I successfully completed my two other weekly tasks of no phone/computer after work Wednesday (the only exception was I watched a bit of a show on my phone when I couldn't get to sleep that night) and no social media at work on Thursday.

I also read about 1/3 of a book on novel-writing. AS and I went in on a deal from Writer's Digest where we got like 10 books (some physical some e-book) for $65 or so. I picked up one at random and ended up getting really into it. Some good advice so far! I've also been writing character arc descriptions for my novel-finishing class assignment, but it's more complicated than I first thought (writing them is making me question some bigger structural issues about my book), so I don't know if I'll complete the assignment. But I've got a few days (the next assignment posts Monday), so maybe I'll have a breakthrough this weekend. At least I'm working and thinking and trying to be creative; that's really the point of this anyway.

We didn't come under budget on groceries this week, but we're doing pretty well on shared spending money, so I ordered a couple more emergency preparedness items anyway: a butane-fueled burner and canisters of butane. Came to a little over $50. Next week I think I'll try to get a plastic bin and some of the water/groceries. This weekend I want to go down to the basement and see if I can clear out some space for storing our supplies.

AS got another payment, and our kitchen reno savings are now above $20K! She also accepted a quick-turn assignment that is her highest-paying to date (even higher than an entire semester of teaching): $7,000! Her first-quarter earnings look like they might hit $25K, which is crazy unprecedented. Her record quarter is a bit over $23K, and that was for a fourth quarter, which is 4 months long (Sep-Dec) vs. the 3 months (Jan-Mar) of the first quarter.

I don't know what this will mean for her annual salary. I do know her fourth quarter will be lower if she accepts a second teaching position, as she's considering, so maybe it'll end up that her earnings are front-loaded, sort of the opposite of what usually happens. I know I can't get used to this level of pay, but it is exciting!

As for vacations, we've pretty much decided not to attempt the UK this year, since we're saving so hard for the kitchen. We're contemplating a couple of other warm-weather holidays, such as tacking on a week at a Virginia beach location after my niece's wedding in August, or accompanying AS to Incline Village for her college residency in July if she decides to do that again. So we'll see. I haven't decided what my solo trip will be. I'm kind of waiting to see what shows my fave band books for the year and where; right now they don't have anything scheduled much past the current bunch of St. Paul shows that I've been going to. AS is vaguely considering a writer's retreat for her solo trip but that's not a solid decision as of yet. NT has his planned for March; he just needs to actually book it. I might want to tack some time onto one of my Memphis business trips this year and see if the family can join me down there; it's a neat city, plus AA really wants to see the MLK museum. So that's another possibility.