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Archive for April, 2007

Mind Boggling

April 30th, 2007 at 06:34 pm

The new girls are here and they seem very nice. I hope that they like their new jobs and stay with us for a while. They are young and energetic. They are grasping things pretty quickly, already. Which is a very good sign.

I will be at work all day today. No spender today. I can't believe from Friday to today gas went up another .10/gallon. We are up to $3.15/gal. I really do believe that we will be seeing $4.00 by the summer. This is very sad especially given that there is a surplus of fuel. I just don't understand. It bogles my mind. I make a decent living, bring home good money and I am pretty good at saving(always room for improvement) I just don't know how some people are going to survive with prices like these. How will they maintain any standard of living????

The Replacements Have Arrived

April 28th, 2007 at 12:44 am

Well, we found two new people to work for us. YIPEE! We did about 30 interviews this week. The new girls start this Monday. I just hope they like their new positions and that they stay awhile.

On the money front I received my federal return, which will all go towards the new roof. I can't wait for it to be fixed. I'm tired of garbage pails in my front hall every time it rains. Not very attractive looking. On top of which every time I would open the front door it would be like someone pouring a bucket of water over my head when I walked through the door. I worked all day so no money spent here. In fact it has been a pretty good week for not spending.

Looking to Tomorrow

April 26th, 2007 at 07:47 pm

It's not looking very promising for new help at the office. I hope tomorrow will bring someone wonderful. With this new help will also come a drop in income due to training and not having as busy a schedule. Things will be tight, at least for a month.

Good thing that I was able to save all of my pay this week and hopefully next week.

Yesterday, I divided up the 5lbs of chop meat into...meatballs, taco filling, hamburgers and Gyro meat. I put everything into the frezzer when it cooled. Now I will have dinner on hand for a few nights.
I also accomplihed a few things in the back yard. Mowing, poop patrol, fertilizing and weed control. It still looks like it needs a lot of fixing up but it is a little cold today so I will focus my cleanning on the indoor stuff.

Today

April 25th, 2007 at 06:30 pm

It has been a very busy two days. We are in the process of hiring two new people and working short handed. We did receive many applications but so many were not right for the job. Or they were asking too much money to start. I hope by Friday we find somebody that is easy to work with and reliable.

On the financial side of things, it seems to be going pretty well. Other than food shopping, there hasn't been any real money being spent. No new purchases other than the roof.

I bought a bunch of food yesterday to make ahead for the rest of the week. I have to get started on this afternoon. I have Salmon and about 5lbs of chopmeat that need to be divided and then cooked or put into the freezer.

I also have to get started on the backyard. The front yard looks great! The back needs alot of attention. Better sign off now so I can get to it!

An Exhausting Day

April 24th, 2007 at 12:38 am

Today was exhausting. Running around like a chicken without a head. I got up at 6 am to let the dogs out and then they wouldn't let me go back to sleep. I stayed up and did some ironing and wash. Cleaned up a bit did the dishes and then went to work. Work was very busy especially working short handed. On lunch I came home vaccumed the floors and put up another load of wash and paid bills online. Went back to work then had to run out to the bank. When I got back it was so busy it didn't stop until 6pm. Needless to say at that point I didn't even want to begin to think about dinner. I stopped by a pizzeria and picked up a couple of hot hero's for hubby and me. No sooner did we sit down and the roofer came over to discuss the estimate with us. We gave hime a deposit of $1170.00, so, that and the 12.00 for the hero's is what was shelled out today. The remaing balance will be paid with my tax refund. Now I get to relax or so I hope.

Great to be Outdoors

April 23rd, 2007 at 12:56 am

The weather was so great today. I didn't want to waste a second. I was very busy with yard work. I sanded and stained my outdoor bench and my light post as well as my wooden door mat. I put down weed killer in all the nooks and crannies. Then I mowed the front yard. It took quite a while to accomplish these tasks but it was so gorgeous outside I didn't mind. Next weekend or maybe one day during the week when I have some free time I would like to sand and clear coat the backyard furniture. Today's work only cost, some elbow grease and money for the stain, paint brush and weed killer. Being outside on a gorgeous day ...Priceless.

I had my brother's do some work for me this past week. One brother cut down a few trees in the yard. The other brother did some repair work at the office. I paid them 150.00 a piece. They didn't want to take any money from me but I thought to myself if I had to hire a stranger it would have cost me a lot more. So, I was happy to pay them. Besides they could certainly use the money.

Tomorrow, it's back to work. I hope to get some respomses to the help wanted ads I posted. I have two people coming in this week for interviews. I just hope by the end of this week I end up hiring two reliable people. Please wish me luck!

An Annoying Week...

April 21st, 2007 at 02:02 pm

I just lost and incredibly long blog post and now I'm really annoyed. You can't go from page to page with out losing info.

I have been away for awhile due to work. We have had 2 people quit at around the same time, so I have been trying to fill the void myself and trying at the same time to hire someone. It seems that no one wants to work. Or once they start, they leave for greener pastures. We hired someone new On Monday and they quit yesterday. So I ask myself why did they bother applying and coming in for the week, when they were starting at our place but waiting for a better offer to come through. It was a total waste of our time!!! I will be the Jack of all Trades for a while and now that DD's semester is coming to an end she will have to fill in for a while.

I will be using my tax refund to cover the cost of replacing the roof. I think that we got a pretty good deal but time will tell. We got a few estimates and went with the lowest who also through in the gutters for same price. They are coming over Monday to discuss the roof shingles and to collect a down payment.
I had dreams of using that money for the stock account. But it was only a dream. The roof is a reality. Especailly after the rain we experience this past week.

On the money front, the mortgage made a pretty good drop. This is due to the bi weekly payments we make. The is an extra payment that gets applied. 1/2 of the payment gets applied to the principle now and then another 1/2 in July. Credit Cards are doing ok, paying off the entire balance at the end of the billing cycle.

Necessary Maintenance

April 12th, 2007 at 02:53 pm

I spent some money on myself. I decided that I didn't like the feeling or the look of letting myself go... another minute longer.
Dental appointment for cleaning and exam cost 117.00.
Manicure 7.00 with a 3.00 tip=10.00.
Hair color 60.00 at the salon.
Hair cut at the salon 65.00. Tips for haircut and color 25.00.
It may seem like a lot of money but I have to tell you that I feel and look 100% better than I did before I went to have all this maintenance done. I was going to call it pampering but at my age it really is a necessity, so therefore I will call it maintenance. I vowed to myself that I would not let myself go that long again between visits. The last time I had an overhaul like this was in October. I am going to commit to every three months from here on in. In between the three months I will color my hair myself and get my nails done every two to three weeks.

Regarding the dental visit, everything went very well. My teeth and gums are in pretty good shape. I just have to be very vigilant about the flossing. Big money saver there. No expensive procedures. Good thing. I don't have dental insurance.

At this point in my life, my goal is to keep myself healthy and looking good for as long as I can while trying to save for a comfortable retirement.

No Spender Today

April 9th, 2007 at 06:19 pm

I had a great Easter as I hope all of you had. Little bit of extra money spent but well worth it. I have a bunch of leftover food that we will be polishig off this week.

I have to get back on board with losing some more weight. Still at 154 but now that the weather is nicer I know that I can and will do better.

Today will be a no spend day as I am at work all day today. Unfortunately DH's car broke down and he needs to have a new altenator put in. That is going to be a large payment. Between his car and mine we have been racking up the bills this past month. Still trying to hold out before getting another car.

DD is back at school today after her spring break. She was not looking forward to going back. She only has to go until May 4th and then her year is finished. I have encouraged her to start looking for a summer job as soon as possible. I hope she listens to me. Otherwise it will be a very rough summer for her.

My Saturday

April 8th, 2007 at 12:45 am

The new lay out is pretty cool. Much easier to read and nicely organized. The only thing that I would add is spell check.

I got the estimate for the new roof today. It is going to run about 12,000.00 and that is not including gutters. I don't know if that is a good price or not since I do not know the prices when it comes to construction and such. The work will be guaranteed for 30 years. I have another estimate on the way from the guy who came on Thursday. I'm wondering if he will be in the same ball park with his price. I am debating on taking out a short term loan for this, the floors and the deck. I think I will check out Capital One and see what their rates are like.

My DD came home from Cozumel and she is now a certified SCUBA diver. Yeah!

I spent most of today getting ready for tomorrow, as I am hosting Easter at my house. I ordered the food and got alot of decorations , sternos and tins from the dollar store. This is actually the first time I got a chance to sit and relax today. The puppy even got a bath today so that she smells nice tomorrow for the company.

The accountant called today and said that my taxes were finished and that he would be electronically filing them. He said that I would be receiving a return and that I could have it by direct deposit. I thought that was pretty cool and decided to do it that way.

After all the repairs my car is running like a champ. I just hope she keeps it up.

I hope all of you have a Happy Easter and a Joyful Passover.

My Week

April 5th, 2007 at 11:20 pm

Oh, I am so glad that the layout the other day was just an April Fools Day joke. I got scared b/c the colors were making my eyes bug out and I couldn't read it.

On the financial's, everything is pretty much status quo. I have been buying little of anything... except for food shopping. This weekend may change all that. I have to buy a few things for the house to help with the spring cleanning. I just had to lay out a bundle for my car again. The mechanics tell me my car should last a life time now. I don't believe them. I just hope she lasts a few more years. I have two people coming to give me roof estimates this week. I hope that their prices are reasonable.

My accountant is finished with my taxes for this past year and will be submitting this week. I will be getting something back not sure exactly how much. Doesn't really matter since it will be going towards the improvements that I have to make to the house.

I was able to save about 30% of my pay this week, the rest went to the usual bills.

I will be hosting Easter Sunday at my house and I am looking forward to this. I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter.

Shocked

April 1st, 2007 at 05:25 pm

Wow was I shocked by the new layout and the colors. It was not a good shock either. Is this for real? It is very hard on my eyes when I read the text.