My English Castle's Personal Finance Blog

DD and I spent yesterday with friends picking strawberries and peas. I made jam and froze berries, and have more to do. But those peas were pure heaven. I wish I would have planted some in our garden.

In further slight progress towards decluttering goals, I divested my office of a towering stack of DD's clothes and had a heartening discussion after our post-picking picnic lunch with friends about the need for us all to curtail restaurant meals in favor of monthly potlucks. I love going out, but we're all still reeling from the state paycuts. Most of my university friends have cut all kids' summer camps and other activities, so we're going to have to make our own fun.

My late ebay buyer is still late. I've now contacted her twice after the initial invoice. One more day and I'll open a claim.

In happier news, I've located a free voucher for Noodles. DD and I are heading there for lunch tomorrow since it expires soon!

Oh--and gas plus ice cream was the only spending today.

But I am irritated at slow payments from my ebay buyers. I try to list things all at the same time to help folks who want to combine shipping, and also to save me trips to the Post Office. But my purchasers from last Thursday still haven't paid. I've reinvoiced them, but am disgruntled.

In happier financial news, I sold more stuff so am adding another $75 to my totals.

It's been a sleepy Sunday. I slept late and we didn't make it to church. I blame the heat and a bit of a hangover from Friday's event. It wasn't a drinking hangover, just four hours in the car.

Leaving my Friday night documentation class, I got caught in a horrible traffic jam at 9 pm. There were three, almost consecutive accidents on the freeway. Nothing looked too bad, but it slowed traffic into a construction zone that eventually ground it to a halt. My normal one-hour drive, annoying at the best of times, turned into almost three hours. That coupled with the time to drive there in the afternoon was a real day spoiler. I took this documentation class as a favor to the administration, but I won't travel to that campus again. It's too far, and Friday night is not ideal. But last week was the last one.

DD and I did indeed create our sandbucket list. She wants more swimming lesson, crafts, reading, the library book club, etc. We've planned out special exploration days too. The next two weeks we're on our own until her various half day camps start. I'm trying to make these days both fun and frugal. That said--picnic tomorrow after swimming lesson.

Today is DD's first day off of school, and our job today is to make a "sand bucket list" of things we want to do this summer.

I spent nothing yesterday, but suspect those days may wane. I'm glad her camps are all paid ahead of time, and even more glad that the windows somehow didn't make this month's billing cycle on the Mastercard. The remaining $5900 now won't be due until late July.

Two more things sold from my ebay auctions, and I'd like to find more things to sell. One more remaining documentation class tonight. The extra $1000 has been good, but the two hours of driving has not.

It's DH's 49th birthday on Sunday, and I need a few more things for his gift bag. But what?

No--not my hoodlum friends, but the session we attended at the library last night on e-books. Leave it to DD to drag us to a "Friends of the Library" meeting where everyone was at least 15 years older than me and the old man.

But we got the drill on downloading books from the library site, came home, and now have two library books, one on each Kindle.
It's again a testimony to my DD's inbred geekiness that she did a huge happy whooping dance about getting a library book on her Kindle.

It's her last day of elementary school today, and I'm not sure whether I'm happy or sad. What a trip.

I've got a bit of freelance work today, then the garden, maybe a nap, and the Popsicle party after school. Watching ebay auctions and hoping for the best.

We really enjoyed the "Transit of Venus" show at our university planetarium last evening. They had telescopes set up all over the plaza, great talks, and even a food booth and a band. I swear I remember only about 15 percent of the talk, but it's always so interesting.

I did some good bargain shopping at Target and CVS yesterday and got some things returned. One of DD's outgrown dresses sold for more than I expected on ebay, and I've listed a few more things.

The school year is counting down for DD, and she got to visit the middle school yesterday. They're at a roller skating party this morning, and she's a nervous skater, so I'm fretting remotely about broken arms, etc.

Thinking about Laura in NM.

My evening class was very disappointing last night, and even my 50 cent expenditure on coffee didn't much raise my spirits. A mere 11/17 showed up, and half of those who did obviously didn't read the material based on their horrid quiz results.

I went mostly silent, followed by a very brief rendition of the "I'm disappointed and frustrated" speech. On the way home I calculated what I made from that class which made it only slightly better. I can't do much with students who don't work. It's not the material; all of the material worked well before. It's not me--I was jazzed. It's them. Sigh.

On a happier note, we're going to a special "Transit of Venus" show at the university planetarium this evening. I'm really looking forward to it.

My ebay items are selling, and I have four things to return today. My Chase $500 has gone toward the credit card which was a nice subtraction from that bill.

The weather has been fabulous here all weekend, and we really enjoyed sleeping late, eating really good leftovers, and taking it easy.

Did I say we had the new windows installed Thursday? They look fabulous.

I went out with a couple of friends last night to a fabulous taco place. Who woulda thunk of Korean Beef tacos? They were great with tomatillo salsa.
And I got a pile of library books that I'm looking forward to digging into.

I feel not lazy, but not stressed--just happily semiproductive and relaxed. I hung clothes on the line, listed ebay items, plotted my summer bucket list.

Our lovely house guests went out for groceries today, came back with loads of wine, made terrific chili, and I didn't spend a dime. How nice is that?

Tomorrow my window installers come--and I suspect they'll want the second half of the payment. Feast or famine?! I did get the second half of the veggie garden in, but still haven't listed my ebay items. It's too fun to play with friends, but they leave on Friday, so I'll list things then.

Our DD had the happiest day with the listing for next year's Battle of the Books. I love having a kid that is so excited about a reading list of 45 books!

We had a lovely, albeit expensive, anniversary weekend in Door County with our British friends. The place we stayed was spectacular--terrific views and accommodation.

So now, I need to clean up, pay some bills, sell some ebay items, and get life back on track. I got the veggie garden half in before we left, but need to do more planting and more cleaning, laundry, and meals.

The clutter sales goal in my sidebar is haunting me. I need to get busy!

Coffee again? My evening class was driving me nuts; they seem to have no manners at all, and I took a long break with some nice coffee.

Today's last committee meeting started off the fun week ahead with our friends arriving from the UK today. We're excited to see them! The food bill will increase--and I love having them here.

Still lots and lots to do!

I did my second documentation class Friday night. I'm continually amazed at how bad students' search engine and vocab skills are. We spent a long time discussing how to get the best results from a filtered library search. I've committed to one more class there, but may do another if it seems necessary.

Saturday was all about errands and cleaning. I sold (wow!) three books, including unused texts, clearing over $150 so they had to go to the Post Office, I shopped, and then we had some old friends over for dinner. I really enjoy their company, so it was very fun.

Yesterday after church DD and I worked on a class project about local businesses, and I spent a couple hours sewing a wolf costume for her upcoming play. I am not a good seamstress, but it was very forgiving fabric so it turned out well, despite my sewing.
Then a long walk.

I have an evening Mysteries class tonight, and our British friends arrive tomorrow, so I have lots of things to attend to!

Yesterday I pushed the button and graded the final students of the semester. Then I had a long meeting with the Study Abroad folks who went over the recruiting I need to do, the budget in place, and various other things like visa, forms, establishing a website. It looks like that will be an ongoing job until we actually begin.

I need to have at least six students sign up, and the cost gets cheaper for them with every additional student after that. I hoping the London Olympics gets people even more interested in the UK.

But this morning after DD went off to school, I went back to bed with a cup of coffee and a new volume of short stories. I read a terrific story, and then slept for over an hour. I think that's a suitable kickoff to summer break.

Now to clean and tackle the million things that didn't get done over the semester's chaos.
I feel energized!

On my list today? Make dinner and dessert from the various odds and ends we had around. I made a batch of Paula Deen's beef/veggie soup. It was good, but made enough for a small army. It did use up cubed beef, a cup of frozen okra, black-eyed peas, green beans, and a cup of corn--all lingering freezer leftovers. So count that as a check.

Next item? Finish grading the online class. Although it took hours and hours, it's done. Check that one.

The mixed fruit crumble/crisp was also from the freezer. It used last summer's raspberries, some frozen cranberries, and last year's last rhubarb, supplemented with apples. Check that one off.

Checkbook? We got a call from the local bus company that someone found DH's checkbook on the bus and turned it in. He hadn't realized he'd lost it, but I'm grateful to whoever turned it in!

My plans to clean out the freezer are coming alone ever so nicely!

Nothing spent yesterday as I'm working on clearing out the semester's debris. Lots of clothes washed, lots of papers graded, and then the evening class where I usually at least buy a coffee. But I got talking to a student on the break--and there was no time even for coffee.

Lots of clutter to be cleared here. Last night I gave a friend DD's purple fairy sheets. I'm a bit sad she feels she's outgrown fairy sheets--but the pink scotty dogs are pretty cute too.

Today's goal is to finish grading--then start in on the clutter clearing and cleaning.

Despite the long drive and lots of talk about documentation and citation, Friday night didn't go too badly. The other instructor was clearly not prepared for the evening, but I always have too much stuff--so I passed out examples, did samples, and spent time with each student helping with their projects. I think I can get through three weeks of it just fine.

Saturday morning we three did a school fund-raising run-walk. MY DH was less than enthusiastic, but we had fun and got some exercise. And lots of gift cards, coupons, and vouchers for free food and travel mugs. Perhaps it was the run tee-shirt with the big cupcake on it that made him doubt he'd wear it again?

Saturday night DD had a sleepover birthday party to attend. She'd heard from the b-day girl a short list of what she'd like for a gift, and apparently there was some grumbling from other moms about the price of the gifts. But we stuck to our budget with a gift card and a few little trinkets.

That sleepover meant DH and I had the evening to ourselves--and we made the most of it. First to a tapas place that we loved--then a movie. Wow--that much fun without paying the babysitter. I'd have sprung for the expensive gift for the b-day girl!

Yesterday at church we sang my DH's mom's favorite hymn--and since we'd both lost our moms since last Mother's Day--it was particularly meaningful to be together and remember them. Then we went out to lunch, weeded the lawn, and did some home chores. All that dining out is really unusual for us--and we ended up eating frozen eggrolls last night with the sleep-deprived DD snoozing on the sofa. It sounds odd, but it was very fun.

My new freelance gig starts tonight--teaching three classes on citation, research writing, and documentation to graduating college seniors who probably should've learned this in middle school.

It's an hour drive, so my usual salary for these folks has been adjusted to compensate. I can't say I'm thrilled about discussing documentation and citation for a couple hours on Friday night, but hey, I can do it for a few weeks.

I'm giving myself the weekend to enjoy dinner out with DH and Mother's Day, then summer frugality sets in.

I was up until 3 am last night, trying unsuccessfully to finish up my grading. But I made it through all three classes, said goodbye to all of them, went to a departmental meeting, took DD to the Cupcake Bakery since she's doing a project on them, and came home to make dinner. And still I'm smiling because classes are over. I feel like I'll miss some of them this term; there are close to a dozen (from 100) that I wouldn't mind seeing again!

But I have tons to do around here. Our yard, house, bill drawer, and more look like they've been hit by cyclones. A couple more obligations tomorrow at the university--and then some time to finish grading, and clean up the end-of-term wreckage.

After two long weeks without a dryer, we're currently spinning along. That darned Sears wouldn't match the Home Depot package that came with free delivery and removal of the old dryer, so we ended up with a Home Depot purchase, despite my qualms about their politics and ethics.

But I'm very happy to have a dryer and it's made my day of intense grading much more pleasant to sit in the cloudy grayness and listen to the dryer!

The Extreme couponers hit the NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/magazine/coupon-clipping-as-the-key-to-economic-rebirth.html?pagewanted=1&ref=us

I can indeed hear the end of the semester. I spent a chunk of the weekend grading proposals and presentations with a rather staggering variety of grades. Some groups will not be happy with their grades. Classes are over on Thursday; I suspect it'll take me another week to wind things up.

And my new evening "Mysteries" class starts tonight. We always start with Poe and then a look at the many many renditions of Sherlock Holmes. I wonder if any of you have seen the PBS "Sherlock" series with Benedict Cumberbatch? I was determined to hate it, but I indeed like it a lot.

Our DD adores her new green bedroom. It's as cute as cute can be--partly because I spent hours dejunking it. And my Groupon painting coupon was a real bargain as it took the painter almost nine hours to do the ceiling and two coats on the walls. It was a very humid day.

Once the end-of-semester storm clears, I'm getting busy with selling other stuff around here.

I did plenty of errands today, but the past couple days have had their extra time devoted to helping a friend move. They have had a hard time. The husband bought their house 6 years ago, and now it's worth less than half of what he paid for it. So they're walking away from it and have rented a cute duplex closer to the university in a much better neighborhood. But they feel awful about leaving the house, yet their daughter is almost ready for kindergarten, and there's no way they can send her to school near their old deteriorating neighborhood.

So, this morning they moved--and a bunch of us went over there with dinner and drinks to spend the evening putting stuff away. They looked so tired; I really felt for them.

Now I'm tired too. But tomorrow can be devoted to moving DD into her newly painted room and grading some papers.

My DD's room will be painted tomorrow, thanks mostly to a Groupon I bought last fall. We spent the bulk of the evening excavating in there, so it'll be ready for the painters.

I vow to sort through everything before it goes back into the newly painted room. She's a little squirrel, and tonight I found a bag of Valentine candy stashed in the back of her closet. Yuck.

But happily, much of her stuff--from outgrown clothes to books and other junk has found a good home.

It's been a low-spend day, with spending only on (you guessed it) coffee.

I got back from NYC on Monday afternoon. And man, despite my best efforts to save, I spent a lot of money. But we had a dandy time including seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman in Death of a Salesman, Wayne Shorter at Lincoln Center, and another great show at an uptown jazz club. We walked the Brooklyn Bridge, saw the Renoirs at the Frick, enjoyed a Yankees game, and spent a glorious day in the Cloisters and the Heather Garden.

Immediate spending adjustments will have to be implemented, but I can't say I regret a moment. Now there's just over a week left at the university, and I have lots to do.

More soon!

Since my haircutter is on maternity leave, I chanced a new one. I like the results a lot, and everyone in my evening class and even the instructor next door said unprompted nice things. But...it was 50% more than my regular cut and color. I should have asked their prices before I booked. Ugh.

The UK airfare tickets were paid for in this month's CC bill, but thankfully I missed the month's posting date for the window deposit. And my painter hasn't returned my call.

My Bestsellers class wound up tonight, and I have a week off before Mysteries begins.

I'm excited about the NYC trip and determined to get all packed tomorrow after work!

My missing shoes from ebay showed up today--and yesterday, after I opened a dispute, the seller e-mailed and (wow) offered me $15 for my trouble. The credit appeared in my Paypal account, the shoes are great, and I now have $100 Keen Shoes for $40. Fabulous!

My spending today was $2 for coffee and $2.50 for parking as I made a special trip to the university to hear a really interesting talk by a respected literary scholar. It was wonderful, and at that point in the semester when work seems drudgery, it got me all jazzed up to re-start a couple of articles I've put aside.

A terrific day all around!

Yep, it's true. All I spent on Monday and Tuesday was cash for coffee. This morning I wrote a check for DD's upcoming field trip to the state capitol and another to the nature center.

My NY trip is a little less than a week away, and I'm a little concerned because every flexible appointment I need to make somehow ends up the day before I leave. I've got a meeting with the study abroad folks, the dog gets groomed, there's a play practice for DD, and a school meeting to prep us for the middle-school experience. Eeek! I'd better get completely packed over the weekend.

The comfy Keen walking shoes I bought at ebay have not arrived, and there is no word from the seller. The auction was won 10 days ago, and I think I'll look into the dispute process.

Somehow, I need to grade, clean the house, get a haircut, and do some shopping. Tomorrow's an easy school day for me as students are workshopping their big projects. I plan on doing some grading then.

I'm reading a wonderful moody Swedish book called _Astrid and Veronika__ which I like a lot. I'd prefer to flop on the sofa all day and read, but lots to do!

I'm spending too much of today grading my online class and giving them feedback on their upcoming reports. Last night between 11-3, I got e-mails from five students. It seems odd to me that they're up late e-mailing me, but maybe it's because there WAS no e-mail when I was 21?

No spending other than church today. DD and I decluttered over a dozen of her books, sharing some with her choir director. I've also got a bag of outgrown clothes to offer to freecycle.

Last night also saw me grading four capstone projects, all of which actually passed. This after we busted three for plagiarism earlier in the week.

I've taken on another (yuck, that's four) project advisor job for another local college. It's a short-term gig while their regular person is away. And it doesn't start until May. I guess the window expense is still eating at me....

DD and I went paint shopping yesterday, as my Living Social painter was about to show up and estimate both her room and our exterior. He was a nice enough guy, but either over caffeinated or just nervous. I hope he doesn't talk that much while he's painting.

Despite some anxiety yesterday over finding the right paint and bedspread combination, we seem to have got it done today. She's opting for a very fresh and preppy pink and green pattern comforter with daisies. Bloodbath and Beyond had several she liked, and the entire package--with sheets, comforter, valances, a throw, and weirdly--socks--came to $99. With my 20$ off coupon, a little over $83 with tax!

We got terrific bargains at Target today too, and spent $30 there on misc groceries and shampoos. Our only real impulse spending was a mall pretzel yesterday.

I'm again catching up on grading and house chores, but I feel like we've made real progress with the painter, windows, and DD's room.

Again my poor DD was hauled off to the university with me. We bought beverages at $4.84, and she later had a $1.57 cheeseburger. That's all we spent, but tomorrow looks different. I see a new bedspread on her horizon--and three's a very very good sale at the local department store. I spent $5 on a coupon book for that sale with the proceeds going to support the local women's shelter. I'm itching for a couple spring items!