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Archive for May, 2009

Drug Dealing (ha!)

May 29th, 2009 at 10:40 pm

No, not the guy on the forum with the problem. This is legit.
I made money on illness this week. Both DH and DD had some sort of odd sinus infection. Both were prescribed antibiotics, and with the prescription coverage and the $25 gift card CVS is offering with a prescription, we came out almost $40 ahead. Very strange and I feel oddly guilty about it.

I sold a dress on ebay, and I've listed some cute children's vintage books. I'm adding $4.74 to my total.

I have some freelance work which really needs doing. I hope to get to it over the weekend. It promises to be a lovely somewhat sunny one!

Kid's Summer Activities

May 28th, 2009 at 06:21 pm

My oh my--it looks like we're going to have a hodge-podge of summer activities for our daughter. And everything seems to cost $150 for a half-day one-week session.

I'm mostly sending her to half-day sessions hoping we can fill the rest of the time with swimming, the library and other things like play dates.

This is the first time she hasn't gone to the university child care, at least some days, so it'll be an adjustment.

It looks like it'll cost over over $1000, not counting the village pool membership.

I don't think, except for one summer school session, I ever went to any organized activities except camp for a week. But we lived in a neighborhood with dozens of kids and lots of impromptu fun.
I wouldn't mind reliving one or two of those days again. Mosquito repellent, bikes, tents made from blankets. I wonder if it was as idyllic as I remember it.

My Love Affair with the Library

May 26th, 2009 at 10:05 pm

This love affair, a longer-lasting affair than either of my marriages, began when I was just a kid. My mom had her hair done in a "beauty salon" right next to the library and while she got shampooed and set, I wallowed in the books.

I spent much of my tween and teen years on a bike, headed to the library. We walked there when the snow hit, but spent blissful summer days in the air conditioned library.

My college years meant the university library soon became one of my favorites.
I fondly remember one final exam study day spent with an open text, watching the snowflakes fall between the library and the student union.

During my commuting years I spent off hours there, and when my daughter was born, the story times were a much-needed and appreciated break. Now we check out DVDs, books, books for my classes, and our at-least-weekly trip is always a treasure hunt.

When I think about why I like our community, the library is one of the major reasons. It's not beautiful, like some of the nearby ones, but it's home.

It's bountiful, it's free (mostly), and it's fabulous.

online rebates

May 26th, 2009 at 04:53 am

We bought a bunch of stuff at Ace Hardware today--weed and feed and other lawn stuff mostly.
I'm reminded again how much I like the idea of an online rebate. Now true, it's better if they just mark the darn things down, but I did the rebate on their website in about one minute. And it means $12 back!

DH has been ill all weekend with a bad throat, so we didn't get as much done as I'd have liked. But still--some annoying errands done and plenty of lazing around.

Last night we watched a German mini-series called Dresden that was very powerful about the fire bombing of Dresden during WWII. I highly recommend it (well, most of it except for the sappy romance).

Dejunking for Cash

May 24th, 2009 at 01:25 am

We've had a productive day. I sold DD's Fisher Price play set on Craigslist for $75, we did tons of errands, dropped off junk at the Salvation Army, and sold a couple of books to HalfPrice that weren't worth the Amazon listing.

I'm adding the $77 to my ebay total, and I'm happy to report my one solitary ebay listing has bids.

Happy and Productive Weekends to all of you!

Little Bits of Savings

May 22nd, 2009 at 03:19 am

I went out to lunch with a friend today and to some garage and estate sales. Nothing was particularly enticing, but I bought some unopened packs of 3M window plastic for next fall for 50cents.

I received and deposited a small check from Walgreen's, and want to thank Nance for her advice about the moneysaving mom blog. It's helped me get some great bargains at Walgreens. Our church is putting together gift bags for orphanages and some of my little bits from Walgreen's will go there.

I've got lots of work ahead of me getting ready for my online class and for a conference paper next fall. I should probably start a savings fund for that trip, since I'm sure the university will have no professional development money.

I also listed our DD's outdoor playset on Craigslist and had lots of interest. Someone's coming to get it on Saturday morning. I hope it works out.

Happy Holiday weekends to all of you! Is it bank holiday in the UK this weekend too?

The Seductions of Target

May 19th, 2009 at 05:06 am

I remember now why I don't go to Target.
Although I had (well, maybe) to go tonight since my iron completely quit, I knew it would be too enticing.

I had a friend who maintained you couldn't get out of Target under $100, but tonight it was $99.67. I bought really cute sandals for DD, the new Dylan CD for me, and more than a few other things besides the iron.

Sadly enough, all this temptation could've been avoided. I came home, unwrapped the new iron, but decided to give the old one one last try. Despite not working all day, the minute its rival entered the house, it started working just fine. Now if I can just return the new one without venturing deeper into the store!

Oh, and my ebay items sold. Add $5.73 to my total

Ebay Mix-ups and Some Triumphs

May 15th, 2009 at 06:48 pm

Blame it on the last week of the semester, but last week's ebay sales went to the wrong people. I sold two dresses, and you guessed it, sent each to the other buyer. They've been pleasant about it, and I'm refunding them the postage and throwing in some extras.

Now for the triumphs: I sold a textbook on Amazon and made some survey money. And current ebay listings have some bids.

Add $51.71 to my totals.

Planning the Summer

May 14th, 2009 at 05:52 pm

I'm formulating summer plans, both for DD and for us. We're putting a garden in, and right now (oh the joys of school over), I've got laundry on the line. I just got a rhubarb plant from a friend so that's going in my garden.

I want to make a list of summer goals and summer dreams. I wonder what they'll be?


On the more mundane side, I'm just back from an estate sale at a lovely home. I got a great deal on ordinary things like packages of unopened birthday candles for 10cents and some cute homemade draft blockers for next winter. Indeed one of my summer goals is to find a couple pretty but cheap wool blankets at an estate sale to replace the ugly thermal ones in our guest room.

No other news except looking for gifts for the round of graduations and wedding showers that is just beginning.

Mourning the Demise of Walgreen's Easy Saver

May 6th, 2009 at 10:24 pm

I'm heartbroken that Walgreen's has gone the way of CVS with the dumb register rewards. I loved the Easy Saver catalog and the refillable gift card with the 10% bonus.

I'm speculating the shorter expiration date on the Register Rewards and their easier-to-lose flimsiness has something to do with the bad corporate decision (at least bad for me) at Walgreen's.

Bah--and they're a lot harder to use too.
Double bah.

Driving (Me) Crazy

May 5th, 2009 at 09:03 pm

We've been back and forth to my family's hometown three weekends out of the last four. Let's see, at 360 each way times 6, we've driven over 2100 miles. They were all good reasons: A birthday party for my mom, followed by mom breaking her hip, followed by a very sad funeral for another dear one. But I don't want to set foot in the car again for a while, at least for the other hour before I have to head to school.

Besides all the gas, we spent on snacks, meals, and hotels. We brought snacks, pricelined hotels, but still with that and some overdue clothing purchases, it's been a very expensive month.

While I was away, some of my ebay items sold. I'll update my totals tomorrow.
After I get out of the car!