blog posts? I responded to one, but have been deleting the others.

This is when it would be nice if we could turn off commenting on posts after a certain time period.

I have today off, so thought I'd check in with my SA family.

We are still waiting on the hospital to send DH's records to the insurance company. I'll be bugging them about it again tomorrow.

We turned our heat on a few days ago when the temp went down to 8 degrees outside. Figured it was time.

Last Sunday DH and I had raked and bagged 9 bags of leaves in our front yard. I put them out for Thursday trash day - thinking we were in the free pickup zone. Found out that's not til December. But our awesome garbage company picked them up this morning free of charge.

Our front yard is covered again in at least as many leaves … Hopefully we don't get a big snow before December so we can bag those too.

I cashed out for a $100 cash from YouGov a few days ago. (surveys) I also cashed out for a $25 Walmart card from ReceiptPal this last week. I'm getting close to the $40 mark in ReceiptHog. I should be able to cash out for $20 from iBotta soon too. In Swagbucks, I've cashed out for over $125 this past month. If my cruise credit ever credits, that will be another $100 or so.

I bought an OXO salad chopper so I can do my own chopped salads. I have been buying the 24oz pkg which includes salad dressing and toppings. I toss the dressing, and the salad barely makes 5 decent servings. So … am hoping to if not save money by going DIY, at least have less waste and bigger salads!

I'm progressing on my piano practice - most days at least 40 - 60 minutes of practice. I want to get a pedal for my keyboard so some of the songs in the easy hymn book sound right. I also need to get a midi connector so the piano app recognizes my notes. Just haven't pushed buy on any of this yet - comes out of my spending money. How badly do I want it, right?

I am not progressing on my French. Somehow I lost my practice mojo. Hopefully it will come back …

DH continues to go to Cardiac Rehab and is losing weight and gaining in how much cardio he can do. We're looking into buying a treadmill for home. (used of course)

I have a couple credit card offers I'm looking at - though I'm hoping to wait to trigger them until more of DH's hospital bills come in. Only a few hundred dollars worth have been billed to us so far. With lots more to come...

Still nothing on the car accident. We're starting to wonder if no news is good news … that would be a major blessing in all of this.