Well, I got my birthday gift from DH today. From Stamps.com, two sheets of the new denominational stamps (41 cents) with a picture of our dear, departed kitty on them, when he was 12, lying like a library lion on my sister's end table.

He had a certain timeless quality, but a timely quality too. He shared the end table with a couple of magazines and a coaster that you just knew were going to land on the floor five minutes later.

Its so touching. I miss Augie so.

This sign appears every 50 feet or so along the Aurora bridge, a magnet for this sort of problem.

Today I changed some dollars to euros for the trip. Too bad that 1507$ is only 1005 euros, but I hit it lucky at the Travelex in Westlake Center. They had a special - no 1% change rate, and a free buyback program to change the euros to dollars at the rate I got today. Due date for the buyback is 31 days, but I'll be in Atlanta on a 3 hr layover on May 31 (last day of my buyback). I know what I'll be doing!

In addition to that, it was a spendy day - a couple more bras, tights, ankle socks, and bubble bath ($38). Lunch at a kaiten sushi place ($13). DH was eyeing my Japanese-style fold out Moleskine notebook, so to avoid a fight, I picked a couple more, along with some office supplies ($29). And to top it off, a bubble tea ($3.25).

A nice relaxing day:

Received a card, box of chocolates, a bottle of red wine from DH, with some other surprise gift the end of this week, and a dinner this week.

The best gift of all: not having to go to work tomorrow. It feels like a Saturday night.

Hit an impromptu yard sale and picked up an unused Oxo teapot for $5. By unused, I mean the inside looked clean with no water spots inside and the bottom was clean. It was larger, shinier, cleaner, poured better, and the handle was more ergonomic than my old teapot, so into a donation bag the old teapot went. Its nice and relaxing when the stars align like that - a true upgrade and replacement so clutter is kept to a minimum.

Went and browsed the Greenwood library, part of the Seattle neighborhood library system. Here's a picture of the front.

The renovation was finished in April 2005, about 6 months after the Seattle main library was renovated.

Then went and checked out the used CD store, bought a little bit ($38! eek!) and chatted with the owner. He's doing well, so he needs stock and is buying CDs. Since all of my CDs are ripped onto my hard drive, I figured I might just as well sell my CDs for store credit. It will keep the clutter down, rotate what I have and will listen to, and help with my music/ entertainment budget. Yes, I'll be losing a bit of money with every CD I buy then resell, but its probably better than buying them, enjoying them a few times, then listening to NPR - my normal mode. If they make it onto my MP3 player, they get listened to at least once in awhile.

Got the post-chocolate hangover? You know, where you are bouncing off the wall from the chocolate with the knowledge that the acne will come in a couple of days?

Feb 13, Tuesday
Saving log - $9 tip box ($4 mine + $5 for the MP3 case I sold to DJ friend)
Spending log - 1.50$ coffee + 5$ lunch

After a great day of work yesterday, I got pounded today. Everybody was needy and calling. Sigh. It was nice to get the $5!

Opened up the bi-monthly electric bill and got a brutal surprise - $184! We had the same usage patterns as last year. Somehow every year its never a pleasant surprise.

I also paid into a Drp this month and a wrote a check to finish off paying the credit card completely. I plan on putting another $300 into ING this month.

Feb 14, Wednesday
Saving log - $1.50 tip box
Spending log - $1.50 coffee + 15$ lunch + 2.00$ snack + $17.30 CDs

Sigh. I got $40 last night and I spent it all by tonight. Last Sunday afternoon, the new CD store wasn't really open but the door was - the owner was talking to a friend - so DH and I walked through. We couldn't buy anything but the owner let me lay-away what I liked, to pay when he officially opened. I found 2 CDs from my young-college-hood. Tonight he was open for real and I bought them for real. It dates me, buying CDs in a brick and mortar store. Even the owner was my age, with a touch of gray. In a few years buying a CD will be like buying a buggy whip. He also had vinyl. Got to tell DJ friend about it.

DH and I both enjoyed the chocolates. Again, Valentine's Day is like most other holidays - it arrives at the back end of my paycheck, when you get paid on the 15th and last day of the month. So far, only Labor Day is the only exception.

Bought $33 box of chocolate truffles I picked at the local chocolatier for DH on Valentine's Day. It wasn't much of a decision - I just went for 2 of nearly everything except the coconut and the peanut butter. I know DH doesn't really like peanut butter, but I forgot whether he really loves or really hates coconut. It was just a whole lot easier to say two of everything but these two, and there is nothing like appearing to be decisive when there is a line behind you.

Opening the box later, the chocolates were nestled in two by two and it looked like the hold of Noah's Ark.

It was such a nice day today, that I also walked to the library, something that I hadn't gotten a chance to do since early December.

Most aren't financial, but they could be...

1. Go to the gym 1 day/week without the trainer. I did this a few times, but the habit did not catch hold. Ultimately, I'd like to establish going to the gym 2x/week without the trainer, 1x with. It would save me 50% off the gym expense.

2. Drink more water. Establish that except for one drip coffee in the morning, my drink is water.

3. Do 10 minutes of calisthentics before I go to bed. I could try in the morning, but I love sleep. I'm not proud.

4. If I'm feeling peckish and want a late night snack, its a salad or vegetables.

5. Finish that novel.

Now the gentle warning. It applies equally to me and to anyone who reads this.

Its great that so many people here have the twin goals of saving money and losing weight. Debt and calories, its all the same - you try to run a deficit on both. From a person who managed to do both last year, I have to tell you all that losing weight is much, much, much harder. I'm 44, so my metabolism is an extra hurdle.

Its very important to keep in mind that progress will not be quick, and you will run up against setbacks. Be sure to:

1. establish a few routines that you can succeed at. Get into the habit. Pursue the habit. The 20$ challenge is perfect - who doesn't have 20$? Who can't add to it in increments? And don't go for too many habits at once. Changing it up means you get confused or worse, you'll drop the whole thing.

2. Do the simple things first - eat with small bowls, don't eat out of a bag, look at your food, if you eat out ask for the box as soon as the plate lands on the table. Put change in a change jar, make sure your savings account pays interest, don't take money out of savings, don't loan money, and at this stage of the game, don't brag (you'll just turn into the BIL magnet).

3. track your progress, but be clever at it. I dropped two dress sizes, and lost 19 inches, but I only lost 20 pounds, and that loss happened very ssssssllllloowly. I dropped the inches much quicker and that kept me going. I had my own little milestones - when the bath towel went around me completely, for instance. I track my food and I track my spending both. If you're honest about it, just the act of tracking will help. I won't eat the whole bag of chips because I'm going to have to write it down; I won't buy a lot of something at a bad price because I'm going have to write what I spent down.

4. trust the process. If you eat better and feel better, trust that and use that knowledge to keep going. Even if you spend more money, you might be losing weight. If you drink water, you'll lose your craving for soda. Put that soda money in savings. Even if you aren't losing weight, you are saving money. If you do the gym and get lots of exercise, you'll be tired, but your mood will improve. Even if you don't lose weight or save money, the mood elevation will count for something.

5. try to push your routine a little. Retrain your eye to establish what a normal portion is, eat that, and pay attention to your food. Walk a bit more and a bit longer than you normally do. If you are just saving change in your jar, add a dollar bill or two, or even make reverse change (put a 5$ in and take $5 of change out).

6. know that setbacks are part of process. You are not going to progress in a smooth curve. What if you don't lose that 1/2 pound/week this week? Learn from it. I now have the "Later" technique to use in my arsenal. If a co worker pops in and says, "there is a fantastic cake/ calorie/ chocolate in...", I smile and say, "that's great! I'll be there a little bit later." Later usually means none. I had to learn the later technique because work food is a serious source of setbacks.

7. know thyself. I was reading where someone lost 45 pounds by eating oatmeal the consistency of a brick for breakfast. I would vomit - that would not work for me. Also, other folks might be doing what you are doing, and achieving their goals faster. It's what you are doing for you that counts. Remember, I've lost 20 pounds in a year. Slow as a snail. The trainers all call it "shy losing". I call it frustrating, but there it is.

Happy New Year everybody! See you on the 2007 side.

And it was a day off for me. Tomorrow its back to the salt mines.

Today was a traipsing around day, and then gym at 2pm. Hit the Pike Market - usually today would be nearly dead, but since it was pouring, the tourists all clumped together. My hideout was closed for vacation, so I ate at the other hideout - Italian fish stew behind the vendor I get my sister's salmon from. (5$) Yet another slice of old Seattle.

After gym, I hit Fred Meyer and got two pillows, some 3 in 1 (body wash, bubble bath, shampoo), and picture hangers. (31$).

Christmas came in at $420. I've done cheaper Christmases, but the final tally's still not bad.

The next up is the assessment of net worth and goals. I got a lot done in 2006, but very little that I listed around this time in 2005. Maybe I should list only wicked things as goals, because I'm so good at avoiding them!

Merry Christmas! I got a warm winter coat and a hoodie sweater. The XL sweater he got me is too small - I think DH got tripped up by Junior sizes. I'm using it as a goal. Who knows, I might get there!

We have another Christmas tradition. If we get something, we have to give something away. Since I got a coat, I went to the closet and put a couple of fleece jackets out for the thrift store. DH and I filled a bag.

As long as I was in the closet, I pulled out a black cashmere wrap coat that I bought 22 years ago. I wore it often when I was in my first year out of college in Chicago (bought it when I was 23). I loved that coat, especially its feel - large and enveloping, impenetrable by snow. (It laughed at snow.) Its the nice one that I wear if its very cold and its very formal - a very rare conjunction in Seattle.

Last year in November, I tried it on. I was very depressed that while could get my shoulders in this coat, my stomach stuck out. It didn't fit, and I seriously thought of giving it away last Christmas. My first trainer suggested a visualization goal. I thought about that coat. Bizarre that it was a coat and not a bikini!

Today it fit. Even with a sweater on.

Ah, a celebration and a decoration for the rest of us. I have to admit that comparing this to a Christmas tree, the price is definitely frugal. I have to seriously think about switching my holiday allegiances in the coming years. Its got to be cheaper, and with tongue firmly in cheek, a bit more fun.

We are going to have a couple of friends over for some good conversation and a little holiday cheer. Picked up a little gift and pannettone - Italian Christmas cake - to nosh on. (26$).

Time to think about, and air some grievances. Serenity now!

Saving log - $6 tip box
Spending log - $2 coffee, milk + $11 lunch (chirashi sushi, the least Christmas-y lunch I can think of)

Collected up my scrapings from the tip box at work. I put in 46$ this month, which is pretty good. Last year this time, I didn't put anything in (too busy with figuring out what to do with X-mas 2005 and grandma's 10K gift). And no matter the exchange rate, 46$ is at least $46 more than this.

Participated in the gift exchange in the department where I work. Nothing over 5$. I put in one of those water bottles, which didn't cost me anything...and I got a partial sheet of 15 .39 superhero US stamps, which was actually pretty cool.

It could be fun to mix and match the stamp to the bill. The Flash, for instance, has to go with the electric bill; Aquaman, to water, sewer and garbage; if I had some yard waste, I could throw the bill to the Green Arrow; Elastic Man, to the chiropractor; Wonder Woman, to my trainer. Too bad I didn't get any arch-enemies - a character like Doc Ock would have been perfect for the credit card bill.

I have some friends who now, after 8 days, finally have power. I hope retire@50's all right out in Colorado.

Saving log - 4$ tip box
Spending log - 2$ coffee, milk + 8$ lunch

Kung pao chicken at the Chinese restaurant. My fortune cookie for today: "You will enjoy good health and financial independence."

I saw the new smoke-black, high tech water bottle - one of the marketing/gift items - yesterday, and found out that the keeper of that item was one of the staff that owes me a number of favors. So I asked him if I could have one.

"Just one?" he asked. "We have several boxes."
"well..." I stuttered, and then I thought of at least three people I could give one to..."Okay, gimme five."
"Happy to help," he said.

Perfect for the Christmas gift exchange. It is a peculiar form of re-gifting, though.

Saving log - $200 MIL check + 40$ DRP
Spending log - 2$ coffee, milk + 8$ lunch

Monday and today I worked out of the office with a member of the campaign staff, counting pledges and wrapping up. Its been a nice change of pace; its always great to chat with her. We also caught a lot of good people watching, and we both sound like old farts - the kids today comparison. Her frugal tip: its pointless to buy a teenager a good warm coat.

DH, at his current job, won two salamis and a big bottle of chocolate liqueur. Our Christmas is set!

DH's mother, the MIL, sent DH the standard 10K, so in addition to the 200$ I got from MIL, DH will paid me back my 2K that I gave/loaned him to replace the car in the car accident in April. I plan to put it back in savings - but to put it in: savings, DRP, or bulk up the T-bills a bit?

I already have 24K in a taxable account in Vanguard, so I'll be moving 4K of it into a Roth.

Like standing out in 40 degree weather outside the Roosevelt Safeway waiting for a guy in a green Suburu? All to buy a 2Gb flash drive for 25$.

You see, DJ friend's frugal skill is Craigslist, and he is a master at negotiation over the phone. He got his flash drive for 20$. Seller's new price was 30$, but DJ friend managed to get him down by $5 by "knowing when to be silent". All you do during the seller's offer on the phone is to pause an uncomfortable length of time. Stretch it out. The person who talks first - loses.

DJ friend also taught me more Craigslist philosophy. Your job is to sell the item ASIS with no guarantees, not provide customer service. I fell into that pitfall by trying to sell some laptop memory. I kept getting bites, but they all asked me for advice whether it would work on their systems. Not your job, he said. They should either know that, or are willing to take a flyer on it. If you're only selling it for 5$, the flyer is easy. In other words, asis, no warranty, I dunno, do-you-still-want-to-buy-it?

So I called the seller and arranged the pickup - the Roosevelt Safeway. I felt like a spy, standing outside, waiting for a green Suburu, a twenty and a five twisting between my fingers in my pocket. That's the other device if the seller tries a fast one - 25$ is all I have. I'm only Craigslist challenged. Drove by, I got my drive, he got $25.

Shopping at the Safeway beforehand was an opportunity, though. Got Odwalla energy bars for 1$/bar. I've gotten them for as low as .89/bar, so a 1$ wasn't too far off.

Lunch was with the lawyer friend and the co worker who resigned. Her last day is Friday. The Szechuan noodles and dumplings were wonderful, and we stuffed ourselves for 12$ (we bought for the co worker). I was so stuffed that I held up some bills fanned out, and lawyer friend took what was appropriate. Not a shining frugal moment but funny nonetheless.

Got my sister's Christmas gift. She got the fruit, I got the cheese and summer sausage. Between the two of us we could have a fine party.

Also got a Christmas newsletter in the mail. Sigh. Anybody else throughly creeped out by the verb in this sentence: Male so-and-so gave us (insert baby quantity, gender and generational marker here). Ya helped a bit, but gave? Its a baby, not a piece of property! Yeech.

Saving log - $0
Spending log - $2 coffee, milk + $12 lunch + $17 Safeway + $122 electric bill (winter rates).

A PDA case for DH, 3 plastic 3 liter boxes, a red leather wallet = 71$.

Have DH's gift, and sister's. DH is getting gifts for MIL, BIL, and sister-in-law, based on where he currently works (customer service for a kitchen and wine ware company).

I think we are done!

Am watching the Packer/Seahawk game, and I'm more of a Packer fan. Rats is the summary.

We only got a couple of inches in Seattle, so off to work I went. The commute was pretty light because everyone north of us was snowed in. Tonight I did a crazy thing and did my 8th Ave NW walk. Crazy because it was snowing a bit, there was plenty of ice and I was watching cars slip and slide around. I took it slow and discovered that my balance was much, much better than it had been in a long time. I'm never going to ice skate, but at least I'm not going to be as afraid of ice as I used to be. Tomorrow morning will be the acid test though. Everything will have frozen up good and solid and since I live on a ridge, its downhill no matter how I go.

But at work today I found that I'm in command for the rest of the week. My boss was going to come back today from the East Coast but was detained.

Giving my sister 8 months of a fruit of the month club for Christmas. Sounds silly but the fruit was fantastic. I knew I wouldn't have time to participate in cyber Monday, so I ordered Sunday night.

Not much saving today.
Spending - 1.37$ coffee (no milk in the deli) + 11$ chirashi (figured I needed the brain food this week).

Needed nice black pants for tonight, so I picked up a pair of Liz C's for 7.99$. Turns out that the thrift store has a black friday 50% off sale. So I got the pants for $4.35.

Great deals & no fights either.

Turns out that was the only good deal for today. The charity concert I was invited to and went to (wearing the pants) was a bore. Smooth jazz. The band was fine, the musicians individually were good, the people watching was interesting, but it was smooth jazz Kenny G-type stuff. Charity is one thing, but I had the distinct feeling that I was wasting an hour of my life that I was not going get back. Slipped away and fled during intermission.

Hope you all had a tasty thanksgiving! DH and I went to Issaquah, the next town east of Bellevue, which is in itself the next town east of Seattle. The invites gave an official start time of 12:00 noon, with a dinner ETA of 4:00pm.

We got there at 1:30pm, and we were the first people there, as usual, so we were put to work clearing, vacuuming and setting up. DH and I are used to this. The one T-day we showed when we knew everyone else would show was the day that they were wondering where we were. And it was our way of getting caught up with the hosts -- a private party as it were.

There was plenty to clear and clean. The father of the hostess had gone into the hospital with cancer, so his living quarters had shrunk, so the excess stuff landed in the house. The hostess and I gave each other a hug in support.

But here's a frugal dilemma. When you find change when you are cleaning at home, its yours. When you find change when you are cleaning a friend's house, whose is it? I gave thirty-five cents to the hostess, who absently gave it back to me. I absently put it in my pocket, so when I got home, I found it again. I guess I got paid for about an hour of work.

The turducken roasting was late, but whew, it was in the oven not the smoker, so that was one gravy making hurdle gone. Gravy making went pretty smoothly - although my judgment was hamstrung by about 3 glasses of wine (helped with the whisking though) and the fact that there was only whole wheat flour.

The workaround was to make a butter/whole wheat flour roux to cook the flour for a good fifteen minutes before adding pan drippings and stock. Duck pan drippings hide the flour flavor pretty well and having a whole stock pot of poultry stock means that anybody can make great gravy then. Host wanted the gravy a bit thicker than I did and thought that flour taste was still there, but those were pretty easy to fix, just keep the heat on a bit longer. Filled 3 gravy boats.

Didn't take any leftovers home, for which my metabolism is grateful.

Spending log - 3$ pumpkin latte & biscotti (gotta pace yourself)

Weighed at the gym today. I'm at 190, so very, very close to the goal of under 190 by T-day. I guess if I took off my shoes, I'd make it! The goal for this holiday season is not to gain weight.

Yet another extremely rainy day and yet another bowl of pho. Because I was off today, I had a bowl at a pho place in my neighborhood that I wanted to try.

Am bringing a wild rice pilaf for Thanksgiving Day potluck. All it has to be is at room temperature. No fuss or production. Our host's kitchen is of average size. Sides that double as big production numbers are just plain rude.

I'm getting used to the house being quiet when I get home and am getting used to not having an audience when I take a bath. I still see my cat at the patio door though.

Saving log - 0$
Spending log - 1.75$ coffee, 6$ lunch

spending log - 2$ coffee & milk, 5$ tuna sandwich + sun chips

I was warming up for gym today, and I managed to work off about 110 calories, or one of those little mini almond joys I ate last night.

It got me thinking. Does shopping for things early really save you money? Take Halloween, for instance. If you buy your bags of candy early and on sale, what do you have? Bags of candy that will torment you and tempt you. You sneak eat one, two, several... and then you have to buy more bags of sale priced candy. Or worse, you think, geez do I have enough? Buying early gives you more time to second guess what you buy...and buy more "just in case".

I know that that's what happened to me for Christmas. I buy early and then I think "I like that...one for me and one as a gift." So suddenly you buy two, when you should buy one or none. Or you put your gifts in the super-secret hiding spot...so secret that you forgot where you put the gift...so you buy another gift. Or the gift that was a great idea in July, but you look at in November and think..."so six months ago." Or what if they have one already?

I know I'm an odd duck around here, but somehow I prefer to buy my gifts during the last 2-3 weeks before Christmas, buy them quickly, and mail them out. If I make some gifts like a jam or something - I make a couple dozen and of one thing and that's it. I probably spend a bit more, and sometimes I miss the deadline. (I have my line for this - C'mon, when do you really, really need a gift? Yep - not Christmas, but the second week of January.) But I don't buy the second gift. For me, the second guessing gets me in the end.

Call me scrooge.

Tonight, I finished the last 4 almond joys. Halloween 2006 is over. Thank G%d!

Went as the trainer today for Halloween. I had a ball and got a lot of compliments. My favorite was the owner of the little deli where I get my cheap coffee: "I didn't know you worked there", and a couple of flirts (can I get some free personal training?). What more can you want from a Halloween costume? My trainer went as a little kid with footie pjs. Didn't matter - she still created a workout that kicked my butt.

I did however spend some money on the costume - black pants and that medium black zippered top. The nice part is that I will be using them as gym clothes or kick-around clothes.

Almost had a nearly no-spend day. I just spent on the coffee and the milk (2$). We had a potluck and that took care of lunch.

That is, if the chiropractor cashes the check as soon as he gets it, and with the new banking rules about floats (there are none) you've got to assume it. Its as close to zero balance checking as I care to come. I did put 300$ in savings so I wasn't at the edge of my budget and I have 30$ in my wallet, so I can easily survive tomorrow and Tuesday's payday.

I just got caught up in spending this month. Sigh.

My gym will come through with the rest of my costume Monday, but I did get a black long sleeved top just in case (if you get it, they will; if you don't prepare, they won't). Lately large in tops and sweaters is loose, so I gambled and won: its a medium and it fits! I also got a new medium sports bra. Tight like the large bra used to be, so I have to consider it a goal. (41.91$)

Yesterday DH picked up a buffalo chuck, so we had buffalo pot roast last night. (Montana roots, I think.) Frugal for me because DH sprung for it, but at 3.99$/lb not particularly frugal for him. Haven't seen any fantastic deals in the grocery stores here right now. November's around the corner and around here that's the time chicken stock goes for 78 cents/can.

Made stuffed grape leaves for the potluck on Tuesday. Picked up ground lamb last week at $2.99/lb. Again not really all that frugal, but for stuffing grape leaves lamb is the easiest and the most authentic.

Yesterday DH and I were watching the little trick-er-treaters on Greenwood Ave Saturday afternoon. Like a lot of other places, Halloween has undergone a shift. I picked up a bag of candy in case we get a couple of traditionalists (or teenagers), but I really don't think that many little kids trick or treat on a week night anymore. Too dangerous, too little return.

It was a blast watching all the little tykes dressed as frogs, queens, Star Wars characters (to the Darth Vader with the plait hanging down the back - you go girl!), superheroes, t-rexs, princesses, sports stars, playing cards, monkeys...its a great irony that we adults allow our children to be creative but as adults - and adult women especially - costumes are narrowly defined, generally on the wench line. Its like we say to kids be anything to have fun, but to an adult be sexual to have fun.

The 24K got into Vanguard today.
Put 4$ in the tip box.

Saw .06 on the gym carpet. It took all of the fortitude I had to not run over and put in my pocket. I'm positively embarrassed to mention it here. The trainer's boss loved the idea of my Halloween costume, so they'll get the top and a spare name tag that I can mock up with a label maker. Heh heh heh. This will be the cheapest costume I've come up with in a long, long time.

Lost two more pounds in the last two weeks or so. With any luck by Halloween I'll be under 190 lbs.

Saturday, the five of us (me, DH, friend, friend's wife, friend's dog) went hiking on Heliotrope Ridge, on the northwest side of Mount Baker.

We didn't quite make it to the end of the trail to the lookout, but me and the friend did make it far enough to see the Coleman Glacier from afar. It was rated strenuous (2000 ft elevation change), and I was very very thankful that I was in decent enough shape and had enough energy to enjoy the trip...and I was not the least fit person in the group (like I usually am). Turns out that the dog, a little white poodle, was strongest hiker of all us. It was fun, it was even fun enough to take up as a hobby.

My only nemesis was this. The picture's deceptive - what looks like a friendly little bridge crossing is at least a 30 ft drop into the stream and onto rocks. I'm deathly afraid of heights. The only way I could cross it was sandwiched between friend and DH, and look at friend's backpack while I mechanically moved my feet.

Our goal was this. We did get close enough to see it from afar here.

Cost of the trip = 17$ food (sandwiches, water, trail mix, McDonald's breakfast) + 5$ trail pass + 56$ (split in half - Mexican dinner after the hike...after 6 hrs of hiking, what's a little lard?) + 45$ gas (we took the white Buick cushmobile - fantastic to be able to stretch your legs after a hike). The Buick gets surprisingly good gas mileage - in the upper 20s, despite the fact that DH has a bit of a lead foot. Friend paid for a bit of gas, but he had driven me so many places for work and social stuff that we considered this trip payback. He's a DJ and gave us one of his CD mixes to sweeten the accounting.

Another year, and another August sewer, water, garbage bill. Again, the landlord got it wrong in the letter by claiming that the lease said we owe 70% of the utilities. I went a bit stronger than the innocent letter. Instead, I copied the current lease (which referred to the 2000 lease, no changes), and the first page of the original lease, which said 50%.

Now don't get me wrong. It's not the money, its the fact that the lease is a contract. If I paid 70%, it'll suddenly be 70% all the time, and who's to say what it will be in the next bill?

These last couple of days have not been particularly vacation-y, if you know what I mean. We've decamped on air mattresses in the living room which means I wake up with a stiff back. The bedroom floor is dry, but smells a bit musty. Gotta be a bit of mold. Time for another carpet clean, and hit the carpet with the sodium perchlorate. New bed won't be here for a little while, so we might just as well get the carpet in great shape. This afternoon, I lit up a particularly powerful bit of incense in the bedroom and that helped the smell quite a bit.

Today I felt a bit blue because of all clutter. Tomorrow I'm doing my favorite cheer-up technique: deep decluttering. In just fifteen minutes this afternoon I found a quarter. Looking forward to earning some money!

Gotcha reading, didn't I? DH and I spent the first day of our vacation sleeping around...for a new bed, of course. We tried out mattresses from Select Comfort (all those Sunday mornings listening to Prairie Home Companion paid off) and Sleep Country, then rounded out the day by checking out Costco online just in case there was a deal, and reading Consumer Reports online.

A few random notes:
Why do mattress companies all have initials SC? And lots of mattress names start with S; many have "pedic" at the end. You get so that you say...that one!
The sales staff at each place were very nice about their competitors, but they did try to distinguish their products.
DH sleeps hot so he warms up Temperpedics, Latexes, Memory Foam...and that eliminated a lot of choices. (Shouldn't blame DH for this - in a few years, I'll be sleeping hot, too, if you know what I mean.)
We both seem to take a bed of similar firmness.
We both squealed with delight at the idea of an adjustable bed (I can blog in bed)!
DH really liked the massage features..when the massage was going, I kept looking for where the quarters would go.
Shopping mattresses is kind of relaxing. Ten minutes on a mattress with a nice pillow...wake me up when you decide whether you like it or hate it...the stress comes from that its all d%*n pricey because we're starting from scratch (no box spring, and only waterbed bed box).

In the end we went with the Sleep Comfort adjustable. It was actually 19$ cheaper. Of course when your total was at $5,147, what's 19 bucks? (by comparison, DH's original waterbed cost 100$)

I've a two week vacation starting tomorrow. Wheeeeee! We're planning to go to Canada next week. Go before we need a passport.

Cleared out the valuables from the office, which means cleaning out and depositing the tip box: $53

On Tuesday, the raise and the bonus comes in into direct deposit - 4%, of which 3/4 is raise and 1/4 is bonus.

And to make it a real vacation and a real break from routine, I cancelled my chiropractor and personal trainer for the two weeks. Saved about $280.

The first 4 week T-bill matured yesterday, putting $7.99 into savings.

Spending - 1.75$ coffee + $5.00 lunch (with the tip)

Filed my Nashville expense report today. Over $1000. Did pretty well with the hotel room, which was about 80% of the expense. The only added charge I put on it was the long distance phone call to DH. The wake up calls were free, apparently.

I haven't filled out one of these in a long time, and I never filled out one for myself, so I had to brave the dreaded "you didn't know that?" embarassment E and ask around. Apparently tips are included, and food at the airport.

It brought back memories of one of my first jobs away from science. I was an administrative assistant and one of my tasks was to fill out expense forms for my boss. I was new to the "delights" of Raleigh, NC, so when I kept running into a lot receipts called Pure Gold, I thought "jewelry?" and pitched them. Turned, heh heh heh, they were receipts to the local strip club. I heh-heh-heh it because while the boss was mad and needed the bucks ...what could he do?

Ah sweet naivete. Too bad you could only do that once. For the year or so that I worked for him, I figure he spent a 1-2K there at Pure Gold. Wonder what his wife thought of it...?

Food and sights...

Here's where the going got tough. What to do to satisfy three things: make frugal choices, eat in a healthy fashion, and do so in such a way that your co workers won't kill you (or worse, whisper about you back home)?

Can't say I did a fantastic job at it, but I did have a couple of principles:

1. Default drink was water or iced tea, and very rarely an adult beverage. I learned in college that it was way cheaper and far more entertaining to watch the drunk people than to be drunk yourself. I gave away one of my free drink tickets at the junket host party; that made up for the teasing I got for ordering water at the bar.

2. Since both meetings took care of lunch, that saved me a bit. Dinners I aimed for salads and food that Nashville specialized in, if nothing else for the experience. Loved the meat and three places. If nothing else I learned that fried pickles are weird but very, very good.

3. The Sights. That was really, really hard because you're either going or you're not; no frugal rates. I had to turn the frugal button off a couple of times.

My only tactic for the Country Music Hall of Fame and RCA Studio B tour was to buy the package, and get as much out of it as possible. It was fun and I learned a lot...probably not 35$ worth, but you only live once. How many times can you claim to stand on the same square of linoleum that Elvis did?

It was equally tough when we were going from bar to bar, listening to the bands. The tip jar would come out - How much do you put in? I went for generous, especially if the band was good. I figured they were working hard for the cash.

In other words, not really. I checked in, set the mini bar key on the TV where it did not move. Why bother looking if you don't want to spend?

The hotel room was lovely and comfortable and a veritable minifield of temptations that "we will just stick on your bill". A CD player/alarm had a small rack of wrapped CDs that if you unwrap, you bought. Webtv-esque Internet access at $10/hr. 2 Fiji water bottles for $4/each were sitting right beside the icebucket (Reader, after taking a stroll in 95F, I nearly fell for that one). First-run movies for 11$ - 14$. Strung from the door knob came more temptations - room service and massage service and laundry service and breakfast in bed, and even on my last day, an offer for the hotel to pack a lunch for the trip back.

Luckily, I'm a great sleeper and I stay put when I do so. I'm pretty sure I don't spend money when my eyes are closed. Unfortunately, I'm a great sleeper and I stay put when I do so, and I've been burned by setting hotel alarms. I sprung for the wake up call.

And so it was during most of frugal land last week. I had to make choices. I'm not even sure if there was a cost for the wake up call, but since I wanted to wake up, I paid the insurance. The continental breakfast coffee just wasn't waking me up one morning, so I sprung for Starbucks (3$/drip - yikes!) I came on this junket with two coworkers - we holed up one night to watch a movie, then split the payments for 5$ of fun.

But you all would have been proud of me. I looked at the fiji water, then got some ice and hit the tap water.

Back from Nashville on the job-related junket. I learned a lot and had a bit of fun....

One leg of the priceline.com flight had a fifteen minute connection in Dallas, but I managed--by running! I was lucky. I saw the attendant make the final boarding call, heard my last name and I screamed - that's me! I'm coming! It felt a bit religious. Maybe it was because I was heading smack into the strap of the bible belt.

Most of the trip I felt like I was deciding on when to turn on/turn off the frugal button. Most of us had to develop the frugal button in the first place to get out of trouble, so this is definitely advanced "deep frugal".

I avoided the really dumb purchases easily, like raiding the minibar or buying $10 internet access (which is why I wasn't blogging) or grabbing the $5 Fiji water bottles. It's the non-so-dumb purchases with the co-workers, the rough calculation of how much fun I'll have for the price of admission.

I'll blog more later, get my thoughts in place. Just letting you all know I'm safe with stories.