I've had a pretty productive and enjoyable weekend.

I told The Bachelor that I could not see him this weekend as I needed to start editing a manuscript for the Vegas motivational speaker. He was fine with that.

The weather on Saturday was the warmest we've had yet, in the 50s, and it was also bright and sunny, so I didn't get started on that editing right away. Instead, I checked out the annual pet and equine show at local college and picked up 7 different sample-sized bags of dry cat food for the boys. I also did some grocery shopping, filled up the gas tank, stopped at the landfill to unload some trash, and vacuumed and washed my car. Phew.

I started editing last night and continued today for most of the day. I'm up to page 35 of 99 pages, which is just the first half of the book. The client is away on a trip right now so I have a solid 2 weeks to finish the rest of this first half, which shouldn't be too hard. Happily, I already deposited her check of $500, which made me happy.

Had a nice long phone conversation with my friend Michael, who is dealing with a hellish commute right now in a contract job but making very nice money. I also made a batch of granola and a three-grain dish (barley, brown rice and quinoa) with sauteed mushrooms and onions, along with spinach. This will serve as the core of my workday lunches this week.

I learned that next year my employer's lease is up on the building and they don't plan to renew! This means they will either lay people off, relocate some to other offices or possibly let some people entirely telecommute. We occupy 3 floors of this building and it will be a blow to the downtrodden city we're in as they can use all they help they can get. So there's a lot of uncertainty, and there have been a few more layoffs.

I got my IRS refund of close to $1,000, but this is just going into savings. I anticipate having to pay about that much back to the IRS when I do my taxes next year if I get an extension on my contract job. I think I have a decent shot for at least another 3 months as I've seen as 3 women I know there whose terms were about to expire got extended another 3 months. However, this is no way to live and it's impossible to plan anything if you don't know if you'll have a job beyond 3 months. And I'll hate like the dickens to have to pay back at least $1100. It would be a lot more if I worked the rest of the year and continued getting the healthcare subsidy, but I am HOPING that when I become eligible for the recruiter agency's health plan April 1 that it will be cheaper and that I can switch to it.

So I think with a little bit of encouragement, Mike will wind up purchasing a kayak. He needs to do more research, but this is something he had thought of before, and then when he met me, well, it would make it even more appealing with a built-in kayaking partner. As soon as weather permits, perhaps in April, he wants to take a drive up to a kayak shop I told him about and then also bring the bikes so we can ride on the rail trail in that area. Like I've said before, I just hope I can keep up with this guy! Not an ounce of fat on this one!

It's been a relaxing weekend; while it's not usually that painful to go back to work, I do wish I could just lounge around a bit more.