The payroll issues will not be resolved. The department chair says the university will NOT cut additional checks for folks, despite them being out over 1K each. He apologized: it's not his fault but I'm still really steamed and need to think of other things to get my mind on a more positive bent.
I just keep thinking how this would never happen in a real business. If you short someone money, you cut them another check. It's stupid. I can hardly wait to see how badly they screw up next month's check.

But onward. I need to photograph and list a bunch of stuff on ebay tomorrow. I have a dental appointment and a pile of grading, and a birthday present to buy.
I'd like to find a little fun in this grind of a week. Hmmm- what to do....?

It's getting late here, I've been grading for two hours, and I think I still have two hours of work ahead of me. I will be overjoyed when my evening class ends in three weeks; Tuesdays are such a slog.

I have lots more to blog about, but think I'd better get to work. It'll just have to wait until Friday...

It's been another rushing week here. DH isn't sleeping right and we've all been struggling again with the early mornings.

It's also been a strange week at school. My four-person class has dwindled further to three, and Monday night, another person was out. And then there were two. It doesn't much make for a fruitful discussion, does it? We got pizza and watched a very good DVD on Harriet Jacobs, one of the first women slaves to write a slave narrative. It actually was a nice evening after teaching all day Monday. Since DD had to come to the university with me on Monday, she got to have a lovely lunch away with her dad. We were watching "Glengarry Glen Ross" in my Business Lit class and that isn't exactly appropriate for young-uns.

Yesterday I held another info session for my Study Abroad types. We only had about another 12 turn up, but I've got 17 who have started the application process. I hope many end up coming.

Today was another busy one--classes, then home to stir up a casserole (not my favorite) for a after-school tutoring session our church puts on. I also made a cake for the kids, and then spent another couple hours helping DD with her upcoming speech.

I really feel like I'm always running--and will be happy when my evening class ends in another month.
The overload schedule coupled with the Study Abroad obligations have stretched me. I really need a few days off to catch up.

Hmmm- financial news? None to speak of. I have a lot of financial issues on the "to -do" list, but it might be a while!

The Study Abroad Fair was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The organizing agency sent out a rep, and we hit it off right away--two old English majors making
Hemingway and typewriter jokes. She was fabulous, had a good patter for approaching students, and made the day go very quickly.

Indeed, we had more interest and many more students than I expected. Our next session in this coming Tuesday, so I feel like I'm juggling this obligation with my teaching overload, so am up late grading tonight in a messy house with lots of laundry.

They brought us lunch, but I parked in the campus pay lot because it was raining. Still--a very productive day.

I'm scheduled to spend all day tomorrow at the Study Abroad Fair. I think it will be fun. It's right in our Student Union, and I hope to have a lot of traffic for my booth. I'm supposed to decorate it, and I hauled bunting and flags (half price at Tesco after the Queen's Jubilee) home from England. I also have the laptop set up to show slides and the sights, and will have a list for folks who are interested, Cadbury and Walker's Shortbread as well.

The Center for Intl Ed is providing lunch, but since it looks like it'll rain tomorrow, I'll arrive early and park in the Union rather than my 1/2 mile walk.


After a loooong day, we spent two hours walking our DD's middle-school classes. I may go to bed now!

One of my university colleagues had a b-day party for her daughter so we spent a lovely evening there.

I was bringing insalta caprese and on our way to the farmer's market, a neighbor stopped us to tell us our car tire was flat. This is the same tire we had fixed a week ago, so we got it fixed again--and DH will go back to the original mechanic for a refund, I think.

We also bought a new curtain rod and some panels at Pier One, shopped for blinds and a grill but bought nothing else. Reviewing the day--it was a bit spendy. I spent some on internet shopping for DD and me--but all very good bargains with clearance and coupons. Gotta love kid's jeans for $7.99

I have that winsome end-of-summer feeling. We came home to coffee on the patio and wished summer would go on.

I had many stragglers taking their final exams last night in my evening class. The class officially ends at 10, but the security guard kicked us out at 10:40.
These students really struggle with their writing, and many of them come to school after working all day, so I appreciate them really concentrating on the exam.

But with getting home so late, DH was already asleep and we didn't have time to talk over selling my parents' lake house. It's been spinning in my mind what we could and should do--we'd certainly pay off our mortgage first thing, and probably spend a bit on repairs around here. My 25-year-old wool rugs need rebinding and cleaning, and we have a chair badly in need of reupholstering.

But I guess I'd like to bank the rest. Just paying off our mortgage would save us about $600/month, and we could split that into retirement savings and savings for a UK property. And retirement--and DD's college savings.

I guess it's a good problem to have. I thank you all for your input yesterday. I think I need to sit down with friends and think about what my parents would want and their many gifts to me.

We had a workshop at the university today, and besides being very good--albeit depressing about the state of instructional staff-- had excellent food.

This may not seem remarkable to most, but we hardly ever get food. Virtually every seminar I've been to in 15 years asks us to bring our lunch. But this was funded by a grant--so there was a terrific yogurt bar this morning and great salads. But man, I heard horror stories about people STILL not knowing what they're teaching in two weeks, about the business school cutting contracts to avoid paying benefits, about the total lack of institutional support for huge sections of the school. Yet--a very good lunch.

Of the past 24 hours, I've spent 23 either in bed or on the sofa. Most of my university friends have got hit with a Noro-like virus, and while I've been super queasy and achy, they got it much worse with vomiting and all the rest. So hoping I dodged it.


Nothing else to report. I'm hoping I can get some minor work done today.

I imagine most of you have heard by now of the terrible shooting at the Sikh temple in south Milwaukee. Our heart goes out to everyone involved, especially our Sikh friends and neighbors and the policeman who was wounded. It's been hard to think of anything else, and it puts my minor worries in perspective indeed.

I'm still struggling with my cold and slept late and napped again this afternoon.

While we were there, the BBC featured a series of interesting programs on aging and retirement. They sent TV personalities in their 70s to work in physically demanding jobs, discussed the costs of nursing homes vs private care, and debated benefits available to older folks.

For me, one of the more interesting programs included a discussion on whether some benefits should be means tested. Among the most hotly debated were the winter fuel allowance and free bus passes. Currently, even though transport costs have risen dramatically, older people can travel free on buses during off-peak hours. Winter fuel benefits--dependent on temperature-- are almost universally available to those over 80 living in private accommodations. Neither of these are means tested--so I imagine the queen would qualify for winter fuel benefits. Here's information on it:
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/documents/en-gb/factsheets/fs1_help_with_heating_costs_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

Much of the debate centered on what you'd expect--the costs of means testing, whether people "deserved" it or not, and what seems to be a major issue looming everywhere--the generational tensions.

Controversial too were debates about whether people should have to sell their homes to pay their nursing home bills.

All of these are issues in the US too, but we mostly don't talk about them in public forums. AARP groups do, but it's not often it makes prime time TV.

DH and I are still in car-hunting shell shock. I've canceled a planned trip to Minneapolis this weekend to try to help him find a car and to save some cash.

I wasted 20 very unproductive minutes on the phone with some ATT call center rep who was tremendously unhelpful.
I'm trying to save some cash on the internet service, and I don't want their U-Verse TV. This is apparently an anathema to them, and I spent every other minute telling him, "NO, I don't want that bundle." In the end DH and I went on line and found a better cheaper plan for $15/month less.

DD and I also discussed some of her online memberships, and we've cancelled all of them that cost cash. All in all we've saved $25/month. More to come tomorrow, I hope.

In happier news, one of our English nieces has announced her engagement. Happier still? We'll likely be there for the wedding as it looks like it'll be during my Study Abroad time.

We had several couples over tonight for an impromptu potluck BBQ. I never know how much stuff to bring when I go to someone's house like this, and I usually end up with too much stuff. I had to laugh though, one family brought a jello salad (?) and another brought chicken to grill, a twelve pack of beer, wine and lemonade. And left us with the extras. It doesn't much matter--I bought a bunch of brats on sale today and all in all, it was an inexpensive fun evening.

All my university friends are feeling the pinch of the past year's paycheck slashing. Everybody is looking for more editing work than usual, there's talk of babysitting co-ops, and many many more potlucks.

I'm going to be scouring the house in July for things to sell on ebay and maybe we can do a joint garage sale. Thank goodness for my evening class!

DH and I watched the Dateline NBC show last night on the shrinking middle class. He was, as always, appalled about how much stress losing health care with job loss adds to stress.

I'm not sure there was much new in that show, but it certainly demonstrated how having one wage earner, health problems in your family, and only a small emergency fund can devastate folks very quickly.

Here's the link if you're interested:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/vp/47927183#47927183

Not sure what it is, but I haven't blogged much lately. I've been spending all day every day with DD, and thinking about money a lot, but not doing much about stuff that really needs doing. Let's blame the heat for my laziness. I suspect I need a couple hours alone and a big cup of coffee to get back on track.

I spent some $$ at the Lands End summer sale, using the MyPoints portal and remembering to enter my frequent shopper number. DD and I bought a frame at Michael's too.

I've been reading the NYT travel section which is NEVER a good idea for frugality and decided if my study abroad teaching goes through, I'm spending a long weekend in Stockholm. It's cheap to get there from the UK, and if I don't eat, drive, or heat my house between now and then, I should be able to afford it.

DD and I wanted to buy DH a firebowl for the patio, but I had a hard time finding one under $50. This morning after church we headed to Target, and found one for $49.99. However, it rang up at $60. The checker found the sale ended yesterday, but they hadn't taken the signs down, and they gave it to me for the sale price. With my Red card savings, I'm under $50.

I had a great cheap fun time at a colleague's retirement party last night. We ate fabulous food, sat outside drinking wine, and just talked.

Grilled steak tonight with the remaining garden spinach and peas from the farm. What a splendid June day!

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?

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!

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.

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 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.

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!