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Archive for December, 2008

Christmas Spending So Far

December 18th, 2008 at 12:47 am

I've been tracking my Christmas Spending. I've bought a Christmas tree and gifts for my parents, sister, nephew, best friend, best friends boyfriend, two friends, and a small work gift.

Total Spending: $271.88. That includes $65.19 in gift cards used (from cc rewards & MyPoints).

I have 3 small gifts to get still and then I'm done. Estimated expense: $35.00

Woohoo. Almost done!

Today's Spending: 55 cents

December 17th, 2008 at 02:13 am

Took food to work, but did buy a soft pretzel to supplement lunch. Cost: 55 cents.

We just got an email that our work cafeteria is getting rid of the salad bar & the hot entrees. That will leave the unhealthy grill options, pizza and sandwiches. They will have prepackaged salads though. Sign of the times. Our company contracts the cafe out to another company. Its plain to see that they're cutting the budget. But its good motivation to pack my lunch more.

Tonight I watched my nephew for a little bit, came home & hung out on the couch. I made some lunch for tomorrow, already have preportioned milk, cheerios & yogurt set aside for breakfast.

I plan on having meatloaf & baked fries for dinner, but will have to stop & pick up the potatoes first.

Good Weekend!

December 15th, 2008 at 02:06 am

Got a lot of Christmas stuff done. My best friend, her boyfriend & I all have known each other since we were kids. We have a tradition of doing some Christmas decoration shopping at some really awesome places, getting our trees, watching Christmas movies, ect.

So yesterday, we went to the Christmas shop (not the Christmas Tree Shop) but an place that is a like a Garden Center/Christmas decor place.

I came away with a few Christmas gifts and a huge tree. Its more cost effective to get the fake trees, but I can't bring myself to do it Smile

Afterwards, we had pizza, talked, played some games & watched Its a Wonderful Life. Good times!

Today, we (my friends & I) went to Ikea cause they just moved & needed some things. I bought a picture and frame ($9.99) to go in my kitchen and a shoe rack ($9.99) to house shoes left in my entry. I also came home with lots of decorating ideas Smile

Tonight I'm watching a library movie, decorating the tree and resting. Tomorrow I have another day off and I'll be doing laundry & cleaning. After I sleep in Smile

Free Stuff Thursday!

December 12th, 2008 at 04:10 pm

Yesterday I made out like a bandit. At work, we had an employee appreciation lunch, so I had a free meal, drinks & desert. I also ended up with 2 extra cans of soda & a bottle of water.

And as a gift, they handed out ice scrapers to everyone. Which isn't that fun a gift, but I needed one Smile

The last few weeks, my boss has been handing out goodies she's gotten from her husband who works for a pharmaceutical company. Apparently, the laws have changed and all the companies are no longer able to hand out swag to doctors & hospitals. So the companies have warehouses of stuff that they've been handing out to their own employees.

I've gotten several things from them - a universal cell phone charger, coffee mug, shoulder bags & more.

Yesterday, she handed out a small lunch bag. Made for the fridge, it will definately come in handy when packing my lunch.

Then last night, I attended a holiday party with my dad. He's a food/beverage manager and apparently one of the only managers liked by the employees. They invited him to a employee organized holiday party at a bar. My mom wasn't going to go & he wanted to pop in for awhile, but didn't want to go alone. So I agreed to go, had a good time and got a free drink, free soda and free food. YUMMY!

Today I have a day off from work. I slept in all the way to 11. Which never happens anymore and was very much needed. I'm spending part of the day cleaning up the house, catching up on some tv, and playing with the cats.

Tonight, I am picking my nephew after school. We'll be having a sleepover. We're taking his WII to my house, playing some games, watching a kids movie, having dinner & basically having a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to it!

Tomorrow, I'm going with friends to get a Christmas tree. I'll be decorating on Sunday. Monday I'm off work and will be doing absolutely nothing until I got to my Weight Watcher meeting that night.

Nice relaxing weekend planned. Just what I needed!

Benefits of friends moving

December 8th, 2008 at 02:49 am

My good friends are moving and have been working to get stuff from one house to the other all week. In the process, I've been given a few things.

First, a spaghetti bowl & 4 plates. Made for spaghetti, they're like plates, but with rounded edges that make it easy to turn the pasta with a fork. Very good idea!

Second, I was given a salad spinner. It's been on my wish list for quite a while. It turns out that they had 2, so they gave me 1. Thanks guys!



Busy, Busy Weekend

December 6th, 2008 at 01:34 pm

Last night I went out with my sister to a local bar/club. Did some dancing and had a lot of fun. The place was in the city (meaning more expensitive) and I brought drinks for my sister. Out of pocket expense: $38.00.

Today I am helping a friend move. I'll be home to take a quick nap, shower & pack then I'm heading to West Chester (about 40 mins away) for a birthday party/outing. I'll be spending the night there and coming home in the morning.

I already have a card & a gift and I plan on spending $20.00 when we head to a local bar for the party.

Sunday I am going to get some stuff done around the house and then Sun night I'll be going to my nephew's 8th birthday party. Its at a roller rink! I already have the gifts for him - Legos! Not one of those Star Wars/Indiana Jones sets, but true Legos that you build stuff with out of your imagination.

Currently I'm trying to NOT purchase a new digital camera. I do not have one currently and I desperately WANT one. But its not a necessity. Since I didn't find any awesome deals around Black Friday, I'd put it out of my mind... until my sister showed me her new one.

Anyway, she was telling me some feature on it that wasn't on the camera we both had previously been looking for. So I went online today. And saw that the camera that she got was down to $89.99. She paid $129 yesterday. I might just give in & buy it. A Cannon 9.2 Megapixal camera for $89.99 is a really, really GOOD deal.