Frugal Freedom

Mortgage Progress For July

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 23:22:00 +0000

My renters have had some money trouble this month. I had two choices, wait 2 weeks for their next paycheck or give them 5 days to vacate the premises. They've been truthful so far and I don't want to find new tenants so I am willing to wait and see what happens. I did go over to the house just to make sure it wasn't trashed or vacant. It looked fine. Neat and tidy.

After a hard week I was sad that I could not cheer myself up by making an extra mortgage payment (and thus getting me one month closer to being free from my job). But there is no reason why I cannot pay my portion of my extra payment. I was planning to pay $800 from the rent money and $736 from my budget for a total of $1,536. So I paid $736 to make my new mortgage total $42,754. Hopefully, my renters will pay me in 2 weeks and I can make a jumbo extra payment next month keeping me on track. I'm still going to say my plan will take 1 year and 4 months more. If things work out, I can take 2 months off of my plan next month. Baby steps are small but any progress is good.

Finally The Weekend And Some Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:50:00 +0000

Last night I finally got some good rain. My water catchment tanks are full but my reserve tank is not. I'd go transfer some water tonight to make more room for rain but there is another storm blowing outside. It will have to wait until tomorrow. We haven't had the monsoon rains every afternoon like we usually do. It looks like they are starting now though. These are the storms that knock down power poles and flood the washes. I'll watch the dirt road get washed away a little bit everyday until it is almost impassable. It adds a little excitement to my morning when I don't know if the road has been washed away or not. At least the plants are greening up and the temperature dips while the storm is raging. It gives my AC a little break.

I stopped in at Walgreens on the way home because I had a $5 off $25 purchase coupon. I wanted to buy some items that would give me $5 register rewards for a future purchase and then use the $5 rewards to buy a $7 lip stain that I saw in a commercial. Yes, I am occasionally enticed by a commercial and I hate lip stick so I wanted to try this new product. When I got to Walgreens, the item that I had to buy in order to get the $5 reward had a terrible selection. So I was supposed to buy $20 worth of this product that I didn't really want plus something else for $5 to equal $25 so that I could use my coupon for $5 off and then get $5 in rewards. I roamed the aisles for 15 minutes trying to find alternative items that would be worth the money. Nothing that I wanted was on sale and it all seemed to be priced higher than usual.

(Oops, I wasn't quick enough with my post. The storm knocked out the electricity for over 2 hours! It didn't even give me much rain at all. No AC for 2 hours was not pleasant even though the storm lowered the temp. to 75. Power is back on now.)

So, anyway, I ended up putting it all back and going home because I can get better deals at Big Lots everyday and buy what I actually need, not be confined to a one day/limited item sale.

How NOT To Get Ahead In Your Job

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:27:00 +0000

My job is fine. After 2 1/2 years I am no longer drowning. I'm not even just treading water any more. I might actually be learning to swim. I know how to handle most tasks and I almost know who to ask if I don't know the answer. My desk is not yet organised and I have not had the time to get acquainted with old filing systems but I have reached the point where I would call myself competent in my job.

Here's the problem, they want me to learn another job too. I am not particularily interested in this new skill which involves programming a new machine and travelling to our other plant, perhaps even staying at a hotel for a few night. Athough a hotel can be fun, if you knew the city it was in you would not think it was fun. Of course, I will do it if they insist because I am a people pleaser and I try to do what is asked of me. There has been no mention of an increase in pay, only a 'this will make your job more secure' sort of hint. Since you all know that my biggest goal is not job security but an early/flexible retirement, that does nothing to motivate me. Now if they said that I would make more money and could work a four day/10hr per day work week then I might be interested.

When I first started at this job they hoped that I would be able to learn the quoting system. After I burst in to tears when my boss showed me his reverse Polish notation calculator, he decided I wasn't a math person. That belief has worked to my advantage because he left me alone and let me learn my job at my own pace. I don't think bursting in to tears would work a second time. They know me too well now.

Why can't I work at a place where they say, "Daizy, we need you to ride this horse every day and we are going to pay you extra for doing it." Or how about, "Daizy, we need another ice cream taster trainee." No, I never seem to work at places like that. At my last job they said they would be willing to train me as an outside plant engineer. They were so excited about it and I tried to look interested. Luckily for me and not so luckily for the engineer, he had to have surgery and was out for 3 months, then we all got laid off. One of these days I am going to have a job that really interests me. So far it looks like I'm going to have to create that job myself and hopefully, in a few more years I'll have the financial security to actually do it.

Stolen Credit Card Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:17:00 +0000

In the last 2 days, 2 friends have told me that they had fraudulent charges on their credit cards. In the first case, his bank called him and asked about an $800 online computer purchase. He did not buy a computer recently so the bank cancelled his card and issued him a new one. Now he has to scramble to write checks for those bills which were usually paid automatically with that card. Not fun.

In the second case, she was casually checking her card statement online and saw $300 worth of charges. This was alarming but not enough to cause her to call right away. It was 11pm and she decided to call first thing in the morning. She couldn't sleep though and got up at 3am to check her statement again. The fraudulent charges were up to $4,000 now including airline tickets to Holland, Turkey and Kosovo! She called right away and got the card cancelled.

The first card was from a bank who called their customer when the charges looked abnormal. The second credit card was from an airline and, well, I guess airline tickets to Holland, Turkey and Kosovo don't look out of the ordinary to them. Or maybe they weren't monitoring it at all.

I guess the tip here is to check your statements often. I usually check mine before the end of the billing cycle so that I am not surprised by the amount and just in case I need to shuffle money around since I have more than one bank account. Of course, credit card theft can happen to anyone with a credit card. I hope your credit card company is watching out for you but if not, definitely watch out for yourself.

Smelling Like An Outhouse

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:51:00 +0000

I guess that is the opposite of smelling like a rose, right? When I came home today, I opened the RV door and I knew that I could not put off emptying the black water tank until the weekend. I thought I could make it but no, my RV smelled like an outhouse. I hooked up the outlet hose which was being used to water my tree and emptied the tank in to the septic system. Then I needed to rinse it out so I took a shower. I needed a shower anyway. It was 100 degrees outside and I was sweaty from trying to find a pillow for my co-worker's dog. It's always in the last bag I look in. I killed a few more spiders while I was in the shed. The sticky traps only trapped 3 spiders. Maybe they were the not-so-smart spiders. I found the pillow. It is not really for her dog. She has an old pillow that she is going to use for the dog and I offered to give her one of my good pillows to replace it. I gave her my old stained pillows a few months ago for her elderly dog.

Anyway, I can usually go for 2 months without emptying the black water tank but with this over 100 degree heat, it gets stinky twice as fast. After I rinsed the hose with my shower water I unhooked it from the septic again and put it back under my tree. I have one of those good smelling candles burning to get rid of the smell inside. I can't smell a bad smell anymore but maybe I should go outside and come back in just to be sure. Oops, I just heard thunder and it's starting to rain. I think I'll go do some Arizona rain dancing just for the fun of it. :)

Like I Never Left

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:58:00 +0000

Did I just have a week off? It doesn't seem like it. Work was ok today. I jumped right back in to it. I only had 20 emails to work on. That's not a lot for being gone a whole week. I think work went well because I forgot what all of the piles of papers on my desk are for. Clearly I put them there for a reason but I did not put sticky notes on them so I'll just wait until someone complains and then I can say "Oh, I have that right here". Then it will look like I'm on top of things.

The boss comes back tomorrow so I missed my chance to wear jeans today. Drat. My co-worker adopted a shelter dog. I knew it was only a matter of time. I told her it was her job last week, to get a dog. She said it wouldn't happen but her husband started looking at craig's list and now they have a new dog. Hee hee. She blames me. Now I have something to babysit when they go out of town and an excuse to do laundry over there and fill up my water bottles while I'm house sitting. It's all part of my master plan....next, a horse! :)

Glad To Be Home

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:17:00 +0000

I made it home last night with only a few delays. The first flight had a screaming baby, the second flight had a little turbulence. After I landed, the airport shuttle guy managed to tell me his life story in only 10 minutes. He said it was his first day on the job. He must have been bored.

My plants did not do very well without water. I was hoping that it would rain every day but it doesn't look like it did. My strawberries and honeysuckle died but the tomato and squash are still alive. I was hoping the opposite would happen. I'll water everything and see if anything comes back to life.

It is very hot here. 103 for the high and 78 for the low. That's not much of a low. I need to go outside and check the water supply but it's just too hot. I guess I will unpack and start thinking about lunches for the week. I'm not exactly thrilled about going to work tomorrow. I saw another ad for a 60's thirteen foot trailer. No picture. $1,600. Of course I want it but it's not time for that yet.

One Last Day Of Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:38:00 +0000

I am trying to pretend that I don't have to go back to work. There is no way that I would have enough money right now unless I sold more than I wanted. So I guess I have to go back on Monday.

Ok, the kid's are getting restless. I have to go play again.

Cleaning And More Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:11:00 +0000

I am on vacation this whole week while our office is shut down to save money. Don't worry, I am still employed, at least I think. I haven't received any serious phone calls from my boss yet.

My Mom and I finished cleaning her 'media' room. All of the books are back on the shelves. Now she can see them and weed out the ones she wants to give away or sell. It was great to get something accomplished. I even took pictures but I don't have my camera cord and I'm too cheap to send the picture with my camera phone.

Next I will head over to my sister's house and see if I can help her out. I'm sure she will find something for me to do. My Mom is trying to figure out where I could live if I moved here. There is a small problem with the septic tank location. I'd have to park my RV on the front lawn! Of course I could build myself a cabin in the back with a composting toilet. That's always an option. I'm having fun thinking of ideas.

I Miss My Job

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:54:00 +0000

Ha ha...just kidding. The only time I think about my job is when people ask me questions about it. I have plenty to keep me busy here from watching kids to cleaning and organizing. It's much easier to organize other people's stuff. My Mom has a ton of books. I even found multiple copies of the same book! I told her about paperback swap online but I don't think she would actually do it. I could stay here for months and sort books. Too bad it isn't a paying job. Soon I will have to go back to my own pile of stuff which is much harder to sort because I am emotionally attached to all of it. Gee, I wonder where I got that trait from? The apple definitely doesn't fall far from the tree. :)

Bumpy Flights

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:59:00 +0000

So, I got up early and arrived for my flight an hour and a half ahead of time like I was supposed to. I made it through security with my little baggie of liquids and sat down at my gate with my snacks from home. Just as we were about to board they made an announcement that a small private plane had flipped on the runway thus we would have to wait in line for an open space on the other runways. A few minutes later they came back and said that the available runways were shorter so 17 people would have to give up their seats in order for the plane to be light enough for take off. I got in line to get re-booked along with many other people who thought they would probably miss their connecting flights anyway. 10 more minutes passed while the ticket agents tried to re-book people. Of course they were not having any luck finding open seats on the day before a holiday. Then all of a sudden the gate agent came back and said that the runway was clear and we could all get on the plane. We were happy except for some of us who worried about missing our next planes.

When we landed in Salt Lake City at runway door #32, the people who didn't have connecting flights let the rest of us off first so that we could run to our gates. I took off in the direction of my next connection even though I only had 10 minutes and was sure I would never make it in time. I ran around one corner, then another and made it to the gate where everyone was standing around waiting to board. I was happy that I made it and wondered what was delaying this next plane. A few minutes later we were allowed to board and I walked through gate 79 down the hallway to door #32! It was the exact same plane I had just been on! It was nice of them to let me get a little exercise between flights like that. Haha.

The rest of the flight was uneventful and I made it safely to my destination where the weather is almost as hot as Arizona. Everything is a lot greener though.

I hope everyone has a nice 4th of July tomorrow! I'll be hanging out with the family. :)

I Got My 10% Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:55:00 +0000

Well, not yet but soon. A company email went out today notifying us that business is picking up and our other branches are going back to 5 day work weeks instead of 4. Plus, starting July 20th, the salaried folks get their full pay again!

That is wonderful news. Of course, I'll have to wait a while until I actually see an increase in my paycheck but I'll be on vacation for the next 10 days so time will go quickly.

After I read that announcement, I saw this article in the paper:
Paychecks shrinking for most who still have jobs Hopefully that won't happen to me again anytime soon.

The first thing I did was to re-adjust my mortgage payoff spreadsheets. Before, I thought I would have to add a month on to my plan because I was close to my maximum payment for the last month, November 2010. Now I am able to chop a month off the end and my last extra payment is only $300 so I have a cushion for unexpected expenses. New payoff date is October 2010. If nothing expensive happens then I might even be able to shave another month off the end. Remember the $400 stimulus money that started appearing in our paychecks in March? I haven't allocated that to any budget category so who knows, it could go toward the mortgage (but more likely it will go to medical bills or car repairs).

All things considered, it was a very good day. Do you think I'll still get a raise in September? Hmm, something tells me this was my raise. Well, it's better than getting laid off.

Considering Internet Providers

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:53:00 +0000

I got an email from Verizon today. They are offering a special deal on the new HP mini netbooks.
******
$199 after $50 rebate with a 2 year contract.
The HP Mini netbook gives you the connectivity of a laptop with the mobility of a phone. It's easy to carry and fun to use, making it the perfect travel companion—with coverage to over 90% of the U.S. population and in more than 175 destinations worldwide. Take advantage of a special Netbook price when you sign up for a Mobile Broadband Plan—starting at just $39.99 a month!
(Activation fees, taxes and other charges apply.*)
******
I do want a portable little netbook like this one but I don't want to switch to Verizon internet right now. Verizon costs $40/m (plus tax and fees). I have Qwest now and it costs me $37/m (including tax and fees). Plus, by combining my Verizon cell phone bill and my Qwest bill I get $5 off. So why would I switch? I don't have time to travel yet although I hope to do that in the near future. Sure I could save $50 on a netbook up front, but signing on to a 2 year Verizon plan would cost me $192! (that's the $8 difference in internet costs for 24 months not including tax and fees. Almost the price of the netbook!) I think I'll wait a little longer. These internet and netbook deals are getting better and better every day. By the time I'm ready to buy they might be giving netbooks away like they do with phones!

Fixing Things Myself

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:27:00 +0000

It feels really good when I am able to fix something myself. My garage roof, for example, has been missing a screw for months. Every time the wind blew it would vibrate and make a very loud noise. Of course I didn't notice it unless I was in the garage at the time. After the storm came through yesterday and seeing the metal panel blow wildly in the wind I was determined to fix it.

I came home from work and after changing out of my office clothes, and filling up my front tire with air because it seems to have a slow leak, I got out the ladder and hauled it down to the garage to inspect the damage. I saw one nail lying in the gutter and one screw was missing. I found a similar screw and washer in my tool box and managed to secure my metal panel. Then, since I was up there, I tightened all of the loose screws, hammered the loose nails and reattached the gutter in 2 places. I had to stop when the thunder started but I finished securing all of the obvious loose spots. I feel much better about my garage surviving another monsoon season. Ok, so the inside has been ravaged by termites but the roof won't blow off, at least not this year.

Finally Some Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:57:00 +0000

Yea! It rained today. The roads were wet when I got home and my 300 gallon water tank was almost full. Then I thought, the hot tub is empty and the 300 gallon tank is going to overflow soon so obviously I should fill up the hot tub right? Haha. It sounded simpler than it was.

First, I had to clean out the hot tub. I got a sponge and cleaned out as much as I could. Then I started filling it up with water. Unfortunately, the flow from the spigot wasn't fast enough for the water pump and when I took off the spigot the flow was too fast for the pump. That meant I had to babysit it. So, while I was regulating the water flow it started raining again. Then it was pouring. I hid in the garage while I waited for the pump to empty the water bucket. Then I would run out and take the spigot off so the bucket would fill up again. The rain was so loud on the metal roof and there is one metal panel that is loose. Every time I notice that loose panel I am either hauling water for the laundry and it is very hot outside or it is windy and I don't think getting on a ladder is a good idea. This time it was windy with rain, thunder and lightning so there wasn't anything I could do to fix it. Hopefully I will get a chance before I go on my trip. I don't want to come back to find the roof has blown off the garage. While I was standing by the water tank a big fat pack rat came out to investigate. I usually don't see them. He was probably 6-8 inches without his tail. No wonder my rat poison isn't working. I'm not putting nearly enough out to kill a rat that big. He probably wanted to thank me for the nice snacks I've been leaving and for the cushy accommodations in my old car.

It took and hour and a half to fill the hot tub. The extra rain gave me just enough water to fill it up to the top. It stopped raining just in time for a pretty sunset and a rainbow. I added bleach to all of my water tanks and to the hot tub and put the cover back on. If I didn't have to work tomorrow I would test out the hot tub pump to see if it still works. But I have to go sit at a desk all day. That's not nearly as interesting as testing my hot tub. Does filling my hot tub with rainwater make me a redneck? I do live in a trailer. I think I need an old boat and a dog too. I do have an old bathtub in my yard courtesy of the last owners so that gives me extra points. :)

Time For The Kayak To Go

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:05:00 +0000

I love my kayak, or maybe I just love the thought of kayaking. I bought it in San Diego when I was visiting one weekend. This was back when I had a better paying job in Yuma, AZ and no lofty retirement goals, just lots of extra cash. I really wanted a small sail boat but I didn't know where I could store a sail boat and trailer. The kayak fit nicely in my RV storage compartment. I used the kayak once when I bought it and then once when I was in Yuma. The Colorado river goes through Yuma so there are a lot of dams and lakes. I didn't have any friends with kayaks so I didn't have anyone to go with. The guys that I worked with were in to fishing in these float tube things. They just floated and fished, not really compatible with a kayak. They said I could go out with them and tow them around but I never did.

There are a few lakes within an hour and a half drive of Tucson but I wouldn't want to go there. Too much drug activity and who knows what else. The lakes in Phoenix are a few hours away. Too far to be practical.

A friend of mine inquired if I still had my kayak and if I was willing to sell it. I have thought about selling it but I haven't because someday I would like to use it. But since he is a friend I decided this was a good time to say good bye. I looked on craig's list to see what a fair price would be and decided it was worth $250. He said that was an acceptable price and now he wants a picture. He lives in a different town and he won't be able to pick it up for 2 weeks. I dragged the kayak out of my back room in the mobile home and took a picture for him. Deciding to sell it and getting it out with all of it's accessories was most of the battle. If he decides that he doesn't want it after all I will still go ahead and sell it. I have already sold it in my mind and I really like the extra space in that back room.

Chores And Scorpions

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:50:00 +0000

I woke up this morning ready to tackle my chore list. But then I remembered that my typical routine is to get outside and start working until it gets too hot, I get dehydrated and dizzy and I have to go inside for a cold drink and a nap because I have a headache. I didn't want to do that again so I stayed in the air conditioned RV and cleaned. First I vacuumed, then cleaned the stove top, sinks, and window frames. Then I cleaned out the storage compartment under the stove. I wasn't using that space because it was so dirty. I scrubbed it out and put my mixer, crock pot and waffle maker down there. That's a perfect place for them. I also cleaned out the compartment under the fridge. I had 5 gallons of water in there that I had forgotten plus 2 gallons of distilled water. The containers that were open got emptied on to my plants. Now I just have 2 gallons in there. I haven't figured out what else to store in there yet.

While gathering up my laundry I saw something dart behind my sock drawer. I knew that shape. It was a scorpion! I have never seen a scorpion in my RV. I quickly hunted it down and got rid of it. It was a tiny one. I wonder if it has brothers and sisters in here too. Eek. I hope not. I don't mind them outside but I don't want to share my living space with them. I found a tiny one in my mobile home many years ago. So far my RV has been invaded by ants, spiders, mice and a scorpion. Just like any other house I suppose. I don't put any insecticide around my RV. That wouldn't help with scorpions though since they are not insects. I am really hoping it was an isolated incident.

Recycling TV's

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:26:00 +0000

I hate to admit it but I have 5 televisions. 2 are in good working order. One has a tendency to lose it's picture after a while. My 13" got zapped by lightning some years back but I think it still works. And then there is another with wacky color. It works ok in black and white mode. I should really get rid of 3 of them. One for the RV and one for the mobile home is good enough. The others just take up space. Now that I have to have a converter box I can only hook up 2 TV's at a time. I suppose the others would be ok for DVDs but I only have one DVD player.

Anyway, I saw an article in the online paper announcing a recycling event at a downtown park. They are accepting anything with a power cord, free of charge...except TV's. Televisions cost $10 to recycle. I looked at the online comments because I was sure that other people would have something to say about it and sure enough they did. They said that TV's have mercury and other hazardous materials which is why the city charges a fee. Then the commenters started bickering which is typical. But then someone posted a comment that said Best Buy has a recycling program too. Best Buy accepts TV's under 32". They do charge $10 for TV's but they give you a $10 Best Buy gift card in return. That sounds like a much better deal than the city's $10 fee with nothing in return.

What I should do is donate my TV's or freecycle them while they still work. I am not sure the thrift store still accepts TV's. Come to think of it, I haven't noticed any TV's in the thrift store lately. I used to see them all the time. Perhaps they don't want to be stuck paying $10 to get rid of a junk TV. I wouldn't blame them. I already paid plenty of money to unload my renter's junk and it was not fun at all.

Outgrowing My Credit Union

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:28:00 +0000

My first checking account was with a local bank. I was quickly introduced to their many fees and basically no benefits except that I thought their checks looked cool. They had sea shells on them. After a few months I joined the credit union where my parents belonged. I am still a member even though it is in a different state. Their member benefits are based on either the amount of money I keep with them or my length of membership. After 20 years I can be a 'premier member'. I thought I joined when I was 17 so I called the bank today to see how long I have been a member. I must be close to that 20 year mark. The woman made me tell her all of my secret info and passwords before she would tell me this top secret information. Then she said I had been a member since 1993. 1993! I couldn't figure out why they said 1993. That wasn't when I joined. It was more like 1989. Then I realised that I turned 21 in 1993. I was probably attached to my parent's accounts until I turned 21.

Well, that is disappointing. I thought I could stay at the credit union fee-free because I was going to be a 20 year member. I still can be fee-free if I have direct deposit or over $5k in my account. The $5k CD I have with them matures in September and their rates are sad. 1.83% for a 1 year CD. I don't want to keep my money there. Ally Bank and Discover Bank both have 1 year CDs for 2.3%. Other than sentimental reasons I can't think of any reason to stay with the credit union. I am sure that the credit union hold no sentimental feelings towards me so when my CD comes out I think I will close out my accounts. It is the end of a 20 year relationship with them. I'll move everything over to Chase. I like that Chase lets me send checks electronically through their on-line bill pay. Chase CD rates are horrible but I will go with an on-line bank for that.

I have a few months to think about it before September but so far I can't think of any benefit in staying with them. They aren't local, their rates are low, and I don't need a loan. Good bye credit union. It is time for me to move on.

Grocery Overload

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:29:00 +0000

One day without bread was long enough. I went grocery shopping. I had a list and I stuck to it quite well. The only problem was...I stocked up.

I started off in the fruits and vegetables. This grocery store always has a french bread rack in the fruit section. It looked good so I got one. Then I grabbed some carrots, 5 apples, 5 oranges and a watermelon, all on sale. Next the bread aisle. This is where I started to wander from the list. The bagels were on sale. Bagels freeze well so I got 2, then I grabbed a cinnamon raisin just because. Ok, next a loaf of sandwich bread because I can eat the french bread while it is still fresh and freeze the sandwich bread for later. Next some applesauce, alfredo sauce on sale-got 2, chicken on sale, ice cream because I am out, then over to the milk. I really wanted chocolate milk. It was $3.50 for half a gallon. Regular milk was $1.29 a gallon. I put the chocolate milk back and got a gallon of milk because I already have chocolate syrup at home. What was I thinking? I still have milk in the freezer from the last gallon I couldn't drink! Then, in the dairy section I saw...the day-old bread. I had to look. There is was-Hawaiian Bread for $1.79. I fought off 2 other ladies and scurried away with my prize.

When I got to the check out the cashier said, that's a lot of bread. I think it was the same cashier that commented on the large amount of dog food I bought a week ago. I really should have put the sandwich bread back but it was all the way on the other side of the store and I didn't want to ditch it at the check out. Now I am home and I am trying to figure out how to get all of this bread in to my tiny RV fridge. The bagels are in but the french bread and Hawaiian bread are not going to fit without some creative slicing. I think I should take one of the bagel packages to work with me. I can put them in the fridge and other people can have them too. There is really only one other person at work who would eat them. Then I will have more room in my freezer and I won't have to carry a bagel to work every morning. One of the good things about my job is that they don't care if I toast a bagel in the toaster oven and eat it at my desk. At my last job I had a mini-fridge AND microwave in my office. Now that was really cool.

My total bill came to $70 even and I have enough bread and other food to last well in to July. Now I have to get back to carving up my watermelon for lunch tomorrow. Luckily this one is sweet. It is so disappointing when they aren't.

Too Lazy To Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:42:00 +0000

I felt too tired to go grocery shopping after work today. I still have enough carrots for another day so I decided to put it off. What I don't have is bread or cereal. So, I thought, what can I make for breakfast tomorrow. First I thought that I would make muffins but that sounded like too much work and I didn't want to heat up the RV. Then I decided to cook up some eggs and potatoes. They would cook while I did other things (like write on my blog) so I could get to bed faster.

When I got home I noticed that the red light on my RV fridge was on. That means the propane tank is empty. The temp inside the fridge was 60 degrees. I should have put the food that was heat sensitive in my little electric fridge. Why I put the eggs and whipped cream in the RV fridge I will never know. Well, I was going to cook the eggs anyway. I should keep the soda in there but I don't because I don't like to open it a lot to get drinks. I'll be glad when I have a reliable fridge and freezer someday. I could have had both propane tanks open, then I wouldn't have run out but if both are open then I have a tendency to forget about them until I have emptied both tanks. It's better to manually switch over. Next weekend I'll go fill up the other tank...unless it's raining, then I'll wait. Now that I am switching from propane during the day to electric at night, I don't use as much propane. I can go about 2 and 1/2 months on one bottle.

The eggs and potatoes are done so I can pack them up for tomorrow and move on to the rest of my chores. 2 days down, 3 to go. I'm counting down to the weekend already. I saw a sign in the background on TV, it said 'You are never more than 6 days away from Friday'. I like that sign.

Rain, Rain, Come My Way

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:42:00 +0000

There is rain in the forecast all this week. That doesn't mean it will actually rain all week, it just means that somewhere around town there will be rain. Sorry if I keep going on and on about the rain but the summer monsoons are very exciting around here. The air gets cool. The dry river beds suddenly flow with raging waters. The streets turn in to rivers and back-up traffic for hours. People try to cross the flooded streets and the firemen have to rescue them. Then there's the thunder and lightning and power outages. I love it when the power goes out at work. The people with laptops can keep working. The rest of us mill around, watch the parking lot flood and bet on when the power will come back on. Then the storm ends, the streets dry out and everything goes back to normal until the next afternoon when it happens again. Plus, my water tanks will soon be full and everything will green up. That's the best part about the monsoons.

Today I wore one of my new thrift store shirts. My boss noticed that it was new and said, "Did you actually buy new clothes?" I said it was a thrift store shirt. He didn't believe it. I said it cost $2.50, half off the regular $5 price. He was so impressed he made a visitor guess how much I paid for it. I thought that was funny.

Then we took my boss to lunch for his birthday and I chipped in on a cake. $11 total for my lunch (a cheeseburger), part of his lunch (a Greek salad) and cake. Not bad. We are all pretty cheap at my office. That's one of the questions they asked me in the interview. Now I know why. My frugality probably got me hired.

Watering The Trees With Recycled Water

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:51:00 +0000

I tackled the chore of draining my hot tub today. I have 11 weeks worth of water (at 50 gallons a week) in my water tanks so I thought this would be a good time to water the trees and clean out the hot tub. I'll refill it again when the monsoon rains start which should be in the next few weeks. We only get 12" of rain a year, on a good year, and most of it falls July-September.

There weren't too many critters under the hot tub cover. Just a few unfortunate lizards and one of these giant desert centipedes. He was about 7 inches long.

I'll wait for the rest of the water to dry up and then go clean out the bottom. It was only 90 degrees out there but it seemed hotter in the sun. I had to go inside for a while and get something cold to drink.

I used the hot tub water for my baby mesquite tree. I transplanted one little aloe plant last year to see if it could survive and so far it is still alive. I want the aloes to grow around the bottom of the tree like the aloes around my desert willow tree. They shade the ground and keep the soil from drying out.

Below is my desert ironwood tree. It is a slow grower but it doesn't mind full sun and no water. And none of the critters like to eat it, a very good thing for a desert plant. Someday, when it gets bigger, it will have pretty purple flowers.

My desert willow is doing great. The aloes are keeping it cool and keep the water from evaporating too fast. I have lots of aloes around the property. They get brown and crispy in the summer. The ones around the bottom of the willow are looking happy since I give them water once a week.
In a few months, after the monsoons, the aloes will look like this again. All green and very happy.

My Mexican Bird of Paradise is not looking good at all. They grew wonderfully in the backyard of my rental house with a drip system and no predators. Out here in the open desert it has struggled. Every time it tries to send out flowers something eats it. It should be 15 feet tall by now.

So, all of my trees have been watered. It felt so luxurious to have running water from the hose. It's funny how we forget about little luxuries like running water when it is at out finger tips. Some day when I figure out where my house is going to be, I'll have a grey water system that waters my plants for me and a larger rainwater collection system so that I have excess when I need it to water my trees or even...do I dare? wash my car? Now that would be a luxury. :)

Saturday Chores

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:45:00 +0000

The first chore I tackled today was the freezer defrost. It is a very small freezer so there wasn't a lot of work involved, just some moving of food to my small electric refrigerator. I had ice cream for breakfast and cooked the rest of the chicken. I only had frozen vegetables and some frozen cheese and milk left. After I cooked the chicken I put the container in the freezer section to cool the chicken and to warm the freezer. I put leftover microwave trays to catch all of the water. They worked very well. After a short nap the ice was gone and I was ready to turn the RV fridge on again. It cooled down very quickly on propane and I put everything back in.

Since I am out of ice cream I decided to make some cookies. It was either make cookies or go to the store and get more ice cream. I am baking them 6 at a time in my toaster oven right now. I'll eat a few and put the rest in the freezer for later. I have 12 days until I go on vacation. I haven't decided if I am going to try to eat what I have or if I will spend some money on groceries. I have plenty of food it just isn't convenient. I would actually have to cook and put stuff together. Maybe I'll just spend $20 or so on apples, carrots and ice cream. Maybe I'll try a watermelon again and hope for a sweet one.

Starting A Computer Replacement Fund

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:10:00 +0000

I should trust my sinuses not the weatherman. Well, the weatherman wasn't totally off just a little underwhelming with his 10% rain prediction. It rained for most of the day at my work. I didn't get that much rain at my RV, only collected a few inches in my water tanks but every little bit helps. I was going to empty my jacuzzi and use the water for my trees this weekend. Now it's not as critical but the trees would appreciate it anyway. There is no more rain in the forecast for the weekend.

I think my computer might be dying. You know how computers make noise when they are working? Well, mine has started to make this rhythmic noise and it is getting faster and faster each day. I think it will burn itself up soon. Perhaps I should start a computer replacement fund. Can I plug my keyboard and monitor in to one of those little netbooks? I know that can be done with a regular laptop. I think that would be ideal, then I can have a portable computer for travel and a full size monitor and keyboard at home.

If I actually put some stuff on ebay this weekend maybe I can get some money for that computer fund. So far I have just been shuffling stuff around, like books. I found some Little House On The Prairie books but did I sell them, no, I put them in another box because I want to read them again. That is kind of silly because pretty much every library in the US has a full set of those books. There is no reason for me to hoard them in a cardboard box in my mobile home, and yet I still do. If it's a choice between a new computer or some old books, I know I want a new computer. I just have to keep thinking of it that way.