So I learned yesterday what my merit raise will be: 1.5%. As mentioned before, I didn't really expect anything since I haven't been perm for a full year yet. But I guess because they do raises at the same time of year for everyone, they included me in. It's better than nothing although I'd sort of been expecting 2%.

Inflation for the first 2 months of this year was running at -0.1%, so that's good.

So I will use 1% of that, or $800, to increase my Roth 401k contributions from 22% of pay to 23% of pay. The remaining .5, or $400, will simply wind up in my net pay; I believe it will come out to about $18 more per paycheck. Ahh, living large....

By right I should put the entire raise into the 401k because I don't spend every penny of my net pay now as it is, which means I will just wind up paying more in taxes on my taxable savings.

However, there is something to be said for having the flexibility to spend the money on home improvements or other worthy purchases and if I don't feel I have the money at hand, I won't do it. So for the sake of having "options," I will allow a few hundred to come to me in the form of taxable income.

On tap for this year will be replacing the very worn rubber stair treads on my basement stairs with new vinyl treads, which I've already bought. They do need to be trimmed to size and glued on, and I think I'd rather have my handyman do it rather than have to sniff that glue.

I'd also like to get my upstairs fir floors refinished and get some treework done in terms of pruning branches or taking down dead trees.

That's just the start.

Oh gosh, I just glanced at my 2015 resolutions and see that I was supposed to have lost 16 pounds by the end of this month. I haven't weighed myself in weeks, and I'm pretty sure my weight hasn't budged at all. I still have been walking at least 30 minutes on most weekdays and I've been doing an incredible amount of snow shoveling here these past few weeks.

Earlier this week my new tire pressure gauge and portable air compressor arrived from Amazon. A friend at work told me she'd been driving on her tires for a week after her low tire pressure alert came on in her car becus her husband was going to get the tires filled, the following weekend, with whatever that gas is that apparently doesn't leak like air in cold temperatures.

So I felt it would be "ok" to keep driving on the tires until my delivery came. I'd been to the local gas station twice to fill up one tire that was low and he said if it happens again we'll want to take a look at it. Which to me meant, examine the tire for a nail or whatever which I felt there wouldn't be, since the low tire pressure has only been an issue this winter and last, and not in between. So I didn't want to spend the money.

Well, I checked the pressure with a highly rated gauge and it was fine, even slightly overfilled, in 3 of the tires. The PSI should be 32. But in the one tire it was 10 PSI!! And yes, when I pressed on the side it "gave" a little, unlike the rock hard other tires. Geez, I could have really damaged the tire/rim; I didn't think it was THAT low.

I filled it up Thursday night and my low tire pressure light has remained off. It was a pain to fill it, though, because the air compressor doesn't seem to indicate the PSI while I'm filling the tire. It has a dial on it that goes from 0 to 300, but when I turned it on the needle jumped to 80. Like I said, my correct PSI tire pressure should be 32 and it was down to about 10 when measured with a separate air gauge. So I don't know exactly what that dial measures. I had to run the compressor a while and then remove the attachment and check the pressure with a separate digital gauge I'd bought.

Today was my 3rd day working at home this week. I did go into work this morning, only because my boss scheduled a meeting for us to discuss my raise.

Wouldn't you know I drove in....the roads weren't great...and she stayed home! In fact, hardly anyone was in the office. So a few hours later I turned around and got back home by noon. I wanted to make sure my car made it up the driveway. It doesn't take much to make it slippery.

My Amazon delivery arrived today. It includes a tire gauge and an air compressor so I can keep my car tires at the right pressure. In the cold weather, I lose PSIs, which I guess is not uncommon. This probably happened with my prior Honda, but since it didn't have Low PSI alerts on the dashboard, I probably drove around with low air for months.

I guess I'll wait til tomorrow a.m. before work to fill the tires as it will be especially cold again tonight, down to about zero.

But Sunday marks a turnaround in the weather, solidly in the 40s, and the week after that, 2 days in the low 60s! That should melt the snow around here; we still have over a foot on the ground.

This a.m. before work I got the roof rake out and took some snow off my garage roof, which has a very shallow pitch.

I hope to take my mother to a matinee on Saturday to see Mr. Turner. He's an artist, so she should like that. I may arrive with Boston Market for lunch first, and then we can go to the movies. She doesn't know about it yet but I felt bad because I know she didn't do anything for her birthday. My sister and I are taking her out next Saturday to celebrate her birthday, and my sister's, at the same time.

Not much money news to report, but when I find out tomorrow what my merit raise is, I will let you know. I'm expecting 2%; anything above that would be great.

If it's 2%, or $1600, I'll take half that amount, or $800, and increase my Roth 401k contribution by exactly that amount, 1%. The other half will be "fun" money, if I wish to spend it.

I'd still like to winnow down the number of credit cards in my wallet, but I don't want to lose what rewards I've earned on any of them, so I need to keep concentrating spending on the next card I want to cancel, so I can more quickly accumulate the minimum number of points to redeem. That would be my BOA Cash Card or my Chase AARP card.

Sometimes when I am super stressed out about something I don't post about it here on the forum. It's just too upsetting to even put down on paper.

My issues with the CT healthcare exchange fell into this category, simply because in early February they mailed me an incorrect 1095A form, a new tax form that shows how much $$ in healthcare subsidies I received in 2014.

I paid for the insurance for the 1st 4 months of the year, while the form indicated I paid for it for 11 months of the year. The reason why this is problematic is because as you may know from reading my blog, my contract job turned perm mid year and I exceeded the income limit that allows you to keep the subsidies you got. I knew I'd have to repay the subsidies for those 4 months ($1400) but I certainly didn't want to have to shell out $3,850 when I never had insurance with them past April.

For a month I've been trying to straighten this out, but the healthcare exchange is apparently so busy that I had wait times on hold for upwards of 45 minutes and it seemed like their phone recordings were especially designed to prevent people from getting thru to talk to a live person.

It became even more upsetting when, about 2 weeks ago, I talked to someone there who argued with me and said basically it was my fault because I didn't cancel the insurance. I DID cancel but they didn't get the phone message or my scribbled note on a premium bill, etc. The fact is, I didn't pay any premiums past April, not did I make any claims. Yet he's trying to tell me they would treat me as an active policyholder. It was nuts.

I left him a message yesterday saying if I didn't even hear back from him or get the revised 1095 form i would write a detailed complaint letter to the CEO of the healthcare exchange, copy the CT commissioner of Dept of Public Health, which oversees the healthcare exchange and, if I needed to, I would call my state representative (because they sometimes get involved with wierd little things like this where you basically run out of options).

I don't even know if the guy listens to his messages. He was completely ignoring my requests for a call-back.

But lo and behold, when I got thru to someone else today, she said their records indicate my form was corrected as of yesterday. She couldn't tell what the corrected form says but I will assume it's correct now. HOPEFULLY I will get it in 7 to 10 business days and then I can finally finish my federal tax return and start the state return.

I feel like such a cloud has been lifted (partially) from my shoulders. I was feeling so anxious about this, knowing the clock was ticking on the tax return and fearing the state would never get its act together.

I am working from home today, after having already worked at home Monday, and it looks like I'll probably work from home tomorrow.

We had rain last night turning to ice and now it's warming up. I shoveled all the very wet slush off my driveway and threw some de-icer down but I'm really exhausted, and I'd like to get out there again mid-day and try to get more melted stuff off the driveway or it will refreeze tonight. I was getting a few little painful spasms in my back, which doesn't usually happen.

It seems my dad may be moving in with my sister this spring. Not exactly in her home, but in a fairly spacious 1-bedroom loft style apartment over her garage/barn. I personally don't think it's a great idea, although I love the idea of him living so much closer to us rather than 3 hours away on the Jersey shore. Becus to get to the apartment there's a double flight of OUTSIDE stairs to the apartment, which I'm sure would be treacherous in this kind of weather and my dad is not at all steady on his feet. He is 82 now. I think the stairs have a roof over them, but still.

He is not sure he will like it becus he doesn't know anyone here, so his plan is to just move with a minimum number of items and stay here for a few months but still periodically go back to check in on his house on the shore.

I told him I want to help with the move; i have plenty of time off to do so. I was also a little miffed that neither he or my sister told me about this; i learned it thru my half brother when i wished him a happy birthday.

The other issue with my dad moving is that I don't think he would pass the eye exam with DMV, so he'd have to risk keeping his out of state plates on his car and hope no one noticed. I brought this up with him and he said he thought he could pass the exam. This, after telling me last time his left eye is pretty much "useless." With just one eye you've got to figure he has no depth perception, and they do test for that herein CT. I know I nearly flunked the depth perception part of the test myself when I took the test many years ago.

It would almost be better, if my dad was intent on moving, to find a little place of his own, one level, that better suited his needs. Of course, he's got that now where he lives, on the Jersey shore. He's made many improvements over the years and it's perfect for him.

I suspect one reason, perhaps a big reason, my sister would like to have my dad living there is because she's tried to have renters living there and has had problems with tenants there and stopped renting it out becus she was tired of the issues. And she could certainly use the extra income. I think she overextended herself when she bought her house and she doesn't make a huge income. At the time she made the purchase, I think she was really counting on the extra rental income to get by.

Even at 82, my dad, bless him, is still a bit of an adventurer, maybe even a dreamer, and I'm not sure he has really thought fully about how problematic those stairs will be. I don't think it would make much difference if I pointed this out to him; both he and my sister are the kind of people who will do what they want and forge ahead. My sister bought this old stone house with 3 acres so she could farm it to her heart's content. And coming from a stone house previously, that's all she would live in. She loved the rustic feel of it. However, this house had a lot of things to be fixed; she doesn't share much with me, but i can tell by just looking at it that much of the maintenance has not been addressed. It's really unkempt and downtrodden looking. So here she is so unhelpful when it comes to helping my mom, who has Alzheimers, and now she's invited my dad to live up there with her so she can boost her income. And hasn't said a word about it to me.

After entering the 21st century with my new LED TV and Roku stick, I wound up buying an Android smartphone which at first I was going to return because I was overwhelmed by how much I had to learn to use it and no true user's manual, but now I think I'm going to keep.

It was $130, has the dual selfie/outward-facing camera, Google voice recognition when you're doing a search for something which I LOVE, no contract, just pay as you go with TracFone and triple minutes for as long as I own the phone. It's got a 4.5-inch screen, which is pretty big. It even has a built-in flashlight.

At least I can make a phone call now and I set the weather to my town. I can get online but it's a royal pain trying to type in my email password because I happen to have an underscore (_) in it and I can't seem to get voice recognition for my password to work. I also have no idea how to delete an email message. Sigh. I haven't even begun to explore apps.

When I first started working at the bank I was having major withdrawal pains from not being able to check my personal email from the office. Truth be told, after 1.5 years, it's not such a big deal anymore and since I'm not doing much freelance writing, there's really nothing urgent coming along via email that can't wait til I get home.

It can do so much more than my EXTREMELY basic cellphone with the teeny buttons. Now I'm practicing my touch and swish and slide technique.

I bought a shoe stretcher on Amazon and wanted to use it on a good pair of leather shoes that aren't wide enough. I wound up ripping out some of the shoe stitching by putting it in. Now I'll have to bring it to a shoe repair place because I like these shoes (I have them in 2 colors) and have had them forever. Just a basic loafer with a 1.5 inch heel.

I read online that using 2 cups of OxiClean with hot water is a good way to clean soap scum off shower tiles, but it failed to achieve the desired results. I want the tiles to shine and they are very dull.

The state of CT is preventing me from filing my tax returns because they issued me an incorrect 1095A form, which I need to show how much money I received in subsidies for health insurance for the 1st 4 months of 2014; they had me down as getting the subsidies for 11 months of the year, which would mean I would have to pay back nearly $4,000 instead of the $1400 I know I owe! As if simple failure to notify them I didn't want the insurance anymore is justification to penalize the policyholder.

I KNEW I hadn't told them I was cancelling but this was at a time when I was still focused on doing well at my new job and the health insurance company's hours were exactly the same as my bank's, meaning I couldn't call after hours. There's no privacy in my cube for that kind of call and I did once or twice go in the stairwell to call but there were always long wait times. I scribbled "Cancel" on one premium notice and mailed it back to them but apparently that didn't register. It wasn't til November that I finally got someone on the phone and that's why the 1095 form they issued me indicated I cancelled in November, when in fact I'd stopped paying for the insurance 8 months earlier.

Since getting the 1095 A form in early February, I got bounced around to different phone numbers and then either got a consistent busy signal or got a phone that rang and rang and rang. I did talk to one guy, apparently the right guy, 2 weeks ago and he argued that because I didn't effectively cancel the insurance when I went on another plan that I would be considered still on their plan, even though I 1. stopped paying the premiums after April, 2. Filed no claims after April and 3. Was paying for insurance via agency that hired me as a contract worker. At the time of our conversation he said he would call Healthy CT, which is the health plan I had been. Well, I haven't been able to talk to him since but I did leave a phone message telling him I found at home a letter Healthy CT sent me in July which proves I wasn't a policyholder through November. In the letter they basically said we see you haven't paid your premiums since April and if we don't get those back premiums due, we'll cancel your insurance as of May 31. I told him I could scan and email that letter to him.

But I still haven't heard back and can't get thru on the phone. It's extremely trying becus I REALLY want to get my taxes behind me and I can't, and I feel completely helpless to do anything about it. They simply don't answer their phones and their customer services is non-existent.

If I don't hear from him or get the darn revised 1095 form, I may write a long and detailed letter to Access Health president, the Commissioner of the CT Dept of Public Health, which oversees Access Health and possibly even appeal to my state representative to intervene on my behalf. Becus I really don't know what else I can do. I am hoping that just the threat of my doing so, if left on another phone message, may be enough to get the form. If he even listens to his messages.

Last night I tried the first pill of some free samples my gynocologist gave me for hot flashes. I've dealt with hot flashes for 5 years and I am pretty sick of them by now. The daytime once have eased up; i still feel all heated up maybe 4 or 5 times a day, but it's nothing like the once every hour routine I had when they started in 2010. Nighttime hot flashes are still a problem, though, and I feel I toss and turn all night, first I'm hot and throw off the covers and tear off my pajamas, then I'm cold, then I'm hot, etc.

But the pill caused digestive issues and a mild headache; can't deal with the former when I'm at work, even though the label said it was only in the 1st 4 weeks of use.

I researched some non-prescription, non-hormonal alternatives online and ordered I-cool from Amazon, so we'll see how that works.

Doctors are so quick to prescribe a med that's often got side effects as bad as what it's trying to fix.

I got a Macy's and BB&B gift card in the mail last week as rewards for wellness checkups, so today's goal was to go spend them.

At Bed, Bath & Beyond, I found a nifty (small) teak cabinet with door and 2 shelves above, about 12 inches square and 45 inches high selling for $99. They had the assembled display model on a high shelf but I couldn't find any in the boxes anywhere. The woman said they could order it online for me so I could take advantage of my 20% off 1 item in-store only coupon, and then it would be delivered to my door. But they were out of stock online. I asked if I could buy the display model so she checked with the manager, who said yes. With the coupon, it was $80 and it was fully assembled, another plus. It just fit in my back seat.



I also bought a liquid soap dispenser for my bathroom, to replace the one I got at the $ store which leaks every time you use it. I also got a much needed lazy Susan type spice rack with 2 levels.

At Macy's, I found a nice Charter Club sweater marked down from $129, if you believe the price tag, and with my $10 off coupon, it was just $23. Correction: The sweater was already marked down to $23 and my $10 off coupon couldn't be used because I hadn't met the minimum purchase of $30. The clerk returned the coupon to me, but it would have been nice if she had told me this because I also had a 10 or 20% off coupon which I don't think had a minimum purchase requirement.

I filled up the gas tank, bought some stuff at BJs and also hit a totally mobbed Trader Joe's.

I got home before the snow started and before the water main break on the main road by me. Now it's snowing steadily and the car is safely tucked in the garage.

Tomorrow I hope to get my hair cut with a coupon, do laundry, and make a broccoli soup and a pea soup for freezing and for work week lunches.

Also today, I bought my first smartphone, a 5-inch display Android, on HSN. It comes with no contract, just pay as you go with TracFone. It comes with 1200 each talk minutes, text minutes and data and 1-year tech support, plus the cover and car charger. It cost $129.

I have waffled on doing this for a long time. I'm not a big talker and didn't want to be locked into a contract. The 1200 minutes they give you expire after 1 year if you don't use them, but if you order more minutes before they expire, they'll be rolled over and be good for another year. The least amount of minutes you can buy at 1 time is 400 minutes for $100. However, all minutes I buy will be automatically tripled for as long as I have this phone. Does this sound like a good deal to you?

My costs with this phone will be as follows:

Year 1: Cost of phone only ($130) as I know I won't use up 1200 minutes each of phone, data, text.
Year 2 and each year thereafter: $8.33 a month, or $100 a year.

So, not too bad, and I can enter the Electronic Age. Coincidentally, the cheapie basic pay as you go phone I've had for years I can't find, so perhaps this is timely as I would at least like to have a phone for emergencies when driving. I'd also like to be able to check my personal email while at the office or elsewhere, although I don't think I'll ever be one of those people who walk around mindlessly staring at their phone.

I don't know if other phones are better than my basic one, but when you turned it off and on, you had to wait probably 20 seconds for it to be on and ready to dial.

So yes, I feel a little spendy, but I'm still holding true to old habits of earning free gift cards whenever I see an opportunity, using coupons and the like. And I'm trying my best not to incur ongoing monthly costs in particular, as those seem to be overlooked but add up over time.

So for instance, although I did recently spring for the $100 a year Amazon Prime, I decided to cancel my Hulu Plus and even my Netflix. After browsing their titles, I feel they have plenty of stuff for me to watch without it being necessary for me to pay extra for another movie subscription; I can only watch so many movies at one time, and I have over 100 in my Amazon queue. I am disappointed at having to give up American Idol on Hulu Plus, but that's really the only thing I think I'll miss.

I've spent most of my 3-day weekend in solitude and watching movies/Downton Abbey due to the very cold weather and snow, but I did have an old friend come by for lunch today.

For the 1st time since I went vegan, I unapologetically made a vegetable soup for our lunch. (Also some guacamole and carrot sticks, some bread and for dessert, plain yogurt with fresh blackberries drizzled with honey. In the past, I would break my vegan-ism and make something with meat in it to accommodate my guest.

Fortunately, my friend seemed to like the lunch I made, and he brought me a half dozen eggs from his chickens, which to me is always something special. I won't eat store-bought eggs anymore, in fact.

The leftover soup will serve as my lunch for the rest of the work week.

In a previous post I wrote about the Origami collapsible metal shelves I bought from Amazon and how I had to return them because they were damaged. When I went online, I indicated I wanted to do a return and opted for replacement rather than a refund, as I really do like these shelves.

But then Amazon directed me to drop off the shelves at a UPS store, which I've done before, but I was so annoyed they were damaged and especially upon finding a former customer's return label for the shelves (because they were defective), so I decided to call Amazon and the woman I got agreed to have UPS do a pick-up at my door, which at least would make it a little easier for me with all the snow and ice around here.

They were supposed to cal me to schedule a pick-up but the driver showed up at my door during my lunch with my friend, so that was fine with me and I gave him the package.

But after my friend left, I noticed the replacement shelves from Amazon had already been delivered and were already sitting in front of my garage, but they had somehow delivered 2 replacements instead of one! I'm guessing it's because I started the process online but then when I talked to the woman from Amazon on the phone, she probably processed another replacement without realizing I had already indicated I wanted a replacement online.

I haven't yet been charged for the 2nd set and I'm wondering if I will be. Because it's kind of a pain to do the returns, I will just keep both. They are really quite handy and would work well in the basement, garage or in a kitchen pantry, if I had one.

One big benefit of having my friend over is that I had decided I wanted to give him a tour of the upstairs, so I cleaned the place from top to bottom. Everything looked pretty good, I have to admit. If only I could keep it looking this way. Normally, when guests come over, I only worry about cleaning the first floor.

Tomorrow it's back to my regular work routine although I MIGHT wind up working from home, depending on the weather. They're calling for 1 to 3 inches, and if it's coming down steadily when I get up, I may just stay home. Right now there's just a 66% chance it'll be snowing between 7 and 9 a.m. so we'll have to play it by ear. If it's sticking to the road, I'll stay home.

It's snowing pretty seriously now and the wind is due to pick up tonight.

I think I mentioned that I redeemed $125 in wellness incentive dollars from my employer, so today I treated myself to a Whole Foods shopping trip. They're way too expensive to make a regular habit of it, but I did find a variety of organic apples I don't think I usually see, as well as some nifty bottles of lemon and lime juice, both organic, with NOTHING but the lemon/lime juice. I used to buy bottled lemon juice for years because of the convenience factor until I realized there were other unhealthy ingredients in them. So I switched to fresh lemons/limes, but of course I never seem to have them on hand when a recipe calls for them. So the organic bottled lemon/lime juice was a "score" for me.

Somehow I didn't realize that I had NOT charged up $500 on my new AARP card. I THOUGHT I had but when I checked my account online, I saw I only charged $318 and I need to charge more to earn the $100 cash back.

So I used that card today to get gas at BJs, a few groceries there, and Petco. The statement closing is next week, I think, and it would be nice to finish up that card this week so I don't have to wait another month for the credit.

Talking about statement credits and card rewards, I cashed out my rewards from my BOA Susan Komen card and got the check in the mail today for about $25. Then I promptly closed the card as they seem to pile up in my wallet.

Since getting Amazon Prime, I've been enjoying watching Downton Abbey, starting at Season 1. I thought I had never watched it, but in truth I remembered most of the 1st season, so that must have been around the time I cancelled my cable in 2010 or so. Since I didn't remember all the details, I decided to start at the beginning, and I'm already starting season 3.

I read a story in the New York Times about how historically accurate that series is and they go into lots of detail in all the seasons; I debated whether or not I should read it and spoil for myself what will happen. I did, and I am very sad to know that Matthew, my favorite character, will die in a car accident, and that in fact was very common in those days (circa 1920) because they had yet to institute any speed limits. Also, the youngest daughter is going to die in childbirth.

After I finish Downton Abbey, which won't be for a month or so, I will also be watching the White Queen (highly recommended by a coworker) and The Great Buck Howard, also Joe, with Nick Cage. If anyone has any other recommendations for good movies, let me know. I sometimes look to see the NYT Best Movies for any given year and then look to see if they're free on Amazon Prime. A very small number are, but it's worth it to me to find them that way. Less interested in having to pay since I already am paying for Netflix and Prime.

The month of February has been extremely snowy and very, very cold. We'll have lows of -7 for the next few nights and a high tomorrow of just 17. I hate this weather, but the thought of soon seeing my colorful tulips come up right in front of my house warms my heart.

During my errands today I picked up some wild sockeye salmon (breaking my veganism) and I shared it with my cat Waldo, who was in heaven. Luther isn't really interested in "real" food.

First off, I really like Amazon. I find they have great customer service and return policies. While I have received a number of items damaged over the years, they generally do not hassle you about getting a return or a refund.

For this reason, and because they have such a great selection and (sometimes) better prices, I've been buying more stuff through Amazon, and everything else being equal, I'll buy from Amazon because I trust them more.

However, the Origami collapsible metal shelves they delivered today had a little surprise extra inside the box.

Aside from one of the metal rods supporting the middle shelf being broken, which meant I had to return it, I found the most shocking thing...it was a return label dating back to 2012, apparently for this same set of shelves. The buyer was a woman who lives in New Mexico; her full name and address appeared on the label. She bought the shelves from HSN in October of 2012 and then returned them for a refund because they were "defective." I assume because of the same broken rod I saw.

Somehow, instead of taking this out of inventory, Origami decided to try selling it again, not through HSN but through Amazon this time, and 3 years later, I'm the unlucky one who got it.

A really big warehouse goof, I'd say.

The packaging was also non-existent. Basically, it was metal shelves shoved inside a cardboard box and shipped that way...no bubble wrap, even paper stuffing inside to cushion it or keep it from jostling around inside.

I might also add that Amazon rejected my online review because I talked about getting the other customer's return label inside the box. They want you to stick to talking about the product. So who knows how often this really happens, because you'd never read it about it in the customer reviews.

We've got an awful lot of snow and ice around here on roads and sidewalks, with a forecast for more. And below zero temperatures, so I don't relish the idea of having to return this thing.

I called Amazon to complain and she did at least agree to have UPS come to my house to pick it up.

I really like the shelves otherwise. I once tried buying some other shelves you had to assemble and because everything is machine made, the screws simply did not not fit inside the holes and i couldn't put it together.

These shelves require no assembly other than putting the casters on the bottom (another nice feature). The whole thing unfolds with hinges. So yes, I did go for a replacement instead of a refund and I really debated that for a while, and may be still am, because given how they ship it, what are the chances the replacement will again be damaged in some way?

The shelves did get very high reviews. I want to set these up in my basement to store extra grocery inventory.

Aside from that, I'm glad the weekend is here. I got out of work at 3 p.m. and hoped I'd feel motivated to run my errands this afternoon instead of tomorrow because the snow will start mid-day, but as I knew would happen, once inside my warm little home, I didn't want to leave again. All my coupons were here so I couldn't just go straight to my shopping errands.

I was happy to see I've already earned $125 in wellness incentive rewards for getting a physical, my flu shot and biometric screenings. I redeemed these for gift cards at Macy's, Bed, Bath & Beyond and, as a little splurge, at Whole Foods, world of obscene prices. Whole Foods is one of my little errands tomorrow.

I'll be able to earn another $125 for the year by knocking off a few other doc visits.

I could have easily finished my federal tax return last week except that I needed to wait to receive my 1095-A form from the CT healthcare exchange.

I got the form yesterday, but it was very, very wrong. I only had health insurance through them for the 1st 4 months of the year; after that, I became eligible to sign onto the private, much cheaper health plan offered by the agency that hired me for the contract job that became the perm job I have today.

Unfortunately, the 1095-A they sent me indicated that I had insurance with them for 11 of the 12 months of 2014.

I have to take some responsibility for why that happened. They kept sending me premium due notices and I assumed (wrongly) that when I didn't send payments in, they'd know I didn't want the insurance anymore. I would have called them except their hours of operation, 8:30 to 5 p.m., were the exact same hours of my bank job, and it was difficult, and I was very reluctant, to find ways to steal away in stairwells in order to make a private call. I scribbled a cancellation notice on one of the bills and mailed it back but apparently that didn't do anything. On their website at that time, they had no Contact Us form so I couldn't cancel that way.

So today I got routed to 4 incorrect phone numbers and sat on hold each time before sitting on hold for 45 minutes at the correct number. The girl informed me I should have the corrected 1095-A in about a week. I'm not at all counting on that being true given how they manage their phones but it would be great if I got it in a timely manner.

I had been somewhat anxious to file my return quickly (as I usually do) because I've been hearing lots of stuff about an uptick in tax return fraud, and a friend of mine had it happen to him; he filed his return and it was rejected because someone else already filed a fraudulent return in his name.

I recently changed my mother's electricity provider for the "Generation Charge" portion of the bill. Electricty has been deregulated in CT for years in an effort to bring down costs. It's a pain in the ass because while you can easily compare plans and costs on the state website, some plans have a fixed price, others have a variable price, all at different terms, some have an early termination fee, yadda yadda yadda. So you have to be careful what you sign up for and it always takes a month to go into effect.

I had put my mother on a fixed rate plan with Public Power which was good til November 2015, and while theirs was the lowest cost plan at the time I signed up, I have since found much cheaper plans around, so I switched my mother to Town Square Energy, even though she will have to pay a $50 early termination fee. I did the calculation and figured she'll save about $22 a month moving to the new plan, based on her current usage, and since the plan i believe is also good at that rate til November, she will make up the $50 fee in a few months.

But already Public Power called her, trying to get her to switch back. She didn't even realize it was Public Power and thought she was talking to CL&P, but I called the number they had given her and when I called it they answered "Public Power sales team." She was all upset because they told her that her power could be shut off and apparently were doing the hard sell I know they do because I've dealt with them before.

So I called and verbally told them as my mother's POA to take her name off their call list. I also filed an online complaint with utility regulators because I don't need salespeople harassing my 80-year-old mother, who is easily confused. (She has Alzheimer.)

Between straightening out the incorrect 1095-A and then this, I was in a pretty foul mood today at work.

Then when I got home I get a bill for $751, what I presumably owe for the lab/bloodwork from my physical. My stupid doctor's office filed the claim with Aetna, who I used to have, instead of Cigna, who I now have. This doctor's office has messed up bills at least 3 times before. They are so careless and clueless. So annoying.

I decided to return both the cute boots and the handheld steam cleaner I bought from HSN. I'll have to pay a $6 return fee or something like that, but I will get most of my money back. The steam cleaner was mostly useless. The boots hurt my foot.

I've been doing my taxes by myself for years, after getting tired of paying my accountant $300 or so for what I felt was a fairly simple return. He had me collect all my paperwork in an orderly little folder anyway, so I figured I could model successive tax returns on ones he'd done before, consulting with the IRS 1040 instruction booklet as needed.

Being self-employed created the need for several more schedules/forms; it was always such a hassle and of course I worried something in there might trigger an audit. So I happily decided not to do any more freelance work in 2014 now that I'm working f/t at the bank.

I relished the thought of simplifying my tax return, which I did. So Sunday I was making steady progress getting through the return, filling out all the little worksheets and schedules for itemized deductions and luckily i didn't sell any shares of my sole remaining taxable mutual fund so I didn't have to deal with capital gains or losses.

But then I got to a new line item, and a new form, for people who got a subsidy via the healthcare exchange. What I didn't realize initially is that I needed a new form, the 1095-A, to complete the new Form 8962. The IRS instructions weren't exactly crystal clear, considering this is all brand new, but it appeared that my healthcare exchange is supposed to mail me the 8962. I called them up and they confirmed I should get it and that they were a little behind schedule due to the recent snow storms.

So that will delay completion of my return, but I already knew that I'd have to pay back the $1200 in subsidies I got for the 3 months I was getting healthcare through the exchange. But I also could tell that I overpaid my federal taxes via both the agency that hired me for the contract job and the bank I work for as a perm employee to the extent that I should not owe ANYTHING to the IRS and in fact may still get a refund of about $500!

So that's good news, although I will want to adjust/increase my withholdings somewhat so not so much tax is withheld. I wish I knew of a more precise way to do that; it always seems like something of a guessing game, but right now, I have just 2 withholdings, I believe. I guess I should just increase that to 3 and see what happens?

Spoiler alert: This is a very mundane post.

I usually do all my running around errands on Saturdays so i can chill on Sunday, but I just couldn't motivate myself yesterday to leave the house.

I did decide to sign up for Hulu Plus, so I'll be paying about $17 for both the Hulu and the Netflix I already have; that's close to what I paid for cable TV 5 years ago but can no longer get at that price. I really like that I can cancel either subscription at any time, and pick it up again later.

So yesterday I watched about 5 episodes of American Idol in a row. I do like watching the amazing talent and all these young kids so full of dreams and energy, and I do also get a kick out of seeing the talentless sing too.

Best Buy could not make the Samsung TV I ordered from them available via my pick-up, so I cancelled the order and bought it via Amazon. I had only ordered through Best Buy because I worried the TV could be damaged in transit but I'll take my chances now. I don't like Best Buy in general. I did go today and pick up the Roku stick I ordered with the TV, so I'll just have to wait a few days to get the TV delivered.

In the meantime, I decided to move my bedroom TV to my office. I noticed that ever since I started watching TV again, in the bedroom, that I was having more trouble going to sleep because I was lounging in bed for hours beforehand and my back was actually bothering me a little.

So the TV is now set up in my office and I brought up a very sturdy vinyl lounge chair meant for outdoor use. I cleaned it up and put a throw and pillows on it so it will be quite comfortable watching TV from it. I don't like watching TV downstairs in winter because it's noticeably cooler down there.

So it's a little crowded in here between the TV, computer desk and computer, and another desk I work from too, but it works for me.

When the new TV is delivered, I'll have to move my current one again to the kitchen and the new one will go in the office. It will be a half inch too big to go in the kitchen space.

Aside from picking up the Roku stick today at Best Buy I also stopped in at Trader Joe's, Shop Rite and BJs, both to renew my membership and also get some cheap gas at $2.05 a gallon. Lovin' those prices but there's ALWAYS long lines. I intentionally got up and out the door EARLY today to see if I could avoid lines at the pumps, but they don't open til 10 a.m. anyway and at 10:15 a.m. I still had to wait in line. No way around it unless I go on a weekday, which isn't possible.

Trader Joe's is another store that's always unpleasantly crowded on weekends, but it wasn't too bad when I got there today around 9:20 a.m.

We're expecting yet another snow storm tonight into tomorrow, so I'm pretty sure I'll be working at home Monday. On Tuesday I will work at home again because I have a doctor's appointment, but that's not til 3:30 or so, so I will have to have the driveway cleared Monday night and Tuesday morning before I settle into work on the laptop.

The only other thing I wanted to do this weekend was start my taxes, and I guess I still can although I'm not sure I'm motivated enough. I also haven't done anything about this week's lunches, but seeing as how I'll most likely be working from home 2 days this week, I'll only have to worry about 3 days and can probably pull something together quickly, like quinoa and beans, a bean burrito or even a big bowl of mixed veggies.

The handheld steam cleaner I bought from HSN is a bit of a disappointment. I really thought it could improve my attempts at housekeeping, but it seems mostly good at cleaning cracks or crevices, like the seam between the kitchen counter and the backsplash, for example. It also was okay at cleaning the vinyl lawn chair webbing, but scrubbing was still required. The webbing is not a flat surface but has a pebbly raised texture to it so dirt/mold gets stuck in those little spaces. To be honest, I got just as much dirt off it by simply scrubbing with the super-absorbent chamois cloths I have; I'm not sure the addition of steam did a whole lot.

I tried it on smudges on my kitchen cabinets and my stainless steel trash can, and it didn't very well on those at all; I'd have better luck with a Mr. Clean bleach sponge on the cabinets and a brillo pad on the stainless steel. It also did little to clean my glass cooktop on the stove; the special bottle of cleaner I use for that does a better job. I haven't tried the steam cleaner on my bathroom shower grout and tiles; apparently, very hot steam alone will not eliminate buildup or greasy stuff without scrubbing.

I will keep it. I'd also like to try it on inside of car and see how it does.

Weight loss YTD = a bust. Starting weight: 146. Pounds lost year-to-date: 0.

I've been making a concerted effort to exercise more, and recorded nearly 11 hours of walking and snow shoveling this month. Most of my walking is done during my lunch break, which is just a half hour. Obviously not enough.

I finally had my first performance review at the new job. She had nothing bad to say. Afterwards, I just wanted to confirm that I wouldn't be eligible for a pay raise since I've only been perm 6.5 months. So I sent her a quick email, expecting her to confirm that and to my surprise she said no, I would be eligible for a merit pay increase but then she quickly said don't expect too much, they are usually pretty small.

I am used to negotiating pay with my direct manager, but apparently the way it works here is that managers are notified in February of the total pool of money they have, and then I'm guessing they have discretion as to how they want to divvy it up. I won't actually see the pay raise until March (which I don't think is very fair to employees). Because I wasn't expecting anything, I'd be thrilled to get 2%, which i think is about what I can expect.

I'm pretty happy with my new Roku, although there is a lot more TV that you have to pay for than free TV. I'm already paying $8 for Netflix and don't really want to shell out more, but it can be confusing looking at different channels that treat customers so differently. Some, for instance, offer maybe 4 or 5 episodes of a program free, but then once you're "hooked," you have to pay to watch further episodes. CBS News appears to be totally free, both to watch the news and also the various news programs like 48 hours, 60 minutes and so on. So that's a big plus for me. PBS also offers a fair amount of free stuff that I can see, although right now they're offering the current episode of Downton Abbey free, but since I never saw this series, I want to start at Season 1 but can't find it on that channel.

I have yet to find American Idol available anywhere, for pay or for free. And I don't seem able to watch truly local news coming from any of the big CT stations, just NY and Boston.

Despite all that, I've already decided to get a 2nd LED TV with a Roku stick which you can just plug in the back of the TV. I ordered a highly rated 28" Samsung which will become my new bedroom TV. My current bedroom TV has just a 20" diameter, so it will be a step up for me with a bigger screen. The TV that's in the bedroom now I will move down into my kitchen, so I can watch CBS News as I make my dinner, like I used to do a long time ago. There's a little nook in between the upper and lower cabinets where it just fits with a half inch to spare, but I will have to find another place for the microwave and my cookbooks.

In addition to Netflix, CBS News and a few other things you probably never heard of (Breaking Boston and Dickering Down Under), I've been watching a lot of the home shopping channels. I see HSN, my preferred channel, now has a 2nd channel.

Today I'm expecting a delivery from them of some cute little booties (hopefully should fit with a wide size) and a nifty handheld steam cleaner you can use to clean all around the house. I hope it will help me keep a cleaner house as housekeeping has never been something I've really kept up on, though I would love a cleaner home.

I updated my net worth in my profile on the side; although my investments didn't grow much, my home value did, according to Zillow, so I am inching along on the way to a cool $1 million.

Much to my relief, we are not getting the walloping other parts of the Northeast are getting (like Boston and the Cape).

I shoveled about 5 inches of snow this morning, and when it all ends tonight, I'll probably have another 5 or 6 to shovel.There's another pile growing down at driveway bottom where snow plow packs it in. Not fun, but not nearly as calamitous as predicted.

I am working from home today though.

Amazon had a cool offer on their site; buy a $50 gift card for whoever you want (including yourself) and you get a $10 gift card credit. I did it yesterday.

11:15 a.m.


Not sure if you can tell from this picture, taken from inside, but the snow has begun falling. (The snow already on the lawn is from Saturday.) Note the blacktop of my driveway is still visible; it's just beginning to stick. The road is also largely clear.

The governor has ordered all state roads closed at 9 p.m. tonight and mass transit to end at 8 p.m. They are using words like "historic" to describe this snowfall.

I'll keep you posted with more photos!

I always feel better when I feel a sense of control over events, like the coming nor'easter. Now they're saying 2 to 3 feet!

After Storm Sandy, I actually made a list of steps to do if a power outage looks like a possibility. There are a lot of small things that I could easily forget. So here's what I've done ahead of the storm that's supposed to start around 11 a.m. today:

1. I made the decision to work from home today (and possibly for most of the week). I have my laptop up and running and can do just as much from home as I can at office. I also don't relish driving in snow, which I would be doing if I went in. So, at possible risk of annoying my boss, I've decided to stay home.

2. I have 2 small dinky LED flashlights but am recharging batteries for another flashlight plus my short wave radio.

3. I've filled up a few pitchers with water that would be used for drinking, brushing my teeth or even washing dishes if I lost power for a few days. They say you should have a gallon per person per day, so I will have to scrounge around for more containers to fill.

4. I've turned down the temperature in my freezer more, to make it colder. I haven't adjusted the temp in the fridge becus when I've done that in the past I ruined some salad greens. Honestly, since I've gone vegan, there is not too much in the fridge that would be sacrificed. I'm eating the rest of my salad greens today for lunch and the rest of my perishables, namely almond milk and my workweek lunches for the rest of the week, could be stashed in my cooler, topped off with snow and put on the front stoop.

The freezer has no meats or fish, just frozen veggies and some bean burritos.

5. I've got the phone number for the power company handy should I need to call them to report an outage. Actually, I've got the number memorized.

6. I have my 2 snow shovels outside, 1 at the front porch and 1 down by the garage. If I lose power, rather than let lots of cold air in the house when I go thru the front door, I'll exit out thru the basement into the garage, and that's where the 2nd snow shovel is stationed.

7. Car is safely tucked inside the garage.

8. I didn't really go food shopping this weekend, but i have plenty of canned beans, peanut butter, bread, granola bars and fruit to get by.

9. I am wearing my watch, something I rarely do but it really helps not to have to search for things, possibly in the dark.

10. I'm also prepared to fetch some of my wireless solar garden lights outside to bring inside to the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and my office where I spend most of my time. It's not bright enough to read by but I won't have to grope around with just the flashlights.

11. Gas tank is filled and I have some cash (as well as checks) should credit card things be not working in event of power outage.

12. I've checked weather.com's hourly forecast and can see that the peak winds will begin late tonight, into the overnight and through Tuesday. So tonight before I go to bed, I will crank up the heat to the never-before-experienced 70 degrees in the house. (As I may have mentioned before, I don't have a fireplace.) The theory being, if I lost power, the somewhat higher temps would keep the house warm that much longer. The cats should love it.

13. My cell phone is fully charged.

14. If I do lose power, once I have the driveway shoveled, and if the roads are sort of passable, I could drive the 2 miles to the town center where they have let people camp out in the large corridor in the past to recharge their electronics and use their portable devices. I could conceivably get some work done there, to help avoid having to use a personal or vacation day if I can't otherwise do work. The local Starbucks is a bit closer, maybe a 25-minute walk without snow, but with the amount they're forecasting, I don't think it's doable. I can't think of any other locales nearby that would have power when I didn't. Maybe the library, but they'd probably be closed.

I suppose a generator would make most of these things unnecessary. I worried a bit about the welfare of one of my next door neighbors, a recently widowed elderly woman, but I know that before her husband died, they installed a generator, so she should be fine.

One other thing I'm a little concerned about is the roof over my family room and attached garage. It's a fairly shallow grade and during other storms with wet, heavy snow, we've had problems with roof cave-ins, mostly of old barns. I have no idea how sturdy this roof is; it was built I believe in the 1990s. After one past heavy storm, I hired some guys to shovel snow off the roof but they damaged the roof shingles, probably becus they weren't roofers. I won't do that again, now that I have a roof I just put on 2 years ago. I do have a roof rake; I can't remember if it's long enough to get to that part of the roof without climbing a step ladder, which is a tough proposition if there are several feet of snow on the ground.

If you can think of anything I've missed, please let me know, no matter how little it may seem. I've weathered two storms where I lost power for I believe 3 days one time, and 5 the other, and it was no picnic.

There's a major storm coming, and Connecticut is in the bulls eye. I hadn't been aware this was definitely happening since I've been lolling around this afternoon watching TV with my new Roku, but then I got a robo call from the power company telling me to get ready.

From Patch: The NWS stated a “crippling and potentially historic” blizzard is headed our way late Monday into Tuesday. Snow accumulations of 20-30 inches are expected with wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour. I'm worried, of course, about losing power.

I'm not sure whether or not to go in to work tomorrow morning. Looks like a 30% chance of snow showers in the morning, which will transition into 100% chance by around 1 p.m. I'd rather not drive in the snow if I don't have to, but I could be home both Tuesday and Wednesday as well.

I just talked to my friend Ron, who provided reassurance and told me frozen pipes are nothing to worry about because outdoor temps won't get down below, well, 12 degrees at night, around 20 daytime.

He reminded me that if I really thought frozen pipes were imminent, I could shut off the main water valve coming into the house. Then, even if my pipes froze and then burst when they dethawed, I would only have a small flood, not an unending one. I guess that's some reassurance.

Well, anyway, I do hope I don't lose power. Thank God I brought the laptop home from work on Friday. I made it a rule that, regardless of the weather forecast, that I would ALWAYS take the laptop home on a Friday night, because a lot can change with the weather in 2 days, and this is a pretty good example of that.

Another bad thing about losing power is that if i lose it for the bulk of the day, I might have to use a vacation day for it since I can't work without the laptop. Even if it's not my fault.

On the bright side, I did buy a handheld Polti steam cleaner on HSN for $60. It has all these attachments you can use to clean all sorts of stuff. Since I'm a lousy housekeeper, this could make the job much easier.

OMG. I hooked up the Roku 1 all by myself and got it all working. AMAZING.

I am not a tech geek.

I didn't even need the wireless router I bought since I already have DSL with AT&T. So I can return that and get my $20 back.

I started out trying to get the router up and running but when I plugged the Ethernet cable into the AT&T modem (none available on my computer tower), I noticed I lost my Internet connection on my desktop, and the router was not correctly working anyway. (I think becus I needed a 2nd Ethernet wire and i tried using a regular phone wire, which sort of plugged into the slot but didn't "click."

I called my friend who wasn't much help long distance and we got 5 inches of snow today, so I knew I was more or less on my own.

So after unplugging the wireless router and making sure my computer network connection was again running, I decided to just try hooking up the Roku directly into to the TV. (I had been under the impression I needed to buy a new wireless router becus that's what they said I needed on the Roku website, but I guess they were assuming I was starting from scratch, without any pre-existing DSL.)

Luckily, the Roku, once plugged into the TV, searched and found my AT&T connection and from there it was a cinch. I just had to register on Roku and type in my modem password and then set up my channels.

I'm so happy! All I wanted was to be able to watch Netflix on my TV (not the computer) in my bedroom, but now I've gotten so much more with a bunch of apps and many free videos. If I want to watch a paid movie or show, it looks like it's $1, so no biggie.

Welcome to the 21st century, Patient Saver! As always, I'm a little late to the table.

I shoveled about one-third of my driveway. It took me about 40 minutes. I'll do the rest maybe later today or tomorrow. And now that I've done 3 loads of laundry and vacuumed and changed the bedsheets, I may just pamper myself by watching some free daytime TV, something I never do!

I've added a bunch of apps to "My Channels" but what I'd really like to find is some live news. I have to check out the channels. I know I have HSN and CBS and Fox and I think ABC but I'm not sure if it's just a few shows or actual news. I guess it wouldn't be local news but even national would be ok.

Weather has once again demanded that I reorder my weekend plans.



Here's the view looking out my office window to the front yard.

And here's the view of my driveway:


The white strip to the left of that smaller evergreen is the driveway. You can see the top of a telephone pole to the right of the tree.

I hope I can get at least a few of my running around errands done tomorrow, but first I'll have to shovel the driveway. Snow won't end til tonight, they say.

In the meantime, I need to do my laundry, change the bedsheets and vacuum. And since my Roku 1 and wireless router were delivered, I REALLY hope I can hook up my TV to the Roku and wireless so I can watch Netflix on the TV in my bedroom instead of my computer here in my office.

I had researched getting a new TV with HDMI cable capability or even a smart TV, but the Samsung TV I liked was $280, and so I figured I might be able to get by just spending about $75 on the Roku 1 (designed for people with older TVs with the older "composite" wires of red, yellow and green plugs). The TV I'm using is ONLY 7 years old and I always liked the picture. I only had to pay about $30 for the 2 items because I redeemed my Discover card points at Amazon. Very cool.

Maybe someday I'll catch up on all technology has to offer, but for now, this could be the ticket.


Oops. Someone turned away just as I snapped his photo.

I've been thinking of little day trips I'd like to make in the coming months. One is to the Marsh Botanic Gardens, which is really a group of 5 or 6 greenhouses at Yale. They give little tours there, and I always like to visit greenhouses or other botanic gardens in the dead of winter. It's so uplifting.

Also on my calendar is the annual cacti and succulent sale put on by a club in my area. That's not til April, but I think this year I'd really like to add to my collection with some interesting plants. That being said, my aloe and some other succulents are not looking so hot these days; they are so sun-starved. They're crowded in my upstairs bathroom which, with its south and westward-facing windows, is the sunniest room in the house.

Finally, I'd like to visit HORSE of Ct, a group nearby that rehabilitates abused or injured horses. (http://www.horseofct.org/) They often have open houses and I'd like to visit someday soon.

I have not yet been able to donate food to the town animal shelter, as I completely forgot about it when picking up a case of cat food at BJs, and once I break down the box and empty all the cans out, it's no longer convenient to transport. But it's top of mind now so next time, I will pick up an extra case.

I see that Citi is now providing FICO credit scores to card holders. Mine is 809. I've had that card since 2012 but now it will be harder to give it up. I AM anxious to unload my Susan B. Komen BOA card, just as soon as I can earn the minimum $25 to redeem points. Right now I'm at about $23 in points so maybe just one more payment cycle.

Ahh, retirement....It will be strange to arrive at some day in the not-too-distant future when I am no longer earning an income, but spending down savings to live on.

After spending a lifetime saving/earning/saving, my fear is that I'll be overly frugal like my mother is and not really enjoy my life as I could.

I try to imagine how it will feel to be officially, fully retired. How will it feel to have the knowledge that, aside from Social Security, I have no source of income? How will it feel to know that whatever pot of money I have to live on is all I'll have for the rest of my life to support my standard of living, and that I may never earn income again?
It will feel like the die is cast and there is no changing that.

Of course there is p/t work, but p/t work is often low-paid work and might not make a material difference in one's standard of living.

Will I feel comfortable making discretionary spending purchases if I am no longer earning an income?

For instance, I have really wanted to get a new couch for a long time. I have a 19-year old couch I bought used, believe it or not, and while it's in okay shape, the colors are kind of bright and hard to match things too.

I've been putting off the purchase because, well, I still have my 2 cats, and I'd freak if they got in the habit of scratching it. They don't really scratch the current couch now, but if they happen to jump on it, they do dig their claws into it.

So I'd rather defer the couch purchase for as long as possible, because each passing year is that much less scratching.

I have already made up my mind that once these cats go, I will not be getting more animals. (Of course, that's what I said when Sitka died 5 years ago but I was so miserable that 3 days later, I was at the cat shelter...it was the only way I knew I could console myself.)

But I've gotten tired of lugging home cases of canned cat food, cleaning out messy/smelly litter boxes and then lugging heavy bags of dirty cat litter to the transfer station. Not to mention the constant hair all over my clothes and the house, and my inability to have nice drapes, rugs, furniture, etc. And let's see, last year I spent $900 on the cats, a not inconsiderable expense.

I absolutely love my cats but I really feel my sense of obligation toward them ties me down and prevents me from being more social and doing other things. This is a really terrible thing to say. I haven't traveled much in the past 19 years because I always worry about them being on their own. Luther is often bored silly as it is, and then he gets destructive.

So, back to the couch....while I feel very comfortable buying a possibly $1,000 couch now because I'm working and making what I consider good money, I wonder if I still would want to spend such a large wad of cash once I am "retired?"

Hmm. I don't know. It's just a different mental outlook.

Today is a dreary, rainy day. It was icy this morning and I heard there were lots of accidents on the roads. I finally ventured out around 3 to the local supermarket as I've decided on 3 recipes to try out tonight and tomorrow for my workweek lunches. Tonight I'll be making a pesto pizza with leeks and mushrooms and tomorrow it's a sweet potato casserole and something else.

The only other things I'm doing tomorrow, which I have off due to MLK Day, is

1. Getting my physical results at the doctor's (how low is my cholesterol now that I've gone vegan?)

2. I want to use up a movie gift card and see The Imitation Game at a matinee

3. Go for a long walk, hopefully

4. Wash the salt off my car.

5. Dream of spring.

Last year I was funding a traditional 401k from my paycheck. Today I got my first paycheck after having switched from funding the (pre-tax) traditional 401k to an (after tax) Roth 401k.

My net bi-weekly paycheck has remained almost exactly the same, at about $1204! I thought I would net much more because I reduced the overall contribution from 25% to 22.5%. Yet I'm paying an extra $350 in taxes each paycheck just because I'm having to pay taxes upfront on the Roth 401k contributions..

I was paying just $476 in taxes per paycheck with the traditional 401k contributions as opposed to $825 now!

Still, I'll be netting $2709 a month in pay and with my expenses sometimes as low as $2,000, I should have sufficient cushion.

I wanted to put more money into a Roth account as I am quite top-heavy now with much more $ in traditional IRAs, and after having read a number of articles about withdrawal strategies that minimize taxes, I know I need more money in Roth accounts to do that.

Say you know you'll need to withdrawal a certain amount a year for living expenses in retirement, like $40,000. By being aware of tax bracket cut-offs, you could make sure you stay completely in a lower tax bracket by simply withdrawing whatever excess you need over the lower tax bracket limit from your Roth account. (In this case, the 15% tax bracket peaks at $37,450, so you'd withdraw the overage of $40,000, or $2,550, from your Roth.) So by withdrawing a combination of both traditional and Roth IRA/401k monies, you can minimize your taxes; over the years, it could become a significant amount. Of course, it also depends on where your income needs fall in the bracket and how much you need to live on. I mean, the 25% tax bracket goes from $37,451 all the way to $90,750. For me, knowing my annual income needs are right around $40,000, perhaps up to $45,000 if I travel, I would want to have some Roth money to withdraw to avoid bumping myself into a higher tax bracket on anything over $37,450.

Now I suppose MonkeyMama or Dido will tell you you'd be taxed at the 15% bracket up to $37,450 and only the $2,550 would be taxed at the higher 25% bracket. But if my income needs were higher, say $45,000, then we're talking paying 15% taxes instead of 25% on $7,550. A little extra attention to details would be worth it to me.

Around the holidays I bought myself a very nice mug from Stash Tea. I'm a big tea drinker so my mugs are important to me. This one had a rabbit in a woodland on the outside, and the image was repeated in miniature on the inside.



Well, I just don't know what happened to this mug. I've looked absolutely everywhere for it. At one point I had brought this mug in to the office and kept it there as my office mug. Now it's possible I left it on the desk before I locked up my drawer at the end of the work day; it's where I usually store personal possessions. So while I think it's unlikely it was stolen (becus I've left out so many other more valuable things) it's the only conclusion I can come up with, simply becus i can't find this mug anywhere.

I spent more time thinking about it than probably was worth it, but since i got out of work at 3 today, I had to scoot over to a gift shop in town where I had seen the same mug. I was hoping they might be having an after-Xmas sale and I could just buy it again. Turns out the mug wasn't on sale, but i bought it anywhere, plus the matching mug with a fox on it. (I like woodland animals I see in my own backyard.)

Although they weren't cheap, they cost about the same as they would have cost on the Stash Tea website, after you factor in shipping. So I got 2 mugs I really like. Murphy's Law being what it is, I will probably find the original bunny mug, but maybe not. Maybe someone took a liking to it and made off with it. I hope that's not the case and i sure would like to know one way or the other. I need closure.

I was delighted to fill up my oil tank today to the tune of $2.15 a gallon for 166 gallons. I haven't paid less than that since March 2009. I charged it on my new AARP card, easily hitting the $500 spend target (I only had $200 more to go), thereby earning the $100 credit.

Happy Friday!!!!!!

I watched an interesting Netflix documentary tonight called Living on one Dollar. It follows 4 college buddies and economics majors at Claremont McKenna College who travel to Guatemala to live in rural poverty in a small village for 2 months on just $1 a day, which is what the average Guatemalan lives on. Wow, that was a long sentence.

I was so inspired by this simple film that I made a donation at their website, livingononedollar.org. Thanks to underwriting by Whole Foods Market, 100% of donations go to help Guatemalans through either education or microfinancing, which they talked about a lot in the film.

I'm happy that tomorrow is casual Friday, it's Friday, it's payday and I don't work on Monday.

One of my workmates was sick all through Christmas and still sounded sick last week, in her voice. She was debating whether or not to keep her follow-up doc appt and I urged her to do so. I'm glad she did, because it turns out she has walking pneumonia. She is one of those people who feels an exaggerated sense of responsibility to work late hours and do everything, be everything, never slowing down. I hope she gets well soon.

I've been extremely busy at work this week with 2 large projects and 3 different people coming at me with stuff I need to write. I was feeling a lot of anxiety becus at one point i felt i didn't know what was going on, didn't feel on top of things as i usually do, and was afraid my boss was going to say something to me because I failed to attend an 8:30 a.m. conference call. Truth be told, I had worked from home the day before due to bad weather, and I totally forgot about the call the next morning. My usual hours are 9 to 5:30 p.m ., so I would have needed to get to work earlier to make that call.

My boss never mentioned it, and she was on the call. I'm not sure why but I'm relieved. It's possible it's because she's so extremely busy herself. Or maybe she didn't feel it was that important. Or maybe she didn't expect me to attend a call outside my normal work hours, though I've done that any number of times before. Maybe she will bring it up at my first performance review at this job January 27. Makes me nervous just thinking about it.

Scary thing happened to my friend Michael, the one I went out to dinner with last weekend. He finally got around to filing his tax return for last year (he had an extension) and his tax preparer informed him that someone else already filed a tax return in his name. Tax fraud! Michael vaguely remembers giving out his SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER to someone on the phone who identified himself as a jobs recruiter, as Michael is job hunting. He didn't realize he should NEVER EVER give that out unless he knows who he's talking to and there's a darn good reason for doing so.

He's set up with credit monitoring service now, but that's like closing the barn door after the horse is let out. Makes me worry about ID theft myself. It happens so often.

Umm, after 2 weeks, I've lost 1 pound on my weight loss plan. I guess by now I'd be kicked off Biggest Losers.

I didn't take any giant steps but did a series of very small steps that could perhaps said to be the reason why I lost 1 pound. Or, it could be totally random and gained back next time I step on the scale.

I've tried to not eat 1 or 2 squares of dark chocolate at lunchtime every day. I also have been trying to walk more frequently at lunchtime, even in the cold. Also, I've avoided going to the office cafe at the tail end of the work week when I run out my homemade lunches; I am sure those lunches are chock full of fat and calories.

I've noticed lately that Luther is especially bored at home alone. When he ignored the string I tossed in front of him and watched the scrunched up paper ball but did not fetch it, I knew I had to do something. This time of year they cannot go into the sunroom and catch a breeze, hear the birds sing or see local wildlife up close and personal. There is really nothing to do except eat, sleep, poop and fight with each other. So I spent $50 on the Cat Scratcher Lounge by Pet Fusion. It looks like this:



It had been on my Amazon wish list for about a year, but I couldn't bring myself to spend the money on it. Finally, I did.

It's all corrugated cardboard and I was intrigued by the many rave reviews. I poured some catnip on and inside it as an enticement, and while they indulged in the catnip for about 15 minutes, I can't say it was the cat lounge that drew their attention. Luther had just as much fun with the long box the cat lounge came in after I opened up both ends so he could crawl through it like a tunnel.

We'll give it more time, and a few more scratching lessons to give them the idea. Waldo is very attached to the vertical scratch post downstairs.

I had a nice dinner with my friend Michael last weekend. I broke my vegan diet to have some chicken there, and I also had a 2nd meal of it as leftovers I brought home. I decided to treat him since his contract job ended, so the bill was $60.

I got out the door this morning fairly "bright and early" for me, around 9 a.m., in order to attend a 9:30 a.m. Alzheimer's support group. It's been something I've been wanting to do for a long time now, but somehow I come up with reasons not to go. There are plenty of them on weekday nights, when getting me to go out after work is like getting a flea to dance on the head of a pin. This was a rare support group that meets on a Saturday. Or so I thought.

I had a general idea of where it was, across from the hospital, but then I couldn't find it; luckily I had my cell phone with me and their phone number and I finally found it, although the guy who answered the phone there does NOT know his street names.

I walked in, only to learn there was no support group. No one could really tell me anything except that there was no support group that day.

(When I got home later I found the online listing, on the state of CT website, and emailed it to Maplewoods so that somebody might take some initiative to get the wrong listing down. I also discovered by calling another support group that the 2nd group also no longer meets. Gee, does anyone care whether their listings are accurate? I fired off an email to the state of CT as well.)

From there I decided to visit an Asian food market in search of reasonably priced Lycium berries, known as goji berries in higher priced American stores. It was in a part of town I don't usually go into. Although the hours were clearly posted on the door and they should have been open, they were closed. Sigh.

I managed to fill up the gas tank and hit Trader Joe's before the usual Saturday crowd arrived. After that, I saw lots of big prominent signs advertising a pottery sale, so I took a little detour to track that down; the signs led me to a pottery studio. Guess what? They too were closed. So annoying! Does no one care???

I called the studio also when I got home to ask why no one was there and she said "oh, the sale was for the month of December...and the 1st week of January." It almost sounded liked she added "the 1st week of January" so that it wouldn't sound so bad that she left the signs up. There's really no excuse for that. Very inconsiderate if you ask me.

I'm meeting my friend Michael for dinner tonight at a very good restaurant here in town. We've been friends since around 2007, maybe, but rarely see each other because both of us are always working or running around doing other things, and he lives about 40 minutes away. Now his contract job has ended so he has the time. Perhaps not the money, so I may treat him to dinner. And that's where my glass of wine is comes in...

He is a very unfrugal person and in fact, to look at his financial health is very sad to me. Divorced with 3 kids and older than me, he still rents a house in a very expensive town and I notice when he buys himself stuff, it's always top of the line. I don't see how he will ever be able to retire. He helps his grown kids out a lot when he should be taking care of himself.

My dad got mad at me for mailing him a pair of long johns from Macy's after he was telling me how his legs are always cold. He must've told me not to do it again 3 times. They only cost $10 for gosh sakes. Some people just don't understand that it makes you feel good to help other people sometimes.

Am hoping tomorrow will be a more relaxing day. I hope to see "Wild" at a matinee. (I read the book.)

When I was much younger and making about the same money as I am now, I felt that I had so much $$ I didn't know what to do with it. Seriously. Of course I was saving a lot, but I also started donating $100 a week for a while to my favorite charities, rotating among wildlife organizations, the Nature Conservancy, Bat Conservation International and local animal shelters.

My job history has been somewhat erratic. I'm certainly not one of those people who works 20 years at one place. The jobs have come and the jobs have gone.

Now I'm back to making what for me is good money, though strangely, I don't feel that I'm swimming in money as I did in my 30s. And that's even without having the mortgage anymore. Maybe it's because I've experienced several layoffs and some very long periods of un- or under-employment that's served as kind of a warning that the money can go away very quickly. Also, I think I have more experience understanding how incredibly expensive even "simple" home repairs/maintenance/remodeling can be.

Still, I am wanting to give back in a way that is meaningful for me and I am very loyal to my town, even more so since 12/14/12. I noticed in the paper there was a writeup about how our brand new municipal animal shelter was looking for donations of food, towels and toys. I was surprised that a town-funded shelter would be in need of such things, so I called them just now and they told me the town takes care of the essentials, but they don't consider toys essential and they go through towels quickly.

So while I cannot adopt any more animals, I think I will adopt my local shelter. When I go to Wal Mart for cat food (which seems like something I'm doing constantly, regardless of how many cases I buy at one time), I'll start picking up an extra case for the shelter, and I know I have some extra old towels I can donate as well. It's a start.

Actually, this idea morphed in my head because while the new shelter was finished well over a year ago, i have yet to get down there and check it out, something I've been wanting to do. Having some donations to drop off give me the perfect excuse to show up!

I got an email from the organic farm where I was a CSA member last season. They were telling people they could sign up for next year (I won't) and invited feedback, so I wrote a fairly lengthy and detailed note about why I wouldn't be joining the CSA again but I also talked about the many wonderful things about it.

The main reason I'm not doing it again is becus we couldn't pick up the food until 1 pm Sunday afternoons. That left me with the very tail end of the weekend to decide what recipes to use (based on what I got) and then run out and get missing ingredients, and then try to cook up as much as possible on that one afternoon because I have neither the time nor energy to be doing much cooking during the work week.

I really did wrap my entire weekend plans around the Sunday afternoon farm pick-up.

I also mentioned being disappointed that after they said they hoped to provide a dozen eggs every other week, we wound up getting eggs just ONE time. Even worse, when I went to browse their little store, I saw they had eggs in there. I'm sure they just wound up with too few eggs and didn't have enough to go around for the CSA members, but in my mind, since CSA members are paying up front for an entire season, they should be given preferential treatment over those who just come in at will and buy from their store.

But I also said how incredible their produce was and how it really felt like Christmas morning each Sunday when I made my little trip to the farm, wondering what I'd be getting that week. And how they are one of the top 10 best things about my town.

The farmer's wife wrote back a very nice note. She said I gave her a lot to think about and was apologetic about the eggs. She said she wasn't going to promise any eggs this season, and then if people wound up getting some, it would just be a pleasant surprise. I wanted to explain to her that while that's fine, last summer what she should have done was offer some sort of explanation to customers (which they didn't) becus I'm sure there were others besides me who wondered about the eggs and then saw them in the store. It just made things a little worse. But I didn't want to press the point so I just decided to drop it.

Brr...temps falling rapidly. With the wind chill, it will feel like -18 at midnight.

I hope my car starts tomorrow morning.

I worked at home today after getting my annual physical this morning. I'll have to go back in a few weeks when they get the bloodwork results on my next day off, Martin Luther King Day. I am curious how my numbers will look after eating largely vegan for the past 6 months or so. I'm hoping my cholesterol is way down from my usual 180 or so.

One Kings Lane very efficiently credited my BankAmericard for the $60, on account of the shattered Foo dog I received. The other foo dog (it was a pair) it just fine, so I think I will just stick with that. I was already having buyer's remorse after ordering those things anyway, so very happy to have the $60 back in my pocket. It was one of those what was i thinking moments.

I also got my first quarterly $25 credit on the BOA Better Balance Rewards card, which credits you $25 EVERY quarter, as long as you charge something every month. So yeah, it's $100 a year, and every year after that....so i will never give up this card, as long as I continue to get those rewards. After 10 years, I would have earned $1,000 from doing what I do anyway...charge most of my expenses. A real no-brainer.

I also need to get crackin' on my new AARP Chase card to earn $100 back on it after charging $500.

In between work, I squeezed in a dump run and vacuuming.

I have lost no weight on my weight loss plan, 7 days after starting. The dead of winter is a really tough time to diet. Not making excuses. I have been exercising, but not any more than I usually do, and I can't say I've really cut back on portions. Sometimes at night I'm still hungry after dinner, so I'll have an apple, but then I'll still be hungry after that, and I'll have something like dark chocolate-covered dried cranberries. Too much sugar.

I continue to derive simple satisfaction from seeing the inside of some kitchen cabinets after I tidied them up.


All I had to do, really, was get rid of about 5 or so old coffee mugs I never use.


These are some/most of my glasses.


Ahem...but then we have this monstrosity...my refrigerator! Badly in need of an intervention but I always put off cleaning it because I would waste so much energy my keeping the door open and cleaning it.

I was talking to my dad last weekend and he was complaining that his legs are always cold. He's a diabetic. I was going to buy him an electric blanket until I read all the warnings about diabetics using them and getting burned. They are not advised for diabetic use. So I settled on a pair of long johns on sale at Macy's and had them shipped directly to him. It's only Tuesday and he already got them. He called tonight to thank me and told me not to do that again. And he said he already uses an electric blanket. I told him about the warnings.

Tomorrow I'm getting my annual physical. Not only is it free under Obamacare, but I will actually get paid $50 for getting it via the health and wellness incentive benefits offered by my employer and Cigna. Plus I will work at home tomorrow to make it easier to get the physical, so a win/win/win all the way around.

I walked 30 minutes on my lunch half hour for exercise today; it was cold but I'm glad I did it.

Yesterday we got an inch of a "wintry mix," meaning a very wet snowfall.

Yet today is very mild, well into the 40s, and this is to be followed very soon by the icy cold blast now covering the rest of the country. So I KNEW I had to get out and walk today as it will be the warmest day for the rest of the week.

I should have worn some boots, but was too lazy, so I slopped through this for most of the 35-minute walk:



Evidently, I'm not the only one walking today.


A bend of the path.


This is our municipal center, which I pass by after getting off the walking trail on the way back to the car.




In other doings, I returned my neighbors' bread machine and regained some more space in the kitchen cabinets.

I also made another batch of granola, which should keep me munching for 2 weeks, and I made a berry cobbler so I could use up the rest of the fresh cranberries I bought around Christmastime. I also used up a bunch of frozen organic berries I got from BJs. The cobbler/crisp came out really well; it's the same recipe I use for making apple crisps, except that I cut the cooking time in half since berries don't need an hour to soften as the apple slices do.

I started a big project taking all my tried and true recipes which are now handwritten on little 3 x 5 index cards and kept in a small kids' lunchbox, and typing them up on 8.5 x 11 paper and putting them in plastic sleeve protectors in a 3-ring binder. Those little index cards are just too tiny to read, let alone squeeze in all the directions.

A wintry day out there, so had to settle for 18 trips up and down the stairs, indoors. Hey, if I didn't plan on documenting it here and being accountable to YOU, I wouldn't have done it.

Also, watching Biggest Loser on Hulu helps to motivate me.

In the interest of full disclosure, housekeeping is not my thing. I love having a neat and tidy house, but cleaning up around here is not often top priority, and so I do a somewhat "slap dash," cursory job of cleaning up.

We're due to have a "wintry mix" arriving here around 3 pm today, and oh wow, it's already started snowing.

I had been wanting to go to the Downton Abby Tea at the library today, but it was just a popular event it's completely filled up. I KNEW I should have signed up for it (it's free) but I often don't like to "commit" myself, and this is what happens. Sigh.

But anyway, somehow this morning I got involved in cleaning out certain kitchen cabinets. I think it started as I was putting away some Christmas decorations. Also, becus I bought that really very nice set of new dishes for $23, I decided to donate to Good Will my set of blue dishes that I think I got from HSN maybe 6 or 7 years ago. I packed up all the dishes in a box along with 5 or 6 coffee mugs I don't like or need, and I also decided to offer back to my neighbor a used bread machine she'd given me a year or so ago.

So doing all this I rearranged stuff in my kitchen cabinets and created quite a bit more space.

I was debating whether to keep some of the stuff for a tag sale next year, but decided against it. Things like dishes and mugs don't sell that well and it's SO much work for negligible $100 or so profit.

Today FedEx delivered something I ordered from One Kings Lane before the holiday. It was a set of 2 turquoise ceramic "foo dogs," in the style of ancient Chinese foo dogs that guarded the palace gates or whatever. I like Asian stuff and the color would be great in my family room, which i'm redoing in gray, turquoise, silver and white. The foo dogs are a good 12 inches high.

I noticed the delivery guy was in and out of my driveway very quickly. Perhaps the tinkle of broken ceramic when I picked up the box was a clue why he high-tailed it out of here. And yes, while the box inside a larger box appeared well packaged with air pacs on the sides, there was no cushioning above it, and sure enough, one of the foo dogs was completely shattered, too much so to glue together.



Fortunately, altho One Kings Lane prominently states all over its website All Sales Final, NO Refunds, the rep quickly told me the full refund would be charged back to my credit card. She didn't require the return of the broken piece or the pix I'd taken, so I was very happy with that since I still get to keep the one foo dog.

The bad news: I had pasta with pesto sauce for dinner.
The good news: I did 13 flights of stairs just now, in addition to what I did earlier today.

It's just too cold again today, with a high of 32. For many years, I didn't mind going out to exercise in winter if I was properly bundled up. Now, I'm not even sure that would do it. I'm just disliking the cold more and more.

My father, who is diabetic, is complaining of very cold legs. I was going to buy him a heating blanket or pad, but i've been reading about how that's not a good idea for diabetics because they have no sensation of heat and could be burned.

Does anyone have any suggestions or experience for this?