days_unfolding

It looks like I can knock down my Xfinity bill considerably. I'll try calling Xfinity tomorrow. And then sign up for Sling. No, I tried calling Xfinity, but the department that I need is closed. I'll call on Tuesday. I'll have to look at stuff like my cable bill because I won't lower my rent by moving to a more expensive place.

I like the superzero shampoo and conditioner bars much better. The shampoo lathers well, and my hair is shiny and soft. We have a winner!

Italian went well. My teacher is currently in France doing some translation. He's staying in a camper van.

Had a nice nap. The girls are taking the people setting off fireworks surprisingly well.

I'm mulling over taking French. I'm not sure what happened to my German teacher. However, I confuse French and Italian sometimes, and that would only get worse. But I love French as well as Italian. I discovered that I have French grammar books plus an enormous French-English dictionary that I bought pre-Internet.

I went out to see if I could see the fireworks from here, but there are too many trees.

I worked on my financial goals in my budget planner. I viewed some videos for my printables business. I have a goal of getting through them in July and making my first printable. (And yes, I'm still working on decluttering my place. Lots of stuff to do! Busy summer!)

I'm starting to yawn, so I'll head towards bed.

Apparently, some parts of Lincoln have lost power. I haven't thus far. The roads are a mess. It looks like there's ice on my car.

I'm mulling over goals for the coming year, although I won't do serious planning until I get my planning books.

1. Learn and grow in my new job. Of course.
2. Save money for a move/emergency fund. I need to figure out how much I can sock away each month.
3. Create a budget.
4. Start learning Italian again with a new teacher.
5. Exercise.
6. Do I want to lose weight?
7. Declutter and hire a cleaning service for every other week.
8. Classes.

I'm wondering if I could squeeze in a trip to Oregon to see Eugene and Salem in the fall. I guess that it all hinges on the vaccination schedules. Airfares are pricey right now.

I installed TrueBill, and I'm going through and cancelling subscriptions. A good way to start the year.

The power just went out and turned back on. Yikes.

My stomach is upset, so I'm lying down. Mimi is taking shameless advantage of my proximity.

While lying in bed, I brought a refurbished cassette-CD boombox and some Nightingale-Conant programs on CD.

I ordered How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind and The Four Tendencies (how you react to expectations--I'm a rebel who resists both internal and external expectations). I also joined the Habit Share app, but I don't have anyone to share progress with.

I'm yawning, so I want to roll with it and go to sleep early. I'll have to get up early next week.

Seattle is still the cheapest trip that I could take.

Sometimes it pays to read your junk e-mail. L'Oreal is having a sale at CVS in which if you buy four mascaras in a year, you get the 5th free. I flipped the scenario of the person who shops in person but buys online by deciding which mascara to try by reading the reviews online and making notes to read at the store. There also is a sale in which if you spend $12 on L'Oreal products, you get $4 "ExtraBucks" back. Works for me.

Quiet morning, except for Mimi "acking" at Zara. I told her to cut it out. We're all fed now, and the hyper girls have settled down.

The refund for my Instant Pot has posted. Excellent.

I started to lie down for a nap, then realized that I needed to start the spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker to have it ready for dinner tonight. Got up. I had tears rolling down my face when I peeled the onion and chopped it in the food processor. Zara came into the kitchen to see what I was doing in the middle of It. I think that the smell of the ground beef attracted her. The sauce already smells good. Lots of spices in it.

I had a nice long nap. I had a bite to eat. Threw myself together. Started laundry. Set up Google Home to play Pandora. Listened to James Taylor, who seems to be everywhere right now. (He has an audiobook coming out.)

Hmm. My Italian teacher wasn't there at my lesson time. I hope that she's okay.

The spaghetti sauce is interesting. I like it better than bottled sauce but wouldn't call it a home run.

Now I'm going to work on my taxes for a while before bed.

Added: Well, my tax forms from Ally Bank won't be available until the end of February. Suckage. So much for my taxes.

I found some miracle cough drops with menthol. "Relieves sore throats and soothes nasal passages." Indeed it does.

I was feeding the girls, and Zara was dashing back and forth between the TV room and the kitchen. Goof :) She freaked Mimi out. (It reminds me that Zara's shelter name was Dash. With good reason.)

I checked with the storage place, and they're open tomorrow, so I might just stay home today. I'm still working on rearranging my bedroom.

I'm looking into buying my own cable router to stop paying the Xfinity rental cost. That would be a good use of my money and pay off fast.

I want to make Red Lobster Cheddar Cheese biscuits, but I need to get cheddar for them. I'm trying to decide whether I want to go out and get the cheddar. No, I'll go tomorrow. Walmart is supposed to be open (although I doubt Aldi will be open).

I found the sewing book that I wanted for $17.30 with free shipping on eBay. It was going for $30 on Amazon. Awesome. It pays to shop around. (And through the wonders of technology, I shopped around on my phone.)

I didn't know that Walmart had a weekly ad. I found a recipe for chicken thighs, but I'm waiting until they're on sale.

I've got blueberry quick bread in the oven. I used the new cart to mix ingredients, and the extra counter space was helpful.

Mom's back home. She still isn't feeling well though and sounds awful. I hope that she gets the rest that she needs now.

Happy New Year everyone! I watched the Times Square countdown, then watched an episode of The Crown, and watched the Central Time countdown. Ate some blueberry quick bread and is it good. I'm thinking of watching one more episode of The Crown. No, maybe I'll just look into cable routers and then go to bed.

Zara's new spot is right in front of my pillow on the bed. This is causing me problems. I slithered around her last night--I thought that she was going to smack me--but she allowed me in the bed. Sigh.

I haven't put my clothes in the dryer away yet, so I've been playing laundry roulette. Whatever I grab first is the outfit that I'm going to wear today.

I paid my car payment before work.

I got my Home Chef order. It's Chicken with Dijon Demi-Glace with Creamy Chive Mushroom Gnocchi, and Creamy Mushroom Truffle Gnocchi with Baby Spinach and Parmesan Cheese. I'm going to be gnocched out. (Yes, groan.) I'm going to cancel the rest of the month though. I have a taste for risotto with cheese, so I need to look for a recipe.

Looked into Consumer Cellular. It would save me a lot of money, but I think that I'm still paying off my phone. Need to doublecheck. I have another year's worth of payments. Oh well.

Going to sleep early again. I kept on yawning all day.

Woke up at 11:30 AM feeling lethargic and wanting to stay home. So I won't go by the gym today. I do have to go to the grocery store though.

Had a nice nap with Mimi. Had a bite to eat, and then Zara settled on my lap. Made a grocery list.

Bluehost emailed me back and asked me to supply something with my name and address, and they'll change my e-mail address for the domain. I'll send it later today.

Threw myself together and ran errands. I have a taste for French Toast, so I got some syrup at Dollar Tree. I'm in the mood to make lemon-rice soup, so I got some lemons. Etc. And I want to make cookies, but I already have the mix at home. Definitely a hibernate-and-cook mood.

The zipper on my coat is stuck though. THAT'S not good. I'm running out of coats that I can wear. I need to learn to sew quickly.

I turned down the heat because Mom has been long gone from here. I'm trying for 68 degrees F, but the thermostat isn't digital, so it's kind of hard to tell the temperature at which it's set.

I have a new plan for the sewing machine. One of the used ones that I liked has sold. What I really covet, though, is a Singer Heavy Duty Sewing Machine. I'm supposed to get $60 from Swagbucks in November. Amazon has the sewing machine for $130, so with the Swagbucks, I could get the machine that I want new for the same price as the used one. Far freaking out. (Now, though, I'm looking at the machine that's one level up, which has a foot for vinyl and leather.) I won't be able to attend the November sewing class though. However, if I could use one of their machines, I could do it. Need to call them.

Something else that I want to make: flannel pajamas.

I keep really wanting to go explore 55+ communities and their environs. Need to save money for it. I could pull off a trip to Tampa fairly cheaply.

The French Toast was good. Zara's now hanging out on my warm lap.

Added: Southwest Airlines' non-refundable ticket from Chicago to Tucson is a lot more reasonable. The only thing is that I'd have to leave from Champaign, and I don't know where I could park. Need more research.

Pried myself out of bed when my alarm went off. I'm tired because I stayed up ridiculously late, so I'm not going over to the gym today.

It's cold in here, so I put on a sweatshirt. I'm wondering if I should turn on the heat though. I don't want to, but the temperature is dropping to the 40s F at night, and they say to keep the heat on to at least 55F to keep pipes from freezing. I went to check the temperature on my clock, only to find that it needs a new battery. Zara's plan to deal with the cold is to stay on my lap.

The weather clock isn't working even after I changed the batteries. Bother.

Hmm. The Krazy Koupon Lady posted a deal in which you can get a $20 gift card and $50 in freebies when you join Sam's Club. Hope that my gift cards from Swagbucks come through soon.

Mimi is inside a bag that I use for shopping at Aldi. I have goofy cats.

Napped. Had a bite to eat. Started to get ready to go out to get soda, but decided that I had enough soda and aborted the mission. I'm tired.

Oh awesomesauce. My gift cards are ready. Sam's Club, here I come.

I lay back down for a nap and overslept. Got up and fed the cats.

I'm now a member of Sam's Club. I wonder if my mom would like to go down there with me to pick up my membership card next weekend.

I'm going to tidy up a little and go to sleep.

Woke up at 11:30 AM. Mimi jumped on my lap and whapped me in the face with her tail. Good morning to you.

Got us all fed. Zara ate some of her food. Then she did an elaborate routine to clean her face off. Now she's eating again. Okay....

Looked into You Need a Budget software, but it's not cheap.

Ugh. It's hot today. It's supposed to be a little hotter tomorrow. And it's supposed to be even hotter next weekend. I need to clean out the car. Maybe I can get my act together to clean it out during the evening.

Worked on my to-do list.

Had a nice nap. Ate something. I'm trying to figure out what to do next. I want to work on organizing the bedroom, dye my hair, and clean out the car when it cools off. I want to run get cat food later, but I'll wait until after I talk to Mom.

Decided that I wanted to go to the store before I talked to Mom, so I dyed my hair. Cleaned the bathroom while the dye was working. I just need to clean the floor later.

Got to the store and back. It's really hot out.

Talked to Mom. She's looking forward to visiting at the beginning of August, but is glad that the visit isn't until another three weeks. (Me too.) I told her that Orlando is in play as a possible retirement spot, and she said, "But it's in FLORIDA!" (If the alligators don't get you, the sinkholes will. Or something like that.)

Had some grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was good, but it's knocking me out, so I'm going to go to bed soon.

It's been slightly over a year since I lost Harlee. At the time, I wondered what I would do with myself because my life revolved around caring for Harlee. But I've found other ways to keep going. Zara, to some extent, has taken Harlee's spot as my "baby". (I love Mimi too, but not in the same way.) I miss Harlee sometimes, but not as much as I would have thought.

There's a way to transfer Evernote entries to OneNote, so I'll archive my notes in that way. I'll just keep Evernote for one more month and then cancel it. However, there's a problem with the Google Keep extension not working to keep Web clippings. THAT'S a problem. No, now I got the extension to work. Cool beans.

I looked at 55+ communities in California just for kicks. "Low to mid 1M". Ha Ha Ha. Not. I could live in Redding or Los Baños, but they don't really appeal to me.

Mower guy left a sign for his business on my lawn. He sent me a text asking me if I minded. I don't mind, but it's the people who run the complex that he needs to worry about. I've heard that they take stuff that they don't like.

Overslept this morning. My cell phone updated, so it didn't go off, but the other alarm did. Have a crashing headache. Thought about calling in sick, but I have too much to finish up before I take next week off. It's a good thing that I came in because the front desk worker was off this afternoon.

Interesting cataloged book of the day: The Radioactive Boy Scout, about a kid who built a nuclear reactor in his backyard. No, I'm not making this up. It's really not funny, but it kind of is. Must read.

Hmm. I'm eating dinner (my lunch) at work because I'm low on gas until I get paid tomorrow. But if I ate dinner at work all the time, I'd cut the amount of gas that I use in half (except for trips to Bloomington or Springfield). But I like going home for lunch. Need to think about this.

Mom bought the shelves for me. One organizing thing down.

I looked up "tea to get rid of headaches," and peppermint tea, which I've been drinking, is supposed to help. It hasn't. I should try chamomile and ginger tea. I've got to find more mango passion fruit tea because I love it.

The budget webinar was selling something, of course. But I was able to get the presenter's books "free" with Kindle Unlimited (which isn't free, but I use it enough for it to be worthwhile).

Zara is being a kamikaze kitty. She's freaking Mimi out. Settle down, Zara.

I have some leftover celery that I'm trying to figure out what to do with. Any ideas? I might make some hummus and eat the celery with it. I'm trying to decrease my food waste, but with some mixed results. I found a good Cream of Celery Soup recipe, but it requires more celery than I have.

I'm working on a grocery list for Saturday. I'm going to get new tires first, but will shop afterward. I'm not going to use the grocery pickup because I don't know when I'll be out of the tire center.