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I did my "life is still chaos" post, and am now hoping to just move forward.

I don't know if I will accomplish anything today, but honestly I'd just be happy to get a nap. I may just crash all day.

My birthday was last weekend. I spent about 5 hours doing my last class for this year. It is what it is. That was the day of the class, and it felt awesome to be DONE! I sent off my professional license renewal and got that huge time suck out of my hair.

Going forward,...
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We got to enjoy our new washer/dryer for about 5 seconds, before MH tried to start his car and move it back into the garage. At least he was able to move it out of the way for delivery. *sigh* I was pretty sure a nice/convenient Sunday delivery would NEVER happen (because this year has been non-stop insanity). So I am happy that at least we could accomplish that transaction smoothly. (Apparently, just barely).

Anyway, car wouldn't start. Was kind of "meh" about it. ...
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I went to the grocery store yesterday and spent $19. Half of that was for Lindt truffles to have in the candy dish when Christmas brunch arrives. The rest was cheese and tomato paste for the casserole that I have not managed to make yet. Must do it today!

I also went to UPS and mailed my Florida Christmas box -- it cost $29 to mail. While there, I picked up couple of stocking stuffers for $22.

I'm creeping closer and closer to being done with Christmas shopping.

My...
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This past week will (knock on wood) rank as one of the two most aggravating weeks of the year--the other was back in May and that was all work-related.

This week was a mix..

Personal: I met with the endocrinologist. The thyroid biopsy results indicated no cancer yet but showed cells with abnormalities and a genetic assay indicated a 50% possibility of developing cancer. I need to research more. What I know at this point is that there are four types of thyroid cancer and...
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Total miles driven last month on new electric/hybrid car: 1,769

A small improvement; was 2,000 miles last month.

Out of town trips:
--MH drove about 100 miles (on gas) to do some political canvassing before the election
--Bay Area for Thanksgiving (200 miles on gas)
--Bay Area for a book signing (100 miles on gas)

Probably a pretty average month for us.

I remembered to track miles on our gas vehicle this past month; we drove about 550 miles. That was pretty typical...
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I have nzd5.00 burning a hole in my cash envelope. I want to buy myself a treat - chocolate, ice cream, cookies. I am resisting and hanging on in case I need to buy some more bread or potatoes or tomatoes, something healthy.
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I had to laugh at an encounter with a student group yesterday. I ran into them in our library coffeeshop, and they were surprised to see me, asking if I didn't have Fridays off. It's a week until the end of the semester--nobody has a day off, even on weekends.

But yesterday was filled with staff meetings, class scheduling issues, and then a wonderful few hours evaluating freshman research projects. We've been encouraging veteran instructors to help their students develop...
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Having lived in our house for 30+ years, it takes a minute to remember we have something. We have Christmas lights up (DH actually put them up on the first weekend in December), and yesterday afternoon DH found a timer thing and set up the lights on it. It worked! So they will come on at dusk automatically and turn off 6 hours later which will be approximately 5-11 pm each evening.

My Year of Ultimate Frugality was decided on suddenly so I didn't have time to make rules,...
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I like to report the amount of interest we earn each month. This is the quick breakdown for November.
Navy Federal CU $20.97
FNBO Direct $89.18
Total $110.15

I redeemed my 300 points with Pinecone Surveys over a week ago for cash and have yet to receive my Paypal deposit. Usually it is the next business day. Maybe the move and change of address are factors?

We usually get some cash back back from USAA for our insurance. They call it a distribution from our Subscriber's...
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I did a mystery shop yesterday which will net me $10, and I earned $3 from Pine Cone. No spending.

I chauffeured GS1 to the library after school. I was so pleased that he wanted to go to the library, and then I learned they have a gaming room he wanted to go to. Oh well. His parents knew that was his aim, so I wasn't tricked, just a little disappointed.

I'm going to make a chicken penne casserole today. I do have to go get just two items: tomato paste and mozzarella....
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I don't have December monthly reward totals yet, of course. But I figured I would update all my numbers and see where we are at. This will make it easy to update/finalize at the end of this month.

2018 TALLY:

$561 Gift Cards (Capital One Venture, Moi)
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$561 TOTAL *ONE-TIME REWARDS*

Other Rewards:
$150 Citi Price Rewind
$ 10 Hulu Credits (American Express)

Ongoing rewards (through 11/30):

+$276 AmExRewards (6% cash back groceries/3% fuel)

+$88...
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I caved to the cravings and bought coffee. I have had 3 cups already and am buzzing.

My younger sister is coming from Ireland for Christma/New Year. I hope she isn't planning to visit while I'm in India.
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Oh let's see. What did I do today? I took my dog for a walk and realized if I wanted to make it to pick up my mom on time to drive her to town for a doctor's appointment, I'd better get ready. I have a tendency to underestimate how long it is going to take to get ready. Then I packed up the dog and off I went to get mom.

We finished with her appointment about 12:30 and I was so hungry. I wanted to stop and get something to eat, but I knew I had hummus and crackers that...
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2018 TALLY:

$561 Gift Cards (Capital One Venture, Moi)
$150 Citi Price Rewind
$ 10 Hulu Credits (American Express)
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$721 TOTAL *ONE-TIME REWARDS*

**In addition, various monthly rewards that I will tally at 12/31.

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I submitted a "price rewind" (price match) for a Black Friday deal. The cell phone MH had bought was $150 off for Black Friday. So I got a $150 credit for that....
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I made a $513 payment towards my home CC with my web design check. That brought my balance under the next thousand mark and I am only $29 from completing my payoff goal for the year!

CC balances are $6,922 & $5,637 for a total of $12,559.

Paid the mortgage and the balance is now $114,713.47.

I've been really down this week. With the car problems, major website emergencies, sickness, etc. Just feeling exhausted and want to hide and forget about my responsibilities. Husband...
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Yesterday I was heading out to the gym when my car refused to go along with me. The battery was dead. I called AAA. It was about two hours before they could get to me, so I was glad this happened at home, and not somewhere I'd have to find a place to shelter. Once the technician arrived, he tested the battery and advised me to get a new one. He was able to sell me one on the spot. It was $132. It might not have been the most frugal thing to do, but I was glad to get it taken...
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Went to my first HOA meeting last night and boy was it a doozy. I went with the intentions of obtaining information only, meeting my neighbors but I became quickly upset as with other residents.

I was extremely annoyed that questions being asked by the residents to the board and the attorney was not being answered, no one had a copy of the bylaws. As I sat there I sent a email to the management company requesting a copy. It disgust me more that the attorney hired to represent...
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Forgot to blog yesterday but nothing much happened. Today I bought:
can tomatoes .79
2 cans peaches 1.98
lettuce 1.99
potatoes 1.14
cucumber 1.49
avocado 1.79
broccoli .99
peppers 5.99
bread 1.00
bananas 2.99
tomatoes 1.99
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Day #2 was not exciting.

I had my second physical therapy appointment after a car accident I was involved in 9/30/18. It was a 4 car pileup. I was car #3 with the car that plowed into the other three car #1. The woman I was behind, who was stopped legally to make a left hand turn, was the only one who was not hurt. She pulled her truck into her home driveway and immediately ran over to make sure I was okay. I handed her my dog so I could call my husband. My poor little...
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Christmas gifts are done and dusted here except for one gift I am still finishing off crocheting.

I am in declutter mode atm, my lounge and kitchen are disaster zones and they need sorting and tidying before Christmas, so that is my aim and I will just be putting up my little trees this year on a table as a token so the gifts can still go under them.

Rearranging some furniture in my bedroom atm while I am still waiting until we can get some help cutting the carpet ive got....
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