baselle's Financial Diary

Got done with revising the resume, due tomorrow. So to reward myself with fun writing, its time to blog. Since the How to Buy Grocery Produce was so popular (450 hits!), I'm planning on writing the sequel - How to Store Grocery Produce.

Picked up several more solid colored tops for the summer (and for Paris). ($7)

Yet more images from yesterday's festivities:


DH is on the sidewalk, in the jeans and black T-shirt.

Tulips of different colors


Lulu - the pug hard to photograph. Her owner was watching me through the window, laughing her blank off.

At one of the Greenwood yard sales...


That's where I went today instead of the book sale. I stopped off at a number of places, but controlled myself and bought only what I could use right now - I bought a framed poster, a book (that was free), 3 art tiles, bath oils, and a 4 pack of coasters. (15$)

Snapped a number of pictures, including a very cute pug. Hard to shoot pets, they don't stand still.

After the yard sales, DH and I went to the grocery store. The produce looked okay, but the price was wrong, so I only got bananas, spinach, potatoes. I also bought some No Jet Lag for the trip, which several coworkers swore by, and a tube of facial peel. ($44)

And no, although I was tempted and could probably use the item right now, I didn't buy the handcuffs.

Several people –okay, family members – have asked me, “so when do you use that botany doctorate?” Well, as a former plant physiologist, I use it every time I hit the grocery store, fruit stand, or farmer’s market. Now I share some of my tricks and techniques.

If you want to save money and eat better at the same time, you want to buy only good stuff – you’ll want to eat it all then.

A produce item is a piece of plant. Simple enough. Conceptually, it is also a pipe, full of water with one end cut. The more water your plant contains, the more likely it is crisper or juicier and the more likely it will hold up better in storage. If you pick up nothing else from this how to, pick up this tip:

Good produce weighs more than you expect.

Technique 1: take 5 of anything of the same size, preferably medium. Grab each one and gently hold it in the palm of your hand for a few seconds. Pick the heaviest feeling one. No need to squeeze, no need to dig in with your fingernails and disgust everyone. Works for citrus, works for corn, works for melons, works for tomatoes, works for celery, heck, it works for garlic bulbs…it just works for everything.

Good produce smells good.

Technique 2: sniff the stem end of a fruit. It should smell appetizing, like the fruit. If you don’t smell anything and especially if it feels light, it means it’s mealy and dry. If you smell fermentation, pass it by, and if you can’t smell it because it’s wrapped in plastic … ahem, you’re not in the spirit of this, are you? This, along with technique 1, is an especially good tip for melons and pineapple.

Side tip for the uninhibited: A quick way to assess the whole produce bin is to move some of the top most pieces and put your nose in the bin. If you can’t smell anything if you put your nose deep in the bin, it might mean that nothing’s ripe.

Good produce has a firm cut end.

Technique 3: check the stem or the cut end. It should be firm, not soft or slimy or with weird colors. It can have a little bit of soil on it for street cred, but if it’s filthy, pass it by...if it’s a farm stand, pass the whole stand by. It probably means everything was cut with that dirty knife and the storage life of anything you buy at that stand will be short.

Side tip for corn: feel the tip through the husk. The fatter, less pointed tip is the ear you want. Very pointy tips means the ear hasn’t filled out.

Good produce is not the biggest.

Technique 4: try to pick medium, medium-small sized fruit in the bin, not the largest. All the good stuff the plant puts in the fruit – sugars, acids, fragrances, flavors, secondary plant products, water – it seems like the plant will put in a certain amount, but no more. The good stuff in the larger sized fruit is diluted, spread out, while in the medium or small sized fruit, the good stuff is concentrated. It’s no secret that the gigantic apple is going to taste like a softball, while the smaller apple will taste like an apple. Not to mention that it’s a whole lot easier to figure out if something’s heavy when you don’t get thrown off by grabbing the biggest thing.

Good produce ripens with its friends.

Technique 5: check the bottom of the basket. Okay, the joke is that the produce guy puts the rotten strawberries in the bottom of the basket, and I would believe that in some cases. The truth is that many fruits ripen in the presence of ethylene gas, and that ripe fruit produces more ethylene gas. Baskets and bins often produce an enclosed space so that the fruit at the bottom of the bin or basket gets a bigger whiff of ethylene and therefore ripens faster.

Side tip: Aim for the middle of the bin for produce that you want to eat that night. Not everything is sensitive to ethylene – middle of the bin tip seems to work best for citrus, berries, bananas, and apples, and should be applied after all the other tips.

A word or two about the classic, “buy slightly soft, when the flesh yields to gentle pressure.” Good advice for buying ripe stone fruits and tomatoes. However, there are two caveats: 1.) most shoppers know that – after the sixth person submits the fruit to “gentle pressure” I guarantee you that it will be soft, but not in a delectable way. 2) you’ve picked ripe produce. Moreover, if you buy 6-7 ripe pieces of produce, you are committed to eating them within 2-3 days, which can be a challenge.

My aim with these tips is to give you the tools to pick wonderful, ripe and slightly under-ripe produce, some which you can eat right away, the rest slightly under-ripe that you can put in a bowl so you can eat wonderful produce through the week. Lots of strategy here!

Happy produce shopping!

Saving log - $0
Spending log - $7 lunch + $11 goodwill (shoes and light blouse)

Bought a pair of brown slip on shoes and a neutral light blouse for summer. Seattle is not known for summer particularly. Usually there's a three week space that you need something summery - after that, its long sleeves year round if you want. I just don't want to hit Paris in t-shirts.

Hit the gym again armed with an index card containing a lower body routine.

My bus ride goes past a sign that never fails to make me smile. Here it is.

Saving log - $4
Spending log - .65$ milk + 6.75$ lunch

I had a craving for the deluxe pho, and I haven't posted an image for awhile. Its hard to find a more frugal pleasure than the deluxe pho. And of course, any larger, and you could take a bath in it.


The SD card finally came from Overstock.com. Time to email a thank you that I got it.

Our department is reorganizing and the job that I now have will be classified one job grade level up and will expand to become supervisory. I still have to apply for it, but the competition will be inside our department, and its all the duties that I have right now, which no one else wants to do . I just have to jump through the hoops and be mellow about it.

Saving log - $0
Spending log - .65$ milk

Our department got the proverbial 'free lunch' in honor of the co worker's last day, so along with DJ friend's free coffee, I got away with the nearly no spend day today.

Trainer is now off - her wedding's this week, and after that a two week honeymoon in Costa Rica. She told me last week that all the other trainers are keeping an eye out for her clients (like moi). Today's the first day that I went to the gym myself.

I came prepared. Sunday, I wrote out 6 routines - 3 upper body, 3 lower body - onto index cards. Today I picked an upper body one and rubberbanded it to my forearm. I managed to get through it with a minute to spare. How did I get through them and still had time to gossip with the trainer? Its a mystery.

So at the end, I buzzed by the table where the trainers hang out, and showed them my index card rubber band thingee. The trainers laughed and told me that they'll give my trainer the full report.

No images lately - I just haven't taken any interesting ones in the last several days.

Saving log - $6 tip box
Spending log - .65$ milk + $20 chiropractor copay + $4 for 2 2-liter sodas (going away party) + $5 lunch

Cheap curry lunch with lawyer friend. His boss is trying to get him to write an "affirmation statement". Yikes. He enjoyed my story about the WiDNR's land survey (the 1-2 ft shift by the fence). An definining ingredient in an adverse taking, he informed me, is hostility. The parties involved have to be hostile, which we weren't. The situation is different, but its really a battle between the WiDNR and the corporate farm.

Had a little cake party for the leaving co worker. He was telling us that now his dog would only ride in a car if said dog was liquored up first - bloody mary's are his favorite, and after awhile in the car everyone can smell liquored dog breath. Hope you aren't stopped by the cops, I said. Yeah, like the cop's going to believe its the dog...

Which to participate in next Saturday -

The Public Library book sale or
the Greenwood neighborhood yard sale?

Because I improved my hard drive, everything is slow enough so that I broke down and bought another 512M of memory ($59) from Memory Suppliers. I've ordered stuff from them off and on - USB drives, the last 512 M memory, an SD card if overstock.com fails. I've always been successful. Their memory configurator alone is a lifesaver. (link is in Sites I Enjoy if you need the memory configurator)

I hit it so lucky today at the thrift store. Because I'm a casual sort, what has been freaking me out for the Paris trip is that DH, MIL and I will be having a high end authentic French meal, a dress for an important occasion place...in May, when its warm. The plan was that I'd buy something there. Not that I wouldn't find anything there - - but its always been my shopping experience that desperation breeds frustration, high expense, and bad luck. When I have to find it, I won't, and that will cut into museum time. Today I found a navy blue, high-waisted sheath dress. Conservative, classic, flattering, readily accessorizable, and 10$.

A couple days ago I snapped a picture of our cherry tree.


We don't get many cherries off of it - the birds get there first. Somehow I've lived near a cherry tree for well over half of my life. We had one on the farm, my uncle had one, the rental in grad school had one, and now here. Funny story - the cherry tree at the grad school rental was so large that I didn't figure it out until a cherry hit me on the back of my neck.

A mixed bag of food buying -

Went to breakfast at a new place considerably closer to our house than the Denny's is. The food was great but the portion sizes were tremendous; I guess for $10, it was to be expected that we were served platters, not plates. Its a step forward though that even my eyes figured it out. Time not to be a caloric hero: got 2 boxes - one for me and one for DH, who actually used his immediately. I was so proud.

There was a party of three at the table next to us - grandmother, mother in her late 40s - early 50s, and son in early 20s. The portions were huge for even them. They ate, son left some bacon on his plate. "It's okay grandma, there some bacon at home," son said.

They left a bit after us, the mother and son to pay, the grandmother a bit behind. The grandmother glanced at our boxes and said sadly, "...tried to teach him some values."

After food, it was hitting a couple of grocery stores - the one next to the breakfast place had only a 10/$10 deal on clif bars, but only in the chocolate/ peanut flavors. Produce looked good, but everything is at least .50/lb more than it was even 2-3 months ago. Anyone else notice?

Next was the HT, which had better produce and fruit prices. I've been on an apple/banana jag for this week which was great because each were .49$/lb.

Then it was cleaning house and watching the afternoon rain. The image today is of wet, newly unfurled japanese maple leaves.


Contacted overstock.com. The camera works great, but the SD card I ordered with it hasn't come yet. They are putting a trace on it and will contact me in 4 days.

Finally, I made some broccoli salad, but I needed tarragon. Went to my third grocery store where I got the tarragon, but also found .99 clif bars in my two favorite flavors - apricot and blueberry. Yippee.

Because my credit card bill is lighter than usual, I put $200 into my ING account.

Thursday, April 12
Saving log - $3 tip box + $35 to DRP + $40 to another DRP (I know it'll go through on the next paycheck) + $15.22 from T-bills
Spending log - .65$ milk + $30.15$ sundries and a twenty dollar bill

Friday, April 13
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - .65$ milk + 15$ lunch

Can I vent? I process pledges, write and mail reports that tell other entities who much money they'll be getting from us. I got a snarky comment over email from the VP of one of the other entities out in Boise, Idaho (not my office) ... Why is it taking so long, couldn't it be done faster?

This is a $500,000 report. Elephant clip next to it the largest one they make and is put in for scale.

Get a grip, lady.

Got word from sister that dad's estate will be settled by June 30, no extensions. The sale to the DNR should go through, and my sister and I will each be deeded 50% of the house, barn, sheds, and 7 acres.

Told her that if anybody wanted me to sign anything, that it won't happen between May 17 - 31. And even though I'll put a hold on my mail so it'll stay at the post office, it would just be better if they held off mailing things until late May.

It also turns out that when the WiDNR did the survey, we actually have an acre or so more than we thought. The fence marking the property line that we share with the corporate farm should be 2-3 feet farther from us, closer to the corporate farm.

It will be fun to watch that legal battle if the WiDNR really wants to pursue it. I think, though, that since the fence is so old it establishes a precedent.

Saving log - $1 tip box
Spending log - $.65 milk + 7$ lunch

DJ friend's memory failed. It was funny really - the memory threw a driver into an infinite loop. So it was shut down, pop out the memory, put my old memory back in and everything's fine.

Work was just tiring today. Everyone seemed to want something now. Maybe it will be better tomorrow.

This afternoon was a beautiful day, so for lunch I bought at Uwajimaya and ate at the most beautiful, frugal place I know - Waterfall Park, Pioneer Square, birthplace of UPS. Free, baby.

Saving - $1 tip box
Spending - $.65 milk + $7 lunch

Well, you've heard over and over (and over) about my tip box at work. And once upon a time Jeffrey encouraged us to show off our tip jars.

Well, today's photo is a snap of my infamous tip box nestled in its native environment - one of my desk drawers (yeah, like I'm going to tell you which one ) by the business cards, the tea, and the emergen-C packets. It even comes with its little tiki cover.



So far, I've moved over $1400 through my little box from the wallet to the savings account. Don't be fooled - its a powerhouse!

Saving log - $4
Spending log - .65$ milk + 5.45 curry lunch

My busy season's winding down a bit. My boss is going to take me out to lunch Thursday, which was very appreciated - I'm at my last $60 from the previous paycheck.

Last night I started to move my small, monthly recurring charges (ISP, newspaper, Netflix - about $70) from my credit card to my debit card. Last night I moved my ISP bill. My goal is to just have the trainer on my credit card so I can better keep my deadbeat credit card status. 12% of 0$ is 0.

I also think that I need to have better control of those little charges. Its so easy to keep those little things "out of sight-out of mind" on the credit card where they somehow breed and turn into things that you'll want, can't always justify, and get pissy at someone if they suggest you get rid of them.

If the charges are on the debit card, which I watch like a hawk, then I really think about them each month.

I always wanted to have long legs...



With apologies to Priceplus, where I got the idea..

So the ATM was down this morning. Instead of paying a double $1.50 in fees for using a foreign ATM machine, I went to the hated Safeway, bought 5 Clif bars 10 for 10$ and added $40. Sigh. So much for privacy.

Met with DJ friend to go through how to use the Excel templates I made that will give us a correctly formatted playlist time no matter what a DJ gives us. I volunteered to format a number of the especially weird ones ("You won't ever have to buy a coffee again," he said.) But I promised DJ friend that I would give him how much time it took me so he gets an idea of how much he owes...

Ran five playlists myself in 35 minutes. I'd be faster, but I was rusty on the first one, and it was a multi-hour one that I debated for 10 minutes how to do.

Then I went for 1.5 hour walk in the light drizzle, listening to tunes. Fun and relaxing after close work.

From two days ago, a snap of the hated fish flingers...

Saving log - $0
Spending log - $20 (DH and I's breakfast @ Denny's) + $5.50 produce

From Friday - So I chatted with DJ friend, who is the king of getting electronics and deals for the radio station, that I'm going to be looking for another 512M memory. He told me that he upgraded last week and was left, somehow, with a 512M memory chip. We have the same Dell laptop. He doesn't understand how he was left with the extra chip; he didn't know what to do with it, he wrote it off to karma. I'll bring it in, he said.

I'm not going as far as "the secret" (blegh!), but one of the best frugal tips I know of is let other people know what you are looking for. You just never know.

About that 365 photo challenge. I can't say that I'll have the discipline to submit a photo every day, but carrying the little digital camera around and learning what it can do, well some shots appear. Today at Denny's on the Saturday before Easter...came a bunny and a chick.

I asked the parents for permission at the end of their meal (and boy did I feel weird about it), but I plan to take these photos off after a few days. You just can't be too careful.

Saving log - $1
Spending log - $.65 milk + $7 for 2 juices + $10 lunch + $3 apples + $5.45 camera case + $10 pizza dinner

After the .65 day, I was nibbled by mice. Another department has an intern, and since I interact and have lots of info, I met with him. Instead of coffee, I bought juices. So young....

I picked up a small camera case on sale from Fred Meyer. Its padded, the camera fits in it, it looks different when pawing through the purse. All that and for $4.99 closeout.

To answer a comment - Just like the song Kodachrome, "I got a Nikon camera" Nikon Coolpix 4600 from Overstock dot com. As threatened, I took it out and tried out some of the settings.

Hammering Man was getting a bicep transplant at noon today.

Saving log - $1
Spending log - $.65 milk

A no spend day in spirit, even though not quite in stats.

Finished off the other half of the footlong sub so I avoided paying lunch. I discovered the secret of preventing soggy bread on the second day - wrap the sandwich with only sandwich paper and tape - ditch the plastic sandwich bag.

Got the camera last night, so I've been taking some pictures and reading the manual. I actually did the first steps without the manual...but I'm the only person I know who reads the manual. So many menus with little icons! Since tomorrow's going to be sooo nice, I think I'll pop the camera in my bag and take a few shots.

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $.65 milk + $6 lunch (for 2 days)

After paying the chiropractor for two months of treatment that insurance didn't cover, my paycheck is a tight until the end of next week. Am going to try and not spend and get money until the very end of this week, so its the footlong sub, cut in four pieces for a couple of days.

Made reverse change in the tip box today. Swapped out the couple of 5s that I had in my wallet for the boodle of 1s in the tip box. Then with the pile of 1s, I swapped the several dollars worth of change for several dollars. I do this because the inside of the tip box is really small - about 3 inches square. Dollar bills fit in nicely, while lots and lots of pennies don't.

One of the bills had the Where's George? stamp on it, so for laughs I re-registered it and found that the bill was stamped in Dallas.

One of my coworkers in our department is leaving after 7 years. He's trained a number of people to do his job; he has a hellish commute; his new university job sounds interesting and has a number of perks. No screams and no sighs, in other words. I'm happy for him, sad to see him go, but the world will not end.

For Tuesday, 4/3/2007
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $.65 milk +$5.45 lunch

For Monday, 4/2/2007
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $10 lunch + $8 map of Paris + $16 dinner

Went out last night - me, DH, lawyer friend, lawyer friend's partner for all you can eat Korean barbeque with the grill at the center of the table and the ring of 11 small dishes around it, 3 of them kimchees. It was meat, meat, meat, wrapped by lettuce.

Lawyer friend feels like he has a big target on his back at work. I'm going to miss him if he goes.

It capped a heavy eating and drinking weekend - wine on Friday, beer on Saturday, and beer on Monday. Yeah, its not that much, but when you rarely drink it feels like a lot.

Picked up my own map of Paris from Metzgers Maps at the Pike Market. I'd use DH's but I'd like my own. It feels a little like the spending has already begun.

Working through more of the problems with the logging songs and mixes for DJ friend. Now I have to convert decimal time (3008.987 seconds) into time time (50 min : 8 sec) and get it into Access correctly. I'm learning a lot!

Saving log - $75 from checking to savings + $35 to another Drp
Spending log - $3 breakfast, $135 for digital camera and SD card

FYI - the april fool blog colors made me reach for my visine. Yipes!

Last night DH and I hit a nice quiet bar, grabbed a table, ordered beers and food, spread out the maps of Paris, and pored over our books. It turns out that the hotel is in the 1st Arrondissement, an underhand toss away from the Palais Royal, three blocks away from the Louvre. I can immediately pick out where we're staying from pretty much any Paris map - part of the preparation. DH and MIL have been to Paris several times, so I'm the person who gets to pick what to do. Such pressure!

Tried out a freeware program for my PDA - Metro. It's a database of public transit systems of most of the major cities of the world - Paris had several databases.

Bought a well-reviewed digital camera from overstock.com, cheap because it was factory refurbished. I've had good luck with them, but I did manage to get it in time to try it out and learn it.

Scanned our passports and put the jpg file in the password protected USB flash drive. Tried out the money belt - nice and comfy. Started with packing the airport bag already. Yeah, six weeks out, but c'mon, its no fun packing the midnight before for me. It's just a recipe for forgetting something.

Saving log - $7 tip box
Spending log - $.65 milk + $5.45 curry

Gained 1 lb back, dang, but I lost another 1/2 inch on the waist, 1/2 inch on the hips. The trainer and I were job shadowed by a trainer-in-training. Today my body behaved and I showed good form during most of the workout. I managed to hold a full plank position for one minute, one second.

T-bill matured and I got $15.96 in interest on the purchase of the next one. Put $40 in one Drp, automatically put another $50 into another Drp.

Saturday DJ friend and I hammer out an easy way to manually generate the royalty logs for the radio station. It looks like we can automate the log, but it will be a month or two of broadcasting beforehand. DJ friend is a bit depressed - like most big undertakings, this is a marathon, not a sprint - he needs a second wind. And he's worried that with all the hoops, he won't have enough time and energy to do what he really loves - create and broadcast his own mixes.

Saving log - $44 (from tip box into savings) + $10 rebate check + 15$ rebate check
Spending log - $5.50 lunch

Ah, free coffee. I could get used to this.

Getting a lot done at work and now I'm relaxing a bit. Had gym today, get measured Thursday. T-bill matures on Thursday too. Waiting for the next paycheck on Friday.

Waiting for DJ friend to give me some files so we can finish up with the logging.

Even found a dime in the parking lot. Steady as she goes, really.

Saving log - $0
Spending log - $.65 milk

Writing this entry reminded me of Spy Magazine. Ah, I miss that rag sometimes.

Well this weekend wasn't as restful as usual - to help DJ friend, I worked with Excel and Access all weekend, developing a way to take DJ playlists and convert them into a log. I work with Excel and Access all week, so when this weekend was more of the same, well blegh.

The log is what is holding up the start of the radio station. To stay legitimate, DJ friend gives 25% of his profits or his costs to an entity that will pay BMI, ASCAP, etc royalties if some one plays a song in one of their mixes. We have to give that entity a log of what has been played and how many people listened so they can look it over and pay who they have to pay to.

I did it ... its kludgy, not quite push button, but straightforward enough. It does what it has to do. There are a couple of other logs that other programs generate, so my work isn't quite done.

I also helped DJ friend with a couple of forceful letters so that he can get timed mixes from the DJs. Some DJs have radio shows of their own, know exactly what the score is, and have given DJ friend what he needs. The others ... well, if they want to be professional, they've got to understand what it means.

As a little barter for my weekend, DJ friend bought me dim sum lunch and gave me a prepaid coffee punch card. So a couple of weeks of free coffee.

Anywhoooo. When I wasn't in Access this weekend, I made a lot of stuffed cabbage, which we will be noshing on all this week.

Saving log - $7 tip box
Spending log - $1.65 coffee, milk

Bought a footlong sub yesterday, ate the other half of the sub today.

Mail was good and bad - the sewer water garbage bill came in on time (drat!, just when I plan for them to be late). I barely had enough of my current paycheck to pay for it, and it has left me with about 150$ for 10 days.

Chiropractor got a new billing unit. Good news, but their transition got a late start - we hadn't gotten a bill since mid December. Got a bill much bigger than I had thought (insurance has re-kicked in), and worse, it shows a non-zero number in the 60-90 day range. Time to harrump. I'll be damned if their slow transition makes me look like a deadbeat.

Paid off my credit card in full this month.

Got my two rebate checks tonight. One for $10, one for $15. 12 weeks between when I bought and when got the checks. Rebate harvesting, cutting UPC codes, mailing, and waiting for the checks is one financial tradition that I will not miss.

looks like it will be delayed another week. I'm helping DJ friend - internet radio stations in the US have to submit a log of what they've played and how many are listening every two days. The info can be pulled from a number of different logs which should and can be put in a database - my kind of project, especially since it a rush job! I'll know I've done it right when you can do it with the press of a button.

Lost a pound Tuesday. I'm now at 184!

So yesterday I made it to Suze Orman's talk at the Seattle Public Library, and it seemed like I was working on all frugal fronts:

* Picked her free talk at 12:30. If you saw her at Town Hall, you had to pay!
* Sidestepped the books on sale on the right, and dodged the Starbucks coffee and cookie on the left.

I made it to the library at 12:10, so I figured that it would be standing room only. Nope, all the front seats were packed, but I got a back seat and they expanded the room. By the time I left - a little early - it was standing room only. The audience was comprised of about 95% women, and 5% very brave men.

Suze Orman came out on time (much appreciated). 30 min talk, 30 min question and answer. It was also a book signing, so the rules were: she would sign first names only, she will sign multiple copies, she will sign old books of hers, she will not sign body parts, napkins, etc. In case you needed to know: bright lime green blazer, black outfit. Hair and teeth look fantastic - you could see them gleeming all the way up my seat.

Her talk was a bit of a ramble. She was quite happy we all came - it was raining puppies and kittens and there were going to be not one, but two anti-war demonstrations that afternoon - gave a little history of herself, why she wrote her current book. She thought that men could get something out of her book... "men, if you want to read this book, all you have to do is.." She covered the WO on the cover with her fingers. If you heard her on PBS, you've got the general gist.

Except for one thing - she announced both the secret codes in her book and she invited the book buyers to share them with friends and family. The TD Ameritrade deal holds for everybody, book buyer or not.

Saving - $0
Spending log - $3.28 bagel, coffee + $7 haircut + $8.80 pants & blouse + $11 CD

The usual... bagel and coffee and the Sunday paper, but afterward I got my hair cut. Said haircut was the 10th one, so I got it for half price. Forgot about that but since at my current rate of use (4 haircuts/yr), I see it every 2.5 years.

Then, walking in the bright warm sun, it was the library, then the thrift store, then the used CD shop. It was putz shopping, but for $25 I got fun and entertaining stuff and a little tan.

I heard that Suze Orman is going to give a free lecture at the Seattle Public Library at 12:30pm. That's in my neck of the woods so I'm going try and check it out.

Saving log - $0
Spending log - $10.66 produce stand + 36$ groceries

Blood oranges for $1.49/lb, which is unheard of, along with cheap bananas, cheap orange tomatoes, cheap grapefruit. At the HT, I picked up the cheap cabbage, more edamame, a couple of Mexican sodas, hominy, cilantro, wasabi peas, a coconut tart. Decided on the fine Irish dish of:

Chili.

Well, there are a lot of Irish in Texas. Besides, we haven't had homemade chili in awhile. Paid off the credit card in full, so these next two weeks feel like a retrenchment.

Borrowed a couple of current Paris guidebooks from a coworker, so DH and I will be poring over them for the next 8 weeks. (WOW - where does the time go?) I've planned ahead so I have my passport.