Mom sent me this great article this morning, which may as well have been written by a more honest me: Fighting credit-card debt? Avoid these 10 mistakes. Read it!
Last week on The Budget: Yours truly did not fare so well. A haircut ($40), with round-trip ferry to Bainbridge with a car ($23.10, VISA gift card, thanks Mom), as well as a new calendar for home ($14.10--full price! But it is the Sierra Club wall calendar, and I got it at U-Bookstore) meant that I spent $77.20 not in the budget anywhere at all. I also bought lunch twice (gulp): $5 cash on Thursday with Charlotte, and $11.40 (VISA gift card, thanks Mom) on Friday with Amy. Grocery fared pretty well: $9.42 at TJ's, total. It helped that Amy & Sheldon had me over for dinner on Monday night, and Patrick & Santos had me over for dinner on Tuesday night. And then I had leftover soup with Cassie on Thursday.
(Don't ask about Wednesday. I read a lot that night instead of eating or interacting with humanity. It was a tough week).
Total money spent last week: $103.02. Not including the Starbuck's--I used the gift card that Jill got me for Christmas on that (Thanks Jill!).
However, as far as not buying yarn goes, I was AMAZING. I visited Weaving Works twice, and I also hit Churchmouse when I was on the island--and it took a lot of self-control not to grab a skein of STR heavyweight or some of that lovely Camelspin in colorway Origin...Yeah. But resist I did. I bought nothing. That's right, not even a pattern or needles. So props to me for that little bit of strength.
And I have now (mostly) beaten Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga for Wii. I unlocked Indiana Jones, and I can't wait for the new game!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
2008: The year (so far) in review
I have done it! One whole week on my gruesome new budget!
Wednesday, January 2: Safeway, $29.44 (lots of lunches for the next two weeks)
Thursday, January 3: Safeway, $6.11 (pork stew ingredients, recipe to follow)
Friday, January 4: Chipotle, $10 (usual burrito plus I splurged on a soda and a tip)
Saturday, January 5: Kidd Valley, ~$9 (egg nog shake, sweet potato fries, and a cheeseburger)
So I went a little over on grocery, but figured it would be OK because 1) it covered lunches for two weeks and therefore kept me from eating out and 2) I shared the aromatic and fabulous pork stew with the roomies and may receive reciprocal meals. In fact, I've already received a reciprocal meal from Cassie: Wild Rice soup...recipe up soon, but I need the card for it.
One week down, 51 weeks to go! So doable when you think in those terms. Week two so far is a winner, as I spent no money yesterday at all and knitted stash like a fiend. A fiend!
Golden Pork Stew
1 pork blade steak, about 3/4 of a pound, fat & bone trimmed & reserved and the rest cubed*
1 large onion, diced
1 sprig rosemary
1 handful of fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped.
1 incredibly ginormous Russett potato, peeled and cubed (a pound and a bit? Sucker was BIG)
Half a butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 Granny Smith apple, seeded and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and cubed
2 cans fat free low sodium chicken broth
1 bottle of pumpkin ale or other amber ale (I used the cheap-ass TJ's Kennebunkport Pumpkin Ale, which is undrinkable but cooked very well)
Medium heat: melt fat and 1 T olive oil in a large pot. When fat chunks begin to sizzle and stick too much, remove and discard. Add pork and onion. Brown for 2 minutes--get crispy browned bits on the meat for added flavorful goodness, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, remove rosemary, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are done. Add fresh ground pepper and serve.
*By cubed I mean cut into one inch chunks, approximately
Wednesday, January 2: Safeway, $29.44 (lots of lunches for the next two weeks)
Thursday, January 3: Safeway, $6.11 (pork stew ingredients, recipe to follow)
Friday, January 4: Chipotle, $10 (usual burrito plus I splurged on a soda and a tip)
Saturday, January 5: Kidd Valley, ~$9 (egg nog shake, sweet potato fries, and a cheeseburger)
So I went a little over on grocery, but figured it would be OK because 1) it covered lunches for two weeks and therefore kept me from eating out and 2) I shared the aromatic and fabulous pork stew with the roomies and may receive reciprocal meals. In fact, I've already received a reciprocal meal from Cassie: Wild Rice soup...recipe up soon, but I need the card for it.
One week down, 51 weeks to go! So doable when you think in those terms. Week two so far is a winner, as I spent no money yesterday at all and knitted stash like a fiend. A fiend!
Golden Pork Stew
1 pork blade steak, about 3/4 of a pound, fat & bone trimmed & reserved and the rest cubed*
1 large onion, diced
1 sprig rosemary
1 handful of fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped.
1 incredibly ginormous Russett potato, peeled and cubed (a pound and a bit? Sucker was BIG)
Half a butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 Granny Smith apple, seeded and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and cubed
2 cans fat free low sodium chicken broth
1 bottle of pumpkin ale or other amber ale (I used the cheap-ass TJ's Kennebunkport Pumpkin Ale, which is undrinkable but cooked very well)
Medium heat: melt fat and 1 T olive oil in a large pot. When fat chunks begin to sizzle and stick too much, remove and discard. Add pork and onion. Brown for 2 minutes--get crispy browned bits on the meat for added flavorful goodness, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, remove rosemary, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are done. Add fresh ground pepper and serve.
*By cubed I mean cut into one inch chunks, approximately
On a real resume I reviewed at work today
So I read this far:
WORK EXPERIENCE
Firm Name: Central Chick Sexing Assoc.
Arvada CO 80002
Position Title: Chick Sexing
And thought it was a joke. Then I read on:
Primary Responsibilities: Checking the sex of chicks
And knew it had to be one of the best/worst jobs EVER to have to put on your resume.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Firm Name: Central Chick Sexing Assoc.
Arvada CO 80002
Position Title: Chick Sexing
And thought it was a joke. Then I read on:
Primary Responsibilities: Checking the sex of chicks
And knew it had to be one of the best/worst jobs EVER to have to put on your resume.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Which Discworld Character am I?
| Which Discworld Character am I like? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You scored as a The Librarian! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| You'e the Librarian! Once a wizard, now an Orang-utan (due to an unfortunate magical accident), you refuse to be turned back for a few reasons: In this form, it's easier to reach the shelves and hold more books; having the strength of five men makes people return their books on time; life's great philosophical questions boil down to "When do I get my next banana?" You say "ook" but are usually understood well enough. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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