Jun 20 2008
Whole Foods — $23.36
Indoor Skate Park — $25.00
A $25 gift card for The Husband’s grandson whose birthday is later this month.
Jun 18 2008
Well, I think I’ve finally recovered from the virus that so violently attacked my body a few weeks ago. But, Dear Readers, I feel so awful and my finances reflect that fact. I’m not quite sure of the reason(s) behind my current state of ill-health but I suspect it has to do with the quadruple-whammy of chronic medical conditions I live with on a daily basis: Fibromyalgia, a very diseased thyroid gland, sleep issues including insomnia and sleep apnea, and IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Folks, have you ever been so thoroughly fatigued that you literally hurt. That’s where I am these days. I’m so tired that my body hurts and any type of activity, even the most basic everyday activities, requires a monumental act of will to accomplish. On top of that, my sleep is completely out of whack. I’m so sleepy (a symptom distinctly different from the fatigue) that it’s everything I can do to stay awake during the day. But if I lie down to nap or to sleep, I simply can’t fall asleep.
I desperately needed to do some grocery shopping today and woke up with every intention of getting that chore accomplished. But it didn’t happen. Instead, The Husband came home this evening and he, The Son, and I went to the store together where I bought milk we didn’t need plus a few essentials while the “boys” stocked up on frozen dinners to help them get through until I feel well enough to start feeding my family again.
Movies — $11.00
The Daughter and The Son ventured to the movies together today to see Kung Fu Panda. The Daughter rather liked it; The Son not so much. I loved the nearly 3 hours of home-alone time 
I paid for admission; each child paid for his or her own refreshments (The Son was the only one to imbibe; The Daughter munched on M&M’s smuggled in in her purse).
Amazon — $30.00
A gift certificate emailed to my older brother as a belated birthday present. Hm … after counting on my fingers I calculate that he just turned 46. I can’t remember the last time I bought him a birthday present; it just seemed like the right thing to do this year.
Kroger — $44.43
May 19 2008
Total Spent Today: $298.31
Net Spent Today: $243.33
REI — ($50.13)
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I collected all of our old Nalgene bottles (well, all the ones the kids could find — one of The Daughter’s is still missing) to return for a refund/store credit. The return process took a couple of minutes but overall went very smoothly. Ironically, the computer showed a record of my 2001 purchase of two older, smaller bottles I returned but had no record at all of the large bottles I purchased last October. The clerk still issued store credit on the larger bottles — partly, I think, due to the fact that all of the bottles had the name REI stamped on them as bold as you please (they must have been a special-issue Nalgene manufacturered specifically for REI stores).
The only downside to this whole transaction is that, for whatever reason, the clerk wouldn’t put my store credit on a REI gift card. My credit comes in the form of a paper receipt that I can use in any REI store or on-line but I must have the receipt. If I lose it, I’m S.O.L.
REI — $10.26
Spent in the form of store credit (my paper receipt now states I have a credit of $39.87). I bought myself a red wide-mouth Nalgene bottle.
Auto Stereo Store — $277.57
I’ve been shopping for car stereos for the past month or so and just last week finally decided on the model I wanted. So today we did a little car juggling so I could have The Husband’s Impreza. The stereo is The Husband’s Father’s Day gift. But it’s not for him at all. It’s for The Daughter. Here’s what happened:
The Impreza came with a very bare-bones stereo. Two FM bands, one AM band, and a single disc CD player. Nice and functional but nothing special. What it’s really missing is an iPod/aux input capability.
I’m a realist. I know how important music is to 16yo girls and I know what a distraction music and CD’s and radios and iPods can be for a new driver (well, any driver but especially new drivers). So I presented my argument to The Husband several weeks ago — we should install an iPod interface stereo in the name of safety. The criteria was very specific: the 16yo had to be able to control the iPod through the stereo itself leaving her hands and attention free for driving and the buttons and layout had to be simple enough for a 73-yo radio-listening dad.
Finding a stereo that met both criteria was harder than I’d expected it to be. I ended up going with an Alpine CDA-9884. Happy early Father’s Day, sweetie 
Target — $10.48
I found a Michael Graves tie/belt hanger ($3.99) that I like better than the one I bought the other day. I also bought two 3-packs of skirt hangers ($2.99/ea.) for The Daughter’s closet. Each hanger has a metal center hook so you can actually hang another hanger from the first hanger instead of having each individual hanger hang from the closet rod. Helps save closet space which is at a premium in The Daughter’s closet (yeah, she has more clothes that she probably needs but mostly it’s just a tiny closet).
Once Upon a Child — ($5.85)
I took my bag of rejects from yesterday’s Plato’s Closet run to see what OUAC would do with the contents. I had slightly more sucess (in # of items accepted) but their value was lower. They rejected several things because they were too large (those in-between sizes of 16 and 18 don’t have much resale value, apparently) but they did accept 4 pair of Old Navy shorts. Anyway, it’s another $5.85 I didn’t have this morning.
Since all of the items sold were The Son’s, I’ve added $5.85 back into his clothing budget category in my YNAB program*.
May 13 2008
Actually posted on May 16 — catching up with daily expenditures.
REI — $9.22
When I got home late on the 8th, The Husband announced that he wanted a new pair of sunglasses for his birthday. Since we had some many other things going on and since The Husband’s not particular about getting his gifts on his actual birthday, I waited until I had another errand in the right part of town. The glasses were $15 plus tax but I applied my member’s dividend to the purchase which took care about 1/2 of the cost.
Waldenbooks — $16.79
The Daughter and I stopped on the way home from school to pick up a new fiction book she’s really been looking forward to.
May 05 2008
Actually posted on May 15 — catching up with daily expenditures.
Pottery Barn Kids — $30.45
I bought a doll’s hook-onto-the-table highchair for my niece’s (and god-daughter’s) upcoming 4th birthday.
Anthropologie — $16.80
Two metal hooks for my front hallway. Ever since my mom took back her coatrack, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with my front hallway. I liked the coatrack but don’t really want a new one. I don’t want one of those boards with a series of hooks — it’s not the look I’m going for and I don’t like the way the hooks are all crammed together in a row. My plan is to install a mismash of hooks and knobs, randomly and well-spaced. It would be fun to post a photo when I’m done with the project.
IKEA — $9.95
I’d never before been in an IKEA. It was an amazing experience. Why in the world don’t they have an IKEA here? No Trader Joes and no IKEA. Makes no sense to me. But it’s probably better for me that I don’t live near an IKEA. The selection was amazing as were the prices. But as my mom and I wandered through the showroom I realized what a temptation it would be to replace perfectly good items with new and different ones just because they’re available and cheap.
May 02 2008
Actually posted on May 4 — still traveling but finally in a location where time and internet access are available at the same time.
Uni Qlo — $15.50
A cool t-shirt with a cobra graphic — for The Grandson #1 whose birthday is later this month.
Uni Qlo — $39.75
A fabulous light-weight down jacket for — myself!
Parking — $72.00
Can you believe the cost for parking a car for 48 hours?!
May 01 2008
Actually posted on May 4 — still traveling but finally in a location where time and internet access are available at the same time.
My mom and I are in The Big Apple (aka New York City) visiting my brother, my sister-in-law, and my niece. They live in Manhattan just blocks away from Ground Zero.
Today we spent some time doing the tourist thing — shopping for gifts and souvenirs for family back home. Here’s what I found:
Kate’s Paperie — $5.42
A cool notebook for The Daughter.
cash — $0.75
A bottled water for my mom.
Borders — $10.78
A NYC guidebook.
Pearl River Mart — $53.07
street vendor/cash — $2.50
A Statue-of-Liberty-shaped refrigerator magnet — to add to our collection of fun magnets.
Apr 17 2008
Total spent today: $405.14
Okay, ladies. Are your husbands impossible to shop for? I really want to know.
The Husband’s 73rd birthday is fast approaching. Shopping for this man has got to be one of the most difficult and frustrating tasks I face every year. He never wants anything. He has no hobbies and no vices. He doesn’t collect anything. All of his favorite authors have died off over the past few years so even finding him a new book has become next to impossible.
On the face of things, The Husband should be the easiest person in the world to shop for. He’s perfectly happy getting the most mundane things like underwear and socks. He’s just as happy with a gift that cost $10 as he is something that cost $100. He’s even happy receiving gifts that are really for someone else (like that vacuum cleaner he got for Christmas a few years ago).
But he’s got all the underwear, socks, and t-shirts that he needs. More, in fact. And we don’t need a new vacuum cleaner nor any other household appliances. What’s a wife to do?
Luckily, The Husband hates surprises. He loves being consulted about what to get him for his birthday so at least I don’t have the added pressure of coming up with gift ideas while trying to maintain an element of surprise.
So, last night I asked him what he wanted for his birthday. He thought for a few minutes and then said he wanted a new garage door remote. His remote died earlier this week and, like Humpty Dumpty, no amount of kings nor horses is going to bring it back to life. It’s an ancient remote that triggers an ancient opener on a 30-year-old badly-in-need-of-replacement garage door. Well, I don’t consider myself to be a prima donna or anything but I’m not sure I can see myself wanting nothing more than a garage door remote for my birthday.
Therefore as part of my errands today I stopped in The Home Depot to check out the garage door remote selection. Can you possibly guess how much those puppies cost!? Come on, I dare you. Take a wild guess.
Well, they cost between $25 and $35. Did you come close? Can you believe that? Twenty-five smackers for a new garage door remote.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Twenty-five bucks is way under what I’ve budgeted for The Husband’s birthday. It’s not that I object to spending $25 on his birthday gift; it’s that $25 for a garage remote strikes me as ridiculous.
So I didn’t buy one. Nope. I bought a new garage door opener instead.
Is it just me or does spending $200 on a new garage door opener, complete with two remotes, wireless keyless remote entry pad, safety stop laser thingy, and wall activator with a lifetime warranty on parts and on the motor — isn’t that easier to take than spending $25 on a new remote? A generic remote that, once we do get around to replacing the ancient and badly-in-need-of-replacement garage door and with it the garage door opener, will be completely obsolete and no longer needed? And what about how incredibly convenient it would be to have two remotes so that I, too, can open the garage door when I come home even though I don’t park The Tank in the garage. Not to mention the fact that the existing ancient garage door opener doesn’t have any safety beams or safety off functionality (just ask our trash cans what that’s like).
Yup, I took the liberty of upgrading his birthday request. I’m not sure how the idea’s going to fly though. It’s currently under consideration. If he decides he really just wants the remote, I’ll take the opener back and exchange it for a remote — no harm done.
So, here’s what I spent today:
Music Store — $24.64
The Son is not yet done with Book 2 but his teacher wants him to prepare one of the songs in Book 3 for his audition next month.
The Home Depot — $305.96
Target — $21.61
Well, I stopped here to see if they have a “touch” lamp to replace The Daughter’s lamp that recently broke. I didn’t find any touch lamps (you know, they turn and and off when someone touches the metal base) but I did find the perfect lampshade. I liked the one I found at Tuesday morning earlier this week but I love this one. The Husband even likes it. Did I mention it’s perfect? You tell me, what do you think of it?
This means, of course, that I’ll have to return both the Tuesday Morning lampshade and the 10″ harp I bought earlier today at The Home Depot. But that’s a small price to pay for the perfect lampshade.
Wild Oats — $17.62
Wow, that’s a lot of money. Can you believe I spent all of that money on meat for dinner tonight? No wonder we don’t eat like this more often. But it was a great meal — chops, rice, a large fresh salad for the girls, and cooked carrots for the boys.
Kroger — $35.31
Feb 27 2008
Not to sound like a broken record, but it’s been a long day. And did I mention, I’ve been sick? No, not just sick. I mean sick. Really sick. Ill.
We all got up at 6am to celebrate The Daughter’s 16th birthday. It was so fun to give her gifts she hadn’t expected. It was really a lovely day and both of my children made me so proud today. I hope to share the events of the day and some of the reasoning behind The Daughter’s gifts — but not tonight.
Costco — $25.31
We went hoping to find a copy of The Audacity of Hope which is what The Son wanted to give his sister for her birthday. Of course, we already have a copy but The Daughter really wants a copy of her own so she can feel free to highlight and makes notes in the margins, etc. Naturally, they didn’t have a copy. So we simply picked up a case of Capri Sun 100% Juice ($7.55) and a mega pack of Bounty paper towels ($16.49).
Costco Gas — $42.48
Filled up The Tank with 14.455 gallons @ $2.939 per gallon; the odometer read 120,991.
Hobby Lobby — $1.80
In my effort to teach The Son the finer points of gift-giving, I suggested that in addition to the book he planned to give his sister he also come up with some sort of little bauble or sweet. The book was an excellent idea because it was an item she specifically wanted although it hadn’t occurred to her (or even me) that it would be a good gift idea. So I applauded The Son for choosing it. But I’m trying to teach him some of the more subtle gift-giving techniques of adding a little unexpected something. Those little “accessory” gifts can be the icing on the gift-giving cake especially when the main gift is something as non-personal as a book by a presidential hopeful.
So The Son decided to find some type of inexpensive container or receptacle and fill it with chocolate or candy. After a quick perusal of everything Hobby Lobby had to offer, he chose a cute little red glass vase.
Barnes & Noble — $12.57
A copy of The Audacity of Hope. Now we have two copies. I’ve finished reading my copy and the son is reading it now. The Daughter will have to wait a few days before digging in because she has to finish The Grapes of Wrath for school first.
Target — $2.01
A bag of plain chocolate M&M’s to finish off The Son’s second birthday gift. It was a much larger bag than was nececessary but they don’t seem to carry the small bags. Besides, I seriously doubt that either The Husband or the kids really objects to having a couple extra M&M’s around the house. The knowledge of what they’d do to me (due to food allergies) makes it very easy for me to not be in the least bit tempted.
Cello Teacher — $131.25
This check covers 5 lessons. I need to look through my records to figure out exactly what dates this check will cover but I believe it takes us through March.
Wendy’s — $3.00?
I’m unsure of the actual amount because I can’t find the receipt. It must have been left in the bag. It’s not the same amount as usual because the order wasn’t The Son’s usual Wednesday Wendy’s order. In celebration of The Daughter’s birthday, the plan was to meet somewhere for dinner after orchestra rehearsal. The Daughter chose Red Lobster — probably less because that’s where she wants to eat and more because it is the only restaurant (literally) where I can actually eat something off the menu. [I can eat the steamed crab legs as long as nothing else touches the plate; I can’t even have their clarified butter.]
Anyway, in light of the fact that we’d been dining out a mere 2 hours after his lesson, I figured The Son would forego his usual Wendesday Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers and save his appetite for crab legs and/or lobster. I underestimated, once again, the appetites and logic of a 13-yo boy. Yes, he did still want to stop at Wendy’s but rather than order his typical meal of 2 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers and a medium soda, today he ordered The Baconator and a medium soda. Naturally, he snarfed that thing down like it was a mere morsel and went on to do his dad proud with crab legs and shrimp scampi at Red Lobster.
Target –$32.41
Different trip, different Target, much later in the day. I bought a new room humidifier to replace one that was old and no longer functioning properly. We desperately need to keep a few small humidifiers running in our house — if for nothing else than to help protect the cello — but I’m not willing to put my wood floors in danger of water damage for the sake of eeking a few more months out of a well-used machine.
Feb 12 2008
The Great Underwear Search of ‘08 continues. After a few moments of mom vs. son lack-of-communication tension last night, it came out that The Son’s lack of comfortable underwear is interfering in his life. The Son, already no big fan of social situations or leaving the house, is even more reluctant to get dressed and go anywhere because of his current lack of comfortable undies. So I’ve renewed my energies into finding a new brand and style of men’s underwear that will provide a comfortable fit and allow The son to rejoin the world.
Kasper Organics — $20.61
One, yes — just one, pair of organic cotton men’s briefs. Plus shipping. On the one hand I hope they don’t fit because I don’t relish the thought of outfitting The Son in 7 to 10 pair of incredibly expensive underwear that he’s sure to outgrow in no time. On the other hand, I really need to find a brand that fits and I’d hate to shell out that kind of money on a pair of briefs that he doesn’t like.
Burlington Coat Factory — $8.40
One package of 6 briefs — a good price but a bust. The cotton is nasty and the fit is unacceptable.
Marshalls — $32.17
Three more packages of briefs in three different brands — one of every brand/type they had in a size small.
The brand and style he liked the best was a box of 6 low rise briefs by Body Glove. The package of 6 briefs cost $9.99. Naturally, I can’t find another box in this size anywhere. I mean no where! I called every single Marshalls in our metro area. No one had a size Small. I even called the Marshalls in the city/state where my mom lives — again, no size Small. I can’t find a single package on-line; not even eBay.
I also bought a box of Polo Ralph Lauren classic briefs. The Son said they’re close, but still a little too loose still — just like the Alfani’s we bought weeks ago.
The third package was a set of three Tommy Hilfiger classic briefs. He didn’t like them as much as the Polo/Ralph Laurens.
Apple — $254.90
I finally made our second birthday present purchase for The Daughter’s upcoming 16th birthday. I’ve tried making this purchase for the last 4 days but I just could not decide what to have engraved on the back. So far all of our iPod purchases (a Mini several years ago for The Daughter and my own Nano in ‘06) were made at the Apple store. This time I wanted to make the purchase on-line and have it inscribed but when it came time to make the purchase, I simply could not decide what to say. I consulted The Husband. He was definitely no help. I consulted my mom. I consulted my sister who in turn consulted her son. Tonight I wrote down all of the options and made The Husband and The Son vote on the options. We all three voted for the same inscription so I finally took the plunge and ordered the bloody thing. I bought a 8gb pink Nano, the Apple Care plan (we bought one for The Daughter’s first Mini and it proved to be very worth the expense). The inscription is free as are the gift message and gift package.
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