I'm sitting here enjoying my favorite beverage: strong black tea with agave as a sweetener. I've trying out another recipe in the slow cooker, too...peanut chicken, which should be ready about 3:30 pm today.

I hit Costco this a.m. as I was out of milk, so I bought 2 gallons and put one in the freezer. There's plenty of food in the house!

Otherwise, not much new. Had dinner at Frank's Tuesday night and had his delicious lamb shanks and lentils, which he cooked in beef broth with carrots, shallots and mushrooms.

Also on Tuesday, I had that phone interview for the other job I applied for while I was still temping at the same company. It went well, though it seemed very much just a "prelim" interview intended to screen applicants and make sure they meet all the basic qualifications. So I'm hoping to get a call-back for an in-person interview in the next few weeks.

I rented 3 free DVDs at the library yesterday and watched one last night. I wanted to get The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, but someone else has it out.

I've also been walking more this week, though each time less than an hour, when I really need to do more.

I guess I could start my taxes and just use the online form and directions, but I don't see the point since none of my banks (3) or brokerages (2) have sent me my various statements, plus I should get paperwork from my 2 employers for the year, the Census Bureau and the temp job that just ended.

I'm still trying to reopen my unemployment claim, but when you dial in and go thru the automated system, it says "due to the high volume of calls there will be an extended wait time and we ask you to call back again later." Well, I got that message Monday, Tuesday,Wednesday and today. When exactly will they take my call?

I'm really trying to watch grocery expenses, as cutting my annual grocery bill is a goal this year. So i settled for dried cilantro for this peanut chicken recipe instead of fresh. Hope it doesn't make much difference.

I did need cinnamon sticks for my curried beef recipe earlier in the week, and I hated spending like $5.89 for a small jar of cinnamon sticks. At Costco for about the same price you got a HUGE canister of cinnamon sticks! Damn! I'm going to have to remember that Costco is the place to go for cheap spices, though they only seem to have the basics.

I was thrilled to be able to create an online account with the bank where i hold my mortgage, so now i can check my mortgage balance any time without having to call and talk to a live person. It's just much easier this way, and now i can update my mortgage balance here on my profile every month, to the dollar.

I'm still waiting to get paid by a new freelance client I did work for in December. I usually give them a full month before I send a late payment notice, but this one had indicated in an email last week that she was mailing the check out that day. So I watched the mail each day and it never came. Annoying. So I emailed her and said oh sorry, i forgot. It will go out today.

As much as i love new clients, it always produces a degree of anxiety until i get paid, becus you don't really know who you're dealing with or whether they might try to stiff you. With my regular clients, becus it's companies, not individuals i'm dealing with, it typically takes 6 weeks to get paid, but i KNOW they will pay me so it's not a big deal.

Like most clients, she was very anxious to have get the job done asap, but her payment? Not so much. I've never had a client who didn't pay, however, I've had several that were very late, like several months, in paying, and not without me communicating with them on the subject several times. You would think that they would be more considerate when working with a one-man show like me....

Even if it were just a $100 invoice, i would be prepared, just as a matter of principle, to take someone to small claims court (filing fee: $35) to collect that money. I'm basically at their mercy, and it's just too cumbersome and outside common business practices to require an upfront deposit for the kind of quick turnover work i do.