kashi's journal

Last night I met up with a couple of girlfriends and we went to a really authentic Mexican restaurant for dinner. The food was excellent! The neighborhood, not so much. I was a little concerned about my car getting jacked even though it was still light outside. It's unfortunate that the really good Mexican restaurants are in a horrible part of town. I would not go down there by myself. Really awesome, fresh tortillas, though, and a delicious, authentic Mexican drink! Only $10.

I've been messing around with my digital camera more lately, trying to master all of its features. I finished reading one library book about 35mm photography and have several more waiting for me at home. Today I brought "Photographing People" to read during lunch, as I am heading over to take more photos of the new baby tonight.

Anyone notice the gorgeous full moon? I was playing around with my digital camera's night mode last night.

No real financial news today...just wanted to share some photos of my babies.

This one thinks he's a puppy:


and this one is as sweet as can be (when she's not leaping at the drapes):

Reasons why April's budget is just not working out:

1. My glasses disintigrated. I don't wear them all the time, just around bedtime and on weekends, but they need to be replaced. My current pair is 8-10 years old - no wonder they fell apart! I've been wearing them like opera glasses (one arm missing, one nosepad missing), so they're a bit crooked. I'm not sure how much the replacement pair will cost, but I'm guessing in the $200 range.

2. $83 eye appointment cost. Way more than the $20 copay I expected.

3. Camera purchase. This is offset by my church service gig, but I could have saved that money instead. $125 with shipping and film.

4. Aquarium needs. Fish need clean water to swim in and to get fed regularly when we're out of town. $88. Cheaper in the long run, because I bought a huge vat of water purifier. Plus, I won't have to ask SO every day if he fed the fish (priceless).

5. Allergy prescriptions, $21. It's spring. (YAY!)

6. Potential frivolity. I'd like to get my hair cut and colored (it's been six months since the last color). I'd like the masseuse to come over (she hasn't been since January, and my shoulder is killing me). A friend's birthday is this month, although I don't know if we are celebrating or not.

7. I've driven to work four times already! It's April 11!

Good things: Only $28 spent on groceries so far. Only $42 on eating out (most of which was used to take my sister out).

I'm still going to save $175 this month...but that's nowhere near $600!

I won a camera on eBay! It's an older Nikon (and by older, I mean the same age as me, but that's what I wanted), and it comes with three lenses, a flash, a motor drive, and three filters. The price? $100! I am sooooo excited!!! I hope it is in good condition. So far, the seller has not tried to charge me extra for shipping - a plus! I bought some film last night and I am reading all about my new camera. I can't wait.

Thanks for the tips on photography classes!

I played the church gig last night and made enough money to even out my camera purchase. Very exciting. The ensemble was very nice...baroque Mozart music...I enjoyed it. I ended up rehearsing/playing for five hours this weekend though (between this gig and my other band practice), so my shoulder is killing me today!

SO and I went on a date on Saturday night. We went to a fancy restaurant and then to a play (Hamlet). It was fabulous. We had such a great time. He even bought me roses and wore a suit.

Spring is here! I can't tell you how excited I am about that! I can't wait to get my new camera and start snapping spring blooms.

I have a penchant for new hobbies. The latest? Photography. Ever since SO gave me an awesome Olympus digital camera last year, I have been practicing and playing around with it. I'd like to move on (or is that back?) to 35mm. I'd like to learn how to use a camera with a big lens and all sorts of manual settings. I want to learn about light meters and composition and all that cool stuff.

SO has a camera, which he showed to me last night, but the light meter is broken. I've been perusing eBay (I know, I said I would take a break) and craiglist, among other places. I just want something cheap but reliable, with a lens. I don't want to spend more than $100 at this point. This can be an expensive hobby! Right now, I just want to learn.

I'm reserving books on photography at the library and I'm going to stop by there tonight to see what else I can find! I tried to get into a beginning photography class in college, but it was always full, and reserved for art majors. I'd still like to take a class sometime. I'll need a camera first.

I'm feeling pretty good today. It was a struggle getting out of bed, but once I got up, I felt great.

SO mentioned Mexico again this morning. Has he done his taxes? No. I have already allocated the money for other things - like new glasses, since mine have disintigrated. How many times did I tell him to do his taxes? Arg!!

I need to stop using my cards and get back into only using the cash that I have in the bank. I pay off the cards every month, but I'm starting to get too dependent on them again. I tend to live a month BEHIND instead of a month AHEAD.

Last night I had a brief epiphany. I should be making a lot more money. Now, I know I've been saying this a lot lately...but I finally believed it. My talents and my education are not being utilized. I need to do something about that.

I can't quite figure it out.

Last night for dinner I made fettucini alfredo (dried pasta, brand new jar of sauce) with frozen asparagus (the kind in a microwave steamable bag). I put spray butter and italian seasoning on the asparagus. I made Koolaid with tap water and Splenda. Within an hour, I was very ill, and SO fought it all night until this morning. I can't figure out what did it. I just bought the asparagus not too long ago, and it went right from the freezer into the microwave, like it is supposed to. Could it be the tap water? We've made Koolaid with it before. Last time I drank tap water at work, I got super sick. Is the city pumping something bizarre into the water? My stomach is still wobbly today and SO is at home hugging the toilet. I have no idea what caused it.

I had an eye appointment this morning and insurance only covered half of it. I was very disappointed by that. I don't know if it was their state-of-the-art machinery or what. What I thought would be a $20 copay turned out to be $83. Perhaps that is the trade-off for my insurance paying a big chunk for my new glasses.

I have a very weird right eye. Every doctor I've seen has said something similar to what the new doc today said - "In all my 29 years of practice I've never seen an eye like yours." I have what looks like a tear in the macula, which should render me half-blind, but I can see just fine (with correction, of course). I also have a weird, permanent infection that's been there since I was 13, and no one can identify it. (No - I really don't look like a red-eyed, bug-eyed freak! I promise!) The infection thing only flares up when I'm super tired or stressed out.

The doc wants me to have a surgery for dry eyes that involves inserting a

lacrimal plug. I'm not so sure about this. More research is definitely needed on my part.

I had to take vacation time for my medical appointment. Bummer. I was allowed to use sick time at my last job.

Another interesting thing today - the doc studied in Portland, Oregon. I mentioned that I've been thinking about moving there and he became a vertiable Oregon tourism board commercial. He really loved it.

Just wanted to add - the doc said I definitely should NOT get Lasik and he was shocked that no one had taken everything into account, like my large pupils, dry eyes, macular tear thingy...I'm SO glad I did not go through with it. He said having large pupils alone would most likely have resulted in my having halos and glares for the rest of my days.

My state tax refund check came yesterday, perfect timing. Now I just need the federal return.

and, even better, the eBay keyboard guy finally refunded my money. It took over a week to clear. I was starting to get really worried about that $200! I'm so glad it wasn't a huge hassle. It sounds like several people are having eBay troubles lately. Their buyer protection program leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion.

My friend's baby is here! He is adorable. He's very light-skinned, but maybe he will darken up. He looks like a little eskimo baby right now! Labor sounded like fun...the placenta broke off. Ewww!!! I am so not having kids. I love holding other people's kids, though. We ended up spending about $20 on flowers and a gift bag.

I successfully distracted my sister for a day. We had a good time shopping. I spent more than I had planned, but I tried to keep it in check.

Last night SO and I stopped at the Indian grocery store for a few staples. We were completely out of basmati and jasmine rice. It is so nice to have that resource! I picked up some naan bread, too...oh I how I love it.

I am dragging today from just one lost hour. How is that possible? Why is one measly hour so important? I got out of bed 20 minutes before I had to leave this morning...not good.

April is a busy month! The next three weekends are already planned. I have this feeling that I won't be able to keep my spending in line with my budget...but I'm really, really going to try.

I did very poorly on my March goals.

MARCH GOALS
~ Pay double on my smaller college loan: Yes, more than double
~ Limit groceries/Target/eating out to $250 (was $327 in Feb): Not even close, way more than in February!
~ Drive to work no more than 5 times: drove 6 times
~ Put $300 into savings: only $100 due to car repair
~ Donate $25 to one organization of choice: Yes

APRIL GOALS
~ Pay double on my smaller college loan
~ Limit groceries/Target/eating out to $300
~ Drive to work no more than 5 times
~ Put $600+ into savings (if tax return comes)

And my next Big Goal, get $1000 back into my emergency fund by June. I had to drain it to get my car fixed.

So, the eBay guy selling the keyboard decided after I had sent payment that he needed an extra $50 for shipping. Uh, no. If you have a UPS calculator on your eBay page, and that calculator determines that shipping is $25, don't come back to me after the auction (and after I paid) and say shipping is suddenly $75. Luckily, he is fully refunding my money, and so graciously said he will not leave me negative feedback. Totally sketchy. I think I will lay off the eBay scene for a while. The only plus is that I have an extra $200 now. A bummer, though.

This really is the crappiest week. sigh* I guess when it rains, it pours, huh? I'd like to put my head under the covers and not come out for a few weeks.

Thanks for all your thoughts. I got the dreaded phone call this morning. I am going to either visit my sister this weekend or have her come visit again. That's all I can really do, I guess. I told my parents to consider coming to visit next month, too. It would be good for them to get away. I wish this was the end of it...but they have a 28 year old horse. *sigh* It is particularly difficult when all of the animals are up there in years.

I'm glad there are people here who understand what it's like to lose a pet. My parents are getting no sympathy whatsoever from co-workers, and my sister's "friend" rolled her eyes at her! No compassion. Maybe we get too attached...but I'd venture to guess that those people are too afraid to let themselves GET attached in the first place.

I went home early yesterday. A migraine started building around 9:30am and I knew I wouldn't make it through the day. I slept - a LOT - and I'm feeling a bit better today. This is the weirdest cold I've ever had. It hit me like a freight train but I'm recovering fairly quickly.

Let's see...in other news...I won a keyboard on eBay this morning! I have been planning to return my hypnosis CDs (the woman's voice is way too annoying to even concentrate), and my massage has been canceled again this month, so it all evens out in the end. I got a great deal on a 76-key professional keyboard, stand, and gig bag. Looking forward to playing again.

SO still hasn't done his taxes. I want to get some sand between my toes, but that Mexican island trip might have to wait until next year. Maybe we can land a cheap flight to San Diego for a long weekend instead.

What a crappy weekend.

I got really sick on Friday night and it stuck all weekend. I am still feeling ill today and am contemplating going home early. We'll see if the meds kick in or not.

My sister's childhood pet is dying. My parents are going through the awful pain of watching it happen and my sister is devastated. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time crying and not much else. I feel helpless. I know exactly how she feels, since my cat passed away two years ago. I wish there was something I could do. My parents are in very rough shape.

We did go to the zoo yesterday as a distraction procedure for my sister. Here's a little lion yawn to represent Mondays across the globe:

My friend still hasn't had her baby yet. He's due tomorrow. I can't wait! I took some photos of her giant preggo self for posterity. I'm hopefully meeting her for lunch today - I bet it's the last time I'll see her before the baby comes!

Reading about Cercis' gossip session with her coworker makes me long for that kind of connection at work again. I miss having someone (or several someones) to talk to! It seems like the only person I talk to on any given day is SO. I'm certainly not complaining, because I'm lucky to have him in my life, but I miss having interactions with other humans. My cats do plenty of talking too, but it's more along the lines of "FEED ME FEED ME FEED ME FEED ME!" It's just bizarre, being surrounded by hundreds of people and not conversing with any of them. Lonely in a crowd, anyone?

I've been ogling 76-key keyboards on eBay lately. Anyone own one? I'd love to have a piano but don't want to lug it up or down the stairs, and we don't have room for one anyway. I'd like to have a large keyboard instead but don't want to pay full price. There are a few nice ones online...I'm just waiting to see how much they go for. If I could land one for $150, I'd be thrilled.

SO still hasn't done his taxes, so the Mexico trip is still up in the air. I refuse to talk to him about it until he does his taxes and finds out how much he has to pay in. Perhaps that will motivate him to do them this weekend!

The playing gig will bring in $125! I'm super excited. Now I'm contemplating how to find more gigs like this. I know there are churches out there that love woodwind groups. I just need to find other (sane) players who want to form one. I put an ad up on craigslist...we'll see what comes of it.

Vivo para el fin de semana! Have a good one!

I can't believe there are 8 more days in March. On one hand, the year is going by at lightening speed, but on the other hand, I need more money! I haven't budgeted well at all this month.

My sister is coming to visit for the weekend. I have nothing planned and I'm not sure I want to plan anything. I'm already overbudget and she doesn't need constant diversions. Maybe I will leaf through the Entertainment Book and see if there is anything worthwhile. Otherwise, we will just chill. She likes to cook, so she can have free reign in the kitchen as far as I am concerned!

I may have a paid playing gig coming up in a few weeks. I don't know how much it is going to pay, but it's a church service, and I haven't done one of those in years. I am trying to be a little more assertive about getting paid for my talents and not just handing them out for free. The book I'm reading is definitely helping. You can't get ahead if you do everything for free.

I put a post-it note up on my computer that says "Pursue Prosperity!" There is nothing wrong with making more money!

I've decided that Neutrogena is a great company. I bought their new mineral powder foundation but wasn't happy with it at all. I wrote them a nice complaint email and told them I was disappointed in the product. They sent me a refund check immediately! I am impressed. I've loved their other products that I've tried, so I figured it was worth an email to them, and it was!

As predicted, the Target/groceries/eating out budget for this month was a bust. We went grocery shopping last night and bought a lot of things to build up the pantry and freezer again. I am happy though, because it will keep us stocked for a while, which means I am more apt to cook.

Of course, that was negated by the Indian takeout we picked up for dinner, but that was wonderful as always, and I don't regret it. How could I anyway, when SO so sweetly insisted on paying?

I'm reading Secrets of Six-Figure Women (thanks to the person who recommended it!). It's fascinating. I need to develop more self-confidence in my abilities, that's for sure. I also have to stop thinking that making that much money is an impossible goal! It's possible! I am an intelligent, educated, strong woman! (rinse, lather, and repeat)

Friday's evening spending consisted of all of $12 for dinner. Not bad. We ended up staying at my house all night. No spend days on Saturday and Sunday, yay! I have to go to Target though (we're out of kitty litter and several other things, like milk and eggs), so I am totally not going to meet my goal this month. If I spend as much or less than I did in February, I'll be ok with that.

On Saturday I made homemade donuts and french bread. I made dinner both Saturday and Sunday, too. I love cooking on the weekends! I need to build up my pantry a little more, to make it easier.

We did get another five inches of snow, but it is melting already. Hopefully it will be gone soon! I can't wait for summer (funny thing to say on the first day of spring, I suppose).

I think I could do the 8 day/7 night Mexico trip for $1075. I'd need to dip into some savings to pay for it. Still debating whether or not I should go for it! I'd really like to! If I really scrimp in April, I think I could.

My credit card bill is massive this month, but it's all because of my car repair. Luckily, I have the emergency fund to fall back on. It is quite nice to have that safety net - I've never had it in the past. Now comes the task of building it back up again. Speaking of car repair, I updated the totals in my previous post. It makes me sick to see how much they charged me vs. what they should have charged me.

More snow today! We're expecting 5-8 inches, and it's been falling all night. I hope we don't get that much. I made it to work this morning, though, and on time, so I'm pretty pleased with myself. The bus showed up this time (though 20 minutes late)!

I'm doing great on my driving challenge - I've only driven to work twice so far. I will not be able to meet my savings goal because of the car repair, but I can live with that. I'm still putting away $75, which is better than nothing. I'm doing fairly well on my eating out/Target/groceries challenge this month. I have about $42 left to spend.

With two weeks left, though, I hope I can make it. I'm going out with friends tomorrow night to celebrate St. Patty's Day, but we're going to avoid the crowded Irish pubs. Hopefully we can have a good time rather inexpensively.

A friend of mine is about to have a baby, and I'm so excited! I bought a gift a few months ago when baby stuff was on clearance. I am looking forward to the phone call!

Otherwise, not much going on...this is a slow month, and I'm greatful for it.

This is for Russell (and anyone else interested in car repairs):

- Lube, oil & filter ($29)
- Tire rotation ($24)
- Replace exhaust flange ($70 labor, $32 parts)
- Exhaust replace, converter back ($100 labor, $125 parts)
- Replace LS inner tie rod ($199 labor, $74 parts)
- 4 wheel alignment ($90)
- Brake adjust & clean ($50)
- Belts R&R - A/C belt ($50 labor, $70 parts)

- Supplies $47
- Disposal $2.50

That's the repair shop's list on the invoice. $900 total WITH a $92 discount. Ouch!

Unfortunately I have no idea how to properly link photos, but I have a great one showing how much snow we've gotten overnight. I couldn't get my car out of the driveway, so I hiked to the bus stop, only to wait an enternity and never have a bus show up. I went back home and have been in bed ever since! Delightful.

Not much to report on the savings/spending front. I've been lying low after shelling out the $900 for my car. It runs so much better now. I'm hoping it will last for at least another 20,000 miles. Pretty please?

Yikes, thanks for that article, DivaJen! I've been without Excedrin since Monday. No super excruciating headaches to speak of since then. I will definitely start limiting myself more - is that why my massage friend is always telling me my stomach is bad??

Good news:
I had a job interview yesterday and it went quite well. I'm not sure if I want the job, though. It would be slightly more interesting than what I'm doing now, but I can't see myself staying there forever, either. It may give me more graphic arts and Macintosh experience, though, which appeals to publishers. We'll see. They are going to let me know in the next couple of weeks. If it's more money, I'll definitely take it.

Bad news:
I brought my car in to the shop last night (finally). Russell will be pleased to know that I am no longer attempting to asphyxiate myself by driving the Deathmobile. However, the shop called this morning and it's going to cost $900 to fix (and that is WITH a AAA discount). Ouch. I was expecting it to be high, and I have an emergency fund to fall back on, but I am still bummed. I hate handing over my carefully saved money for something like this.

I may decide to use my tax refund for a Mexico trip instead of using it to pay off part of one of my college loans. I am tired of being practical! and I want to go to Mexico!!! I guess we'll see how I feel once I have the money in my hot little hands.

I have a potential opportunity coming up. I'll post more when I know more.

What a relaxing weekend. Dinner with the in-laws was wonderful - they opened up more than usual. I should have stayed out of the stores yesterday, though. I bought a magazine, a book, and a cookbook - tsk tsk! Also picked up the dreaded Girl Scout cookies and some crafting things. I'm way overbudget, as always. I rarely plan for these "others" like books and beads and cookies. They just happen, and then I scramble to cover the deficit. It's a recurring theme.

I was thinking about using my tax refund for my college loans, but you know what? I'd much rather go on vacation. I found a beautiful, secluded beach resort in Mexico that is just what the doctor ordered. We'll see.

I was going to attempt to live without Excedrin for one week...and failed miserably on the second day. My head was just killing me yesterday. I haven't touched the bottle today, though, so here's me, trying again. I want to make sure they aren't just rebound headaches.

For mjrube94 (my favorite devil's advocate):
1) SO is all for moving. Especially somewhere warm and by the ocean. He misses it, too.
2) There are other schools in other places, namely Canada. Brrrr. I found a few other schools in Los Angeles, and they are options, too.
3) I'm still researching all the schools and options...but I will definitely do my research on placements.
4) This particular school has two sessions - Tues/Thurs full day classes and four-nights-per-week classes. If I took the night classes, I could definitely work a day job, and that's what I'd do.

Having said all that, I'm not sure that I will definitely set off in this direction, but it's simmering in the back of my mind. Also simmering is the idea that I should move out east (since that's where the publishing jobs are) and give this publishing thing one more shot. I'm also considering throwing up my hands and staying home all day (not really, but it would be nice).

Yesterday I was completely despondent, thus no post here. "In a funk," as another blogger put it. I need to sit down and sort through all the things going on in my head. Buy new car or fix my car? - Buy a house here or move elsewhere? - SO wants to get married, do I? - Publishing career or give it up already? - Mexico trip or save money? AAAARRRRGGGGGG!!!!!

Thank God for Fridays (and the weekend).

Since this publishing job thing isn't really working out too well (unless I move out east), I have been daydreaming a bit.

Today I stumbled across a professional makeup artist school. Being a makeup artist is my second chosen profession. I used to do makeup for all the school plays and have done makeup for weddings, parties, etc. I love, love, love makeup.

I'd have to move to Hollywood and shell out $12,000 for a 12-month program (four nights per week). After that, though, I could do theatre makeup, or movies, or fashion shows. It would be so awesome to do prosthetic makeup - I built my Halloween costume one year, and it rocked.

I probably wouldn't make any more than I am right now, I'd have to move to LA, and who knows what kind of work I would find after I finished the program. Still...it's tempting...and hard to make that leap. SO is already all for it!

Thanks for the support! I guess I did do pretty well with my goals for February. Hopefully March will be better.

I think you're right, baselle, taking the bus will be a lot easier once it is lighter and warmer. I was horrible about taking the bus in January because of the weather. March is a notoriously bad weather month in MN, too...hopefully this year will be different! We always get at least one huge snowstorm in March.

My smaller college loan is going to take a little more to pay off than I thought. Somehow I had calculated the outstanding bill to be about $400 less than it is. I still think I can pay it off by August, if I am diligent.

I'm going to a movie tonight with a friend at a cheap theater and hoping dinner won't be too expensive. I'm trying to watch my diet a bit better, too, so I'll be avoiding the theater candy (and that extra cost).

I chose a restaurant and printed my $25 Entertainment Book dinner gift certificate because SO and I are planning a date night for later this month! Yippee! The old

Guthrie Theater is closing after 43 years and reopening at a new location, so we'd like to take in Hamlet before the old theater is closed.

One of my infamous spending cycles is threatening to ruin my March goals. I can think of all kinds of crap that I want to buy, and the urge to buy it all is SO ridiculous. Resist! Resist! I'm really good at justifying it, too - like yesterday, when Almay wrote back to me and said that yes, they have discontinued my favorite moisturizer. I promptely went to eBay and purchased a few bottles of it. Granted, they were $5 cheaper than in stores, and I'm going to have a heck of a time finding it now that it's not being made, but.... *sigh*

FEBRUARY GOALS:
~ Pay double on my smaller college loan: YES
~ Change Roth IRA setting: YES
~ Cancel extra credit card (discovered in credit report): YES
~ Limit groceries/Target/eating out to $220 (was $370 in Jan): NO - went $107 over the goal, but better than Jan
~ Drive to work no more than 4 times: NO - drove 7 times, but better than Jan at 12 times
~ Have $1000 in emergency fund by March: YES

MARCH GOALS
~ Pay double on my smaller college loan
~ Limit groceries/Target/eating out to $250 (was $327 in Feb)
~ Drive to work no more than 5 times
~ Put $300 into savings
~ Donate $25 to one organization of choice

I've done a few crazy things already and it's not even March. I ordered a set of hypnosis for weight loss CDs, since I almost called in "fat" this morning. Not really, but NOTHING in my closet fits and I am sick of it. If the CDs don't work, I have one year to return them.

I bought several hair products that I had run out of from an online discount place. I had to order $50 worth to get free shipping. I don't know why free shipping was so important to me.

I ordered an Entertainment Book per retire@50's post. I'm hoping we can find some good deals in it. I did get $10 off and the $25 restaurant coupon, but still, not something I desperately needed.

Finally found out that my massage friend is trapped in another country (I don't quite know why), so that monthly expenditure is zapped for the time being.

AAA renewal is up in March too...haven't used it for a couple of years but I feel better about driving my car when I've got it. I have used it with this car more than once.

March is a long month. I need to reign in my spending already! eep!

Had to take a prescription painkiller to make it in to work today. Ugh. I hate these headaches. All I have to do is think about Paula Kamen's

All In My Head, though, and I am thankful that my headaches are not nearly that bad.

I went out to eat and back to the grocery store this weekend, so I am over on my challenge. I also forgot that I was tracking cash food purchases, too, so I am significantly over on my challenge. I have done better than last month, though, so that's a good thing. It helps that it's a short month.

Did my taxes this weekend and I'll be getting a nice chunk back. Now I just have to mail the forms in and wait for my payment. I'm not quite sure what to do with it, though....pay off my smaller college loan sooner? Fix my car? Put it all in savings? I suppose that will depend on how much the car fix costs.

I helped a very pregnant friend clean up her house this weekend. I did a good deed but it took up half of my weekend, and this headache took up the other half. I could use another one!

I drove to work again yesterday (didn't get out of bed until 7:15am). Booooo. SO brought me to work this morning, even though I got up early enough to catch the late bus. I don't know what my problem is. I go to bed around 9 or 10 and still can't get up in the morning.

I went from one extreme to the other. In my last job, I couldn't get people to stop talking to me. I was a veritable unlicensed psychologist for my boss. At my current job, people won't even look at each other when they pass in the hallway. They either plod around with zombie-like stares or travel in packs. It's totally bizarre. Happy medium, anyone?

I've still been looking at Mexico vacations (thinking May now) and used cars (thinking I should take my own to the shop). I probably shouldn't do anything until I bring my car in and find out how much it's going to be to get it back into relatively good shape. Then decide on everything else.

Life! It gives me a headache.

Our party was nice. Not too many people could make it, but the mojitos and snacks were worth it. I wasn't feeling that way the day after, but the body is amazingly good at healing itself. I might lay off the mojitos for a while though.

A little too much drama for me this weekend. I am a definite drama-avoider until it involves me directly. I'm just prepping myself for the next time it comes around. Sometimes I'd like to move away from everyone and live in a quiet cabin in the mountains (ocean view required). I didn't grow up with extended family around, so I am new to this constant-family environment and the drama that comes with it. Ish.

Spent more on groceries than I intended, but we won't have to go again this month. We spent what I thought we would on the party, but a little more on beverages. Oh well, liquor keeps, and at the rate we normally drink it, it should keep for a long time.

I'm about $20 over on my groceries/eating out/Target challenge. I also drove to work this morning because I had to carry a homemade cake in. That brings my driving total up to 5. No more driving for me this month! All I have left to pay for is rent, a prescription, and my credit card bill (in full).