Last night we went out for a little family birthday celebration. We ordered a shared appetizer and two drinks, plus food for DD.

The server brought the wrong wine (even the wrong color!) for my husband, and the appetizer never showed up. I told the server when he delivered the entrees about the appetizer's absence, and his remark was "I'll take it off your bill." No apology, no explanation, no offer to take the food back and get the appetizer. Later he came by and told us it was his fault, and he could get them to "bring it out quickly," but it was halfway through our entree!

He also forgot the bread, and was obviously a little undone by his mistakes. In a case like that, how much do you tip? Nothing? Ten percent? More?

Sometimes it's just not worth it to go out....

Despite an otherwise pleasant weekend, I'm more than a little unhappy with our babysitter. She's in her late twenties and very smart, but has problems holding down jobs, mostly, I think, because she's so bossy.

I normally don't mind her bossiness, though we did have words several years ago when she decided to tell me how she didn't approve of how I loaded my dishwasher. Since then, well, she has her moods, but everything was fine until last night.

DH and I went out for my birthday, then to a club to hear some jazz. This is high living for us. Our usual Saturday night is something off the grill and a library rental DVD.

When we got home, the sitter announced that she'd decided to "clean out" the freezer. We'd bought some rotisserie chicken and veggies for her and DD for dinner, as well as cake. But she was looking for a popsicle in the freezer and decided that some of the things in there should be thrown away.

I always freeze chicken scraps, bones, vegetable parings etc for homemade soup stock. She emptied all those bags and threw that away. The frozen bananas for banana bread--also gone. That made me pretty mad, but today, I realized she'd also moved five or six packages of meat from the freezer to the fridge, and now it was all thawed and needed to be cooked immediately. So much for my peaceful Sunday. I've been braising beef, frying sausages, and making stock. If she appeared on my doorstep right now, I'm afraid I might stick her head in the stock. Has anyone run into this odd control freak behavior from a sitter before?

She's great with DD, but man alive, I've had it with her right now.

Not very much spending, just haircuts for the whole family, including the dog, this week. I've sold another book on Amazon and have a watcher on the ebay auction of my mom's things.

I'm taking off for the weekend to meet up with some girlfriends, and then am hosting a party for another friend's birthday next week. I predict my plans of making most of the food will change, but right now, I'm planning a Greek-style tortellini salad and a chocolate raspberry cake. Yum!

After dropping off DD at her French lessons, we went to have breakfast and coffee at the local Einstein's Bagels. They delivered our bagel/egg sandwiches to the wrong table, and I saw the folks there pick up the top of the bagels, peer into both of them and then return them to the counter. I was unsure of whether we should eat them after other folks had handled them, but I didn't want to make a fuss when they arrived at our table.
Now was I being reasonable? Or is that too many hands on our bagel sandwiches? No one sneezed on them, and the other people looked, well, relatively clean. But the people next to us overheard us muttering about it and felt we should have asked for new sandwiches.

What's your verdict?

I mailed four ebay sales and returned a jacket DD didn't need. More fun, I sold more of her clothes on Craigslist. All in all, I'm adding $157 to my sales total for all the misc we've sold in the last two weeks.

Work is very busy, and my budget has been stretched by two weeks worth of English house guests who ate and drank everything in the house while not even bringing a hostess gift. I guess they think it's THEIR English castle.

So, now my house is again a mess, I'm way behind at work, and to save some time, picked up meatloaf mixture at the local grocers last night. I baked it right away, but it was spoiled or something. Even mt DH who will eat anything won't eat it.

Bah--need to get caught up!

Sorry, this is ugly, but Sunday's food was all down the drain because of the stomach bug we all got. I'd blame my cooking, but all the kids in DD's class seem to have it too. This has made it a slow, somewhat yucky week.

I've been reading the SA experiment with Dave Ramsay and have been inspired to amass an extra $1000 just like they preach. Our emergency fund is pretty darn good, but I could use an injection of both cash and enthusiasm. I'll list some stuff on ebay and scour around for other stuff to sell and other opportunities for cash.

We've got guests coming so I've made a big pot of jambalaya for tomorrow and chicken soup and a frittata for tonight.

If I get ambitious, I may make some pumpkin bread--my hair cutter has been telling me how slow it's been, and it'd be a nice gift for her.

Well, maybe not super yet, but I've started another round of decluttering and ebay selling. I'm continually floored at how much stuff we have, and will offer up some of DD's clothes on freecycle as well.

I've also decided to devote the next six weeks to improving my overall health and keeping a health and food journal. Nothing's really wrong; I'd just like to have more energy and eat better consistently. On that happy note I've made a pot of Italian veggie soup to prepare for the onslaught of snow headed our way.

Super Bowl Sunday is usually spent on the taxes, but we were busy yesterday with playdates and Sunday school and university prep, so they'll have to wait a bit.

In honor of the "Food Out" challenge, I made coffee this morning instead of buying my cheapo cup at school. Not quite as fun, but I did save $1.42. Dinner was again from the freezer.

After a month off, my school days seem very long to me right now. Perhaps it's the slog through the snow?

I had other shopping planned for today, but we're getting hit with a big blast of snow, so I've spent a chunk of the morning reorganizing the shelves in the basement, including the canned food etc shelves.

They look terrific and should help with my
"Eat our Way Through the Freezer" plan for the upcoming months.

I have a couple of books sold to deliver to the post office so may venture out into the whiteness.

I'm starting a new ebay/amazon challenge for myself--kickstarted by a recent $100 or so in sales.

Here's to the spirit of organization! Long may it last!

We had a fun baby shower last night for friends, and now I've got leftovers galore-- everything from half-full bottles of wine to pesto salad and caprese and chocolate tart.

C'mon over for lunch or we'll be eating this all week!

My lettuce mix seedlings are up as well. I'm glad they can tolerate chilliness since it's getting cold here again tonight.

And another bit of "lettuce": I sold some Gymboree pants on ebay for a lofty $2.75 bringing my total up a bit. I've taken photos of other of DD's clothes to sell and will try to get them listed tomorrow. My Disney Steve challenge money is lacking, but I'm determined to catch up!

The word has just spread at DH's job that they're cutting salaries. No official word yet on the numbers. I guess better a lower salary than no job.

I plan on spending (ha!) spring break decluttering the basement and listing ebay items. This morning I freecycled a bunch of toys to a lovely woman with 9 (!) kids.
The delight on the little boy's face when he saw the bag of toys was immensely heart-warming.

We roasted a turkey breast over the weekend. For me, this is one of the easiest cheapest most delicious meals we all love. I predict at least two more meals from it (at 99cents/lb) before it becomes soup.

I read a quote in the NYT over the weekend commenting on how people shopping for groceries are now armed with calculators, papers, lists, and coupons --as much info as if they were shopping for cars.

It's true around here. People are standing in front of displays a long time, comparing unit prices, going through their coupons, and putting things back on the shelf.
Our local store had a special on milk, and every single person I went by had the two gallon special in their carts.

That title either sounds like a children's book or bad omen to me.

Today after picking up DD from school I was greeted at the back door by a possum. Now we live in the suburbs and often have raccoons, deer, and even an occasional coyote, but this possum scared the heck out of me. People are telling me they think they're cute, but not me. Ugly!

No real financial news except the approaching end of the semester and the realization I have one paycheck left at my normal four class full time load.

The weekend was fun--full of friends and Christmas tree shopping and a few hours spent grading projects and reading papers.

I'm actively looking for ideas for Christmas for my 20-year-old nephew who lives in a frat house and is, according to my sister-in-law, hungry all the time. I'm thinking a homemade food basket with emergency supplies. Any one
have good ideas for things to include?

While I was off moving my mom into assisted living, DH bought a new microwave. He's picking it up at Sears tonight, hoping they'll give him the additional 5% they're advertising. He also opened a Sears charge to get 15% off, so I think he did a pretty good job getting the price down. He HATES to haggle, but he asked for ways to save $, and they offered to take the sales tax off too, so he did well.

Now I need to list some ebay things to help pay for it. I cleaned out my mom's cupboards when we left the house and brought cake mix, muffin mix, and assorted other things home. Looks like the church dinner folks are having mom's cake mix tomorrow!

It makes me tired--even with a list, even if I do the shopping with DH. And I see so many folks lately inspecting the unit pricing, reaching for the back of the shelf bargains, I think there's at least a little anxiety that goes with grocery shopping in this sort of economy.

I did ok with double coupons today--a couple of free things and $2 off our regular coffee--but still it wears me out.

Maybe I should've bought vitamins!

Our local farmers' market is small but fun.
We bought yellow tomatoes, cukes, green and wax beans, corn, and my favorite--beets.

A little jaunt to the library rounded out the morning, and now I've sent DH and DD off to amuse themselves so I can get my last-minute class planning done. I printed out our family calendar for the month, and we are busy busy busy.

But I still love the first day of school and all those new faces and possibilities.

before the insanity of the university starts again. We're out to a friend's house for dinner tonight, want to pick up some great sweet corn tomorrow and get ready for school by cleaning and organizing a few things.

I'm making a mixed berry fruit tart tonight and going to think about how sweet summer is before it's gone.

My money goal for today is to sign up for bill pay on the second emergency checking account. They offer $25 for the first time you use it, then I'm canceling it after I pocket the $25.

I wish all my SA friends lovely summery weekends!

Yesterday was pretty fun as DH returned home from England with all sorts of goodies, including hand-me-downs for DD from her favoUrite cousin and all the British cooking magazines I love etc.

DD went to a funny birthday party at a pet shop and had a great time. I managed to delay the adoption of the "free fish" she was given a credit for until I check Goodwill for fish bowls. I don't think I want to spend $5 on a pet store fishbowl for a fish with a life span of a week or so.

So with all this plenty surrounding us, I've challenged myself to walk an hour a day and buy only dairy and produce for the next few weeks. We have tons of stuff in the freezer and pantry, and I'm going to stir up some wondermeals from them.

Tonight--Tikka chicken masala

We had a 6th birthday party for DD this weekend and the bakery sent my husband home with the wrong flavor (NOT CHOCOLATE!) cake.

This all happened about an hour before the party. So what does the bakery tell me? That if I wanted a refund, I shouldn't have served it. This to a woman with a houseful of 6yearolds wanting the Surf's up cake.

I'm calling the store manager!

On yet another former rant, check on yesterday's NYT for an article about foreclosures and the foreclosee's penchant for designer handbags.

My DH will eat anything without complaining or even minding. His mom is a baaaaad cook. I refuse to blame English cooking in general, but her cooking fits the stereotype. DH is happy to eat whatever's put in front of him. He has no qualms about bringing home office leftovers and eating them for dinner.
We don't generally eat leftover office food for dinner, but it's a quality worth cultivating, I think.

My father was a lovely man, but always wanted meat and potatoes and 2 veg for dinner. Anything that smacked of leftovers or thriftiness was scorned.

I do think being willing to challenge your own ideas about all sorts of purchases can really help save.

Remember the old joke?
Define Eternity: two people and a ham. That's how I feel right now. We've been eating ham non-stop since Sunday. I've made lunches, dinners, breakfasts, and we've still got more of that pig than I thought possible. I see bean soup in my future. That's a scary thing when you look in your crystal ball and see bean soup!

Besides my ebay listings for today, I discovered that good ole Walgreen's (aka Al green's) now offers their Easysaver rebates on line! I'm stupidly excited about saving the postage and having their site remember to "send" it for me.

Maybe that's the effect of 5 days of eating ham!

My local grocery is pretty mundane; it has a decent enough produce sections, ok meat, and floral, and bakery. The prices are ok, and the specials good. I stay within budget frequently when I'm there.
But put me in the "upscale" grocery store, and my self-control seems to slip away. The bakery is oooh so tempting, the ready-to eat foods look so appealing, the plants, the wine, the beautiful expensive out-of season produce--I become transported to another lifestyle and spend too much.

Am I alone in this horrible temptation? I've got to stay away from there--even their specials!

My beautiful treasured cup of coffee bit the dust this morning while I was teaching my 8am class. I should know better than to gesture and clutch caffeine at the same time! $1.43 all over the classroom floor!

But my class enjoyed it!

I thought I'd leave it up to all of you to determine a decent metaphor for this winter.

I have the February grumpies again. The Child is ill, so DH and I have been tag-teaming her care. I had to go teach this morning, but came home early, so he could head off to work. Half my students have this same kind of bronchial crud that the Child has.

But the only thing I spend money on lately is parking. It's too cold to walk 6 blocks and then have to pay for frostbite treatment!

I spent the weekend visiting my mom and brought her lots of treats and supplies.
I flew for free with my NWA airmiles, and abstained from the airport food. The plastic-wrapped sandwiches were nearly $7!
Yikes! Someone should do an article on airport food prices. The captive audience thing has gone too far, especially with the no-liquid rule. I usually bring an empty water bottle with me to refill, and boy was I glad. Bottled water was $2.50.
That delicious combo of water and a day-old sandwich would've set me back $10 with the sales tax, Outrageous!

After a brief foray out into the world yesterday for groceries (it always costs double when I bring DD and DH along), gas, and Office Depot, I came home ready to tackle the taxes.

And done they are--with a nice refund to boot! I know it's more sensible to monkey with our withholding, but that nice check is so lovely. I'm eager to get them mailed off. I have to say, Turbotax is a dream for me to use. It truly is tax software for dummies.


My goals for the week are to get the taxes mailed, the returns done, and walk from the free parking to add to both the calorie expenditure and the parking fund.

It continues hectic as heck-tick here, but spring can't be THAT far away, can it?

I took my evening class to the movies last night to see a film version of a book they'd been reading. They cracked me up because they all smuggled in soda and snacks.
Not surprisingly, they're all working adults attending college in the evenings.

I've taken "traditional" college students to the movies before, and have never seen a single one smuggle food in.

Coincidence? Or are my adult students already "smarter?"

My only spending yesterday was on coffee. Not fancy lattes--although I really wanted one--but just coffee at the university spot to get me through the morning classes, and coffee --ugh-- from the machine to get me through the 4+ hour evening class.

Perhaps I should volunteer to make coffee for students? I had one fall asleep the FIRST day of class.

Today's devoted to some freelance editing work and might just turn out to be a NS day.

I'm as happy as can be today because of my cereal bargains. The grocers had a deal on General Mills cereal: buy 6 and get $10 off. I had coupons on all of them, and if you bought all 6, you got milk vouchers worth over $7.
Total spending on 6 boxes? $1.50.

Now why this makes me so pleased is work for a psychologist, but it does. That and the 27 cents found on the ground today. It's very funny, but it feels like some kind of triumph when all you hear is economic horror stories on the news.

Now if Ben Bernanke could perform this sort of feat at the Fed, just think where we'd be....