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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Mom just HAD to get a haircut on Monday.

She and her hairdresser started with masks ...

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

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

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

Oy vey.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Youtube video - 1918 Spanish Flu historical documentary | Swine Flu

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not to much going on.

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

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

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

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

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

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

What can I say? So far, so good!

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

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

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

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

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

I really wish he had paid sick days.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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OOOHH!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Netflix + treadmill = RunBet WIN!

So with my new job it'll be easiest for me to walk 4 blocks to the bus stop, take the bus downtown, and then walk two blocks to work. I have sneakers and snow boots for walking. But my winter apparel isn't great for possibly standing for ten minutes in blowing snow or freezing wind ... It works for a quick walk from car to building ....

So .. I was wondering what should I look for in a good jacket. I'll want a hood of course. Do they make hoods with detachable face masks?? I'm okay with spending a little $$ on this because I don't want to have the excuse of being cold ...

Also, I have several decent pair of warm leggings (tights without feet??) but hate how they don't seem to stay up. With a 4 block walk I don't want to get to the bus stop with them halfway off my backside. So ... any ideas on how to get them to stay up while also being able to pull them down easily when needed? (i.e. not having to practically get undressed to use the toilet.)

Help please!

Well you won't hear me make another complaint about my job I'm in now. Because I only have to do it for ten more days!!

That's right folks, I've gone and gotten myself a new job!! My first day will be November 14.

It's definitely going to be a challenge, with lots to learn. But ... I'm up for it!!

Just a wee bit excited.

Hi All,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This afternoon I went out with some others from my church collecting money for a local charity here which helps people who have been vicitimized by domestic violence. The woman and her two boys who are my partners (and have been the past 4 years) were actually helped by this charity. So it brings it really home.

After I was done with that, I stopped at the mall and found out that JC Penny's does still have a hair salon. (I wasn't sure .. it had been years since I'd used it.)

The hairstylist and I chit chatted away as you do. At some point she had mentioned that she was from Utah and that she had been Morman. Later on in the conversation I mentioned that the transit manager here is Mormon.

Guess what? He's her bishop!!

Whew! Glad I didn't say anything negative about the job. (Goes to show that you JUST NEVER KNOW.)

She was emailing him as I left to tell him about this awesome customer she had today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Okay ... in other news ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SO READY to do something else.

Okay, I really need to stop procrastinating.

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


----

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

I kind of have given up on it.


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


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


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


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

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

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

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

Looking back at 2018 financially …

We increased our EF by $1200.

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

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

Looking forward:

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


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

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


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


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


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


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


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


DH wants to continue to grow his fish business.


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


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


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


This will also help the grocery spending …


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


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

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

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


DH is now down 45 lbs! since October.


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


---

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


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


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


----

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


---

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


Sweet!

----

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


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

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

The latest stressors …

On Friday I got home to find a letter from our insurance company stating that they were "pre denying" our claim for Cardiac Rehab due to DH not having a condition that warranted it.

Needless to say, panic ensued. He'd been to six sessions already at $250 a pop. They're getting him to actually EXERCISE. The education part of it is pretty worthless, but the GETTING HIM TO EXERCISE is priceless.

I posted on a FB group with people who've gone through heart attacks (or their SO has.) And they talked me down. I got a plan of action put together - call the hospital on Monday and figure out what the heck is going on.

Then I checked the insurance website. The first hospital's charges of around $16k was mostly covered, except for our out of pocket and deductible.

The second hospital, where he had the stent put in, had $42k+ in charges. And in big red letters - NEED MORE INFORMATION. If we do not receive more information within 45 days, we will base our decision off of what we do have.

My panic level greatly reduced at this point. This explained why they were pre-denying Cardiac Care. If they didn't have the proof to go with the charges from the stent hospital, then they'd have no reason to believe Cardiac Care was needed.

So … it at least was enough to get me through the weekend.

I called today and left a message with someone. I hate voicemail.

---
DH's good vehicle (not great on gas mileage, but the best for his shoulders) may have an engine in the last stages of life. He has less than $1k in his car replacement fund due to having cleaned it out to buy this particular vehicle.

---
Haven't heard anything new about the car accident / insurance. I hate to push DH to check into it.

---
DH's stepdad with whom he was estranged … (he actually wrote him a long letter a few months ago trying to mend fences - no response) … died a couple weeks ago. DH found out because of an email from the guy who wrote a book about a local cave here DH and his stepdad's family were a big part of.

So yeah .. DH is getting a nice stress free time of it while recovering.

And yes, if you were wondering, my stress levels are quite low as well. If you consider Saturn pretty low.

---
DH is doing so well changing his eating patterns. Not perfectly, but so much better than I would have believed to be possible.

Getting him to eat vegetables without me sitting beside him having a big bowl of them, is still a work in progress … but he's reduced his level of SAD diet by at least 95%.

I spent a lot of money on groceries this month trying to figure out dishes that would at least somewhat tempt him, as well as things he can take with him to work easily.

I'm hoping this next month will be more reasonable.

--
We are not contributing to our ROTH's this month from new income. He was off work for almost two weeks. We agreed that this was the simplest way to do it.


I'm selling $1k of stock (electric car) and then moving that to our ROTH's. So they'll still get their contributions, it just won't be new money. (And that stock seems to be going up again after having fallen hugely thanks to its erratic man at the helm.)


We also had to lower what we normally put in various categories. He even willingly acknowledged that putting money in the date night fund when we weren't putting money in (new) into the ROTH's wasn't a good idea.


So anyway … that was our budget meeting on Sunday.


---

I'm about halfway through my keyboarding class. The first week of it unfortunately fell the week DH was in the hospital. Trying to figure out an online keyboarding class while also spending the vast majority of my waking hours at a hospital … yeah, that wasn't good.


I've got it figured out now though, and am pretty sure I'll be making an A.


I registered for my next class today - Microsoft Applications 1.


---

We haven't turned our heat on yet. There haven't really been very many cold nights yet, so it isn't THAT much of a major thing. Although, we did have our first snow a couple weeks ago.


----

My newish supervisor let me know she's going to be retiring a year from this Thanksgiving. So, I guess a year from now I'll see what happens.


I've taken over managing our FB page, as well as the info email. We're debuting a couple new technologies that I'll be doing a lot with - keeping alerts up to date and answering texts, etc.


So, even if I don't stay here, I'm growing my resume.


---

I made a couple eBay sales this past week. A set of Dr Suess books and a pair of Keds. Now I need to get some more stuff up …

---
OK this was long. I'll try not to be such a stranger!


One more thing - Have you seen Bodyguard on Netflix yet? The one from BBC not Whitney's. I binge watched it this weekend …


I almost forgot! Someone used my Ting referral!! I have a $25 credit from that. (Will have to tell about my phone trials in another post.)

Mom found a really good rate for us going from Houston to Galveston and back - $100 cheaper than what she'd previously found.

I bought a new swimsuit and dress for the cruise.

I'm really looking forward to 8 days away from it all.

----
I've applied to 4 jobs in the last month. Today I heard back from one - thanks, but no thanks.

Low unemployment my foot.
---
We're getting estimates for having some yard work done. 3 summers of mostly being neglected other than mowing and some weeding have taken their toll. If we can get it back to a manageable state, then hopefully DH will keep it up.

One guy who gave us an estimate backed out once we said we'd go with him. A second try tomorrow … Sigh.

---
My brother and his wife might be coming in October. I'll believe it when I see them … but that's part of why I am insisting on getting the yard in shape.

---
We're having the sneezes run through our cats. DH found a country vet about a 40 minute one-way drive that is very inexpensive. It's helping our pet funds stretch further - even if it's very inconvenient.


------

I'm at a bit over 4 weeks of being back on track with my whole foods plant based, no added sugar, low oil/salt eating plan.


Not much movement downward on the scale, but at least the upward movement is quelled.


---

I dropped the cats bowls on my left foot tonight - I was trying to mix Pepe's meds into a bit of wet food and had the bowls balanced on top of the fridge door. I ended up cutting one of my toes …


---

I sold the majority of my T3sla stock when it was in the 370s. Am in discussions with DH about the remainder - would mean ~$4k in cap gains taxes if we do.


---
Ok, going to try to catch up with ya'll.

It's been awhile...


Passport update - It turned out that the birth certificate I had worked just fine. I had found a bunch of other paperwork to supplement just in case, but it wasn't needed. I should be getting my passport by the end of July.


Brother - Brother is NOT going on cruise. Sigh. He is getting married to French girl tomorrow (July 5) at the courthouse. French Girl cannot go on the cruise due to her applying for green card (or something like that.) Brother doesn't want to leave his newly wedded wife to go on a cruise …


Mom and I are still going.


I have no idea what I should be doing for French Girl who in 24 hours will be my SIL. I feel like I should send them some kind of a congratulations card or something …


I have started a budget line for a trip to France -- a year from now they plan to have a big party/quasi wedding ceremony there. Not even sure how much to save - it would just be me going - DH has no interest, plus I'm not sure we could save enough for both of us to go.


DH sold the Honda without a working transmission! He listed it on Craigslist, and 36 hours later it was sold for $500. So we are now down to 4 vehicles.


*I don't remember if I mentioned this or not, but DH found a new home for the chickens.


*We have fleas... Sigh. DH took in one of his "friends" cats which needed medical attention while said "friend" was away on vacation for 3 weeks. Cat had fleas, but couldn't be treated due to several open wounds (both of which healed while staying with us.) Cat was kept isolated in the workshop (where the chickens were previously) but .. DH found out that Cat definitely had had fleas yesterday after walking around in the workshop. Ugh.


*New job possibility - I think it'd be a super stretch, but there is a possibility of a telecommute federal job which a church friend thinks I'd qualify for. There's supposed to be 26 positions opening up soon. IF I got it … salary STARTS at more than what DH and I currently make together.


That would put us in an entirely new tax bracket.


I told DH that if I got it, I'd want us to continue living with our current budget, but put the extra away in tax advantaged accounts and taxable investments. It would put a big boon to our retirement goals, and give me peace of mind for when/if DH can no longer work.


Plus .. telecommuting! No more traffic or having to deal with office politics. Maybe get a dog … Maybe sell this place and move to the country in a few years ...


This could come at a really good time because I found out recently that my supervisor is going to be leaving for a different position at the end of August. That leaves only one person at work I'd feel semi bad about leaving.


I'd honestly be SHOCKED if I got this job … if was a veteran and/or disabled I'd have a much better chance ….But I'm going to try.


--

My weight has been holding somewhat steady … I'm up 20lbs from January, but it's been there for over a month now, so am really trying to NOT let it go up further. Sigh.


I'm up over $23 from my Stepbets - just started a new one this week. I decided to not do another Runbet though while the weather is so hot. Maybe in September after the cruise I could do one before it gets too cold.


I found two more bank bonuses that I'm working on. One is an in branch one for Union Bank - $200. The other one is a $100 bonus for another bank (can't remember right now.)


---

I'm enjoying having today off. I'm also taking tomorrow morning off - personal choice holiday time.


Can't think of anything else terribly interesting … will try to come by more often.

I was so excited last week when I was able to order the Dash mini waffle iron (with my Perk Amazon card.) Then I got it and put a sweet potato puree mixture in it - trying something I'd seen somewhere.

Royal mess.

I have managed to get most of it off, but there still is a decent amount left.

I can't remove the plates or run them under water. I used a damp paper towel, a damp dish towel, a pair of silicone mini-tongs .... all helped, but not enough.

Any ideas? I really want to use this thing!

---
I had my 3rd PT appointment on Thursday. The PT assistant told me she thinks it is my upper trap, not my rotator cuff, due to the pain radiating throughout my arm AND the huge knot in my trap area.

So she's concentrating on working out the knot ... as am I.

----
My arm was really throbbing Wed pm, and I REALLY did not feel like going out for a run. Did it anyway, and my arm actually felt better? PT said I probably relaxed the right muscles while running.

I did my 3rd run today. Good thing since winter seems to be coming back for a visit the next two days. Yuck.

---
DH and I had a good discussion last night, although it was almost totally derailed before even getting started with me getting ticked at him when he snapped at me. Schwan's guy came at just the right time to give me a few minutes to cool down (got him to take me off his route list)

DH will be going to see his stepdad on Sunday evening(something he is NOT looking forward to) so I pretty much have the weekend to myself.

---
I am hoping I met the final requirement for a $200 checking bonus in time. Yesterday I was double checking what was needed for each bonus, and realized I hadn't set up estatements. Oops. Have them set up now.

---
I finished a Jan Karon book (Father Tim) "Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good" and started another one "Come Rain or Come Shine." It had been awhile since I'd read the series, so I'm not totally sure where I'd left off at.

--
My eating isn't going well to put it mildly. Sugar sugar sugar ...junk. At least breakfast and lunch are still healthy ....

---
On Monday I'm going to a customer service training thing. I'm just happy for a day out of the office - paid.

Hopefully all the SBs coupon prints will credit on Monday so I won't have to fiddle too much to reach the daily goal.

---
Still loving my standing desk. Getting lots of questions about it too.

Well somehow I have ended up with tendonitis in my elbow - or tennis elbow. I was sent to a sports medicine place and fitted with a band placed right below my elbow. It's supposed to give my tendons a different pressure point so they can rest and re-strengthen I think. If it doesn't improve in a few weeks, then we'll do physical therapy.

My blood pressure was 110/80

The arm band cost $24. I put it on the US Bank card and will submit the receipt to my FSA for reimbursement.

She also told me to take ibuprofen 3x a day for inflammation.

I pretty much have loads of aspirin ... but I remembered in DHs cabinet there was a bottle of ibuprofen - and there was! So no money out there.
--
I got home in time to call our electric provider and get my account unlocked and change the cc to US Bank.


I need to have DH do the same for Netflix, and then also Internet. Then I think I'll have switched everything I can. Come on 5%!

---
The funeral for the coworker will be on Thursday. We're probably going to take a bus to the church. It sounds like a lot of people are going. Our new accountant (less than six months) is going to cover the phones for me so I can go. I thought that was pretty sweet.

---
I thought about going to see I Can Only Imagine tonight (5$ Tuesdays) since I was home early ... but decided not to. Maybe if it's still out here next week.

At least six years ago I bought 4 blue glass bowls from Walmart. They're the larger size bowls. I've used them and used them. They've been microwaved countless times and InstantPotted lots too.

Tonight I put a heaping serving of frozen veggies into one of the bowls and put it in my IP and set the timer.

About 20 minutes later I came back to get it out.

As I attempted to lift the bowl, it fell into pieces. Most of which landed in the IP.



Guess I won't be using those in the IP anymore. I should get bowls that are made for that function I guess. (Though I'd think glass bowls should be fine in high temps??)

---
DH came home as I was cleaning up the mess. He wanted to give me a hug because of an email I'd sent him earlier.

A coworker (a dispatcher) with whom I hadn't liked too much, had gotten cancer about 9 months ago. He and his wife had adopted a set of 5 kids about 3? years ago. The youngest is 7 now??

I spearheaded a once a week meal thing for them, which only lasted about two months because I couldn't get anyone else to join in. (He was a pretty gruff person and hard to get along with ...)

So ... I found out today that he passed away on Saturday. I feel so bad for his wife and the 5 adopted kids (and their natural kids too - all grown up, but that doesn't matter when you lose your dad.)

We're probably going to take up a collection for them soon. Glad I have some money in my giving fund to contribute.

I hate cancer.

---
We had an Amy's cheese-less pizza last night with a side of roasted mushrooms and broccoli. DH said it was an okay meal that he'd eat again. Definitely not on the cheap side though. (Probably about $7 per person in total.)

--
I got our trash service switched over to the US Bank card today. I need to call our electric service tomorrow to get my account unlocked - my password wasn't working and it locked me out. So I'll have them change the card at the same time.

I'll have to pay the gas company each month manually to do it via credit card. Kind of a pain ... but maybe worth it.

The phone is already switched over.

I wonder if Internet and Netflix would count as utilities??

---
My doctor's appt is tomorrow for my arm/shoulder. I really hope she has an idea of what to do for it. It really is limiting me in what I can do (like I can't do the barre videos - well, I guess I could do it on one side with arms, and one side without ... but ...)

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DH sold an amp! Something he bought for $50, and thought was worth maybe $125 - he sold for $200!! He decided to overprice it because this other guy who's been getting lots of stereo stuff from one particular site and reselling it, has been marking stuff up ridiculously and it's been selling. So ...

Hopefully this will light a fire under him to sell the rest of it! And get the basement cleared up and organized!

3 weeks of six complete on my Stepbet. It definitely is getting me moving more ... like yesterdat afte church I only had 1400 steps but needed 9400 (for a stretch day.) If it weren't for the stepbet, I *might* have gotten in a 30 minute walk and called it a day. But instead I did a 90 minute walk, plus some shopping. So ended the day with over 12k steps.

I looked into the Runbet (new app) but the current game expects a min pace of 15 min/mile 5x in a week. Yeah ... I do good to do a 17 min/mile if I'm trying to do a walk/jog ...

--
On 3rd week of Drop it challenge. That's going pretty well. The scale is continuing to move in the proper direction.

---
It looks like we are going to have to up our gas budget. Currently it's at $300/month. The last two months I had to WAM from groceries because we were over budget. As of last night there is $90 left with at least 5 more fill ups for DH and possibly one for me.

I think it is a combination of DH driving the CRV almost exclusively (much easier on his knees/shoulders) and the higher gas prices.

One of the fill ups will be fairly cheap though - I transferred a prescription to HyVee and got a coupon for $2.05/gallon. I just have to make sure DH uses my Perks card to get the discount.

The next refill (prescription) I'll get a $25 gift card, and the 3rd one I get a $50 meat pkg (for DH).

A bit of a hassle, but worth it for the freebies.

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I ordered 3 pairs of shoes from JC Penny's via SBs. A total of $106. I may have to send one pair back though - I had triple checked that all were wide width, but the order email I got shows the sneakers as a medium!

I'm not sure how that happened, but I'll try them on just in case.

(I ordered dress shoes for work, sneakers and sandals.)

---
I got my extra paycheck on Thursday. My tax changes and 457 contribution changes both were in effect already. So it made the check a bit over $100 more than normal! Of course health/dental and vision weren't deducted - so that won't be normal.

----
I cashed out $30 from my Citi card. There's nearly $40 on my Chase card I can cash out, but I'm going to wait til the next statement ends so I can cash out the max. (April only pays 5% on categories I don't use, or get higher payout elsewhere.)

I got a new Discover card (they changed my previous one to the It) - for April they only have groceries at 5% - so my AmEx card at 6% is better. So that card will continue to not be used at least for the next quarter.

I'm about 1/2 way to the $500 spend on the US Bank card. It's taking a bit of time to get my utilities all switched over to it.

I cashed out $25 from Earnhoney, and am close to another $25 SB cash out too.

---
I signed up for CBS All Access 7 day trial. 150 SBs deal. I wanted to like it, I really did. But for $5.99/mo it has extremely limited selection and a horrible navigation/UI. I did find the show Limitless with all episodes - so binged on those this past week.

I canceled it last night after watching the last episode. If they'd had full episodes of Person of Interest, or the last two seasons of CSI then I might have kept it for another month or two. But seriously limited selection of full episodes.

---
Update on my standing desk - still loving it! I use it in the standing position about 60% of the day most days. I have an anti-fatigue mat and monitor risers.

---
I have a doctor's apt this Tuesday for my shoulder. The past two weeks or so I have been having some strange pains from my left shoulder/bicep. I'm not really sure what caused it. I've been putting off going to the doctor because I kept hoping it'd go away. But it hasn't.

I'm guessing I'm going to have to do physical therapy for it.

---
I had a dentist checkup this last week. Previously I'd been told that I needed to up my dental hygiene routine. So I picked up a water pik and an electric toothbrush. Apparently what I've been doing worked! I was told I had good improvements and to keep it up.

My visit didn't cost me anything because I had a credit from a previous visit where I was overcharged.

---
At church this quarter the Sabbath School lessons are on stewardship. This week focused on debt. The person leading our class seemed to kind of assume we all were in debt ... He said something about - think about how good it will feel when you're not in debt - how much good you can do ...

Well ... I didn't feel comfortable piping up that other than the mortgage and less than $3k is student loans, I already know what that feels like!

Yes, it IS a good feeling ... but just because you don't have debt hanging over your head, that doesn't mean that you then have tons of money to do whatever you want to. No ... you then have all the things you know are coming up that you need to set money aside for - short term, mid-term and long term. It never feels as though it's enough ..

Then DH and I got into a discussion again about why it's necessary to have money sitting in our account for things like our medical deductible. I told him it's so if something happens where we need to use our whole deductible, then we can pay the bill in one lump sum and save 10% or more. It gives us options. He was like - why can't we just make payments and use that money elsewhere?

I'm not sure if he was pulling my chain or not (he likes to do that) but UGH!

Today I was able to see my paycheck for Thursday - my raise is reflected on it! It looks like about $50/paycheck (*26) Not too shabby.

That plus the extra $10 from the tax cut thing ...

So first thing I did was change my withholding on my W-4 from 1 to 2. I figure it to be safe enough since we got back over $800 this year.

Then I changed my 457 contribution up $50.

The net result will still be a little extra in the paycheck, and an extra $1300 in my 457.

---
I'm about halfway finished with book 9! Back on track.

I'm mostly finished with setting up my bujo for March. I left out a few things which I ended up not using, and added a few things.

One thing I added is a 31 day drop it challenge. Basically going extra strict with my eating / exercise - hoping it will jumpstart the weight loss again. I'm up about 8 lbs from January ...

Just want to say thanks for all your support, advice, etc the last few posts.

Surprising what a calm, sit down, adult discussion can do to defuse difficult situations.

---
Can I just say how much I'm loving my stand up desk? It makes the day go by faster, and I don't know if I'm imagining it or not, but I feel more energetic.

My fitbit is telling me I'm definitely more consistently active -today I scored an 8 out of 10 on moving at least 250 steps in an hour! My goal this month is at least a 5. So yeah ...

---
I really hope it's not just the newness of it, but so far the bujo seems to be helping me actually get things done!

Tonight I cleaned the litter boxes, added litter, washed half the dishes in the sink (before the water started getting warm), cleaned the bathroom counters/sink/mirror and prepped my breakfast for tomorrow.

All on a work night. At the end of a long stressful week.

I also finally got a couple donation things I'd done for SBs canceled before another donation could be pulled out. One was a simple phone call, the other I had to go through multiple phone trees. Ugh.

Forgot - I also stopped at the library and did a couple returns/pick ups.

I might start on book 4 for 2018 tonight, but I am wanting to get to bed at a decent hour - so that may be dangerous ...