This week a number of Aldi's stores opened up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I think they are the first in Texas. Having heard so many people talk about Aldi's before, I am quite curious to check one out.

There is one that is on my way to my morning tutoring student (and on my homeward trek as well). So I will probably stop and check it out on Sunday (doing a Sunday session to make up for tutoring student taking Wednesday off to go to Six Flags).

In order to get to it on my homeward trek, I'll have to do a turn around, so it'll have to be well worth it. (I don't like u-turns - especially on busy roads.)

---
Yesterday I kind of made a pointless trip. (i.e. wasted gas) I'm doing a research project on cataloging graphic novels. I've found enough journal articles to give me a good background for the paper, but only a blog post dealing with the MARC codes. The author of the blog post pointed me towards a particular book. After much searching, I found that the book was available in the central Fort Worth library, not for checkout.

So, I called and eventually ended up with an appointment to see the book. The person I made the appointment with ended up having been someone in one of my classes last semester - he'd recognized my name (distinctive last name). So, that was fun.

The book itself ended up not being much help after all, but my professor (whom I'd emailed about my problem) gave me the go ahead to use the blog post as a source.

So ... I met one of my classmates in person, got to see the central library, and realized the book didn't have what I needed. I guess not a *totally* wasted trip.

---
I've completed two barefoot run/walks this week (more walking than running at this point.) I really need to replace my sandals - they both have quarter size holes in them. When I went walking in them on Tuesday I had bad enough blisters form that I had to delay my run/walk till yesterday.

I guess I keep hoping to find another $5 deal on sandals (how much my current ones cost 4 years ago) but I might have to give in and go for the $10 pair. My feet will thank me.

---
Today I returned the iPhone data cable. No problem whatsoever. I even had taken the wrong receipt with me and the guy had no problem pulling up my info.

---
Groceries today: $22.58

One of the items I bought seems to consistently be overcharged. Usually I catch it when it goes across, but today I was distracted and didn't think about it till I got out to the car. It was a difference of $.98. I debated about going back in and fighting it out, but in the end decided it wasn't worth my frozen items defrosting on me.

---
Not terribly exciting weekend plans. Tomorrow is potluck at church. I have the corn pudding casserole I made last month (which I forgot) - need to take that out of the freezer tonight. Then Sunday I have the tutoring appt. Then of course work on school work.

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

There was NO money in the account!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ugh!

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

SA'ers are the best!

---
Spending:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thankfully I decided to call my dad first.

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

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

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

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

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

---

In gym related news ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---
Spending today:

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

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

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

For $6.88, I got:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At least the animals are friendly to me.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---
Spending:

Gas: $22.41 (Sunday)

Deli: $4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---
Deposited my paycheck today.

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

Walmart - $14.69

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Payday was Tuesday: $549.xx

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Spending Dec. 15/16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well I finally took my car for it's inspection today. One day past the grace period. Ooops. I took it to a Quik Car place (mainly because it was open and it had car inspection people.) Less than 15 minutes, and I had my new sticker on my car, and was all legal to be on the road.

There was a *huge* sigh of relief from me. Some of you may have heard it.

---
I took my new coat out on it's debut mission today. Mmm! Mmm! Was it ever warm! When I took the dogs on their walk, the only thing more I could have asked for would've been a hood. But the collar stands up pretty far, and I had my hair in a braid on one side over one ear - I could divide it into two braids - one over each ear, as natural earmuffs.

---
I think I may be okay with that one assignment I was worried about (procrastinated on). I read a number of leadership reports from other students who also are still waiting for their membership information ... and just wrote a report on what they could. So, I think that's what I'm going to do as well. Even if I only get partial credit for it, it *should* be enough for me to pass.

Another class I am finished with everything except taking the practice certification exam for librarians. I can't do that until the professor releases it as an assignment - otherwise I'd be finished with that class.

I should hear about my grade on my barefoot running paper by tomorrow. Once I have a grade, I will put it up on Google docs and link to it here.
---
It sure is nice not having any schoolwork pressing on me to do. I may even watch a movie or two from Netflix (online).

I don't know if any of you saw the article on yahoo news the other day about Comcast taking over NBC. But for those of you who love to use Hulu, or watch programs on NBC online, you may have to start paying for that privledge, or waiting over a week after the episodes aired on live t.v.

Again, another reason I'm glad I've pretty much stopped watching t.v. (Now of course, there is Lost starting Feb. 2 .... but I can watch it live this year and not worry about when it comes online.)

---
Spending:

$39.97 -- Car Inspection

$4.69 - CVS (soda/ice cream)
$5.29 - Burger King (BK Veggie Burger/Onion Rings)

*I decided to treat myself a bit today as a celebration for my car passing inspection and being so close to being finished with the semester.

Today at work I decided that I probably should go ahead and start finding my textbooks for next semester in order to find the best possible deals. So, I entered either the ISBN#'s or the title (to find the ISBN) into Google and searched through a number of different comparison sites. Most of the books I was able to save between 29% - 50% off of retail. Even the one with a copyright date of 2010!

Even so, it was a LOT of money going out! I found a coupon for half.com ($5 off $50) and that helped a *little*. I ended up buying 3 books from half.com; one book from Barnes & Noble; and one from textbooks.com.

List price at half.com: $225
Paid (well, will pay)*: $140.97

List price at textbooks.com: $43
Paid: $31.93

List price at Barnes & Noble: $60
Paid: $29.47

Total List Price: $328
Total Paid: $202.37

The 2010 book comes with a DVD -it's list price alone was $108. I just about choked when I saw that.

*I thought my address was changed with my Chase cc. I guess I was wrong. When I tried to pay at half.com it would not take my card. I thought maybe a fraud alert had been put on (due to unusual amount of spending activity.) But it turned out they had my old address still!
I will have to wait til tomorrow to purchase the items, because their system won't "fully update" until tonight. Ugh.

These all should arrive before I leave for California, so it will be nice to be sure that I have them ready and waiting for me to start class in January.

---

I went grocery shopping at Walmart after work.

I'd been making a list all week - anticipating both getting cottage cheese (to replace the rotten one I found last Sunday!) and a Terry's Chocolate Orange.

I had a coupon from the All You magazine (freebie the gym gets) for Peter Pan pb. I needed more pb, so that was good timing.

So, I got: sweet potatoes, bananas, sour cream, cottage cheese, swiss cheese, Terry's C.O., Peter Pan PB, and 8 pkgs of frozen veggies.

Total cost: $20.60

You may be wondering why I bought 8 packages of frozen veggies. The large bag of mixed veggies is $2.06. The bag that is exactly half its size is normally $.98.
Today, they were marked $.75. I won't have to buy frozen veggies again until probably late January or perhaps February.

The coupon was a bit of a pain though. It was for a 28 oz container. I prefer crunchy pb to creamy, so I picked up a crunchy. When I got to the register, the coupon wouldn't take. Come to find out the coupon is only for creamy. So I went back and exchanged it for a creamy. Stand in a different line. Coupon won't ring up again. Cashier takes pity on me and just goes ahead and takes the $1 off. Whooh!

Before I'd gotten to my first cashier, I had the displeasure to witness a woman being extremely unpleasant to the cashier. The cashier had placed a number of items in a bag, and the lady was upset that it wasn't double bagged. Instead of politely saying "please double bag these items" she *very* snidely/angrily/rudely/condescendingly told the cashier she didn't know what she was doing and that she didn't want the bag to break. (The words themselves were fine - it was the tone of voice and look on her face - her whole attitude about it.)

When I got to the cashier I asked her if she'd had a long day. She told me that her shift had just started. And that she doesn't let people like that bother her. Most people don't want there items double bagged - so she doesn't do it automatically. Those that do, usually ask much more nicely.

As I left I told her that I hoped the rest of her shift went better.

----
It was *freezing* cold *all day* at work today. Thankfully I had the gloves I picked up yesterday at Dollar General. I cut off the fingertips of the thumb and forefinger, and it worked *perfectly*!!

Then today when I took the dogs for a walk, I put my other gloves on top of the other pair. A double layer of gloves made for toasty warm hands.

----
The potential roommate who was supposed to stop by on Wednesday flaked. But we have another very likely one. A male.

My landlady said that she hasn't rented to a man before, but she picked up good vibes from him. Like he seemed to be a good person.

He may be moving in as soon as this coming week, because the lady who'd been renting the other room moved out completely today.

This will be interesting.

---
Oh, almost forgot. I made my annual required Snapfish purchase. (To keep my "free" photo storage on their site, I have to make one purchase per year.)

So, I chose a picture, and had one copy made - sent to Wal-Mart. $.21

I can live with that.

I worked at the gym from 8 to 3 today. It was pretty uneventful, except that one person came by who was interested in joining. If he joins, I'll get a bonus. On Friday a woman came by who was interested in personal training - she set up an initial appt w/E, but wasn't able to keep it. But if she ends up signing on, I'll get another little bonus.

After I finished at the gym, I met my former OM in front of our office building. She gave me my severance check, and a few items I'd forgotten in my haste to leave.

For some reason, looking at that check took me back a few steps in dealing with the loss. I was a zombie for the next few hours - even through my doctor appt and stoping at Walmart.

When I was putting my groceries in my trunk, I realized I still hadn't brought in my box of stuff from my former life. It had sat there since Friday.

Once I got home I checked my mail. There were a number of important letters.

2 of them were from Texas Work Force. 1 said that as of Feb 22 I have to complete at least 5 work jobs each week - submitting an application, contacting an employer, attending a seminar, etc.
That sounds like a lot to me, especially when I see what the job listings look like. But . . I'll do whatever it takes.

The third piece of mail was a summons to serve on the Jury on March 9. I wonder if Work in Texas will exempt me from the 5 thing if I get picked for a jury, esp if it lasts more than a day? I've had Jury Summons before, but never made it to the courthouse. My group number always seems to get dismissed - maybe it's because of my last name being in the latter part of the alphabet?

----
Thursday's Accomplishments:
1. Worked gym from 8 to 3
2. Dropped off severance paperwork
3. went to doctors appt
4. grocery shopping (spent too much, bought some junkfood.)
5. Worked on work in texas resume

*no exercise, no cleaning, didn't look at Craigslist

Fridays Goals/Plans:
1. Work gym from 11:45 - 5
2. Get to gym by 10:15 to workout/cleanup
3. Prepare 3 blog posts
4. Clean counters
5. Cash gym check
6. Check Craigslist

Today at work one of the things I was doing was hole punching a bunch of articles my manager had pulled out of various oil and gas magazines. Some of the pages needed to be turned so that the articles title would be facing up.

For some reason an article about a well in Kentucky caught my eye. The article was from 1991. A long time oil man had drilled over 7,000 wells over a period of 39 years. But none of them had been really great ones. He always had the dream to find an amazing discovery.

By a fluke of luck, he happened to acquire the mineral rights to a patch of land near the Kansas and Tennessee border. On it were a couple wells already that were producing, but not very much.

He chose one of them to deepen.

Several days after the redrilling began, his drilling foreman ran over to him with a worried look on his face. The well, which had previously been producing only 5 barrels of oil (BO) a day, was now GUSHING oil.

There just so happened to be a man at a nearby gas station with a couple backhoes on his way to another job. They got this man to come to their well and start digging pits to put the oil in - because otherwise it was going to go into a nearby creek.

The man with the backhoes stayed for 3 1/2 days and dug 10 pits for the oil. All of which filled up as fast as the pumpers they hired could drain them.

The well was now producing upwards of 300 BO per HOUR!

Needless to say, this was the fulfillment of a lifetime long dream of the oilman. He never gave up, even after drilling over 7,000 wells all over the world and 39 years.

I was just completely riveted by this story. I really wish I had a link to it so you could all read it for yourself.

It just spoke to me. I have dreams that I sometimes wonder if it's even worth it anymore to even keep dreaming about. Dreams I've had since I was little. But here's this man who never gave up after 39 years - and he finally made it!

If he could keep his dream alive, then so can I!

----
There is this Cat/Dog blog which I check on a daily basis. There is this amazing story of how a dog helped an old man and how God works in our lives.

I've been staying up so late the last couple weeks and am getting more and more tired - just dragging through my days. One thing I've noticed is that the more tired I get, the easier it is for me to justify spending money - namely on food - more precisely, on junk food. Barely a week into February and I've probably spent more than 45% of my food budget. Not good.

I really need to focus on getting to bed at a decent hour, so that I can also keep my focus on keeping a healthy budget and diet. And of course, getting to bed at a decent hour would help me be more likely to actually get to the gym for a workout!!

I think my tiredness is also partly why I've let some frustrations with the gym and the *other* company get to me more than they might have normally.

So . . confession time. I stopped at Sonic tonight and got a grilled cheese, onion rings and blast - $7 (including tip). Btw - they remembered not just a straw, but a spoon too!

This morning I felt much better, so I went to work. I was *very* busy all day long.

I made a pretty big mistake though. There was this report I was working on to send in to the Railroad Commission. I had all the numbers figured correctly after having painstakingly entered a years worth of them for two different companies on a spreadsheet - then calling the companies to verify my numbers.

I needed to finish that report today, and get it sent off. So, I figured out the total, and started entering it on the first line. However I caught myself making a 6 instead of a 9. Fixed it with a little white out.

Sent it to the manager who has to sign the paperwork. He signed it and gave it back to me. I put it in the mail.

6 hours later . . .

Sh, the person who asked me to do this project, came to me and showed me the folder I'd filed the copy of the form I'd mailed. Changing the last 9 to a 6 wasn't my only mistake. I had also replaced the 9's in the thousands place with 0's - and hadn't caught it.

I *really* thought I'd done a good job on it. And yet, I muck up again. Ugh!

I've written a letter to the RRC to explain the accounting mistake, and hopefully rectify the situation. We'll see what happens I guess. (I had the numbers written correctly on the draft sheet - but somehow got 0 in my head!)

----
So E calls me tonight - leaves a voicemail. Not word one about the bounced check - just 'Laura could you help me out by opening g2 in the morning?'

I called him back and left a voicemail telling him I'd do it - but that we needed to talk tomorrow - in my most serious unhappy sounding tone possible.

He leaves me a voicemail (this time I purposely didn't answer) and tells me thanks, and sure we can talk tomorrow. All in a cheery voice.

I don't think he gets it does he?

----
I bought groceries tonight.

$11.67 from Walmart - fruit, frz dinners, pizza, chocolate

I could have just gotten the fruit and been fine - but yesterday got craving pizza and almost ordered delivery - so decided to buy myself a Totino's for $1.12 instead tonight.

-----

My post tonight:

Yay! I got another ING referral bonus today:

+$10 for Downpayment fund!

---

I don't drink a lot of soda . . but my mom does! She's addicted to diet Coke. So I got an email from Tom Thumb and one of the deals was buy 2 12 pks of Coke, get 3 12 pks free. I stopped by after work yesterday, and for a total of $12, I bought 5 12 pks of Coke - 4 for my mom, and 1 for me.

Today was my stepdad's birthday, so I called to wish him a happy bd -- and also to tell him about the deal. He's very much like me in that he likes to find ways to save money wherever possible.

The thing I was wondering though -- have 12 packs *really* gone up to $6??? I don't remember the last time I bought a 12 pk, so maybe they've been that much for a while .. but OMW that is a LOT of money for soda.

---
Today at work I was making some copies at the end of the day and just happened to glance in the trash can. There was an empty 20oz bottle of fanta -- so . . I absconded with the lid. (mycokerewards)

---
I was supposed to do my training today after work for the gym. But E called me and said that he'd had a new client who wanted to train at 5:30 today - so would I be willing to train in the morning. Of course, I said yes.

So I'll do my training in the morning, and have my first shift in the afternoon! Look out - here I come - ready to make $6.55/hr! So at 3.5 hrs, plus maybe another 30 minutes training =4 hrs = $26.20. -- Almost a tank of gas! LOL

I will have to find out if they pay weekly or monthly and if they do direct deposit. I hope they do dd, but I kind of doubt it.

Grocery shopping: $25.61

I stopped at Walmart tonight. They had the Boca Burger's in a bun 2 for $4. That made each complete sandwich $1. I bought 5 boxes of them. (They're pretty good - I've had them before.)

As I was driving home I was thinking about how much I could spend on my various meals per month if I didn't have too much variance.

30 days worth of breakfast - 2 large cannisters of oatmeal + 2 large containers of egg sub, maybe 4lbs of bananas = ~$20

Work lunches - 20 days - 20 Amy's burritos from Target at $1.69 ($33.80), 1 large bag frozen veggies ($2) -- ~$35.80

Home lunches (10 days) - pb & j sandwiches, boca burgers, etc - $10

Supper - 2 bags Quiona, 1 bag brown rice, 1 bag lentils, frozen veggies ~$30

Snacks - (string cheese, almonds,) ~$10

So, theoretically, I could get by on less than $110/month. Work lunches could cost even less when I make my own burritos (but not that much less really).

So, where does all the other money go in my grocery budget? Let's see . . last month I broke down and bought a pizza from Pizza Hut . . I also found a store that sold Nestle Treasures & had Orange Crush Jelly Belly's . . . I bought a couple varieties of squash (expensive stuff!) . . . I bought some unhealthy junkfood items . . plus other things not coming to mind right now.

---

Before I even got started with all this thinking this afternoon, I'd asked to take Monday off as one of my vacation days.

I've gotten more and more behind in my housework and haven't been preparing meals ahead of time -- which has led to my doing a lot of the impulse convenience food shopping of the past few weeks.

This weekend I only am planning on going to church Sat. morning, then Sun afternoon I'll be doing my first RAoK meetup with the Salvation Army.

That means I'll have from 11:30 a.m. on Saturday until 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, and then all day Monday to be productive.

My plan is to give my apartment a through cleaning by Sunday afternoon. Then, on Monday I am going to plan out my meals for the rest of the month - attempting to use ONLY what I have on hand already as much as possible.

If I accomplish both the goal of having my apartment in Impress a Stranger Shape, and have my meals planned out (and prepared ahead as much as possible) for the month by 2 p.m. on Monday, then I'm going to treat myself to a movie. -- I want to go see "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2".

What that means is that when I get home tomorrow (after stopping at the library) with the 9th book in the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series, I will have to make a decision between sitting down and reading that first, or get a head start on the cleaning. If last weekend repeats itself, Stephanie Plum will win.

I posted the Brita pitcher that I'd had listed on Craigslist on another site I frequent. Someone bought it - $15 + shipping and handling. Great!

So yesterday I took off from work a bit early and stopped by the PO to mail it. The postal worker was miffed at me because I hadn't taped the box. Understandable I guess, but I also remembered from when I was selling my teacher supplies that they always wanted to check what was being mailed ++ I didn't have any tape. So . . . I ended up mailing it Priority to get the "free" tape (I also misjudged the weight of it w/the box - so an extra $5.40 in shipping alone).

So, $21.10 - $.92 paypal fee - $11.60 Priority Shipping = net profit of $8.62.

I think I'm about ready to take all my Spanish materials to half-price and see what they'll give me for them. Even if it's only $10 for the lot, it'll be more than I have now, right?

Or . . if anyone is interested in various computer programs for learning Spanish + books, let me know. I also have a box of 10 Brita Pitcher filters I want to sell.

---
Last night when I got home I was all settled in and reading "Hard Eight" by Janet Evanovich when I got a call from my dad. He was needing new ink for his printer, and he couldn't get his old cartridge refilled at Walgreen's because it was leaking.

So, he'd found one on ebay for $8 and wanted to know if it was a good deal. We spent the next hour talking it through over the phone, then eventually yahoo messenger when his phone died. I tried to talk him through using my paypal account to buy the item because he wanted to do "buy it now" but it wasn't letting him add his address. Finally I told him to email the seller, apologize, and say he was a newbie ebayer and would pay as soon as possible.

Tonight I went ahead and set up a paypal account for him (with his input over the phone) and paid for the item via his account.

Trying to help someone do this over the phone is NOT my idea of a nice relaxing evening. But at least it is now done - hopefully the ink cartridge will come quickly.

---
I've done some spending the last few days - unnecessary spending - mostly on food.

Sunday - Tuesday: $35.96
Wed - no spending

$4.56 of that was lunch on Tuesday because I forgot to bring my lunch to work. The remainder of the money was almost completely not needed and not good for me.

I'm going to deduct it from my grocery budget and move on - but one way or another, I'm NOT going over budget this month. I've got more than enough food already in the house that needs to be eaten.

*Almost forgot -- I got out one of my last large containers of eggs on Monday morning to make my oatmeal/egg breakfast. I didn't get back into the kitchen till Tuesday night (other than to grab a banana). Guess what was still out on the counter? At least it was only 1/4 full, so not a whole container wasted.

---
My gas gage has been acting funky on me, so I'm not really sure what to think. But today it was hovering between 1/2 full and a bit more than 3/4 of a 1/2 full after having driven 220 miles. Normally 1/2 tank gives me around 160 miles.

So, either my gas gage is acting *really* funky OR I'm getting darn good gas mileage!

I'll find out the real story on Friday when I fill up again.

--
I think I've decided to go with the Garmin Nuvia 200. I'm going to wait until my current cc statement closes to buy it - that way I can budget money in August and September for it. That'll happen around the 15th of the month.

Today's spending:

Gas: $3.73/gallon - 9.382 gallons bought
...........=$35.08 Odomoter: 104,433

Groceries: $30.59

Bought: red/green grapes, 3 bananas, 4 red del apples, 1 can mandarin oranges, lg cannister old-fashioned oatmeal, 5 16oz containers of egg whites, 1 32oz mixed frozen veggies, 1 box Morningstar veggie links, lg container Rice Dream milk, 1 sm box Junior Mints

---

Woo Hoo! Remember how in my last couple posts I mentioned about how I was trying to figure out whether I should go with the quarterly membership plan at the gym, or cough up the money for a full year?

Well, today near the end of my workout session with E, he confirmed with me that I do have the job (after work on Fridays 3 1/2 hrs) starting a week from this coming Friday. He also mentioned that since I'd be working at the gym, my membership would be FREE!

So, not only does that mean I don't need to pay for the quarterly fee (roughly $64), it also means that I don't have to put it in my budget to save up for the next quarterly due!

Yay!!!

---

When I was doing my grocery shopping today, I noticed something that slightly annoyed me. First of all, Wal-mart has stopped carrying the large container of generic egg substitute. Wah! Secondly, the next least expensive brand that is in a large container cost $4.89 for 32 oz, while the 16oz containers cost $2.44/each. So, you would at first assume it would be cheaper to buy the 32oz version + greener (due to less trash) - but obviously you would be wrong!

----
?'s

I'm going to a Vegan/Vegetarian meetup brunch tomorrow. I'm planning on bringing a fruit salad, but I'm not sure if the mixture I'm thinking of will work right or not.

Here's the fruit I was thinking of: red/green grapes, sliced bananas, chopped apples, mandarin oranges, maybe some canned pineapple chunks?

Is there anything that I should take out? Or do you think all those tastes/textures would work ok?

Next ?

At the gym, I will be an independent contractor. This year I will make less than $600. Do I have to do a Schedule C for it? Or can it be listed under "other income" for tax purposes?

Next year, I would make a bit less than $1200. Would that be enough to make me have to pay self-employment taxes?

One more ?

Anyone have any idea why my Cruise 2010 ticker is so long? It's cutting part of my sidebar off! I checked the code and it looks the same as the other tickers. Weird.