So..

This weekend I'm stuck at work for 4 hours (only 2 hours and 13 mins left, but I'm not counting!) so I'm just catching up on some blogs and other sites since I have nothing to do! At least I got free breakfast and 4 hours of overtime! :)

Did I mention that my number 1 credit card has a zero balance? I'm so excited I could almost pee. Almost.

I told boyfriend that I wanted to go bowling tonight, so he's going to get some of his friends together and we're going to go bowling (which we haven't done in a year and a half!). I will fail miserably but that's okay, I'm sick of sitting on the couch and fighting over what we want to watch on TV. It's getting old...

Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy your days off. Monday is going to be a crazy-long day (715am-8pm) and I get overtime so I'm going to survive one way or another!

How's the spending going?

Remember how I was saying I had only $53.00 to last me two weeks until payday? Well, I'm down to $46 after one week. :) I'm pretty proud of the fact that I have completely cut my spending down (had to buy some mailing envelopes yesterday at Walgreens!) to next to nothing. It's kind of refreshing actually!

I've been busy this week applying for jobs and studying! During my lunch breaks at work, I'm bringing my lunch into the conference room and studying hard for an hour for my AFOQT; some things are definitely easier to study than others for sure!

This weekend I'm going to resist any spending on meals or activities although I did mention to boyfriend that I would like to go bowling; (we haven't done that since our first date in September 2007!) so we'll see what happens.

I hope you're all having a blessed week and that you all have a great weekend! :)

This weekend...

Instead of sitting in front of the TV, get out and do something!

Take the dogs (or kids!) for a hike or just a simple walk around the neighborhood for some fresh air.

Pull out the board games and play a loved one in a vicious game of Scrabble or Monopoly.

Go through belongings one room at a time and then take the goods to Goodwill, not only will you be ridding your house of unwanted stuff, you'll be helping charity as well!
Life's too short, get out and play (or have a happenin' beach party with Skipper and Beaver!)

This weekend

Was so much fun! I did a lot and spent money even though I said I would not. Friday night boyfriend came down and we ordered pizza (he paid) and just hung out, I found out that he will be home for 3 days for Christmas so he's going to spend them here with the girls. I'm relieved he gets the days off but sad because I'll be in Dallas while he's here. At least the girls will have some company and not be alone for the time that I am gone.

Saturday night my good friend R and I met up with some of my coworkers and we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and then to the University of Arizona (UofA) vs. Arizona State University (ASU) hockey game. It was my first hockey game ever and was a blast! UofA won! It was an intense game the whole time and even the ref got injured when some of the players started fighting. Total money spent on dinner and the game? $20. Not too bad.

Today I decided I should pick up my layaway since this company is cancelling it (layaway) at the beginning of the year. I didn't want to risk not paying my last payment and then they put my Vitamix back on the shelves; they only sold these as a promotion so there was no way to go back and get a new one. I had a bunch of cash saved but still ended up paying $150.99 from my account. Still better than $225! :) I did buy groceries today so that eaten into my $160 spending fund, but I should be set until I leave.

It's time to put a lid on my spending since I'm leaving for Dallas on Saturday. That's $15 for baggage (ugh) plus parking and other who-knows-what-else fees.

My mom also informed me I need to send my Aunt $20 since all of the other grandkids have chipped in money for DisneyWorld tickets for my grandparents. I also have to buy 3 more Christmas presents! All this little stuff adds up quick. No more eating out this week and no more buying groceries since I'll be gone nine days, that WILL help.

Hope you all had a great weekend! Tomorrow is Monday, ugh, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel! No more work starting December 20 until January 5 for me since I have a ton of vacation and sick days left. YAY!!!

This weekend...

I feel like thrift shopping... on a mini-break at work today my coworker and I went to a yard sale where I snagged a really cute fleece jacket for my pups. Cost? $2. Now my doggies can stay warm on the cheap...

I just feel like putting on my fave jeans, hoodie, and flip flops and hitting the local places (and ones I haven't been to before) to find some cheap goods. With boyfriend being gone, it's so boring and this is something fun to do that doesn't cost a lot of money.

Anymore I've been really good about what comes into my house, I absolutely HAVE to love it and can't live without it before I will buy it... well, just felt like sharing.

Oh, and this REALLY pisses me off.

This weekend...

...I'm hoping to get rid of a lot of clutter. I started boxing up stuff from my marriage (pics, flowers, notes from high school, etc). I can't bear to get rid of it yet, we had too many years and are still really good friends, so I'm just packing it up and putting it in my storage shed. This will completely clear up a nice space in my house. Yay.

I also spoke with my BFF in Florida and she was telling me how my eldest godson really wants a stereo for his bedroom for Christmas. Because they are on one income and have 3 growing boys, it's hard for her to go out and buy everything brand new for Christmas and birthdays. I remembered that I have a stereo in my storage shed that I haven't used since I moved to my new duplex..ding ding ding! So I'm going to mail it out to him as soon as I can. My boy gets a new stereo, BFF saves some cash, and I get clutter out of my shed. :) Score 2.

I'm also trying to figure out something with my friend to do a clutter swap or just have her buy the things she wants from me. We have similar retro tastes so I know she'll love what I have and I'm all for a swap but if she doesn't have anything to offer, we'll just do cash. :) This saves me from having to put it on craigslist. Boyfriend and mom have always been leery about me having people come over to pick up things. I'd really like to build up my VitaMix, contact lense, or Winter Coat Funds, so cash would be superb. Whatever she doesn't want, I'll just put on craigslist with the hopes of making some dough.

Anyway, I'm really trying to pare down on my things, I really have a lot of stuff for just one person so I'm going to go through my house again and see what I can do. I can't believe it's Thursday already! Hooray.

Side note: boyfriend called last night and he just sounds miserable. He says he's tired and I can imagine 10 hour days/7 days a week is tiring but I think he's ready to come home. Hopefully he gets Thanksgiving off. More than 3 hours with my hunny would be so nice.

Is it really Monday? Really?

My new best friend

This weekend went by pretty fast, I guess that is considering I spent all Saturday on the couch. Watching TV. Sleeping. and doing not much else. I caught whatever is going around. YAY!

Friday I woke up with a sore throat, not feeling bad at all. I went to a country western gay bar with my friend Erin on Friday night. :) She works non-profit and they were having a benefit for families living with HIV/AIDS so we went to check it out. (It was also benefiting the Gay Rodeo Association, yes, that does exist!) Boy I'm glad we finally talked each other into going. We had a BLAST! There were two drag queens who hosted the event, one of whom I'm very familiar with after going to one particular gay bar in Tucson with my old roommates, and they were fantastic. I ended up buying raffle tickets and won! First off, I won the most hideous cake, Martha Stewart would not have been pleased. Honestly it looked like a 5 year old made it! Erin was so excited though and we couldn't get over it..and it's hideousness. I wish I had a picture to show you, because it makes for great material, but I ended up trading it and some brownies for a large ceramic chicken from three guys. (Hey, they had THREE of them, who wouldn't want my cake, right?)

Basically the cake was square, had strawberry icing and three plastic dollar store Indians circling a brown lump (looked like poo) that was supposed to be a bonfire. Then in red gel icing, it said "RODEO" that looked like a first grader practicing his letters. Ah. It was priceless. I could have given you the description that the hostess gave, but I don't think it was appropriate! LOL.

I also won this very interesting teddy bear and some homemade truffles. I was like, Oh, a teddy bear in a bag. Ok. cool. Better than my poop cake. But upon closer examination and reading the label (oh yes, there will be pictures later) this poor bear was dipped in wax and is supposed to be used as a "room freshener." Sigh. No, I'm not kidding. Someone actually has a candle shop and dips poor unsuspecting stuffed creatures. In wax. Scented wax. And then shoves their poor distorted fur-covered bodies in bags and sells them. Well, at least it smells like Banana nut bread! Sigh.

Anyway, woke up Saturday sicker than a dog and pretty much did not move until I forced myself to go buy myself some soup and tissues. :( Being sick is the worst when you don't have anyone to take care of you. I remember the first time I was sick in England, I cried so hard for my mom because whenever I was sick as a kid she would always lay in bed with me, rub my back, and tend to my every need. Not having boyfriend here was hard, and even harder since I couldn't call and tell him I was sick and earn some sympathy points.

Sunday the girls and I got out for some fresh air and went to the dog park. I cursed the congestion gods and got out of the house. And then to Sonic where I got a grilled cheese and chocolate malt. Because really, doesn't that make it all better? Finally boyfriend called (yay!) and surprised me again and came down. :) When he comes down it is such a short visit (he gets in about 7:30-8pm and has to leave at 2am to get to work on time) but totally worth it. He brought me a chocolate shake since he knew I was sick. Aw.

Anyway, that was my weekend. Mostly good, but even better since I saw boyfriend. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. :)

Pumpkins on my mind

This weekend was one of the best boyfriend and I have had in such a long time. We went out to dinner on Saturday night and then to a comedy club. Note to stand up comedians/comediennes: talking about menopause and saying the eff word every other word is not funny. This one woman in particular actually scared me and made me just feel quite awkward. Not funny. Not at all. Sunday morning we woke up and took the girls out to the pumpkin patch! It was a smooth, beautiful drive on the way to the teeny town of Willcox. Luckily we showed up at a good time because when we were leaving, it was PACKED!!

The girls got to pick out pumpkins and we got 3 very cool pumpkins, some spaghetti squash (YUM), and I got some mini pumpkins for my co-workers. It was really hot so I got some shaved ice and boyfriend of course got his favorite, kettle corn. It was just a really good day. The weather was beautiful, we got to cut the stems of our own pumpkins, and the drive was just fantastic. The girls had such a good time. We actually drove downtown Willcox and they were having a Wine and Art festival, so we unpacked the girls and walked around while I took a bunch of photos. Willcox is the cutest little town. We were wiped when we were done so I napped in the car and boyfriend napped when we got home. We only carved one pumpkin so far and it turned out really nice, I saved the seeds so that I could roast them for myself. YUM. I absolutely love pumpkin seeds and generally have a dish on my desk with them in it.

Anyway, I will load pictures later! :) I hope you all had as good as a weekend as I did! :)

This weekend...

...I am really looking forward to Sunday! Boyfriend says we're packing up the dogs and going to pick pumpkins! I can't wait. It's the same place we went to get peach pancakes. It's going to be a blast! Now that I know the dogs can come, they're going to be so happy. Unfortunately they can't go to the awesome corn maze they have, but oh well, it will be fun regardless!! Boyfriend leaves soon to go down and live by the border and work for two months so we're trying to get some fun things done. This is one of the worst months to leave because there is so much fun stuff to do and now we're not going to be able to do a lot of it. :(

Check out the sweet corn maze at Apple Annie's Orchards that's cut into 18 acres of corn and is shaped like the Arizona quarter:

Anyway, today he has lots to do when he gets off work so I don't know if I'll see him today at all. And since I'm at work, I decided to update you all on what's been happening in my life. In a few weeks the ex and I are driving back to Missouri to collect things that have been in storage for seven years...this includes wedding presents we've never used! Lol. I'm excited to go see my best friend from high school and spend time with her family. If I don't end up going to Missouri, I'm going to have him drop me off in Dallas to spend time with my family; I haven't seen my sister or nephew since Christmas so I'm excited to see them.

ALSO, I got a phone call from my new employer letting me know that I need to make an "informed decision" regarding my position that I'm supposed to start in December or January. yay. Basically I was told that they're going through "budget cuts" and their policy is "last hired first fired" so I just needed to know that. Fun, huh? So, not being one to sit around and wait, I've applied for two positions in Fort Worth and two in Dallas. I called the hiring manager in Ft. Worth and they're hiring TEN people..so we'll see how that goes. I know my family would be thrilled to have me closer to them and I wouldn't mind it that much. I would be 35 mins from my family and about 2 1/2 hours away from my BFF. We'll see what happens! I told my sister and my dad, but not my mom. I don't want to get her hopes up and I also want to spare myself from daily phone calls of "Did you hear anything yet?"

I hope you all have a great weekend. I joined Apartment Therapy's Fall Cure so I should probably go out and buy the book so that I can catch up. I took a lot of books and DVDs to the used bookstore yesterday and got $89.00 worth of credit so that helped clear the clutter so that I could get some new books and some cool stuff.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Wee! it's friday!

yay. i love fridays. do you know why? because i actually get to leave work before the sun goes down. tonight i'm going home to my girls, i'm going to finish my jon and kate plus eight, i'm going to sit in my jammies with my fuzzy slippers and relax. BF has to work tomorrow AM so he's not going to stop by so it's going to be a quiet girls night and i'm ecstatic. i've had this giant blister on the bottom of my left foot for over a week now and it's incredibly painful just to walk but i've been pushing through so my girls can get some exercise..but tonight we are going to relax.



tonight i will:

• paint my nails


• bathe the girls


• drink a cup of coffee


• do a load of laundry


• throw my hair up out of my face


• relax


• watch tv


• enjoy the quiet


• finish season 8 of will and grace (!)

i hope you all have an amazing weekend. it's supposed to rain tomorrow and sunday so it doesn't look like i'll be doing much. i'm down another $10 because i found gas for $3.09/gallon and figured i needed a top-off. so $29.01 is left for the remaining month, it's time to hunker down. i may check out this discount grocery store in my area and see if they have some cheap chocolate chips. i really want to bake some yummy cookies! :)

until next time,

LL

Day 10 totals:

Money spent: $10.00

Money left: $29.01