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It was time for my annual purchase of sneaker shoes and I did it online since stores are closed. I typically order clothes online but shoes have been different – I feel like I need to try them on to make sure the size is okay. The shoes arrived and they’re fine. It was actually a time-saver so I’ll consider purchasing online next year.

Each year in the spring I purchase a new pair and my current pair becomes my yard shoes. That pair eventually gets green soles from fresh-cut...
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Well, there's not really much in the way of news but it's been 2 weeks since I posted so figured I'd check in.

Our daughter wasn't eligible for unemployment because her last job was with a non-profit and they don't pay into the system. The look back period ended 9/30/19 and she had only been at her current job about 2 months at that point and needed to have 20 weeks of work history.

There may be a silver lining, though. She got a call from her manager the other day and it...
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$225.82 paid off in the last 2 weeks!!

It's a low update, only Rental #1 was paid this update, and in addition I had underestimated the balance on that mortgage by about $80 on the last update. Going forward MO will be getting me the exact balance before I post my updates (this is the mortgage from his house before we married, so I don't have access to check the balance as he is the only one on that mortgage). It's exciting to have our first little bit of snowball! So we will...
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I did a load of laundry yesterday. So far I've spent $12 on laundry, with just under a week left in the month. I usually spend near $20. I'm not doing it as much, because I'm wearing pajamas all day more often. Cheaper and more comfy. But I do shower and put on fresh pj's daily. Otherwise I would get depressed.

I finished "The Mirror & the Light" last night and today I'll box it up to send to my BFF. She says I don't need to do that, but I think I can figure out how to...
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It has been a REALLY long time since I posted anything. Here is what's up:

- In toilet paper tracking news: we are using one roll every 10 days in one bathroom and one roll every 20 days in the other. I am sad that my weird habit is so relevant these days.

- We had a trip planned for March; I was sick, and went to the doctor, so our travel insurance paid for the cancellations. Still waiting for reimbursement.

- We have a trip planned in late May. We'll see what happens;...
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Yesterday I had to move my car for street sweeping. Okay, I didn't really HAVE to; it's voluntary for the time being. But I was feeling stir crazy.

First I drove to the library, just to see if I could put my checked-out books into the streetside return bin. It was closed and locked, with a sign saying "Please keep your materials until the library opens again." That answered that question.

Then I went to Walgreens, intending to do the drive-through thing, but they have...
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Chipotle spread

I track our spending and overall we’re spending less but we’re spending a lot more in two budget categories: home maintenance and restaurants. It’s to pay for local places that are open like house & yard services and restaurant delivery/pick-up once a week. The once-a-week food delivery is expensive because we have big boys with big appetites but it’s becoming a homebound tradition, and I feel good about supporting the local businesses.

I usually...
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My Google/AdSense payment was deposited into my account yesterday. I wasn't actually expecting one until next month, but I must have done better on YouTube during March than I thought I had. I know my two virals were getting hit a lot because there were tons of new comments. Wasn't expecting such old videos to get so much interest. They are the ones on making homemade sausage seasoning and making and canning homemade mustard. I have a very small channel, but I still manage...
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We have lived in this house 8 months and our stove has worked a total of 3 times...we have asked about it several times, the owner was out of country so they had to wait...it wasn't that big a deal as it was summer we bbqued a lot, ate salads, used our air fryer...but now it is becoming cold, hubby has cancer and we are not going to bbq right now...so i emailed them and said I want it fixed asap...so many people over here are having trouble paying rent, but we are not one of them...
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We had to pay $700 to fill our propane tank yesterday so I may have to take out of savings for that, but for the moment we are back up to $15K!

Current Balance $14,890.00
+$150.00 FB Sales
Balance $15,040.00

Local Savings $1945.00
GC Savings $4000.00
Capital 360 Savings (US) $3035.00
Capital 360 Savings (Mom Loan Payback Account)$3710.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #1)$850.00
Capital 360 Savings (Rental Deposit Account #2)$1500.00
Total Savings =...
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Today was exciting because it’s the first CSA delivery of the year. Our first box contained spring onions, Tuscan kale, green chard, wintered kale, radishes, and gold potatoes and one butterkin squash from winter storage.

I’ve already made green smoothies for us with an assortment of the greens. I feel healthy just knowing that we’ve got just-harvested organic greens in our bodies.


Smoothie raw materials – 2 types of kale + radish greens


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After updating classes and grading papers, my DD and I decided to drop off some pansy bowls I'd planted with the remnants of the pansy flat I bought earlier.

Since of our pansy recipients was a co-worker who lives close to the university, we decide to walk around campus. It seemed like a good idea; I haven't been there in well over a month, the flowers on campus are usually cheery, and it offers a lot of things to see. But instead I came home almost in tears. It seems so...
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I've been having a really tough time emotionally and mentally (as most are, I'm sure). Pregnancy hormones certainly don't help. Last week, I snapped at my 1 year old, and my heart shattered in a million pieces at his response. I had honest conversations with my husband and my bosses that I was really struggling with balancing everything, and everyone really stepped up.

My husband approached his managers again asking to work out a plan, or barring their flexibility, letting...
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I made a tuna macaroni salad yesterday rather than a casserole. After looking at recipes, I decided it was the best thing to do. Besides the tuna, there is cheese and hard-boiled egg in the salad. I augmented the mayonnaise dressing with some salad dressing that needed to be used up.

It turned out really good, but there is a lot of it. I'm going to be eating it for a while.

I took a walk yesterday and who did I run into but my grandsons! They were in the park and ran...
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I'm pretty wiped out today from working in the garden yesterday, but I am still hoping to get at least an hour in later today when the sun moves behind a tree. Yesterday I got the rest of the dirt out of the one long raised bed and then got the rotten wood all torn down. Then I started working on weeding the next bed. I got one 8 foot by 3 foot section finished and then about 2 more feet by 2 feet additional done.

I moved 2 wheelbarrow loads of soil as well. Today DS will...
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Good week of pickups with 1 big order picked up.
Total sales were $242.50!!

Sale #1698 (AW) $20.00
Sharpie Limited Edition 30ct Set (Joint with my Bro) - We paid $10.70 each
Sold for $20.00 each
Profit = $9.30

Sale #1699 (ASH) $10.00
Poke-A-Dot Books (2) (80/20 consignment)
Sold for $5.00 each
Profit = $8.00 for my consignor and $2.00 profit for me

Sale #1700 (LQ) $15.00
Pawaca Dinosaur Car Set (80/20 consignment)
Sold for $3.00
Profit = $2.40 for...
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My 2020 goal #2 is to adopt a permanent health-enhancing habit each month. I’ve decided that my new health habit for April will be to spend at least half an hour outside every day.

It’s a shame that I have to work to make this a habit but I do. Even working from home, some days I realize that I didn’t get out at all except to pick up the mail. Especially when the weather is cold. So now unless there’s a bad storm or the temperature is in the single digits, I’m going...
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When I looked up my bank's hours on the phone, I was surprised to see that my branch was temporarily closed. There was a branch open in a nearby suburb, but it did not open till 10. I got there about 9:50 and waited in my car till it opened. Others had the same idea and there were about 8-10 people who were waiting to get in.

Once the bank opened, we lined up, distancing ourselves from each other so the line went out the door. Inside the bank, there were markers on the floor...
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Well that's the Easter "holidays" over as of yesterday. It's a strange time. We played Brain Challenge the past few days, which was good for eldest.

I have been making notes on J's progress to update his teacher.

L is copying J a lot. Toddlers pick up things quickly.

We have a musclefood order coming in a few days. I need to defrost the freezer. Tesco order due next week. We now have to go onto their website at midnight to try to get a slot three weeks in advance. I'm...
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I have to say I don't think i can watch to much more tv/dvds, do many more puzzles...I am bored...being home is driving me crazy and it has been getting cold here which doesn't help...we are all going stir crazy...just wish we had something else to do...the only time we leave is for medical appointments and shopping...we don't really need to shop much at all other than fresh stuff which we usually do once a week...not spending any money anywhere....so how does everyone else stopping...
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