Keeping It Frugal

Ok, I know for some of you that doesn't seem like an outrageous amount for a phone bill. But for someone who's bill runs roughly $80 - 90 a month, it was a huge shocker.

For the past month or so I've been having problems with my home phone line. The only reason I have it is for my internet and Tivo. I only have the bare minimum - measured service (25 outbound calls a month). (Included in my monthly bill is my cell phone and internet.)

Over the past month I've had quite a few instances where my phone would ring. I of course wouldn't pick it up, since previously the only people who called my number were telemarketers or people looking for someone who previously had my number. Well, in the past month, every time the phone would ring, my internet would cut off. Most of the calls did not leave a message -but some of them did. Most of them were in Spanish.

About a week ago or so this culminated in my getting 4 calls throughout the night. 3 of them were ones where there was noone on the line. The next to last one, I could hear someone on the line. That was about 3:30 a.m. and I kind of lost it with the person - they were talking back to me - only in Spanish and I had no idea what they were saying.

After this incident I unplugged my phone before going to bed. A couple nights later my phone was plugged in and I was working on the computer when my phone rang once again. I decided to answer it just for the heck of it. I asked if this was the person who'd been constantly calling me for the past couple weeks and if it was I insisted that they STOP calling! At this point the man on the phone said he was getting his wife who spoke some English. She and I were able to figure out that yes, there was a problem - that they hadn't been calling me.

So, at any rate, I figured it was some kind of crossed wires. I went to report a problem on my phone companies website but they had this huge list of things that they wanted me to check for first - yeah right - the list was essentially in another language for me (phone tech speak). So I decided that I didn't want to deal with it right then, and would just keep my phone unplugged.

Then comes the bill today.

119 outbound calls (above the 25 allowed.)
- $9.97

2 long distance phone calls via Ameritech to CUBA = $181.77

I called the repair tech phone line and they are sending someone out on Sunday (sometime between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.). Then they transfered me to the billing dispute department -- the person I worked with was very helpful although she kept questioning whether or not there was any possibility of my having had someone in my home who would've called Cuba. Next I had to call Ameritech - very bad connection + a very hard to understand service person - finally got her to understand my problem, and she started a ticket for me. I'm supposed to call back on Monday to find out the status.

Depending on what the tech finds on Sunday, the service call will either be free or will cost me $30 (since I don't have wire insurance). The tech person will obviously find a problem - so the disputed amounts will dissapear after 3-4 months. BUT I can expect to go through this hassle again next month when I get my next bill due to charges stemming since the end of the last bill till now.

UGH!

10. You like having a roof over your head, gas for your car, and food to eat.

9. You like knowing that you'll have some money for when you retire.

8. You are out of vacation days.

7. You are out of sick days.

6. You might miss something funny that happens during the workday.

5. You might miss out on an important announcement (or a chance to overhear a conversation about an upcoming announcement.)

4. You want to be thought of as dependable.

3. You like (most) of your coworkers and enjoy talking with them.

2. You might have an interesting (non-copy intensive) project to do.

1. You will get to discuss the latest episode of LOST with a real live Lost fan!

I wrote this for a blog I keep on Sparkpeople and am reposting it here. For here I am adding in the facts that between my vet visit on Friday for updated shots, a bunch of geriatric bloodwork & exam, and today's surgery - I came close to spending a month's takehome. Monkey was worth every penny - but I am so thankful for my Emergency Fund.
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Today has been a very bad day, but I also have felt so much love and compassion expressed towards me that it makes it so I can't say this was the worst day of my life.

I took my sweet, sweet, wonderful, loving friend and companion of nearly 10 years to the vet this morning. My cat was going to have some dental work done and a bump removed from his leg to biopsy.

I arrived early with him, so spent about 25 minutes out in the car with him on my lap just loving him to pieces. I thank God that I had that time with him.

Around 9:30 a.m. I get a page telling me to call our Office Manager. She tells me my cellphone had just gone off. I run back to my desk and listen to the voicemail. It's the vet. He says something bad has happened and I need to call.

I call. My cat died during surgery.

I tell the people around me what had happened. They knew something was very wrong because I shouted WHAT a couple times on the phone and was barely controlling my crying. They were so sweet. I told my Office Manager that I was going to take the rest of the day off - she had no problem with that.

I went back to talk to a coworker and friend to tell her what had happened. She was very sweet and supportive as well.

I somehow made it home. I called my parents - both of them dropped what they were doing today and started to make their way to my place. I had so much nervous energy that I didn't know what to do with myself, so I started cleaning my place. I managed to get it pretty nicely picked up in just over an hour.

Then I started looking for ideas on what to do with my kitty. My mom got here first and she was crying just as hard as I was. She had called my brother, and while we were talking, he called. He was so sweet. He also got me to laugh out loud telling me about his misadventures with seeding his front lawn and ending up with a lawnful of mushrooms!

Shortly before my dad came, a friend of mine who I get together with most weeks called and said that she was bringing lunch for me and my parents. (I had sent out an email to a group of friends about what had happened.)

When my dad came we all sat around talking about Monkey (my cat) and also remembering some of our other pets we've had through the years. It was good talking about them. My friend came with the food, which was just so very thoughtful and sweet of her. She stayed for a little while, then had to get back to work.

After that my mom, dad and I went to the vets so we could see Monkey one last time and say goodbye. The vet and his assistant were pretty shook up about the whole thing themselves. Monkey was laying on his heating pad in one of the little kennel cages with a towel partially covering him.

His ears were in an alert position, and the tip of his sweet pink tongue was just barely sticking out of his mouth. We moved the towel and I squatted next to him and petted him for a long time while the vet and the assistant and my parents talked intermittently I

didn't really want to hold him because I knew he wouldn't feel right, but my mom really wanted to hold him. So after she did, I went ahead and did too. He was so heavy, not like he used to feel when I would hold him. -During my conversation with my brother, he'd suggested taxidermy. After holding my sweet little kiden I knew for sure that my answer to that would be a solid NO.

I told the assistant that I had decided to have him cremated since I live in an apartment and have nowhere to bury him. So I had to fill out a form saying what I wanted to have engraved on his little plaque. I should be able to pick him up on Friday..

After we left the vets we came back to my place and stayed in my mom's car just talking about everything and anything for a couple hours. Then my mom left and my dad and I went up to my place. It was so hard walking through that front door knowing that I wasn't going to be greeted by an annoyed meow telling me it was WAY past lunchtime.

Dad stayed for a little while checking his email and sending an email to my grandma about what happened. She and my uncle and aunt are in Euorpe right now visiting a sick relative. I actually got Monkey from a close friend of my Grandmas Labor Day weekend 1997.

It wasn't too long after my dad left that I started thinking about the fact that I felt pretty hungry. I was thinking that I wanted to go to Walmart and get all my favorite comfort foods (chocolate and more chocolate). That I would stop at Boston Market and get my mac & cheese and mashed potatoes. But then I started thinking that if I did that, if I went that far off my healthy eating of the past week - the eating where I've lost 4 lbs - that that would be dishonoring Monkey's memory.

I'm doubly glad that I didn't go to the store, because a few minutes after 5:30 I had a knock on my door. One of my coworkers was standing there. She'd come by to check and see how I was doing and to generally commiserate. She'd not been there even 5 minutes when another sort of coworker came by to do the same. I was so incredibly touched by both of them.

They hadn't been gone even 3 minutes when another coworker of mine called me to make sure I was doing okay. When I checked my email, I had well over a dozen responses to my mass email from that morning, plus I had a good number of responses from my posting here on Spark.

My heart is heavy tonight as I try to absorb the shock of my Monkey's death, but my burden is lighter due to the outpouring of love and friendship from so many different sources.

And, in honor of my sweet kitties memory, I DID not go out and indulge in my comfort foods of pastimes. However, I DID allow myself SOME comfort food in a controlled portion - I made a protein powder/banana/peanut butter/chocolate syrup/soymilk shake. It wasn't even all the good.

RIP Monkey 1997 - May 9, 2007

Today started out really good. I wasn't in much pain at all - felt the best I have in several weeks. Kept pretty busy the whole day.

Then about 20 minutes before the end of the day I get a call from our VP asking me to see him before I leave.

When I go into his office he asks me to sit down and then calls in our Landman. By this time I've figured out that I'm about to find out about the assistant position I had shown interest in several months ago.

Well, our Landman had figured out what he needed - as far as the job description. I think it actually changed from what he'd at first been thinking because of our CPA/accountant leaving a few weeks ago. The position now entails a lot of math knowledge and analytic ability. Not my forte'.

My coworker who has been the assistant accountant for a little over two years also expressed interest in the position. She has the math background/ability, program knowledge with the particular program, and seniority.

Although I understand their decision, I can't help but feel totally disappointed and sad. I'm really wishing now that i hadn't even said anything about being interested in it.

It's so depressing to look at the next 20 years of my life and see a never ending sea of me standing at a copier making copies or being told to "roll those maps tighter".

I really wish right now I had the financial backing and the gumption to just be able to quit and do something that would actually make me feel like I was doing something worthwhile - something that actually did something to make other people's lives better.

I've always thought that I'd like to be a reading/English tutor - but I'd want to get my Reading Specialist degree and take a number of different tutoring methods coursework before I'd feel comfortable doing that. Even with all that though, it would take a lot of time before I could build up enough clientele to make a living on my own. So, even if I had the money to go back to school and get my Masters, I sure don't have the money to wait out however long it would take to get a good enough client base.

I'm just feeling so disappointed right now. The VP did say something about them looking into getting financing to expand the drilling base and that would make us busier and possibly open up more room for growth/moving up/around. Man, I hope this doesn't mean I won't be typing the Landman's documents/letters anymore - that's one of the highlights of my day.
ARGHHH!!!!

Tuesday morning I went to see my regular doctor. I mentioned to her that a number of people had suggested that the problem might be a sinus infection, or possibly TMJ related. After me explaining to her about the location of the pain, as well as the frequency, and then her doing a number of tests, she came up with something that really threw me.

She said that she thinks I have SHINGLES presented without a rash! She told me there are three nerves in the face and the one that is causing me problems is my Cranial Nerve V 2. I had a really bad case of chickenpox when I was 3 - Shingles is a reoccurence of chickenpox - although it usually happens to much older people. lucky me.

She told me that because of the location of it, there could possibly be hearing loss, vision loss or even encephalitis! She gave me a list of ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) docs to make an appt with. I called one and explained what was going on and they told me that what I really needed was an Otolarynogoloist (sp?) or someone who deals with facial nerves.

So, I have an appointment with one on Monday. Until then I am taking these awesome pain meds that make me very loopy, but I much prefer being loopy to being in pain!

I have been trying to find info on Shingles without a rash on the net, but haven't had much luck. I'm also being very paranoid every time I have an itch or a pain anywhere - fearing that a rash might suddenly appear!

All I can say right now is Thank God for my health insurance plan! My coworkers too - they're all being so sweet and worried about me.

Like my mom said, my company may not pay much, but they treat a person right in the other ways that count.

I'm still trying to believe that this is really happening and not a story about someone else. I've always been fairly healthy with few issues (other than weight).

I now can definitely never afford to lose health coverage.

Anyone know a good way to reduce jaw/tooth pain other than tylenol, etc? I went to the dentist on Friday and he did an xray of the left side of my mouth and couldn't figure out why it's hurting me so much. He's referred me to a specialist who I am going to call today to try to get an appointment with. I've not been sleeping very well - it tends to get very bad at night just as I lay down trying to go to sleep. Right now it's hurting so bad I feel nauseous - and I tend to have a very strong stomach. I've been living on tylenol and tylenol pm for nearly a week now, though it really hasn't helped much. The pain starts in my upper jaw/gums and resonates all the way up my head to the back of my left eye - so much so that I can hardly bear to keep it open. I don't get migraines, but if I did, I think this is pretty close to what maybe a mild one would feel like. The pain comes and goes without warning - no real rhyme or reason that I've been able to figure out yet.

I really hope I can figure something out other than tylenol, etc to take because I know it isn't good to take a lot of that stuff over time - and it isn't really helping that much anyway. I'm losing sleep and my concentration at work is suffering as well.

Sorry mostly this is a rant I guess - but if anyone has any advice on a way to help the pain go away I'd really appreciate it. I usually have a really big pain threshhold - this is reaching my max plus some.

I received my second check from Treasure Trooper's today for $42.00. I guess they're not on my bad list anymore, but I don't think I'll be trying to earn anymore with them. It's way too annoying to have to clear my cookies after doing each offer, as well as keep up on all the offers I have done. Between that check and the last one it will pay for my renter's insurance through April.

Had a dentist appointment today for a cleaning. Ugh. Cleanings are almost as bad as a filling. The sound of the scraping of the teeth - worse than nails on a chalkboard.

A coworker of mine has been asking me about the best ways to go about getting a used car. Her daughter recently turned 16 and has her license. So, the plan is to give her daughter the mom's paid for car, and get a different car for the mom. Then in a few years when the son is 16, mom's car passes to daughter, daughter's car passes to son - mom gets a new car. I've made several suggestions (ebay, Rental Car companies, newspaper, putting word out amoung friends/family members, yahoo groups, etc.) Her husband doesn't like the idea of a rental car because he thinks they'd be too abused. She looked at a yahoo group I mentioned, but gave up because it felt like too much work to get signed on to it.

So, they're talking about buying a new car - mainly because they can't seem to find anything in their $5 $8k range used. They also just recently put a $6,000 instrument for their daughter on their credit card. (She is very talented on this instrument, is a sophmore, but very likely could get a good college scholarship.)

She's worried about the money and is willing to listen to my ideas, but is very good at finding reasons why it won't work for her family.

What can I say? All I can do is try to offer what I have learned through experience and through much reading. If it's taken, it's taken, if not, then it's not.

This pet food recall is a very scary thing. It's scary to think that a company that makes pet food would be willing to scrimp on ingredients irregardless of the effect it would have on its customers - people's pets. I actually have 3 cans of Special Kitty in my cupboard that I bought 3 or 4 months ago - one of the items on the recall list. Thankfully I only fed my cat a couple tablespoonfuls from one can.

I just can't imagine the grief and heartache that the owner's of affected pets are going through right now. If something were to happen to my Monkey, I just don't know what I would do.

I was reading a story today about a woman who has lost TWO of her cats this past week to renal kidney failure - both tested positive for the rat poison. She has a 6 year old daughter and a 3 year old son. Now, just HOW do you explain that? Two perfectly healthy cats, dead.

This morning I had to be out the door of my apartment by 5:30 a.m. so I could make it downtown by 6:00 a.m. Why? Because if you remember, on Valentine's Day I was pulled over by a cop for making an illegal left turn (warning) and got a ticket for not having proof of current insurance with me.

I thought I had sent the correct paperwork in a few weeks ago, and had it all taken care of. But Thursday night when I checked my mail I had a letter from the County Clerk telling me I had NOT sent in the correct paperwork. So Friday morning I call and manage to get in touch with a human being who essentially tells me that the only way for me to take care of this now is by coming in to the courthouse and seeing the judge.

Gulp.

They only take the first 90 people who are there at 7 a.m. Which is why I decided to get there by 6 a.m. - hoping to be amoungst the first 10. I ended up arriving there about 10 after due to a few wrong turns, and found about 20 people ahead of me.

Courthouse doors finally open at 7:10. As we are going in I realize that I had not taken the pocketknife off of my keychain. I asked the officer if there was a basket or something I could leave it in to retrieve later. He essentially said throw it away or take it back to your car. With at least 50 people behind in line, I threw it away.

Once inside I followed the crowd and managed to find the place where we were all put into a corded off area. Well, at least the first 50 of us were. The others all had to come back at 12:45. The line moved slower than grass growing, but finally at 9:30 I was called to one of the clerks spots. She quickly looked over my proof of insurance, and then handed me my papers and directed me towards the correct courtroom.

A few minutes later I arrived in the courtroom and stood in yet another line to give the bailiff my papers. He was dealing with someone with a lot of questions, so a kindly lady called me over and did my paperwork. I was so grateful to just be able to sit down. I was even more grateful when she told me that my case would be dismissed and I would not have to pay the $410 fine.

My relief was short lived however, because as I walked to my car I realized that the 2 hour time limit was long gone. Thankfully though, there was no parking ticket on my windshield. So yet another sigh of relief.

It was almost 10:30 by the time I arrived back home. I was exhausted due to not having slept hardly at all last night, plus getting up at a much earlier hour than normal. So I decided to take care of a few phone calls that needed to be made, and then take an hour nap before heading to work.

I made four phone calls. Three of them were to cancel trial offers (Mypoints and Treasure Trooper stuff). The 4th was to Trowe price. I am finally moving forward on figuring out what to do with my two rogue retirement accounts that are losing money for me rather than earning. Yay!

After my nap I wasn't feeling that much better, so decided to just take the entire day off. Not the most fun filled way to use up a vacation day, but I did get quite a few things taken care of that needed to be accomplished.

All in all, I have truly learned my lesson, because I do not ever want to have to stand for 3 + hours in a courthouse again. I will be super vigilant about making sure I have my current insurance card IN my glove box!!!

Tonight when I retrieved my mail, I had two items of interest.

One was a check from Treasure Trooper for $38.00. I'm still annoyed with them for a number of reasons, but I am happy to get at least this amount. We'll see if I get the other $40 next month.

The second item was an envelope from poetry.com. I had entered a poem into the contest as part of one of Treasure Trooper deals. I hadn't kept my own copy of it, so I was glad to get another copy. It supposedly is in the semi-finals.

Of course, they offer to let you purchase a copy of the book it will be published in, as well as offer to publish an "author's bio" for the low low price of $25. Um, yeah sure. I'll buy a book if I win the $1,000 prize.

Well, that's all for now folks.

I mentioned in a previous blog about how Sparkpeople.com was having a contest this month for people referring others to the site. The top prize is a $100 Amazon Gift card, the only other prize is a Sparkpeople bumpersticker. Every person who refers at least 10 people get the bumpersticker.

Well as of this afternoon, I received credit for my 22nd person referred (total) and my 10th person this month! It may sound kind of silly to get so excited about earning a bumper sticker, esp. since I don't put them on my car . . . but I really wanted one anyway and didn't really want to buy one.

I wonder if I'll get to choose which one I want?

I'm also only 600 points away from the 10,000 point trophy. I wonder what that is going to look like? I wonder how many points to the next trophy? I am way too focused on those points I think, and I can't even do anything with them like on saving advice.

Feb 13:
* Woo Hoo! Lost another 0.4 lbs.
Also, my Spark team had a NO GAINER week - which is pretty amazing for 20 people. It is the second time this has happened for my team since I started leading back in July of 06.

* I got an email from Coach Jen (who is the Spark person in charge of the Community Team Members - kinda like Jeffrey/Nate). One of the things she mentioned was that for the first New Member sparkteam there were over 12,000 members! Wow! I'm really curious how many people will be on my team when my turn comes. (Each New Member Sparkteam has 3 co-leaders and stays together for a month. Community Team leaders have signed up to lead these teams - essentially help new people with whatever questions/concerns they may have.)

* I now have 8 people signed up for Sparkpeople thru me for February! I just need two more people to get a bumper sticker. Woo hoo! I'm so happy people are getting to enjoy the wonders of Spark because of my obsessive ramblings about it.
Valentine's Day:

* Pulled over by cop for making illegal left turn. I thought the sign said no U-turn. Received a warning for that, but did not have my current insurance card with me. So, I did receive a ticket for that.

* One of the people at the delivery place I walk by everyday on the way to work held up a special sign for me, "Happy Valentine's Day."

* Spoke to our Landman and to our Communications Director about my being interested in completing whatever training would be necessary to become our Landman's assistant. They both seemed happy to know that I was interested.

Feb 15:
* Celebrated my one-year anniversary at work.

* Received an email from Treasure Trooper saying that my check has been printed and I should receive it soon. It was $40 less than I was expecting. The $40 is from one deal where the company was giving me problems and I canceled early. I am SO done and over Treasure Trooper. (Much more to it.)

Feb 16:
* Received my Fed Tax Refund. Have thought of a million ways/places it could be spent/used, but for now it is sitting in my ING checking account.

* Had my first session with my mom's Personal Trainer (gift certificate for Christmas -2 sessions). I throughly enjoyed it and felt I could gain so much from it if I could do it regularly. But throughly DID NOT enjoy the drive to get there. Too bad he's not 20 miles closer to me.

* Ate supper at my mom and stepdads. My mom had made me this super sweet mini-booklet card talking about how I was when I was younger and how I am now. It was essentially celebrating my one-year at my company. Then we played a game of Scrabble and unbelievably I LOST! That doesn't happen very often. I blame it on the fact that we were missing about 12 - 15 letter tiles.

Today was another laundry day. Fun, fun, fun.

Have you ever noticed that laundromats have an abundance of the large capacity washers ($2.25/load) that are almost never full, but the normal capacity washers ($1/load) are nearly impossible to find one, let alone two that are available? (Holy run on sentence - yikes!)

And is it just me, or is it a purposeful ploy to not have enough laundry carts for everyone to use?

Have you ever noticed (or maybe this is just in Texas) that the only station on the tv is some Spanish language station played at extreme volume. But of course the screen can't be seen by the majority of the people in the laundromat.

Why is it that parents feel comfortable letting their barely toddling children have free range throughout the laundromat where numerous strangers go in and out constantly?

And is it just me, or does the price of the dryer correlate directly to how clean or grossly unclean the bathroom is?

I'm thinking that I'm going to have to come up with a good reason to make another visit to my mom and stepdad's before my next laundry day.

Signed,

Throughly sick and tired of using laundromats and longing for the day of living somewhere with my very own washer and dryer again.

I have about six pretty nice suits in my closet that I bought about six years ago when I was trying to start my own business.

I didn't have very much opportunity to wear them after I closed my doors, mainly because I started teaching again, but also because I gained weight and couldn't fit into them anymore.

So, a few years ago after having lost over 50 lbs, I was once again able to wear them. I couldn't wear them to work (school) so I wore them to church. Fast forward a bit, and again couldn't wear them due to gaining weight.

A few months ago after having lost a good bit of weight once again, I decided to try on the suits. Most of them fit! I had them dry cleaned and was thinking of adding them into my work wardrobe. But then realized that it may be a bit of overkill for where I work, plus if I wore them more often, then I'd have to get them drycleaned more, which would add up. So they sat in my closet.

Today I decided that I would wear one of them to church. I picked out one of my blue suits, fixed my hair, did my makeup, etc. Looked in the mirror (front view only) and felt like I passed muster.

After first service I decided to step into the ladies room to get a tissue for my nose. While there, for some reason I decided to check out the back view in the mirror. Doh! On one side of my otherwise very nicely fitting jacket, was a two inch rip along the seam! I wish I knew how it happened, although it doesn't really matter I guess. It shouldn't cost too much to get it fixed, since it is along the seam.

But knowing that I'd been walking around church with that big hole in my jacket really made me self-conscious!

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Then when I got to my apartment complex there were a bunch of young boys riding around on bikes. I was getting close to my parking spot, when all of a sudden this kid flys out between two parked cars on his bike right in front of me! Thankfully I was going fairly slow, and we saw each other about the same time, otherwise I don't even want to imagine what may have happened!

Needless to say, that sure got my adrenaline pumping!

I finally got my W2 from my current employer, so I could file my taxes. I went through irs.gov and then used Turbo Tax online. I'm getting a refund of slightly over $800, even though I readjusted my witholding amount in September.

So, what are my plans for this money? I'm going to use part of it to pay myself back in a couple budget categories I siphoned from a little in order to pay for my new eliptical machine. Then I think I'm going to put $100 in my Vacation account. Then the rest -- 1/4 to each of the following: Emergency Fund, House fund, Roth IRA, and New clothing fund.

This is the largest refund I've ever gotten. One year I got $500 back, but most of that was because I had opened a Traditional IRA that year.

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Something else really cool - well two things actually. Today I got an email telling me when my week is to lead a team of Sparkpeople new members (newbies). I'm so excited because I think this will be a great way to help people really feel comfortable and accepted right away on the site.

I'm also kind of excited about the promotion Sparkpeople is running this month for referring new people. I've gotten credit for 11 people so far (4 others who forgot to use my username when signing up). What's really neat is that *everyone* who refers at least 10 new members gets a Sparkpeople bumper sticker!

I think Sparkpeople is such an awesome site and I absolutely LOVE telling people about it! I kind of embarrased one of my friends the other night when we were at social dinner for women. There was this lady who was talking about how much she wanted to be healthier and lose weight, etc. Of course I felt like that was a perfect opening, and started telling her all about Spark.

I just can't tell people enough about it! After having used Weight Watcher's Online and paying out the nose just to use the site and their online tools, it is
SO refreshing to find a site that in my mind at least, is SO much better in every way, not to mention completely FREE.

I love that word Free, don't you? I love it even more when that word is coupled with losing over 40 lbs.

I have been at a bit of a standstill lately, but with a little revamping of my exercise program and trying to keep my eating in check (did I mention tracking *every bite*?) I am slowly starting to move in the right direction again.

A girlfriend of mine received two gift certificates for a pedicure and manicure. She invited me to use the second one. We used them this afternoon.

I'm not sure what the problem was, but the person who did my pedicure/manicure was pretty rude to me. My entire pedicure/manicure took maybe 15 minutes tops. My friend's took more like 25 minutes. The lady who did me finished and then tried to ask me how I was going to pay - but she wasn't exactly easy to understand. It sounded to me like she was asking for a tip. I played dumb and told her that no I didn't want any tips. Her coworker (who was working on my friend) finally interpretaed for her and let us know she wanted money. So my friend gave her the two gift certificates.

I sat next to my friend waiting for her to finish for a good 8 - 10 minutes.

I haven't had a *lot* of manicure/pedicures done in my lifetime, but I have had enough to know that this experience was WAY below subpar. If this would have been one I was actually *paying* for -- I would have been majorly complaining. Of course, I wouldn't have gone to this place in the first place, because there is this great place that does a *real* spa pedicure, including heated rocks/towels etc, for $10 LESS than this place.

My standard tip when going to one of these places is $10. I would have left a tip today if I would have received even good service. Maybe the lady thought I was going to stiff her because I was wearing my workout clothes (clean, but a bit wrinkled - the last of my clean clothes that I could wear and push the pant legs up) ?

I could say maybe it was because of my weight - but my friend weighs as much as I do. Maybe it was because my heels were in such bad shape. I do give myself pedicures and manicures of a sort, but am not that good at getting my heels nice and soft.

Who knows what the problem was. At least it didn't cost me or my friend anything. It did cost that lady a $10 tip though!

I wasn't going to say anything to my friend about it, but she actually spoke up and apologized to me for getting jipped -- and mentioned that it was a good thing we weren't paying for it, otherwise there would be a scene!

My dad took my car to Discount Tires yesterday afternoon after getting the alternator fixed.

My car's been having some major vibrations going on for at least the past 5 or 6 months. I thought maybe it had to do with the rear something or other thingy that needs to be fixed sometime (according to the Honda dealer who did my 90k mile checkup, its needed, but not urgent).

Well, according to Discount Tire, my two front wheels are made of steel. And they are now an oblong shape rather than a circle. That's why I've been getting the vibrations.

They suggested either replacing the two front wheels with two new steel ones ($180) OR replacing all 4 steel wheels with aluminum wheels (which supposedly last forever) which would set me back $300 or so.

I know so much more about cars now than I did on Thursday. Ugh!

Anyway, my dad offered to look and see if he could find some steel wheels or aluminum wheels at the junkyard on Monday, while he's looking for a spare tire to replace mine that vanished.

I'm really glad he has my car right now and is willing to do all this stuff for me. Cuz most likely if it was left up to me. . . . I probably would just live with the vibrating and would probably have been sick in the gut, but paid the bigger price for the alternator just to get it done and over with.

I really wish I could find a class that would be geared for women who want to know more about their cars - at least enough knowledge so I sound intelligent when talking with a mechanic so I'm less likely to get taken for a ride.

I do wish I had my key ring that my car key is on -- because that key ring also has my mailbox key on it! I do have an extra mailbox key - but it unfortunately is IN my car.

For the past couple of weeks every time I've gone somewhere in my car I've had a more difficult time getting it to start. My dad was going to check the battery this weekend to see if it was low on water.

Well, yesterday after work I headed to the library to drop off a couple of books. When I got back to my car, I realized that I had a problem.

Btw - to complete this picture. -- It is a Friday after 4 p.m. and it is drizzling/raining off and on.

My car would. not. start. I have roadside service with Cingular, but I couldn't remember the customer service number. (I thought it was *66, but apparently not.) So I went inside the library to look it up in a phone book.

When I came back outside, I noticed there were people in the car next to mine getting ready to leave. I hurried to their car and got their attention and asked if they would be willing to jump my car. The man was willing (an older oriental man) but did not have cables. I thought I had cables in my trunk, but they were nowhere to be found.

So, I go back inside to ask the security guard if he happens to have any. He doesn't, but does follow me outside. At this point a woman pulls into the spot on the other side of me. I ask her if she has cables -- she does!

So now the security guard and the first man get my car jump started. The woman with the cables gives me the name of her trusted mechanic. I thank everyone profusely for their help and start driving (well, not before having the security guard flirt with me a bit!)

I'm trying to decide what the best thing is to do. I know that now that my car is started, I better not turn it off until I'm someplace where I know I can get it going again easily. I decide to head to the place I got my oxygen sensor replaced at.

When I get there I ask them if they sell Interstate batteries (because that's what my dad told me my battery was). They didn't. So then I decide to go to the place where I had my car inspected a couple months ago.

They confirm that my battery is dead, but that it isn't an Interstate battery - in fact they're not sure what kind it is. They then replace it with an Interstate battery ($86.xx with 72 mo warranty). Then they run a test to make sure the problem was the battery.

Bad news. My alternator is dead (which is what caused my battery to die in the first place.)

These guys give me an estimate of $130+ $100 labor + tax for a rebuilt one, and $180 + $100 labor + tax for a new one with lifetime warranty. My dad tells me that he thinks both of these figures are WAY out there and tells me to give him a little time to check with the person who fixed his alternator a few years ago.

He calls me back about 15 minutes later. This person will do it for $75 + $25-40 labor + tax. Woo hoo! But this person is in the town where my dad lives. About 80 minutes from where I am.

When I tell the mechanics that I've decided to go with someone else who gave me a much less expensive estimate, they start giving me all these dire predictions about how my battery will be drained within one - four hours depending on how much I use my headlights/wipers.

I still decided to go with the less expensive option. I did however drive the 10 minutes or so home with just my parking lights on and minimal use of my wipers. Not fun when its getting dark out and it's raining.

My dad came last night and spent the night, then this morning he drove it to the shop he found. I'm now just waiting to find out if the guy can fix it today or if it'll have to wait till Monday.

Thank goodness for Dad's and thank goodness for having money set aside in a car repair fund, and thank goodness for the kindness of strangers!

___
So far this visit from Murphy has cost me a total of: $107.13 The cost of the alternator: ? $100 - 125 + tax. Plus probably another tank of gas - ~$20

ETA - Just got a call from my dad. The alternator is fixed! Cost: $129 total. He also filled up my gas tank - $1.93/gallon -- $17.82.

He is also going to check at the local Discount Tire place to see what it would take to fix the vibration in my car. He thinks my front wheel is bent and is causing the vibration. May as well get it fixed now since he has my car and I'm already spending money on it!

It almsot didn't happen today. A lot of people were out due to the weather. The VP said he wanted to talk with me when Sh was also there - she wasn't coming in that day.

Later this morning he called me into his office and he had Sh on the speakerphone. They told me what my raise was. Let's just say its a good thing I didn't set my expectations too high. It works out to about $.70/hour increase -- or about enough each month to buy less than two tanks of gas for my car.

Not exactly what I was hoping for, and certainly not enough to make it feasiable for me to move closer to the new office area anytime soon and still be able to have any kind of significant savings.

So, I can chalk this up to another life experience -- asking for and getting a raise. Maybe next time I'll be able to do it in a better way where I can let them know how much of a raise I am hoping for.

Remember I mentioned that I bit the bullet and asked for a raise this past Monday?

Well, I didn't hear anything at all about it one way or the other by Friday afternoon. So, I planned on talking to Sh, our Communications Director about it on Monday, to see what she would suggest I do. (She is the President's daughter and VP's niece).

I had to leave 30 minutes early on Friday to get to a Dentist appointment.

While I am sitting in the waiting area, I get a call from S, the VP. He asks me where I am - and I tell him that I had to leave early for a dentist appt. He then tells me that he was ready to talk to me about my raise!! But that we could do it on Monday instead.

Oy vey! I could have found out about my raise Friday afternoon and had the whole weekend to rework my budget - but no, I had to go to the dentist!

The one good thing is that I now know I will have an answer by Monday. Yay! Maybe it will go into effect by this Friday's paycheck, which would be awesome!

Moral of the story: It's good to take care of your teeth - just don't do it when you're waiting for an answer from your boss!

P.S. I ended up having 2 small cavities. Not too bad considering that it had been over 3 years since I last went to the dentist.

Only a bit more than six months since my promotion, and nearly 11 months since I was first hired I did something I never had to do in 10 years of working.

I asked for a raise!!!

Sunday night I spent a couple hours preparing a document showing what my job responsibilities were when I was first hired (front desk receptionist) and what my responsibilities include now (Engineering Tech). Then I wrote a short paragraph essentially saying that it would be very much appreciated if my growth in responsibility and time with the company would be financially recognized.

I was a total bundle of nerves the whole morning before finally giving it to S. When I finally did give it to him, he was on the phone - he'd seen me try to slyly check and see if he was in his office and called me to come in.

I didn't say much, since he was on the phone. Just told him that this was something I'd put together, and would like him to take a look at it when he had a chance.

Then this afternoon a little before the end of the day I got my courage up once again and stopped in his office. I asked him if he'd had a chance to take a look at what I'd given him yesterday. He said yes he had, and that he would need to meet with a couple other people to discuss it .... then see what path we would take on it. He sounded very positive.

I really don't think the question is whether I'll get the raise or not - I think the question is HOW MUCH!

I hope they have the meeting soon. I'm going to be on pins and needles till I find out one way or another!

Before, as a teacher, all I had to do to get a raise was teach another year. When I took this job, I took about a 14k pay cut (from what I made my last year teaching, that is.) So . . . I would be very happy with just about anything!

Last week I put myself on a kind of financial roller coaster.

I canceled my cable (basic), a hosting service (for a website who's domain had run out 9 months! ago), and the pet insurance plan for my cat.

But . . . over the next few days the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really wanted to keep my cable .... and that I really wanted to keep going with Tivo. So . .. I reinstated my cable (thankfully before it was fully canceled - thus no reconnection fee) and . . . bought a dual tuner 80 hr Tivo w/3 yr plan. Gulp. Regarding the Tivo - My current Tivo's 1 year gift sub ran out this month. To continue it on the monthly plan would be ~$13.10/month. The DT Tivo w/3 yr plan works out to be ~10.80/month. Big initial outlay, but a lot less in the long run.

My spending spree didn't stop there though. I bought two needed sports items from Ebay (think bounce reducers) which will be helpful in my upcoming fitness classes. AND I bought two items from Harriet Carter -- Both of which I had seen in their catalog a year ago and wanted, but kept talking myself out of it. ---
Divided microwavable/freezer plates (3 sets of 4) and a cordless water pump. The plates obviously are for make ahead do it yourself freezer meals. The cordless pump is for, well ... pumping water! I'm really getting tired of drinking water from the tap. -- I still need to get one or two of those big 5 gallon jugs to use and fill up.

All in all I ended up spending close to $500. In one night. Gulp. All paid for in cash (initially credit card for bonus points, but already made the payment to pay it off.) Oh yes, all spending also was entered into YNAB (You Need a Budget.)

Then Friday I found this website called treasure troopers and sort of snooped around it checking it out. Finally decided to take the plunge and sign up for it. Chose a few of the offers that looked interesting. As of tonight, I have $58 in approved offers + $27.50 in pending offers. I feel pretty confident that this will actually payout. And, if it doesn't, then I'm not out very much at all ($3 Sh&H on one offer.)

What brought all this about? The best that I can come up with is that all my cutting expenses happened at the beginning of the week before I had made my final decision about whether to get into a house with my dad/grandma. The spending splurge happened after I was completely settled on the idea that I was NOT going to go for the house deal -- and I got some very encouraging news regarding a very real possibility of a raise in the near future.

So, anyway. I better hit the hay. I'm meeting a bunch of veggie heads for lunch tomorrow. Supposedly this place has the best vegan/veggie food in town. We shall see. This will be my first time actually going to a meetup activity --- check out meetup.com (free site).

Of course I've gotta put in another little plug for Sparkpeople. If you made a resolution to get in shape this year, but don't want to spend a lot of money on a diet program - be sure to check them out. If you do join, I'd love to get a sparkmail from you. I've had a couple people let me know when they joined because of me.

Off to bed I go!

My dad came up today to go with me to my company Christmas party. We had a lot of fun - plus I got to talk quite a bit with my best friend T (who's husband helped me get into this company.)

Before we left though, I had my dad take some new pictures of me - for my progress report. The last time he took pictures of me was in August after I'd lost 10 lbs and been using Sparkpeople.com for over two months. I've now lost a total of 40 pounds since last Christmas, 35 lbs gone since May.

How does this relate to money? Well I came close to being put on meds for high cholesterol/blood pressure in May. In May I was also very close to having to go up another whole size in clothing.

Then in June I found Sparkpeople.com after I had been thinking of trying weight watchers online again (somethihing like $49 for the first three months.) Sparkpeople? FREE!

In November I went back for my six-month checkup. My cholesterol was in normal range and my blood pressure was in its normal low range again! So, no meds! I am getting to the point where I'm going to need to get some new clothes pretty soon - but - that's going DOWN a size!

So, anyway I thought I'd share my progress picture with y'all. I plan on wearing the same exact outfit for every progress picture because I hate those so called before and after pictures where in one the person is frowning and looking really bad and then in the other they're smiling and have their hair and makeup etc all done up - of course they're going to look different! Oops, sorry, rant over.

Here's my pic.


--- um.. that's not my picture???? How'd I get Jen's logo? Jeffrey? Nate?

Hmmm... if you clik on Diva Tribe, it takes you to my picture. Weird.

Was a pretty good day at work today. Nice and busy.

After work I went to the drycleaners to drop off my dress and dress coat for the work Christmas party. It was going to be $21 + tax for both of them. I decided to take my dress home and do a "shower steam" to get the wrinkles out - but left my coat because it really needed cleaning. That will set me back $10 + tax. Ugh!

I stopped to get some gas - mainly because I had noticed the price go up 4 cents in the past 3 days and didn't want to wait till I actually had to fill up.

Then I went to the library. My books were three days late. No grace period.

When I got back home I paid the tuition for my class that starts in January and bought the textbook. Ouch

Oh! On a non-money note. I spoke to the Volunteer Director at the library today. She has my application and we are going to have a meeting on Friday after I get off work. I plan on volunteering probably one Sunday afternoon a month. I'm really excited, although I wish I could do it in my local branch.

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Spending Log:
(Monday)
Library: $5.40
Gas: $14.89 ($2.15/gal -6.896 gal)
Tuition: $39.00
Textbook: (used + shipping) $39.72

Today I went to a new laundromat. I was pleasantly shocked when putting quarters into the dryer to have 2 quarters buy 44 minutes of drying time. In most other places I've been, 2 quarters gives about 24 minutes. I figured this out too late to save money today, but next time it will only cost me $.50 to dry two loads! Woo hoo!

I was talking to my mom today about my upcoming trip to Michigan. She asked me if there was anything I needed. I told her that I wasn't sure if my current coat would be warm enough, so I asked if I could borrow one of her warmer/heavier coats. She told me I could have it because it is way too big on her now. I was needing a new dressier coat for work too - so this really works out nicely!

I also asked if I could borrow her extra pair of sneakers. My only causual shoes I have right now are my flip flops and I don't think that would keep my feet very warm in MI. (I have dress flats/heels but only flip flops for jeans/shorts etc wear.) I am also needing a pair of good sneakers for when I start my Phys Ed class in January. She said if she can find them, then I can have them. If not, then she will buy me a pair and they will be my Christmas present! Woo Hoo!

So now there is only one item left that I will need to get for my Phys Ed class. Think "no bounce".

------
Spending today:
Laundry: $3.00
Treat: $2.00 (had to break a $20 to get change for laundry. )

I'll keep this short. My original post vanished when I accidnetally hit some keys.

1. My Mypoints CC limit was raised by $1500 this week. While paying rent yesterday, I found out that I can use my card. This will be an effortless way to earn a lot of points for money that I have to spend no matter what.

2. Someone posted on my local freecycle that they needed 3,5 lb dumbbells. I so happen to have 2 sets of 3,5,10 lb dumbbells. I met her this afternoon and gave her one set (w/stand).

3. During our conversation, I mentioned Sparkpeople.com . When I got home, I also emailed her the website address and my username (I get referral "credit" of sorts.) She signed up! She's now the 5th person who's signed up there because of me.

4. Before going to give the dumbbells, I decided to see if a pair of jeans that had just *barely* fit a month ago fit any better now. They did! I even wore them to our meeting place. They are still tight, but I was able to zip them up without having to go through Huruclean(sp?) lengths.

5. I booked my dad and I's flight for my grandpa's funeral with my Mypoints card. My grandma is going to be paying me back - so the trip will only cost me whatever food I buy. I used a link to travelocity.com through sparkpeople.com so not only did I earn points for myself, I also earned some money for sparkpeople.com (which is awesome since they are a free site and just an awesome resource.)

The only negative is that I am going to be missing a day of work, and my pay will be docked. My grandma is worth it though.

The flight was amazingly inexpensive too. For both my dad and I together, it cost less than my trip for my brother's wedding!

______
Spending Log:
Friday: Groceries -$31.35
Saturday: None

Ok, as I think I mentioned in an earlier post, I am getting tired of my habit of eating frozen dinners (i.e. Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, etc.) and am really wanting to do more from scratch.

But . . . I'll use today at lunch as an example. I came home from work and was really hungry. I was out of cheese (because I foolishly left it out on the counter yesterday!) So, making a veggie turkey sandwich w/o cheese just didn't sound appealing. Neither did having a Boca burger plain. So, I ate my last Hot Pocket (broc & cheese).

I've got dried beans and dried lentils and vege burger mixes in my pantry. I've got tons of oatmeal, and a good amount of flour and cornmeal. I've got lots of different frozen veggies in my freezer. I also have a good number of canned soups and veggie chili. Not to mention my numerous frozen Morningstar/Boca products.

I'd like to try once-a-month cooking, or even twice a month. But the majority of the recipies I find for that (or for crockpot cooking) are either 1: Meat oriented or 2: Really cheesey or 3: High in sodium or some combination of the 3.

A blogger mentioned something about freezing their oatmeal??? That would be great for breakfast in the morning - but how exactly do you do it?

I'm really trying to eat more healthfully and am working on losing weight (34lbs gone so far since May!) I'm also really wanting to keep my grocery expenses low.

For awhile there I was eating a lot of Yoplait Yogurt, but then I read the label and figured out why I had finally found a yogurt I liked - the sugar content and that ingredient Dr. Oz on Oprah warns about in foods (Hydro something or other). I eat a banana for breakfast pretty much everyday, and have 2 servings of veggies for dinner most nights.

I'm really coming up on a blank. Apparentally the computer program Mastercook also comes up on a blank when trying to figure out recipies using my pantry list. Arghh!!

I refuse to buy any more boxed meals (with the exception of Morningstar/Boca etc.) ! For awhile when Healthy Choice had a $1/4 coupon I was buying 4-8 boxes of their Manicotti w/broccoli each week. I just finished the last box of that a few days ago.

I want to reduce the amount of trash I produce.

So . . . anyone? Suggestions/advice please???

Condensed points:
1. Want to stop buying premade frozen meals.

2. Want to reduce amount of trash.

3. Want to have foods that are easy to pop in the microwave for a quick lunch/dinner/breakfast.

4. Want foods that are meatless (cheese,eggs, milk, butter, ok.)

5. Want foods that are low in sodium and not *too* high in fat.

6. Want foods that are not difficult or overly time consuming to prepare - or to make enough to freeze.

7. Want to keep my grocery bill low.

_________
Spending report:
Tuesday - none
Wednesday: $32.11 (Cable Bill x 2 -- am planning on canceling this at the end of December - same time my Tivo 1-yr gift sub runs out. Just can't see paying $16+/mo for Tivo + 13/mo for cable. Just not necessary.)

I've been looking for ways to spend my evenings other than watching tv or on the internet. I've also been looking for ways to increase my physical activity.

I had thought about hiring a personal trainer for a one or two sessions a month - but the least expensive I could find was a mininum of $75 per session, IF you bought a whole bunch of sessions. Ummm . . . no.

I thought about joining a gym, but there again it would cost a lot more than I really want to/can afford to spend. Plus, I can't be 100% positive that I would get myself there enough to make up for the cost.

So .... I found a physical education class at my local community college. It meets twice a week for an hour and a half. They do a physical/fitness accessement at the beginning and end of the semester. It includes aerobics, strength training, and flexibility. There are a total of 32 sessions. The cost? $39 tuition + textbook $?.

The college is about an 8 minute drive from where I work/live even in the 5:30 p.m. traffic, so by 6:40 or so when I would need to leave to get there, traffic should be no problem.

Anyway, tonight I went to register. Because this is a credit class, I had to fill out an application for admission. A few years ago I had actually taken an Excell course and Intro to Computers course online through this college --- but for some reason they didn't retain copies of my transcripts. So, I was granted "conditional" admidtance (sp?) until I had my official transcripts. Fine, whatever.

I then went to the place you register for your class. The guy at the desk tells me that my degree (B.S. Elementary Ed) makes it so I don't have to take the reading test, but without official transcripts, I would have to take the math and writing tests!!!

I'm sorry, but I haven't had to use any higher level math in nearly 10 years! I took Statistics in college (UGH!) and barely passed it. I'm not exactly planning on taking any math classes anytime soon - if ever!

So, I ask him if that really is necessary for taking a physical education class. He goes, "Why didn't you say that in the first place?" I didn't say this - but I sure was thinking it -- YOU DIDN"T ASK ME! -- or furthermore -- Did you look at WHY I'm applying? Do you not see the field "Personal Interest" marked at least 4 times?!

Oy Vey!

At any rate, I am now registered for the class. It starts mid-January. I think I took a similar class to this my Junior year of college from a Dr. H. I couldn't stand her as a teacher, but I enjoyed the class - especially when I was able to chest press more weight than any other girl in the class.

I'm going to have to see how much of a workout I actually get from this class, and then readjust my own workout schedule.

There is a second level to this class, so if I really get a lot from it, I'll take the second level during the summer session.

I'm hoping my then 31 year old self will be able to keep up with the late teens/early 20's kids in the class. Although, since it is a night class, maybe there'll be some other adults in it.

I wish though I could find a class for simple car maintanance or an on site class about computer repair/upgrading.
It would be nice also to find a class that teaches healthy, low cost cooking for one (vegetarian style preferred!)

You would think in a city as large as this that there would be more options available for adult education classes

I bought a copy of Mastercook recently and entered about 30 items into my "pantry". Then clicked on the "What can I make?" button. It came up with syrup and caramel drops. Some of the items I listed: flour, bread, milk, cottage cheese, veggie franks, brocolli, mixed veggies, water, sugar, veggie meat crumbs, veggie chili . . etc.

I'm not so sure I want to keep this. I was kind of hoping it would help me figure out how to use the stuff in my pantry. I've been eating way too many frozen dinners and other stuff out of boxes.

No Spend days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Monday Spending:
Walmart - $5.31 groceries (fruit, canned veggies, small treat)

Wow! I just got a call from my dad. His stepdad died this evening - my Grandpa Harold. My Grandma wasn't there when it happened, so I hope she doesn't feel guilty about it. Her first husband, Grandpa Tony, died of diabetes complications nearly 30 years ago. She and Harold had been married about 27 years, of which he had been an invalid for at least the last 10 - due to diabetes. The last 4 or 5 years he had been on the brink of death so many times that I think most of us had come to the conclusion that he would just keep hanging on.

I wasn't really close to him, because he was already going kind of senile by the time I was old enough to develop any kind of a relationship with him. I am sad though for my grandma, losing her second husband now to diabetes.

----
I just got off the phone with my mom. At first I was thinking there's no way I could go out there for the funeral (CA) but then she reminded me that maybe there is a bereavement policy at my work so I wouldn't lose paid days. As far as airfare, I guess this is what I have my emergency fund for.

I'm going to call my grandma tomorrow to see if she'd like me to be there for the funeral, or rather me come out at a slightly later date. If I went after January I would then have vacation days that I could use, while right now I have used all my sick days and don't have any vacation days.

It's a blessing I guess that he held out till today, and didn't die on Thanksgiving.

His dying also changes some of my dad's plans. I wonder how God will work all this out. I know from my experiences the past two years especially, that somehow God does make things work out, so I'm really curious to see what is going to come of this.

Now I only have my Grandma left of my grandparents. I hope she lives long enough to be a part of my wedding and see at least my first child - in other words, live a long, long time more.

I finally have some wedding pictures from my brother's wedding that I can share. The wedding was beautiful and went really well. I am so happy for my brother. He just called me after getting back from his honeymoon. He sounded so happy.

Pictured: My brother and his wife - Reception

For some reason I couldn't post more than one picture. So . .

I had two other pictures I was going to post, but I can't for some reason. I loaded the filename in the picture box, but it's not uploading it (or giving me a button to add it.) Oh well.

Pictured: My brother and I - Rehearsal Dinner