It has been a wonderful weekend. The weather has been very nice and mild. We have been enjoying "hang out" time as a family both indoors and out. I have even had plenty of quiet time to read this weekend. Not much got done yesterday..*shrug*..who cares?!

Today it's laundry, dishes, general pick-up. DD and DH are getting the garage organized for a garage sale next weekend.

I'll be starting the corned beef soon. I'm going to make soda bread tonight because I have not had that in years. It is very easy to make - flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt.

After dinner I am going to a girlfriend's for dessert and a chick-flick with her and another girlfriend. Very likely I'll go over in my PJ and be comfy.

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My coworker got her check replaced in cash before anything effected her checking account (her account never went negative.)

I think that my check cleared because: (A) I put in the bank first or
(B) because he instructed his personal banker to pay my check before any other.

I asked the boss about doing direct deposit. He told me he pays the rent that way and if the account is empty the direct deposit is declined so that would not be a solution.

I know with certainty that our withholdings are okay. All our insurance and such is covered. He pays IRS like he should. Thankfully he does conduct his business legally. Unfortunately he sucks big time with money management, budgeting and so on.

When my coworker was talking to him about things she said he told her "the kids really *need* their cell phones nowadays" among other things..

She told him she wasn't going to work this Saturday. She just didn't want to be there. A bit of payback, I think, because he had to have his family work with him.

I don't know if he really can't say "No" or he can't figure out what to do. It's frustrating!

Hey! It just occurred to me that I should duct tape him to a chair and have him watch a Suze marathon!

It was 78F here today. Tomorrow is supposed to be 80F. Wow!

Both DH and I were off work early today. He has been busy, busy working outside. He is widening our driveway by about 18" using free cement he got from a job. He's been moving dirt and using it to fill dips and uneven spots in the lawn.

I think we might start our garden early this year. Maybe as soon as next weekend even.

We also are planning to pick out some baby chicks soon. New laying hens to "freshen" our flock.

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Now the not so sunny part:

My co-worker's payroll check bounced. Our boss told her this morning that it had been returned. He told her he will pay all the fees associated of course, but the hassle? Blah! She was so upset.

He can't give her the money until tomorrow...

Just to further prove our boss totally sucks with his money.

It would be different if they were scraping by at home. That isn't the case. There are cell phones, premium cable, gym memberships, ice skating lessons, ski weekends and on and on...
The business gets treated like an ATM.

I have had many conversations with him saying how when times get tight you have to cut out the non-essentials.

Why would that be so hard?

A big reason (or maybe the whole reason) is both he and his DW don't want to "deprive" their children of anything (the "kids" are 24, 22, 20 now). Add to that a healthy dose of "we-make-plenty-of-money" keeping up with the Joneses mindset.

Very frustrating.
Plus worrisome when it gets so bad it affects payroll.

I am glad it's March, but *wow* I had a rough day to start the month.

This morning on my drive to work I nearly ended up in a four vehicle accident on the highway. It was scary. Somehow I managed to steer to the left toward the median to avoid the accident. Then steer to the right to avoid the cement divider. There was a CHP officer behind me and he told me I did a great job of driving. He could've ended up in the crash too if I hadn't maneuvered out of it. I am so very thankful and relieved nothing happened to me and DS. (The other drivers didn't seem hurt, just smashed up cars, but it would have been worse had I plowed into them.)

At work it was very busy - pretty much non-stop all day. I know my nerves were frayed from the morning and that just wore me down. I was so glad to end the day and look forward to the weekend.

I was thinking all day about maybe changing my work schedule to four days. That way I would save myself a day of commuting. Right now I work two half days. Tuesday I could work all day and then drop Thursday. Although, I don't know who will work Thursday morning. I could give my boss a two month notice on not working Thursday and for the next few months I would be making that extra money from the extra hours - and that wouldn't be so bad...

It's a quiet afternoon here at the office. My coworker has left for the afternoon because it is so slow. My boss is out to lunch now.

The weather is beautiful and I would have been the one to leave early, but I need to take care of my cat sitting cats tonight. They live very close to my work and I live in a different town about 20 minutes away. Plus, as much as I'd rather be at home on the internet I might as well be here at work on the computer and getting paid for what I'd be doing at home anyway.

Using some of the down time to check some little To Do's off.

The first was to log in and renew the library books my children have. In addition I paid the overdue fines that we seem to get just about every time we check something out. It is never a lot at one time, but $0.10 here $0.50 there and it accumulates. We (I) must get better about remembering the due dates.

Maybe writing them up on the white board we keep in the kitchen?
I literally had never thought of that until just now. Doh!

The fines were $10. I am happy I can pay it online with a cc and it takes about 60 seconds. Now it's done.


The second thing is tracking down the insurance payment for my root canal in December. If you read my post back then I was figuring I'd be due to get a $500 refund. Well I've been waiting for my claim's statement to show up in the mail. And waiting. And waiting. Today I created online access for my dental insurance company and searched my recent claims.

The only claim that showed for the last 90 days was my crown and that has been submitted and paid already. No pending or paid claim for my root canal.

Called the endodontists office and she was surprised that they hadn't been paid. According to her the claim had been submitted on the same day as treatment

She called the insurance company and resubmitted the claim.

And, yes I will be getting a check from the dentist for $502 once they receive the payment from insurance. Yay!


The third was transferring a $1 balance on a Starbucks gift card to the gift card I have registered. That was easy to do online.


DH and I opted to pass on DD's big school fundraising dinner this year. It would have been $70 for dinner and we would end up spending more if we wanted to bid on any auction items or buy raffle tickets. Just better to forgo completely. I did donate $25. I just put the check in the collection envelope the PTA sent home for the dinner ticket purchase. I felt very good about doing that. We saved and the school didn't lose out (much).

Last night I met my DH at the shoe store and he picked out two pairs of shoes (work and gym) and the total came to $71. I had a $10 coupon from taking a survey on a previous visit and if I want I can earn another $10 coupon by taking the survey for last night's visit.

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Tomorrow I start taking care of two elderly kitties for two weeks. I will make just over $500. This will all go to a cc payment. I wish I could make this much extra money more often. I have thought of making up a flier or business cards for pet sitting, but I don't know how much I can realistically take on with family and work responsibilities. However, making a chunk of cash like this makes me think...

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I signed myself up with a data collection company who wants information about the flea and heartworm preventative products we use at work. (How many units we have in stock, order and sell each month.)
I will get a check for $20 each month I provide the data sheets. It should only take me about 15 minutes to put the info together each month.

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Can't believe it is almost February! Wow, where did January go??

I started my day at 7:30 with a parent/teacher conference at DD's school. She had a perfect report card and very kind remarks from her teacher. We are so lucky that every year it has been the same - great, great, great.

I really give a lot of credit to the wonderful preschool she attended. This is the same preschool that we have DS enrolled in for Fall 2013.

Mid morning I had a dentist appointment. Just a routine cleaning. It won't be covered by my insurance and will cost about $80. I also scheduled my crown for the first week in January. My root canal is scheduled with the endodontist at the end of December. This way I can maximize my dental benefits and pay the least out-of-pocket I have to.

After my appointment I dropped my ballot off. (I filled it out at home, but didn't want to risk mailing it.) It is always neat to see all the different types of voters out and about.

Then I had to stop at MIL's bank. She asked for a $600 loan. This is the second time this year. She always pays it back promptly, so for that I am comfortable. What really alarms me is that they don't have any savings to tap? I'm not saying we are 'The Expert Savers', but we are working on it! (I really understand DH's lack of money management skills when I see things his parents do.)

I bought a banana milkshake from a burger stand next to the bank. It was a serious *want* and it was so gooood! Plus, my throat has been sore all day and that shake felt good - wish I had another one right now.

Lastly, I went to work for the afternoon.
It was pretty quiet, so work was the easiest part of the whole day.

We did get a pretty steady rain that started Sunday night. It rained sporadically through Monday and was windy too.

We lost power at work for over an hour when someone had a car accident and hit a pole. We lost power right when I was going to have lunch. That meant I couldn't heat my food up in the microwave and it wasn't something you would eat cold..Blah. So, I went out for lunch yesterday. I picked up soup and a cannoli from a local grocery store near my office. $6. They have the best cannolis and I really got lucky yesterday because the pastry counter man gave me a $1 off.

Last night it rained too. Not as hard as Sunday night, but still a second night of rain.
I think fall has finally arrived.

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I paid DH's cell bill today. $61. There was a credit from my phone line being cancelled and downgrading his plan. Too bad I can't expect a $61/mo bill for his phone. It will be more like $84/mo.

Thanks to FrugalTexan I don't have to pay my cell bill this month. She used my referral code and I have a credit on my account. Whoopee!

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Last night was so cozy inside our house while it was raining. We ate a tasty dinner while we watched the SF Giants win the final championship game and move on to the World Series! WooHoo!

Right now I am sitting in the backyard. It has been a beautiful day today. Really, the whole week has been wonderful, mild weather. Still not having to use the AC or heat.

I worked this morning for my co-worker who is sick. I don't mind working Saturdays occasionally because I get a few more hours on the paycheck, don't have to pay for childcare and don't have weekday traffic to deal with.

I decided to treat myself to Starbucks this morning and used the drive-thru. When it was my turn at the window they told me their system was down so they couldn't take my money, so my coffee was free!

Free coffee was a very nice way to start my day.

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Trying to juggle the budget because of the lower income due to DH being gone. He did get some of his time off as paid vacation. Even so, we are about a third short of what he would have made had he been home. In addition to lesser income he spent money while he was gone. A double whammy.

He has $800 coming to him from his side work with the fire department at the raceway, so that *will* help *when* it shows up. Until then I am dipping into the EF to cover the shortfall. Phooey!

Cutting back on the grocery spending is going to be essential now. There also won't be much progress on the CC repayment this month.

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DD had her first 4H meeting on Thursday. It was $33 for the yearly enrollment and another $32 to buy presale tickets for the fundraising BBQ. She has signed up for four projects. Her first project meeting is 'Canning & Preserves' and it meets tomorrow afternoon.

Must make a quick post. We have to leave for a wedding soon or else we'll be late.

Yesterday's SA meet-up was WONDERFUL!
I had the chance to meet Frugal Texan, Swimgirl, Monkey Mama & Big Monkey and Ray & her DD. I ended up getting to the bakery 45 minutes late due to driving my kids all around the county to drop them off and then getting stuck driving behind an impossibly slow truck for most of the way.

Important lesson: If you're going to meet up be sure someone has your phone number and you have theirs! (I didn't have anyone's number so I couldn't call and tell them I wasn't trying to be a total flake.)

Anyway, I finally made it and just as Swimgirl describes it was like a blind date. The bakery was full of people and I didn't know what any of my SA friends looked like. Of course I was thinking because I was so late they all could have already left.

Thankfully they hadn't. The two women in line in front of me turned out to be FT and MM!!

I didn't go with the rest of the group to SanFran, I had a crazy busy day ahead of me.

After the meet up I had to rush to work. My boss was waiting for me with a dog to take radiographs on as soon as I walked thru the door. And we just kept hustling all afternoon. My boss never got any lunch because we were slammed. I didn't leave until 6:20pm. I'm not complaining. I love my job and it's great when it's busy.

I met up with DH and DH's friend to shop for the wedding clothes for wedding #2. The wedding where DD and DH are going to be in the wedding party.

We all didn't get home until 8pm. We ordered pizza on the drive home because we had no time/energy to cook. DH's buddy and soon-to-be wife had dinner with us.

After dinner I put together the spinach dip for the wedding we are headed to now and packed for me and DS for the overnight stay at MIL/FIL's house.

*Phew*
I can't wait for Sunday when I can sit and take a breather!

The past ten days have been busy 'round here.

DD had a school band concert last Thursday. They sounded really good all together. Can't believe school ends this month!

Last weekend was DS's second birthday.
Wow! He is getting to be such a big boy.
This was the most frugal (cheap) birthday celebration to date at our house. We didn't have a party or invite anyone over to the house. DD baked and decorated cupcakes, we went to the park and DH made BBQ kabobs for dinner. As for gifts we didn't buy him anything. He did get gifts to unwrap from my mom & dad, my co-worker and my boss. My MIL & FIL sent a very cute card with $40. Next year I know we'll do something bigger - a party with family and friends.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were very busy at work. Our receptionist was out on vacation, so that added some extra work. I like it that way, lots to do and making money.

Thursday I took DD to her first 4H meeting. We're going to check out a few clubs in our town and figure out which clubs offer what and how organized they are and such. DD is interested in going to 4H camp this summer. She is also interested in several projects, including puppy raising for Guide Dogs.

Nothing much of note financially speaking. I did make $60 this week by watching a friend's dog. I am keeping $20 to put in my wallet and sending the $40 to CC payment.

Need to go grocery shopping this weekend. I was going to get in done this morning first thing, but was totally unmotivated. I will go later today because I don't want to do it tomorrow (Mother's Day) and I MUST use the $10 off coupon by this weekend. I also have a reward coupon to redeem for a $5 Starbucks gift card.

Added $25 to the EF by auto transfer. Unfortunately, the Giants have not won many games lately so not much to add there.

A bit slow right now at work.
I have about an hour by myself until things pick up again.

I just stepped off the scale.
(Yes, I weigh myself here on the pet scale )
And I've lost another pound! Yippee!

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One of our clients is a manager at Starbucks. Whenever we see her she always brings us free drink coupons and other goodies. She came in yesterday so now I have three free drinks coming and a belly full of coffeecake.

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In other news we are going to stay home for Easter. That will save us about $80 because we won't have to buy gas. But because we'll be having a nice dinner at home we'll probably spend about $40. That is still $40 saved and a much more relaxing weekend.
My mom and dad will probably come to our house for the day to see the kids and eat dinner. In-laws are going to be too busy to make it this time. That's fine, less stress.

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I received the official letter from our bank telling us that the fraudulent charge was found to be fraudulent and the matter was closed. Like there was any doubt?

DH also got his new card/number.

Big ol' post about how much we spend here on our pets.


We have in our household two dogs, one cat, five hens and one duck. We also own two horses who have to live in our old hometown because it's waayy too expensive to board them anywhere near us. When we rented we had a place on three acres and we all lived together. I miss riding and taking care of them. Horses are wonderful mental therapy. Well, really all animals are. I don't understand how some people live without any pets. I know, personal preference and all, but I would not want to live without my furry family.

Course, we would save a ton of money... hmmm.. (Just Kidding)

Seriously, along those lines we do want to try to find one of the horses a new home. We took her in in a sort of rescue situation and I think she would make a good friend to someone. The other, my Arabian gelding, I have had since I was 13 so I want to care for him until he passes. He is 22 now and is in great shape so that could easily be another 10 years.

Alright, this post is about spending so...

Each month it's $300 for board on the horses. (Compared to $550 and up in our area.)
This past month was our yearly vet check and vaccines. $120.
Both horses are barefoot and have great feet so only need trims 2-3 times per year (thankfully). Trims next month will be $30 each.

"Sasha", our sheltie, is still doing great even with the cancer diagnosis last October. Yay! We opted for the conservative chemo treatment. Luckily, because of where I work I can get all my animal's medication at cost. Her chemo pills are $223/50ct bottle. She takes one per day. I don't know how much it would be from a pharmacy. She also needs once monthly blood testing. I buy my boss lunch to cover the cost.

"Maxx", our nine-year-old Labrador, is very healthy, (knock on wood!) but I have noticed him slowing down a bit. A few weeks back I started Adequan injections. This is for joint support and rebuilding. $80 for the first month, then about $10 once monthly. I submitted for a $20 rebate and should be getting in in the next week or so. This treatment would normally cost about $150 to $300 in the first month.

"Munchie", our 12 year old kitty is going to get a blood test next week. I will get this for free! (Average cost $150)

The hens and duck cost about $25 every six weeks, or so, to feed and buy pine shavings for their enclosure.

Another perk of my job - Free dog and cat food! That saves a bunch!

Speaking of work, I see what other people spend on pets so that does put my spending in perspective. More like I am very thankful I save so much by working for a veterinarian!

Yeah, I have another Tuesday off. Just slow at work this afternoon. It's a good day to be home because it's raining out. I have several things I should be doing here at home, but I'll probably spend my time playing on the computer while DS takes his nap.

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Last night DH called the fraud dept at the bank and everything is all straightened out. He was on the phone for maybe six minutes? The amount is credited back to our account as of this morning.

I am going to wait a few days before I order diapers from Diapers. and I am going to use a cc from a different bank (the BoA maybe) so I don't create a problem. It probably doesn't matter, but just in case... I might even wait until I get the formal letter from the bank that everything is cleared up.

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I received all my stuff from Victoria's S. One of the swimsuits is really a good fit, so I think it's "the one". Two out of three dresses fit very nicely, but I must limit myself to just one. I also ordered a bra and a nightie that I will keep.

Here is the swimsuit:

(BTW, it doesn't look this good on me. )

I will still keep looking until we go to Hawaii in case I find something I like better. If I do I will still be able to return this suit.

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I have a big soup cookbook. I have made several recipes from it. I think of Monkey Mama when I do because it's published by Taste of Home. This afternoon I am going to make a lentil, rice and veggie soup for dinner. It has things DH is allowed to eat on his "purification diet". As of this morning he has lost 8lbs.

I will have to stop at the store for a few little items. It won't add up to much, but I shudder at the thought of adding to the food spending for this month.

Finally getting some more good rainstorms through here these past few days. This morning it was coming down pretty heavy. It has let up a bit, but supposed to dump again late this afternoon.

Little DS is sick.
Running a fever the past two days. Little bit of a runny nose, so that leads to a little cough. The fever is about 102F and makes him feel crummy - Lethargic and not wanting to eat. Once I dose him with some ibuprofen he's back to almost normal. He plays, talks and eats as long as the meds supress his fever. Last night he felt too good to sleep after he had a dose and was up until 11pm. *groan* Then I was up and down with him all night because he just couldn't get comfortable. Add to that the rain and the time change and it was very difficult to get out of bed this morning.

DH took the day off to stay home with the little man. I think DS just needs to rest and we have to get him to drink lots of fluids. I would have taken the day off, but my co-worker is sick and she works Saturdays, so she took today off to try to get better.
Just *that* time of year I suppose.

I am going to leaving work early. 45 minutes or so more. Just need to discharge two dogs here for surgery and help the doctor with a cat visit.

My co-worker wanted the day off, so I am working for her. That bathroom reno post will have to wait a few more hours..

I had the day off on Thursday, which is a half day, so working today will give back those hours. I like that. Thursday was a lot of running around and spending money. Pharmacy: $10. Grocery: $190. KMart: $32. TraderJoe's: $38. Re-ordered checks: $23. DD's school band is playing at a SF Giants game. Tickets for her and DH for the game: $60.

Last night I stopped at Costco and really stocked up esp. on meat, fruit and spices. $240.

And I bought gas. $4.19/gal! $73!

Yesterday we received our federal refund. (We received our state refund last week.) Both checks went straight into savings because they are earmarked for the new roof.

So here is what really bugs me - we got a 1099 in the mail Thursday! It was postmarked Feb. 27. Isn't that wrong? Don't you have to have all your tax stuff sent out by Feb. 1?

This is the 1099 I was waiting and waiting for and just ended up filing on Feb. 12 when we never got it. Now I'm going to have to file an amendment. *Grrr*

March?!? Wow!

This past week just flew by.
I had my BFF and her hubby come for an overnight visit last weekend. Then just busy the past days with work and family.

Today I have the day off because of a scheduled power outage on the street where our office is. It actually doesn't feel much like a day off because of all the little chores I have listed for myself. I want to be able to get my list all checked off.
It took me 45 minutes this morning to get my prescription refilled - Ugh! That was a big time set back. Then I went grocery shopping. Came home and got everything put away. Now DS is napping before we have to run over and pick up DD. Then the music store, the post office, band practice, Costco, start dinner, stop at the bank, and more...

The other big news: our bathroom is done!
A big post with pics and costs is on my to do list for today also, but that might have to wait until Saturday.

Some of you may remember that my payday recently changed from bi-monthly to every Friday. My DH gets paid every Friday also. Well this new way is working out great! For whatever reason it's making budgeting and bill paying much easier.

For example, last week I made payments to all the ccards at the same time on the same day. In the past I would have to stagger them out to match up with my pday or a Friday for DH's pday.

The other exciting part about getting two checks rolling in every Friday is the five Friday months. Next month, March, has five Fridays. That means we will have $1300-$1700 more income than a "regular" month! WhooHoo!

OMGosh DH called me about an hour ago and I could tell he had something up his sleeve...
His bosses are passing a trip to Hawaii on to us!

Neither DH or I have ever been.

The trip is paid for by a corporation that they buy their HVAC equipment from. This is a trip they give to their higher grossing clients (something along those lines). Well, DH's bosses (hubby & wife) already have a big trip to Hawaii planned for two weeks after this trip so instead of going twice they asked DH if we'd like to go in thier place.

Five nights in Maui. Hotel and airfare for $0.
We will need to pay for food and maybe a rental car. Everyone says it's good to have a car to drive around.

Wow! I am SO excited!

I bought Quicken Deluxe at Costco Thursday. After the coupon it cost $20.

I was thinking I would get the Home/Business edition because I have a little dream of having a side business here at home someday. I figured I should just buy Quicken once and have all the options. But, Costco was out of that one. (I suppose I could order it from them online...)

Do you ever buy an upgraded product in anticipation of using a feature "someday"? Or do you just re-buy the upgraded product when you end up needing it?
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Getting paid every Friday is pretty nice. DH gets paid every Friday too, so it makes for a large influx of cash weekly.

There has been some discussion about whether or not more taxes gets taken from your paycheck if you get paid weekly, bi-monthly or monthly. I don't know. Seems like it would all work out to the same amount in a year. Anybody know?
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Speaking of taxes, I have the childcare total from DD's afterschool program. $1168. I plugged it into our return I'm working on at FreeTaxUSA.com. I also plugged in the 1099-G. I wish I could get the remaining info I need so I can complete and file. Just like to get rolling on our return.

This morning was the coldest morning of the year for our area. It was 22F. There was only a little covering of frost because it's been so very dry here. We are way below normal for rainfall and it's just been day after day of beautiful sunshine. I was almost ready to water my lawn! Thankfully it looks like the rain is coming starting Thursday.
I am happy to see the rain coming our way! (As long as our roof can hold up for us one more season!)

I picked up my year-end statement from DS's daycare lady last night. $7,430 for the year.
No wonder I can't max out the ROTHs!

Nah, he is worth every penny.

I am chomping at the bit to get all our tax paperwork and get to working on our return. I entered in my W-2 this morning along with DS's childcare amount and if that was all there was I would get $6k back.
Too bad that's not what's going to happen. LOL.
Still have to enter DH's income (W-2 and 1099's), mortgage statement, DD's childcare and misc. receipts.

For the past several years I have used FreeTaxUSA.com to do our taxes. Very user friendly and has been great for us. It costs us $10.
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This is a picture I took a few months back to share. Then I forgot I had it on the memory card.

This is a tree next to my work just before it dropped the last of it's leaves.

I have the afternoon off today. Right now I just finished watching a movie with DD. DS is napping. Going to get some To Do stuff done today. So far I've...

- I cleared the cash out of my purse and deposited $40 to the EF.

- I added DH as a second card holder to my Wells Fargo CC. By doing that I am hoping I'll be able to transfer the points he earned with his debit card to the credit card's point total. They discontinued the points program for the debit card about August and he has enough points to redeem for about $40 worth of gift cards, but there will be points left over. I would really like to combine the two point balances so we don't lose out on any points.

- Cancelled HBO. Our special deal ended. Not paying $10/mo to keep it. I will try to get another deal on it in a few months when "Game of Thrones" season starts.

- Paid mortgage. $1776.

Still need to...

- Buy some TP! Yikes, we're out!
- Donate some pet food I have to the animal shelter.
- Donate two bags of DD's old clothes and my old plate set.
- Un-decorate the tree and remove from the house.
- Call the city water department and set up a "water audit" thing. First step in qualifying for a $150 credit for a new toilet.
- Dishes.
- Wash all the new clothes DS got for Christmas.
- Take a picture of the new tile for you all to see.

Happy 2012 everyone!
May we all accomplish what we need to this year. I'll be cheering us all on.
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I am at work today, although it is not very busy, I would much rather be at home. I might get to stay home tomorrow because so far there is only one appointment and my boss is leaving early. It would be nice to get a few "To Do" things crossed off my list tomorrow.
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The 49ers won their game on Sunday!
I will need to add $10 to the EF. They won 13 games this season. That was $130 to the EF!
Now let's see what they can do in the play-offs.

Not to be graphic...

We all ended up with DD's "stomach bug". Blah!

Little DS threw up right after I picked him from childcare Wednesday night.
It's heartbreaking to see a toddler wretching.
Thankfully, he seemed to recover the quickest. Only a few hours of the "bug" and then he had a full night's sleep.

I was sick from midnight until about 7am Thursday.

DH stayed home from work with me yesterday. He was having some milder symptoms and thought it would be best to stay home and rest. Maybe not get as sick as the rest of us. Well, early this morning the "bug" hit him hard so he is home again today. Poor guy!

It really sucked because you feel so bad that nothing gets done even though you're home all day. I feel like I've lost two days worth of time. I needed to get things done.

On the bright side - I am very thankful that we did not get this over Christmas. That would have been WAY worse.

Yup, DH now has a fishing boat.

It did not cost us anything because...
his bosses bought it for him!

One of their clients was selling it for a really low price ($1k). DH tried to talk me into us buying it so we could re-sell it at a profit. I was not going to even go there because of the "What If's".
What if he loved it and couldn't part with it.
What if we couldn't find a buyer? Etc..

His bosses (husband & wife) bought it for him because of all the fond family memories they, and the client selling the boat, have of fishing with their children. It was given as a "Thanks for all you do" gift. Really quite generous.

Hubby picked up the boat which is a 2004 15' aluminum Klamath with an outboard motor, bass seats, (2) fish finders, depth finder, on a very nice trailer. He was also given all the paperwork/manuals/receipts on everything. The seller had bought everything new and paid over $8k.

DH has talked with his dad and several friends and this set up could sell for $4k to $5k pretty easily.

DARN!
Now I wish I would've let him talk me into buying it just to sell it. lol!
Could not sell it now that it's a gift.

Looking over the prior boat and trailer registration it will cost $14/two years for the boat and $25/five years for the trailer.

My co-worker has taken to calling DH "Ken" now. As in Ken and Barbie, because Ken has all these "accessories".
**shaking my head**

Sunday I went grocery shopping and we really stocked up. DD went with me and I was glad she did because I had her get a second cart! I spent $262. Stocked up on many good deals: $1 items and BOGO free. According to the receipt I saved $110 on store savings and I had a (yes, ONE) $1 off coupon. I have a far way to go to be an Extreme Couponer.

Speaking of Extreme Couponers, I finally watched a few episodes. Interesting... And I really applaud all the time and organization it takes. I think there are some great lessons on how to make it work for you. However, I don't know about getting like 500 Tic-Tacs just because they're free.

On second thought, maybe I would and pass them out for Halloween!

In my area (Sonoma County, CA) there aren’t any stores that double and the weekly coupons aren't anything that would make buying something you don't NEED worthwhile.

I do remember when I was little and shopping with my mom that stores doubled, and on special days, even tripled coupons. I might be totally wrong, but I don't think there are any stores in California that do this anymore.

Also on Sunday the SF 49ers won their game!
I think I will add money to the EF for each win. Maybe $5 or $10..hmmm..
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Yesterday we took our boss out for lunch. It was Bosses' Day. I had a pear, caramelized onion and goat cheese pizza. Very different and very good. We shared a dessert - Mudpie - YUM!
It was fun and he was suprised. A splurge, my co-worker and I split the bill and tip. $32 each. I ate the rest of my pizza for lunch today.

I am at work today, but I am all by myself right now and will be for the next two or more hours. My boss is out of the office for a business/attorney meeting thing and my coworker headed for home already. Not much for me to do but man the phone and the front desk. Which is very easy to do while I sit in front of the computer here.
I could clean or something, but......Nah!
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I forgot at home the fax number for the person who hit my car. I had wanted to fax the final invoice to him so I can get a check ASAP. Oh well, it'll have to be tomorrow.
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I took a survey for my health plan and earned a $5 Amazon credit code. I hope there will be more of those because $5 is nice, but isn't going to get me very far!

I did second survey for Diapers.com last night and was entered into a drawing for $100 credit. I think I'd rather have a guaranteed $5 credit.

Tried to update on Tuesday morning about my kitty Fuzzy, but as we all know the site was on the fritz. So glad we're all up and running again!

On Friday night we (the family) had noticed Fuzzy seemed to have a 'stuffy nose'. No biggie; a simple upper respiratory infection usually will resolve on it's own just like when we have a cold. But by Sunday afternoon she was lethargic and not eating or drinking. No vomiting or diarrhea. Monday morning she was looking jaundice (yellow skin) and I brought her with me to work. (I am a registered veterinary technician and work in a single doctor small animal general practice. Because of this I am very fortunate to have access to low cost or free care for my animals. Thankfully!)
We ran a comprehensive blood panel, took x-rays and started IV fluids and IV antibiotics. Her x-rays were clear: good. Her blood work however was all over the place like major shutdown and pointed to diabetic ketoacidosis: Seriously sick and life threatening.

I was surprised because I hadn't seen any warning signs for diabetes. I feel guilty that I might have missed something. What my boss (the doctor) is thinking is that she was borderline diabetic and when she slowed her eating and drinking because of the upper respiratory infection (URI) that started the domino effect.

She's been on 24 hour care. If she was a client's pet she would be hospitalized at a 24-hour hospital, but I am able to do what she needs so I take her home each night and bring her to work during the day. She's holding her own. There has been some slight improvement. Her URI cleared up yesterday and her follow-up blood panel showed some better values. I started her on insulin. She is still on IV fluids, antibiotics and I have to syringe feed her because she's not eating on her own. Hopefully she starts eating soon because that's going to be the biggest thing to help her be okay.

I noticed this quote on a mug we have here at work and I thought I'd share:

"Bread and water can so easily become toast and tea."

How about that for positive spin?
I like it!

As you might remember my car was backed into two weeks ago. Well today I had it checked out at the mechanic's shop because I've been smelling gas. The time/cost to diagnose the problem will be 2hrs/$235. To fix it? As of now, unknown. Tomorrow I am going to call the elderly lady and see how she wants to pay for all this. To top it off the car's registration is due this month and I think it's due for a smog. But, I haven't gotten a notice from DMV yet and I'm not even going to try for a smog until this gas odor is dealt with. I heard that California is not sending the renewal notices out with as much notice as in the past. 'Course I'm sure you can't pay any later than usual!
Ugh!!!
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My paycheck on July 5th didn't have my raise on it. The raise was effective starting June 1st. I had it on the last paycheck. What the heck bookkeeper?! I told the boss and he sent the bookkeeper an email, but when will I see the money?
Really thinking that I will set the raise money aside for my ROTH. That would be about $50-$60/mo.
Should I split it with DH's ROTH?
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Giants had a few wins so I added $6 to the EF.
New balance is $3795.

But in a moment I will transfer $1k to the cc to cover DH's dental bill from this afternoon.
Newest EF balance $2795.

I guess -
Easy come. Easy go.
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McDonalds has a promo going until next week for their new smoothie flavor, Pineapple and Mango, 12oz(a small) for $1. The smoothie is very tasty, I tried one Monday.

I stopped by there today to pick two up and they were out. I asked it they would sell another flavor for the same price? They said "No", so I said thanks anyway and drove off thru the drive thru. Too bad for them because I was thinking of also getting nuggets and fries. Good for me because they saved me money. I came home and made a smoothie and ate food I already had.

Rained like crazy yesterday, well crazy for a June almost July day. Today the sun is just starting to peek out. Like Monkey Mama we're getting the same crazy weather; 67F today, 95F by Saturday.

Monday and Tuesday we had digital radiology installed at work! This is really going to help me. Having digital xray is so much faster than standard xray. It's as easy and quick as taking a picture with a digital camera. No time needed to develop the film. Just take the xray and about 3 seconds later the picture pops up on the screen. And then, once the radiograph is shot, you can manipulate the image to help see things better. Zoom in, change the contrast, flip the image..so cool. Such a nice upgrade to have in our office.

It's a slow day here at work. Maybe the weather or the upcoming holiday weekend or it's the end of the month so nobody has any money. Last week we were slammed every day.

Today I brought my Labrador in and took radiographs of his hips. My boss and I were eager to use our new "toy", and also to see if we could remember how to use it! My lab is getting older, 8.5yrs, and is starting to slow down a bit. I wanted to see if there were any problems. Nothing remarkable - a very slight indication of a bit of arthritis in the left hip. I also brought our 7yr sheltie in and I cleaned her teeth. No cost for anything.

More perks from work - we get two free lunches out this week. (Did I mention how I'm not losing any weight?) Yesterday we had gourmet pizza and salad courtesy of our digital xray instructor and tomorrow we're all going out to an upscale Italian restaurant courtesy of our dog/cat food salesman.

The Giants won both games of their double-header yesterday. $4 to EF.
And,
I removed a $5/mo data plan from DH's phone.
He tried using the web maybe once from it and it was sooo slow it was ridiculous. I think I will add that $5/mo to the EF now.
See, I'm catching on to this saving thing!
Current balance $3787.