Jen's Blog

Another frugal day around here. All three meals were eaten at home, and DD and I spent a grand total of $2.12 at the 99 cent store this morning. Walked there to boot! I let DD decide what we would have for dinner (within reason) and she chose pancakes, so pancakes it was.

Our electric bill is up, despite not using the dryer nearly as much as I used to. I think it's because we have an air filter now and we run it quite a bit, including all night.

Tomorrow DD and I drive out to the headache clinic to pick up my records. I think we'll go hang out at a nice playground that's nearby while we're out that way. I need to remember to bring along some water and snacks.

Speaking of dinner, I did add to my list of possible meals, having gone through our food some more.

I decide to go look on eBay for a new (or used) black leotard for DD. I found one with fair shipping and a starting bid of $.99, so I went ahead and placed a bid. We'll see if I get it or not. DD's current black leotards are either running too small, too big or too itchy.

I didn't get my filling today after all due to some overscheduling at my dentist's office, but my crown replacement was officially NO CHARGE. Awesome. I go back in a couple of weeks.

Didn't spend anything today so far. Dinner will be at home, and as far as I know we don't need to go out tonight for anything. We might want to go out for ice cream, but we don't need to.

Dh and I have started tossing around the idea of sending DD to a private school. We are in the very early stages of even thinking about this, so nothing is at all decided. It would mean a big change here, as I would need to return to work (but that would not be back in the classroom, unless it was at the school we're looking at in some way). I won't cross that bridge until we get to it, if we get to it. There is more we need to learn, and then there are many, many pros and cons we need to weigh in our minds and hearts.

Saw two students today, after having none on Monday and Tuesday. There are only 2 more weeks of school here, and then finals. I might have a bit of summer school tutoring, but that remains to be seen.

Today was a pretty good day in terms of spending only what needed to be spent, but an expensive day overall. DH had a $240 visit with the periodontist, and we went out and got a couple of gifts for his mom's birthday this evening. I go back tomorrow to get my dental work finished, and that will be around $150 or so, I think. We had leftovers last night for dinner, and ate at home tonight as well. DH is talking about taking his lunch to work with him one day a week. He doesn't spend much as it is - maybe $4 a day - but it would add up over the weeks and months.

I jotted down a quick list of meal ideas based on what we have here at home, but it isn't done. I need to take a better look at what all we have and come up with a few more. I think I listed out 5 or 6 dinner ideas. With leftovers that will stretch out to at least 7 or 8 dinners, but there are 14 nights left this month! I'll see what I can come up with. Having a budget in mind sort of turns this into a challenge, and I find it helpful.

DD's spring ballet performance is next month. One of the nice things about her school is that it isn't all about the costumes. They reuse costumes from year to year, so the only costs we parents incur for performances are new tights and a small performance fee to help cover the cost of the stage rental. Oh, and new shoes only if the current ones are really yucky looking. I know things will get more expensive if she continues on with this in terms of more classes and wearing through shoes more quickly, but for now it's nice to know that it isn't a massive expense. I've heard stories of families spending $200-$300 a year on costumes for their girls' recital. Crazy to ask parents to do that, if you ask me.

I set a goal to spend no more than a certain amount of money this month on groceries, as well as a certain amount on dining out/Starbucks combined. I averaged what we spent on groceries over the past four months, as well as what we spent on dining out and Starbucks combined. I subtracted 10% from each of those averages and set those as my goals for May. After grocery shopping today, I have about $49 left for groceries for the rest of the month. As far as dining out goes, we have about $11 left. Wow. Seeing it broken down like that is illuminating. I do have a stash of cereal now, as well as tortillas and bread in the freezer, and some cheese, so we have certain staples covered. And, $10 of my bill today was on glucosamine chondroitin for our dog. Maybe technically we have $59 left for groceries, if you count that as pet care and not groceries.

What I need to do now is go through the pantry, frig and freezer and plan out some meals, or at least make a list of what we have, so that (a) food doesn't spoil before we have a chance to eat it, and (b) we don't fall into the trap of thinking of eating out because we don't feel like making dinner, or don't want to think about it. Maybe if I get a list together of potential dinners and go over it with DH, he can agree to do dinner a few times too. That would be nice.

There are times when I wish we could afford to hire people to do the weekly/monthly drudge work, like weeding/landscape maintenance, or house cleaning. I wish we could afford to hire someone to redo our kitchen and bathrooms for us. This afternoon has been spent working outside (me) and working in the guest bath (DH). We just got back from Lowe's with backer board for the tub/shower and new bath fixtures. Spent about $200. The tile will probably cost us about $125-$150, plus grout which isn't too expensive, and we already have the tools. It's going to be nice when it's done, but it would be nice to let someone else do all the work while we go out and play. The work I did outside wasn't difficult or even particularly strenuous, but it seems like there's always so much to do that I feel overwhelmed. I guess I do what I can and try to keep up with it. My parents told DH that for his birthday they will pay for half the wood for our new kitchen cabinet doors. That is a really nice gift, and one we both are grateful for. Speaking of the kitchen, I need to order the hinges and pulls and have them sent to my dad. In our kitchen we know there is particle board underneath the linoleum. DH is thinking that there might be some good wood subflooring under all of that, so that's on our list of things to look at. If there is, we'll finish that flooring and let the natural, original wood show, rather than tile over it.

Yesterday I made a handbag and a tote bag - both are reversible and turned out pretty cute. Once I got the logic of the pattern figured out, it went pretty quickly. I think I got the tote bag finished in about two hours, including cutting out the pieces. I may keep that in mind when it comes time to think about Christmas gifts this year. It doesn't take much fabric or interfacing, and the pattern was a gift, so it would make for stylish, inexpensive presents.

I'm getting ready to make some peanut butter cookies. Comfort food after a frustrating afternoon fighting with my serger. (If anyone has a Huskylock 901, please let me know!) Just letting the butter soften as I type - though I will probably stick it in the microwae to speed things along.

I think we're going to go to the zoo tomorrow. We were thinking of inviting DD's friend from across the street to go with us. Should be fun - the weather was beautiful today.

My serger...I spent some time today making up a pattern for a skirt and was pretty excited to try and sew it up. Didn't think it would take too long, given how simple a design it is, and the fact that it's stretchy and hence requires no zipper. And then my machine refuses to cooperate with me. Argh. I got fabric for $2/yd a couple of days ago and was going to do some experimenting with knits this afternoon. I'm trying to figure out what to do net. I may have to take it back to the place I bought it and see if they can give me some assistance. I've tried rethreading it three times and can't see what I'm doing wrong.

DH brought home the medical reimbursement check yesterday. There was only one bill that wasn't reimbursed, a $49.90 bill. We incurred the charge in 2004 but weren't charged our portion until 2005. DH is going to ask about it and see if that's why it wasn't reimbursed. Otherwise, we got back about $465, and it's going straight into savings.

I got in to get my tooth fixed - temporarily - this morning, so that's taken care of, thankfully.

I was talking to one of the other moms at ballet today, and she mentioned that she had picked up something ballet-related to give to her daughter after the spring show. I thought that was nice and started looking online for ideas. One site led to another and I found some free

Hello Kitty ballerina cross stitch patterns. I saved them as pdf's and now need to figure out what exactly to do with them. My first thought was to stitch them both and them sew them to the front and back of a tote. We'll see. I'm going to have to work on them while she's in one of her classes, or asleep, so that it's a surprise. I have tons of cross stitch fabric and embroidery floss, so that part will be super frugal. I got a bunch of supplies from my grandmother after she stopped doing cross stitch. I've barely used any of it and don't do much cross stitching these days, but it's nice to know it's there when I want it.

Tomorrow we have no plans. I told DD we could paint our nails tomorrow, and that's about the extent of our plans!

I lost my temporary crown last night and am not due for the permanent one until next Wednesday. I have a call into my dentist's office, asking them to get me in as soon as they can to fix this. Normally I would have PT this morning, but now that's in limbo until I hear from the dentist's office when they can see me. I hate stuff like this. Dinner last night was less than fun for me once that crown came off, and now today is looking to be a scheduling nightmare.

I'm being frugal though - I'm afraid to eat or drink anything.

15 days left on the credit card cycle. Going into summer, with far less tutoring income (if any), I need to buckle down and get the monthly bills down. It will be good to get the checks due to us for medical expenses and such. I have a couple of PT visits to submit. I'll have one more tomorrow, and then I'll need to figure out what I'm going to do.

Dinner tonight is on my in-laws, in honor of DH's birthday. That will be fun.

Yesterday was almost frugal...until we went to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream for dessert. Oh well. At least we clceaned out some leftovers from the frig for lunch and dinner.

I need to go to the store for milk and coffee filters, and who knows what else. I got a coupon from the grocery store for organic milk. It was nice to actually get a coupon in the mail that I would use!

I signed up DD for swim lessons twice a week for the month of June. I hope by the end of the month she is well on her way to being able to really swim. If she is, I'll figure out a way to get her into a pool that won't cost me $50/month for a mere one hour a week of pool time. I've had her in Saturday morning lessons for the past few months, just to keep her skills up. I'm also curious to see is, come June/July she gets moved up a level in ballet. It's a possibility, but not a certainty. If she does, lessons go to twice a week and up to about $69/four weeks vs. $37/four weeks.

I had a really bad day yesterday in terms of hs'ing and community. I can't seem to find like-minded hs'ers, and it's really getting me down. I started looking at the private school we'd consider if going that route and wondering if that should or could be an option for us. Tuition starts at $5500/year for first grade. Yikes. We have friends whose son attends - I need to pick their brain a lot and see what they really think about it, and about the kids their son has been meeting, the teachers, the curriculum, the individualism, the institutionalism, etc.

DD ha Spanish this morning, and I'll use that time to get some of my own stuff done. After that we have a play date planned at the park, and I'll bring food for that. Tutoring around 2:00 p.m. Dinner is going to be either chili or black bean soup, and corn bread. All in all it ought to be a low-cost day.

I've been thinking about my exercise lately. If I'm ever going to feel better physically and mentally about riding my bike witih DD in the trailer I have to get out there and do it. I have this vision of riding to the beach once we have good warm beach days...but it's all uphill on the way home! It's only about a mile and a half, but uphill? Ugh. But the idea of just getting on the bike and spending the day at the beach sounds so wonderful.

Both of my students cancelled for today. I'm tired, so it's not all that disappointing, to be honest. I stayed up until about 1:30 last night/this morning reading. This is what happens when I read fiction - I'm not content to read for twenty minutes or so. I start, and I just keep going until I look over at my clock and see how late it really is. It was a fun read - The Diva's Guide to Selling Your Soul. I'll be reviewing it for DivaTribe.

My dad took us out for Japanese food Saturday night and it was good. Tonight I think will be leftovers - I have yoga, so I'll eat after I get home. It's only been two weeks since I've been to class, but it feels like a lot longer.

I got some disappointing news - the headache clinic is closing. Apparently the location is too 'remote' for people. I'd drive twice the distance if I thought there was an answer out there for me!! Anyway, I go up Thursday for PT and will talk to the nurse about my next steps. The doctor will be available by email to whomever I go to to continue my care, so that's something.

Got my hair cut at Supercuts today. $17 total, and it's an OK cut. It's been 6 months since my last cut. Crazy. I wish I had (a) an awesome person to go to, and (b) the feeling that going every 8 weeks or so would be 100% fine in our budget. But I don't, and I don't.

My dad is here and brought two sample cabinet doors. They are going to look great! I can't wait to see our kitchen with all new doors and hardware. Redoing the drawer fronts will be a tad trickier, but it's all going to look awesome. I'm so glad my dad agreed to do this for us. The cost is going to be so much less than going through a company for refacing. It's going to have a carftsman/Mission look, which goes well with our dining and living room furniture. The hardware is really nice looking.

Dinner last night included the mozzarella cheese. I am so glad I bought it - very yummy.

No big plans for today. Dad's going to install the sample doors so we can see how they look and make sure everything's working out the way it ought to. Other than that, we haven't talked about what we'll do. Maybe I'll grab a nap while DD has her grandpa here.

Did my grocery shopping today. Before I left, I told myself no unnecessary/unplanned purchases. I almost made it. I saw good mozzarella (the kind you slice for tomato/mozz/basil salads, for example) at Trader Joe's, so I got some of that. Just sounded too yummy to pass up, and I'm planning some baked pasta this weekend while my dad's here. Spent about $90, including some beer for while dad is here and cat litter for the kitties - that was about $15 right there.

I'm trying a new (to me) coffee from TJ's. It was only $5, so we'll see how I like it. I also got plain yogurt so that I can finally try out the yogurt maker - hope it turns out tasty!

Adding up my three categories (groceries, restaurants, starbucks), here are totals for Jan - Apr of this year:

Jan = $486.55 (326 + 131 + 29.55)
Feb = $495.51 (351.33 + 100.28 + 43.90)
Mar = $713.33 (415.81 + 292.02 + 5.50)
Apr = $516.21 (310.72 + 151.05 + 54.44)

I'll mull those over...it's interesting to see them laid out like that.

Our trip out of town was fun, but the money here and there sure adds ups. Longterm parking, car rental, meals out, goodies.... I managed to find a few free things to do as well. The place we were staying at had free admission tickets to the children's museum, so DD and I took advantage of that. We went on a couple of walks/hikes and found a library - all free, and all fun.

Really good news on DH job front - a bonus and a raise!! Woo hoo!!! The bonus goes into savings, and part of the raise (we're thinking half) goes into increasing the 401k contribution.

A friend invited DD and I to join them at the zoo today - both of our families have memberships there - but I have too much else to do today in anticipation of my folks coming into town sometime tomorrow. If I wasn't tutoring this afternoon, I could do it, but those two hours out of the afternoon cut into what we can do, unless we stick close to home and don't really have to do a lot of driving.

Later this morning I'm planning on checking monthly spending for last month and updating my spreadsheet to show how our savings are increasing/decreasing on a monthly basis.

April totals:
Groceries: $310.72
Restaurants: $151.05
Starbucks: $54.44

I have a somewhat long to-do list today. I haven't done grocery shopping yet, but I have gotten a bunch of laundry done. Most of it has line-drying, though I do have one load in the dryer right now. That's the drawback of doing more than one or two loads in a day - I run out of places to hang everything.

I need to go through my cupboards and freezer and see what I have, plan some menus and then go do the food shopping.

I put together over $500 worth of medical receipts for DH to take to work for reimbursement. It will be nice to deposit that check into savings.

Ouch. I got my crown replacement started today, along with a filling. In three weeks I go back for the permanent crown and one other filling. Joy. $170 today, and about that much next time. My dentist replaced the crown free of charge. I think it's because it's one he did and it's only 5-6 years old. So the bill could have been a WHOLE lot worse.

Medical out of pocket this month - $759....Wow. A little of that will get reimbursed by insurance, and then we can submit the rest to the medical reimbursement plan at DH's work (which is still our money, of course, but at least it's pre-tax dollars and therefore go further).

The latest idea for DD's room at the moment may be to gut and redo her closet. We have an older house and the closet is funky. But there's a ton of room in there, so we might just figure out a system where she can store all clothing and shoes in there, and do away with the need for a dresser completely.

We're having a really simple dinner tonight - burritos and who knows what else. Something easy tomorrow night too, and then Thursday we head out of town for a few days. The bulk of our travel costs are on someone else's dime, as DH is doing some training for an organization he has done web development for. This is the third time we've gotten to do this, and it's usually fun.

Didn't spend any money that I hadn't already planned on spending, and in buying something online for DH for his birthday, I found a promo code by searching for one on Google that got me a freebie too that he'll enjoy. Cool

I'm down to five students now, as one of them had his last appointment today before his AP test next week. I asked him to email me this summer when he gets his test results. He's been with me for three years now...time flies.

Got my yogurt maker today - thanks for the info on it kashi! - and am looking forward to trying it out after we're home from the trip.

Dh and I went looking at lofts for DD yesterday. In the end, though, I think neither of us is ready to not be able to easily get into and out ofher bed for reading and snuggling, so we are going to postpone that idea. Her dresser has two drawers that are a pain to open and shut (it's an antique) so we may move that into our guest room and get her one from the unfinished wood place in town.

I moved three rubbermaid bins of clothes and blankets out of her room and managed to empty one of them completely through better storage and creating a giveaway/eBay pile.

DH took off all of the tile that surrounded the tub in the guest bathroom. Before we can put up new wall board and re-tile, we need to have some plumbing work done. We're going to get new tub fixtures as well. Kind of a pain, but it will look nice when all is said and done, and it shouldn't cost too much, given we'll do the bulk of the work ourselves.

My dad said he would try to get one set of kitchen cupboard doors finished for us and bring them when they come to visit in a couple of weeks. I hope he can get to them. It will be nice to get that project moving forward.

Our friends treated us to dinner Friday night, which was a pleasant surprise. We went to a hole in the wall Mexican place last night - $13 for the three of us, including drinks - before heading to Cost Plus to look at window treatment. I love Cost Plus - so much cool stuff.

The credit card cycle ends tomorrow, so Tuesday I'll import the data into Quicken and see how we're doing meeting our budget after about four months of data.

So it's Wednesday. DIdn't make it to the farmer's market, thereby making today a no-spend day, but not in a good way, if that makes sense.

DH is tutoring tonight, and may have some freelance work to do as well as a rush job (in addition to his current freelance work load). I have two students coming today, assuming no one cancels at the last minute. Standardized testing has started in our district, so some classes are in full review mode instead of learning anything new mode.

PT tomorrow - another $75 (but some does get reimbursed). After tomorrow I go to once every four weeks to see how that goes.

Friday night we are going out to dinner with friends we haven't seen in quite some time - at least a year, possibly two.

Still feeling crummy about the things I was feeling crummy about yesterday. Felt crummier as I was washing the kitchen and dining room floors...

Some food totals so far for April...

Groceries: $284.09
Restaurants: $91.47
Starbucks: $37.50
-------------------------
Total: $413.06

And 11 days left to go in April. I did just go grocery shopping yesterday, so I won't have to do a major shop for at least a week. I'll spend $10-$15 tomorrow at the farmer's market, most likely. I feel like I'm obsessed with these three categories and yet doing very little to change them. I'm doing some things, but truth be told I'm not doing nearly as much as I could. I nickel and dime it by saving stamps with online bill pay, only to go blow the equivalent of 7 stamps on one latte. Ten again, I'd be buying the latte anyway, given my habits, so saving some stamps is still a savings. The point is that it doesn't add up to much.

I wish cooking were different here. I wish it was something the family did together, that it didn't feel like a chore that has fallen into my lap by virtue of being the at-home parent. It wasn't so much my responsibility when we were two-incomes, no kids. I've talked about this with DH and he is just as unhappy at times with how we've fallen into these very traditional gender roles. We both crave more balance.

Cooking - maybe it's time to try and get DD more involved. And I mean truly involved an not just pouring the ingredients once they have been measured. Get her to help plan some menus, do some shopping, really get in there and be part of the process. Maybe it would have more meaning to me if we did that, as opposed to the way I view it now - something that has to be done by someone, and that someone is usually me.

Sometimes I want to go out to dinner because I get sick of eating the same old things here.

I just paid 6 months of car and homeowner's insurance to the tune of about $1150. Ugh!

I'm still switching over to online bill pay through my credit union. I like being able to schedule payments. What I would like to do is develop a schedule, or a routine of some sort, where I take care of scheduling bills, reconciling Quicken and generally keeping all of our finances in order. I'll get there - it's just a matter of getting used to new ways of doing the same old stuff.

DH heard that bonuses were going to be happening this year at work. Neither of us has ever somewhere with bonuses before. I won't count on it until we have it, but it's nice to think it might be coming. A raise would be really nice, but I don't think that's happening this year.

One of my students is home with the flu today, so I only saw one student today. One is better than none, however.

Did some grocery shopping today. I spent about $95 and still need to go to the farmer's market on Wednesday for produce. I know I could be saving a significant amount of money by making things from scratch and foregoing a lot of the convenience foods. Even at Trader Joe's,where I feel like prices are fair and the quality is usually pretty good (although I don't like to buy my produce there anymore), the premade pizzas, chow mein, etc really adds up. I keep reminding myself that eating convenience foods at home is cheaper than going out to eat. This is a journey; I'm just not as far down the road as I'd like to be. I also don't want to be solely responsible for the meals my family eats. But that's an entry for another day.

DD and I need to go to the library this afernoon and return some books that are due today. Too bad they aren't due tomorrow - we'll be within blocks of the library tomorrow morning. I don't want to pay late fees, however.

Dh and I have been talking about investing in a new refrigerator. The one we have works fine, but it's 10-11 years old and we figure the newer models have got to be more energy efficient. We could sell the one we have - or list it on freecycle for that matter. We think we might like one with a freezer at the bottom instead of on top.

DH and I are also back to talking about what home improvements we can do around here on our own, for a relatively low amount of money. My dad is going to build all new kitchen cabinet doors, and I had samples of hinges and hardware sent to his house, so hopefully that project will be underway sooner than later. About a year and a half ago we were getting quotes for cabinet refacing, among other things, and then our dog needed surgery. So we talked to my dad about making new doors for us, and he said he would.

We also still need to finish up the guest bathroom - take off the old tile surrounding the tub, putting up new wall board and tiling the walls - so that we can feel like it's finished and move on to thinking about our bathroom.

We loooked under the linoleum in our kitchen to see what kind of subflooring we had, hoping it would be some sort of hardwood like our neighbors found across the street. No such luck, so it looks like we'll be putting in some sort of new floor in there down the road - tile, or something else.

I was reading kashi's journal about her new haircut and highlights, and it got me thinking about my own hair. Last November, I decided to do something about my hair since I was tired of not liking it, so I got highlights done. I loved them and promised myself I would keep up with them every three months or so. Uh huh - do the math....it's now been 5 months since I've been. The honest truth is I'm having a hard time letting myself spend the $90-$100 on my hair. But I really did like how they turned out, and almost every week I think about setting an appointment. And then I don't. Hmmmm.....

On another note, I am going to see if there is any interest among the other hs'ing families I've been getting to know in renting out a plot in our community garden for all of us to share in, as sort of a weekly group outing. I'll do it if others are enthusiastic about it.

Last night's dinner was quite the hodgepodge of leftovers - falafel and stuffed grape leaves, soy chicken patties, spaghetti witih red sauce, tortilla soup, black beans... It was definitely a clean out the refrigerator sort of meal!

I've got laundry hanging outside today. It's warm and breezy - perfect for line-drying things.

I really need to get a few nights of good sleep and go to bed earlier, too. I'm starting to feel wiped out.

Oh - my strawberries are still getting eaten by something!! I put out Sluggo (hate to do it, but we are being overrun by snails), to no avail. I got four just a little while ago, but there were another 4-6 that were ripe but eaten on.

DD got her cavity filled today - $140 (they wouldn't honor the $100 coupon, but they did let me use the $25 coupon).

My visit was $152, and I get to go back for a filling and a crown replacement in two weeks - joy, oh joy. The crown *may* be no charge though, so my fingers are crossed. The filling will run me around $170, I think.

Picked up dry cleaning today - something I rarely do but every now and then I have to (wool sweater, cashmere, etc). That was about $26. Mailed taxes with delievery confirmation - $8.60. A trip to Starbucks with DD as a reward to myself for overcoming my dental phobia - $6.

What a day and it's barely even lunchtime.

On a lighter note, DD and I counted at least 6 pea pods when we were out looking at our plants yesterday. I don't think our strawberries are being munched on anymore.

Restaurants: $47
Groceries: $184.12
Starbucks: $18.30
Car: $171.59 (not including gas)
Medical: $168

Those are some of our spending totals for 4/1 - 4/12. Two more dental visits, another PT appointment....it's adding up fast.

I spoke with the front office person at DD's dentist office, and she says that the coupon we received can't be used for a filling. BUT, the coupon's wording says "Good for any dental treatment, including crowns, ....." *ANY* being a key word, in my opinion. So I'm going to bring it in and see what they say when we're face to face on the subject.

I need to take a look at the finances thus far for the month. It feels like it's been an expensive one already. DD gets her filling tomorrow, and I go to the dentist too. I think I'll get together a new batch of medical receipts for DH to turn in at the end of the month, seeing as we don't have dental insurance and won't be waiting for any other reimbursement there. I have two PT visits to submit to insurance, but I may wait and submit March and April together and save myself half the paperwork, and half the postage. On the subject of PT - after my visit next week, we're going to go to once every four weeks and see how that goes.

I'll take a look at our spending later today or tomorrow and see where we're at.

This morning DD and I are off to the park where we're hopefully meeting up with another hs'ing mom and her two daughters.

I went shopping with my parents at some of the antique stores today. We also hit a few thrift stores, and I got two pair of pants for $10.70. one pair is from Ann Taylor and the other is from Old Navy. Neither one fits just right, but I think they'll both be OK - they fit well enough. My mom and I went to the farmer's market this morning, so we had some nice, fresh produce at lunch and dinner.

I'm tired. I've been staying up too late, too many nights in a row. I need to get to bed earlier this evening. Seems there's always something I want to get to once the house is quiet, though.

I've started and torn out a sweater twice now. I have yarn that I bought with a gift certificate for my birthday, and I'm trying to knit a sweater without a pattern. I haven't even knit one before *with* a pattern, so this should be interesting. My mom gave me some advice this evening, so I'm starting anew for the third time. Maybe this will be the charm? It's wonderful yarn - a natural colored 100% organic cotton.

DH had to spend a bunch of money today - smog check, oil for the car, gas fill up, dog food, flea stuff for the cats...fun, fun, fun. The joys of being a responsible adult.

I need to go to the grocery store this morning to pick up a few things before my parents get into town. I also want to go to the farmer's market tomorrow morning for some salad fixings and other produce.

We've got some ripe strawberries on our own plants - a whopping two so far - but something out there is munching on them. I think it may be snails. Our peas are looking great- tons of blossoms! Our sugar snap peas are doing OK, but they're lagging compared to the regular peas. The raspberries are looking good, too. Can't wait to start picking fresh red raspberries. Our patio lemon tree has been producing well lately, whihc is nice. I like being able to go out and pick a fresh lemon when I need one.