Tuesday
Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $8 lunch + $12 groceries

Wednesday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $0

Helped to replenish the freezer by buying a bag each of frozen peas and frozen corn. That and some salad - needed green in my diet. Bailed out on my brought lunch for a bought lunch with lawyer friend, lawyer friend's partner, and screenwriter friend.

DH used his Christmas gift and got the haircut, the manicure, the pedicure, and the straight razor shave. Looks like a million bucks, and hopefully it has cheered him up some.

Worked out a bit Tuesday at the very last minute - work got the better of me, so I did my homework: ran for 15 minutes on the treadmill, did the 45 squats, a few wall angels and 10 chest presses. 30 minutes was better than no minutes. Did manage to get back down to 180 again.

All told, not much fiscal happened today. I guess I'm like most everyone else these days - quiet, spending only a little on want, and mostly on need. Payday on the 13th.

Thursday
Saving log - $4 tip box
Spending log - $0

Friday
Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $10 groceries (whole wheat bagette, olives, parmesan/pesto dip spread)

For the last couple of days I've stared at several towers of Ziploc boxes in the home refrigerator, so I've expanded out my lunch experiences and have grazed out of a couple of boxes for dinner. I discovered that: in a pinch a tablespoon of parmesan/pesto dip over microwaved pasta doubles as an alfredo sauce; a cup of fresh salsa is great without chips; pot roast and mango pickle is a wickedly good combination in a lunch box; and that using chopped onions in a salt brine as a quick condiment isn't bad.

Gained 1/2 pound this week. Considering that I had no time to do the mega weekend walk/jog last weekend, I ate and drank liquor without care (?) during Super Bowl afternoon, and I worked out only Monday this week ... I felt I dodged a bullet.

Two more recession observations - the grocery store clerks seem to be so much nicer than they have been for months. Disguising their Valentine's Day hard sell perhaps, but its better than being surly. Tonight I noticed more cars driving on the road with one headlight.

I've heard about a weird project at work. In the 1850's our little non-profit was either next to or was the Little White Church Cemetery. The cemetery was moved at the turn of the century, but apparently not everyone left - tens of people (staff, volunteers, children of volunteers) have reported a tall man in a black coat walking around. So a group of non-profit ghost busters is going to come in at night and roam around.

Thursday
Saving log - $3 tip box + $35 drp
Spending log - $0

Friday
Saving log - $4 tip box
Spending log - $1172 gym

I'm at 180.6.

You know, 180 was the original weight goal from three years ago. The very first trainer I had thought that I would get to 180 in three months. Reality took a bit longer.

Because I've dropped about 8 pounds, I've signed up for another round of personal training - 18 sessions, 1X week. Along with the couple of leftover sessions, these should last until about July. So its a lot, but monthly not so much. And if I bring the lunch instead of buying it, I save about $300 per month. So I'm shifting.

I'm close to getting all the pieces of paper I need to do my taxes. I have to go through my checklist. It used to be so straightforward - a W2 and away I would go. That's the one problem with a little fiscal empire - if I'm the emperor, I have to give my governors and generals time to report.

I'm busy, but my crunch time has been delayed. I was supposed to get a big influx of data Thursday and Friday. Crickets. So I'm still clearing my decks, getting all the projects that I still have to get done done.

And I think I'm done.

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $0

Even though it was cold. 3 Seattle banks

got robbed today within four hours of each other. None of the three robbers looked a tenth as good as Warren Beatty did playing Clyde Barrow, but then again, the real Clyde Barrow didn't either.

DJ friend told me about his cost cutting measures and thanked me for telling him about Lenny's. Some of the cheapest produce in town, but you have to pick and look. Icky stuff can be in the bin with the good stuff.

Hit the gym today again. 181.8!

Sunday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $10 Fremont Sunday Market

Saturday
Saving log - $100 KO Drp + $40 MMM Drp
Spending log - $12 breakfast

Ate 1/2 of the mega-breakfast, the other 1/2 for dinner and we both got very good at getting the to-go boxes before we dig in. (easier to estimate 1/2 before you dig in). I'm seriously toying with the idea of bringing a couple of those Ziploc boxes in my tote so I don't even have to bother the waitress. Is that too chintzy? Noticed that even with all the talk of Starbucks, Microsoft, and Boeing layoffs, there was plenty of food being left on the plates.

Went to the gym on Saturday to catch up a bit because I didn't go all week, due to that pesky cold. I'm still at 182 with the shoes on (that 178 was with the swimsuit).

Noted that the KO share price was getting down to the $42 range, close to average price that I was buying it during its slump in 2002-2005, so I decided to put in a bit more. If KO gets much lower, its time to consistently add to the position.

Didn't feel particularly ambitious on my walk today (it was freezing!), but I tried to shorten my walking intervals and lengthen my jogging ones. At least for the first two miles, it was a 1/3 jog and 2/3 walk. When I visited the Fremont Sunday Market, I found a cute framed mini-poster of the Champs Elysees.

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $88 body fat & bone density tests + $256 spay, chip, toenail clip

...is resting comfortably after being spayed. She is wearing a little plastic cone to keep her from licking the scar. I don't know which Morgan hates more, being sore and thinking "every time I go to the vet bad things happen" or total unstylishness of a plastic cone tied at the neck with a white gauze bow and collar. The bow does give her a little House on the Prairie look, but I don't think she's buying it.

As for me, I underwent the gold standard for body fat tests - still at 37% body fat - but since it was underwater, I discovered that my swimsuit fit on the loose side, and just with a bathing suit, I'm 178. I also sprung for the bone density test - I'm at 95% of average amongst non-menopausal women (98% at one test, 91% at another).

Found out that just one of my clif bars fell into the Salmonella recall.

Sunday
Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $3.35 coffee, bagel + $1.50 apple + $10 groceries

Monday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $5.70 mocha, bagel + $5 cup of soups, juice

Coming down with a cold - it was a 'not quite right' feeling yesterday, but today it tightened its grip. I've have to tell Morgan to stop sneezing directly into my face. Why can't she sneeze into her paw like we're supposed to?

Yesterday I tried out my Christmas gift- a

wristwatch-heart rate monitor (2 parter with the strap around the sternum). I learned a lot, especially why I can do 7 miles of walking, yet not drop weight. It turns out that unless there is an incline, even speed walking puts me at a heart rate of about 95-106 bmp. An incline will put me in the 120s bmp, any decent hill (like nearly any Seattle downtown street going from 2nd - 5th) puts me in the 130s, while jogging will get me to 135-145. Sigh. Good to know that my heart rate drops quickly after the little jog, but unfortunately it has to be less walking and more jogging.

Today is a holiday for me, and a chance to be lazy and catch up on Battlestar Galactica. (I'm only on the beginning of season 2, so frak you if you make spoiler comments.)

As far as the fiscal is concerned, here's the reason why the fixed rate really determines whether you buy the I-bond or not. If there is deflation or no inflation, the fixed rate is what you get.

And finally, giving thanks that we've survived the 43rd president. Please let the 44th be better; he can't be much worse.

Saving log - $1 tip box
Spending log - $0

Funded my 2009 Roth today. Got several more pieces of tax paper, including the 1099R because I've converted my 2005 & 2006 traditional IRA to Roth. Got a collection of tax papers and put them in my green folder. I'm debating whether to do my taxes myself this year or use a preparer. Hmmm. Will I be tapped to head the Department of Treasury, or not?

Most of the day at work it felt as if we were waiting for the 3 day weekend. Most of the temporary audit staff's (including the lead) last day was today. Our pledge season this year was cut short by at least a month. Not two years ago I and lead auditor that year would have bought into the Super Bowl pool in mid-Feb.

This morning, I read a blog specific for non-profits. In the post, the writer talked about corporate matches. She didn't see any changes in corporate match giving. She's nuts, in my opinion. I calculate them for our non-profit as part of my job and I'm seeing big declines in two ways: 1. mechanics of the matches are changing - ratios dropping, match gifts "capped" on the donor gift or a total of what the company will pay; 2. if you base a match gift on employee giving, when employee giving drops - even if the ratio is the same - the match dollars will drop.

But to keep this post from being a total downer, this afternoon I was weighed and measured. I'm still at 182, but I have lost 3 inches in my waist since I was measured two months ago. Yeah! If you lose inches, you can always lie.

Had a nightmare that I was super late to my gym appointment...no wait, that was real. My bus spidey-sense worked as it usually does during weekends and holidays - 30 seconds too late.

I was 45 minutes late, so I was an official no show. However the trainer did weigh me for the 15 minutes of my time and we now have confirmation - I'm at 183.

Latest project - DH and I are in the process of getting another kitty. I half expected that eventually another cat would appear, but after 2 years, I guess that we aren't cat magnetic. We put the word out to our network that we were interested. DJ friend has a friend who has several cats and a adolescent stray showed at their door. We got a picture - all black with a brown sheen undercoat, good coat, cared for. They've put up posters for several weeks. No owners have shown. We are going to visit with a carrier. If kitten is agreeable, we bring him/her home. I'm ready for another pet relationship.

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $7 groceries for work - (1/2 & 1/2 for french press coffee, turkey breast for lunch)

One of my DRP (dividend reinvestment) stocks, a utility called Wisconsin Energy Corp (WEC) actually raised its dividend a couple of days ago. And not just a girlie 1 cent per share, but 7 cents a share to over 33 cents per share or about a 25% increase. Wonder what they know that scared investors don't... Whatever it is, stop showing it! I want your price to drop so I can keep buying more.

In other news, I went to the gym, weighed myself - I'm at 182.8 and worked out a bit. I tell you now because I know that when the trainer weighs me on Friday, I'm going to be 187.

Friday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $5.77 box lunch

Thursday
Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $14 lunch

Yesterday I went into work even though I probably shouldn't have. There were a couple of meetings that I had to attend. One was a casual meeting with the COO and two other supervisors - we meet to keep the COO up on the department doings while our boss is on leave. We talked a bit about how our new internal staffers were doing with some of the work we were giving them. Everybody is working out well on both sides - we have the extra work right now, and during these recessionary days nobody at work wants to be sitting on their hands.

The other meeting I felt I had to make was a visit from the Merrill Lynch administrator of our the 403B plan. He talked a bit about the two new funds replacing two under-performing funds in January (my bond fund is one of them), and he answered the question pleasantly when I asked him, "How's Bank of America treating you?" Apparently Merrill Lynch will be a subsidiary of BofA, not totally chewed up and digested.

I suppose I could have missed both of these meetings, but it meant that I had enough witnesses - I had no qualms about calling in sick today.

But I bundled up and did make the gym meeting with the new trainer. (We meet once a week on Fridays.) Something about losing $60 as a no-show made me brave it. He took one look at me, weighed me (184.8 lbs) we worked on the food plan for an hour, then he made a little green tick at the end indicating that this meeting will probably be a freebie. All because I showed up. I usually can't wheedle into freebies most places, but gym is apparently one the few places that I can.

And at the very end of the day, I got a bit of money from the neighborhood WaMu and asked the teller whether he was going away. Apparently the layoffs were in corporate and in back office - the WaMu branches are to be untouched, except maybe to have "Chase" all over them. I was happy to hear that and he was happy to hear that the neighbors were concerned.

Saturday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $10 brunch + $20 Christmas gift

Sunday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $3 bagel, coffee + $1 apple + $20 cash box

I was very stiff and sore from gym and the trainer on Friday - so I went Christmas shopping Saturday instead. Ordered sister's Christmas fish(es) for Tuesday delivery - the fishmonger still had trout.

The recession kit is coming together. I forgot that my giftees now have a black lab (met him last summer), and chocolate is not for dogs, so I included a couple of doggie gifts along with the chocolate bars. I also picked up a $1.99 bag of chocolate coins.

Today I walked the 7 miles and began "interval" training. I asked him a couple of days ago what he considered cardio, and he told he whatever it took to maintain your heart rate at 110 or so for 8 minutes, and spike to 130 or so for 2 minutes. Rinse and repeat for 3-4 times. Both juggling a stopwatch (my PDA has a stopwatch program) and trying to take my pulse would be a PITA, so I came with a stripped down version: walk briskly for 5 blocks, jog for 2. I could do it six times going down to the Fremont Bridge, only three times coming back up because I go up a hill back home.

As I walked, I hit all the hardware/craft/general goods/ office supply store that I could to serve as the container of the chocolate. I saw ideas, but nothing that matched what I wanted to do. Then it hit me: cash box. Ho ho, there's a theme I can work with. Its steel, it locks, it contains things, the coins and dog treats can go into the coin slot tray, I can tape the Christmas card/recession kit note to the top, and the flat chocolate bars can be put underneath the till like dollar bills. If I feel really funky, I can get currency strips to bind the chocolate bars. And frankly, every family needs a cash box - just try holding a yard sale without one. Decided not to waste any more time. I found a cash box online for quick delivery - 20$ total.

Saturday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - 0$

Sunday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $5 groceries and lost $7 out of pocket

Did the gym laundry Friday night, then returned the gym bag to work Saturday afternoon and walked part of the way home. As long as I was at work, I put in a few dollars to show the tip box some love.

Walked Saturday and Sunday - it is getting harder to do the full trip because I much prefer to walk during daylight. When it gets dark by 4:30, that's my deadline, and it if takes about 3 hours, I have to start at 1:30. Not complaining particularly, weekends are for a bit of laziness. Even if I have only two hours, walking is good, because I made these three observations:

1. Listened to Marketplace radio. The piece talked about the price of eggs and the correspondent let slip that she pays $3.35 for a dozen. Yikes! Still the rationalizations flew: "But LA is so expensive and I have them delivered." Cry me a river. Here's a hint: buts cry out for a creative solution in times of trouble. Do you really have to have your eggs delivered?

2. Same radio show, except the piece talked about re-setting children's expectations. If only we can tap into peer pressure. What if everybody's teen was told, "nope, we can't afford it."?

3. Discovered that while my new hoodie is a magnet for sidewalk small change, its pockets expel dollar bills. Time to be more careful where I put my change. Sucks.

More signs of the times: the North Seattle Goodwill is doing brisk business, even on a Sunday (Monday's when the new stuff gets laid out), even at 4:30 in the afternoon.


Where am I going to get my colon cleaned now?
Before

After

Ah the seamy underside of the holidays...

Friday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $3.35 bagel, coffee + $1.61 yerba mate + $3.60 for 2 pie crusts

Thursday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $3.35 bagel, coffee + $17.41 many, many storage containers

Duvall Thanksgiving was a lot of fun, with a lot of food made for 4 people. Leftovers! We scored:

1. One large yogurt container of homemade pumpkin pie filling. Score because 2 pie crusts are way cheaper than one filled pie at the grocery store. Pumpkin pie is cooling comfortably on the counter. Now I all I have to do is ignore DH pleading, "is it ready yet?" No - not until its cooled.
2. Raw turkey liver. I love turkey liver. Its my tradition to fry up the liver with a bit of sage while the turkey roasts. Thank G*d none of my friends and acquaintences like turkey liver. More for me.
3. Goose fat. Cassoulet in January. I got several plastic bags of dried beans from sister. I gave the Duvall friends a bag of sister's dried beans.
4. Turkey bones. Not all the bones that I would have gotten had I hosted, but guests in general rarely get bones. Soup in a couple of days. Yippee!

Next week I'm going to brownbag it with the leftovers and I have a fresh supply of plastic containers. My homework with the new trainer is to hit the gym at least two more times a week in addition to the one hour per week with him. Unfortunately everybody seems to want to schedule over my time. The solution I've come up with is to hit gym at lunch (yeah, busy, the locker room will be like high school), then eat at my desk. Nobody schedules anything at noon, hah hah. Since I will have leftovers next week, it gives me a big break to try out getting into the habit.

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $6 lunch

I went to the gym yesterday and today. 186.

Well, I'm going back in. I've signed up with another trainer at the gym. This time I've signed up for only once/week, leaving me to come back at least one more time during the week. I'm trying for the element of being a bit cheap, but also go for what works. If I put money on it, I make the meeting.

Turns out that I'm now regular enough so I still get the grandfathered 2006 rate, a good 25% off the 2008 rates.

I decided to take the plunge again because I think that a trainer is an inducement to make progress, and a trainer can devise different exercises for me to freshen things up - challenge my body to figure how to do new things. Not to mention, I'm a bit of a pleaser and have an audience so I will try harder.

The three months that I had working out on my own were valuable. I didn't slip, I think I'm as strong as I finished up. Alone I maintained well and I think I can push myself. However, just like you can't tickle yourself, you really can't surprise yourself either. I suspect that's the main reason why gym rats usually have a training buddy. Even if its competitive - "watch this?" "I'll bet you can't do that" *CRASH* OW! - seeing the buddy do something novel and trying it yourself adds that element of surprise.

For an novel exercise, the trainer had me do a plank (stationary pushup) with hands on a ball. I could hold the plank on the ball for 30 seconds, surprising myself. Usually we did side planks or regular planks or climbing planks or with one little ball in one hand or hollow planks but generally flat on a mat.

Yikes - I just realized it had been three years to the week since I first started going to the gym. November is a good time - get a counter impulse for the holiday eating season - and I miss the busy resolution season.

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $3.38 coffee, bagel + $5 apple, clif bars + $10 sushi

Another 5 mi walk, however it was up Queen Anne Hill. Walking up it felt like Everest, but at least I could still do it. As a reward for going up the hill, I got a few snacks at the kaiten sushi place, more pieces, fewer rice rolls. Next week, I go to the gym.

Queen Anne is a fairly swank neighborhood of Seattle. Even here, I noticed a lot of For Rent / Vacancy signs for November. The university is on a quarterly schedule - in a normal year the signs go up in late August or September.

The seasonal clif bars came in. At a $1.38/bar, it was a seasonal splurge for work.

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $6 lunch

both Ben Stein and Jim Cramer make it on Dr. Phil. That's what greeted me above the elliptical machine as I warmed up.

We had the super duper exciting explain-the-new-medical-insurance meeting. It was, in a word, baroque. There's the network, the non-network, and the really non-network. We also have less than a week to fill in our paperwork. Sheesh. Can you say railroad?

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $9 lunch, apple + $8 groceries

I know that with the stock market and the world-wide fiscal badness, it sounds like the line, "so Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play?", but everything else about my day went well.

The last couple of weeks I've only made it to the gym on Thursday. Today I managed to get there the other day that I promised myself I would go - Monday. I've been weighing myself each time I go: 185, 187, 186, 185. Today, 183. Yippee.

Rolled over a 1 yr CD to a 13 month at 4% interest rate. This is one of the 40K CDs. Couldn't get the highest rate (4.2%) because I had no loan with this bank. Who knows what will happen fiscally when this CD matures? I expect to be looking seriously at real estate at this time. But holding it in a CD means I can't be tempted to buy...much.

Saw a .50/can deal on tomato products, along with 4/$1 little lemons. I'm starting to see more things under $1.

It is time to think over things fiscally. As the stock market drops, its time to console one's self and plan.

Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $9 lunch

Sister called from the farmette. In the process of either fixing or replacing the garage door on the metal shed at the farmette, and apologized that she didn't update the spreadsheet ... or send me the bills she paid so I can update the spreadsheet. But she loved her birthday presents. Wonder when she will attempt the kitchen floor and the bathroom? Hopefully next year or the year after.

On my third gym session sans trainer. At the end, I told the two trainers doing their paperwork on the side table that it was very weird not making that final stop to sign out and pay for the session. "That's okay," one of the trainers said with a smile, "I can give you a couple to sign out." I've got all the bills - this weekend I'm totalling them up just to see the damage.

I'm thinking about 12K, spread out over 2.5 years.

Speaking of the weekend, I am planning on meeting another Saving Advice blogger face to face this weekend. First time that I've met any of you face to face and I'm very excited! Who is it? Well, I'd like to tell you all but I'd like to ask permission first.

Bwahhahhhahhahhhhahaaa!

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $3 coffee, bagel + $9 lunch

This weekend, I did my gym laundry. Note: I do it every second or third week... not just on holiday weekends. But I bet if I did my gym laundry less often I wouldn't have an issue with machines.

Normally I bring my gym clothes back on Sunday and then walk, but since Monday's a holiday and Monday's when I'm thinking of going, well, waiting until Monday and hitting the gym beforehand was hitting two birds with one stone. So I hit the gym today and did an upper body routine from November. It still whipped my butt. Definitely a labor-ed day.

Afterwards I had lunch at a pho place near Macy's (didn't go in), and wandered a bit.

Last Saturday, DH and I went over to visit our friends in Duvall. They confided to us that they could not, for love or money, get a HELOC from any Seattle bank (tried WellsFargo (WF) first) to fix their roof. They were asking for 12K. It was suggested to them, in all seriousness by WF, to collect 6 credit cards. Yikes. But it is very telling - the friend tell us they have credit scores in the 700 range, and have converted their loan from an ARM to fixed rate.

SillyOleMe blogged about this in her life, I want to mention it here to let her know that no one is loaning anyone anything. Don't take it personally. Its the recession talking, and its saying, "cash is king."

Wednesday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $7 lunch

Thursday
Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $8 lunch

Keep on, keepin' on. Haven't done anything particularly frugalicious. Like BA, I'm a casual coupon user. I was handed a lunch coupon last week as I was walking toward another lunch and I used it yesterday. The press pot coffee is still working like a champ, and it saves a few minutes off my schedule when I first get in, to boot.

This afternoon, I worked out at the gym w/o the trainer. (Not the first time, but the first permanent time). I was about 10 minutes late so I worked out for the extra 10 to make up for it. I used a 8 month old workout routine (an L) so I added 10 pounds of weight to the machine settings. Worked well.

The tough parts were
1.) taking a bit of time to figure out where the machines were moved to (new machines and remodeling). It helped to take a few minutes before the set to look at the card, visualize the exercise and the find the machines.

2.) figuring out what to do when someone is exercising in front of your machine. I worked around her, but cripes, twenty minutes doing one thing is not very efficient.

I gave DH a belated birthday gift. He wanted a 20 Gig MP3 player just like mine. DJ friend was willing to sell me his (which he wanted because it was just like mine) for $80. It truly is just like mine, except for a bitty scratch at the bottom, so we can tell them apart. The delights of the old yet again.

Saving log - $1 tip box
Spending log - $9 lunch

Today my trainer and I worked together for the very last time at the gym acrosss the street from work. True to form, I was on an up cycle for my weight - at 187. Sigh.

I'm going to see if I can work out with a gym buddy. We don't have to work out together, I just need someone who would ask "where were you?" to counteract my natural "just one more thing". But for the gym buddy, I will to figure when I really want to go. Monday and Thursday, maybe with a Friday for an hour. I'm even toying with the idea of going every day for 1/2 hr.

I do have about 11 months or about 80 routines that my trainer wrote down. I've sorted them out by whether they are upper body (U), lower body (L), or a combo (U/L), and pick one out randomly. There are classes that you "just show up for" at about noon, which should spice things up.

I've spend a fair amount of money for over 2 years working at this ... time to really make it frugal and use all what I've collected.

Saving log - $0
Spending log - $3.50 bagel & coffee + $10.50 sushi lunch

Pigout during Friday's lunch potluck and Saturday's dinner potluck, so its time to get out there and work some of it off.

Bad news: rained all afternoon
Good news: rain cools everything down.

So I walked in the rain, stopping at dry spots under trees and eaves. It worked maybe for the first three miles, but then I got soaked.

Route was: Greenwood, Fremont, cross Fremont Bridge, 3/4 up Queen Anne Hill, Bigelow Ave, down to 5th Avenue. Ate a conveyor belt sushi lunch as a treat, then walked to my usual end point downtown at Dexter/Denny. About 6 mi in total with a mountain climb 2/3 of the way.

I only went up Queen Anne hill about 3/4 of the way because my glasses also got soaked, & it was hard to see. Dangerous when you are trudging up a hill. I did notice that the hill was a bit easier after walking about 4 miles. The first time I went up it I thought it would be easier if I was fresh for it so I took the bus to it. Wrong. Easier if the leg muscles are good and warmed up.

Decided on the Queen Anne conveyor belt sushi lunch. Plate prices were $1, $1.50, $2, $3. The other place I go to the prices are $1.50, $2.25, $3, $4. Not that much on the face of it, but it means that for $15, you can either eat until you are practically sick at the first place, or you've got to control yourself at the second. $10 gave me a very good meal.

After I got home I took a warm bath and took a preventative aspirin in water. Tomorrow I will burn off my last trainer appointment and then it will be me.

Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $1.86 coffee (1 more!) + $12 lunch + $1 apple

My trainer is leaving the gym to start her own training business. Quite a shocker on the friendship basis, but my credit card is cheering. I feel a little guilty about that.

I've learned a lot from her. I've worked with all but a couple of pieces of equipment, learned a lot of exercises and calisthentics, the form I should have, the muscles I should work, how to put together a workout routine, and she would write out the workout routines as do them. I've saved them all.

Her official last day will occur when I'm gone on vacation, but since we have three sessions to burn off, she's going to come back in to the gym for those. Yet another reason not to burn a bridge on your old job - you never know when you need the infrastructure.

I'm going to aim working out at the gym on my own for a few months, use the workouts as written and get a routine - weigh myself weekly. My clothes give me a decent reading - about as good as a tape measure.

My fear is that routines will become too routine and that I'm more likely to blow them off because I will only have the feel better aspect, not the feel better plus holy crap I'm throwing away money if I blow this off - especially when my schedule gets crazy. We'll see.

I am getting better though. I enjoy my cheap long walks and enjoy the fact that a few people have told me that six miles is long ... it really isn't. I still have the goal to begin to jog them. I'm starting to run for buses...and catch them.

Good luck to you, trainer. Birdie's out of the nest.

Yesterday, I explored a new walking route from downtown to home:

Downtown to Stewart to Eastlake to Roosevelt to Ravenna to Green Lake and then home. It was a great route - I made it to Green Lake when my 48 bus came a few seconds after I stopped for a little break. I gave into temptation and took it. I figured I walked about 5.5 miles in about 2 hrs, and it would have been another 30 minutes to get home.

All told, it was one of the prettier and more pleasant routes. It was a tad close to I-5 on the right, so I got a fair amount of freeway noise. On the left, I got great views of Lake Union, all the businesses along Eastlake, and the public art embedded in the street corners. The public art is a series of square sculpted friezes of microscopic critters - rotifers, diatoms, algae, paramecium. The sculptor has a serious rotifer fixation! They are kinda cute in the microscope, however they do cause pretty serious dehydration in children, so that cancels out their cuteness.

And I crossed the University Bridge. Not as easy as the Fremont Bridge, but much, much nicer than either the Ballard or the Aurora Bridge.

I wish I would have brought my camera. I saw at least 5 good shots that I wish I would have gotten. I'll have to think about walking along Fairview, one block over from Eastlake...right on the water.

Today I took what I thought would be an easy day. Just Greenwood to Fremont. But I still had some "gas in the tank", so I walked along Leary, with the plan to catch the 28. But I saw 3rd Ave NW, and decided to walk that, just to see what I could see.

3rd Ave NW is one of the those "secret" residential arterials. No bus line serves it. The local car traffic moves along pretty well at a high 35 mph, from 39th St all the way up to 105th. (I only went to 85th). Its one of those roads that will help you out of many a commuting jam. Just don't tell anyone!

Oh yes, this route was a bit more profitable - I found a dime and a penny on it. .11!

With all of that introduction, here is the only grocery store on 3rd Ave NW until 85th. Let's hope that Mr. (Invisible) Hand doesn't get wind of it.

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $1.50 coffee + $22 energy bars

I had every intention to make it a no-spend day, but my trainer asked me to buy a box of energy bars from her to get a bonus. She's never asked me before because as she says, "she sucks at selling supplements", so I don't expect her to ask again. Besides, I can always say that I'm finishing off the box I bought. It just so reminds me of high school band selling candy bars that it made me laugh.

Did look at the grocery flyers today - the sales start on Wednesday finish on Tuesday. Coming up on the 4th of July, its an okay week for produce - $1/lb for peaches, broccoli, cauliflower. But $1 seems to be the floor this year which is depressing compared to years' past.

Took a couple of pictures of items that I want to remember. The Ballard Denny's got destroyed this morning. I had eaten here in the past couple of years - Just pick any Saturday that I blogged in 2006 or early 2007.


And to remind myself of persistance, I took a picture of the last holdout of Ballard condo development. She didn't sell, despite being offered up to $1M for her little house. She died in her house a couple of Sundays ago - some folks stuck flowers in her fence. I have to admire that, but when sister and I faced a similar decision, we sold.

My coworker claimed that the bike/pedestrian trail leading from the Olympic Sculpture Park, then Myrtle Edwards Park, then Elliott Park would go all the way to Fisherman's Terminal.

Didn't quite.

Past Elliott Park, it goes through Magnolia Connector to Pier 84, then it goes through a very funky bypass along land owned by the Port of Seattle, along railroad tracks (trail was well marked and fenced, so it was safe but the view was very industrial), and ends up at Pier 91. There was a sign pointing to Fisherman's Terminal. I still had plenty of energy so I followed it. It turned into the Magnolia Bike Path. Not bad, but it was at least another mile crossing the Dravus Bridge, and another 1/2 mi further to Emerson. Crossing Emerson, it was another 1/4 mi to Fisherman's Terminal.

So I made it that far, but I can tell you from personal experience that its at least another 2 mi from the edge of Puget Sound Park System to Fisherman's Terminal. I figure all told it was about 6 mi.

Thinking about all of these superlong walks as urban hikes. I pick my destination, my rules are simple. If I see a sidewalk or stairs with railing I can walk it. When you think about it, while nature is beautiful and inspiring, if you need the physical challenge, why drive 50 miles to walk 10 miles? Why not walk the 10 miles from home?

So far I've found out:
-I have my choice of 3 direct routes to walk from work to home. (Aurora, Dexter, Westlake).
-I need a Sherpa to get to the top of Queen Anne Hill. Brutal for a hill. Phew!
-It takes only 1 hour 15 minutes to walk from home to University of Washington.
-It takes only 20 minutes to get to Green Lake and another hour ten to walk around it.
-Walking the Ballard Bridge is only slightly less scary than walking the Aurora Bridge.

Friday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $3.25 coffee, bagel + $1.70 coffee (McAmericano - hah hah) + $25 duck ride ticket + $11 lunch + $20 2 CDs

Thursday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $1.80 coffee + $13 lunch + $11 crockpot cookbook + $30 graphic novel

Made my gym appointment yesterday (181.8 lbs!! yay), but also played tourist at the little shops inside and underneath the Pike Market. Ate lunch at my hideout in the market, and afterward in one of the shops, found a crockpot cookbook that had a couple of good ideas and contained a number of pork recipes (DH loves pork and brings some home all the time). Also, you probably don't know this, but I do follow one particular comic/ graphic novel "world". A new novel came out and I was glad to see it. There was a very bad movie made of that comic world - it seemed to clear out the poseurs, I guess.

Today I rode the Duck ride - amphibious craft will take tourists throughout downtown Seattle, then will splash into Lake Union, chug around Lake Union for 45 minutes or so, then come up onto the road, drive around Fremont a bit and head for base. At least twice a week every week of my workday, as a pedestrian I passed a Duck picking its way through Pioneer Square. After nine years, curiosity got the better of me.

The only vaguely frightening part - the driver (Captain Hoohaw) needed both hands to get his wig on. Hope he was steering with his knees.


Coming on the left and over you on the water...


Then, after the Duck ride, 3 block walk and a little shopping at a CD store - both new and used. The checkout person saved me 50% - she was interested in buying one of the CDs that I had so she knew that there were a couple of used copies.

So far, it has been a bit more spendy than usual to play the tourist rather than the working slob ... on the other hand, no hotel rates, no gas consumed, no terribly pricey restaurants.

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $4 coffee, bagel, apple + $8 CD + $20 sushi lunch

I walked a huge amount today, and began to jog. I'm a terrible jogger, but dammit, since I bought warm running tights I'm going to see if I challenge myself a bit more. As if walking from 92nd to 35th and back ain't enough.

I did manage to jog about 5 blocks. I'm no runner, have no bounce in my shins, and got winded quick, but I'll see if next week I can do 10 blocks.

The worst part though was midway, because I landed in Fremont, where I bought and ate my apple, but then I flipped through the used CD store, walked through the Fremont Sunday market, found the Theo chocolate store (and they give tours of the factory, FYI). I managed to sniff and enjoy the store & amazingly, didn't sample any. However, tired and hungry, I succumbed to conveyor belt sushi, picking and enjoying the most expensive plates. Luckily the most expensive plates were $4 apiece.

It did mean that I felt that I had to walk back. And now I've go to think about my endpoint at the end of my walks - I don't want to turn them into rewards where I spend a lot of money.

Checked my bank account online. Tomorrow is the last day of the month when we get paid, but the next paycheck was there already. Nice. I was expecting that the net $ of my check would drop due to the increased 403B withholding ... A pleasant surprise that I miscalculated - March 31 should be the last paycheck of 1st quarter 2008.

Saving log - $0 tip box + $35 Drp 1 + $40 Drp 2
Spending log - $1.55 coffee (16 oz size), $6 lunch

Put money into two of my Drp stocks. They aren't going gangbusters, but its nice to be able to put a little something in when stocks are cheaper.

I finished figuring out what I want to now put into my 403B. 2007 I had to pay tax with a penalty, and I want to avoid that. I figure the most strategic way to avoid it is to increase my 403B to the max.

The maximum that we can put in is $15K; from my latest paycheck (end of February) I've already put in $1170, I can change quarterly so I will have put in $1755 by the end of March (quarter 1), so I have $13,245 to put in for 9 months. That works out to be around $1470/month, or $735/pay period. I used the paycheck calculator, first putting in what I was doing already to see if the numbers were about right. They were within $5, so I increased the percentages by 5%, then 2.5% until I got a 403B withholding close to but under $735. 37.5%. I drop my paycheck by 300$ and that's per paycheck - $600/month. I can do it, but it will take some getting used to.

The other commitment was to the trainer. I've had a heart to heart. I've basically been 185 (sometimes as high as 190, or as low as 183) for over a year. Is the plateau an issue? What kind of new goals should we go after?

I thought about this over the weekend, and I came to some conclusions:

1. The weight plateau doesn't bother me - unless I stepped on a scale, you wouldn't guess that I'm 185, and these days, maintaining and not increasing weight even during the holidays is an achievement.

2. What does bother me is my waist. Legs, arms, chest, back, butt, even upper waist have become more defined and I'm happy with their progress. My lower and mid waist are stubbornly resistant. Don't get me wrong - the ab muscles underneath have gotten a lot stronger - they just are still cloaked by the fat on top.

3. Weight training is great and I enjoy it - but right now its the same moves with increasing weights. Not too much to learn after you get the form down and you figured out what muscles get targeted. I suggested that I'd like to learn some pilates and yoga moves and with that my trainer brightened up. We did a couple of them today - the v sit keeping the chest up and moving the arms up and down. Pumping arms up and down gives you something to do while you are holding that darn v sit...my mid back is very stiff.

Conclusion is that we are going to work on an inches goal, specifically for the waist. Not that you can spot lose, but something's bound to happen.