Playing Hopscotch with My Money

I needed to remember to get something at the grocery store the next time I go. I knew that if I didn't write it down right then I would forget it. So in the 4 seconds it took me to turn to my left and get a pen and the grocery notebook, I forgot it!

Argh.

I cannot remember it! And I can't even remember what triggered me to think of it too- normally that would help me re-think of it.


I can only hope that I will remember it before I go grocery shopping again or else I have a feeling this process will repeat itself many times...

On a different note... anyone wanna play "Guess when boyfriend will remember to mail his taxes?". He has finished his taxes and is getting a small refund (I think around $40) but only if he remembers to mail it. I have reminded him but he never seems to be able to grab that envelope and drop it off at the mailbox. If he doesn't bring it with him when he leaves for school tomorrow I will mail it for him.

I think I am going to rent a movie tomorrow. I'm not sure what, but I'll stop by RedBox and see what is available.

If the companies won't tell me?

I've been looking at prices for internet/cable/phone and am really confused. I don't want a lot of cable, just a simple package, but I need to bundle that with internet. However all I can find on the companies' websites are the introductory rates. Not the actual rate.

Very annoying.

I talked to my dad again and he will definitely be moving here in August/September unless something huge happens (i.e. medical bill wipes out our savings, etc.). I know it is 4 months off but already I'm preparing for it. I'm getting excited!

My boyfriend and I have been going over apartments and we found several that are cheap. One is in an iffy neighborhood, but the rest are in good areas. One apartment is $565/month with all utilities included (they didn't specify internet, but that won't be more than $40/month). Another is $450/month with water and garbage paid.

My dad offered to give us $500/month to help us if we need it, but I'm not sure if we'll take it. We should be able to pay for everything with just our income. And my boyfriend has more in savings than I do. So we should be ok. But it is nice knowing I can ask my dad for help if something happens.

I hope everyone had a good Easter! Boyfriend and I went to a morning mass and then nothing. He had a test he needed to study for so I've been puttering around the house. Did some cleaning and then bought cupcakes for my friend that just moved into her apartment. A boring, yet peaceful, day.

Before my mom died I was sharing an apartment with my grandmother. The lease for the apartment was supposed to end this month. At this time, my boyfriend and I were going to get our own place.

Obviously that changed. After my mom's death I moved into my dad's place to help look after my younger brother. My dad's job is, unfortunately, in another state. He couldn't find a job in state that paid well (most were under $50,000/year and the job he has now is almost 3 times that). He comes home every 3 or 4 weeks.

The other day my dad announced that he might be coming home at the end of August/ first of September for awhile. He said if his job is not up by then he will quit and stay home for my brother's senior year of HS (brother is currently a junior).

At this time, I will be moving out.

I want to be excited, I really do, but I am a little hesitant.

I am worried about what would happen if my dad doesn't find a job at the end of the school year. He currently has almost a year's worth of expenses and will have more by the end of the summer. I think he is thinking of selling the condo when my brother graduates but I'm not sure.

BUT

I think it is more important that my dad be here. At some point money just isn't as important as family.

Soo... I am going to begin preparing for the chance that I do move out in August/September. I was planning on opening a 529 after I met my savings goal, but I think it is more important to add even more to my savings. I will open a 529, but I'll probably delay it by a couple months.

One of the upsides is that I don't have to worry about getting a lot of stuff for an apartment. I will need to get some sort of sofa or futon for the living room, but that's the biggest thing I have to get. I will scout thrift stores (we have some pretty good thrift stores here) when the time comes.

Sigh. I don't even know if this will happen for sure. It is a possibility, but not set in stone. We'll find out in a few months.

This month is the first time I would have received a payment from half.com to my new bank. According to half.com, they paid the deposit on 3/8 (yesterday) and it is not showing in my checking account.

At my old bank the money was in my account the same or next day that half.com showed they paid.

I double and tripled checked my account and routing number and it is correct. So I guess I just have to be patient and give it a few days. I just worry that for some reason I won't receive the money. Silly, yes, but I do tend to over worry.

For those who have half.com, how long do you wait for your payment? Like I said, at my old bank I received it almost instantly, but obviously it is different at different banks.

Whew!

Last night I sat down with my computer, my DARS (Degree Audit Report), and a pen and paper and mapped out what classes I needed to take when. I pretty much planned what classes I will be taking for the rest of college. I'm going to run it by my advisor today just in case.

So after talking with my boyfriend and dad I am only going to take two classes this summer. They both think taking three classes and working will be too much stress and too costly. So the summer tuition bill dropped from $1,265.50 to $837! Still a lot of money, but more manageable. And it will be nice to not be in classes all summer long.

I found a few scholarships last night with an upcoming deadline (3-4 weeks away). Tonight I'm going to try to get started on them. Most do not require an essay (thank God!) but I just have to collect all the information for them. And luckily I can submit it electronically so I don't have to worry about mailing it.

This weekend at least. The rest of April is pretty much dead.

No work gives me a chance to relax and hang out with family, but that also means no pay. I picked up my paycheck today and it was for $83.66. And I doubt my next paycheck will be anything.

Oh well.

Summer school is going to be very costly. The tuition alone is $1,265! And that doesn't include books.

Ouch.

And fall tuition, after the school scholarships, is about $740 + books. At least I *think* that is how much it is. It could be less. I'm going to do extra searches for scholarships. Normally the school scholarships pretty much cover tuition so I don't need to do a lot of outside search for scholarships. But this time, I will. I'll begin looking tonight.

I'm a little mad at myself for not looking for scholarships for the summer. The school scholarships do not cover summer tuition and I should have prepared for that. If I am lucky I might be able to find a couple scholarships.

I am thinking that over the summer, instead of taking 3 classes, I will take two. This will drop the tuition to below $900 and I will not have to buy as many books. Unfortunately, this means that I will have to take this class over the fall semester and push one class to next spring. But if I take it during the fall, the scholarships will cover almost all of it. I think this might be the best choice but I will think about it for a couple days.

So with all this upcoming expenses I am not going to spend any of the money I am getting from the apartment complex for referring my friend. It will be saved and will most likely go towards books and tuition. As much as I would like to buy something for myself with it, I know I can't. It would be irresponsible to not put it towards tuition.

The financial talk at the expo wasn't what I expected. It wasn't very interesting for one. It was in Q&A form and most of the questions were basic (how to set up a budget, how much in savings do I need, etc.). It was good hearing a few different experts' opinion on everything. But I still wish they had talked about more in depth stuff.

But I got a lot of free samples at the expo. I walked away from the expo with a very heavy bag full free samples. Made the $10 entrance fee (for two) worth it.

While my boyfriend and I were watching a movie before he had to leave for work we heard an ice cream truck! The moment I heard it I immediately sat up and ran right to the window to see where it was. Boyfriend laughed and said I looked like a dog, running around trying to find the ice cream truck.

But it is an ice cream truck! I haven't seen one in years. We both got some ice cream for 75 cents each.

Tonight was unusually cheap for us. We have a couple date nights a month where we usually go out to dinner and then a movie, or a show, or something.

Tonight was date night and we decided to do something different. We made dinner at home (chicken and asparagus and a salad) and then rented a movie for free (some special program my boyfriend signed up for video games). We also went to the local park and played on the swing set and jungle gym.

We rented "Made of Honor" and after we watched that we watched "Blazing Saddles" (which we already had).

Sunday is technically payday but because it is a Sunday the paychecks will be available on Monday. I'm not expecting it to be more than $100.

Tomorrow and Sunday is the annual Women's Expo. I've never been so my boyfriend, friend, her mom, and myself will be going tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. In the morning there will be a talk given on finances that I want to hear. So my boyfriend and I will be getting there a couple hours before my friend. I'll report tomorrow what the talk was on.

I have always hated cooking. Didn't like it one bit. But lately I've been forcing myself to try more recipes and I'm starting to like it more.

It helps that I've been getting better at it too. I especially like baking. So my cooking goal is to try at least one new dish a week. It can be an appetizer, salad, etc. Something. I'm currently looking at a couple cook books trying to decide what to try based on what we have. I don't mind having to buy a couple ingredients, but we have so much food supplies that I don't want to buy a lot more.

Today was a pretty good day. Boyfriend and I got a lot of de-cluttering done today. We took some things to the storage unit and did some cleaning. In the evening our friend that is moving into our complex with her boyfriend came by and we went to get cupcakes. Then we went to their new apartment.

I'll start with the April Fool's prank I experienced today:

I always pick up change when I see it on the ground. When I was walking across the parking lot today I saw a quarter on the ground. I bent to pick it up and it didn't budge! So I hit it with my shoe and still no budging. I looked closer and discovered that it had been glued to the ground! I thought that was really clever. I wonder how many other people tried to pick it up but couldn't.

Onto the $72. I bought a PO Box today! Yay! I got it for a whole year. I'm using the PO on the way to school so it will be convenient to pick up my mail.

I've already changed my mailing address with the school and with my bank. I will also need to change my mailing address on half.com. I'm trying to think of other places I need to change my mailing address for. The DMV is one.

(This is very long and somewhat boring. I'm mostly writing this here to organize my thoughts and keep track of what was said.)

Yesterday I spoke with the Accounting advisor and was overloaded with information. We talked for about 40 minutes on the requirements for a minor, CPA license, Master's degree, jobs, etc. She was very thorough and didn't rush me (which I liked. My Math advisor tends to speed through everything, but he is still a great advisor).

Minor in accounting

I have decided to minor in Acc. The requirements include Information Systems 101 and 102 and Accounting 201, 202, 401, and two more upper level accounting courses (not 460/481).

The advisor told me that even if I decide to not get a CPA license, I would still be able to get a job in accounting if I minor in it. I would have to start off as an entry level accountant, but that's ok. This definitely made me happy. I was worried that she was going to tell me I needed to major in Accounting to be a CPA (more on that later) or to be an accountant. I'm still not sure exactly what career path I want to take and I'm glad that a minor in Acc. gives me another option.

The CPA License

The advisor informed me that Nevada is one of the harder states to get a CPA license in (which doesn't surprise me- NV is big on licenses). The requirements are three-fold:

1. 150 hours of schooling. This includes an undergrad degree (doesn't have to be Accounting) and several accounting classes. The classes include: Accounting 401, 402, 403, 405, 410, 460, and 470. I also need to take four elective classes (one of which is an internship) and 8 general business classes. Obviously majoring in accounting would get most of the classes taken care of, but minoring still gets several out of the way.

2 & 3. At least 2 years of work experience in the field. and passing all 4 parts of the CPA exam. The advisor said that the best way to do this is to get a job as an accountant, and then begin taking the CPA exam. I can't remember if she said all four parts were given at once or separately.

In order to fulfill all the requirements for the CPA, I have to apply to a special "graduate" program by the university. And when I do, the State Board of Accounting (I *think* that is what it is called) determines what business classes I need to take along with the accounting electives.

Master's in Accounting

I know I want to go onto graduate school. But I'm not sure if I want to study Math or Accounting (or both?). I guess that depends on what career I take. A Master's in Accounting (at my school) is 10 graduate classes. The requirements are: Accounting 401, 402, 403, 405, 410, 470, 460.

Other Stuff

My advisor told me that if I were to stay in Nevada, it might be easier to get my MACC first (if I want to get my Master's) and then start the license program.

That's a lot of "if"s.
--------

So the big question is what the heck do I want to do and when and where do I want to do it?

Thankfully it doesn't need to be answered anytime soon.

I'm not keen on staying in Nevada. I like living here but... I don't want to stay long. With my dad in Cali (and my brother probably going there when graduates HS), I don't have any family that ties me here. And I much prefer the East coast.

Boyfriend says he would prefer to stay in Nevada, but as long as we don't go to the South, he's fine with wherever. And his future job (he wants to be a police officer) is available anywhere.

I *could* stay in Nevada to get my Master's and CPA license (if I decide to go that route) and then move. But that probably wouldn't be compatible with boyfriend's career plans (agencies aren't keen on training you and then you leaving them after a couple years). I think I would prefer to move to another state to get my Master's and CPA license.

So over the next couple years there is a lot to decide. What career I want, what to get my Master's in, if I want to get my CPA license (even if I don't want to be an accountant)...

The decisions aren't going to be made anytime soon. I'm going to look to see if there are any internships in the accounting field. And as graduation comes closer, I'll start making the big decisions.

Whew! That was a lot.

Ok, so Friday I register for classes. Both for the summer and for the fall.

Summer classes:
Core Humanities 202
Accounting 201
Math 285

Fall Classes:
Math 373
Math 330
Math 461
Accounting 202
Information Systems 101

March was a pretty good month.

I saved a total of $349.88. That breaks down into:
-IRA: $131.19
-Savings: $218.69

On Half.com I made a total of $11.40, bringing my total for the year to $217.77. My average for the year so far is $72.59, above my goal of $40/month.

I shipped my item today. Shipping and packaging was $2.19. So my total for this month is: $9.21. Decent.

I am so exhausted. I got only a couple of hours sleep last night. I wasn't up late studying or playing games or watching movies. My brain would just would not shut off. I wasn't tired until it was really late.

I somehow got through the day. I did the grocery shopping and went to the post office and talked with my advisor and then went to my classes. Tomorrow I will post about what my advisor said and what I plan on doing. Right now I need a nap.

I sold another thing on half.com today. This time a movie.

Before shipping fees, I get $6.21. I haven't shipped it yet (it is a Sunday), but shipping fees should be no more than $1 or two.

Yesterday I also received cash tips for the party I worked. $42 in cash and I'll get another $40-ish on my paycheck. I am, unfortunately, not working at all this upcoming week. So my paychecks for April are going to be really low. Oh well. In May it will start picking up and will last at least through September (we have several weddings in September). I think I'm going to hold onto the cash tips and use that as my spending money and take less spending money (if any at all) out of my next paycheck.

I may an impulse purchase yesterday, but one that is definitely worth it.

For my job I have to wear a white, buttoned-down, collared, long sleeve, plain shirt. No fancy buttons, etc.

And it has been extremely hard for me to find one in my size. But yesterday I ran into some good luck when my boyfriend needed to go shopping.

We stopped by Old Navy because boyfriend needed to get some clothes and while he was trying on the clothes I wandered off and did some browsing myself. I wasn't intending to buy anything, just wanted to see what they had (it's been a long time since I've been in Old Navy).

And there I saw it: shirts I can wear for work! I checked the shirt over- small buttons, buttoned up to the top, collar, long sleeve, etc. I grabbed an XS (last one they had too- I really lucked out!) and tried it on.

It fit!

Yay! It cost $20 but well worth it. I now have a total of 3 shirts I can wear for work! In a few weeks I'll go back and see if they have anymore in my size. When I go back I will also look for a pair of black slacks. One of the two I have for work will need to be replaced soon.

I can't stop laughing.

What do you do next?

I have decided, with regards to the money I will be getting for referring my friend, I will spend no more than $60 and save the rest.

But my question is, when you guys meet your savings goal, what is your next step? Do you take a small break from saving and buy yourself something (nothing outrageous, just a small treat)? Do set a new savings goal and work on that or do you set a different goal (maybe a CD, stock, etc)?

I'm thinking that once I meet my savings goal I will concentrate on my IRA until I meet that goal. And once both are complete, I'm not sure what to do. I could just continue saving, but I would like to "diversify". I was considering getting into the stock market. I would save another $1,500-2,500 and then buy some stocks (not sure which ones, still researching). Does this make sense?

For the most part I want my money to be safe. But I am willing to take a risk with a small amount (under $3,000), which is why I was considering the stock market.

So I recently found I will most likely be getting a check from the company that owns the complex I live in for $500. Reason is that a mutual friend of myself and my boyfriend has signed a lease and is moving into an apartment because of our recommendation.

The company is/was running a special that any current resident who recommended someone to the complex (and they signed a lease) would receive a check for $500. I don't know if the special is over; they never mentioned when it would end. But if it is over I will be getting a check for $250 (the regular rate).

BF and I have decided to split it 50/50. It is a mutual friend of ours and since BF does live with me, it seems fair.

The issue is though, I want to spend all of my portion. BF says he doesn't care whether I spend or save it (he plans on buying a video game and saving the rest).

I know the ideal plan would to do something similar to what my BF is doing, but.... I don't want to! Argh. The check would arrive, at the earliest, in a month.

I think I am getting a little stir crazy. I have been really good about saving for awhile and I kind of want to just spend. I don't know what to do. I think my wanting to spend this money goes beyond just wanting to buy something.

What would you do? Until I know otherwise, I'm going to pretend that my portion will be $125.

So a week-ish ago I lost two very important things: my car keys and two checks totaling $280.

Over the past week I have torn my house upside down and couldn't find either. I gave up the search two days ago and resigned myself to having lost those items.

Today I found my car keys. YAY! This gives me hope that I will find the checks. The car keys were in my coat pocket. So tomorrow the search will continue for the checks, but I will be searching all coat pockets and purses too.

Boyfriend celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday. I ended up babysitting (and driving around) four drunk guys. None of them got drunk enough to where they were passing out or throwing up, but they were definitely not able to drive. Boyfriend becomes a happy, and very honest, tipsy man. I don't think I can count the number of times he said "I loooooove you".

So my boyfriend let slip a vital piece of information last night... one that he had been keeping to himself and hadn't told anybody, including his best friend. I am hesitant to mention it as I don't want to jinx it, but let's just say that if he does as he said, we will be starting a wedding fund in the next few months.

My girlfriends and I hung out today. We played a game called rummikub. It was a fun game, but frustrating. We did some window shopping afterwards. One of my friends is moving in with her boyfriend into their first apartment and wanted to look for furniture.

We'll start with the good:

I got my paycheck today, it was for $258.51. So I put $129.26 into savings, $77.55 into IRA, and $51.70 for spending money.

And now the bad news...

I *kind* of went over budget today. I know, I know! Bad Cassandra! Tomorrow is my boyfriend's birthday and I finally figured out what to get him. I got him a $25 visa gift card for when he goes drinking tomorrow and a nice chess set ($50). I had budgeted $75 for his birthday so I went a few dollars over when you take sales tax into consideration.

But the real budget kicker was our little day trip today. I spent $19 on lunch for the two of us, I bought myself a $6 lip gloss (normally I wouldn't have spent so much on lip gloss but it had a funny tube!), $16 on fudge (it was REALLY good fudge!), $15 on gas, and on the way home I bought myself a small sandwich and drink ($9). Total spent: $65. Planned: $50.

Fortunately I have some spending money at home from the past couple paychecks that I haven't spent yet. I didn't think I would spend so much today so I didn't have enough cash for everything and had to charge the rest. Tomorrow I will go to the bank and deposit some of my spending money to cover my CC. So while I did spend more than I expected, I do have the cash to cover it. I just didn't have it with me at the time.

Ironically, the reason I left the rest of my money at home was because I didn't want to spend it all. We don't normally take day trips and normally we would have split the cost of it but because it is his birthday tomorrow I wanted to pay.

So I went over budget by $15. Actually $20 if you include the sales tax.

My half.com total for January was about $201. February it was $0. Today I FINALLY sold another book!

After shipping I made $5.19 on the book.

Yay!

Ok, try not to laugh too hard...

So yesterday I had made a date with my friends. While I was waiting for them to arrive at my place I was using my laptop on the couch. The phone rings, I get up to answer it, and keep my back turned to my computer.

When the phone conversation is finished I head back to my computer and find my other cat sitting on the keyboard. I shoo her off and try to put in my password- but most of the keys won't type! I tried almost every key on my keyboard and discovered most didn't work. All the keys would go down when I pressed them, but my screen wouldn't show the letter being typed.

Just then my friends arrive so I close my laptop and forget about it until I get back.

I called the Apple store and explained what happened. The SA asked me what keys typed and I told him: the number keys, command, option, the keys with commas, back slashes, etc, and the letters M, J, K, L., U, and I (respectively: 0,1,2,3,4, and 5).

The SA asks me if the num lock is on. I tell him yes, it is.

The SA then tells me to press the num lock (turning it off) and try typing other letters.

It worked!

I couldn't help but laughing. I've had this laptop for a few years now (I think I got it in 2005) and I am just now learning what num lock does. At least I had the sense to call the store before I drove the 25 minutes there.

Yep.

Yesterday I did the grocery shopping and it came to $196. But we also bough TP, towels, shampoo, DO, soap, laundry detergent, and the fourth season of House. If it had been just food the total would have been around $100.

Well I am not working this weekend which is both good and bad. Bad because it means I don't make money, good because I can spend my boyfriend's birthday with him.

Which brings me to a problem... I have no idea what to get him. He says video games or something from a certain store, but there are problems with his suggestions. First, I don't know what video games he likes. And I feel weird getting him a gift card. Second, the store he mentioned doesn't exist! I looked in the yellow pages, googled the name with our city following, and I called 411. NOTHING! I even tried variations of the name but all I got were restaurants.

Friday is payday which makes me happy. I can't wait to see how much I can put into my savings.

I skipped out on you guys for a few days just to keep you on your toes.

:P

Actually, there have been some problems with boyfriend's mom. I have been hesitant to post about it but I am getting sooo frustrated with the situation and I don't want to put my boyfriend in the middle even more than he already is.

The problem *seems* to be that our personalities just don't mesh well. I rub off on her the wrong way and visa versa. It also really doesn't help that I am the first girlfriend she has had to deal with. This is unchartered territory for her.

Boyfriend thinks mostly it is that I am such an independent person that bothers her. I have always been this way- my parents said even was I was just a few years old I was always very independent. I don't get why this is an issue, but apparently it is.

And she wants me to fix everything, but I don't know what to do. She won't talk to me and the times we do talk about what is going on, she just tells me that she knows we are both stressed and everything will be ok. So how am I supposed to fix what is going on if I can't get a straight answer?

Le sigh.

So last night I totally forgot that I didn't have school today because of spring break and I started to do my homework. I was working on Diff. Equ. and finally got so frustrated with it that I threw my pencil down, threw my hands in the air, and said "Pfffffttt." My boyfriend then asks me why I was doing homework when it was spring break.

My reply? "I forgot that it is spring break. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" paired with an evil glare.

His reply? "I dunno."

He just likes to see me suffer.

Work was interesting on Saturday. I forgot to call and get my schedule today so tomorrow I will call them.

Boyfriend and I did some window shopping today. It was a lot of fun walking around town with him and looking at everything in the stores. All we bought was lunch (I think it was about $10). Wednesday I am having lunch with friends and Thursday boyfriend and I may be going to spend the day at the lake. Maybe. I haven't decided if I actually want to go.

I wish boyfriend was here right now. I really just want to watch a movie or something with him. I need to relax somehow.

Everybody, jump for joy!

Jump! Jump!

The kitchen is done! It took 6 weeks, but it is DONE! Yay! The countertops were put in today and we have a working sink and everything is all good.

Now comes the fun part: putting everything back in place and cleaning. Actually that won't be so bad. I put everything into boxes labelled with where the stuff goes so it should go by quickly (me? organized? who would have thunk it?).

Boyfriend's 21st birthday is a week from tomorrow (we are exactly two weeks apart). I still don't know what to get him. He's not telling me what he wants so I haven't got a clue. I am going to head to Walmart sometime this week (probably Monday because it is spring break. Yay!) to look for ideas. He likes video games and Dungeons & Dragons but he says he has all the D&D stuff and video games he wants. Until, of course, the next game comes out.

The interest on my IRA is accumulating so slowly. It is March 13th, I have more in my IRA now than in January, and yet I have only earned 3 cents in interest so far. It is frustrating. Not much i can do about it though. (I'm pretty sure I said the same thing last month. Hmm.)

We heard from the Social Security Administration. My brother will be getting about $500/month from SS. My brother wants to save most of it but we'll probably give him $100/month to spend as he pleases. Not that he has much to spend his money on. I'm trying to convince him he should give me the money and I'll "take care of it". He's too smart though.

Tomorrow I need to do the following:
1. Make an appointment with my advisor. I need to talk with him about pursuing graduate school for accounting or finance. And make sure I am on the right track for my Math major.

2. Talk to the Accounting advisor. I need to know which classes I might have to take and what (if anything) I need to do to declare a minor in accounting (I might have to apply to the College of Business first). I also need to make sure that if I do minor in accounting, and go on to graduate school for it, that it is enough to become a CPA (my state requires 150 hours to become certified).

I do hope neither one of them tells me to change my major. I love math and do not want to change my major to something else. Of course, if it is the only way to get things done, I might have to. But I am still unsure if I want to go into finance/accounting.

What I need to do today:
1. Fill out the form for adjusting my tax return.
2. Help my boyfriend with his taxes.

I wish I could do the taxes now, but will have to wait until later tonight (currently being at school and all).

The DOW went up more today. I kind of wish it had stayed low. I want to get into the stock market this year, but am uncomfortable doing so until I have more saved. But who knows how the market will be a few months from now?

I am no good at waiting.

No good.

Next Friday is payday and I want my paycheck now.

BUT, if I were to get my paycheck today, it would not be as high as when I receive it on the 20th. Win some, lose some.

But what I am REALLY wanting to get done is the countertops. They called and they are coming on Friday to put in the new countertops. It's about freakin' time! I first noticed the leak on January 24th. A plumber came by later that week and on Feb. 1 they began the process of removing the mold. And our kitchen hasn't been the same since. We are going on SIX weeks without a proper kitchen.

But even though the countertops will be done Friday, we are probably not going to have a sink until Monday. Why? Because the plumber is coming by tomorrow to remove the sink so they can put in the countertops Friday, and knowing this company, they won't be by until Monday to put the sink back in.

The bright side is that we did not have to pay one penny for any of the work done. Because the leak was caused by the pipes not being put together properly (maybe it was all that soda they were drinking...), the HOA covered all of it.

I'm going to go read. This week the homework load has been really light because spring break starts Friday! Yay!

After I finish these two books I am debating on whether or not I should get another book. The book in question is Bringing Home the Birkin by Michael Tonello. I can buy it on half.com for $8 (hardcover, only version available right now), but if I wait until August I can buy the paper back version from Borders using my gift card. Decisions, decisions.

Oh, and I decided to get a PO box. I'll probably get one at the end of March, so after I receive my paycheck. Do I have to change my mailing address with the Post Office? How about the DMV? Or does it not really matter because I am not moving?

My boyfriend has seen the following movies with me:

1. 1776
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. Breakfast at Tiffany's

In case he asks you, remind him that he has seen the above movies with me. He disagrees with me, but I know he has seen the aforementioned movies. I even remember conversations we had about the movies!

Jeesh.

[PS. I am writing this post because he asked me if I wanted to watch a movie. I said we could watch Breakfast at Tiffany's again and he said he hasn't seen and that sparked a friendly argument about this. And, of course, I get the last word. Hehe.]

I've been looking for a photo editing software. I would like to get Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 (for Mac) but it costs about $100 new. I searched Amazon.com and found it for $75, but I would like to spend less. Ebay did not have it. Is there anywhere else I can find computer software?

I finally bought my glasses today! I know I said I was going to buy them yesterday, but it was snowing and really cold yesterday. The roads were also a little icy. So I stayed inside and drank hot coco instead.

The total came to $275 with tax. A little high, but I went to three separate eye glass stores and I would have spent about as much no matter where I got my glasses. I can't wait to get rid of my current frames. I have been wearing them for almost 2 years and am tired of them.

I also went to Borders to spend my gift cards. I bought two books- Remember Me? by Sophia Kinsella and Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. I have about $20 left so when I am done with these books I will go back and buy another.

I still haven't decided on whether or not to get a PO box, but I am leaning towards getting one. I don't have to pick up mail every day and there are a couple within 2-3 miles of my place.

According to the news here, there has been a recent string of people breaking into mail boxes in apartment/condo complexes and stealing people's identities. The mail boxes they break into are the ones that are outdoors and not really protected.

The mail box in our complex is outdoors and not really protected.

I'm wondering if I should get a P.O. box to protect our mail. I don't get any credit card statements in the mail so all I get are banking statements and the occasional letter. We do get the house bills in the mail though.

Is it worth it? I think at one point in time we did have a PO box (I'm pretty sure we did)- not sure why we got rid of it. The smallest one here starts at about $20/month (depending on location). I just don't like having to drive somewhere to pick up my mail.

Your thoughts on a PO box? Is it worth it?