. Saving on Phone and Internet
So recently I dropped my Frontier (formerly AT&T) phone line and took a chance on Magic Jack. I'm happy with Magic Jack, although I notice if my computer is not turned on, neither is the phone. I now have 4 phones working with it and my annual bill for it will be about $40 a year, as opposed to my $62/mth for combined phone and Internet with Frontier. A big improvement.
So today I decided to see if could do better with the Internet; since I dropped the phone with Frontier, I lost some bundled discounts, and the Internet alone with them is $45. I felt I could do better elsewhere, but after speaking to their retention department, I was able to get it lowered to $35 a month with a 1-year contract. I'm pretty happy with it. It's a pretty slow speed (12 mgps) but it works for me and I watch movies/videos all the time.
I love lowering recurring bills.
Bonus Credit Cards
I recently did a temporary lift on my credit freeze at all 3 bureaus (only 1 charged me for doing so, $10...I think they will all be free moving forward? not sure...). I did this to apply for a new bonus credit card, to defer the cost of my annual home/auto insurance.
I didn't qualify for the card I wanted (Cap 1 Savor Rewards) but I did qualify for 2 others with smaller bonuses of $150 each: the Chase Freedom card, which I've had before, and an HSBC card.
Current home improvement project
Haven't made much progress on repainting the family room floor, mainly becus it's been humid and hot. I plan to work on it this weekend. Not the first coat, but finishing up with the sanding and priming.
Mindful meditation
I've had 2 MM classes thus far. It's a bit more of a commitment than I initially realized, but it should be okay. Our instructor has a PhD in psychotherapy and a master's in something else, plus she trained with a Buddhist in Japan. I love using the FitBit. My sleep patterns seem kind of wacky. I need to research what is "normal" as far as the amount of deep and REM sleep you should be getting.
We have daily homework assignments.
Tomorrow is International Coastal Cleanup Day, and a friend and I are going to one of many Connecticut beaches with organized cleanups. Ocean trash is a real problem and hazard to marine life.
Aside from that, the weekend's priority is working on my family room floor project.
I discovered 9 more black swallowtail larvae on my parsley plants.. It's rather late in the season and Ii suspect they will overwinter and emerge in spring rather than now; this is something they decide on their own. I anticipate keeping them in the garage during that time, for their own protection.
Catching up...
September 15th, 2018 at 12:15 am
September 15th, 2018 at 02:40 am 1536979230
September 16th, 2018 at 02:41 pm 1537108879
September 16th, 2018 at 06:42 pm 1537123348
September 16th, 2018 at 10:36 pm 1537137410
I also love the sleep info on the FitBit. My sleep is definitely irregular but at least most of my averages are close to the reference range.
What kind of homework does the Mindfulness Meditation program involve? Just meditating or something else?
September 17th, 2018 at 12:00 am 1537142410
Ceejay, I'm definitely going to read that story...thanks.
Dido, it's just the meditation. So far the homework is listening to a 45-min guided "body scan" meditation each day, mindfully eating 1 meal and doing some puzzles. There is also a half-day meditation "retreat."