DD and her friend dressed up as grapes for a parade at the fair.



Some displays inside the big flower show.



The midway lights



I spent $78 at the fair. That was parking, entry for myself the girls and DS, food and a few wagers on the horse races. I also bought a popsicle freezing set from a Tupperware booth.

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Burney Falls on our camping trip.



View off the arched footbridge down the creek from the falls.



Along the way to the camping I stopped at my BFF's baby shower. It was great to have a visit with my buddy and see her baby belly!

Our camping trip was a great break. We really should've stayed three nights instead of two. I mean once all the stuff is packed and we drove up there an extra day to kick back would've been great. The weather was pretty hot up in the mountains. It was about 94F at the campground. It was a perfect 75'ish down in the gorge where the falls were. So each afternoon I would walk down there and stay until dinner was ready.

On the way home we drove thru Redding and it was 115F!

Total camp trip cost was nearly $600. Fuel was a biggie! That also included the camping cabin, fishing licenses, food and two new sleeping bags. Our other set needed to be replaced, so I bit the bullet and bought new ones this year.

Unfortunately we had some camping stuff stolen right from in front of the house Thursday morning. The truck and boat are parked on the street in front of our house. DH didn't clear out everything out from the boat after we went camping. He figured he would get to the last few things and park the boat on the side yard this weekend.

We lost two fishing poles. DH's worth about $60 and DD's about $25.

A large storage tote with misc camp gear. One item was a brand new tarp that I was going to return for $20. Camp coffee pot, rope, tent stakes, two hammers, trash bags... A few other things I can't remember. We figured the value of all the tote stuff about $120.

Add in the poles for a total of approx $205.

DH is making a list and is going to make a police report. Not that we think we'll get anything back, but just so the PD knows we had crime in our area.

Thing is the darn tote weighed about 80lbs and was snugged inside the boat, so whoever took the stuff must have really wanted it I guess.

Really makes me pissed that there are people who just feel like it's totally fine to help themselves to other people's things!! GGRRRRR!

It's funny how things turn out sometimes.

As some of you might have read before I have been thinking of switching my cell service to Ting.

Well, this past weekend I set my cell in the cupholder of our truck before I realized the cupholder was full of Gatoraid! The "guys" (DH, groom, and two friends) had ran some errands in the truck and spilled it. They didn't have anything to dry it up with and by the time DH came back to the hotel he had forgotten all about it. I thought after the phone dried out it would be fine. But no; it is not turning on or charging. I don't know if it fried the inside or maybe fried the battery. I don't care, because I'm taking this as the sign that it's time for me to buy a Ting phone and switch. I am really going to splurge and buy a fancy smart phone. Running the numbers last night I figured my new phone will pay for itself after nine months. I plan to have this phone for many years. I am still a bit tempted to go with a less costly phone, but I want something I will be happy with for a long time too. I plan to pay with a 0% cc so I don't have to touch any of the EF. I know, I know, adding to the cc debt, is , but I feel better using that than taking from the savings. The phone will be paid for before any interest rate kicks in.

What I really hope is that DH will see how GREAT my phone is and how CHEAP it is to use and he will want to switch. That would really end up saving some serious dough.

I just love that my phone died (lol! Who ever says that!) and opening me up to buying a new phone and switching providers.

We went to wedding #2 this weekend. It was very nice and I'm glad it went smoothly. And I'm also glad it's over now. DD looked lovely in her dress and really helped out by keeping the two young ring bearers in line. DH looked very sharp as the best man. I picked out the pink ties that he and the other groomsman wore.

Geez, I had no clue that ties were so expensive. I ended up picking the lesser priced ties and still they were $21 each. Pink looks nice on DH so hopefully he'll have an opportunity to wear the tie again.

We gave the couple a $25 Lowe's gift card and the least expensive cute card I could find. $27.xx total.

We stayed Friday night at a hotel and I drove home Saturday night. We didn't end up leaving until 9pm, but it was so good to be back home and sleep in our own bed. Also great not to spend $$ on a second night in the hotel!

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Sunday was a lazy day. I had a $10 off $30 coupon for Kohl's. I bought myself a pair of yoga pants (I was combing thru all the clearance racks for a shirt and couldn't find anything I liked. Grr!) and a replacement plate and bowl that had been broken from my set. That came to $30.62. After $10 off and an additional 10% off I paid $20.80.

I also went to the grocery store and used another $10 off $50 coupon as well as a few other "Grand Opening" coupons from the booklet they mailed out. I am also finally signed up and using the Just4U online coupons.

Last week I saved $62. My total spent was $72 on a bunch of groceries.

This week I saved $45. My total spent was $66.

I have two more $10 off coupons to use in the next two weeks.

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We are going to the county fair on Thursday. Our county has two fairs. This is the larger two week long fair with a huge flower show. I'll try to take pics to share.

DD wanted to see Miranda Cosgrove, the star of the TV show "iCarley". She is having a concert at the fair and the tickets were $20-$30! I told DD she would have to pay for the ticket herself. So, she saved her birthday money and a few weeks worth of allowance and she bought two tickets. She is taking a girlfriend with her. I also told her if she wanted to ride the rides she'd have to buy her own wristband too. I told her I'd drive them, pay for parking and pay for the admission, but that was all I was willing to spend.

I am very proud that DD didn't whine or complain about me not paying, she just figured out a way to make it work.

Have been keeping busy. Most of my online time has been spent looking at dogs or reading posts about the book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" (aka Game of Thrones). It's been my decompression time to go visit the fantasy world. I've been reading too. Some short stories, magazines and a small novel. All very entertaining and a pleasant distraction.

I've been feeling very frustrated and tired. That doesn't make me feel particularly bloggy. I find frustration very energy draining. Plus, my personality is to "fix it" and find resolution, so frustration makes me cranky.

One of the biggest frustrations started last weekend when we had a home visit by a German Shepherd rescue volunteer. He thought we were great, everything great for us to adopt a dog, except our back fence is about 1.5 feet too low for his liking. His point is that a dog might see something over the fence and just take off after it. Okay, fine a valid point, except that another 1.5 feet isn't going to stop that "type" of dog. Not to mention we are NOT looking for a hyped-up, fence jumping dog. We've had multiple family and friend's dogs in the yard and none have ever jumped the fence, not even the excited ones. Let me also say that over our back fence is just the neighbor's back yard and it is 100% fenced as well.

We are planning to replace all of our fencing in the yard. DH and I agreed we'd do sections. We replaced the front bit by our garage about two years back. The back section is next on the To Do list, but we weren't going to do it until October or even early 2013. We want to remove a large'ish pine tree and a shed before the new stretch of fence goes in. So that's a time commitment not even to mention the MONEY commitment! *sigh* *sigh* *sigh*

This all would be fine if I had all the time in the world but, I really want to get another dog before anything happens to "Maxx". Plus, "Maxx" will be a great "role model" for a new dog to learn from. And the rescue has a very sweet girl who will likely end up being adopted before our fence is ready.

Sure we could buy a puppy, and believe me I'm looking, but then that costs money. Money that could just go to the fence and a rescue dog.

All this makes me frustrated and sad..

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More frustration is the never-ending stream of money out!

We bought the flower girl/junior bridesmaid dress (for the upcoming friend's wedding) thru Amazon. It was $54.

DH bought a dress shirt, slacks and a tie for the wedding. That was $98.

Staying in a hotel the night before the wedding. $67. It's a Motel 6, but it's newer and looks really nice. I am opting to not drink more than one glass of champagne at the wedding just so I can drive home that evening at we won't have to pay for a second night.

DH is redoing his EMT certification. $250 at our local junior college.

Reserved/paid for our camping spot and a boat dock for the time we're there. (Okay, not feeling too bad about that, but still $$)

And bills.. BLAH!

Somehow our water usage skyrocketed last month? Like 1.5X last month? I think it's got to be a mistake, like they misread the meter or maybe haven't read it in several months. The past three months have been all the same, and pretty low for summer usage. The other issue could be we've got a leaking underground pipe.

And I HATE our cell bill.. DH and the Frickin' iPhone! Stupid smart phone needs the most premium package. My phone is a $20 additional line, but I have a plain, old flip phone and only use like 100 minutes a month. I am really close to switching myself to Ting. I could get a major upgraded phone for myself; the plan savings would pay for my new phone in nine months. Problem for me is parting with all that cash up front for the new phone... Still, I am dangerously close to doing it.

I guess bottom line is:
Frustrated that it takes money to do EVERYTHING!


Thanks for letting me vent. I'm feeling a little better.

We have two weddings coming up.

The first one is this weekend. DH's cousin. It's a bit of a drive, but looks to be a fun, low-key family get together. It's a potluck and we are bringing spinach dip and bread. I bought a cute card for $2.50 and I am thinking we'll put a $25 gift card inside. Not sure to what yet???

The next wedding is in the first part of August. One of DH's close friends. Going to be a bit more spent on this one because DH is the best man and DD is the flower girl/junior bridesmaid. SO, DH needs a certain vest, tie and a new white shirt. DD needs a dress. We are planning to get the couple a Lowe's gift card as per their wish list. $25 I think I'll buy it thru PlasticJungle.
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And baby showers coming up too..

My BFF has her baby shower the weekend after the second wedding. It's about a four hour drive from my house. I will probably buy her diapers and maybe a cute clearance outfit.

It's likely that we will combine the drive up for the shower with a family camp trip at one of our fav California State parks. It's only an hour'ish from BFF's house.

A girlfriend in my town is having a low-key shower a few weeks later. Probably buy diapers for her.
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Looking into a local rescue for a possible new canine family member.

"Maxx", our Labrador, is doing okay. He is on once daily prednisone for whatever spinal/nerve issue he has. He moves around almost normally while his is on the meds. Other than stumbling around a little bit, he is his normal self. We still want to try some acupuncture treatments for him.

"Maxx" seems lonely without another dog around and I want our next dog to observe "Maxx's" good habits and behavior. Because we don't know exactly what is wrong with him, or how long he'll be with us, I am starting to look for a second dog now.

This just happened this afternoon!



My car is a 1999 Nissan Pathfinder.

This morning I went to the grocery store. Safeway is running their spend $75 get $10 off coupon promo this weekend. I also needed to spend $9 on selected dairy items by the end of the month to earn two tickets to the new "Ice Age" movie.

I spent $93. Included in that was several boxes of cereal priced at $1.88/box and a few BOGO free items.

The snag came at checkout when the coupon printer didn't print my movie ticket vouchers or my $10 reward coupon. Had to go over to customer service and after a few minutes she got everything for me.

Other Saturday stuff:

Bought new sneakers for myself and DH. $83 total.

Bought a new set of scrubs for work. $42.

Going to pickup DD from camp today. Yay! I've missed her and can't wait to hear how camp went.

MIL is coming this evening to stay for two nights.
Two nights is just fine.
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A $3 service fee was charged on our checking account this month. A checking account which is supposed to be free.

Do you remember when I posted about having to change my account a few months back (Oct. I think) and I thought it was so odd that it was called "College Checking" but it didn't matter what your age was or whether or not you were in college.

When I called today I was told that because our account is "College Checking" it's only free if you're under 24. Doesn't matter that I was told in the branch that your age didn't matter. *Really..Grr!*
And I guess it doesn't matter that it's been free for months and neither DH nor I have been 24? (I wonder if my birthday last month triggered this fee to start? Hmm.)

The CS rep for the bank asked if I'd like to change my account to a "Value Checking" package.

"You only need to keep a $1500 average daily balance for it to be free. Otherwise it's $9/mo."

Hu? Let me see... I can keep what I've got for $3/mo or switch and every few months (or maybe every month) I'd get charged $9 because the A.D.B would be too low. No thanks. I'll stick with this for now.

As I've said before I would consider a switch to our credit union. The advantage the bank has over the CU is: Convenience. Lots of branches/ATMs/easy online uses.

I do plan to stop at the branch where they told me age doesn't matter. And I'm a bit curious; sound like age discrimination?

A bit of spending here at our house this weekend.

I took DD and one of her school friends to see "Brave" in 3D on Friday night. It was a GREAT movie! I liked it very much. Very good mother/daughter film. The 3D keeps getting better and better each time I go to the theater. We had frozen yogurt before the movie.
$22 for tickets. $9 for frozen yogurt.

Saturday I picked up a long time friend of DD who lives in the next town up. Then we all went to the fair. We were able to get in for free again this year. (A friend who has family that works for the fair gets us free passes in.)

DD's entries all won first in their respective classes!
But not Best of Show in their categories, so I don't think she'll get any prize money. *shrug* It's just fun to exhibit in the fair, winning money is just icing.

At the fair I gave DD $15 to spend. DH and I spent $35 on glorious fair food. (foot long corndogs, fried artichoke hearts, lemonade, cinnamon rolls) We tried a deep fried Twinkie this year - kind of tasted like a donut to us.

This morning I took DD to the sporting goods store for camp related supplies. $61. She'll be gone on her first sleep-away camp for five nights.

DD and DH left this morning on a Father/Daughter motorcycle road trip. Celebrating Father's Day weekend. Tonight they are staying at my sister and her BF's house. Saturday they will stay in a hotel. Sunday they are staying with the inlaws. Monday they'll be home. They saved cans for pretty much a year. Collecting them from here at home, from DH's work and any where else DD could find. They cashed them in last week to pay for all their fuel and most of the hotel. Their plan was to travel on the cheap and have no impact on the household budget.

I work a half day tomorrow. Not a big deal. The time will fly because we're booked solid. It is supposed to be very hot tomorrow. Today was 88F, but it took until 8:45pm before it cooled down to a comfortable 74F. Now that it's dark it's cooling quickly.

My mom will be visiting Sunday before she heads for the airport Monday. She is meeting with my aunt in France for a cruise. (Yes, I'm a little jealous!)

Sunday my sister will stop by to see both my mom and I. She is flying to Arizona to help a girlfriend drive a car back here. (Not very jealous. I don't want to go to AZ in June )

Phew! Busy here. I am working six days this week because our receptionist has gone to visit family for the week.

It's been hot here the past few days. Today was hot, but by the time I got home (6:20pm) it was a beautiful 76F. Just wanted to veg in the backyard with a cold beer , but I had a bunch of "mom stuff" to do. And I realized that I had to run DD to the craft store so she could get a few small things for her decorated egg that she is entering in our fair. I spent $6. Fair is next week.

I also checked the dates and times for entry drop-offs and I missed the window to drop off my photographs. I spent $6 to enter. I am going to try to take them when we take DD's items, but I'm not holding my breath. Bummed, but not the end of the world.

Went to a dairy goat farm on Sunday with the kids. I want to post a few pics when I get time.

Our garden is loving the hotter weather. I keep taking pictures to post, so I'll do that soon too.

Just arrived back home about an hour ago. My grandma's memorial was Tuesday. Thankfully it didn't rain or snow, the sun even poked out (Thanks Grandma!) for the whole afternoon.

It was a sad event, but our family had a really nice visit afterwards. I was able to see two of my cousins and their kids, including a new baby, that I haven't seen in almost five years. We were all over at grandma and grandpa's house and there weren't tears or sadness. Instead we looked at old pictures and laughed together. That seemed to make grandpa pretty happy too. It makes me sad now to think about how much grandma would have loved that and she "missed it". I do feel like she was 'there in spirit', so maybe I shouldn't feel too sad.

My BFF was there also. It was nice to visit with her on part of the drive. As well as driving together with my mom and dad. But, I visit with them more often than my BFF. Money wise, because I drove everyone in my car, my parents paid for all the gas.

Today feels like a Sunday now because I took two days off. I have to keep reminding myself that it is really Wednesday. Ha! I get to work for two days and then it's the weekend again!

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Because it is Wednesday we have a new produce box..


Lots of good stuff. Strawberries, carrots, beets, green onion, avocado, nectarines, corn, bananas, zucchini, oranges, lettuce, chard.

I did go back to the grocery store this morning. Unfortunately, gift cards are not counted toward a $75 purchase. I did buy a few items I forgot to buy yesterday. So I spent $15 today and $119 yesterday on groceries.

We did buy a new lawnmower on Memorial Day. $294.

Sent out checks and registrations for DD's summertime activities.

Planning to get the oil changed and the car washed tomorrow in preparation for the long drive this week.

(SO happy this is a five payday month! All of the above is covered.)

Foolish spending:
I am sending off a check for $25 to the state. My RVT license was due for renewal this past month. That was fine. But, because I did not update my address soon enough I have to pay a penalty. Really pretty silly because they are printing a new license and all that stuff because of the renewal. Silly mistake on my part because I never thought about updating my address when our office moved 18 months ago. Oh well...

Second thing was $7.50 in library fines.

Third thing was something I had been 'wanting', not needing. I bought it with birthday money. Now I might return it and apply the bday cash to the cc payment. I really like said item, but I don't NEED it. Wrestling with what will make me happier.

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The rest of this afternoon I am working on laundry and enjoying the beautiful weather. Can't wait to watch the season finale of "Game of Thrones" tonight!

Sadly, my grandma passed away on Tuesday. This is my paternal grandma and we spent a lot of time together so I have so many wonderful memories. She was 86. Her health had always been quite good up until the past few months. Thankfully, she never suffered dementia or had to live her last days in a care home.

I am also so sad for my grandpa. The house is going to be so lonely for him.

We live about seven hours away. Next week I will take a few days off from work so I can attend the memorial service.

Made the CC payments this week.
$18,385 - Previous Balance
$17,940 - Current Balance

Slowly creeping downward....

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My weight loss was going great before we went on vacation. Now it has come to a screeching halt. So at the half-way point of the year I've only lost 6lbs. Right before we left I was down 11lbs.

New car savings. Nothing new. This was overly optimistic with the other stuff, but aim high right?

Roof. Hoping DH will swing a few side jobs this summer to round out the roof replacement savings. This is pretty likely - summertime and people want AC.

Life insurance. Have gathered several quotes. Just want to lose the weight to get better prices.

Braces. Lasik. Trust. No action - Yet.

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!

School is officially over. This past week we bought little "Thank You" goodies for DD's teacher, music teacher, office staff and her daycare. She had a class party on Friday and brought croissants. I wrote final payment checks to the lunch lady and daycare.

Now I am working on registrations for summertime camps for DD. The past several years she has gone to a weeklong horseback riding day camp. We work it out with one or two school friends to all go on the same week. That way we share the driving. This year I will drive the girls every morning. This is good for me because it’s only a little out of the way on my way to DS’s daycare and my work. Then the other mom will do all the afternoon pick-ups. Again, perfect for me because I don't get off work until after camp is over. It's really a problem for working families because most day camps don't last the whole work day. Some will offer "after hours" daycare for an extra charge, but sometimes that is only until 5pm.

Anyhow, going to register for a week of horse camp and a week of 4-H camp. 4-H camp is a sleep-away camp; a first for DD.

This weekend we need to shop for a new lawn mower. Our old mower was given to us about four years ago and now it's done for. Hopefully we'll be able to snag a MD Weekend sale.

Other than that we don't have any other plans to go anywhere.

Hope everyone had an enjoyable day yesterday..

It was a beautiful Sunday here. The sun was out with a light breeze and 72F was the warmest temp.

My family let me sleep in a bit and made me breakfast when I got up. After eating I watched "Water for Elephants" on HBO. I had been wanting to see it for some time and I was happy to get to watch it while we are getting free HBO. I enjoyed the movie. It seems like the book would be a really good read.

In the afternoon we all worked in the backyard for a little while. Making over the garden area. This year we are adding more space and making it look prettier. I wanted to downsize the raised bed we had, and then add a few more of the smaller size beds. I also plan to spread the gravel we have raked up from this area around the raised beds and add stepping stones. If it turns out like I am picturing it's going to look very nice and last us a long time.

After working DH, DD and I all showered and DS had a much needed bath. Then we watched the baseball game I had recorded while we were in the yard. The Giants WON! Yay!

We had a simple dinner. I finished Mother's Day off with a bowl of frozen yogurt while I watched "Game of Thrones".

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.

Blogoversary! Doh!

Two years on April 29th. Boy, the time seems to fly.

Two years ago I stopped being a "lurker" and started blogging because I was at home on maternity leave. Now in just a few days little DS will be two-years-old.

Just want to say - Thanks Everyone.
I really enjoy coming here. Reading about everyone's daily life. All the support. All the great ideas.

We had a very nice weekend staying home, dying eggs cleaning the house up and cooking. The weather was lovely. We had a relaxed visit with my mom and dad. Dinner was delicious.
I hope everyone had a nice weekend also.

I almost had to go all around town to find egg dye. On Saturday I went to Safeway for groceries and planned on getting dye there, but they were all out. (I seem to remember that's what happened last year too?) Later in the day we ran over to CVS and they were out except for a few (like three!) "fancy" sets. I like the $3 sets with dye tablets, stickers and a few shrink wrap things. This set was $5 and had feathers and glitter. But it had the dye and that's what we really needed. I told DH that I need to remember to buy early next year because dying eggs is a big deal in our town!

I also cat sat this weekend and made $50. I am splitting this between EF and a CC payment.

We have a chunk (approx. $4k) in the EF set aside for the roof. To help me keep track I am just reporting "regular" EF additions and balances here.

$2975 prior balance
+ $25 Regular transfer
+ $ 2 Giants win 4/9
+ $25 Extra money
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$3027 Current balance

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.

Today is a beautiful, sunny day. A bit breezy out, otherwise just beautiful. All the rain yesterday has made it so fresh and crisp out. We'll all be going outside this afternoon for a nice walk.

And when we go on that walk we'll be taking our new puppy! I know, I know, I just had a big post yesterday about the money I have spent on the pets recently. But, hey, what's one more?

Going to pick the little guy up this morning. A sweet, little ball of fluff. Awwwe... Puppy breath!



April Fools!

It is sunny and we will be taking a nice long family walk, but no puppy.

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This morning I called our cable company and now we have HBO for FREE for the next three months, then half price for nine months after that if we want.

I want HBO because "Game of Thrones" starts tonight.

We also watch "Boardwalk Empire", which will start in the fall. I don't know if I'll cancel service and then restart, or just go ahead with the half price deal.

I wonder how many people pay full price and never ask for a promo deal?

I did play MegaMillion$ yesterday. Like I've said before I buy tickets when the jackpot gets high. Usually anytime it's $150 million or more. Of course I understand that some people feel it's a waste of money.
"A tax on being poor" I've heard it called. I can totally see that when people are buying tickets for every drawing, every week. My thinkng is a few bucks once awhile for the chance to win multi millions is a pretty harmless fantasy. Last night I bought $20 in quick picks and I won a share of the money! ..... $12.

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Last night I deposited paychecks and the check from the city for our toilet rebate. We went ahead and and replaced the toilet in our other bathroom with the same style as you all saw. We decided to do that now because I was getting 5% back on Amazon purchases and then I only had to submit the rebate paperwork once. Just get it all done at once. The rebate money ($300) goes straight to the card to payoff the toilet purchases.

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Rain, Rain, Rain today.
Another very lazy weekend at home. I plan to have another cup of coffee and play a little on a computer game (Ranch Rush) I bought online from Big Fish Games for $3.

BlahArrggg!

Checked our checking account this morning and the fraudulent charge to Diapers was showing as a posted transaction!

I was finally able to call after we got finished with all our morning appointments and procedures. Ended up on the phone for 40 minutes. I didn't have the reference number for the claim from Thursday and the bank couldn't find it so they started a new claim. Oy! Then once I was transferred over to the fraud department for the second time she found the first claim.
That's about 20 minutes of my life I'll never get back!

One good thing about going thru this again was that the fraud advisor/rep lady called Diapers to try to find out names, addresses etc of the people who had ordered. Unfortunately, she didn't get any information that could help.

And I answered a list of the same questions with three different people only to be told that it didn't matter what I said because they need to speak to DH to finalize the claim. *pulling hair out!*

I will have him call the fraud department tonight. I want this matter resolved pronto.

Meanwhile, I want to place an order from Diapers., but I don't want any activity on my account with them for fear that it might mess up the fraud claim.

I am thankful we are only dealing with one charge. It could have been a much bigger mess.

Last night I logged on to our banking account (checking) and saw two pending transactions. Two transactions I knew we didn't do. Funny thing was one was for Diapers.com ($138) which I do use regularly and the other was for a nutritional company ($134).

First time our checking/debit cards have ever been compromised. And this type of thing really pisses me off!

I called our bank right off and the gal told me to contact the vendors and she gave me their phone numbers. I asked her which debit card was being used and it was DH's. A pretty unlikely card. But, he uses it at gas stations and convenience stores..so maybe it was "skimmed"?

I called Diapers first. They have excellent customer service and the CS rep found the transaction by the amount and the last four numbers on the card. What was cool is while I was on the phone he cancelled the order and flagged the package to be returned.
HAHA! Take that sucker!

The second place was east coast time and was closed.

Then I got to thinking I really wanted to get that card number shut down! So I called our bank back and talked to a new lady and she was like "Oh, absolutely we need to close this card and file a fraud claim! I am so sorry the first lady didn't do that!" DH had to get on the phone and okay the process, but it was all very quick.

This morning as soon as I was up I called the second company on the east coast and notified them. Their CS rep said that they have to cross check the order name with card name and if they don't match they won't send the order. He checked our name and there wasn't any order pending. A bit less satisfied with that outcome. I wanted him to find the order and shut it down!

While I was on the phone I logged on to our checking account and our bank had already removed those transactions. I was very pleased with that - Quick service!

I wish there was a way to track down these people. I mean they give address to get their deliveries sent to. Couldn't that lead somewhere?
Too bad I couldn't get the address and mail them a giant box of $h!t.

DS is feeling like his regular happy self again. No more fever, just a bit of a runny nose and a pesky cough. The pesky cough is worse when he lies down, but thankfully it only woke him up once last night.

Yesterday morning I went to the grocery store. $155.

I took a nap when we laid DS down for his. After three nights of getting up and interrupted sleep I was so crabby. I felt so much better after getting two hours of sleep.

We watched a SF Giants Spring Training game. They won.

I made the traditional corned beef and cabbage for dinner. Yum! I was going to make soda bread too, but I was too lazy/unmotivated. Corned beef is so easy; great for a lazy day.

DD went to a girlfriend's house and then ended up staying for a sleepover. So it was just DH and I once DS was all tucked in. We shared a peach ale and rented "Harry Potter 2" thru cable. $5.

Today is blue sky and sunshine, but cold out. It's going to be another lazy, stay-at-home, Sunday.

Pretty much a lazy weekend at our house. Doing a lot of movie watching.

Last night I went over to a girlfriend's house and had mimosas and watched "The Help". I brought the champagne which was left over from a few weekends back. We were out of OJ so I stopped at a convenience store on the way over. Ugh, $2 for a little bottle. That's what I get; paying for the quick convenience. At any rate it was a cheap girl's night because that was all I had to pay for. Friend bought carrot cake and the movie. We had fun and the movie was good. Funny and sad. I think I want to read the book now.

While I was out DH and DD had movie night at our house and rented "Puss 'n Boots" thru our cable for $5.

This morning we watched "Puss'n Boots" again and then "Zookeeper" which was free.

Just going to run a few loads of laundry this afternoon and window shop online. I have chicken breasts defrosting for dinner. A pretty quick dish that bakes in the oven and I serve over rice.
I like lazy, kickback Sundays.

I am excited because in the last two weeks I've lost a few pounds and haven't really been trying.

Mostly much healthier cooking at home since DH's doctor's visit and blood test showing elevated cholesterol.

I want to lose at least five more before Hawaii. I feel like that is doable.

Yesterday DH met with a nutritionist and today he "buying in" on their three week detox/cleanse plan. $385. Yes, ouch, I know, but he wants to commit to this and I am going to support that 100%.
I am looking forward to it too because it's loads of fresh fruits and veggies which I love.

He'll get supplements, a week of meal plans, a food log and a once a week hour check in with the nutritionist to keep him motivated and accountable.

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.

DD had an eye exam on Tuesday and she is going to need glasses. Her eyesight is only slightly bad at 20/40. She is really upset about having to wear glasses. I remember being her age and not wanting to wear glasses either, but my eyesight was way worse so I *had* to wear them.

We do not have vision coverage, so we pay out of pocket. Which is really fine with me. Most vision plans don't really cover squat anyway.

Her visit was $160. Planning to purchase the glasses thru Costco.

She has a dental appointment next week. $25 co-pay.
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DH's visit to the doc last week will be costing us about $340 without the xrays. Haven't gotten a bill for those yet. His medical coverage is catastrophe type; $5000/yr deductible, so little check-up stuff is all out of pocket.

He called his doctor again yesterday because he has a really harsh, painful chest cold/cough. She didn't need to see him again. Just prescriptions for antibiotics and a new inhaler at Costco for $43.
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I have a dental cleaning next week, I think?
That will be a $25 co-pay.
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Have a $370 bill sitting at home that's from DS's last visit and vaccinations.

Geesh! I am trying to save money here!!