days_unfolding

Spent some time looking through Ibotta and figuring out my strategy for saving money (on stuff that I need anyway). Onwards to the stores!

 

Want to learn to make soy candles and give them as Christmas gifts this year. I saw some gorgeous tins to use for candles.

 

Woke up with my alarm at 9 AM. Promptly ordered dry cat food.

 

Hmm. When I wasn't drinking diet cola, I didn't get headaches. Now I'm drinking diet cola, and voila! Headaches. Maybe I need to phase it out completely. Or maybe it's more humid now. Today is the first day that it's been uncomfortably humid. They're also predicting storms, so it could be the barometric pressure.

 

Went back on Amazon. Ordered Spark Joy and The Complete Book of Home Organization. Also bought the jewelry organizer and supplies to make laundry detergent.

 

Hmm. I thought about lying down to get rid of my headache, but I need to go to the store. Don't want to go tonight because it's supposed to storm. Hmm. Need to look at my list. I can feed the girls with more wet food in lieu of dry.

 

I did lie down for a few minutes. Decided to go into work early and go to Walmart over dinner.

 

Apparently, there is a subReddit for Eating Cheap and Healthy. Need to check it out.

 

Ran to Walmart over dinner. The majority of the stuff that I bought had an Ibotta rebate or a coupon. Go me. I bought a small package of the generic version of Claritin to see if that makes a difference in my headaches. If it doesn't work, I'm not out of a lot of money. Also discovered that Walmart is carrying Blue Buffalo dry cat food. If Zara will eat it (If?? She's picky), it would be more convenient than ordering Purina Pro Plan, and it's good food. 

 

Picked up some laundry detergent at Walgreens for $1 off. It's a small bottle, but I've ordered the ingredients to make my own detergent, so it should be okay. Walgreens also had some L'Oreal shampoo and conditioner that I wanted to try on sale.

 

Holy cow. Found the bike helmet that I liked on REI's site for half-off on another site. And this one is lavender!  Far out. Just need to check the size. I think that I fall between two sizes though. It pays to shop around! Found a taillight set with turn signals and headlight set with a horn on eBay. Don't need them until I relearn to ride though. Do need the helmet. Aargh. I need a medium size, and I can get the medium size only at full price on eBay. I can get a beige one for $10 off on the other site. Need to sleep on this.

 

I'm feeling hot and cranky. Going to bed soon and getting up early, blah, blah, blah.

 

Lincoln College has called me three or four times about a severe thunderstorm warning (early Sunday AM). We just had a LOUD clap of thunder. Maybe I should log off my computer and calm the cats. Quite a light show. Now there's a flash flood warning too. The warning on my phone startled Zara. Finally, the storm finished. I don't think that I could have slept through it.

 

Woke up at 8 AM. Went back to sleep. Woke up at noon.

 

I checked the local paper online, and it didn't mention damage from last night's storm.

 

My stomach is a little upset. I don't know why.

 

Napped for a while. The girls are completely zonked.

 

Reading through r/frugal on Reddit, and someone suggested having a moving fund in your budget. That's a good idea, although an emergency fund could do the same thing.

 

The girls are now up. Good.

 

Got the shakes, so I made some Ramen.

 

Logged onto my laptop to save an article, "How to Do Walt Disney World Like a Rock Star", to Pinterest. Expensive suggestions, but also good suggestions.

 

Threw myself together. Ran out and got a couple of bottles of soda. I'm going to make a rule that I may drink soda only when I clean or organize. That way, I can cut down on my soda consumption and give myself a treat (and more energy) while I clean.

 

Zara did some serious snuggling with me.

 

I'm wondering if I should put the garbage out when tomorrow's a holiday, and it's not likely to get picked up. The garbage disposal Facebook site said no pickup tomorrow.

 

I'm working on the closet. I'm doing a modified "Spark Joy" sort in that I'm doing all of one category at a time rather than all my clothes at one time. I'm running into clothes that I think that I should want, but don't really want. I'm finding this culling a lot harder than the t-shirts were. Though I really have too much stuff in my closet and need to be ruthless.

 

Made turkey breasts, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Dead easy and delicious! And I have some left over for tomorrow! I also piggybacked on the heated oven by putting in some banana bread ( from a mix). 

 

Finished culling the blazers. Have a big bag of clothes to go to the thrift store. Went through one of the baskets that came from the linen closet in my old place.

 

I'm in a food coma (although I ate a slice of banana bread to try it). I'm going to go read and go to sleep early. Tomorrow is another day..  

Had problems falling asleep last night. Hit my snooze button a few times this morning, and got up at 10:30 AM. Zara was on the bed, and Mimi was on the wicker chest.

 

I thought that it felt cold this morning. It's in the 50s. I'm tired of this yo-yo weather. It'll be back in the 80s later this week.

 

Mimi was perched on my lap while I was drinking coffee. I asked her if she wanted food, and she promptly jumped off of my lap. I gather that was a "yes".

 

The library does have a laminator. I asked my boss if I could use it if I bought the supplies for it, and he said, "Yes". It'll be cheaper than getting my own one or using Kinko's.

 

Left the lights on when I went to dinner. (The library is closed at that hour during the summer, and I usually shut them off when I go to dinner.) Way to go, Adrienne.

 

Found a free budgeting system printable that's exactly what I want. I also want to try the envelope budget system for groceries and discretionary spending. Also found a blog on frugal living that's pretty good: A Cultivated Nest. One of the articles was about disposable items that you can replace with reusable items. Both frugal and "green" too! 

 

Fried another hamburger to eat with the leftover veggie tots, and the smoke alarms went off. Sigh. Even if I press the shutoff button, they're silent for a moment and then start up again.

 

I'm tired. I'm going to do my nightly cleanup because I want to get into the habit, but no organizing for me tonight. I hope that I'll get some stuff done in the morning.

After procrastinating for a while, I finished the homework for one class. I need to get a notebook for the second class tomorrow. No, I found a binder and some paper. That'll do.

 

Read a couple of chapters of a book about REITs. It has been helpful already. I've invested in a REIT for senior living centers and nursing homes, and it said that most of the money from health care REITs comes from dividends, not appreciation. I don't feel comfortable investing in apartment REITs, and investing in retail REITs is crazy with all the mall vacancies. Anyway, I learned something. (The autocorrect wants to change REITs to TWITs. Hmm.)

 

It seems like a lot of investing is finding investments that won't work for you. Though I'm accumulating a list of investments to buy during a recession.

 

Woke up at 6:30 AM. Went back to sleep. Woke up at 10 AM. Got up, but felt groggy, so I went back to sleep. Woke up at 2 PM. Feel great. Mimi was fractious because she was hungry, but I hastily fed her.

 

I'm still wondering what's going on in Hawaii, so I decided to look at Hawaii Web cams. Apparently I'm not the only one that had that idea. But now I need to update Flash. I supplied my Facebook account to enter a contest for a free trip to Hawaii. I'm getting "This Webcam is currently not available". Guess that they took them in.

 

Another local store is going out of business, which doesn't bode well for Lincoln, but everything's 50% off. I've never had much luck with their clothes, but they have a set of cast-iron skillets that I want to get when I get paid.

 

I cleaned the kitchen listening to Canine Confidential. Interesting, so far. I forgot to mention that I was out for a walk, and a dog that I thought would greet me growled at me. I backed up and fell over the curb. His human said that she didn't know why he did that and usually he was friendly, and I said that there must have been something about me that he didn't like.

 

Mom is going to visit my aunt and uncle in Chicago next week. She said that she was going to get an early start and would stop if she needed to rest.

 

And rest in peace, John McCain. I didn't agree with all his political stances, but he was a good and honorable person. We need more good people in politics.

 

 

Harlee has decided that my bed is her bed. We're still working this out  :) Mimi's nose is out of joint because usually she sleeps with me, but she won't share the bed with Harlee. Oh, the drama.

 

Having a rare bout of insomnia. I think that it's because I forgot to take my nighttime meds. Also, Harlee is lying right next to me, and I'm worried about rolling over and squishing her. Mimi likes to lie in a similar spot, but Mimi is huge and rugged. Harlee is old and frail. I tried to relocate her to the foot of the bed, but she wants this spot instead. "Never try to outstubborn a cat." -- Heinlein. I finally was too restless, and she got up and wandered off. Then she came back. I woke up on the other side of her from where I went to sleep. Not sure how that happened, but Harlee wasn't squished.

 

All the cats slept in different spots: Harlee on the bed (Mimi's spot), Zara on the futon (Harlee's spot), and Mimi on the cat tree. Harlee had ventured out of the bedroom when I came home for dinner.

 

The zipper on my purse has given up the ghost. I was looking at other purses, but the purse itself is okay; I just need a fastener. So I'm looking at "sew-in" purse clasps. I'll need to get more than I need, but it's still cheaper than buying a new purse. Frugal!

 

I picked up Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiography, Pioneer Girl, from the library. It's her complete autobiography, including incidents that she thought might be too upsetting for the Little House books. Should be interesting.

 

I read an article about how New York City has lost its soul due to international investors who don't live in New York. So, me being me, I looked into a trip to New York in December sometime. I'd like to take the train (although flying might be cheaper?), but Amtrak's site has been weirding out, so I can't find out how much it costs. I figured out what was wrong, and if I wanted a roomette, it would cost a ridiculous amount of money. I think that sleeping in a coach seat would be the way to go. I can sleep pretty well on public transportation. There are surprisingly cheap Airbnb's in New York.

 

Speaking of travel, I booked my train travel to and from my mom's house.

 

I previously bought a frozen turkey and stuffing casserole that was delicious. Now I'm looking at making one from scratch.  Found a recipe that doesn't seem too hard.  

 

Read an article about modifying your home to "age in place". My mom's house is a nightmare for an older person, with no banister on the stairs and lots of throw rugs, but I doubt that I could convince her to make modifications. I'm worried about her falling.

 

I'm trying to convince myself to wear an outfit more than once before washing it, but on the other hand, it's summer, so that might not be a good idea.

 

I think that my boss wants to keep us on a caffeine and sugar high at work. He's been bringing in Coke and Diet Coke, and today, he brought in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

 

Storming this evening. I went and walked in the area of the moldy book, but didn't see any leaking.

 

We got out an hour early today because of the holiday. And now, it's a three-day weekend. I have a lot to do, but somewhere along the line, I'd like to take some books, use my coffee shop gift card, and read.

 

I've been reading The Tightwad Gazette, and it's interesting, but dated. In it, the author suggests using powdered milk instead of regular milk. I thought, okay, I use milk in my grits and coffee only, so why not. Well, powdered milk is more expensive than regular milk now. The book still has some interesting ideas though.

 

Mimi likes rubber bands. If there's one in the same room as her, she'll find it. I have a rubber band around their dry food bag, and she loves to snap it. I finally had to put the food on the top shelf, but sometimes I forget to put it up there.

 

Quiet morning. Mimi is on my lap. Zara is snoozing on the shelves near the window. I assume that Harlee is asleep, but haven't checked on her yet. No, she was daydreaming on her bed in the living room window. Took care of the kitty inputs and outputs. Wrote an e-mail to my dad that got eaten by the computer.

 

I've started turning off the power strip to the TV, DVD/VCR player, cable modem, and router while I'm at work to decrease the "vampire" energy drain.

 

It's looking like I can pull off the trip to visit Mom at the end of the month. I need to double check with my boss though because he's probably forgotten about it. 

 

We're running into snags in our project at work; I'm fielding e-mails from my boss today.

 

Took a nap and had some lunch. I had a bad case of  "I don't want to do anything," but I threw myself together to run errands. 

 

Forgot to mention that I was trying to convince my dad to go to Molokai, which is a smaller island near Maui in Hawaii. It's off of the beaten path; a Web site called it "Hawaii as of 50 years ago," which is around the time that we started going there (which is scary!) Dad told me to go and give him a trip report. So I need to save money so that I can travel. It sounds like a relaxing, laid-back trip.

 

I solved a problem. John Frieda is no longer making my hair color. I found a color that I like from Madison Reed. It's more expensive, but it's also better color. I need to use up what I have first though.

 

The kitchen light was flickering on and off last night. I thought that the bulb was going, but it kept doing that for over an hour. I guess that the voltage is fluctuating. No, it's out completely now.

 

Had problems getting moving, but I did stay up late reading. Still, I would have gotten over seven hours of sleep. I keep forgetting to take my morning meds, so that's probably part of the problem. Also, one of my nighttime meds tires me out.

 

I wrote my dad for tips on lowering my energy bill. He told me to not worry about the cats; "until they pay the electric bill, they don't get a vote". I figured that he'd say something like that. He also told me to let Mimi out, which is not going to happen. But I'll try leaving the lights off in the evening  and see how it goes.