HouseHappy's Personal Finance Blog

Today was a no spender, tomorrow is definately not.

I rescued a kitten yesterday morning. It had been crying in my & my neighbors' back yards for two nights. We couldn't get it, so we were feeding it a little. Its only a few weeks old and was starving.

Well, yesterday, I was able to capture it and now its living in my spare bedroom. Separate from my cat Colbi until I can get her to the vet tomorrow to be sure she's not sick.

So far, I've spent $1.00 for a cat food/water dish. $1.00 for cat litter. $1.00 for cat pan liner bags. $3.49 for a litter box. $4.49 for kitten food. (its WAY too young to eat my cat's adult food.

The kitten's a sweetheart. Tiny, probably only 4-5 weeks old. Its skin & bones and although I didn't want/need a cat, I'm going to keep it. So I have lots of upcoming vet expenses for shots, neutering, and declawing.

I'm going to work something out. In the meantime, I get to enjoy the cuteness of the baby kitty I'll try to take some pictures and post them when I can. He is SO adorable.

Yesterday & today are/were no spenders due to being sick. I had to leave work early yesterday.

This morning, I did run to Walmart (5 mins from my house) to return a Redbox movie that I had meant to return yesterday. And I returned a shirt and pair of pants that I had bought a few weeks ago. $26.00 credit back to my account.

For the rest of the day, I'll be lying around. I tried some food, but its not sitting too well. I REALLY have to go back to work tomorrow, so I'm going to take things VERY easy.

I have all the windows/doors open in the house. Two days ago, it was back into the low 60s, now its in the mid 70s. I'm enjoying the weather tho.


As for spending, I now have the two days of no spending. But I did waste some food. I packed a sandwich, salad and milk for breakfast/lunch at work yesterday and I left it there. The milk will be salvagable since it was in the fridge, but not the sandwich/salad.

In other news, I sent an additional $65.53 to the student loan. I've been slacking lately because of all my clothes spending. I pretty much got myself a whole new wardrobe. And it was worth every penny


For the month of May, my focus is on my grocery spending. I joined the challange over at Krystal's blog over at Give Me Back My Five Bucks.

My budget is $50.00 per every pay period ($100.00 per month). I've spent $22.60, leaving $27.40 until the 15th. Definately doable since I will only need some veggies, lunch meat and soda between now & then. I'll keep updating on how I do.

My good friends and I hung out this weekend. We had a lot of fun. My one friend gave me some neat candles (which I love) and a $50.00 gift card to Lowes. She knew there were things I wanted to get done around the house. This was WAY too generous, but its very typical of her. I've put the card away until I prioritize the house stuff. I want to fix a few things and do some painting. I think I'll get the most out of just planning what I'll use the gift card for

Its been a while since I've posted. Its just that the last two weeks have been crazy at work and I have spent my evenings working out, celebrating my birthday & attending my nephew's baseball games.

In the midst of all this, I have been working towards making my life more simple. And usually simple means more frugal

-Last weekend, I organized my closet to make room for my new clothes. I managed to clear out two large trash bags worth of clothing. I'll be donating those to Good Will. I also am planning to part with a few business suits. I'll keep a few, but my workplace is casual and there's no longer a need for so many. (Cost of organization $0, plus tax benefit of donation)

-I organized my jewelry and found several forgotten pieces. So now I get the pleasure of wearing them again. (Free)

-I was in the habit of cleaning my kitchen and living room before going to bed. Mostly just picking up, but I'd gotten out of the habit due to all the running around I've been doing. For the last few days, I started doing it again. 10 minutes tops, but it is SO nice to wake up and come home to. (Free)

-Except for yesterday, I've had the heat off & windows open. The fresh air has done wonders for my mood and my electric/gas bill. (Electric/gas savings - my bill was only $70 this month and will be lower next)

-I've been spending a lot of time outside (walking). I had a little white butterfly follow along with me. It stayed with me along the bushes next to the walking path for nearly a mile.

I've found the walking to be very stress releaving. For the most part, I've been able to leave my work at work, but lately some of it has been coming home with me. I like what I do, but I have a lot of responsibility. The walking has really helped with the stress and with my sleep. (Cost -gas to get to the park; benefit-improved physical & mental health)

-I've been enjoying learning to cook new things. I take out cookbooks from the library and I've been tweaking the recipes to be more Weight Watcher friendly. I don't cook exactly from scratch, but I do much better, both money and health-wise, than eating out every day. (Free, plus less eating out spending)

As for this weekend, its all about friends and family. My good friends are taking me out to dinner tomorrow night for a belated birthday celebration and then we'll be watching a movie at my house. I had suggested Steven King's The Mist, figuring it was worth it to rent. But when I went to the library, there it was on a shelf. A free fairly new release. What a surprise!

In the morning, I am heading to the May Market which is run by a Garden Club in the small historical town near one of the parks I walk in. I plan on picking up some herbs and getting my walk in. Then I am planning to go to my nephew's ball game. Its actually a lot of fun to watch the kids and its a chance to hang out with my mom 1 on 1. She watches my nephew on Saturdays since my sister works.

I will be working on a meal plan and exercise plan for the week. But I thought I'd at least share the exercise I've done this week.

Last Saturday: 50 minute 2.75 mile walk
Last Sunday: 25 mins Aerobics
Monday: Off day (I have my Weight Watchers meeting that night)
Tuesday: 44 minute 2.6 mile walk
Wednesday: Off day (Family birthday party)
Thursday: 30 minutes Aerobics at home
Friday: 48 minute 2.75 mile walk plus 20 minutes push mowing
Tomorrow & Sunday (weather permitting) - both will be 50 minute walks at two different parks.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I headed to Old Navy to look for some work pants to replace the waaaay too big ones I'm currently wearing. I have lost 33 pounds & they just don't fit anymore. I was looking like a slob at work.

I got one pair of pants. Plus two cropped pants for walking (desperately needed too due to weight loss), plus two pairs of running shorts, plus a cut spring top, plus a running sports tank top. See a pattern? I bought a bunch of workout clothes (much needed) but I ended up with only a single pair of work pants.

Here's the cut spring top:




So I still need to go shopping for pants. I'll be heading to Kohl's this weekend. I also need to look for non flip-flop sandles for work. UGH.

I've decided that I need to plan more funds to go to my clothes budget. I'm working to lose another 20 pounds and when I'm done, I'm going to need a LOT of new clothes. What a hardship

My air popcorn popper broke today. I was pretty upset because I was craving popcorn. But then I remembered that you can cook popcorn kernels in a paper bag in the microwave. I sprayed a bit of olive oil spray and put the kernels in a bag in the microwave. A minute & a half later, I got my popcorn! Nice!

So no need to invest in a new popper anytime soon. I just have to get some more paper bags

Today I slept in, which I haven't done in quite a while. I had breakfast at home. Yay cheerios and milk. Drove to get gas $50.00 (ugh) and then to a different park than I usually go to.

This one is located on the water about a 10 minute drive from my house. Its in a historic district and has a walkway along the water, going through wetlands. Its really beautiful. I made a 2.75 mile walk in about 49 minutes. I walked slower than usual due to the neat surroundings. After the walk, I sat on a bench by the water and soaked up the sun. It really was VERY relaxing. I don't have pictures of the park, but I did find one online if anyone wanted to take a look.

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/places/photos/photo_delaw...

I was ravenous when I got home, so I made pasta salad and homemade buffalo chicken nuggets. I had bought a big bag of frozen grilled chicken strips to put on salads and with pasta. However, they have a weird seasoning and are not very tasty by themselves. So I devised a way to enjoy them anyway. I coat them in buffalo sauce and then with Extra Crispy Shake-n-Bake. Very quick to make and very good!

This afternoon, I'm doing some cleaning and watching some old movies that I got from the library.

My frugal goal for this week is to take breakfast & lunch to work & not buy anything.

Still enjoying the nice weather. Last night, I went to my nephew's teeball game. Brought my own drink & snack and afterwards, just vegged at home.

Today, I visited an old family friend with my dad. She's battling breast cancer in her 80s and its a matter of time. But she's doing very well and is hoping to enjoy one last good summer at her house at the beach. I'm going to try to take a few days this summer and visit.

Before visiting, I stopped & bought a $5.85 quart of ice cream from a local dairy farm. She really has a sweet tooth.

Afterwards, I went to another tee ball game with my sister & mom. I brought my own water, but did buy a $1.00 soft pretzel. I'm vegging at home again because I had planned to go out with friends, but got a nasty headache instead.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to hit the park for a 3 mile walk and then spend the rest of the day cleaning the house. Those bathrooms need to be done

All in all, a pretty frugal weekend. Next weekend is my birthday, but I think its all going to be low-key, which is fine with me!

Its been a great week weather-wise. Its supposed to hit 80 degrees tomorrow, just in time for a night tee-ball game for my nephew. I've had the heat off all week, except on night when it dropped a bit.

Work has been very busy, but good. This new position (that I've had since November) is awesome. Its very challanging, which I LOVE!

On a health note, I've been working out the last few weeks. Walking, a little jogging and Tae Bo. All great workouts. I've been trying to take advantage of some of the local parks.

Money-wise I did a little clothes shopping last weekend. I cashflowed it all, but that means less to my student loan. It was needed since I'm down another size in clothes. I still need to get some new pants. Mine are pretty much falling right off me (Yay!)

We had some really cold weather, then the last 3 days have been SUPER nice. I've been able to keep the heat off & even open some windows during the day. I'm going to LOVE my electric/gas bill this month. Lets hope this keeps up.

Oops! My 2 year Blogaversary was on the 5th. How time flies. I've been crazy busy at work and at home.

I am still working hard to paydown my student loan, which has a balance of $3,047.79. I'll update my totals later tonight to reflect this.

I've been enjoying some nicer weather and utilizing different parks for walking. I'm thinking next weekend, I'll head to the local state park and buy a yearly pass. For $27.00, I get access to several awesome parks. It'll be worth it, plus its motivation to keep working out.

My goal for this month is to keep my grocery bill on budget. Since working on eating healthier, I seem to go overboard. But I have done well so far. I've been utilzing my local Produce stand for veggies and fruit. Really great prices!

Today, I was able to get the following:

9 medium/large tomatoes
1 large green pepper
1 celery
1 Romaine lettuce
3 cucumbers
1 pint strawberries
1 bag of baby carrots

... all for $9.79. I would have paid at least $16.00 at my local grocery store.

Anyway, I am very happy to say that I've been part of this site for 2 years and I love it! Thanks to everyone here, you've been a great group of friends.

I weighed in again on Monday and lost another 3.6 pounds, for a total of 32 pounds. I've been floundering with tiny losses for the last two months, so this was AWESOME! I attribute the big loss to starting to work out again.

I've been on a walking kick. I've been to that new park where I do the whole 2.6 mile trail, plus go up and down a HUGE mound of dirt turned hill (man-made for sledding, most likely). Some days, I only go a mile or two, some days I do the whole track. Its really hard to gauge how hard I'm working out though.

So, I have been really wanting to track how much the exercise is benefitting me. I've been itching for a Heart Rate Monitor. I even told my mom over the weekend how much I wanted one, but how expensive they were. Then on the Weight Watchers forums, someone mentioned a really good deal on a HRM at Amazon for $53. AND then I got a $25.00 gift certificate to Amazon in the mail from a rewards program I participate in. It was fate. So I splurged and ordered the HRM tonight. I can't wait til it comes!!

I spent 2 hours at work yesterday before leaving sick. I never should have gone in, but I didn't want to leave my coworkers in the lurch. Unfortunately, I was MUCH sicker than I realized. By the time I got home, I has a 102 degree fever. I had no idea.

So anyway, I'm home sick again today, all my plans down the drain and unless I feel 100% better, I'll be missing Easter with my family. Which sucks, but I don't wish this virus on anyone!

As for Easter, we primarily do gifts for the 7 year old Nephew only. I got him an Easter card for 50 cents from the dollar store and I had planned on giving him some cash towards snacks and fun stuff at his baseball games, but I don't have cash on me right now and I am having a family member stop by to pick up my card for him. So I made up 5 little homemade coupons on index cards. One for a sleepover at a later date and 4 for a walk/bike ride around the new park I went to last week. I think he'd really like it.

Well, its about time for a nap. I am SO tired and feeling just plain yucky. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Today I flexed a few hours at work and went to a much needed eye exam. Its both for routine vision and a medical exam for an eye condition. It was a big bill for both plus a year supply of contacts.

I actually order 3/4 of a year supply because I do wear my glasses maybe once or twice a week. That supply will last me over a year.

AND since my prescription changed again and I haven't had new glasses in over 2 years, I still need to get the glasses. But they will be 100% covered under my vision insurance. Whew.


And I know its a little late, but here's my meal plan for the week:

Tuesday:
B: cheerios and milk; canned pears
L: turkey and cheese on rye; salad
D: Pasta with Morningstar chicken strips; cucumber & tomato salad

Wednesday:
B: cheerios and milk; canned pears
L: turkey and cheese on rye; salad
D: Taco salad; baked fries

Thursday:
B: cheerios and milk; fruit cocktail
L: turkey and cheese on rye; salad
D: Tuna wrap; cucumber & tomato salad

Friday:
B: cheerios and milk; fruit cocktail
L: turkey and cheese on rye; salad
D: Sloppy Joe over pasta


I know the breakfasts & lunches are bland & repetitive, but its a busy week at work and I won't have to think about what to pack... its just grab & go since its already in preset servings. I did that Monday night.

I track every penny spent and have been doing so since January 2007. I was looking at my March spending and thought I'd share. Its been a really conservative month, except for groceries. I've gone a little overboard, but mostly I was stocking up on some REALLY great deals. Like whole-wheat pasta for 67 cents. You really can't beat that!

I've been lucky at having lots of free entertainment with friends and family. And yesterday I even got to enjoy some AWESOME time outside thanks to some nice weather. Most months aren't like this.

March 1
Cell phone $38.61
Student Loan $767.05
Groceries $20.16
Gifts $33.48

March 2
NO SPEND

March 3
Groceries $21.29

March 4
Car Repairs $338.84

March 5
Groceries $11.99
Library Fine $1.25
Drinks out $10.00

March 6
Gas $46.24

March 7
Groceries $13.82

March 8
NO SPEND

March 9
NO SPEND

March 10
Groceries $3.84

March 11
NO SPEND

March 12
NO SPEND

March 13
NO SPEND

March 14
groceries $32.48

March 15
NO SPEND

March 16
NO SPEND

Every once in a while I like to think about the little frugal things that I do. Mostly because I like to challenge myself to come up with more 

So here’s a few ideas of what I’ve been doing this week.

Programmable thermostat:
65 degrees for work nights, 61 during the day and its been warm enough that the heat hasn’t been going on in the day time. As long as I open the blinds/curtains to let the light in.

And the last two days, I’ve had the heat off all together! Yay!

Hand washing most dishes:
I have a single sink, although I wish I had a double one. To reduce water usage, I’ve been hand washing dishes. I use the dishwasher maybe once every week and a half or so., but hand wash the rest of the time. I have been using a large mixing bowl filled with soapy water. Instead of running each dish under running water, I wash it in the bowl. Then rinse off in clean water. Much less water usage!

Line Drying:
Although the original reason was to not shrink my work clothes, I usually line dry all clothes. I use the dryer for only towels & sheets.

Using Daylight:
I have been utilizing the daylight more. I keep the blinds open until it gets dark and keep the lights off.

Minimizing food costs
I’ve been meal planning and eating at home often. This is also healthier 

I get the bulk of my fruits & veggies from the local Produce Stand. Eggs are much cheaper there too!


Lowering Electric usage:
I unplug any unnecessary items. I use my toaster maybe once or twice a week. No sense in keeping it plugged in.

Entertainment:
I have been utilizing the library for books, movies, magazines & cookbooks.

This week I taped (yes, I still have a VCR) a movie that I love. Its called Haunted Honeymoon, starring Gene Wilder & Gilda Radner. It was the last movie she did before becoming ill. I’ve been considering buying it on DVD, but now I don’t have to. It was on cable, for free, so I taped it.

I plan on enjoying the nice weather and going to a local park. Free, fun exercise! (I actually walked 2.3 miles at a new park. Its really nice, I will definitely be going back!)

Taking advantage of work perks:
I have been compiling Weight Watchers recipes. My work lets us print out personal papers, so what I do is print out a few recipes each week. I have an old binder from college that I reused to hold all the recipes.

Treating myself:
I splurge a little here & there so I don’t feel deprived. I buy the good Weight Watchers ice cream cups. I go see movies in the theatre every once in a while (the matinee). I feed my movie addiction by the library & Redbox. I have soda at work, but I don’t buy it there. I go out to dinner with my family at least once every couple of weeks. It’s the little things that make me happy, so its easy to splurge on myself.

I went to 3 different places for groceries today. I'm well stocked in the pantry & freezer, so this paycheck I was planning on stocking up on soda and my only other purchases will be veggies, dairy & bread.

Today I spent a total of $32.48 and got the following:

4 - 12 packs of soda (to take to work)
1 - 8 pack of 12oz bottles (for work)
10 - 2 liter bottles of soda (for home 79cents each)
1 - 2 lb bag of hash brown potatoes
1 - package of English Muffins
1 - 100% natural whole wheat bread
6 - Large tomatoes
1 - bunch of Romaine Lettuce
1 - large green pepper
3 - large cucumbers


The reason I bought so much soda is that I was able to get name brand soda (coke) for 79 cents per 2 liter bottle AND I was able to get the 12 packs plus the 8 pack for $9.00 total. The soda will probably last me about 3-4 months.

I will probably get more salad stuff towards the end of the week. And on Monday or Tuesday next week, I'll restock veggies & dairy. That'll take me into my next pay period. My grocery budget for this pay period is $50.00. It'll be tight because of the soda, but its doable.

Today was a no spender. I packed breakfast & lunch again -- its actually starting to get a little boring saying that

I had a busy day at work. I did get a freebie bottle of water though.

Tomorrow, I am hoping to leave work a little early & go for a nice long walk at a park. Its been warm in the sun the last few days. So maybe it won't be too cold to do that.

I plan on reigning in my eating out & entertainment spending this pay period. I have some stuff I want to do around the house & I'll be taking funds from those catagories to do that.

We'll see how it goes. As we say at work, Everything's subject to change

Even with the car problems and the toilet, March has had some good stuff going on.

I had some cashflow goals for the month and I think I've done pretty well so far.

I've managed to cashflow:

$27.00 for the Defensive driving fee (yay!)

$156.93 of my $338.84 car repair fee (yay!)

$0.00 for my new pantry door (boo!)


ALSO, my new balance on the student loan is $3,795.49! WOO_HOO!


But I'm ok with not having the funds for my pantry door. First, the one I wanted is not currently available. I'm hoping Home Depot will restock soon. Second, I may be able to fund the purchase through a gift card from Mypoints. I'm just waiting for some points to hit my balance.


I've been sticking to the Lunch Challange. Today I brought:
Oatmeal & pears for breakfast; cheese sandwich & salad for lunch; soda from home; free water at work

Tomorrow, I have planned:
Breakfast: Cheerios with milk, Lunch of spaghetti salad - tons of veggies, turkey pepperoni & a bunch of spicy goodness! YUMMY! Snack will be popcorn.

I also have been talking to someone from Craigslist about my room. Hopefully they'll be able to meet this weekend. Anyone with advice about how to handle bringing a roommate into your house, please share!

In addition to the car repairs, I have a leak somewhere in my downstairs bathroom. I noticed some water on the floor in the corner Saturday night. I attributed it to my nephew playing with the water while washing his hands. But I checked on it again last night. And there was a tiny bit of water again. I checked the basement, no signs of a leak & turned the water off to that bathroom.

Then I turned the water back on tonight. Theres more water. Maybe a couple an ounce or two. I checked the basement again, no water showing. I checked the toilet pipes, no water that I can tell. Then I pulled off the ugly brown plastic baseboard the last owner put on. (I'd be able to refix it to the wall, if I want to.)

I checked behind the baseboard. No wetness in there either visually, or by hand. So I have NO idea where the water is coming from. So what I've done is this. I wrapped tissues around all the connections of the toilet. And in the gap between the linoleum and the baseboards. I'm going back to check later to see if any the tissues are damp.

UGH. Its always something though. At least I got a kick out of using the hot pink tool kit that I got for Christmas a few years ago (at my request). It felt all girlie and independent at the same time


****** UPDATE ******

I found the leak! Its the toilet bowl. Not near the pipes, but the actual tank is creating condensation due to a weak spot at the edge. I've drained the bowl, put a towel down for any possible residual water. And tomorrow, I'm heading to Lowes to buy this Plumbing Putty thats made for this type of situation. Its not a permanent solution, but its a good temporary one! I'm all proud that I identified the problem myself

Today, I brought breakfast & lunch to work. I did spend $3.49 tonight to the veggie stand to get romaine lettuce and tomatos. I wasn't going to buy any more groceries, but I really wanted the stuff for salads. So now I'm set for the week grocery-wise.

I didn't spend anything at the car repair shop, but they also didn't fix the problem. Somehow, they say that the fact that the driver side controls don't work for the passenger window has NOTHING to do with the fact that they just fixed the passenger side window. And to fix it, would be over $400.00. So I told them to forget it. I hate that place. I only took the car back there last week because if the squeal was due to the belt, it would have been covered under warrenty at their shop. It was, but then I let them do the window. Big Mistake!

I'm going to shop around prices and my dad said he would take a look at it. We'll see.

In other news, I got 3 free cans of soda at work.

And the best news of all, after a few weeks of a plateau, I lost 2.8 pounds this week. Less than a pound and a half, I'll be at the 30 pound mark! Hopefully, that'll be next week!!!

First, about weekend spending. There was none! I vegged Friday night after a long work week. I did pop back out around 9pm to go to the grocery store. I didn't want to have to deal with the Saturday morning crowds.

Yesterday & this morning was hanging out with the nephew. This afternoon has been all about cleaning and watching Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. And recovering from the Nephew's visit

I have gotten a LOT accomplished. Its amazing how changing your sheets & dusting and vacuuming the house can change things

As for the upcoming week, I drop my car back to the repair place for work tomorrow. The window motor was fixed and the window will go up & down if you use the passanger controls. But they do not work from the driver side controls. I'm hoping its an easy fix that would require no extra charges. But if its the driver side controls that have the issue, I'll have to decide if I want to have it fixed (for a cost) or leave as is for now.

I'm trying not to spend until payday on Friday. I have a full tank of gas and tons of groceries. So unless some entertainment spending comes up, all of the extra funds in those 3 catagories can go to the Student loan as of Friday.

In an effort to keep up with eating at home & my lunch challange, I've made a meal plan for the week.

I have a desk drawer of oatmeal, crackers, granola bars and microwave popcorn.

Monday:
Breakfast: oatmeal & pears
Lunch: Salad, cheese sandwich
Dinner: Pasta, baked potato

Tuesday:
Breakfast:Cheerios with milk, hard boiled egg
Lunch: Pears, large salad
Dinner: Meatloaf muffin, baked fries, green beans

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal, hard boiled egg
Lunch: Cheese sandwich, salad
Dinner: Sloppy joe over egg noodles, green beans

Thursday:
Breakfast: Cheerios with milk
Lunch: PB&J sandwich, pasta salad
Dinner: Pasta w/ sauce; salad

Friday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal, fruit cocktail
Lunch: Pasta salad, cheese sandwich
Dinner: Turkey BLT; baked fries; salad

Saturday:
Breakfast: Cheerios, fruit cocktail
Lunch: Large salad with penne in it
Dinner: London briol, leftover baked fries; peas

As you can see, I can never get enough of salad, be it just cucumbers & tomatoes or a big salad with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, peppers, carrots, eggs, cheese & pepperoni. I've always been this way

Todays a no spender. My nephew came over around 1pm. He's 7. We've been taking advantage of the rainy weather. We've played video games, go fish, had play karate fights, and watched a kids movie (free on cable). We even took advantage of a break in the storms to walk to the beginning of the neighborhood to get the mail.

Lots of fun and no spending. We had drinks, snacks, lunch & dinner all at home. Lots of fun.

AND until around 8pm tonight, the heat was off. I even had the windows open for about an hour earlier. Fresh air is SO nice!

I had a great week, no spending for food, except for Monday. I had a great networking opportunity at work to have lunch with a few of my peers, my manager & her manager and I took it. I spent $9.00 for lunch and was able to take leftovers home for dinner. It was definately worth it

The rest of the week, I did really well. But I have to start planning a little better. I have been stopping at the grocery store a little more often than I usually do.

So tomorrow, I'll be heading to the store for veggies & milk and I will not be going grocery shopping again til next weekend (payday).

I am really enjoying this challange and its working well because I've been changing things up with my Weight Watchers plan. I'm trying to find new ways to get dairy & whole wheat in. I've sorta hit a plateau in my weight loss journey and now I'm focusing more on varying up my meals.

Todays a no spender. I sucessfully packed breakfast & lunch today. I'll be having dinner at home as well. I plan on organizing some recipes while watching last night's Big Brother & tonight's LOST. My goal is to go to bed early, since I was out late last night.

Last night's spending was $10.00 exactly. I LOVE the Pub, its so Cheap! There was a band, loud & not that great, but we had a great time.

My car is back safe and sound. I paid a total of $338.34, which will come from my car repairs fund. I will be working to build it back up as needed, but currently its not a priority.

The shop gave me a lot of problems that I don't want to even get into. They finally fixed the squealing. It was a belt that had been replaced two years ago. It was still under warrenty, so they fixed it. Total cost: $0.00

In addition, I had asked them to look at my passenger side door. The motor would not move the window. So the window motor needed to be replaced.

Plus, my car had been riding rough. The techs noticed and determined I needed new spark plugs. Which I really do.. they haven't been changed since I bought the car. So they charged me for the spark plugs, but not for the labor.

Thats nice!

Until on my way home, when I checked my window. It worked once from my drivers side controls. Then it didn't. It works from the passenger side controls though. So I will be making a call to the Service desk tomorrow. I'm ticked!

In other news, I packed my breakfast & lunch for work today and ate dinner at home. I've already premade my food for work tomorrow. Tomorrow night's dinner will be at home as well, but then I'm heading out to meet some friends at the Pub. I plan on taking & spending only $10.00. Definately doable, the prices at the Pub are CHEAP!

I dropped my car off to the repair shop last night. I'll hear back this morning about an estimate, hopefully it won't be too bad.

Yesterday, I spent $9.00 at Olive Garden for lunch plus tip. Last night, I bought groceries.

Today I packed breakfast & lunch:

Breakfast: Hard boiled egg plus hardboiled egg white, 8oz yogurt

Lunch: Turkey on Rye, salad with ff sundried tomato dressing

Today was a no spender and a beautiful day! I spent about a 1/2 hour on my deck, in the sun. But it was still too cool to stay out there all day

Monday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal & pears
Lunch: Olive Garden linguini marinara, one breadstick and salad.
Dinner: Taco Salad made with MorningStar crumbles and baked tortillas

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Hard boiled egg, oatmeal
Lunch: Meatloaf muffin, salad
Dinner: Turkey BLT, baked fries

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Hardboiled egg, oatmeal, pears
Lunch: Pasta salad, baked chips
Dinner: Sloppy joe over egg noodles, green beans

Thursday:
Breakfast: Cheerios, Granola bar
Lunch: PB&J sandwich, small salad
Dinner: Meatloaf muffin, leftover baked fries, green beans.

Friday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal, bran crackers
Lunch: Leftover Pasta salad, baked chips
Dinner: London Broil, baked potato

Saturday & Sunday are up in the air. But if I'm home, Saturday's dinner will be shake n bake chicken with corn muffins and Sunday's will be tilapia with rice.

Yesterday I went to the bank, did some grocery shopping, paid some bills. Then last night, I went over a friends house. They provided dinner & a movie. I only had to show up. VERY nice.

Today, I'm doing house stuff, laundry, cleaning,ect. My mom & nephew are stopping by for a visit, maybe we'll watch a library movie. I have Meet the Robinsons. All in all, today will be a no spender.

I've been wanting to change some things up at my house. Mostly I want to go out & buy stuff. Instead, I rearranged the furniture. I'm not sure if I like the arrangment, or if I'm going to keep it, but its neat to see something different.

Here's a before picture of my living room.



Behind the couch is a small table & two chairs. The arrangement wasn't that comfy, because you had to walk around the couch to eat at the table. Since its just me in the house, I barely use it.

In this one, you can see how close the couches were to the tv (on the right).





So here's the big couch now, pushed back against the wall.



Here's how much farther the tv is from the couches now.




Here's the table, now in the kitchen, with one of its sides pulled up and one still left down. I had a table in the kitchen, a freebie that I didn't like so much. That will be going into the basement to be given to GoodWill or sold at a later date.




And because she's so cute, here's a picture of my cat, Colbi.