Ceejay74's Personal Finance Blog

I worked out on the Wii Fit last night, so that's 3 workouts down, 9 to go for February.

We're running low on toothpaste, so I considered what to do for a greener option. I settled on buying Tom's of Maine, which is more expensive but contains no sweeteners, preservatives, etc., and comes in a 100% recycled box. Sort of greener.

And, $25 went into savings, so I'm putting it toward the b-day fund. (Birthdays are coming up in March!) So it's $25 saved, $393 still needs to be saved in February. Overall, $375 down, $225 to go for birthdays. Since two of the b-days are March 2 and 4, we may need to float ourselves some of the money from other places, unless the first federal return comes in soon, and then there's nothing to worry about! I misjudged b-day saving a tiny bit this year (just $25), but I've learned my lesson for next year.

I worked out on Wii Fit last night (the hard stuff--all the strength-training exercises!), so that's 2 down, 10 to go for February.

However, I forgot to eat fresh fruit, so that's 2 days missed. :-(

I finally worked out on the Wii last night, so 1 down, 11 to go. I'm going to have to step up my efforts! At least I haven't missed any days of fruit since the first one.

As for the green goal, I'm running really low on moisturizing body wash. I looked up and found an easy recipe for it, but it involves buying clear, scent-free shampoo. This would still involve buying a new container each time, I think, unless I can find a bulk-size shampoo. Still thinking about what I should do.

We're also running low on dishwasher detergent, and we got a big box of washing soda (and already have a big box of borax) so we're prepared for that.

We refilled a bottle of veg. oil from a bulk container at our co-op, but unfortunately it was much more expensive than buying a new one at the supermarket, so we're not sure if we'll continue doing that.

We have refilled our dish soap from the bulk section, and we get honey, molasses and some other things in bulk as well, reusing our containers again and again.

I haven't done a ton of research into philanthropic opportunities, but a couple things have fallen into my lap. First, some people are still bringing eyeglasses, so I'll drop them off next time I go to the mall. And my company is having a food drive in March, so we're going to pick up one extra item each time we shop, and have a collection of stuff to donate.

The savings goal should be easily surpassed once we get AS's federal return.

The crafts goal is the only one I've completely neglected so far. But I think I will get to it before the month is over.

Friday night NT whipped up spaghetti with tempeh, garlic, olive oil, herbs and spices:



Saturday we had Spinach Noodle Kugel from Veganomicon. We agreed it was good. As in, we'll probably have it again for a change of pace, but it wasn't exceptional enough to go into the regular rotation. Mild, wholesome and pleasing, though:



Tonight we had chik'n parmesan (made with Boca spicy patties, and soy cheese for me). The sides were penne with tomato sauce and baked stuffed zucchini:

Monday we had a "golden vegetable casserole with herbed dumplings." Mixed reviews. NT loved it, AS could barely eat it, and I thought it was pretty good. The main thing that bugged me was that it was stovetop; how then could it be a casserole? I think England has a different sense of that word than we do. Also I'd never done dumplings before, and I'm not sure they were right, though NT insisted they were delicious.



Tuesday night we had pizza (this will pop up frequently because it's our favorite dinner). The only thing unique is we used the rest of our bolognese sauce as the pizza sauce.



Last night we had friends over, and I had a craving for that staple vegetarian option at restaurants, grilled portobello sandwich with roasted red pepper, spinach and garlic aioli. AS made an amazing focaccia to go with it, and NT suggested oven-baked sweet potato fries, which ended up going beautifully with the sandwich. Here's a pic of the sandwich open-face before I put it together.



Tonight we had a wonderful meal: gnocchi with tomato sauce, served on a bed of fresh spinach. I got the idea from some blog but used a gnocchi recipe from a cookbook I have, The Compassionate Cook. I added herbes de provence to the dough so the gnocchi would have more flavor. I don't generally follow a recipe for tomato sauce because it's so delicious no matter what. This time I put a can of crushed tomatoes with olive oil, minced garlic/onion/green pepper, Italian seasoning mix, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and a little Splenda, and let it simmer for about an hour while I worked on the gnocchi.



After dinner, NT grilled some pineapple on the George Forman. It was sooooo good! Grilling caramelizes the juice and gives the outside a sweetness that's, well, caramel-y, while the inside is tart and warm and juicy. It tastes so decadent, it's hard to believe it's healthy.

I stayed up kind of late last night and finished off our taxes. I hadn't been able to take more than cursory glances at them since I got the last of the paperwork, and every time I did I got a wildly different estimate. So sitting down and reading through everything, double-checking numbers and all, I was pleasantly surprised that instead of owing about $300 (the worst of my rough estimates), we will be getting just over $2000 back.

What did I do wrong the other time I estimated? Forgot about the MN marriage credit, didn't factor in the portion of AS's education that was taxed as income (and therefore could get us a tax break), underestimated taxes NT and I paid in '08 (I only counted withholdings and forgot to add what we owed last year), and forgot to carry the 1 in one of my scribbled equations, a $1000 error.

$2000 seems like a reasonable cushion for three people, especially since I did owe something to MN, so I don't think I'll change my withholdings (unless there's a way to increase MN withholding only). I don't mind owing taxes but I hate the possibility of penalties if you owe too much, so I'd rather play it safe.

Still trying to decide what to do with the money. We've been saving for a couch, so I may use about $250 to pay for that, and I think a small cash bonus of spending money would be much appreciated by the family. We've decided we want to do two days of outside-of-Vegas sightseeing rather than one, so I'll put about $60 in to cover an additional day of car rental, insurance and gas. I think those are the only things we want that we haven't already paid for, so the rest will probably go to the baby/emergency fund.

The U.S. mortgage payment hit today, with $273 going toward principal. The principal balance hit an even dollar amount: $178,534.00. Too bad the condo is valued at $160,000-$165,000. If mortgage rates hit 4% I would LOVE to take advantage, but I just don't see any way. Maybe at least my ARM will adjust downward or stay about the same this fall...

Anyway, $575 down, $1525 to go on the February debt-repayment goal.

And on the health/fitness front, I totally forgot to eat a piece of fruit yesterday! I've already failed on my goal. Oh well, I will still go for 27 days of eating fresh fruit.

In my defense, I've been sick since Sunday with another yucky UTI and am just starting to feel better. I scheduled an appointment with my doctor for tomorrow, because this is just not cool. Hopefully she'll be able to find the root of the problem.

This is for whitestripe. This recipe is from the cookbook "Vegan Vittles" by Joanne Stepaniak. If it's still available, I highly recommend it. It's full of really good comfort-food recipes.

Ingredients:

1 lb. firm tofu, rinsed, drained and pressed.
2/3 cup or so of flour
veg. oil for frying

SEASONING MIX:
1.5 cups nutritional yeast flakes
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp onion granules
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground rosemary
1/4 tsp ground celery seed

BUTTERMILK MIX:
2/3 cup nondairy milk
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Cut the tofu and press the pieces between cloth or paper towels. If deep-frying, you can cut into any shape you want. If pan-frying, I recommend thinner slabs (1/3 inch or so).

Put all the seasoning mix ingredients into a shallow bowl and mix thoroughly.

Put the soymilk and lemon juice in a shallow bowl and stir. The milk will get slightly thicker as it curdles.

Put the flour in another shallow bowl.

Working with one piece of tofu at a time, dredge the tofu in flour and shake off any excess. Next, dip the tofu in the "buttermilk," submerging completely for a second. Immediately dredge the tofu in the seasoning mix, making sure it's well-coated all over. (If you touch it and it feels wet, press both sides into the seasoning again.)

You can start pan-frying them as soon as they're seasoned, or you can coat them all first. If, when you're done, some of the first ones seem too moist, just give them another dip in the seasoning mix.

Pan fry in oil over medium-high heat, flipping occasionally, or fry in deep-fryer, until golden-brown. Set on paper towels to get rid of excess oil, if desired.

Save the leftover seasoning mix in an airtight container. It will keep for several months at room temp or in the fridge. You can use it to make more tofu or you can coat slices of zucchini (courgettes) or tomatoes and pan-fry those.

Phew, I had to get my goals posted so I could report some progress on one of them!

The three UK mortgage payments hit, with US$302 going to principal. $1,798 to go on my February goal.

1. DEBT. Pay off at least $2,100
Balance as of 1/31: $405,121
Goal balance: $403,021

2. SAVINGS. Save at least $418: $168 for the baby/emergency fund, $250 for the birthdays fund.
EF balance: $1233.18; Goal balance: 1401.18
BD balance: $350; Goal balance: $600

3. HEALTH/FITNESS. Work out at least 12 times; eat fresh fruit every day.

4. GREEN. Some cleaning and personal care products are running low; as they do, replace them with more eco-friendly alternatives.

5. CRAFTS/CREATIVITY. Complete weaving project on a cardboard loom (project I found online); plant some cilantro and basil indoors.

6. PHILANTHROPY. Research good fits for me. I know this seems like a cop-out, but I haven't seen any opportunities that fit my lifestyle (carless, in MN in the winter) and temperament (not super-social) recently, and I think they're out there. I need to really look around at what's out there and figure out what skills I have and where they'd be best suited.

Tuesday, Jan. 27:
Bean, rice and "beef" burritos



Wednesday, Jan. 28:
Veggie hot dogs, coleslaw and baked beans at our friends' house (almost forgot to take a picture, but I stopped my friend right before he had his last bite of hot dog, so we could snap this photo)



Thursday, Jan. 29:
"Beef" and broccoli stir-fry (using Morningstar steak strips) over rice



Friday, Jan. 30: Spaghetti bolognese (using Morningstar burger crumbles)



Saturday, Jan. 31: Mixed greens salad and Chickpeas a la King from the Vegan Vittles cookbook (we usually serve it on toast, but we were out of bread so we had it over tater tots. Turned out to be even tastier that way!)





Sunday, Feb. 1:
First, NT took a photo of our lovely brunch of "mollete" (refried beans and cheese/soy cheese on bread, toasted in the oven and topped with salsa). For the bread, AS made "bolillos," Mexican small baguettes with a hint of cinnamon in them.



Then, we were supposed to have people over for Super Bowl, but I was sick and out of it and we had to cancel. We'd planned to make Southern Fried Tofu (also from Vegan Vittles) nuggets, so we went ahead and did that, and one of our friends that we canceled on actually brought over some of what he'd prepared for our party, a white-bean chili. It went perfectly with the tofu nuggets!

I dropped off the glasses we collected (31 pairs) at Lens Crafters on Friday, so that means I accomplished all my January goals. In fact, my debt-payoff amount was a new monthly record for me!

Here's a summary of the goals and results:

1. Goal: Pay off $1,500 of debt
Results: $4744 paid
Goal balance: $408,365
Ending balance: $405,121

2. Goal: Save at least $1,550:
$1,200 for baby/emergency fund
and
$350 for birthdays fund
Results: $1,550 saved

3. Goal: Work out at least 10 times.
Results: 11

4. Goal: Catch up on washing/reusing produce bags.
Results: Done.

5. Goal: Mend rug.
Results: Done.

6. Goal: Collect eyeglasses and donate.
Results: 31 pairs donated.

I'm still trying to come up with a philanthropic goal for February, but I should have my goals settled and posted tomorrow. Oh, and I haven't forgotten about 365 Days of Dinner; I've been taking photos, but I've been so wrapped up in posting about other things that I haven't posted the pics. I will take care of that at some point.

I checked this morning and it had gone through. US$3000 straight to principal! That feels really good. I was feeling frustrated about not paying any extra money to debt, and the universe provided. Thanks universe!

Not quite as big a piece of news, but I worked on the Wii Fit again, so that's my 11th workout this month. I'm not losing any weight, but I'm getting some exercise and definitely improving my balance and coordination, so I'm happy.

$50 went into savings for the birthdays fund, so I've reached my January goal of saving $1550: $1200 for the baby/emergency fund and $350 for birthdays. Yay!

My only goal left is to donate eyeglasses, and I've got a bunch collected that I'm going to take to the drop-off site tomorrow evening.

I'll post a roundup of all my January goals and results on Saturday, and post my February goals soon after.

My CC payment and one of AS's student loan payments hit. $221 and $50 to principal, respectively. This means I met and exceeded the January goal to pay off $1,500 of debt. To date I've paid $1,744, and that's without the ginormous CC payment that I hope hits tomorrow!

So yesterday as I was grumbling about the dwindling principal payments on NT's credit card, I got to wondering how much we still had to pay for his flat, and when it was due. He e-mailed his management company and they wrote back that all the foreseeable extra fees have already been paid. One of the bigger expenses they thought was coming has been put on hold indefinitely.

This meant that we had 1500 pounds sitting in the UK checking account, not earmarked for anything in the near future. I promptly sent a payment in that amount to his UK credit card. It should come through in the next few days. It will wipe out three-quarters of his credit card debt and mark a huge step forward for the Big-Picture Goal, which has been languishing a bit since AS's layoff was announced. I'm very, very excited.

Of course, 750 of that amount is from NT's gran, and we resolved to put it toward the baby fund. But once this credit card is out of the way, there will be a 270-pound surplus nearly every month from his rental income, so we can build up that amount in just a few months, and switch it into his savings account where it will sit and earn interest and be ready for when we have a child!

I asked NT when he was last CC-debt-free, and he reckoned it was 1995. I'm going to try and get him that way again by March...

I've taken to listening to Bing Crosby singing "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" on the way to work. It's on this great compilation of old music called "The Best of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour" that I got for Xmas.

Anyway, the song is so poignant, and it also makes me feel better about the shaky feeling of our country today. The song is about feeling sort of betrayed because the singer did all these things to build America, and now he's standing on a bread line. But despite how wrenching and scary that must have been, the country came back stronger than ever. So even though the song doesn't have a happy ending, the real story got better.

But I'm also always struck when I listen to it because it's mostly about sacrifice and service to the country, not about the things he lost. He talks about building a railroad, building a skyscraper, and fighting in WWI. He talks about how "we were building a dream." I think the "we" would change to "I" in the modern incarnation of this song.

I do hear tragic stories about people who worked hard and got it all taken away this time around too, but more often the story is "I got all this easy credit and this awesome ARM and got to buy a ginormous house and all these cool gadgets and clothes and stuff. And then when I got laid off I tried to live the same lifestyle as before but now my cards and my HELOC are maxed out, but I can't sell my widescreen TV or downsize my home--that would be barbaric."

It's still a tragic story, just a different kind--one of greed, ignorance and false prosperity. There's more culpability this time around, from people, companies and the government. Or maybe I just never heard that part of the Depression story--I'm not sure.

Anyway, I'm not getting on any kind of high horse, because you have only to look at my sidebar to see the part I took in all of this. It's just something that runs through my head some mornings when I'm listening to that song.

I don't want to jinx myself, but I've done better than I thought at this! I haven't missed a day (unless you count the times I had to photograph leftovers).

Anyway, Sunday night we had what used to be a typical Saturday lunch in NT's childhood: Cornish pasty and chips. We stuffed the pasty with vegetarian burger crumbles, carrot, potato, onion and herbs & spices.



And last night we had a "weekday roast dinner":



Which is basically some kind of easy meat substitute with several sides. This time it was Boca chicken patties topped with instant veggie gravy. One side was oven-roasted broccoli compliments of foodieatfifteen.blogspot.com/, who got it from www.amateurgourmet.com/, who got it from a Barefoot Contessa cookbook. (Whew! I like to give credit where credit is due. ) I was really excited about making this but a tad underwhelmed at the result, but maybe next time I'd roast it for less time and make sure it was piping hot when I served it. Or maybe I've already discovered my favorite broccoli (steamed tender-crisp and tossed with melted margarine, lemon juice, salt and pepper) and will never be impressed by another preparation.

I was more impressed by the random recipe for honey-glazed carrots and parsnips I found on recipezaar.com. These were tasty! And another serving of French fries made the meal quite filling. I was proud of this meal because the only thing new that we bought were the Boca patties ($3.49, and we still have one left over). All the other components were either staples or extra stuff that needed to be used up. Despite that it was a very enjoyable meal!

Finally, some movement on my debt repayment. The UK credit card and one of AS's student loan payments hit: $73 to principal for the CC, $114 for the loan.

Paying the minimums is kind of agonizing after all those months of huge extra debt payments. I'm itching to pay extra on the UK credit card; the payments (and hence the principal paid) keep going down, and it's driving me crazy. We have about 1500 pounds sitting in there that could nearly wipe out that card, but I know we have some expenses coming still for the flat, and I can't remember how much we've already paid and how much is forthcoming. Hmm, now I think I have to do some digging...

On another note, NT's mortgage interest rate has adjusted twice since the last time I checked. His new rate? 2.49%! Holy cow, that's less than half our U.S. mortage interest rate. I know it will go up again once the economy improves, but it certainly is nice for now, lowering payments and increasing the amount to principal a bit.

But anyway, back to my progress on debt repayment. $1473 down, $27 to go on my January goal.

This is so funny. And because I only became semifrugal about two years ago, I actually feel like a trendsetter (or at least an early adopter)!

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/dec/23/trends-whats-ahead-2009/

I worked out on the Wii Fit Saturday and Sunday, so that means I've done the 10 workouts I was aiming for this month! It doesn't mean I definitely won't work out again, but I can take a break if I feel like it.

My supervisor today told me about Wii Fitness Trainer, a virtual trainer who helps you design a workout based on fitness level and available equipment. I might get that as well, because eventually I'm going to want more variety than Wii Fit offers. It's all about trying to make working out fun (because when it comes down to it, I'm not very entertained by working out, so it's better if I can trick myself into feeling like it's a fun game).

Thursday night we had a dinner that will pop up pretty regularly: farfalle with mushrooms. We use a recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone that is dead simple, but following it exactly yields a perfect result. For instance, finishing the pasta off with a dab of butter at high heat in the skillet gives it a truly unique flavor and texture.



Friday we had a friend over and ordered Thai food in. I didn't remember to take a picture at the time, but luckily we had leftovers:



Last night we had Tequila Chili Lime Tofu, a recipe from the Vegan Dad blog (

Just a quick post, because I'm about to leave work and go out to happy hour!

Worked out on the Wii Fit yesterday, which makes 8 workouts and only 2 to go to reach my January goal.

And, a funny moment on the way to lunch with my co-workers (free lunch at a semi-fancy place, hooray!): I was talking to three or four of them as we walked along, and spotted a penny on the ground. I bent down without a pause in what I was saying and tried to pick it up. After a second, I realized it was frozen to the ground. After another second, I realized that looked kind of silly and said, "Oh, it's frozen!" and then "Oh sorry about that, it was just habit." I got good-natured laughter so I didn't feel too embarrassed; they don't know about the depth of my frugality obsession, but they do probably think I'm eccentric for other reasons, so it probably didn't surprise them. LOL.

I'm feeling a bit unnerved. I've been reading Kiplinger's (AS & NT got me a subscription for Xmas), and Suze's book, and financial blogs, and all of them are saying not to stop investing, that in fact this is the perfect time to invest if you can afford it. And I'm thinking it's too bad I don't have any money to invest.

Then something struck me today, as I was updating our net worth: I do have my 401(k). And our new provider, Prudential, has this function where you can just plug in your risk level, your age and your retirement age, and they will pick a package that's right for you. I've always gone for moderate, so I'm pretty sure it switched over into a moderate fund. So I went into this "Goalmaker" dealie and said I was "aggressive." So it's going to pick a nice aggressive portfolio for me.

Even at a moderate level it's been posting pretty heavy losses, so it feels weird to get all aggressive. But at the same time, I feel like either things are going to go really well for the volatile stuff, or society as we know it is going to collapse and money won't be any good anyway. So I might as well go aggressive and see if I can eventually benefit from this financial nadir. Buy low, sell high! Or whatever.

In other news, I read on one of the sites I follow that mortgage rates could go as low as 4.5% or even 4.3% this year, but that they will start to rise soon after. Man, I am wishing like crazy I could come up with a way to refi. Pay down as much as I can rather than saving up an EF? Reassign part of my debt to get enough equity? I don't know. I wrote to my realtor to see if she has any ideas.

OK, I've gone posting-crazy this afternoon but I think this will be my last one of the day!

Assets:
NT's UK pensions: 7,250 pounds ($14,500)
10,725 pounds ($21,450)
NT's 401(k): $3,081
AS's 403(b): $3,058
AS's CD: $500
CJ's 401(k): $19,639
NT's flat: 130,000 pounds ($260,000)
CJ & AS's condo: $170,000
---
Total Assets: $492,228

Total Debt: $408,579

Current Estimated Net Worth: $83,649

December 2008 estimate: $81,526

Change in net worth: +$2,123

Summary: NT's and AS's retirement increased, but not enough to cover a loss of about $550 in my 401(k). So the jump in net worth is entirely due to paying down debt.

I haven't included my savings for the baby/emergency fund; I feel like that money is still in play and not secure enough to call an asset. Does anyone else count their emergency fund as assets?

I will update my "Individual Net Worth" page shortly so you can see how it breaks out.

Notes on the numbers above: House value estimates are conservative, and retirement totals don't include amounts currently unvested. I don't have a way to check NT's UK pensions, so their values stay static for the purpose of this update. UK asset values and debt amounts are calculated figuring $2 for every British pound, which was the exchange rate when I started keeping track. I maintain that ratio for the purpose of tracking progress, even though the exchange rate is now closer to $1.50 per British pound.

Tuesday night we had a Southern-style meal that we all collaborated on: I made honey-barbecue buffalo wings (vegan, of course!) and garlicky greens (kale), while NT made jerk-spiced sweet potatoes and AS made skillet cornbread. Mmm-MMM!



Wednesday we tried something completely new: leek and bean cassoulet from Veganomicon. You make this stew in a cast-iron skillet, then drop balls of biscuit dough on top and bake it in the oven. I really liked it; it was homey and comforting. AS helped out with the biscuit dough and NT had cooked up a batch of beans for me over the weekend, so it was also not labor-intensive at all. I took a photo while it was still in the skillet and one after I dished it out.

The past couple of days have been pretty great, with only a bad patch here and there. Obama's inauguration was rejuvenating; the sky was slightly light leaving work instead of pitch black; and the weather for nearly a week has been not only in the positive, but in the double digits!

Now the big news: AS is insured!! And she's receiving unemployment pay!!! She called the health insurance company yesterday and they confirmed that she has been insured since Jan. 16. And she was actually approved Jan. 1 (I could get pissed that they didn't tell us, but I'm too happy that she has health coverage again!).

Then this morning, she got a direct deposit for the unemployment she applied for Monday--plus three weeks of retroactive pay! That's more than I'd reckoned on, so it actually gave us a surplus in the budget for the first time in a long time! I put some money away for NT's fall-semester textbooks, put about $200 more toward Vegas (it's going to be an amazing trip!), and let the rest ride--I'll probably put it in the baby/emergency fund in February if we don't need it for anything else.

Speaking of that old thing...we nearly reached our savings goal! I now feel comfortable transferring the money for birthdays and the baby fund into our savings account. So this month we saved $1200 for the baby/emergency fund and $300 for birthday gifts. Right on target! (EDIT: I actually have $50 more to go on the birthday fund, which will hit via automatic payment on the 29th.)

The only cloud, really, was that six people got laid off at NT's job. Not him, thank goodness, but his two best work friends and several other people we really liked. It was quite a shock because they got a big bonus in December and everything seemed pretty stable, but I guess not as much as we thought. We're going to see one of his friends Friday, and hopefully the other one soon.

So now we've all rubbed elbows with the job crisis. I've survived two rounds of cuts at my job, AS actually did get laid off, and now NT's job has had a round of layoffs. It's pretty amazing.

Still, I'm thrilled to have gotten so close to reaching my goals, and I'm confident I'll reach them by the end of the month!

OK, bit of catching up to do:

Saturday night (Jan. 17) we took it pretty easy with mac & cheese (plus a vegan version for me) and tofu chili dogs. (Thanks CouponAddict for implanting the suggestion in our brains in one of your comments!)



Sunday, Jan. 18, NT made us a lovely roast dinner: Tofurkey vegan roast, mashed potatoes and lemony Brussels sprouts, with the rest of the chick'ny sauce and some stuffing leftovers that were in the fridge.



Tonight, NT cooked again (we're really savoring his cooking as much as possible before he goes back to school this week!) and made a vegan version of spicy crispy beef (he calls it "spicy crispy vegan" ) over rice. The "meat" is this dehydrated stuff that you soak in water before cooking. I guess because the pieces are much smaller, we like this a lot better than the "chicken nugget" version we tried awhile back.

Worked out again, making that 7 workouts down and 3 to go for the month.

And I finished mending the rag rug! It's in the dryer and that makes me happy--one of my motivations for mending it was to get it sturdy enough to be washed.

AS found some more information on her unemployment--the Web site now says she's been approved for $323, which is kind of confusing because she should have at least two or three weeks' worth and that's just one week. But at least it says she's going to be paid, so hopefully it will hit this week. If it's not for the full amount she's applied for so far, we should be able to argue that because they said it would be retroactive as long as she reapplied every week.

And we also think she may have been approved for health insurance! We haven't heard anything and they don't have any way to check progress on their Web site, but they cashed my check for the first month's premium. We assume they wouldn't have done that if it weren't final, but we're not going to stop holding our breath until AS calls them tomorrow to make sure.

I finally got around to working on the rug I wanted to mend for my crafts challenge. It's a rag rug AS made out of T-shirt scraps, and several of the seams holding the rings together have gradually loosened.

It wasn't too bad, even for a completely unpracticed seamstress (I probably haven't sewed in over 10 years). A perfect project for my rudimentary skills. I got a little more than halfway done, and I'll probably finish it tomorrow.

I also worked out on the Wii Fit today, so that's 6 workouts I've done, 4 to go to reach my January goal.

I've been keeping up on washing the produce and Ziploc bags, so that's still going well.

So far, these monthly goals are really keeping me motivated!