I'm not totally sure why, but today I've just kind of felt down.

Work was pretty busy, especially with me getting the orders out from yesterday and today (I took yesterday off.)This was good - I liked being busy.

But then towards the end of the day my boss asked me something and I was like HUH? All I could think of was it was politically motivated (not by her, but by the person saying I wasn't doing something.)(Not something that is even really a job function - just a nice little extra I can do when possible when people ask.)

Then I get on Bing and find out that they switched me to the 15 points a day instead of 30. Stinkeroo!

I got some meds at the doctor yesterday and took them yesterday afternoon ... so far they don't seem to be doing a darn thing. Ugh. (except make me super bloated)

I got a voicemail from the doctor's PA about my bloodwork, but by the time I was off work, they had their answering service on. So I'll have to call back during my lunch break.

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My birthday yesterday =
The good - day off of work, finally got into see a doctor, dinner / movie with NE, talked to mom a few minutes

The not so good - other than my mom and brother, no one on FB posted on my wall. This was so bizarre because in years past at least 35+ have posted. Today I've gotten some belated postings ... I know its stupid to let that bother me, but I pretty faithfully post HBs on people's walls. I also didn't get any calls other than my mom, although my brother did text me a few times.

==
Coming home tonight I did something I haven't done in a while ... did my two Cs stop - coke and chocolate. Not exactly helpful in regards to my 30lb goal.

Today I actually managed to go through 3 boxes AND then took 3 boxes of stuff plus a trash bag of other stuff to Goodwill!

The stuff included a number of dolls/stuffed animals that I've been hauling around with me ever since I moved out on my own. Hanging on to it for future kids ... I kept one doll, my favorite, but the rest ... no point in holding on to them. I also let go of a bunch of books, a steamer thing I used once in six years, and quite a few odds and ends.

There's more I could and probably will let go of, although some things I think I may try listing on eBay. I did also relist some items on eBay.

---

I also stopped at the grocery store for bananas .. got a few more things than just bananas, but after putting a few things back, got out of there for only $13.

On the way back home I checked my mail. I got my gas bill - $42.83. That is almost twice what last month's bill was - I need to turn my heat down I think.

I also got a birthday package from my mom. First of all let me say how much I appreciate her thinking of me and remembering me. However ... this gift demonstrates how over the top she can be.

In my wish list I'd put snow shoes/boots (not meaning both .. just kind of describing what I was thinking of), warm socks, iTunes gift cards, mani/pedi gift cards or a groupon haircut/highlights deal type thing.

She sent me a pair of snow shoes and a pair of snow boots. Both look really nice. PLUS she sent me three books. I hate to think how much she spent on all this (plus the postage) - she's not in the position to spend much! Now I feel kind of bad for what I got her (a groupon deal.) I would have been more than happy with JUST socks, but she asked for five items ...

When she calls me tomorrow I'll be sure to be appreciative of course ... just feels frustrating. I think maybe she's trying to match what I gave her for her birthday - a $50 gift certificate for one of her favorite high end stores -- I told her I didn't pay $50 for it! (groupon deal!)

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Tomorrow I have my doctor's appointment (finally!) in the morning. In the afternoon I am thinking about going to a movie - one that NE probably wouldn't enjoy, but I want to take advantage of matinee pricing. (I took the day off work.)

Then NE is making his spaghetti dinner for me and we'll watch a movie or play games. I might try to get through a few more boxes too.

So I've been using my Ting phone as an actual phone now for about a week. One thing I did in the settings was to turn off the celluar data. This way I only use data when I *REALLY* want to.

I find it funny how often I have automatically reached for my phone and clicked on email or FB, etc only to get the message 'Data is turned off' I am glad I have that option turned off, or it might not even hit me that I was using data!!

I'm going to have to figure out how to get NE to realize that we can't have 30 minute conversations *before* he comes over to my place on the phone. Monday night he didn't come over, and we talked for over an hour. When you know you're paying in buckets, you're much more aware of how many minutes you're going through. (he has a dumbphone, so other than skype, I'm not sure what the best solution is)

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Almost forgot! If you are on the fence about switching to Ting right now due to paying ETF fees ... they are paying 50% of your ETF fees in December! I hope I get my bill from ATT soon!

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My landlord changed the locks on my doors today. NE and my boss K are happy about that. He did it at no charge to me, which makes me happy.

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I talked to my boss K today about whether there is any gift exchange, etc. at the office. I loudly proclaimed (in my head) "Yahoo!!!" when she told me there wasn't.

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I have made a new rule for myself. If I want to watch an episode of Person of Interest (on DVD) I have to exercise during it. So ... I watched episode two tonight.

I also have decided that if I want to buy the $70 year subscription to the Piano Maestro app, that I will have to "earn" the money. I'll earn $1 every time I play at least 15 minutes, with a $5 bonus after 10 15 minute sessions. This way I'll hopefully build up the habit so that by the time I have "earned" the money for the subscription, I'll actually be able to put it to good use.

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I heard about this great book on the YNAB forums called Switch - it's about how making changes in our life (or in companies) is hard.

I am about halfway through it. I absolutely love it! I would highly recommend it to anyone here looking for a book to help you make changes in your habits - of any kind.

I would love it so much if a good number of us read it at the same time so we could discuss it, and maybe help each figure out "switches" for personal scenarios.

Here's the title: Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by the Heath brothers

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Is anyone else not getting notices of replies to their blogs? I didn't get emails for any of the replies to my last post. I only saw them because of visiting here.

This morning as I opened my door to head to work, I heard a jangle. When I looked down on the ground .. there were my keys!!

I was deliriously happy to have my car fob back.

My boss wanted me to call my landlord right away and have him change my locks. I didn't have his number in my new phone ... and couldn't remember his last name. (I've been having a good bit of brain fog lately .. the key incident is just one of many ... NEED to get my thyroid medicine going again. Badly.)

I did call him when I got home from work. He had no problem with rekeying the doors at no charge to me. He's going to do it in the morning.

Last night a bit after 9 I heard someone messing with my door lock. It got both Kari's and I's attention, but both of us were way too comfy to get up. Now if the door had opened ... it would have been a different story.

NE tonight was really getting on my nerves telling me all about what he would have done if he'd heard someone turning a key in the lock... He couldn't understand why I didn't get up to look out the window or open the door .. Um yeah, that wasn't the thought running through my head at the time, thanks.

Anyway ...

I talked to my boss K about the 15 minute break thing. Apparently it is a hornet's nest and part of the drama drama drama ... I told her I would be fine either way - with or without. Oy vey.

I also had a day off approved .. the 15th. Make for a long birthday weekend.

Of course, it won't be all fun and games ... I finally called the doctor today. (forgot my phone yesterday at home .. yet another brain fogggggg) The first time they could get me in was --- the 15th!

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I stopped at a local health food store today to see if they had anything papaya. No luck. I'm considering ordering seeds online - add them to my morning smoothies. I'd rather find a local source though.

While there I did pick up a container of Kale for $1.40. I've thought of trying Kale before, but it sounded like so much work. Will try it in my smoothie tomorrow.

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I got my gas bill for November - $30.41. I have $40 budgeted, so that means $8.59 goes into the savings categories.

So I ended November quite well ... by losing my keys! On the key ring is my car key fob, apartment key, mailbox key (x2 also for PO box), and laundry room key.
UGH!

They have to be in here somewhere. I had to have them to get into my apartment on Saturday afternoon when I came back from walking to the library. I didn't realize they were missing until Sunday afternoon when I was about to leave to go walk to my landlord's house and drop off my rent check. I looked everywhere! When NE came later, he helped me look again.

Nowhere to be found!

Thankfully I somehow found my spare car key - so I was able to drive to work this morning. However, I had to leave my apartment unlocked!

Tonight I called my landlord and explained what happened, and he had an extra key for my apartment - as well as ONE laundry room key (which he'll get tomorrow from me.)

I can't check my mail until I get the keys back - normally I wouldn't care too much .. but in a couple weeks I may have some cards and such coming ...

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I went to Russ's (grocery store) tonight. I spent $8.57 and NONE of it was junkfood. You have no idea how RARE it is for me to stop in a food store of any kind and NOT leave with some form of chocolate.

I felt really proud of myself.

However, while I was checking out, I had my arm resting on the top of my cart while I waited for my card to go through. All of a sudden the ?manager? jerked the cart away from me and left with it!! I only had two bags and I hadn't put them in the cart yet, but still!! It made it pretty difficult for me to get my gloves and hoodie back on for my walk home.

I thought about saying something to him after my startle was over, but decided to let it go.

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Today at work I found out that I should be able to take two fifteen minute breaks on top of my lunch break. I know it worked that way when I was at the oil and gas company in TX, but since my boss didn't mention anything about it ... I just kind of figured that the 30 minute lunch was it and then just use the bathroom when I needed to quickly. My boss will be back tomorrow, so I'll have to talk to her about it. I'd love to be able to go into the fitness room and walk on the treadmill or something twice a day! Great way to increase my steps.

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I got a $25 windfall in my PayPal account today from Swagbucks. (Which I'll be adding to my tally page on my sidebar.)

I also cashed in for two $5 AGCs.

I cashed out for a 500 SB code on Bing on Saturday, and should have enough for another one by Thursday thanks to the double points weekend.

On PerkTV I have nearly 12,000 points and have made tons of entries for giftcard sweeps with my tokens.

I have 43,000 points on Yougov - a survey site. It's enough for a variety of $25 giftcards, but the best value I think is waiting til I have 100,000 points for a $100 AGC. That's the only one that is point per dollar value. (I have referral links to YouGov, Bing, Ting, Swagbucks all in my sidebar if you're interested. )

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I was going to call to set up a doctor's appointment today, but I forgot I had the number on my old phone. I'd only brought my new one with me to work today.

I'm a burping garlic and pumpkin seeds gal at the moment ...

So in about two weeks here I will be 39. That means that in 1 year and 2 weeks I'll be 40. It's really, really hard for me to see myself as a 40 year old ...

I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to get myself better set for life in ten - fifteen years - the time I'd really like to be at least Financially Independent if not able to kiss the 40 hour work week goodbye.

One thing I'm realizing will play heavily into my financial well being in the future is my health. If I continue the way I am now, my medical bills will more than likely prohibit my FI or early retirement. Plus it would more than likely make life not all that enjoyable.

Financial health and body health I think go hand in hand in the long run.

So thinking long and hard, I've come up with some long term savings goals. These are things that I hope will help me along the road to eventual Financial Independence.

I currently have a networth of approximately $200k. About 35% of that is in two taxable accounts, and the remainder is in ROTH, 403(b), IRA, etc. Included in that is also about $5100 in an EF that is pretty hard to access (earning .90% APR) I have no debt.

Starting in February I'll be able to contribute to my workplace retirement account. Once I see those numbers I'll have to figure out how much I'll continue sending to my ROTH, and how much I'll contribute to the 401k above the required amount.

So I'm going to borrow a term from CyNewbie of YNAB - Big Bodacious Goals for my 39th year of life:

1. Save $2,500 in Car Replacement/Repairs category
2. Save $3,000 in Taxable Account category
3. Save $3,000 in House Downpayment category
4. Save $500 to replace computer

I'll be adding the above goals to my sidebar soon.

Any Windfalls or Snowflakes will be handled like this:
1. Amazon gift cards - pays for protein powder for smoothies, or any ebooks I want, etc.

2. Non-gift cards: (i.e. cash, PayPal funds, tax refunds, 3rd paychecks, overtime)Leftover money from Utilities(gas, electric, phone), Fuel, Grocery categories. *Birthday/Christmas cash I might treat a little differently - maybe a 50/25/25 split.

***20% to Spending Money
***40% to Taxable Account
***40% to House Downpayment

Below is my budget. Pre-tax I have health insurance, health account (Fafa??) and dental insurance taken out right now.

So .. after those deductions, my net income is about $1647/month (until January 30, then I'll be getting a raise of 4-5%)

Tithe: 145
Giving: 25
Rent: 430
Internet: 66 (ugh!! wish I could get this lower)
Phone: 40
Electric: 50
Apt Gas: 40
Groceries: 150
Spending Money: 20
Medical: 25 (have 50/mo deducted pre-tax)
Kari (Cat): 40 (food, litter, vet)
Car Gas: 50

Savings/Rainy Day:
EF: 25
Car Ins: 45 (pay 2x a year)
Life Ins: 16 (pay 1x a year)
Car Replace/Repair/etc: 150
Vacation: 50
ROTH: 200
Computer/Electronics: 40
Taxable Investments: 25
House Downpayment: 25

Clothing, Restaurants/eating out, Household stuff, Entertainment, misc. all come from the Spending Money category.

I don't have cable, and I am not currently paying for any subscription services. I have been using Bing to get free Hulu+, but am seriously considering stopping that. I just don't use it that much.

As part of my effort to improve both my physical health and my financial health, I am going to start doing this --- Any food "treats" (i.e junkfood) won't come out of the grocery category, but will come out of the spending money category. Since I would like to be able to use this for other things than food, I'm hoping it will help me to curb my impulse to purchase (and consume) this stuff.

Today marked the end of the 60 day no eating out challenge. I celebrated by getting a vegge burger from BK. Yum!!

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A couple weeks ago when I was in KC getting NE after his car troubles, my check engine light came on. I figured it was the oxygen sensor or something minor like that. That's what it always was with my Honda. Today I finally got by an Advanced Auto Parts store and had them do a reading to make sure.

Ugh. It doesn't sound as though it is a minor thing at all - something about a malfunction in the computer/engine connection. The guy told me I should get to a dealer pretty soon to get it figured out.

I have a 2010 Yaris that I bought used two years ago (hard to believe it's been that long!)

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Work has been ... stressful ... boring ... hair pulling outing ... Without wanting to, I seem to have been placed in square in the middle of a political (office politics) nightmare. The long and short of it is that some of the people in the office had someone else in mind for my job, who obviously didn't get it. They now gleefully point out every single mistake I make to my boss K. I'd love to say I don't make mistakes, but I can't. Thankfully K is an uber awesome boss and has told me not to worry - that she isn't worried.

I just keep repeating to myself that I have health benefits and in a bit over two months will have retirement benefits too and a raise ...

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For Thanksgiving NE and I have been invited over to a long time friend of his house. He and his wife and stepson will all be there - I've never met the wife or stepson so that will be interesting. I'll be making corn pudding so I can be sure to have something I can eat besides sweet potatoes and bread.

NE is back to working 20 hours a week at his job - although *both* of his shoulders are in terrible condition. His ribs at least seem to be healing. He is really looking forward to January when the Obamacare plan he is working on enrolling in will go into effect.. At least one of his shoulders will more than likely require surgery. (He had a bad shoulder already, but the car incident a few weeks ago made it ten times worse. Then the spinout last week tweaked the good shoulder.)

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I am SO looking forward to a short work week next week. 4 days off in a row will be heaven.

So on Thursday my already interesting week got even more interesting. This time thankfully it wasn't a scary experience. It was something I would never have thought to have put on a bucket list, but am glad to have experienced it.

What was this experience?

I got to attend my first ever press conference!

The bus company I work at was awarded a sizable money grant that they are going to use to buy 3 new buses and a driving simulator. The mayor, and some other major dignitaries were all there.

It was way cool. There were 4 tv stations covering it, and at least one newspaper reporter (who asked some questions at the end.)

My boss K told me I'll have the chance to attend many more. Whatever gets me away from the phones ...

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Today was very stressful at work. I think I'm just way overtired. I made a mistake this afternoon - a stupid one - that I'm sure to hear about on Monday. I've really been trying to be *uber* careful, and yet still did it (gave the wrong pass to someone basically.)

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We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow. It sure is cold enough for it!

Wednesday the heat wasn't working on my side of the office and I was *freezing* - Thursday it was working - today it was sort of working.

I brought my space heater to the office on Thursday, but haven't used it yet.

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If you haven't heard of PerksTV it is an iPhone (and Android too I think) app. you earn points by watching videos. I finally earned enough to cash out for a $5 AGC today. I wonder how long it will take to arrive?

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I think it is a good thing I got a new phone. My 4S has been having some weird battery issues this week.

I got my sim card in the mail on Wed but haven't had a chance to mess with it yet. I need to call ATT and find out what my ETF is going to be.
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So I'm close to the end of my 60 day eating out challenge. Other than two exceptions I did it with no trouble. I m looking forward to allowing myself the option again, but I think the challenge has successfully reset my resisting eating out muscle so I won't go crazy with it.

So Thursday night around 6:15 I get a call from NE. He had gone to Kansas City, MO to pick up some electronics for his eBay business. Before he got to where he was going, his car broke down! Not only that though - as he tried messing with it, he majorly wrenched his bad shoulder and also landed on his back very hard.

So there was no question in my mind but that I had to go get him. (He didn't ask, but I know that is what he was hoping I would do.)

I called my boss K and told her that I might be a little late to work because of a short night. After she heard why, she told me that if I needed to, I could use one of my PCH days even though I wasn't arranging it a day ahead of time. I am SO glad she was willing to let me do that.

I managed to find NE about 9:30 - about the same time the tow truck driver arrived. He was in *such* pain. He got in my car and we followed the tow truck over to the nearest Wal-mart. I was kind of baffled at why we were taking it to a Wal-mart - I was pretty sure all they did was oil changes/batteries and tires.

Turned out I was right. Just after the car was unloaded, a police officer drove by and let us know that Wal-mart wouldn't be able to do anything for his car. Thankfully the tow truck driver didn't charge to rehook the car.

I found a car garage nearby and we took the car there. (about 4 miles) In all, it cost about $120 for hooking the car up and towing. Ouch.

By the time we had dropped the key and note in the garage drop box and was ready to head out, it was nearly 11:30.

I was totally beat, but managed to drive back. NE needed some stuff from the store, so we stopped in there, and then I dropped him off at home. It was about 2:43 a.m. by the time I walked in my door.

I used up a full tank of gas plus more - need to fill up again.

NE was supposed to work tonight and tomorrow night - but with his arm the way it is, there is no way. He doesn't have health insurance which is why he's just basically lived with a bad shoulder for five+ years. He told me last night that his arm pain was worse than the pain he was in after a car accident about six years ago.

This definitely was not how I planned on using one of my two PCH days, however I am sure glad I had it available and had such an understanding boss! If I would have tried going in to work today, I would have been pretty beat.

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I got an email that my $9 payment from Pinecone came through just fine to my PayPal account, and I also have the $90.xx echeck from Bubblews in my PayPal account.

Today I cashed out for another $55.xx from Bubblews. I'm going to take a break from Bubblews until at least December while I work on my NaNoWriMo project. Hopefully I won't lose all my connections.

So I got an email today from Pinecone telling me that my recent cashout of $9 had been denied - from PayPal. This prompted me to ask to leave work early on Wednesday - one hour early. I figured that I would have to do that in order to get ahold of a human being.

Tonight I decided to look up the number for PayPal so I'd have it ready to go tomorrow. Color me shocked when I saw their customer service hours = 4 a.m. to 10pm PT!

Of course I went ahead and called. I explained my utter frustration with my account being limited and how I hadn't been able to purchase postage for my eBay sale a few weeks ago and then now not being able to receive payment!

The CS rep was very patient with me and told me that all he needed was my birthdate to possibly verify my identity. So, I gave him it. IT still wouldn't verify me!! Ugh!

But he told me to go ahead and try to withdraw money from my account - he didn't see why I couldn't do that. So I did - and it worked!

He wasn't sure why my Pinecone payment didn't go through or why I couldn't purchase postage on eBay. So he transferred me to eBay.

The eBay rep basically told me that he couldn't really help me unless it was happening right then - he told me where/how to find the customer service number for the shipping issue if it were to happen again.

I wrote Pinecone and asked them to try resending the payment. Hopefully it goes through because I'm expecting a Bubblews payment in about ten days or so (of 90 something dollars.)

I've got $33.xx in my Pact app that I've been waiting to withdraw until I figured out the PayPal mess - so maybe I can withdraw that too now - see if it works.

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I wrote the majority of the outline for the book I think I'm going to write. Although as I outlined it, I realized that writing it at work might not be such a good thing. It could be kind of ... emotional ... writing it out. I'm still going to try though.

50,000 words divided by 30 equals 1,666 words a day. There are five weekends in November, so let's say I do 5,000 words each weekend - that would be 25,000 words. That would give me about 1,200 words a day to write during the week. Yikes, that still seems daunting. I'm going to try though.

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I canceled my Amazon Prime membership yesterday. So as of now the only entertainment type thing I'm paying for is Internet (and that is expensive enough!)

I get Hulu+ for "free" through Bing rewards. I do a month of Hulu reward and then a 500 SBs reward each month. The last few days they were letting me do 60 points a day, plus there were a LOT of extra points. Swoon... I'm halfway towards my next 500 SBs reward thanks to the 60+ point days.

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I saw my paycheck for this Thursday - health insurance and dental were taken out. I liked last paycheck so much better ... But I'm not complaining about having health insurance, no sirree!

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I took a walk around the neighborhood today - about 32 minutes of walking. It was a little bit chilly for yoga pants and sandals, but I didn't want to chance my old tennies and didn't feel like wearing long pants or a jacket - not *that* cold yet.

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Did any of you see the article on soda aging people as badly as smoking?? Yikes! Yet reason #50003939393938271 to stop drinking soda. I needed to see that since I've been slipping ...

I have done some spending this weekend (other than groceries and gas) -

1. I bought an iPhone 5S from Glyde for $348. It is listed as in excellent condition and should be here in a week. Once it is here and I can verify that it works well, then I'll be listing my current iPhone 4S on Glyde and see what I can get for it.

Then I can also fully switch to Ting and tell ATT goodbye forever!

2. I bought a year's membership to Sam's Club via a Living Social deal. $45 - you get the membership, a $20 gift card and 4 free food items (2 of which I'll probably let NE have since it's meat items) So the membership will really cost $25 for the year.

I can get cat litter there so much more cheaply, as well as some other food staples (rice milk, quinoa, lentils, etc.)

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I'm still going fairly strong with the no eating out challenge. Five weeks down, and on week six. Sunday I did stop at DQ with NE -- it was the last day they were open for the season and everything was half-price. So .. we splurged a bit as part of an actual outing date. (We don't have too many actual outing dates - most "dates" are stay at home.)

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I think I'm going to slow way down on Bubblews. It was taking way too much of my time ... and with the recent changes, it really isn't worth it anymore. In a few days I'll be able to redeem for another $55 payment. So, all in all I made around $300 something since June with it. Not too shabby.

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I'm debating if I really need a couch. I don't really spend anytime in my living room - all my time is either in my bedroom/computer area or kitchen. Even in NM when I had a couch and loveseat (the missions) I think I can count on two hands the number of times I sat on them or others sat on them - other than when I had company overnight and slept on the couch. If I need a sleeping couch, I've got something for that. (inflatable)

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On Saturday I walked 1.1 miles to my local library branch to pick up something that was on hold. The walk was great, except ... I decided to wear a brand new pair of tennis shoes (bought for $15 on sale a few months ago.) By the time I got to the library, one of my heels had developed a large blister and had that blister pop. The other heel had a small one do the same thing.

Thank goodness the librarian had band aids!

It's nice to know that I can easily walk to the library here. In NM I could walk to the PO, but I can't here. I'd much rather be able to walk to the library.

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I start my belly dancing class on Wednesday night!! I am a little nervous about doing it in front of other people - in front of my mirror is one thing ... but I hope I'll have fun.

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I'm getting seriously bored at work. There is a LOT of downtime. I just have to keep reminding myself that it pays decent and has really good benefits. Especially health insurance which starts on Nov 1!!

I'm considering trying to write a book or something on my downtime (between spurts of phone calls and people buying passes.) I haven't quite figured out what it would be about yet though. Maybe a fictionalized version of some of my family's story. It would be something to keep keep my brain busy at least. (and probably look better to be typing away at something on the computer rather than reading the newspaper or a book --- reading the newspaper - or at least scanning it, is actually one of my tasks .. I just extend it to thoroughly reading it.)

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3 months and one week til I get a pay raise and am eligible to take vacation and sick days. I can hardly wait!

So I am really ticked at PayPal right now. I made an eBay sale Saturday night and tried printing postage on Monday - no go. Kept getting an error message. Tried again on Tuesday - found out that my "limited" account now includes no money being withdrawn at all. So I have almost $200 in PayPal being held hostage. (Bubblews payments, Pinecone, etc.)

I ended up mailing the package first class postage - PO was closed by the time I got there Tuesday night and that was all the automated machine would let me do. Ugh! Hopefully this won't ruin my perfect rating!

Tomorrow is payday, and since no deductions are coming out of it (other than taxes) I guess it counts as the extra paycheck.

So ... I haven't had the energy to research it out totally yet, but I think I'm going to use it to buy the couch, the Sprint iPhone (to switch to Ting), and a simple printer (for coupons, etc) That'll use most of it - but once I have my phone set up, then I can sell my current iPhone and that will net me a little cash. That I'll put into my general savings.

I might still change my mind - especially about the phone. I know I'll save money switching to Ting, it's just the initial outlay for the phone that is making me hesitate.

In case you're interested, here are some Bubble posts I wrote recently about Paypal and life in general.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/8894602-kari039s-day A story about Kari and fleas.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/8892674-paypal-is-holding-my-mo... My PayPal frustrations.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/8876471-been-sick About being sick and NE being sweet.

I better hit the hay here. Another exciting day answering the same questions over and over ...

This past week I haven't felt the greatest. I powered through the last 3 days of work ... then got in a good nap before NE came over Friday night. But Saturday and most of today ... I vegetated. lots of sleep, lots of doing nothing.

Well, not totally nothing. I did *finally* get the cheese cleaned out from my oven so that I can use it again. That stuff was pretty hard encased on the oven bottom. I didn't get it all off, but after testing it, it was enough so I won't get to test out my smoke alarm anytime soon.

I also did a load of dishes. (Can I say how much I love having a full sized dishwasher again?)

I thought about doing laundry, but then realized that if I washed out a couple bras, I could get by another week. This would be my 4th week - all clean tops, reusing a couple skirts and jeans. Can you say - she has too many clothes?

NE will be coming by tonight and we'll be making pizza from a Chef Boyrdee kit. I need to get cheese and pineapple. He's bringing the hamburger for his half. (pineapple only goes on my half) Maybe we'll watch Edge of Tomorrow - rent it off Amazon.

With all the rest I've had this weekend, I am feeling much better than I have in awhile. Here's hoping it'll last. I need to get a flu shot soon, but don't want to get it when I'm feeling sick.

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I am starting on my 4th week of the no eating out challenge. Overall I think it is saving me money (at least from what I'd been doing since living here.)

NE's stepsister that we went out to dinner with on Tuesday night (first time ever meeting each other - NE and stepsister) posted some photos she took of us on FB. The one with NE and I looked fine, but the one with NE, her and I ... I guess I don't see myself standing next to skinny people too often. Ugh.

So I am thinking of adding something new to this challenge. Not only no eating out, but no spending more than $5 on junk food per week. I would eliminate it completely, but I think that would backfire.

I also feel like I'm spending way too much time on the Internet (Bubblews esp.) So when I get home from work I am going to do 30 minutes of piano, 30 minutes of some form of exercise, 15 minutes of language practice and 15 minutes of cleaning/organizing.
Then I can get on the computer.

On the nights NE isn't here, I'm going to limit my computer time to 2 hours. Outside of that I'm going to read books or magazines! (Not surf Internet!)

I haven't quite figured out how to regulate the weekend days better yet ... Maybe 15 minutes of Internet time for every 30 minutes doing something else (piano, reading, cleaning, making something, exercise, etc)

Like I said, I spend WAY too much time on the Internet.

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I have been watching this awesome new show on Hulu+ called A to Z - it's the story of a relationship. Two episodes so far and I absolutely love it. I also have been watching Selfie - not as good as A to Z, but it has plenty of LOL moments. Plus I love how it's playing on the My Fair Lady storyline.

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I am still thinking about my goals. This month I have an extra paycheck, so if I used that money, I could wipe out several wants - couch, printer, remote start on car in one fell swoop. And have some left over to put into general savings.

I love YNAB and have used it off and on for years and years. But ... I am starting to think that a different approach might work better for me. Since I'm not attacking a debt monster, and I don't have any big huge things to save up for other than retirement ...

Maybe something like this - still live off of last month's income (per YNAB)

Put the amount needed into the Must Have categories. Then the remainder goes into a non-tracked category - kind of a whatever it's needed for without having to be tracked.

Must haves would be: tithe/offering, rent, utilities, Internet, phone, auto fuel, insurances, ROTH contributions, car savings, general savings, emergency savings,

Groceries, clothing, household goods, hair care, etc., etc., etc. would come out of whatever is left and not be tracked explicitly.

So for example, I go to Walmart and I spend $70 on grocery items, cat food, makeup, and maybe a new pair of shoes. Instead of painstakingly splitting all those items out, I'd just track it as "Walmart:Non-Tracked"

My reasoning is that I can do pretty good for a few months tracking minutia, but then it stops working for me ... I miss a receipt or two or three .. This way I will still be tracking it, but it won't have to be detailed - so if I miss entering a receipt or two or three, I can just get the info from my CC site and not worry about the details.

I would want the amount in this category to build up so I have money available for bigger things (vacations, couches, etc. ...) Maybe put a minimum amount that has to be left in there if making a bigger spend/purchase. (This is what would keep me from willy nilly spending everything just because it's there - I'd want to be careful with the spending so I have it for other bigger things.)

Whatever extra monies I get (like from Bubblews, etc.) would automatically go into the Non-Tracked category. Extra paychecks or amounts larger than say $500 would be figured out as it happens.

Anyway ... haven't figured it all out yet.

I am still chugging along with my 60 day no eating out challenge -- however Tuesday night I did make an exception and ate out.

What was that exception? NE had a relative that he'd never met come to visit him, and he asked me along. There was no way I could say no to that. (More about it on Bubblews if you're interested.)

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I received my August 31 payment from Bubblews in PayPal yesterday. $111.xx

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Did I get pictures hung and budget / goals sorted last weekend? Nope.

NE did help me move some heavier large things around and hang my mirror. He wasn't feeling too good, so I was doubly appreciative.

Of course ... guess who isn't feeling that great either now? And no sick days to take ....

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I did start working on my budget and kind of updated it. I was also looking / thinking of goals ... and just really couldn't pinpoint anything really.

My computer will probably need to be replaced sooner than later (it's almost 4 years old and has started making some weird noises - doesn't help being moved 4 different times and having had stuff dropped on it...)

I think I might upgrade to the iPhone5 when I finally move to Ting, so I'm not sure how much of a price difference that'll be (after selling my current phone)

I need a new printer - my current printer stopped printing eons ago, and now I am missing all its cords (likely left in NM)I used the scanner function on it once in a while - mostly for teaching stuff. So I think I could get by with a simple b&w printer - for coupons mostly.

I would LOVE to get remote start put on my car for upcoming winter ...

I also want to get a couch ..

Mostly though I really want to up my savings - just general savings and retirement savings. I do not want to still be explaining to people that walking two blocks is better than walking five blocks and taking the bus for one block fifteen years from now.... or even ten years from now...

This weekend I will really think this through more (and maybe get some pictures up too ...) but right now I better get to bed so I have a little energy for tomorrow.

I am still going strong on my 60 day no eating out challenge.

NE came over last night and we made spaghetti - he brought the noodles and a mango for dessert. I had the rest of what we needed. (Although I had to search high and low for my strainer!)

Today I did go shopping - supposedly *just* for bananas and something to scrub my stove with and something to clean my new pan that got burned sauce ... Of course ended up with more .. but not too bad.

On Sunday I shopped at Walmart and tried the savings catcher app again - this time it worked! I got $1.02 back.

I cashed out on Bubblews on Tuesday for $91 (September earnings). I am now up to $7 for October. I won't be spending as much time on it this month, so my goal is just to get to $50 so I can cash out again on the 31st.

I also cashed out $9 in Pinecone payments.

In September I cashed out for two $25 Paypal payments from SBs, so I'm a little behind for October. I was able to cash out for 3 $5 AGCs and am working on the other two.

On the YouGov survey site I have enough points to cash out for a $25 movie certificate. I'm debating if that is what I want to do or not - not sure which one to get - Regal or AMC theaters. It would be enough for NE and I to see a movie together (he and I saw Guardians of the Galaxy on Sunday - his treat. Loved it!)

I found out how much my health insurance is going to cost me - it's taken out pretax. $33/month. Not too bad at all. Next paycheck my dental will come out, but that won't be much at all.

This weekend I have two goals - get my pictures hung and sit down and figure out my budget and new goals.
Now that I have a job and I have a place to live AND I have a good idea of my monthly income ... it is time!

In February when I can start contributing to my retirement plan, things will change again (along with a pay raise.) But will check those eggs when they hatch.

So I'm now five full days into my no eating out challenge. And the news is ... I have been successful at it so far! The really interesting thing though is that other than needing to buy bananas on Wednesday, I have managed to do it with just food I already had on hand.

On Friday I picked up a couple quick/easy/fast vegetarian cookbooks that I plan to look over and pick out a few things from for this week. Then I'll be making my meal plan and doing whatever shopping needs to be done.

I think I have saved at least $30 this week from not eating out or stopping somewhere for a soda/candy/etc. Probably more. It was getting pretty bad. (Especially since when I would stop in for a soda/candy, etc. I would get something else so it wouldn't look like I only came in there for the junk ...)

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I had an interesting Friday night with NE - towed my first car! You can read more about it here if you want to:

http://www.bubblews.com/news/8128150-friday-night-towing-adv...

We also had an interesting situation happen here with regards to tailgating last Saturday - I've been hearing some sirens today, and am hoping it is not part of the fallout; http://www.bubblews.com/news/8078503-tailgating-woes

I have now been at my new job for 8 weeks. Most of the time I really like it. I definitely like my boss K. She is such a fun person to work with. I've had the office manager C tell me she's really glad I'm there - that I have such a good attitude. This definitely is not something I want to do for 25 years, but if it is what makes it possible to retire in 10 - 15 years, I think I can handle it.

Oh, I was wondering if anyone has tried Bing Rewards today. What do you think? {url]http://www.bubblews.com/news/8130036-what039s-happened-to-bing[/url]

My first sewing class is on Tuesday! A needle and thread will be on my shopping list tomorrow.

What is the price of gas where you guys are? I was reading about how prices are expected to fall below $3! It's around $3.20 here right now. Do you think they'll really fall that low?

So I deactivated my profile on the dating site. NE and I got together on Sunday night at IHOP and had a good long talk. Our waitress I think was getting antsy for us to go... But the end all and the be all of it is that neither one of us really want to let go so easily of our 11 years of friendship. He is willing to try counseling to see if we can figure out how to get past some of the issues that caused the break.

He came over again on Monday night and we had a very nice couple hours together. Before he left he totally shocked me by saying that if I'd like to, we could play cards on Wednesday night. He is NOT a big fan of playing games. However he knows how much I love playing games. I've tried to get him to do it before with no luck. So ... there's other things he's doing as well that are showing me he's really trying.

I think the break from each other gave us both some perspective.

I'm still going to do the plans I had been making related to my list of ten things I want to do. I'm just going to add him to my list.

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Today was already a temptation to just stop and get something. I was SO tired and so hungry coming home from work. But I soldiered on and managed to wait til I got home to eat.

I didn't do my grocery shopping on Sunday like I'd planned, but I think I can make do without getting anything other than bananas. (will have to do that tomorrow)

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I really need to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow there's a health fair at the local Public Works department that I get to go to. I would like to be alert for that.

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I completed a survey for Pinecone, so once I'm credited for that, I'll have enough to redeem $6.

I cashed in bing points yesterday for 500SBs (which will either become Paypal cash or Amazon gift cards.)

Thanks again everyone for your comments on my previous post. I'm working on rewording my responses so they fit in the 600 character limit, and then I have to find someone to take a full length photo.

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As my title suggests, I am kind of excited because I made $50 (well, actually $49.78 at the moment) in 14 days on Bubblews! I don't know if I'll be able to keep up that pace or not because I'd really like to spend less time on it, but I am excited to know that if I really needed to, I could make an extra $100 or more a month doing that pretty easily.

One of my most recent bubbles (posts) was inspired by seeing one of the DVDs on sale on our local FB garage sale - The Invention of Lying. I've had some interesting comments - if you'd like to read it, here is the link:

http://www.bubblews.com/news/7329494-lying-good-or-bad

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I got five hours of overtime today - which will equal roughly 8 hours of banked time. This was due to my working the streets alive program - basically a two mile stretch of downtown was closed off for people to walk, bike, skate, etc. We were there giving out loads of free stuff.

One kind of downer thing that happened ... I left my water bottle on the bus (one that I specially bought from Walmart for water) and someone decided to walk off with it.

Oh well. It happens. It was only a $3 bottle anyway.

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One thing I haven't mentioned ... I got my haircut! 7 inches!! I hadn't quite meant for it to be *that* short, but I think I like it. Now I just have to figure out how to style it right.

I'm going to put up a picture here, but don't know how long I'll keep it up.



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I cashed out for $50 from Swagbucks this month - $25 in PayPal and $25 in AGCs.

I have made progress in my apartment - such as getting my piano set up (and even playing it a bit) but still have not gotten the pictures or mirror put up. I was going to ask someone at church on Sabbath, but after Sabbath School I couldn't get in a word edgewise with the leader, and then I didn't make it very far during church. Kind of got one of those tearing up jags that keep hitting at weird times, but somewhat less than a week ago ...

So this week I'll be visiting the local no kill cat shelter and having my third women's bible study group. Then I think it is the next week that my sewing class will start! I'm looking forward to it.

First off, I want to say thank you to everyone who offered their thoughts and advice on my last post. He's been much better about helping me - I think he got the idea that I was pretty upset. He helped me out on Thursday getting my Internet set up - not a word of complaint (needed someone here to let the Internet guy in to get things set up.)

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I've now been moved into my new place for a full week. Today and tomorrow I plan to do a lot of unpacking and organizing. I'm hoping to get most of it done so I don't have much to do later and can feel actually settled.

Last night I bought some needed items to replace things that I'd left behind or sold previously (when I was going to grad school.)

I bought a microwave, a toaster, a crockpot, a kitchen trash can, a couple of skillets and a cooking pot. What this means is now I can actually cook things here rather than eating PBJs or buying fast food.

I also bought a bed from Mattress Firm. It was about $376 or so after taxes and delivery charges. The mattress itself was $298. Not the best one by far .. but I'm hoping it will do the job and last a while. It is the first bed I actually bought for myself .. ever. All my previous beds were either hand me downs, or provided by the place I was renting.

I plan on going by Goodwill today to see what they have in the way of kitchen tables and love seats - also any kind of cabinets. I am in major need of storage space for pantry and cookware/dishware. Of course if I manage to find anything, I'm not sure how I'd get any of it home.

I really do NOT want to employ two men and a truck again ... I don't know anyone with a truck that could haul it for me. I really need to get most of my boxes unpacked first anyway though before adding more to the mess ...

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I'd really like to highly recommend Bubblews . com for writing whatever you want and getting paid for it. I have made close to $170 since June. I have a link to my profile page in the links section - that is where I've spent a lot of my short Internet time lately.

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I'll be getting my second paycheck this coming Thursday from my bus job. I'm hoping that the union mandated pay raise will take effect Once I see that, then I plan on working on a budget. I haven't been operating on a budget or any real kind of expense tracking for awhile ... and my bank account and credit cards show it. I won't be carrying a balance on any of my cards, but the bank accounts will definitely be slim after paying them ... (I do have my emergency fund still fully intact in a separate bank, but was not wanting to spend all I had in my regular bank ..)

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I think my cat Kari is much happier being a single cat than one of many. Almost within two days of being here, her entire attitude seemed to perk up and go back to her usual self. I hadn't seen her tail straight up in happy signal for a long time.

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I need to edit my sidebar since I accomplished my two big goals and figure out what my new goals are. Will have to wait til after my next paycheck though so I have a better idea of what I'm working with.

All in all, I think I am going to really like my new job. The part that scared me the most about it - figuring out bus routes for people - has gotten easier and easier everyday. Other things I do, such as sell passes to people at the window, is pretty interesting. Some of the people who come there ... are quite characters.

My boss, K, is pretty funny. On Friday we moved my phone to the other part of the desk so that I would not have my back turned to the window when on the phone. We realized that the phone cord wasn't long enough. So after a bit of trial and error, we got a 25 ft cord. When it arrived, I was on the phone. K proceeded to use it as a jump rope, and then pretended it was a lasso ... all while I was somehow not bursting out laughing. (K is at least 55+)

I also got two hours of overtime in on Wednesday helping out selling passes at a school open house. Kind of cool getting paid for doing stuff after regular work hours. Not something I'm used to. In a school, you just do it - no pay expected.

I *think* my health benefits may start as soon as September 1. I need to double check this since the person talking about it went really fast. My retirement benefits won't start until February 1. I can't take a sick day or a vacation day until after February 1 (but they start accruing already.)

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I haven't heard from my new landlords about my apartment and when I'll be able to move in. I meant to call tonight, but forgot.

I am really ready to be in my own place again. Really ready.

Other than my job, I am struggling with this move.

I have tried out most of the area churches affiliated with SDA, and thought I found one that fit. The people in the Sabbath School class I've attended 3 times now seem really friendly.

But I'm still sitting by myself during church service.

I knew going into this that NE would not attend church with me. I hoped I would meet people who'd invite me to sit with them or something, so I wouldn't feel that loss so much. But obviously it hasn't happened.

NE isn't much into doing anything other than lounging in his apt or surfing the net. I was really hoping to meet people at church who might want to do things with me. Hasn't happened yet.

I guess I'm feeling really lonely. There was a free concert tonight at the church, and I decided to not attend mainly because I just couldn't face sitting by myself yet again.

This was part of the reason why I didn't attend church very regularly in New Mexico. I had no one to really sit with the majority of the time. I so was hoping that would change with a bigger church.

NE has tried to accommodate me with doing things once in awhile ... but makes such a big deal out of it, I'd rather not do anything in the first place.

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I've gained 8lbs since moving here. Lots of it I think is from stress eating (i.e. junkfood) and some of it also from the first month where we were eating out *a lot*. I'm really hoping that once I move into my own place and have more control over kitchen/food/ etc that I'll be able to get back on track.

I did work out 4 x this week - 2x at the gym at my office - running (ha ha) barefoot on a treadmill.

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Almost forgot - I'd love ideas on how to make it easier to clean 5 cat litter pans? It's killing my back every time I do it ... which makes it so I'm not doing it daily like they need.

I don't remember the last time I posted on here, so hopefully I won't repeat myself too badly.

I got a full time job working at the local bus company. I got word today that I am good to go - so I start on August 4. (We had to wait for background checks.) It pays slightly better than New Mexico, has health insurance, retirement, etc. I will be part of a union, so I guess I'll have union dues.

One really awesome thing though is that there is an exercise room in the building that I can use! Plus, if I use it so many times per week, it'll earn me dress down days.

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Once I had my offer letter, I started looking for my own apartment. What a nightmare. Almost every place I went was already full, or I would schedule a showing to find out a deposit had just been put down on it.

On Wednesday I saw a place - 440 sq ft wanting 450/mo. It was designed really poorly. I passed on it.

Today though I saw something that I think will work. Around 7oo sq ft, designed well, and 430/month. No stairs either. I put in an application and put down a deposit in case I'm accepted. Now it is a waiting game to see if they take me.

It isn't a sure fire thing due to not having any real rental history for five years. (2 years of grad school, 3 years living rent free at the mission school and 8 weeks living at boyfriend's place.)

If not, I am lined up to see another place Friday morning. Guess only time will tell.

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I quit my call center job on Sunday. That was so nice at the end of my shift to say to the supervisor that I wouldn't be back. Such a relief.

Part of the reason I did that was to give me more time to ride the bus routes here and learn them. I haven't done as much riding as I'd planned on due to apartment hunting. However, with NEs help, I am feeling more confident that I can at least begin to help people figure out a good route.

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On Wednesday I went to the local mall for the purpose of going to Lane Bryant for some underthings. I got waylaid by Sear's clearance instead. I bought 7 tops and a skirt for $60. One of those tops was something I'd been looking for - a kind of shrug to replace the one I left in New Mexico. The other things were just kind of refreshing my dressy tops for work.

I still need to go back for LB - NE called while I was there wanting to do a trip to Omaha, so I cut my mall time short.

Remember how stressed I was a few days ago? Well on Wednesday I had yet another job interview. I thought it had gone well, but I got the usual song and dance of them letting me know in the next two weeks or so.

When I got to the apartment I got to deal with a flooded sink and kitchen. Fun. (Plumber took care of it with 90ft of snake ... I was only two hours late for work.)

On Thursday as I was driving to my call center job I got a phone call. It was from the place I interviewed at on Wednesday! They wanted to know if I'd still be interested in the job even if I'd have to wait until August 4 for the background check to be finished.

Oh yeah!

I have no idea how much it pays, or for sure what the benefits are. I also am not positive on the days/hours. I've looked and looked for where I found the job listing, but haven't been able to locate it anywhere.

So ... how would y'all suggest I go about finding out this information without looking bad before even starting my job? Btw, it is for an admin asst job at the local bus transit company. (City government job, so I'm pretty sure I have at least health benefits.)

I'm so happy to have a full time job finally, and to have the ability to get my own apartment in the very near future!!

I am really starting to feel the stress of not having found a full time job. I know I've only been here in Nebraska since late May, but I started my searching in January. I'm not worried about my money running out, because I do have enough reserves if I had to use them to last a good while, but like I said, I really don't want to use them that way.

To add to my stress, I am in danger of losing my part time call center job. I had been doing really well. However last night I got back some evaluations that are foreboding. In fact one of them could have had me instantly fired, but they gave me another chance.

What had I done that was so terrible? I had miscoded an answer to a question, which caused several subsequent follow up questions to be skipped. The bizarre thing is that I had even clarified the answers with the person. Skipping questions is cause for termination. I signed a note last night saying that I know if it happens again, I will be fired.

This job is already stressful enough for what it pays, and now my stress level had tripled. I made this mistake on a survey that took 7:30 minutes. So I'm guessing this was one where the person had made it clear they weren't interested in taking much time, so I was trying to go really fast. I went too fast apparently.

The really sad thing is that on Sunday and last night I finally managed to complete enough surveys to earn more than the base amount.

I was already fearful of skipping questions before, but now I'm triply fearful. It isn't just about the money now - now I've been at this job long enough I'm going to have to put it down on applications. I *really* don't want to put down that I was fired. Especially because they call skipping questions a form of cheating the surveys - which is not what I'm trying to do at all. It's gonna make me look really bad just when I need to look really good.

All I want to do right now is eat junkfood.

If anyone here lives in the three cities I put in the title and might be interested in completing a secret shopping project in your area, you'd really help me out by leaving a comment here with your first name - and if you use a different email for SA, then the email you'd use for work related stuff. You do need a smartphone so you can download the secret shopper app. This project pays between $100 and $140.

Thanks for helping me out if you're interested.

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I had my second interview today for the admin asst job, and then also had a personality assessment. I asked when they plan to make a decision .... AUGUST!!! This position has been advertised for at least a month! Seriously, if people need a job, they aren't looking for one to maybe start two months later.

I gave the staffing agency another call today to keep my name fresh. Something has to give here soon.

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Last night at the call center I was asked to work the next two Sundays - I jumped at the chance. That just means 28 hours for the next two weeks instead of 24. I'll take it though, especially considering that a full time job seems to be taking it's sweet ol' time coming along!!

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I'm almost halfway to my next redemption on Bubblews. It's going much much faster this round.

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I'm having trouble depositing my final paycheck from the school and the first check from the call center. I tried using my phone apps for both Cap One and Bofa, but neither one would accept them. They are way too long for a good picture. I checked to see if there are any ATMs here for either bank ... Nope. I'm really not sure how else to deposit the checks, other than opening yet another bank account. I really don't want to do that. Would love ideas! (This is going to be an ongoing problem with the call center checks. Previously I had my school checks direct deposited, but for whatever reason they give a paper one for the last one.)

I'm now partway into my second week at my call center job. What can I say ... it's a job and it's money coming in.

Yesterday I had two job interviews! One was for a child services trainee position (good money and benefits) and the other is for an admin asst position to the president of a company that produces Christian materials for blind people (supported on donations only.)

I'd be happy with either one, because they both would fulfill my desire to do something that actually *means* something in the bigger picture. I'm not sure about pay/benefits on the admin job - one big benefit of it though would be a 4 day workweek.

I had one of my references call me today and let me know that she'd gotten a call!! That to me is really good news, because that's the first time in this round of job hunting a reference has actually gotten contacted. So ... maybe a real full time (or close to it) job is in the cards in the real near future!!

I haven't had much Internet time lately, and most of what I have had has been spent on Bubblews. I'm already almost back up to $10 after cashing out a few days ago. I'm going to try to catch up on all of ya'lls blogs now.

On Monday I started a part-time job where I call people to survey them about their opinions on the healthcare in their area. Monday and Tuesday nights were training and orientation, and then Wednesday, Thursday and tonight I spent calling people using the training study. About two hours in to my shift tonight I got the message that my session had been ended by my supervisor.

The reason it was ended was because I'd received high enough evaluations on the completed surveys to move on to an actual client survey! I didn't make any phone calls yet on this new project, but I will start making them on Monday.

This job definitely does not pay much - but it does at least guarantee a minimum amount per hour as long as you are following their policies, and the possibility of making more in bonuses if you complete so many surveys in an hour, or later on for positive attitude, etc.

The way I'm looking at it right now is, it's a job. It's something. Not what I'd want to do full time or for very long, but it will bring some income in.

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In other news, I just redeemed for $54.44 on the bubblews site. It took awhile, but I think the next one will come much faster. (If you want to read some of my latest postings, click on the link on the left hand side of my profile. That'll take you to a list of my postings there.)

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I recently got the bill for my new ISP. I was quite incensed by some of the charges and called to complain. About $45 worth of charges were removed after I spoke with the CS agent. I'm still not happy with the ISP, but I unfortunately don't have much choice.

So on Sunday I get to where I'm supposed to start training at 9:30 a.m. I wait and wait and wait ... no one is there at 9:50 a.m. I call the lady and find out "sorry, there was an out of town emergency, can you train on Tuesday?" I told her yes, but after talking with NE I decided to just not do this job at all. This was at least the third time I've been blown off. Also, there'd only be 8 days total left that I could work before the campaign is over.

I'm not that desperate for money to work for someone who will jerk me around like that. (I have at least one more paycheck coming from my librarian job, plus plenty of savings.)

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I called the staffing agency to let them know I'd be available for any job openings ASAP. I will probably need to give them another call today to make sure they got my message (and keep me in their minds.)

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I heard that the governor of NE declared a state of emergencies due to storms - I haven't watched the local news here so am not sure what storms he was talking about. (am going to do a search) It was really humid and overcast here yesterday, but I don't think we got any rain (although we did have somewhat heavy winds - nothing compared to spring winds in NM though.)

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NE and I went to CiCi's last night. He likes to eat late, so we ended up being there right before closing time. I had no idea that they offered whatever was left on the warmers to customers at closing. I took most of a veggie pizza home - meals for a couple days.

Tomorrow I start my job collecting signatures. I have to go in earlier than usual for some training, so I'll be there from 9:30 a.m to 7:00 p.m. I'm not sure what meal breaks are like, so I'm going to make a PBJ sandwich to take, and probably take a granola bar or two as well. It also all of a sudden got warm here today ... so I'll make sure to have my water bottle with me as well.

I'm going to have to go to bed much earlier than I have been the last few weeks so I have energy to go the whole day. It's funny how out of a routine you can get in just a few short weeks.

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Those of you interested in what I did for my dad for Father's Day - I ended up going to feed the ducks/waterfowl today instead of tomorrow. Doing it today worked much better than tomorrow (would be extremely stressful to fit in - plus I wouldn't have had NE there to video me!) I couldn't get the video to upload from my phone to youtube so there is a short version I could email and then upload.

I wrote a short article about it on bubblews if you want to see it:

http://www.bubblews.com/news/3802313-honoring-my-dad-this-fa...

Or, if you'd prefer to just see the youtube video -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJlsdIzq5Wo

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I called my grandma this afternoon for our usual Sabbath afternoon chitchat. She laid it on me that they are converting the shed in her backyard into an extra bedroom for my niece. This means that all of dads stuff that my brother and I stored in the shed needs to have something done with it.

I called my brother to see what he thought, but he only had a few minutes. He said he'd call our aunt to get the full scoop.

There's no way I can get to CA this summer to go through the shed. I have to remain focused on getting a permanent job. We'll figure something out.

So Friday morning I had an interview at a staffing agency. It went okay I think, although I think she thought I wanted too much for salary. I asked about how I did on the assessment tests I had to take prior to the interview - I scored an 87 on Word and Excel, a 91 on Office Skills, a 60 WPM on typing, 7200kph on the ten-key, and can't remember on the alpha-numeric. All the numbers were well above what they look for.

So, I guess only time will tell. She did have me fill out an I-9 and W-4 form, so maybe that is a good sign that she thinks there will be something available for me at some point.

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On Sunday I start the collecting signatures job. Not really excited about it, other than earning some money and having something to do.

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I'm also planning on finding a pond with some ducks to feed on Sunday - as a way of honoring my dad. My 3rd Father's Day without him. This was my brother's idea (I'd suggested all of us going to Schlotsky's (sp?) but was voted down. Like my brother's idea better.)

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I talked with a former co-worker tonight for a long time. She initially had called to try to get me interested in an MLM business. As soon as she told me the name, I let her know I had absolutely no interest - that I had gone to one of their presentations when I lived in the DFW area. After a few minutes of reassuring her that I meant it, we spent a lot of time just chit chatting. It was good to talk with her, and I hope she has success with her MLM venture.

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I have received two cash back rewards recently. One for my BofA Cash Rewards card - $100, and one for my Cap One QuickSilver card - $100. I used the CapOne card to pay for my rental truck and tow dolly and rent my PO box - $649 total. I'll be cancelling the CapOne card as soon as I have it paid off - I wish I could keep it because of the cute cat logo, but it doesn't offer enough rewards to warrant keeping it.

I'm getting lessons in patience I think. The collecting signatures job I interviewed for on Thursday and was supposed to start on Sunday .... for whatever reason my background check didn't come through right away. I got a call from the lady on Sunday telling me she was still waiting on it. I didn't hear anything yesterday, and finally today around 2:00 p.m. I called her. She had gotten it finally, but was dealing with some issues right then.

At any rate, I'll be starting it on Sunday!

To add to the mix, the place I interviewed at on Friday, which I thought turned out to be a total waste of time ... I got a call from the lady this morning offering me a three week part time position at $8/hour starting on Friday. I had to tell her no thanks because of the collecting signatures job (better pay, more hours for one thing) but it does look like the interview may not have been a total waste if more things like that come along.

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I made an appointment with the dentist here finally - the hole in my tooth is getting very annoying, and my insurance runs out on the 30th. So, I need to get it taken care of. Wednesday at 9 I'll get a cleaning, x-rays and then an appt to do the filling.

I also made an appointment to get Kari's claws trimmed on Friday. It was $10 in big G, but here it is $16. As long as I'm living in NEs place, I *must* keep her claws trimmed short - it would not do our relationship much good if she destroyed one of his many speakers, etc.

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I've written quite a bit on bubblews, and have otherwise been keeping pretty busy doing different things. If you want to check out some of my recent posts, here is a link to my profile page:

http://www.bubblews.com/account/208258-ftlaura

Okay, I'm going to now attempt to catch up on the blogs. Looks like I've missed quite a bit of activity!

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Question. If someone told you they had keyed another persons car after that person had flipped them the bird, what would your reaction/response be? (The people with the keyed car did not see it happen.)