Thursday

Busy day at work. We went to QFC after and spent about $12 on the following: rainbow sherbet, 1/2 gallon of milk, milk and honey bread, 5 Muller yogurts (raspberry dark chocolate, and cherry dark chocolate).

Breakfast: protein bar
Lunch: leftover veggie and pasta soup
Dinner: leftover navy beans and ham
Snacks/desserts: protein bar, dark chocolate and raspberry yogurt
Beverages: water

Jeremy got a temp promotion at work as a trainer for new hires, which could potentially turn into a permanent position, which is pretty cool. He doesn't know about the pay yet. It all happened very fast.

Last day at the airport

I bought lunch at the airport. I spent about $5 total. Chicken nuggets and a small Frosty at Wendy's and a lemon bar from Dilettante. I'm not the biggest fan of Wendy's but I do love a Frosty, and there are no Wendy's within a reasonable distance of me anymore.

I used the canned ham I got from Buy Nothing, and cubed it up with a lb of navy beans and 3 chopped carrots. I added mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar, and cooked it on high in the Crock Pot. It turned out nice and there are a lot of leftovers.

Breakfast: granola with milk
Lunch: chicken nuggets and a Frosty
Dinner: navy beans with ham and carrots
Snacks/desserts: lemon bar, apples with caramel cream cheese
Beverages: water

Been very busy, and some good news

First the good news. Last Saturday Jeremy's  mom called him. They didn't speak for very long, but he found out she never had any other kids, and she remarried 34 years ago. She seemed happy to be talking to him. I'm really glad he got to talk to her. Hopefully they will continue contact.

I have had a horrible time with trying to keep up on my posts, and I'm trying to decide now what I want to do with this blog. I may try to simplify it some, or I may just stop posting. I'm not sure.

I decided to start doing occasional mystery shops again. I used to do them 6-7 years ago, and then stopped when I moved. I used to build routes and travel to do several in one area on the same day, but I don't think I want to get that much back into it. It takes a huge amount of organization. I am planning to just take shops that are walking distance or a really easy bus ride if it's something worthwhile. So far I have done a shoe store shop (purchase and return), a restaurant shop, a grocery store shop, and a coffee chain shop. I have another grocery store shop this weekend. Pay and reimbursements for these seem to have really increased since I last did them.

I have also decided to quit working at the airport. Instead I will be picking up a half shift at my regular job on Wednesday mornings. I don't remember if I said so or not  but the acupuncture clinic I was going to volunteer at doesn't need me right now after all, as their usual person is not going to be leaving, it turns out. This was somewhat of a blessing in disguise since the shift that was available at work was for the same day and time.

I had a blood draw this morning for donor testing. They only work up one person at a time, so they are doing my work up first.

Breakfast: two hardboiled eggs, strawberry raspberry and walnut Orchard bar
Lunch: (work meeting paid for at a restaurant) warm spinach, pear, and bacon salad with blue cheese, vinaigrette and quinoa
Dinner: sauteed rainbow potatoes and red bell pepper with olive oil, and cayenne pepper, topped with sour cream, jack cheese, and cilantro
Snacks/desserts: 1/2 croissant (shared with Winter and free as part of a mystery shop), coffee and donut ice cream
Beverages: water, decaf white chocolate mocha (free with mystery shop)

First and second day of prenatal massage class

Class goes from 9 am to 6 pm each day. The class is about 80% hands on. The first day we learned bolstering, positioning, and draping. Then we did hip and leg work. Today we started with work on the pelvis, low back, and sacrum and finished with ribs, upper back, chest, and neck.

The first day I took a Lyft ride to and from class, and today I got brave an  took the bus. It mostly went ok, but I found out that one of the routes I took in the morning changes after 7pm. So it took me longer to get back to the place I am staying than it would have if I had known that.

The class provides a pretty good variety of snacks, which I did not know about beforehand, but I've been taking advantage of that. Yesterday we had bananas, apples, grapes, blueberry mini muffins, pumpkin donuts, and tea. Today we had some things left over from yesterday, plus they added assorted danishes, mandarin oranges, and a big bowl of assorted Halloween candy.

I ate dinner at the Air B and B I am staying at last night. Today I walked to a nearby seafood restaurant after class for dinner. It was a small, casual , and inexpensive restaurant. I got the shrimp dinner which came with about 8 enormous fried shrimp, fries, and salad. I also got a root beer. The total was less than $13 and the food was very good.

Yesterday:

Breakfast: banana, granola bars, pumpkin doughnut, grapes
Lunch: tuna salad with crackers, turkey pepperoni sticks, cashews, honeycrisp apple, caramel apple Oreos
Dinner:  chicken tortilla soup, peanut butter and honey sandwich
Snacks/desserts: mini muffins, cashews
Beverages: water

Today:

Breakfast: berry Danish, banana, half a pumpkin donut, grapes
Lunch: peanut butter and honey sandwich, mandarin orange, dried mangoes, caramel Apple Oreos
Dinner: fried shrimp, fries (I only ate one though. Fries are not my jam.), salad with ranch dressing
Snacks/desserts: cream cheese Danish, fun size Skittles, PB Snickers, and M&M's
Beverages: water, root beer

I'm in San Diego and it's kind of hot here

It's in the 70's today. Maybe high 70's. I don't know, but I'm all sweaty. It was much cooler in Seattle when I left this morning. I am staying at a place I found on Airbnb.com for $55 a night. They have parrots. And dogs the size of small horses. I am renting a very small guest house in the back yard. It has a private bath and the room with the bed in it is maybe 8' by 10'.

I had to have four pillows for the class and rather than paying $25 for each checked bag to bring them with me, I bought them at Target for $4.04 each. I'll just leave them here when I go back. Of course I forgot to bring extra pillowcases though, so I also had to pay $9.99 for a set of two. I will be taking those back with me. I also bought some food so I don't have to eat out too much. I bought bread, peanut butter, honey, bananas, some tuna salad kits, some microwaveable soup cups, cashews, turkey pepperoni sticks, dried mangoes, apples, granola bars, and caramel apple Oreos. I also got some sandwich bags so I can pack lunch to take to class with me.

Last night on my way home I picked up a loaf of bread for $2.79, three bananas for $.67, and Jr. Mints for $.99. Our total spending for September was $448.46. Here's what I ate yesterday.

Breakfast: blueberry flavored Greek yogurt
Lunch: banana, salad with lettuce, quinoa, turkey deli meat, provolone cheese, and spicy ranch dressing
Dinner: leftover taco mac, cereal and milk
Snacks/desserts: PB cup cookies, Jr. Mints
Beverages: water

Monday and Tuesday recap

Monday I worked from 11-5 at the downtown Convention Center. Here's what I ate:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese
Lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Greek yogurt tube
Dinner: sriracha glazed chicken with bamboo shoots, celery, and rice
Snacks/desserts: snickerdoodle ice cream with goat milk caramel sauce, blueberry Petite Cream
Beverages: water

Jeremy met me after work and we walked to QFC. We bought pretty much everything else we'll need to get us through the end of the month. Tonight Winter is going to help me make a hu-normous pot of vegetable soup. I also got some broccoli and cheese to make chicken, pasta, and broccoli with cheese sauce.

Here's what we bought:

10 bag of frozen pre-cooked quinoa (RFQS*) $1.99
Snickerdoodle ice cream $2.50
2 Lean Cuisines ($2.00 ea) $4.00
8 Petite Cremes** in assorted flavors (RFQS at $.29 ea) $2.32
1/2 gal 2% milk $1.50
Mt Dew Kickstart $.99
3 bottles of goat milk caramel sauce (RFQS at $.99 ea) $2.97
box of mac and cheese $.89
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes in juice ($.79 ea) $1.58
jar of baby dill pickles $2.99
Cocoa Krispies $1.79
Honey Bunches of Oats $1.79
8 oz shredded pepper blend cheese $1.99
2 lbs carrots $1.29
.64 lb cauliflower $1.27
.66 lb dried garbanzos $1.18
green bell pepper $.79
4 bananas $1.10
zucchini $1.08
yellow squash $.86
.29 lbs green beans $.58
.58 lbs broccoli $.57
2 Yukon gold potatoes $1.13

*Reduced for quick sale
** It's a new product, similar to Greek yogurt, but less tart. It is made with ricotta I think.

Total after Raise 3% discount $36.04


Yesterday I worked at the airport early in the morning. I had to get up at 6 am after getting home around 11 with Winter, and not getting to bed until after midnight. Winter made some raspberry jam and brought a jar with her, so I had that on my sandwich for lunch. Winter helped me make a pizza from scratch for dinner. I mixed some garlic and Italian seasoning into a little bit of the turkey sausage from the freezer to top it with.

Breakfast: vanilla Petite Creme
Lunch: peanut butter sandwich with Winter's homemade raspberry jam, banana
Dinner: pizza topped with mozzarella, green bell peppers, and Italian seasoned turkey sausage.
Snacks: snickerdoodle ice cream with goat milk caramel sauce
Beverages, iced coffee with simple syrup and cream, water, Coke Zero

For the big surprise I took Jeremy and Winter to see To Be Takei at the SIFF Cinema Uptown in Queen Anne. They are both huge fans of George Takei. It was a really great documentary. I cried a couple of times. It's about his relationship with Brad, his experience in the Japanese American internment camp during WWII, and his acting career, plus his political and social activism. Winter was the only one there who wasn't an adult, which was kind of funny to me. I think this movie was pretty appropriate for pre-teens on up at least.

Our only spending yesterday was on an iced coffee for me at the airport, which was $3.00 with tax and tip, and on a large Coke Zero at the theater. A jaw-dropping $5.50. I am sort of fine with that though since it is a small independent local theater.

Things eaten yesterday

I worked an early morning shift at the airport yesterday, and impressively I managed to pack a lunch, but ran out of ideas and time for breakfast. I keep forgetting to pick up brown sugar so I can make oatmeal. I will not use Splenda in it. Blech.

We intended to take Joey back to the vet yesterday to have more tests done but they take their last walk in at 4:30 and Jeremy got home at 4:15. It would have been super tight. He will take Joey on Monday.

As for spending, Jeremy and I both got sodas from the laundry room machine, and I bought Reese's Pieces. We spent $2.50.

Breakfast: protein bar
Lunch: turkey, cheese and Dijon mustard sandwich, banana
Dinner: chicken and veggie stir fry with teriyaki sauce and brown rice
Snacks: another protein bar, Reese's Pieces
Beverages: water, Barq's root beer

Jeremy's interview is today at 4:00pm. He is hoping for a part time second job doing personal training a few evenings and maybe Sundays.

Jeremy cooked dinner last night

Cue the scary music. He has been watching videos by this guy who calls himself The Protein Chef. He made the recipe that this link goes to. Some sort of chicken parmesan quinoa casserole... thing. It was not the tastiest thing I have ever put in my mouth, but it's pretty darn healthy I guess. I would have added olive oil and red wine for sure.

Jeremy downloaded an app to his phone called Pact. It syncs up to his UP band and Myfitnesspal account, and basically what you do is input a credit card number and make wagers based on completing certain tasks. If you fail to complete the task, you are charged whatever amount you wager. If you complete the tasks then you get a cut of all the money paid in by users who missed their goals. The FAQ says payouts are between .30 and $5.00 a week, depending on the challenges you take on and the money you wager. Maybe this UP band will pay for itself in time?

Jeremy also just now got a call from 24 Hour Fitness! He has an interview for a personal trainer position on Thursday!!

Yesterday the lunch I brought with me to work was not nearly substantial enough, so I went over to QFC and bought a big box of sesame orange chicken from the deli that has been marked down half price to $2.29. It was everything one might expect from grocery store deli "Chinese" food. I did not finish it, and though it's currently in my fridge I may not eat the rest. It stuck with me till dinner at least. I also got a Dove milk chocolate bar. Mmmmm.

Breakfast: peach flavored Greek yogurt
Lunch: leftover pasta with tuna, carrots, and cheese sauce
Dinner: Jeremy's quinoa chicken parmesan thing
Snacks/desserts: sesame orange chicken with rice, milk chocolate, protein bar
Beverages: Crystal Light, water

Going to Texas, work stuff, and an update on the plants

I talked to my mom tonight and she will be in Texas for the family reunion from Oct 7-14. Most of the rest of the family gets there on the 8th. I don't want Winter missing too much school, and since I will be in San Diego from the 1st through the 6th, missing a lot of work is also a concern. So we'll be going down the morning of the 11th, and coming back the evening of the 13th. The tickets cost $888 for all three of us. On the upside, there will be nothing  to spend money on once we are there, because we will be in the middle of nowhere.

Jeremy has been looking for an internship/job as a personal trainer. He has contacted a few places already and is planning to apply at Gold's Gym on Broadway as well. He'd like to work a couple of evenings a week and Sundays, in addition to his regular job,  which he works at very early in the day Tues-Sat.

A rare opening came up for a mid day shift on Tuesdays at the airport. It starts in the middle of September. I decided to take it. I am also working 8 extra hours per week at my regular job since the first of August. Hopefully that won't be too much to be sustainable.

Mom said I should dig up the potatoes since the plants were drying out. I got 7 hamster sized potatoes. I think I just planted them too late, but out wasn't a very big planter box either. The radish plants all bolted then died. The carrots and beets are still tiny and sad. I have officially given up on them.

What we ate 07-29-14

We're so close to the end of the month! We still have about $6.50 left in the budget, but I need to pick up corn starch tonight after work. I might get bananas too, but maybe not. There is so much lettuce and radishes left, I may just make salads to go with my lunches instead.

I found out that Jeremy had never heard of timecube.com (I told him it seemed like someone I went to school with had been doing bath salts and reading timecube.com based on some recent Facebook posts).

I got about 3 hours of sleep the night before last because it's been very humid and kind of hot outside. It took all of my resolve not to buy coffee or soda at the airport, where I worked yesterday. The cheapest caffeine option there is a can of soda for $1.65, and I can't bring my own in. I kind of wanted to be able to sleep when I got home too. I did take some Tylenol for a headache I had, and managed to get an 8 minute nap in during my break. That helped. 

Breakfast: apple pie flavored Greek yogurt, banana bread
Lunch: sandwich with turkey, caraway havarti, lettuce, and dijon mustard
Dinner: slow cooker pepperoni pasta, the rest of the homemade white bread
Snacks/desserts: none
Beverages: Crystal Light, water

Glitter. The final frontier.

Winter made this

Winter got a space ship model for her 8th grade graduation from one of her uncles. I recognize it as being from Star Trek, but that's all I got. She posted pics on Facebook the other day, noting that she had difficulty finding model paints, so it is mostly painted with nail polish. It is hard to tell from this particular shot, but it's very glittery.

I bought a couple of QFC gift cards on Raise.com recently. I found out that if they do not currently have the cards you want in stock you can set an alert and the site will email you when they get one in. I set alerts for QFC, Safeway, and Grocery Outlet, and so far I have bought around 240$ worth of QFC cards for 3% off. It's not a lot, but it's better than 0% off, and I figure we will be spending the money there either way, so I might as well shave off a few dollars where I can.

I didn't wind up with any appointments at work this morning, so I am staying home until after Jeremy's eye surgery, then I will go in from 3-7.

Starting next month I will be working 8 more hours a week at my main job, starting at 10 instead of 12. We've been able to put around 1500 a month towards paying off debt with me picking up all these extra shifts this summer, but I'm kind of wondering if I should cut way back, especially with my hours increasing Thursday through Sunday. There will be new bills coming in from Jeremy's surgeries, and I have no idea what to expect from those too. I want to try to keep the total debt as low as I can. On the other hand, I am worried about injury and/or burnout.

What we ate 07-22-14 and 07-23-14

I worked late on Tuesday, and I realized after leaving for work that I did not really bring enough food, so I stopped at Safeway and got a frozen burrito and a banana. I also bought a soda from the vending machine, and got a vanilla cone from McDonald's after work. I made some yellow split peas with paprika in the crock pot, which I have not tried yet, but Jeremy ate them and said they're good. I will take some for lunch with me today.

Breakfast: vanilla latte flavored yogurt, chocolate banana oatmeal bread
Lunch: bean and cheese burrito, banana
Dinner: leftover macaroni and cheese, leftover carrots and green beans
Snacks/desserts: McDonald's vanilla cone, protein bar
Beverages: 7-Up, water

Yesterday I was out of the house all day, and worked at the airport so there was no microwave. I kind of just threw whatever I could find into a bag before heading out. I got some frozen yogurt mid-day as well for $2.83, and microwaved the rest of the mac and cheese when I got home around 9:15. Menchie's has a new happy hour from noon to 2pm on weekdays.

Breakfast: lemon Greek yogurt, protein bar
Lunch: big chunk of chocolate banana oatmeal bread
Dinner: turkey sandwich with dijon mustard, Wensleydale cheese with dried fruit and sweet potato crackers
Snacks/desserts: chocolate toffee bar frozen yogurt, leftover macaroni and cheese
Beverages: water, hot chocolate

This Sunday I traded shifts with a coworker who is going on vacation next week. I am working Monday the 4th for her, and she is working for me the 27th. I also have the 28th off. Jeremy is also off and Sundays and Mondays typically, so we will be having our first two days off in a row together in quite a long time! I got a 10$ movie gift card for free with my credit card rewards, and bought another one for 20% off on Raise.com. We're thinking about seeing Sex Tape with Jason Segel. Until then, I am exhausted and getting burnt out.

Some work and health updates

So I may not be taking that shift at the spa in Bellevue after all, because my boss at my main job offered me more hours today. I would be coming in two hours earlier on the four days I currently work. It would be a total of 35 hours a week, so I am thinking if I took up the offer I should probably make that my only job. 35 hours is a lot of work for  massage therapist. I'm going to give it some thought. Having three days off would be pretty nice, but if I had a slow week or two, I wouldn't have any other paychecks coming in to fall back on. I'd like to think I could just work sub shifts on a very occasional basis, but I also know I have a tendency to say yes to everyone and overbook myself. On the plus side I would also save $40-50 a month in bus and train fare since I walk to that job.

On that note, I finally have a day off on Monday. I can almost taste it. Oh, and my boss brought in a microwave too, so I can now take leftovers for lunch!

Jeremy got his veins mapped  today for the fistula surgery. He said they didn't have to use an ultrasound because they could see them quite easily. I laughed so hard. He has the most vascular arms I have ever seen on someone who wasn't a professional bodybuilder. He has veins popping out on his fingers. His fingers. Really. So his vascularity may have saved us the cost of an ultrasound.

He's scheduled for the fistula surgery on the 21st, which quite luckily is one of my four days off this month. He is also getting a minor procedure on his eye to remove some cloudiness from behind the lens. They were going to do it on the 24th, but they moved it to the 25th. He should be able to see fine afterward (operative word being "should")  but I'll still go into work late that day, just in case. The eye doctor is only one block away, but I don't want him stumbling around trying to get home.

What we ate 07-09-14

I used the rest of the fish burrito sauce in a breakfast burrito yesterday. I think in retrospect t I'd have used less. It was a bit too much. I also spent $2.45 on a frozen yogurt, $.75 on a lemon mousse yogurt, and $1.25 on a pack of 8 hamburger buns.

Breakfast: burrito with scrambled egg, pepper jack, and left over white sauce

Lunch: peanut butter and honey sandwich, apple, sweet potato crackers with peppered goat cheese and honey

Dinner: leftover bean soup

Snacks/desserts: cookies and cream frozen yogurt, lemon mousse yogurt

Beverages: water, tea with sugar

There will likely be a permanent shift coming available at the spa in Bellevue in mid August. It would be 10-4 on Wednesdays. I am strongly considering taking it. That would give me a total of five regular shifts a week, and once Winter comes back for school I am not wanting to be at work all the time, so I will have to seriously cut back how many shifts I take at the airport. I don't think I'd quit though, since it's a good way to bring in a bit of extra cash, and I like having a badge so I can meet Winter at her gate easily. I won't be taking any more of the later ones except when Winter's at her dad's though. Nothing that gets done past 4:30.  

Working in Bellevue today

I worked for a spa in Bellevue for a little while last year, and when I left I stayed on the payroll. Every few months I do some sub shifts for them. Today I'm working from 10:30-5:30.

I'm very excited because I do not live anywhere near a Taco Bell, but there is one by the spa in Bellevue. I'm not usually there in the morning, but I am today. Which means I finally get to have a damn waffle taco. I have waited so long. I hope it's good.

The other good thing about this spa is that they have a mircowave, so I can have leftovers for lunch. I can't bring myself to eat cold leftovers (except pizza, but there is never leftover pizza).

Today starts a new month, and with it a new budget period. Last month we were $1.01 under budget. This month Winter will be at her dad's the whole month, so our budget is $360.