My head is pounding like the furies today. I'm hoping Excedrin will swoop in and save the day, because I've got to much to do tonight.

My aunts are coming tomorrow and are allergic to cats, so I have to scrub the spare bedroom, wash the comforter, change the sheets, and lock the furballs out of their beloved room. The cats sleep in there all day, so they will be irked this weekend.

Last night I went to Target (saved $9 with my fat stack of coupons!) and intended to go to the grocery store, but it was so busy in the store and on the roads that I just went home. I found it's a lot easier to navigate the crammed aisles, read my list, find the product listed on the coupon, and make it out alive with SO next to me. Tonight I have to go to the grocery store and pick up a few things for the weekend.

I was going to make a birthday dessert for one of my aunts and a chickpea salad for the weekend...don't know how that will happen at this point.

Still not totally sure what we are going to do this weekend. Lots of fluttering thoughts in my head but nothing pinned down.

Maybe if I stop worrying, my headache will go away!

About this emailing of companies - am I supposed to come right out and ask for coupons? I've gotten several email replies from companies to my complimentary emails, and all they really say is "thanks." Only one (Amy's Kitchen) has said they'd love to send me coupons. I went down the Organic Coupon list and emailed those companies I knew. I'm just not sure if I'm should be forward and ask for coupons or not. And from what I've read, I shouldn't write more often than every 90 days...so I guess I'll wait a while.

Last night I made an impulse buy at Walgreens when I stopped in for my prescriptions. I bought a new fan for our home, but when I set it up, it was much louder than the display model in the store. It will be going back today. It's difficult to find a truly quiet fan.

I bit of respite from the sun and heat today...thunderstorms. My peppers and tomatoes should be happy.

Hitting Target and the grocery store tonight to stock up on provisions for my weekend guests and use some of my new coupons! Feeding my guests will be a snap - entertaining them will be more of a trick.

It's incredibly slow at work these days and I have so little to do. Dreaming of an office with a door and a job that interests me...

I wrote an email to Amy's Kitchen, praising them for their wonderful food, and asking about new vegan options. They sent me a packet outlining all of their food items and enclosed were several awesome coupons, including one free product coupon! How exciting!

Yesterday's mail also brought my coupon train welcome packet! So many wonderful coupons, and a fat stack of them, too. Thanks so much, flash. I'm excited to jump on the train, and hoping I do it right!

Drove in to work this morning, the first time this month. I brought my gym shoes and plan to stay and work out tonight. My car is now down to two doors that will lock and unlock with the automatic locks, the A/C dripped all over SO's foot the other day, and a funny sweet smell flows into the car after the A/C has been running for a while. Mom told me I need a new car...yeah, I know.

I'm planning to visit the folks back home for a week in August. I'm not sure how it's going to pan out...if I'll take the train or if SO will drive with me...but I'm looking forward to it. I miss having summers off.

Every morning is still a struggle to get out of bed and go to work. My groggy mind thinks of all the possible ways to get out of going in, but I eventually lug myself out of bed and into the shower. It's tough, working just to pay the bills and have health insurance. I haven't seen any job opportunities I'd want to apply for lately. The grad school in Milwaukee would set me back $33,000, and that's with Minnesota reciprocity. Tack that on to the $13,000 in school loans I've already got, and it doesn't seem worth it at all. Who knows if I would get a job in the field I wanted after all that. There are plenty of people with Masters degrees flipping burgers.

I envy the people who know what they want to do with their lives, and do it!

What a wonderful weekend! Apart from the oppressive heat and humidity, it was lovely. My family came to visit, and we hit the art institute, had dinner with some of their friends, chowed down on that delicious St. Paul ice cream, and toured a college campus for my sister (already thinking of grad school!). We also went to

Penzeys Spices for the first time. What an amazing store! It's full of beautiful, fragrant spices. I had no idea paprika was supposed to have a scent. I forsee many a holiday gift coming from Penzeys this year.

Yesterday, I slept all afternoon. All I had to do was lie down on the couch and boom, down for the count.

The friend I was cat sitting for stopped by last night with an apology gift for her cat's behavior. She gave me a gorgeous verigated oregano plant. She feels really bad about the incident, but it was my own fault for picking the cat up. The cut is healing really well, thankfully.

My aunts will be visiting this weekend. Entertaining them will be a tad trickier, since I don't know them as well as my parents, but I have a few ideas. I need to come up with backup plans in case it is 100 degrees again.

Overall, I spent about $23 this weekend. My parents insisted on paying for practically everything.

I'm putting $150 into the emergency fund today. It's nice to have the budget leeway to be able to do that again.

I sent out a few emails this week praising companies for their food products. I wrote to Kellogg asking if they are planning to expand their Organic Morningstar line to include the Twin Cities. Their form letter response told me to buy them online. Not so much with the helpful.

On the other hand, my GoOrganic! coupons arrived yesteday - yeah! Amy's Kitchen wrote me a very nice email and said they'll send me information and coupons. Stonyfield Farm sent me a nice email as well. I guess that illustrates the difference between conglomerates and small businesses.

My family is visting this weekend, so we cleaned the house like mad last night. Everything is in its place and sparkling clean...my favorite. I haven't planned much for meals, though. Maybe I'll look up recipes today. It's just so hard to want to cook when it's 95 degrees!

My new pepper rotted on the vine. I suspect that there wasn't enough calcium in the soil, so I added bonemeal. It's also super hot on the deck, so maybe the plants aren't too happy with that, either. I don't have anywhere else to put them, though, out of the reach of hungry rabbits. The tomatoes are doing great!

I have taken the bus to work almost every day so far this month, and SO has picked me up from work most nights. It's great! I'm still on the same tank of gas from May.

I saw the movie, An Inconvenient Truth, last night. It's the one about global warming with Al Gore.

I strongly encourage, no - BEG - each and every one of you to see this movie. It may not be playing where you are right now - rent it when it comes out. It is worth the money.

I've been an environmentalist since I was a little kid...earth stickers everywhere, telling everyone to shut off the water...

It made me ill to see exactly how quickly we are destroying our home, our earth, and doing so little to change. Polar bears are drowning because the Arctic ice is melting so rapidly. Our CO2 levels are through the roof. Antarctica is breaking off in chunks. If Greenland melts entirely (which it is well on its way to doing), billions of people on our earth's coastlines will die. BILLIONS. Think Hurricane Katrina, a million times worse.

If you're a Democrat, Republican, Independent, hate Al Gore, love Al Gore, couldn't care less about Al Gore - it doesn't matter. See the movie. If you care about polar bears, baby birds, the child napping in the room next to you, the grass under your feet - see this movie. It's important!

About a week ago, I checked out the Coupon Train forum and read all about it. It sounded really interesting...but I thought to myself, "I don't even use coupons as it is! How can I join a coupon train?" So today, I did my best to pull out the coupons I've saved up and use them.

Today I saved $33.05 using coupons, and got $10 back in rebates!

That's not much compared to some of the coupon greats around here, but they are inspiring me to do better. Perhaps I'll dip my toes in the Midwest Coupon Train the next time it rolls around.

PetSmart is giving $5 rebate gift cards if you buy certain items in-store. Mostly big bags of cat and dog food qualify, but since I had a $5 off Science Diet coupon, I used it and saved! Yippee!

I also used a ton of coupons at Target and came away with a lot of pop (thanks to those Coke Olympic coupons). My stash of soda is nowhere near the quantity of ImaSaver's, but it will do.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased. The only thing I splurged on this weekend was a stack of books (a trip to

Half Price Books set me back $42). I have a penchant for novels about the Tudor family, Elizabeth I in particular, and they had a couple of thick books I couldn't pass up. Also got a cookbook, Vegetarian Cookbook for Cheese Lovers. Mmmm, my kind of cookbook.

Several family members are popping in and out over the next couple of weeks. I should really plan menus. I have a lot of cleaning to do, too.

I didn't scare the birthday girls too much yesterday, and they were really excited about our present to them - time with us. I need to remember that time together is often so much more valuable than a book or a trinket.

I'm cat-sitting for a friend of mine who is out of town for a couple of weeks. I've known her cats since they were kittens...in fact, I lived with them for two years. So no problem, right?

Wrong. Last night I picked up one of them and within four seconds, she swiveled around and slashed a nasty cut in my eyelid. No hissing, no growling, no squirming to get away - no warning. Just slashing. Totally psychotic.

I skipped work today and went to the doctor because the cut hadn't stopped bleeding. He said he couldn't put stitches in at this point, so he taped it back together as best he could and now I cross my fingers, hoping that it doesn't get infected (Neosporin at the ready).

What baffles me most is that the cat has never been anything but loved - never abused, always been indoors, lived a pampered existence. I'd expect that kind of behavior from a wild outdoor cat, not a spoiled indoor cat. It surely makes me appreciate my sweet little beasts! My previously-outdoor cat has far better manners.

Not looking forward to sharing this with my friend when she gets back. The only saving grace is that her other cat is quite sweet and was very happy to see me.

Tomorrow I'm going to SO's nieces' birthday party, looking like Igor with my puffy, bruised, taped eye. SO has taken to calling me a prize fighter. I should thoroughly frighten all the 6 year olds.

So, $15 more dollars down the drain for today's doctor's appt. I'm so thankful that the cat didn't scratch my eyeball, or I'd probably be blind.

Signing off for now - stay clear of vicious house-pets,

Igor

I visited Aldi this past weekend, with high hopes and expectations based on all the rave reviews here...and I'm sad to say, I was disappointed. There wasn't much in the store, and all the produce I picked up had mold on it. I bought a few mold-free things, and I will try them out in the coming weeks. A gallon of milk was a pretty good deal, but not worth driving to the store. Perhaps it's because the Aldi I visited was in a sketchy part of town? or because it was a Saturday? but I wasn't impressed. I may try another store at a different location, just to compare.

I also didn't realize that it was a cash-only kind of place. Oops! Had to use the cash machine and pay the convenience fee. I was ready with bags from home and a quarter for the cart, but not enough cash.

Next up, find a discount bread store nearby. Paying $3.00-$3.50 for a decent loaf of wheat bread is lunacy.

I started out my post-college life with $23,170 in loans to pay off. The total now stands at $12,940. That means I've paid off $10,230, or $2,046 per year. Not bad.

I used the

credit card calculator at Bankrate.com to calculate how much longer it will take me to pay off my loans. If I keep paying the minimum on my highest loan, it will take me 109 months, or 9 more years. Yikes! If I pay the minimum on my smaller loan, it will take me 20 months! I'm definitely going to be rid of the smaller one in 2007 - it's just under $1000 now. My original goal was to be rid of it by next month, but that's not going to happen. I feel it's more important to get my emergency fund back up to $1000 and fund my 2006 Roth IRA as much as I can. The loan will wait.

I showed SO just how much we spent on groceries and household products in the last six months...he was shocked. You really don't believe how much you've spent until you see the numbers. We're definitely going to try to do better.

Last night we went for an hour-long walk around the neighborhood. Retire@50 has inspired me! I'm hoping we can keep up with the nightly walking. We both need to get in better shape!

Our stay at a bed and breakfast was wonderful. It was nice to take a day off in the middle of the week and bask in the sunshine. We rode our bikes all over town and enjoyed the perfect spring weather! This was one of my favorite views of the Mississippi:



All in all, we had a great anniversary, and neither of us wanted to come home.

Ways we saved money:
- Used our $95 in cash back from our credit card to help pay for our room at the bed and breakfast.
- Used two Entertainment Book half-off coupons for lunch and a coffee break. Saved $10.
- Bought four pieces of pottery, three of which came from the "seconds" room, so we got 10% off. I bought an awesome "seconds" cookie jar with a new lid and saved $10. We took an hour-long tour of the pottery factory, and since we had made a purchase, the tour was only $.50 each.

Last weekend we visited the Arboretum - here's a pretty photo:



and, as promised, a photo of the hidden waterfall near the campground we stayed at a few weeks ago (SO took this one):

Not spending is going fairly well here. Every time I think about going shopping, I remind myself of the fact that I will most likely only have $12 left in my account at the end of this month. Not much wiggle room.

Free lunch today, courtesy of my employer. Can't complain!

On Sunday we went to a friend's barbeque and swam all afternoon. It was lovely and fairly inexpensive...just had to buy a few groceries. Last night we visited SO's parents and had dinner with them for a belated Father's Day gathering. Free food and lots of love, as always. I'm dragging today, since we didn't get home until around midnight.

This week I'm meeting a friend for dinner (hoping it won't be too expensive) and maybe going to the zoo with another friend. Next week I have a chiropractic appt, and we both took our anniversary off from work. We'll hopefully be going to a bed and breakfast (SO has yet to make reservations, so we'll see about that). We both agreed not to give each other gifts, but what did SO's parents do? Bought us something! I have no idea what it is but I am a little afraid of how much it cost. Every time we see them, it's like Christmas.

Have to make a vet appointment for one of the kitties...dreading the cost of that. Perhaps that's why I've put it off all month?

I haven't seen Cercis around lately (since April)... has anyone been in contact with her?

I visited the doctor again yesterday and started a new headache medication last night. The beta-blocker high blood pressure med was just not doing it for me. The fatigue and insomnia I could deal with, but once the crazy mood swings, bouts of depression, and worse headaches kicked in - forget it.

I've switched to an old school anti-depressant that is now used mainly for chronic pain. I hope it helps. I am so incredibly tired today that I overslept until 7:20, drove to work, and took a lunchtime nap in my car. I forsee an extremely early bedtime tonight. I'm sure it is a side effect of the new medication. The great thing about it? $5 for a 90 day supply. Can't beat that. The doctor said if this doesn't work, then we'll try anti-seizure meds, and if that doesn't work, I'm off to the neurologist.

Our camping trip was very nice, even though it rained the entire time and our camping mattress deflated in the middle of the night. We were still able to have a fire and eat s'mores (the most important part!). We hiked to a pretty little waterfall and I took a bunch of photos - I'll post some as soon as I can.

Otherwise, just trying to keep June's spending under control and hoping beyond hope that the CT scan bill isn't enormous.

My landlords are getting married next month, and though we aren't invited to their very small wedding, we feel we should give them a little something. We don't know them really well, and I've found a couple of their registries (Crate and Barrel is wayyy out of our price range). They are really into their yard and gardening, though, so maybe I could put together a gardening basket of sorts...

I'm going camping this weekend!! Yeah!!! First camp-out of the season for me. I am soooo excited.

I'm amazed by how expensive camping is, though...$18 for one campsite for one night, and $8.50 to reserve it (a must around here, if you want a campsite!). Luckily we already have a yearly parking pass. Yikes.

Fresh air, being closer to nature, hiking around and taking photos -definitely worth it. It's supposed to be perfect camping weather, 75 degrees and sunny.

I sent a gift box of grass-fed beef jerky to my dad for Father's Day. Not exactly homemade, but I know he'll like it.

I finally called the doctor's office today, and the CT scan was perfectly normal. YAY! and *whew*. I'm so glad.

The only thing is...what's up with these headaches? The daily ones are getting worse, not better. I'm going to give this med another week, and if it hasn't improved by then, I'll be going back to the doctor. Has anyone tried antidepressants to treat headaches? That may be my next step.

My family visited this weekend, and we had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect, so we grilled fresh peppers, onions, red potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and salmon (for the fish-eaters). I made trifle for dessert. I baked a wonderful banana bread for breakfast, too. I felt good about their visit, since they didn't have to buy any meals. I spent a bit on groceries, but it was worth it.

I'm trying to come up with a homemade Father's Day gift. Any ideas? I'm well past the point of drawing cute pictures for him and I don't have any kids to do it for me. I don't think the kitties would like me to dip their paws in paint...

I wish I knew exactly how much the CT scan is going to cost...it could be anywhere from $40-$90, depending on how they bill it. That will determine if I have any wiggle room in my budget.

The CT scan is over. I had it done early yesterday morning. It was a bit uncomfortable and my teeth ached all day afterwards, but it was a quick procedure.

I'm waiting to hear from the doctor about the results. *insert Jeopardy music here*

I still have daily headaches, but I've only been on the blood pressure meds for a week. I'm soooooooo tired! It's got to be a combination of the meds, poor sleep, and staring at the computer all day.

They've updated our tech environment at work and now many of my favorite sites are blocked. I hope this one isn't the next to go. I have no idea how I will manage if that happens!

Speaking of jobs - I did not get that job I interviewed for, the ridiculously long one interview one. I'm glad I didn't get it. After stating that I wasn't chosen for the job, they graciously offered to give me a free half-hour analysis of my test results. (We didn't like you, and here's why?) Uh, no thanks. I talked to some friends and found out that they know people who have worked for that company and were absolutely miserable...so I'm glad it worked out this way.

To pass the time, I've been checking out homes for sale again. SO would really like to buy a house. There are some cute ones out there...but how much can we truly afford? and what about that pesky miserable winter thing? We're going to make a pros and cons list. The thought of moving all of my stuff again so soon doesn't thrill me, either...but if the place I lived in was MINE...it might be worth it.

Month of May things I'm pleased with:

- Electric bill only $53 total (split between two of us)
- Paid double on smaller college loan (chipping away)
- Gasoline, only $50
- Target expenditures, less than $90
- Made a charitable donation


Month of May things I'm not so pleased with:

- Groceries, $300 total (split between two of us)
- My eating out costs, $75
- Medical costs, $185
- Clothing and shoes, $270
- Gifts, $200
- Savings only $50


Clothing, gifts, and medical costs really took a big chunk out of this month's budget. I have no idea why we spent so much on groceries.

To answer a comment from Thrifty Ray a while back, yes, I have been using my new camera. It's great. I've been cutting back a little bit only because it's expensive to get the film developed. It's really fun to learn how to use the camera and play with all the dials!

In an effort to celebrate our anniversary frugally, I requested a rebate check from our credit card (we get money back from purchases). It should pay the bulk of whatever we end up doing (camping? B&B?). We also have a couple of restaurant gift certificates that we could use.

My family is visiting this weekend, so we need to make another trip to the grocery store. Using a list this time!

Visited the doctor this morning and came away with prescriptions for Inderal and Imitrex, and a CT scan scheduled for next week. My blood pressure is just fine, but Inderal is sometimes prescribed for headaches. We'll see how it goes.

Inderal will be inexpensive but Imitrex is pricey. Luckily I shouldn't need the latter too often. I haven't had a migraine in a while, just the persistent daily headaches. New prescriptions mean more money taken out of my dwindling emergency fund. This has been an expensive month.

The doctor and his nurse were both wonderful. It was worth putting up with the appointment-setter to see them.

Still nervous about the CT scan...still not sure why.

This is a much shorter version of a Myers-Briggs test. I'm still an INFP/INFJ.

I'm seeing a doctor tomorrow to discuss my headaches (and the potential CT scan). It took a lot for me to call and make the appointment, and I still can't quite figure out why. The receptionist was rather rude after I stated that my emergency contact is my domestic partner (and I'm single, since the only options were single, married, divorced, separated, and widowed). I couldn't quite figure it out - how does my living arrangement affect her? I was irked at first, but now I'm thinking whatever, my life is my life, and if I don't want to get married, that's my business. It's just too bad that they don't provide an option for "in a happy relationship but not married" and that there are more negative options than positive ones.

Looooong weekend...I'm so looking forward to it! I feel like I could sleep for a week.

I just stumbled upon a interesting travel blog on the New York Times page. The writer is traveling the world in 90 days, frugally, and updates every Wednesday.

Beginning

Week 1

Week 2

He links to several travel-related websites. I'd never heard of this one before - couchsurfing.com. Check it out.

I finally remembered to call my previous landlord and ask him for a 2005 certificate of rent paid. Once I get that, I should be able to file for a property tax refund. It kept slipping my mind (by law, though, he was supposed to send it to me in February). Last year I received $291 back - this year will most likely be less, but something is better than nothing.

I agree with what Thrifty Ray commented on in my last post. The thing is, I find it difficult to be a model employee when I'm unhappy with my job. It's hard to stand out from the crowd and tap dance my way to a better salary when I have to pry myself out of bed to trudge into work every day. Part of it is perspective - I could force myself to love it! - but that's not really authentic. If going to a private college taught me anything, it's that faking it makes me nauseous. It's not as if I make it obvious that I'm unhappy, but I find it hard to go above and beyond.

Well, we'll see. I'm still looking for a job that makes me happy (or at least doesn't require a tractor trailer to pull me out of bed in the morning). I do appreciate the suggestions.

In other news - tonight - more authentic Mexican food! I've been corresponding with a friend of a friend via email in Spanish. Tonight we are all going out for dinner and I'll get to meet her in person. Mmmmmmm Mexican food.... (sorry Jeffrey!)

I need some anniversary gift ideas. SO tends to buy me really expensive electronic equipment and then my gifts seem silly in comparison. We have some cash back coming to us from our credit card...maybe I will suggest we go to a nice bed and breakfast and use that cash to pay for it. Hmmm....

Had a weird thought this morning as I groggily got out of bed. It will take me five more years to reach the $40K mark at this job, assuming I get another raise in December, and the same raise each year after that. Ick. Five years? I'll be 32.

I attended a benefit concert last night and talked to an acquaintance. She is probably about 10 years older than me (as many of my friends seem to be) and has had several high-paying, high-profile management jobs. She is seriously dissatisfied with her current position, though. I felt a small amount of comfort when I asked her what she really wants to do, and she said she has no idea. She has the luxury of taking a long sabbatical to figure it all out, though.

I just started reading No Parachute Required. It's geared toward recent college graduates, but hopefully I will get something out of it.

I'm going to start a "Musts Before 30" list...

Apparently my employer does not offer percentage raises, but dollar amounts. I got a $1000 raise, which essentially amounts to 3%. I'm not complaining; just slightly disappointed. It makes me miss the yearly 6% increases I received at my last job (except for that year when no one got a raise).

I'm still making a full $2000+ less than I would be had I stayed at my previous job. I don't miss it at all, but I am still envious of my friends of equal standing who are making waaaay more money than me.

At this rate, it's going to take forever to pay off my student loans. The current total stands at $13,054. *sigh*

I revamped my budget a bit, and I'll have $1000 back in my emergency fund in September, and pay off my smaller college loan in October. Here's hoping nothing goes wrong between now and then!

Potential Upcoming June Expenditures:
- CT Scan/doctors appts/chiropractor
- Cats need to see the vet & get microchipped
- Donation to friend's double marathon event
- Anniversary gift for SO
- Landlords are getting married (gift)
- Father's Day gift
- My favorite aunt's partner is retiring (wish I had enough $$ to make the trip!)
- Parents might visit
- Sister will most likely visit

Yesterday's job review went pretty well. Suddenly my nice boss was nice again. I decided to express my frustration with the office environment, and now she is on a mission to help me make friends. I told her that was unnecessary but that I wanted her to know that it's been a difficult transition for me. To go from one environment that was generally very warm and chatty (almost too much) to an environment that's cold, sterile, and silent....well, it's been tough. I went from a place where my boss was yelling for me every two minutes to only talking to SO all day long. Very strange.

I have two bosses - one did my review, and the other one is doing my raise. I find that odd. I won't find out what my raise is until Monday morning.

This morning I made roti (aka chipati) bread. It's like a thick, whole wheat tortilla cooked on a dry skillet. The only ingredients are whole wheat flour and water, but it's delicious. I had never made it myself before but it turned out pretty well. I'll have to make a nice soupy Indian dish to go with it. However, tonight we're going to a Greek restaurant for a friend's birthday, and then to the Da Vinci Code movie (if it's not sold out).

Headache today, a carryover from last night. SO pulled out the Mayo Clinic medical handbook and read the entire CT scan section to me this morning. I'm feeling a little better about it. I'll call the doctor's office on Monday. I'm going to have to take out more $$$ from my emergency fund to pay for it, though.

Today is my favorite aunt's birthday. She is an amazingly strong, capable, sweet woman, and I have always adored her. Hopefully she and her partner will come visit next month. I haven't seen them in several years. They will both finally be retired this summer, so hopefully we will see more of them. Off to make a happy birthday phone call!

Thanks for your well-wishes! I had a job interview today (the one I was hoping for). I had to do an hour-long pre-test which analyzed my personality, and then today I had a three-hour interview. They required me to take three tests today and do two interviews. The last interview was the most absurd interview I have ever done. It was with two people, only one of which was actually there (the other was on speakerphone from Texas), and every single question was, "Tell me about a time when..." Awful. Truly awful. These questions weren't just like, "Tell me about a time when you had a big project to finish and how you did it." They were like, "Tell me about a time when you had a big project to finish, and the person you were working with made it difficult, and you had trouble finishing it, and what you learned from that experience, and what you would do differently, and and and..." Every single time I answered a question, I had to ask what the rest of the question was, because there was no way I could remember every variable they set up. It was insane. I think the actual work might be interesting, but I didn't click with anyone I met, especially not the boss. So, in short, no way.

The nice thing is that I took the rest of the day off (since they had me block off 4.5 hours of time for the interview - yeesh!) and it is a gorgeous day. I had a picnic lunch with SO and now I'm going to see if I can meet my friend who is on maternity leave for a walk.

My job review is tomorrow...I'm going to take it with a grain of salt (or maybe a boulder of salt) like you've all said.

I feel like I'm way overqualified for these jobs and starting to feel like I'm a little old too, since everyone is fresh out of college. More brainstorming about where to go next, coming up!

BTW, thanks for the ideas with the cats. I could close off the spare bedroom. The strangest thing about it is that I have TONS of plants in the house - I just counted, and there are 40. The cats only touch the spider plants (and seedlings, apparently).

I have to cut back on chiropractic appointments. I had to pull $75 out of my emergency fund to pay for them this month already, and my fund is down to $125. I'm not going to be able to contribute anything to it this month, unfortunately.

Tonight I have a neck-cracking appointment and I'm going to have to tell her that I need to cut back to every two weeks or longer. I've been feeling a lot better...not 100%, but a lot better. She wants to solve the mystery of my headaches...I don't have the money to do that right now. I'd rather keep up with monthly massage appointments, which definitely help my body overall, rather than spend all I've got on weekly cracking.

I'm way overbudget this month. If I can stay out of Target until June, I'll be doing ok. I've only budgeted about $40 for groceries ($80 combined) for the rest of the month, but I think we can swing that.

My mom loved her Mother's Day gift. I got to see my parents for about 24 hours last weekend, which was nice. I hadn't seen them since Christmas. They paid for way more in that 24 hour period than they should have - lunch, dinner, breakfast, gasoline, a new rain jacket for me - but fighting it just makes them more adamant. I guess since I so rarely see them, I should just try to enjoy it. I love my new rain jacket (essential in MN in the monsoon seasons of spring and fall). My old one was a men's size XXL and came down almost to my knees! This one actually fits.

I have tried three times already to grow basil, tomatoes, and pepper plants. The cats are fascinated by the grow light and the little seedlings underneath it. I have the seedlings covered up with a tupperware container but the cats work to pull it off. Every time, they have managed to make off with one or more of the dirt pods. Last night I came home to dirt spread all over the kitchen and dead seedlings. I have to start all over again. I'm not sure where else I can put the grow light and the seedlings...I'm about to give up on this. I don't understand the fascination! I have a hard enough time trying to grow plants from seed - I don't need their interference!

Tomorrow is a big day in job-world...please send good vibes my way! I'll update tomorrow.

Taking a break from soul-searching for a minute.

SO and hiked around a park near our house the other day and I took these photos. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the best photos out of my 35mm camera...practice makes perfect! Too bad it's so expensive to get them developed.

Thanks for all of your support. This is such a nice place to visit and express ideas.

I've taken the Myers-Briggs personality test, the Kiersey Personality Sorter test, and many others on the internet for years. I most often get INFP (sometimes INFJ). Interestingly enough, SO is an INFP as well.

Live Career offers a free assessment test if you're interested in knowing what your type is. You have to register (free) and the quiz is 100 questions long - it takes about 20 minutes.

I'd love to hear what your personality test results are!! Post them in your blogs or here in the comments field if you have a chance.

I've been looking up ideal INFP careers this morning and found several interesting websites. If you know what your type is, here's an extensive careers link: Ball State University's personality type & careers page.

There's also a Jung Type Descriptions page that tells you what you're like and what careers would be good and not so good for you, based on your type.

I found this site fascinating as well: Murray State Myers-Briggs information page. The descriptions are very detailed.

I found a few lines from the last website interesting:

- People with INFP preferences have a great deal of warmth, but may not show it until they know a person well. They keep their warm side inside, like a fur-lined coat. DEFINITELY - is that why I've made no friends at my current job?

- They stick to their ideals with passionate conviction. I'm not going to sell my ethics for a $5 book!

- They want their work to contribute to something that matters to them--human understanding, happiness, or health. They want to have a purpose beyond their paycheck, no matter how big the check. although if the check is big, I'm not going to complain!

-In the long haul, what INFPs choose as a career must serve their own idealism. If it doesn't, they can become restless and stressed and their work can become sloppy and counterproductive. restless - CHECK! stressed - CHECK!

According to all of these websites, I'm on the right path with my job search. My "favored careers" are all things I'm interested in. I just have to pick something new and run with it, I guess! What to choose...that is the question.

I have a few things up for sale on half.com, and I've sold things in the past. Over the weekend, I had a guy buy a book set of mine and send me this email:

I have just purchased a book/tape/card set from you on half.com to be shipped to [woman's name & address]. Can you do me a BIG favor. I am fixing a mistake I made with this customer. Will you please e-mail me immediately if you are missing the tapes or cards. Also, will you e-mail me when the book ships? I really appreciate your help here. Regards, [man's name & his bookstore's name]

Two minutes later I get this email from him:

One more thing i forgot to mention. Please do NOT include an invoice with this order.

After I got the second email, I realized that he wanted me to ship this book set and essentially pretend to be him. Excuse me? Am I your personal shipping service? What if the customer paid him $10 for the set and he's buying mine for $2? Not cool. I wrote to half.com and presented the issue. Here's what I got in response:

Thank you for writing in to Half.com customer service with your concerns about drop shipping for your buyer. I will do my best to address this.

Half.com does support drop shipping in every way, shape, and form. What I mean by this is buyers asking for the order to be shipped to another location. However, from what you've described it sounds like while this buyer isn't technically asking for you to lie, there is an element of withholding the truth. If you feel uncomfortable in doing that I'd recommend that you cancel this order and refund your buyer.

I was a bit surprised by their response. Not only is it unethical to withhold the truth, it's disrespectful to me and misleading to the customer. He should have offered a refund to her, not tried to use me. This guy's got a big bookstore on half.com - I'm a home seller.

I decided to give the guy a refund rather than sell my ethics for a mere $5. Give me a break. I'm removing all of my stuff from half.com and either putting it elsewhere or bringing it to the used bookstore. Too much of a headache!

What happened to ethics in business? It will be interesting to see if this guy leaves me negative feedback for not doing his bidding.