Way back in 92 the guy I was dating at the time and I really wanted to go see Phantom of the Opera. At the time my family was living in New Jersey about 30 minutes away from New York City. He came to visit me over Valentine's weekend -- unfortunately the tickets were already sold out - had been for months. We ended up seeing Wrongturn at Lungfish instead (an off-Broadway play which had Tony Danza in it - very good!)

A few months later Phantom was on TV and we watched it "together" (he was in PA, I was in NJ) and called each other during the commerical breaks. If it was nowadays, we would've IM'd each other! LOL!

So, anyway, what's my point you may be asking?? Well, a theatre in Dallas is performing Phantom of the Opera thru April 16 -- and I bought myself two tickets (the cheap balcony ones of course.) I asked my best friend Tammy to go with me (she went with me to Jim Brickman a couple years ago) but she's not sure if her family is going away for Easter weekend or not. If she can't, then I'll probably ask my mom, then my dad.

I am so excited about finally getting to see this performed live!! One of my favorite songs from it is "Music of the Night."

Being able to do these kinds of things is what makes it worth it to me to sacrifice in other areas of my life.

In other news - work is going much much better. Today I sat in on a meeting where they were demonstrating how to use some new software. I had very little clue as to most of the terminology, but I think if I was given the info to plug in, I'd be able to do it easily. I also was given a new project to do which will keep me pretty busy tomorrow. I love being kept busy.

Ok, I better get going! Time to go home!

Laura

P.S. My DSL at home is now working wonderfully! Yahoo!

Hi all,
It's been a little while since my last update. Today now marks one full month that I have been at my new job, and I am loving it more and more. Everyday I am given more responsibilities and tasks as they realize what I am capable of.

I moved into my new apartment on Sunday, March 5. It went pretty well, although it took longer than I had anticipated. All in all, the move cost me less than $200 - including the cost of the UHAUL truck, gas, some boxes I ended up having to buy (ran out of the free boxes, and couldn't wait to get more-time crunch), food food for the moving crew, and a few other miscleaneous things.

I absolutely love my new place! My things fit into it much better than I had thought they would - they're just arranged differently. But what I LOVE the most is the fact that I am able to walk to work in about 3 minutes time! I walk home for lunch as well (even though I only have a 30 minute lunch!)

I did have some problems though - my phone line wasn't working - no dial tone. I called SBC (local telephone co.) and they said my line was turned on and according to them working fine. Since I had elected not to pay the $5 month extortion.. er, I mean inside line insurance, if they sent someone out it would cost me a service call. I called my apartment management, and they told me they were responsible for one working phone jack.

Yesterday (yes, I was without a dial tone since I moved in - of course I have my cell, so not really that big of a deal) they finally sent a maintenance guy over and he managed to get two of my phone jacks working (the one for TIVO and the one in the kitchen, but not the one in the bedroom for DSL.) I'm thinking I'll just run a long phone cord from the kitchen to my computer for the DSL.

On Sunday when I went grocery shopping I bought something which triggered me getting TWO FREE movie tickets good for ANY theatre/ANY movie up to $12!! I wish I knew what it was that triggered it.

I'm going into withdrawls not being able to check my email everyday (can't check email at work due to virus fears) and not being able to check my bank accounts daily. Hopefully I'll have my DSL up and running again this weekend so I won't have to rely on the library or my mom's computer to access email/bank accounts.

KIF,
Laura

This past weekend I spent a good number of hours packing my place. I think I made pretty good progress. Dad is responsible for packing the kitchen/pantry by this weekend, then I'll be finishing up the rest. Sunday is the big move day. I can hardly wait! I'm a little bit worried about the amount of helpers I'm going to have - it may just be my dad, me, and the friend who recc'd me for this job. Oh well, it will at least get done.

Saturday night dad and I went out to eat at Denny's - we had a Boca Burger and an order of pancakes - which we split in half cuz' we both were in the mood for "breakfast" but also for the BB. Then we saw "Date Movie." That was a very corny, gross in some parts, yet very funny movie.

Sunday night I got to my mom's place and had it to myself for a little while. Once mom got there I asked her if she'd like for me to help her on her budget. She agreed. When I put the acutal numbers on the spreadsheet, she was a little depressed (I would be too if my rent and car payment equalled nearly 65%!!! of my take home pay!!) When I found out how much she was paying for her phone services, I asked her if she'd be willing to cut back any. She was more than willing. So I told her exactly what she needed to say to the phone company to get what she wanted - she called the phone company on Monday and cut over $100/mo from her bill! She also had a checking account she was paying fees for - I suggested (strongly) that she think about getting rid of that account -- which she also did! I also suggested that she put a certain amount every month in a "No Touch Fund" -- she set that up to be automatically done!! For her, the more simple the plan the better - so I divided the money left after the non-negotiable bills between groceries, giving, Blow (hair, clothes, nails, extra coke, etc), and the No Touch Fund. She wasn't too excited about the amount of "blow" money, but I pointed out to her that there wasn't really too much left after bills TO divide between the other categories. She seemed to accept that. Only time will tell how much this will help her. --- Oh, another thing. She's going on a cruise next week that a friend of her's paid for and is taking along a certian amount of money for spending. I suggested to her that she make a game out of seeing how little of that money she spends. Then when she gets back, put half of what's left in her blow fund, and the other half in her "one month ahead" fund. She was getting pretty sleepy by then, but I think she was ammenable to the idea.

I am just so proud of her for taking care of the phone and the bank! That right there will help her tremendously! Today she's supposed to call a couple places to give her new address and get W-2's from, as well as health-savings account claim forms. She told me that if I'll file her taxes, she'll come to my new place and help get things organized (we'd both do it for each other anyway - but, oh well.)

My new job is going well. I've been on my own now for two days. Get to have a LOT of time for surfing on the net - not an entirely bad thing, but I do hope I get some other things to do so I feel more useful.

KIF,
Laura

Wow guys! I can't tell you how much all of your comments have meant to me.

I had my first day today. I think it went pretty well. The person I am replacing is very nice. It looks like I'm going to have plenty of time to satisfy my readaholic bug. i.e. - There's a lot of downtime.

Filling out the paperwork took quite awhile. There was a lot to go through. I signed up for the group Life Insurance (x1), the Accident plan (x5), and Disability (x5). Total take out - ~$29/mo. The Medical Plan is a PPO, and the best part is that the premium's are PAID!!

They do have a 401K plan, but unfortunately there is a ONE-YEAR waiting period before an employee can participate. (How does that make sense???) So, I guess I'm going to figure out where to put some money away in an IRA myself.

I found out today that I get paid weekly, and my first paycheck will be next Friday. They have direct deposit, which I immediately signed up for.

I'm just so excited about all of this!

I'm going to have to ask Jesse if I can download a copy of YNAB onto my mom's computer so I can keep up with my budget away from my home computer. I *could* do it just once a week, but I have a thing about liking to play around with it 4 or more days a week.

Spending Log:
$5 - lunch (didn't bring lunch with me because I wasn't sure whether or not I'd be staying the whole day or not.)

KIF,
Laura

Remember the interview with the Oil company that Tammy's husband Nick reccomended me for? I had that interview this morning, and it went great. They told me that they would call me either this afternoon or by noon tomorrow to let me know one way or the other.

Well ... they called me this afternoon, about 30 minutes ago ... and .... I GOT THE JOB!!! I start TOMORROW morning at 9am to start training to take over the current receptionists position. I'll be salaried, but the hourly rate is about $2 more an hour than what I was making as a Supervisor AND I get benefits (paid for!!!)

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!!

God is so good! So are friends!

*This* is the best Valentine's present possible!

Laura

Yesterday I spent a couple hours on Career Builder going through a ton of job advertisements. I sent my resume and a cover letter to about 5 places which looked like possibilities.

I actually got a response from one of them! I will have an interview with them on Wednesday morning at 10. So, so far that is 3 interviews lined up for this week. Not to mention all the other resumes I have out there that could possibly turn into an interview.

I'm feeling much more optimistic.

I did something yesterday evening that was probably pretty foolish - probably a waste of money. But, I did it, and I guess all I can do is see if it actually pans out or not. Basically one of the advertisements on CareerBuilder was for this site that gives you a website advertising the free install of a product, and then you submit your website once a week to over 100 search engines. If anyone signs up for the free install of the product, you get $50. It cost $29, and there is supposedly a 60-day moneyback guarantee. Only time will tell I guess.

Spending Sunday:
$29 - website/search engine submission

Spending Monday:
$10 - maybe ... chip in for flowers for a Pathways classmate who's relationship ended recently

KIF,
Laura

I got up to my mom's yesterday afternoon. Not too long after I arrived, I got a call from my friend Tammy's husband. He told me that a receptionist position had JUST opened up at his company and he had reccomended me for it! He told me to get my resume in as fast as possible.

I had it faxed over to the company w/a cover letter by the next hour!

This morning I was about to get in the shower (after sleeping in) when I got a phone call. It was from the VP of the company - the person I had faxed my resume to. We set an interview up for Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.!!!! Yahoo!!

This afternoon I am going over to my mom's office building to pass my resume around to a few contacts that she has made over there. Maybe something will come from one of them too.

In other news - I checked my bank account a little bit ago, and my tax refund has come in!! Yahoo! I'm going to put most of it away for possible moving expenses or just plain ol' living expenses. But .. I plan on using ~$50 - 60 tomorrow taking out my mom, a Pathway's friend, and Tammy's family to lunch. I feel that that will be a good use for the money.

Spending Log:
Thursday - 2/9
Walgreen's - $20.29 - Hair stuff (one item I'll get a rebate on, making it free.)
$25 - paid for a prescription for mom

Friday - no spending planned
Planned spending:
Saturday - ~$50 - 60 - lunch
~$10 -- Supper

I got a phone call just shortly after 8 this morning from Jan asking if I could do a temp assignment in the same bank I had been at two other days. I of course jumped at the opportunity. I managed to arrive there by 9:35 a.m., which I thought was pretty darn good since I managed to eat some breakfast, dress professionally (although I could not find any hose!) and drive 40 miles!

Since I was not expecting to work today, I didn't have anything ready for lunch, so I did end up eating at Schlotsky's. Not exactly a hardship for me.

After work of course was my hair appointment. I arrived with enough time to fill up on gas, and stop by Taco Bell for supper.

Amazingly when I went in the hair salon lobby, there on a chair was a magazine with a picture of Jennifer Anniston's exact hairstyle I was wanting! When I got in the chair and took out my hair clip, I had a number of people ask me if I was *really* sure about cutting it off.

Amanda (the hairsytlist) put my hair in a ponytail (a requirement for Locks of Love) and cut it off. That was the *weirdest* feeling. What was even weirder though was to have my ponytail in my hand!!

All in all I am happy with my new do, though I think it's going to take a while for me to get used to it. It turned out a bit shorter than I was expecting, but still goes slightly below my shoulders. It also doesn't quite look exactly like JAs style, but I think I do like it.

Now I have to find out where to send my ponytail to. I thought Amanda already had that info, but she told me I would have to send it to them myself. Hope they'll take it!

Spending Log:
Lunch: $4.75
Supper: $1.83
Gas: $20.22 (2.08/gallon)
Haircut (cut, style, highlights, tip) $100 (paid for by my grandma and my dad)

Keeping It Frugal,
Laura

Long story short. I was laid off from my temp job at the trucking company. Found this out as I was heading home from downloading information at the bus station - got a call from Jan.

A didn't even have the decency to tell me to my face. So much for my debating on whether or not I should put my name out there for something else before May.

Apparantally one of their departments is running pretty slow and so they're going to use someone from there to cover what I was doing.

Guess I'm going to have to figure out about unemployment benefits tomorrow. I am glad that I made enough these past two weeks to barely cover March's rent. Am also glad that I didn't look at apartments yesterday.

Am trying to tell myself that maybe this is a good thing. Maybe it happened to leave me open and available for something better. Really am trying to believe that.

I am just so discouraged. Really thought I had until at least May to have to worry about finding another job/assignment.

Ugh!

Edited to add: I just looked up the requirements for unemployment in TX. Since I've been working for an employment agency, I am technically not unemployed for three business days - so I can't file until at least Wednesday.

I took off work this afternoon for the express purpose of looking for a new apartment. I stayed up past my bedtime last night narrowing down the places I was going to visit to 4. I found my two latest paystubs, and found my lease. I was all ready to go.

Then today at work I got a phone call from an employment agency I had applied to last JULY in Dallas. They had a job possibility for me they wanted me to interview for. When I first spoke to the lady I told her that I had a job until May. She asked me to give her a call a few weeks before this job ended.

Well, I met with my dad after getting off work for lunch. He was talking to my mom on the phone when I got there. I talked to her and ended up telling her about the phone call. She convinced me that I should call them back and at least find out what the job was all about, and that it wouldn't hurt to just put my name in the pot.

Dad and I talked about the job opportunity too. My main qualm was that I feel like I have given my word to the place I am working at right now that I'll be there till May, and also I feel like I would be letting Jan down if I didn't finish this assignment.

Dad made some very good arguments, including the fact that if it was the company losing money, they wouldn't have any qualms about letting me go. That it's the way of business, etc. He also asked me just what I was going to do when it gets to be May and the assignment is over, and there I am in my apartment with a lease that wouldn't be up till August at the earliest.

I finally decided to go ahead and call the place back to find out about the job. It was a temp job - so not anything to get excited about. But what it did do is make me reconsider getting an apartment/signing a new lease before having a permenant job nailed down.

What I have decided to do is to give it another go of putting my resume out there in Dallas and waiting at least another month before looking for an apartment in Fort Worth.

The commute may kill me before my time is up here, but it probably is better than finding an apartment, leasing it, then before the lease is half over finding a perm job in Dallas starting immediately - thereby creating a much longer commute.

I hope I am doing the right thing, because I was SO looking forward to the idea of not having this commute anymore and having a place with a dishwasher!!

Well, I'm off to Walmart for an oil change and some tire rotation/balancing. Hopefully it won't take too long.

I started my morning at work with doing the same task I had spent the previous 18 hours doing - taking apart PODS, filling out expense reports for each POD and bubbling in the little ovals. A little before lunch my supervisor *finally* came to me with the extremely welcome news that after lunch I was to go back into the payroll office and do stuff in there! So after 22 hours of PODS, I got to go back into payroll!

While I was doing my thing in payroll, I got several calls relating to the Bus Survey job. The surveyor who had done the assignments this past week/weekend called to let me know she had done all of them and that her Palms were in the office charging. Yay! Then I got a call from Marcelo (the guy from the survey company) and he told me that they had found another assignment that had some trips missing! So I called the employment agency and told them what Marcelo had told me, and that I was going to ask C to do the assignment. I also found out that R's bag still had not been returned!

While I was making and recieving these phone calls, I was getting a lot of ribbing from my supervisor and office mates. I spoke to my supervisor before leaving and let her know, all joking aside, that I would not normally be taking phone calls during work hours, but this was a bit of a special situation. She told me she really didn't mind as long as it wasn't taking up too much of my working time.

After I got off at the trucking company, I headed over to the bus station. It took me about an hour and a half to do everything I needed to do. I'll be going back again on Thursday evening to download the *LAST* assignment (please, please, please - let it be the LAST one!) so that will probably be another hour or so.

The library is open late on Mondays and Thursdays. I needed to renew two books (way overdue) plus I wanted to get some more books. So, I stopped by the library. I found a James Patterson book I hadn't read before "Beachhouse" and I also found the new Jan Karon book (can't remember the name right now.)

Oh, I wore my hair down today (something I don't do very often because my hair doesn't hold a style very well, and it tangles WAY too easily.) I had so many comments - it was so funny! One lady told me that she only dreams of having her hair that long (about two inches above my tailbone.) She sounded dissapointed when I told her I was planning on cutting it to shoulder length. Anyway, I thought it was kind of funny how many people noticed my hair today - especially since I made the decision to cut it!

Okay. I want to go watch Crossing Jordan before going to bed tonight, so I probably ought to get going. Tomorrow night I will probably watch 7th Heaven and Flight 93 which I Tivo'd tonight. I love my Tivo.

Spending Log:
Bus Station - $.60 - candy bar
Library- $3.60 -- Fines
Taco Bell - $1.97 -- supper (and lunch tomorrow)

Keeping It Frugal,

Laura

Woo Hoo! I received my W-2 from the employment agency on Wednesday, and today I received my W-2 from my teaching job. I went through irs.gov , then "free file" then through "Turbo Tax."

I'm not getting back quite as much as I had thought I would, but it still will be a nice shot in the arm.

I found a website where you can enter in your payrate and find out how much in taxes will be taken out depending on how many exemptions you use, etc. I did a lot of calculating, and I think I could take up to 3 exemptions (based on what it looks like I'll be earning for the next five months) and still have some money coming back to me.

I'm going to have to see about changing my W-4 soon so I can have more money in my weekly paychecks.

I talked to my supervisor at the trucking company on Friday afternoon about what I could expect as far as work hours in the coming weeks. She told me that I could count on at least 30 hrs a week, but more than likely closer to 40 hours a week due to a project the billing department is doing. That was very good news to me!

I also asked her if I could take off an afternoon next week to go apartment hunting, and she said "no problem!" I'm going to be taking off Wednesday afternoon.

A few weeks ago I mentioned to my dad that I was wanting to do something to my hair, maybe get a new cut/style. Well, he mentioned it to my grandma and to my mom, and between the three of them, I have enough money to get it cut/styled and highlighted, plus a nice little tip!! I made an appointment today for Feb 7 after work. The lady told me that my hair would be a good canidate for "Locks of Love" if I am willing to cut off 10 inches. I'm thinking about it - I still would have nearly shoulder blade length hair even with cutting off 10 inches.

Spending Log:

Walmart - $14.79 -- $2.13/gallon
Walgreens - groceries $1.39

I think I'm going to like working at this trucking company. What I did today was pretty mindless work, but it kept me busy the whole time. The people there are also very friendly. And I lOVE being able to wear jeans!

Mom called me and told me there was a lady who wants to see my resume - she's very interested in me for a job. It would pay 2$ more an hour, but full-time/permenant - but I would have to move to Dallas, where that 2$ more isn't really much due to cost of living.

Also, two other things. One - I already gave Jan my word that I'd do this trucking temp job. Two - I can't count how many times mom has told me stuff like this before and it never actually happened.

Spending Log:
Walmart - Gas - $23.08 (2.18/gallon) I was running on fumes - 365 miles! 10.35 gallon tank.

Keeping It Frugal,
Laura

I figured out tonight driving home that I have worked fairly long hours 9 of the last 10 days. It is definitely getting to me. On the way home tonight I was barely keeping my eyes open. There's a stretch of road that goes from 60 to 50 to 65. I managed to slow down for the 50 and put it on cruise - but then was at least 1/4 of a mile into the 65 zone before I even realized that I was in that zone! Luckily there wasn't anyone behind me getting impatient.

I just can't express how much I hate driving. I am NOT someone who enjoys going out just to drive around for the "fun" of it.
Riding *with* someone is so much better -especially when you're tired and want to close your eyes.

Had an 8 hour bus ride today. I'm so tired of riding on the bus. Only one more assignment on Saturday night and then I think I will most likely not care to step foot on a bus again. Well.... maybe in a few years.

Have to be at my new job at 8am tomorrow. I wish I had told Jan I would start on Friday so I wouldn't be going in there on the first day totally tired out. I've got bags - and not the kind you can pack! Great first impression - not!

Spending Log:
Snickers from vending machine - $.60
---I had money for a sandwich, but the sandwich machine didn't have anything I could eat -- so I went with a snickers.

Keeping It Frugal,
Laura

This afternoon while I was training a surveyor on the bus, I got a call from Jan at the employment agency. She told me there was an available interview time at 9 or at 11 a m on Tuesday. I asked for the 11am slot. Yahoo! I'd really appreciate good thoughts, prayers, etc from anyone reading this. The interview is for an HR assistant position, temp to possible hire.

Today I went into work at 11 to try to figure out what was going on with the data from some assignments. I ended up not pulling out of the parking lot till 6:15 tonight! I think my hours this week are going to be going into overtime - that would be a first in my life. Wonder what 1 hour of overtime would equal?? Hmmm....

This was really the kind of day I enjoy most. Almost the whole time I was counting my time as at work, I was actually doing something productive - rather than sitting and surfing the internet all day. I like feeling like I'm actually doing something that is profitable to the company.

No spending today. I had been thinking of getting a haircut this afternoon, but it was after 7 pm when I got home, so I'll probably get one on Sunday.

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Thanks everyone for your good thoughts and well wishes. I think I'm going to be a bundle of nerves Monday night trying to prepare for the interview!


Looks like I am going to get at least 12 minutes overtime this week. It also looks like we are going to have to do at least two Saturday assignments next week! I can take one of them that's after sunset.

I had a most interesting day riding two different busses. Sometimes I think that I should try to write down some of the things I see into a short story or book - "Riding the busses: Humor and Drama"

I broke down last night and bought a snickers out of the vending machine. I had eaten everything I brought with me, and was still very hungry. It was OH SO GOOD! Even though it was SO BAD for me.

Spending Log:
$.60 - Snickers bar from vending machine

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Well, as luck would have it, we still did not manage to complete all the Saturday assignments. There are 2, possibly 3 assignments that will need to be done next week. I am looking at it this way - it will give me at least another 15 - 18 hours pay to go towards February. Every bit helps.

Over the last 3 days I have worked nearly 27 hours. I have been in my car for at least another 6 hours. I am beyond tired. This morning I could barely make myself get up and go to the bus station. I got the yuckies. I MUST be feeling better by Tuesday though. It wouldn't make a very good first impression to be dragging in to an interview feeling and looking tired and unwell.

Tomorrow I am going to catch up on sleep, tv shows, and exercise!

Spending Log:
Taco Bell: $1.97 (bean burrito & Pinto's Cheese/Rice)
Walmart: $1.99 (newspaper)
Gas: $20.32 (2.18/gallon w/card)

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Wow. Today I went into the office expecting to train a surveyor, go out and buy packing materials, and then pack up most of the materials to mail out. I did train a new surveyor, but I also spent several hours searching for a lost data file (which was never found.) Then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out how we were going to take care of yet another Saturday assignment and making sure I had enough Palms for me and the two extra surveyors.

I also talked to Jan again today. I told her that even if the Pharmacutical company couldn't go higher with the payrate, that I'd like to go ahead and interview for it. So, either Friday or Monday I should have an interview. Dad was so sweet tonight when I got home - he and I sat and discussed what questions I should ask and how I should word some of my answers to possible questions. I really hope that I get this, even if it is only for 6 weeks or so, it still could be a door opening to another opportunity.

It looks like this week I'm going to end up with close to 33 or 34 hours. That will make a nice addition to my February budget - quite a bit more than I was expecting. February is going to be tight, no doubt about it, but I think as long as I keep to just the bare mininum on everything, I won't have to borrow more than $100 or so from savings.

Dad talked to my Aunt Ni today. She thinks that my uncle who is a doctor might be willing to read my results for me. She said that I need to get a copy of my last results so they can be compared to my new ones. I'll have to see if I can find my old doctor's number tomorrow.

No spending today, which is a good thing after yesterday having money fly out the door.

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Well at work today I found out that 4 out of the 6 surveyor's did their weekend assignment. Of the two who didn't, we were not able to get in touch with one - and the other, well she waited until 4:35pm (after I was supposed to have already left) to call me. She told me that she hadn't wanted to be at the bus garage for the 4 hour split just to get paid for 6 hour of bus riding (2 assignments.) I asked her why she didn't let me know that WHEN I gave her her assignment?! It turned out that that was just an excuse - that she had been kicked out of her apartment and had only that weekend to get out. Ok, I can understand that. But why the heck didn't she CALL me or one of the other ladies?? Why the stall tactics??

To compound matters, I got a call from another surveyor. He told me he was at the airport getting ready to fly out. Apparantally his grandfather had died, and he was officiating (theology student) and wouldn't be back till Sunday evening. So where that left us was with two assignments with no surveyor. I decided to see if we could get that one surveyor to do one of them - but that still left us with one. After much hesitation, I decided that this was an "ox in the ditch" situation, and am going to do one of the assignments myself. Much better than hiring, and training a new person who may or may not show up, and who may or may not do a good job.

I stopped by the Employment Agency before heading home and spoke to Lynn for a few minutes. She told me that both she and Jan were still looking for me, and I should call Jan tomorrow to see if she had come up with anything. She also offered to look at my resume and make suggestions on how I can get it to be less teachery focused.

I found a lab clinic where I can go get a whole slew of bloodwork tests done for $105, including thyroid. So, I plan to go there tomorrow morning. Then I can have an uncle who is a doctor "read" the results and hopefully give me a prescription for synthroid. That'll save me the cost of a doctor's visit. All I really need is the TSH level so my uncle will know what dosage to prescribe for me. Once I can get back on that again, it will help me in many ways, not just in my weight loss journey.

I did 45 minutes strength training and 20 minutes on my Gazelle today (while watching the Tivo'd West Wing.)

Spending Log: None

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Well, Marcello called back and I committed to working for them W - F (18 hrs), M ( 7 hrs) and the following Sun (6 hrs). That way if a job comes up for me in the next week, I could still start it on Tuesday and not have to take a day off the next week. And it also makes it so that they have someone who knows what they're doing finishing up the project.

Before the holidays I filled out a form to have the Employment Agency mail me my check. When I checked the mail today, my check for the week before Christmas was not there. So I called and found out they hadn't mailed it. Since I'll be at the bus office tomorrow, they're going to send someone over with it as well as the last surveyor's bag. While on the phone, I asked if any possibilities had come up. Jan told me that there is a possibility that Lynn is looking into for me as an assistant accountant. I asked her if it required a person to have any accounting background, and she said that it was an entry level position. So . . . we'll see where it goes.

I was checking out some of the ads from the Sunday paper and noticed the ad for QuikTrip, which is a gas station. I went to their website and was quite intrigued by the information. I almost even applied except for one thing - assistant managers/assistant relief managers are required to work both Saturday and Sunday every weekend.

I also checked out an ad for an inventory company. I tried calling, but the number was busy. Thankfully they listed a website. I went ahead and filled out a job application. They also require weekends, but specified Saturday evenings/nights - but not Saturday days -- so .... that could possibly work.

I'm going to have to try to remember to wear the necklace that I was given as a good-by gift tomorrow. Wonder what would go with it??

After messing with my Tivo last night trying to get it to connect to the service, as well as more time this morning, I finally moved it into the computer room and reset it up. It took two full download times. The first download was a service update making it so when you have two shows on a season pass that meld into each other, you can now record them both. For example: Desperate Housewives 8 - 9:01; Crossing Jordan 9 - 10. It will clip one minute from either DH or CJ depending on their priority ranking in your Season Pass manager. That was a great update!!

I told my dad that I'd probably have to do this Tivo shuffle once a week in order to get the updated programming. He thought that was too much hassle, so suggested that we see if we can get extensions for the cords hooked into my router so that I can just pull it way out into the hallway whenever I need to make a connection. It'll be interesting to see if we can find anything like that. The cost my my birthday Tivo continues to rise.

Spending Log: None - stayed in the house all day

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

I just got off the phone with Marcello from the survey company I was working for the past few months. He asked me if I'd be willing to be in charge of handing out assignments and collecting them for the next two weeks. I asked him how many hours he thought it might be - he said as many as it took. I told him that I really did want to help them out, but I feel conflicted because if something comes up for me that's full-time/long term, it wouldn't make sense to pass it up for 20 - 40 hours spread over two weeks. He asked me if we could just play it on a week to week basis. I told him I would need at least the 20 hours - he said he'd have to talk it over with Jean (the lady in charge of money.)

I really am conflicted. Here is a real possibility of up to 40 or so hours of paid work for the next two weeks. But, if I go for it,and all of a sudden get a call for a full time/long term thing that needs to start right away, then I might have to pass on it becuase of this short term, maybe 40 hours.

I wonder if the surveyors who slacked off so much have any clue just how much their lack of work effort/ethics affected other people? Because of them, this is costing the survey company a lot more money than they had planned which means a lot less profit. It also made it so I couldn't start looking for a full time other job until now - who knows what opportunities I might have missed?

February is not looking like its going to be a very good month for me financially at all.

I really want to help them out and see the job to its completion -- I'm just so worried about risking only having 40 hours or so worth of pay to put in my February budget -- then of course comes March when I HAVE to have a job so I can either renew my lease here, or move somewhere else -- but I have to have enough income to pay rent + other bills by then!!

ARGHH!!!!

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Well, today was my last day as the Supervisor for the Surveyor's. It felt really strange to be cleaning out the office I've spent so much time in the past few months. The surveyor who did the last weekday came in around 1 pm - so I was able to make the weekdays at 100% yay! Linda (the main person I've been working with) gave me a going away gift - a beautiful bead necklace. I don't really know very much about jewlery because in the church I was raised in, jewlery wasn't the norm - and very rarely even the exception. I'm sure there's a better name for it than "bead necklace" but I have no idea what it would be. The gift really surprised me, because I don't think I had ever worn a necklace to work (I own one, but it never really even crosses my mind to wear it. After working for 8 years in church school - wearing jewlery to work ceases to even be a thought that flits through your mind, let alone evolves into reality.) Still, it was really a sweet and thoughtful gift.

I had asked dad to make a couple loaves of bread for me to give to Linda and Dedee, but last night he was so exhausted that I decided it was better not to ask him. Then I go there this morning and they have a gift for me!! Dad said he'd be willing to drop two loaves by tomorrow on his way back from a meeting near there. So, at least they'll know I was thinking of them - I hope they are there tomorrow.

I filled up at Walmart tonight. I really don't like how crowded the parking lot is right now. It makes it pretty difficult to make it into the gas station and back out. But I guess the 3 cent discount is worth it.

I got this email talking about this program that you can do where you type ads for various companies and they pay you. The website claims you can make $300 - $1000 a week doing this. You have to buy into it at $100, then I guess you apply at the various companies, and they start sending you ad copy to type. I'm curious about this whole thing - I don't have $100 to waste - but .... if it really truly could produce some extra income, I could sure use it. Anyone ever hear of anything like this? I have the feeling I'm wasting my time and energy even thinking about it - but I'm not totally sure. Any ideas of questions I should ask (they have an email address for questions.)?

Kitty kat is sleeping on my lap - so my keyboard is sitting way up high on my more than ample stomach. Interesting (read awkward) way to type - but he's worth it.

Spending Today:
$20.25 -- gas at Walmart $2.03/gallon w/discount

Watched Pretty Woman tonight on TNT. I know the story premise isn't all that good (Julia as a prostitute) but still . . that is one of my favorite movies. I don't know how many times I've seen it. Julia Roberts + Richard Gere in just about any movie = Major Chemistry -- IMHO.

Okay, hanging it up for the night. Gotta get back to "Mary, Mary" especially since I didn't have time to read today at work - actually kept myself busy the whole time doing *real* work - shockers!

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Only two days left of being a Supervisor. I've really enjoyed it, for the most part. I've had the opportunity to meet some really neat people, and I have some non-teaching/non-classroom experience to put down on my resume.

I'm not quite sure what they're going to do to finish the Saturdays. There are 11 assignments left, and only 6 possible surveyors who would be reliable. Well, it's not my problem anymore.

I talked to Jan today about possible full-time employment. She was encouraging - said that both she and Lynn have been looking for something for me. That they have really appreciated my hard work and that I've kept them sane with this whole project. But that not many companies hire the week before Christmas. So . . . it may be a few weeks or more. Hopefully they can find me enough one or two day jobs so I won't have to dip into savings too much come February (my December money pays for my January bills.)

Dad and I went to Kroger's tonight. He paid ~$17.xx for ~ $45.xx worth of groceries. We bought spaghetti sauce, macaroni, cereal, milk, OJ, green cabbage, croissants in a can, etc.

I spent a couple hours today working on a blog on bloggerspot.com . It's called "Keeping It Frugal". How creative, I know. I am still trying to figure out how to get a list of links listed on the side like other blogs. I also know I need to not be quite so long winded, or else nobody will be too interested in reading my blog. If anyone would like to check it out its
www.keepingitfrugal.blogspot.com

Ok, I think I'll go ahead and sign off right now. I want to keep reading Dr Phill's "Love Smart" book. It's actually a pretty easy read.

OH MY!! I totally forgot! I got a call from the library today. Jame's Patterson's "Mary Mary" is mine for the borrowing! I was number 7 on the wait list - but tomorrow I will have it in my hot little hands. I just love legal thrillers - Scott Turrio, John Grisham, the other Patterson fella, etc. However, I don't really care for Ann Rule who writes more real life crime drama (ie - she knew Ted Bundy in real life - wrote a book about him.)

Spending Log: Nada, Zilch, Zip, Nothing

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Did an 8 hour bus ride today. I'd forgotten just how LONG 8 hours is on a bus. At least it gave me a chance to finish "Deception Point" by Dan Brown. I think I almost like it better than Angels and Demons.

After my ride I went into the office. Saw that Wesley's three friends didn't show up. Also saw that two surveyor's never picked up their assignment, and a third surveyor didn't figure out how to use the new battery, so didn't finsh her assigment (again - pick up the phone!!!) So, including the surveyor who's car stalled on her yesterday, that is 6 1/2 assignments that did not get done this weekend, and *maybe* 5 that did get done. Well, at lease *I* know that the Sunday assignment was completed - since I did it myself!!!

On the way home I stopped at Albertson's. They were having the triple coupon sale. Unfortunately I only had the coupons I had recently ordered from taylortowncoupons.com with me. They were completely wiped out of the Kraft Super mac and cheese - and the GG boxed veggies were $2.19 a box, so even with a a $.60/3 cpn tripled to $1.80/3 it would have only made them ~$1.60 each, which isn't much of a savings. I did pick up an Amy's Brown Rice and Veggie - it was on sale for $2.95 (pretty good price - runs from $3.89 - $4.29) and a couple other things. I was really wishing I had my other coupons with me though, because I saw a number of pretty good deals.

Well I am exhausted. I think I'm going to do some trash pickup around the house, read a little, then head on off to bed. Tomorrow I will be talking to Lynn or Jan about long-term job possibilities. I really hope they do have something in mind for me like they've been hinting at.

Spending Log:
Albertsons: $7.21

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Today at the office the head honcho of the department where I do my supervising from, brought in a huge plate of holiday delecatables. A bunch of different kinds of cookies - snickerdoodles, lemon tarts, the cookies with a Kiss, another kind of chocolate cookie, and a number of other things. One of the sweet treats was particularily interesting and creative. It was made out of Bugles and vanalia frosting drizzled over to make individual clumps! I'd never seen anything quite like it, but believe me, it was VERY good.

You just have to laugh. Yesterday I was still waiting for one surveyor to come in and bring his material to download. Well, this morning when I walked into the office I found his bag with all his materials sitting on top of my desk -including his access badge. On top of his bag was a note. It essentially said that he hadn't been able to remember how to find the program on his Palm, so he wrote all the information down on paper. Now, if I hadn't given him a piece of paper with my PHONE NUMBER on it, or told him to CALL me anytime if he had ANY questions - that could ALMOST be understandable. Of course, finding the program was a simple matter of scrolling down from the main page! So, anyway, that just made yet another assignment to add to the que of assignments to be completed in January.

Tonight while dad and I were cleaning up from supper (we had our free Mac and Cheese) someone knocked on my door. Lo and behold it was the UPS woman! Apparantally she recognized my name on the package from my brother and realized that it had the wrong address. Wow! What customer service! The box itself is kind of heavy to be a Pilates mat - I can hardly wait till tomorrow when I can find out what;s in it!!!

I started reading Dan Brown's "Deception Point." So far, I am really enjoying it. I really like the thick books better than thin books.

In the mail today I got my snail mail confirmation from Emigrant Direct, then went online and confirmed my account. I also sent Jeffery two of my Ing referrals (about 6 pm) and by 10 pm tonight I had an email telling me that I had already gotten my first bonus!!!! I should probably transfer it over to my ED account, and I might just do that on Friday. After hearing about all the problems people were having getting their ED account setup, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and relatively quickly it all happened. Now I've got to make a decision - should I keep my Long Term Savings in ING at 3.75%, or transfer it to ED at 4%? With the bonus, my LTS is at about $45 (yeah, paltry, but that was the first account I hit for living expenses, then I hit my Contingency Fund.) I'm just not sure if percentage wise it would make that much of a difference.

Well, I didn't get called in for a job tomorrow. So, I'm considering taking in a matine in Burleson, which is near Fort Worth where I'm meeting my parents for supper. Maybe get a haircut (last haircut was when Scott helped me move out of my Dallas apartment last May.) Or, maybe I'll just relax the day away, watch "Polar Express" brought to me by Netflix, and then mosey on over to Macaroni Grill in time to meet my parents. Hmm... one way would be no spending .. the other way would be around $20 or so, but how many times in life do you celebrate going from one decade to another? Probably the deciding factor will be if there is any movie at that theatre that I want to see badly enough to fork up $5 for a matine ticket.

Today was a no spending day. I came very very close this morning to buying something from a gas station. It's almost habitual with me, if I go inside a gas station to use their bathroom, I feel almost obligated to buy *something*. But today I fought my temptation and won. I was glad I held out too, when I found out about the cookies in the office -- I mangaed to limit myself to only four treats.

30 minutes left in the 20's!!!

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Well the decision was officially made today. The project I have been supervising since mid-October is going to be extended till January 14. Of course, this coming Saturday will be the last Saturday of 2005, then the remaining assignments will be done on January 14.

The two surveyor's who got jobs with Fed Ex came in today to drop off their bags. I genuinely like both of them, but I wish they would have showed even a *little* remorse for so badly dropping the ball. Between them, they could have completed 8 more Saturday assignments - which would have made us finished on the 10th. Oh well. Hope they don't play the same game with Fed Ex - won't keep their jobs very long if they do.

I'm a little worried about the weather this weekend. The forecast is calling for rain and/or snow. I'm really hoing it'll wait till at least Sunday night so all our assignments can get done.

Today I asked Jan if she could see if there were *any* temp jobs available on Th or Fr - even if they only pay $8/hr, I'd take it - esp. on Thursday. If I could get a temp job on Thursday, then using 1/4 tank of gas to go out to eat for my birthday would serve a dual purpose.

My brother Ryan called my dad tonight. Apparantally he had gotten my new address from my mom - she had told him my street number was 709!!!! I'm not sure where she got that number from. So my brother and my dad started trying to figure out how to get the package he's sending me to the right place. I think he got me a Pilate's mat - dad was kind of hinting at that.

I started reading "Digital Fortress" by Dan Brown last night, then finished it this evening. It was really good. Just as spellbinding as "Angels and Demons" but in a different way. My dad didn't like it as much as "Angels" he said that he thought it was too disjointed. I told him that if he didn't like that style, then he for sure wouldn't like the book "Holes" by Louis Sachar (one of my all time favorite books - read it to my 5th graders the first year it came out - it's a FANTASTIC story - the movie follows the book very closely too.)

I was very tempted to stop and get junkfood tonight on the way home. I resisted. So, no spending for me today.

I did do my weight training today. I decided to replace the tricep extend exercise with the French Dumbbell Press. I like that better - although I had to reduce the weight slightly to be able to do it properly. I also did 20 minutes on my Gazelle.

Keeping It Frugal in Texas, (with my Monkey on my lap snoring away)

Laura

26 hours left as a 20 something - I'm almost old! Just kidding.

Let me sum up work today. Two of my surveyor's got jobs with Fed Ex sometime last week (must have been on Friday, since I talked to them on THURSDAY) and so did not do their Saturday assignments (thanks for the heads up - real professional.) A third surveyor had yet ANOTHER "family emergency" which made him for the *4th* weekend in a row NOT do his Saturday assignment. THEN a fourth surveyor didn't take her Mega Battery, but took her older one - the one that's given us so many problems. So her Palm ended up dying on her - losing the program and all the data she had collected that day.

We did not have room for *anything* like this. We don't have enough equipment to hire enough surveyors to finish all the assignments next week. So, it looks like despite all the effort we've put into finishing by the 17th, we're STILL going to have to come back in January. It makes me so mad I could just SPIT! Oh yeah, the first three surveyors - the ones who have done NOTHING for FOUR weeks - they were told they were no longer needed. Should've done that last week, then maybe we wouldn't be so hard up now.

It really makes me wonder if people understand what it means when they take a job - or how to use some very simple tools, such as the TELEPHONE to keep their employer's updated. I would SO love it if any of those first three surveyor's asked to use me as a reference!!!! For two of them I could say that I really enjoyed working with them, although towards the end of the project when we were getting to major crunch time, neither one of them were able to help us finish the project because of various reasons. The third surveyor - don't know that I could even honestly say I enjoyed working with him - he would always keep me waiting - like today, he was supposed to come drop his stuff off. At 3:45 he told Jan he was on his way over. I called Jan at 4:15 to see if she'd heard from him. He told her he was just a few minutes away. At 4:30 I called Jan to let her know I was leaving for the day and had not seen or heard from him.

I just don't get it, don't get it at all.

Dad and I went to Kroger's tonight. Bought some of the things I had coupons for, plus Milk and bananas. Dad paid $4.97 for ~$10 worth of items.

Dad got a bit miffed with me. I asked him if I was supposed to meet him and mom on Thursday at the Macaroni Grill (they're taking me out for my birthday.) He was like, yeah, since we'll both be in Fort Worth. I told him that no, actually *I* wouldn't be. He goes "Since when have you not been working on Thursdays?" I *wanted* to say -- I TOLD you that my schedule changed THREE WEEKS AGO!!! But of course I didn't say that - that would be calling for outright war. So instead I calmly told him that a couple weeks ago my schedule had been changed to just Monday to Wednesday - although last week I worked on Thursday instead of Wednesday. He *still* got miffed at me and was all "So what! You want to cancel out on the whole thing, or go somewhere else?" I told him no that I didn't want to do that, I was just wondering about what the plans were. ARGHHHH!!!!!!! How much longer???????????????

No spending for me today. But a huge headache.

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Today all three people who I was to train, actually showed up!! I got all three of them trained. I also got Candice's palm pilot back, and found out it had died, so any data she may have collected was lost - so that answered that question. What I'll do with her three weekdays is give two of them to two surveyor's on Monday, and take the third one for myself (an extra 6 hours sure won't hurt my pocketbook!).

After training the 3 new people today and giving them their assignments, I recounted how many I have left for next week. There are only 8 left! So, as long as there are no mishaps this weekend, and EVERYONE does their assignment - we will have EVERYTHING finished on Dec 17!! Yahoo!!

When I got home tonight, Dad was watching the classic Seinfield episode where they are in a parking garage and can't find their car. I used to be so into comedies - Seinfield, Frasier, Friends, Home Improvement etc. But now most of what I watch are the hour long dramas/reality shows - Lost, Everwood, Survivor, CSI, etc. I wonder why that is? Is it because I'm getting older? Or is it that most of the half-hour comedies nowadays just don't interest me enough to spend time watching them? I like Scrubs and George Lopez and Reba - but I can count on one hand the number of episodes of all three of those that I've actually watched in the past couple of seasons. Strange isn't?

I started reading the book I picked up from the library yesterday - "Fame" by Karen Kingsbury. It's a new series that is a continuation of the "Redemption" series. I haven't finished the "Redemption" series (waiting for the last book) so some of the info in this first book is kind of spoilerish - but I think I'll still enjoy reading it when it comes into the library.

Well, I'll need to update my YNAB, since I spent some money today, and I picked up my paycheck for last week. I am just so thankful that I had a healthy savings account and was able to pay the 6 months rent upfront here. Because if I was trying to actually pay rent + other bills on what I'm making --- well, let's just say that that would be impossible. I have two more months before I have to be making enough to pay the rent + bills --- sure hope I have a good paying, full time job by then!

Spending log:
Walmart:
Gas: $20.99 -- $1.99/gal --- Only got 310 miles out of this last tank, almsot 50 less than normal. Guess it was the cold.
Food Items: $4.97

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

Today was a *cold* day - at least for this part of Texas. I think it actually got down to around 12 degrees. My car windows were *completely* covered with a thick layer of ice. My dad was very generous, and went out and started my car and started scraping at the windows while I finished getting ready. By the time I got outside my windsheild was uncovered enough where I could see out of it, the passenger front window had a medium sized circle I could sort of see out of. the rear window had a good sized line to see out of -- but the rear passenger side window was COMPLETELY blocked with ice. w
Well, I started out on my journey. The first 15 miles of my drive is on a state road with a bunch of driveways in various places. During the 15 miles I stopped twice to try and break some more ice off that rear window. I got on the freeway and went a little while - luckily there wasn't much traffic - but then I got off the freeway and finally managed to break the ice off the rear window so I could see to change lanes. 20 miles or so later, as I was pulling off on my exit and got a phone call from my dad. While I was talking to him I started to SLIDE across the ice. Again, luckily, there were no cars around me. I managed to get myself stopped, but boy howdy was my heart going a million miles a minute!

Of the three surveyors who I was supposed to train today, only one actually showed up - and he was the one who could only do an assignment next Saturday. ARGGHHH!!! Then we went to the wrong bus stop to get on our bus - but eventually we made it on a bus, so he got his training in. I talked to Marcelo and suggested that we see if the two people who were supposed to come today could come tomorrow (they had good reasons.) He okayed that, and then also got someone from their company to come down this weekend and do an assignment. So, maybe, just maybe, we will be able to finish on time.
On the way home I got a call from the person coming tomorrow, and we agreed to meet tomorrow at 1. Then I got a call from Jan (emloyment agency) telling me that they finally had Candice's Palm Pilot, etc!! So, hopefully when I download it tomorrow, it will have 3 weekday assignments and one Saturday assignment on it - THAT would take so much pressure off!

I got off this morning without any water, so I ended up buying a water bottle from the vending machine - then broke down and bought a bag of skittles as well, so not a non-spending day.

Water: $.85
Skittles: $.65

Keeping It Frugal in Texas (and trying to keep it warm as well!)

Laura

Ooohhh!!! I had a FRUSTRATING day at work today!!! First of all, I find out that three of my surveyors had trouble on their Saturday assignments. So that meant three assignments with trips needing to be redone - I was able to attach two of them to other assignments, so that wasn't so bad. Then, by the end of the day I still had FIVE surveyors who had not checked in. So I started calling them. I was able to get ahold of three of them. I found out that two of them (the two who had gone to New Orleans last week) had not gotten back till Friday, and that when they got back they were sick as dogs - so of course they didn't do their assignments! Then the third one supoosedly had a family emergency and so he didn't do his Saturday assignment. Then of course there is the fourth surveyor (Candice) who'd had emergency surgery about a month ago, but who won't return any of our phone calls - and so today Lynn at the employment agency left her a message letting her know that if she didn't call or come into the office to download her assignments by 4pm that she would be considered to have not fulfilled her job committments and not be paid for any assignments she actually had done. Guess what?? She didn't call or come in!!!

So what this basically means is this. Today I had 16 assignments left to hand out. With the three redo's, that gave me 19, but I was able to attatch two of them, which left me with 17. Then I assigned 6 which left me with 10. Then I found out about the three undone assignments, which put me at 13. Then, add Candice's assignment, and that gives you 14. Without Candice I have 10 surveyor's right now. I have two surveyors without an assignment - that would leave me with 12 assignments for Dec 17. Do you see the problem??? We really were supposed to be finished on Dec 10 (this coming Saturday.) A few weeks ago I had it planned out perfectly, with even a little wiggle room for redo trips. What I didn't imagine in my wildest dreams was that more than one of my surveyors would just plain NOT do their assignments!

When I was picking up my check this afternoon I was telling Lynn about how frustrated this made me, and how it just boggles my mind that people could treat their job like this. She told me that I'm feeling the frustrations they feel everyday. I told her that what frustrates me the most about it was that I was really looking forward to being finished with the limited hours and be able to have a chance for a full 40-hour work week. She basically told me I could count on one as soon as this job is finished.

I guess I was just raised differently. When you say that you're going to do something, you get the job done, and you do it to the best of your ability. If something comes up that is unavoidable - you use the new fangled invention called the TELEPHONE so people who are counting on you know what's going on and don't have to make guesses or get worried. Maybe it's because I've always worked with professional level people that makes it hard for me to accept this kind of work ethic. I hate to say this, but of my 10 remaining surveyor's, the ones who've NEVER let me down are the ones with college degrees. Maybe that has something to do with it. Maybe not. All I know is that it is SO frustrating!!!

Ok, stepping off my soapbox. I sure hope I'm not coming off sounding holier than thou or anything. I sure have my vices and not so good points. Just when it comes to how I'm going to pay my bills, that's not one of them.

No spending today.

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura