(NEW) SMART SPENDING CHAT THREAD

[Sharon]

Put the paint on, take the paint off.  The paint store sold us the wrong kind of paint for DD's table so now we are sanding all the paint off that she painted on the legs this weekend.  I could tell that the kid who waited on us was inexperienced.  We had specifically asked for an oil based paint and ended up with latex.  The word latex was in such small print at the bottom of the can and DD was doing all the mixing and painting etc so I missed it.  We have two of the legs sanded so just two more to go.

[snapdragon]

Jul 9, 2013 6:35:48 GMT -5 Sharon said:

Put the paint on, take the paint off.  The paint store sold us the wrong kind of paint for DD's table so now we are sanding all the paint off that she painted on the legs this weekend.  I could tell that the kid who waited on us was inexperienced.  We had specifically asked for an oil based paint and ended up with latex.  The word latex was in such small print at the bottom of the can and DD was doing all the mixing and painting etc so I missed it.  We have two of the legs sanded so just two more to go.

 That is never any fun -- but at least you found out before your daughter finished everything and tried to use the table. Is she also painting the chairs?

[mrsdutt]

I'm home from the visit up North.  I had a great time.  The baby is gorgeous and a smiley one too!  We hit up our old food haunts and I ate so much I gained 2 pounds.  So you can imagine what kind of foods I ate!

I brought back the last of the items I wanted so have been spending time washing and cleaning them so I can integrate them into my home.

Our son got engaged while I was there.  The wedding will be next summer.  They'll let me know the date.  She's a sweet girl and someone he's known since junior high school.

Going out to Friendly's tonight as it's kids eat free night.  All of us will be going.  So I get to squish the baby girl that I have in VA! 

DD3's 3 year old calls me LA LA.  When I lived in NY I would talk to him on the phone and sing songs and end with LA LA LA LA.  When I moved down here I repeated that and a light bulb went off in his head.  He smiled and said LA LA!  So the name has stuck.

I'm a fortunate lady.  God bless ya'll this day and every day.

L

[mrsdutt]

I'm home from the visit up North.  I had a great time.  The baby is gorgeous and a smiley one too!  We hit up our old food haunts and I ate so much I gained 2 pounds.  So you can imagine what kind of foods I ate!

I brought back the last of the items I wanted so have been spending time washing and cleaning them so I can integrate them into my home.

Our son got engaged while I was there.  The wedding will be next summer.  They'll let me know the date.  She's a sweet girl and someone he's known since junior high school.

Going out to Friendly's tonight as it's kids eat free night.  All of us will be going.  So I get to squish the baby girl that I have in VA! 

DD3's 3 year old calls me LA LA.  When I lived in NY I would talk to him on the phone and sing songs and end with LA LA LA LA.  When I moved down here I repeated that and a light bulb went off in his head.  He smiled and said LA LA!  So the name has stuck.

I'm a fortunate lady.  God bless ya'll this day and every day.

L

[motherto2]

Lynn, so glad you are back!  Sounds like you had a great trip - although I don't think anyone doubted it would be wonderful.  Congrats on not just one new girl to the family, but on gaining another one!

One of DD's best friends growing up stopped by to see me this evening.  What a wonderful surprise!  She's a sweet girl.  But why do I always find myself mothering these young'uns these days?  I was giving her advice about IRA's, etc.  I think I'm a YM addict .

 Sharon, sorry to hear about the paint snafu.  How frustrating.  Would love to see pics when she's done. 

Molly, hang in there.  I wish I could say it won't be too much longer, but I'd just be lying

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Today was Day 13. And it was 108 degrees.

[marvholly]

Was awake WAAAY too early this am. Had to be the hottest, most humid night we have had this season but nowhere near what you ‘left’ coast people are having. I drank a cup of my regular hot coffee but had NO interest in drinking a 2nd as I always do. Did a cold one instead. Did talk to my HVAC guy. New a/c install is Sat.

[mrsdutt]

I need to say how sad I am when I read articles (yet another one on msn) about the 47500000 people in our country that are on food stamps. 

Some of the comments are merciless and down right nasty.  It is sad to see so many people being judgmental.  It's food.  We need it to survive.  Maybe the system isn't perfect, but it provides the 2nd most needed item for survival. (water being the first)

Mrs. Dutt's heart is sad that we are so divided and not wanting the best for our country's families.  I'm thinking only the food part.

[TheOtherMe]

Holly, you are surviving this heat wave without a/c?  It cooled down to a lovely 80 degrees today here and is to be around 82 tomorrow.  Then back to heat and humidity on Friday.

I am going to brag tonight.  My oldest nephew, the one who married last summer, passed his doctoral dissertation defense and is now officially a PhD!  Went straight to college with this goal in mind and has not stopped working towards it since.  He has a one year appointment at the University of Missouri.  Now his wife needs to successfully defend hers (I have no doubt she will) and she has a job at a school in St. Louis for a year.  So proud of my nephew.  He does have student loan debt from his undergraduate years.  He's seen the world.  As an undergrad, he did a summer semester in Rome as a very naive international traveler.  Now because of attending international conferences and marrying a Ukrainian woman, he is a seasoned traveler and has been all over both Eastern and Western Europe.  

DN2 is well on his way to meeting his goal also.  He's completed year 1 of his MBA and passed 1 section of the CPA exam.  Plans to pass the other three sections by the time academic work is completed in May of 2014.  Has very few student loans from undergrad school and saved up for grad school while working for 3 years before returning to school.  Has a good internship this summer, which is a requirement of his program.

DN3 is in year 5 of his undergraduate education.  He was a kid who went to college with no goal and that year was totally, totally wasted.  Nothing transferred to  his new college.  He was still pretty lost about what he wanted to be when he grew up so didn't do all that well in year 2.  I'm told he has a year and a half to go before he will graduate and will have a boatload of student loans.  

[marvholly]

Debating my ‘activities’ for the rest of the week. Shop/errand today, Fri or Sat? Local radio station is doing one of their remote broadcasts nearby early Fri am. Thinking about going since there are TONS of give aways/prizes. It ends early enough that I can still run my shopping errands route w/6 stops. BUT, if I go today I will have enough time to visit an old family friend who lives in the retirement building my Dad was living in.

Yep-no a/c. It FINALLY cooled down here starting latish Wed afternoon & continuing overnight. No big bang-just a gradual lessening of temp & humidity. Goodbye humidity. Hello comfy temps. Now I can run a couple load of laundry & cook those chicken legs I had to freeze. Heat & humidity due back in here over the weekend.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Day 15 in a row over 100. So, when IS Autumn

[TheOtherMe]

As we basketball fans say "Is It November Yet?)"

Hope the a/c gets installed this weekend, Holly.  I would be staying with parents if I didn't have any for as long as you have had none.

I'm getting excited!  5 more days until I see my true love in Milwaukee.     It's pretty sad that my mom has told me to only tell dad I'm visiting my cousin Paul.  I only paid $54 for the ticket, paid $25 for parking (it's $30 night of concert) and I'm staying with my cousin.  Why can't dad know what I'm doing?  Oh well.  She says he just rants about me seeing Paul McCartney, so he shall not know.  I don't get it.  I'm 61.  

My DS couldn't understand why no laundry of mom's was being sent home with her, only dad's.  DS broke her ribs a few weeks ago selling hogs when one pushed her down.  Mom didn't want her to do any laundry.  Mom has done 7 loads of laundry this week, plus what dad has done.  At least he knows how to do his own laundry and fix his breakfast.  

I'm tired so I'm going to bed early.  It's just hard to do when it's still light out.

[marvholly]

Noithing very specia going on here. Will be going out for the nearby radio station 'hometown' vist shortly. I also need to drop checks for water & city sticker in my city's payment drop box.

Theotherme
I am about an hour south of Milwaukee. What is your schedule/route? Can we catch/meet up?

[motherto2]

Just a quick hello and update before I get in the shower and leave to fly to Orlando.  Crazy - I have to fly up to Boston, wait around for a couple of hours, then fly 3+ hours down to FL.  Straight flight from Richmond to FL is about an hour and a half or so.  So won't get in until after 8 tonight.  It's hard when you fly or do something like this and have to eat gluten free.  Not much to choose from, and they have a service picking us up to go to the hotel, so I can't even stop and buy something.  Will try to get a salad from one of the shops in the AP after I land as I go to catch my ride I guess.

Busy week for me = I turned 50 this week!!!!  Had a great day - they decorated my office, went to dinner and had GF pizza and brownies.  Got home and kids had given me another flower arrangement.  DS was home for the 4th, so Saturday he took me to the movies and to Bonefish.  He had a flower arrangement on the table when we got to the restaurant.  The two kids had labels made for 2 bottles of wine - the picture was one of DD jumped into DS' arms when she was deploying.  Both had on their uniforms.  And then DS wrote a poem that was put on the bottle of wine.  They also gave me a GC to my favorite clothes store.  Spoiling me!!!

Got to run - I always run out of time for some reason.  Wish me luck on my trip!!!

Oh, and Theo - I totally get what you are saying about telling your folks stuff.  Apparently my mom gets a little miffed if she thinks I'm spending too much money.  Not that it's anyone's business but mine

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Happy Birthday, Motherto2! Enjoy your trip and hopefully you find food you can eat!

Ahhh..... meeting with contractors and getting home repair estimates, what fun. We're getting two front yard trees removed, then we're getting some trenching done along the front of the house (with gravel to be added) to help prevent moisture from seeping/wicking into our concrete slab. Looks like $450 plus the cost of the gravel (which is $80 per ton). Then we'll need to install a new outdoor blind over the living room window to help keep birds from smashing into the glass. We have one in front of the dining room window and it was about $80 from Home Depot. The two trees will come down tomorrow, and the trenching will start NEXT Saturday when my wonderful DH is off work and can "supervise."

We're forecast for 100 today. At this point, everyone WANTS it to hit 100 so we'll stay in the running for our longest stretch of days over 100 (which is 21 straight days, set in 2005). Our 10-day forecast shows nothing but triple digits.

[Sharon]

Happy Birthday Motherto2.  It sounds like you had a great celebration.

Today turned out to be a good Friday at work.  Several years ago the company stopped having company picnics either in the evening or on a Saturday and started having several summer events.  Today they provided a taco bar for lunch.  It was pretty good.  The meat was a little too spicy for me but the rest of the fixings were excellent.  There was also an assortment of ice cream bars for dessert.  Lunch that I didn't have to fix, pay for or really do anything other than show up and eat can't ever be too bad.   The best part was they closed the office down 1 1/2 hours early.  It was nice to get out early today after such a long week filling in for a co-worker who is on vacation.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Day #16 over 100 degrees.

[mrsdutt]

Happy belated birthday MOTHER.  Stay safe in FL, but have a bit of fun too.

MOLLY:  The only thing I can say is, "I'm melting.  Melting."

[marvholly]

HVAC guy called last night and said he would be here at 8:30 am today. I do kow that means more like 9 am. So far NONE of our 90/more days forecast have materialized. Wanna be the ones forecast for late next week don't either after I drob a nice vacation's worth of $$$ today?

[marvholly]

WOW!!! No one in 24 hours.

I am feeling reasonably accomplished:
a/c running beautifully
Got my HVAC guy to lift the dead microwave off the shelf & his helper is taking it for recycle.
Put my loaner micro on the shelf so now I have reasonable counter space again.
2 loads of laundry run & put away
Pkg of chicken legs bought & frozen last week all cooked
I dishwasher loaded & running.

Of course, there is ALWAYS tons more house stuff to do. I pushed a bit for the weekend as I have 6 errand/stops for today and a list of 1x/month run I want to do next week; plus I should do an oil change an may get that mani/pedi I have been talking about for months.

[Sharon]

For the most part yesterday was spent playing.  Mom, DD and I went to a quilt show and did some shopping in a small town a couple hours away.  It was beautiful perfect weather and we had a good time.

In the evening I did help DD start staining her table.  We need to be moving this project along as I would like to have my garage back.  Considering that we are both working full time and there are 4 chairs that also need to be done, and they are still in the college apt, it may be a while.

[mrsdutt]

I spent 2 hours on the phone last night teaching a friend how to email off her Ipad.  She got it and I told her to play around with it.  She can't hurt it.  I'm so glad she saved for one.  She's a widow and lost her son to cancer when he was 6.  She watches kids all week in her home and weekends are a bit lonely for her.  A lovely woman.

The 'kids' went to a Jimmy Buffet concert last night and had a blast.  Next time, I'm going, crowds or not!  I have to get over my fears of crowds and large spaces.  My goal for the year.  It's time to live again.  Really live and do happy things.  Like traveling to NY was so much fun.  The doctor gave me 6 happy pills for the excursion.  DD1 told me I was singing the National Anthem.  I was.  And happy doing it, too.

Our baby is beautiful.  Did I mention that?  Maybe MOLLY will lift a picture off my FB page and place it here.  MOLLY?  Would you mind?

I ate cannoli, real pepperoni, cappacola, and lake side burgers.  I had dark chocolate caramels with sea salt and corn on the cob.  The corn came from here!

I saw 2 best friends and ate Italian food in a great local restaurant.  I most miss the food.  Our son (educated chef) made us a meal cooked on the charcoal grill, too.  He doesn't do desserts, so I had another cannoli.

I'm so surprised I didn't gain weight.

Today is a get together with friends and family.  My dish to pass is a potato salad.

Stay safe!

[TheOtherMe]

Holly, depending on how exhausted I am on Wednesday, we could possibly meet some place in the middle between Chicago and Milwaukee.  I will be in a northern suburb, but I'm game.  I am staying with my cousin and will have computer access.

I will PM you my cell phone number.  I'm driving over tomorrow.  Meeting Paul friends for lunch on Tuesday, concert Tuesday night at Miller Park.

A couple of us did something I think is pretty nice.  A woman posted on Paul's message board that she had cancer and couldn't afford even the least expensive ticket.  I was trying to sell  my least expensive ticket and was going to buy the other friend's slightly more expensive ticket.  We decided to give her my ticket and he would give me his ticket.  The three of us are having lunch on Tuesday so she can thank us.  She wants to buy us both a beer, but I will let her buy me a soda.  

I won't be gone but two nights, so Lucy will be fine.

DN1 and his bride have found their housing for the next school year.  It's 57 minutes from her school and 59 from his.  They couldn't have come much closer to being in the middle of the schools.  Sounds like my parents intend to make DN1 a very good deal on the car.  They had told me what the dealership where they lived before offered them and mom said he is getting a much better deal than that.  I told them Thursday I thought they should just give it to him as a graduation present.  It's theirs to give.

[motherto2]

whew, long fast weekend!  I got home about an hour ago.  I didn't get to FL till after 9, then had to find the people waiting to pick us up.  There were supposed to be signs and military folks directing us, but they had all left.  I made my way down to the baggage claim because that's where we picked up the shuttle when DD and I went in Feb.  I happened to see a girl with a red shirt on (they were supposed to be wearing red shirts) so I went up to her and lucked out.  Another lady from Brooklyn showed up about 5 minutes or so after me.  They STILL had some folks that hadn't gotten in yet, so they put her and I in a taxi to take us to the hotel.  She is super sweet and funny.  She was former Army, her husband is deployed with DD, and that's how they met.  She had another lady there (I still am not sure if she is her relative or just a really good friend - I think really good friend because she was former Army also, and she set up the other two when they were all stationed together).  She was hilarious!  One of those that just keeps you laughing!  I got a kick out of the both of them.  They were sweet to invite me to go with them to get a bite to eat both nights, but the first night it was after 10 by the time I got checked in (her friend had already checked her in).  Then they asked me the second night, but it was raining, and they were calling for severe weather, plus we were cautioned about safety due to the Zimmerman verdict maybe being announced that evening.  So I decided to get a salad at the hotel and take it back to my room.  Wanted to get my legs propped up also.  Sitting all day Friday and sitting all day Saturday, plus the crappy eating really makes my ankles retain water.  Plus I can't drink as much water as I usually do.  But it was great meeting them.  I also met some other great folks.  I actually learned a lot also.  So, other than both flights at Boston being delayed, and a few other annoyances, it was a good weekend.  I had tricked DD into sending me a pic of her in her scrubs waving to me.  I printed the pic and made a sign saying I wish she was there and loved and missed her.  Had one of the Army ladies take my pic and sent it to her.  Sure do miss my little girl. 

Molly, I'm hoping you all don't break any records this summer!  Holly, glad you got your AC fixed.  I couldn't do without it.  I don't mind being out in the sun and head all day as long as I can come inside, take a shower, and cool down in the AC.  Lynn, I'm so proud of you taking your bull by the horns and taming it!  I'm a lot like you - I prefer small crowds, etc. but I make myself do it.  Then realize how much I enjoyed it afterwards.  We used to go to Jimmy Buffet concerts every year.  finally took DD to one two years ago.  Both kids were waaayyyy to young to go to one when the ex and I were together and would go with a bunch of friends.  I don't know if your concert place has lawn tickets, but that's what we always get.  A lot cheaper, and you can spread out on a blanket.  Maybe that would be a good option for you.  I'm going to send you a PM in a few minutes.

Well, off to bed.  I still need to unpack toiletries.  I guess I won't unpack too much, since I'll be packing up again in a few days for our road trip!!!

[Sharon]

Had a good day of puttering. It is amazing how much you can get done just poking along.  Right now everything is getting a good drink of water.  We are headed back up into the 90's for next week and I wanted all the plants to be well watered.

I made beef stroganoff tonight and FSIL has decided to come over this evening.  He eats dinner here most evenings and I am okay with that other than the planning that is involved with feeding a young man in his early 20's.  I am thinking that hollow legs are involved somehow.

We found out this evening that my nephew has been selected to go meet with some of the top dog trainers in the world.  He was the only one in his unit who was selected to attend this training.

[marvholly]

motherto2
I can handle daytime heat but HATE over about 68 at night. Too hard sleeping for me.

Sharon
DD2 had a BF for about 2 years of high school. He spent more time & ate WAAY more meals at our house than his. Might have been because I really cook & his family was more frozen pizza, hamburger helper and Kentucky Fried.

So, I decided to watch the political talk shows Sun am, then I ate lunch and went to lie down for a few minutes. Woke up after 5 pm. Did nothing about my errands/shopping.

I have my dinners & lunches for both today & Tue all prepped. Will try to get everything on my list done today but have Tue as a backup. Plan to go out to the farthest point & work my way back toward home. Figure on leaving at 8:30 am as place opens at 9.

Stuck my nose out a bit ago and it is already quite warm and VERY humid.

[motherto2]

ah, yes, the joys (and financial planning) of feeding a young male .  I used to cringe when I'd take DS out for seafood and he would order two meals.  Small personal loans were involved .

Sharon how exciting for your nephew!  I wish I was better at training my little beast.  He's good about the important things like potty time and no biting, etc. but I wish he was a little better mannered about jumping on people and getting excited.  He just loves to see people when they come over so he goes crazy.  I saw a lady in a wheelchair in the Orlando AP this weekend with a little white dog on her lap wearing a red service vest.  I asked if it was a Bichon and she said yes.  Why can't mine behave like that?

I have started my packing/shopping lists.  I think I will head to town after work on Wednesday to see if I can find another pair or two of capris and get some things to eat for our trip.  Totally can't wait - like a kid waiting for Christmas!  Did I tell you DS was approved to stay with me this weekend?  I'm looking forward to it.  No friends or family distractions like when he's home.  I sometimes feel like I'm home base for him and he spends most of his time flitting around.  AND we are going to be looking at areas I'm interested in moving to.  Will be good to hear his input.  He has been ok with it until a comment he made when he was home for the fourth.  Something about why did I want to move or something like that.  I'll have more time and no interuptions to talk to him about it.  The one negative that I really see to it is if I'm that far away from his father, he will have to start splitting his time and traveling to stay with either of us.  Not sure how that's going to play out. 

[Sharon]

I can not complain too much about feeding FSIL.  He brings me plants, things for the garden, and even produce sometimes.  I have enough bean seeds to plant gardens for the next five years.  Last night he brought me 2 gallons of some industrial type fertilizer that they use on the farm.  In addition to the bean seeds I am growing broccoli, peppers and strawberries that FSIL has snagged on the farm and brought over. 

My picnic table has 23 onions curing on it.  Once the skins are nice and papery I will store those up and that will get me through a good portion of the winter.  These onions are about the size of softballs.  He has brought me yellow, white and purple varieties.

We also got to go out to the field and pick strawberries.  DD made a batch of jam for them to eat over the next year.  Lots of PB and J sandwiches in college and we froze some of them.

Like I said I can't really complain it just takes more brain power to make sure we have something to eat.  DD and I are happy to graze some evening in the summer.  He is such a good kid and I know that his mother never ever cooks so I try and keep enough in the house for him to have a semi decent dinner.

[TheOtherMe]

I've arrived in hot, humid Milwaukee.  It's going to be a very hot concert weather-wise.  I already knew it would be performance wise.

If I find this house again tomorrow night, as it isn't on my GPS, I'm sure I will be awake until the wee hours trying to come down from my concert high.

Hope to sleep in on Wednesday and then get home without rush hour traffic in either Milwaukee or Madison.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Well, after 19 days in a row over 100 (including today), we're forecast for only 98 tomorrow which is bumming everyone out since the record was 21 days in a row. And the worst part? After tomorrow's 98 (if we hit that), we're forecast to climb back up to 105-108-110, etc. for the next 10 days, Sheesh. This heat wave just goes on and on and on.

We harvested about 40 tomatoes tonight ~ they are all ripening at once because of the abundant sunshine and hot hot hot weather. We gave a big bowl full to two different neighbors who seemed pretty happy!