walked with mom 35 min

Strange day at work, almost no emails and no interruptions. Like everyone had the day off or something.

I had my nieces over tonight. Very last minute. Sister called 20 min before dropping them off. Went to Village Inn for dinner. Spent $25

We watched the Mummy. They liked it. Started on Mummy Returns and sister came to get them so sent it home with them to finish.

Paid next years property tax. $1328.00

Finished listening to library book on tape Dark Magic by Christine Feehan. Supernatural. Very Good.

Walked 35 min yesterday

My company finally decided that employees can invest as much as 25% of the their salaries in their 401Ks next year - up from 16% this year. I've always maxed out until this year since the limit was under what I needed. Next year I'll be able to max out again. That's cool since I've been promised a big raise and will need to offset the taxes.

Finished reading the library book Skeleton Coast by Clive Cussler. Adventure. Very good.

walked with mom 35 min yesterday.

Went into work today. Was in a meeting with new boss from 9 - 12:30 going over changes that need to be made to make this team better. She recognizes the lack of what she calls 'equity' meaning how come I do 20 - 25% of the work every release and other people are assigned 3 days of work. Yahoo! progress, now if she can just do something about it.

Stopped at Walgreens on the way home and got some more xmas shopping done. Walgreen's had a really good deal on their 800 minute phone card. 50% off. So I got 800 minutes for $20 or 2.5 cents a minute. Got that for my Grandma.

Also got the trio of Glade candles FAR plus I had a $3 coupon so actually made $3 on that deal. Goes to my Brother for xmas.

Got the Glad Berry plugin for me. Also FAR + $1 coupon so made $1.

Got 4 bags of microwave popcorn for $1 for brother.

Got a digital thingamajig for youngest niece for $6. She likes anything electronic.

My oldest niece wanted a book called The Notebook Girls which was $22 in the store. I got in on half.com with shipping for under $8.

Finished listening to the library book on tape Chill of Fear by Kay Hooper. Mystery. Very good.

We got several more inches of snow today so no walking again.

Did two loads of laundry and some dusting. Played on the computer for a while

Finished reading the second book by the new author I read yesterday. Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward. Supernatural. Excellent. Had me bawling for a bit. Very emotional.

too cold to walk again today and it's supposed to snow again tomorrow. Missed 4 days now, need to get back on track.

Very quite at work today, hardly any emails. I think several people got snowed in accross the country. We work from everywhere, Texas, Iowa, Washington, Colorado, Argentina - lots of telecommuting.

Finished reading my book Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward. Supernatural. Excellent. Another new author and she has two other books out. Love that. This book was really special.

no walking yesterday or today, just enough snow to make it treacherous to walk. Plus very cold under 25 degrees.

I sent out my Longs and Walgreens rebates. $10 each.

Figured out my networth for the month. Went up 2.61% I'm only $1015 away from my goal for the year. Piece of cake unless the stock market dives next month. Next month is a 3 paycheck month.

Finished listening to the library book on tape Hidden Prey by John Sandford. Excellent.

Finished reading my book She's No Faierie Princess by Christine Warren. Supernatural. Very good.

Finished reading the library book First Impressions by Nora Roberts. Romance. Ok, one of her earlier books that was reprinted.

walked with mom 35 min yesterday.

Took today off and went to Denver with mom and dad for shopping.

We went to the following stores

Container Store - I got nothing
Nordstrom Rack - nothing
Linen's and Things - nothing
Borders - I got a beautiful fairy tale book for a friends 5 year old for $7 and 2 paperbacks for me. Had a coupon for 30% off one item. Spent $18.87
World Market - 1 1b of smoked salmon for my brother for $16. They had a 40% off coupon so it was only $9. Went back and got another one for my dad for xmas. Spent $18. This was a heck of a deal. I recently saw 6oz in the grocery store for $11.
Michaels - nothing
Claim Jumpers - $8
Hobby Lobby - nothing
Stein Mart - nothing
Rumours - nothing
Harry and Davids - set of candy cane salt and pepper shakers for mom. $10 with 20% off coupon so my cost was $8.50
Borders outlet - nothing.

So even though we didn't walk today, we did a lot of walking thru stores.

It started snowing on the way home. Expect to get 4 to 6 inches by tomorrow.

Yesterday read the library book Wolf at the Door by Christine Warren. Supernatural. New author. Very good.

Today read my book Drop Dead Gorgeous by Linda Howard. Romance. Excellent, excellent, excellent. This is a sequel to her book To Die For. Very funny and smart. Mr Perfect is another one of her books that is superb.

walked with mom 50 min yesterday and today.

Today I chopped up my veggies for the week and made my oatmeal for breakfast. I got out of the habit of doing this regularly the last couple of months because of being so busy and not thinking far enough ahead. I always eat much better when I think ahead and pre-prepare.

Got groceries this morning. Spent $42.41

My friend came over today and we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. I brought half home. Spent $9.65

We rented Alien Vs Predator from Blockbuster. Spent $3.59

I enjoyed the afternoon quite a bit. I don't get to see her as much as I used to, since she married and has kids. So i enjoy it when we can get together. The only thing that marred the time was a sinus headace that's been dogging me all day.

Finished reading my book The Rivan Codex by David and Leigh Eddings. Very Good. Made me want to re-read the Belgariad and Mallorean series again. Fortunately I own those and can do that

both yesterday and today were very restful for me. I mostly read both days. The perfect way to spend time and time I am thankful for.

Finished reading the library book A Meeting at Corvallis by S.M. Stirling. Sci/Fi Excellent

walked with mom for 50 min today. Walked 35 min on Monday.

Yesterday mom had nieces over so invited me for steak dinner. So good.

Got the $10 Del Monte rebate already. Also got a $28 credit card rebate.

Boss is doing end of year performance evaluations and asked us for 2 strengths, 2 weaknesses and a list of our accomplishments for the year. I sent her the email, but it kind of bugs me that every year the bosses ask you what your accomplishments are for the year. Shouldn't they know?

Finished reading my book The Remarkable Miss Frankenstein by Minda Webber. Supernatural. Cute

walked with mom 50 min yesterday

Mom fixed Thanksgiving dinner for family yesterday. Was very good. Sister was a bitch and made the whole experience uncomfortable for everyone else.

Took oldest niece shopping for xmas today and ran some of my errands.

1st stop Longs. Got a new knit cap to wear while walking. Lost mine. Also got 3 packages feminine products which were $10 and will be free after rebate. Spent $15.26

Went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and got mom another oven mat for $17.17 after 20% off coupons

Next stop Walgreens were got two more packages feminine products which will be FAR. Spent $9.52

Got my niece then and we went to Barnes and Noble. She picked out two books for xmas and I got Trixie Beldon books for the other niece. Spent $41.81 Kids books cost ridiculous amounts of money.

Went to Best Buy to purchase ink for my dad for xmas. Had $9 in best buy bucks from McDonalds monopoloy game and a 10% off coupons. Spent $37.35 for a black and a color cartridge.

Met my parents at Red Lobster for lunch. Niece and I both indulged in the popcorn shrimp. Spent $15,65

Went to Ross's where she picked out 3 shirts and I found a 20 piece set of silverware for $8.99. They have green handles. The ones I have now have black handles and I keep sending thru the garbage disposal because I don't see them. Spent $38.47

Went to Marshalls where she found 3 more shirts. Spent $35.48

Last stop was WalMart. $84.05 for groceries and xmas for youngest niece. Got 2 Polly sets, a long sleeve t-shirt, a portable CD player with radio and the Princess Bride DVD for gifts. Total on gifts = $64.13

My feet are killing me. But was worth it, got a lot done.

Finished reading library book The Kitchen Witch by Annette Blair. Romance. Cute.

I have 2 more list items

51. At 35 I had radial kerotonomy done on my eyes and feel it was the best purchase I ever made.

52. Like stressless I was a 10 month old baby and was born with a 3 inch ponytail.

Lots of people ask about my favorite authors, I have a lot of them, so here's the top 10 in each category

Mystery

1. Lee Child
2. John Sandford
3. John D. Macdonald
4. Patricia Cornwell
5. Carol O'Connell
6. James Patterson
7. Robert Parker
8. Stephan White
9. Sue Grafton
10. Marcia Muller

Romance/Mystery

1. J.D. Robb
2. Linda Howard
3. Elizabeth Lowell
4. Iris Johansen
5. Catherine Coulter
6. Janet Evanovich
7. Kay Hooper
8. Tara Janzen
9. Suzanne Brockmann
10. Tami Hoag

Sci/Fi - hard

1. David Weber
2. Lois McMaster Bujold
3. Elizabeth Moon
4. S. M. Stirling
5. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
6. Orson Scott Card
7. Elizabeth Haydon
8. Robert Heinlein
9. Spider Robinson
10. Larry Niven

Sci/Fi - fantasy

1. J.K. Rowlings
2. David Eddings
3. Anne McCaffrey
4. Anne Bishop
5. Mercedes Lackey
6. Dennis McKeirnan
7. Sharon Green
8. L. E. Modesitt
9. David Farland
10. Steven Brust

Supernatural - Vampires, werewolves, witches etc

1. Laurell K. Hamilton
2. Charlaine Harris
3. Catherine Feehan
4. Jim Butcher
5. Simon R. Green
6. Tanya Huff
7. Angela Knight
8. Nina Bangs
9. Jayne Castle
10. Sherrilyn Kenyon

Romance

1. Jayne Krentz
2. Lynn Kurland
3. Jude Devereaux
4. Dara Joy
5. Nora Roberts
6. Linda Lael Miller
7. Julie Garwood
8. Stephanie Laurens
9. Cait London
10. Jennifer Greene

Westerns

1. Louis L'Amour
2. William W. Johnstone

Action/Adventure

1. Clive Cussler
2. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
3. Dan Brown
4. William W. Johnstone
5. Matthew Reilly
6. James Rollins
7. Erik Van Lustbader
8. Michael Crichton
9. Ken Goddard

I finished reading my book Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn. Supernatural. Very good.

I have an FVO this weekend so have to get up at 4:00 am tomorrow morning to test, so need to get some sleep.

Walked with mom 35 min yesterday and today.

I've enjoyed the lists so decided to add mine.

1. My original birth certificate has me listed as a boy instead of a girl.
2. My mom says I learned to read at 3 years old. I think I learned to memorize.
3. I won an American Flag for a coloring contest in first grade.
4. My mother remarried when I was 7 and I got a 2 year old step-brother. Already had a 6 year old sister.
5. My new dad gave me his man's bike to ride which was a 10-speed. I lost control going down a hill, since I could only reach the petals when they were at the top and crashed into a stop sign, knocking me out and causing me to get 7 stiches over my right eyebrow.
6. I am very competitive and an over-achiever. In 6th grade I won CYCer of the year for Colorado. CYC was kind of christian girl scout group. Where you win badges
7. I wore cat-eye glasses from 3rd to 6th grade
8. I was a huge tomboy
9. I joined the volleyball team in 8th grade and played thru 11th grade
10. I joined the church quizzing group in 9th grade and did that for 3 years. Was on a local tv station show for quizzing. I won several trophies and memorized 7 books of the bible.
11. Joined the bowling team in 10th grade and played thru 11th grade.
12. I took two foreign languages in school from 9th thru 12th grade. French and German
13. Went to college for one year and totally messed up. Didn't go to any classes etc.
14. Got a job as a machinist and did that for 15 years working my way up to a journeyman status.
15. Made a lot of money mistakes my first few years on my own. What turned me around was reading an article in the Mother Earth News No 3 issue called How to Retire six month every year and an article in issue number 1 called Living High on $6500 a year.
16. Made a goal to get out of debt and retire at 40. I had around $1000 in debt and thought I would need $100,000 to retire.
17. I saved the money I thought I would need to retire by the time I was 40, but by then my needs had increased so changed goal to retire at 50 instead.
18. Started working in miniatures as a hobby. Gave my first 12 rooms away. Kept the 13th.
19. Bought my first townhome for $37,500 at the end of huge real-estate bust in 1990
20. Sold the townhome for $96,000 in 2001
21. Bought my second townhome for $185,500 in 2001
22. Collected comics for a few years in the early 80's. Mostly New Mutents, X-Men and Teen Titans. Still have 500 comics in storage.
23. Favorite movie types are musicals and sci-fi
24. Favorite movies Bugsy Malone, Loonie Tunes and Labyrinth
25. Love to read. Too many favorite authors to pick one.
26. Was laid off from machinst job in 1996 because of outsourcing.
27. Took a year off working and used my savings to live on and go back to school for a 2 year degree in computer information. Had a 4.0 GPA.
28. To start college I had to take a test to see where I belonged for English writing. The test said I needed remedial writing. I took the regular class and my teacher was so impressed with my essays she asked permission to use them as training tools for other classes. Go figure.
29. At 25 I fell on the ice and bounced. Broke my ankle in 3 places. Had a full-leg cast and had to move back in with my parents for 4 months while it healed. Very glad I had short and long term disabililty insurance.
30. I am afraid of climbing off of high places. I can go up ladders or chairs, but can't get down.
31. I love to play card games, rook and crummy rummy are my favorites.
32. I like to do big complicated jigsaw puzzles.
33. I am the 6th woman in my family to have my first name. The chain ends with me since I won't have kids.
34. My favorite tv shows are cooking shows, but I don't really like to cook
35. I like craftsman style furniture and decorating ideas. I've incorporated a lot of that in my house. I especially love lights. I replaced every light in my house when I bought it with craftsman style lighting.
36. I hate flying, not because I'm scared but because the pressure give me sinus type headaches, and it's so uncomfortable.
37. I get claustrophobic in large groups of people. I haven't gone to my family's extened xmas party in 20 years because of this. 30 people in one house is 20 too many
38. I like to listen to a wide variety of music. Right now I have Charlie Daniels Band, ZZ Top, Rocking 70s and Prince in my CD player.
39. I have never tried drugs and while I have tried alcohol and cigarettes, I didn't like either one and have never been drunk. I don't like being out of control so there was no appeal in those things.
40. I live mythical knick-knacks and pictures. My house is filled with pictures and sculptures of dragons, unicorns, griffens, pegasus, wizards etc.
41. My favorite meal is steak, baked potato, corn, salad and garlic bread with either pumpkin pie or lemon pie for dessert.
42. My favorite candy bar is Payday
43. I like to burn food-scented candles. I don't like flower scents because they give me headaches.
43. I have a good memory for facts, but a horrible memory for people - faces, names, stories. In one ear and out the other.
44. I am 1/4 Cherokee Indian
45. I collect quotes that I like when reading books in a journal
46. I am a perfectionist at work. I believe in delivering value for my pay.
47. My favorite money book is How to Live without a salary by Charles Long
48. I am a huge procrastinator in my home life - aside from paying bills and financial stuff
49. I have no real plants - they die. I have lots of silk plants.
50. I used to have hair that went down to the middle of my butt. I cut to about 1 inch. I love short hair. I didn't expect to since I had long hair my whole life up till then.

yesterday walked with mom for 50 min.

Finished reading the library book Cast In Courtlight by Michelle Sagara. Sci/Fi. Excellent.

Today went with my parents to my grandmother's. We raked her yard and played games. Went to Applebee's for dinner. Spent $11

Finished reading my book Whirlpool by Elizabeth Lowell. Romance. Very good.

walked with mom for 50 min

Met a friend for breakfast at Gunther Toody's. Spent $7

Went to the used book store. After exchanging a bag of books I still have more than $400 in credit left. I've been going to this book store since I was 19, more than 25 years.

Went to the Mountain Man store and picked up more xmas gifts. 2 bags of black jelly beans for dad and a bag of hot tamales for mom. Spent $10

Paid my house insurance. $142

Finished reading the library book Ladies Man by Suzanne Brockmann. Romance. OK

went shopping with mom today and got several xmas gifts.

Started at Bed, Bath N Beyong. Got an oven liner for mom and a miniature frying pan just big enough for one or two eggs for me. Had a $5 off of $15 coupons. Total spent $22.53

Went to Hobby Lobby and got a decorative chest for mom. 50% off. Spent $53.00

Lunch at Sonic. Mom bought

Linen's and Things - got a ratchet screwdriver for dad and a foot massager thing for me. 2 20% off coupons. Total spent $17.16

Target was the last stop. Got a Tamagotchi virtual pet game and lanyard for youngest niece. On sale, total $19.19

Someone asked how much I plan to have when I retire. I've been tracking my spending for many years now. Without my mortgage, which I plan to have paid off by the time I retire, I expect to need about $1700 a month. That includs an anticipated $350/month for health care, $150/month for a car replacement fund, and $50/month for maintenance/repair of car/household items.

I figure to be safe and account for unforseen items, I need $2000/month or $24,000 a year. Then I need to pay taxes on top of that, I expect taxes to run around 10% since some of the money will be from investments, where the taxes have already been paid. So my rule of thumb is I will need $27,500 a year for the first few years of retirement.

I figure I can safely take out 4.5 - 5% a year from my investments meaning I need at least $600,000 in investments.

My goal is to have my house paid off and between $650,000 and $700,000 in investments in order to retire.

I expect to have a min $90,000 in cash/bonds at the start of my retirement and the rest in stocks. That's riskier than most investment counselor's advice, but it's a number I'm comfortable with. The stocks are diversified and invested in the following formula:

Health fund 5%
REIT fund 5%
US small caps fund 25%
Foreign fund 15%
Emerging Markets fund 10%
US Lg Cap - Value fund 20%
US Lg Cap - Growth fund 20%

Finished reading my book Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts. Romance. Very good.

I started a new book at midnight last night. I was just going to read a few pages, but it was so good I ended up reading the whole thing. Went to bed at 4:30 this morning. But it didn't matter because I didn't have to be up at any certain time. I love that!

Woke up at 9:30 anyways and walked with mom for 50 min. Then I spent the whole day reading. My idea of the perfect day.

Read my book Consipiracy Game by Christine Feehan. Romance. Excellent.

Read the library book Motor Mounth by Janet Evanovich. Romance. Very Good

Read Crazy Sweet by Tara Janzen. Romance. Very Good.

walked with mom for 50 min

My niece and I watched cooking shows this morning until her mom showed up to get her. I didn't know she likes to watch those too.

My oldest niece shot her first deer yesterday. I guess it was bigger than anything her dad or uncle has ever got, so she was quite excited. It was 350 lbs. She had to tell me the whole story. Some people from California were there and they wanted pictures of her with the deer, since she's so young. Her dad just came back from a 10 day hunting trip where he didn't get anything. They went out for 3 hours yesterday morning and she gets this huge deer. Funny.

My younger niece was telling me how the older one woke her up at 3:30 in the morning blow-drying her hair. She was fairly disgusted that the older one needed to blow-dry her hair to go hunting. 15 year olds are full of funny contrasts.

Went to Applebees for lunch. $9.00. I got their new Turkey, bacon and cranberry chutney on ciabatta bread sandwich. Really good.

Took a long nap this afternoon, it felt good.

Finished reading my book Atlantis by David Gibbins. Adventure. OK. Not as good as Dan Brown, but the same type of story.

walked with mom for 50 min

Still having conversations in my head regarding work. Came to a few conclusions, but not sure if I can stick to them.

1. Do my job and no one else's. Stop monitoring other's work also. It's the manager's job to make sure things are getting done right, not mine. If we go to production without whole areas getting tested, that's not my responsibililty.

2. Communicate exactly how long things will take me and don't accept new assignements unless I have the time or I tell my manager about the crunch and suggest they ask someone else to help out, or take some other assignment away from me.

3. Get involved in my hobbies more to take my mind off of work in the evenings. Reading has become more difficult lately because of the never-ending track in my head telling me about all the things I need to do. I watch a lot more mindless television and that's just wasting my time without relaxing me. I have nothing against watching TV, but I've been watching just to watch and not because it really interests me. I need to start distracting myself and get excited about something else.

Went to King Soopers today for the rest of my groceries. Spent $20.45

Got the following free

75 ct of Tums - made $1.00 with coupon since it was FAR
1 frozen mac and cheese dinner
1 package Life Saver's Sweet Mints
1 package Brach's candy corn

Went to Chili's for lunch and spent $8.00

Finished reading my book Dark Dreamers by Christine Feehan. Supernatural. Very good.

walked with mom for 50 min

Thanks, for the comments. I'm still depressed. I wish I knew how to turn off the work button in my brain. How do you consciously decide not to do a good job and then stick to it? How do you decide what you can do well and be satisfied with that level? I don't know how to that. I can't leave things undone. What I really want to have happen is for the bosses to hire more people who are competent and can take up some of the work load. People I wouldn't have to constantly monitor. I know they are hiring new people soon, but if they are like the last bunch, they will be more work than help.

Went to the grocery store today and spent $12.92. Got some really good deals.

Free package of Safeway Beef Franks
Free 8oz bottle of Tarter sauce - going to bother for xmas
Bag of bite-sized snickers for .99 cents
Large Thin Crust Red Baron Pizza for .99 cents.

Need to go to King Soopers tomorrow for their deals. Both grocery stores have had really good deals lately to combat the Wal-Mart moving up here. It's nice, but it takes more time to go shopping at both stores to do the cherry-picking.

Finished reading A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison. Supernatural. Good.

walked with mom for 50 min

Sister is out of town so mom invited me, BIL and nieces to dinner. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, jello, green salad and rolls. Yummmmy.

Was nice to catch up a little with the girls, haven't seen them for a month or so. The oldest one has a crush on a guy. Her first one. Spent at least an hour telling me every word he ever said to her. Funny.

Since the Wal-Mart moved up here, the grocery stores are going all out to get business. I've gotten 6 $10 of $50 coupons from King Soopers and 2 from Safeway. Unfortunately, I can't use most of them. I managed to use 2 of the King Soopers ones and gave 3 to mom, leaving me with one to see about next week. I also gave mom the 2 Safeway coupons. But even she's starting to say, they just don't need to buy anymore food right now. It's hard to pass up 20% on anything though.

Finished reading the library book Ashes and Bones by Dana Cameron. Mystery. OK

walked with mom for 50 min, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It snowed Tuesday, we got 8 inches.

I got a letter today with a $20 from Wal-Mart for the problem with the lug nut cover. That was nice. I'll have to write back thanking them.

Also got a Vitamin C powder sample, Cheer sample, Folger's Coffee sample and Always sample today.

I'm working a lot more again, catching up after my vacation. I don't feel like much is happening in my life right now, just routine stuff, so don't have anything interesting to blog about.

Finished reading several books, the latest was my book Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts. Second in a trilogy and very good as always.

walked with mom for 50 min

Started to put together the two chairs that I had legs for and figured out that the backs of the chairs were one piece and had the other two legs per chair. Doh! Boy did I feel stupid. Sent an email to Wal-Mart apologizing for the first email. Anyways got all 4 chairs put together.

Finished re-reading my book Stop Working, Start Living by Dianne Nahirny. Early Retirement. Very good, inspirational. I want to retire so bad, I constantly go over the numbers, but it always comes out the same, I still need at least 4 more years Oh well, it could be 16 or more years till I get to the more conventional 62 years old.

I think I have a minor case of food poisoning. I've had a nasty headache, stomach ache and I've thrown up twice now. Hopefully that's all it is, and not the flu or something that lasts a while.

Walked with mom for 50 min

Got my new table from Wal-Mart. Spent @$180. I spent about an hour unpacking it and putting the table together. I love the table, it's just the right size and color for that room, but I was missing 8 legs for the chairs. I called Wal-Mart and they want me to bring the whole thing back. No Way. It weighs a ton and I had to borrow my Dad's truck and his help to get it. Plus I spent an hour puttng the table together and don't want to take it apart. Since I didn't want the chairs to begin with I'm not going through that hassle. But I'm not happy about it, since now it's more difficult to give 2 chairs away than 4. I sent an email to the company asking them why they can't just give me the replacement legs. We'll see if they respond.

walked with mom for 50 min

I got a lot of little things completed today that I haven't had time to get to for a 2-3 months so I have a feeling of accomplishment today.

They opened a new WalMart and Kohl's in our little town so mom and I went to WalMart first. I got 2 new tires for my car put on while we were shopping. I've needed to do this for at least 3 months. I feel glad that it's finally done. Spent $171.06 on tires.

I also went with a list of household things that I've needed/wanted for a while and got several of those. A new can opener since I can hardly turn mine any more, a cutting board that fits in the dishwasher, a new wallet, walnuts for $4 lb, etc. Spent $75.25

We went to Chili's for lunch and I spent $8, and then to Kohl's where I found a black leather box on sale for 50% off to store TP in on the back of the toilet. I've been looking for a box that fits that room for a least a year now. This one is the perfect size and color. Spent $16.02

I found a table for my dining area I want from WalMart. My dad is going to go with me tomorrow to pick it up. I gave my other one away to some of my parents church friends because it was round and when I did my larger jigsaw puzzles the corners fell of the table. So I've been looking for a table that is the right size, color and shape for about a year. I only gave the other table away about 3 months ago and have been doing without since then.

So I really wanted a new table, but couldn't find what I wanted. All the colors are really dark right now and my furniture is oak. WalMart has a table with 4 chairs for @$180. That's more than I wanted to spend and I don't need the chairs, but it's the perfect size so I'm going to get it. Another thing off my list. I'll give the chairs to Goodwill if I can't find someone who wants them nearby.

The other thing I got done today was getting my new modem and getting my computer setup to get to the internet again. It's nice to use my computer instead of borrowing mom's.

Got a sample of Always and Pledge microfiber cloth in mail today.

Only 2 more days of my vacation. It goes so fast. I still need to do some serious cleaning, since I let the house go for almost 3 months while I worked day and night or at least thought about work day and night and couldn't concentrate on anything else

just light snow on the ground Tuesday morning. By the afternoon we had blue skies.

I went to the used bookstore and traded in a bag of books for another bag of books. No money. I have tons of credit there, but don't get to the store as often since I moved to my small town.

Mom and I went to Fargo's for lunch, which is an old-time pizza place. Very good. She bought since I was driving us all around.

Went down to old Colorado City in Colorado Springs. A lot of gift stores etc. Mom likes those kinds of stores. She got some xmas gifts. I didn't spend anything.

Then we went to Manitou another old fashioned town with lots of gift stores. I got a pair of heart shaped earrings for $8.50 and I bought some fudge for both of us. $7.50

Then we went to Gordmanns which is sort of like a Kohl's but is way down on the south part of the city. I didn't buy anything there.

It was mostly just a day to spend together relaxing.

I stopped at Blimpies on the way home and got a sandwich for dinner. $8. Ate half and have the other half for dinner tonight.

Spent $25.75 on gas $2.48/gal

Finished reading the library book All the Rage by Paul F. Wilson. Mystery. Ok

walked with mom for 50 min. Still hijacking her computer waiting for my modem to show up.

Yesterday got groceries at King Soopers. Spent @$25

A friend came over and we drove up to Denver to go to the Container Store. Went to Chili's for lunch. Spent $8.50

I didn't spend anything at the Container Store, but I love to wander through it. One of my favorite stores.

We went to Cold Stone and got ice cream for $4.00 and then came back to my house and visited for almost 3 hours. Was a very nice, relaxing day. I need more like this.

It's snowing a bit and they are calling for 2 inches tonight. We'll see.

I see Showtime is still on today. I finished reading Echoes of the Great Song by David Gemmell. Sci/Fi. Good.

walked with mom 50 min yesterday and today.

My modem burned out, so I'm using mom's computer. I stole her modem yesterday so I could work, it's a good thing she lives so close. I ordered a new one for $60. Hope it gets here soon.

I'm on vacation this week, so at least it happened at a better time. Could have been a lot worse if I had to work.

DirectTv has Showtime free this weekend. So far there hasn't been anything I want to see. They had Sahara, which was a good movie, but I've already seen it and don't want to spend time re-watching it.

Got a free sample of Dove moisturizing lotion in the mail. It's a really cute bottle and pretty big for a sample, about 4 inches.

Spent $5.10 at McDonalds.

Finished reading the library book Into the Storm by Suzanne Brockmann. Romance. Very, very good. Excellent dialog. I love witty dialog.

walked with mom for 50 min

Lately I feel like I'm coasting thru my day-to-day life. Not really paying attention. Most of my brain is going to my work all the time and everything else is taking a back seat. I don't like it. I'd really like to wake up again and get back to living my life instead of sleep-walking through it.

Finished reading my book Morrigan't Cross by Nora Roberts. Romance. Very Good.

no walking today since it was raining.

Met a co-worker for lunch at Ruby Tuesday's had the salad bar and baked potato. Yum! I could live on baked potatoes. $10

Had left over chowder for dinner.

Finished listening to the library book on tape Dark Prince by Christine Feehan. Supernatural/Romance Very good.