He said. She Said. They Say ...

It has been a big spend week - $2,668 for 1,256 square feet of carpeting (plus padding/installation/removal). As if that wasn't bad enough, I bought a couch yesterday when I was shopping with my mother.

The irony of it is that while I have planned and prepared I simply have a hard time parting with money.

I found the perfect sectional yesterday - my original couch was far too chartreuse in person than on the computer monitor. I thought it would be a mossy green, but it had sort of an underlying electric lime undertone? Anyhow, my hopes for that couch and matching accent chairs quickly faded.

Back to the sectional, it is a neutral beige and the stainguard has a 7 year warranty and it is also warranteed against burns/tears/rips in the fabric. My present curtains in the family room won't need to be replaced and it will work. It is going to be delivered on Wednesday (new carpeting going in tomorrow).

Anyhow, I spent $1,050 on the three piece sectional plus coordinating ottoman. I wrote a check (!) yay! no credit cards are being used. Then I had sort of buyers' remorse. I had called DH and had him look at it on the computer prior to making the final purchase. My mother and kids liked it a lot. I loved it. But then I bought it.

So I add $1,040 to the $2,668 to be spent tomorrow. My mother pointed out that I am thrifty and watch every penny, but I should throw caution to the wind and enjoy my soon-to-be-newly rennovated home.

My mind isn't exactly working that way. DH thought he was being funny and threw me into a category of poor money managers (namely my lawyer-brother who has gone into practice with some friends and hasn't been paid in six weeks, yet maintains his lifestyle AND my best friend who makes $80K and is the perrenial poor planner). I was highly offended and didn't see any humor in the dig.

Thankfully this will be the last of the big money spent for some time.

I don't think my mental state can handle it. (I must add that this all being paid with cash and no credit card usage is involved).

last night I assembled thirteen "bibs" for the boys in my son's 2nd Grade class for their Thanksgiving play on Monday morning. My son knew I would "love to do it" so home came the paper and pattern to follow. Took me well over an hour to cut out bows of black construction paper and to precisely fold the large sheets of paper neatly in half, trace and then cut out the head hole and front opening and then attach the bows. Son's face this morning when he saw the neatly finished pile: Huge smile was priceless.

DD age 10 is participating in the Mother-Daughter Book Club and this evening we are bringing in our gooey cinnamon buns made from Emeril's There is a Cook in My Soup cookbook. OK, I have never worked with yeast in my life and I have to make the first round of dough at 1:30 so it can rise in time for us to continue the recipe. I'm afraid that it won't turn out and I have the makings for an easier recipe onhand. Daughter's excitement: Priceless

DH took the five kids to Kohls to shop for my Christmas and birthday gifts. Big sale means lots of people, how he managed I don't know - but they stayed $16 under budget (had $50 Kohl's cash, $17.00 credit) AND each child purchased at least one item. I do admire his fortitude for being able to do it

My mother rearranged her schedule today to come and look at a sofa with me. I can't shop by myself for furniture (indecisive, I guess) and she gladly said she'd join me and the little kids. Yay!

DS aged 7 has the only thing on his Christmas list the Playmobil Egypt Playset - the one that is sold out virtually everywhere (Toys R Us, Target, local toy and bookstores). I found it at Amazon.com for $169 - I don't think so. Further investigating and I found it online at the Playmobil website for $104 which is the MSRP - had to pay shipping of $16, but it was well worth it.

I'm almost done with Christmas shopping all the way around. Kept it mostly under budget and did quite well using coupons and Kohl's cash and did small purchases a little at a time. Feeling good about things.

Yep ... this Saturday ... on top of the endless to-do list and calendar, the new carpeting is going to be installed on Saturday.

We had Empire come out and give us a quote on 1,256 square feet of new Mohawk carpeting - this includes the family room, dining room, living room, upstairs hallway and fifteen stairs (I live in a split level with lots of stairs). Our present carpeting was not only a bad color, but apparently the lowest grade (24% or whatever).

The color is much better and the quality is noticeably better at 51%. For my birthday my mom and stepdad paid the $411 to upgrade to the 51% rather than the 34%.

The original quote was $3,700 including all installation and moving furniture and haul away the old stuff. DH and I have never purchased carpeting in quantity (though we priced it last year through our own rough calculations) and it seemed high. We said the Luna (a local company that competes with Empire) was coming out today to give us a quote, and lo and behold, the sales guy got his little phone and did some calling back to his boss (picture buying a used car and the sales guy calling the big manager in the back) ... He was able to drop it down to $2,688 but took away a "free!" ugly carpet runner that I didn't want/need/or like any of their patterns anyhow.

This was a totally fine price and we signed the contract. The carpeting is going in on Saturday - should take six hours - but it will all be done in time for the holidays/entertaining.

I have $400 from previous birthday gifts. My mom/stepdad are adding $400. I paid the $100 deposit. The tenant is paying rent of $1400, so I will be a few hundred dollars short - coming from EF to be paid back with Christmas gift money.

I am SO glad that it is coming. I don't even regret the purchase AT ALL. Funny when you've really wanted something for a long time (well over a year) and it finally comes, it is sort of a relief to have just bit the bullet and buy it.

I turned the big 4*1 yesterday without any fanfare or celebrating. This bothered my children immensely (though they all made thoughtful cards and let me sleep in yesterday).

My soon-to-be 90 year old grandmother is coming from CA this Saturday. My family party is going to be Sunday (complete with cake and presents and singing).

Anyhow, my mom and stepdad did come by with gifts of food (whole cashews and Fannie Mae chocolate covered cherries). I indulged my tastebuds several times - I am quite pleased that my children have Halloween candy so I didn't need to share mine.

We played plenty of rounds of Connect Four and I watched the remake of The Prisoner on AMC (the concept completely creeped my out when I watched the 1969 version). Today I have done two loads of laundry and we're having a pasta bake for dinner. Guess my laziness here is called continuation of birthday bliss.

The gifts I have received thus far: $300 from biological father, and $100 from grandmother are going toward the purchase of a new carpet. I've got Empire and Luna coming out on Tuesday and Wednesday. The last straw for this present carpeting came when DH suggested I have Stanley Steemer out to give it another go at cleaning. I said I didn't plan on putting any money into this gross carpet, he agreed.

I think that I'm going to ask my biological father for a new couch for Christmas hopefully purchased and delivered early. He fancies himself an interior decorator and the last item of furniture he purchased for my house was a ridiculously expensive Theodore Alexander settee that no one is allowed to sit on. I'm thinking a nice quick trip to Value City Furniture will yield me something nice for about $700.

DH has a new boss - two stories up at his work - he won't be moving and it doesn't make a lot of sense reporting to a boss in a different dept. NOT sure what this translates to job security and unemployment.

I will remind myself that I have a plan and this doesn't necessarily mean that unemployment is around the corner.

a new Dyson DC14 bagless upright.

$465 at Kohl's on sale for $399.

Factor in a 30% off coupon and it is down to $280.

Tax on the purchase brings it to $301.

Then there is the get $10 for every $50 you spend. I walked out with $50 Kohl's Cash to use sometimes after the 16th.

Good-bye bad cheap Hoover Wind Tunnel that was purchased 20 months ago.

Hell-o clean carpet!

I have been good about not spending on frivolity, but this was definitely worth it to make this purchase.

my library has wii games for two week check out.

I took out two and my kids are having an awful lot of fun doing pig races?!

And they can keep playing for anoterh fourteen days!

No more having to buy them or rent them from the video store.

when things just aren't right.

I don't feel well, but I'm not sick. I don't have a headache, but I'm not 100% there. I'm not dizzy, but I feel sort of foggy.

Kids are cranky (probably delayed reaction to time change). DH is cranky (probably stress at work). Parents are cranky (who knows why). BF thinks she is now Suzy Orman making 100% wise decisions.

I have a menu plan in place for the rest of the week. I'm fulfilling my goal for service to others today by cooking dinner and taking it over to my daughter's classmates family because a parent had surgery.

I am realizing that we will make it through to the end of the month just fine if we continue down our current path/trend. I'm buying Christmas gift one at a time using $10 off coupons at places like JCP and using Kohl's cash (after a larger purchase at the end of last month).

I hope that tomorrow is better.

I ended up joining the list of sickies in the family. Aches, pains, chills, a head that is gonna explode.

Yesterday I did manage to get through an all-day dance competition and ran sooooo slooooowww I though I would die. I made it half way through our dinner out afterwards and sadly had to go sleep it off in the car. Didn't even enjoy my peppermint/chocolate chip milk shake from Steak N Shake. Sad.

It is warm today and feeling like warm weather's last hurrah. I have to muster up enough strength for a bike ride. I am pleased to say we're almost caught up with all the missed schoolwork.

We're still on target for frugal living at it's best with no financial surprises.

Spending has been minimal and should continue this week as well.

I transferred out the $75 bonus interest from the checking account at BoA today.

While I was there, I received a flier letting me know that if I set up online bill pay and pay three bills within 30 days, I will receive a bonus of $35. Certainly well worth it, so later in the month I will deposit the money for my electric, gas and Comcast bills, pay them, and enjoy an additional $35.

So if you're new to BoA and not taking advantage of online bill pay, do so and collect $35!

Yesterday in the mail I received a $10 rebate from Kellogg's which I'm adding to the vacation fund. I transferred the $75 bonus interest from Bank of America as well, allocating it 50% vacation-50% Corvette repair. And my grandma sent me a check for $100 (she does this every month, and it started out covering baby formula for the kids, then diapers, then hot lunches, now she just sends it. My grandma is certainly a role model for love and generosity-help with no strings attached) that I'm putting into the EF for now. Balances look like this:
Vacation $97.50
Corvette repair $537.50
Emergency Fund $10,481

And DH said his job is "safe" through mid 2010. Apparently the bid to keep him and the title change were successful. A consulting group came in and made recommendations about revamping the sales dept (doing away with lower level reps and adding higher end sales) which could lead to a $12 million increase in revenue. Now DH and his boss get to analyze this strategic move to see if it is above and beyond the normal projected sales range. Anyhow, glad to hear it. This little excursion was a wake-up call to keeping an eye toward the unforeseen. I feel like I will be doing a better job with things like money management.

Children are still on the road to recovery - lots of napping and coughing. The school-aged ones all went today and I am glad it is Friday. Not too much going on this week end (but a dance competition about 45 minutes away tomorrow).

Son's party is today and three of the seven can't make it - which is fine with me. Son was feeling kind of sad - til I pointed out that a smaller group can play "cooler" games like hide and seek using walkie-talkies, etc. We are tie-dying and playing wii games, etc. AND this party is totally about him, all the brothes and sisters are going over to Grandma and Grandpa's for a pizza dinner and dessert of their own. It is sometimes hard to provide a totally exclusive get together for the kids, but it worked out this time.

Well, I have a to-do list that is about six items (four musts) so I've got to tackle that starting now. I think I've got enough energy to get it all done.

Things I've learned during this string of illness:
(1) Kleenex brand tissue is best
(2) It is best to stockpile generic meds when they are on sale, they work as best as namebrand
(3) Powedered milk might be a good option to have as extra toilet paper (My mom saved me twice - once with meds/once with milk and toilet paper).
(4) If a sick child needs companionship or supervision, make him or her a bed on the floor in your bedroom. Move a matress if possible. PARENTAL SLEEP IN ONE'S OWN BED BEATS A NIGHT OF SLEEP ON THE COUCH ANY DAY!

The three school-aged ones were all healthy enough to return to school.(I've had eight school days of at least one, usually two home with me). Thank the Lord for small favors as in healthy children. I do love them but collectively as a group of sick ones that has spanned many - many - many days (first sign of illness was younger daughter's 102 temp on Saturday 10/24 - last fever of presently sick son was at midnight last night) I was feeling quite exhausted and losing my sympathy.

I slept two marathon stretches last one - the first of four hours, the next of five! Wa-hoo for rest. I did have the H1N1 vaccination yesterday with DH and the healthiest child. I was then plagued with fears that it would turn into some full-blown flu reaction. No, I'm fine. The remaining kids go Saturday 11/14, but I have to drive 20 minutes to a health clinic because there were no opening at the clinic 3 minutes from my home.

I'm shopping today at Aldi's. Not a big huge trip, but I need to get caught up on the staples. And DS's party is tomorrow (4-6:15) with five of his closest friends. Yesterday I managed to clean the basement so kids can play air hockey and pool down there in a clutter free chaos free surroundings. It was really just sorting and stacking the bins that are taken "down". I'll bake his cake and get that done. I've taken down Halloween and put up the turkeys for Thanksgiving. All in all, we really could have been living in a hovel had I not done daily clean-ups.

My errands for the day:
(1) Return books/DVDs to library
(2) Aldi's for groceries
(3) Bank for deposit - looking like this:
Vacation portion $50
DH's Corvette repair funds $500
Emergency fund portion - $10,381

Liking that - with more to be added on the 15th when the tenant pays her rent - I'll be adding $1,000 to EF and $450 to debt.

Ten days ago the sickness train pulled into my house. Hit the girls first. They now appear to have suffered the worst of it and have returned to school. The asthma symptoms are under control. Still catching up on the school work that was lost (older daughter missed 4.5 days, younger daughter missed 3 days).

Oldest son caught it next. This is his third day of missing school. His night wasn't bad, but he is still sleeping. I'm hoping he's giong to be better, just tired.

4:30 yesterday youngest son is sleeping. He only does this if he is sick. Sure enough, 102 temp. We were awake most of the night - and he now has a croup bark. I had to call the pharmacist to see if he get a supressent or expectorant. Couldn't remember that medication dance.

I remain sleep deprived. I've watched several episodes in the middle of the night on the Disney channel. I did nap yesterday for a whopping 30 minutes and had a solid stretch of sleep from 8:30 to 11:00.

My enthusiasm and excitement for illness is now gone (HA, that is sarcasm!) I've been opening the windows on various levels of the house trying to air things out. We're all still using Purrell.

The only good thing about this is we really aren't spending any money at all. No gas money because we aren't going anywhere. No one has much of an appetite so we're eating through our stash of mac and cheese and crackers and apple juice. My medication has been restocked twice by parents (no cost to us).

I have to run past the store tonight after younger DD and I go for our H1N1 flue shots. I need to buy the staples: milk, coffee, sugar, toilet paper, and C batteries (my grandfather clock has gone haywire and is bonging at all the wrong times).

When will this end?

We are HDHP folks and have just depleted the last of the company-sponsored savings account. We are now facing being responsible for Rxs 100% (medical outside of maintenance is 20%).

My oldest daughter's asthma has been giving her some difficulties lately. This is the time of year when she has typically had pneumonia (but not since getting the pneumovax two years ago). She also had a collapsed lung two years ago that was misdiagnosed by the pediatrician as pneumonia - only the pulmonologist caught it when looking at her films.

Anyhow, last Wed her peak flow numbers were down, so the pediatrician doubled her maintenance med (Flovent 110 mg) to four puffs twice a day. That means trucking through her meds at an alarming rate (160 doses are in the usual RX). The most recent refill was $125 (covered by the last of the HSA money).

The 90 day suppply through medco costs $300 offering a $75 savings overall. I don't have that right now but am planning for it in three weeks.

Next week I'll have to get one refill for $125. The "forgotten surprise money" today was $75 interest. I also got a call that for the Boy Scout wreath sales fundraising parent that I forgot $40 cash in the order envelope (they requested a personal check for the orders that paid cash). I'm up $115 so far today - feeling better about that. And my brother owes me $25 that he should pay by the end of the week.

I do suppose though that I could visit the EF for the medication. Not using credit cards anymore would necessitate a visit there, but I could always pay myself back. The budget numbers were pretty slim given my goal to stop all non-necessary spending given potential lay-off.

I do hate being a grown up. I do love being a parent, but some days it would be nice to just not worry.

I opened a second checking account at Bank of America. The incentive to do this was a $75 bonus to be deposited in 60-90 days.

There it was today. I totally forgot about it. Fun surprise.

Tomorrow is the date for our H1N1 vaccinations at the health dept. Unfortunately you need to be healthy for it because it is the live virus up the nose. Sadly, two of the inhabitants of my residence are ill and not eligible this go around. I'd like to cancel all the way around, but I figure we healthy ones should just go.

Yesterday was a NSD, today might be one as well. Still have sick kids home.

I'm trying this new thing called gratitude, recognizing the good things that I have.

My children are still sick (not the same ones) and I am worn down. I'm sleeping but not feeling very rested.

DH was gone working at my bio father's yesterday. I called over there to see if DH could pick up more kiddie ibuprofin on the way home in several hours. His GF answered the phone and was very kind and brought me some several hours earlier that DH would have. She was on her way to see her mother. I do like GF but she tolerates way too much bad behavior from bio father, and does have some psycho tendencies.

Anyhow:
(1) I am grateful that I have family/friend who will help me out when I need it. AND bio father paid for her to replenish my stash (he was an awful father, but I do give him credit for being a far better grandfather).

(2) DH was paid for October work and his savings account has $500 in it for Corvette repair in the spring.

(3) My 90 year old grandma is coming from California for the holidays - coming before Thanksgiving and going home after New Years. I wasn't sure if she would make the trip given we were out to visit in July/August. My grandpa passed away in May and I am gratfeful she is coming. I've started a list of things to do - some economical, some not. First run of "Disney's the Christmas Carol" with Jim Carrey is on the list.

I might go try to catch some more zzzs while my boys are playing Playmobil pirates in front of the TV.

We ended October with the possibility of a job loss. Not the stark reality of unemployment, rather the hazy chance of a pink slip. There is an attempt to save DH's job with a title change (removing the word "Financial" prior to analyst), and the accounting manager offered to "take" him should he be available.

I've prepared for this by discontinuing the 401K contribution that isn't matched. Should DH still be employed mid December, those funds will be redirected to my traditional IRA or our HSA for the tax advantage. I'm seeing where we can trim some fat and have come up with some ways to stretch our money: My birthday is in November and rather than a cash gift from my mom, I asked her to pay three months worth of the Y - which is about the cash equivalent of what she and my stepdad give. I've been going through my grandmother's old cookbooks from the 1940s to 1960s seeing what other options there are for cooking from scratch. I feel that if I stockup on things at Sam's club I should be able to stretch the grocery budget.

I'm very carefully going over the Christmas budget. I spent $10 on Friday at JCP to get a gift for brother's GF daughter: a cute warm lounging PJ shirt with matching slippers. On sale for $20 less $10 coupon (for registering at their website). I already have some gifts for best friend and xSIL. I think for Grandparents I'll be coming up with gift baskets of new coffee mugs, coffee purchased from son's BS Pack, homemade cookies, and maybe a grandparents ornament or something. I have a pretty good handle on the kids' gifts.

Between 5 trick or treaters, we have yielded over 1000 pieces of candy. Yikes! Far too much ...

Oldest DD is feeling better, though she only competed in two of her seven dances yesterday at a competition. DH is down with it too and he was happy to take her and the boys home after only 45 minutes. My parents showed up to see youngest DD dance and she did quite well. Only cost me $12 for one medal holder.

Oldest son is now jumping on the sick train with a temperature and a cough. He was one that was at school all week, guess he's the next sick one in the string. I'm not looking forward to more sleepless nights. Given the kids' past history with febrile seizures and midnight nebulizer treatments, I go into PTSD-anxiety mode any time I hear nighttime coughing.

Next post will include concrete goals for the month.

with the hives. DD is not having an allergic reaction to the Flovent per two nurses. Logically, I figured not. Her system is sensitive under the best conditions, and I think compromised it lowers her thresholds to allergens and my house is probably abounding with them. Anyhow, the cough is improving due to the expectorant. She was a trooper and did the neti-pot yesterday. Been blowing her nose quite a bit. No sore throat. No fever. Just a bad case of the hives. I've given her Benedryl and she's going to school at 10:30. End time is 2:00.

with myself. I transferred all money laying around ($800 in checks) into the savings account - so the EF shows a whopping balance of $10,350. Another $400 check is coming Sunday. I'm feeling more confident in our plans should we have unemployment as a crisis to deal with. Being a planner, I find it hard to plan for the unplanned - (and not a definitely possibility sort of thing).

To be productive, I am joining the group of "To Do" Fives:

(1) Pick up DD's Rx
(2) Take DH's watches for batteries to Sears (coupons expire today)
(3) More concrete plan for Christmas gifts and how to allocate money
(4) Find Christmas cards purchased last year
(5) Better detailed plans for DS's party next Friday
(6) Grocery shop with short list to get us through to Monday

DH Employment:

His job title has been changed and the word Financial is no longer in it. The Sr. VP the DH and his boss repot to was promoted to Executive VP. Not sure whether or not the VP will be able to "keep" DH. DH is likeable and gets long well with the people he interacts with in other depts. One of the accounting managers told the HR person he would like to take DH if he become available. Might not be as bleak as I made it out.

Preparations:

In an effort to prepare for possible unemployment, I found out that my state pays up to 50% of pay per week. Severance is two months. I will suspend 401K contributions and put that money aside. Should DH still be employed by the end of the year, we'll either put that in my traditional IRA or our HSA for the tax deductions.

Christmas:

This has made me rethink the gift list for the relatives (outside of my household). I have $60 Kohls dollars and two free $10 coupons to JC Penneys. That is going to cover our parents and a few other people. Not exchanging gifts with brother and his GF. This might be the year of sleepwear for everyone.

Health:

My oldest daughter is home sick (third day this week). She was to the doctor yesterday because of low peak flow numbers. She's at about 70% of her normal, so the Dr doubled her flovent and suggested a netty pot. Have to buy that and NOT looking forward to having her use it. She is squeamish and a whiner, so this is going to be the challenge. She is temp normal, but the Dr. said if it goes up to 101 she's going in for a chest X-ray. DD has been hospitalized on Halloween one year, and two years ago had a collapsed lung which was misdiagnosed as pnuemonia, so we watch her like a hawk. I'm waiting for a return call from the Nurse. DD now has hives - I'm betting that it came from the fact that she slept with me last night under a down comforter. But then I was afraid it might be from her doubled Flovent.

Payday is tomorrow and I have enough left in the checking account to cover the two major bills for the beginning of November: $178 State Farm insurance and $170 student loan payment. I also have $100 for the minimum payment on one of the credit cards.

I'm still struggling to get decent sleep. I am making sure though to be eating decently. My mother was quite the saint and picked up kids' acetominephine and ibuprofin, Trader Joe's orange peach mango juice, and whole grain English muffins - plus she's watched the kids and carted them around. I am SO glad that she isn't working anymore. She also brought flannel PJ bottoms for the girls and bought me a Halloween book for my collection of picture books that the kids like reading. No money spent this week yet.

Hope all are feeling well.

This is what I have to remind myself.

DH nonchalantly shared that there are more departmental changes going on at his place of employment. Essentially he and his boss will be added to a large pool of financial analysts who will then be reassigned to dept but all report to Finance (DH is presently in Operations). He tried to read his direct boss (who he worked for at previous job), but couldn't figure out should he be concerned or not.

I was OK until he started singing "I'll be home for Christmas".

I have a plan in place when/should he become unemployed. I know his severence will be two months. We can get insured through State Farm at a policy which makes sense for us for about $350 a month. My student loan can go into deferment. My kids' tuition can be covered by a hardship grant that is available through their school.

The obvious thing here is it does me no good to worry about the situtation. However, as someone who has worrier tendencies, this is easier said than done.

My questions to you all are:

(1) Should I suspend the contributions to 401K - this is nonmatched and is about $400 a month? (Our EF is presently at $10K)

(2) Should I keep $1,200 I have accumulated ($470 from state tax return, $252 unexpected from dress resale, $400 check from DH's second job) into the EF or dump on a credit card? Presently we owe about $10K. I also have $200 cash in my sock drawer.

Not exactly me, but my oldest daughter is pretty sick right now - 102.6 temp (just prior to ibuprofin) and aches and pains. younger daughter is one day further into her journey into illness, and is less achy and less feverish, but still sick.

I sent the youngest school-aged one to school as he is symptom-free. The younger ones are still sleeping, so I don't know how they will be faring.

I had almost no sleep last night - the Disney Channel isn't that entertaining in the middle of the night. I am just not that into Little Mermaid episodes. I am sneezing, but no chills.

I am showered and waiting to call the pediatrician at 8:30 to get the girls in. I have hopes that maybe Tamiflu can help.

I'd appreciate any positive vibes for health and sanity today (my children don't weather illness very well).

I did get DVDs from the library yesterday when I realized the girls would be home.

We just used the last of the acetaminophin and the ibuprofin. It is on sale at Walgreen's today - liquid is the preferred form of meds here and I will have to restock my arsenal.

Hope the fellow SA bloggers and your homes are germ-free.

My best friend was home sick today and decided to enter into a credit counseling program that will reduce her credit card payments down from $800 to $576 and cap her interest rate at 8%. In four years she will be done and she can keep one credit card for emergencies. This is probably a smart move on her part given her past history and situation.

She said to me, "You are lucky you aren't in my situation."

To that I said, "Luck has nothing to do with it." I wanted to go on and say I'm prudent and a planner and a worrier and all of that, but I think it was understood.

I got off the phone and checked my mail.

Two years ago my daughters switched dance schools and with that I returned to the school two wool dance uniforms for resale. There are two used dress sales a year and apparently these two dresses finally found homes with new dancers.

There was a nice little check for the sum of $252.00. I've got a big ole smile on my face and I think that the luck o' Irish found me today!

I guess I am lucky.

Tonight is a double feature at my house:

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown/The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (kids version with real actors)

(From our stash and a library DVD)

Halloween cupcakes and frosting/sprinkles (From a run to Aldi's)

And its a slumber party to boot!

The weather here is rainy and cold (Midwestern ick, as I refer to it) and we will be opting out of the haunted hayride at the pumpkin patch ($9 per rider regardless of age) which isn't for kids of all ages (last year I heard there were people in masks with chainsaws running around in the woods and jumping onto the hay wagons. Not my idea of fun.

DS newly turned seven was in need of a costume. I'm lacking creativity this change-of-season and he has outfrown the other costumes (race car driver, vintage Cub uniform, fireman and pirate). I had a coupon so we headed to Factory Card Outlet to see what we could find.

At his eye level his choices were all "dark" (which isn't an option at our house). His Catholic school would not appreciate it if he were Chucky, Freddie, Michael Meyers, Dementor from Harry Potter, etc. He pointed at a Cool Ghoul which was at least white, but said he really liked "The Grim Repaer".

I had to point out all of the fun options way high up, and he settled on a Jedi Robe and a light saber ($20 after $10 off coupon). When we got him home we put him in brown sweatpants, DH's white dress shirt and tie which doubled nicely as a tunic. And he looked very nice and appropriate for a Happy Halloween rather than Spooky Hauntings.

At least I have staved off the dark and scary for another year. I think next year I will insist that all of mine go as M&Ms - several of my children have MM as initials. I had better start finding my creativity for that endeavor. My daughters are going as Alice in Wonderland and Little Red Ridinghood.

What are you and yours going as?

You know what "they" say about wearing 20% of your clothing 80% of the time?

It is indeed true based on the ruthless purging that DH and I did on Sunday going through our closets. I will no longer be a size 4, so those items needed to go (regardless of how much weight I lose, my hips will not compress back in to pre-children days (or even pre-pregnancies 4, 5, and 6). I am not an 8 (though I did flirt with that about six pounds ago. I have a bag of items from bff - back they go. I have done away with old clothes that I "loved" but haven't worn. I had some items which I thought I would wear, but alas, my look is mine and it isn't going anywhere. I am sort of a denim skirt and argyle sweater and tights sort of person. I like cableknit sweaters and I like to be covered.

DH did away with things that were too big, too small, and just plain old and tired. At one point he liked Blackwatch plaid and had it on a polo shirt, a long-sleeved rugby type shirt, AND a long-sleeve cotton shirt. Only one remained.

Gone are the bad purses and uncomfy shoes. I do have one remaining "dressy" outfit for a wedding or fancy dinner out. I don't have much left, but what remains fits and I like and I will survive.

I'm passing on children's clothes as well to a friend. I'm containerizing (is that a word?) better on keepsakes. The next thing waiting are the kids' unorganized memory bins that can be weeded out. My DDs are "too old" (as they say) for their Disney Pooh-grams announcing their births - so they can go - and I don't need to keep dance recital outfits when we have pictures and DVDs.

My other goal for the day is to scrapbook - gasp!! - three pages. I have the pictures and paper AND the archival quality adhesive. I will not be adding to what I have, rather trying to use up and catch up on what I've assembled. From here on out it will be photo albums.

Can you tell the weather is cold and icky where I'm at? Hopfully I shall continue to ride the wave of home organization!

Oldest son turned seven at the end of August. This was followed by the transition into the BTS schedule and the myriad of activities that came with it (4 volleyball practices per week, 2-4 games per weekend, one soccer practice per week, one game per weekend, and a very active Boy Scout Pack/Den list of activities). The promise of a birthday party with his friends was made; it is now time to deliver.

DS thought about a party at someplace "cool" like the indoor amusement park (not as grand as it sounds-but there are go-carts and a small roller coaster) or Chuck E Cheese or the roller skating rink, etc. I was fine with this though it meant less people and more money.

DS has opted out of the expensive party places and is having his party at home.

His list of activities that he'd like to do include:
(1) tie dying T-shirts (in the basement)
(2) watching "Shrek" and eating pizza (in the family room on the floor)
(3) a list of games and activities (still working on this)

Should be a lot of fun - I can say I've never hosted eight 2nd grade boys for a party in my home. This is son's first party like this.

I said I was sorry that it took awhile to get his party planned and executed, and being the sweet laid back guy (most of the time) he is, DS said, "Better late than never ever."

Do you notice that as you budget better that your number of NSDs increases?

Since I am only one week into the new budget system, I am finding that my spending is more deliberate and there are more NSDs.

I'm also being more deliberate on how I am spending my free time. Less time playing Pathwords on FB trying to outbeat my lawyer brother's ridiculously high score of 1630 (though he has played 762 rounds to achieve that).

Better time management and preparation for upcoming school projects has also alleviated unnecessary rush and drama.

I suppose all areas of my life were in need of some degree of maintenance and upkeep.

$.05 on my purchase at Target if I take my items home in my own recyclable bag. (Learned this from reading the bottom of my receipt.)

That is all I've got.

Life is ... well, sort of ... wierd. Not is a bad way, just in a different way.

The bully who made my DD1 aged 11 a living hell last year is all of the sudden a great buddy? They were at a volleyball tournament today and the girl's mother drove my daughter home (we like near one another) after buying them ice cream. All is well.

My brother's girlfriend's daughter had her sweet 16 birthday party today. Brother and the GF appear to be getting along well (at face value, given she intimated that they have seriously major problems). I ended up buying her Juicy Couteur perfume that I found at Kohl's and used a 15% off coupon - spending $25 - she was as happy as could be with the gift.

DD2 aged 10 is on a volleyball team that hasn't won one game. Despite this, she is very good natured and natural cheerleader an dsupportive of everyone's attempts (even the girls that I suspect she doesn't really like). I sat next to father of a girl who is really challenged (our school has a no-cut policy and these kids are 5th graders). His wife told him not to swear and he was doing a lot of muttering under his breath "damn" and sorts.

My tenant paid her rent on time. I was smart and deposited it into my savings account so if it bounces (she assured DH it wouldn't) it won't impact my real world finances. Her live-in boyfriend has moved to Oklahoma (he was there for about 15 months). She started to cry when she was talking with DH - it can't be easy to be a single parent to four girls and to lose your man. She did make it a point to say not to worry, she loves her home and isn't planning on leaving.

DS3 aged 6 is off to the pumpkin patch with DH for a boy scout outing. The haunted hayride entails riding around in the forest with masked monsters grabbing and trying to jump on the ride. Clearly not for the 3 and 5 years olds.

Best friend's reunion with old boyfriend (rich and difficult) hasn't been easy and I've come to the conclusion that she is just in a totally negative place right now. Complain about money yet she got $90 highlights in funky colors in her hair; this is after she considered the $7 box of hair color and doing it herself. Her real estate taxes are going to be going to tax auction because she won't be able to pay for them. I have challenged myself to be Pollyanna - I say things like "Well, I see that *J* might be treating you in ways that make you feel second-rate. But maybe he has a reason for behaving this way..." and I say "Well, maybe at some point in the future you will be able to plan earlier for things like taxes and insurance. Maybe you could escrow the amounts ..."
Nothing more. Nothing less. It is, however, a challenge to do so. And I limit myself to about 15 minutes every other day.

On the money front, we are on a spending diet - purchasing DH's Nyquil/Dayquil twinpack cost me $.16 in tax after the $10 coupon. And he didn't feel that it helped him that much, so I'll be moving on to try Advil PM as was suggested in the last post.

Tomorrow is going to be a blissfully quiet day - 8:45 Church, mowing the lawn, etc. Looking forward to it.

DH is fighting a cold - not a knock-you-down-cold, rather a kick-you-in-the-stomach-once-in-awhile-cold. We've got a busy weekend ahead, as well, requiring both parental units to conquer and divide the schedule carting kids around between volleyball tournaments, volleyball games, a birthday party, and then a visit to the pumpkin patch. Factor into this our own personal errands and "to do's".

DH has decided he would benefit from a decent night's rest tonight. This will necessitate non-generic cold medication.

His request: "Nyquil, please. The real kind. The stuff that puts you to sleep and helps with the symptoms."

My grocery store trip yesterday had a deal spend $25 on GM cereal, Progresso soup, Yoplait items, get a $10.50 coupon on next purchase plus another $1.50 off for buying 3 GM cereals. I'll be heading back to that store today with coupons in hand for Nyquil, namebrand, that will really help with the symptoms.

Glad for those coupons!

I reworked the budget taking out the $1,000 credit card payment. I dropped it to $500 and then prioritized the list of things to take care of. Starting in January my goal is a $750 credit card payment with all extra funds going toward snowballs. There is also a small windfall coming in at the end of the month which I'm using to fund the under-represented budget categories (which are draining me this time of year).

I analyzed the past six months and see that the real feeling of being out-of-control was brought about by the unexpected new roof ($6,200) and the last installment of the real estate taxes ($2,200). I was able to take care of both of those in cash. I still have $9,000 in the bank. I haven't been completely irresponsible and I am my own worst enemy and obstacle to success.

The liberating moment came when DH told me how much he will be billing my biological father for October work done. I told him that I'll only need from that the money that we've spent on supplies which is about $95 at this point.

I then told him that whatever money he had I would put in the "other" account for his upcoming Corvette repairs which will happen of Spring 2010.

Until this point he has always maintained that the income from the side job is critical to our budget. I have wanted to move to a point where we aren't relying on that money because I hate the fact that he does this work in the first place.

I have finally crossed the bridge where that I'm not counting on or relying on that money. This is no longer a battle in the house of Mr. and Mrs. - as to whether or not this job is *needed*. If I hate the job that much, I shouldn't be complaining and taking the money.

The moment of liberation has happened.