walked with mom for 35 min

I thought this week would be better than last week, but so far it's been just as long. It's not quite as stressful and I've only been working 10 hour days instead of 12 hour days

My goals for January were:

1. Pre-pay mortgage by 1500.00 - Done

2. Walk 20 times for at least 35 min - Done

3. Spend $450 or less for household items - Spent $397.81

Breakdown was:

Groceries - $146.32
Eating Out - $75.91
Books/Newspapers - $41.71
Gas - $27.37
HBAs - $29.36
Entertainment - $5.50
Other - $71.64

4. Try to follow Glycemic Index eating plan - probably about 80%, could improve here, but lost 6 lbs so must be doing something right.

5. Work on taxes, try to have ready to send by Jan 31 - didn't make this one, because of extra work load and new computer. Will try to finish these next weekend.

My networth increased by 5.01% for the month. That's very good.

Finished listening to the library book on tape A Stroke of Midnight by Laurell K. Hamilton. Supernatural/Romance. Very, very good. Very sexy.

walked with mom for 55 min

Sunday is generally my errand day for the week. Started at King Soopers for groceries. Spent $33.93, receipt says I saved 34%. I got 3 small bottles of liquid Tide free after coupons. I will give them to my Grandma.

Del Monte canned tomatoes were on sale and I had some coupons that brought the cost down to 45 cents a can. They also had their new organic canned tomatoes next to the reqular ones. They wanted 1.99/can. Unreal! I just can't imagine paying 2 dollars for a can of tomatoes just because they have the word organic on them.

Got my haircut next, had a $2 coupon, spent $12. Felt so good. it had grown 2" in the last 7 weeks. Not sure why.

Next stop Walgreens where I spent $29.56 on household items, a new atomic alarm clock and a new wrist watch. I got paid a $1.00 to buy a bottle of Fructis Garnier shampoo which I'll give to my niece. It's free after rebate and I had a $1.00 off coupon. I will also get $3.00 back on the alarm clock. My other alarm clock broke and my wrist watch band is about to go. I buy a cheap, (under $10) watch about once a year. I'm hard on them and don't want to purchase an expensive one that will break.

I got back to my car and realize I forgot to get the USB cord for my printer. They had their cords on sale at 25% off. So went back and spent $10.46 for a 6' cord that is a universal cable. It's pretty cool, it's 6 cables in one. Has 6 adapters you can plug onto the end to make it whatever kind of USB cord you need.

I went to Borders next and got one book for $6.86 Had a 20% off coupon and used my Discover rebate card to buy it.

Then I went to the Dollar Store for spices. Bought one jar each onion powder, garlic powder, powdered nutmeg and chili powder. Spent $4

Last stop was Outback where I met my parents for lunch. Spent $13.80 using my 10% discounted gift card.

I've lost 6 lbs since the first of the month. I feel like I'm eating a lot still, but I'm eating mostly the low glycemic index foods, so it must be working. I'll take it anyways, whatever the reason.


Didn't get back to the new computer, took a nap after my walk and then made oatmeal for the week and vacuumed the downstairs. Then watched the European ice skating championships.

Finished reading the library book Windfall by Rachel Caine. Sci/Fi. Good. Fourth in the series. I'm getting a little tired of the story, not sure if I'll read the next one when it come out this fall.

walked with mom for 55 min

Got my computer put together and up and running. Even got connected to the Internet. This was the first site I added to my Favorites list.

I didn't get my printer configured because I need a longer USB cord. I also still need to install the TaxCut and Money software, which I'll probably do tomorrow.

I had to make a trip to Radio Shack to get a new power strip. When my parents moved close to me last year I setup their computer for them and since they couldn't find their power strip I came home and got an extra one from my closet and we used it. When they finally found their power strip dad gave it to me. It's been sitting in the closet until today. I knew it was too short, about 3 feet, my old one was 6 feet. Anyways when I plugged it in, it didn't work. So since we have a Radio Shack about a mile from me I went and got one. Cost $37.40

I got the printer setup except for getting it connected to the computer. I had just bought $75 of new ink cartridges for my old printer from Staples in December. I'm going to see if they will take them back and let me get the new cartridges to keep in reserve.

I get connected to the internet and i have 6 Microsoft patches that need to be installed and of course most of them require reboots after installation, so spent quite a bit of time doing that. That's pretty ridiculous to have to spend half a day installing patches on a brand new computer.

If someone ever creats a true plug in and work computer they would make a fortune.

Walked with mom for 55 min

This week has been forever. So glad it's Friday. I still haven't had time to set up my new computer. I plan to do that first thing tomorrow morning. Also my house is a total disaster area, I can't stand it, so expect to spend a lot of time this weekend cleaning. Whatever time is left will be spent sleeping.

I was creating some categories for my blogs, but didn't come up with very many. I tend to blog about whatever happened that day and the blog can be about several different subjects so I have a hard time picking one category. I came up with three categories, but I doubt if I'll do many more cost of meal entries, since I've pretty much done all the main meals that I fix. I don't plan to go back and categorize the ones I've already written either, too much work

I finished reading my book Grail by Stephen R. Lawhead. Sci/Fi Very good. Last in the King Arthur series.

walked with mom for 35 min

Jeffrey, thanks for the changes to the blogs. I like being able to scroll down while reading the blogs to see if I missed a previous entry. I'd still like to scroll down and see my previous entries while I'm creating a new blog so I can cut and paste goals and totals.

I'd also like another feature if you can. The old way had an icon that marked when I had read a blog. I like that because I pop in and out throughout the day and like to know where I left off.

Got another Pinecone survey today.

Got off work at the normal time today, that was great. I think there's some kind of universal law that says if you are on a tight deadline and have a ton of work today, some component on your computer must self-destruct. I spent 3 hours today uninstalling a corrupted software package that I have to have to do my work and then reinstalling and reconfiguring it. I read technical documents while this was going on, so a pretty boring day.

My stress level this week is off the charts. I need to make an appointment with the doctor for a routine check, but I told my mom I needed to wait at least two weeks, my blood pressure is probably sky high.

I'm feeling some relief this evening though. I completed all my assignments a day early. Now if nothing else breaks tomorrow I should be good. (crossed-fingers)

Got a little bit of gas at $2.19/gal. My tank was really low, but I have a 10 cent discount off at a gas station in town and I know I will be going in on Sunday, so I just got enough to last me a couple of days. Spent $10.01

Went to McDonalds for dinner. A kind of a mini celebration for getting through this week. I know it's probably not the best method, but sometimes it's totally worth it. Spent $7.34

I finished reading the library book On the Run by Iris Johansen. Romance. Very good. Love this author.

walked with mom for 35 min

It's 9:30 and I'm still working. Hopefully this is the last really long day for a while.

Went to the post office. sold another half.com book for $1.

I guess I will have to get used to this new format. i don't like it as well for a couple of reasons. 1. I used to be able to quickly tell if certain bloggers had posted several times a day. Now I have to go to their archives to see if I've read all their posts for the day. 2. I used to be able to quickly scroll down and find my monthly spending total. Now I have to find it first before starting the blog. 3. I seems like I have to navigate more to read a whole blog. Read the blurb, click more, read the rest, go back to blog page, scan down from top to where I was when I decided to read more.

Ah well, such is progress

walked with mom for 35 min

Finished reading the library book Dead Guilty by Beverly Connor. Mystery. Very good

I'm still working, it's 9:50 and I have about a 1/2 hour to go. I started at 8 and took off for an hour at lunch and an hour at dinner. I'm having to do someone else's work, because they can't figure out how to do it

Frustrating.

Mailed my half.com book, spent $1.59 then saw that I sold another one this evening for $2 so will have to make another trip to the Post office tomorrow.

Total spent this month = $286.32

Sent off the January Walgreens rebate for $14.49 and got the December Walgreens rebate for $10 in the mail. I also got a free sample of BIZ detergent.

I made the Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli soup from the Top Secret Recipes Lite book by Todd Wilbut that I got from the library. I only sampled it, since I made it for lunches this week, but I thought it was fantastic. Really liked it. It's replacing my earlier version of this recipe.

It makes 8 1 1/2 cup servings at a cost of .77 cents per serving.

1 lb super-lean ground beef (7% fat) - .99 cents /lb
1 small onion, diced (1 cup) - .47 cents
1 large carrot, julienned (1 cup) - .20 cents
3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup) - .60 cents
2 cloves garlic, minced - .10 cents
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes - 1.00
1 15-oz can red kidney beans (with liquid) - .50 cents
1 15-oz can great northern beans (with liquid) - .50 cents
1 15-oz can Tomato sauce - .40 cents
1 12-oz can V-8 juice - .67 cents
1 tablespoon white vinegar - .02 cents
1 ½ teaspoons salt - .01 cents
1 teaspoon dried oregano - .05 cents
1 teaspoon dried basil - .05 cents
½ teaspoon pepper - .02 cents
½ teaspoon dried thyme - .05 cents
½ lb ditali pasta - .50 cents

1. Brown the ground beef in a very large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Drain off the fat.
2. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and simmer for 10 minutes
3. Add the remaining ingredients, except the pasta and simmer for 1 hour
4. About 50 minutes into the simmer time, cook pasta in 1 ½ to 2 quarts of boiling water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or just until pasta is al dente, or slightly tough. Drain.
5. Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve.

Still haven't had time to put my new computer together, maybe tomorrow night. This is the final week of our project at work, so having to push hard right now. Tired at the end of the day and don't want to mess with another computer.

walked with mom for 55 min. Yes Imasaver I am single, for which I am very grateful, since I only have to convince myself for anything I want to do

Went to Safeway and got a paper and celery. Spent $2.77

The paper had the Best Buy ads and they had a computer that meets the criteria I've been looking for at the price I've been waiting for. I saved up for the new computer last year and I've just been waiting for the right deal to come along.

I bought $500 in discounted Best Buy gift cards for $450 in anticipation. I should have bought $1000. I forgot I would have to pay upfront and then get the rebates. I bought the gift cards with a rebate CC so got another $5 off the cards.

The computer, with monitor and printer, 3 year warranty, an optical mouse, TaxCut Deluxe (Federal and state), Money 2006 and $100 worth of virus, firewall softeware cost me $1075.02. However, I have 10 rebates to send in and will get $530 back in rebates. Plus I signed up for their reward zone program at $10 and will get a $30 gift card. Used my CC to pay for the amount over $500 so will get anohter $5 back from that. Total spent after all rebates will be $460, which I think is an excellent deal. I got 512 MB memory, 160GB hard drive, read/write DVD and CD player plus a 17" flat screen monitor and the printer is a copier and scanner too.

Because I purchased the TaxCut Deluxe software for $25 I got a free copy of Money 2006 and a free Optical mouse + 3 software packages worth $100 for virus protection, firewall, etc.

I told the guy ringing me up that I needed to get the Geek Squad to help me fill out all the rebate forms. So ridiculous the hoops you have to jump through to save money. I have to fill out 10 forms, but I guess it's worth it for $530

I haven't had time to put the thing together yet, maybe tomorrow night. I wasn't able to work on my Taxes today either. I'll wait now till I get the computer setup and the new software installed.

After buying the computer I stopped at Walgreens to get their FAR Oral B cross action toothbrush. I had a $1.00 off coupon, so it's not only free, but I made a few cents. Gave the toothbrush to my dad since I have an electric one. Spent $4.07

Next stop was Albertsons. They had a deal where if you buy 10 of a group of products that were on sale for $1 each you would get $3 off. Hunts Ketchup and David's sunflower seeds were in the group. I had a .25 cents off coupon for the ketchup so after the discount I only paid 45 cents. And I got the sunflower seeds for 30% off my normal price. Sunflower seeds are my number one snack. I have 1/4 cup in the shell almost everyday. They also had seedless green grapes on sale for $1.49/lb which is a little high, but for this time of year is a great price. Anyways, spent $9.51 and saved $9.26; almost the same amount I spent.

Total spent this month = $284.73

I spent most of the evening cooking for the week. Made the KFC coleslaw from the Top Secret Recipes Lite book I got from the library, of course I had to taste it and I thought it was pretty good. I had planned to make the Pasta E Fagioli too, but the hamburger wasn't completely thawed out so decided to wait till tomorrow.

Made oatmeal for breakfasts. Made potato salad. Made pinto beans, which I had for supper with some Lil Smokies sausages and grape juice. Froze some of the beans for future use, I will use some in the Pasta E Fagioli soup tomorrow.

walked with mom for 55 min

I've been showing my dad the rebate deals for Walgreens in the ads and telling him what a good deal they are. So he went to Walgreens and got the Pepsi, Frito Lay one and made mom fill out the rebate form and send it in. He's hooked Mom's not very excited about it, she doesn't think it's worth the effort. He's more along the lines of it's free money that you're throwing away, because they buy the stuff anyways. Ah well, one at a time. I did get my mom using some printable coupons online.

Got another $5 survey check from Pinecone in the mail today.

Got groceries, but forgot the celery so will have to get that when I pick up a newspaper tomorrow. Spent $32.74. I'll be glad when the frozen macaroni and cheese goes off sale. It's normally .90 cents but it's on 'sale' now for 10/10 so it's $1. I guess people fall for it and stock up at that price. Fortunately I have my price book to tell me it's not a real sale

Total spent this month = $268.38

Sold another book at half.com for $6, this has been a good week for half.com sales.

I tried to come up with a way to eat better meals using the glycemic index. My biggest problem is having to think about it all the time. What to have today, is it thawed, do I have all the ingredients, etc. So I decided to come up with a list of 15 dinners that I like and that are easy to make and that I usually have the ingredients for. I plan to go through the list and then start over. If I go out to eat, I'll just have the next dinner on the list the next night. I also planned 5 lunches. Hopefully by making this decision once, it will be easier to stick to.

Breakfast is always the same - oatmeal, with slivered almonds, cinnamon, sugar-free maple syrup, milk and a piece of fruit. (I've read that eating a 1/4 tsp of cinnamon each day is helpful with diabetes, who knows? But since I like cinnamon, I decided to try it)

Lunch can be one of the following 5

1. soup and piece of fruit
2. Peanut butter and celery and a piece of fruit
3. Macaroni and Cheese and a piece of fruit
4. Tuna salad, multigrain cracker and a piece of fruit
5. thin crust veggie pizza

Dinners - includes fruit juice with each meal

1. Tomato soup, grilled salmon, pasta
2. Chicken breast, coleslaw, potato salad (use boiled potatoes and don't mash them, makes this ok for the glycemic diet)
3. pinto beans and 4 lil smokies sausages
4. egg scramble with onions and tomatoes and 4 lil smokies sausages and fruit
5. chili pasta
6. fish fillet, pinto beans, coleslaw
7. taco salad (no bread bowl, just taco meat with kernal corn mixed in and lettuce and tomato and mixed together with low-fat ranch dressing)
8. lasagna, green beans
9. mandarin chicken salad
10. meat loaf, corn on cob, coleslaw
11. tomato soup, lemon grilled shrimp, pasta
12. chili
13. chicken breast, mac n cheese, pinto beans
14. pork chop, corn on cob, green beans
15. tacos

It's probably still light on the vegetables, but I don't like vegetables, so one thing at a time, eat good meals that I like and lose some weight first and then mayyyyybe introduce more vegetables later.

Finished reading my book Pendragon by Stephen R. Lawhead. Sci/Fi Very good - book 4 in the King Arthur series.

Got several more tax forms in the mail today including my W-2. I should be able to get most of my taxes done this weekend.

I got a check for $5.76 for the amount I overpaid on my Property taxes.

Mailed my 2 half.com books, they were big, heavy coffee table books, cost $5.58 to mail

Went to Rosies for dinner and spent $11

Total spent this month = $235.64

Went back to the library website and figured out how to get the Ebook. I started reading it on my PC. The only format for this book was in ebook format, otherwise I would have checked the book out. I like to read sitting in my comfy armchair with my feet propped up and a blanket over my lap. It's not nearly as comfortable reading in front of the PC. Plus I'm on the computer all day and have lots of problems with tired eyes and tight shoulders. So while I will take advantage of this format when it's the only one available, I still prefer the physical version.

I don't understand how the author can make any money this way. The library only has to purchase one copy and then distribute it to whoever wants it. I even have printing privileges on the book. I could print it out and keep it if I wanted to own this book.

walked with mom for 35 min today. I took an early lunch so we could get our walk in. It was starting to snow when we started walking at 10:50. We have about 2 inches of snow so far, but it's really icy. A lot of roads are closed. It took a lot of people hours to get home tonight. So glad I wasn't one of them and won't have to try to drive into work in the morning.

Sold two more books at half.com today. One for $15 and one for $13. Just when I start thinking I haven't made any sales for awhile, I get two.

Finished listening to the library book on tape Die in Plain Sight by Elizabeth Lowell. Romance/Mystery. Very good.

I was browsing the library website for books to check out and I found out they have a new book I've been looking for, but it's an EBOOK. I can't figure out how to get access to it. I don't see information about it on their main page, and there is nothing to click on for the book itself. Next time I go to the library I'll have to ask one of the librarians how this works. Surely you can't download a library book to your PC. Anyone else have experience with this?