Hubby needed a couple of things from the store, so I went to pick them up. Apparently, Wednesday is the day that the store sets out baked goods that are priced for quick sell. Because last Wednesday I succumbed to the lure and bought some yummy muffins. And another kind was there today. Cheap. I know that I can make muffins. I know there are still some in the freezer. I know that I want to do a killer job on the grocery budget this month. I have about 40 left out of 200. I have never had this much left over. And with only 4 days left. So I dawdled. Contemplated. And put them back. And walked away. Whew! That was hard! Next time, maybe I'll skip Wednesday....

waiting for the corrected W-2. A thank you to the lady we reached that sent it the next day. So I have been able to pencil in the figures for the tax return. Hubby has looked over my numbers and the lines they are on--you can accidently do so much craziness if you aren't careful--and I am ready to finalize, copy and send. We went from owing taxes this year to getting a smidge back. That's just fine with me. Hubby has adjusted his forms at work so we won't be getting big refunds anymore. I've learned from this site that we don't need to loan out that money. We need to put the savings into our accounts and make it work for us! The amount we are getting back is going to the fence fund. It should just about complete the fund. This saving for stuff is a good thing....

Our insurance company has decided to drop windstorm coverage. We have to get coverage from the state. I met with the agents today from our regular insurance to get the facts and figures. It is going to cost a bit more, and we have to decide on deductibles and so forth. We can have this in escrow, but I think we might do this like the flood policy and pay it ourselves. There is no grace period so the payments have to be on the nose and I don't want there to be a hangup with escrow or the bank. Since I've learned from people on this site to put money aside each month to pay for these once a year things, I know I can do it. We just have to figure out what policy particulars we need. I also have had the lightbulb finally go off from reading posts that we need to put aside the deductible amounts on auto and homeowners and whatever. Makes a lot of sense! So, now we just have to hope for gentle breezes.....

is one of the places my extra monies have been going. The challenge monies that I haven't been real good at keeping up with is going in there. I've been doing the stuff I laid out, but I've not been keeping up with the amounts. I've just been putting the extra savings a month into various places. I do put some extra on credit cards, but I've been also building up various funds. Since the kids took all the beds, I have a bed fund. And I have a fence fund. Especially since the air gun has been visible behind us a lot. They shoot at squirrels and birds and have on one occasion hit our house. Today, I added a refund check into the fund. Funny thing is, the check is made out to Hubby, but it is for my mammogram/ultrasound that I had last year. And I paid the bill. Seemed sorta funny since Hubby doesn't get mammograms.....

One of our family members has a birthday this week so we went to visit this weekend and had a pre-birthday fun time. We did pay for gas (in the budget) and the birthday dinner (money saved for it), but it was a great time and we laughed so hard at some stuff that our sides ached. It's great to be able to spend on times like these by learning to save on other things. Thanks to all here who have helped teach me that lesson.

However, today, I am sleepy and foggy and slightly cranky. I did take some extra medicine yesterday, but that was in the morning. I think it is due to a sugar "hangover." I just can't eat too much sugar. We bought a special really yummy cake from the local bakery for something a bit different. And the birthday person is like me, cuts BIG pieces. But the company, the food, the laughter, the gifts, the cake were all terrific. It was so worth it....

Is there such a thing as car flu? We own four cars. DS and DIL have one of them until DS graduates from graduate school. Then we will give it to them (along with all its ills). DD has one and DH and I have one each. All are approaching or have reached old age and/or high mileage. So repairs are logical. And I set up a repair fund for autos just for that reason.

Last weekend, DS couldn't go on his school trip because both their cars had broken down. We went up to help with the repairs. They found another major leak in DIL's car, so they need to save for that, and we usually pay for the big stuff for our car. They take care of maintenance costs, etc. DD's car needs her third (!) windshield. I haven't been driving mine much, but yesterday after errands, I smelled something funny. Yep, my car also has a major leak of some kind. Rats. My auto repair fund doesn't have near enough for the car flu we've been having.

I took a look at the budget and decided that emphasizing the auto repair fund for the next couple of years will be a real good thing. I siphoned monies off other categories that we haven't used as much, like clothing, and am trying to build that fund up even more. I was so proud of having money in there. At least I did have SOME saved. I guess I will need to go to the emergency fund after I get the quote. And like people illnesses, the cars seem to get sick right before weekends.....

College basketball on TV is in full swing--March Madness is here. I tend to watch football more, so I don't watch the basketball games until the final few. Hubby watches as many as he can, so I have migrated to the enclosed porch area to chill in the evening and watch a little TV while I do other things. The beauty of sitting out there is that eventually the Stuff that has wandered out here to take up residence begins to get on my nerves. So, I am working my way through Stuff. Some of it is stuff to evacuate with during hurricane season. But, let's face it, the rest is Stuff I've gotten lazy about. If I ever get through this Stuff, I need to go sit out in the garage and watch TV until the Stuff out there drives me crazy....

Not long ago, I wrote that I found a can of green beans in my bedroom. I have been distracted and have caught myself putting potato chips or things like that in the fridge. Now, I tried to store the potholders in the freezer. Hubby just laughs and when I can't find something, he says check the hamper or something like that. Can't blame him. I've been easily sidetracked. Funny thing is, I've always been able to tell anyone where something is in the house. But lately, I've had a busy brain. I do know that a lot of it is thinking about ways to conserve and use up. My brain has been happily percolating new ideas from these blogs and the forums. So I guess I shouldn't worry too much. My brain being busy on saving money is a good thing, even if I freeze the potholders.....

Saw more signs at the food booths at the festival. There was one for fried ribs--Hubby loves ribs. Wonder if he'll try them fried? And one for fried green beans. I saw something called oreo balls. I wonder if they are different from fried oreos. Anyone have any idea what a Scottish Ball is?

Sadly, our area made CNN Headline News yesterday. We'd heard the story on the local news channels, but never dreamed it would go national. It happened in a neighboring town. Eighteen months after Hurricane Rita, a potential home buyer checking out a damaged house and yard found a man who had died after the storm and had been there the whole time. His neighbors thought he had evacuated and never returned. That happened a lot. His family was estranged, and even though they lived nearby, they didn't know he was there. I can't say anything about them because I don't know if he was dangerous to them. It was just too eerie. He was only in his 50s. After all the people helping each other during that thing, it's sad someone fell through the radar. On the financial front, I was curious how eighteen months of nonpaid bills or mortgages or rent or whatever went unnoticed? I guess the companies just turned everything off since the house looked damaged and unoccupied.

Festival food is expensive. But it is for charity. So we delved into the budget and took the basketball money we didn't use from having the flu and went to the food booths. Can't believe we actually went on a budget! We budgeted about 10 a night. Last night we took our own drinks and spent 9.75. Hubby usually gets some kind of meat on a stick. I usually eat first and go for a dessert. Or maybe I'll get some barbecue. We roamed through the booths to get an idea of what's new. Since the neighboring fair in the fall had something called fried coke, I was curious to see if they were selling it here. They had a lot of fried stuff--funnel cakes, onions, potatoes, shrimp, and fried pies. I spotted the fried oreos from before. I didn't see the fried twinkies again. But I did see something new--fried snickers and fried baby ruths. Good grief! I decided that tonight I might try the new Death by Chocolate that I saw. I don't know about you, but I don't think I like my chocolate deep fried.....

Today starts the local Festival. It's free to get in and we often go for the food. Gotta be 30 local groups from churches, sports teams, drill teams, scouts, service organizations who have booths that sell tons of homemade food. From pies and meats on a stick to Cajun favorites. And the free music is toe tapping (Cajun mostly) and local talents. We used to be designated parents who roamed the grounds for the first few hours of the night so that the group of kids belonging to us could have adults around. (Other parents of the group did the second half of the night.) We used to buy passes for the kids to ride free all night all week. But now, just us. Last year on Friday night, we roamed by the craft people setting up for the Saturday sale. There was a guy putting out beautifully handcrafted wooden crosses with three long spikes crisscrossed attached to the fronts. With the cross was a story. It went something like this.....

(In religious circles, carrying your cross often means carrying your own burdens)

A man said that his cross was too heavy to carry. He was told that he could take his cross into this room and lay it down. Then he could look at all the other crosses and choose another one. He went in and laid down his cross. After looking at all the other crosses, he quietly picked up his original cross and carried it on.

Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in my own world and problems that I fail to see the burdens carried by my fellow travellers. I hope that I don't do that here. I am trying to change that about myself. Anyway, we pooled our pocket cash and had just enough to buy a cross. I gave it to my mother as a gift. The next day we were there for lunch, browsed through the craft fair; and while most were just getting started, this guy's two long tables were bare. The crosses were all gone. We talked a bit. He was surprised that everything was sold. I wasn't....

in my teeth are becoming a hole in the pocketbook. I just had a filling replaced, and today I'm having a couple of tiny holes filled. I've put these off long enough. I have saved enough in the eye/dental fund, so it's going to be okay. The ironic thing is that my kids are off doing really cool things for spring break. Hubby is taking over for his boss this week and will be busy. And me....well I get to go to the dentist. But I've been putting this off, so it is better getting it done and over with. And it's a nasty, rainy day so it will go with my mood. I'll just come home and chill. Hubby will eat leftover steaks from grilling last night and I'll treat myself to comfort food. Why not, a filling is as good an excuse as any.....

I think we have achieved a milestone. There is more Stuff going out of this house than coming in. Things are flowing out, and we aren't buying more to bring in. It wasn't very noticeable until after the holidays with all the presents and food and things you buy then. And we aren't counting DD's household, just this one. We are concentrating on using up Stuff. And limiting buying Stuff. And having Stuff leave if we buy something to bring in. And getting rid of Stuff we already have. It's pretty easy for Hubby. He doesn't need any Stuff. But I liked Stuff. Until it was too much. Until it was evident that it was using money that I could save. Until I realized that I didn't need a lot of this Stuff anymore. Actually, I'm really excited! Goodbye, Stuff. Hello, bank account!

They are having a county hazardous waste day this morning. I've been waiting for another one to come around. I'm so excited! I can get rid of some stuff that has been hanging around in the garage with nowhere to go. Now it is off to the pickup site. Financially, I'm going to bug Hubby about returning car batteries for the money instead of forgetting them in the garage next time. We both do things like this. My kids are off for spring break and they have great plans. I told them this was a great way to start off MY plans. They thought I was nuts. Perhaps they're right....

Writing big checks is not my thing. Hubby can't write one over $25, so I got the honor of writing the two paycheck refund check. Ouch! We never incorporated that money into our life, but writing checks that size is hard. Except if I was paying off a credit card. Now that would be fun. So I wrote the accompanying letter, wrote the check and all is ready for Hubby to sign. Since it was his old company and his money, I thought that it would be less confusing if his name was on the stuff. Now to await the W-2. I'm going to do a run through with the tax forms next week while I wait for it. Since Hubby got paid some vacation money when he left old company and it was unexpected income, I don't know if the taxes will be as close as the last year. I sure hope I don't have to write another big check....

has been dragging along, but now we have the way to return the two extra paychecks that Hubby's old company sent us by mistake. With new Frugal knowledge, I should have put the money into a high interest account for the two months, but I just left it in the account to write the check. Now we will be able to get our corrected tax forms to do our taxes. What a relief!

I set up a chart to pay several local accounts weekly amounts that add up to the monthly totals that I pay. I can't wait til next week to start. This will be more gratifying.

So far my grocery budget is quite a bit under the limit with a week to go. I've got to go get basics though, and I'm going to pick up a few of the sale items. So I probably won't end up with a savings for the month. But at least I'm not down to four dollars like last time!

The flu bug. I don't think I've ever had the flu before. Hubby came down with it last week, along with a massive bacterial infection. Try as I might, I knew I would be in trouble this time. So yesterday I went to the doc myself and got some Tamiflu and antibiotics because I was already getting the infection. I was so stressed because we have a very important thing to attend for our DS and I didn't want to miss it. Our medical part of our budget has taken a hit this month, but it's not too bad. At least the money was in there! But when we go visit DS and DIL we will rent a hotel room instead of staying with them. They just got over a stomach flu and don't need anything else! So that will have to come out of somewhere. That's okay. I wouldn't miss his event for anything if I can help it.

At least now I can enjoy the sun shining. We haven't seen much sun in two months here. And the warmer temps. The heating bill should finally take a break. Last month was fairly high for us. So maybe things will all balance out.....

Hubby's trip out of town was cancelled at the last minute. Not that I'm unhappy he'll be home. I'm really glad. But I had planned on no spending to finish up the last two days of my month. I had hung on to the last 4 dollars of my grocery money and was really hoping to make it to the end. I was going freezer diving and finding those things that Hubby hates to eat. Things like fish and peas. He hates the smell of both and I was going to pig out on fish from the freezer. And finish the month in triumph. I know that if he is home, there are a couple of things he is out of that he might want before the two days are up. I told him last night that I wanted to do without, but I don't know if he'll stick with me. I rethought my menu, found something that he could take to work for lunch from the pantry, and found some pork chops in the freezer to thaw. Hopefully, I can persuade him to last two days without his chips or more bottled water. I know he doesn't ask for much, but I really, really wanted to win the challenge with myself.....

Our extended family has about a birthday a month. I started a birthday fund to go alongside the Christmas fund and used a little used checking account to keep it in. I put some in each month toward the bigger birthdays (mainly the kids in the family) and thought I was doing great. Yesterday, I bought a couple of things to squirrel away for Christmas and on the way home, I got to thinking about this. I asked Hubby--when do I put in the gift costs, when I incur them or the month I actually send them. He said to put in the month I BUY them. Okay. That sounds right. Then I realized I have too many gift columns. I have a Christmas fund, a birthday fund, and a gift fund. I had been using the gift fund for shipping and other costs. But I also had been putting the birthday gifts in there. And putting money in the birthday fund. Good grief! I have been counting the money twice! I figured out to deduct what I spend on gifts from each fund's allocation for the month and deposit what's left for the next big one. The gift fund will remain for things like valentine's day. I know not to send candy to the kids because I've had it not arrive for two months (actually happened once)or else melt in an outside package mailbox before they could pick it up. (My fault--didn't think about that!) So I need to try to find another type gift to celebrate with them. I also have been known to send "Just Because" gifts to my parents. After all, they have put with me for a lot of years! I think I could have a little fun with this little gift fund. Now that I know what this fund TRULY is.....

I have been reading that so many here have set up allowances for themselves and their SOs. Our budget doesn't really do that. Sounds like a great idea. But I'm the kind of person who needs to account for all my purchases or I totally lose perspective. So my budget contains a category for just about everything. I have included all my vices and all of Hubby's. I have a tiny chocolate category, hobbies, books, clothes, etc. Hubby has his vices and the basketball games. He gets his share of books, music, clothing. We don't spend in all categories every month so the extra goes into savings. And the amounts budgeted are fairly small. Just being able to keep track and see where we were spending the money. It has greatly reduced the stress and also increased our savings. We don't spend as much as we used to because we account for all of it. It seemed to work for us. But what did Hubby REALLY think? I may have overestimated his comfort with this. I decided to try to pin down his thoughts on it. I asked him what he thought of my knowing his every move. He can always access mine, because I insert comments beside the money amounts I spend. But I am usually the only one reading the sheets. He may not like feeling scrutinized. I was thinking of redoing the whole thing and giving him the amounts that belong to him and letting him run with it. No leaving receipts for me to log. He surprised me. He likes the way we are doing it now. He doesn't mind me knowing what's going on. I guess he likes that HE doesn't have to keep track of where his portion is going. I do take care of a lot of things for him--medicine ordered and picked up, meals for lunches, money ready for haircuts, etc. He isn't a real spendy person anyway. Actually this way, I hope he gets to spend more of his hard earned money than me going hog wild and he's only getting what's left. I'm more accountable. He does have to hide gifts from me until I receive them. Those are the only things he charges. This may not work for many. I can see us doing this both ways. I can see that it wouldn't work for say--my parents. For some reason we have fallen into a pattern that works for us. But I am so glad I clarified that what was working okay for me is working okay for him. So onward we go....

I took DD's doggie to the vet to get her nails trimmed. It is worth the $10 to have help and, let's face it, it is a hoot watching them do it. The doggie is a west highland terrier--westie for short. These little things are cute, very intelligent, have tons of personality, and are bundles of hyperactivity. You can pick this dog up and the little legs keep going. I kid you not. I have gotten her trained to stop long enough and crouch down so I can trim her. But I have to be fast. She's getting better at it. Unlike our
other dog, this one has long, sharp toenails. Not only that, you can't trim much of the end off or she bleeds. We had one scary time when we had to take her to the emergency vet on a Sunday because she broke one off. So, I don't take a chance. Off to the vet once a month to trim those nails. It takes at least two of them, sometimes with me included to hold her down. This dog only weighs about 12 pounds. But she is very strong and moves at the speed of lightning. We are all covered in fur and panting by the time four little paws are done. Yesterday, they introduced a new person working with them to this little procedure with us. Poor thing. She was holding on with a death grip. I appreciate them every time I do this. And I include it as an essential part of the pet budget. All in all...it is a cheap price for a pedicure.

Papers are everywhere in the house right now. Don't know how this all got out of control. This morning, I even found the Christmas file. Sheesh. I have been working on financial stuff, the tax file is pending, Christmas file needs to be finalized and put away, paid bills need to be filed, stuff needs to be shredded, and my price book needs holes punched and notebooked. I even have a letter I need to reply to from a friend sitting here from before Christmas. This is seriously looking like a paperwork day. Putting away receipts, unearthing the organizer/calendar, putting things away. I might need to designate a day for organizing papers. I love to play with the computer and spreadsheets and budgets. Now, I have to buckle down and do the not so fun stuff. I'm such a proscratinator. I really don't mind it, I just seem to make a bigger mess than fix the small one. I think paper multiplies like coat hangers.....

I have a friend who saves to go quilting in New England once a year. I also know someone who used to save all year to attend an ornament convention every year and loved it. Someone else buys dolls and make wonderful miniatures. My brother and family save to go on a ski trip or beach trip almost every year. I love books. All kinds of books.

My favorite event just for myself, is the big library sale. When I moved from the town where it is held, I paid to keep a library card and pre-internet, we used this library for the extensive reference and other sections for the kiddoes' school projects. I still keep it. I totally forgot about the sale until I received a notice about it. I had not set aside any monies in the budget toward it. I don't need any books, but that is beside the point. I absolutely love to go and browse. And buy. New authors, old authors. So I asked Hubby what he thought I should do. I didn't want to take the challenge money I'd saved. I didn't want to use monies that we accummulate like medical and stuff. I didn't want to use anything that we would need for the month (ending the 14th). And I didn't want to take monies out of emergency fund. We lit upon the clothes budget. We have hardly used the clothing monies in any given month. I've bought a purse and he's bought a couple of things like socks. This month, we have spent nothing. We both need to replace a belt and I need to replace tennis shoes, but those can wait until next month. So, I took the clothing money. And spent it all. I bought a lot of great children's books for that grandchild we might be having this year. I now have a mini library for children. A lot of our children's books were in the areas of the house damaged by the hurricane. And I bought books for myself. I love getting a hardback book I saw a few months ago for $1. Or less on the last day. I was reading one yesterday waiting for Hubby's truck to get its oil changed. And I love getting books that are from loved authors that you can't find as easily. Like a treasure hunt. I love books.

I have added in a line for the sale so I can save up for next year. I was grateful not to feel guilty about spending the money on something I love to do. You guys are right. A budget is freeing not restricting. Having a plan for fun stuff is a great idea!

Did I mention I love books.....?

Growing up, I had few shoes. I had long slender feet and they just didn't make too many shoes then that fit. My feet or our budget. So, I usually had a school pair that was comfortable, a dress pair that wasn't, and eventually a tennis pair for...well, tennis. My mother had a shoe thing. Still does. Once, she won a $100 a month shoe spree for a year. It was totally fitting because she loves shoes and has little, cute feet that you find all kinds of shoes for. And she could always find bargains in her size. But I never caught the shoe bug.....

A few years ago, the shoemaking elf came to live in my house. Shoes began to appear in droves. Basically, I went shoe nuts. I bought all kinds of shoes. And I hardly ever wear them. I still have the habit of wearing one or two pairs most of the time. I have given a bunch away and the rest are in plastic clear boxes on my shelf. One whole shelf of stacked shoes. Don't even know for sure what I do have. A year ago, December, I bought a pair of boots on sale with Christmas money from my mom and dad. Thought she would find that funny. Then, I made myself a small challenge without even realizing it. I decided no shoes for a year. Looking at those stacked shoes today, I thought about the fact that I had done it. No shoes last year. How had that happened? I guess the shoe elf moved on, having accomplished his mission. I have shoes for just about everything now. I need to replace the tennis shoes I grabbed out of DD's pile (she's her Nana made over) that she didn't want. But I need to pull out and see what I have and rotate those around so I will wear them. And only buy the one pair that I need to replace. That's the challenge for this year.

Now, what's with the coats and jackets.....

I realized I have 22 dollars left in the grocery fund with two weeks left in the month. This is just for food. I have money left in paper goods, but I have plenty of paper stuff to last me for the two weeks. I don't want to get into the habit of borrowing from another fund if I can get it to work. So, with that in mind, I wrote out a list of menus for the two weeks. This looks doable. I really haven't gotten the courage to list the "essentials" like milk to see if I can get them all within the 22 dollars. I think we can get really close with this. I'd like to challenge myself to try to finish on target. It's the little things that excite me....

It's another gloomy, rainy cold day outside, but that's okay with me. I kinda like those days. Makes me snuggle in and feel cozy. However, today I realized something. It's dark in here. I have been turning off lights and shutting off parts of house. Combined with unplugging things and making sure the washer/dryer is full each time. Not letting water run and so forth. I think it is helping. In just a short while, I have seen a decrease in my electric bill. I hope to see one in my gas bill, too. But with the lights off and it so gloomy outside....well it's dismal in here. Sitting in the glow of the computer monitor....waiting on the next thing to do on my list. I decided to light a couple of candles in here to at least give some light and a little atmosphere. Not to mention that some are gifts that smell really nice. I can't use those when Hubby is around because they make him congest. So, I rummaged in the cabinet and got out a couple of candles. I don't use the ones that smell like food much because they make me hungry. The glow is nice. Gives a little atmosphere....and is frugal.

Using the freezer for something other than storage--food or otherwise--is new to me. My mom had freezer skills. She had a freezer and the fridge freezer full of frozen things from the garden and full of meat from the meat lockers. And she had it organized in order to find what she needed and use things up. After marriage, Hubby and I moved every three months because he was in a co-op program. I didn't keep much food around and we ate on a shoestring. No need to learn to use a freezer. I bought a chest freezer a number of years ago, but never figured out my method of utilization. Well, I had a method--things went in and rarely came out until a power outage.

Recently, I have been adding things in and then finding myself rummaging around to find what's in there to actually use. I have been taking the time to add in leftovers, baked goods, and break down larger packages of meat on sale into separate packages to freeze. Now, I have figured out the need to make some improvements. I don't want to have a lot of things in there during hurricane season. The things to NOT have in a freezer during the power outages are ice cream, meat, seafood, frozen orange juice, etc. Plus, I use the chest freezer to store things we can't take with us. Since the season starts in June, I need a plan of action. I want to use things up before then. I need to know exactly what is in there and set up a plan of usage. I need some recordkeeping. Wonder if I can do that on excel? Also, I desperately need a way of labeling plastic containers as to what the mystery stuff is that is in there. I can pretty much guess, but some things look so much alike. How do people label these things so that they can be reused? Growing up, the vegetables were recognizable and the meats were wrapped in paper. I think they were labeled by writing on them. I don't know how to label what I use these days. Especially since I reuse things. I guess I need to figure that out so I can label as I record. That is....if I can figure out just what is in those things.....

There are two things I do in winter fairly regularly. I gain at least five pounds and I wear the same few warm things. Sort of go into a hibernation rut in the damp, cold weather. Funny, I used to enjoy the cooler temps. Getting older and more acclimated to this region, I suppose.

I had the urge to shop. But I really like having most of my clothing allowance at the end of the monthly cycle that we use. And I knew I had clothes. The evidence was in my closet. I try to weed out things to keep it neat, but there are things that have been in there for a few years. So, I decided to do something that I've heard as a phrase before--shop in your own closet. I usually pull everything out and match up clothes when I travel. But it has been awhile. And there are clothes I just move around. So I pulled everything out and tried everything on. I've discovered several things....

1. I hate complicated clothes. Things that cause me to have to do gymnastics to get into are not for me. Some layered things that are attached and cling to each other while trying to get them on are out. Also, things that you can't get your head through without strangling yourself.

2. I have a hard time getting rid of anything my dear DD has bought me as a gift. She is great with clothes and I love that she thinks of me.

3. Instead of putting things into categories, I need to just go ahead and match things. Even if I wear them the same all the time, eventually I will get tired of it and match it with something else. But categorizing just leaves them on the hanger because I don't spend the time when I get dressed matching things. So things are now matched up.

4. I have some very out of date pants since I only wear jeans most of the time. The dress pants are okay, but what are some of these others doing here?

5. The five pound gain has not made some of these things too tight yet. Funny, I could have sworn that I wouldn't get into them. They've just been waiting for me to get a clue.

6. Yes, I have some things with tags still on them. Sheesh. I've cut the tags off and those ribbony things that you use when you hang them. They never work for me for some reason.

7. I need to find my iron...

8. Some things I have are just laughable. What was I thinking?

9. I have enough clothes and I actually like them.

So, now I have a closet of things I will wear and a bad case of static in my hair.....

We love DD's kitty. She's been staying with us for awhile now since her "mom" is back in school. DD misses her a lot, but the problem was that she is gone so much and also needs all that study time (kitty had a hard time letting her study--she loves attention), so kitty is a temporary visitor. I've never had a kitty before. The only experiences I had were kitties of other people. I never knew that she would be so loving and fun. Except when she turns kamikaze. She attacks Hubby around the legs. She sneak attacks me on the arm. I should be prepared. I know it is coming, but I get distracted. Today, I am reading blogs and drinking hot tea. Fortunately, the tea has cooled. Unfortunately, I had the drink in my hand when kitty attacked. She only attacks once, bounces off and runs away. That's it. No more attack. But she grabbed my tea arm. Tea splashed onto my keyboard. I have gently wiped it off, hoping that all the little droplets are just that. I have decided to make a separate list of items that will eventually go kaput and need replacement. Following great advice here (I think it was Lux--if I forgot someone, forgive me) and seeing others actively preparing, I have in the last couple of months set up a fund for appliances. I really need to make a list of said appliances and see how much I might need for replacing things. Sort of put more details into the goal. I am going to add in the computer since I am now keeping budgets and talking to relatives on it. Also, my buddies here keep me sane. Since I have on long sleeves, I got off easy with this attack. It's funny what things in life will make you ponder....