I don't usually like to eat out. It's expensive, and I'm cheap! And I have a lot of dietary restrictions. It took us 2 days to figure out where to eat out on our anniversary. I wanted D to be able to eat somewhere he doesn't usually get to go (when we do eat out, it's not fancy) and D wanted me to be able to eat something besides a dinner salad.

We finally figured it out... F said "Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the world!" and I mentioned a sushi place in California that we all love. Actually, I've never been to Japan, but I'd love to have sushi there!

Anyway, D also loves sushi, so we're going to go out for sushi. We usually save our sushi dining for that place in California when we visit my parents, so we're not sure where to go here. But I'm going to ask a friend of mine.

We're using the anniversary money that my parents gave us (thank you, Mom and Dad!). And it was a lot! There will still be money left over, and I want to use it to help buy the Playstation that F and D want for Christmas (so they can play their Fifa soccer game).

I drove on the school field trip yesterday. Oh my gosh did I get lucky - I had three girls in my car and they were all super polite, funny, fun to drive with.

The field trip was to the animal shelter (not the one in our town, but one about half an hour away) because that’s the fourth grade service project for the year: they volunteer helping the animals in the shelter on weekends, make dog biscuits to sell and then the money goes to the shelter.

Anyway, the woman who showed us around asked the kids about what responsibilities you take on when you have pets. They thought of everything except the one that was in my head: taking your pets to the vet. Someone (I think an adult) finally said it!

Anyway, it was in my mind because our dog has been itchy, and she's scratched and gnawed at herself for about a week now. Nothing has helped. So I took her to the vet today... She has allergies! I went home $120 poorer and with three medications for her (two for allergies and one for the bacterial infection she got from irritating her skin so much).

This is what the "pets" budget is for. For some reason I rarely see that in people's budgets. Do you have a budget for pet food, vet visits, regular medications like heartworm? (We also go to a local pet store once every two months or so and pay $16 to use their large metal tub to give her a bath - way less expensive than a groomer and we use their shampoo, towels, tub - our dog is kind of big! - so that's in the budget, too). If you have a pet budget, how much do you allocate per pet?

After college, when I was living in my first real adult apartment (around 1990), my grandfather was experiencing a transition, too. He had Alzheimers, and couldn't live on his own anymore, so a caregiver moved in (she became part of our family, but that's another story).

He used to cook a lot, and my grandmother baked a lot (she passed away in 1981, when I was 14 and it was so hard and still is - but that's another story, too); between them they had all sorts of small appliances.

In 1990, my mother started to give me things like the old mixer and blender, a bundt pan. Later on, a meat grinder (hand crank) and my grandmother's rolling pin (this is, in my opinion, one of my true treasures). I have my grandmother's teapot; it's art deco and super cool; I think she got it by saving washing powder box tops. I have a set of primary color pyrex mixing bowls (much sought after by pyrex collectors).

I was just using my blender (grandma and grandpa's blender). I remember my grandma using it, and it's still going strong. It has that (now cool) early 70s look. Hard to believe it's about 40 years old!

I was thinking two things:
1. Isn't it cool that my grandma's blender isn't just a memory, and I don't have to wonder how it used to look. I use it all the time!
2. Isn't it super frugal to use things like this for a long, long time?

PS - I don't use the meat grinder, but I guess I should try it; it's got to be cheaper to make your own ground turkey, right?

Five Frugal Things from the past few days:

- Did a pinecone survey; I now have 600 points (that's $6, and I like to cash out every $12)

- Came home after F's soccer game and soccer practice (we were out there for 3 hours! And they won! And F scored a goal!) and had lunch here instead of going out to eat. The key: having a plan about exactly what were were going to eat for lunch.

- Spent $70 on groceries at Albertson's yesterday; used coupons and their $1 sale. It should have been $100, so we saved $30. Now we're stocked up on lots of things.

- Made our meal plan for the week (aiming for a light shopping week because of the extra groceries from Albertson's; we mostly will be buying fresh produce):
asian meatballs with rice
grilled cheese and tomato soup
tilapia with curry and paprika and a vegetable
pasta with parmesan and courgettes
baked potatoes and broccoli
tostadas
something from the freezer with a salad

- Watching tv on hulu (free!). We haven't had cable for years; haven't missed it at all!

I've found the key to eliminating discretionary spending: when I am THIS busy, I can't barely find time to post anything here, much less spend any money!

(Actually, have I mentioned that posting here is a much better online activity than buying something online?)

Today I helped D with school photos. We did the preschoolers, pre-K, K and first grade. Also did some teachers and the First Grade class photo.

Then I turned some drawings in to the County. Talked with a contractor who is currently building one of my fire stations. Talked with an engineer. Came up with a price for a new project which I'll send tomorrow. Answered emails.

I even managed to eat lunch and feed the dog.

And now it's nearly time to pick F up from school. After school I'm meeting with the art teacher (F can hang out while I talk to her) about student designed tshirts that the Parents Association can sell.

Then we'll come back so F can do her homework and practice piano before we head down to the fields for soccer practice. This is the extra team that she had to try out for; she's excited to be on the team! But practice is from 5:30 to 7, so that makes dinner sort of difficult.

I've got white chicken chili cooking in the crockpot, so that's dinner sorted. I am thankful to whomever invented the crockpot!

And after dinner, I guess it's off to bed.

The side income isn't mine; it's D's. But I'm helping out. You see, D is doing the individual and class photos for F's school this year. We have no idea how much he'll make, but last year's photographer was so awful, the school begged D to do it!

He takes photos of kids and families as a side business, but hasn't done a lot of shoots lately (his big time of year is Christmas when families get together). His photos are beautiful (I'm biased, but really - they are!).

I'll be helping record which kids have been photographed (which is good because I know almost every child in the school) and writing down the image numbers so D can track them. I'm also Parent Association president this year, so I gathered up volunteers to get the kids from their classrooms, make sure they look the way they want to, etc.

The class photos are particularly difficult, but D has done this before at F's old preschool (and still does their photos for them).

Que Viva La Fiesta! (Que Viva!)

It's been non-stop since Friday... first the fair at F's school, then we walked in the parade the next morning with school. This morning we went on a hike (4 miles - F's longest) and then to the next parade (we just sat on the curb for this one and F collected candy).

Que viva la candy! (That's what F thinks, anyway - she got a lot! This will definitely last until Halloween).

We brought a packed lunch and each got a fresh lemonade from our favorite little cafe which has fresh, homemade lemonade. It was perfect to sip while we watched the parade. Low cost, super fun.

Because of where we live, there are people dressed as Conquistadores, and Spanish Princesas and the Caballeros de Vargas (who take care of the statue of Our Lady - also known as La Conquistadora - in the Cathedral); my friend's wife even makes some of her dresses; she dates back to about 1625.

I love Fiestas (who doesn't like a city-wide party?), and now that it's over it really feels like Fall. It's time to buy our green chile for the winter.

Tonight: soccer kick-around and then a simple, inexpensive dinner (tuna melts or quesadillas).

Fourth grade is the best at F's school - the teacher is amazing and they put a big emphasis on personal responsibility and organization. They actually teach the kids how to plan and organize rather than just expect them to figure it out. Each child gets a day planner and that's where they record and track their homework assignments (F is upstairs doing homework right now). Oh - and parents aren't supposed to help (if we do, our children need to make a note in their homework so that the teachers know there was some difficulty withe the problem).

And, there's the TeacherBank. Each child has a bank account at TeacherBank, and a checkbook. They had a homework assignment where they learned to write checks and keep a check register.

They are paid 100 TeacherBucks for the job that they do (these rotate monthly). And they have to "rent" their desks for 25 TeacherBucks a month.

They have to "buy" supplies with TeacherBucks, and they are fined if they blurt out or fail to push in their chairs.

At the end of the year, they all bring in toys and things they don't want anymore, and there is an auction so that they can use their leftover TeacherBucks to buy things.

Starting them young on the road to financial common sense!

The huge emphasis on responsibility is really great. In fact, F has been putting her lunch box an water bottle up on the wall, too. And they also have Kindergarten buddies (so they get to the be the older big buddies to smaller children). F adores her little buddy; he loves soccer just like she does, and his favorite food is "dessert!" She keeps saying "He's soooo cute!"

I am impressed on how the school has handled the transition from year to year, giving the kids more responsibility and also more freedom; it's all incremental so it feels totally natural. By 6th grade, they'll be leading the all-school meetings and bringing the hot lunches to the younger kids when it's snowing outside.

So I went down to Target today (it's kind of out of the way, so I save my Target trips for when I'm in that area anyway - I was on my way to a meeting in the south part of town and left a little early).

I bought Claritin for F (used $2 coupon and got another $3 coupon).

I also bought kleenex (well, not kleenex brand - I buy the Target brand). And I noticed something... The four-pack of vertical kleenex (which I prefer) has 80 sheets per box (so 4x80 = 320). The four-pack of horizontal kleenex is 160 sheets per box (4x160 = 640). But they cost exactly the same! So you get double the kleenex with the horizontal kleenex. I am never buying vertical kleenex again!

OK, so I also bought some sunscreen and toilet paper. As they scan everything, it's just too hard to see the screen (things go by so quickly) so I always check my receipt before I walk out the door.

Glad I did because they charged me for two kleenex four-packs instead of the one that I bought! Back to customer service where they corrected it quickly.

I have to take a trip back to Trader Joe's today, too. I bought potatoes on Sunday, which I put in a cool cupboard as usual; I was going to use them tomorrow night. Well, this morning, something smelled awful in the kitchen, and I couldn't figure out what it was (I thought it was maybe the dog's food). When I popped in for lunch (to let our dog out), it smelled worse, and I started to worry it was a dead mouse so I opened the cupboards. The potatoes were oozing all over the cabinet; yuck! I've had potatoes grow eyes but never ooze like that! So, need to go to TJ's for the refund (I already called them, and they said "don't bring the potatoes back in!").

We'll go after F finishes her homework; she said she'd go out with me. The thing is, it's not really on my way. I'm wondering if I should just go tomorrow morning, but that cuts into my work day.

Anyway - what weird shopping karma I have today! Have you had experiences like this, too?

Every year I do a photobook of the previous year... but I wait for a good promo to actually have it made. We'd skipped a year or two and I was slowly going back and making those albums. I've had 2010 saved in my Shutterfly projects since December, but the promos weren't that great on photobooks.

They have a 40% off sale on everything through Labor Day as well as a free shipping code (so it ended up being about 50% off), so I decided to finally print that book!

Now we're all caught up (we've got 2005 - the year F was born - all the way through 2013).

I can't wait to make 2014, but I'll keep that in my projects until another good promo comes around!

I really didn't want to spend money on lunch out today, but my friend is in town... I also have a lot of work right now, and didn't feel like I wanted to take an hour out (I'm struggling to finish as it is).

I'm very proud that I told her that instead of lunch I could go for a walk. And it was a really nice walk! And it was free! And my dog walked with us (she goes to the office with me and I take her on a short walk after lunch).

Tonight we were supposed to go to a soccer assessment for F, but it's been bucketing raining all afternoon. They play in the rain, but there's also been a ton of lightning and thunder, and they don't play in lightning. She's sad, but they've rescheduled it to next Tuesday.

My plan for an easy dinner still applies: grilled cheese and tomato soup. Perfect for the stormy weather. We may have the same thing next Tuesday! (Perfect when you only have 10 minutes to make dinner, too).

The good (great!) news is I am not having a party at my house tonight! And we are going over to my friend M's in-laws (they have a vacation home here). I've know the in-laws for about 20 years and they're really nice.

The other good (great!) news is that it isn't a big party at all... there will be 11 (three of those are kids) total so I'll get to really talk to everyone.

More good (great!) news: I am bringing dessert, so that means not only that I will get to eat dessert (I usually can't given dietary restrictions) but it is a really easy potluck thing for me. I make a flourless chocolate cake (total cost is about $5 including the heavy cream (for whipping).

Yesterday I spent the entire day working on F's room (photos soon!) while she was at her friend's house. We went out to dinner (our weekly meal out) because I was so tired.

Today the same friend is here, so I got a ton of work done, and housework, too.

I am feeling really great about starting the week. My deadline is pretty much under control, and I'm hoping that one night this week M and I can hang out (she wants to go out for a drink; I don't drink, so will just have water). Every night except Tuesday (a soccer tryout for F); I have to remember to tell M! Maybe she'll want to meet me at the gym tomorrow for a lunchtime class (have to remember to ask that, too).

Usually when I go to the gym the owner isn't there (it's always the lunchtime classes)... if I'm teaching, I unlock and then lock up (same for my friend L who teaches on Mondays at lunch).

L called to tell me that she'd been paid for two months (June and July) while I was on vacation; we're good friends so she wanted to make sure I got paid now that I'm back. But I didn't know when I'd see the owner so that he could pay me.

I subbed for her class today, and as usual, since it's a lunchtime class, he wasn't there. But... in my car on the little side street by the gym, he pulled up next to me, said hi, how was your trip, etc... and then gave me $145 for June and July!

I haven't gone to the bank yet to pay down principal, but will some time this week.

Now the money decision: we are doing some upgrades to F's room to make it a room fit for a girl in the "upper cluster" (which is 4th through 6th at her school). She's been doing her homework at the dining room table or else at the little desk in our bedroom, and she asked for a desk. She'll need a chair, too, and we've ordered more storage bins. She'll be getting a new bed, too.

We're selling some things on Craigslist and Ebay (desk, old bed, some toys) and I'm trying to decide whether we put that incoming money toward the room improvements or we chalk that cost up to "home improvements" and use the Ebay money to pay down principal.

I'm leaning toward offsetting the cost of the new items instead of paying down principal. What do you think?

Today I bought groceries (under my spending goal!) and also bought cat litter (with $3 coupon) and a small can of spraypaint for F's bulletin board. I've been moving stuff around in her room all day with the goal of a more grown-up room, and re-fashioning the old bulletin board is part of that.

Then we went to the park for the Fourth Grade Class Get-Together. We do this just before school starts every year so the kids can get out some of the excitement of seeing each other after a long summer. Also we get to meet the new families, and their children can start school seeing familiar faces. My daughter really hit it off with C, whose family just moved here. C is a soccer player like F.

I loved the parents of the new boy J... they moved here from California two weeks ago. We stayed about 3 hours, and the kids played, and we ate (potluck). It was so much fun! (I'm a total extrovert, and I love meeting new people).

Tomorrow we meet with the teacher (we already know her, but this is a chance to talk about F and she can tell us about what they'll be doing for the year).

And then school starts on Wednesday! (I personally love a mid-week start because the first week back they're exhausted by the end of the week).

Today I paid down our usual $150 plus $12 from pinecone to our mortgage principal.

Our new balance is $69,338. We're in the 60's!

Did you read the Clark Howard thing about paying down your mortgage v. investing the money? He had a good point that often people are so motivated to pay down the mortgage that they really end up saving more to do that than they would save to invest. That makes a lot of sense to me.

Anyway, according to my spreadsheet even if we don't pay down another penny on principal we'll own the house in July 2020. We've paid off $2,838 in principal this year (yay!!).

More analysis:
- if we only pay off $150/month (this is budgeted) we'll pay off the house in Oct. 2019.
- if we pay off $150/month until our Dublin house is paid off and $500/month after that, we'll have our house paid off in Oct. 2018 (that was my goal date - it's the month I turn 52
- this doesn't count any tax returns being applied to the mortgage principal, so it may be sooner

We brought several books with us on vacation... I think I read three books during those two weeks (they were all on my phone from our library's e-lending service, so easy to carry!). My favorite was the Silkworm (JK Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith; it's a mystery and the second in a series of books). I also read The Silver Linings Playbook which I didn't like very much. And a great book called The Boy Kings of Texas (Domingo Martinez); it totally captured growing up in a border town in Texas. There's a southwestern thing I can relate to.

F brought The Mysterious Benedict Society (Trenton Lee Stuart) which she declared "the best book EVER" so if you're looking for a book for a kid around 9 years old, you might check this out... I started the first few pages and now I want to read it! It was lent to F by next year's teacher, and when we were up at school the other day (it doesn't start until next Weds.), F ran into the librarian who assured her that the library has all of the books in the series, and if they don't have the new one yet, she'll make sure they get it asap! (I love that librarian).

Have you been reading anything that you like and would recommend? We're always looking for books to read!

We just got back from 2+ weeks in England and France (no, not Paris! More on that later!). Here are some of the frugal and not-frugal things we did on our holiday...

Frugal
- got a ride to/from the airport and left our cars at home (no parking fees)
- had someone stay in the house with our pets (no boarding fees) - we did buy him a small gift and gave him a gift certificate for Amazon (way lower than what we would have paid for pet boarding)
- stayed with family in England (and they fed us so well!)
- brought a packed lunch to the Arsenal Football Club stadium tour
- F has a "Junior Gunners membership" so her tour was free
- D contacted them ahead of time to say we were coming all the way from New Mexico and that F is a huge fan and Junior Gunner, and they arranged for the mascot - Gunnersaurus - to surprise her! Wow! And he gave her a goodybag of stuff including a watch and cuddly toy Gunnersaurus for free!
- stayed in a weekly rental in France so we cooked most of our own meals (and it's fun shopping in supermarkets in other countries)
- our stay in France was in a little town near the Spanish border - much less expensive than Paris!
- most of our days in France were spent at the beach (free); activities included walking along the cliffs to another beach about an hour away - the walk itself was awesome!
- Used public transportation in our last two days (when we didn't have a rental car) and to get to the Stadium
- Rental cars were diesel - we filled up very little
- Didn't buy souvenirs (except F got this very cool little whirlygig which we played with on the beach every evening - 2 euro - it goes up in the air with a slingshot and then spins when it comes down)

Not Frugal
- bought lunch in the airport rather than pack it (I ended up with work to do at the last minute and decided our holiday would start in the airport - but it wasn't even a good meal, so I wish I'd packed the lunch!)
- some meals out - but well worth it! - in France
- one terrible meal out in England - we took my father-in-law to his favorite pub which is just awful, but we see him so rarely and it's his favorite.
- Arsenal Football Club stadium tour wasn't cheap, but worth it
- paid for admission to some tourist sites (Dali Museum in Figueres, Spain; turtle sanctuary; a castle; and a fortress outside of Perpignan)
- Paid for the French rental apartment to be cleaned at the end rather than clean it ourselves; we could've cleaned it ourselves, but really wanted not to wreck our last day there.

I'm sure there are more... but that's all I can think of right now.

It's time to start packing (at least this is what F told me - I was waiting until tomorrow, but I think she's right; a lot is going on tomorrow).

We’ll be gone 16 days, with potentially two climates (we need to have clothes for anything from 55 deg F to about 85 deg F). We’ll be doing laundry once or twice. This is my standard packing list... I use a visual packing list because I just think that way.

What I’ll wear:
black leggings
tank top/camisole
short sleeved t
long sleeved t
infinity scarf (lightweight)
puma trainers
1 pair of socks

In my Campmor:
liquids ziploc
hanging cosmetics bag (small and flat) - including powdered clothes soap for 3 washes
small purse with the essentials (pull out on the plane)
packable daypack
little pouch with euro adapter/phone charger
plastic bag for dirty laundry and ziploc for wet swimsuits
ziploc of stuff to pull out on the plane (sanitizing spray and wipes, knitting project, inflatable pillow) with binder clips to attach it to the seatback pocket

Clothes
5 trousers - jeans, cropped black leggings, grey convertible pants (long to bermudas), cropped jeans, cropped black cuffed pants [plus 1 to wear]
1 skirt
1 long sleeved shirt [plus 1 to wear]
1 three-quarter sleeved tunic
5 short sleeved shirts
2 tank tops
1 dress
1 pair pajamas
6 pair underwear
1 bra [plus camisole to wear]
4 pair socks
2 thin cardigans
1 warm cardigan (this is by ibex - it’s thin but warm)
1 packable rain jacket
2 pairs of shoes [plus 1 to wear]
1 swimsuit

I’ve done a test-pack and this fit into two medium and one slim ebags packing cubes. The total weight was 14 lbs. and there was a ton of room left in my Campmor bag. I can easily stow my purse and the ibex zip cardi in there while I’m walking around the airport so that I have both hands free.

http://www.savingadvice.com/blogs/image.php?blog=5402&id=12669&width=80&height=80

It was a beautiful day today - super hot (I like hot!).

F had a playdate and I went into the office. Then I picked up both girls and took them to the pool.

We were supposed to have our weekly adults v. kids soccer kickaround this evening, except it's raining now (monsoon season); and lightning and thunder. F is pretty disappointed, but she's in the living playing FIFA with D right now, so that helps.

So, we're not going out to eat tonight, which is good, because we had a couple of unexpected expenses.

My back was pretty bad for about two weeks (long story - was in a car accident when I was 16 and it flares up sometimes) so I had to go to the chiropractor. She's amazing and it's better now. $66 (no insurance doesn't cover it - it goes toward deductible). And I'm still paying down the Big Medical Bill. Ugh.

And D's car needed oil change and a new battery. It was $233! Eeek! There is now negative $75 in the auto servicing bucket and my car needs an oil change soon. I put $60/month in that bucket, so it won't fill up next month; I'm going to have to transfer some money from somewhere else.

And... finally... ants! We tried everything, and finally called the pest control people. $178. Only $33 left in repairs which freaks me out. We need to build that back up! I put $70/month in there just in case, so it should go back up quickly.

It seems like we squeezed two days into today... I seriously thought tomorrow was Monday.

- cleaned the birdcage, litterbox and toilet
- vacuumed the house
- F had a friend come over for a playdate
- put in a load of laundry
- did a little bit of work
- F's friend's mom picked up the friend
- went to our usual two supermarkets (Saturday shopping!)
- unloaded groceries
- made lunch
- hung laundry
- made marinade for dinner
- did more work
- the Parent Association Vice President came over (I am PA Pres) and we planned out the year while our kids played (so basically another playdate!)
- they had organized a show for us, so after we did our work, we watched their show
- decided to have dinner outside
- ran a bath for F and played bathsketball with her (that's not a typo) - first one to ten baskets won; I am really bad at bathsketball - she won.
- finished up the work from earlier and send off some Parent Association emails

Did you notice the only thing I spent money on today was groceries? I get a $10 statement credit from Amex for shopping at Sprouts, too.

Tomorrow - we may eat out... our little Mexican place has kids eat free on Sunday and Monday nights and we'll be playing kids v. adult soccer until about 6:30.

Here's something I didn't know until just a few days ago: D has an Irish pension! It has about $14k in it. He said he completely forgot about it, and he's not sure what the rules are about how it can be invested. He thinks you can't really touch it at all until retirement (not even to change what fund it's in or anything). Wondering if anyone knows anything about Irish pensions?

He also got the annual mortgage statement from our Irish house. As of June 30th owe 5272 euro on the house. We're paying only about 20 euro a month in interest now. Final payment will be June 21, 2015; one more year!

Our payment is 451.40 euro each month, so I am figuring that even leaving money in the Irish account like we usually do, and maybe a little more, when we own the Irish house we can add $400 a month to our principal payments on the US house. I am going to go play with my mortgage paydown calculator now...

Just signed up for two American Express offers:

- $10 back on $50 purchase at Sprouts (since this is where we shop every week, I'm pretty happy about it! We usually spend less here, but I'll stock up!)

- $20 back on $20 min. Amazon purchase - really? Wow! Definitely will use this.

So if you have American Express, go to offers on the bottom of the main page...

We do have kind of a long layover at DFW (4 hours)... we've been there before, but the only fun thing to do for a kid (not a toddler - they have Junior Flyer Club play areas for little kids, but that isn't fun for a big kid) was to ride the Skylink.

If you live in Dallas or know DFW well and have any ideas, I would so appreciate them!

Are there any fun shops to look in? Anything else to do where we wouldn't need to exit the airport (I don't want to have to go through security again).

We're leaving in a few weeks, and we have a long plane flight (first flight is just 2 hours, then 4 hour wait in the Dallas Airport, then 10 hours to London), so I'm gathering up things to do the plane for F (and me, actually).

The two goals are: low cost and minimal size. We don't bring a lot of books because they're heavy and have to be lugged back with us. We use individual sheets that can be tossed after they're completed. They're held together with a clip.

Me:
- book on my phone
- soduku puzzles (free puzzle printouts here: http://www.websudoku.com/)
- knitting (one ball of yarn, scarf, instructions on my phone, chart printed out)

F (who is 9 years old):
- extreme dot to dots (a few pages cut out of a book she already has)
- roadtrip battleship (free printables: http://www.momsminivan.com/battleship.html)
- mad libs (cut out of a book she already has)
- printable boggle game - can be played alone or with others - lots of 4x4 and 5x5 grid here: http://www.printactivities.com/Paper-Games/Printable-Boggle-Word-Game.shtml
- mad-minute multiplication practice sheets (she thinks multiplication is fun, so I'm just going with it) http://www.madpractice.com/
- brand new pad of paper for hangman and drawing ($1.50 at Target)
- airport bingo (we make our own with categories like "screaming baby" and "person who needs help with the overhead bin")
- New game for the ipad/ipod - we're getting Dots (stack the states and stack the countries are always popular; and my favorite is Oregon Trail because it takes forever!)

And then there's our travel journal... Just a tiny notebook and F and I write back and forth to each other in it about things we're doing or have done. If she had to keep a journal herself, she probably wouldn't, but if it's like secret notes to each other, it's way more fun!

Another snowflake! I got paid by the gym for May (yes, May; he said June is coming soon) - so $70 toward the mortgage principal. We now owe $70,383. Next month we'll be in the $60k's - so happy!

Tonight we're going to have dinner (tacos with guacamole - I copied the recipe down from Gabriel's which has the BEST guacamole - have been using this recipe for years). And then we're going out to see the Folk Art Market artists' procession (free!). After the procession there is an African band, so we'll all be dancing!

I'll be at Folk Art Market all weekend, working (as a volunteer of course). As the chair of a committee I get a free parking pass (right next to Market) and I get to go to Market for free (including the Friday night party) and I get the wonderful feeling that I've helped people. It's the most exhausting and rewarding weekend of the entire year!

One of our long term goals is to install solar panels on our roof. We live in an insanely sunny climate, will eliminate our electricity bill (and we'll get money back from the power company). Federal incentive is 30% and our state incentive is 10%. Also - having solar panels definitely adds value to a house, so you make your money back on resale.

So we've been crunching the numbers and comparing companies...

The company I really like has another incentive program. They're giving me a $500 discount for being an architect. And they'll give me $500 every time I refer someone. I'm doing two projects that I think will be considered referrals and my neighbor is interested in panels, too.

And, yes, I have the money saved for this specific purpose. No, I'm not financing it.

The biggest hurdle now is the neighbor who lives above us. By law he can't stop us from having panels (and other people in our neighborhood have them, and our homeowner's association allows them as long as they're below the roof parapet), but I don't want him making our lives difficult, either, so once we decide but before we sign a contract I'm going to talk to him.

Getting there...

Paid down $155 on mortgage principal today. Our balance is now $71,332. Even if we don't pay any more down on principal, we'll own the house in July 2020.

Yesterday's frugal fun: we rode our bikes to the park (about 1 mile) and played tennis for a little bit, then rode home. Had teriyaki salmon bowls for dinner (like the ones they make at the special counter at Whole Foods but homemade and a lot less expensive). I have a good teriyaki sauce recipe - might have put in a bit too much ginger, but no one complained. We all love ginger!

Vacation decisions: we're hoping that D's coworker is ok with staying with the cat, dog and birds (he said he was, but we want to make sure) and our neighbor will stop by and let the dog out while he is a work. She spends a lot of time in her gardens, so our dog can hang out with her.

Volunteer stuff: I just called the logistics expert that helps put on Folk Art Market to ask about a lot of miscellaneous things like how do I get the handstamp for my volunteers to use at the exit and what do we do if it rains. I got a call from the volunteer coordinator to say she has a bunch of badges that my volunteers haven't picked up yet... ??? I need to stop by their office and pick those up I guess. Argh!

But right now... I'm going to my weightlifting class. I need a break!

I am trying to be super-frugal this month because we are leaving on vacation at the end of the month, and also my husband needs (unexpected) orthotics for his plantar fasciatis (pretty sure that was spelled incorrectly). Here are today's strategies:

1. I worked out that because of our vacation, we will only have three grocery shopping trips this month, and set a budget for those trips. The rest of our grocery budget will go into the vacation fund: money for buying groceries on our trip.

2. Pruned and dug out wells under our trees to make watering more efficient; then used our cistern water to water the trees. We're expecting some storms and I want to use the cistern water and let it refill rather than letting it overflow and go unused.

3. Found a pattern for a scarf to knit on our vacation. One skein of yarn, so easy to carry; and I already have the skein, so not going to purchase anything new. Small needles, also easy to carry. And the pattern is free on knitty! http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring08/PATTlaceribbon.html

4. Grocery shopping this week: exactly on budget. The menu is tacos, pasta with goat cheese and courgettes, teriyaki bowls, crash potatoes with a vegetable, mexican eggs and salad, fagiole and biscuits. Plus all lunches and breakfasts. No eating out!

A low key Fourth - we went this morning to our city's Pancake Breakfast where we hung out until almost noon, saw a lot of friends... Bought the tickets early and saved $2 (D and F get the pancakes, but I can't with my restrictive diet). So... $12 for breakfast, but it goes to charity.

Hot dogs for lunch at home. Free.

D and F are watching the Brazil-Colombia match. I can hear them in there discussing the play. Free.

Maybe the pool later... Also free.

I am going to take the soccer match time to finish up some work, including organizing my team for the Folk Art Market. I've picked up t-shirts, and I need to drop one off to a volunteer who lives up the street. They were very kind and let me have a badge and tshirt for F... youngest volunteer! (She's not officially signed up obviously, but she will work a station with me, and she'll be accompanying us on Friday night so that we don't need someone to babysit - it was great news that she'll be allowed to do that). So we save both money - not that we ever pay for babysitting - and hassle! And she gets to be at the opening Friday night event, and she gets to volunteer (good for her soul, I think).

OK, I'm going to work now!

Best,
Marci

I love packing - totally LOVE it! Probably because a vacation is a grand experiment in minimalism. Our house is clutter-free and open, but we still seem to have a lot of stuff. But when I pack I edit, edit, edit. I pack in only a carry-on.

I promised to share my packing list, which I will do in the next post, but first, the list of what I DON'T bring:

What I don’t bring:
- jewelry except one pair of earrings that I wear and my wedding ring
- a big jacket (I layer instead)
- a real book (reading on my iphone is fine for me)
- photocopies of our passports - my mom has pdf’s
- things I wouldn’t wear at home (silly hats, money belt)
- belts and other accessories
- towels (have never stayed anywhere they didn’t have towels!)
- travel clock (my phone has everything I need on it)
- computer (I load pdf documents onto my phone)
- hairdryer (I never use one at home either)
- camera/video (this is on my phone; my husband who is a keen photographer brings an SLR)
- guidebooks (before I go, I do a lot of internet research and then put relevant info in a pdf on my phone)

And now, what I pack it all in:
My bags:
- baggallini triple zip (this is my regular, every day purse) It is light, small and can be stuffed into my carry on and the interior is light colored so things don’t get lost inside. You can use it alone or pop it into a backpack or tote. I've seen it for about $26. http://www.amazon.com/Baggallini-Triple-Zip-Dolphin-Size/dp/B00G2D6SCI/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1402844396&sr=8-14&keywords=baggallini+everywhere+bag

- campmor essential carry on - it’s only $30 (frugal, frugal!!!), rugged, has backpack straps that pull out (which I use a lot) and shoulder strap (which I leave at home). It doesn’t have hard sides (which add weight and make it harder to stuff into the airplane bin and also the size-check box. It has an outside pocket for things you need to grab for the plane (sweater, ziploc of “stuff you need to have under your seat”). Also has a handy front pocket for a sweater and a place to put your passport where you can get to it easily but it’s not exposed - http://www.campmor.com/essential-carry.shtml

- Eagle Creek packable daypack - sturdy, but packs up small; perfect for day trips. Can pack souvenirs in here if you’re allowed a “personal bag” on the flight home. http://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Creek-Packable-Daypack-Black/dp/B003CKMTWW

- two medium (14x9x3) Ebags packing cubes and one slim (14x5x3)

I promise to show you the packing list next time... I'm an architect and I think visually, so I have a visual packing list as well which I constantly modify. This one is for a trip we're taking to the UK (D's family) and France, so the weather will be pretty varied (could be chilly in the UK, will be hot in France).