Today was my last day temping at the job I started in September. I got a few hugs and some kind words that cheered me up a little, like: "I have a feeling you'll be back here...." Maybe they were just being kind, but after driving home and feeling more than a little sad, I checked my personal email and found an email request from HR at the same company wanting to schedule a phone interview with me for the other job I applied for!

So it's set for Tuesday. I don't think I'm a 100% match for the job, but I'm hoping that with the power of an internal referral and 4 months at the company as a temp worker under my belt, I'll have a better chance at it.

You can bet i will be over-prepared for the interview, as always.

Becus tomorrow is a company holiday, I'd been planning on working long hours Monday thru Thursday to attempt to squeeze in 40 hours, all the more important knowing this was my last week. Then we had the snowstorm on Monday. We got 15" here. I decided to brave the roads at about 11 am against my mother's pleas, and I made it in OK but found just 1 person there with plans to leave within the hour! I ended up staying for just 3.5 hours and left while it was still light outside in case of black ice. So between losing most of the day Monday and all of tomorrow, I was just able to complete 31 hours this week, even after arriving at work at 7:45 am and leaving at 6:30 pm. Que sera sera.

Anyway, looking forward to some downtime (not too much tho) so i can clean my house, walk and do grocery shopping.

I've added my 2011 financial goals to my profile at left. I decided to post two scenarios, because depending on whether I find full-time work or not, my financial goals will be very different.

I already know my goals frontwards, backwards and sideways, but what I like about posting them here is that I can "motivate" myself by checking off each month as an indication that I met the goal (or not).

Because I have taxable savings, it will be easy to fully fund my Roth IRA this year. It's just a matter of transferring money from a taxable mutual fund to the Roth IRA fund.

As you can see, my biggest goal right now is working toward paying off the mortgage. Yet I'll have to keep this on the backburner for as long as I don't work. Just paying current bills will be the priority in that case.

We got 15 inches of snow today but I decided to head in around noon, expecting to see at least half the staff there. Turns out there was just one guy there and he left less than an hour after I arrived. Not supposed to be there on my own, but the guy who left said it was ok with him and I kept in chat message contact with another employee who was working from home. I put in just 3.5 hours and figured it would be a good idea to head home in daylight in case there was any black ice.

The ride home was fine, the ride in, a little messy.

A full day tomorrow. Just 3 more days to go.

Everyone from Delaware to Maine up the east coast is getting slammed with a good 'ol fashioned blizzard.

My plan for my last work week was to work as close to 4 10-hour days as possible, to make up for Friday, which is a company holiday and a day I won't be able to work. Now we have the blizzard making the likelihood of my getting in even 35 hours rather unlikely.

Last night, as I listened to weather forecasts and as the storm began to grow in intensity, I had hoped to just get in to work 2 hours later, but now I'm not sure I'll be able to get in at all. I learned in various conversations with people at work that when there's snow or the weather is bad, many people work from home. As a contract worker, I'm not allowed to do that, and I'm also not supposed to be in the office when a staff employee isn't there, so not even sure I should try to get in. The guy I report to on a daily basis is off this week, so I called and left a message for someone else there.


This is one side of my backyard, with my little tool shed on the right.

I shoveled the driveway twice last night to get a "head start." I think I did about 4 inches each time, and now of course it's covered.


This is the driveway! I took the photo through the glass and screen, and you can actually see a reflection of the window sill in the upper part of the center of the photo. It sort of looks like some big building with a tall chimney,but I assure you, I live in a suburban area. It's just my window.

Didn't hear a plow all night and just praying these wind gusts don't take down any power lines or trees, becus the chance of getting heat back in any kind of timely manner must be low. No vehicles on the road at all.

Now that I've shared a breakdown of my 2010 expenses in an earlier post, it's time to take a peek at my creative efforts to generate some cash during 2010.

Here's the breakdown, ranked from highest to lowest income:

Temporary contract work Sept - Dec): $16,319
I'll be getting one more paycheck the 1st week of January, so my total net is actually a little more. So sorry this lucrative assignment is ending!!

Net unemployment benefits: $13,818

Census Bureau net income: $5,338
This mostly part-time work ran from late April through early August.

2009 IRS tax refund: $3,968
I don't usually get a refund, so this was very helpful, being out of work.

Freelance writing: $1,925
I know I could make more than this in 2011 if I made a greater effort.

Focus groups: $575

Online surveys: $427
The breakdown, if you're interested, is $87 from Pinecone (plus all those fun product samples) and $340 from Toluna.

Interesting, I made just a little less doing the online surveys than I did doing the focus groups. The online surveys are very time-consuming and tedious to do, but at least you can do them at home, whenever you like. I think I prefer the quick cash from doing the focus groups, though.

Medical research studies at Yale: $249
I would have done more of these but I soon found that finding a place to park was a hassle, and you had to pay the meters. Plus the drive made many of the lesser paying studies not worth it.

State tax refund: $141

Gifts: $125

Craig's List sales: $110
I have a few more things I can try selling, but this is a hit or miss kind of thing.

Manufacturers' rebates, discounts: $48

A friend's tag sale: $27
I made a few bucks by bringing some of my own items to a friend's tag sale I was helping out at, plus she gave me a nice bedspread, a bird statue, a glass I liked, a napkin holder and odds and ends like that.

Class-action lawsuits:$22
Just got some notices in the mail that prompted me to fill out a form online.

Jury duty: $20

So total income for 2010 actually came to $43,279, exceeding my radically pared down expenses by $8,600! So I was actually able to save money while being "underemployed."

Merry Christmas, frugal friends. I hope you all have a nice holiday.

I enjoyed a quiet Christmas eve dinner at my neighbor's house. A simple beef stew, I brought a side of broccoli and we had pound cake with a marmalade/cranberry spread and whipped cream on top.

This morning I'm headed to mom's, the sleigh-car is loaded with gifts and I just have to finish making my delicious cranberry/red grape relish.

I'm looking forward to the new year ahead and hoping that, financially speaking, it will be better than 2010.

Onward and upward, Donner and Blitzen!

I've tallied up my 2010 income and expenses, down to the penny.

I spent a total of $34,712 in 2010. I consider that a big accomplishment (necessitated by unemployment), since my annual spending has been:

2009: $40,500
2008: $44,100
2007: $43,000
2006: $44,100
2005: $44,900
2004: $43,000

Of my 31 expense categories, I saw price increases in 6 areas, including 2 of this year's top 7 expenses (clothing and fuel oil). Ten expenses stayed about the same, while 4, including one expense in my top 7 expenses (my 2 cats), fell.

Here's the raw data and ranked expenses (highest to lowest), along with pertinent side notes.

(Keep in mind I was unemployed except for part-time Census work April - early August, and full-time work mid-Sept. through Dec. 31, 2010, and a small amount of freelance writing.)

Mortgage/property taxes: $15,626 / 45% of total spending
This figure includes an extra $2,000 in prepayments. This one expense represents 45% of total spending, by far the single biggest expense I have.

Food: $2,642 / 8% of total spending
First, I want to correct something I said in reply to someone's comment on my expenses in another post. My cat food is NOT included in my food bill; it's kept in a separate category for cat expenses. So this comes out to an average of $220 a month, which is higher than I'd like. This is an area I still need to work on. I spent about the same amount last year.

Health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket: $2,435 / 7% of my total spending
Interestingly, this is about the same amount as what I spent in 2009, but the difference is that in 2009 I worked the 1st 9 months of the year and was out of work the last 3 months, while this year, I was out of work (for the most part) the 1st 9 months of the year and only worked full-time the last 3 months. I managed this by paying for health care but not using it! I expect to see a big increase in my healthcare costs for 2011 becus my COBRA will increase by 57%.

Clothing: $1,678 / 5% of total spending
OK, guilty as charged. This represents a whopping 900% increase over my 2009 clothing spending ($170). What happened? When I got my temporary job in September, they didn't have a business casual dress code, plus I have gained a good 15 pounds since my layoff. I really needed an entire new wardrobe to look presentable. So yes, i got slacks, blouses, sweaters, undergarments, boots, shoes, coats, the whole 9 yards. I do hereby pledge not to spend .01 on clothing of any sort while I remain out of work. Absolutely no need to.

Household: $1,664 / 5% of total spending
This is really the only expense category I have that sort of ends up being a dumping ground for expenses that don't neatly fit into other categories. I try to limit using this category because the effect is that it "hides" spending. For the most part, it's stuff for the house that does not include maintenance. Like, the $200 air purifier I bought would end up in this category.

Cats: $1,405 / 4% of total spending
As you can see, routine costs for two cats is pretty expensive. This includes 3 things primarily: 1. cat food: Fancy Feast. They go thru 5 cans a day which, at .50 a can from Wal-Mart, totals $2.50 daily, or $75 a month. I supplement with some dry food, which is cheaper. 2. Cat litter: I get a 40-lb. box at Costco for $6.99, and this alone is a good reason to keep my $40 annual membership there, I think. 3. Vet bills. Veterinary care around here is RIDICULOUS. A recent ear infection that Waldo had ended up costing me over $400.

Fuel oil & cleaning: $1,399 / 4% of total spending
The annual furnace cleaning costs about $100 and since I skipped it last year, I figured I really should do it this year, since it supposedly keeps things running "efficiently." This expense was 34% higher than last year,mainly due to higher heating oil prices and the fact that I'm keeping the house noticeably warmer this season (67 when I'm home, 64 at night and when I'm gone) just to keep my sanity.

Those are my top 7 expenses for this year.

My remaining expenses are as follows. I think you'll find most of them quite spartan:

Gas: $825 / 2% of total spending
This is 16% higher than last year, but that's because I had a commute during the 4th quarter.

Electric: $778 / 2% of total spending
Despite my having switched electrical suppliers in January, this bill was about the same as last year. I just switched suppliers again last week. Let's see if, this time, the lower price doesn't creep up.

Sewers (loan and usage): $738 / 2% of total spending
There's not much getting around this big bill. The loan portion of it was a mandatory loan that homeowners in different parts of my town had to take out 15 years ago to pay for a sewer treatment plant. I have 5 more years left on payments at 2% interest.

Homeowners insurance: $726 / 2% of total spending
This bill, very irritatingly, rises every year by about 9% despite the fact I've never filed a claim. So i raised my deductible a 2nd time, from $2,500 to $5,000.

Home maintenance: $717 / 2% of total spending
ACJ#$$%!! This represents a 76% over what I spent last year. I looked up my monthly expense statements to see how I incurred this and saw it was because I had to have a plumber over here twice to fix a leaking well water pump and clogged kitchen sink.

Major purchases over $500: $700 / 2% of total spending
I like to keep a separate category for what I consider "major" purchases, and I arbitrarily decided that anything over $500 I would consider "major." This was for the purchase of a new computer, badly needed, in August.

Phone/Internet: $651 / 2% of total spending
About the same as I paid last year.

Car insurance $434 / 1% of total spending
Here's another one, same insurer, MetLife, that keeps raising my rates despite a lack of any claims by me. I know it's a good price, but it makes me crazy they keep raising it. This is 13% higher than what I paid last year.

Gardening: $319

IRS: $250
I don't include various taxes that are deducted from my paycheck since I figure my budget using net income,not gross, but this was additional federal taxes I paid on account of my freelance writing, which amounted to about $1,700 in extra income.

Cable TV: $239
I am prepared once again to cancel this entirely. It was $25 a month for a long time, then when I went to cancel they said they'd make it $14/month for a year, but after just 3 months, they raised rates again and it's up to $18.

Dining out: $230
I love eating out but it adds up so quickly I try to avoid it when I can't afford it, like now.

Gifts: $228
This was mostly Xmas gifts.

Water: $172

Town taxes: $165
I hate these extra taxes becus it's really an extra layer of government we don't need. We don't get anything extra for this.

Car: $164
This was the best budget surprise of the year. My spending here, essentially oil and filter changes, represents a 88% decrease in spending from last year! It just seems that every year I spend about $1000 due to one thing or another needing replacement. This year, I got lucky.

Jewelery: $133
What business do I have buying myself jewelry when I'm out of work? None. This was 4 rings I bought when I was working f/t as a treat for myself. Sort of like a release valve, I needed to splurge, what can I say.

Haircuts: $110

Car tax/registration/license: $90

Dump sticker: $80

Subscriptions: $36
I let all my various subscriptions lapse when I wasn't working, but when I got the full-time job, I renewed my beloved weekly paper subscription, $36 for the year.

Entertainment: $33
Some people spend thousands in this category, but I can find ways to have fun without spending oodles. This was mostly Netflix and $2 movies at the town hall theater.

Birds: $23
This was for birdseed and suet.

Vacations: $22
I haven't had a real vacation of at least a week for about 4 years now. This figure represents what it cost me to go down to see my dad in NJ for an overnight visit.

And there you have it...how to spend nearly $35,000 without really trying!

Cus I learned this week my temporary job won't extend past next Thursday, Dec. 30. Which means....back to being jobless.

I spent 2 days feeling depressed about it all over again, just becus now I know for sure the temp job won't last.

Weirdly, the head of the dept., the one who could hire me if she chose, came over to wish me happy holidays and feigned ignorance about when my last day was and then even hugged me and said let us know if there's anything we can do. Meanwhile, I'm thinking, hire me, dammit!

So next week will be my last week. Since the person who gives me my assignments is out all next week on vacation, he loaded me up with work today to keep me busy all next week. Kind of a funny situation, I'll be more or less unsupervised, and next week i expect staffing will be light, but I just want to get in as close to 40 hours as possible in my remaining 4 days (New Yr's eve is a company holiday of course, and I can't work it.)

So he agreed to act as a reference for me, also agreed to write a little recommendation on my Linked In profile page, even tho the company tells employees not to do that and promised to follow up with the gal looking to fill another spot at the company that I applied for. perhaps something will develop there, but it will likely take a few weeks at least, so of course I'll be looking elsewhere too.

With so many job-related things on my mind, my focus really hasn't been on Christmas. I've been having a bit of a pity party because at the office, everyone on the staff has been in high spirits, what with extra time off and no doubt, big bonuses handed out. me, on the other hand, can look forward to no more work and scrounging for freelance stuff again. What a contrast.

I've already been making lists of things to do in the very near future. Among them:

1. File to restart unemployment benefits Jan 3
2. Call my contact to see if there are any focus groups I qualify for
3. FINISH WALLPAPERING THE BATHROOM
4. EXERCISE and start getting back in shape!
5. File for 2 financial writer jobs in a city over an hour from home, but maybe i could work out a partial telecommute deal.
6. Write up 2 different flyers promoting my freelance work and availability for perm work to area financial services company. Yeah, we're talking a blind mass resume send. The pros never recommend doing that, but I did in fact get a job that way once, just hitting a company at the right time after they decided they needed a communications mgr but before they advertised, and the director of this trade organization decided he liked me enough to hire me without looking all over. Very unusual.
7. Contact my oldest client and see if I can start working on the January blog post.
8. Cancel the Netflix once I return the movie i currently have.
9. Possibly cancel cable if my unemployment benefits are less than what i got before.
10. Don't renew my prepaid cell phone package ($100 a year) and go back to using calling cards for the occasional long-distance calls.
11. Don't renew my AAA membership since i won't be driving much anyway.
12. Email the employment agency and tell them they need to mail me proof of termination, which i'll need to get my unemployment claim going.
13. Look around for a few more agencies to register with, preferably those that specialize in creative talent.

Anyway, that's plenty to keep me busy for the first half of January.

Tomorrow, Xmas eve, i'm going to my neighbor's for dinner. She made a beef stew so it'll actually be leftovers, but i really don't care. I'm bringing over some broccoli au gratin.

I had a mini heart attack today. (Not a real one.)

Earlier in the day, I was wrapping Xmas presents on the dining room table. This year's theme is "organic" and "natural," so I am using plain brown paper wrapping and dressing it up with fern seed fronds I collected from the yard as well as oats (which I also grow), and a few bows.

I had a piece of plain white string, the kind you use for household stuff. I had cut it and was dangling it in front of Luther, who loves to play whenever, however. He leapt at it,and then I remembered I had some name tags upstairs, so I dropped the string to Luther, who has at least 3 other assorted strings laying around the house, while I went upstairs. I came back down in less than a minute, JUST IN TIME TO SEE LUTHER LICKING HIS CHOPS, the way he does when he's just eating something really good.

The string. I looked all around. Could not find it. It was a mighty long string. That's why I hadn't imagined he would actually swallow it. It had to be at least 15 inches in length.

I began freaking. The thought occurred to me that he might need surgery becus the string could become an obstruction or get all tangled up in his bowels. I went online and began looking for information, imagining the many hundreds I'd spend when I don't have the budget for this. Somewhere I read that others had given their cats laxatives daily until the cat passed it, but sometimes they didn't and they had to rush their pets to emergency surgery when the cat stopped eating in a day or two.

I gave Luther the laxative treats, which he loves. They don't call him "Hoover" for nothing!

A little later, i went down to the basement to do a load of laundry and I noticed either cat poop or vomit on the concrete floor. I went to clean it up with a paper towel and I saw that it was vomit.

Lo and behold, an early Christmas miracle...there was the long piece of white string covered with some cat food and a few of those laxative treats.

I feel SO relieved. I immediately threw away 2 of the strings I had laying around the house.


That's him, on the right.

In other news...
Got together with my friend and we drove down to a neighboring town to check out a brand new health food store. They had a huge selection of everything. Now while I'm used to health food store prices, this store was way too expensive for me to consider visiting with any kind of regularity. They did, however, have lots of free samples of stuff, everything from cereal to lip balm to organic raisins to vitamin supplements, so i grabbed one of everything

After that, we hit a gift shop for holiday browsing and then, after debating whether to grab a bite at a cheap diner somewhere when i really didn't want to spend the $$, she invited me over her house and we had a cup of tea and caught up. I gave her her Xmas present early (a collection of chocolates from Trader Joe's) and we broke into a Peruvian chocolate, which was pretty good.

Then, becus I desperately need the exercise, I walked home from her house, about a 15-minute walk, right before dark. It was cold, but I'm so glad I did it.

Last night i watched a good netflix movie, As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me. It was a WWII movie about a German soldier who landed in a Russian concentration camp, escaped the camp and walked 8,000 miles across Siberia back to Germany. It took him 3 years and is based on a true story.

aarghhh.

It's almost too much to wrap my head around now.

When I learned earlier this week that I may not get an offer of a permanent job (still no decision from the company, but they've changed the job description, which no longer fits me to a T), I started getting very anxious. The thought of returning to a long bout of being broke and out of work was not a comforting one. So I did what I do best. I set to work taking another look at my tightest of Tightwad Budgets, looking to see what my current expenses are, what could be minimized, etc. Because the more in control of my situation I am, the less fearful I feel.

I called my homeowner's insurance carrier and increased the deductible again, this time from $2,500 to $5,000, which saved me about $60.

I went online and checked current electric prices and switched again, from Public Power to ConEd, reducing my price per kilowatt from .0999 to .0849. Perhaps it will make some noticeable difference. The lower price is locked in for a year.

I learned how sneaky electric suppliers can be after switching the 1st time. When I switched to Public Power, they had a lower price than the default supplier, but that lower price only held for 3 months, and then they bumped me to a higher price, counting on the fact that most people won't take the trouble to switch electric suppliers more than once. Even though there's no charge to do so. Well, I took the trouble!

So my total monthly minimum expenses seem to be in the range of $2,291. I mean, that's REALLY minimum. Yes, that includes my mortgage and property taxes. Compare this to my more normal monthly expenses of $3,600.

Here is my ranked list of estimated 2011 minimal monthly expenses, based on current data:

Mortgage and property taxes: $1,146
COBRA $444
Food $219
Electricity: $66
Heating oil: $65
Sewer (usage and loan): $60
Gas for car: $57
Homeowners insurance: $56
Phone and Internet: $44
Car maintenance $38
Car insurance $35
Cable TV: $18
Water: $15
Borough taxes $14
Car tax: $7
Dump sticker: $7

Not covered: Health care out of pocket, home maintenance, chimney cleaning, furnace cleaning, mortgage prepayments, retirement savings, dining out, entertainment, clothing, Netflix, gifts, bird seed.

It's totally ironic that I'll be paying $444 a month for health insurance, yet I DON'T INTEND to use it at all. Why? Becus the plan has a $1500 deductible, so if I used it for a few doctor's visits or whatever, I'd be paying the whole bill anyway for most of the year. If I end up being out of work for say, another 6 months, paying the deductible would all be for nothing becus then I'd probably have to satisfy a whole new deductible with a brand new plan. So my strategy is, don't use it at all.

But keeping the health insurance accomplishes 3 important things I can't do without:

1. It ensures that when I do get a permanent job, the health insurer can't refuse to cover my pre-existing health problem (MS) for a year, or charge exorbitant fees to do so. Chalk this convoluted way things are to our screwed-up health insurance system.

2. It provides coverage in the event of unexpected, catastrophic health problem like surgery or something that would cost much, much more if I were uninsured.

3. It ensures that I can continue to fill my one prescription, the med I take for the MS.

Yesterday I called the employment agency that's paying my paychecks now and asked them what the monthly bill would be for my health care under COBRA. You might say I was pleasantly surprised, because since the agency is too cheap to contribute anything to employees' health care and I pay the full expense already ($425 a month), there would be no increase for COBRA, save for a 2% administration charge.

Still, that's a lot more than the $178 I was paying with the COBRA subsidy.

So, after doing all this number-crunching I felt like things were still "doable," even with the spike in my health insurance costs.

That is, until I reexamined my state's formula for calculating unemployment benefits. I have 2 key questions in my mind about which of 2 formulas would apply to me; maybe I'll call the dept of labor next week to try to get some answers.

Question 1: If I was collecting unemployment in September and then started this temporary job, worked the temp job (full-time) for 3.5 months and now it looks like the job will end 12/31 and I want to apply for unemployment again, do they just reopen my old claim, since I hadn't used up all the money, or will it be considered a new claim?

Dido, I actually think it would be much better if they considered it reopening the existing claim, because then I could expect to get the weekly benefit I got before, about $544 a week. (CT is an expensive place to live.) I already know I could live on that, even with the higher health insurance costs.

But if they treat it as a new claim, then my Question #2 is, Which formula would they use to calculate my weekly benefit rate?

I see from the DOL website there is the "standard" formula which takes the highest average earnings from the 1st 4 of 5 calendar quarters prior to the quarter you file the claim in. In other words, if I file the claim sometime in January, I can't use earnings from the 4th quarter of 2010 to calculate my benefit. I have to use the 4th quarter of 09 and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2010. You'd calculate the average of the 2 highest earning quarters, then divide by 26.

The problem with this is that I didn't work at all in the 4th quarter of 09 or 1st quarter of 2010. I worked for the census burea in the 2nd quarter and then for the census bureau AND the temporary job in the 3rd quarter. But the census was a p/t job and it all works out to a weekly benefit of just $162 a week.

However, the website says that when you can't establish eligibility using the basic formula, you are then allowed to use their alternate formula, which is using the 4 calendar quarters immediately preceding the quarter you file a claim. This would make a HUGE difference in my case becus it was in the 4th quarter that I worked this temp job making very good money, and my weekly benefit would be $554, not $162.

I am feeling very, very nervous about this.

As for the 2nd job I learned about at the company I'm working at now, I did apply but haven't heard anything yet. The guy i work with who told me about it did put in a good word for me, I know.

There was another option that occurred to me. If the company cannot find a candidate who has both the skills they're looking for (strong writer with technical background) and if they liked me, but didn't think they'd have enough work to keep me busy on a full-time basis, I was thinking I could suggest maybe we could work out a 20 or 30 hour work week with commensurately lower pay.

There's 2 problems with that. One, I think the 1st thought they'd have is oh, she wouldn't want to stay here long at the lower pay and as soon as she had an opportunity, she'd find something else. And two, i don't want them to think I'm just desperate for a job, because that would be a turnoff to the employer.

Taking a lower salary of say $40 or 60K would be a lot less than I'd get f/t, but heck, if i can make it work on unemployment benefits i can make $40K or $60K work, for a time.

So I don't know if i should suggest this or not. I know i can't just freelance for them as needed, becus i had to sign an agreement with the employment agency saying I wouldn't work for the company for one year. This is standard, of course.

It's just as well I'm staying inside all day, due to my cold, but I am getting just a wee bit stir crazy, since this is Day 3 of doing so.

It's coming down in sheets and the rain is blowing mightily. They said to expect 2 to 4 inches, and I'm just praying my caulking job on my 2 leaky windows hold. So far, they are. This is certainly the ultimate test.

I wrapped up my Xmas shopping online today. My sister's so difficult to buy for, doesn't give us any ideas and since she hasn't invited my mother or i to her home in at least 5 years, it's really hard to tell what her tastes are like these days.

But i found an interesting website (uncommongoods.com) and ordered a pair of dangle earrings made out of vegetables. I got the beet and mango version, 2 round disks, one smaller than the other and laid on top of the larger one. They dry the vegetables, slice it paper thin and then layer that on top of a copper disk. Very interesting.

I also got her 2 books she wanted, plus a collection of dark chocolate from all over the world. For my mom, I got flannel sheets, a cotton jacket and a new pressure cooker. I got my dad a slow cooker cookbook, but not sure when I'll give it to him. I guess if I don't get a job January 1, I can make a trip down there to Jersey and give it to him then. I also got my friend H. the same packet of dark chocolates, as she's a chocolate lover.

I'm still kind of sick, though feeling better. Maybe I'll have the energy to wrap a few presents on the dining room table.

I managed to do a new freelance assignment I got. I made myself do it becus i may very well need the $ given my current job uncertainty, plus, this is a new client and she'll pay me cash, $100 for an hour or so of work.

I also made my SEP-IRA contribution for this year. It's just for my freelance work and never amounts to much, though of course if I had thought to open it 15 years ago when I started doing freelance, it would have really amounted to something. But anyway, this is just year 2 and I transferred $300 from checking into it. The more tax-deferred investments, the better.

Holed up in the house...talked to my mother, talked to friend N., talked to friend H. Last night for dinner I dethawed a big bag of zucchini chunks from last summer's garden, pureed it in the blender, and added it to a Trader Joe's cream of tomato/red pepper soup, along with sauteed onions and garlic and some leftover brussel sprouts I had. Pretty good.

My plan for next week is to work an extra half hour each day so i can leave work Friday at 3 pm without losing any pay for doing so. Then I'll head to Ikea, which is a lot closer to my work than my home is. I want to browse the lower level; i hardly ever shop there due to its location an hour from home, but it occurred to me that would be a good place to shop for Xmas, altho i'm basically done. I have to say, the renewed job worries really take all the fun out of Xmas shopping. I can't really splurge as much as I'd like after several years of frugal Xmases.

...just a bad cold, but I hate being sick!

I finally had to take off Friday from work, which meant I lost $400, but oh well. I only plan on taking the Monday after Xmas off, and that's it.

I had been feeling relatively positive about my chances of getting this job on a perm basis. After all, I've gotten positive feedback from several avenues, and the 2 other temp writers hired have also left.

But they still wanted to advertise the job. I guess from a due diligence standpoint, they couldn't just say we want Patient Saver. They wanted to see who else was out there. But I learned recently that when they weren't happy with the quality of the candidates that the employment agency was sending them (they chose not to interview any of them), they decided to rewrite the job description and repost it. The problem is, they CHANGED the job description so that instead of it being a 100% writing job, which I'm well qualified for, they're now looking for someone with strong writing skills PLUS the technical expertise, ie, someone who can use this software program (Camtasia) and actually build out the tutorials they produce.

I don't have the technical background, though I could certainly learn it. They know that, but i guess they're looking for the "perfect" job candidate, if indeed someone exists with both the writing skills and the technical skills. Usually, people are good at one or the other. Maybe that's why most companies I've worked for have one or more dedicated writers, and several designers, but not people who do both. You're just using different sides of the brain.

So i was really crushed when i learned they changed the job description. I was told i'm still considered a candidate, but you would tend to think if they wanted me, they'd know right off; if they're still looking for someone better, i doubt they'd change their mind and come back to me.

So, the guy i report to on a daily basis was very kind to give me a printout from the company's careers website with a job he thought i should apply for. Even better, he said he knows the hiring manager and can put in a good word for me. I asked him if he knew something i didn't, that maybe i'd been ruled out for the original job (working with him) and he said no, but he confirmed there was now greater emphasis on the technical skills, and he didn't think i should put all my eggs in one basket. It's not his decision, but I'm sure he has input.

Anyway, i was very grateful that he was trying to help. (He would get a $1K referral bonus if I were hired.) He said, "I'd hate to lose you, but if this doesn't work out, it'd be better for you to move to a different job in this company rather than go outside the company. I certainly agree! He mentioned that the salary range for the 2nd job was the same as the job he has, whereas the original job was one step lower. I need to find out what that range is.

The thought of possibly going back to collecting unemployment is incredibly discouraging. I hadn't really considered that a possibility these past few months. Although you've probably heard that Congress extended unemployment for a year, my situation going back to unemployment would be much worse due to the lack of the COBRA subsidy. I was able to live on unemployment by cutting way back on expenses, and so I avoided spending any of my own savings for an entire year, no small feat. But with the lack of the COBRA subsidy, that wouldn't be possible, becus i'd be going from paying $178 a month for health insurance (for one), to probably well over $500 a month.

So what happens in the next few weeks is incredibly important and depending on the outcome, will mean a huge difference in my life. What a contrast. Scrounging again on unemployment, searching for work again for who knows how long, or landing a great job with a global leader and cushy salary that will help me accelerate my long-term goals of paying off the mortgage and building my retirement nest egg so i can retire earlier than age 60 (possibly). Such a stark contrast.

I didn't really have to go there, but I did. It was packed with holiday shoppers. I hit Macy's, Sears and JC Penny. I also enjoyed browsing Pottery Barn and William Somona, but come on! They're so freakin' expensive! As usual, Pottery Barn sets such a lovely table.

I find that Sears is the best value for clothes, although I often find things I like at Macy's when I have a coupon. I got my mother a nice cotton ivory jacket with hood that i think she'll like. I have to say my mom always looks so put together, she's good at layering and matching beaded necklaces to clothes and all that. I rarely buy her clothes for Christmas (always thought I didn't know her taste) but after she mentioned several times how much she enjoyed going through my own castoff clothing that I outgrew, I figured she deserves something new. Believe me, most of my castoff clothing was nothing much to look at.

At Wal-Mart I picked up some flannel sheets; they were such a good buy ($15 per set) that I got one for me and one for mom. I LOVE sleeping in flannel.

At Trader Joe's, I got a really cute stacked pack of organic dark chocolates from all over South America (the chocolates were the size of coasters, not rectangular), tied with a little ribbon and labeled with the countries they were from. Cute, just $10, and I think my sister will like them. She's so fussy and hard to shop for. I also got my mom some dark chocolate with hazelnut, and will use the chocolate bar as part of the gift wrapping on another gift.

I was looking for sleeveless turtlenecks for myself, to replace some stretched out "dickies" i got years ago at Wal-Mart. Couldn't find them. I know Dress Barn has them, but i don't care for the pleating they have below the turtleneck, which looks odd to me.

Last Tuesday was the last work day for the other temp writer. I was very sorry to see her go. We talked a lot and it made the day more enjoyable. We actually have a lot in common. She's back to being unemployed, this after just signing a one-year lease on her rented apartment and buying a new car with loan payments. There is a new writer, a "Dr." and a man, who starts on Monday. I was hoping for a woman I could befriend. I still don't know the status of my job, i.e., will they offer me a perm position by month's end?

I am trying to keep my Sundays sacrosanct, meaning no running around beyond my hometown. It just seems more sane to me, and the day lasts much longer. I don't get much time to just hang around and enjoy my home these days.

Maybe I'll make a lamb stew tomorrow. I'm getting bored with my food choices these days. I like to make a big Sunday dinner so i have some leftovers for the coming workweek.

I hadn't planned on making soup, but I went to Costco yesterday and was forced to dethaw a large bag of frozen zucchini chunks from last summer's garden, just to make room for what I got at Costco.

So...there it was in the fridge, ready to do something with but not looking too appetizing. I was afraid I'd end up with a watery mess on my hands, but it turned out pretty good.

I used some Trader Joe's sweet potato bisque as a base, blended the thawed zucchini into a lumpy puree and added that, plus a lot of sauteed onions and garlic. I also poured in about a half cup of grated peccorino-romano cheese. It's colorful, and i didn't even need to use the light cream I'd bought.

Today was the best kind of weekend day, a stay-at-home day where i didn't have to drive anywhere.

I did 10 minutes on the indoor bike (hey, that's double what i did last time!), then I went outside to refill the bird feeders. Then I swept up a bunch of leaves that always collect at the top of the driveway, and I swept up others parts of the drive, too. I raked leaves elsewhere (not too much), scrubbed a whole lot of bird poop off my car, then came inside to make that soup.

Yesterday i helped my mother unload her art from another show and carry it upstairs. I also got my 25-mile ratchet check after my tire rotation. I have to do it one more time after 500 miles.

I saw outside by the feeders that 2 different birds got nailed by a local hawk. I guess the hawk needs to eat too. Looked like it may have been a titmouse or chickadee.

I also spent some time decorating the house for Xmas. I have a lot of decorations that never make their way down from the attic, but I did put up one tabletop tree with ornaments, a ceramic light-up tree my grandmother made for me years ago and i decorated my "mantel" with greenery so it sort of looks like a woodland scene with birds, berries, sheep and little children dressed in their winter coats and scarves. It's the top of a glass bookcase I have that looks like it could be a mantel.




Outside, i picked up a birch branch that came down in a storm. Its branches had grown very twisty and curvy, so i stuck it in an elongated planter I have and threw a few ornaments on it. It's sitting in the driveway, at the stairway to the front door.

Oh, yes, I did 2 loads of laundry, too.

I have very few friends. But here's the kind of conversation I have with the few friends I have:

Ron is telling me how he plans to dispose of his assets, during and after his lifetime. He thinks he'll be gone within 10 years, due to the prostate cancer. He has no children, and the woman he married twice (once before she left him and once after she left him) lives in her own condo but comes to visit the dog regularly.

He has two nieces. We went to visit them yesterday. When Ron and I were dating, many years ago,we spent a lot of time with his nieces. They were about 10 years old or so then, and I was about 29. Ron was 40.

Now his nieces are all grown up, married,with cute little kids. The older niece is doing very well; she and her husband are both CPAs with good jobs. The younger one is a school teacher who married her blue collar husband when she became pregnant. Ron didn't care for him much, he mostly did odd jobs while his niece is a first grade school teacher.

Ron has helped them out a lot with money when they needed it. His niece wants to have a 2nd child, but her husband said he wanted to save for a big barn to house all his trucking equipment before that. So Ron has made them an interest-free loan of $40,000 which may not be paid back if he dies too soon.

So Ron, I think, isn't really giving them money for a barn, he's giving them money so that Megan can have what she wants: a 2nd child.Don't ask me why the 2 are connected, but i guess it was money issues.

He plans to leave all his money to his nieces and draw down the equity in his house thru a reverse mortgage. After his death, he said, his wife can have the house to live in, mainly so that she can take care of the dog. (They don't allow dogs where she lives.) But she won't get much money out of it becus he'll have drawn down most of the equity out by then.

He realizes now that she's not really his partner, and probably won't be. He's finally realizing he's not getting much out of the relationship with her. He doesn't feel he can rely on her to dispose of his belongings after he dies, so he's made that a stipulation as part of the $40K loan he gave his younger niece, that they would have to agree to dispose of his material possessions.

He's still legally married to his wife and he's on her health plan til he turns 65 in a few more years. She had a slew of very serious health problems which he helped her with; now she's on disability. He was comparing my personality with that of his wife, wo's very different from me. He always makes me feel good becus he says out loud his assessments, which are that i've worked very hard over the years, i have a nice house and live in a nice town and now i have a very good job.

He's very good at validating the stuff you've done well. You're a spark plug, he said. A spark plug! Ron, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me! I'm a spark plug! I actually got Ron to laugh, something that's hard to do these days.

After the cyber knife surgery failed to eradicate Ron's cancer completely, Ron went on estrogen hormones a few months ago, which is supposed to suppress the growth of the cancer. He can only stay on that for 3 years, and then it stops working. So he has to spend 3 years hoping they come up with something else that will work becus that's pretty much his last option. In the meantime, the estrogen is making him put on weight, and he already was overweight to begin with. He's growing small breasts.

And, I learned yesterday as we were driving home from his nieces, he also has a sleep disorder that makes him suddenly feel like falling asleep.

I remembered back to when we dated that he always fell asleep at night within minutes of his head hitting the pillow. Once, he even fell asleep during sex.

He kept saying it was sleep apnea, but i think it has a different name. He started fighting falling asleep as he drove us home. It might partly be due to the estogen, I'm not sure.

But I realized he was falling asleep becus he started slurring his speech as he was talking. At first, I thought he was having a heart attack. I looked at him and could see he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He opened the window for fresh air, and i put my hand on his arm to shake him. I was scared to death. He said he would stop at the Dunkin Donuts a few exits down the road and wouldn't pull over. We made it to Dunkin Donuts, he got caffeine and seemed better. He agreed to take the back roads the rest of the way home so we could avoid the highway, and then he even agreed to let me drive. I was greatly relieved.

So that's how we made it home. Now I have something new to worry about, that my friend's going to crack up the car someday.

Joan, for some reason I can't post a reply to my own blog. I had the same problem trying to comment on someone else's blog today, but anyway....


it's called a Bell bicycle trainer. Here's a link to where Amazon is selling it...

http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Motivator-Indoor-Bicycle-Trainer/dp/B000AAYBWS

I think it's too chilly for outdoor riding now, Apprentice, but maybe we get an unexpected warm day...

I was thinking a TV would be good, but there's no room for the bike in my bedroom or kitchen where I have tvs. There's a cable hook-up in the family room, but i close that room off in winter. I may consider having a cable line installed in the spare bedroom. Or maybe i should just have it done in my office. Hmmm, ill have to think about that one...

OK, here it is, all set up in the spare bedroom.

I donned my sweat pants and, to be honest, just a bra (I was planning on working up a sweat) and hopped on this morning. It was pretty easy to pedal without real hills to worry about, so I put it in the lowest gear possible, the kind you'd use if you were going down a really long hill.

Even then, I could tell it would probably take a while to really get my heart pumping. It was a little on the noisy side, like a pretty loud hum. I think it scared Waldo. I want to try putting some extra carpet padding I think I have in the attic under the trainer to absorb some of the vibrations and make it quieter.

So after about 10 minutes of mindless pedaling, I got bored and hopped off. I hope I can put in more time without getting bored. If I were doing it at a gym, i know from previous experience that personal "pride" keeps me exercising longer, cus you don't want to look like a wuss. Of course at home, it's so much easier to bag it, as my very first 10-minute ride demonstrates.

Well, good thing I didn't sink a lot of money into this......

I spent all day today indoors. Just didn't feel like going outside in the 40 degree weather. I enjoyed just puttering around the house doing different things plus, taking a very long mid-afternoon nap felt quite luxurious. I'm really enjoying indoor time now that I'm not forcing myself to freeze my butt off at 62 degrees or so. 67, I'm finding, is very livable. I think it will be worth a couple of hundred extra bucks if that's what it ends up taking. Doesn't sound very frugal, does it?

Normally, an oil tank fill-up in the summer will last me til early January, but I suspect I will be filling up in December. We'll see.

I was trying to help my mother pin down what kind of pressure cooker she wants for Xmas to replace the one she's had for 44 years! 4 quart, stainless steel, 2 handles...

I bought my dad a cookbook filled with slow cooker recipes. I didn't know he was using a slow cooker, but it came out in conversation a while back, so I hope he would use the cookbook, I don't know. It was only $8.

My friend left for Florida early this a.m. for a week so I'm on my own this weekend.

I feel like I accomplished some cool stuff, aside from the usual chores.

I stopped in at a church fair and saw that one of the items in the silent auction was a (used) thingamajig that converts your regular bicycle to an indoor stationery bicycle.

I have really been wanting to avoid the usual winter weight gain this year and had been pricing these items online to the tune of $150 or so.

Now if you know how silent auctions work, it's pretty easy to get what you want. You can just place your bid toward the end of the auction, which is what I did, for $22. Then because it was just another half hour before they gave away the auctioned items, I sort of hung around and kept my eagle eye on that particular item. Cus if someone else signed up to bid, I could just bid again...they only required that subsequent bids be in at least $2 increments higher. But no one else bid after me, so I got it and I even got it working after dragging my bike up from the basement to the spare bedroom upstairs. It seems pretty sturdy; I hope it doesn't damage my bike in any way. So i saved quite a bit of $$ on that thing.

Now I have to use it!!!!!

After getting my big ladder out last week to caulk a leaky window, it appears to have held through a recent rainstorm. But I awoke early one a.m. last week during that rainstorm and i thought to myself, gee, that rain sounds like it's IN the house. And in fact, it was dripping through another window, this one in my bedroom.

So this a.m. i caulked up the 2nd leaky window. I've done this many times, altho it's usually the other window in my office. The caulk seems to hold for a few years, and then it leaks again. But anyway,the bedroom window was MUCh easier to deal with becus i was able to climb out my bedroom window onto the relatively flat roof over the family room to do the work. No ladders.

I also filled up the gas tank (weekend ritual), got a large, interesting bluish glass vase at Home Goods and groceries at Shop Rite. I treated myself to a big piece of wild sockeye salmon, which i'll share with the cats tonight.

I interviewed with HR at the company I'm doing the contract work with, for the perm job. It wasn't much of an interview, he only asked me 1 or 2 questions, so i'm hoping that's becus he knows they want me.

It's still a little unnerving becus they interviewed several people from the outside for the 2 positions. I hope it's not for the one I want. Still in "wait" mode, as in, I'm waiting for an offer sometime this month or next.

Does anyone have experience doing temporary contract work and then negotiating for the perm position? What I don't know is how much higher or (likely) lower the perm salary may be compared to the temp job? I'm making $104K now. How much would you advise I ask for?

Since starting the temp work in mid-September, I've been nearly doubling my mortgage payments and have started to save money on top of that, altho only $500 a month and I think I can increase that amount.

I'm not sure where my mortgage balance is now, but the goal is still to get that thing paid off ASAP so i can fully concentrate on retirement saving, the ultimate goal being to retire well BEFORE age 60. Like age 55 would be great, but I would have to really ramp up the savings to do that, and not sure it's at all possible.

I am taking Tgiving and the friday after off and am really looking forward to the first time off since starting the job, but it will also mean the paycheck after the next one will be substantially smaller as that will just be a 24-hour week, not 40.

If I end up getting the job, it won't really matter, but it will matter a lot if i don't becus i'll be impoverished again and need every penny.

I spoke to my friend Ron briefly today while i was waiting to collect on the silent auction thing...we may go for a little road trip on Friday after Turkey day to visit one of his nieces, who has a baby now. i haven't seen her for many years; she was just a young girl when i was dating ron....she probably has only memories of me and him always arguing. That's something i regret. Ron and i are opposites in many ways, but he's a good friend now, albeit one i seldom see these days.

Last week I wrote a letter to the editor of my local paper opposing the proposed construction of a new 6-bay fire station near my neighborhood. It's very close to a busy intersection that is bumper to bumper during rush hour and in a residential area.

The fire company's current fire station has structural integrity problems and for some reason they don't want to rebuild in that location, nor do they want to go to another area of town where's there's plenty of space, a road that's equipped to handle fire trucks and no residential nearby.

A chiropractor who's involved in fighting the proposal saw my letter in the paper and called me last week, asking if I'd be willing to help collect petition signatures.

Of course i said yes, so i spent about 2 hours this afternoon walking around my neighborhood getting signatures. I feel energized by all the support and positive energy I got from people. 8 out of 10 signed the petition.

Then I had to run home cus my mother was meeting me here at 4 pm for us to exchange a few things. Then as she was leaving one of the neighbors who got my note in the door called me and said they wanted to sign, so my mother gave me a ride down the road to their house and back.

Do you remember my telling you that the company I'm working for as a contractor for 3.5 months terminated the other writer on day 6 of his employment? Well, the 3rd writer has also been let go, although they're giving her until the end of the month. (She was supposed to stay til end of December and of course, she, too, was hoping for a perm job after that.)

So that leaves me. The have yet to offer me the job on a perm basis, but I'm counting on their doing so. They had advertised the job externally as well. I plan to ask about what's going on before Thanksgiving. The other writer is upset but she's also a very upbeat person.

I happen to like the other writer. We have a few things in common: we're both around the same age, not married, no kids, and we both are into eating healthy and hiking. Altho she's very outgoing, I am not.

In the meantime, i was able to access the healthcare coverage options for employees on the company's intranet site. It had all the info on the plans except the prices, which vary depending on what grade level your job is. (Why would that be? Have higher paid employees pay more, maybe?)

But they have so many choices: 5 different health insurance plans, 2 dental plans and 2 vision plans, plus the health savings accounts. Carrrier is Aetna/CIGNA. I've never had them before, but anyway, you get to choose a plan depending on whether you want 90% coverage and higher monthly premiums or low premiums but higher co-pays, basically.

Today, prior to my signature-collecting, i got up on a ladder to try to address a persistently leaky window on the 2nd floor. The ladder is BARELY long enough for me to reach the top of the 2nd floor window and i hate getting up there. It's really not safe, but there's no one else to do it.

As has been the case before, i examined window trim where I'd caulked before and for the life of me couldn't see any obvious spot where the water was coming in. When it rains heavily, it drips from in between the inside window and window trim. Generally my caulking lasts a year or two, and then it starts leaking again. So I caulked heavily on the outside anyway. This will be the very last weekend, I'm sure, when it will be warm enough for the caulk to dry, so I caught a lucky break. Assuming that caulk plugs up the leak. Otherwise, I'd have to deal with the problem until spring.

After dealing with the leak, I reattached 2 loose house shutters, mowed up all the leaves in the backyard, got my car serviced at the dealer (oil/filter change, check brakes and battery) and picked up some groceries at Shop Rite. I also topped off the gas tank and did a load of laundry.

Which takes care of most of my chores, so tomorrow is fun day when i go to a craft show with a friend.

The boys were really spoiled by having me around all the time this past year when I wasn't working. So now that I'm back to work f/t, I actually feel guilty, after leaving them to fend for themselves all week long, when I run around and do my assorted errands on the weekend.

So this weekend, I invited a friend over to show me her yoga moves. She's been trying to get me interested in it for years, but in the past I'd always figured that if I was going to dedicate some time for exercise, I'd want to do something cardio, and get more benefit, out of it.

But yoga seemed like just the ticket after acquiring a stiff neck from sitting in front of the computer at the office. And I figured Luther would appreciate having the extra companionship.

So we spent a good 1.5 hours doing yoga positions in my living room with classical music on in the background. I do really like how loosened up I feel. I have a lot of strength from mowing the lawn and such, but I've lost a lot of flexibility over the years, I think.

I let my friend sample the chili cooling on the stove (made with homegrown tomatoes and dried beans). We also had some organic apple cider and a berry crisp I made using blueberries and wineberries I picked in the yard and froze. It was yummy.

My friend M. called earlier in the day and we had a long conversation. He wanted my opinion on whether he should declare bankruptcy and how it would impact his credit. He's about 30K in debt. He's back to work now, too, but his is also temporary and unlike mine, where I have a good shot at the perm position, his will probably end at the end of the year. He's working in the city and making very good money, at $60/hr. but no health insurance.

Now it's getting dark and it's not even 5 pm How depressing.

Ahhh. I bought myself a Filter Stream HEPA air purifier.

Never considered getting one before, but now that I've got my heat on (forced hot air), it sure blows a lot of dust around. Add 2 shedding cats to the mix and I figured it might be a good idea.

Anytime I change the bed sheets I see all kinds of dust particles floating in the air, and it occurred to me i was breathing that stuff in.

With the cats, I really should be vacuuming weekly, but I tend to vacuum maybe once every 3 weeks. Housecleaning's not really my thing....

I went to the Energy Star website to pinpoint which brands and models were the most energy-efficient. There's quite a wide range. Some of them cost more to run than a refrigerator!

I got a very good one and I'm very happy with how quiet it is, too. What's more, it has a built in reservoir and you can put in different air fragrances. It came with 3: lavender, citrus and grapefruit. The lavender was too strong for my taste but the others might be nice.

Today was a pretty decent day. I went to Wal-Mart and stocked up on another month's supply of Fancy Feast, ($75) bought a pair of work slacks (dark purple) at Marshall's for $17, browsed Home Goods, topped off the gas tank and picked up some hairball treats for the boys.

I lounged around the house enjoying my free time and did some laundry and also vacuumed. I refilled the bird feeder and the suet feeder. Nothing too strenuous.

I'm feeling very liberated since telling that old freelance client of mine it might be a better idea if he wrote his case study himself, and that I'd still be happy to "polish" it for him. I was relieved when he wrote back and said the same thought had occurred to him, so no hard feelings, I'm off the hook and editing is a heck of a lot easier than starting from scratch.

My work weeks sure fly by pretty quickly. Still, I'm very much looking forward to my first time off when Tgiving rolls around. I'm taking the Friday after off too, and am looking forward to an extended break. I won't get paid for it as a contractor, but I'm feeling somewhat more confident i'll get the job in 2011 anyway, so why not take the holiday time off and enjoy it.

I've really gotten to like the other temp writer who was hired, and it's looking like only one of us will end up staying into 2011. I'm hoping it will be me, but I will miss her. I hope we can solidify our friendship so that we stay in touch afterwards.

I think I have a good reason to do so.

Here's the story....

I've had a business relationship with a freelance client that goes back 20 years. He gives me work sporadically, not regularly, but he always calls me when he's got something. He's my oldest freelance client.

Shortly after I started my full-time job, he came to me with a request to help him write a 40-page or so case study, which would likely earn him an educational designation in his field and be a feather in his cap, as only 200 others have this designation nationwide.

He started writing the case study a long time ago but other things get in the way. Like work and family.

So when he asked me to help, I explained that with my new job, the only time I could work on his project was on weekends, He was ok with that and said his goal was to have it done by end of the year. So I reluctantly said yes, becus I, too, feel incredibly stretched for time since starting the new job. It pays very well, and I don't need to freelance anymore, but my full-time job is temporary thru year's end and I may or may not get the perm job.

If I don't get the perm job, then my old freelance client's work would really come in handy. But if i get the perm job, i don't need it, and frankly, there are only so many hours in my weekend and i don't relish the thought of working every weekend thru year's end, which is likely what it would take to get this case study done.

But when I agreed, we scheduled a phone call to discuss the project. I spent a fair amount of time prior to the call reviewing all the emails, attachments and URLs he sent me. I was ready to go, and i'd blocked out part of my saturday to get started on this project. When he called me, he said he wasn't really prepared to talk in detail and could i wait til the following weekend.

Fine. Next weekend he called and again he wasn't ready. He said he had some handwritten notes he had to type up and then he'd email them to me. Never got them.

This was the 3rd weekend. We have a standing 8:30 a.m. Saturday date to discuss the project each week. He sent me an email Friday night saying he was meeting with a builder and couldn't make it at 8:30 a.m. and was there an alternate time We could talk? I emailed him back last night and said how about 4 pm. I never got a reply from him, but at 4 pm I was here at home, waiting for his call. It never came.

So we've had 3 weekends in a row when he's been a non-starter. I'm a little annoyed. He's procrastinating. I realize how hard it it to do this on your free time, but it's my free time too!

I think at this point I'm going to tell him very nicely that he'd probably be better off doing this himself. The problem is that i can't do any of the writing until i basically get a brain dump from him on what he wants me to say. And this requires we coordinate our time, which hasn't been working so well.

I feel I have a better than 50/50 chance of getting this perm job. No guarantee, but i i have such a full plate i really don't want this freelance job regardless. And if i do get the perm job, I'll immediately have to start studying for a securities license (FINRA Series 6) as passing it within 3 months of my start date is a prerequisite of keeping the job. So I'll have even less free time in early 2011 than i do now.

So whaddya think? I hate to leave someone high and dry, but he hasn't made much effort.

So, I've been at the new job for about 5 weeks now. Aside from the guy who's been giving me assignments (he's not my boss), I still haven't really gotten any feedback about my work from anyone in the company. I think becus everyone's so darn busy, and no one person has really taken ownership of me.

Instead, the positive feedback's been filtering back, not to me, but to the agency that found me. Nice, but I'd still like to hear it directly from the people who count.

So the agency guy told me I need to apply for my job (on a perm basis) on the company's website. He noted that the other writer hired when I was, already did so. (Funny, she didn't mention that to me.)

The agency guy said, I don't want to make you feel you're competing against so-and-so (the other new temporary writer). But of course, that's exactly the situation. He more or less confirmed there was just one job opening, exactly what I suspected...that they hired 3 temp writers and never planned to hire more than one of us.

The agency guy reiterated that they're very pleased with me, I've exceeded their expectations and that as far as competing for the perm job, "I'm ahead of the curve." He rattled off 5 or 6 things about me, he said, that were a good fit for them, the right work ethic, the right personality, the right this and that. He even thanked me for reflecting so positively on the agency. I still feel anxious. So much is riding on this job.(As for my "personality" at the office, I would have to describe it as "scared little rabbit."

If I get this job, I can pay off my mortgage in 3 more years, not 6, and it won't be much of a hardship. I don't have to freak about health insurance costs, which would exceed $500/month if I have to go back on COBRA, sans subsidy. I can also save a lot for retirement. I can ease up on the scrimping.

So now I know not only is the job being advertised internally, it's being advertised externally as well. To the world, in other words.

Funny, the agency never mentioned that. She just said if they like me, they will hire me on a perm basis. Guess that was the carrot. Shame on me for not questioning her more closely, but there's something about a lack of work for 12 months that makes you skip the hard questions.

Of course, I'm still racked with ambivalence. I tell my friends and family I'm the World's Most Reluctant Employee. Cus I'd really rather not be working at all (or at least full-time).

I guess half the population shares that sentiment, so I'm not alone. So I know, of course, that if I get the offer, I WILL take the job. It's just that I need to whine a little. Thanks for listening.

I REALLY wanted to go on the foliage train ride with my friends today, but I had a few obligations that made that difficult.

Namely, my oldest freelance client, who wants me to help write a case study for him. We had an 8:30 am conference call and he wasn't really ready to talk about the project (2nd consecutive week). It didn't really matter, as he'd also assigned me another blog post, so after I hung up from him I spent 2 hours writing that up. Mission accomplished.

I had about 30 minutes time to run to meet my friends, but I needed a break from the writing.

So after a light lunch of pea soup, and after waiting for the caffeine from a cup of tea to kick in, I decided to get started painting my office.

Several years ago I wallpapered 2 of the walls, and that's when I planned to paint the other 2 walls becus they no longer matched.

That's how long it's taken me to doing this, but I took advantage of some paint on sale at Ace Hardware and bought a gallon of paint that ended up costing just $8.

As usual, the blue on the swatch looks "different" than the blue on the walls, but I'm still fairly well satisfied with the results. Out with the dingy yellow, in with the sky blue. It only took me 3 hours, and all my furniture is back where it belongs. I turned the heat off and the opened the windows to ventilate, and I'll have to close the windows soon.

Tomorrow I may meet my friend for lunch and hit Costco in the morning. I saw a good Netflix movie last night called "Mostly Martha." If you like "foodie," feel good movies and don't mind sub-titles, you'll really like this one.

I was watching the morning news today and I got inspired by a piece on autumn window box arrangements. It seemed so easy.

I decided to make my own arrangement, mostly using plants from my yard. Here's the first one:



In this one, I've used Eastern White Pine branches, pinecones, sprigs of winterberry, dried hydrangea flowers, dried fern pods and miniature gourds I grew and purchased from the store. Following the advice of the guy on TV, I sprayed a clear lacquer on the gourds to preserve them til spring. I used pieces of bamboo garden stakes to stick into the bottom of the gourds after cutting a small hole through the bottom of the gourd. This way, the gourd can be propped up and not fall to the bottom of the display. You could do the same thing with those wooden chopsticks, if you have some on hand, or with straight but sturdy tree branches.

Here's another one I did in a basket which doesn't look quite as good.



And I really like my new shoes:



I've got a big pot of pea soup cooking on the stove. I love the flavors of diced celery, parsnip, carrot, potato and onion in it. I used to also love to add sliced kielbasa, but my life is nitrite-free now, so I bought some nitrite-free hot dogs which I'll throw in. I would've liked some Italian sweet sausage, but couldn't find nitrite-free there, so the hot dogs will do.

I mowed the back lawn and part of the front, collecting a whole bunch of leaves up in the process, some of which I dumped in my veggie garden.

I also did my best to pour concrete in the long, wide crack that developed last spring at the bottom step of my front stoop. I did a rather messy job, but it if keeps water from infiltrating, even for just 1 year, I guess it will do the job. I'd been bugging my builder guy all year to do it and he's told me umpteen times he'd be over to do that and some other stuff he started, but he hasn't come, and we're toward the very end of decent weather for concrete-curing.

This guy is perfect in every other way that's important in a contractor....reasonable rates, very good work and actually quite a nice guy I enjoy talking to, but when it comes to just doing the job within a reasonable timeframe, that just doesn't happen. It makes it worse when he says he'll show up and then he doesn't.

I had been hoping to get together with a friend today, but her daughter was coming to visit and well, if I had seen my friend, I surely wouldn't have gotten all this other stuff done.

The weekends go by so fast.

Now that I'm working again, seems the only time I have to post is on the weekend.

I got my first full paycheck. Got paid $4,000 for 2 weeks, sounds great, right? Net of taxes it was just $2,724.

My weekends continue to be as busy as the weekdays. Not much time to stop and smell the roses! That should improve soon.

Today, I:

1. Waited for my freelance client to call me around 9:30 am and we just went over the basics of this big job he wants me to; we scheduled a weekly conference call for each Saturday at 8:30 am until this job is finished, which I'm guessing won't happen til end of year.

It's the last thing i want to be doing in my limited free time now, but this company is my oldest client and I want to keep them around.

2. Headed back to the mall for a haircut. I got bangs this time, and it's pretty short. I like it. $19 including tip.

3. Since i was at the mall and still feel i need to expand the wardrobe, I hit a shoe store where i picked up some good walking shoes that will look decent with dress slacks, Macy's and Sears. I had various coupons but didn't find anything at Macy's or Sears.

4. Then I hit Dress Barn, and bought 2 blouses and a corduroy jacket. Even with their coupons, I find them more expensive than other places, but they do have a good selection.

5. Filled up the gas tank.

6. Wal-Mart. Bought several cases of cat food, some insoles for my shoes and new wipers for the car.

7. Stopped at Xpect Discounts so i could buy their cheap suet for the birds. .59 a cake. Also got some other odds and ends there.

8. Stopped at the local craft fair. Bought a $12 set of pretty earrings.

9. Stopped at grocery story looking for organic apple cider but no one seems to have it this year. I have yet to try Stop & Shop.

Otherwise, work is fine. With my first full paycheck I transferred $500 to my online money market account,which had shrunk a great deal after I paid off a big chunk of my mortgage.

I will be throwing $500 into that account with each paycheck, so that'll be $1,000 a month toward savings, plus another $1,000 a month extra toward mortgage.

Here's some pix of where I work:



My company takes up most of the building. Yes, they are a well-known company.

In the image below, there's a large circle in front of the building where you can sit and eat your lunch, by that fountain. It's pretty nice.


Here's the new shoes i bought today:

Driving home from work Friday, I was so tired. The work week just catches up with you. I was looking forward to a quiet evening at home with my Netflix.

There was a message on my machine from my mother telling me she was in the hospital. I called the hospital but they had no record of anyone by that name being admitted. I learned later my mother had used her legal name, not the professional name she's used for years, and the one I identified her by.

So I sat around for about 45 minutes wondering where she was, and why. Then she called me and needed a ride home. She had a bad reaction to some meds the doctor gave her for some really bad arthritis in her hand.

I got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the highway heading down there, adding about 40 minutes to a 25-minute ride. I learned the next morning from the TV news that the cause of the traffic, and the cause of the eventual closing of the highway, was this: a state trooper pulled over a car that had been reported stolen. The driver shot at the trooper. The trooper shot and killed the driver, and 2 others in the car ran away.

Turns out the driver had been featured last month in America's Most Wanted. He had been serving prison time in VA for armed robbery but escaped.

Picked up my mother, dropped her off at home and then home again.

My mother told me today she ended up going BACK to the hospital later that night! OMG.

Saturday am I had the furnace guy come and adjust the fan so the banging noise I've been hearing each cycle has stopped. Seems the home energy audit, where they sealed the joints on the ductwork, did TOO good a job, and the banging noise was actually the ductwork being sucked in and out.

After that, headed to the podiatrist for an old problem causing a sore foot..back in summer of 09, a shard of glass or cat hair penetrated my foot. The podiatrist I saw back then said the original irritant was gone, but whatever penetrated my foot caused a small callus to form, which feels exactly as if a small pebble is embedded in my foot. He didn't really do anything about it, so podiatrist this time did some scraping at it and put some medicated lotion on it; I have to return for another round in 2 weeks. It's still sore.

Ran down to the mall to return a 2nd blouse I decided I didn't need. Stopped at Trader Joes, filled up the gas tank and picked up groceries elsewhere as well.

Had dinner at a friend's house last night..swordfish, asparagus and homemade (not from a box!) brownies.

Today was "supposed" to be my easy-going day, but I ended up mowing the lawn, cleaning up the garage so I could park my car in it again, setting more mousetraps, sweeping the driveway and walked out on the roof over the family room to clear the pine needles out of the gutter. Then I noticed a good-sized crevice along the top of the garage ceiling where it meets the shared wall between the garage and basement. THAT'S how the mice are getting in, I said to myself. One spot, anyway. After considering nailing a board/trim along there, or caulk, I realized expanding foam would work best, and lo, I had a can in the basement. I did a very messy job of it, but it will work. Now that it's dry, I can try to cut off excess foam with a razor blade to tidy it up, but I'm too tired right now.

Got my first paycheck yesterday, It was a small one cus it was just for 3 days work. The next one will be a biggie.

On day 6 at the new job, the other writer who started the same day I did was terminated! Don't know why, just told they were "having some problems" with him, which surprised me becus he seemed easy to get along with and competent as far as I knew.

I guess it takes someone getting fired to reassure me I'm doing ok. Because after working largely on my own with very little feedback on how I was doing for 6 days, I started feeling uneasy because I really didn't know what they thought of me. And as a brand new employee, that's an uncomfortable feeling.

But after they let the other person go, I was reassured by both a staff person at the job and the recruiter that I was doing fine. The recruiter said the company was "more than ecstatic about the level of your job performance" and the staff person said they were "so happy with the way I fit in so quickly."

Wow. I was really surprised, but relieved.

In other news, September was a very spendy month, to the tune of $4,200 in expenses, due to some really big bills that came all at once: $638 for my annual sewer loan payment, $410 for Waldo's vet visit and $700 spent on clothing and foot wear for the new job. I know that sounds terrible for the clothing, but with that money I bought:
1. 4 pairs of dress slacks
2. 3 pairs of corduroy pants
3. 1 pair of boots
4. 1 pair of shoes
5. 2 sweaters
6. 4 blouses
7. 1 suede jacket
8. 1 light rain jacket
9. Lowered the heel on 2 pairs of shoes at cobbler
10. 1 outer wear vest
11. 2 bras, 2 panties, 6 socks

Sounds like I completely re-outfitted my wardrobe, but I guess it was mainly for 2 reasons: 1. the new job is NOT business casual,and 2. I put on about 12 pounds over the past year, causing me to go up one size. While I was out of work I didn't care how I looked so much and I got by in my jeans and t-shirts.

I started the new job and finished up my first week. The 1st day was probably the worst, mainly becus I wasn't kept busy the whole day and felt rather useless and unproductive.And being new, I was anxious to demonstrate my value. Plus, the circular floor plan confused me and I had trouble remembering which way was the kitchen, and how to get back from the restrooms without having an ID badge yet.

I met my boss the 2nd day. On the third day, I felt better, because I just decided to start working on a project we discussed the day before, even though I wasn't explicitly told to forge ahead, but she did say during my interview she wanted someone who could work well on their own.

I'm just used to being given specific instructions on what is expected of me, and that didn't really happen here. I don't yet know if that's her style, or perhaps she wanted to see if I'd take the initiative. They consider me a "consultant," but really, I'm just someone who has a lot of experience and was hired through an agency.

I emailed some preliminary work I'd done to my boss on the 2nd day (she works in another state and is only up in my office 1 or 2 times a week), and then started second-guessing myself that perhaps I shouldn't have done so becus she hadn't asked me to do it, she might think I was jumping the gun, or working a bit helter-skelter when we weren't all on the same page. Then I started thinking, gee, maybe they'll fire me.

So I was relieved when she emailed me back, made a few simple comments on what I'd written and suggested I run it by another person in the office.

When I showed him what I'd done, I also showed him more copy I'd done by that time, and getting some positive feedback from him was reassuring so that I'd have more confidence when showing it to my boss and her boss.

What I really liked about my new employer is they gave me a choice of what hours to work, as long as someone from the dept. was there while I was. So I moved my starting time back a bit (to 9 am) so as to give myself more time in the a.m., and perhaps more daylight. Nothing I hate more than 1. getting up in the dark and 2. rushing to get ready for work. Becus I have just a half hour for lunch, not the mandated hour i had at my last job, I get home a half hour earlier, too, which is great. Yes, I'll miss having a full hour to walk on my lunch break, but there's not a lot of places at the new place to walk without getting in your car anyway. And if I ask myself if I'd rather have an extra half hour at lunch, or an extra half hour at home, the answer is simple.

On my 2nd day there, I invited the other new writer who started the same day I did to check out the cafe in the building. We brought our lunches outside and talked. i discovered that in his last job in another city, he was working in the building right next door to mine. Then I discovered that he worked a year at another employer's of mine that I left 11 years ago. Small world. He joined about a year after I left, so we never met.

Becus I'm working on contract now, I've been asked to keep my weekly hours to no more than 40 hours, so this means I don't have to worry about staying late for appearances as so many salaried employees do.

The people in my group are very professional, but also very friendly and approachable. I have my own roomy cubicle and even that is better than the "open office, collaborative" environment at my last job, which really just meant NO PRIVACY. Ironically, my employer at that time got an award for its innovative, architect-designed office space, but if anyone had bothered to ask any employee what they thought of it, they would have said they hated it, becus we all did.

My first project is actually fairly interesting and will require me to review each of the 100 or so courses they now offer, in order that I can write a synopsis of it in the catalog I'm writing. It's a great exercise for someone new to the company.

The building I'm in is very contemporary, in a newer corporate park with lots of big companies. It's 10 stories high and the nice thing about it is that you don't see miles and miles of parked cars and parking lots becus we all park in low-profile parking garages. In front of my building is a large circular drive and in the center there are lush flower plantings, tables and chairs for employees to eat lunch in and a large fountain. It's all very nice.

I am feeling the results of having lived a year extremely frugally while I wasn't working. I spent a total of about $600 (!!!) on clothing the week before I started the job: 1. 5 blouses, 2. 1 lightweight jacket, 3. 1 sleeveless vest, 4. 1 sweater, 5. 1 suede jacket, 6. 1 pair of shoes, 7. 4 pairs of slacks, 8. a pair of corduroy pants.

The clothes were really needed becus as it turns out, they don't really dress business casual, altho Fridays you can wear jeans.

But I didn't stop there. Today I went to a craft show and bought a bracelet, a watch, a necklace and some earrings. The prices at several tables was unbelievably affordable. At one booth, they were selling gemstone jewelery sets of a necklace with matching earrings for $25!

Of course, we can't forget the $725 I spent on a new computer a few weeks earlier. (That was before I even got the new job.)

Clearly I am feeling a little out of control and I'd better reel it in. I can afford it now, but it's not my intent to spend all the extra money I make. I'll be adding an extra $1,000 a month to the mortgage payment and $1,000 to my money market account for savings.

I was looking forward to just chilllin' today, but shortly before the new job, I got a huge new freelance assignment from my oldest freelance client. I didn't want to turn it down becus I intend to keep freelancing when I retire and I don't want to destroy connections. So I said I could do it (it's a 40 to 60-page case study he needs to submit in order to get a very valuable license designation) but I could only work on it on weekends. He just wants it done by the end of the year, so he was ok with that. I intended to start work on it today but he wasn't home when I called. well, the ball's in his court now.

No, these aren't my measurements, they're my heat settings, starting today.

Yes, I joined the No Heat Challenge, but I figured I would allow myself one true luxury: not freezing my butt off in my own home all winter. It's truly one of the things I hate about winter, aside from the shorter days and cold outdoor temperatures, not to mention snow.

Soooo, these will be the warmest settings I think I've had.

Here they are, broken down by time sequence:

Wake up at 6:30 a.m., 66 degrees.

Leave for work, 7:35 a.m., 63 degrees.

Arrive home after work, 6:30 p.m., 66 degrees.

Evening cool-down at 8:45 p.m. and thru the night, 62 degrees.

In past years, I've had the daytime temps while I'm at work much cooler, in the neighborhood of 59 degrees. But one of my new cats, Waldo, has short hair and seems to get chilled very easily.

Since my recent experience with his infection has shown me what a challenge it can be getting him to the vet, I'd like to keep him as healthy as possible. No sniffles!

And the temps while I'm home have never been warmer than 65 degrees, so 66 will be living in style!

I start the new job tomorrow. Getting REAL nervous!

Yesterday I went to a Sustainability expo. The keynote speaker was one of just 26 certified trainers for the Transition Towns movement.

I hadn't heard of this before, but it's based on taking action now (rather than wait for politicians to get their act together) to respond to two inevitable events: 1) peak oil, which many say has already arrived, and 2) global climate warming.

It's not a question of "if," it's a matter of "when." Those few people who still question the science of global warming can't help but remind me of those idiots who say the Holocaust never happened.

There are transition towns across the country. There are more, I think, in the west, an area that always seems to be more forward-thinking than the rest of the country, save for Vermont and Massachusetts.

It's a grassroots effort where people use a community-based approach to conserve energy and natural resources, reduce fossil fuel dependence, shop responsibly and maintain a green home and garden. (Personally, I love the idea of getting together with neighbors to share use of certain things, like perhaps a lawnmower and other garden tools, bulk buying of groceries, etc.)

The great thing about going green is that green behavior is always good for your wallet as well as the earth.

I've always had an interest in environmental issues, but they tend to get put on the back burner while other things take precedence. However, I always try to incorporate green behavior in my personal life, by:

* avoiding use of the clothes dryer
* reusing my own grocery bags
* driving an old Honda Civic
* growing an organic vegetable garden
* turning the thermostat down in winter
* installing CFL light bulbs
* getting a home energy audit
* reducing junk mail
* driving less and combining trips
* maximizing driving efficiency by avoiding speeding, or accelerating or braking quickly
* eating less than 1 meat meal per week
* not living in the biggest house I could afford
* curbing spending on useless or unnecessary items
* pursuing a minimalist lifestyle, using only what I really need (this is a work in progress)
* recycling as much as possible, including certain plastics, metal cans, newspapers, junk mail and electronics
* using a battery-charged lawn mower and weed whacker
* finding ways to reuse items rather than tossing them in the trash (library donations, Craig's List sales, gifting to friends and family, Good Will)
* avoiding the purchase of one-use food goods in over-packaged, non-recyclable containers, or disposal paper plates and cups. Walking out of a store carrying my purchase of one or two items WITHOUT the bag (but with the receipt).
* Cooking primarily with my toaster oven/convection oven instead of the full-sized oven. Using the energy-efficient microwave often.

On my list of future things to do, I'd really like to start a compost pile and give up using my car more, but in this area, the car is King.

I'm also interested in the concept of "co-housing," but have yet to tour one of their communities in Massachusetts. The idea is that you give up your private backyard, and the isolation that goes with it. Instead, you dine together in a communal dining room,sharing responsibility for meals, and you share outdoor living space. I have mixed feelings about it, but it's something I'd still like to explore to see how it works in practice.

Today I will be caulking interior windows; the home energy audit I had 2 weeks ago revealed small loss of warm air in the the window trim that goes over the windows themselves. The cracks were too thin for the guy to caulk, but I'm confident I can do it myself.