Catching Fireflies July Controlled Spend Thread

[sheilaincali]

my apologies- I re-read my post, please excuse the excessive use of the word "Awesome"

[muttleynfelix]

Sheila - Hugs!! THat stinks.

[singlemomky]

DVM- I have a question for you. Do you have to have a prescription to buy Science Diet dog food?

Dakota - I'm not DVM but I wanted to let you know that my kitty, Moo Moo, eats the dry kibble by science diet and I do not need a prescription; I just walk into the pet store and buy it.

Sheila - Hugs to you. As a side note on the freezer - my BIL does heating & air work. He advised me that I needed to wait several hours (or overnight) before plugging in my new freezer so as to allow the freon (sp?) to settle/redistribute/stabilize. So it is not as easy and just plugging it in. (Not to mention the other issues you have w/the task at hand.)

[sheilaincali]

Smokey- Thanks My mom suggested that so I called Lowe's (where I found the size I liked) and asked them. Because mine is being transported up right I don't have to wait for the freon to settle more than 30 minutes or so. But he said with a big one that lays down during transport I would definitely have to wait overnight.
If your BIL thinks this is wrong- please let me know. You never know who is answering your questions at the big box home improvements stores. They are usually pretty good but I'd trust your BIL more

Thanks for the Hugs- It's just been one of those months.

[dakota4600]

Shelia- Hugs! I say just say no, unless she is buying the freezer for you if you do it.

AZmom-I hope DH is feeling better.

Time for be to pack up and head home!

[sbcalimom]

Sheila - I don't always post here but I do follow as much as I can but wanted to comment. I have the very same issue with my first set of molars on the bottom. When I got it out in college the dentist was all doom and gloom and said I just had to get an implant right away or my whole mouth would shift and I'd end up with all kinds of problems. Being a poor college student, a $10K tooth really was not an option so I didn't do it. It has been out now for 7 years and nothing has happened at all. Every time I go to the dentist and have x-rays, they check the placement and make sure it hasn't changed and they try to talk me into an implant. The last time I went in the new dentist I have though said if it hadn't moved by now it probably wasn't going to. This is not to say your dentist is wrong that you need an implant but just wanted to chime in. Sometimes I think they emphasize the worst case scenario to try and encourage you to get the implant which is both very expensive and very painful to get from what I've heard.

[sheilaincali]

sbcali- Thanks That's pretty much my thinking exactly. It's a bottom back molar. My Uncle and cousin are dentists and we have a family reunion this weekend. I will ask them what they think. Of course they live 12 hours away so it's not really feasible to have them be my dentist of record.

dakota- I wish I could say that. But she is catholic and thus queen of the guilt trips. Plus I had been needing to buy one anyway. Just not this week. Oh well, I can afford it so I probably shouldn't complain too much. My mom takes the Relay VERY seriously. it's a huge family/work event for her. So she turns into a Relay-zilla this week. We just nod along and try not to get on her bad side. We have a huge team this year including out local tv anchor oh and ah all you want ladies. In a city of 60,000 that's big time.

[azmom]

Sheila: **HUGS**
Dakota: Thank You. How is your DH doing?

HELP: I received this response from the financial aid office regarding my appeals:

Your letter of appeal was approved for fall semester and future semester aid is contingent. In order to receive future aid you must pass all of your classes with the appropriate GPA and grades of A, B, C, D, and P. Grades of F, Y, Z, W or Incomplete do not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards. Failure to successfully complete all conditions during the probationary period will result in loss of financial aid eligibility. To regain eligibility for financial aid you must take one semester at your own expense and pass all classes with the appropriate GPA and no F, Y, Z, W or Incomplete grades.

Does this mean I qualify NOW and can receive financial aid this semester and if I screw up I need to pay for a semester before I am considered again OR that I must pay first NOW and then will be good to go?

I sent an e-mail to the financial aid office asking for clarification but I haven't hear back yet. The last time I was there the clerk said IF I qualify I would only qualify for around $500. That is the perfect amount for two online classes!! I still haven't heard one way or another about that. The college has shorter hours being Summer, so I try to go when DH has a day off or takes a lunch otherwise I am at the college with three kids in tow. I try to avoid that but I am not above it

Anyhow, I just received a call from the new director of my MOMs group and have been asked to be in charge of all of our Table Leaders! I didn't even apply for this position or any position for that matter. I have been a table leader the last two years, so I was just going to see what the new year brought me. I haven't officially said yes but I know in my heart this is where I am being led. I'm going to run it pass DH tonight and make sure he is on board before I officially accept. It does feel good to be thought of a leader of leaders

[shanendoah]

azmom: You qualify NOW. Your appeal was approved for Fall Semester. However, you have to pass all your classes and maintain a minimum GPA (probably 2.0). If you fail any class or do not receive the minimum GPA, you will lose financial aid.
IF that were to happen, they would not accept an appeal letter like they did this time. Instead, you would have to pay for one semester yourself and pass all your classes.

[spruby]

Welcome back Honey! Are you going to have 2 girls again this year?

3cats - congrats on DS getting a job - I hope it works out. Any chance you can visit with friends on a regular basis to get away from the chaos? I don't have kids - but having that many so close by sounds like chaos to me..

startsmart - life is short - some clients AREN'T worth what they pay you (or any multiple of it) - time to value yourself and backfill this one

dakota - we buy and have bought in the past prescription pet food (are they worried my cat will abuse her high fiber kibble???) - and every place is different. our petsmart will honor any prescription - so that might be an option. also with the latest food we found a substitute that had the same content as the prescription food (we were waiting for the prescription to be shipped). the cat likes the stuff on the shelf better and the vet has ok'd it. You might ask what the key ingredients are and see if there is a substitute.

sheila - good luck with the relay and the freezer. I hate the dentist too (it had been over 10 years when I went back) - you got great advice but definitely get a 2nd opinion - implants can be a real bear

azmom- great news on school!

[muttleynfelix]

sheila - Do you think Dry Ice would work instead of a freezer?

Tiny little money vent from me. Everytime we have had DS in disposable diapers he has gotten a rash except for the last time we took our trip to my parents house. It appears that DS can actually handle Huggies LIttle Movers, but got a rash from 7th Generation diapers? Weird right. So DH has on occaison started putting him in disposables which kind of irks me. We do not have room in our budget for diapers which is why we cloth diaper. We don't have the stores nearby or anywhere near where we usually shop (we have a Walmart and a Walgreens, unless we want to go 10 miles out of our way to a CVS or Target) to price shop and get the really good deals on diapers. Anyway, I get that cleaning out the runs out of diapers sucks. But it bugs me that DH opened up the package of size 4s we had rather than stick to cloth today. DS only went once today. Was it really so bad that we had to go through a half dozen diapers? URGH!!!!! Even though it is nice to know there is a disposable that doesn't irratate DS's bum, it was kind of nice not knowing we had that option..... Also, part of the reason I like to cloth diaper is that I don't want diapers in our trash when it is 100 degrees outside. Guess how hot it is right now... Of course it can't be worse than the bodies of Japanese and Oriental Beetles we keep piling up!

[spruby]

So far I have 3 NSD/8CSD, O MOANs , and 3 NEOs ;D

More travel this week - back to NY for a day trip. Hawaii got moved until September - DH needs some medical tests done and I want to be there - so the week I would have been gone we booked all the appointments - I wasn't expected in the office so my calendar is relatively empty

Made the final payment for our big trip in September/October - I am so excited and am ready to go go go! Except that it will be beastly hot and I hate the heat!!! LOL!! But it will be worth it!! [Panama Canal cruise from LA to Tampa - stops in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Columbia & Key West]. Plus 2 trips before then. This is why I work!

Didn't get the promotion at my office - no one did. They didn't even interview. They don't want an inside person - they prefer someone who doesn't know what we do and has a "fresh view". Of course no one outside the building WANTS the job. Arrrggghhh. So I keep looking. And networking - I hate networking. Oh well. I've known about this for almost 2 weeks and I still can't talk about it without wanting to cry/scream/throw things. Maybe one day.

Everyone stay cool and well. Good luck with the spending!

[mizbear]

I see the dr on Wednesday and she is not going to be happy. She always asks about DM because she is also a patient. OMG- I think I am just going to plead the fifth- she wants to do nothing!

We should have paint by the middle of August in 4 rooms. By the end of the year, all of this drama should be done. My layaway will be paid off, the house will be done, I should be done at least the first part of the school. And hopefully I will be lighter.

[sbcalimom]

mutt: I just discovered Amazon's auto delivery is cheaper for diapers than the store. It saves us a ton without a lot of work. Maybe that would be a way to have some on hand for a more reasonable price without having to go to the store. I feel you though on the use of disposables when you have cloth. We had my mom here for the last month and she basically refused to use the cloth ones so we went though TONS more disposables than usual even though DD is only wearing them for naps and bedtime .

[muttleynfelix]

sbcali - Thanks. I might do that for our upcoming trips. After our October trip, we are going to try going all in on the potty training and see what happens. We the timing of everything going on lately I haven't felt like we can sit down and focus on potty training and I'm not sure what a road trip with a potty trained kid is going to look like. So, I figure after our October 1 trip, then we don't have another until Christmas and that should give DS pleanty of time to get use to going in a potty.

[mizbear]

sheila- You picked better words than I would have- Awesome was awesome!. HUGS

And you are still in a better mood than me

[startsmart]

oh my. what an insane day this was!

I planned on leaving before my team calls to come home and was tired. decided to wait. Turns out there was a suicidal jumper on the freeway overpass and it shut down the freeway, both directions, for 3 hours.

After my call Mom and I went to lunch and then picked up some Mary Kay from her dealer.

Right before I left to drive home I noticed our client's calendar was gone. Completely gone. MIA. And now it's my job to retrieve it. That was... 6 hours ago. It's still gone.

And now the only hope is to recreate the calendar for the next, oh, SIX MONTHS, based on a version that hasn't been deleted yet. Which is on my phone.

So I can't use my phone until we transfer six months worth of info to a backup calendar AND I need that phone for a 4 hour live call tomorrow morning.

I need a or 7.

[Deleted]

Azmom, you qualify now!! Go get em.

[moneysquirrel]

Update: 3 NS and 6 CS days = 9 NS/CS Days
Honey -- Welcome back. Do you have a few weeks off without teenagers? I seem to remember that your girls returned home in June. Also did you get to the quilt conference in Vermont?
azmom -- go get them!

[3catslady]

9/25 NS/CSD, 1 SD, 1 EO. Still doing good. It helps when you don't have any money.

[muttleynfelix]

I am at 5 NSD! Woohoo. Today is probably going to be a spend. I have $20 in Kohls cash and my tennis shoes are trashed. So I'm going to run to Kohls on my Lunch hour and see what they have. I'm hoping i can get away with spending less than $20 of my money.

[muttleynfelix]

Double post

[singlemomky]

Sheila - I'm not really sure but I have a chest freezer and was told by my BIL that after shipping/moving I needed to let the freezer sit to redistribute. He also advised that when I was ready to plug it in and use it that I needed to place milk jugs of water in there if I wasn't going to fill it b/c a full freezer works more efficiently than a partially empty one.

AZMom - Congrats!

[singlemomky]

I so do not want to be at work today - there was a water main break near the office last night and although we now have had the water pressure return, we are under a boil water advisory. So the attorneys are all cranky b/c there is no coffee in the office! Also they had to shut the AC down last night when it first happened and the building still has not cooled back down - thanks to a heat index of 117 yesterday evening!

[Honeylioness]

Sheila - You don't ever have to apologize for being in a funk. We have all been there - in fact it is one of the reasons I have not been around much in the last few weeks. And isn't is just GREAT when other people decide things and purchases for you? Yeah - totally AWESOME!!!

Dental work - When I was 16 I had an orthodontist spend five minutes looking at my teeth before he told my mother that I should have surgery to break my jaw and reset it as my top front teeth slightly overlap my bottom front. WHAT? ... My mother got me the h3ll out of there right quick.

Then another dentist a couple of years later told my parents I should just have my wisdom teeth pulled because after all they were a mistake of nature, everyone did it, and if I didn't then my back molars would abscess and die.

RME

Fast forward eight years and I am dating a dentist, and I told him these stories. He did a set of x-rays and consulted with another dentist we both knew who specialized in adult orthodontia. They both said the same thing. The first guy (who they happened to know actually) was a shyster and a quack, and the second guy was just looking for the insurance payment.

Turns out my, and my mother's, instincts were right. First off, I have perfect "bite" from molars to canines - so what if my mouth is a bit crowded and my front two teeth are not movie start straight? As for the wisdom teeth - they have not erupted, and not trying to erupt and are just sitting there nice and quiet. Therefore, if it ain't broke - don't fix it. Now, it could be at some point in time that they do move and threaten a healthy molar - if so THEN I will deal with it.

Sometimes I feel as though my current dentist just looks at what benefits I have left for the year then pushes me to have something done so he can collect the money.

azmom -

Does this mean I qualify NOW and can receive financial aid this semester and if I screw up I need to pay for a semester before I am considered again OR that I must pay first NOW and then will be good to go?

Yes, they are saying that Financial Aid will not pay for a class you fail. So ONLY if you do not pass a class with an acceptable grade - THEN you have to pay to re-take it and pass before your FA is re-instated.

muttley - I am with you on the cloth versus disposable issue. Not just for the environment but the "aroma" in that kind of weather.

And I had to laugh as I get these images of a beetle crematorium set up in your side yard with peace-activist grasshoppers picketing outside your driveway!

startsmart - THAT is why I am not a believer in relying on technology. Silly things tend to eat stuff at the most inopportune time.

And if you still have stickers and such can you send me some? - This is in reference to your challenge last week.

[muttleynfelix]

Honey - LOL. It is definately a beetle crematorium. We've had the beetle bags out for a week and we have filled them or nearly filled all 3 almost every single day!!!! We've got to be approaching the million mark on bodies and there is still no end in site!

[mizbear]

I get today all to myself!!!!
It should be a NS- my electric bill (which is higher in summer- and even higher this summer due to the heat- my asthma is not allowing me to go A/C less) was almost a full $20 under budget.

I am going to see how much of my decluttering project I can finish today here at the apartment so I can focus strictly on homework, daily routine and getting DGMs house done. My aunt, DB, and I will start painting this weekend.

[azmom]

I am going to the All Star Fan Fest Today!!! YIPPEE. We were given four free tickets and paid for an extra. It will be a total spend day because you can not take anything inside nor is their reentry. I am a HUGE baseball fan and I am more excited than the kids. The only downfall is DH can not walk and I will be pushing him in an wheel chair, probably with a nearly four year old on his lap. I'm not to sure how I am supposed to wrangle the kids and the wheelchair (occupied by a not so light man) in a sea of people. So this will be an interesting adventure to say the least!! None the less I am extremely excited to be in the presence of members of the 2001 AZ Diamondbacks World Series Team. Praying to God to give me extra strength and patience today!!

[dakota4600]

Update 4 NS, 2 CS, 8NEO

Quick vent! Today blows! I went to start my car and got that wonderful clicking noise the first few times. Finally got it to turn over. DH thought that maybe a door wasn't completely closed and the battery drained. So I drive mini-D to preschool and had problems getting it started, but I needed to get to the dentist so I went and found street parking so that if the car wouldn't start I wasn't stuck in a parking garage. I did get it started after a couple tries. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal because I could have just taken DH's car and he could have replaced my battery. But his car was at the shop for bad struts (this was a desperately needed repair) and with the operation he isn't up to changing it by himself. Luckily his car was ready, so I drove my car to the shop and picked his up. He is going to get his parents to go pick up my car (if they can get it started), then he and his dad will replace the battery. Ugghhh! So today is a spend.

AZmom- Yeah on financial aid.

Muttley- Amnesia on diapering has kicked in, but that is sounding like a lot of diapers for a 1.5 year old. Before we potty trained DS I think we were at 3 or so.

Shelia- I am well aware of good ole Catholic guilt by moms and grandmoms. I talk big, but if it was my mom I'd probably do it as well.

Dental work- I need a crown because I'm so hard on my teeth. I clench and grind really bad. The dentist has said it isn't an emergency now, but if the tooth breaks I need to get it fixed asap. I'm hoping that it holds through the end of the year because after DH's deductible we'll pretty much have exhausted our FSA for the year and if we haven't I'd rather get new glasses.

[mizbear]

I got some good news today- I will be in 2 talent shows in a week!!! Nothing spectacular- but still! 2 of them! YAY!

Dakota- That sucks about the car.

azmom- grate ews on the financial aid. I finally gave up on the FA dept at the regular college- they were almost as dumb as the ADA people.