This week has been busy with end of the year activities and trying to recover all the checked out books (with one day left, still have 43 out!!)

I am still sad about my coworker leaving and my other coworker finding out about cancer, not to mention a third coworker who has decided to look for another job as well. Both of my walking partners may be gone next year. However, a 3 hr Skype convo with NE and a sweet ecard the next morning, did a lot to lift my spirits.

NE ... I knew he was a gem before, but he's showing himself to be a diamond. I had no idea what to expect with rekindling our relationship, but I am SO glad I jumped off the ledge and helped it along.

Today was field day. I got a bit of a sunburn supervising the Great Wall of China station (two kids stand in the middle of the playing field and try to catch all the other kids as they run back and forth.) It went pretty well from what I could see, and the kids had fun. TG our principal had told the kids yesterday that if they had books still out that they would miss one event for every book. At that time there were 30 kids with books still out! Today 22 kids had to sit out. I hated to do something so negative like that, but come on! It isn't like the kids aren't aware that the books belong to the library. I have a plan for next year which will hopefully alleviate this problem.

After work today I helped 3rd coworker scan a bunch of documents to apply for a different position. Then I went into big G and stopped at Walgreen's to pick up a thank you gift for my assistant. I ended up getting a few other things as well (of course.) About $24.xx or so altogether.

I had to get gas as well (both because I was running on fumes by the time I got to big G and because I'm taking the school nurse to the airport tomorrow.) I was truly on fumes - 10.458 gallons it took (at $3.49/gallon.) I had to switch pumps though because the first pump I was at wouldn't start fueling, even after I had one of the cashiers come out and look at it.

Well the past two nights the trailer has been very warm, almost uncomfortably. That's better though than last year where it became this way by the first week of May. I'm hopeful they'll set up the swamp coolers soon so I won't have to swelter too much. (I do have a fan, it just doesn't work that great.)

I am planning on taking it pretty easy until Tuesday. Then I'll have to go into uber prep mode for summer school. I'm totally refusing to spend any money on it this year. Just cannot do that again.

This coming weekend will be doing Pike's Peak and Cave of the Winds for sure, and perhaps something else.

NE found a hotel for $40/night which is within walking distance of Old Colorado Springs. When NE first mentioned CS as a location, I thought the name sounded familiar, but wasn't sure why. After reading some of the hotel reviews and seeing the name Old CS, I am thinking that it may be near where I attended a Pathfinder Camporee (similar to Boy/Girl Scouts) in 1985. My favorite memories from that camporee include seeing the "Huxtable" kids, the obstacle course, seeing an old friend from Iowa, and walking around in the downtown area of the nearby town - where I found an awesome fancy hat (but didn't buy). I also lost a camera there. If it is the same place, I wonder if the hat shop is still there?

(At first NE found one for $70/night and I thought I could find a cabin or something at a KOA campground or the like for less. But everything I was finding started in the $90 range. Neither of us have any camping gear, so that wasn't an option either.)

I got a pedicure on Friday afternoon. The lady doing it asked me if I wanted her to use the slougher (not sure of exact term, thing that takes off dead skin). I told her that was the main reason I was going for a pedicure!! With tip, it cost $33!!! I usually don't pay more than $30 for a mani & pedi combined. If I do this again, I'll have to do more research on other places (with hopefully better prices!)

I stopped at the grocery store afterwards and picked up 5 items - bananas, orange juice, treat, and two other things I can't remember. $15.xx (forgot my savings card for Safeway)

I also had to fill up with gas - $33.xx. According to my Gas Cubby app I got 34.2 mpg this last tank. Nice.

I was SO tired this afternoon when I got back from church that I took a 4 hour nap. I didn't really want to get up, but I knew I needed to if I was going to get a good nights sleep.

Funny When I was walking with my two co-workers this morning, one of them told me that the preschool director (who is a Sister) had asked her about how my Sabbath works - because she'd seen me out walking at 9am on the past 4 or 5 Saturdays. My coworker let her know that my church service doesn't start til 11:30, so I have plenty of time in the morning for a walk! (Just a taste of what it's like living in a neighborhood where 30+% of the residents are co-workers, and about 30% of the student population are also residents.)
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Tomorrow I'll be volunteering at the free portrait event at my church in the afternoon, and also need to put together 4 days worth of morning worship activities (my 3rd morning breakfast/worship duty this year.)

I also need to find a place that details cars in big G (and work on getting my car cleaned out ..)

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Six days.

(lost entry )

Babysitting today went fairly well. They were a bit harder to keep entertained than the last few times, even with the addition of my iPad. Got paid $35, so a little better than a Saturday night job.
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SBS - with today's earnings have enough for May's 5 $5 cards. Am now working on the extra cards for May.
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Drama, drama, school drama. More of it. (Yes, even on the weekend.) Related to our contracts. Supposedly one teacher has already had her contract given to her, and the rest of us have to wait til May 10's In-service mtg. Am planning on casually asking principal tomorrow about contracts w/o letting on about one teacher who supposedly already has hers. Oy vey.
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Thinking about the ten item grocery list CCF posted about. I couldn't do a static list, but a flexible one could work I think. It may help with my escalating grocery budget too.

Things like oatmeal, brown sugar, raisins, peanut butter, and jelly are only purchased a few times a year. Bread, Rice Dream, Cottage cheese 1 - 2 x a month. So that leaves a lot of open spaces for fresh fruits and veggies (and frozen berries for smoothies.)

Well it seems like my allergies have done the thing I dread most when they've gone on and on without end ... settled into my chest. Yesterday during the book sale I was starting to feel crummy, but could do nothing about it. 10 hour day. (Made $107! Selling books that were duplicates or just not wanted for our library.)

I might need to figure out if there are any places I can go on the weekend besides the ER here. Hoping it's not bronchitis, but my cough has gotten deeper and deeper today, and am hearing wheezing when I breathe ... not good signs.

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Today at work (yes, I went to work - still need to make those emergency lesson plans, not to mention needed to take pictures of drama club's play -very cute!) I typed up instructions for the different groups of kids and told them they *must* read the instructions *first* before asking me for help. Most of them did a pretty good job of it, and it cut down on a lot of the questions. That was good, because I really was NOT feeling it today.

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I went into town this afternoon (after taking care of the pastor's pets) and stopped at Walgreens. I debated on whether to go inside, or to go in the car lane. I decided to go in the car lane because my feet were hurting and I wanted to avoid temptations inside. 20+ minutes later with ONE car ahead of me, I finally had my turn! Yikes! A lady behind me about ten minutes into the wait yelled out her window "What's with the holdup!?" I just kind of rolled my eyes - as if an answer to that question would speed anything along.

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I'll probably go to bed as soon as I hit the daily goal for SBs - of course it would have to be 100 and NO surveys I qualify for (tried a dozen+). At least I had one search win (27).

Ok, off now to catch up on the blogs.

Well I knew better than posting without copying first ... Ugh!

At any rate today was a long, busy day. I had three extra periods of having kids - 4th grade girls came in to check in/out books; journalism kids came in to work on yearbook (per my begging their teachers...), and 5th grade came in and did the photo study presentations (which greatly impressed our principal as well as the parents of a new potential student who was visiting.)

I didn't get much sleep last night thanks to my tooth/teeth/sinuses/whatever it is acting up again. Hoping to have a few minutes to call and get doctor/dentist appointments tomorrow.

Am seriously considering quitting 6 month cohort program. I already have earned 6 credits and one certificate, and the electives I can finish this summer for another 9 credits. By quitting now I'd lose out on 3 credits and one certificate. But I'd also lose a lot of stress and gain back my evenings.

Yearbook deadline is on the 18th, and there is still a LONG ways to go. This Thursday we're having a library discard book sale (same day as p/t conferences.) I just have no energy to try to catch up with last weeks assignments, or deal with this weeks 2 1/2 hr webinar and whatever assignments will go along with that ... then of course doing the final project (which I don't have much done on at all.)

Ugh.

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Last night I did something I'd been thinking about for a long, long time. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing to do or not, but it seems to have opened up a new, more open line of communication. We'll see I guess.

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On Sunday I went to town and spent my $15 in coupons, plus another $20 at Safeway. Looking at the receipt later I realized that I was supposed to have spent at least $75 to use the $10 coupon ... oops!

On the way back I spent some time with my pastor's pets - they're out of town for a week. Thankfully they only asked me to check on them Sunday and Friday, otherwise I might have freaked out. (not really, but I do think I would have had to tell them no.)

Ok, trying to post again.

I don't know if there is a version for Android phones/tablets, but I discovered a new app which allows you to earn giftcards/paypal cash. It is called App Trailers. I downloaded it last night and already redeemed and received a $1 AGC! All you have to do is watch short videos advertising various phone apps, or tv show trailers, etc.

Nice I haven't seen a way to use / get a referral code, but I thought some of you might be interested.

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I have cashed in for my first 4 AGC's from Swagbucks. Tomorrow I'll get my 5th one, and probably a $25 one as well. That will give me $50 in AGC money just from SB this month. I'll have around 800 leftover towards April's giftcards.

I'd like to see if I can earn enough to get $40 of gift cards in April. (This month I was able to do a large deal, but I can't count on that happening too often.)

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Yesterday I went into town and spent $80 at Safeway. $23 of that was spent on Morningstar products. There was a deal - spend $20 on certain freezer aisle products, and get $5.00 coupon towards your next order. So, I got that, plus another $10 off coupon and a $.50 coupon for Stouffer's (I love their spinach souffle.) It wasn't all groceries, I also got asprin, cat food, and a birthday card.

I'm thinking of going back on Friday and if the same deal is still on, buying another $20 worth of Morningstar products (they have the corn dogs!!) which would only really cost me $5... Hmm... Will have to make sure I have enough freezer space.

The only reason I went to Safeway instead of Walmart is because I realized that the 5% grocery deal with Chase probably doesn't include Walmart... oops. I used 3 coupons I printed from SBs - asprin, cat food, and some snack food. I probably would have done better on some of these deals at Walmart, but I also wouldn't have gotten the corn dogs or the $15.50 in coupons!!

I also filled up my car - $3.39/gallon. According to my gas buddy app, my last tank gave me 32.9 miles/gallon. Not bad at all.

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I am so glad it is the weekend! It was a long week. I was kind of sad on Thursday afternoon because I had my last technology club session (I'll be in ABQ next Thursday, and then the following Thursday is PT Conferences .. and then no more after school activities.)

I'm mostly looking forward to the book seminar I'll be going to on Thursday. The seminar itself I'm majorly looking forward to, it's just all the lesson plans I'm going to have to leave for the assistants and wondering if they'll actually even do them!!

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I'm debating the wisdom of sending the $2000 from my refunds straight to my car loan. I'm thinking about holding it out as an emergency fund, which I could then use to send to the car loan in June or July if I see that everything appears to be stable here. I've just been hearing some unsettling rumors about the finances here ... I'm still going to do at least a double payment, but I think I'll be holding off on sending anymore huge extra payments. I'll still have the money to send if everything still looks good, but I think it would help me sleep a little better knowing I have a good stash in cash .. just in case.

Well, I'm back from Baltimore and the Americ@orps conference. Overall, I'm mostly glad I went, although I think maybe some of the younger, less experienced teachers here may have gotten more out of it.

We had three main speakers - Mark Shriver (brother to Maria Shriver, ex wife of Arnie "I'll be Back.") Sister Sissy (can't remember her real name, Sissy is her nickname) and Father Boyle (Homeboy Industries.) Of the three I got the most out of the second and third ones. Shriver was ... well, I felt at least, a bit pompous. Lots of name dropping, and during the Q&A he seemed really offended that some of the kids had Googled him to find out more about who he was .. some of the kids (most of the attendees were 27 or younger) didn't know who the Uncle Jack was that he kept referring to (JFK.)

In addition to the speakers, on Sunday and Monday we had our choice of 4 workshops to attend. I attended 3 because the fourth session the ones I wanted were already full by the time I had a chance to sign up. Two of the three I attended were okay, the third one I didn't really care for too much. Oh well.

The hotel tried to meet the needs of vegetarians, but like many non-vegetarians, they had the idea that vegetarians survive mostly on salads. Ugh. So ... I ate a lot of Subway, a few smoothies from the uber expensive Coffee shop in the hotel, and once at Jimmy Johns (my first time eating at one!)

On Wednesday last week I started to have really bad tooth pain. By Thursday when I went to ABQ to stay at the hotel before flying out, it had gotten much worse. So much worse that I left the hotel after dark to go to Walmart a few miles away. I decided to attack it from the angle of allergies, so I got some sinus meds OTC, but did not get any asprin. Which turned out to be a big mistake $$

The next day by the time we got to our layover in DFW, I had a headache that felt like it was going to split my head in half. So, I paid $7 for a soda and 3 2-capsule packets of aspirin. Those packets lasted til Saturday morning when I was again desperate ... so I paid $8 at the hotel coffee shop for ... a soda, and two packets of ONE-capsule aspirin!

Thankfully that afternoon my co-worker and I found a CVS a fw blocks away where I was able to get a 24 capsule bottle for $5.

I haven't totalled up how much I spent on food and medicine this trip, but I have a bad feeling about it. Much more than the amount I had generously allocated ...

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Of course it gets even better ...

Tuesday morning we arrive at the airport a few minutes before 8 a.m. thinking we were cutting it close for our 8:45 flight. Not even close. We had missed our 8:15!!! flight!!! Both of us for whatever reason had 8:45 stuck in our head, and had not bothered to double check the itinerary email. I've *never* missed a flight in my life, until now.

It cost $75 to book the next flight out ...at 1:45 p.m. My co-worker didn't have a credit card with him, nor did he have enough cash to cover the fee. So I paid for his fee. (He already paid me back this morning.) He was thoroughly embarrassed having me do this, although I really tried to be very non-nonchalant about it.

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By the time we got back to ABQ it was WAY past dark. I called the hotel I'd left my car at to come pick me up. The guy told me to take a taxi and they'd pay for it. Huh? Never been told that before ... so I went outside and found a taxi. The taxi driver knew what I was talking about, and took me to the hotel. I gave him my last $5 bill (the other $5 I'd left as a tip for the hotel maid in Baltimore.)

I needed to get a few groceries, but did NOT want to stop at little G on the way home after dark. So decided to go back to the same Walmart I'd been at on Thursday. Unfortunately, my GPS app had been updated with a HORRIBLE update, and it got me lost. Thankfully though I found a KMART. Well ... sort of thankfully.

While in KMART I ended up picking up a new purse (to replace the one whose strap broke this last summer in San Francisco), a set of full bed sheets, two HUGE stuffed animals on 75% discount, and a few groceries. No bananas though (which was one of the main things I wanted.) About $65 altogether.

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I finally made it into my town a bit before 10 p.m. Kari was SO glad to see me. I was actually glad to see her as well.

Today at work I felt a bit like a zombie. When my kinders were in class, I had to keep reminding myself they were babies and to keep my patience. Even my 3 year olds didn't help revitalize me like they tend to do.

Thankfully today wasn't one of my busier days, otherwise I don't know that I would've made it through. We might possibly have a snow day tomorrow - already have a minimum of a two-hour delay. I'd be so happy for a snow day right now ....

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I have nearly 4k Swagbucks now. I'm considering getting the $25 AGC, although I think I may wait til March, or at least until I have enough to get the $25 AND the March $25. Will see.

I would have made my 14 day streak for February, but the hotel in ABQ's WiFi was TERRIBLE - couldn't even do normal surfing using it. Oh well.

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So sleepy. Probably ought to hit the shower and then maybe watch an episode of Eureka (my latest Netflix addiction.) Speaking of tv ... I received my Person of Interest Season 1 DVDs. I might watch them tomorrow if we have a snow day.

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Oh, the co-worker who I barely tolerate .. this morning she sits across from me and says, "So, I hear you missed your flight. HA HA. I've NEVER (said in a haughty tone) missed a flight. I always get there at least two hours ahead of time." I felt like punching her in the face, but I thankfully restrained myself, and only said, "good for you."

While we didn't get the snowstorm like the Northeast did, we did get a couple inches overnight, with more to come over the next few days.

This afternoon I needed to go and do my 30 minute walk towards my weekly gympact, so met up with my coworker. When we started out it was clear and windy. Within a few minutes though, snow started coming down - softly at first, but then a lot more. At one point when we were walking straight into the wind, I turned around and walked backwards because my forehead was freezing!

When I got home I waited until I was inside my house to take my phone out to stop the time. My phone was wet, as was my hoodie. Just as my activity was saved on my phone, it went completely dead.

I tried drying it off and playing around with the controls, but nothing was happening. I was supposed to give my grandma her weekly call, so I texted my brother and asked him to call her and let her know that my phone may be dead. He sweetly offered to upgrade his phone and let me have his.

About 15 minutes after shutting off, I tried the controls again ... and it turned back on! Yay! I kind of was looking forward to having a good excuse to upgrade to the 4S, but am even more glad to not needing to spend the money for a new phone.

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I found out today that there is a second season of Touch - the show about the autistic boy who communicates with his dad through numbers (sci-fi'ish). Sweet! Of course it isn't on Netflix yet, but is on Hulu+. Will wait. Must wait.

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I completed a deal on SBs today that earned 470sbs. So I now have nearly 1700. 500 more and I'll have enough for my March AGCs, then I guess I'll start working on the April ones!

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I'm glad I went into town Friday and did my grocery shopping, because I don't think I'd be able to get into town today or tomorrow (and possibly Monday either!) I spent just under $50. Some of it was probably stuff I should have left at the store ... at least I'm still under budget for February right now.

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I'm half hoping that we'll have a snow day on Monday. That way I can have a chance to make some phone calls regarding my taxes and my certification. I talked to my principal on Friday about how she added the award money to her taxes, and she said she hadn't claimed it ... not sure she understood what I was talking about. I'd really like to get my taxes done so I can make a huge payment on my car.

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Also on Friday I reached the upper levels of frustration with our servers and documents being lost. When I had my 5th grade group in, I had one set of partners that tried 5 different computers to see if they could find the contents of their folder so they could do their blog. Then I had at least 6 mid-schoolers find out that their science fair documents which were 95% finished had vanished into thin air. One of them had their unfinished documents printed out - so I retyped it for him. It was too funny though - I had him and another student standing around the computer as I typed in total awe - "She's not even looking at the keyboard!" "Wow, how fast is she typing??" I told them - years of practice. (I don't type all that fast, maybe 60 - 65 wpm. My mom can do 100+wpm .. that is a sight to see.)

Ooops, forgot where I was going with this. My frustration level being breached, I finally talked to my principal about our school signing on with google apps for education. That way kids could save their documents/work in "the cloud" and the likelihood of things being lost or somehow deleted by accident or by malice would be virtually eliminated. It will mean a bit of a loss of functionality, as google docs aren't as functional or splashy as MS Office, but at this point I think it is well worth it. Thankfully she agreed.

So this coming week the IT person and I are going to work on getting our school started on GAFE. I hope it goes over well with everyone ...

Today on the way into town for church, my gas indicator reached the final little cell and started blinking about 12 miles from the first exit with a good gas station. I got there, and filled up for $2.95/gallon (much better than the $3.09/gallon in my mini town, but NOT better than the $2.82/gallon I saw on the road to church later!!) ~$31.xx -- first fill up in January

After church I debated whether I should hold off on my grocery shopping til Sunday, or go ahead with it. I figured all I was going to pick up was some OJ and a few treats, so not worth making a second trip.

Umm.... $90 later .... Admittedly, $34 of that figure was replacement shoes for my good dress winter shoes which were falling apart .. but still ... that's a lot of OJ and treats. (OJ, bread, bananas, granola bars, junk food, sweet potatoes, etc...) This will of course be my only grocery trip for January, other than visiting the small mom and pop place in mini town for bananas (and egg salad sandwiches when they're in stock!)

Next up was Walgreen's to get my prescription. I contemplated going inside so I could pick up a jar of Nutella (something I wanted at Walmart, but the only small jar they had had a cracked lid - nope!) However, I decided I'd got enough junky food and did not need to spend any more money on food. So ... $24 for the prescription.

Then tonight I got an email from Choice Privileges which reminded me that I needed to decide whether I was going to stay in a hotel on the 14th before heading out to Baltimore, or hoof it out the morning of the 15th. Looking at the time of my morning flight -- 10:45, and thinking about leaving the house around 6 a.m. .... and then paying $24 to park my car.. I decided to see what I could come up with for a hotel.

I found a hotel with airport shuttle service, free Wi-Fi, a very good comp. breakfast, and Park & Fly service for a total of approximately $60. I think it's the same place I've stayed at before, but it has changed its name for whatever reason. This way I'll have a good nights sleep, a good breakfast, and not have to worry about parking in a tight space in one of those shuttle lots. (Parking was a nightmare last time - I had to have someone guide me into the space .. and I have a tiny car.)

If I leave right after my last class on Thursday, I can be in ABQ by 5 at the latest, and maybe enjoy a nice dinner somewhere (esp. somewhere that can't be found in big G!)

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I almost have enough SBs for my 5th $5 AGC this month. I have met the goal now 19/19 days. My plan is to hit the goal 31/31. This will give me ample SBs to go into Feb with, esp. since for 5 days the most I'll be able to get is with the mobile SBTV app and a few search wins.

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My $10 from GymPact hit my Paypal account. I've emailed them to ask for a way to add a referral link into blog posts rather than have to post it on a person's FB wall. So far, I haven't heard back.

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All of us teachers were given notice - get our NM certification transfers started or completed ... or no new contract. Gulp. I keep procrastinating on doing this .. but must stop! I doubt the NM ed dept. will be open on Monday. I've tried to figure out if I'll still have my TX licenses in addition, or if those will be gone? I don't see why I'd lose the TX licensees ... but stranger things do happen - esp. in education.

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I am GLAD for this 3 day weekend. I know we've only been back in school for two weeks (and not even that, with a snow day and two two-hour delays ...) but I am READY for the extra time off. (Of course, I *really* need to use that time wisely - i.e. working on my electives assignments and my final project ... time is moving fast!)

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Almost forgot!

I signed up with this presentation site a month or so ago thinking I might be able to use it as part of my final project. Tonight I got an email from them saying that if I create a presentation with certain details, that I will be given a $50 AGC!!!! It has to be made by 1/23rd. It is only for new users who receive the email, so I don't know if anyone else could get the same email, but if your interested in trying ... here's the website: presentation tube net

So ... I spent a good bit of money in December. Some of it was reimbursed, some of it was money I received for birthday/Christmas which I distributed to various categories. My biggest expenses were in the grocery and fun money categories - groceries - I did a large stockup at Costco -- fun money ... some of it probably could've been categorized as vacation, but I generally use the vacation budget for actual travel expenses such as airplane/train tickets. So this was eating out, movies, a few items I've been wanting that I treated myself to which didn't fall into any particular other category ... etc.

I already allocated the $1k I received back from the dealer - but since it hasn't completely cleared yet, I haven't sent the check yet. That's why I have a sizeable balance in my car loan category.



January hopefully will be a much less spendy month. I doubt that I'll have all my tax info in yet for me to do my taxes, but I did add a little extra to my other category to cover tax fees. I'm really hoping that groceries will be significantly less than what I've budgeted, but in case it isn't ... I made the room. I doubt that I'll spend much in the fun money category in January - especially with as much eating out and movies as I've done the past few weeks. Hopefully that's mostly out of my system for awhile.
We'll see.

I got into ABQ yesterday around 10 am and then after picking up my car ($24 parking for 6 days) I headed over to Costco. On the way I filled up my tank at $2.99/gal ($30.xx).

I spent around 2 hours in Costco. I picked up kitty litter, oatmeal, Amy's soups, Lentils, toilet paper, dishwasher pacs, brownie bites (cheaper than Walmarts), hummus, vegge patties, bananas, grape leaves, various veggies, cooking spray and a pair of gloves you can wear and still use your smartphone. All told .. $172. Ouch. The money comes from a variety of accounts though - groceries, household, Kari, and fun money.

Then I headed to Walmart (right next door to Costco )At Walmart I picked up floor mats for my car, a steering wheel cover, chair back massager (on sale), a dash mount for my phone (which I think I might return because I don't think it's gonna work), hand warmer (gift for next year - on sale), vegge corn dogs, various frozen meals, bread, a baking dish, cat food, OJ, some junkfood, sparkling cider (for NYE), auxiliary cable, etc. I can't find my receipt right now (must be in car) but I think it was around $130. Again, the spending will come from various categories - Kari, Fun Money, Groceries, Gifts, Car, etc.

**The groceries I picked up should give me a pretty good stash for a couple months. So I'm hoping that I can keep my grocery spending in January and February to $50 each or less. We'll see.

I received $250 in cash for birthday/Christmas money, so I used some of that to buy some things I'd been wanting (baking dish, aux cable, floor mats, massager, etc.) I also used some of it to do some major stocking up on food goods.

Kari definitely was glad for me to be home. She pretty much has not left my side since I got back.

In the mail I had the $1k check from the car dealership, which I photo deposited this morning. It won't be available until around the 7th. Once it's available, I'll send most of it to my car loan.

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I've been thinking about the advice I received on my last couple posts. I don't think I'd feel good about moving anywhere else as long as I still have debt. Plus I really would like to stick it out with the current group. So ... I think I'm going to give myself one more school year here. It would give me 3 years of experience, put me in a debt free situation again as well as give me time to build up a moving fund, and hopefully in 18 months or so I'll be on a more even emotional footing as well.

This coming ten days (including today) my goal is to focus on cleaning and decluttering my house/laundry/dishes/cooking ahead, (2 days worth of focused time), spend 2 focused days working on electives, spend 1 focused day working on final project, 2 focused days on work/school, and 3 days of just relaxation.

Next week I need to get Kari's nails clipped (sorely overdue!!), return the outfit I didn't wear, contact BofA about dad's estate, and possibly return the dash mount device.

So this morning I received two phone calls - one at 6 a.m. and one at 7:15 a.m. The first one confirmed what I already suspected - a two-hour delay. The second surprised me with -- Snow Day! Looking outside I saw maybe two inches at the most of snow on the ground - even though the forecast was calling for snow throughout the day.

I debated for a few minutes whether I should use this as an opportunity to sleep in a bit and do some housework/school work, or get all the stuff done that I was going to attempt to do after sunset tomorrow. It wasn't a difficult choice - especially when a co-worker agreed to go with me.

We started off by making our first foray ever into the local mall. I was actually quite surprised by the variety of shops in the mall. We checked both JCP and Beall's for an appropriate dress (royal blue for mom's wedding) and found absolutely nothing. Before leaving the mall though, I checked around to see if someone could put a new battery in my dad's train watch for me. The jeweler at JCP did it - $10.xx So now I have a working watch again.

My co-worker reminded me of the Cato's near Wal-Mart, so we went there to see what we could find. No dresses, but did find a very pretty blouse/tank combo and skirt in something pretty close to royal blue. $58.xx I sent a picture of it to my mom, and she liked it. I plan to look for alternatives when I get to ABQ next Friday, but at least I have something on hand in case nothing turns up there. (If I do find something, then I can return this outfit here.)

Next we went to the bowling alley. My friend had never been bowling before. I love to bowl, but am not very good at it. Unfortunately, the bowling alley was not open.

So we decided to go eat lunch. This was my first time eating at a sit down restaurant since this past summer, so that was very nice. I got a veggie burger w/swiss cheese and mushrooms, sweet potato fries, and a slice of cheesecake. Mmmm mmmm! The waitress put my friend and I's bills together for whatever reason - my friend already gave me $7 towards it, and will give me another $5 on Monday. Our total bill was $32.xx + a $5.67 tip. (I didn't ask my friend to pay tax or tip.) (This came out of my Fun Money budget and is my pre-birthday treat to myself.)

Next we headed to Wal-mart. My friend did her shopping for her students Christmas presents (using money donated for that purpose) and I did my grocery shopping. My first real grocery shop for December. I bought a few special things to celebrate my real birthday tomorrow. Sparkling grape juice and Russel's French Chocolate Mints. The total was around $40 - but included cat litter which had a $1.50 coupon on it. I need to crunch the numbers to figure out what the actual grocery cost was.

On the way back we saw gas for $2.98/gallon. I had filled up on Wednesday for $3.19/gallon. If I'd realized the huge price difference, I would have only gotten a couple gallons. Oh well.

We were planning on doing our walk tonight after getting everything put away, but the wind had gotten super bitter cold. So I'm hoping that tomorrow will be MUCH warmer. If not, I'll still have to walk in it in order to complete my pact for the week.

One thing I did not get taken care of today due to being out all day was calling my car loan credit union to figure out how to set up an account. I guess I will have to try them in the morning. (If they're open.)

When I checked my mail I had an envelope from my grandma - forwarding a piece of my dad's mail. I was kind of surprised I didn't have any birthday cards. When I saw the one from my grandma, that's what I thought it was. I think part of me was kind of expecting to see one from my dad... even though I *know* that won't happen.

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Throughout the day I kept getting alerts on my phone telling me the latest updates on the school shootings. I usually have my volume off, but had it turned on last night so I could hear when the phone rang for bad weather news. It just got worse and worse as the day wore on.

My heart is so heavy for the families who lost their little ones today, and for the families who lost a brother, sister, mother, father ... It is just totally senseless.

Today I filled my car up with gas for the second time since I bought it over Thanksgiving break. It was a little bit over 10 gallons and cost about $32. When I entered the information into gas Cubby I found out that my MPG was a bit over 33! Of coarse, when I told this to our nurse here she told me "You're going to cry. My car I regularly get 50+ miles per gallon." Oh well, I'm still very happy with my car.

I had to stop and buy some bananas again tonight. But I managed to get out of the small mom and pop store with only spending $3.86. So not as bad as it could've been.

I got my license plate in the mail today. So now I guess I have to go and find some bolts so that I can put the license plate on my car. The school nurse suggested I go to Napa and ask them if they have bolts. So I may just ask them if they'll put them on for me.

I still have not received my final account number for my credit union account where my car loan is. And I need that so I can set my account yet so I can make my first car payment ! I must give them a call tomorrow and figure out what's going on. I really don't want to have to worry about this when I go on vacation.

I'm doing really well was spending this month. I guess I needed the motivation of a real car loan to get me to finally stop doing all the extraneous spending. I just hope that I can keep up with that motivation.

So Wednesday I chose the books I wanted out of the two boxes of librarian candy that came shortly before Thanksgiving break and added them to our collection. 28 books for approximately $500. Gulp.

I showed my 5th graders the stack of books and told them that they cost about $500 and that the money for them came from the book fair. They were duly impressed. The main books that were competed for (had to choose numbers between 1 and 25) were the two cookbooks, the origami books, and the drawing books.

I think I've done my duty adding to our non-fiction collection and updating the average age for this year. With the bit of money left I'm going to work on adding more graphic novels (which the kids *really* go for) and other good fiction. I still will add more non-fiction as kids or teachers express interest - just won't be so focused on it.

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Yesterday I was showing my second grade group how to do various things in PowerPoint. I was using the Smartboard (touchscreen) to show them how to do different things. At one point as I was looking around the room to see if the kids were following/understanding, I noticed one of the new boys touching his screen in the same spot he was supposed to click. I quietly went over and told him that they didn't have touchscreens, but that he had to use the mouse. It was just so cute and sweet.

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Yesterday and today most of the staff at our school worked on setting up for the Christmas Dinner. Today we had teacher inservice in the morning (which included a presentation on suicide prevention - white youth led in % of attempted/completed suicide per year, while Native American youth came in a close second! Sad.) The afternoon was working on setup. In Santa's workshop we have 3 huge boxes full of beanie babies. It was really cute/funny - one of the beanie babies had a sign "Prom of 1988" or something like that. The 5th grade teacher assistant jokingly asked the 5th grade teacher when his prom was - and then when he saw the year, he said that he hadn't even been born then! Yikes, that sure made me feel old! (It was funny how into beanie babies two of the teachers seemed to be - they were making a game out of seeing how many of them they could correctly name - and were getting LOTS right.)

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So, it looks like I might be making a trip out to the D.C. area President's Day weekend. All expenses paid. It is for the Ameri Corp program. Since this is my second year in the program, it is also my last chance to go. I wasn't planning on going due to my class I'm taking, but my principal talked to me today and sounded like she *really* wanted me to go. She told me that she thought I'd "be a really good representative for our school." So, I guess I'm going - will just have to make sure to find time to work on my class work while I'm there!

I also will have to see if a good friend of mine from high-school who lives near there can come see me. I haven't seen her since ... 1994? Yikes.

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I'll also have an overnight trip into ABQ in March for that same seminar on good children's books I went to last year (only for 2013 books.) That will also be all expenses paid.

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I talked to my mom tonight and it sounds like I'm going to have some crazy days when I get to TX. For the wedding I'll be getting a mani/pedi, haircut/highlights and my makeup done. (I don't even own hardly any makeup anymore since I rarely wear lipstick and even more rarely mascara ... so for formal pics, I guess I should go for having my makeup done.) Then Saturday late afternoon my soon to be stepdad is taking me and the other out of town guests out to Olive Garden. (Yum!!!) Sunday will be the whirlwind of getting ready for the wedding. Then Monday I'll be taking one of the guests to the airport and returning a bunch of rentals ... and hopefully have time to work on classwork (if I can get an extended deadline for the previous week's work.)

I'm thinking of going to ABQ as soon as the Christmas program is over and staying in a hotel -- that would get me in to ABQ around 9:30 p.m. Then the next morning I would need to find my dress and if time, stop at the Schol Book Warehouse (Winter Sale - have about $60 in Schol dollars to spend.) That way I'd also be able to park my car at the hotel while I'm in TX for just $15. If I can't find a suitable dress here in big G next weekend, then I'll probably have to go this route. If I can, then I'll just go in the morning and hit the warehouse sale before my flight. (and then also need to check to see if I could still park my car at that hotel ...)

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I stopped by the local mom and pop store this afternoon to pick up bananas and bread. If it was just bananas I needed, I would have made myself wait. But I needed bread to make my lunches for the next week ... I managed to get out for less than $15! I bought bananas, bread, two brownie mixes, 3 orange juice bottles (the 15oz kind - biggest they have), and a few other junky food stuff which will count towards my fun money. They didn't have egg salad sandwiches, otherwise I would have spent a good bit more.

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I finally got the paperwork from the place that owns my car loan today. In it, it says that you can have a deductible of $1k on comprehensive/collision. So I called my car insurance and changed my deductibles, thus saving me $30/6 months. I have to wait for the letter with my customer number before I can set up my online account with the credit union. I understand why they do it that way, but it is annoying. (I wanted to get it done and setup!!)

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It's supposed to get really chilly here the next couple nights ... lows of 5 degrees or less. Brrr!!! But no snow in the forecast for the near future.

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I finally watched my training video for the evaluating breakout session proposals this afternoon. It isn't too hard, and I'm looking forward to seeing what topics might possibly be included at the 2013 librarian conference.

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I received a $5 AGC from Swagbucks yesterday. So right now have about $60. I'm really going to try not to spend it for awhile. We have lots of new books in the library, so the money can just rest for awhile.

Well I was going to try to make it to Dec 15 with no spending, but today the mid-school had a bake sale. So I bought a rootbeer float for $.50 and gave them a $1 (no change.)

We are working on setting up for the Community Christmas Dinner which is this coming Saturday. Last year I was Mrs. Clause, but we're not having Mrs. Clause this year. Everybody who was here last year was surprised because the kids really got a kick out of it. Oh well. I guess it is a money saving measure.

Tonight I had the pleasure of spending 2 1/2 hours (after staying at school til 5 setting up for Dinner) of "learning" about Google search, gmail and calendar. What did I learn that was new to me? How to make a label. I get to do it again next week, so hope there'll be *something* new for me.

I got a postcard from the credit union that took my car loan, but nothing else. I am going to try to call them tomorrow and figure out what is going on - why I haven't received any paperwork or emails yet to set up my payments.

I earned $1.43 last week with Gym Pact. Today my co-worker and I did our 30 minute walk after everyone left - on the school campus - because it was getting close to dark. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to complete my 4 walks for the week (and then would owe money!)

The same co-worker I mentioned wanted to set WiFi up at her home to run her phone on, but did not have her computer here yet. (She'd ran out of room in her car coming here.) So I took my netbook over - could not set it up with FireFox (which is the only browser on the netbook. The customer service lady I think thought I was a computer dummy when I insisted that NO there was no IE on my computer!) So instead I got my dad's laptop and brought that over - that one worked perfectly (has IE of course!) I'm letting her borrow it til her computer gets here.

I got my PenFed card in the mail yesterday. When I went to activate it, I saw they had an offer to change it to a different type of card. The current card offers 5% cashback on gas and no annual fee. The other card offered 5 pts on gas and 3 pts on groceries - but no cash back, only gift cards. The % and points worked out to be exactly the same (I checked the rewards out.) The problem I saw was that there was an asterisk by grocery store - which more than likely means that Walmart would NOT be counted. I was thinking until I saw that, that maybe that card could completely replace my MyPoints card. But nope - not if Walmart isn't considered a grocery store.

I thought it was weird that I received the card before finishing filling out the paperwork they'd mailed me... Also, I noticed that for the checking account there is a fee if you have less than a $500 balance .. so need to check that out. They pay less interest than ING, so I don't know that I really want $500 sitting there - although the 5% gas rewards might almost make it worth it.. (especially since I have money sitting in an account not earning anything at all in BofA that I could move over ..hmmm...)

Ok, it is way too late and I need some sleep.

I found a new program on Netflix the other night which I am LOVING. It had the prediction that I'd give it 5 stars, and I think they are right. It is called "Touch" and is about an 11 year old boy with autism who communicates with his dad via numbers. There's only 12 episodes which makes me sad because I've already watched 4.

This afternoon my two colleagues and I set off on our mostly daily walk. One colleague brings along her dog Zoie (a huge dog, maybe a bull mastif?? but super super super docile and sweet.) We also had another neighborhood dog named Sky tagging along with us.

Sky is what caused our walk to be eventful. She is a good, sweet dog who had puppies in Septmeber. Her puppies are now all gone - either died, given away or humane society. She's gotten really friendly with us because JB who has the dog Zoie feeds her sometimes.

Usually she doesn't follow us out of the trailer park, but today she did. While we were walking along on the road that is just outside of the park, another stray dog came along the road - it looked like a German Shepherd. It was pretty harmless by itself - rubbed noses with Zoie. But then another dog came along - and Sky got separated from us. I was having a BAD feeling in the pit of my stomach ... with good reason apparently because soon we heard the high pitched whine of a dog in trouble.

NC and I both picked up sticks and ran toward the 3 dogs. Both of our sticks broke quickly - so I started stomping and yelling like a banshee. It worked. The two strange dogs ran off, and Sky came slinking back to us. I was glad she realized that I wasn't yelling at her.

We continued on our walk, and came across some more stray dogs. All of us yelled and shooed them away. One kept following us from a distance, but finally gave up (after I gave another banshee performance.)

I really like Sky - she is a sweet dog and I feel bad for her - even though she has a home of sorts, she's not really taken care of that well. But we really can't have her following us like this - who knows if our scare tactics will continue to work.

Ugh.

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I spent the majority of the day today working on a new website for our media center. This was after watching a ton of profesional dev webinars, including a couple on making websites with google sites. I hadn't realized that I could get Google sites to do the kind of navigation I wanted, otherwise I would've started with it a couple years ago. Oh well. I have the basics up, and now just need to slowly add the content.

*This was of course done instead of the housework, working on coursework, or working on electives ... I did get my dishes washed though. So that was something.

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I did also make brownies and bake up my sweet potatoes tonight. This necessitated a run into the local mom and pop store for eggs. I was going to get cottage cheese too for my CC Roast, but not at $2.51 for 8 oz!!! (when I needed 32 oz.)

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I saw this posted on FB the other night and thought some of you might be interested:

This morning I woke up to the first snow of the season. It is still snowing right now - I expect we'll have 4 inches or so by the time it's done.

I went to big G yesterday afternoon to do my grocery shopping. The store (Walmart) was really crowded - I expect partly due to the impending storm, as well as possibly getting ready for Thanksgiving. One thing I don't mind about stores putting out holiday stuff early ... Terry's Chocolate Oranges! Yahoo! I treated myself to one.

After spending nearly $60 on grocery only stuff yesterday, I think I've decided that a budget of $100/month just is not going to cut it. It is just stressing me out to have that budget and then not meet it. So, I think I'm going to make it $175/mo and then try to keep it well below that. If I do, then it'll go to savings. If not, then no big deal.

I bought some de-icer yesterday at Walmart. If I wanted to go anywhere today, I could test it out and see if it really works. One of my co-workers swears by it. I'll wait til I really *have* to go somewhere though.

The storm hitting the West Coast is called Brutus. I texted my brother about it, and he laughed. Why? Our family had two dogs named Brutus - Brutus 1 and Brutus 2. Both of them were really great dogs.

I am glad for this long weekend. This past week at work wasn't a bad one, it just felt *really* long. I had a surprise visit by my principal on Tuesday morning when I had my 7th grade boys. Thankfully they were on good behavior! This was the initial observation visit. The next official one will be arranged. I plan on asking for her to come observe me with the 4th grade girls. She'll see plenty of interaction with that group.

We had several different groups of donors come by the school this week, dropping off boxes of donated books. It kept my assistant busy going through the boxes and seeing which ones were worth keeping. One of the donors asked me what books I would really like, and I told him *current* non-fiction. In the boxes of books there were two non-fiction books - one from 1958! and one from 1988. Ummmmm....

I want to let you know about a great tv show I ran across this past week on Netflix streaming. Warning - it is very saccharine and heartfelt - may be nauseating to some. 18 to Life - about two 18 year old next door neighbor kids who get married. There are only 24 episodes (2 seasons) but every 24 minute episode left me with a smile at the end.

Monday at school went relatively well for a Monday. Even the group I have to pump myself up about (PMA PMA PMA!) was pretty manageable.

Then I got home and found out that the new module for my online course had opened up. Oy vey! There are probably a good 5 hours worth of articles we have to read and respond/reflect on, plus the ever so dreaded group project. The group project requires FOUR members - there is a total of SIX students. Yeah, um... how's that gonna work??

Not to mention that the completed project is due by Saturday night, and we are just now forming groups... This IS NOT how I like to work. Not at all.

Give me all my assignments for the class and the due dates. Then I can work on them at my own pace when I have the most junkets of time. Not like this!

Yesterday I had tons of time in which I could've completed all the readings and the reflections. But since I had no access to them nor any idea what they were, I instead spent a lot of time watching "Make It or Break It" on Hulu (free version.)

The really "good" news is that from what I can tell, there are a lot of group projects throughout the course. Oh joy.

I have all the articles open in another window, but just getting through the "interactive text" put my brain to mush after a long day. So, I'll read the articles tomorrow. I really hope this isn't going to be as bad as I think it is....

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I stopped and got a sub tonight. My first one since August. The lady there remembered me and my sandwich. $5.33 (footlong - two meals)

Saturday night I managed to snag another AGC from Swagbucks - by using my Android phone to "watch" videos while reading MMM blogs.

Today as I was leaving school, I stopped by the office and saw that I had a package in my box. The books I ordered last Friday from Capstone had already arrived!! (I used a $100 credit I had just for being a member of AASL, plus another $100 of library budget.) I think the kids will be excited for the books - D.C. Superheroes (6) and Scary Stories (4).

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After work I headed off to big G to do grocery shopping. I bought approximately $43 in groceries, plus got cat food (~$7) and a cat tower $40.) I debated on getting the hanging tower again, or trying for something a bit more stable/permanent, and obviously decided on the more stable/permanent. I will definitely keep track of the receipt this time so I can return it if I find it isn't what I really want for Kari.

I'm thinking that I may not be able to keep my groceries within $100 per month. I'm still going to try, but it may be difficult.

I have to buy cupcakes next week for the Halloween Festival, which will probably be at least $12. (Yes, I *could* make them for less ... but I really don't have time.)

My groceries should probably last through most of the month, so hopefully other than the cupcakes, I won't have to buy much more than fruit next time.

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I played the book fair video for my first class today - 4th grade girls. They were almost as fun to watch/listen to as the video. One book which looks really interesting to me is 9th Ward - a story about a girl from New Orleans during Katrina. Most of these kids were barely 3 or 4 when Katrina happened, so I'm not sure how much they were aware of at the time.

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I really need to find some batteries to put in my temperature control thing so I can turn the heat on. It is getting downright chilly in here. I'm wearing 3 pairs of socks, my dads insulated jogging pants, and a fleece lined hoodie .. and am cold!

UPDATE:

I put together the cat tower. UGH! It is SO not sturdy. Kari jumped up on it before I had it even close to stabilized. I used my jump rope and a long electrical cord of some kind or another to tie it to the door - but it still isn't very stable.

She got up on it for a bit, but then chose my lap as her sleeping place.

I have the feeling I will be taking this thing back on my next trip to town.

This morning I was able to sleep in a little bit for a Monday morning workday. When I got up, I called ST and the person there walked me through how to sell my stock (102 shares.) My brother had warned me that I'd be playing a dangerous game (selling stock, moving to IRA and rebuying,) but I hadn't realized exactly what he meant until today. I found out that my stock would sell "sometime" today, and not be final til Thursday. Depending on when my stock sold today, I could either have a small cap gain or loss. What the stock price will be by Thursday, who knows?

I headed up to big G for the meeting (I went in place of our school counselor who feels she is computer illiterate.) I arrived about 30 minutes early because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find it or not easily. The meeting took about an hour, and was kind of interesting. Of course, they used a bunch of terms and acronyms I was unfamiliar with since I don't deal with special ed.

After the meeting I headed to Walmart. I had taken Kari's cat castle with me to see if I could exchange it for a new one. They would NOT exchange it without a receipt (yes, I know... I really should have kept track of that receipt, esp. knowing that the last castle fell apart.) Then I quickly gathered a few groceries - $23.98 - and headed to Sonic for lunch.

It took ten minutes to make the left turn to Sonic, and about 3 minutes to get my food and leave. Oy!

I made it back in the middle of my least favorite class.

After school when I got home I was finally able to login to my cohort class website. While I was doing that, Kari jumped up on the music chair, and then the keyboard, and then was about to leap to the door ...when she realized her castle was no longer there. She gave me the most confused and disappointed look. It made me almost decide to drive back and buy another one ... almost. She did that two more times tonight.

**If anyone has any ideas of types of fabric that are really claw/weight/jumping resistant ... I'm thinking of trying to make a cat castle (only the top two layers which is all Kari ever used.) I figure there has to be a way to make something much more strong/quality that would last!

I got a notice today that my phone from Ting has shipped. I should have it by next Wednesday at the very latest. Yay.

My walking partner and I both agreed that we aren't going to do the Zumba class until the weather gets too bad for walking ..or perhaps just not do it at all. Even at $4.20/class, it is a lot of money.

I'm glad the blogs seem to be working right again. It was weird not being able to re-read and edit my post last night after submitting it. (Which from the numerous typos/mistakes in it, you can guess how much post-posting editing I do sometimes ...)

This afternoon I went to the dentist for my second of two fillings. It went quickly, and when I went up front to pay, I got a nice surprise. I was fully expecting to pay upwards of $90. I was charged only $35! When I asked about it, I was told that I actually had a credit from my first filling. So .. I guess the new dental plan (which our school switched to this year) is pretty good for fillings.

I moved the extra money from my Medical category to groceries and to car repayment. After the dentist, I went grocery shopping - I spent $38.xx. Some of what I got was stocking up type things - such as 3 cartons of Rice Dream (Enriched), which my other Walmart in big G had been completely out of last week - and 2 boxes of my after school snack granola bars, which for whatever odd reason were $.25 cheaper in small G's Walmart. I forgot to get more hummus (which I've been using in my salads this week - makes salad SO much more palatable!) and orange juice. I'm going to try to make what I have just last til next Friday.

I also did my first fill-up today for September - $3.65/gallon - total of $32.88 (not a full tank's worth ~8 gallons.)

I signed up for the Citi Forward Netflix deal. I had planned on cancelling Netflix at the end of September because I didn't think I'd use it enough to justify the expense in the next 6 months. But if I am getting it essentially for free ... well then it sure will be nice to still have available for when I need a break from studying. Plus, once my course is finished, it will equal roughly $51 extra to my savings (6 months @ $8.53.) Every little bit helps. (I noticed that their 5% rewards are geared towards restaurants - since I don't eat out very often, that probably won't be much use for me.)

**I just have to make sure I don't start ANY tv series on Netflix until my course is over. Movies are a one-time thing, tv series I have this obsessive need to watch episode after episode to see *everything* in as short a time as possible ...)

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When I decided to *not* upgrade my iPhone 3GS, I moved the majority of the tech fund money to my car replacement fund. (I left enough to get a good case/cover for the iPad.) I also decided to up my ROTH savings to $200/mo, and reduce my Fun Money fund to $20/mo (for most months, except my birthday month. )

I also realized today that even though my ed award money (which is paying for my 6 month course/iPad) is taxable income, I *may* qualify for the Hope tax credit (I think that's the one.) So .. it may not be such a big bite after all.

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Ok, off to watch more episodes of Ocean Girl. (about 6 left I think)

After posting in one of the retirement savings threads on the forum, it got me rethinking some things.

There aren't a lot of ways I can cut back on expenses, but I think there are some things I can do to cut back a little as well as help myself if for some reason I become unemployed again.

So .... I think I have decided to stick with my current phone and not upgrade. I had found a good case for the 4S on amazon for $6, so the total cost of upgrading would be $106. However, that would lock me in to a new two-year contract. That's not something that would bother me generally, but with the iffy situation here with the sewer system ... as much as I'd absolutely HATE to do it, I probably should keep the option open of downgrading from my current phone plan to a prepaid plan. (I'm not sure that a prepaid would really save me all that much, but even $20/mo if I have no income coming in would be better than nothing.)

If my current phone really starts acting up on me, then I might look into seeing about buying an unlocked phone from Ebay, etc., or ... see if my brother would sell me his phone (he has to wait til March to upgrade.) Either way, I'd still not have to get locked into a new contract, so if the worst happens, I could downgrade my plan.

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I've also decided that I'm NOT going to pay for Hulu +. I waste enough time as it is with Netflix streaming, and the one main show I'd like to watch on Hulu (DWTS) will be available for free at some point. I just will have to be patient. Also, once I start the 6 month program, I'll probably go ahead and cancel Netflix until the program is over at least. My free time will be focused on classes and stuff for school/work.

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I was thinking about selling enough of the stocks I have in the taxable account to finish out maxing my IRA (traditional, so I could rebuy the same stock, only in the non-taxable for now account) for this year, and then saving what I'd normally put in to add next year. This was of course when the particular stock was down nearly $3 below what it was June 6 (when my dad died.) So it would have been a capital loss (which would have netted me some extra tax refund money, which could have also been put back into Roth/Trad IRA's next year ...) But I waited too long to do more than think about doing this. If I sold now, it would be a small capital gain instead.
(If I even know what I'm talking about here ...)

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Today was very cold. When I finally got up around 10:30 a.m. it was 39 degrees out. It warmed up some by the afternoon, but not much. I have the feeling that I'll be putting my sandals away very soon, and we'll have our first frost, if not first snow shortly.

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Looking on Amazon for iPhone/iPad stuff is very very dangerous. I found a $40 case/stand which I think will be quite good for the iPad (which I'm getting with the 6 month course) especially since I'm planning on letting the students in the library use it (for educational purposes of course!) I also found an awesome portable projector unit which can be used with either iPhone or iPad ...droollllll.... ($200) It would be so nice to have a way to do presentations without *having* to be in the computer lab ... Like I said, dangerous surfing.

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Today is my grandma's 91st birthday. She and her daughter are in Hawaii (they got there on Thursday and will stay for two weeks - staying at a timeshare unit owned by one of her sons and his wife.) I talked with her today and she sounded like she was having a good time - lots of walking.

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I really need to work on cutting my grocery costs. That could be one area that I could use to add more to my savings (for new to me car.) Spending $55 on Friday was really ridiculous - unless I can make it two weeks (other than fruit ...) And of course if I actually *use* everything I bought *before* it goes bad. (I bought fresh asparagus, humus, spinach mix, bag of pre-cut butternut squash ... have a history of fresh asparagus rotting before being used --- quick easy ways to prepare would be great...) It of course didn't help that the store brand OJ was all out, so I had to go with the name brand (extra $1.25.)

Buying frozen fruit is also quite expensive ... but with only the freezer above my fridge, I don't know that I could freeze enough fruit in season to really offset the amount of frozen fruit I'd want for smoothies.... Maybe I should look into getting a smallish free standing freezer?

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I need to get pro-active about listing some books on Ebay (maybe half.com??) to see if I can get back any of the money I spent this past summer on books for summer school. Most of them were not even used ... Some of the teacher resource books might sell too .. eventually.

Tomorrow I need to make sure I have everything lined up for the coming week at school, and then maybe get myself to do some much needed housework - possibly even make a casserole or something.

Btw - I've asked this before (and googled it as well) but ... if I cook 4 or 5 sweet potatoes in foil in the oven, what/how can I do to keep them good over a period of 4 or 5 days?? I've heard that bacteria grows fast in wrapped cooked potatoes - but that there is a way to prevent it - just haven't been able to figure out what that is yet. Any suggestions??

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Since I rode with people yesterday, and ended up skipping church today, I am probably going to end up with excess gas budget money this month. I'll put the first $20 of it back to tithe (since I took it out of tithe to cover my extra gas from last month for taking care of pastor's dog/cat) and then whatever's left will need to go to the medical category (to help cover the second filling I'll be getting on Thursday.)

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Ok, enough rambling about .. better go hit some zzzz's.

After posting in one of the retirement savings threads on the forum, it got me rethinking some things.

There aren't a lot of ways I can cut back on expenses, but I think there are some things I can do to cut back a little as well as help myself if for some reason I become unemployed again.

So .... I think I have decided to stick with my current phone and not upgrade. I had found a good case for the 4S on amazon for $6, so the total cost of upgrading would be $106. However, that would lock me in to a new two-year contract. That's not something that would bother me generally, but with the iffy situation here with the sewer system ... as much as I'd absolutely HATE to do it, I probably should keep the option open of downgrading from my current phone plan to a prepaid plan. (I'm not sure that a prepaid would really save me all that much, but even $20/mo if I have no income coming in would be better than nothing.)

If my current phone really starts acting up on me, then I might look into seeing about buying an unlocked phone from Ebay, etc., or ... see if my brother would sell me his phone (he has to wait til March to upgrade.) Either way, I'd still not have to get locked into a new contract, so if the worst happens, I could downgrade my plan.

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I've also decided that I'm NOT going to pay for Hulu +. I waste enough time as it is with Netflix streaming, and the one main show I'd like to watch on Hulu (DWTS) will be available for free at some point. I just will have to be patient. Also, once I start the 6 month program, I'll probably go ahead and cancel Netflix until the program is over at least. My free time will be focused on classes and stuff for school/work.

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I was thinking about selling enough of the stocks I have in the taxable account to finish out maxing my IRA (traditional, so I could rebuy the same stock, only in the non-taxable for now account) for this year, and then saving what I'd normally put in to add next year. This was of course when the particular stock was down nearly $3 below what it was June 6 (when my dad died.) So it would have been a capital loss (which would have netted me some extra tax refund money, which could have also been put back into Roth/Trad IRA's next year ...) But I waited too long to do more than think about doing this. If I sold now, it would be a small capital gain instead.
(If I even know what I'm talking about here ...)

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Today was very cold. When I finally got up around 10:30 a.m. it was 39 degrees out. It warmed up some by the afternoon, but not much. I have the feeling that I'll be putting my sandals away very soon, and we'll have our first frost, if not first snow shortly.

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Looking on Amazon for iPhone/iPad stuff is very very dangerous. I found a $40 case/stand which I think will be quite good for the iPad (which I'm getting with the 6 month course) especially since I'm planning on letting the students in the library use it (for educational purposes of course!) I also found an awesome portable projector unit which can be used with either iPhone or iPad ...droollllll.... ($200) It would be so nice to have a way to do presentations without *having* to be in the computer lab ... Like I said, dangerous surfing.

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Today is my grandma's 91st birthday. She and her daughter are in Hawaii (they got there on Thursday and will stay for two weeks - staying at a timeshare unit owned by one of her sons and his wife.) I talked with her today and she sounded like she was having a good time - lots of walking.

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I really need to work on cutting my grocery costs. That could be one area that I could use to add more to my savings (for new to me car.) Spending $55 on Friday was really ridiculous - unless I can make it two weeks (other than fruit ...) And of course if I actually *use* everything I bought *before* it goes bad. (I bought fresh asparagus, humus, spinach mix, bag of pre-cut butternut squash ... have a history of fresh asparagus rotting before being used --- quick easy ways to prepare would be great...) It of course didn't help that the store brand OJ was all out, so I had to go with the name brand (extra $1.25.)

Buying frozen fruit is also quite expensive ... but with only the freezer above my fridge, I don't know that I could freeze enough fruit in season to really offset the amount of frozen fruit I'd want for smoothies.... Maybe I should look into getting a smallish free standing freezer?

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I need to get pro-active about listing some books on Ebay (maybe half.com??) to see if I can get back any of the money I spent this past summer on books for summer school. Most of them were not even used ... Some of the teacher resource books might sell too .. eventually.

Tomorrow I need to make sure I have everything lined up for the coming week at school, and then maybe get myself to do some much needed housework - possibly even make a casserole or something.

Btw - I've asked this before (and googled it as well) but ... if I cook 4 or 5 sweet potatoes in foil in the oven, what/how can I do to keep them good over a period of 4 or 5 days?? I've heard that bacteria grows fast in wrapped cooked potatoes - but that there is a way to prevent it - just haven't been able to figure out what that is yet. Any suggestions??

Today we had our dioceasan (sp?) teacher inservice. It started with a Bishop's Mass, and then we had 5 hours of whole group lectures and lunch. Ugh. I liked it much better the way they did it last year - gave everyone the chance to choose from 5 different topics.

One of the presenters was in dire need of someone to teach him how to create a PP presentation ... It started out really good with humor, etc., but the quality of the slides lost most of the audience (at least the crowd from our school!)

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After the in-service the two teachers I rode up with dropped me off at Walmart while they went to get a manicure and pedicure. Walmart was out of bananas!!! Arghh! I got all my shopping done and then preceded to stand in line for 15 minutes. While in line I was greeted (from another line) by one of my students (pre-k I think) and saw another family that I think I recognized from the school. Then a boy behind me pointed out that there was a live grasshopper on my bag of frozen blueberries!! I tried to get it off with my CC, but only succeeded in putting it on the conveyer belt. The boy who'd pointed it out saved the day by picking it up with his hands.

After I was done ($55!! I bought more frozen goods than normal - will have to watch my next two grocery trips!!) I sat down on a bench in the lobby to wait.
While waiting, 7 of our staff at different times either exited or entered. During that time I happened to glance up and meet the eyes of an African American man. He apparently took this as some kind of invitation to come talk ... He said to me, "Girl! Your legs are so white they're bright! You must not get outside at all." I at first just kind of sat there with my mouth hanging open, then told him that I do get outside plenty, thanks. Thankfully he left right after that.

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I talked to my brother tonight. He's planning on doing a half-ironman on July 5. That is/was dad's birthday, so I think that's pretty cool he can do it on that same day. I think I'll try to plan my time out in CA at that same time - maybe see if there is a *much* less intense race I could participate in that same day.

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I've decided that I'm going to upgrade to the 4S instead of the 5. This way I'll have a major upgrade to my current phone, but only be out $100. The 4S will be able to utilize all the most interesting new features of ios6. Then I can use the remainder of the money for accessories for the new phone and my iPad (when I get it.) Whatever is left can be put toward whatever the next technology item is I want later.
(This way I also won't have to buy a new car charger to accommodate the iPhone5 charge port.)

One way or the other, I'll probably wait til October to do the upgrade.

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I finally heard back from the AmCorp lady at the 6 month program. She gave me the info I needed - I'll probably work on it on Sunday. So it looks like this may be a go after all.

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One of the things I bought today were these frozen stuffed shells. By the time I got them home, they were not even close to frozen anymore (15 minutes in line to pay, 40 minutes waiting for my ride, 45 minutes before we finally got back ...) So I decided to go ahead and cook them. You had to cook them in sauce of course ... they didn't mention that sauce *wasn't included.* So the package was already open. I remembered I had a can of diced tomatoes in my cupboard - got out my fantastic wonderful loveable Ninja blender (can you tell how much I *love* this??) and poured the can of tomatoes and a little milk and garlic salt in. Blended and poured on top of the shells. Microwaved for 15 minutes at half power, and Va-voom! Supper. MMMMMM!!!

These shells weren't very expensive, and were quite good. I'm thinking that the next time I have to take something to a potluck meal, that this might be a darn easy and fairly inexpensive way to go.

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I received the AGC I cashed out for less than a week ago today. SBs is getting pretty good turnaround time with the gift cards!

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Almost forgot --- my latest obsession on Netflix --- Ocean Girl. I'm a bit more than half-way through Season 3 (of 4 seasons.) It's good, very family friendly, light Sci-Fi. (With Aussie accents )

This week wasn't that great of a one for me. The internet at school was still being persnickety and I got only maybe 40% of what I'd planned to do with the kids done. Then Wednesday I started feeling sick - scratchy throat and body aches - by Thursday morning I realized I had to take the day off. I'm still not feeling too great, but did manage to do school today. So thankful for the long weekend!

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I was frustrated that things didn't work out for me to start the Graduate Academic Certificate this semester that I wanted to do. However, it may turn out to be a good thing. I have found a 6-month online program through Fresno Pacific University where you are able to earn 18 credits for a total cost of about $3750. For one of the classes you are required to have either an iPad or and Android tablet (included in the cost.) I checked, and the costs would be covered by my Americ*orps money. This would leave me with approximately $7500 left (after this coming year's stipend) to pursue other continuing ed courses.

This 6 month program would start in October and finish in March - I'd have to work through all the holidays. But in the end, I'd have 18 credits and one or two technology certificates. These certificates *could* qualify me to teach online classes. If I did this, then I think I probably would need to forego any holiday traveling this year.

I think I still would go for the GAC I was looking at doing at my alma mater, but I would put it off til next school year. My AmCorps stipends wouldn't fully cover the GAC after paying for this 18 credit course, but it would cover enough that I could save up for the rest by the time I'd need it.

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I also looked into the possibility of getting a second Masters in technology. The program I looked at however told me the cost for an out of state person would be $11k for 9 semester credits. The MA is 31 credits. As helpful as I think that might be in the long run, I can't see putting that much money out for a second Master's - especially since my stipends would only pay for the first 9 credits!!

If I stay here, then no matter what kind of extra certificates I get or degrees, my pay will remain the same (+1% raise every year...) However, the technology 6 month course could give me the possibility of making extra income by teaching a course per semester online. I have my Master's, and if I had the extra certification, that might be enough to be noticed by one of those programs.

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So... what do y'all think? Should I do the 6 month consortium (and get the iPad?) Or, should I wait til next semester and see if my alma mater has it's act together on the GAC program I wanted to start? The out of pocket difference I think would be around $4k if I did *both* the 6 month/18 credit consortium and then did the GAC program.

One way or the other, I *do* need to get some continuing education credits soon. I have 4 years left on my certificate before needing to renew it.

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I'm looking forward to 3 days off. I hate to say it, but I'm not enjoying my job as much this year so far as I did last year. Mostly due to internet frustrations I think.

Question - If a kid complains that there aren't any books to check out, and then later complains that computer class is boring (6th grade girl), would it be a totally inappropriate response to say - "Ok, you don't have to check out any books or do the computer class activities - go back to your classroom and I'm sure your teacher can find work for you to do." --- I'm sure the child in question is mostly saying this to try to get under my skin .. I'd kind of like to call her on it (i.e. call her bluff, if that's what it is.) I'd check with her teacher first of course, and make sure that whatever she did when she went back to the classroom was as boring as all get out - to get the point across. I'm just not sure if I'm letting this comment get to me more so than usual because of how completely frustrated I am with the internet at school right now, or if this is something I should really call this child on. (Today I essentially pretended I didn't hear it.)

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Bought groceries, gas and stopped at Sonic today. Also stopped at Walgreens to get my prescription which I called in last night - only to be told that they were out of stock and had no record of me calling in!!!!! So they transferred my prescription to Walmart where I picked it up (and finally returned the car charger!)

Yesterday afternoon I noticed that my cat Kari's perch which hangs from the door and that she LOVES to sleep in the top section of, had started separating. There was one large hole, and another smaller one. I was worried that she might fall through the larger hole while sleeping, or the remainder would tear out.

I checked the weight limit, and it was 20lbs. Kari is roughly 9lbs. Someone on FB suggested that I could use fishing line to reinforce/fix it.

Today though I decided to take it with me to church, and stop by WM afterwards and see if the customer service could do anything for me - seeing as though I no longer had the receipt. That's what I did. The CS person told me that if I could find one in stock, that I could exchange my old one for a new one. There was one in stock! Yay!

Kari is sleeping right now in the top section. This one actually appears to better made than the other one. The top section seems to have some kind of reinforcement --- I wonder if they had the same problem I had with the other one, and so made this fix to newer versions?? Oh well, Kari is happy and safe, and I am happy, and no money was spent for either!

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Yesterday I was talking with the preschool director who is the person I share my assistants time with each week. (She is split - 20 hrs with me, 15 hours with the pre-school.) The ps director told me that my assistant had told her that "all she's doing is putting stickers on books," and that I'd been doing it too. Oh brother! I thought I'd explained to her WHY I was having her do that - putting spine labels on books and taping them. If she truly doesn't get it yet, she will be very happy for it once it's time to start re-shelving books!! I don't know if she thinks I'm just creating things for her to do, or what. But I hope she realizes eventually that these are all things that will help the library run more efficiently and having her do some of the more time consuming/tedious work, frees me to put together some more fun activities, etc. I warned her at the beginning that a lot of what I might ask her to do will be time consuming/tedious, but are things that *must* be done one way or the other - either by me or by someone else. Exactly why I desperately needed a second person!!

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I didn't get to do my grocery shopping Friday afternoon before the small group meeting like I'd wanted to do. (Speaking of which, I think I probably won't continue to go to the small group. Last night's was made up of 3 married couples and me... plus I didn't get home til nearly 11pm!)

So, I did my grocery shopping today. Normally I would *never* grocery shop on Sabbath, but I was out of a number of items and did not relish the thought of trying to fit in a two-hour trip on Sunday plus doing all the finishing touches to prepare for my first day of classes on Monday!

Of course, as luck would have it, I ran into 3 of my students there. :roll eyes: They were so happy to see me, it was cute. I just hope that my principal doesn't wonder why I was out shopping when everyone else was at the school taking a required CPR class. (I'm going to take it on my own, because I am required to recertify, but I'd begged out of it due to Saturday being my church day.)

I spent approximately $40 - a bag of apples (looked better than the loose apples!), spinach, baby carrots, bananas, Fiber One brownies, Kashi Cereal, Kashi frozen meal, Amy's frozen meal, Stouffer's Spinach souflee, a candybar (my one real treat for the week), sweet potatoes, a bag of frozen raspberries (for smoothies), etc.

Of course, I again forgot to get more cat treats. I also forgot to get Rice Dream - but I do have one more container of that left which should be enough for this week. I think seeing the students threw me off track a bit.

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I took today off from exercise - boy does it feel good! Tomorrow I plan to do an hour run, both in commiseration with my brother (who'll be doing his first tri-athalon) and because I'll be skipping my morning run on Monday due to a dentist appt.

I stepped on my scale this a.m. ... 236.8! Down 13.2 lbs since June. I know I have a tape measure around here somewhere. I really need to take some measurements soon so I can see the inches+ the lbs.

Speaking of my brother's tri-athalon tomorrow - I found out today that our Aunt is traveling from San Jose to the town where it's being held to cheer him on. I'm so glad he'll have family there to support him. If I had the newer iPhone, and the new operating system was out, then my brother and I could Face Time each other (the new operating system is supposed to let you do FT over 3g!!)

I hope the September 15 rumors are true ... even so, I probably won't get it (iPhone5) til January - give it a bit of time for all the kinks to work out.

Yesterday I ended up not going into town/church, but spent the day resting and reading. Today I also slept in and didn't do the running I'd planned on doing, but I did get into school and worked for about 4 hours. I guess I was just feeling really, really lazy.

Tonight I'm going to make sure I have everything ready for the morning - because my alarm is going off at 5:40 a.m. and I *will* get up!! I need to be exercised, showered, and breakfasted and at the school by 8:30 a.m. Really though, I need to see if I can do all that by 7:30, or else that means I'll have to get up earlier than 5:40 a.m. from Wednesday forward ...ugh, ugh, ugh.

I spent some of my fun money today - got a footlong Blimpie, soda and candy bar. ~$9.xx The lady making my Blimpie said she'd never made just a veggie and cheese Blimpie - and it tasted like it too. Oh well, maybe remembering that it wasn't all that great will help me resist the urge to treat myself again next time. (I hadn't had a soda in nearly a month... not sure why I decided I wanted one today.)

I'm feeling frustrated by how excruciatingly slow my weight loss has been. But I have to be honest and admit that I haven't been anywhere close to perfect with my eating. I've been *a lot* better than in the past, AND have done a lot more exercise in the last 3 months than I did in the previous 12 months ... but there still is a lot of room for improvement.

I hope I'm not being pessimistic, but I don't think that any of the new teachers this year are going to be ones I connect with very much. They seem to have joined together due to the commonality of being new.

I'm thinking of asking the PE teacher if he'd be willing to show me how to set up the boxing equipment and how to use it. I need to have other workouts besides just running and elliptical, both to keep it interesting and to keep my body guessing.

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I got a check from my grandma on Friday reimbursing me for half of the headstone. She and my dad are going to be sharing the same grave-site. My aunt really feels that there will be no or very little medical expenses due to the plan dad was on. If that is true, then right now I have nearly half of what my goal is for replacing my car. I can't imagine using the money for anything else - I know it would be what would make dad happy - knowing he helped me to get a new car. Of course, the next car I get will be even harder to let go of when the time comes...

I had planned on doing a lot of organizing and decluttering once I got home. I did some cleaning, but have done nothing as far as organizing and decluttering - at home at least. Maybe once the school year is started and I feel like I have a good handle on how everything's going, I'll get remotivated to work on my house.

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I have two groupons I bought which expire at the end of October. One for a 2-hr horseback ride, and one for a trolley tour -- both in/near ABQ. I'm debating on going out there over Labor Day weekend so I can use them (although I don't know if the places would be open then??) I hate to spend the gas money just to not let them go to waste ... (they cost a total of $26.) I'd kind of rather wait til Thanksgiving break to use them, but I don't think I can do that. I guess I need to just ante up and call these places and find out!!

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It looks like I won't be starting back to my online classes this Fall. I'd been accepted into the wrong program - called to find out what was going on, and was told to go to this particular link to update my application. I did that -- now nearly two weeks ago, and have heard nothing. Ugh. Although it probably is better to wait til January to start a class - it will give me more time to figure out my eating and exercise while working full time - get those habits going strong, then I can add in doing outside classwork.

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August NSD's: 6/12

Sorry, I just can't think of a title.

Yesterday I put in another full day at the library. I stopped at 5 p.m., went home and grabbed a bite, then headed up to big G to attend a small group meeting (my pastor/his wife, another couple and myself were the only ones in attendance.)

I spoke with the newbie teachers during lunch. I really should've made an outline of what I wanted to cover - I felt like I was all over the place. But today one of the other teachers who also was intro'ing herself told me that she thought I'd done really well. So, who knows.

My principal did something really thoughtful for me. At the lunch she had bought Blimpie subs for everyone, and she bought a veggie sub especially with me in mind. At the oil and gas company where I was for 3 years, we had free lunches many, many times, and very very rarely did they ever do anything to acknowledge that my eating preferences were different.

After my small group meeting, I went grocery shopping. I was nearly 9 p.m. when I started and I was already SO sleepy.

I made it out for $24.99:
bananas, oranges, diced butternut squash, carrot shreds, Kashi ceral, Kashi frozen spinach/pasta meal, etc.

I also filled up with gas ($32.xx). My tank of gas lasted for 2 1/2 trips to big G, at an average of 30.2 mpg.

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Today I had my assistant work with me for the first time!! She got a lot accomplished.

I also had the chance to talk with the person who took over lead mid-school teacher for summer school. He told me that the kids really had a blast, and that there were way more ideas than there was time to do them in. He also told me that one of the books I'd bought for them to read had some questionable language/scene description about two chapters into it - so they scrapped that book and went with the two others. He showed me the section ... oops. The reviews I read didn't mention anything about this - and it was recommended by middle school librarians and the school library journal!! It doesn't sound like there was any backlash from parents about it, so that is good. All the books still look brand new, so I hope that I can sell them for most of what I paid.

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This morning after I finished my 45 minute run I went into the office and saw the maintenance man. When I'd come in I'd found the lights and swamp cooler already on, so I wanted to tell him about that. When I said, "Good Morning!", he nearly jumped out of his skin. I apologized profusely. I really thought that he knew I was in the building since he'd seen my car parked out there before and found me in the gym ... Later I found out from AL that our maintenance guys had supposedly been "seeing" someone/something in the gym/chapel, so that may have contributed to his edginess.

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I am so glad that I can take the next 24 hours off without any guilt. My throat was feeling scratchy today and I really just wanted to go home, but had so much to do. Tomorrow I'll be sleeping in, going to church, staying for potluck, and then probably go sing at the nursing home. Then I will probably come home and take a good long nap!

Sunday I plan to do a 90 minute run/walk. I think I can do it. Next Sunday my brother is doing his tri-athalon and I want to do a 2-hr run/walk around the same time he's doing his event - so to kind of be in tandem.

I've been watching an episode of EH: Weight Loss edition most nights this week. Today I watched an episode where a man that weighed 493lbs got down to 313lbs in 6 months and completed a tri-athalon in 4:20. Seriously, if these people can do some of the things they show, then I sure can push my body to do more as well! Chris (the trainer on the show) constantly talks about how it is all about mind over body. If your mind believes you can do something, your body will comply no matter how difficult.

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August NSDs: 5/10

Cashed in for $5 AGC from SBs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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