MittenKitten
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Post by MittenKitten on Jan 31, 2012 23:19:58 GMT -5
The Controlled/No Spend thread is undergoing an overhaul as we get back to the fundamentals of the thread while still maintaining the camaraderie that keeps us coming back and makes us successful- even if not initially.
Not sure if weekly captains will happen but we will try.
Here is this month's Controlled/No Spend Thread as promised. Please post your goals for the month if you would like me to include them in the bi-Monthly update. For the new people there are no real set rules here, you set your own. The basic goal most if not all of us have are to keep track of the days we don't spend and hopefully by that work on saving money. Some are looking to put it into savings others to pay down debt. For some they only count the day as a no spend day if they spend nothing at all. Others will count it if they keep their total under $5. Some count all spending others only count a certain part of their budget. For example I personally take $400 out of the the bank in cash for everything that is not related to vehicle expenses (like gas, oil changes, insurance etc) or the house (mortgage, utilities, HOA) If I spend out of the $400 I count it as a spend day (although if it is less then $5 I usually count it as a no spend day.) You set your own rules. Any questions feel free to ask. You can post your no spend days daily or whenever you want, just put it in bold at the top with the first number being the number you want me to record. If you are doing daily then: Today (or yesterday) $0 Spend day More then one day at a time: 4/31 days $0 Spend Which translates into 4 out of 31 days in December have been no spend so far. Some use the bigger number as their goal number so do 4/15 No spend Days which means they have a goal of 15 no spend days this month.
CSD: Controlled Spend Day BFF: Best Friend Forever DH/DS/DD/DSS: Dear Husband, Dear Son Dear Daughter, fiance, boy friend, Dear Step-Son DIL, MIL, BIL, SIL: Daughter in law, Mother In Law, Brother in Law, Sister In Law NKCW: No Killing Co-Worker Day (could also be no kill DH NKDH etc) MOAN: Moving our a$$ Now aka exercising NS or NSD: No Spend or No Spend Day NEO: No eating out HTH: Hope This Helps KWIM: Know What I mean FWIW: For What It's Worth IMHO or IMO: In my Humble Opinion or In My Opinion Getting Nitzed is a now slightly outdated term referring to when you have a long post and MSN cuts you off so its in two posts instead one. Having a Startsmart Day is referring to when you have 20+ things on your must get done in a day and you accomplish them. Sharing the Simple Lifestyle aka Toasty; Single Mom-KY aka Smokey; MittenKitten aka MK; Pt_In_NY aka Pointy; Red2Black aka R2B2. The Boy is Sheila in Cali's son. the boy or Mowgli is Nsinglet's son Blue is Red_Wagon's DH TBear is MizBear's older niece. ZBear is MizBear's younger niece.
Every week we try to have a question of the week (QOTW) and challenge of the week (COTW) related to the question.
Honeylioness had a wonderful answer I think really defines WHAT we are about:
"I will admit that during my first two months of lurking, I wondered just how in the WORLD someone could not spend any money at ALL for 25 days? Did they just pay all their bills one day a month, and that same day do the food shopping for the month? Like many new to the concept I saw it as horribly, and restrictively, black or white – an opinion first based merely on the name of the thread.
But once I came to understand that it was not so totalitarian and was more about finding a way that worked for you to track your spending and any “leaks” in the wallet, it has felt more like a tool and less like a punishment. I wish I could say that I have paid off five extra years from the mortgage, or now have an EF of six months take home – but alas that would not be true.
What I do have however is a better awareness of where my “leaks” are, what are my hot buttons that make me want to spend on things I really don’t need or really cannot afford right now. And an awareness of the fact when I AM spending money. I think that awareness is key to learning a new behavior or paradigm. Just like lumberlady(a member that hasn't been a regular lately but is still a much loved part of our community), some of us have had to look hard in the mirror and acknowledge that we had a problem. Until people can do that, be it an addiction to alcohol or drugs or credit cards ….. they will never really GET it."
Thanks Honeylioness!
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startsmart
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Post by startsmart on Feb 1, 2012 0:54:15 GMT -5
Jan final numbers: 16 NSD, 1 CSD, 14 SD
Feb goals: 15 NSD (travel will be considered CSD)
Today was rather weird, lots of time networking and working with webinars. The launch for one of my clients was today was amazing, very successful.
After reading that a popular blogger we follow filed for divorce, blue eyes and I had an interesting discussion about marriage, divorce and relationships.
Also made it out to the gym tonight and I adore the hot tub, just a little too much. So relaxing after a workout!
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pointy
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Post by pointy on Feb 1, 2012 6:11:34 GMT -5
Final update for Jan: 24/23 NS and 30/28 No QVC ;D
Goals for Feb: 23 NS and 27 No QVC
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Feb 1, 2012 10:45:26 GMT -5
Final Update January: 20/20
Goal for February: 20 NSD.
Will be a small challenge since we have baptism on Sunday for my newest nephew (His name is Ryder- Miss Pants' little brother) DH's bday on the 6th, re-release of Star Wars episode 1 on the big screen, Valentines Day, and a short month.
I can't believe how fast January flew by! It was insane. DH got a great call on Monday from the guy he interviewed with in November. Told him they are still "Very Interested" in hiring him around the end of March/1st of April. They think he will be a great addition to their company. So I am happy for DH but still cautiously optimistic until he gets something in writing.
But his current employer has kept him on so far all year. We are having a super mild winter. 40+ degree days in January is unheard of around here. The nice weather is keeping him very busy and he is going to training next week for the one certification that the potential new employer was hoping he would have so that's a bonus.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Feb 1, 2012 11:23:34 GMT -5
Final January Numbers: 12 NS. 13 CS, 6 spend February Goal: As many NSDs as I can get, declutter every day
Yesterday was a Gas Only No Spend. Our driving patterns were off with the VW in the shop and having rental cars. We had a mini-van for the last week and due to its awful mpgs, DH drove my car to and from school. Gas was a necessity to get to and from work, and I still like the idea of the Gas Only No Spend, so I'm keeping it. The gas station I use is right across the street from the grocery store. There are some things I could use from the store, but nothing that I absolutely have to have before this weekend, so I made a conscious decision not to go there. Just because I am out of premade lunches does not constitute a need to spend. We have sandwich stuff.
I'm going for the "as many as possible" goal again because our life still feels very much up in the air. The MIL is back in the hospital. We sent her back for a more complete evaluation as the SNF staff just couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong. Well, what was wrong is that she still has the bowel infection that she's had since November- the one that caused the sepsis that almost killed her over New Years, AND they've found another infection in her blood that they haven't identified yet. So, hospital for a few days while we try to finally get those infections actually gone. And then we will hopefully get her in a SNF that's contracted with her current insurance (my company), where she will be rounded on MDs who are employed by my company, and we'll actually start seeing improvement, and get the MDs to talk to us before we start alleging malpractice.
There are other things going on this month- I get my braces off 2 weeks from today. Since it's the day after Valentine's, I told DH not to worry about V-day. No point in doing two celebrations the same week. And getting the braces off is a much bigger deal to me.
We're going to do the Super Bowl at home with the roomie and one other friend. Looks like we'll do dim sum (yay for Asian markets just down the street) and maybe some Asian styel bbq pork.
And, we're hoping to get our first foster dog possibly as soon as tomorrow, so there will some expenses associated with that. Luckily, many will be reimbursed and those that aren't are now tax deductible. When we bought DH some school supplies last week, I got a folder to put all foster dog information and receipts in, so that, at least will be organized.
Big News: We're back on the adoption track. We've decided to work with an agency that does both foster to adopt and relinquished infants. If we go with an infant, there will be significantly more fees, but they do a sliding scale based on your last 3 years tax returns, so it's still pretty inexpensive comparitively. And even their most expensive is the same cost as the least expensive infant adoption agencies. DH is more comfortable with foster to adopt when we have an intermediary (the agency) between us and the state to help look after our interests. But this also means we have to get our house ready to be able to pass the home inspection for a foster care license. There's lots of little work that needs to be done- getting a locking file cabinet to put medications in. Replace all the bedroom door handles with ones that lock, etc. And I MUST declutter the third bedroom/office/my closet/upstairs storage. My goal is to work on it for 30-60 minutes each weeknight- starting with going through all the paper and shredding or filing as needed. And then 2-3 hours on Saturdays when DH is in class. I figure if I can take a slow and steady approach instead of trying to do it all in a single weekend, I'll actually get it decluttered for good, instead of just stuffing stuff out of the way.
To go along with prepping for that, we all agreed (DH, roomie, and me) that we actually liked our forced family nights when the power was out, and so we're going to try and institute a no TV/video game family night once a week at our house where we all just hang out and play a board game or sit around and talk.
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mizbear
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Post by mizbear on Feb 1, 2012 15:27:14 GMT -5
My goal is 24/NS/CS this month.
I already have 1/29 NS/CS this month.
I will post the rest of my goals for this month later.
Shan- If you want, you can join us on the decluttering thread for support on the decluttering project.
Things seem to be evening out now- I am glad too- I am getting exhausted.
HUGS everyone.
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redwagon
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Post by redwagon on Feb 1, 2012 15:48:39 GMT -5
Goals: 10 NS days, 14 MOAN days, get preggo. We'll see how I do!
This month we have our niece's 2nd birthday, the AMC movie marathon (I can only do one day because of obligation, but blue is doing both with his brother), I have a bridal shower up in MA, my car needs its checkup (I called ahead for price quote first so we won't get caught off guard. I can learn!), and hopefully more freelancing work. Oh, and tax refund. I adjusted withholdings but it seems not enough. What is everyone's plan for theirs? Most of ours will go to paying off the Home Depot card we put our new window on. Some will go into checking as "cushion" money that we will try not to spend, but will be there just in case. And maybe some for the EF. We'll see. Blue's W2 finally came, so I need to input that, his tuition (maybe get an ed credit), and his savings interest. And then we're done with taxes.
sheila - that's great DH options and interest in him from multiple companies. That must feel great!
shanen - good luck with MIL. Hope the new docs can finally treat her correctly. Yay for no more braces! And yay dog! And yay adoption! So exciting! and isn't the no power thing actually kind of nice? Blue doesn't believe me when I say I was kind of disappointed when the power came back on after Hurricane Irene. I mean, I liked being able to turn on the light in the bathroom, but it was great playing scrabble and going to bed early and actually getting good sleep.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Feb 1, 2012 16:34:57 GMT -5
Red- Thanks for the props toward DH. As for your tax refund question- Nope- we owe money so no refund for us.
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sbcalimom
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Post by sbcalimom on Feb 1, 2012 18:36:15 GMT -5
We're getting back a pretty big refund, partially due to having an additional child credit and partially because I worked less last year. Our taxable income was quite a bit less than 2010 so our deductions brought us down a bit in the tax brackets. I'm not sure that I'll adjust anything because my work is so variable. Since I choose my own hours, I can go from earning $30K to $50K a year without notice. This makes it really hard to decide what to have withheld. I'd rather not owe anything since the few years I didn't have extra withheld and worked my max we had to pay $3K. I'll probably just leave it as is and see how things pan out for next year. I figure as long as I use the tax refund responsibly it isn't really wasted. Plus, our monthly budget is pretty healthy so I don't need the extra money each month. Hopefully that will get even better as I focus on budgeting even more - I went ahead and got the YNAB software and am really liking it.
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spruby
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Post by spruby on Feb 1, 2012 20:14:20 GMT -5
January Final Numbers - 28/31 NSD/CSD
February goal - 28 NSD/CSD
Did pretty well in January - especially considering all of the work trauma/drama. Went over on restaurant points and not enough moans. BUT read 10 books, did16 blog posts and 4 new job activities.
Job update - current one is still awful. I've decided I can't quit w/o a new job - not so much because of the money (although that worries me too) - but because I know it will send me into a deep depression. I'm fighting my way through/up from a bout now and am self aware enough of the risk. (This happened before between jobs and it was extremely debilitating for me.)
BUT that does not mean I am staying at my job - lots of good news today - spoke with my NYC contact and he has additional folks he wants to talk to on my behalf - the first group said lots of good things about me but don't know how to fit me in their organizations (which was what I expected). And one of the folks he spoke with has decided that "get spruby a new job" is one of *his* goals. So go me!! PLUS I heard on another fed job I applied for (one that would put me in an oversight role over my current employer) and have a round one interview Friday. So keep the good job juju coming!
Back to travel grind tomorrow - I'm following along but not able to comment much!
But a few: 3cats - yeah on computer, boo on murphy! honey - you ok? shan - WOW! you are amazing! good luck on the dog foster and the adoption - 2012 is going to be big for you! red - good luck w/all your Feb goals mizbear - hope the drama calms down! shelia - fingers crossed for DH job startsmart - have fun on your trips! pointy - you are amazing - great job! sbcali - I understand on the tax thing - we lucked out this year - and will get a few hundred back - for some reason the irs withholding calculator doesn't do well for us
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mizbear
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Stand back. I have a budget, and I know how to use it.
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Post by mizbear on Feb 1, 2012 21:15:55 GMT -5
My brain is soooo slow- In all my reading- I thought shan was talking about adopting a littler Shan- not a puppy! I think I need a drink.
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moneysquirrel
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Post by moneysquirrel on Feb 1, 2012 22:04:33 GMT -5
Update: 1 NS DayI'm in again this month. Not sure how often I will post (depends on whatever the current work load is -- I need to learn to space out my students' projects better -- ) but I try to read more often. Sometimes reading this thread is my bedtime story.
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MittenKitten
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Post by MittenKitten on Feb 2, 2012 8:29:11 GMT -5
mizbear: I think she is talking about a little shan, not a puppy. At least that was how I read it.
Money: Your students are lucky to have you! Oh and I passed your post about cell phones along. According to my BIL facebook removes all that stuff, so at least one social networking site is doing the right thing! (according to him)
red: Not sure what is going to happen with us and taxes. I am anticipating DF getting some back. I will probably be okay but 2011 and this year are going to be weird years for me.
shanen: Congrats on making a decision and working towards it. I know of someone who adopted an older child through foster care and it worked really well for them. After the kids are a older I may consider fostering depending on the kid. Having grown up inner city it would be nice to help a child and set them on a good path in life, then again we will see. I have to balance the needs of our current kids also.
spruby: Lots of job juju coming your way! Sounds like you have some great things in the fire, lets home something pans out! Maybe if you give yourself a deadline that if you don't have a new job THEN you will leave your current one may help your mental state. I had a REALLY bad job situation 12 years ago and put a deadline on how long I was going to deal with the BS or I was leaving. Helped my mental state a lot. It was bad enough I went on antidepresents for a month.
Cleaning out DGM's house is not fun. She has so much STUFF and some of it is really good stuff. Found a nachtmann traube cordial set that is beautiful and worth a nice amount. Haven't even scratched the surface.
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redwagon
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Post by redwagon on Feb 2, 2012 8:45:52 GMT -5
taxes - so I counted my chickens too soon. Boo. Once I input blue's second W2 it dropped to us owing around $1k. Which is what I set side for taxes for my freelancing, so we have the money and it's for that purpose. But I was really hoping to get a refund anyways haha. Good to know I adjusted our withholdings perfectly though. I'm just not sure how much I like it! I really enjoyed getting refunds in the past. Maybe I'll have blue drop to 1 exemption instead of 2, as a compromise. I don't know. Will think on this.
spruby - wishing you all the luck in the world for a new job!!
mizbear - they are fostering a dog and adopting a kid as well, is how I read it.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Feb 2, 2012 9:34:35 GMT -5
We get screwed because I don't qualify for hardly any deductions- just one standard one. We techincally "rent" our house because the mortgage is in my parents name due to my CA foreclosure. But I pay the entire mortgage, property taxes and insurance. We paid out of pocket to go to college so no student loan interest and DS is too big for the child care credit. So nope- no real deductions to speak up except for the standard and chartible contributions. I know I need to adjust our withholdings to get closer to a zero return (I owe them minimal or get a minimal refund). But we did talk to Dad's banker and we can get the house in our name this year so that will help with the 2012 taxes next year.
Yesterday was a spend- registered DS for Model UN. He loved Model Assembly and wanted to try the UN version. Should be fun- don't know which country they have yet but his little team is himself and two close friends so that will be fun for him.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Feb 2, 2012 11:10:03 GMT -5
1 NSD, 0 Decluttering Will work on decluttering tonight, honest.
mizbear: I'm actually doing both. We are taking in a foster DOG tomorrow, through a rescue called Old Dog Haven (so only a puppy in that all dogs are puppies). He's a Beagle mix, and there will be pictures. DH and I are also starting the process to adopt a CHILD. Which is why I need to declutter the room. Wait times vary, so there's the possibility that we will not have a child before 2013, since we need to go through some additional training (luckily the big training we took in 2010 is good for 4 years) and the homestudy and background checks, since we do have to get a foster care license as part of the process.
So yes, this will be a big year. We're taking on a lot, but DH is not surprised. I think he's mostly surprised that it's taken me this long to get to this point. In the past, I've only gone 2 years between big outside work endeavors. It's now been almost 4 years since I graduated with my MBA, and I haven't taken on any major outside work responsibilities.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Feb 2, 2012 11:27:19 GMT -5
tax return: I have no idea if we'll get one or not. I never adjusted my withholdings when C lost his job. I think we paid some in 2009. I know we paid last year, when he had UE all year and worked the census, plus we didn't get the education credit. This year, he only got UE half the year and we'll get the full education credit. My guess is we'll still owe something, but I still need one intererst bearing account document and I need to check Prosper to see if they have their tax documents ready.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Feb 2, 2012 11:37:35 GMT -5
Shanen - Congrats and good luck. I hope both adoption processes go wel. Red- Good Luck TTC this month. sheila - Congrats to your DH. As for me, well, I'm with Red on the TTC, I'm hoping this will be our month. If not we might take the next 2 months off - I go back and forth on having another Holiday baby. Still planning on working out 15 times this month, and hope to find a 5k that I want to run in April (regardless of being pregnant or not). I have my eye on one on March 31st, but if the weather takes a turn, I'm not sure I'll get the training in. I hate running in the cold. Other goals are Grocery budget under $500; gas budget under $300. I want to keep all unnecessary spending at $0 for the month outside of allowances. We'll see how DH does not going to Lowes for the month. We do plan on getting our taxes done this month (assuming DH's 1099 comes in - I may have to go beat it out of the guy DH did the work for, it is for less than $1000, but we still need it). I think we'll get a refund. Not really sure - we haven't paid taxes on the 1099 work or the $600 in uneployment I got last year. If we get a refund, first $1000 will go to pay for our unexpected expenses last month - well replenish savings. Next $1000 goes towards DH's project of the year - which is making built-in cabinents, counters and shelves for our office. This will allow us to combine basically everything in our guest room and everything in our office, plus have room for an air mattress on the floor for guests. Anything over those amounts goes to car savings. Not real exciting, I know.
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dakota4600
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Post by dakota4600 on Feb 2, 2012 11:56:18 GMT -5
Sorry I've been MIA. I've decided I need to focus on work at work and not play around so much.
January was a very spendy month with new beds and a new truck. I will have to pull out of car savings for the truck but that is okay, it came in $1000 under the budget I gave DH so I can live with it.
I'm trying to rework my computer time at home to have time to read and comment more.
3 cats- sorry about Murphy visiting.
Muttley, Red & Shan- Good luck on the plans to expand your families.
Hugs to those who need them and kudos to everyone who did so well in January.
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startsmart
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Post by startsmart on Feb 2, 2012 12:45:23 GMT -5
I'm about to head out for work day at Starbucks So need to work on the eating thing because I forgot again and now I'm starving. Still working on packing for the trip and I finished booking the hotels last night. Next up: car service. Also got the parameters for my article submission to Forbes Women so I'll be writing that tomorrow. so much going on and nearly too much to do these days. Today will be a spend as I'm finalizing the trip and getting packed, but yesterday was a NSD! Feb in progress update: 1 NSD
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Feb 2, 2012 14:00:52 GMT -5
I need some advice on two things: #1- I am making meatloaf for dinner tonight. Normally I make it will all hamburger but tonight DH asked if I would make it with half hamburger and half ground pork. I normally don't brown the hamburger first. With the ground pork can I do that too or do I need to brown it first? Takes like 75 minutes to cook without browning it so if I brown all the meat will it cook much faster? Will it dry out more? I am not a very good cook. #2: Sunday is Ryder's baptism. I need to get him a gift but am completely stumped as to what to get him. For being born we bought him a teddybear that hangs in the crib and plays music or womb like noises. For Christmas we got him a piggybank shaped like a plane, a pilot bear, books, and an outfit. We have purchased several other outfits for him before he was born that we gave to BFF. So what do I get him for baptism? I am not religious so I don't know what's appropriate and I am not super comfortable giving him an overly religious themed gift. So please help me with any suggestions you might have. Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me.
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dakota4600
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Post by dakota4600 on Feb 2, 2012 15:56:16 GMT -5
Shelia- I wouldn't think you would need to brown the ground pork first. I won't eat meatloaf, so the I can't tell you for sure on that recipe, but I use pork and beef and turkey in meatballs without browning all the time and a lot of meat ball recipes call for a combo of ground meats.
on the baptism- unless you know of a specific keepsake that they would like for the baptism, I'd get a practical baby gift. The last one I went to the mom told me that they didn't have many books, so I let mini-D pick out one and I got one of those ones sappy ones about how much I love you.
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redwagon
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Post by redwagon on Feb 2, 2012 16:03:11 GMT -5
Oh, I will have 2 NS days already if I go straight home today. I'm not counting me spending my fun money, as that is allowed. But house money and if I were to use a credit card for any reason, would be spend days.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Feb 2, 2012 16:34:00 GMT -5
Thanks Dakota- I wasn't sure on the cooking times so I appreciate your advice. As for the gift- I asked BFF and she was all "your attendence if gift enough" But she did mention they are starting a college fund for him soon so maybe I will just give cash. Not very exciting but being that he's their second they have must of the baby stuff they need. Good call on the books- probably stick some cash inside a book so there is something to unwrap.
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mizbear
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Post by mizbear on Feb 2, 2012 16:55:15 GMT -5
sheila- I would go with a small gift towards the college fund. Practical and heartfelt since you value your friends, frugality, practicality ad education. shan- Nice to know I am not losing it. Will have a total update next week.
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startsmart
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Post by startsmart on Feb 2, 2012 18:07:10 GMT -5
okay after a whirlwind 24 hours I have to share this request: I need all your good juju and prayers ladies for a new client contract to come through. I'd say it's 95% a done deal to start in a week but need that final 5% push! This is huge, huge, big deal and I can't even begin to describe how this could influence my business on an international level. EEEK! Pretty exciting and taking all of my energy to get this finalized.
Hope to share more details soon the moment I get verification - I may be on my biz trip so red-wagon might hear some excited shouting from New York!
And I can't even make this up, another potential client just contacted me through Skype with a job offer. got to go!
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mizbear
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Posts: 3,958
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Post by mizbear on Feb 2, 2012 19:44:20 GMT -5
start- All paws crossed- good juju and prayers and everything.
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3catslady
Well-Known Member
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 22:29:16 GMT -5
Posts: 1,122
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Post by 3catslady on Feb 2, 2012 21:25:40 GMT -5
update; 2 NS/CSD, 0 EOD. I have not spent any money and I have not eaten out. Good start to a short month. Now if I could just get my apartment cleaned, I would be happy. I am trying to do one thing at a time until it becomes a habit. I have 2 habits in place right now, cleaning the litter pan daily and taking the garbage out weekly since I only use one bag a week. I also clean the freezer out once a month. I guess that is more than 2 habits. I also pay my bills on time so that is another habit I have learned.
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redwagon
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 14:16:11 GMT -5
Posts: 2,642
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Post by redwagon on Feb 3, 2012 9:33:22 GMT -5
sending good juju your way start!! when are you in NYC? Gotta pick a day for drinks!
Tonight is Drunk Friday (aka Pizza and Wine) at my house so it'll be a spend. It's a thing we picked up from my parents, of all people. For years they do it on Fridays, and the day after Thanksgiving we were there and had a BLAST getting sloshed on wine with them. They probably don't drink that much when it's just them (or maybe they do) but anyways, now blue_wagon is really into the idea. It's fun. We chill and watch whatever show we're obsessed with at the moment (right now we're finally watching How I Met Your Mother, after years of friends harassing us to) and wind down from the week. Can't wait until 6pm... why is it only 930am?
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sheilaincali
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 17:55:24 GMT -5
Posts: 4,131
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Post by sheilaincali on Feb 3, 2012 9:46:44 GMT -5
Update: 1/20 NSD
Today may or may not be a spend day- depending on if we pick up DNephew's gift today or tomorrow. I am going to get him the Dr Suess book "Oh the places you'll go" and put a check inside it for the college fund.
DS is having a sleepover tonight. I have to say I just love his friends. They are all similar to him (shy, polite and very serious about school). They hang out, eat pizza and snacks, play video/computer games and crash around 3 or 4 am. They are quiet and respectful and so mellow and easy going. Plus all the parents have pretty similar parenting styles to DH's and mine. Makes life so much easier.
Nothing too exciting planned for the weekend expect for the baptism. DH's b-day is Monday but he will probably not want to make a big deal out of it- he is in total denial about turing 39. The over the hill jokes have already started. ;D
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