I had coffee with two of my London students today--their idea. It was really nice to see them and catch up. Then lunch with an old friend from grad school. Neither of these was very expensive, and both were very fun.

That $12 and a quick trip for the milk special at the grocery store was about the size of today's spending. I have more folks interested in my books, so I'll sort that out tomorrow.

The only off note of the day was the chimney contractor recommended by a friend in the construction business. I'd e-mailed them asking for a quote. They returned my e-mail saying they could do a free quote in three or so weeks, but if I wanted a quote before then, it would be $125 to QUOTE it. Really? I dismissed them with a pleasant enough--but honestly--a little peeved e-mail. Have any of you heard of that?

The decluttering continues more fast and furious than I expected. The Turbotax software I listed sold within hours as did a book. That adds another $16 to the May totals. And we took another bag to Half-Price Books for $8.

And now for the big push. I spent a couple hours Friday night inventorying some of my old books. Many of them seemed not really necessary, especially if it meant hauling them all down to my university office. I belong to a sort-of scholarly discussion list, and I decided to see if any of my fellow list members were interested in them.

Man alive, I had no idea. I think I'll be able to sell 20 or more to them. Amazing. It's doubly nice since many of those same list members were so helpful in my work.

Some of this was prompted by our discussions the past week about potentially moving back to the UK. It's certainly not imminent, but now back on the radar.

Last night DH spotted a stain on the living room ceiling near the chimney. A quick peek into the attic revealed some wet patches, so our roofer came out this morning. Problem was--it wasn't the roof or the flashing, it's the tuckpointing on the chimney. We'd been told that before, but it seems like a bigger job now and semi-urgent.

I scoured Angie's List and got a recommendation from the roofer, and have called their top picks. Not thrilled about another outlay of cash, but it has to be done.

In other household news, I've packed up three or four dozen books I used years ago for my dissertation and am taking them to my university office. I rarely need them here, and I'm hoping to donate them to the university special collections if they're interested. But my home office is jammed and I need the shelf space. Some more books will go to the reseller too. And I listed more software on ebay.

Yep, declutter is becoming my middle name.

This morning I decided my home office really needed a good cleaning. I sprayed down the desk, cleared all the books off of it, and went through all the piled junk.

Besides being satisfying (and frustrating), it's been profitable.
I have five back years of Turbotax programs, so I listed some on ebay. More to list there later. Then I unearthed a bunch of books, disused textbooks, and gifts mostly. I listed one for very cheap on Amazon, and it sold in five minutes. I probably could have held out for a few $ more, but am headed to the post office with my ebay sales, so let's get it done.

I've been missing my London students, and two of them e-mailed me this morning wanting to have coffee next week. A bunch more chimed in on Facebook too. What a wonderful, rewarding, fabulous experience. I am keen to go again next year!

I'm tickled at the multiple bids on my ebay auctions, and even happier at the cash we got for DD's outgrown books at Half Price Books today. None of them had much value on Amazon, but we made a quick $15 on a bagful there.

Even better than the cash is that these needless items are out of our closets and off our bookshelves. Today I dipped into DH's dresser drawer and found four pairs of old eyeglasses that are in the bag for donation tomorrow. I see the Lions' Club still takes them, but even easier is the local Lenscrafters works with an organization called OneSight. And there's a LensCrafters very near.

I'm so eager to get more stuff out of here!
No spending except for church. It's been a productive and cheap weekend!

Yep, I took a six-week, one-night-per-week tutoring gig that starts after 4th of July. It's a nice chunk of change that I would happily put toward the bathroom remodeling or new family room carpet.

I had a lovely end-of-semester lunch for my university gals yesterday. I hate to brag, but the black bean and sweet potato enchildas were fabulous. And so was the rhubarb cake from Martha Stewart's site. And now my house is clean!

We did a volunteer morning at an inner city church this morning. All of our time was spent weeding and replanting, and now that I'm dirty, I'm going out in our yard. Look for me in the ibuprofen aisle tomorrow.

And the long-dreaded ebay listings are selling! Hooray!

The dog had her ACL repaired today. Let's not talk about how much it costs. Ugh. But it seems as if she came through it ok, and we'll be glad to have her home. Six weeks of limited activity will be tough for her, but by the end of June, she should be back in business.

I did decide to stay home from the funeral. I'll use the extra money I saved from not driving to add to the memorial.

It's VERY cold and rainy here today, and I've devoted the day to class prep and house cleaning. More decluttering in store for me! I picked up a stack of books yesterday sent by publishers as publicity. There's virtually no value in reselling them, so I'll look them over and donate to the local library sale.

I hope it warms up for us this weekend! Happy Mothers' Day weekends to all you celebrants!

Teaching begins again with my evening Mysteries class tonight. I'd rather be home dejunking, but especially with my summer class in jeopardy, I'm glad to have the work. I only have 11 students, but I suspect I'm a bit spoiled with all the English majors I had in England. These evening classes contain lots of folks who take lit classes only because they need the credits and spend a lot of time complaining about having to read.

Speaking of having to read, I came home from the library with another big pile of books yesterday. I read three books last week. How fun is that?

I also took a very long walk this afternoon. I've sort of decided that I need to tackle two things that never seem to get done. I need to lose about 20 lbs, and I need to get my house consistently clean and clutter free. Thus the long walk and the continuing piles of things I'm finding to get rid of.

Last night I cleaned some files as I was searching for a short story copy I'm using tonight. I tend to keep multiple copies of teaching materials, but recycled a pile a foot tall.

Did I report I finally did the taxes this weekend? We filed for an extension as we were still in the UK when the deadline rolled around. We're getting a refund, but think I probably need to adjust withholding as this will be our last year claiming a mortgage interest deduction. I'm glad to have that done!

Ah, the final word came at noon today: No jury duty and no more for another four years. As much as I'd like to think I have the demeanor for an all-star jurist, I suspect they'd eliminate opinionated me pretty quickly.

To celebrate, I cleaned the bathroom. Further news on that exciting front on the decluttering forum. But I did find a very strange pint ice cream container full of some liquid and pine needles stashed in the back of the bathroom vanity. My DD gets these hare-brained ideas to cook up flower or pine scented lotions etc. Who knows how long that's been there.

I've finally been able to make a vet appointment for the dog's surgery. The cost is daunting, but we love the dog.

Looks iffy for my summer class with low enrollments so far. I'm sending out e-mail blasts to former students today, hoping to raise the enrollment. I was halfway counting on the money. so let's hope it works. But the evening class also starts next week, so they'll be plenty of inflow.

I'm on call as a reserve juror today, but nothing needed of me this morning. I need to check in again at noon.

One of my ebay items sold for $6 this morning, so am adding that to my goals. I need to do a Target run sometime this week, but may hold off until I get the news on the jury.

I still need to list ebay items, file taxes, and continue decluttering and cleaning. I've made chili for the after-school program sponsored by church and need to frost those cupcakes. It's a calm but mundane life back here in Cheeseland. But I'm getting back into the swing of it!

Following the sage SA advice, but still chuckling about the ironing jokes, I've purchased a Rowenta iron on sale at Target. And yes, I saved 5 percent with my RedCard.

Yesterday was very productive. I went to the bank to deposit the flex spending checks, (w)Al green's for my husband's instant coffee fix earning Balance points along the way, Noodles for a free pasta lunch courtesy of a coupon received, then the charity shop to dump off donations, Target for the iron, then finally the grocery store. It seemed like one of those charmed days where you actually remember your shopping bags, your coupons, and get great deals.

Then DD's science project hit. Yuck. We spent four hours helping her paint, assemble, and label mini-amusement park rides demonstrating Newtonian laws. Other students had two weeks to complete this, but she was under a time crunch because of our holiday. Thankfully we all avoided shouting and slamming doors, but there were a few almost tears. And it's done.

I've had a very productive day purging, sorting, and cleaning. But now my iron has completely stopped heating although there is power still to it. It also is leaking water. I foresee a Target trip tonight.
Anyone have an iron(clad) recommendation?

I spent half the weekend on the road, driving to Minneapolis to pick up the dog at my brother's home. They've been dog sitting since DD and DH came to England. I spent some $ on gas (much cheaper in MN), a small lunch each way, and dinner with friends on Friday night. Yesterday DD and I were invited to a tea party, and I bought a cute rose planted in a tea cup for the hostess. I think that was our only spending.

The more expensive news is the dog's impending medical treatment. She jumped off something at my brother's and tore her ACL. We're headed to the vet in an hour to find out that news. Ugh.

So, I have ongoing tasks for the week that need prioritization. They include pulling together class materials for my summer classes, starting our delayed taxes, picking up around here, finding a cleaner, hiring a painter for the house exterior, and starting a massive dejunking. I guess I did start the dejunking yesterday by giving a friend a big bag of DD's outgrown clothes. But much more to come. And I need to sell some things on ebay.

Also to be done is the drawdown of all the food DH bought while I was gone. He buys far too much food and the freezer and cupboards are bursting. So menu planning must be done.

I'm giving myself a grocery budget of $50/week until we can get through this food, and an ebay target of $150. I want ten bags/boxes of stuff out of this house by the end of the week. I'm still working on capstone projects and have to show up at the university with my spending report sometime this week, but first, an hour of purging.


There's more England news on the horizon, but I'll wait until tomorrow to elaborate.

I've spent much of the time since we've returned doing paper. You know what I mean? DD chipped a tooth while I was gone, so insurance papers had to be filed. Insurance didn't pay for it all, so flex spending had to be filed. Endless cycles of paper like that. But the happy news was that I'd completely forgot that I could file dependent care flex spending on DD's summer day camp, and I had money left over. Lovely! It's sort of like foraging in piles of paper, isn't it?

This morning's first paper foray involved the cancellation of DH's airmiles credit card. We've been very happy with his Chase card, so have cancelled the old airmiles card. They've credited his annual fee after they deducted for it, so this morning e-mails had to be sent to get Citi to send us a check. Then he had about 5000 miles rustling around that were due to expire, so I used them on four (!) magazines subscriptions--two for gifts.

I'm looking forward to a towering recycling bin tomorrow morning. Get this paper out!

Hi SA Buddies:
I'm six days into my London sojourn and loving it. I miss my family, but it's so fabulous to come out of the classroom and find myself in the heart of London.

On the financial front, my wire transfer finally went through, so I'm as fully funded as I can be. My students are really amazed at the cost of things, but I think this will be an excellent experience of living on a budget much tighter than they're used to. I'm sort of accustomed to British prices, and I have to say, my transport pass has allowed me to explore a lot, visit some great markets, and go places I might hesitate to visit if I had to pay.

The flat is great; it's in a quiet residential area of North London, and despite the bus ride, I really like it. I've got all my grocery loyalty cards, have even discovered some coupons, and got a free two pints of milk today.

Some of my extras will be paid for like last night's curry night, and next week's play tickets. I can see I'll need to pack sandwiches at least two days a week, but I'm really enjoying both exploring a part of London I've never seen much of and coming home to a great flat. It was definitely the right decision.

We came back from MN last night. We had a lovely Christmas with my brother and his family. My only mishap was our thrice-repaired tire gave it up on Monday morning when I was driving to have breakfast with my girlfriends. I didn't want the uncertainty of it, so just got the darn thing replaced. Another $120 in a very heavy-repair-bill season, but I felt so much better having it replaced.

We all got great gifts. My nephews have started brewing their own beer, and we enjoyed their home brews. Even DD was happy with her gifts. We slept late this morning (8!) and lazed around, spending part of the afternoon at the dentist. I'm looking forward to a few lazy days, cleaning up around here, and then getting ready for England.

I have plenty of good news; I'm halfway through my grading. I only have a few more gifts to buy. Unlike last year at this time, DH is pretty secure in his job. Our house is paid for. We're off to England soon. We're all healthy.

But I miss Christmas. Every year I have to get my head around the face that being so busy with the semester's end, we never get the Christmas I long for. I suspect it's a fantasy anyway--my mom worked like a maniac to make Christmas full of baking, parties, homemade gifts, gorgeous outfits, etc. I have box after box of Christmas decorations, old Martha Stewart Christmas magazines, but I rarely get even one-third of it out. The house is only sort-of decorated. The tree is up, my Swedish lights are in the window, but there are piles of papers to be graded, laundry to be done, and just plain stuff that needs putting away.

We JUST finished our Christmas letter, so I guess they can go out tomorrow. Maybe. Could someone send over either Santa's elves or the shoemaker's elves to help?

We had a frantic morning. DD is really stressed about various classes at middle school and hasn't been sleeping well. She ended up with us in the middle of the night. So we got off to a slow morning, she missed the bus, and we were all tired.

I wonder sometimes about the projects assigned to 5th graders. She has a four-page paper due that must include all the literary elements assigned. Not only that, but the various elements must be printed in different color inks. Then she'll construct a weather vane over the weekend. Expect cold fusion next week.

But I got lots of errands done--new ID, software pick-up, library books returned, copies made for next week, etc. It's sometimes amazing what I can get done in an hour.

My concert date with a friend for tomorrow night fell through as it seems half the university is ill. So I think we'll all stay home, lay low, and if I feel ambitious, make a huge pot of soup and play Goldilocks with them.

I would enjoy a productive but quiet weekend. I heard a choir singing "Dona Nobis Pacem" on NPR, and I think we could use some peace.

I have great news: It looks almost certain my study abroad will run. I've got four or more over the baseline, but I won't know for sure until October 16th. That said, we've mailed out acceptance e-mails, and are just waiting for confirmations.

I have more good news: It looks like the university is paying my airfare. I had been planning on using miles, and had been juggling them to get DH and DD there in March, but I can take that concern off my plate.

Want more? I thinking of subletting a small flat in central London instead of staying in the scholar's residence. I'd have to find something else when DD and DH came, and I've found a fellow professor at my university who has a flat available. It's more than I was planning on paying, but I'll admit, I've fallen in love with it. I've managed to rationalize it by saying that we're not having our usual English vacation this year, and blah blah blah. I just want it. Maybe I just want to play house there.

So--to make myself feel slightly less selfish, I'm rounding up more of DD's clothes for sale, selling books, making massive lists of medical reimbursements to file, etc. Besides--wouldn't you all be thrilled to read my blog from my London flat? Then my blog name would be true!

Looks like a big chunk of the day will be spent on Saturday errands--library, emissions test, groceries, and my fav--Target.

I've been trying to do errands during the week, but it's not working so well. We've decided to spring for three more windows before the spring, but stopping there for now. DD's windows are cracked and leak a lot, but we're not much ready to go further. We've been talking about bumping the kitchen wall out a bit, and need to think that through before we do the back side of the house.

Lots of grading still awaits. Ugh

It's about 10 days until the Study Abroad application deadline. I've got over twice as many as we need to make it happen, so I'm feeling confident about it now.
There's a lot of work involved--answering lots of questions, sending out lots of e-mails, reminding students about recommendations and passports etc. I really like the students who are hyper-excited--and the ones who are shy and quiet, but just bursting inside. It's been fun.

DH hung our new super insulated blinds last night. He really has issues (the sweet one) with finishing things. I think it's some kind of disorder. As we were unpacking them, I said to myself, "He'll hang two, but not the third." Sure enough, he got through two and said he thought he was done for the evening. It was 8! Through lots of talking (while I was supervising DD's math), I got him to hang the final one. It's odd behavior; I have a touch of it myself, but can't really explain it.

Not much money news. Looks like I have to switch the autobilling from our old ATT to U-verse, so better get going on that.

We spent some time yesterday trying to brainstorm what our next goals are. More contributions to the retirement plans certainly, more to DD's 529 plan. We have no major decisions made at all.

We've been living on a moderately tight budget for a long time. Except for travel, we're pretty frugal.
There are things we need to do for our home; I've ordered new blinds for the family room, we bought some fairly inexpensive curtains for the living room, and I spent an exciting afternoon yesterday at the commercial laundromat washing comforters and bedspreads.

I'm calling painters tomorrow for bids on the house trim, and DH is taking my 25+-year-old Swedish wool rugs to be cleaned and rebound. We always have post-summer spending to do, so none of this is too much out of the ordinary. We're postponing the rest of the windows until next year at the earliest too.

So what else do we need to do? We need to figure out what to do with the rest of the cash from the house sale. It's sitting in savings right now, and I need to investigate other places for it.

So, post-mortgage life goes on. The dishwasher stubbornly refused to drain last night, and after church today, we very unsystematically monkeyed around with it--using the wet-dry vac to try to extract the clog. We took apart the air vent, unhooked the pipes, and somehow now, everything works. I think we saved ourselves a $100 service call. I hung clothes out to dry, and with DD at a friend's house for the afternoon, will work on lesson plans for the week.

But I'm thinking, thinking, thinking....

Well folks, we're now officially debt free. We went to the credit union this morning and paid off the mortgage.

We were a bit giddy, and would have been a little disappointed if the teller hadn't shared our excitement. Turns out it was her first mortgage payoff--and she complimented us--saying how especially nice it was that "young folks like us" had their mortgage paid off. I think she misjudged our ages by half a decade at least.

I am grateful to my parents for being such careful stewards of their money and property. They both were Depression-reared and came from nothing. Both were raised by their moms alone--my dad's father dead from pneumonia at 37, and my mom's father left during the depression. But my mother particularly had a way with a dollar--stretching it beyond any of my poor powers.

The teller recommended a mortgage-burning party, but so many of our friends are so broke, it seems boastful. Instead I think we'll have a nice party without mentioning the event to them.

I guess I'd better update my sidebar!

That's how I describe how I felt yesterday. I taught four classes back to back from 8-2. DD is still very excited about middle school, but the days suddenly seem SO full. I got some things done during this morning's office hours, and am looking forward to being home alone tomorrow to tackle more things.

In more exciting news, we may use my day off tomorrow to go pay off our mortgage. We talked about waiting until the end of the month, but heck, why not just do it now?

I'll keep y'all posted.

I feel like we should have done something spectacular this weekend--especially today--but we spent the morning deep cleaning our bedroom. We took the bed apart, vacuumed underneath the bed, behind the bed, behind the dressers etc. Everything in there got washed, then we moved onto DD's room.

Is this a sign of age that rather than whooping it up over the holiday weekend, we clean? Probably.

I did some minor grocery shopping, we grilled steaks, and got every one all spruced up to begin the school year. This will be almost an hour earlier rising for DD. I hope she doesn't crash tomorrow on the first day of middle school! I hope I don't either, but I only have one class tomorrow. Mondays and Wednesday are the heavy days with four classes back to back.

I hope to get a walk in before heading to the university. I've been such a slacker this summer, my good habits need to kick in.

We went to the local "Parade of Homes" for the second year in a row. Some of them were outrageously stupidly big--like the builders didn't know what to do with all that room. We both liked the smaller ones better, but came home appreciating our house more. I think we mostly went to look at tile work, but saw some very pretty patios that we might emulate in the future.

What's with all sorts of new homes not having baths in the master suite? The showers are so big you could have a baseball team in them, but I would want a nice long luxurious English-length bath tub if I owned that type of house.

Some of the houses were so over the top, it was fascinating to watch peoples' reactions. Huge bars in the basement with (eek!) three refrigerators and a dishwasher in the bar area. One had a caged-off wine cellar. We fell in with some irreverent types who kept critiquing the wacky stuff. I'm not sure a pub style bar area should be raised two steps off the floor. Everyone who looked at it predicted lawsuits and head injuries.

DH put up the living room curtain rod when we got home, and we decided we like our 50+ year old suburb with the beautiful trees and manageable sized houses.

We drove to Minnesota over the weekend, visited the attorney, and sold my parents' lake home to my brother and his wife. We spent the weekend there, and I think I've worked through my issues with selling it.

I don't really want to own it, but it holds so many memories that I'm happy he has it. There's so much upkeep on a lake property, and he has the time and inclination to do it. They have their boats there, and we had a great time eating, drinking, playing cards, and tootling around the lake with them.

I deposited the personal check from him in the bank yesterday and am waiting for the bank to clear it. I have the feeling they won't clear it before September 1, so I'll end up paying my September mortgage payment. I asked the manager to see if they could clear that amount by Friday, and he said he'd call, but nothing yet.

In less lucrative news, I started a new class last night with only four students. I've never taught a class that small, but I have taught that Women and Literature class six or seven times, so it should be ok.

I also attended a seminar for our Common Reading Experience program at the university. They're reading Persepolis, a graphic novel about growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution. I'm enjoying it a lot, and I do hope my incoming freshman do too.

Lots of meetings this week and lots of back-to-school shopping for DD. Again, a big thanks to all of you for helping me through the house selling quandry.

After a long chat with DH last night, we've decided to sell the lake house to my brother. I'd like to keep a big chunk of the money intact, but I think we will pay off the mortgage and do some things around the house I've been planning. I'm going to hold off on the second half of the windows, the fireplace refacing, the new carpets, and the bathroom remodeling. We need to fund that out of our regular savings over the next year.

But that said, we'll pay the mortgage (wow),get my rugs rebound, and recover the chair that needs it. My biggest indulgence will be a cleaning service a couple of times a month. I really hate to clean, but so love a clean house. And it will really be necessary when I go to England and DH is fending for himself.

So, I feel better about it. Last night's dream featured my mom --and I honestly think she was giving me her approval.

My brother and I jointly own my mom's lake house. We had it appraised after she died, but I haven't been there much. My brother goes often as it's only a couple hour drive for them, but for us, it's almost 8 hours.

My brother, bless him, is a peach. He's fair and business-like, and just called to see if I want to sell my half to him. It would be a nice chunk of change, and we'll almost certainly do, but I guess I still feel some grief about it. We'd still be welcome there, and I think it's not that I really want to still own it, it's that I just wish I could turn back time and have my parents still there.

The money would be great. We could pay off the mortgage, and then start banking that money for home improvements and retirement savings. I wish I wasn't so emotional about it. Bleah.

We finished up the school supply shopping yesterday, and bought lots of groceries. The bulk of the school supply shopping was at Target (with that 5% Redcard saving), with a few specials picked up at other places. DH and I were commenting on how many more supplies seem to be required every year. I suspect it's the impact of school budget cuts.

I've got a workshop at the university tomorrow, so today is my weekly lunch date with DD. We're headed to the art museum in a bit and will have lunch there overlooking the lake. I'm am so proud of what a geek she has become. We spent an hour last night watching a PBS special on rats in areas of India. When it was over, she went to the atlas to look up that part of India, and we talked through the differing regional ethnicities in India. One of our friends is from that region of northern India, and so we had a special interest.

I've turned down all offers of activities this weekend, and want to spend the weekend here in the garden and cleaning in prep for school. Man, I feel like my mom.