I received a surprise $50 gift card from my company for a project I've been working on today.  It was a virtual Visa, I decided the best way to use it was to purchase an Amazon gift card for $50 (so I didn't have to worry about lining up amounts, etc.).  After a few minor technical difficulties, I was able to reload my Amazon gift card balance.
I then ordered the 12 pack of half pint jars that I was looking at, plus a 5-pack of foot peel masks, and a set of mason jar...
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Today I got my $50 worth of free stuff from my Medicare Advantage plan.  This happens every quarter.  I pick, and they send!  It's coordinated through Walmart.  This time I ordered two packages (48 count each) of Poise, a mat for the tub, 50 tablets of Dulcolax and six bottles of Fleet enema.  No, things are not that bad, but my recent bout with acute constipation made me aware I should have some help on hand.
Later today I'll go to the library and pick...
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Well, this time it’s been four months since my last entry – unbelievable and yet so much has happened in that time. I’m still down south helping care for my dad but the tide has turned. After months of effort and care, my dad did qualify for the transplant list and finally, finally yesterday morning in the wee hours, the transplant surgery was performed. It was about 8 hours long and successful. He’s in ICU now and likely has another week in the hospital.
 
The...
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One of my goals this year is to average 2 posts a month.  
So in order to try to stay on track this is my first entry for the year.
Not much going on in my life. I actually go into office because working from home was not working well for me.  I do have a desk set up in the event I have to work from home again. 
Almost ready to engage the car warranty people in a conversation just to speak with someone differecnt.  Just kidding not that desperate yet.  
Debt...
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January 15
NSD
Dinner:  Hearty Penne Beef
MH was sad that there was no leftovers with last night's dinner (read beans and rice).  It was *10* servings.  I don't know if there was any left at lunch time, but I did see MM(17) take two *giant* bowls that night.  & it was all gone by the next night.  Both kids are going through a growth spurt, plus MM(17) is also training more for track these days.  There's some element of always feeling like we...
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Our fostering journey continues.  My experience so far is that fostering can be tough.  Our FD age 16 suffers with bipolar, which is not fully controlled.  It is like being on an out of control rollercoaster day to day.  Crazy highs, and even crazier lows.  Each time we tweak her meds, I pray that we are dialing in closer to what will bring some level of normalcy to her world.  So far, we are seeing little progress, but are still commited to doing...
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I had my Hulu account stolen on the 16th, but didn't notice until today when my daughter tried to log in and couldn't.  It turned out someone had hacked my account, changed the email address and the password.  I wish these companies would get it together with their data breaches.  Anyway, I called Hulu and got it straightened out and made a ridiculously strong new password I will never remember, but I have a passwords file so in it went.
After banging my head against...
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One of the things our household is doing to get through covid is watching vanlife videos. We both want to travel more when we can. We want to do it inexpensively and vanlife seems great. We currently own a commuter car and a pick up. The small pick up was previously owned by my Dad who passed away and I know that I'm sentimental but I'm hoping to drive it to the ground. I think it could be used for camping in it but my spouse doesn't. Well....my mother has just purchased a new...
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I haven't been eating from the pantry like many here on SA, but I have been making meals stretch. We stopped at Aldi on our way home the other day (not our normal shopping day) and bought a whole chicken so I could put it in the Crockpot. We have gotten 4 meals from it. The first night I just served some of the chicken and put cous cous, green beans, homemade bread, cottage cheese, and a fruit salad as sides. We had chicken salad one day for lunch. Then I used some of the broth...
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I spent $30 on entertainment in the past few days.  First of all, with the lottery totals so high, I decided to buy a ticket, but I didn't want to go out for it.  I figured out how to do it online, but I had to put $10 in my "wallet."  Oh well.  I have bought two tickets, one for MegaMillions and one for PowerBall.  On the first, I matched two numbers but won nothing.  On the second, I matched nothing.  Don't lecture me, please!  I only buy...
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January 14
NSD
Dinner:  Red Beans & Rice (Instant Pot)
 
This was a redo of a recipe that MH tried before.  It was too watery the first time, which has been a common Instant Pot experience.  But when talking to MH he told me he added extra water the first time because "it didn't look like enough."  I do think some recipes after that were just too watery (when recipe was followed).  But anyway, this one went better this time just following the...
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Everything seems to be on track financially so far. My total spending for January is at $770.54. Most of my usual bills have been paid already except for health insurance. I received a notice from the college that they are no longer able to automatically process my monthly payment to my credit card, so now I will either have to mail a check or money order, or call in to make the payment on my card. I like using my credit card because I earn cash back on it, so that is the way I...
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My daughter came home from the hospital last night.  They got all of the tumor.  We have to wait a week or so for the biopsy results, but it did not appear to be cancerous.  She is doing well, eating soup and Welch's version of Jell-O, which has no artificial dyes in it.  She's a little high on the pain medicine, but that's kind of how she reacts to it.
I started physical therapy on Friday.  They can't do much with me because of how inflammed I am right...
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I didn't intentionally set out to make organizing my living space such a priority for the month of January, but that's what I've been doing, and let me tell you, just the little bit I've done feels great...and greatly productive!
It began with my Hoover carpet steam cleaner. The last time I used it was over at my mother's condo. I did all her carpeting until toward the end, it seemed to not be working. I finished up, dragged it home, and stuck it in my hall closet, where it sat...
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The other day, I was thinking that I needed to check to see when I would be charged for my annual Amazon Prime subscription so I could make sure that I had funds in place for it.  Didn't follow through on it, as I was busy.....and woke up today to check my bank account and see that it had been charged to my debit card.  Blergh, not part of the plan for this paycheck.  Oh well.  I made some adjustments and shifted things around to cover it, and decided to add...
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This week's frugal thing1) I am almost done reading two books so far this year - both free through the library. One through Hoopla and the other through Libby. One of them was "Atomic Habits" by James Clear, which I highly recommend. I am pleased with the pace I am keeping of reading so far. A half an hour here or there makes short work of a book, and I am spending much less time watching TV. I don't have a reading goal for the year. However, last year I read 22 books, and hope...
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I am paid semi-monthly, on the 15th and last day.  I was very happy to see the calendar hit the 15th today....both because I want to continue having actionable items on my goals for the year, and also because I needed an infusion of money lol.
I was pretty impressed to see that the HSBC direct deposit is already in effect.  That means that I will have met the requirements to earn the bonus with my March 31 paycheck, and can expect to receive the bonus itself by May 31.  
I...
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January 13
NSD
Dinner:  Chicken Fajita Subs
 
This is one of my favorite dinners.  It is not a new recipe.
Work was kind of absurd today.  Just a "full moon" kind of day.  Lots of drama.  
Better silver lining this day:  They bumped age 65+ to the front of the vaccine line in our state.  Right or wrong, I am selfishly very happy.  Our parents should be able to get vaccinated soon!  They have to sort out logistics of course,...
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Just lost an entry because I wasn't logged in!  I'm not sure how I could get to the "add entry" page without being logged in, but here goes, I'll try to re-create it.
I went to Kohl's this morning because the shoes I ordered from Amazon were too big.  After I went through the return process, I went to housewares, looking for a cutting board.  I didn't find one, but I found a nice gift for DIL on clearance -- after all the discounts and promotions, I paid $13 for...
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This week and next week are all meetings all the time.  Those of you who are able to sit still and not fidget in long zoom meetings, please divulge your secrets.  I find myself moving around, nodding like a bobble head, or messing with pens and paper.
DD has started back (virtually) at Edinburgh, but my university doesn't begin classes until 25 January.  I have lots of prep for my classes and a lot of training for new instructors. 
Our only real significant...
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