There was finally some spending. SO came home Saturday!! I spent $65 on groceries, $7 on gas station fare (2 energy drinks and a bag of chips) on the way to the airport, $60 on a Sunday afternoon movie date (Jurassic World in IMAX 3D - so expensive, but worth it to us). We went to SO's parents' house last night for a cookout. I've mapped out a meal plan for the rest of June using chicken and tuna as the bases for most meals. I plan to hit BJ's and the grocery store tonight with a budget of $150. Then I will need to make one more stop next week to fill in the gaps (right now, there's only two items I foresee needing).

DD2 went to the vet last week to get her boosters and rabies. It's kind of nice not having to pay anything since it's all spread out under the $60 monthly care club payments.

SO and I have the bed and breakfast next week and then the FL trip around July 4th. We haven't really budgeted for either of these (one was unexpected, but the other, there isn't really an excuse), but I'm reasonably sure we can cash flow them.

I just sent in another $150 Chase Freedom payment. That puts the card at $305. I still need to move that $100 from Navy Federal which will put it at $205. If I can find the paperwork for Aflac, that will be $150 more leaving me $55. I have $35 budgeted from next paycheck which means I will just need to find a lousy $20 bucks. I may cancel my monthly $25 savings transfer to my BOA account and use that.

On that note, I've been trying to simplify all the cards/accounts I have going on. I recently closed my pet and vacation funds from Capital One 360 leaving me with Car and Emergency funds. I also have a checking account with them that I will look into closing once I verify the period has passed on their promotional offer. I'm going to close the BOA CC and my savings account with them. I had it to prevent overdrafts, but since I now keep a buffer in the account, it's no longer necessary. I really don't want to close the BOA credit card as I've had it the longest, but it has an annual fee and I no longer use it, so I'm going to take the hit to my credit score now while I don't necessarily need it. Once I finish up the Slate and Marlo Furniture cards, I'll have to decide what to do with those. I had originally planned to close them, but I may just stick them in a drawer somewhere, so the available credit still helps me. I also want to simplify the loans (I have 3), but since 1 will be paid in December, one is my mom's responsibility, and the third is on auto-pay, that may not happpen for awhile.

I've thought of some more...most importantly:

Oldest CC: My BOA card is coming up on its annual fee of $59. It's my oldest card. I don't charge anything to it other than to my auto-fill EZ Pass and a recurring payment for SO's Christmas gift that wouldn't be too difficult to pay off. I'm going to call and see if the fee could be waived, but they've never been willing to work with me in the past. My question is, do I close it if they won't work with me on the annual fee? I'm guessing they won't waive it every year and there's not much difference between closing it this year or next, so I'm tempted to just take the hit to my score now while I don't particularly need it. What do you think?

Food: Other than the whole pizza debacle earlier this week, I've been doing well. I am out of milk, but I'm trying to hold out until this weekend when SO gets back.

To-Do List: I made a huge to-do list of things I want to do before SO gets home. My goal is at least 5 things each do. Last night, I finished 5, but started at least 5 others.

SO comes back Saturday. Until then, I'm mostly just trying to survive. These past few days in particular have been rough. I did cave and order pizza, but managed to stop the slide when I was trying to justify fast food the very next day (and the next). Lots going on, so I'll give a brief update on the things I can think of:

Spending: Other than the pizza ($20) and an unexpected winery trip ($40), I've been pretty good. I still owe a June budget, but it's pretty tight.

Mom Loan: She is fully responsible for this but asked me to move the due date. Navy Fed wouldn't move, but I am going to pay it ahead one month, so she can set it to auto-pay when she wants. She will be paying me back through...

Vegas Trip: (I fully expect heat for this, so feel free to fuss...) My mom got a birthday offer for 5 nights at MC with $150 slot play. Considering my mom can go 3 days on $50, this would be nice for her. We're doing it as a mother-daughter trip. Her sisters may also come in from Denver just for the weekend. With our play on MyVegas (a rewards game) we'll have 7 rewards between us which we'll use for 2 more nights, probably another slot play, and then a couple of buffet passes (aiming for 3 2-person passes). She also has Southwest rewards which we will probably use for flights. She is covering my flight, so basically we'll just need spending money for the week. I have to work out the budget and start saving for it, but I'm thinking 2k will be more than enough for just the two of us.

Found money!!: This is a biggie. I completely didn't realize that Aflac (I have 3 policies) pays a wellness benefit for two of my policies. My coworker mentioned they can be filed at anytime, so I confirmed with my rep. If I can find documentation for all of them, that will be $420 ($60*7). I submitted 4 so far. Any of this money will go to...

Chase Freedom: Made another $200 payment. I'm down to 456. I have another $100 to put towards it from NavyFed bonus. Technically, $160 of this is actually joint spending, so I could pull that from our account to pay it, but since our account is so tight and I think I can cashflow it from the Aflac payments, I'm going to try and handle it.

Vacations: I know it's ridiculous to be going on vacations, but I also really don't want to give up experiences during my debt pay-off. (Conflicting priorities, I know...) Since SO and I have been apart for almost a month (the longest since moving in together), we decided to go away to a BnB when he gets back. I bought the Living Social for 2 nights (the $160 on the Chase Freedom card) and booked it. My little brother will be staying at the apartment, so no pet care needed. SO will not have to take off work as it's planned midweek around his work schedule. I have extra work hours saved up to cover my time off. The other vacation was one I alluded to at the beginning of the year: Fl with SO's family. I had meant to be saving for this, but his family is very loose with planning, so I have no idea what we'll need. We'll have to see what that spending comes to. I'm trying to convince SO to get the Chase Freedom card ($200 reward for $500 spending) to help cover it since I failed to properly plan it. We do still have the $400 Verizon card too, so that's a start.

I'm breaking even (may even slightly be failing) in the goals arena...

Financial
- Build emergency fund back to $1000 (Failing - It's at about $100. I plan to focus on this in parallel with the NFL Points card which comes after the Slate CC. Until then, it's $15 each month.)
- Reduce credit cards (Passing - I'm down to 5 - 2 of which aren't in use and have no balances.)
- Add savings categories (Major fail! Although I'm adjusting this. Part of the problem is that I'm spread so thin, so I'm actually consolidating all of my various savings accounts. More on this later as I have to nail down exactly what I need.)
- Increase retirement savings to 10% (Passing? Raises become effective during the second pay period this month. At the point, my contribution will go up to 10%, but I'm also hoping that my take home pay is at least what it currently is.)
- Build $200 buffer in checking account (Done - 2/6)
- Build $1500 buffer in joint account (In Progress. This was completed, but with May being such a terrible month, it's been depleted. It's currently at about $400)

Personal
- Lose 10% of my weight (In Progress - I've been stuck at 6%. Part of the lack of motivation is that the weight I'm at is where I want to be, but I've worked out the past two days and plan to kick it into gear...)
- Win at least 4 months of my dietbet (Major fail! If I manage to hit the 10% this month, then I will have done the reverse of this goal which would be winning 2 months and losing 4. Since this month alone will probably get me my money back, I'm hoping to be able to knock off these last 5 lbs.)
- Adopt a puppy with SO (Major pass!! DD2, aka Riley, is so spunky and full of life and we adore her!!!)
- Get dogs outside for more than an hour 4 times a week (Pass! I'm actually surprised I am doing so well with this one. It's mostly because on Saturdays and Sundays, we do the dog park plus walks to the nearby town center.)
- Cook more from scratch (Pass. I am still buying processed/convenience foods occasionally, but I'm definitely becoming more comfortable in the kitchen and probably about 90% of the time, we eat at home. Yesterday, I made some pretty awesome popcorn shrimp!)

Blogging
- Blog at least twice per week (Pass. I haven't actually checked, but I definitely feel like I'm being pretty consistent in blogging.)
- Post monthly budget and month in review entries (Pass. Sometimes, it's more like mid-month before I get around to the recaps, but I am doing them!)
- Participate in one 'challenge' quarterly (Eh...I'm inclined to say pass in the sense that I am currently doing the 5 things and pantry 'challenges'. My goal for this was to try new tactics, so in that sense, this is definitely a pass.)

I also want to add one to the blogging: Comment more! I read the blogs, but don't particularly do a good job in participating. I'd like to change that, so I'm adding that in.

Today, we're having a potluck lunch for Asian-American Heritage Month. I made lumpia (Filipino egg rolls). I only had to buy wontons, so it costs $3 to participate. I've also still been doing the 5 things, but more in the sense that before I go to bed, I try to find 5 things from that day that made me feel accomplished.

For instance, yesterday included taking the pups on a long walk in the morning, unloading the dishwasher, making lumpia, training session with DD2, and cleaning kitchen post-cooking.

I was just updating my budget spreadsheet and noticed some key points:

- Less than 30k on Navient student loans
- Almost half of the ACS loan paid (7k of 16k)
- Car paid off
- Less than 2k on WF loan

That's the positives...the negatives - still working on 3 CCs. I can't seem to get rid of them. I'll make progress and then undo it - a 500 payment with a 350 car repair, a 300 payment with a 200 pet visit. It feels like I'm swimming nowhere. I need to put the card back away, but a part of me wants the cash back rewards. I have $288 left to pay to cover last month's balance at which time I'll have about $700 on the Freedom card and $675 on the Slate. I think if I really buckle down, I can pay them both by the end of the summer (August), so that is what I'll do. I'm going to hold off the additional car repairs until after the Freedom card, but start them in parallel with the Slate card. After that, I'll have to assess. Part of me wants to aim for WF since it would only take 3-4 months, but that interest rate is only 5.25 compared to some of the other stuff.

At some point, I also need to start saving for a wedding. It's not official by any means, but we've certainly discussed it and I know it's coming within the next year or two, so I want to be at least somewhat prepared. Part of me wants to start setting aside something now, but I feel like part of the problem is stretching myself too thin which is why I don't really make headway on any one thing...

Riley is teething and decided DC's toy was comforting to her sore gums. Unfortunately, the bell inside was nowhere to be found. X-rays didn't turn up anything either, although I'm still glad I did them because now I don't have to worry that it's stuck somewhere inside her, but I have no clue what happened to it...

Vet visit was $215 - much better than the grand I paid when DD1 was a puppy and walking funny, so I had x-rays done on his back legs...I'm kind of overprotective...but I also feel like the one time I don't do it will be the time permanent damage occurs.

DD2 is actually doing really well. Her potty training has improved significantly. Now, I'm working on getting her used to other dogs - she still barks at every dog that crosses her path. It's the protective GSD in her, but seeing that she's probably going to be huge and already has a frightening bark, I'm trying to minimize the barking. I actually don't mind a heads up bark, but after that, I turn her attention to me and make her sit.

I have to stop at the grocery store for eggs, bread, and milk, but otherwise, I have enough food to last me until SO returns. I'll have to be really careful with spending as SO doesn't actually get paid until he gets back from training - as it is, we'll have to tap our buffer, but I'm hoping to minimize that damage.

I'm a little ticked that my vet didn't tell me about this plan sooner. They apparently have a plan that comes out to about $700 dollar (split into monthly payments of about $50) that includes 5 visits (each normally $60), all vaccines, spay, deworming, and 2 or 3 fecal exams.

Had I known this existed, I most definitely would have gotten this plan, as DD2's first visit was $160 and her second was $240ish including a fecal exam and deworming treatment. The spay alone is going to be around $500, and she still has another round of vaccines (happening today). As it is, I think we may still get it since the spay and 3 more visits alone would cover the cost, but it's really frustrating that no one ever explained to me that this existed. I'm going to speak to their billing department at the vet and also reach out to the hospital chain's billing department to see about possibly applying the previous visits retroactively (even if as just a credit since with 3 animals, we have vet visits several times a year), but it doesn't seem likely.

I took my car in yesterday. 60k maintenance = $353. Ouch...

As if that isn't bad enough, they called me with another 1200 in recommended repairs. All my fluids (transmission, power steering, and brake) need to be flushed in addition to some other stuff (including my rear brakes and a burnt license plate light bulb). SO can do the rear brake pads, but they also suggested machining the rotors (something to do with the brake pads). Does anyone happen to know if it would hurt anything for SO to do the brake pads and then I could just have them machine the rotors (each service was $200+, so if I could knock one off, that'd be great). I got a recommended order on the fluids, so I'll be addressing one/month over the next 3 months. I also plan to look into doing this work with someone other than the dealer. All of this unfortunately means the CCs will take longer than I want. I put the repair on the CC for the rewards and then immediately put a $500 payment to it. I have about a grand on the Freedom card and I hope to pay down another 400-500 by the end of the month. I was hoping to having it paid off, but that's looking unlikely unless I draw some of the money I'm still 'owed' from our joint account. (I probably won't do this as this was a lean month for us since SO has training, but I am tracking it. As we get surpluses, I have $750 that needs to be repaid to my cards.)

On the plus side, I'm $2 away from the 10k mark on my 401k. Seeing as my family has never been good with money, I think this is a huge start for me. I want to eventually get my savings up to 10% (which will happen automatically in June to coincide with raises). It's probably small change to most people, but to have 10k aside in retirement is a pretty big deal for my family.

I had a very low-key, but productive weekend. I did end up spending a bit - took $40 to a garage sale - I bought several items of clothing (4 tops, 3 dresses, 3 polos for SO), a pull-up bar and yoga mat, a bag of stuffed toys (for DDs to rip apart) and some kitchen utensils.

I also found another low-cost way to keeps DD2 busy. She's already a chewer and goes through the expensive pet store stuffed animals in a day or two...she loves bottles! Water bottles are too flimsy (she breaks through them in less than 5 minutes), but gatorade bottles keep her occupied for an hour or so. Since we drink Gatorade anyway (big packs from BJ's), we'll just store them for whenever she's teething.

Other than the yard sale, I took DD1 to the dog park and both DDs to the local town center for some socializing. DD2 is about 90% husky in personality and 10% german shepherd. Unfortunately, that 10% manifests itself as barking at certain strangers and all other dogs. While she's still pretty small, she already has a pretty big bark. People kept thinking it was DD1 that was barking. As soon as she knows you're not a threat, the husky in her takes over and she plops on her back for a belly rub I will continue to socialize her and work with her on the barking. She especially goes crazy towards other dogs, so I'm trying to anticipate that and focus her attention on me/the treat before she notices the dog.

The rest of the weekend was a mix of relaxing and house stuff - I got 4 loads of laundry folded, 2 loads of dishes taken care of, ate through the remainder of the barbecue leftovers (I've been eating potato salad sandwiches pretty much every meal), and did some general cleaning/organizing.

SO leaves this weekend for 3 weeks. That's the longest we've ever been apart. These past 4 days without him were tough, so 3 weeks will be really hard. I have a few projects I'd like to focus on that will hopefully keep me busy (dog training/socializing; entry closet decluttering/organizing; magazine decluttering; weight loss; 5k training) and are low-cost.

One unanticipated side effect of being able to sleep when I wanted to - I couldn't actually sleep comfortably without SO. I actually slept on the couch and woke up every 2-3 hours. Since I went to bed at 10 pm, it's still more sleep than I've had since getting Riley, but it was definitely a restless sleep.

I woke up at 5, but managed to stay (mostly) in bed (on the couch) until 645. At that point, I more than accomplished my five things for today:

- Gave Riley her last dose of dewormer and treated her lesions
- Loaded laundry
- Emptied all trash (including bathroom and laundry room)
- Cleaned litter box
- Packed breakfast so I wouldn't be tempted by office bagels
- Put away leftover disposable utensils
- Took care of all animals and shut DD1 and DC in bedroom (Apt is being treated today and they won't come in if they see DD1.)


I have two more things that I want to cross off along with possible housekeeping if I feel up to it: 1) Take last of loan money out of joint account and put into my account to pay credit card and 2) Pick up small bag of sensitive stomach dry food for Riley

Riley girl is back to her normal happy-go-lucky self. The lesions are still hanging around, but I'm just going to keep applying the topical and let them look at it again next week when she gets her vaccines since they don't seem to bother her and she can't reach them to lick them.

Packed SO coffee and bagel (at 5 AM...)
Fixed VPN client for work (reinstall didn't work, but sorted it out today)
Got stuff from pet smart
Loaded dishwasher
Administered Riley's meds
Repurposed potato salad into potato pancakes

SO left this morning. He'll be back Sunday evening until early Thursday morning and then he'll be gone 3 weeks. I woke up at 5 am after going to bed at 1, so I'm looking forward to turning in early tonight.

DD2 has two lesions on her back. We took her to the vet yesterday to have them looked at and while there, she was really lethargic and had vomited/had diarrhea that morning. I was really worried the parvo was back, but she seemed to perk up a bit in the afternoon. The visit was just over $200 which puts pet spending at double what I had budgeted for the month and doesn't even account for her next round of shots which will be next week. My goal is to not spend on anything for the remainder of the month except for gas and a trip to PetSmart (DC needs food and DD2 needs training pads). I was going to throw one eat-out/order-in day in there too, but I think I'll save that as my reward for making my DietBet goal.

I've been feeling really off lately, so I'm going to try the whole 5 things I've seen by another blogger (I think househopeful...). Maybe it'll help me to see I actually am accomplishing things...

1) Reinstalled my work VPN client on my computer.
2) Took Riley to the vet (she had a couple of lesions and generally wasn't feeling well).
3) Emptied dishwasher.
4) Got rid of the ceviche and more BBQ leftovers (sent SO to work with leftover ceviche, steak and a pork chop for his lunch)
5) Weighed in for my dietbet (was shocked to find out I'm still in the 120s considering how off focus I've been)
6) Moved remaining cooler items into fridge
7) Took out recycling (this was actually SO but it counts because I asked him too )

I noticed we suddenly had 50 bucks in our joint savings. I think it was for actually opening the savings.

I forgot to mention that I ended up getting the loan. While I'm not thrilled about it, I'm hoping this will either work out and she'll change or backfire and I'll be let off the hook once and for all. She did immediately pay at least the pawn shop because she brought me the necklace on Sunday. I'll track the other loan and I'll have to rely on her word for the payday loan.

SO leaves Thursday. I'll miss him like crazy, but I'm kind of looking forward to the quiet. No going out, simple meals, eating at a reasonable hour. My focus will be dog training and getting to my dietbet goal.

I am exhausted. Like, going home at 3 pm and napping/doing nothing tonight, exhausted.

Friday night, SO and I cleaned until about 1 am. My friend was coming in early Saturday and the barbecue was Sunday, and we hadn't really cleaned since getting DD2.

Saturday, I was up at 6 am. Took care of the animals, SO's breakfast and lunch, and then headed to the airport to get my friend. She'd also had a long night, so we decided to nap prior to doing anything. We got up about noon and decided to take DD1 hiking after having lunch in the apartment. DD2 is still too young to really be out for extended periods of time, and I wasn't about to be lugging around a 20 lb. puppy during the hike. We went to Great Falls park, and it was beautiful. We hiked about 5 miles. We had wanted to nap prior to going out in the evening, but by the time we made it home, it was 6 pm and we had to be ready by 730. We met another college friend in DC for dinner and then a night out. Spending was much less than I had anticipated - about $40 for drinks and $27 for dinner.

Sunday, I spent the day prepping for the barbecue. My friend and our college buddy went to the zoo, but SO and I skipped it to prepare the apartment. We ended up grilling on the grill outside our patio. I made chocolate covered strawberries and attempted merengue cookies. Apparently, there was oil or yolk still in it because it never whipped up properly Our families got on great though. We played a rousing game of TV pictionary (everyone downloads the app and you draw/guess on your phone). It was wonderful family time. We now have leftovers for the next several days which means I get to relax since dinner/lunch will be a breeze.

Last Thursday, SO was on base, and there's this great dress kiosk there that's very cheap ($20 for the first dress, $15 for each after that). I subtly hinted that he should pick one out for me. The overachiever came home with 2 beautiful dresses - I wore one each day this weekend!


I was up at 540 this morning to take care of puppy. SO isn't a morning person, and I had to leave about 615 to drop my friend at the airport, so I wanted to make sure she was all settled before leaving.

Now things should quiet down, especially once SO leaves for training on Thursday.

This may not be the most popular decision, but I'll do my best to explain what has just happened. I added a 7k consolidation loan to my list of debts. Anyone who's been following my story should be aware of the money suck that is my mother and the constant struggle between setting myself up for success and bailing her out for her failures. Apparently, she opened one of those solicitations with a ridiculous front-loaded interest rate. She asked me to apply for it, so that she could be rid of the payday and pawn shop loans. Now, she's done this before, so my immediate reaction was no. However, she seems slightly different now. So I decided to use this as final ultimatum to her. I went with Navy Federal since they seem to be pretty fair with their loans and the interest isn't front loaded, so if she pays more/quicker, she'll pay less interest. The stipulations are that she pays the loan back with set-up autopay of her account and she signs a written agreement that IF she ever takes another payday loan or pawns anything else, I have ZERO future finanacial obligations to her despite all her 'we're family/I'm trying to clean up my credit for a new job' guilt trips. I also get the jewelry she takes out since it's technically supposed to go to me. I realize that if she messes up yet again, I'll be on the hook for it, but I'm also okay with that giving this will be the last time I ever feel obligated to her.

Happy Mother's Day to her, I guess...

Our numbers:

Item: Spent (Budgeted)
Rent: 1572 (1650)
Electric: 75.61 (140)
Gas: 90.05 (80)
Verizon: 93.03 (96)
Couch: 220 (1020)
Groceries: 478.38 (400)
Entertainment: 161.77 (75)
Misc: 56.27 (0)
Pets: 866.76 (900)
Total: 3613.87 (4361)

We did okay...I have no clue why I budgeted 1020 to the couch. That's the total left that we owe. I only actually meant to budget $220 to it which is what I paid towards it. We had a lot of unexpected entertainment for eating out during the first week with new puppy. The miscellaneous category was grilling supplies. It could conceivably be 'entertainment', but since the grill is right outside and it'll help us with eating at home, I was thinking of it more as an apartment expense.

Below is my April recap:

Item: Spent (Budgeted)
BOA Savings: 25 (25)
Capital One Savings: 30 (30)
Netflix: 8 (9)
Insurance: 84 (84)
BOA CC: 32.66 (33)
Navient Loans: 152 (152)
ACS Loan: 170 (170)
Phone: 127 (132)
Wells Fargo: 50 (50)
Target: 50 (49.60)
Food: 19.32 (50)
Gas: 77.75 (50)
Clothing: 58 (0)
Pets: 0 (0)
Miscellaneous: 192.32 (67)
Entertainment: 83.37 (0)
Taxes: 0 (0)
Chase Freedom CC: 875 (148)
Chase Slate CC: 25 (260)
NFL Points CC: 60 (60)
Mariner: 100 (100)
Car: 413.60 (0)
Apartment*: 1400 (1400)

A couple of things...My miscellaneous category went way over because I paid off two medical collections to improve my credit report. I also had an unplanned car expense (my windshield) and some unexpected entertainment expenses (an alcohol purchase and a girls' night out). Lately, there have been a lot of purchases to the Chase card either as a placeholder to using our account or for my mom. I try to pay these back pretty quickly to get that spending under control (more on that later).

I forgot to mention this, but I lost my dietbet yet again. My weight has been consistent, but I've been so busy that I haven't been able to focus on actively losing. On the plus side, I won one of the weekly weigh-ins, so I received my polar heart rate monitor yesterday! Since I already have a fitbit, I decided to give the heart rate monitor to my mom for mother's day who has been trying to lose some weight. One negative side effect of losing weight is that I'm always freezing. If it were up to me, we wouldn't have the air on until June, but the dogs get really hot, so we have to run it.

DD2 is adjusting to her new schedule. It's really hard though because as it turns out, there is a carpenter bee nest in our patio. Two males hover around protecting it all day. I know they're harmless, but they still scare the cracker jacks out of me and DD2 doesn't like to be out there alone. She will go if I get there quick enough to let her out when she goes to the patio herself, but if I take her out to wait for her to go, she gets anxious and starts barking/jumping on the door if no one else is out there. I put a training pad in front of the door and she does go around it. She just doesn't always actually pee on it.

Yesterday, I hit up the grocery store. We've been spending too much on eating out/eating easy since things have been so chaotic. I spent $80 and got enough to probably get us through when SO leaves. We also bought some alcohol for a mini cinco de mayo celebration which was about 60 for tequila and rum and margarita mix. The last thing we got was the Omaha Steaks package for the barbecue. We went with a build your own combo for $129. With free shipping and a $15 coupon, we got 6 bacon-wrapped top sirloins, 16 burgers, 8 bratwurst, lasagna, 2 trays roasted veggies, 6 caramel apple tartlets, 10 potatoes au gratin, 4 hot dogs and 4 pork chops for $115. I also had a free reward, so we got chorizo salami. This will not only cover the barbecue, but also probably spill into the rest of the month. SO's parents offered to bring stuff, so they're bringing shrimp ceviche and guacamole. I told my mom she didn't have to bring anything, but if she wanted to, she could bring deviled eggs. That should more than cover the 10 or so people we're expecting.

I didn't get a chance yesterday, but I'm hoping to be able to do April spending and May budgets write-ups soon!

Things are okay, but really crazy. My brother went home Friday, so SO and I are trying to adjust to having DD2 around with just us. You'd think since she sleeps so much, it wouldn't be so exhausting, but it is. SO and I also got our first glimpse of what it's going to be like when we have real children. DD2 was fussy, so we got her settled in her crate with a treat toy. We climbed into bed just to talk and enjoy a few minutes quiet time when DC comes up meowing and wanting attention. We cuddle with her for a bit. She runs off to play, so we start talking about our weeks (yes, it's been so busy that we don't even know what's been going on with each other). And then we hear peeing noises. Apparently DD1 really had to go to the bathroom and even though he'd tried to hold it, he couldn't anymore. By the time, we'd cleaned up, it was dinner and play time for all the animals...

Saturday, we did get to spend some time together. His parents had extra free tickets to see the big fight at a casino about an hour away. I tired out the dogs during the day, and we put them to bed a bit early and headed out. Neither of us are boxing fans, but it was still fun. We decided to go a bit crazy (for us) and take out $100 to gamble (50 each). By 4 am, we each still had $20 which we decided to just keep and go home. We ended up getting food though which took one of the twenties. All told, we had a really great time and it was the first solid block of time we'd had together since getting Riley.

This week starts our new schedules. SO's doesn't really change, but I adjusted mine around his to take care of DD2 who can't be in her crate more than 4 hours at a time. I woke up at 530 this morning. So far, I'm okay, but I have a feeling naps will be a regular part of my afternoon.

DD2 is growing and learning very quickly. She's got a few commands, mostly goes to the restroom outside (including going to the door to let us know she has to go), and is already tall enough to reach DD1's water bowl (at the beginning of the week, she had to jump up to drink out of it). She's definitely showing more husky personality, so even though she understands things, she doesn't follow them unless she wants to. She went in the house 3 times yesterday because it was too hot for her to go outside...

I haven't really stayed on top of finances, so I'll have to check in tonight to see where I am. Barbecue is Sunday and everyone's confirmed except one of my brothers.

We did pick up chicken yesterday from a local restaurant for $20. I have to say, it was totally worth it as SO and I are exhausted. My brother had also never had this chicken and he loved it. This week has been so tiring. My brother is here to stay with DD2 during the day, so she kind of gets used to a schedule. Both SO and I are crazy busy at work. SO hasn't gotten home before 930 one night this week, and I usually get home about 7 and immediately take over doggy duty. It's been an adjustment having to balance chasing her around with giving DD1 plenty of attention and ensuring DC isn't too stressed. I think we're settling into a routine though.

The other expenses are DC's litter (about $10ish). and a computer chair for my brother. I was planning to pay him for spending the week up here with DD2, but he needs a new computer chair, so I'll be getting that in the next two days as a thank you.

We also still need stuff for the barbecue. I'm hoping that the second half of May will be very low spend as SO will be gone for training.

So the cards may be delayed a bit longer. My windshield ended up coming out to $415 and DD1's emergency appointment was $160. I also need to pick up DC's litter and we have the barbecue to pay for. I made some adjustments to our May budget to accommodate the extra expense of entertaining.

DD2 (Riley) has been home for one day, and she's already exhausting. She learns very quickly but can also be a bit stubborn. She already knows sit, but doesn't like to use the bathroom outdoors. She will go in the vicinity of the potty pads indoors, so we'll just keep at it. She rides really well in the car and did very well at the vet. She's a little squirmy, but overall does great when touching her paws, ears, faces, nails, etc. Her vet visit was less than I thought which is great given what happened Friday...

Coming home from DD1's weekly play date, I stopped short and DD1 slammed into my winshield - hard enough to completely crack it. I'm going to get it evaluated, but am almost positive it'll have to be replaced. DD1 is fine. Took him into the vet Saturday morning. They saw a small blood clot at the back of his left eye and gave him an anti-inflammatory, but otherwise, they said he looks good. He's shown no signs of even a mild concussion (although it's likely that he had one). Needless to say, part of our pet spending this weekend involved seat belt harnesses for both DD1 and DD2. I haven't looked at the numbers yet, but I think we stayed well within our $800 budget.

I also turned down the part-time cheerleading coach position. With DD2 and SO's crazy work schedule/training, it just didn't seem feasible. I did let her know I'd be interested in being involved in a sort of volunteer capacity - that way I can stop by when I can but am not actually committed to 6 days/week, 3-4 hrs./day.

I'll leave you with a couple of pics: The first two are Riley girl. The last one is DD1 and DC - both of whom are handling DD2 like champs.

Just chugging along over here. I've been feeling down lately and really wanted delivery yesterday, but I sucked it up and made dinner. Better for both my wallet and waistline!

SO is fine with me taking out the $790 to pay back to my credit card, so I just need to actually do that. Everything is still on for the pet adoption this Sunday.

Thinking ahead to May, we're going to try and host a barbecue for Mother's Day to introduce our families. Any frugal ideas? We're leaning towards one of the Omaha Steaks packages $60 for a variety of meats, but we'll still need sides, a dessert or two, and possibly some table decorations. My apartment is a little small, so 10 people, a lab, a new puppy, and a cat is going to be crazy, but I'm actually looking forward to getting everyone together. There actually is a park relatively close by, but I don't think there's a grill over there...

Our average daily balance is official 1592. I plan to take out $685 to pay back to my Chase Freedom card. This weekend will be very spendy as we'll be getting everything we need to get little Riley set up. I upped that budget to $800 because we will probably also pick up a few things for DD1 and DC so they don't feel neglected. That will leave me with $325 on the Chase card. I want to pay this off by the end of April as I believe I start accruing interest next period which starts May 10. I will pay $220 to it with my paycheck tomorrow. The last $105 will also come out of our account as part of the money that needs to be paid from Dec./Jan. spending. That leaves $395 remaining to be paid back.

Our May budget currently has a $800 deficit, but that's because I have no idea what (if anything) SO's commission may be. I'm confident we'll make most (if not all) of it up. Not to mention, I think May spending will be significantly cut back in the second half of the month because SO is away for training. All of his meals are covered, and I will just be home when I'm not working spending time with my fur babies.

My last small CC is Chase Slate. Right now, I'm aiming for payoff by the end of June. However, depending on May spending, I may have enough to pay myself back the last $395 which would wipe out the card in May. After that the focus becomes the couch ($800 left from our joint account) and my last CC ($5600 - balance transfers).

Had a very nice weekend. Grilled with SO, got to visit with my mom, learned to sew, found out we're approved to take Riley home, and had an amazing dinner out after a hike. My only cost was gas to go home. SO lost a bet last week, so he owed me dinner. I chose Red Lobster and it was amazing. Except that I forgot how big and filling eating out is. No wonder I had gained so much weight! I took home two boxes - half of our lobster pizza appetizer and half of my meal with some salad and biscuits.

With all the food we have in our fridge, I don't have to make dinner tonight or probably tomorrow either! I told SO I have to really focus on my dietbet because I've just been maintaining rather than losing. To help, we went running this morning. He's my own personal drill sargeant

Apparently, the cost of going on autopilot is about 3.50. I went to visit my mom today and usually fill up my gas tank near her as it's about .30 cheaper. However, I was very low so I planned to put 5 bucks in to get me home and then fill up. When I got to the gas station, I just went into autopilot mode and let the whole tank fill up. That's an unnecessary 3 bucks I just wasted.

In much happier news, the foster mom emailed that she heard we'd been approved!! We still have to wait until next Sunday, but the puppies are back with the foster mom and my girl kept climbing the crate to get out of her puppy pen. So far, I've definitely seen pieces of both the husky and German Shepherd in her.

Once the transfer clears tonight, we'll have a $1500 buffer in our joint account. The money is showing as available, but it's still pending. Once our daily balance is back above $1500, I will begin pulling money out to pay down my credit card. We had put some of our pet purchases and food spending on my card, so that will be repaid down.

New puppy should be going back to the foster mom today. The adoption has been pushed another week as they got sick again. The home visit went really well, so now I just anxiously await an email on whether or not we've been approved.

SO got paid today. He got his normal check and his commission check. While it was significantly lower than I had thought, we'll still be able to accomplish some stuff. If my math is correct, it covers the deficit from April and gives us an approximate $3500 buffer. Since rent, gas, and verizon all take out before any of our income for that month comes in, this is a good buffer. After those payments come out, we'll have about $1700 in the account until that month's income comes in. Since I have to maintain $1500 in the account to avoid fees, this works out great. I'd like to get us to living off the last month's income for this account as it would be easier to track.

We went and visited potential new puppy again last night. She was obviously feeling much better. She's pretty adorable and I'm already attached, so I'm really hoping the adoption goes smoothly. I've read horror stories about families being so excited to take the puppy home only to be denied with no explanation. Fingers crossed everything goes well!!! We have about $750 remaining budgeted for her set-up which includes an adoption fee of $375 and a vet visit. I already have a crate, bed, and puppy pads (free courtesy of a coworker), so we'll just need food, collar, and toys.

I'm always on the lookout for side jobs related to working with kids or cheerleading. Awhile back, I had heard about an opening for the head coach at a local high school (it happens to be SO's alma mater). After speaking with the student activities director, it seemed way out of my league, but perfect for the head coach I worked with at my last high school gig. I let her know about it in the hopes that if she got it, she'd take me on as an assistant again. She interviewed yesterday and it seemed to go well. So if that goes through, then she'll look to hiring myself and possibly some of the other coaches we worked with.