So this is my first year that I'll be doing a performance review on a direct-report; she joined Oct. 2012 so I wasn't required to do one last year. I'm a bit nervous because she's a friend as well as employee, but I think I can be diplomatic yet straightforward and pull it all off.
Anyway, I'm getting emails about the manager side of the process this year, and I noticed that on March 3 "Manager consults with HR Rep re pay increases before holding meetings" and on April 15 "Pay increases appear on paychecks for eligible employees." So it's far from a sure thing (don't know whether there will be merit increases, cost of living increases, or both, and whether I'll be eligible), but at least there's a chance I'll get a raise this year! After the abysmal financial performance last quarter I wasn't sure, but I threw myself into the performance and budget-saving goals that were given at the time, so hopefully I qualify!
In other good money news, I ordered some style guides and dictionaries for work that I've been meaning to get to for a while. Now that I have all these rewards credit cards, it seemed as good a time as any! I ordered the cheaper online/desktop versions vs. print editions but it still came out to $115. I put all of it on a rewards card and will get fully reimbursed. 20% of the way toward earning the $100 reward with no out-of-pocket myself!
Oh, and I called the dentist to say I was planning to pay on 3 credit cards. The receptionist right away said that was fine, and to bring them when I come in for my follow-up because it would be easier to scan them than read the numbers over the phone. Must not be too unusual! 
(Actually, I wonder if people do it based on bill due dates or something, to try and manage the costs.)
We canceled a couple of credit cards and are down to 20! (Still a crazy high number.) I requested cancellation on one more, and another should be able to be canceled in late Jan. or early Feb. (whenever we can cash out the rewards), and three more will go after our Feb. vacation (want to keep them open since we charged everything to them).
We didn't have much food in the kitchen for Friday's dinner, which is typically just thrown together (we tend to plan our meals Sat.-Thurs., got out of the habit of planning a Friday one because the CSA drops off Thursday night in the summer and fall). We tossed out the idea of getting delivery, but I just bought my dad a b-day present with my spending money, plus I know the web hosting fee for my other blog is coming up this month.
So we looked around and found enough ingredients to make seitan (wheat meat), some slightly wrinkly but still usable potatoes, frozen peas and corn, leftover cranberry sauce from Xmas, and a box of Stovetop stuffing (AS and I bought out of curiosity because it's pork-flavored but vegan 
). I can whip up gravy with veggie broth, oil and flour and maybe some onions. Voila! Actually a pretty sumptuous feast just from the odds and ends we have in our kitchen.
The rest of the menu:
Saturday lunch
BLATs & fries or hash browns
(BLATs are fake bacon, lettuce, avocado & tomato sandwiches)
Saturday dinner (AS out at lit event)
African stew & flatbread
Sunday lunch
NT & CJ Gandhi Mahal (Indian restaurant we have coupons for free lunch at); pasta or sandwiches for everyone else
Sunday dinner
tofu turkey cutlets, carrots, black walnut wild rice (parents sent us homegrown W.Va. black walnuts!)
Monday
ramen yakisoba (maybe w/leftover seitan from tonight)
Tuesday (trivia)
KFC bowl (veg buffalo wings, mashed potatoes, broccoli, corn & gravy)
Wednesday
Mandarin chikn-broccoli stir fry & rice
Thursday
spaghetti & tomato sauce
Good money times continue, and other bits and bobs
January 17th, 2014 at 09:44 pm
January 18th, 2014 at 01:30 am 1390008649
January 18th, 2014 at 01:10 pm 1390050649
January 18th, 2014 at 04:33 pm 1390062808
January 18th, 2014 at 08:30 pm 1390077027
Now we don't get a big delivery of veggies Thursday, so sometimes the kitchen is a bit bare and it's a struggle to come up with a meal idea. We'll probably start planning for Friday meals again, at least until the CSA starts up again in late May/early June.
January 19th, 2014 at 01:46 am 1390095992
January 19th, 2014 at 03:17 am 1390101477