Toilet-Paper-Tracker

School starts again tomorrow, and I have to say... I'm sort of sad! I had a lot of fun with D and F! (D went back to work today).

We managed to pack a lot into the winter break. Today was another basketball practice; the coach's daughter is one of F's best friends, so she came home with us after practice. We stopped at Starbucks on the way back from taking F's friend home because we got a gift card from the family of the girl we take to basketball practice during school. F got a strawberry cream something. She's still got one more drink left on the card; after that - no more Starbucks unless she wants to buy it herself.

When F was at practice, I went to Sprouts and bought the rest of this week's groceries. I did not succumb to the pretty "christmas pretzels" that were on sale in a barrel by the register. I still have a third of a cake in the freezer from Christmas dinner!

The meal plan for the rest of the week:
- posole and a salad (leftover posole will go into the freezer)
- leftover cock-a-leekie pie from Christmas (I put it in the freezer) with salad
- roasted veggies and rice
- grilled cheese and tomato soup
- sausage/lemon pasta (I need to think of something green to go with that - maybe peas)

I am toying with revising my meal planning technique. Right now we do one chickeny/turkey dinner, one thing from the freezer, one potato or egg thing, one bready/cheesy thing and one fishy thing. I am wondering if it might help with the budge to divide it up differently: one mexican thing with tortillas, one thing using rice, one potato thing. I don't know. I need to think about it.

Meal planning is always even more important when F has practices, and for January she has both basketball and soccer (indoor!).

Meanwhile, I am going to go make the lunch plan for the week for me and F. I've always planned F's lunches, but mine (even though I take my own lunch from home every day) are a little more free-form. I'm going to try planning for me, too.

Happy New Year! It's 2017 on the east coast and even though we still have 2 more hours of 2016 here, I think I need to go to bed soon!

Here's my very quick 2016 (mostly) financial recap:

- Paid off $13,198 in mortgage principal! Got our balance below $20k on our mortgage.

- Got re-certified in Bodypump (cost a bit of money, but it should pay back; I have plans for 2017!)

- Spent a lot on two vacations, but both worth it! England/Croatia in the summer, and we just got back from Pittsburgh (soccer camp for F - so much fun!). Paid in full with money we saved up.

- Managed to host our nephew for a month and stay in budget (thanks to a little bit of $ from my MIL to help host him).

- Just made up the difference between what we paid into our IRAs and the limit we're allowed ($6500 for me and $5500 for D). So we've contributed the max. we're allowed. That feels good!

- Changed our insurance plan so that we're only paying $20 more a month (instead of $200 more).

- We've continued putting $150 a month into our car savings account. We have over $14k in car savings.

- Put $5k into my SEP IRA (which is good because it means my business had a profit).

There are probably more milestones, but I am just too tired to think of any!

We have always said we celebrate Christmakkah. Today that is even more true...

After I clean the house (yay), we're having latkes for lunch and then F and I are going x-c skiing. Then home for frito pies and off downtown to see the farolitos A New Mexico style Christmakkah!

I hope you all have a wonderful day today (and tomorrow!) celebrating and honoring your traditions!

A pretty calm and quiet Christmas week around here...

- F had her well-check the other day. She had to get a shot (as her dr. said - the last one until college - DTap booster), but otherwise it was all good. And the visit was free.

- F is working on her 7th grade application essays (she's doing just one a day, which is great - they'll be done by the end of the week).

- It was a relatively warm day so we played basketball in the park. We invented this game that involves more than one hoop, so we can't use our hoop at home.

- We've been having lunch at home but we did go out and get a nice snack today at the Teahouse.

- D had his office holiday lunch yesterday. There was a mix-up and he thought spouses weren't going, and then at the last minute, his boss and one of his co-workers brought their spouses. Another co-worker and D didn't know this was happening. Just as well - although it would have been a free lunch, I was with F so I couldn't have gone.

- We are leaving for soccer camp early on the 26th - I'm excited! I've never been to Pittsburgh before. It's just three nights, and it should be fun. Right now the weather is warmer than it is here, but I bet it'll feel colder.

- Because we're leaving on Boxing Day, we're doing a kind of low-key dinner. I'm making cock-a-leekie pie! And roasties, brussels sprouts and chocolate cake.

- F got a letter from her Irish pen pal... they could email each other, but they still write letters. It's so sweet! Can't wait until they can meet in person (not this summer, but the summer after).

I've mentioned the dollhouse before, and I thought you might want to see the progress...

The kit itself was fairly inexpensive, and I think that may be because the instructions didn't match the pieces. But I was winging it a little bit anyway, and changing it along the way (in the original kit you can't see the stairs to the attic and the railings are ugly - didn't use those).

I made all of the paneling out of kleenex and dog biscuit boxes. The fireplace is made from illustration board. I did buy some inexpensive basswood strips and some paint from Michaels (with a coupon of course). I still need to do a lot of work. The stone foundation will be made from egg cartons. I have to do shingles, and I am thinking egg carton for those, too. The railings are made from toothpicks and paper-beads.

The furniture will also be made from illustration board, cardboard, etc.

I thought I'd show you the progress. This is my silly little hobby, but a lot of people like to see it! (PS - I can't figure out how to make the photos vertical - ugh!!).

Second floor hallway; stairs lead to attic, door is to bedroom. Floor is paper, railings are paper beads, door made from illustration board and kleenex boxes. Doorknob from kleenex box and paper bead and a toothpick.


Bathroom with kleenex box paneling, paper floor.


Front (still unfinished).


Kitchen looking toward entry hall and stairs to second floor.


Front door with illustration board and kleenex box door. Acetate for fan light (painted with house number in gold). Letter box is made from kleenex box and door knob is toothpick with a paper bead.

Today was the last day of school (half day) and now it Winter Break! Yay! I am so glad to have F home with me. I wanted to watch a movie, but she just wanted to relax on her own (it's been a big week!).

Tomorrow:
- F has an indoor soccer game; in my mind this is free entertainment! Well, maybe not free.... but the money comes out of F's sports/activities in the budget. The girls won their last two games against all-boys teams!
- Nutcracker right after soccer (not sure how dinner will go... I think I have to bring sandwiches for us). F's friend Lucy is a party-girl this year - exciting!

Then the plan is:
- maybe x-c ski this weekend? It rained in town today, so I assume there is fresh snow on the hill. Free activity since F and I have our own gear.
- Lots of homemade hot chocolate (and we also got a $15 Starbucks card from the family of F's friend who we take home with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then back to basketball practice because they live super far away).
- Open basketball practice at the school gym
- Make cookies!
- Get a scone or some other sweet treat at the Teahouse if it snows.
- Watch silly Christmas specials on the BBC!
- Make cheap but cozy food - grilled cheese and tomato soup, polenta with lots of cheese, posole...
- Sneak into the office to wrap presents.

I hope your holiday is wonderful!!

Budgeting in December.... not that easy, but I think I'm up to it!

Secret Santa - they did this in 5th grade, and now again in 6th. This time F got a kid she really likes, and it was easy. Particularly since one of her best friends is his twin sister! Twin sister gave F a list of ideas, which was very helpful. Also F knows him really well (they've been in school together since 1st grade and see each other a lot due to twin being such a close friend). We did a few $1 things and an Indiana Pacers calendar for the final gift.

White Elephant - one of the downsides of decluttering is that it's harder to find a white elephant gift. One of the upsides is that I'm used to getting rid of things! Might be a puzzle... I have a stack of them, and have only done a few of them twice.

Advisory Lunch - F promised something with potatoes. Smart girl. Potatoes are yummy, but also cheap! I was going to make twice baked so they can just pop them in the school microwave.

Basketball - The 5th/6th Varsity team was a little too big. The coach is the dad of one of F's best friends (and he's one of our best friends, too - also an ortheopedic surgeon and from Indiana), and he is awesome. His daughter is on the team with F. So he decided to split it in half, but instead of splitting it 5th/6th, he's split it girls/boys. The girls are thrilled!!! They had a practice today, and he said he excited about how well they listened and how much they improved in just one practice. None of the girls except F and his daughter has played before. The boys team will be coached by a 5th grade dad along with... the twins' dad (the Secret Santa recipient is on the boys' team).

Holiday Food Shopping - Why am I thinking about this now? Ugh. It pays to be prepared, though. I think we are going to our friends' house this year. They usually come to our house, but her brother will be here, and we leave the next day (early!) for Pittsburgh.

Christmas Shopping - I'm done! And not over budget!

Christmas Fun - Making and decorating cookies at my good friend L's house - tomorrow. And then downtown for Las Posadas: re-enactment "of Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to give birth to the Baby Jesus—and throws in a few devils for good measure. Stay for carols, cookies and hot cider in the Palace Courtyard. Free." That's the description of the event from our city's tourism website. It's pretty crazy with the devils. Everyone boos loudly!

Mortgage Principal - We're now at $18,300. It is starting to really feel real now that we will have this paid off within a year. Wow. Just wow.

Target Coupon - I got a $10 off coupon in the mail, but when I got to Target it didn't work. The super-nice checkout guy said "Well, I could wait for someone to come deal with this, or I can just take off an item." And he took off a $14.99 item. Again: wow! It pays to be friendly and nice to everyone; I think part of why he did that is because we'd been chatting as he rang me up. Which is not why I'm friendly and nice to everyone. PS - my family thinks I'm TOO friendly.

Free Magazines - My co-worker said he had a stack of magazines for the magazine exchange at the library and wanted to know if there were any I wanted first... I got an Atlantic, a couple of Consumer Reports and a Real Simple. When I'm done, I'll take them to the magazine exchange so they'll end up there in the end for someone else to enjoy.

Nephew - leaves tomorrow. I hope he had a good time! It's hard to tell because he's so quiet/shy/reserved. We took him up to the snow last weekend, and then to the Indian Arts museum where we made some ornaments. Then we went to this cool old mining town (now arts town) where he bought some gifts for his family. He used up all his money, so D's sister asked us to give him some money for his trip home (hopefully she will reimburse us). Dinner tonight is risotto.

Pescetarian Dinners - With our nephew here, all of our dinners have been pescetarian (and mostly vegetarian). When he leaves, we'll go back to eating some chicken and turkey, too. We usually only eat two or maybe three dinners with turkey or chicken each week. But there are meal changes I'm happy to keep, so we may try to do just one or two chicken/turkey. Here are the good changes: fish-burgers from Trader Joe's instead of turkey burgers, veggie chili with lots of carrots/celery/corn instead of turkey.

My finger - It's still sort of numb, and it's not totally healed yet; F thinks it looks gross. I can type almost every letter except c comfortably, so that's good. I'm still waiting for the "explanation of benefits" to come so that I can see if I can get a partial refund.

I was starting to panic a little bit about not having a lot of work right now. It's the scariest part about having my own business. Yesterday I looked at the legal notices online (nothing) and called a contractor I work with a lot ("I will definitely keep you in mind").

Today... I got an invite to submit a proposal (no guarantee of getting the job, but at least there's work out there!) for a museum renovation and then the contractor called me back to say he had a not-too-huge (but big enough!) project with him. About $15k fee, so that's good. And the fire station addition is starting asap!

This is all good news! I am no longer panicking about next year. If I can do these jobs now and get some more work in the spring I'll be set.

Phew.

Other stuff:
- Just got Stephen King's 11/22/63 from the library on my phone. I love the library.
- My finger is a lot better. I can now type most letters with it (not c or v... ouch).
AND
- Today was the school spelling bee and F.... WON IT!! Wow! Last year she came in second. She and her good friend L (who came in second) will be going to the County Bee. I am so proud! I made carrot cake for her (as requested). She won with two off-list words (after they'd spelled all of the study words correctly): solarium and zamboni (if you get your word right and the other person doesn't, you still have to spell and additional challenge word correctly to win). Other words she spelled correctly: physicists, phrenologists, perpetrator.

My nephew leaves in a little over a week, so I looked again at the financials so that I could see how we did with an extra kid in the house!

Not bad actually...
- nothing left over from the food budget, but that's ok
- my MIL gave us some $ for his train ticket to LA and to take him to places we wouldn't normally go, so that really helped! And it meant that we could do fun things with him. Sometimes just D went so that we didn't have to pay for ourselves.

I hope he's had a good time here... it's hard to tell with a quiet, British teenager. I think he really liked LA... we hiked to the top of the Hollywood sign which was fun. And Thanksgiving was full of my 20- and 30-something nieces and nephew and their boyfriends/girlfriend.

We went to Harry Potter at Universal, too, and that didn't impress him or F. They'd both been to the studio tour in the UK, and that was so much cooler (I agree). Food was better, too. And Universal was so expensive! None of us were interested in the rest of the theme park, either. We ate at the Three Broomsticks; total scam (including the wait in line, overly expensive not-that-great food and the uncomfortable chairs). We didn't get butterbeer because we'd had it in the UK at the studio tour.

The train was fun, though!

And it was good to see my parents.

Now we need to look toward Christmas! F and I sang carols all the way to school. And we need to get the tree down! F's present is mainly going to Meghan Klingenberg's soccer camp, and then some small things. I am going to be careful about spending because November was spend-heavy (nephew, dental cleaning, car repair, stitches in my finger).

Lots of random thoughts:

- Finished filming my video to re-certify to teach my weightlifting class. D came to help me film, and he did the class... he said it was hard!!

- I did the filming despite my finger being bandaged up. Could have asked for and extension, but I really wanted this to be over! I hope I pass the first time, otherwise they charge to re-review.

- My mother is doing the Thanksgiving shopping, and I'm doing the cooking. Finger should be ok by Thursday. I may have to bring a few ingredients, but I don't want to since we're going on the train (carry-on only of course!)

- My nephew wanted to buy some gifts for family back home... D had to go with him since I'm such a bad shopper.

- Did a bunch of internet research on the Harry Potter thing at Universal... F already has a wand from our UK trip, so I don't think we need that. And we're setting aside $ for lunch in the park. Since both F and my nephew have been to the studios in the UK and had the butterbeer, we can skip that, too. Hopefully it won't be too expensive...

- We have roommettes, so our meals on the train are paid for.

- We're going to Fantastic Beasts tomorrow... IMAX 3D... not inexpensive tix, but F and I haven't been to the movies in about a year (Pele movie!) so we can splurge. And my MIL has given us some money so that we can show our nephew a good time.

- Frugal dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and pan fried courgettes with garlic.

- Owe $21,851 on the mortgage... so close.

- I am bringing mashed potatoes to the 5th/6th Thanksgiving Feast at F's school... frugal and easy to make.

Oops! I cut the heck out of my finger. As soon as I did it, I knew I'd need stitches. I walked from work to the urgent care a block away (convenient!) and it was a long process. And it hurt until the lidocaine.

Five stitches and $260 later I was back at the office.

On the plus side:
- I didn't cut the nailbed (which means my nail will continue to grow with no problem)
- It was a clean slice (doctor was happy with me - easy to sew)
- Modern medicine!
- I didn't feel the stitches due to "digital block"
- I don't have to do dishes for a week
- Left hand!
- I took an Alleve and it doesn't hurt much
- My brother is a doctor and can take the stitches out at Thanksgiving - no dr visit required!!
- D is making dinner - pasta with lemon, garlic, peas and turkey bacon - yum!!

So... there you go.

Oh - and my wonderful neighbor is taking me out to lunch tomorrow!

Today we drove down for Day 2 of F's soccer tournament... brought food from home (leftovers, sandwiches, etc) so we didn't spend anything.

Got to hang out with my good friends...

... and the girls WON first place - U13 Girls. We are so, so proud of them! F is exhausted.

Came home and finished vacuuming, did a load of whites, and went to the store.

Our grocery bill is about $15 more than normal with my nephew here, but that's not bad. He didn't come to the tournament... maybe not that much fun for a 15 year old boy? But I wish he had... one of F's teammate's sister was there and she's 15 also. I talked to her and she's going to see if he can shadow her at school one day just to be around other teens. He's shy and will probably be a little freaked out, but once he's there, I think he'll enjoy it!

At the tournament, I brought cake for F's teammate who, like me, can't eat gluten. She was so happy. And she's such a nice girl, one of F's best friends on the team. My current goal is to be as nice to everyone as possible.

Ran into my friend whose politics are different from mine down at the tournament, and I gave her a big hug, and she gave me a big hug back. I really like her, and I hope she really likes me, and we're going to maintain our friendship, and that means a lot to me.

And finally - Mahi Mahi burgers and fries for dinner. I better get cooking...

Sometimes you have to spend some money, right?

1. My nephew is visiting from the UK for a month. We love having him! We want to make his stay really fun! Food budget will be a little higher (although he doesn't seem to eat a lot) and instead of eating out, we're getting treats out (like ice cream etc.) to splurge a little.

2. F had a soccer tournament this weekend. We have to drive to ABQ two days, but we bring a nice picnic.

3. One of her friends can't eat gluten (like me! I have celiac) and when I was talking to her today, she said she hadn't had cake in a long time... she said the gf cookies are ok, though. Aaaack! I am baking a cake tonight and bringing some to the soccer game for her. It's homemade, not expensive, but this little girl is such a cool kid, she deserves a treat!

4. My husband took our nephew to our city's very strange and wonderful art/haunted house/performance exhibit thing (no idea how to describe it) called Meow Wolf. But F and I have been there tons of times, so we're staying home. No need to buy two extra tickets for no reason. And they D and our nephew can bond.

5. Tomorrow we'll go on a hike through Tent Rocks. Cheap entertainment! And the weather is beautiful, so we should take advantage.

Also... we need to save up for the IMAX tickets to Fantastic Beasts!!!

I don't want to come on here and talk politics... I'm trying to use this space to talk mostly about finances.

Here's the stuff about finances:
- we are closer to paying off our mortgage
- sold a couple of things on Craigslist $70
- got a rebate check from the energy company
- my nephew is here, but he doesn't eat very much and he's vegetarian, so the grocery bill is not very much bigger

The financial stuff seems less relevant this week, so this where the politics starts. My first and last post on politics. So stop reading now. Really.

How I spent election night: up in my 11 year old daughter's room hugging her as she cried. She wasn't crying because her candidate didn't win. She was crying because she was afraid that someone was going to "come get us" because we're Jewish. I promised that wouldn't happen. She was worried that people would know that I voted for Clinton and punish me for it. I described the democratic process. We talked about other presidents I didn't agree with in my lifetime. I told her that her life would change very little, and that it would be important to do good things for people who will be affected.

I don't think any of them ever actively courted racists (and the KKK!!) to get votes, though, but I didn't discuss this with my daughter. I live in a very liberal city, and I only am friends with one Trump supporter. I wanted to ask her how she can support him when she herself isn't a racist (and has at least one Jewish friend). I wanted to ask her what she'd tell my daughter.

I watched Van Jones (who I really admire) talking to voters in Gettysburg and I do think there needs to be a dialog. But now that they've won this election, I'm not sure Trump supporters want this dialog now.

Not every Trump supporter is a racist, surely. But by courting racists, they have given them legitimacy. And by allying themselves with racists, they've said that it's ok.

Here is what I'm NOT telling my daughter: I am worried, too. I am worried about the climate, rejection of science, our national parks, clean energy. I am worried about women's and LGBT rights. I am particularly worried for Muslims and immigrants and hispanic people. Black lives matter to me! And I am worried for myself and my family; I am worried that I might one day have to make a decision about when is the right time to use my Canadian passport and uproot my family before it's too late. I like to think I'd have more foresight than some of my ancestors did, but I'm scared I will ignore warning signs.

I don't hate most Trump supporters, I just don't understand; and I'm disappointed because all of the values that I think are non-negotiable, they don't agree with or don't think are that important. And they don't understand me either, and probably think I'm being melodramatic. But, these are the things I'm thinking about, and if you read this even though I warned you not to, I'm sorry if I offended anyone.

Have any of you had an issue with the Takata airbag recall? I got the recall notice on my car in July, and it said that until I visited the dealer to get the passenger airbag replaced, no one should ride in that seat.

My dealer said the part wouldn't be in until September, and later made an appt. for me to replace it in October saying the part was now in. I brought the car in, except the part still wasn't in, so even though I showed up for the service appt. they couldn't fix it. I had decided to combine the visit with an oil change, and even though I wouldn't even have come in if the part wasn't in yet, they made me pay for the oil change. I think they should've comp'd it.

I called Nissan USA last week and they said the part wouldn't be in until late December! That is 6 months without the use of my front seat. It hasn't been a big problem, but my nephew is coming to visit, and we need all four seats now.

Nissan USA is giving me a voucher for $250. I wish it was cash, but it has to be used for service or on Nissan's website. There is a big service at 75,000 miles, and I think I'm close, so I guess I'll use it for that.

I've been saving and spending, saving and spending.

Spending:
- Spent all of my birthday money from my mom... F's room looks fantastic! And we are still waiting for her new beanbag chair. She does her homework on the floor - I think she'll love the beanbag. I always wanted one as a kid, and was afraid to ask for it. I showed one to F, and she was so excited! She was afraid to ask, too! (Like mother, like daughter).
- Snow boots for F - her feet are now my size! I couldn't put this off much longer; the weather is starting to turn.
- Going to Pittsburgh for soccer camp (indoor!) just after Christmas.

Saving:
- Needed a sign so that people stop confusing my house with my neighbor's. She put in a fence on her side of our shared driveway which makes it look even more like the driveway is just mine, so recently there has even been more confusion. I didn't want to pay for a sign, and my neighbor didn't offer to help pay for it either, so I hand-painted it myself. My neighbor even emailed to say it looks great! So that was definitely a savings!
- Dinner tonight is tostadas... very frugal!
- I am snuggling under the covers instead of turning the heat up!

Not a new television, just new shows! I watch on my computer.

I like stupid sci fi (and smart sci fi, but there isn't as much of that).

I am currently watching:
- Timeless (I can watch on the NBC website) - time travel!
- Stitchers (I can watch on the freeform website) - mind-melding
- Class (bbc iplayer) - a Dr. Who spinoff - yay!!!

Read the Rivers of London series, by Ben Aaronovitch who was a writer for Dr. Who, and loved the series, but we had to buy a couple of books because our library only had a few books in the series (???makes no sense since you want to work your way through, right?).

That makes it sound like I watch a ton of tv, but I really don't - that's what I watch all week.

Also read my daughter's books - a series by Wendy Mass with some magical elements. It was a great series (starting with 11 Birthdays) if you have a tween girl.

And now... it's off to the gym to teach my Bodypump class. I film my video next week (terror + relief that it will soon be done).

What are you watching? Anything good? Do you like sci-fi, too? Or something else?

I haven't really posted anything in a while... Not sure why, because the spending has been under control. Well, except for my birthday money; my mother was very insistent that I spend it on something, not just bills.

So, I've used most of it to re-do F's room. We got her new sheets, a new duvet cover. She'll take our old duvet which is too small for our bed, and we got a new duvet. So I guess I mostly spent the money on bedding! Well worth it!

I had two appts. at the Rheumatologist (all the way in ABQ, so there's the gas money, too), but that was well worth it, too! He put my mind at ease about my high ANA result (ANA is for lupus and related diseases). I have a predisposition (not for lupus but for autoimmune stuff), but he (and my regular dr.) both said I'm the healthiest person they know, and the followup bloodwork was good.

We spent a lot on food this month for some reason. It's also a 5 weekend month, which means and extra shopping trip, so I'm going to eat out of the pantry as much as possible.

And... my nephew arrives next Friday! So next month may also be a high food bill month with four of us instead of three. He's staying until Dec. 6th, and I'm so excited. My mother asked what I was thinking about his stay. She wanted to know if I wanted him to live here, but he can't; there isn't an immigration option for nephews. And anyway, he'd miss his crazy family, I think! What I'd like: for him to come away thinking "My aunt and uncle and cousin love me! I love them! I want to make sure we stay in touch and see each other forever." I want him to be there for F, and for F to be there for him.

PS - he arrives just before the election, which he is fascinated with.

I realize I haven't posted anything in a while - ooops!

There has been a lot going on:
- signed a contract for a new fire station addition
- working on the dollhouse (my little side project) - this is a pretty frugal hobby since I'm making everything including the wainscot out of discarded cardboard boxes (cereal boxes, kleenex boxes, etc). I attached 2 photos of the dollhouse!
- went to 7th grade options fair last night (had to bring cookies, so not a free event, but very informative); F made a spreadsheet of qualities she wants in a school and was rating the various schools. This impressed the school she wants to go to, which makes me think it's definitely the right school for her.
- tonight is friend's rehearsal dinner; I'm bringing fancy non-alcoholic drinks - not too pricey since I got them from Trader Joe's; F is in the wedding tomorrow!
- F stopped taking tennis lessons; my mom was paying for these, so no effect on the budget
- Altered the dress F is wearing tomorrow with my friend M who is an amazing seamstress; not sure how much I saved. I love M!
- reading a book from the library, as usual
- gave the recommendation forms to F's teachers for the school she wants to go to.
- did the Ropes Course at the Community College with school - OMG so scary. I attached a photo of me (on the right) and F (on the left) dangling after jumping off a tiny shaking platform.

We're supposed to go to L's house for rehearsal dinner at 4:15, so I'm going to just kick back and read a book until then. (No facebook! Too much that makes my head spin in there right now; would rather see cute photos of my friends' kids which is why I'm on it in the first place!). F had the day off school, so I took the day off, too.

The budget says we have money in Entertainment. Summer here is full of free events, so it built up. Which allows us to do some things in the Autumn.

We still have to make choices, though. Our local... um... immersive arts attraction? called Meow Wolf is having House of Halloween. We decided to go tonight! So excited! Another family is going with us. And another of F's friends, too. I made a big pot of chili so we can eat something before we go (it's from 6 to 9).

We decided not to go down to Balloon Fiesta, so that was one of the choices. It would have been fun, but F is not a fan of fire, and those balloons are full of fire! Instead we went to a friend's art opening. He is an amazing artist. Here's his website: http://www.joelnakamura.com/gallery/. I have a birthday card he made for me several years ago, and I framed it!

We still have $166 in Entertainment.

Other stuff coming up in the Autumn: my nephew is coming to visit, and I think we'll visit some National and State parks. Probably also take him to Meow Wolf. And maybe some museums (they are free to residents on Sundays, so we'd just have to pay for him).

What we are not going to do: Nutcracker, Circus Luminous. Those are things we've done in the past, but we don't need to do them every year. Plus - super expensive!

And then... the Trash to Fashion show... maybe this is the year I'll enter something. I saved up a bunch of sweet wrappers. And I wanted to knit a cardigan or shrug out of caution tape. Or maybe something else... Need to start thinking about this...

The night that F went to bed in just a t-shirt... that was when I realized she was completely out of pajama bottoms. And three sleepovers this month! And some time this winter there will be pajama day at school. I sort of dread pajama day because the kids all have matchy-matchy pajama sets; in our family we wear pajama bottoms with a t-shirt.

So... off to Target, and F picked out a new pair of bottoms and then a more winter-appropriate set (top and bottoms! together! that match!). We also visited the athletic section so that she could get a top to wear under her jerseys at fall and winter soccer practice. We spent a lot, but I don't need new clothes any time soon, so it's ok.

Also bought claritin.

I had a $10 off coupon! So that was good.

And the pajamas... raccoons eating pizza and donuts on the set, hedgehogs on the other bottoms. I am a sucker for ridiculous pajama patterns, and apparently so is F. (She will probably want to borrow my polar bears skiing pajamas... no way!).

Last weekend was a whirwind and the rest of this month promises to be as well...

So last Friday and Saturday all day I was in a recertification for the exercise class I teach (Bodypump). I was so tired, so spent! It was like doing 3 classes in a row each day. And when it was all over... I got a cold! I think I was just too exhausted. I spent the day in bed today. I am the kind of person who can't handle not doing something so it was hard.

This weekend... F has a sleepover birthday. She's one of just a few kids invited - it's her best friend's b-day. And a soccer game on Saturday.

The following weekend - hope it's low-key! We are going over to the house of someone I know (but we're not close friends) so I can help her with her deck. Also she runs a non-profit in town and I want D to get to know her since he wouldn't mind doing work for them again. She's a really nice person, so I'm happy to help her, but it's good for D, too. And F is good with little kids, so she can entertain their son.

Then - my closest friend is getting married! We found the ballet flats for F. She's a 6 1/2 (same size as me!!!).

Next weekend - another sleepover, another soccer game! Yikes!

I have to buy some birthday presents, but I have over $100 in the "gifts for others" category.

Other exciting news:
- Mortgage is down to $25,849.56. Below 26k! But it still doesn't feel exciting for some reason. When will it feel exciting?

I have LOVED reading everyone's 20 things... I am not sure there are 20 interesting facts about me... But I will give it a try!

1. My daughter and I are currently doing mother-daughter aerials (trapeze and silks) together!
2. Everywhere I've ever lived is jam-packed with tourists! (Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Fe NM and Dublin Ireland)
3. My 11-year-old daughter is just about my height and wears the same shoe size (I am short).
4. I would prefer to only wear pajamas.
5. My birthday is Halloween (I will be 50 this year!)
6. I have big, wavy, static-filled, crazy-person hair like early Hermione Granger. But only 6 grey hairs so far!
7. I have designed about 12 fire stations.
8. I have an uncontrollable potty mouth, particularly while driving.
9. I hate shopping.
10. I tend to wear my clothes until they shred (see #9)
11. My daughter and I play a game called "Would I Drive that to School" and I would not be embarrassed to drive pretty much anything.
12. I draw a cartoon for my daughter's lunch every day.
13. I can't carry a tune. At all. But I sing often!
14. I wore a uniform in high school and LOVED it (see #9 again)
15. I love animals; we have a dog, cat and bird, but I'd love a goat and chickens and a rat...
16. I don't like soda. Yuck.
17. I love cutting the dog hair off of the vacuum roller. So satisfying!

OK, I got to 17... that's enough, right?

Very mellow Labor Day... I did the shopping but other than that, we've all just stayed in. F is exhausted from her soccer tournament and her allergies are acting up.

I went to the store and spent almost exactly $100 for the week. I did buy some things that were two-for-one at Sprouts which will be eaten in future weeks (soup, rice). So that's a pretty successful weekly shop. I also got gas for the week (even when my car isn't empty I fill up after I do the grocery shopping on the weekend because I don't have time during the week to fill up - it takes a lot of stress off of my week!).

I also bought toilet paper at Target (got a $5 gift card with my two packages). And clothing for F in the next size up: two pairs of long leggings (it's already getting cool), long sleeved tshirt, cami and a fall jacket. The hand-me-downs for this age are pretty rare because they seem to wear things until they are threadbare. Also F is tall, but really thin, and the girl that she used to get things from is not the same shape. Actually the only girls her shape/size are on her soccer team... maybe I should make friends with the moms on a slightly older team?

Meanwhile, I have some old soccer shorts to hand down. I do know a lot of those moms, so I need to think about which of those girls has like a 10" waist and can fit in those ridiculously small shorts.

Here is the menu plan for the (short) week:
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M - frittata and toast (I know; this isn't really Labor Day food)
T - fish, broccoli, rice and sauce
W - pollo pibil and black beans and salad
T - pasta carbonara and peas
F - Soccer Team party - baked potato bar - each family is bring some toppings or a dessert or fruit
S - tostadas

And for F's lunches (you know I do this on a spreadsheet, right?):
- chicken strips (from Trader Joe's, I make in the morning and put in the thermos to stay hot), salad with ranch, melon, veggie chips, caramel/cashew cluster from the bulk bins - this is in lieu of the school's overly-expensive hot lunch
- turkey wrap, cucumber and dip, peach, chips and salsa, cookie
- burrito, carrots and dip, watermelon, rice crackers, cookie
- slice of pizza from the freezer (leftover), snap peas, grapes, rice crackers, cookie

Her snack is usually some trail mix or cheese and crackers or some pineapple chunks.

Do you have a plan for your child's lunch?

Today is Day 2 of the soccer tournament. I've already packed a lunch for me and F; D is in charge of his own (although I did a big tupperware full of watermelon for all of us, and there's a piece of cornbread I made last night waiting for him to take).

One thing I can say for soccer tournaments: it is a frugal day out! Except for the hour-long heart attack I have while F is playing her games, it is super fun as well. The families on her team are all friends. We love hanging out with each other, and it's a good time to catch up.

We need to leave at 9:15, so I have a couple of minutes to vacuum the den and bedroom and to dust before I take a shower. That just leaves a little bit of housework for this evening.

What I really wanted to talk about was my "need to buy" list. Do you have a list like that? There aren't a lot of things on it, but as we move into winter, I can see how I need to budget a little bit for some planned expenses:
- new tires for my car (I think I need two)
- snow boots for F (she grew out of the old ones)
- waterproof pants for F (same problem)
- faux ugg boots (bear paw boots) for F (still the same problem)
- new brush for F (she used her friend's brush on the school overnight and loved it, and said she could brush her own hair, so that's a plus)
- maybe a new kettle but that could definitely wait - it's fussy - doesn't always heat up and you have to jiggle it a little bit

My mother called last night to say she bought a new car yesterday. Hers was almost 10 years old and had 60k miles; that's what my car has and it's completely fine! Anyway, a car is not on my "need to buy" list and hopefully won't be for a long time!!

Lots of updates to report!

- D's dad - the social workers (or whatever they are called in the UK) finally determined that D's dad couldn't stay in D's sister's house. Finally! He is in nursing care now, and they will determine if he can be out on his own again (he can't). D hasn't talked to his dad in weeks because his sister was out of town, and the phone doesn't work in the room his dad was staying in. There was a woman who lives in a van on their property who was popping in to feed D's dad while they were away; I am amazed that this was an acceptable arrangement. No one there with him, and he didn't have the ability to make calls. In the move to the care facility, somehow D's sister lost the ipad charger D got for his dad, so he doesn't have an ipad either.

- Our nephew - We are still trying to make arrangements with D's sister for our nephew to come stay for a few months. Everyone is excited about this, but as you can tell, D's sister isn't that great at making plans. New tactic: we look for possible tickets, and if they ok an itinerary, we make the arrangements. D's mum is going to pay for the tickets.

- F's anxiety - So, so much better. She just did an overnight with school and had a GREAT time! The teacher texted me yesterday afternoon to say F was doing well, which was so nice of her.

- Soccer Tournament - F's team is playing in a tournament this weekend (2 games Saturday, 2 Sunday). This is always difficult because I usually clean house on the weekends, and do the shopping. Also - we don't want to succumb to eating out just for convenience - too expensive!! D stopped by the store to pick up some sliced turkey for sandwiches. We have chips and crisps and fruit and string cheese and cookies. We'll be fine this weekend.

- Meal Plan - the tournament messes with the meal planning a little bit, too. Tonight is pasta and red sauce with oven-roasted brussels sprouts. Tomorrow - ???. Maybe a freezer meal? And then I can plan next week. I'm assuming I can shop on labor day.

I haven't posted in a while...

1. Had a sort of minor health issue - the whites of my eyes turned completely red! Yuck! I won't get into how I ended up at the dr. and blood tests, etc... but it's an auto-immune problem. The red is gone, but this is the 4th time this has happened in 6 months. The red is gone, so that's good. I need an appt. with a rheumatologist and apparently that will take a miracle according to my doctor. This is a small city with only a few doctors of each type. I may have to go to Albuquerque. One of the drs. used to go to the gym with me; maybe he'll remember my name and fit me in? Anyway, spent about $70 on dr. visits and eye drops so far.

2. Yesterday was the annual 5th/6th grade hike. Parents are welcome. We went 9.75 miles round trip up to the top of the mountain and back. Super fun! I got to talk to lots of kids, including many 5th graders I didn't know. One girl is new in my daughter's class; my daughter thinks she's awesome and she was instant friends with my daughter and her other three friends when they met at the before-school-started party I organized at the park.

I walked with the girl for a while and asked how she likes it here (she also moved from another state) and she said it's incredible... she loves the state, loves her new friends, loves the school. She said the other two times she moved schools it took like a month before she even had anyone to eat lunch with and this time she had four friends to each lunch with the very first day and every day since!

On the hike, she smelled a ponderosa pine for the first time - have you ever smelled in the cracks in the bark of a ponderosa? It smells like butterscotch! Or vanilla, or caramel. If you have any ponderosas near you (or if you come to the Rocky Mountains), you have to sniff the trees!!!

3. I am taking a break between cleaning the house... my new method is do two cleaning things (clean birdcage, vacuum den or whatever) and then relax for a few minutes. I have mentioned before that I don't have a house cleaner. This frees up a lot of money to do things that are more meaningful to me.

4. Did the menu plan for the week already. Will post it later. I am usually really good about diet (lots of vegetables, no red meat, no pork, not a lot of fat), and I am trying to eat even more veggies. I always have to take into account soccer nights when we don't get to eat until 7:45 or 8 (so the food needs to be done when we get home).

5. Besides working, I have a long term project going on at the office... I am building another dollhouse. Right now it doesn't look like much. I work on it maybe 1/2 hour a day, so it might take a while.

6. Got a check for $18.56 for jury duty, and I put it toward the mortgage. I need to update the mortgage balance on my sidebar. We now owe $28,888.33. Below $30k! Next milestone is $20k... that will really feel weird (and great).

7. That's it - need to go clean the birdcage now!

F and I went to Albuquerque today to get her a dress for our good friend's wedding.

We found the perfect dress at H&M - bright green, not lacy, not revealing, just a cute sleeveless dress with a flared skirt. $10!!

We also got a long sweater at the Gap - wedding is October 15, and that is definitely a transition season here. It could be warm still but cold at night. It usually snows in late October/early November.

We had lunch out, too, and it was fun hanging out. We played music in the car and sang.

I am not good at malls, however. Or shopping in general. F is like me. We bailed early.

And we did not find ballet flats. Ugh. I am thinking maybe Target? I hesitate asking her friends' parents where they get theirs, because I fear it may be $100 flats from J Crew.

In other news, apparently one of F's best friends is "ready to move on to 7th" and has been since last year, according to her mother. She is reading Sylvia Plath (!!!) and Shakespeare and is ready for more. I had to carefully compose an email back (couldn't just ignore her) where I said something like "oh, aren't they all so different" and that I think F will really benefit from being the oldest grade in the school for a year before she goes to the "big school." What I didn't say: Their school, by the way, is academically excellent. And there are so many new responsibilities and privileges in 6th. Not sure that academics is the only measure of moving on. And not sure that this girl (or any girl that age) should be reading Sylvia Plath.

Sigh.

I hope I'm not a pushy parent.

I'm in the bedroom with my laptop, and F is in the living room playing Life with her friend G. I am the mom that other moms can always ask to take their daughters home from soccer camp (or practice or school or whatever). This is great, and I love being that mom, but it means always having the house stocked with watermelon and popsicles and string cheese.

It's hard to keep the grocery bills down!

But I am trying.

The meal plan for next week:
fishy - pad thai noodles
potatoey/eggy - crash potatoes and veggies
chickeny - make a whole chicken with veg and rice
cheesy/bready - frito pies
something from the freezer with salad
pasta - with goat cheese and courgettes

Bonus: the pad thai can be eaten as leftovers, chicken always results in leftovers that can be made into croquettes or whatever, I already have beans in the freezer for frito pies. Three vegetarian meals, one fish meal, two chicken/turkey meals - that is right in my preferred ratio!

Today's pet peeve is: I am on the Building and Grounds Committee at F's school (that's not the pet peeve) and the Chair wants to meet on Monday, two days before school starts. Um - I don't have childcare two days before school starts, and if we meet before school starts, then I have to bring my daughter. This guy has a daughter the same age, in my daughter's class, but I'm assuming he is counting on his wife to watch their daughter, so he doesn't need to bring her to a meeting. I told him I couldn't do it until the day school starts, so hopefully that works, but I can't help think that there is a little bit of insensitivity about women who work full-time and are responsible for family life.