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Home > Archive: August, 2015

Archive for August, 2015

Painting Done

August 30th, 2015 at 05:25 am

We've finished painting the office walls--two coats and while I may've chosen a darker shade of gray in hindsight, I think it will look really nice when the trim gets painted white and the desk goes in.

I've been using a rickety old computer desk for 16+ years, and I will NOT be sad to see it go. I'll advertise it as free, but will be happy to donate it to Goodwill. I still have one bin of books to shelve, and I hope they all fit since I'm down a large bookcase. I really wanted a lighter feel in there, but could possibly be swayed into using a black folding shorter bookcase we have in the basement if push come to shove.

I wanted to spray my file cabinets today but it poured all day, so they can wait for the morning. And I bought a vintage kitchen metal cart (love!) on a local FB list for $35 which will be sprayed the same turquoise and serve as my printer cart. It feels like it's all coming together though it's still a huge mess. But I'm finally excited about it.

Two of the books from my stash sold today on Amazon--one for $20 and the other for $5, so I'll add that to my totals.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning my daughter's room. Man, what a morass. But two big bags from her room and an old sleeping bag went to the charity shop already. I'm going to try to sell some shoes and other stuff I unearthed. We also bought her a new comforter--backordered--but a shout out to the lovely manager at Blood Bath and Beyond--he wangled us a great deal and it will arrive in a week.

Yes, Sir, Three Bags Full

August 29th, 2015 at 02:12 am

And that was three more bags of books to the library and two went to Half Price. I agree--they're bad prices, but I had to go across the street to Target. For those that went to HPB, I made a very paltry $10. And the library was very happy. But the $10 paid for lunch (with coupon) for me and DD. And too gradually I'm getting my office much clearer.


Tonight's work is to sort through files to condense them before I paint the file cabinets tomorrow.

Half Price or Donate?

August 27th, 2015 at 04:19 pm

I've got four (!) bags of books from my office makeover. I'm sure three of them are useless to anywhere except the Goodwill or library donation pile, but one has some more current stuff--albeit worthless on Amazon. So I'm debating the wisdom of a 15-minute drive to Half Price Books. I think I'll put it on my "maybe" list for the day while donations will be on the "definite" list.

My DH's tuition is due early next week. I hate paying $1500 for his class, but we're committed to his history degree. I just wish August had a bit more squoosh room. But always doing better than my university friends who are super super broke. I'll get a small check on September 1 from my adjunct work, but nothing from my primary employer until October 1. I finished up a textbook study for a publisher the other night which promises $125. I hope it comes soon!

And I bought a new carry-on bag last night at ebags. I've been looking for a wheeled bag that fits the new carry-on requirements and has a laptop compartment, and this Delsey fits the bill on all of those. It wasn't as cheap as I'd like, but I've had good experiences with my other Delsey luggage, and made Swagbucks rebates, ebags rebates, and will get some cash back. One of my biggest travel headaches of the past few years has been inadequate and nonwheeled carry-ons. So I'm excited. August cash flow be d---d.

Four more days of August, but an afternoon full of booooooooring meetings loom.

Baby Steps

August 23rd, 2015 at 05:20 am

I'm cleaning the office getting ready for the carpet install. Some solid dejunking has happened with 14 books to the library, two bags of old electronics to Best Buy recycling, three books sold on FB and another book sold on Amazon trade-in. I also took a big bag to Goodwill today. There's lots more to do, but my fabulous husband has pulled up the carpet and pad and cleaned off the floor in there. We probably have at least one or two more big bags or books to donate or sell.

No real other news. I played trivia today with some colleagues, spent $3 and got a tee shirt. We treated ourselves to dinner out after the big cleaning mess. But no more meals out for three weeks.

Feeling Very Off-Track

August 16th, 2015 at 04:19 pm

I've been feeling very off-track lately. It seems like I'm not getting much done and am behind in housework and self care too. The house needs a solid pick-up, and I find a very full fridge and freezer hard to deal with. I think I officially have August-itis.

Causes? Uncertainty about DH's job (always and again), impending semester with lots to do, August-afflicted child who sleeps too late and hates the heat, travel hangover, delays in bathroom remodel bids, massive canning days that put off everything else, horrible edits and capstone projects that frustrate me, too many social obligations. I feel stuck.

Plan? Tomorrow (heat and aforementioned social obligation today) must be devoted to catching up. I may have to build in a reward to the child for helping me. Maybe even build in a reward for myself.

It's time to get financially back on track too. Back-to-school shopping was expensive as child now requires adult sizes. Yesterday I spent (ouch)$250 on jeans, pants, and shoes for her. The only upside now is if she outgrows those three pairs of shoes, I can wear them.

Tomorrow demands a list. Getting on that today. Wish me luck to get unstuck.

Working Away at those Goals

August 5th, 2015 at 07:31 am

We all went over to the bathroom remodeler this morning to go over detailed plans with them. As I suspected, there's no way we can get an English-length (6 foot) bathtub in our 1960 house. But we spent an hour going over choices of tile, and they'll send us a bid in a few days. We had them bid both the family bath and our en-suite, but I'm not sure we can afford to do both now. It will be interesting to see their numbers. Even for our smallish bathrooms, I think it will be in the mid 20s.

DD and I hit Costco and Target to begin school supply shopping. We've done a brief inventory of last year's leftovers, so we didn't spend too much. I always keep a running list to see if I can beat the School-Pak boxes offered by the district--which I always succeed at. One year I beat their numbers by $70.

After the Costco hot dog for lunch, DD and I went to the dentist. Thankfully I still have a balance left on my flex card, so nothing out of pocket after the insurance and the flex. A month ago my kitchen sieve/strainer broke, and I was surprised to see how much they were. The OXO ones were $18, but I spotted one for sale on a local FB list for $3--which we now own. I roasted some garden zucchini and peppers to go with our black bean burgers tonight. We're trying to move from one to two meatless dinners a week, and I must admit, the dread zucchini has helped!

More accuracy checking work tonight, so I'm ahead of schedule with the project managers and editors.

Tomorrow DD and I are off to Minnesota again, the beautiful North Shore with my best friend. We're there until Monday and we're all looking forward to hikes, pie, and a visit to the Wolf Center in Ely.

I'm really enjoying these summer days. It's been a good balance of work and play.

London Again

August 4th, 2015 at 04:44 am

I've received the final go-ahead from my family and department, so it looks as if I'm going to London again next year, pending enrollments. I'm very excited, and we've already started some planning.

Not a lot of financial news. I put a $12 rebate check in the bank, had a haircut, took DD to pick up her school registration, dropped off batteries and a computer mouse for recycling, and then did some grocery shopping and hit the library. Tomorrow we go to check out the bathroom remodeling bids.

The zucchini keeps coming fast and furious so tonight we had zucchini quiche. I froze some over the weekend along with peaches.

Happy to have the windows open tonight and happy to have new library books and wonderful peaches!