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So if you don't agree with these GLP drugs ozempic or mounjaro don't read this post. I am giving a straight up warning about it because this is my opinion about them and what I've experienced.
So on June 1st, I started on zepbound which is the mounjaro eli lilly shot for diabetes.  I started it for a lot of reasons.  Mostly I started it because I want to try to lose weight and see if I can reverse my pre-diabetes with the drug.  I've been pre-diabetic for about...
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He installed the cabinets along the sink wall today except for the one over the fridge which hasn't come in yet (there was an issue when we ordered it).
He hung the top cabinet to the left of the sink and we did not like where he put it so we went back and forth on options. The problem was it was too far to the left which he did so that it was the same distance from the window as the one to the right but that resulted in it being too close to the sliding door. We had him move...
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Debts
Mortgage -$108,513.84 (-$498.88)Land Loan -$4,971.72 (-$416.44)
Savings
Roth IRAs +$44,035 (+$3,681)401K +$88,041 (+$8,955)Emergency Fund +$28,960 (+$1,887)Animal Fund +$2,576 (+$14)HSA +$1,674 (-$188)
Overall: -$15,264.32 (This is for May-June)
Insurance finally agreed to come up on the roofing price after some estimates and back and forth for several months. The window and siding payment was still undervalued, but they said they would negotiate once I got the work...
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This year has been a real slog.  MH's movie premiers have been the exception.  Ohio trip was amazing.  MM(21) had spring break and was able to join us for a few days.  I don't remember the last time our flights went so smooth, etc.  It was a very nice and peaceful 5 days during an otherwise not peaceful year.  Then we had the west coast premier at the IMAX a few weeks after the Ohio premier.  It went really well.  
I took a staycation...
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Good progress was made this week.
+ The dumpster arrived and was set up. It was bigger than anticipated since the smaller ones were all rented. So, I took on the additional task of rid of anything we planned to trash.
+ The cabinets were delivered and stacked inside our garage like hay bales.
+ The plastic ‘wall’ with the zipper door was installed.
+ The demolition was completed. This included cabinets, appliances, an island, and two partition walls.
+...
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Big happenings today. The cabinets were delivered bright and early at 7:30am.
By end of day, he had installed 3 upper cabinets (on the oven side of the room) and the 2 lower cabinets on that wall. It's really exciting to see it start materializing. You can look at renderings all day but until it's physically in front of you, you don't fully know how it will look.
He will install more on Monday and Tuesday I'm guessing. Then the electrician will come back to finish all of the...
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Recently, a friend of mine got his debit card swiped by some identity thief.  Luckily for him, he managed to detect the illicit purchases in his checking account early, and contacted his bank immediately.  While that's all well and good, what followed is that his entire checking account had to be transferred to a new account, meaning he has to go through all the process of changing all of his online bill pays and direct deposits, etc.
Some of his bills had hiccups, such...
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I haven't posted for over a week but there hasn't been a whole lot to report. Now there is.
He finished the floor today. He completed putting down the tile yesterday and did the grout today so it's fully done and looks great. He also did more spackling yesterday and today and will do the sanding tomorrow.
Our cabinets are being delivered tomorrow morning! That's exciting. I also picked up the cabinet hardware today. He wasn't sure if he will hang the cabinets first or paint the...
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Well June is almost over which means tax season for aussies...yes we do in middle of the year..lucky for us we dont need to do taxes each year, which is nice but seriously considering not doing US taxes for a couple years just because they are so difficult and they have made it so hard for us to be able to contact people there now...I'm not sure it is worth the headache...we will see.
Our debt actually went up a little even though we are paying it down and that is because my student...
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I've had a few more grocery price surprises. Today, I managed to get out, drive the 15 minutes or so it takes to get to BJs, and get home by a little after 9 am. Trying to beat the heat, which will reach 95 degrees today.
The "surprise" is discovering that Stop & Shop charges MORE than Whole Foods for organic oranges. Oranges are heavily sprayed, so I like to buy organic.  They are currently $5.99 for a 4 lb bag at Whole Foods and $6.99 for a 3 lb bag at Stop & Shop.
Here's...
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My mason was supposed to finish up the basement walls today, but was MIA. He said he'll be here tomorrow.
It's very easy for me to waste an entire day basically reading stuff online. So, since we're in an awful heat wave and I don't plan on going out except to the gym after lunch, I decided to do more decluttering. I really can't stand living with so much stuff around that really has no place to go (but OUT) in my small (1650 sf) home. 
It often drives me nuts. I really...
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I was originally going to repond with a comment, but there are a lot of details I've left out, so I thought perhaps it would be better for me to just write an entirely separate entry.
This woman and I have been friends for a while now, like for more than ten to fifteen years, depending on how you want to count it.
I've always been respectful of her relationship with the old boyfriend, and remained as just friends.  Besides, deep down, I know I can not afford to give her...
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Hmm? You wonder, where's Hummingbird Hills Homestead. Well, located in Central Illinois. It's our little patch of land. My husband's late wife dubbed it Hummingbird Hills and I added the Homestead part. It's been a busy week here trying to keep on top of stuff and then we have had the extreme heat.
Work on the vegetable garden is ongoing. We fenced around it, but apparently bunnies or something still figured out a way to get in and proceeded to munch on a few of our vegetables....
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It's been a month since I last posted, so a quick update:
At the beginning of the month, I went on the retreat that I had previously scheduled in the Texas Hill Country.  I was pretty scared about going the week before, but kept on telling myself that I would be glad that I went once it was over.  
Not only am I glad that I went, but I actually enjoyed the trip and made some new friends.  This was a retreat organized by a woman who runs several a year (except...
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I have a female friend who recently broke up with an old boyfriend of about ten or so years, and is dating a new one.  The old boyfriend wasn't filthy rich, but he did make good, steady money just the same, and paid everything for her.  New boyfriend, while is currently employed, makes nowhere near the kind of money the old boyfriend does.
Long story short, while this female friend is a nice person overall, having been financially taken cared of for so long, I don't...
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Tomorrow is the day work begins on the kitchen & laundry! I’ve done most of the prep work but I still have a few things to get done today.
To be done today:
++ Dryer to be picked up by DS1’s friend who is upgrading from a dryer that doesn’t work well
++ Clear an L-shaped space in the garage for the contractor’s on-site storage.
++ Take the garage opener for that side out of the car so we can give it to him to come & go without coordinating...
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He just worked on the floor today. He didn't get as far as I had hoped but we'd rather have it done well than done fast. He was working out from the outer wall which is where one set of cabinets will go so that area needs to be perfectly level. That took him some extra time. He said he'll be able to progress faster tomorrow. Today he laid 21 tiles I think. They're 12x24 so he put down about 42 sq ft out of a total of 237 sq ft, in addition to what he put down yesterday (maybe about...
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Over the weekend we found and ordered the light fixtures for the bathroom and over the kitchen table. The kitchen one really took some work as there are literally hundreds of options to choose from. It's quite insane. Yesterday we placed the order for the cabinet hardware. We haven't bought it yet but we know which kitchen faucet we want. The only major things we still need are the bathroom sink and faucet, the backsplash, and a paint color.
 
Our contractor called out yesterday...
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Early spring was a little frustrating because I couldn't seem to get any of my planned on home maintenance jobs going.
Now, things are moving along. 
After the back stone stairs were rebuilt last week, my vinyl siding guy has arrived today and is working to replace siding where 2 small holes were made during 2 different storms. In the last storm, the Internet wires were literally ripped out of the side of my house! The 1st hole appeared the day after a bad storm years back...
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I’ve waited a few days to post this topic so the emotions aren’t quite so raw. We’ve had a couple of unexpected expenses arise as we’re preparing for the remodel and this one is painful.
We had to make the heart-wrenching decision to put down our dog. Once DH decided while talking to the vet, he made the appointment immediately before he could change his mind. While our pets are enjoyed by the entire family, it’s understood that the dog is DH’s...
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