KirstenL4W

I thought long and hard about monetizing my blog.  I didn’t want to clutter up my fine work with ads, and I wasn’t keen on the whole pay-per-post idea.  In the past, you’ve probably seen some posts with links to products on Amazon.com using an affiliate program.  That’s about the extent of my efforts to make money from the blog.  Then Amazon came out with a whole storefront thing that you can insert in your site.  I fiddled around with it and realized I could probably do that.  So I made a shop - months ago.  I made the new page and let it sit in draft for the longest time, thinking I’ll release it when I have the time to work on it more.  But then I figured, why not?  Why not release it now?  So I did.  I’m featuring some stuff I’ve mentioned on the blog, along with other stuff I love.  And I decided to stay exclusively with Amazon because it’s a site that everyone knows, and they carry nearly everything.  So go check it out.  I’ll be adding more stuff as time and inspiration permits, so check back once in awhile.

I’ve been on a beauty product kick lately, probably due to my upcoming wedding. Usually I can’t be bothered to get all dolled up, preferring a more natural look. Don’t go thinking that I go for that au naturel look and its resulting grunginess. No, I do look neat and clean. Just plain, kind of like Saffy on AbFab. Oh yes, that’s me.

Has anyone tried the Intuition razor? I was thinking that it might be worth a try, since I have issues with the shower. I mean, first it takes so much time to lather up, then my shower head sprays water out so far that it’s impossible to stand anywhere or put my leg where the water doesn’t spray. I figured I’d try this.

My first impression upon taking it out of the box was that it was cheap. Cheap as in not very good quality. The razor looks like a basic disposable, the handle is hollow so not much heft there, and it’s encased in basically a bar of soap. It took me a few swipes to get the hang of it, as finding the right angle was difficult. I did manage to get my legs shaved, but resorted to the regular razor for over my knee area and the armpits. I was just not comfortable with that angle thing in those areas. My final assessment is that it is a great concept, but the execution needs a bit more work. I will probably use it again out of sheer laziness.

Now, Bare Minerals makeup. This is something I’ve been interested in trying for a long time, and with my wedding coming up, I decided to go for it.  I mentioned it on LJ and one of my internet friends said she had a barely used kit that she was willing to sell me, as the stuff made her face itch. I jumped at the offer. A few weeks later I got a package in the mail and set about playing with the stuff. Seemed OK, didn’t give me mask like coverage, which was nice. I like a more natural look. I decided to wear the Mineral Veil to work for a week, and I started noticing something different. My glasses don’t slide down my nose, and I’m not wiping the shine off my face. And even better, it doesn’t even feel like I’m wearing makeup at all! Everyone, this stuff totally rocks. I just went out and bought the fair foundation (since light and fairly light were too dark) and the concealer to hide luggage under my eyes.  I want to look awake in my wedding pictures, not like I haven’t slept in a week. Bare Minerals earns a huge thumbs up, and it’s something I’m trying to incorporate into my day to day routine because I like it that much.

Boyfriend and I went bathing suit shopping today.  Boyfriend found one within minutes, at the sporting goods store, on sale.  I didn’t find anything there because they only have women’s suits for hard-bodied Olympic swimmer wannabes.  We went to the department store instead and I found one with lots of support in a few of the places I need it, it doesn’t have leg openings that go up to my ribs, the straps don’t fall down, and it cost twice as much as Boyfriend paid for his.  For those who are not women, bathing suit shopping can be traumatic.  I’ll need some time to recover.

No, you can’t have pictures.  I’d like to keep what little shred of self-esteem I have left.

On a brighter note, we bought new phones the other night.  Boyfriend’s phone was starting to cut out for no good reason, and while mine was still in decent shape, it was 2 ½ years old, and I really wanted a camera phone.  It could come in very handy when we see stuff while out and about that we want to photograph for posterity.  Like say, 4 guys with the bling going on thinking they’re all that because they have a limo waiting to take them out on the town.  Then the valet brings up their car so they can get some stuff out of it, and that car is a mini-van.

Anyway, time to eat dinner now.  New post coming out in just hours.

I have rediscovered joy in the mundane.  I heard it was coming, and even took a quick peek once or twice once it was here.  But today, I did it.  My first real grocery shop at the new chain: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.  It’s Tesco’s foray into the US market.  I shopped at Tesco when I was in London, and aside from the joy that is shopping in a foreign supermarket, I liked the small store geared for city shoppers who cannot schlep home their week’s shopping on the Tube.

I also used to work for a supermarket, off and on, from the time I was in high school until I left to move to Las Vegas.  Added up, it was something like 8 years, but if you start with my original hire date of 1/1992 until I left in 5/2003, you’ll see that I just could not stay away from the place.  I even enjoyed shopping there.  When I moved to Vegas, I saw that the grocery scene was very different.  People aren’t loyal to a particular store.  How can they be?  No one store will carry everything that you want, like stores back home will.  Here, getting all that you want, all the brands, varieties, and flavors, requires trips to the 4 or so major chains.  Then there’s WarMart and her secretly smart and pretty cousin Kay, only one of which I have found actually has a food section.  We also have 3 chains of soccer mom natural grocery stores - Whole Paycheck, Wild Hay, and Trader Joe’s, where Boyfriend and I have taken to shopping lately.  But there wasn’t as much variety as I like, and I was getting really sad.

Enter Big Bad Mama Detroit.   BBMD lives right next door to a F&E, and loves shopping there.  Boyfriend and I were on our way to her house for dinner the other night, and we said we’d bring dessert.  Since she pointed out the F&E in the directions, I figured we’d stop there to pick something up.  The store is super organized, which appealed to my sense of order.  It’s small, with lower shelves, so you don’t get lost and don’t get whiplash looking for what you need.  And OMG the produce!  Being in the middle of the desert where it’s darn near impossible to grow anything, Boyfriend and I have both commented that we’ve thrown away better looking stuff than can be found in the average supermarket here.  But F&E has super fresh, great looking produce!  The best part is that it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.  I picked up some rosemary, potatoes, strawberries, and salad fixins.

But wait, there’s more!  I nearly short circuited myself in the meat aisle.  I’m not a huge meat eater, but I like a variety.  Not only did they have big ol’ slabs of meat, they also had some ready to cook options like kebabs, seasoned meats, stuffed meats, and other delicious meal options.  I wanted it all.  I couldn’t decide, but finally settled on some chicken drumsticks for dinner tomorrow, and a big pork roast that I’ll stick in the crock pot on Wednesday with some BBQ sauce.  Both will give us plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week.  They were marked down because they were both going out of code in like, 2 days, but they looked just as good as the stuff with more recent dates on it.

The store carries a lot of its own brand for the rest of the groceries, but they did have a selection of name brands too.  Boyfriend and I are trying to focus on fresh foods, so we don’t buy pantry items as often as we used to, but they did have tahini, which I know can be hard to find at conventional megamarts.

Boyfriend and I have been spending less at Trader Joe’s than we ever did at a regular store, and even though I didn’t buy as much as we usually do, I found the monetary outflow to be on par with TJ’s.  I stopped in on my way home from work, and other than the quick dessert run the other night Boyfriend really hasn’t had time to explore, so I think we’ll try to stop by next time we do a grocery shop so he can really check the place out.  Even if it’s not a regular thing, it will allow a stop by the free sample bar to try the delicious foods they offer.   I know I’ll be returning.

Have any of you been to Trader Joe’s? I’ve been in a few times, when I was shopping for 1, and usually would pick up a little something here and there, usually frozen foods. TJ’s is usually lumped in the same category as Wild Oats and Whole Foods, since they tend not to carry the same varieties of processed foods that conventional supermarkets do (no sugar puffs cereal, no foods in neon colors, etc). The other stores, however, cost a lot. They don’t call it “Whole Paycheck” for nothing. But if you shop at the other stores, they start to look like conventional stores dressed up in natural clothing. Not that Trader Joe’s is 100% all natural and all organic - I’m sure if you start looking hard enough you’ll find a preservative or something on one of their labels.

The thing that surprises most people once they start shopping there is that TJ’s is less expensive than a traditional supermarket. Yep, that’s right. Boyfriend was shocked at how little we spent, and we even got a giant piece of salmon for dinner. Now forget about your local Wally World megalomania mart - they may have better prices on regular stuff than the regular stores do, but come on now. Shopping there is a chore. Shopping at TJ’s is fun. The food looks great, yummy, delicious, even when it’s sitting in the frozen food cases. I’m inspired to cook when I’m there, and trust me, that ain’t an easy thing for me to feel.

Boyfriend did have a few criticisms. One, they’re not open 24 hours. In Vegas, all supermarkets are open 24 hours (except for the wild and whole ones). So closing at 9pm like they do puts a serious crimp in the last minute plans to go get some frozen taquitos. Boyfriend also said the the selection was a bit slim. Now, the stores are small - really small, like the tiny supermarket my extended family shops at when they’re spending time at the summer home at Lake Ossipee, NH. But when you go there and really look at the selection, you’ll see that they really don’t lack anything. Everything you need to make a decent meal - not even a health freak meal, I’m talking about a regular decent meal - is there. Besides, who really needs the toaster pastries with purple frosting?

I took the morning off from work to get my rent situation straightened out. What a major PITA. First, I had to wait for the office to open. Then I went in there with all my evidence: copy of the duplicate of the check I wrote, my rent invoice without the sumbittal stub, and the pay or quit notice. I spoke to the property manager of the month, and she diligently went through the deposit logs for the entire month, but didn’t see my check in there. Then, since the other leasing agent in the office said she remembered me handing her my rent, the manager of the month searched through desks, files, and other places to see if it had been misplaced. Now, about this other leasing agent saying I gave her my rent - she is not the person I handed it to, it was someone totally different. But, it helped my case because someone remembered me coming in to pay so they knew I wasn’t just blowing smoke up their asses. Anyhoo, after searching high and low, it was determined that my rent check has vanished into thin air. The MOTM said that if I write her a check today, she will clear my balance to $0, and recommended that I stop payment on the other check. She also offered to credit the fee for the stop payment to my rent account, which was great.

So, I left the apartments, went to the bank (dropping off my electric bill on the way), got the stop payment order and a receipt for it, went back to the apartments, found they were closed for lunch, went and hung out at my place for a few minutes, went back to the office, gave them a copy of the stop payment order, then was on my way to work. Of course, the morning’s events had me aggravated again, so I stopped by F’s office to bitch and complain for a few minutes before heading into my own office. By that time, my head was pounding and my stomach was on fire. Good thing I thought to bring in my antacids.

Work went well today, even though I’m still quite a bit bored. The sales manager is really glad that I’ve taken over the one account I’m working on, because it frees her up to be out and about bidding on jobs. Also, she finally noticed that I am super bored so she encouraged the rest of the staff to give me stuff to do. As long as I don’t become a mindless clerical worker, I’m ok with that. It beats being bored, but like I said, I want to DO something not just keep busy. So, today was the first day since I started there that I felt positive about the job.

I did a bunch of Christmas shopping tonight. That’s going on the card, since there’s no way in heck I’d be able to Christmas shop and keep to a budget. I love giving gifts and will go overboard if I have an extra dollar, so I’m trying to keep the shopping itself to a minimum. I just want to hit a couple of stores and bang it all out, man-style. I pretty much know what I want to get people, so if I can get with the least amount of shopping trips/stores visited possible, I’ll spend less than my normal shopping style, which is to hit mall after mall and keep collecting things until I have no idea that I got so much freaking stuff.

So, with that in mind, it’s getting late here and I really need to sleep, since the rent issue and paying bills kept me up so darn late last night.

Since my Dead Turkey Day plans fell through, I was so afraid it would be a dismal day. In a way, it was sort of depressing. These are the times when I really miss being around my family. There’s nothing like family at the holidays. But, I did get the much needed rest that I was craving. I slept until noon or some ridiculous hour, spent some time on the computer, vegged out in front of the tv, then took a shower. I knew F was working since he never ever gets a day off, so I headed over to his office to hang out for a bit. One of his co-workers brought him a huge plate of food, so he shared that with me. I got turkey after all. At least I had someone to eat turkey with, so it was nice. After that we went out for a drink, then I came home. I simple, ordinary day.

Today I have some errands to do. Somehow I don’t think I’ll get them all done, but I would like to get over to my storage unit today and clean a few things up around my apartment. I also have a couple errands to run, and as much as I say I’m going to avoid the stores, I will most likely end up in the mayhem. I can’t help myself - I’m a glutton for punishment. I might have to work at the store tonite, but I won’t know for a few more hours. I’m on call, which means that I call in to see if they need me. I’m hoping that mid-afternoon will be the busiest time, and by the time darkness falls everyone will be all shopped out and heading home to eat turkey leftovers, or in the case of the tourists, heading back to their hotels to get ready for a night of shows or clubbing. Assuming everyone shows up, I’m pretty confident that there will be enough coverage and I won’t have to work tonite, which would be really nice. Keep your fingers crossed.

So, now is the time to head out and run those errands before call-in time occurs. Here’s hoping for a Friday night off!

I went to the 99¢ store at lunch today, since I was actually able to step away from the office. I as I was walking around, I remembered when Sis first told me she was pregnant. She said the baby didn’t like chocolate, and were joking that it can’t belong to Sis if that were so. But, as Mia doesn’t like chocolate (we’ll change that after she’s born), I saw some great stuff there and got that instead.



I’ll keep the chocolate for myself, since I deperately need it. (No I don’t. Really I don’t.) Yes I do. Who am I trying to kid?

For those who can’t find these candies anywhere, you can get them here. Another good source for favorite foods you’re nostalgic for is Hometown Favorites. Perfect for people like myself who can’t find their favorite foods because they moved too far away.

Anyway, as far as my sister goes, just a couple more things to get her.

I went shopping tonite for items to put in the bed rest survival kit. I was surprised at how little I really know my sister. Even something simple like candy should have been easy to pick out, but I really have no idea what she likes, other than bitching at people. But I stuck it out and got some decent stuff. Sometimes I hate that I enjoy giving gifts so much, because it’s so freaking expensive. Anyway, here’s what I got:

• War-Mart brand peanut butter cups and caramel cups (if she doesn’t like them she can send them back - I love these!)
• Learn to crochet kit
• white yarn
• weekly world news
• BOP magazine
• Big coloring and activity book
• Lisa Frank coloring book and pencil kit
• crossword puzzle and other puzzles book
• The Old 96er box of Crayola crayons
• pocket electronic solitaire game
• whoopie cushion
• headphones for the old discman I have
• beginner little bitty cross stitch kit and needles
• pregnancy magazine

There are still a few more things I want to get her that I couldn’t find at War-Mart. I need to go to the crap craft store to find the right colored yarn, all the colors they have a War-Mart are garish. The house is too small for Mia to have her own room right now, so her corner in my sister’s room will be soft pink, sage green and white. Also, I wanted to get Sis a few pampering items, bath stuff and the like. I’ll have to check out a few other stores for that. And I figured all great gifts need a card. Colorful Texan loves making cards, she’s got tons and tons of papers and stamps and stuff, so she’s gonna make a card for me to give to Sis.

And for the rest of the stuff, my mom is going to put together a Baby Shower in a Box for Sis. Since we are all poor and can’t travel, shipping the party is the only way she’ll get one. Mom will include things like a baby book, scrapbooking materials, and practical things like bottles, binkies, outfits, etc. Between me and mom, we should be able to keep Sis from bitching too much during the next 3 months.

Now what do I do?

I thought about it a lot today. Do I finish grocery shopping (don’t get me started on War-Mart Neighborhood Market)? Do I just do a little bit of casual window shopping? Do I see that movie? In the end, I decided to just come straight home and chill out, because it’s been so long since I’ve done that. I’m catching up on some computer stuff, then I’ll eat dinner and catch up on some more tv, and hopefully will turn in early. I think tomorrow I’ll go to the movies.

And, Craving Clam Haven:
I just wish I had the time to visit Clam Haven while I was back east visiting everyone. As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of fried foods, this place absolutely rocks. My mom craved their onion rings when she was preggers with me, but since they are only open in the warmer months she had to wait until she was in her 7th month to get them. These rings are seriously the best - thick beer batter that gets crispy to just the right degree, soft onions, and the greasy coating it leaves in your throat, so that you have to get a frappe to wash it all down. Perfect. Those pregnancy-induced pigouts in the final months are probably what explain my food tastes today. Thanks, Mom.

It was ridiculously slow at the store today. So, I left an hour early and wandered the mall for a bit. I went into our sister shoestore and chatted up the manager there for a bit, and while I was at it I actually found 2 pairs of comfy shoes that fit. Since I can also take advantage of my employee discount at Sister Shoe Store, I did just that and got the 2 pairs for $30 and change. They are sandals, but since summer here in Vegas lasts about 6 months, I’ll get quite a lot of use out of them.

I never got out to see that movie yesterday, but I’ll try this week. The movie I was wanting to see is Little Miss Sunshine, and since Macoosh and I seem to be long lost twins and she loved it, I’m sure I will too. I’m only working 2 nights this week, which will be a refreshing change of pace. I don’t even remember what it feels like to just go straight home from the office!

I totally skipped church this morning. I had absolutely no willpower to get my ass out of bed, and as a result didn’t get up until noon. That has so got to stop, because the days are getting shorter and I’m much worse at getting up in the winter than in the summer, since it’s dark then when my alarm goes off. I wish there was some sort of willpower pill to take, because I seriously have none.

Now that I’m back from my vacation, I have lots to do to keep up with my life and also to reach my goals, now that I know what they are. I’ve known since the minute I landed here in Vegas that it wouldn’t be forever, and I’m really feeling like my time here is coming to an end (which would be sometime next spring or summer, when my lease is up). My next move I haven’t been so clear on, but I knew I wanted to move someplace greener, someplace friendlier, someplace with seasons (trust me, clear and sunny gets boring after awhile), something with an atmosphere a bit closer to what I’m familiar with. But while my exact destination isn’t really clear, I do know that I do NOT want to move back in the same vicinity of my family, back to my old stomping grounds. It’s nice to visit, but again there’s the drama in my family and the whole issue of not being able to take a shit without everyone in my extended family finding out about it. I still need my own space. I did email an e-friend regarding some thoughts I had on it because she did a similar move in her life, and basically she her thoughts and words gave life and direction to the arbitrary thoughts I have been having. I’m not ready to say here what all those thoughts are and what direction I’m heading in, mainly because I don’t want to feel too much pressure about it. I’d like it to still feel like my descision, and I’d like it continue to work it out for myself to make sure that it’s what I really want. But it’s there, and honestly I do think it is what I really want, but with so much time between now and when my lease is up, I need to know for sure and know that nothing will sidetrack me between now and then.

Ok, that was really cryptic except to one person (hi Courtney!) but that’s ok. I still need to explore it with my head-shrinker to make sure I’ve explored every angle of this and all that fun stuff. But first, it’s getting late. I have a ton of tv to catch up on from when I was gone (love the DVR) and some dinner to eat. And I should put the laundry away because I laid it all out over my bed this morning, mainly to make sure it gets put away. I have nowhere else to sleep, so dumping stuff on my bed is an effective way of getting things done. Good thing I only do that with the laundry, it would be really nasty if I did that with dirty dishes!

Have a pleasant evening!

So, where was I? Oh yes. Had dinner last night with Aunt Bird and Uncle N Period. Mom made some kick-ass ribs that were so tender a straw was needed to eat them. I also presented Aunt Bird with her present. It was a talking parrot keychain, but it says really rude things. “Polly wants a fucking cracker! Polly wants a fucking cracker! Give Polly a fucking cracker NOW!!!!” It was hilarious. Her birds don’t talk, but if they hear that keychain that’s probably going to be what they say. Aunt Bird’s mother will come over and one of the birds will greet her with, “Show us your tits!” She’ll be appalled, while Uncle N Period is in the other room laughing like a teenage boy. Anyway, it was a lovely evening and we all watched some television and staggered off to bed. I slept pretty well, too, which was a refreshing change of pace.

This morning I got up, had some juice, sat around talking to my aunt and uncle while my little bro Boo was running around. Then went up to take a shower, which was also refreshing since I didn’t shower yesterday (took the red eye flight and never got a chance to cleanse). Aunt Bird and Uncle N. left while I was in the shower, so Mom and I took Boo to get a haircut. I also needed a haircut and of course had to put in an appearance with one of my bestest friends, Belching Biker Babe. She cut Boo’s hair even though he kept moving his head and was really fussy because he was hungry, then she cut my hair and made a big announcement every time she found a grey one. Yes, I’m in my 30’s. It’s inevitable that my hairs will one by one turn grey and no, I’m not going to dye my hair. Once you start, you can’t stop, so I’m not gonna start. I have better things to spend my money on. Anyhoo, since Belching Biker Babe was working we made plans for Monday and Mom, Boo and I went off to have lunch. Boo was ready for a nap so he was really fussy, but it was 2:00 and I didn’t even have breakfast, so I was pretty starving. We had a decent meal and came back to the house, then I took off for the mall while Mom put Boo down for a nap. I had some presents to buy.

Since I know that Bubba and Messy J don’t read my blog, I’ll spill about what I bought. Messy J was a bit easier, since she just got a Builder Bear (aka Build-a-Bear) for her birthday. She wanted the red wig, since she wants Peppermint to have the same color hair as her, and I also got her a new outfit and shoes. I also have a few other things for Messy J that I’ve been saving up over the past few months, so she’ll get those tomorrow too.

Bubba is a bit harder to shop for since he’s hitting that all-important age: 13. That means he’s a fussy teenager who only likes to play video games and hang with his friends. Well, Aunty don’t play that. I prefer something a bit educational, or at least something the rest of the family can enjoy. I know he loves Napoleon Dynamite, so I got him some ND lip balm, and the $1 gift I found the other day was the ND talking keychain. I’m pretty sure he already has the movie, since he knows it by heart, so I got another movie I know he likes: Benchwarmers. He’s never actually told me he likes this movie, but since it’s his theme on his AIM, I figured it’s safe to say he’ll enjoy this gift. I’m also taking him to the movies on Monday to see Talladega Nights, which I think we’ll both enjoy.

Tomorrow my mom his hosting a birthday party for both Bubba and Messy J, with special appearances by Aunty and Mom. Yes, my sister just flew into town this evening. She’s preggers, so she used this to her advantage to get priority boarding. Her belly isn’t quite that big yet, since she still has about 4 months to go, but my goodness, my tiny twig of a sister has got herself some amazing B00Bs! Too bad they’ll turn back into deflated balloons after the baby is born and she stops nursing.

When Mom and I went to pick up Sis at the airport, we decided to play a little joke on Mom. Sis and I went potty and when we were heading back to baggage claim, I got the idea to call Mom on her cell and freak her out. This was even funnier because the airport here isn’t that large. I called her and kept asking her where the heck she was, trying to make it sound like I was all panicky because she was lost. The whole time I could see her because I wasn’t that far away, hiding behind the information booth. The lady at the info booth was cracking up watching this. Mom was asking me if I could see the lady with the Mickey ears, and I was like, “What Mickey ears? Mom, did you get on a plane again? We’re not going anywhere, we are here to pick Sis up!” It was hilarious.

Anyway, tomorrow is the cookout, then afterwards my cousin and I are supposed to go out. I can’t wait to see his vagina gut. See, he’s a stunt motorcycle rider and he had a bit of an accident - something about 80mph, bike on top of him and road rash. He ended up with a wound that the doctors couldn’t or wouldn’t close and the nurse had to come to his house twice a day to clean it. I’ve seen pictures of it. All I can say is GROSS. At least he didn’t hit his head.

I’m not posting my spending right now, but I’m kinda keeping track. I’ll try and post an update when I get home and I’m entering stuff into Quicken. In the meantime, I’ll try and keep track of it all, at least the cash part.

Time to get going now. I should probably go see what stupid movie my nephew picked out to watch. Later, y’all.

As if I don’t have enough to do, (most of which is getting ignored), I have to sit down and blog. I want to be out of the house in an hour and I’m sitting here with no pants on and all my toiletries still to pack. Such is the way when preparing to be gone for a week.

I stopped at War-Mart to try and pick up a decongestant, but there was a huge line (3 people and a scooter) at the pharmacy so I walked out without getting what I wanted. Then I went to Tarjay and got a new pair of jeans, because 1 is just not enough. I also got a bunch of trial sized toiletries because I have a whole big drawerful in my bathroom and that is also not enough. And of course I bought a micro-meal because I didn’t feel like cooking tonite. I also stopped at the 7-11 to pick up a liter of water (since I have a habit of leaving things on the plane and I don’t want to lose my nice water bottle). I totally got hit on by the guy behind the counter - he said I had nice skin. Unusual compliment, but he was going on and on about my creamy white skin and beautiful complexion.

Anyhoo, I got home, started throwing clothes into my suitcase and took a quick shower. I originally wanted to take a complete shower, but now I just don’t feel like it. I just wanted to stop feeling all sweaty, which worked for about 10 minutes. Now I’m starting to get sweaty again, which will be complete after I haul my luggage to my car.

I talked to Bubba on AIM and he is going to make sure he’s there when my dad picks me up in the morning. He can’t wait to see me, and I can’t wait to see him. It’s been a whole year since I saw him last, and in less than 2 weeks he is going to be a TEENAGER!!!!! What happened to my little Bubba-Loo? He’s almost as tall as I am!

So, quick spending update:

$21.50 - jeans that fit
$1.87 - micro-meal for dinner
$1.79 - big bottle of water for the plane
$4.73 - drugs to help with ear pressure on the plane
$3.22 - disposable razors because I needed them anyway
$4.30- new small cosmetics bag to replace the zip-loc one I used for feminine hygiene products
$3.20 - travel-sized stuff

And yesterday - $21.12 on a new purse that I’ve really been wanting since we got it in. It finally got marked down to 60% off, plus my 30% employee discount made it a decent deal. I don’t like to spend more on a purse than I’m ever gonna carry in it. Plus, this one is bigger than my old one without being too bulky, and it zips closed which will come in really handy on the plane.

Anyway, I just gotta pack all my toiletries, my carryon bag, water the plants, take the trash out, turn the lights out, turn the a/c off, shut my computer down, double check and make sure I have everything including my tickets, and oh yeah, put some pants on. All in less than an hour. Time to fly!

Wow, I am getting tired. This schedule is wearing me out. Good thing I only have 2 more days until I leave. In exactly 48 hours, they will be announcing boarding for my flight and I’ll be on my way.

Work at the office was ok. Mad Sci is back and he’s more tired than I am. He got back from the church mission trip and turned right around and got on a flight to cheese country for a friend’s wedding, so he came into the office and was desperately seeking caffiene, as was I. Good thing I stopped this morning and bought a few flats of soda. Then since he wanted to catch up with everyone, he bought the office lunch (actually, he said let’s do lunch, then I ordered it, picked it up, and used my company card to pay for it). Free lunch is always good. Thank you, Mad Scientist, for making sure none of your staff goes hungry.

I headed out of the office a little bit early since I was assigned the task at stopping at Mandalay Bay to purchase tickets to the Shark Reef for a client. I would have just ordered them online, but he’d have to pick them up with the credit card used to purchase them, along with ID that matches the name on the credit card. Plus, the client is not a local like I am, so I got the local discount, which you can only get in person. It was nice to get out of the office early, and I had a few extra minutes to stop into Urban Outfitters and look around. I don’t wear the clothes (don’t fit) but the other stuff is pretty neat. I found a cool present for Bubba on clearance for only $1, so I got that. It’s something that I would probably have gotten him anyway, but I’m glad I found it for $1. Seems the super sale vibes are definitely being sent in my direction.

Since I had to leave the office so early, I left my frozen dinner in the fridge because it would not have lasted that amount of time in the heat, so I ended up buying dinner, but at least it wasn’t because I wasn’t prepared. Then I went to work at the store, which was an ok night. First of all, whoever is stealing shoes from us, please cut the shit. And to the person who has a liking for stealing just one shoe out of the pair, what the fuck? Just leave them alone! Other than that, we made our goal, and we’re getting ready to transfer out something like 600 pairs of shoes so there are tons and tons of boxes on the floor. As long as we don’t get a huge shipment in while we wait to finish that and actually have it ship out, we’ll be ok.

So now I’m home, hoping to finish up a couple of things and get to bed at a decent hour. This lack of sleep is really affecting me - seems I’m forgetting how to drive a stick and I’ve been grinding my gears a lot, which is not good. Never mind that I’m the only person on earth who can never get it into reverse, no matter what car I drive, if it’s a stick, I won’t get it until like the 6th try, and then only with a little grinding. One thing’s for sure, I am definitely not buying another stick again. It gets old fast, especially in the city.

So here’s the spending update:
$1.11 to send out Shortcake’s CD
$1.08 for Bubba’s gift
$6.47 for a present for my mom (can’t say what it is here because she reads this. Hi Amma!)
$5.92 for dinner
$30.00 for gas since I was getting dangerously close to E and it will be at least 5 cents higher tomorrow, and the next day, and so on because of the Alaska pipeline corrosion.

So ta-ta for now. If I’m awake and having coherent thoughts maybe I’ll blog some more tomorrow.

Wow, 4 posts in one day. I am addicted!

I found the receipts and tags I was looking for, so I decided to run right out and get those returns done, since my schedule the rest of this week really is crazy. So here’s a rundown:

$2.14 gained at the crap store
$14 gained at the souvenir store. This return brings my vacation fund up to $270.91.

Then I had to get some ice cream, since I was so seriously craving some. I stopped at the grocery store and found my 2 favorite guys, Ben and Jerry, on sale at 2/$5. So I picked up 2 pints and went to the self checkout, scanned my store card and the ice cream when suddenly one of those coupons popped out of the printer. It was for 75 cents off 2 pints of B&J’s, so I ripped it off the printer and scanned it. Score! I paid $4.25 for 2 pints of ice cream. Joy!

I went to drop the pile of stuff off at Salvation Navy and decided to look around a bit. I usually don’t have the patience to dig through all the crap that they have, but I decided to look anyway. As I was pawing through the clothing racks, I found it. A pair of khaki pants, my size, in excellent condition, for only $4. I figured that since I had been wanting to buy a pair anyway, and would have spent $20-30 on them new, that this was a pretty good deal. I brought them to the cashier, who rang them up and told me my total. I was a bit suprised, because it wasn’t what the sign said. She said they were - are you ready for this - $1!!!!! One whole dollar! Woot! I am so glad that I picked today of all days to actually look around in there.

Then I headed out to the pharmacy to pick up the drugs. Gotta have drugs. Apparently my insurance company has changed the price for generics, but I never got a notice. Now they cost me $7 each instead of $10, so it’s a monthly total of $14. More savings, yay!

I also did my grocery shopping, so I’m pretty sure that the food I have will last until I go on vacation, so I shouldn’t have to go again for awhile.

So here’s the spending breakdown for today:
$1 - pants
$14 - prescriptions
$5 - more money on my laundry card
25 cents - gallon of water
$27.73 - groceries

So even though I spent money today, I feel pretty good about it because I got a pair of pants I needed for next to nothing, and everything else I bought was stuff I needed. Now I just need to find the motivation to do some cleaning around here. My desk is a mess, my filing pile is growing bigger every day, and I still have a bunch of stuff still straggling around looking like clutter. Oh well. I’m getting to the point where I’m starting to think more about packing for my trip, seriously hoping I don’t forget anything. Last year I forgot my camera. I definitely don’t want to do that again!

Just a nod to my Dad, since his business is called Salem 66. He also has a ‘66 Corvette Stingray, which is restored, and a ‘66 Mustang, which is still waiting for restoration. He also advertises in the local paper’s holiday songbook, on page 66 of course. So welcome to my 66th post.

I called Bad Part Company this morning. They transferred me to the rep for that particular manufacturer. He put me on hold after I described my problem, then came back on and told me that the particular defect was from 2 years ago, and he’s suprised that I got one of the defective parts. He told me to return it to his attention along with a copy of my invoice and proof of payment, and he’d issue me a refund check. (Since he does not directly work for the company I ordered the part from, he couldn’t refund my credit card.) He did mention that his company no longer deals with Bad Part Company, though he didn’t mention why. I bet I can think of one or two reasons. He also can’t reorder the part to me, so he suggested I order it from a different company. When I told him the name of another company I found online, he said it was a thumbs up. I sent out the bad part to him today, and am eagerly awaiting my refund check. But now that I’ve moved and gotten settled, I am not in immediate need of a cordless drill so I can wait until after my vacation to order the part.

I went to the souvenir shop to pick up a few things for the folks back home. Most people have already gotten a treasure trove of Vegas souvenirs, but when you live in a major tourist destination, you gotta come home bearing gifts. I got a tiny t-shirt for my niece, who will make her grand entrance at Christmas, and t-shirts for my foster brother and sister. I also found a great gift for my aunt, which I will tell you about after I give it to her. I don’t want to spoil the surprise just in case she’s reading this, but this particular thing is great!

Work was busy today. First of all, I just had a hard time getting to sleep last night, and started my day off with only 4 hours of shut-eye. Then, Mad Scientist is getting ready for another week away. This time he’s heading to Mexico to chapherone the church youth group on a mission trip to build a house for a needy family. Of course, Mad Sci being who he is, and me being his ever-efficient assistant, I took care of a lot of the things he was charged with on this trip, plus some personal things associated with it as well. Van rentals, trailer rentals, Mexico insurance for the cars, and of course getting a huge list of things to do to keep the office under control while he’s gone. Oh, and as he’s running out the door he’s giving me a rundown of his schedule going into the first half of August. He leaves tomorrow morning for Mexico, and arrives back in town Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening he hops a plane to Wisconsin for a buddy’s wedding, and is back in town either Sunday night or Monday morning (I forget which, my head was starting to spin at this point). Then, as he’s running out the door sometime after 4:00, he asks me to book a ticket and rental car to Denver for August 13-15 for a team-building cheerleading type group he’s a part of for work. In my haste, I accidentally booked the tickets for August 6-15, and once I realized my mistake quickly called the airline to try to get a refund. Since only about 5 minutes had elapsed, I got a full refund, and the agent helped me with the correct reservation, which, lucky me, was $20 less than my wrong one. Then I got the car booked, double and triple checked my work, and emailed copies of the reservations to Mad Sci. Now don’t forget, I’m on vacation August 10-16, so there will be 2 days that neither Mad Sci nor myself will be in the office, possibly more as his schedule evolves. I’d better make sure the rest of the office has my mom’s home number as well as my cell number.

Tomorrow I’m off, for real, and I already told my boss at Job#2 that I am not available. I’ve got stuff to get done. I’ll also pay bills tomorrow, since I got paid today, so I’ll just give you a spending update then. Right now, I’ve got dishes to do, tv to watch, and dessert to eat.

…because I forgot my comfy shoes at the office today, so I was on my feet for 3 hours in heels at Job#2. That was a mistake, I should have remembered my shoes, but I was halfway to work from work when I remembered. Going back to get them would have made me late.

Spending today: $10.00 on lunch. See, I was all set to eat, got my lunch out of the fridge when Pretty Lady Dammit came over to me and yelled at me to put it away because we were all going to Macayo’s. The air conditioner people were in making a dusty, noisy mess to replace all our ductwork along with our a/c unit, so not only was it loud and dirty, it was hot in the office. So I went with them and bought myself lunch. The enchilada was much better than a dusty salad and glass of water that can’t stay cold long enough to drink it. I’ll have the dusty salad tomorrow.

In other news, we might be able to lure Dr. Grandma to come back to work for us. I hear she’s really really not happy at the new job, that it’s sucking the life out of her. We are a much more fun bunch, I really don’t understand why she left. Hopefully Mad Scientist has some luck getting her out of the clutches of Red Tape Hospital and back where she belongs, which is with us.

Yeah, I read that book - and the rest of the series (Shopaholic Takes Manhattan, Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic and Sister) and quite enjoyed them. While I don’t consider my spending as out of control as Becky’s is, I definitely identify with the need to shop.

Gretchen posted on her blog about coveting. I covet stuff too, which is why I have 2 jobs. Job#2 is supposed to pay for the things I covet and already bought, but with my move that payment plan has fallen by the wayside. There’s always something - my move, my upcoming vacation, my car registration due in September, the upcoming holidays, blah blah blah. I want stuff, we all want stuff. When I had extra money, instead of saving it I would spend my weekends at the mall or visiting my favorite shops, always buying a bunch of stuff I don’t need. So yeah, I’m a shopaholic. Even now, when I’m bored, I think, “Gee, I haven’t visited that mall in awhile, I think I’ll go browse around.” If I buy something, I feel bad about the money I spent because I know full well it could be spent on something else. If I don’t buy anything, I feel bad because I see other people buying stuff and wish I could too.

Job#2 is retail, which has its good and bad points. Good point - I rarely, if ever, buy anything from my store. We sell shoes, none of which fit me because I have an extremely narrow foot, and we don’t carry narrows. We also sell purses and wallets, but I’m very picky about that stuff so I rarely purchase them (plus, they’re expensive, even with my discount, and I don’t like to spend that much on a purse). Bad point - the store is in a mall, and I always want to shop at the other stores, many of which will give a 10% mall discount.

What do I like to buy? Shoes, if I can find ones I like in my size. I love buying jammies, don’t know why because I don’t always like buying regular clothes. Books, magazines, movies, music. Stuff for my home, even though I have nowhere to put it. The 1 in, 1 out rule is a good one, but it still means I can buy stuff if I get rid of stuff at the same time and doesn’t solve the buying stuff issue.

Now that I have more than 1 reader here, perhaps this will be a good way for some accountability. I’m gonna try my hardest to keep a bit of a journal here on my spending and debt payments. I’ll update tonite on that, since I haven’t spent anything yet today. My basic goals are this:

1. Cut out frivolous spending while maintaining my sanity
2. Pay down debt - Mastercard and Visa
3. Save some money!

I’ll try to put up a daily post or at least include in my posts an update on this. If I don’t, you can all yell at me. I tried to keep a notebook, which lasted all of 10 minutes because there was no one else to answer to. I post on a message board, but again, no one else to really answer to. My parents basically leave me alone as far as the spending goes, because all my bills are paid on time and I don’t ask them for anything (unlike my sister, who depends on Dad’s handouts). So that leaves it to be a personal thing, and I’m asking for a little bit of accountability in this department.

Of course, I still covet stuff, so I’ve linked to my wishlist on Amazon just in case anyone wants to reward my efforts with a present

Ok, here it is, my spending for the day:
$1.66 - cookies (to keep in my desk drawer, so I have chocolate handy to keep me sane. They should last about 2 weeks or so)

One would think that Las Vegas, the fastest growing city in the country, would be a prime area to build an IKEA. Despite pleas from myself and countless others, IKEA still won’t come here, which means we must go to them. Covina, CA is the closest one - a mere 4 hour drive each way. Did I mention that the drive is through barren desert? There’s like, 2 towns the whole way down there until you get to civilization again on the other side of the San Bernadino National Forest. Ok, 3 towns if you count Baker. Still, that’s a long way to go without anything to look at.

It’s been about 2 years since my last IKEA trip, and since I just moved into a new place, I figured it was perfect timing. Besides, I’m just about out of salmon sauce. I’ve been doing my homework, doing my budget and checking out what’s available so I could go in with a plan of action.

Saturday morning I woke up early to get a head start on the ride. I like to get there, eat an early lunch, shop my brains out, and be back by dinnertime. I was on the road a little before 7am, before most of the traffic. I had my carefully selected music since I detest playing radio roulette, and I had plenty of water and some snacks for the drive. Everything was going along fine until about 30 minutes before Baker I saw a small something on the road. I was in the left lane, and with a big rig next to me, there was no chance of moving aside. The shoulder to my left was dangerous at best, since it was in a pass (a pass, for those who don’t know, is a winding road through a somewhat mountainous area that has little of anything else except danger). This small thing was gray, looked like metal, and was about the size and shape of a 2-liter soda bottle cut in half. I tried to avoid it, and I thought I had enough room to either straddle it or go around, but I was wrong. I hit it with my right front tire.

Luckily, I had both hands on the wheel and was in complete control of my vehicle the whole time. I got to the right, put my hazards on, and carefully went out to survey the damage. Oy Vey! Who knew a little thing like that could do so much damage to a measly tire? There were 4, count ‘em, 4 huge gashes in the sidewall of my tire. It was toast. Even if I carried Fix-a-Flat with me, it wouldn’t have helped. Good thing I know how to change a tire - almost. I secured my car, set the parking brake, put something behind the opposite tire to keep the car from rolling, and got out the gear. My idiot tire had air in it, so I got that out and jacked up my car. Those stupid things that come with the car are almost useless. You can’t get enough torque to do the job properly! But I managed, until it came time to take the tire off. Those stupid lug nuts were so tight, I could not get them off. I had just given up and was starting to walk to the call box to call for help (I don’t have AAA, and I’ll tell youwhy in a moment) when a trucker pulled over to help me. He finished changing my tire and since he had a car carrier with some room on it, offered me a ride to Barstow, but I decided to go to Baker and see what I could do from there.

I got my scrap rubber put away and the rest of my tools in the trunk and continued on my way to Baker. Boy, was I nervous driving on the idiot tire on the highway. And in this part of the country, if you’re not on the highway, you’re on a dirt road that may or may not be legit, so highway it was. When I got to Baker, I found a garage that was open. The proprietor, who had 2 teeth and no hair, said he could fix my rim, which was dented by the mystery object, and said he’d sell me a new tire, all for the low price of $65. Since my Dad owns a garage, I knew this was a decent price, especially being in the middle of nowhere - I could have been seriously hosed with no other options. The guy fixed my tire rather quickly and I was on my way, praying hard that there would be no more mishaps on the way. I can’t afford it!

I got to IKEA just fine, only set back by 45 minutes which I believe is record time for being in the middle of nowhere. I ate my lunch in the Swedish Cafe, and continued my thorough search of the store to make sure I got everything on my list and didn’t miss any other incidentals. Here’s what I bought:

I wanted the Bjoberg storage bench, but taking into consideration the money I just spent on a tire, along with the fact that the box is a bit too big and heavy for me to drag into my 2nd floor apartment by myself, I ended up with this instead. I have it covered with a throw blanket so it doesn’t look so primitive, and someday it will go nicely in my lakehouse. Another bonus - it only took about 5 mintues to put together. I’m pretty well versed in IKEA furniture assembly, and this one is something anyone can do.

I also wanted some stuff for my kitchen, to make the best use possible of the ill-planned space I have. I’ve been lusting after the Grundtal series, so after careful consideration of my needs and some of the habits I’ve been developing in regard to my space, I got the mid-sized rail, the single paper towel holder, and the chopping board. It’s already hung over my sink and I must say, really classes the place up.

A spur of the moment purchase was this colander, and let me just say, that thing is HUGE! Sunday afternoon I made some pasta salad, using an entire 16oz package of pasta, and when I used my new colander to drain it, the pasta barely filled it halfway! I don’t usually cook large quantities, so usually my little old-style Tupperware colander does just fine. But this will come in really handy when I do have those larger amounts. Besides the attractive price, this colander will look really nice if I neglect to put it away.

I was looking at lighting, but I still have not decided what to do about my computer area, since both floor space and desktop space are at a premium, there is no outlet in the ceiling, and there is no wall switch that corresponds to the outlet there. So I’m still thinking that one over. I also thought about a picture frame for some artcards I got a couple years ago, but I decided that I should unpack my decorations and see what I still want to do at that point before I go and buy any more decorations.

Now, why I don’t have AAA. See, when I lived back east, my dad just put me on his account, and it didn’t cost me a thing. I still never really used it because the only times I needed a tow, it was either snowing like crazy and they wouldn’t come get me, or it was really late at night and even if I did get AAA to tow me, I’d still have to call Dad and wake him up so I could get home, so in those cases I just bypassed AAA and went straight to Dad. Once I moved to Las Vegas, I paid $79 to transfer my membership and didn’t use it at all. So I decided to discontinue it. Now, considering what transpired on Saturday, I still don’t think I’ll get it again. For one, I was in the middle of nowhere and might still be waiting if I had called for help. And I still would have ended up buying a new tire. Still not worth it to me. My car is fairly new and well-maintained, so overall I’m not worried about a breakdown, and we already know I can change a tire as long as I have some muscle available. My biggest worry during the whole tire incident was having my day ruined by not getting to IKEA at all, and/or being bit in the ass by a certain poisonous legless reptile that is abundant in desert areas. I was actually more afraid of that then my car being hit or some psycho trying to “help” me. Again, not something that AAA could help me with.

So all in all, my IKEA trip went well. I got set back just 45 minutes and $65, which considering the circumstances isn’t too bad. I got most of what I wanted and got home about 12 1/2 hours after I set out. For some reason I was exhausted when I got home, which is unusual. Long car trips usually leave me invigorated and restless, and I can’t sit still when I get out of the car. Saturday, though, once I got all my stuff in the house, I collapsed. Literally. I got home about 7:15pm and was asleep before 8, and I slept all night long. And that was the best part of my day.