Keeping It Frugal

So ... Sunday afternoon we did the house tour. I didn't do the turn on faucets/flush toilets etc etc thing because with the homeowner right there with us all the time, it just didn't feel ... right.

I did however ask a lot of questions. At one point asked me if I had any more, and I pulled out my list of questions. His eyes got kind of big.

There were some really good things about the house, but then some things that were questionable. One thing was the 1989 water heater! Another was that all three bedrooms were SO small. And the living room was minuscule! The garage had no direct access to the house - if we wanted to, the homeowner (a construction company owner) would put in a door - but that door would go from the garage to the living room ....

We decided to keep looking. In fact, we have an appointment with a Realtor on this coming Sunday.

There aren't a great many houses available right now, even with upping our price range a tiny bit. So, we'll see.

---

Sunday night we also delivered the invitations to everyone who lives here in town.

One of them is someone who was a serious boyfriend of Mr FTs late sister many, many years ago. They've stayed in touch on a monthly, sometimes semi-monthly basis since then. When we told him the news, he said, "It's about time!"

Another person we stopped to see was Mr FTs stepdad. Mr FT hadn't seen nor spoken to him in 7 years. They didn't have the greatest relationship to put it mildly. However he is now 85 years old and has forgotten some of the ways he treated the stepkids. Around Christmas time he reached out to Mr FT via a card w/pictures.

So last night I got to meet him for the first time. We stayed there about 1 1/2 hours. He's an interesting character to say the least. One of his idols is Hitler. Yeah. He used a term I hadn't heard before for people of a certain race ... had to ask Mr FT if the term stood for what I thought it might. It did.

Despite not liking some of the viewpoints he has, I actually found myself liking him. Not enough to where I'd want to spend a lot of time with him - but once in a while would be okay - as long as Mr FT was with me. (He asked if he could kiss the bride ...)

He may actually come to the wedding!

Mr FTs sister was next. She already knew about the wedding, but we just wanted to give her an official invite.

--
Today I had my second fitting for my dress. The hem works beautifully, and so does the bustle. Now she's going to be working on making sure the bodice doesn't do a Janet Jackson on me. Pins kept popping out every time I breathed ...

2 months and 1 day. It hardly feels real. After 40 years of being single, and most of that time was being truly single (not in a relationship.)

---
I'm thinking about seeing if I can find someone with a classic car to park at the B&B for pictures. On their site they have some pictures like that, which look really cool. (The groom had an uncle who brought the car...)

I'm not sure how to go about finding someone who'd be willing to bring their car out for a photo opportunity. Any ideas? I looked on Craigslist, but couldn't find anything.

By the time we were done with the house tour and the visits, it was about 9:30!!

I'm wondering how everyone who lives with at least one other adult divides household /yard chores? Especially two full-time working adults?

One system I'm thinking about is making a list of all possible chores and assigning them points. Then each person needs to do at least 150 points worth of chores each week, besides picking up after themselves.

Mowing the lawn / shoveling snow might be worth 30 points. Cleaning the bathroom might be worth 10 points. Doing laundry worth 5 points. Cleaning cat litter boxes - 10 points. Taking out trash - 10 points. Etc.

Do you think something like that might work?

What do you do?

This afternoon I had my trial hair appointment. She spent about 40 minutes creating the style we decided on. I'm pretty happy with the look. Although I think it'll look better when the makeup accentuates + the dress.


I plan on adding baby;s breath throughout to decorate.

I went into CVS later (Used $9 in various coupons, spent $12) and had some strange looks - fancy updo while in jeans and holey Keds.

--
Thanks again everyone for your insightful suggestions and comments about what to look for during our house visit. Unfortunately, the tour had to be rescheduled for some unknown reason. We've rescheduled to Sunday at 5 p.m.

I made up a list of all the things suggested and read them to Mr FT last night. At first he was thinking that we might be irritating the homeowner (by turning on all the faucets, checking the light switches, etc.) He was kind of thinking to leave all that to the home inspection.

When I explained to him that I thought it was a good idea to do most of the simpler things ourselves before putting down an offer (i.e. save time in case we find something we can't live with) he agreed with me. He also was pretty impressed with my question about where the attic was and how to access it. He hadn't even thought about the attic.

---
At CVS I bought some more of those Ferraro kisses. I had a coupon for $2 off $12 of chocolate, plus another $5 off $15, plus a $2 ECB. I got the chocolate, a couple boxes of kleenex $1 coupon) and some sparkling water. All for about $12.29

---
My friend C has offered to host a bridal shower for me on April 4! Is it rude to have people come to a bridal shower that aren't invited to the wedding?? Cuz that would be most of the people who'd probably be invited ...

Also, I'm wondering about inviting my boss and co-worker to the bridal shower. Would that be too much? (They're both being invited to the wedding.) (Too much as in ... seeming like a gift grab or something.)

---
My mom has put in an offer on a house and had it accepted. It is still being finished, but should be closing on it April 4 (a Sunday?? do houses close on Sundays?)

--
So very tired. The bit of energy I had on Monday sure did not last long.

Next week I have the house tour, a dress fitting and PM counseling. If we decide to make an offer on the house ... no rest for the weary, right?

So tomorrow night Mr FT and I will be doing our first walk through of the house which we think we want.

My boss was telling me to make sure to flush the toilets, run the sinks and showers, look under cabinets, etc.

What else should we look for?

The driveway has a crack going up the middle and looks like it goes into the garage. Could that be a foundation issue?

---
I got stamps today to mail the invitations, but won't get them mailed til tomorrow - some of the sticky stuff wasn't holding, so I'm going to tape them tomorrow before mailing.

I also stopped at Walgreen's and bought some Valentine's candy at 50% off - some kiss shaped ferraro chocolates in gold packets = two boxes of them. (table favors!)

I also got $10 worth of gas.

---
I decided to book the photographer I met with Monday night. He'll be charging $500 (his wife will assist him.) Sometime soon I'm going to have him and Mr FT meet so Mr FT will feel comfortable with him.

I also booked a videographer. She'll do the ceremony and reception (with highlights) for less than $100.

On Friday I have a hair trial appointment. (Yes, I found someone to do my hair!)

---
Need to work on my homework for the pre-marital counseling tonight, but otherwise am just going to take it easy.

So as I've mentioned, Mr Ft and I went through the process of submitting a loan application for pre-approval on the house we're considering (strongly considering).

I got a call from the mortgage originator last night shortly before heading over to the photographer appointment.

He told me that we definitely qualified for the loan amount, and that with $20k down, our payment would be roughly $838. He was basing that off a rough interest rate estimate.

So ... I called C, a realtor and he called the homeowner and set up an appointment for us to look at the house on Thursday.

Today I realized that the house is a for sale by owner, and that maybe I shouldn't have jumped the gun on calling C. Especially since C told me that the homeowner made it clear that the price was non-negotiable.

That sounded really strange to me. I talked to J again (loan originator) and he told me that the market had been pretty strong here for awhile, and houses have been selling for asking price +. So that might be why the homeowner said that.

He also gave me an updated estimate - with putting down only 10% (instead of 15%) using a NIFA loan, we could get 3.25% interest (paying PMA for 11 years) and our estimated payment would be $844.

(I asked him about doing just 10% so that we could have more liquid cash breathing room for moving costs, closing costs, setting up house, etc. It was a difference of about $30/month in the payment.)

I also asked him how high we could go ... he told me ... oh a couple hundred thousand. I just about choked. No way, no how!

The asking price on the house we're looking at is $128,500 which is more than enough for my blood.

---
The long and short of it (ha ha) is that we could potentially become homeowners before we get married! (J was saying it could take anywhere from 30 - 45 days for the whole process.)

Faint.

Wow!

I don't quite know what's gotten under my skin, but maybe taking Saturday "off" really helped give me a second wind.

I made out my invitations and even attempted to print them out ... No can do. My printer just would NOT accept the invitation paper no matter what.

So ... I wrote them all out by hand. 15 of them. (Some are going to people who I know won't come, but will feel hurt not getting one.) I have pretty decent handwriting (actually get complimented on it fairly often when not in a hurry) so they look fairly decent.

While I was doing that, I had the quinoa and veggies cooking on the stove.

Then after they had time to cool off, I got out the freezer dinner trays I'd bought from Amazon months and months ago ... 20 of them to be exact.

Funnily enough, I didn't plan it this way, but I had just enough food for the 20 trays! My freezer is stuffed (13 trays) and the 7 remaining ones are in my fridge. More than enough for lunch and dinner the next two weeks + (because there'll be a few nights I'll want soup or maybe cereal ...)

Here's some pictures:

Quinoa, baked tofu, steamed veggies, spaghetti squash


Steamed veggies, Veggie egg roll, quinoa, butternut squash



Frozen veggies, Veggie egg roll, quinoa, sweet potato

Stack of dinner trays.


My freezer with 13 trays, plus other things rearranged.

Hopefully having all these meals ready to go will make me a whole lot less likely to give in to fast food or other temptations the next few weeks.

I'm glad I took Saturday "off" - ended up sleeping a good portion of it (partially because my Internet went on the fritz, so sleep sounded good.)

I did go to Walmart Saturday night and picked up $40 in groceries and a gift for Mr FT. I have about $15 left in groceries for the month, but that should be fine as long as I stick to just the bare basics. No Trader Joe's for me this month though.

--
Sunday was a long and busy day. I started out by getting to S's house at 10 a.m. to help make the food for the Valentine's Ladies Tea. Another lady showed up to help also thankfully. Between the three of us, we were able to get out the door by 1:15 p.m. One of the things I did was make egg salad sandwiches, cut the crusts off, then cut in 1/3rds. Enough for 60 people.

Then we raced over to the place where the Tea was being held. Raced around getting things set up and adding a few last minute appetizers.

The tea itself took about two hours. Afterwards I helped clean up (and got to take home leftovers!)

I got home about 5 p.m.

About 6:10 Mr FT showed up with this:

He had a box of breadsticks thrown in for free because they'd forgotten to print our ticket, and so our order was late.

After we finished eating, we worked on the home loan application. Submitted about 9 p.m. Yikes!!!

Mr FT left about midnight.

Long day. Soo glad for today being off.

--
I've got a spaghetti squash, butternut squash and 7 sweet potatoes in the oven right now. Later I'm going to cook up a big pot of quinoa and veggies (broccoli and carrots.) Using up stuff in my fridge before it goes bad - plus lots of pre prepared lunches/dinners for the next few weeks.

I'm going to be making my new invitations today. Hope to get them out in the mail tomorrow.

Later today I am meeting with the potential photographer.

Oh, almost forgot! I found someone to do the video for $35!! DVD and highlights!
---
Cashed out PerkTV for a $25 Amazon Gift Card (should be here Wednesday.)

I will probably need to get some more gas today.

---
Mr FT and I are continuing budget negotiations. Figuring out just how we're going to merge our finances and make a budget work for two different styles (more regimented and more go with the flow.) We're figuring it out.

Cars and "toys" are going to be our own responsibility. (Toys = boat, large screen tv for Mr FT; home gym equipment for me.) Cable is in discussion ... (I have no use for it, but Mr FT misses it a lot (football) and doesn't buy that I won't ever watch something with it.)

Today my boss finally did my yearly evaluation. She told me that the raise (2.5%) will be retroactive. Just one pay period, so not that much. (It'll equate to about $.35/hour before taxes.) But still ... every cent counts when house hunting.

Mr FT and I found a house we both really like. It'd be stretching our price range a bit, but might be doable. We just have to get the loan application done! (We're going to work on it this Sunday.)

--

I'm thinking about making a slideshow / video for the reception giving some background on Mr FT and I's childhood/growing up/ dating life. That way people who only know one or the other of us can get a "picture" of us. Also, it'll take up some of the time.

I was looking into renting a projector, but the realized I'd also need to rent a laptop. So ... am now thinking I'll get one of those iPhone / iPad projector things. I'm just not sure which one to get. Reviews on various ones are all over the place on Amazon (one to five stars.)

I'm also not sure which app would be best to use. I was thinking of buying iMovie (app) but don't know if there is something else that might work?

Would love any suggestions!

---
I found out today that the place I applied at when first moved here has had to let go of a lot of positions and completely restructure itself. That could've been me if I hadn't gotten the bus job while waiting to hear back.

As much as I dislike this job sometimes, I am glad to HAVE a job. Especially right now with a wedding and househunting!

I feel badly for the people who lost their jobs there though. I sure know how that feels.

---
I'm thinking of taking tomorrow off from church. I'm starting to feel pretty run down, and Sunday is going to be hectic with the Valentine's tea thing, and then whatever Mr FT and I do that night.

Mr FT got some happy news Thursday - his nephew is coming to the wedding! He hasn't been back here in 8 years! Mr FT and his mom had a large part in raising the nephew. I'm so glad Mr FT is going to have both his sister and nephew here for him.

--
I got my bloodwork results back from the doctor. My TSH level was on the high side again (not 17, but about 7.8) so she increased my dosage. I'll have to get it rechecked in a month.

I was also told that my bad cholesterol was a bit elevated and was suggested to use red yeast rice. It's an over the counter supplement - from what I'm reading though, it doesn't sound very effective. Plus, I'd really rather try to do better with my eating. (Krispee Kreme opened a shop here recently, and Mr FT has fallen in love with the hot & fresh glazed donuts .... this is not going to help the diet.)

Anyone ever use Red Yeast Rice?

---
Spending hasn't been horrible, but definitely not being as careful as I could be.

I've changed all my direct to credit card bills to my new Citi card, and Mr FT is using it to buy gas. I added him as an authorized user too. Once his card gets here, then I can use mine to do other in person spending. (wedding, groceries, etc.) We're planning on using the $500 towards either the mortgage or student loans, and not towards travel money.

*** Almost a month and I haven't heard anything back about the librarian job. Maybe they're just slow. This actually works though ... It would be better if I get the job, to not have it start til mid-May.

So I've been reading / browsing through some of the books I got from the library about communication. One I've been reading via the Kindle app (during work ...) is Crucial Conversations. Very interesting and very good. Am hoping I'll be able to learn some of the techniques.

I asked my boss this afternoon how she had learned to be such a good mediator / communicator. At a stressful meeting a few weeks ago between myself and a co-worker (one I've mentioned before as being a perfectionist .....) she basically mediated between us. The whole time she was so calm, cool, collected - while co-worker was on the attack and I was withering ...

This question led to a 40 minute discussion which I felt was pretty valuable. She was surprised when I told her that I thought she was confident and calm, etc. Funny how people see us as things we don't see for ourselves.

She also told me that my evaluation should be coming up in the next few days (I'd been biting my nails to not ask about it yet again ...)

Can I just say again how great a boss I have?

----
After work today I met with a local cafe owner. He's going to do scones w/jam, finger sandwiches, fruit and veggie trays, cheesecake bites, etc. all for $160! (including tax!) for 20 people. They'll bring it and get it all set up in time for the reception to start. No delivery charge.

The person doing my alterations raved about their food.

---
Question time ... I am wondering about the etiquette of this .... My mom was asking if I was going to do a formal FB announcement of place/time/registry. I don't know that I've ever seen anyone do that? Maybe I could make a post stating the day, and a link to our website for more info??

I *think* she wants me to do this for the extended friends of our family who aren't being invited, but may want to send something.

I'm just not really sure what the etiquette here would be. Emily Post of the FB age, where are you?

---
Ouch! I had my doctor call in prescriptions for Allegra D 24 hr and Nascort spray. $43.xx for the Allegra D (30 day supply) and $50 copay for the Nascort!! I'm not sure how many sprays that works out to - need to figure that out to see if it works out more cheaply than buying it just OTC.

I did this mainly so I wouldn't have to go in so often to get more Allegra, but also so I could use my FSA money for my allergy stuff. Very many refills of this will use it up in no time ...

Today I went for my first fitting. The person had quoted me $75 for doing the bustle, taking in the top part and possibly adding some invisible straps. After looking at what would be involved for the hem, she quoted another $100. I decided to go for it - she's going to have to take an entire section of lace off the bottom, and then reattach it. So, yeah. A lot of work and time.

I'd bought a corset off Amazon to wear underneath the dress, but after trying it on with the dress today, I don't think I'm going to use it. It goes up too high and would possibly show. The dress fits fine without it.

The shoes I got have really low heels. And they aren't exactly white ... but since they're open toed, hopefully won't matter too much. Not that many people are going to see my feet!

--
I've borrowed a bunch of books on communication from the library. One is called "Crucial Conversations" - I'm liking it so far.

---
I got my Citi Premier Thank You card today. Yowsa! Can one say overpackaging or what? Thankfully it came before my car insurance 6 month premium was charged to another card - so, that's $233 out of $3k out of the way.

---
I got some laundry and housecleaning done on Sunday - badly needed.

---
Tomorrow I meet with the first of two caterers. The lady doing my alterations told me that the people in her office go eat at this place for lunch all the time and absolutely love their food. That was good to hear.

Wednesday I need to stop by the bakery again - Mr FT told me he does NOT like buttercream frosting, but wants the "normal" frosting for cakes. When I called the bakery, the person told me that buttercream IS the usual frosting. She suggested I come by and pickup a cupcake for him to try.

---
I just have to say that I am glad I sold the stock shares I did when I did. That $203 price point would be down to less than $150 now .... Ouch.

---
Another thing I did on Sunday - I finally did something with the Quorn cutlets. I put all of them in a baking dish, covered them with a can of tomato soup and some spices/herbs, and a can of sweet peas. Baked at 350 for 25 minutes. Turned out to be passably good. I'm using them for dinners this week.

---
I got my $25 PayPal from Swagbucks today, plus a $3 payment from MobiSave (bought Allegra D on Sunday.)

MobiSave has quite a bit of rebates on produce this week - they are pretty much an instant payment via Paypal.

---
When I picked up my wedding shoes on Sunday at Sears, I also bought a new purse (desperately needed.) It was too funny though - the name brand is LS (my name, Mr FTs name.) It was $23 (40% off sale.) Mr FT actually noticed I had a new purse when we went out to eat.

My treat - $17.39 Noodles & Company.

Well, as of Thursday we have our marriage license, and we also completed our first pre-marital counseling session.

This afternoon I finally got a couple returns mailed off to Amazon.

I am seriously exhausted. I'd like to take a week off from wedding planning .. but have appointments Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday next week - all dealing with wedding planning.

I know it's my fault for having set it up like this. I guess I'm hoping that by having the majority of it taken care of early on, that I'll then be able to relax a bit for awhile before the wedding.

--
I'm beginning to reconsider having a video of the wedding.

Question: How many of you had a video made? How often have you actually looked at it?

Another question: Did any of you play the shoe game at your reception, or perhaps seen it played? What did you think of it?

---
I've done pretty well with spending so far this month. Other than wedding related spending, bills and groceries, not much else has been spent.

Of course, it still is just the 5th.

---
I had a bloodwork appointment this morning. A few days ago in the mail I got new insurance cards with my married name on them. I thought that was weird, but was reassured that it didn't mean anything (by personnel benefits person.)

Today though I found out that my name has been changed in the system for the provider as well. What should have been a 3 minute in and out trip, took nearly ten while they figured out what to do.

I just hope it doesn't cause issues in getting things paid! (I have been reassured that this does NOT mean that I'm going to start getting charged couple premiums.)

---
Do any of you have any good books/resources for someone who has a tendency to clam up/clench up/not be able to get words out when upset or talking about something difficult? That's me.

At the PMC session we got our "scores." Both of us scored low for self-esteem. I was higher in assertiveness (not all that surprising, at least in dealing with public situations or customer service people ...) Overall it said we were a "vital" couple. (Next to best rating I guess.)

I was seriously interested in the personality profile assessments though. One of the most accurate ones I think I've ever seen - for both of us. Kari's asleep on my lap right now, so I can't get it, but I think it's called SCORE or something like that.

Edit -- Nope, its called PREPARE-ENRICH.

---
Another question: What did you do for your guest book?

What I'm thinking about is either having guests take a picture of themselves and then writing a note with advice or memories. Then pasting them in a scrapbook. We could add other stuff in there too. --This would mean I'd need to find a Polaroid camera ...

Or I could ask people to bring one - three photos of themselves with either of us & them, plus a note.

---
Cashed out for a $25 PayPal today from Swagbucks and a $5 AGC from Bing.

Got a $.90 rebate from MobiSave from my shopping trip today.

When I was working as a school librarian in New Mexico, I was part of a program called Americorps. As part of that program you get an education award for each year of service. I earned two awards.

I used about 30% of it for a certificate program, but have had no use for the rest of it.

With marrying Mr FT, my plan was to transfer the award to him so he could pay off his student loans.

I'm almost POSITIVE I read that the only qualification was it had to be an immediate family member.

But ... tonight I was doing a little more research into it to refresh my memory. Unless I was reading something way different, I really messed up.

Apparently you can only transfer it to a child or grandchild AND only then if you were 55+ years old when entering into Americorps service.

If this is truly the case, then we won't be able to pay off his student loans in one fell swoop. So .. I guess that means that we really have no reason to wait to actually buy a house til after we're married. (I figured it would take a few months for the award to be transferred, and then pay off the loans.)

What a colossal waste of money. The award money will expire in 5 years (7 years from end of service.) I have absolutely no desire to go back to school for anything.

Ugh and Double Ugh!

--
We sure got some snow here this morning! There was nothing by 2 a.m., and then when I looked again at 4, there was at least 4 inches. By noon, there had been at least 10!

I got stuck trying to get out of my parking lot and couldn't find my shovel. So I improvised and used ... a mop! Then when I came home tonight, I had to make 3 attempts to get up the little hill into the parking lot!

I kept track today of how many calls I took asking about if the buses were running. Over 100 total, but 45 of them were in the first hour! Other people were also taking similar calls.

It didn't help that Omaha shut down their bus system. I think that got a lot of people here panicked that we were going to do so as well. How nice would a snow day be ... (did you notice how well I slept last night? Yeah.)

---
I may have misunderstood the Brink's PrePaid deal. I have an email in to customer service to clarify, but from what I can gather, it pays interest 1 x per quarter, not monthly. Which is why I didn't have any interest show up for this month. The .50% is for amounts over $5k, so it still should be 5% for the first $5k.

Waiting now for clarification.

---
I received my $25 AGC from SBs today. Pretty fast since I only ordered it yesterday!

This morning I woke up feeling pretty under the weather, and called in sick. A few hours later after getting some more sleep, I was feeling better and decided to get on the computer and see what I could do towards wedding planning.

Sunday night I'd been added to the local FB wedding group. I posted a question about finding someone to do hair and makeup on a Sunday. I now have two people who will come to my location and do my hair and makeup for me! It's going to run a bit more than I was planning on, but I think it'll be worth it.

Then ... I saw a thread talking about photographers. I noticed one in particular mentioned multiple times. I contacted her. She is going to do a video and photographs for $485!

Then ... I noticed someone offering to do alterations. I checked out their page/work and was impressed. I IMd them with a picture of my dress and what I needed. $75.

Then ... I called the bakery I visited last Tuesday to find out why I hadn't gotten a return call yet. The woman I needed to talk with answered - she'd just not had a chance to call yet. The two layer cake is going to cost $85, plus $5 for delivery, and another $15 for 20 wedding cake cookies.

Then ... I get a call from one of the catering places I'd contacted last week, but only got a voicemail. This place will do a proper tea. With scones and jam. Plus lots of other finger foods/sandwiches. Plus they may work out cheaper than the local grocery store. I have an appointment with them next Tuesday.

Almost forgot! I found shoes! Wide width, decent heel, white shoes! $25. Sweet! From Sears online.

Finally, tonight I stopped by the bed and breakfast and signed the contract. One thing I asked about was whether we could "discount" the room prices by paying part of the cost ourselves. She said that wouldn't be a problem. I'm thinking I might do that as a thank you to people coming from out of state. Especially since I'm saving so much money in other places.

And in a few hours I'm heading to bed praying that even though most of the city is shut down tomorrow, the snow will miss us! Cuz no matter what, I have to go into work tomorrow!

The first time I talked to Mr Ft about getting a picture of us in a photobooth was back in 2004. Yep. The very first time around for us.

Finally, today, it happened. Just took getting engaged to do so!

So .. here is a sort of engagement photo. (I was trying to get my ring in the photo, but it cut that part off.)

--
When we got back to my place, Mr FT and I started talking budget and finances in preparations for talking to the mortgage originator on Wednesday. We've agreed that whatever assets/liabilities we each have as of April 23rd, those will still be ours to deal with/use. From April 24 forward, we will combine whatever we bring in.

I emailed him the link to my YNAB budget program where I had put together two sample possible budgets based on varying levels of contribution from each of us. He's going to look them over and see what he thinks.

We also discussed how we're going to fund the downpayment. I'm going to pull $10k from my ROTH (which I've had since 2007, and in a sense had really thought of using the money for something like this.) Then together we'll come up with another $10k + whatever we need for closing costs.

It was a very good conversation. The only thing we need to figure out is groceries. I average around $130 - 50 / month. He averages more around $200-30 per month. I could only come up with $225 for groceries ... Hopefully we can figure out how to trim groceries for both of us (like maybe I'll do less stocking up? Only buy for the week ahead? Meal plan? Although that'd be difficult with a vegetarian and a carnivore ...)

---
I picked up my dress today! Tomorrow I'll have to start calling the alterations people and get that going.

Before going to get my dress, I stopped at Party City and picked up DIY invitations for $10. Also a garter (something blue), and paper lace placemats/doilies for the reception.

I also stopped at my beloved Dollar Tree - frozen fruit and cheap veggie food!

I stopped at CVS too - the lady at the register recognized me (she buys a bus pass from me!) But she told me that I looked so much nicer out in public! LOL Probably because I was wearing makeup and had my hair down/fixed - don't wear makeup to work usually, and always have my hair back so it doesn't get tangled in my earpiece. I bought Flonase and Nascort - both of which had rebates (MobiSave and SavingStar.)

Finally I did a bit of grocery shopping at Walmart. Some of it was eligible for rebates.

I'm counting some of my grocery spending for February - I would have waited on most of it til next week if t hadn't been for me being in that part of town already for picking up my dress. (I had to wait til 1pm when the store opened.)

---
It looks like I not only have my centerpieces taken care of, but I also have teacups! The women's ministries leader texted me a picture of 24 teacup mugs she got at Goodwill this morning. Beautiful!

---
Some weather reports are predicting 1 - 3 inches Monday/Tuesday. Some are reporting anywhere from 8 - 16 inches, but 40mph winds. Would it be really awful of me to call in sick on Tuesday? (Won't do it, but am tempted!)

---
Cashed out $20 from iBotta.
Cashed out $5.75 from MobiSave
Will eventually cash out $8.75 from Saving Star when my purchase processes.

Last night I decided to open a new credit card. What do I need with a new credit card? Nothing really, except for the spending bonus! The next few months promise to have lots of spending opportunities, so I figured it would be a good time to get a card.

Which one did I open? The Citi Premier Thank You card with a 50k points bonus after spending $3k in 3 months. This can translate into $625 travel cash (hotels/airplanes) or $500 towards your mortgage, student loan or gift cards.

Hello Honeymoon! I don't know if you can just use part of the points towards one type, and the remainder towards something else or not. If so, then after we pay for hotels, etc, we can throw the remainder to the mortgage or student loan (whichever we have at that time.

I know that I probably shouldn't be opening any more credit cards since we're getting close to the time where we're going to be wanting to look at houses, but I figured there still was enough time to clear out some inquiries.

---
This afternoon I stopped at the rentals place and put a deposit down on the tables/linens/chairs.

I also made some more calls to catering places during lunch/break and came to the conclusion that using a local grocery store to cater may be the way to go.

I have a tentative appointment set with T, the catering person on Tuesday. (Could cancel due to weather. 8 inches predicted.)

I also have an appointment with the bed and breakfast owner to sign a contract for the b&b on Monday.

I didn't get my dress picked up today - the store closed at 5, and I got out of the rental store only a few minutes before five. Maybe next Friday?? Hopefully I'm not pressing my luck too much with alterations ...

---
I'm really enjoying the little shift in Mr FT's and I relationship since we got engaged. It's almost like there's an extra sense of relaxation on both our parts. Maybe a little more security? As in, we really are both in it for the long haul.

The survey assessment we took for the pre-marital class said we weren't supposed to discuss the questions with our partner. Mr FT took that to mean - not even after the survey was done (until the PMC sessions.) I took it to mean - not while taking the survey. I wonder which one of us is right?

We both marveled at how much the survey harped on student loan debt. About 12 out of 200 questions were related to it. No option for - never had any.

--
Am thinking of posting an ad on Craigslist for two people:

1. Someone to be in charge of the pizza/rootbeer floats Welcome dinner (setup, serving, cleanup.)

and

2. Someone to be in charge of the iPhone during the ceremony - so that the music gets started on time for the different things.

Am thinking for #1, maybe offer $40 (probably an 1 1/2.) For #2, offer $50 - for coming to rehearsal + ceremony, and then a $20 bonus if does a really good job.

I just am not sure how else to do the music - I'd hate to pull in someone from the few who are attending.
---
Am so glad for Friday.

I adjusted my withholding to 3 this year since I was having 7% of my gross taken off the top to my retirement plan. I guess I overdid it a bit ...

After inputting my W2 and interest income, it looks like I owe $364 Federal, and will get a $31 state refund.

I still need my W2 from my parking garage job, but I only made a few hundred dollars with that, so I don't think it should affect it too much.

---
I got my invitation, etc. order from Vista print today. Oops. Major oops. I read it over and over and over before hitting order. Still, I missed something big. Like ... the date. Not on the invite at all. Luckily I have plenty of time to get it redone, plus I think I'd like to use a different picture (the one we're getting done on Sunday.)

Sigh. At least it wasn't 150 invitations, right?

---
I checked into the catering place C told me about - $2000 min. on a Sunday. Next!

--
Tomorrow I'm going to be picking up my dress, and also stopping at the rentals place.

I haven't heard back from the bakery - although the lady may have told me the person didn't get back til tomorrow.

--
Cashed out for $10 from PACT last night.

So today was quite interesting.

It started off with an email from Mr FT suggesting the PERFECT recessional song - peppy, joyful - On Top of the World Now (Carpenters.)

Then an okay morning at work, followed by a very stressful afternoon.

I was SO tempted to text C and tell her that I wasn't coming to the women's ministry meeting. One, I didn't have anything figured out for the technology aspect of the Valentine's Tea we're doing, and two, I just was completely wiped out.

But ... I decided to keep going and not let the afternoon derail me. In fact, I decided to head over early so I could get in touch with R and work on the books (church library) before the meeting.

When I got over to the church, I pulled in next to an older couple. The wife has alzheimer's. The man is just barely with it. They were needing to get in to the church, and also were looking for the number for CH who has been having Sewing Sundays.

I have the code for the church, so was able to let them in with me. Then I looked on my phone at last weeks bulletin to see if CH's number was in it. Her name was, but not her number.

I'd had the mobile church directory on my old phone (the one that got lost last year) but not on my current phone. For the life of me I couldn't remember what it was called. It took about ten minutes of sluething, but I finally figured it out and was able to give the couple CH's number!

So I ended up not actually doing what I had planned (R wasn't there) but still got to do something that was a blessing to someone else. That right there picked up my spirits a lot.

Then it was time for the women's ministry meeting. First, I found out that we're going a different way with the craft project (so no technology needed!) Then the lady in charge of the decorating starts pulling out these gorgeous teapots filled with silk flower arrangements! And the ladies start talking about cake stands ...

My eyes are about bugging out!

Afterwards, I talked to C and asked her if she thought I could borrow some of the teapot decorations and cake stands. She said that she thought that would be fine, and gave me another idea for a place that might do catering.

So in the end, because I forced myself to go and follow through with my commitments, I ended up being able to bless someone else AND maybe have found a free way of getting most of my decorations for the reception!

I also got an idea for wedding favors. I hadn't really planned on having any at all, but these just seemed SO perfect! We're doing them for our ladies tea - 4x4 tiles with beautiful pictures/saying decoupaged onto them. They can be used as hot pads or if you add something called polyurethane? they can also be used at coasters.

I'm thinking about making 25 of them with a picture of Mr FT and I and our wedding date on it. That way people have a useful reminder. We'll be buying a box of 100 tiles, but only using 50 of them - so I'm going to ask if I can buy 25 of them. The rest of the materials are pretty cheap.

This morning I posted on a local facebook group asking for recommendations for a photographer and person to do hair/makeup. I must have posted at a perfect time, because I got a lot of responses! Good thing too, because my post was deleted! I'd even said in my post that if it wasn't allowed, please tell me where to post.

Oh well, I still got lots of good leads. In fact ... I may have a lead on a photographer who will do the ceremony/formals/reception for $500! This includes 100 edited/retouched images on a disc with full reprint rights.

I've contacted this person to see if they're available on my day or not. It also looks like they might have a symbiotic relationship with a hair/makeup person - who'd do it for $70.

That'd be awesome if it could work for that much!

---
The roads were nearly clear by after work today, so I headed out to the bakery where Mr FT's mom loved their white cake so much. (Well, it's a new location actually - the one she went to closes at 1 p.m.) The lady who was there took my information and what I wanted and is going to pass it on to the person who does the cakes. At least I've got that started!

--
I called one hair place here this afternoon, but they aren't open on Sundays.

I couldn't for the life of me remember who I was going to call during my break today. It finally hit me - the rental place! (chairs/tables etc.) I made a reminder on my phone for me tomorrow.

--
I scheduled our first pre-marital counseling session for next Thursday. Also today I filled out a bunch of paperwork to add Mr FT to my insurance plans and change beneficiaries.

It was SO weird!!!! Writing LAM instead of LAN. After writing my LN signature, I stopped and wrote the new signature a dozen times on another piece of paper. To try to fix muscle memory. (I was using my new name because the paperwork/change won't be in effect til after 4/24 but it has to be turned in at least a month prior.)

--
I was doing some research on recessional songs, and came across some really amazing songs.

You and I by John Legend
You and I by Michael Bubble (same name, different song)
From This Moment On by Shania Twain
First Day of my Life by Bright Eyes
Don't Stop Believing (Journey) Vitamin String Quartet

And I also remembered one of my favorites -
We've Only Just Begun - Carpenters

How to choose? How to choose?

I've unsuccessfully been trying to find samples of ceremonies - like how many songs/special musics, readings, etc.

Other than my brother singing, all our music will be iPhone via nice speakers. I need to figure out who to be in charge of making sure the music plays at the right time ...

--
I got a call that my dress was ready to be picked up. Maybe I can go by on Friday and pick it up. Then start the process of finding the person to do alterations. And finding shoes and underthings to hold me together in it.

--
I now have my W2 and the healthcare form thing, plus about half of my bank interest forms. So I could get started on my taxes ... Maybe on Sunday.

--
I cashed out for $6 from Pinecone, and it came today.

Yesterday I made the invitations using VistaPrint. I ordered 20 of them, plus a sheet of seals and thank you cards - all for $64.17 (after a processing surcharge.) They should be here by February 1.

I've pretty much got our wedding website all finished. I just need to get a recent photo of MR FT and I. I wanted to do it last night (use a photobooth at the mall) but Mr FT wants to get a haircut first. So .. next Sunday then.

Mr FT made me roll my eyes last night. He said to me, "I know you sometimes miss some details. So I was wondering if you'd thought about the centerpieces for the tables." This was after I showed him the wedding budget where there was a category labeled - Reception - Decorations.

I rolled with it because I want him to have some input on all this planning.

--
Today I called the courthouse and got us an appointment to get our marriage license a week from Thursday. They stay open late on the first Thursday of each month. A license here is good for one year.

I also emailed my pastor to get started on the pre-marital counseling Mr FT agreed to do with me. It starts out with a 100 question survey we each have to do online. I've already done mine - I can just guess how excited Mr FT is going to be ...

Did you do pre-marital counseling? Was it worthwhile?

---
I got great news about my brother tonight! His poor choices which led to the possibility of major negative consequences, has been alleviated. It's still definitely had some negative consequences, but I'm hoping it will turn into a positive for his life. This has been stressful for all of us.

---
Wow, was today interesting at work. A light dusting of snow was predicted for today. Yeah right. Parts of the city had white out conditions at certain points. By early afternoon most of our buses were running 20 - 1:15 minutes behind.

Can you just imagine the phone calls I was getting? They were coming so fast and furious that I couldn't keep up with them, and a couple other people were catching them. About 4 p.m. one of the ladies came out and was like - I can't believe these calls. I'm heading out before having to take any more!

It was like people couldn't get the fact that if the cars near them were traveling at a snails pace, and lots of sirens all around heading to accidents all over the place, that just maybe that might mean the buses might also be having some trouble getting around?

Oy Vey!

While I was at church today I got a text from my brother confirming that he WILL be free the weekend of April 23/24. So I'm definitely getting hitched on the 24th!

I also talked to the person who does the photography for the church. She told me she's not done any weddings, but she recommended someone in the church who does. I'll contact him tomorrow. I'll also contact several people I found advertising on Craigslist - one of them said they only charged $300 for 2 hours? Wondering if that's a scam, or they're really inexperienced??

Instead of doing Chinese buffet food for the reception, I've decided to make it an afternoon tea reception. People aren't going to be very hungry after the breakfast/brunch provided by the b&b.

I'm going to check on Craigslist and FB garage sale to see how many teapots/saucers/teacups I can borrow/rent/buy to use. I also found someone who rents out cake stands - can use them for the cake, but also for putting the finger foods on (for the tea.)

Part of the ceremony will be a community unity service. Mr FT and I will each light our own candle, and then use it to light a big candle. Then light the candle of someone on either side of us (probably my mom and his sister) and then progressively light all the guests candles. Kind of symbolically saying that everyone there is standing behind us/with us.

I'm thinking that this is when I'll have my brother sing "Broken Roads" by Rascal Flatts. (If you've never heard it, it's a beautiful song, and I think it is very fitting to Mr FT and I's relationship.)

I really like the idea of entering to Edelweiss - it's like a symbol of me saying goodbye to my single life (like the Von Trapps were saying goodbye to Austria.) I don't want to do the traditional marching thing (have no sense of rhythm) and won't have anyone marching in front of me.

I'm thinking of using teapots as part of my centerpiece decorations. I also have an email in to someone on Craigslist who has some beautiful light purple decorations - seeing if she'll sell me just a portion of what she has.

--

What did you do for hair/makeup for your wedding? (i.e. Did you do it yourself, go to a salon, have someone come to you? Something else?)



--
Confession time. I broke down today and ordered pizza delivery. I haven't done that in a LONG time. With tip, it'll be $16. It's coming out of my spending money. (Yes, I know I could go to the store and get it cheaper. I just don't want to go out again - so cold!)

Last night Mr FT and I visited the bed and breakfast I was thinking about using for our ceremony/reception.

I seriously fell in love with it! I'm an old fashioned gal in many ways, and sometimes think I would have enjoyed living at the turn of the century. (Well .. not all things about that time.)

This place was built in 1910 and has a very Victorian feel to it. Mr FT wasn't impressed with the quality of maintenance, but we're not going to live there - just spend a night and use it for our wedding stuff.

Here is the amazing part! By renting 6 rooms Saturday night we will have use of the house for 24 hours essentially.

We can have our rehearsal dinner / ceremony / reception all in the same place!

Also, there will be VERY little need for any decorations! Maybe some for the reception - but not much.

The cost of rental includes the owner / wedding coordinator being there for the entire event - moving chairs, and doing all needed cleanup outside of food.

The cost (excluding rooms)? $245. Rooms range from $89 to $119 each. If all 6 rooms aren't rented, we would have to cover that cost, but I feel pretty certain we'll use all of them. Even if we had to cover one - that would bring it up to around $345 (+the cost of our room). Which I still think is a steal for what we're getting.

I have a two week hold on it right now because I'm still waiting to hear back from my brother, and I also need to make sure that my grandma can handle a set of stairs.

I did take a few pictures, but Mr FT was waiting in the car (his back started hurting) so I don't know how great they turned out.

Question! What songs did you have for your wedding ceremony?

Here are the pictures:



The entryway (where we'd have our guestbook)

The staircase I'll walk down.

The area I'll stand in front of to become Mrs. FT

Another part of the room where the ceremony will be.

First off - thank you everyone for your comments on my 24 hour post. Ya'll made me blush.

--
So .. last night I talked with my mom to go over some of the wedding stuff. I told her I was planning on asking Uncle J to officiate. She told me that I better be prepared that I'd be expected to pay for Uncle and Aunt J's expenses.

I was like, "What!!" I'd planned on giving him something like $100 as a thank you, but not paying for two plane tickets and a hotel room!

So .. I call my Aunt N (the one paying for my dress.) She tells me that couldn't be further from the truth. That Uncle J is honored that I want him to do it (she'd told him) but that he might have a problem with the date.

So .. I call Uncle J. Talk to him about being the officiant. He then tells me about having a flight to Egypt on April 26 - not back til June. Aunt J is going to be in Egypt at that time too. (Yes, both of their names begin wtih J. They were high school sweethearts. Too cute.)

So ... I very reluctantly figured out that maybe April 17 would work. He reminded me that was Aunt N's birthday. Also, Grandma was having some friends from Singapore fly into LAX she wants to see.

So ... I ask Uncle J if him being here on the 24th would be too close to leaving for Egypt. He said he was more than happy to do it.

Whew!

Now I'm waiting to hear back from my brother if that weekend will be okay for him. He's a bit preoccupied right now though. So who knows when I'll hear back.

---
Can I say how much I don't like Amazon's registry? The results when searching are abysmal! And I haven't figured out how to put things in there that don't come up in the search results (like for say example - different colors of the item you want!)

Supposedly there's a universal option - but I haven't gotten that to work yet. Mr FT however is able to get in to the registry and add stuff from his computer. So that way we can both work on it when we have time.

(I haven't started a Target or Bed Bath Beyond one yet - am hoping to figure out the universal thing so only have one registry to work with!)

---
The last two days at work were very stressful. In fact, yesterday I went to my supervisor and asked her how bad it would be if I asked to be relieved of helping one certain person. Help which is NOT part of my job description.

Apparently this person also had gone to my supervisor. She was frustrated with me as well.

So ... today we had a meeting. I don't know if it was the stress of everything, overtiredness, or just utter frustration ... but I embarrassed myself by crying! Ugh! I hate that.

Once the tears start, it's very hard to get them to stop. And then it's hard for me to talk. (Name something that drives Mr FT up the wall ... )

I acknowledged my part in it (not being as careful as I should be in double checking the work output) and we figured out how to maybe make it work better.

We'll see I guess.

---
So ... between my mom, grandma and aunt, I am being given $2500 towards wedding expenses. That's (hopefully) going to be more than 1/2 the cost.

So ... I have no clue how to word the invitations.

Mr FT bio parents are both dead, and he has an almost non-existant relationship with his stepdad. And then of course, my dad is also dead.

What I WANT to say is: Mr FT and Ms. FT invite you to come share in the celebration of our marriage on April 24, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. at place. (Or something similar.)

Not sure though if that is the "proper" wording, especially now that over half of it is being funded by mom/aunt/grandma.

---
I got halfway home tonight and realized I left my phone at my desk. So turned around to get it - What a nightmare! At one particular light where I was trying to turn left, I sat through FOUR rounds of lights!

By the time I got my phone and was on my way back home, it was getting late - I was worried I would miss R at the church (wanted to ask her about her daughter doing photography.)

So I decided instead of going home and getting something to eat, then going to the library (to drop off the now overdue DVDs) and then to the church - I would stop at Walgreen's and pick up something to eat, then go on.

That's what I did. Spent $2.93 on a payday bar, york patty and a big thing of sparkling water. Then I got to the church, and R was nowhere to be found. Ugh.

I had also planned on printing out the labels for the church library books - my printer isn't working that great. (It prints, but not great quality.) My friend C is introducing me this week as the church librarian .. had kind of hoped to get some more books PUT in the library before hand.

Oh well ... right?

Going to try to get to bed a bit early tonight.

So I spent a lot of money for me today.

This morning I spent a little more time futzing with my application, and ... submitted it. Yikes.

Then I headed to a bridal dress shop I'd passed by several times before, and had seen on the knot that they had discontinued dresses and LOTS of choices for the non svelte figure types.

C, a mutual friend of Mr. FTs and I, agreed to come with me and be an opinionated eye.

I must have tried on 20 dresses. Finally there was one I could actually step INTO and not struggle to get over my head.

And .. it was just about perfect!

It's going to need a little alteration - straps removed, bust area taken in, etc. (It's probably about a size too big.)

I gulped at the price, but after having seen what most of the other gowns were going for, and realizing that time wasn't on my side to have something ordered ... I went for it.

$520 after taxes, etc. and before alterations.

What kind of made me go for the expensive dress rather than the one I ordered off Amazon is ... well, the b&b place has a staircase you can walk down as part of your entrance. I want a little bit of a train to make that entrance really awesome.

I actually think I like this one better than the one I found in Omaha - not a LOT better, but definitely better enough to forego the $300 price difference. (The Omaha one was $800+)

---
I stopped by the Bakery Mr. FT suggested to me last night, but they close at 1 p.m. everyday. So ... it looks like I'm going to be delegating that job to Mr. FT. He's going to love that (actually, he might really love it. Taste some samples ...)

---
I saw an almost perfect house on FB today. 77k Owner Financed. 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, basement, recently remodeled insides. W/D included. They were asking for a $2500 downpayment and then $1050/month. I pm'd the guy and asked how much of a downpayment they'd need to get the payment to $700/month.

His response made me roll my eyes so hard in frustration. "It would take a pretty substantial downpayment to get to that amount." Uh ... okay. Thanks for not answering my question.

So I responded by asking if a $15k downpayment would get the monthly amount to $800? He said he could work with us on it. I guess he realized that I wasn't dumb and thinking just a little more would do it.

I would need to take money from my ROTH (the one I've had 10+ years) plus cash money to do it (from Mr FT and I both), but it could be done.

I've got an email in to Mr. FT to see if he'd like me to schedule a viewing on Sunday so we can check it out. (Thursday we are checking out the bed and breakfast.)

Nevermind ... just got an email back from Mr. FT saying it's in a horrible neighborhood. So, scratch that. Something else will come up. Just have to keep eyes pealed.

---
The local library has a stinky new rule that DVDs can only be checked out a week at a time. This is going to cause me to have lots of late fines I forsee. I take the DVDs out, and sometimes it takes me weeks and weeks before I watch them. Will just have to not put more than one at a time on hold I guess. (So I don't have six of them come in on the same day .. like I had happen last week.)

I think I am going to have to drop back from posting a photo a day. I've got a few too many other things on my mind now. I will still post a picture when I find something that easily works though. Just not every day.

---
So Mr. FT and I have discussed finances before, and we both have agreed about the idea of joint finances.

Once we are married, I'll be able to add him to my health insurance plan and he can drop the Obamacare plan. (Am really curious about how this will affect taxes /subsidies. I *think* even with our combined incomes, he'd still qualify for the subsidy since it'd be based off of 2 people instead of one.???) That will save a few dollars in monthly premium - but more importantly, the OOP and other co-pays will be much less than his current plan.

What I'm a little unsure of about how to handle though is the inherited stock from my dad. About 1/3rd of it I moved into a ROTH IRA account about two years ago. So that's not touchable. But the rest is in a regular brokerage account. If we're really truly combining finances, then this should be part of it. But I think I might be a little bit on the touchy side about using it anytime soon. (Especially since we seem to be in a season of stocks where NOT selling is a good idea.)

Would it be unreasonable of me to say that I am okay with considering this a part of our joint finances, but with the caveat that it won't be touched for at least ten years, or in a case of desperate need. (As in we both lost our jobs and have run through every other resource.)

The complicating thing is that he's still waiting on his small inheritance check. So to be fair, I'd have to say that he could use it however he felt best, right? Even if that meant he used it to buy a boat instead of paying off medical debt or towards the wedding/house downpayment.

--
As far as the wedding goes ... I sincerely doubt that his sister is going to offer to help pay for anything that the groom's side traditionally pays for - even if/when she gets her inheritance money.

My aunt has offered to pay for my dream dress, and my mom has offered to pitch in some money too.

Other than that, it's him and I who will be footing the bills.

So ... since we haven't combined finances yet, do we divide the expenses by the traditional groom's family / brides family - where he cover's the grooms side and I cover the brides side? Or, would it be better to come up with a figure, and each of us contribute 1/2? Subtracting the cost of the dress and my mom's contribution.

I found a local photographer who has posted prices of less than $1k. I contacted him to see what he would charge for a Sunday morning wedding and a total of maybe 3 hours between the before ceremony, ceremony and reception. (We won't have dancing/drinking, so it's a much shorter shindig.)

I spent way too many hours on knot.com yesterday. Yowsa. I'm thinking I'll put together a wedding website - but want to get Mr. FTs opinion on the background first. (It's free on the knot.)

If I can make myself go outside today, I'm going to go to Barnes and Noble and use my gift card I got for Christmas to buy a wedding planner book. Glad I didn't spend it on something else!

I asked my mom to take charge of figuring out hotel accommodations for out of town guests and also to get me the addresses I need to send people invites (whether or not they're ones that would really show up.)

---
Engagement parties aren't really necessary are they?

I think I've decided to not have a bridal party -i.e. MOH, BM etc. We'll have few enough people in the audience as it is. I'll probably ask my mom to help me with getting ready/finishing touches.

---
I told some people at church yesterday. Mainly the people in my Sabbath School class. They were pretty happy for me.

I was going to talk to R about what would be involved in using the church, but she was pretty preoccupied with getting potluck ready.

---
It is SO cold outside. The wind doesn't help matters.

---
I really want to invite my boss. Mr. FT is okay with it. But ... how do I do that without inviting other people from the office? Just tell her not to mention that she's invited?

Our tagline for guests is family and mutual friends. But my boss wouldn't work as a mutual friend - Mr. FT hasn't met her.

---
I was feeling really bored with my food choices last night. Ended up making a toasted cheese sandwich which was okay.

I just have to remind myself that staying out of the grocery store / fast food places is helping my budget AND my waistline. It's worth it, even if I really want a Cheese Frenchie from Amigo's or a burrito from Taco Bell ...

This morning I made my oatmeal/greek yogurt/banana pancakes and tried adding some chocolate syrup to them. Yeah, no. (The ones I did that to, burned a bit.)
---
If you were registering for pots/pans, other kitchen/household stuff, what would you register for?

One thing I think I'll put on there is an InstaPot. Maybe really good kitchen knives? My dishes I've had since 1997, so maybe replace those? I don't want China or silver. Wouldn't have a use for them.

Would it be rude to put a paypal link on your registry page for gift donations towards a house downpayment fund? I saw that suggested in an article on the knot.

--
I cashed out for a $25 AGC from PerkTv today. I really need to get my extra phone set up to earn the points faster. It's been sitting in my closet for a couple months now ... (a cheap $10 phone.)
---
Sorry for the all over the place post. I have lots of stuff running through my head right now.

--
Okay, I'm going to catch up on everyone's journals, then force myself out the door to the store.

--
ETA - Just thought of a question. Do you have your engagement /wedding ring(s) insured through renter's insurance or homeowner's? I've never had an expensive piece of jewelry, and knowing how hard I'm on watches ...

Also ... the ring went ON my finger fine. And I can turn it around with no problem. But I can't get it off. Should I have sized up 1/2 a step? Or wait and see if I will keep on losing weight?

So yeah. I was just a wee bit giddy at work today. As soon as my boss came in, I showed her my hand and she knew what had happened. Later I was telling the office manager, and as I backed out of her office, I managed to step on the foot of the big boss! Oops. The office manager told him my big news, and he congratulated me.

I *think* I have set the date for May 7 or 8. None of the people we'll be inviting have small children, so I don't think it being on Mother's Day weekend will be too big of an issue.

I told Mr. FT he can be in charge of planning the honeymoon. I gave him some ideas of what sounds interesting/fun to me, but also said I'd be happy doing whatever. Most likely it will be a road trip to somewhere within a reasonable/long day's drive.

Possible places discussed - Branson, Gatlinburg, Florida, CA (not in a day's drive ...)

We have our guest list already pretty well hashed out. His quasi-relative who came out to meet him last year for the first time has said she'd like an invite. That makes me happy because it'll give his "side" a bit more people.

He has someone here he can ask to be his best man. I'm in a bit of a quandary about MOH. The three people I had always kind of thought would be my bridesmaids ... well, although I still consider them friends, they're really more of close acquaintances at this point. So ... I'm thinking of asking his sister. I don't really know her very well either, but I do like her.

One thing I am wondering about is what to do about the people you know won't actually come, but would feel slighted if you didn't send them an invitation. Do I just send them an invitation and wait for the no thanks, or ... send an announcement?

One of my acquaintance/friends definitely couldn't afford to come. But I'd still like to send her an invitation. But I don't want to make her feel bad ..

Oy!

I'm contemplating something like this ...

Saturday evening rehearsal dinner (probably would be just about everyone invited .. except a few locals.) Have haystacks (although beans before the big day might not be such a good idea... maybe spaghetti and french bread ..)

Sunday morning have the ceremony around 10:30 or 11:00 and then either have a brunch buffet (depending on location) or have a catered Chinese buffet (one of the local restaurants.) NE LOVES Chinese buffet food, so that would be good for him.

Although ... I want my wedding cake to be a cheesecake. I don't know how well cheesecake goes with Chinese food. Hmm...

As for the cake(s) - I'm thinking a cheesecake and a small white? cake from one of the local supermarket bakeries. There's a local grocery store's cake that NE loves - the white? kind. Just have one layer of each (separate.)

We're only going to have maybe 20 to max 25 people, so don't want to overkill the cake.

I also want Mexican Wedding Cookies (or whatever other names they go by.) I LOVE those.

As far as place ... am thinking of either my church, and then use the upstairs dining hall (clear plastic plates and plastic ware, etc.)

Or ... a local bed and breakfast place. I'm not sure if we could do a Sunday wedding there or not - they do advertise a Sunday morning brunch.

Or ... some other historical location type thing, and then drive to a restaurant where we reserve a room.

Flowers - keeping very simple. A single rose for MOH, and a small bouquet for me.

Attire - Mr. FT - I think I'm going to have him get a pair of nice black dress pants and a tuxedo shirt.

My dress - My aunt has offered to pay for my dress/veil/shoes etc. At first this made me think - I can get THE DRESS (if it's still there.) But then I started to think, do I really want to spend that much on A dress that I'll never be able to wear again?

So ... I found a dress on Amazon that I like. I ordered two in different sizes (free return shipping.) $39.95. If it works, then I'm going to ask my aunt if instead of the dress, would she be willing to pay part of a photographer costs.

I had been thinking that maybe I'd rent out this one bed and breakfast place where I'd like the ceremony to be. But then I added up the cost of ten rooms x two nights ... and ... nope, that won't work.

So my next idea is to call around to some of the area hotels and see what kind of a discount rate they could give me for booking ten rooms. Then I can tell people the discount code to ask for.

Invitations - maybe use Vista Print, or just print out my own on my printer?

I need to probably send out Save the Date notes or something soon. Since it's mostly family, I could just do it with a phone call??

Anyway, that's about as far as I've gotten in thinking/scheming right now.
---
Obviously, January being a no spend month is probably not going to work out too well. I am going to keep it as a January Well Thought Out Spending Only month.

Most days when I come home from work, I know that I am going to see something in my window. Of course, by the time I take my phone out and am ready to take a picture, that something is usually gone!

I got lucky today and just barely managed to get a picture.

My sweet Kari. She definitely has a feel for when it's time for me to be home. On days when I come back at a different time (earlier) she's not waiting for me.

A few weeks ago I was heading over to get my mail, and one of my neighbors commented "You can just about set your watch to that cat." Not realizing it was my cat he was talking about.

So .. Thursday night NE and I had our belated gift exchange. Let's just say ... it was worth the wait.

He waited until he'd gotten all his gifts (my mom had sent one for him too) and then he gave me a box to open.

So .. I open the box, and this was inside of it:

A Russian Nesting doll. I thought it was very beautiful and started opening each layer. Layer after layer after layer.

Then .... when I was close to the end of it, I saw this:

Then NE got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

Now I guess I should call him Mr. FT

So today wasn't the best day at work. One situation in particular really made me need the OH WELL!

I wasn't doing very well with the Oh Well ... when up from dispatch came the wallet of a local university student who had lost it on a bus earlier that day. He'd called me and sounded nice enough.

So when I opened his wallet, I saw this:

Okay, not exactly this. I couldn't exactly take a picture of his photo id. But what he'd done was to draw in a very oversized mustache on his face. It just looked so funny, I couldn't help but laugh.

I showed it to someone else, and they thought it was pretty funny too.

So, thanks MB for providing me with a good, needed laugh today.

---
I decided to set a stop loss of $203 on the stock I'm planning on using for part of a downpayment. That way I can be sure to have at least the minimum I want from the stock. This way I also don't have to watch it like a hawk ...

--
Several of the SBs apps have not been running well for a couple of weeks which has been quite aggravating. Tonight I decided to try deleting and reinstalling ... Voila! It worked!

I got my $25 PayPal from SBs today. Yay!

Can definitely tell on PACT that the New Year's Resolutioner's are going strong. After 3 weeks of nearly $4 rewards, this week I got $2.12 At least the veggies are nearly instantaneously being approved. (Have to have $10 to cash out.)

I'm not grateful for allergies. I'm not grateful for having to buy Allegra D 24-hr 10 at a time. However, what I am grateful for is having switched from Walgreen's to CVS for my medicine purchases.

Why?

Well, for one thing, CVS has their Allegra at $2 cheaper than Walgreen's.

But what else makes buying it at CVS much better than at Walgreen's? It's the $5 off $15 purchase coupons they keep sending me!

Technically, these coupons are NOT supposed to be good on ephedrine purchases. But apparently the register at my local CVS doesn't know that. I even mentioned it to the person ringing me up the first time ... they basically said that if it takes, it takes.

So ... a picture of something that makes me smile - my CVS receipt showing $6 in coupons taken off.



---
Tonight I went to a free pizza dinner at a local restaurant sponsored by a local brokerage for first time home buyers. It was really good (although I could only eat the cheesesticks - oh well.)

They had a realtor talk to us, a title insurance person, a home inspector, a mortgage originator, and a home warranty person. There were lots of good questions posed by people there.

After it was over I cornered the poor mortgage guy and bombarded him with more questions.

One of them was clarifying about the employment time period. He told me that a period of no employment of six weeks would not be an issue!!

So ... that means that maybe, just maybe, I won't have to wait til August ...

I also asked him about how disparate credit scores are handled. He said they are averaged. But he also told me that if we (NE and I) came in and sat with him, he would help us figure out a game plan on how to get NEs score up so that the average would be higher.

I also asked him about roof replacement costs, building fences, landscaping, etc.

Overall, I really liked everyone who made presentations and am REALLY glad I went. I wish NE would've been able to get someone to cover a few hours for him tonight so he could've gone as well. Oh well.

---
I'm debating heavily if I should sell the ten shares of my electric car stock now before they tank worse ... It seems as though the market is just going to keep going down this year, and if that is part of the money I want to use for my downpayment ... I'd just hate to sell them now, then have them go back up a month later. A week ago those shares were worth about $1300 more than they are now.

If I wasn't in saving all my pennies mode right now, I'd probably be BUYING stock!

I have several pictures to choose from today ... will save the others for later though.

Today I went shopping - my second shopping day of the year.

Carrots were on iBotta for a rebate at Walmart (as well as broccoli) otherwise I might have missed this entirely.

Here you go:


Is it just me, or are these gigantic carrots?!

----
Between CVS, Aldi's, and Walmart I spent about $35. $12.89 of that was at CVS for my Allegra.

Today was my first trip into Aldi's here. All I got there was fruits and veggies - bananas, spaghetti squash and sweet potatoes. $2.86. Wow! The bananas were $.29/lb. The squash was $1.29 each.

I spent a good portion of the morning working on my application. It is pretty much all done - I just need to find out how to attach multiple documents to it. I scanned all my transcripts (a total of about 13 pages ...) but can only attach one page. Uh ...

The deadline is the 18th, so I still have some time.