Today was a no spender. It was a little icy getting to work this morning, but I arrived safely. And as a treat for some hard work, our manager took us out to lunch & treated.

We spent 2 hours away from work, I had a healthy & yummy chicken Caesar salad, and a nice time with my coworkers. I also was giving a gift card to Wawa. I don't know the amount, but I can assume that it was probably $5 or $10. No matter the amount, its a great gift!

I had plans with friends tonight, but canceled them because I'm not feeling good. I actually felt badly enough to request tomorrow off. I need some rest. Unfortunately, this is an ongoing health problem & I don't want to waste days off unless I have to, but in this case, I really feel its necessary.

So tomorrow will be a no spender as well! LOL

Lunch Challenge meal update:

Breakfast: animal crackers, celery & carrots, fat free ranch dip
Snack: banana
Lunch: (FREE) chicken Caesar salad
Dinner: Pasta with veggies with light oil & vinegar
Snack: pretzels & fat free ranch dip (Loving the dip, can you tell??)

I have a 3 day weekend this weekend, off Friday and back to work Monday.

I ran errands Friday, cleaned & finished trimming the tree. I had 2 friends over Friday night, we watched National Lampoon's Christmas vacation (already own it on dvd) and ordered food. I got gnocchi & plan on having the leftovers for lunch today! $13.00 spent.

Yesterday, I ran to the farmers market & grocery store. I used self checkout at the grocery store & was able to use $3.50 in change that was rattling around in my purse

Last night, I drove into Philadelphia with a friend for his company Christmas party at Lucky Strikes. Its a bar/bowling lane combo. Pretty nice. They had a full buffet & free beer & wine. I know a lot of the people that my buddy works with, so we really had a blast. I had several hours of fun & a lot of beer - for free. He tipped & paid for parking. I am really grateful for the big night out.

Today, I have no plans, other than cleaning my bedroom & laundry. Its raining out and I am enjoying sitting in the living room with the Christmas tree lit.

In other financial news:

- I had to buy a medical supply (per my specialists orders). It was not covered by insurance and cost $75.00. I shopped around and could not get a better price. Ouch

- The roommate paid a full month's rent, so she will be here through the 9th of January at this point. I am pretty sure she will be moving out in January though. She will give me notice again when she's absolutely sure

- My work gave me a $15 gift card to Target for Christmas. Yay!

Today will be a no spender And today's 5 things are:

1. Laundry
2. Clean bedroom
3. Meal plan
4. Grocery plan
5. Make lunch for tomorrow/food for the week

Today was a no spender. I went for a walk at a local park (free) and went to a friend's bbq. I already had the veggies & dip ready to go.

I am continuing my lunch challenge in Sept. and I've already packed food/drink for work tomorrow. I'm hoping for another no spender!

Its pouring out and after 2 weeks of 90-100 degree weather, its much needed. Because of the extreme heat, the ground is not prepared for so much rain & I will be checking the basement for water. Although my basement is pretty well sealed, it never hurts to keep an eye on it.

Since its raining, I decided to put my errands on hold & will be going for veggies tomorrow. Tonight I'm heading to a friend's house for movies & bbq. I will bring some type of side, but it will be from the pantry and today will be a no spender!

As for the roommate situation - she paid her 2nd months rent early (yay) and she's been an awesome roommate. I don't have to worry about her moving out too quickly (last roomate stayed 4 months) She's brought a lot of furniture & worked to make the bedroom hers. I'm glad to see she's settling in and it appears for the long haul. So this way, I have steady rental income. Makes me feel VERY good, espectially with the added car expense.

Hope everyone enjoys their Saturday!

So yesterday was a no spender. My mom was nice enough to pick me up and take me to my friend bbq where she ended up hanging out too. Childhood friend who knows my mom well invited her. I supplied a veggie tray & tried to give money to my mom who picked up dip, but she refused. So it did end up being a no-spender.

I did not make it to the University fireworks, although some people from the party headed over. I wasn't feeling so hot, so I headed home around 9 & went to bed.

Today, I've packed breakfast (breakfast potatoes & cottage cheese), lunch (tuna on bagel thin) and snack (all bran crackers and popcorn).

I have borrowed my mom's car today, so I will be running a few errands - library, dollar store. I am pretty much stopped with spending until I deal with this car situation, but I do need a couple of things from the dollar store to hold me over.

Last night was a blast. One friend bailed, but the other & I went out and had an awesome time!

I provided snacks ahead of time. Made my own bruschetta with stuff from my garden & the farmer's market. And put out some crackers & had beer leftover from the party. So we had a pre-event party with no money (outside normal groceries) spent, nice!

The event itself was awesome! We had a great time and had a few beers and split some fries. With tip, I spent $31.48. So I went over my entertainment budget for this month, but took $5.00 from my grocery budget, so I now have $0.08 to last me until the 15th. This should be fun!

I'm going to put up a couple of things on craigslist. If I get extra money, then I can use 1/2 for entertainment!

Today will be a lazy day. I plan on taking a walk, doing some laundry, and prepping food for this week's lunches. All will be free!

Today was Day 2 of the Lunch Challange: Sucess!

Packed breakfast, lunch, snacks & 1 soda. Today ended up being a no spender. I'm hoping tomorrow will be too, but maybe not as I need a quick veggie run for salad stuff.

I had a homeowners informational meeting tonight (go me as VP). we're discussing some law changes that govern our maintenance organization. This is one of three meetings.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast: Granola & cottage Cheese
Snack: popcorn
Lunch: Pasta salad
Dinner: Salad with tuna
Snack: rest of popcorn

Tomorrow, I'm going to my nephews baseball game. Will eat dinner at home first and take a snack/drink with me.

Thursday night is the last HOA meeting
Friday will be movie night at a friends
Saturday I am going to a party, but have leftover beer from my fridge to bring.
Sunday I am walking the Breast Cancer walk in Philly. Already paid for - but I'll need to buy gas. Afterwards, I'll be taking my mom out for Mother's Day.

Todays 5 Things:
1. Call comcast
2. Library drop off
3. HOA meeting
4. Pack lunches
5. Catch up on personal email

Well, a while back, I did a lunch challange and it helped me 1. Save Money and 2. Eat Healthy.

For the month of May, 2 coworkers and I are doing a Lunch Challange. There are 20 work days in May. We have challanged ourselves to pack our *HEALTHY* lunches 18 of the next 20 work days. We did set a $1.00 allowance daily to supplement the meals - so if someone wanted milk for their cereal, ect... but I plan on skipping that unless I really, really need to

I'm also trying to curb my soda addiction(AGAIN!) I will drink several throughout a day. I had 2 cans (from home) that I drank at work - there will be NO soda tonight. Hoping to get to 1/day at work for the rest of the week and then go from there.

So today was a no spender. I worked extra hours to be able to flex some of my time on Friday to sit at the hospital while a friend has surgery.

I also was talking about food with some coworkers and I mentioned I was interested in baking my own bread - my manager mentioned she had an unused extra one. So we'll see if she follows through and brings it in. Wouldn't that be awesome?

I turned on the air yesterday mid-day due to it being 88 in the house & extremely humid. I kept the air on overnight and left the air on at 78 while I was gone today. Turned the air off when I came home since it cooled down a bit. Windows are back open and the fan is going!

And I'm going to get back into my 5 Things - I feel so much better when I get something done off my To-Do list, even if its not all of it!

1. Stay on food plan (DONE)
2. Call & reschedule doctors appt (DONE)
3. Make dinner at home & prepack food for tomorrow (Working on it now)
4. Search HOA records for info needed (DONE)
5. Litter box (DONE)

Today's Food:

Breakfast: Granola bar, 1 cup fat free cottage cheese (didnt get to eat the fruit I brought)
Snack: 1 mini bag popcorn
Lunch: LARGE salad with buffalo chicken (grilled)and low fat blue cheese dressing
Snack: Tomato salad
Dinner: Whole grain spaghetti with basil from my plants, tomato sauce & ground turkey with a side of garlic bread

Tonight I have the actual orientation for the ptj (last night was training). This is where we'll go over HR info & pay & ect. We have direct deposit, which is nice. Now I'm just waiting to find out the rest of my schedule. Since this is temp work, I'm willing to pick up every shift they'll let me!

So today, I work from 7:30 to 4, will have dinner at home & then work from 6-9. Shorter shift than last night & tomorrow due to just being orientation.

Now Tuesday is my normal pub night & I'm getting flack from friends to still come out. I'd say no, but ironically, the way I get home from the mall to my house, DIRECTLY passes this little out of the way bar. How funny is that? I might stop by for a minute, but I'm not sure. I think I'd rather that today be a no spend day. I have only had one this month & am definately not making my 15 no spenders this month

Today's 5 Things:
1. PTJ shift
2. Make dinner at home, pack lunch for tomorrow
3. Get laundry from dryer & put away
4. Put out a few Christmas things (in from basement)
5. Get to bed early!

Wow! I REALLY cleaned today. With a few breaks here and there (as prescribed by Lux!)

I was able to clean my whole upstairs, scrub the bathroom, organize stuff for goodwill (and loaded up the car with it), do some heavy duty dusting on fans, walls, baseboards & trim. I did 3 loads of laundry (hung 2 to dry).

I also organized paperwork, filed & shredded. Put out a few Christmas items (from the dollar store). And lastly, I am sitting down to watch a movie from the library, maybe read a book or play on the computer.

I accomplished a lot and feel 100% better for having rid myself of a lot of clutter and dust

Tomorrow, I have to drop some items off to my parents, my sister and a friend I borrowed a book from. I will be making a Good Will run and hitting the farmer's market for veggies.

I TENTATIVELY will tackle the basement, which needs to be cleaned, but not organized. However, I'm thinking the chances of that actually happening are pretty low! Haha

Financially, I have my ducks in a row. My Nov 30th budget is done, I found a $4 check to deposit, and am working on keeping my Christmas spending under budget.

I also have an appointment for a part-time job at Macy's on Monday. Just temp work, but I could use it. Also, since the house is superclean, I took some pics of the place & am putting another roommate ad up on Craigslist.

Just came downstairs to a beautiful, uncluttered and VERY clean house. Now I just have to do the upstairs & basement! lol.

When I got up this morning, I wasn't feeling the cleaning, but after seeing the results from last night's cleaning binge, I am SO ready to continue the efforts. Wish me luck

And as a result of staying home today, it will be a No Spender

Well, I've been lucky enough to get a few free things this week.

- Several books/movies from the library
- Borrowed movie from friend
- 2 Hershey bars from work as a promotion
- Gummy lolli-pop (friend's leftover Halloween) Am giving to the nephew.

Other updates:

- Heat kicked back in last night. Woke up to a living room of 62 degrees. That was tough this morning as the last week or so has been 67-70!

- Made it out of the pub on $3.00. Had fun, didn't drink a lot and basically spent nothing!

- Water bill came in for the quarter. It went up a bit, but I haven't looked it over to see if increased rates or usage caused it. Roughly $6.00 difference.

- Am working to use the dishwasher less and handwash dishes. Managed to do that the last 2 nights.

- I am working hard on Christmas shopping. I'll share my status on gifts and spending - maybe tonight.

- My goal for the rest of the week (Wed through Friday) will be no spenders. Definately do-able!

Today was a No Spender. Yay! Its cold and rainy here and all I want to do is curl up under a blanket. But instead, I managed to get myself to the gym, make dinner and pack food for tomorrow. Thats something at least

Being cold and rainy, the heats kicking in at night. I set it at 64 during the night last night and 62 while at work. Normally, I'm not comfy unless its 66 at least, but I sucked it up and layered and kept the heat at 64 tonight. The problem really isn't layers for me, its my sinuses. So I know I won't be able to do 64 for forever

Tomorrow is payday. I will have 3 weekends in this pay period, so its a little longer than normal. My entertainment budget is going to be tight. I have a book signing for a friend on Saturday. This is a big deal and I'm totally willing to support him by purchasing the book ($18). Then I have another friend's bowling & bar birthday bash that night. I'm hoping to make it out of that night on $20. We'll see how it goes.

I'm working on Christmas gifts. I also have the one friends birthday on Saturday and another's the first week of December. So I'm going to be looking for deals this weekend! I know there's some super clearance stuff at Kohl's and I've been using free prints from Snapfish to frame for gifts too.

Well, its Monday. I SO can't wait until Friday comes around again!

Today, I skipped the gym and have been chilling at home. We had a big temperature drop today & I'm snuggled up in fleece pants and long sleeve tee & sweater. I'm still hoping to keep the heat off for a while. When I go to bed tonight, I'm putting the down comforter on the bed.

I had a no spender. Packed cheerios for breakfast & pasta salad for lunch. Made a really yummy dinner and have already pre-packed breakfast and lunch for tomorrow.

I did accomplish my 5 Things Today:

1. Reconcile Spending/Budget (DONE)
2. Clear out email Inbox (DONE)
3. Clean kitchen (DONE)
4. Put away laundry (DONE)
5. Plan Meals for this week (DONE)

Meal Plan:

Monday:
Lunch: Pasta Salad
Dinner: Farfalle with tomato sauce

Tuesday:
Lunch: Salad with pasta, soup
Dinner: Taco wrap

Wednesday:
Lunch: Cucumber salad, meatloaf muffin, soup
Dinner: Sloppy joe

Thursday:
Lunch: Salad, meatloaf muffin
Dinner: To be Determined (eating at parents)

Friday:
Lunch: Pasta salad
Dinner: To be determined (possibly eating out)

And I can't believe that NOBODY commented about the dudes in coconut bras in my last post. That was funny to see in person!

So its that time of year. I'm actually a little late putting out the Halloween decorations. I finally got around to it tonight! Woohoo!

Today I packed lunch and came home right after work. So today was a No Spender! I skipped the gym today and came home to have some more Me time. I made dinner at home, cleaned the kitchen, took 10 minutes to pick up the living room & then lugged stuff from the basement to decorate the house for Halloween. I'm not going to actually be in town for the holiday, so I"m not putting anything on the outside of the house.

Here's a few pics:

One of my favorite pieces from PartyLite. If you look close, you'll see the fish bone in the kitty's tummy!



And these are the kitty's counterparts:



And here's an obligatory picture of my naughty little kitty Jack. He knows he's not supposed to get on that table!




Today's 5 Things:

1. Put out Halloween decorations (DONE)
2. Pick up living room (DONE)
3. Pack lunch for tomorrow (DONE)
4. Review benefits options (DONE)
5. Pack library & gym bags for tomorrow (DONE)

Yesterday, I went to my nephew's baseball game. Spent $5 at the snack stand. Was still feeling really off and I splurged for some food & caffine to help that out.

Afterwards, instead of hitting the gym like I planned, I went home. I thought I'd take a half hour nap & then hit the gym. I laid down & slept for 3.5 hours! Crazy.

I woke up, got dressed, and made some food before heading out to the ghost tour with friends. Ticket was already paid for and someone else drove, so no spending for that even. I really enjoyed it, but it was a bit cheesy. I'd love to go back to Fort Delaware during the daytime and explore.

This morning, I woke up and headed straight to the gym. Then I headed to the grocery store & farmers market. I had a set list, and stuck to it. This pay period (30th thru 14th) I have a budget of $80 for groceries. So far, I've spent 54.97. I have $25.03 left and should be ok since the only items that I have to purchase would be perishables.

Then I came home. Suddenly, I felt really ill and a migrane came on without any warning. I must have pushed myself too hard this weekend, since Friday's migrane came back with a vengance. I have a physical scheduled later this month. I am going to have to talk to my doctor about this.


I would like to thank everyone who picked up my 5 Things. I just wanted to put out there some small goals for myself and the fact that others are joining me, helps motivate me as well as keep me accountable!

Today's 5 Things were:

1. Gym (DONE)
2. Grocery shop (stay within budget)(DONE)
3. Meal plan, pack food for tomorrow (DONE)
4. Clean kitchen (DONE)
5. Prepack library bag (to return), gym bag (DONE)

Tomorrow, my goals are to have a no spend day and to do the following:

1. Gym again
2. Clean living room
3. Laundry
4. Prapack food for Tuesday & Gym clothes
5. Return shirts to Old Navy

So I've learned that although I have a To-Do list, things don't always get accomplished. Lol - I'm sure it happens to everyone

I did not accomplish my calls yesterday, but I completed the other items on my 5 Things list.

Today, I had off of work. I have running non-stop trying to keep my house, life, finances and health in working order. And today, my body told me to STOP. Got myself a nice little migrane.

Today will be a no spender (not that I wasn't planning on that already). I'll be spending most of the day sleeping, but as I seem to have a pattern with migranes, I should feel better for awhile in the afternoon. So I revamped today's 5 things to be the following.

1. Have a me day and rest!(IN PROCESS)
2. Make a yummy lunch & dinner at home (LUNCH DONE, WORKING ON DINNER)
3. Play with the cats (BEEN GOING ON ALL DAY)
4. Upload pics onto computer to send to family (DONE)
5. Read through the posts I've missed on here and post myself (DONE)


I really enjoyed the play that I went to last night. I kept on budget with dinner out, spending $14.00 (including tip) for shrimp and a salad bar. Pretty healthy and yummy.

The play that we went to, Girls Night, was really awesome. The actors were very good, the plot was interesting and the songs and feeling of the play were just plain FUN. It was a really great night.

Tomorrow, I am going to my nephew's baseball game in the morning (FREE). My best friend is meeting us there, so it'll be good to catch up with her (Also FREE)

I hope to hit the gym tomorrow afternoon (depending on the headache) and then tomorrow night I'm taking a Ghost Tour with some friends at Fort Delaware. I'm really looking forward to this one. We will take a ferry over and have a 2 hour guided tour.

Sunday will be grocery shopping & housework. I'm asking my parents over for dinner. Should be a pretty frugal weekend overall.

Two no spenders in a row! I like it

Today, I worked, went to the library, headed to the gym for 50 minutes and then home to make dinner, clean the kitchen, do a budget and upload some photos for my mom.

I accomplished 4 out of 5 of the things I said I'd accomplish today. The one I missed was going through my financial paperwork. I'm cool with that though. I have a 1/2 day at work tomorrow. I took a half mental health day and plan on hanging out at home. I'll do the paperwork tomorrow night.

I would like to mention that meal planning has really helped me to both be frugal, but also eat better meals! Instead of grabbing fast food or a quick dinner of noodles, I am having real meals. Its so easy to get out of that habit since I live alone. But I'm back on track & I REALLY want to share how much I enjoy a real meal.

Last night I had buffalo breaded chicken, potatoes and a salad. Tonight, I had penne pasta with marinara, a ton of veggies & a tomato salad.

Tomorrow, my 5 Things are:

1. Hit the gym (even though I have a 1/2 day of work!
2. Sort paperwork, file & shred
3. Grocery shop & attempt to get below budget!
4. Try a new recipe for dinner
5. Sort 5 items for Craiglist & list them for sale

Happy Tuesday! I'm planning on having a No Spend day today, so it should be a good day!

The air/heat are still off at the house. Its been over a month now. The temps started dropping again, but I'm just layering up in the house as needed. Yay Fall!

I packed breakfast (cheerios & banana), snack (banana blueberry muffin) & lunch (pasta salad & carrots). I plan on hitting the gym after work and then staying in tonight to watch the Biggest Loser.

I'm passing on going out to the Pub that I usually go to on Tuesdays. Some of the group dynamics have changed and its just not a fun anymore. It makes me sad, but probably isn't a terrible thing as I wont be drinking or spending money

I talked before about my 5 Things list. Its meant for me to accomplish some goals for the day, but without being overwhelmed by a huge To-Do List. Here are today's 5 Things.

1. Go to the Gym after work
2. Go to the library
3. Finalize budget for pay period starting tomorrow
4. Go through financial paperwork, shred & file as needed
5. Make dinner at home

Sorry this is going to be long...

Well, once again, I'm sick. It seems like since my immune system went down for sickness a few months ago, I've been catching everything. I had a stomach bug two weeks ago & missed several days of work. Thursday, I started with a head cold. I've spent the weekend pretty much in bed because I can't spare any more sick days. Fun, huh?

So my money situation is still what it was a few weeks ago. I have a little credit card debt, the emergency fund is low and I would like to have more income.

In spite of all this, I recently signed up for a 7 day cruise to the Bahamas. I got a great deal on the cruise ($550 for 7 days) and have some savings bonds (that my parents just found in their safety deposit box) that I'm going to cash. I know I could use the funds to pay down the debt, but I really want to do the cruise.

I'm not going to make excuses. I plan on being tight with spending in all other areas, stick within my savings bond budget for the trip and work to sell things, get a roommate and a 2nd job.

So yeah, maybe not the best financial decision, but I think its the best for my overall well being.

In other news, today will be a no spender. I am going to eat out of my pantry until payday on Tuesday. I'm hoping for a no spender tomorrow as well.

I'm working on a meal plan for the week. I am spending today mostly on the couch, with a little light cleaning to ensure my mental health I'm watching Agatha Christie movies borrowed from the library, reading (books also from library) and am enjoying having the windows open and getting fresh air.

The air has actually been off since 8/31. And I'm planning on joining the No Heat Challange. My goal is to keep the heat off as long as possible!

I don't know about you guys, but I had a VERY relaxing and enjoyable weekend. I overspent Sunday night when I had a date that went from dinner & a movie to drinks afterward. But overall, it wasn't excessive spending :-) And we had a good time.

I enjoyed the good weather. It hit 90 here (which is high for this area) and I was able to still keep the air off. Mostly because the humidity wasn't terrible. I kept the shades mostly closed during the day & opened all the windows and let the heavy breezes in at night. Very nice! I ran some fans when I was home and when sleeping, but that's it. Ironically, now that I'm back to work today, the weather's only going to reach mid - 60's. Its actually COLD today :-)

I did some veggie and fruit shopping on Sunday at the Farmer's market and yesterday I prepackaged smaller amounts for the 4 days of work this week. I have pre-portioned amounts of animal crackers, watermelon, strawberries, salad and cheerios. I'm doing very well with my goal of packing breakfast, lunch & dinner 100% this month. And I'll be able to keep it up easily since I took the extra time to pre-package most of the food that I'll take! I also lost 1.5 pounds this week on Weight Watchers. I've been wavering on the plan (bad!), but packing my food has made it much easier to stay on plan.

My plants are still growing well in their containers. I'm going to post some new pics soon. Those tomato plants are GROWING!

I may have mentioned that I'm looking for a roommate again. No legit responses to my ad on Craigslist. But I also have friends keeping an eye out for potential roomies as well.

I have found that since I have been focusing on staying on track with one thing - packing food for work, its benefited me in other ways and I save more money. Today was even a No Spender!

My mom talked me into going to yard sales today. There was a crazy amount of neighborhood wide ones and she really wanted to go. I, however, did not. But I figured it would be ok to get some Mom time in.

We spent about 4 hours driving around. Mom ended up treating me to several things. She refused to take any money or let me pay, so finally I gave up. I scored 2 small matching entry rugs to go in front of my sliding glass doors and in the entryway for $2.00. I got a clear plastic veggie tray for $0.50. That was something that I was actually looking for

But the big score was a small eliptical machine. My mom treated as part of a belated birthday present. $20.00 for a machine in great condition. The owner had all the paperwork, manuals, bolt tighteners and was able to give a tip on the batteries running out easily, so taking them out between use helps. She obviously cared for the machine well and it appears to be in very, very good condition.

When I got it home, I went online to see product reviews. It appears to sell brand new for $449.00. It was a really, really great deal! I'm very happy.

After the yard sales, we went to my nephew's baseball game. They are so cute at that age (7-8 year olds)

So today was a no spender for me, but I came home with some great stuff!

I may or may not hang out with friends tonight, but I have plenty of entertainment options either way

So I did my taxes & it turns out I owe a bit. I was expecting that and I have the savings to pay them, but I feel the need to go into SuperFrugal mode and try to cashflow it back into savings within the next month or so.

In SuperFrugal mode, I look for both big and small savings. I am going to limit entertainment spending, limit grocery spending, work to find additional sources of income and basically do anything I can to conserve spending and earn more.

The hardest thing for me, will be entertainment. Lately I've been a lot more social at work, with friends and dating. All of which entails spending. So this will be the trickiest.

Today was a no spender, which is good.

Tomorrow will not be one, as I have a date and will be offering to pay for dinner this time around. (Expected Entertainment spending $25.00?)

Wednesday, I'm having friends over to watch LOST and plan on offering them dinner. I will stop at the produce stand for veggies for the week, but will make dinner out of my freezer/pantry. (Groceries $10.00)

Thursday, my work group is going out to lunch. I'm hoping we can keep it really, really cheap, but as there's 10 of us, I'm only 1 vote. Worst case scenario, lunch will be about $10.00. I'll be staying in Thursday night. (Entertainment $10.00)

The weekend is up in the air, we'll have to wait and see what social things I have going on.

For frugal entertainment, I plan on doing the following:

Playing Wii with the nephew
Watching Library movies
Reading Library books

All of these I've said before, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of them and free is always good!

I just updated my request list at the library. Plenty of movies for me to watch as they become available.

Oh and to keep track of freezer food: I used 1 ground turkey with onion for pasta sauce for dinner. I used another to take to work for lunch. (2 ground turkey w/ onion used)

Today's a snow day. So it will be a No Spend Day! I could have chosen to go into work late, but decided to just take the full day after all.

I got a workout shovelling my driveway, but then I managed to drop my glasses and step on them. They will not be able to be repaired. At least I have my old glasses, plus contacts to get me through til my appointment next month.

The rest of the day, I've been watcing tv & playing on the internet.

So now I'm going to tackle the monstrous task of organizing paperwork and taxes.
Have to accomplish something today

Oh, and I'm going to call Comcast & get a new promotion since my last one just ran out.

Today was a no spender. Never even left my house. About 1pm, my mom dropped my nephew off after his karate class. We've spent all day watching movies, playing with the cats, playing games and eating popcorn. And I'm wiped out. Just put him to bed about 15 minutes ago and I'll be following soon after.

Tomorrow, his mom will pick him up in the morning. I'm heading out to lunch for an informal high school reunion with a few old friends. Should be fun.

I'm off on Monday and I'm planning on using the day to help out a family friend and get some things done around the house. I want to clean out my freezer and make some meals for the upcoming week. I'm working on a meal plan now as I have $24.22 left in my grocery budget to last until payday next Friday.

In other news, my raise will hit with this new paycheck. It won't be much, but every bit counts.

The temps here have picked up. This is good because my nephew is small for his age and has absolutely NO meat on his bones. As a result, he's always cold, even with tons of layers on. So when he visits, I up the heat to 67 degrees. The heat has only come on a few times this evening, which is good

Layoffs at work today. I don't really want to talk about it, but just to say that I spent most of today waiting to hear my status.

Some were let go, some were given options to do different things (in a lesser position) or to take severence. I am one of the few in my area whose position remains unchanged. I will take on different responsibilites, but in a good way.

I'm fairly new to this position (compared to others) and people who had been with the company MUCH longer were not spared. I feel relieved and guilty at the same time.

They rolled out of the situation in a way that was secretive. So rumors flew and I was left at my desk for hours waiting for my turn to get info. They were doing things one by one.

I have a plan if I was laid off, but I know there are people in my office that don't have plans or emergency funds. I am sad for the whole situation.

In other news, my heat is STILl off, today was a no spender. I've already packed all my food for work tomorrow.

I am heading to my parents house to fix my sister's computer and just to talk things out with my dad. I've never been in a layoff position before, but he has. And I think it would be good to get some perspective.

Today was a no spender. No a/c either. I was supposed to hang out with that guy I've been seeing, but we had some miscommunication and decided to reschedule. Truth be told, I'm not sure that we have anything going right now. He's a great guy, but I'm not feeling the chemistry.

Tonight I made all my food at home. Premade some food for tomorrow, but plan on stopping at the produce stand on my way home to stock up on salad stuff.

Also, I found the greatest drink coasters in a Pier 1 catalog. At $15.00 for a set of four, its a bit pricy for me. So I did some online research thinking that if I could find the wood bases, I could stain them, use patterned scrapbook paper and use a clear coat of sealer. But I can't find the kind of base coaster, so I'm putting that idea on hold til I can browse some craft shops. They would make great Christmas gifts.

I ended up going to a party last night instead of staying in. Brought some drinks from my fridge as a contribution, so no out of pocket spent.

This morning, I slept in, made breakfast, lunch and dinner at home. Premade food for tomorrow. Deep cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the living room. Cleaned the upstairs bath including lots of scrubbing. Did three loads of laundry and only used the dryer once for bathmats. Hung everything else inside.

I cleaned out the closet and put together four more large bags of clothes to donate. Mostly went through old suits and dress clothes that no longer fit and are not needed in my current work situation.

I painted my toes, gave myself a facial, organized my jewelry. Played with the cats, talked to some friends, made lists of things to do and goals

And I still managed to watch some tv, take a nap, and generally enjoy myself. I feel like I got a LOT accomplished!

The A/C has been off since last night. And the best part was that today was a no spender.

Made some muffins this afternoon. Tweaked the recipe a bit and they came out GREAT! Big, tasty and healthy.

Today, I cleaned, played on the internet, watched a movie, read a book. Tonight I'm supposed to hang out with this guy. I'm hoping to talk him into staying in and watching a movie.

I already have food packed for work tomorrow. Breakfast of cheerios & milk; morning snack of muffin. Lunch is spaghetti salad.

And while I was writing this post, the guy just called. Wants to stay in. Make me dinner at his place. So today will still be a no spender! Woohoo!

Booo! The electric bill went up. $94.97! Still under budget, but I'm not too happy with the amount. I got the amount online, but I'm waiting for my paper statement to see what the usage was. With the rates going up, its hard to tell if that bill is really all that out of line.

I've been home all day with a migrane. So its been a no spender. All the things on my to do list went out the window. Oh well.

Today, I've set the AC at 78, but it hasn't kicked on in hours. I've kept the window shades drawn and thats helped. I am utilizing a fan in the living room. A bit before going to bed, I'll lower the temp a little more and use my bedroom fan to keep things cool.

I get paid tomorrow and I've worked out a zero based budget for this pay period. My goals are to stay within the budgeted amounts for entertainment spending ($39.75), groceries ($50.00), gas ($60.00) and cat expenses ($31). I'll hold myself accountable here because I really need to get back on track with this kind of spending.

I've also premade food for work tomorrow. Cheerios and milk for breakfast. Salad with chicken for lunch. Popcorn as a snack. I've made a tentative meal plan for the rest of the week.

Wednesday Dinner: Chicken and baked fries
Thursday Lunch: Meatloaf muffin and pasta salad
Thursday Dinner: Sloppy joe over pasta
Friday Lunch: Salad with chicken
Friday Dinner: Turkey BLT