walked with mom for 55 min

Spent the whole day doing errands and chores. First to the post office to mail my half.com book. $2.55

Next King Sooper's for groceries. Really good coupon day. Spent $33.97. Saved 45%. Got 3 Smart Ones frozen dinners for free. Got a bag of black jelly beans to give to my dad for his bday for free. Got a Gillete Vibrance razor that is free after rebate and I had a $3 coupon so they paid me to buy that, gave it to my mom. The salmon had been marked down 30%, so I got 4 portions and froze 3. Red Baron thin crust pizza was 40% off and I had 2 $1 coupons so got 2 large pizzas for $2.71. Hormel li'l smokies were on sale for $2.50 and I had 2 $1 coupons so spent $1.50 for those. Normal price is $3.69. So a good day.

Went to the library and got new holds and 4 new books on tape to listen to.

Got a free sample of Dove shampoo and moisturizer in the mail as well as a $50 rebate for my computer.

Made oatmeal for the week and chopped celery. Also made 3 miniature meatloaves. Froze one for later, ate one for dinner and will have one later in the week.

Several people are doing the $20 challenge and have asked for ideas. This one probably won't make you much, but it should work. I frequently get coupons for 20% off at Bed bath n beyond and linen's and things. Both stores have told me the coupons are good for a year regardless of the expiration date and also that they will take each others coupons. I saw several people on ebay are selling these coupons. They sell them in batches of 5 - 10. When I saw this I thought of other coupons that might sell. The Entertainment book has coupons for $25 - $75 off of airline tickets, perhaps those would sell also. Just a thought.

Finished reading a very long (almost 700 pages) book called The Ring of Five Dragons by Eric Van Lustbader. Sci/Fi first in a series. It was pretty good. The print was very tiny, so it took quite a while to read.

walked with mom for 55 min

Got a CC rebate check for $65.02 and a $5 Pinecone survey check in the mail today.

I checked the nesteggzreward site for my CC reward with that card and it's totally changed. My rewards are gone as is the shopping site. I'll call tomorrow to find out what's going on. I had over $55 in rewards last time I looked.

I printed out the $50 gas cards for test driving a Ford Fusion form and gave it to my dad. He did it yesterday and they sent the form in. Hope he gets the gift cards. He was pretty tickled about it. I also told him about Arby's giving away free chicken tenders today, so him and my mom went there and got one a piece which they ate and then went home and had lunch. My mom was mortified, she thought he should have bought something. I told her she has a coupon for buy one get one free sandwich, they could have used that. I think it's funny myself. He's really getting into all the bargains I pass along to him. He especially likes the free samples that show up in the mail.

walked with mom for 35 min. Started to snow so went back to walking at lunch today instead of waiting till after work for the longer walk. Some walk is better than no walk

The new Wendy's deli sandwiches are very good, even the next day.

I've been trying the coca-cola game that was posted somewhere, not sure if I saw it in the freebies or in a blog. Still haven't won anything after 6 tries. I don't usually do these because I have very bad luck. Almost never win anything.

went into work today. Had to work late and my lunch I brought was long gone by the time I finished. So I went to Wendy's on the way home. Not good!

Bought 4 meals worth of food since it all looked so good and I couldn't decide. Got a Mandarin Chicken salad for dinner tomorrow night. Got Chili for dinner the next night. Bought a hamburger and fries for dinner tonight. Got a Turkey and swiss sandwich for lunch tomorrow. This is new for Wendy's, deli sandwiches. The sandwich looks really good. We'll see. Everything except the hamburger and fries was pretty healthy. Spent $16.69

I'm in a mood to not cook recently. I need to get back to preparing meals and eating at home. I think I'm feeling overwhelmed, too much to do, between work and the trip and life. Running as fast as I can right now and still seem to keep falling behind. Need more sleep too.

Finished listening to the library book on tape Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card. Sci/Fi. 4th in series. Very good series.

walked with mom for 35 min

Went to dinner afterwards and spent $12.29

Mailed my 2 half.com books for $1.59

I was showing my Dad my entertainment book and telling him about the deal, so he wanted me to get him one too, but when I checked back with mypoints, that deal is gone. Now it's buy one at 1/2 off, which is a good deal, but it's not free like the other one was. He said he still wants one though so I ordered another one for him. I think I'll give it to him for his bday, which is in April, I'll give it to him now and get him something else then. Spent $19.99

I got a 50 minute phone card from AT&T in the mail today, part of a class-action suit that was setteled (sp?) It's not valid till later this year. I might give it to my grandma or my brother since I get free long distance through my work. Not that I use it. I probably make less than $10 worth of long distance calls a year.

Finished listening to the library book on tape Blue Gold by Clive Cussler. Adventure. Very good.

I was planning to take my youngest niece out to a movie and lunch this weekend, however, her mom just called and cancelled it saying she's grounded for the forseeable future. Bummer! I guess I'll save some money this month, but I'd rather have the niece time.

Finished reading my book Sleeping With The Agent by Gennita Low. Adventure/Romance. Very good. Smart writing, which I like.

walked with mom for 55 min. It's staying light late enough that we can get a walk in if we go at 4:30, but it sure gets cold when the sun starts to go down.

This is a 4 day work week. So far I've had one 3 hr meeting and one 1 hour meeting. Tomorrow I have another 3 hour meeting, a 1 hour meeting and Friday there is another 1 hour meeting. 9 hours out of a 4 day work week, when am I supposed to get my work done?

I fogot to mention that I purchased the Entertainment book yesterday through My Points. Flash's email reminded me. I got $10 off plus 750 points and will get the $25 gc to a restaurant. I didn't see the deal about reimbursing S$H and the $10 rebate. Maybe when I get my email in a couple of days, I'll see that information. I've been waiting for the book to go on sale. I get one every year, but only after Jan since the price always goes down then. Spent $23.49

I usually have trouble using all the Safeway grocery coupons, they are $5 off a $50 purchase. The cool thing is that King Soopers takes them even though they are for Safeway, but I rarely spend $50 at the grocery store, I average $35-40 each week. You can't use them to purchase stamps or gift cards, which I would buy to get my total to $50. I'll just have to wait till meat or toilet paper is on a good sale and stock up, or since Media Play is out of businees and I used to buy most of my books there I could buy the best sellers at King Soopers, because they are 25% off, a couple of paperbacks would bring the total up, and if I would buy them anyways... I ended up giving two of the coupons to my parents last year, since I couldn't spend that much, but I definetly get my money's worth out of the books. Another cool thing is they have online coupons for things that aren't in the books. For example, I get my haircut at Great Clips and they have online coupons for $3 off.

I was in such a hurry to get to my mom's so we could walk before it got dark tonight that I forgot to wear my new shoes. They were still in the box on the counter. So I don't know how they'll work for walking.

I'm not a shoe person. I own 4 pairs of shoes, 1 pr for walking, 1 pr for work, 1 pr of slip-ons that I buy for $3 every year and wear most of the time until they wear out and 1 pr of slippers that I usually get as xmas or bday presents. I go barefoot as often as possible. I don't like to wear shoes, the first thing I do when I walk in the house is kick my shoes off. That's one of the reasons I don't like winter so much, I like being cold vs hot, but I hate having to wear slippers while working.

went into work today

Went to the bank and deposited the $150 rebate check and a $5 pinecone check.

Stopped at Walgreens and picked up the Adidas deoderant that's free after rebate this month and 2 jars of Jif Extra Crunchy PB. It was on sale at 2/$3 and I had a $1.00 off coupon so only $1 each. I got a raincheck and have coupons for 4 more jars. This was paid for with my Walgreen's rebate cards so no money out of my pocket.

After work I went to King Soopers for gas. Got 10 cents off/gal. Spent $19.88 paid 2.01/gal. Lowest I've seen in quite a while.

Went to KMart and got a new pair of walking shoes, some aluminum foil and ziploc bags. Spent $20.61. I buy men's tennis shoes for my walking shoes, they are cheaper, fit better and seem to provide the arch support I need.

Went to Borders and bought one new book for $7.22. Had a 15% off coupon and used my Border CC rebate card.

Read the library book Manhunt by Janet Evanovich. Romance. Real Cute, fun.

walked with mom for 55 min

Did a lot of food prepping today. Made Oatmeal for 5 breakfasts, a big batch of chili, 2 tuna salads for lunches, and coleslaw. Also chopped celery, and onions and divided grapes into snack portions for the week.

There are many reasons that retiring early has been my goal since I was 25. One of the major ones was plain not wanting to work. But one of the other ones was thinking that there were so many books I wanted to read and so many hobbies and studies I wanted to pursue, that even living to be 400 wouldn't be enough time.

For some reason I never thought I would live to be very old, meaning more than 65. Partly because of my health problems, but partly because I just can't envision it. Financially I'm planning to live to be 100, but I don't really think that will happen.

So I want as many years of not working as I can get, hence the goal of retiring early. I'm going to be very pissed if I saved my money all these years and then die or become bed-ridden before I can enjoy a few years of retirement.

Finished reading my book Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Supernatural. Very good.

Groceries again at King Soopers this morning. Spent $36.03 - saved 24%

Had another Pinecone survey.

Watched more movies on the free movie channels today. Saw Ice Princess and the Aviator.

Finished reading the library book Changelings by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. Sci/Fi. Good.

still cold so no walking. It was absolutely beautiful outside today, blue skies, just gorgeous, but so cold, -10

Went to the library and read some magazines for a while then checked out a bunch of my holds.

Next I went to King Soopers and spent $8.40. They had oatmeal on sale 18 oz for $1, normally $2.69 and I had 2 50 cents off coupons which they doubled so they were free. Love that I'll get some more on my normal grocery run tomorrow since I have 3 more 25 cent coupons which will make them 50 cents each. For double coupons you can only use 3 of one kind of coupon at a time.

I did some research about high blood pressure and potassium was recommeded so that's what I went to the grocery store for, they had the brand I like on sale at 50% off, so I bought a bottle of them.

In a previous post I mentioned that I had started adding cinnamon to my oatmeal in the morning, because it is supposed to help with diabetes. I was reading a magazine today and ran accross these two references in two different articles.

Consuming just 1/4 tsp of cinnamon a day lowers diabetes risk by up to 29%

USDA research shows that just a 1/4 of a teaspoon a day can boost your metabolism twentyfold. Turns out cinnamon makes fat cells more responsive to insulin.

I don't believe everything I read about this or that food that's a cureall for everything, but I figure since I like it on my oatmeal anyways, it can't hurt to try it.

DirectTV has a free Starz movie weekend this weekend and for a change they've had several movies that I wanted to see. So I've spent most of the day watching movies. Saw Blade Trinity, National Treasure, Home on the Range and The Pacifier.

Finished reading my book The City Who Fought by Anne McCaffrey and S.M. Stirling. Sci/Fi Good.

It's so cold, -4 right now. It's been snowy and cold for three days and no end in sight. Supposed to be cold and snowy through next Thursday. I hope not, we can't do any walking in this weather.

Went back to the Dr's this morning to get the blood work. They took my BP again and it was down to 140 over 90, still high but much better.

My parents invited me out to dinner tonight so we went to Rosie's. Spent $10. I was talking about how much I didn't want to go back on medication. I don't like taking the pills and I don't like spending the money for them. My mom says something like I know it's $50 but it's your health you have to do it.

I said I know have to do it, but I don't have to like it. I'm not stupid, if it's necessary I will go back on the meds regardless of the cost or aggravation, I just want to bitch about it for a bit.

I need to get more serious about my diet and weight though. I've been playing with the glycemic index eating, but I cheat a couple times a week so I need to take the time and follow the program. My plan of creating a set of menus and repeating them works very well most of the time.

There are two big trouble areas, days when I go into the office, I usually pick something up on the way home and that's fine if it's a salad, but at least 50% of the time it's fast food. So I need to make it a salad 100% of the time of cook when I get home.

The other problem area is when I don't plan ahead and have everything ready to fix after work. If I've had a long, difficult, frustrating day, (which is most of them), I don't want to have to think, I just want something fast and tasty. When it's spelled out in a menu and the food is chopped and thawed. It's not an issue to cook it. Most of my meals take 15 - 20 min to prepare.

I also need to learn to deal with stress better. I have a very high stress job and the last 6 months have been insane.
I need to learn to let go a bit, but my personality is if it's not good, I can't stop until it is good. I don't do things partway or just ok, it has to be right. I don't want my name on a shabby project. I can't turn the ticker tape in my brain off at night and relax. I need a big pair of scissors

I got last month's walgreen's rebate in the mail today $14.49

I had a dr appt this afternoon. I need to get bloodwork for my diabetes. That's scheduled for tomorrow.

My blood pressure was so high at the dr's office they wouldn't let me go home, because they were afraid I would have a stroke. It was 181/118 So they gave me some medicine in the office to bring it down and I had to stick around for an hour before it got low enough that they would let me leave. They gave me an EKG also, but it was ok. She gave me a prescription for blood pressure meds.

I've been under a ton of stress lately with my job and it seems like I have a prepetual headache. So I wasn't really surprised, but I hate taking medication. I hate taking it and I hate paying for it. She thinks I may have to take as much as 3 meds to bring it down. That would be $30 a month. Then if I have to go back on the meds for the diabetes, that could be another $30 a month. I know it's worth it if I'm healthy, but I don't have to like it

Spent $20 on co-pay and $10 for prescription and $6.11 at the grocery store. King Soopers has baked chicken breasts at the deli now. That's a very cool deal for me since I can buy just one and not have to cook it.

Finished reading the library book Mary Mary by James Patterson. Mystery. Very good.

walked with mom for 35 min

Mailed my half.com book for $1.59, nothing else moneywise for the day

walked with mom for 55 min

It's finally getting light enough in the evenings that mom and I can go back to walking after work and walking longer instead of walking on my lunch hour. Depending on how cold it is, we should be getting more walking in again.

Went into work today. Didn't have time to make lunch so bought it in the cafeteria for $4.67

I had planned to run some errands after work but I was tired and didn't feel like going into stores. I had a massive headache and was stressed out. So I thought the thing that would make me feel best would be to hurry home and try to get a walk in before dark. This is such a major change for me, preferring to exercize over anything else. Especially going to a bookstore, which was one of my planned errands. But it worked just as I hoped, my headache went away about half way through the walk and I felt so much better when it was done.

Got my first rebate check for my computer. It was a big one for $150. It was the online one. I wish they had more like that.

Sold a book at half.com for $2

Finished reading my book The Disappeared by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Sci/Fi. Ok

Went to the grocery store this morning as usual. Spent $49.18 but only 35.38 of that was for groceries. I also purchased a book of stamps and 4 boxes of Kleenex for $5.

It's always a game in the grocery store. Usually I look at it as a challenge but some days I feel like it's a fight to retain my money and get the best deal.

You have to look at everything, it's like they deliberately try to trick you. For example, I was looking at Campbells tomato soup. The individual cans were .69 cents each. Then they had a pack of 4 sitting right next to the single cans on sale for $3. Well that is .75 cents each or 24 cents more than buying the 4 individual cans. Bleagh!

I know that the grocery store always has lots of things on sale that aren't in the sales brochure so while I'm making out my grocery list I notice what coupons I have and at the bottom of the list I will list the item with a ? next to it. Then while I'm in the store when I go past the item I check to see if it's on sale. If it is, I'll buy it. For example, I had 2 coupons for 35 cents off Hillshire Farm sausages. I buy the lil smokies to eat with beans or omelete. They were on sale this week at $2.50 and normal price is $3.69 so I bought 2 for $5, they doubled my 2 coupons and discounted $1.40 so I got 2 for $3.60 which is less than one at the normal price. Good deal, and I can freeze them till needed.

I got a free box of Kleenex this week. I had a coupon. Love freebies

My friend bought a Papa Murphy's pizza and came over to spend the afternoon. The pizza was excellent. Very good.

We watched the Bourne Supremacy that I had taped from one of the free movie weekends I get with Direct TV. It was pretty good. I liked it. Then we just talked for several hours. It was great to relax and spend time with a friend.

walked with mom for 55 min

There's nothing like inviting company over to spur me to clean my house I cleaned the kitchen including the freezer and inside of the refrigerator, both downstairs baths and vacuumed upstairs. Plan to vacuum downstairs in the morning.

I got a free Electrosol dishwasher sample from Walmart in the mail.

I was watching Crossroads tonight on CMT. They paired Bonnie Raitt and Lyle Lovett. It was great. She plays that guitar like no one else, absolutely gorgeous.

it snowed today so we didn't walk. Only got about an inch but it was bitterly cold. It's 3 degrees right now. Almost a full moon and the sky is clear so it's very pretty out.

Not much on the money front today. Paid a couple of CCs online. I pay them in full every month.

Finished listening to the library book on tape Countdown by Iris Johansen. Romance/Mystery Very good

Finished reading the library book A Rumor of Bones by Beverly Connor. Mystery. Also very good.

walked with mom for 35 min

Sent off the $70 for the miniature class registration, but it used my last stamp, so when I got the mortgage prepayment check for $1500 ready to mail I realized I'd have to wait until I get some stamps. Hope I remember when I go to the grocery store this weekend.

My parents wanted to go out to eat tonight so they picked me up and we went to Village Inn. I had two coupons one was buy an entree and 2 drinks and get the second entree for free. I gave that one to my parents to use. My dad was pretty happy about it. The second was buy an entree and get a free piece of pie. So I got a piece of pumpkin pie that I brought home to eat tomorrow

I spent $9.82

I finished reading my book Rebel Ice by S.L. Viehl. Sci/Fi Very good. 6th in the series. I like series books when they have strong interesting characters to follow.

Drove into work today. Traffic wasn't too bad for a change.

Stopped at Wendy's on the way home. It was almost 6 and I was starving. I brought my lunch, but ate it at 12:00 didn't last long enough. I was so busy the afternoon flew bye.

Spent $6.94 at Wendy's

Finished reading my book Farther Than Any Man The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook by Martin Dugard. Biography. It was very interesting.

Walked with mom for 55 min

I didn't have to work today, because I got a comp day for working so many extra hours the last couple of weeks. I woke up and looked at my clock and it said 10:30 I couldn't believe I had slept that late. It turns out I hadn't. I have a new atomic clock and somehow it was set for central time zone instead fo mountain time zone, so it was only 9:30. Still late but not near as bad as 10:30. I used to be able to sleep all morning, I've always been a night person, but lately it's all I can do to stay up till 11 and I notice I'm waking up earlier than I used to also.

I hear all these stories about older people waking up at 4 and 5 in the morning. Don't know if I could take that I like being awake in the middle of the night, when no one else is up. It's so quite and peaceful.

I finished filling out all the rebates for my computer today. I put them and the taxes in the mail. Between the two I have about $1000 coming back to me in the next month or so.

Went to the library and picked up my holds. Finished reading the library book 7 Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly. Adventure. Very good.

Walked with mom for 35 min. Walked yesterday for 35 min also.

I've worked so many hours this last two weeks I feel like I haven't done anything else. I was so tired of computers last night that I didn't even post.

Went to McDonalds for dinner tonight. $6.40 another bad thing about working long hours, I'm too tired to cook and eat right at night.

I have a 3 day weekend though. I got Monday off as comp time for working so much. I need to dig out, the house is disgusting. I also need to do my taxes and fill out all the rebate forms for my computer. I hope to get some reading in also.

Got a $5 pinecone check in the mail and a free sample of Gain detergent.

Finished reading The Musashi Flex by Steve Perry. Sci/Fi. Good.

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.

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.

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.