whitestripe

I am going to try and achieve most of the following goals today, so that I have relatively little to do tomorrow. My best friend is coming over tomorrow to look at wedding cake designs with me, as she is going to be making the cake for us. So I want my house clean as it is has been a bit messy lately... Other than that, tomorrow I was hoping to go for a drive and take a look at some of the halls that are for hire, so we can start making preparations for that.

To Do List:
- Finish Module 5 for my accounting subject.
- Laundry (will be a slow process, as it is raining)
- Vaccuum
- Clean the kitchen
- Clean the bathroom & toilet
- Tidy the lounge & dining room
- Put away our clean laundry (a small single pile seems to have grown in our room and now comprises of hmmm... MOST of our clothes).

I also have to decide whether I am going to go to the markets today, or the local fruit & vege shop.

Whew, lots of things going on here at the moment, so I thought it was best for a quick update post.

I am really hating my job right now. Something seems to have changed, and I just dread going to work each day. I think that it is just that our boss and his wife seem to have stopped caring for their employees. They were always fantastic bosses up until the past few months, when everything seems to have just changed.
My boss bought a boat, and so now all he ever does is whinge about money, or talk about his boat, or talk about how he wishes he was in his boat - and no one cares to listen to him about any of those topics. It really doesn't do him any favours, because the first thought that comes into anyones head when he mentions money is 'Well, you just bought a boat, things can't be that bad'.
Secondly, there's no Christmas party this year. I would totally understand if it were for money reasons (even with the purchase of the boat!) but their reason? 'Oh, we are just so busy this year, with a wedding to go to and our son graduating from kindergarten.' Wow. Way to make your staff feel appreciated!
Thirdly, our closing times changed, from 5.30pm to 5pm. This does not effect me or my wages, but the way they went about it was just rude. When shifts were first cut down at the start of the economic crisis, they sent a letter home two months before the shift cuts started, saying they were sorry but they could not do anything about it, costs had to be cut etc. This time? Not a word of warning, no explanation until the changed roster came out. (Rosters are done a week in advance). I just don't understand why they couldn't have done what they did previously!
And lastly, and I guess, most importantly, I just feel like strangling my boss every time I look at him. It is not just me though, it is everyone. He has become erratic, extremely inconsistent with his words and actions. He will say one thing and do another, constantly contradicts himself, blames other staff members for doing things he told them to do, bitching about staff members to everyone but never telling the actual person involved what's wrong... Just so frustrating. He's very passive aggresive, doesn't like confrontations. I actually had an argument with him last week (first argument I've ever had with a boss before - it involved me confronting him over something he'd said about a staff member), and he hid from me for an hour and would not talk to me. Mature!

Anyway. SO I am not really sure how much longer I can last, if things do not change/go back to normal. Perhaps I have been looking for an excuse like this, but then again I do not have great confidence in finding another job and settling in. I guess everyone is like that though. New job jitters?

The thing that sucks is that I like the WORK. It is just everything else that I hate right now.

DF and I had a discussion about children. He has suddenly decided (probably because his sister is due to give birth in January) that we should have children soon. Like, next year soon. I know that there are good times and bad times to have children, but in the end, there is never a 'perfect' time - so many people have said 'there's never going to be that perfect financial/mental point to have a child, you just cope as it happens.' It's totally true. BUT! I think that if we were EVER going to pick a year to have a baby, next year would be the absolute worst time. I am sure we would obviously learn to cope and make ends meet - but I also think if we had any choice in the matter (which we do) we should make the choice to atleast post-pone this for one more year. Why?
Several reasons: 1) this 'wedding party' that DF wants nest year will take up valuable baby saving funds, not to mention time, and will only add stress to our lives. I don't want to have to deal with morning sickness and all the goodies that come with pregnancy AS WELL. 2) We will need to replace my car. It is unsafe, getting to be unreliable, and also extremely noisy etc. What we want will be new-to-us, but will have to be saved and paid for obviously - not going to be easy to do on one wage. 3) I have just started studying. I atleast want to do one year! 4) We are going to have to consider seriously in the next month or two, getting a business loan and starting our own business. Yet again, not something I want to deal with in its' initial stages as well as pregnancy. Eugh! Can't imagine anything worse!

and my last reason being - I want to achieve certain health, weight and fitness goals before I have a baby, as sort of a mental exercise so that post-baby, I can say to myself 'you did it once, you can do it again'. I am currently only half way through, so would like to be able to complete this.

Is that too much to ask?

ANyway, I think DF has given up on the idea anyway. Only because I said all the logical stuff that he agrees with, and the only reason he doesn't agree with me completely is because he 'wants' to start a family now. I told him, waiting one extra year isn't going to hurt anyone, and cousins being 2 years apart is not going to matter that much. (right???)

And I guess the last of my news is that we now have a 'boarder' living with us, in the form of my sister. I know most of you probably already knew this as I posted about it a few months ago; but when I last posted about it, this was a temporary arrangement. It is now about to become semi-permanent. I say semi-permanent, because there are rules involved. If the rules are obeyed, she can stay. If not, well...

We might finally be buying a new tv! prices have dropped a lot lately, and we are hopeful of getting the one we want at roughly $900.

At the moment DF and I are tossing up whether to go to a festival in late February. We have not been to one in two years - and we are really interested in the lineup (one of DF's favourite bands, Primus, is one of the headline acts). It's also pretty different, genre-wise, than other festivals we've been to and focuses on metal. I'd be super excited if we could go. Some of you may know some of the bands (check it out at www.soundwavefestival.com/lineup - I mean, who hasn't heard of Iron Maiden? ) However, it's probably the most we've ever had to pay for a single ticket before - $169 each. OUCH. So, we'll see. It's still a while away and tickets have not sold out yet. So, keep your fingers crossed for us that some special person drops $340 in our lap some time soon!

One way I am trying to save the money (and also, in general, just save money, regardless of whether we go or not) is that recently I've changed a few of our utility providers and a few other things, which should result in atleast $100 a month in savings, if not more.

Hmmm... I think that is all my news for now. Whew! Quite a catchup post, I wonder if anyone made it, reading all the way to the end? You deserve a cookie!

We are getting them from the same jeweller who made my engagement ring. I've decided to keep a tally of our marriage/wedding party costs. I doubt they will be useful for anyone, because we're not doing things traditionally - but maybe some aspects of it might be interesting to SOMEONE out there

So far we have spent:
$265 - Marriage Registration
$100 - Wedding Ring Deposit (To Pay: $887.00)

The rings will probably be ready in two weeks. The reason we ordered them so early is because my engagement ring took months to make - and even though the jeweller is ordering our rings from another company and not making it himself, we just were not sure how long that would take.

This party planning business, that is. I started to research the cost that we're going to be looking at, and although I was initially thrilled at hall rental prices (around $20-$80 a day, depending on which one), I then started to research the price of catered finger-food. Basically, I think we're looking at roughly $500-$1000 for food, and I'm not even sure if that includes waitstaff.
I don't have any problems asking the guests to bring their own alcohol, but I do think we should supply the food. Simply because some of these people will be travelling hours to get here, and also it's not feasible to ask them to bring a plate because of that reason as well - and we have already ruled out having this thing at a restaurant (too many people to organise having it at a 'nice' restaurant, and restaurants seem to jack up the price at the mere SMELL of the word 'wedding' etc).
I imagine that there are a million other things that will incur 'hidden costs' that I haven't even begun to think of. I am not particularly skilled in visualising a 'theme' or the 'decor' for an event, those types of things - I just don't see the point, so when someone asks me something along those lines, my mind goes blank. Do people really notice ribbons, chair coverings, sashes, balloons, candles, flowers, table cloths? I don't - but that doesn't mean other people don't. (Though, I wish they wouldn't...)
I *realise* that wedding gifts will probably cover the cost of this thing, but that's not really important. I just hate organising stuff like this, and I don't see the point in a lot of it.

And I feel like I should be organising something fancy because people will get disappointed when they arrive, expecting something that it is most definately NOT. And then I get angry! Because I think, why should I be stressing out over someone elses expectations? Why are people placing these expectations on us in the first place? What's so wrong with the world where something intimate is turned into a public show to be judged and compared?

I understand it's a big dream for a lot of girls, but I can take it or leave it.

A friend suggested a wedding planner - yeah, I think not. I can just imagine them trying to cram a whole heap of junk down my throat and charging me an exhorbitant amount for the service. Or taking one look at my 'plan' and running for the door.

Anyway. Long story short, this is me venting. :/

February 15th, 2011 - is the date that we are getting married. There was no particular reason for the date (though I just realised when typing it, that it is the day after Valentines day. ha!) rather, it depended on another persons availability.
I think he was rather taken aback that we were asking him to choose the date that we get married, but said he felt honoured to be a part - seeing as only him and our two registry witnesses (and of course the people at the courthouse doing their daily jobs) will share in that day. It is a Tuesday - which means I will have to organise a day off work.

We have also decided to have a 'Wedding Party' in the mid year (so - 3-4 months after we get married). This will give us time to plan it, invite family & friends and let them organise themselves, & save a small amount of money for it. It is not really what I want, but I do have to consider that we are GETTING MARRIED and that is about two people forming a union. And as I said, while it is not something that I necessarily want, it *IS* something that DF wants, and so we will do that.

When I pointed out that we were initially planning to do the thing in February to avoid what will *probably* happen at the wedding party (eg family feuds) I think DF's exact words were 'Yeah well, it's meant to be a day about us & family, so if they can't put their problems aside for one day, then they can go and get....'

Which is true. I am taking the stance that if *anything* happens, from anyone, even my own mother (which is highly likely) I am just going to breathe deeply and walk away from the situation. Like I mentioned in my last marriage post, no one is going to change, so I can't do anything about it. But I can choose not to be involved, and I can choose to stop caring about it. Because by caring, I waste my time, energy and life-force, and it gives me nothing in return - atleast in these particular situations anyway.

I will just have to do a whooooole lotta yoga that week, as it seems to be the only thing to keep my emotions at bay!

Atleast in this way, I can have my dad as part of the celebrations, which is something that I *do* want. I will call them in the next few weeks to tell them of the plans, anyway.

The second factor is of course, cost. After working through the 'family issue' I had a big meltdown about the cost of this thing, in which DF had to calm me down and singularly discuss each aspect, so that I could see that what we have planned probably won't cost a lot - but I still have to do research and find out exactly. But, our plan is to have caterers supply nibblies and fingerfood, most likely have guests BYO alcohol, and to rent a little hall somewhere close to home. My dad is rather traditional in these things (I think it is actually stemmed from my stepmum, who nudges at him and says 'you know, you're supposed to do this...'). For example, the father of the bride is meant to buy the alcohol for a toast at the engagement party - and that is what he did, last year. And so from that reasoning, it's possible he expects to pay for the alcohol at the wedding party. I will let him know that it's not required, but if he insists, I will probably only make it wine and beer, as that is pretty standard as to what we've seen at other weddings.

So, even though it seems like an about-turn from my previous post, I think it will be ok. We are still doing what we planned, but are basically having a big friends & family get together a bit later in the year. I do feel bad for planning to exclude friends and family that WANT to be a part - it is just those few who's unpredictable unwanted behaviour makes it difficult to imagine having a 'nice' day. But, I am going to not let it worry me. This thing is meant to be low maintenance, so I am not going to even think about it any more.
And I do feel bad because even though I am not that thrilled about weddings and tradition, it *is* something that DF wants, and just because I don't want to do something doesn't mean DF doesn't want to do it either, and I don't want him to miss out on something that we only really have one opportunity for, just because I'm being stubborn.

The other thing is, we are not keeping the February 15th a secret. DF's sister and BIL married a bit over a year ago, and it was all very hush-hush, as they planned to have a 'big' wedding this year, next year or the year after. The reason they married was because they wanted the same last names on the birth certificate of their daughter. But now, they are having a second child, have spent loads renovating, and buying a new car, and it seems the dream big wedding will probably never eventuate. But now it is kind of hard for them to announce that they have been married now for over a year. So because of that, we've decided to tell friends of our plans, and let them know there will be a celebration a few months later. This way, they'll know about the actual marriage date and can be happy for us, but know that they will be included in something that is special as well.

I don't seem to get much time for updates here lately, it appears they are becoming a once-weekly event.

I started studying on Monday. Since it's only Wednesday I don't have a lot to say about it . At the moment I am more concerned with figuring out if I am moving too fast or too slow through the modules, and organising the rest of our lives around it!

I am studying two subjects, and they are both extremely different from each other. I am actually quite glad because they both give relief from each other, if you know what I mean. If I get overwhelmed with one way of thinking, I can switch to the other subject for a while.

One is a social science (organisational behaviour)- which I am enjoying, but because I haven't ever done anything in this field it has a greater difficulty level and I am just at the initial stages of wrapping my head around it.

The second one is basically an introductory accounting course (called accounting in decision making) which focuses on using figures to make financial decisions. At this stage some of it is new to me, but a larger portion of it is stuff I already know. It's easier for me to understand because I already work with books, so I know a lot of the terms and procedures. The only thing that I am not thrilled about is that there is a group assignment due in January. I remember from school that I really *dislike* group assessments. Not to mention that I am studying via distance education? It does say that you can write and ask to do it by yourself, which I will probably end up doing. But what would I say???

At the moment I am working (6am-1pm) then getting home, taking the dogs for a walk or doing half an hour of yoga (ideally I would be doing both each day, but because I am still unsure if I am working at a fast enough pace, I am only doing one activity after work, before study.) I then study from 2.30pm-6.30pm.

One thing that is kind of unfair, is each day when I have gone into my office to study, I have looked outside and it has been the most beautiful day you could imagine, makes me just want to sit on our deck with the doggies all afternoon. Because it's Spring, everything is lush and green. The sky is clear blue and even though standing in the direct sun is super-hot, on our deck there is a slight breeze which just makes it perfect book-and-a-cup-of-tea conditions! *sigh*

DF was all prepared to cook dinner on Monday, but came home with a sore throat and mild fever. It's the thought that counts, I guess. We will see how he goes for the rest of this week/next week etc. Last night we had takeaway pizza, as it was Cheap Tuesday so only $6 per pizza.

Anyone have any easy, man-friendly recipes? He is not super-skilled in the cooking department just yet, but I am hoping that will change soon.

I am going to Dreamworld (a ride themed amusement park) on Saturday with a friend. We got a voucher which admits up to 6, adults at kids prices, so we will be paying $39 per person entry. I can't imagine paying $77, which is the full adult cost. If it weren't for the voucher, I wouldn't be going! We are also planning on sneaking food and drink in, because even though you are not allowed to take it in, they charge huge amounts - $9 for a cup of coke!

Last week I had two new tyres put on my car ($228) and today I had a wheel alignment and something else that I can't remember... which was necesary to do to stop wearing of the tyres and a wobble in the steering wheel, to the tune of $244. Hopefully won't have to spend money on it until atleast it's next service!

Today I bought two exercise books and two highlighters as study aides - it helps for me to re-write things in my own words and I remember things better that way. $5.05.

DF's 30th Birthday went well. He was up at 5am Saturday morning to get the rest of the house ready for the party, and did not go to bed until 8pm Sunday! That's one way of saying goodbye to your 20's...

He got a good haul of presents too! $200 in cash, a $50 GC, Revisited (a 1st ed. book), and Gig Posters (another 1st ed. book), a bottle each of Cognac, Vodka, Sangria, Scotch Whiskey, three bottles of rum, a tattoo, some fancy home brewing mixes, a piece of original art from a friend of ours, two racing car seats for one of his project cars... Whew! Maybe I should throw a birthday party for myself next year...

My younger brother lent my sister some money (when she didn't have a job - months ago). She ended up owing him $130, which is kind of a lot of money when you're 15 years old. Anyway, she said she would pay him back $20 a week when she got a job. She has been working 8-10 weeks now, and up until three weeks ago hadn't paid him a cent. When they started to stay with us, I told her she would have to pay him back larger amount per week. On payday, she came home with $4.50 to pay him back - all she had left. The next week, $15. Last week, I took her ATM card off her the day before payday, and made her transfer $35 after school when she got paid. This week, she wants to buy some frilly socks (because they're 'cool') for $9.99 online and go to see a movie with friends ($20). I told her no, and she started to argue with me about it.
She said it was unfair that she had to pay back such a large amount, seeing as her brother still had money leftover when he lent it to her. I said yes, but you said you would pay back $20 a week and you didn't pay him back ANYTHING for several weeks, which is why it has come to this. I also reminded her that she owed DF and I $15.
To make things worse, I tried to explain to her that sometimes you have to make sacrifices to do what is right. I used them staying with us, as an example. I said that yes, I had to do a lot of driving around, a lot more cleaning and cooking to have them stay. She then stormed away saying that DF and I didn't want her here, and sulked in her room for an hour. *sigh*
When she'd calmed down, I explained that wasn't what I was saying, and that the point of my conversation was to say that YES she borrowed money, YES she made an agreement to pay it back, and that because she didn't do what she said, she's going to have to sacrifice the wants she has now and forgo movies and clothes for a couple of weeks in order to make good. I went on to say that things are not always going to work out how you want them to, and you are NOT always going to get your own way. Sometime in the future a friend or family member might ask HER for help and she might see then what it involves. At the moment she's been on the recieving end from not only DF and I, but her brother, who lent her money, and he deserves to be paid back. DF and I also deserve her respect in return for what we are giving to her as well.

*sigh* Teenagers! It seems to be their way or the highway.

Am I being unfair? It is not as if she actually NEEDS money for anything. She walks to and from school, and has her lunch provided to her, and has clothes to wear. She earns $45 a week and DF and I are only trying to make her pay back $35 or $40 each week so that it doesn't drag on forever - and because we know that once she goes back to live with our mum, the paying back $$ won't continue. Grrr.

Something else that annoys me: I mentioned this to my mum, who said SHE would pay back DF and I the $15 my sister owes us to help 'clear her debt faster'. How does that help the situation? She's just being bailed out, and it will probably set the tone for the rest of her life. She will continue to expect help from our mum for life after this. I think it's ridiculous.
Also, I get the impression that my mum is trying to make DF and I look like 'baddies' for not allowing her to go to the movies with her friends. My brother and sisters stay at our home is drawing to an end, and I am beginning to get the feeling that my mums plan is to make it seem that we're the bad ones that don't let them do anything, and when they go back, my mum will be all 'cool' about everything and let them do what they want. (my mum is like that, overly manipulative and always trying to make out like it is someone elses fault.) The problem with this is, that was exactly how it was before, except my mum had no control over them in the end and they just did whatever they wanted. Then a few times she said 'No' and they disregarded her - and she was shocked. It turned into a big argument a few times, which is why they ended up staying at our house, because my mother was 'afriad' of them. I don't know what she expected???

Anyway, I have no sympathy for her if this is what she is doing - there will be no 'next time' at our house if this is the way she wants to play.

Thoughts?

We haven't completely decided yet, but are most likely going to get married some time early next year.

It's not going to be a big wedding. In fact, we are not having a wedding at all.

Why?
Recent events have made us realise that some things are NEVER going to change in our family. It wouldn't matter if we tried to talk it out, separate those involved, have group mediation, ignore it or turn a blind eye etc. People are going to remain as they are, and we have come to accept that we can't change them, no matter how much we plead.
It would be silly to expect things to run smoothly, and I don't want to have that burden on a day that is supposed to be fabulous and all about love and family.
And I don't want to save money and fork out for an event that is going to leave a sour taste in my mouth when I think about it.
We can't NOT invite the people involved either.
Also, I have had a couple of friends ask me 'When is the wedding date?' and then go on to say 'Oh, I love weddings...' etc. I have been feeling a huge amount of pressure to put on some type of show, which is really not my thing at all.

So we decided that, in the end, marriage is the unity of two people. When you pry away the layers of royal icing and lace, or whatever it is you have at a wedding, the bare-bones of it is that it's about two people saying they will be together forever.

And so we decided that instead, we will do something that is slightly alternative that WE enjoy as a couple, on the day, after registering the marriage, and that will be it. Maybe we will have a dinner out with some family members or friends, maybe not. Most likely we might make a quick weekend trip to see my dad - but that's it.

We have been talking about this for a couple of months now, and I think we have both felt a weight has been lifted. It feels so much better knowing that we don't have to do something solely because other people expect us to. I know it might upset some friends, but I can't help that.
My best friend is not fond of the idea. I'd go so far as to say she disapproves greatly. I think she thinks it's extremely unromatic.

Whew!

Wow, November already. Seems like only last week that it was January. How time flies.

November is already a spendy month, and it's only the first day! We have atleast $500 in out-of-the-ordinary expenses to go out, plus DF's 30th Birthday party food expenses (hoping for it to be under $60 including the cake materials).

Work is heating up for DF in the run up to Christmas (and then will die in January-February again). I think DF will be expecting us to be able to do some more house renovations in the slow months - but I am going to have to remind him that funds aren't what they were this time last year, not to mention an uncertain work schedule - which will mean that hopefully he will focus solely on PAINTING and landscaping, two things that are relatively cheap and take up heaps of time (and is something I'm not really that excited to do, personally. This is where I pipe up and whine about how I do the 'inside' chores and he does the 'outside' chores) We already have the paint, too. And there are other things that need fixing that he can do without having to spend money. I might write him a To-Do list

I start uni in two weeks from today! How scary! And to further freak myself out, I discovered you can view past tests online, so I checked out the one for my first subject. Kind of wishing I didn't, as it looks like complete gobbledeegook. Here's hoping by the end of it I know what it means...

I just got back from a meeting with our business accountant, and he said as I was preparing to leave, that I was doing fantastically well. Kind of some much needed validation after a few pretty crappy weeks regarding my book-keeping job.

After he said that, I mentioned I was about to start (my uni course) and he was actually excited for me and said I would do well, and that it would provide a lot of pathways in the future. He also reinforced my choice of uni, saying that he did a couple of units through them externally himself, years ago, and they were *the best*.

Getting back to the office, DF called me to tell me my text books had arrived. Yay! And super quick!

My iPhone arrived yesterday too, so I have been playing around with that, probably more than I should.

I bought my little sister a SIM card and gave my old phone to her. She thinks it's because DF and I are being nice, but really it's so I know WHERE SHE IS at all times. She is, unfortunately, one of THOSE teenagers. *sigh* trying to get her to be more responsible and aware of what the world is really like (that it's not actually safe for a 15 year old girl to be walking around the streets at night just because she had a fight with her mother and stepdad). Atleast now she might be 5% more safer with a phone.

Stress has been alleviated slightly at the family business, as work has picked up for the before-Christmas rush, and there's money in the bank to pay bills. So we can breathe easy for a week or two and hopefully everyone will get along.

DF and I need to start making preparations, in all areas of our lives. Will post more about that later.

Question for iPhone users at SA (BA & Frugaltexan... anyone else?)

What cool iPhone apps do you have? There are so many. I am 'allowed' to buy atleast 6, because that's how many DF has already bought.

I ask this because DF is not really an app user - he likes the ones that have novelty value, like the Star Wars light saber (which I actually do think is kinda cool...) But I was wondering if you could recommend any good, functional, useful ones?

Today on the radio I heard some very exciting news. From January 1, 2011, working parents will be able to get government funded paid parental leave. It consists of eighteen weeks of $570 weekly payments, which is the minimum wage here.

For couples like DF and I, who both work and don't get holiday, sick or maternity pay, this is wonderful news. It makes starting a family seem like it is actually in reach for once, financially at least (and for us, money is one of the last obstacles to overcome, besides actually falling pregnant.)

I have two teenagers (my brother and sister) staying with us for an indefinate amount of time. My mum is giving us $100 a week. $40 of it is for my brothers bus fare, and the rest is for food. My sister can walk to school from my house.

I am lucky enough to get bread for free, so for breakfast they eat toast.

For lunch they take a salad roll, an apple, a frozen 100% juice pack, a muesli bar and a snack packet of vege chips.

They seem happy enough to eat a never ending amount of bread with peanut butter & honey, or anzac biscuits with tea, as a snack.

Dinners are usually spaghetti bolognaise, roast vegetables & salad, minestroni soup, homemade pizza, stirfries or curries with rice.

I know lots of you have growing children in your households, what do you feed them?!

And what do you get them to do?! I am at a loss. They are bored. I know teenagers are meant to be bored, like 90% of the time anyway, because it's some sort of annoying genetic mutation but really! I am not the type of person to let them sit on a computer all day, or go out whenever they want. So most of the time they are at home, but apparently there is nothing to do. *sigh*

I feel rather bad about spending so much, but I just ordered my first two textbooks to the tune of $260.00. DF and I are used to spending sizeable amounts on books - but only because the ones we normally spend this much money on are guarunteed to INCREASE in value... not be outdated in a year and un-usable to anyone except as a reference. Sheesh!

My reasons for purchasing the books new:

- Even though the first units I do will no doubt be the easiest ones, I am still a bit iffy about buying accounting and financial law books that are older editions than the ones required for the course. Laws change so quickly.

- DF thought I was crazy for buying them secondhand.('Someone else has probably written all over them and highlighted the text, and you'll get confused because you haven't made the marks but they're there' he knows me well, my DF).

- The first two books I get come with programs on discs, which can only be used by the first purchaser, otherwise I have to purchase another license to use the disc again - which brings the total up the roughly the same amount it would be to buy the new books with cd - but instead, I would have an old book with scribble in it, and possibly a scratched disc, and the hassle of finding out how to buy another license for the disc. Yay! Hassle I really don't want.

So, next semester I will again look at secondhand books, but will go new for my first ones. I am nervous enough about starting university without having to stress myself out about buying books for the first time.

Over the next few weeks I am going to get myself organised. I need to make up a list of the units I am doing, and which year/semester I am doing it in. It is SO WEIRD to be looking at these and realising that in 2016 I will be doing, for example, Unit LAW3130: Revenue Law & Practice. It seems so far away. *sigh*

Also I am planning on doing up a list of ALL the textbooks I will need for next year, just so I can keep an eye out for them.

I haven't been blogging much lately. Things are rather hectic.
We have been doing some minor house repairs and renovations, as well as trying to clean up in the process for DF's 30th Birthday Party (in two and a half weeks time).
We have had my younger brother and sister (16 yo & 15 yo) staying with us for two weeks, and probably will for another week. My mum is giving me $100 a week for their bus and food money. They sure do eat a lot.
Our hot water system seems to be leaking. DF has the replacement valve to fix it, but just hasn't had the time to do it, so we have had to turn it on and off when we need it. I have realised how much we DON'T use hot water. Other than showers, it has not really impacted our lives to use a kettle for a sink full of dishes, and that's about it. It has only been a week though, and I would much prefer it fixed!

I start uni studies in less than a month now. I am trying to organise one text book from a cousin of DF's, I need edition 6 and she has edition 5, but I was going to see if I could get by with hers instead of shelling out extra. A friend of mine said normally they just bring out a new edition every year but hardly change anything. I have not looked at what I need for the other subject yet though. And I haven't even recieved anything from the uni yet. Not really sure what's going on with that! Hopefully they just wait until a week before. I don't think I need to do anything else...

A few months ago we (and by we, I mean DF) bought $50 worth of organic meat from a share in a slaughtered cow from DF's BIL's parents farm. (Similar to Baselle - except we only were offered the meat as it was being divied up). It worked out to be around $7.50/kg, and included rib eye, sausages, eye fillet and mince. Well, most of that is gone, I think we have about 500g of mince left which I'll use this week. For the past few years we have just bought meat from the supermarket because it was convenient and cheap, but for the first few years of living together, DF and I used to buy meat from an organic butcher. Where we used to live, it was about a 45 minute trip just to get there. Now it is only about a 10 minute drive, if that. DF and I have been talking a lot lately about the food we eat etc, and have agreed that for us, we think it is worth the cost. In the end, I do not eat meat, and DF does not eat a lot (maybe 3 meals a week with meat), so the extra cost would work out to be around $5 a week.

I have been listing a few items here and there on eBay, and they seem to be selling. I am going to try and list atleast 1-2 items a week, just of things we would probably give away. Tidying up for DF's party has definately made us realise how much stuff we have. DF's mostly, though. He is a hoarder!

I have internet surveys coming out of my ears! Hopefully soon I can cash some in.

I don't think our paycuts have sunk into DF as he still seems to be spending money a lot, and wanting to spend money on things, and talking about all the things we need to buy. It is starting to stress me out a bit. So I think we will sit down and I will explain what we earn each week, how much comes out, and what is left, so that maybe he has a better picture of what we have. Because at the rate of all these things we 'need' to buy soon, I think DF thinks we are millionaires or something.

well, that's about it for now. How has everyone else been???

When I finished work today, I called my mechanic. 'I think I've fixed it' he says to me on the phone. Uh-oh, I think. This does not inspire confidence.

When my friend drops me off, he tells me he has taken the master cylinder apart, cleaned it, and put it back together. The brake doesn't feel like it is having trouble depressing now, and it seems to run fine on the test run.

He tells me to see how it goes, he is not sure if it has fixed the problem, but he priced a new master cylinder for me ($220 plus labour) and decided to see if this would work first.

I was in shock when he tells me the cost for the work he has done: $60.00!

I think that is the smallest amount I have spent on car repairs in a very long time. My friend choked when I told her, and now has his number too!

- I started my first 'new rostered hours' week today. I work Mon, Tues, Thurs, Friday at the bakery and Wed at my book keeping job.

- Our phone rep finally called me (I assume he must have been on holidays) and set up my new phone plan contract for me. It is on a business plan (yey! free voicemail! not that I ever use it...), still the same amount every month as before, but I also get 1gb per month of data, and a free iPhone, which arrives on Thursday. Finally!

-The rep also helped me with some info on mobile broadband. The one he is recomending will cost $38 a month - $30 for 4gb data and $8 per month for rental of a router. SO MUCH CHEAPER than what we are currently paying ($44.95 per month for 5gb and $30 for phone line rental.) I am just a little concerned about it dropping out, because I don't want to get stuck if I do an online exam. But he said if our 3g coverage on our phone is higher than 3 bars, we will be fine, and I checked my phone and in our area it is at the max, which is 7 bars. So, might be worth looking into, and there are no set-up fees either.

- Today I dropped my car off at the mechanic. Last night I googled the brake problem, and a few forums said something about the master cyclinder. And then, when talking to the mechanic, he said he thought it might be that, because it wasn't the pistons. I think I just nodded at him. My car stays there overnight, and he will call me tomorrow to tell me what's what. I'm thinking $200-$300 in repairs, which is budgeted into the bills anyway.

- I must buy my friend some flowers, or something, as she picked me up from work today, drove me home, then followed me to the mechanic so I could drop off my car, and then drove me home again. And then, tomorrow she is picking me up from work and driving me to either pick up my car, or drive me home if it's not ready. Isn't she lovely? I would buy her chocolates or something yummy that a normal person would enjoy, but she has OCD and would most likely throw them in the bin. So... any ideas?

My car played up yesterday and today. Yesterday when I was driving home from work it was really hard to drive, brakes were extremely touchy, not accelerating, burning brake smell etc. After waiting an hour for roadside assistance I was told it was the brakes sticking on (which I had figured out already! - though to be fair, the guy was really quite nice), it would be ok to drive but to get it fixed asap. So instead, I drove it to the mechanic. He was not super busy, so hoisted it up, took the tyres off and did all that manly mechanical stuff () Couldn't find anything, took it for a drive, and wouldn't you know it, it drove like normal!

I guess the only good thing about that day was that the roadside assistance didn't cost a thing, seeing as I pay a $60 annual fee for it. And when I asked my mechanic how much I owed him (for an hours work) he said nothing.

So I drive home, all fine. This morning I drive to the markets, again, everything is fine. Then DF and I decide to go into town and it does it again. So now kind of unsure what to do really. I guess I will just drive to work on Monday and then book it in for whatever needs to be done on Tuesday or Wednesday. If I had a normal job with normal hours, I would book it in for Monday. However, I start at 6am. The mechanic starts at 8am. And I would have no way to drive it there and then get back to work, if I so wanted to do that. I hate car trouble.

Coupled with the fact that it rather looks like a piece of crap at the moment (it has been scratched, run into & dented by strangers) and things are going to start costing large chunks of money soon to keep it going and safe, I think DF and I have to have a good talk/think about getting a new-to-us car in the near future. Our ultimate goal is of course to pay in cash - but if you had asked me a month ago when we would be thinking of buying a new car, I would have said in a few years. Now it is more like, in a few months. I don't want to loan money for a car, but I do not want to buy another car that is going to have the same problems as my last two cars have had (the major problem being: they are OLD!), which is probably what we can afford at the moment.

I am thinking, if things begin to go sour for my car soon, that we will get a loan for a new car, sell my car (could still get approx $3000 for it) and then just pay down the loan straight away with the cash we get from the sale of the old car. We would be looking at buying a new-to-us car around the $10k mark. (i think at this stage we have settled on a subaru liberty stationwagon).

Anywho. Thanks for letting me vent my frustration and ramble a bit.

Today I get to work and find that my new roster is up I have more hours, and it appears that they will stay that way for a while.
I earn a little more per hour at this job than I did at my other one (before my pay cut, I mean). It will not make up for the paycut though, nor DF's either. But I am hoping that by cutting a few things and trimming where we need to on unnecesary items, we can still save, pay the bills and mortgage, eat, and do a few things here and there that we enjoy.

I have joined a couple of new survey sites and my regular ones seem to pumping my email inbox full at the moment. Usually when I DONT feel like doing them, I get a lot. So it seems they caught me at a good time when I am motivated to actually DO THEM.

At this stage I am halfway towards: a $30 check, a $50 check, a $50 paypal payment, a $5 paypal payment and only a couple of dollars away from a $20 GC.

Oooh! Also just remembered Christmas is coming which means I get a $50 GC from work. Yay!

I posted my eBay sales yesterday. Total in profit I made roughly $25, but seeing as I got these items for free I am not complaining.

Once a friend finished with a dvd set of mine I am going to sell that also on eBay and will hopefully get back what I paid for it ~$60.

We also have credit card rewards to redeem. We have atleast a $200 voucher at the moment, though I was thinking of waiting until the end of the year, and then we can use the voucher at the end of year sales. This particular store that the voucher is for, is known for their crazy discounts on Boxing Day. We usually go a couple of days after, and they have marked everything down even more (though, don't have as much stock as they would have, but it's better than fighting the crowds.) So by then we might have a $400 voucher. Now that would be SUPER fun! I might talk to DF and see if it would be wise to purchase clothing items we will need for 2011 at that time (tshirts, underwear, socks - you know, the boring stuff that kind of needs to be replaced every year or two...)

Today is my Wednesday off. I'm quite liking these. I think if we didn't have to worry about the money so much, I'd love to make it a permanent thing But wouldn't we all?

Today I am doing house tidying/cleaning until 2.30pm and then having coffee with a friend and doing the grocery shopping. Next week I might be catching up with an old school friend. And then I think that will be the last of the four day weeks for me.

We bought a new vaccuum cleaner on the weekend, so I am going to give the house a good vaccuum and mop (it has been, oh, about four weeks!) The vaccuum cleaner was a medium priced cheapo one. The cheapest was around $66 and 1600 watts, and the one we bought was $114 and 2000watts. Better than the one we previously had, but definately not a Dyson! LOL. It also came with a free mini dust-buster too, which is kind of cool.

We are in the process of getting an electrician friend of ours to change our hot water system over to 'night-time only' usage. Last time he was at our place he informed us that it was programmed to go on whenever it needed to to heat up water, and to cut costs we should get it changed to use the night time off peak tariff. So that is what we will do. No idea what it will cost though I am sure it will pay for itself in the long run.

I looked up the first textbook I need for my first subject. New it is $139.95. I have found one textbook exchange website where someone is selling it for $95, not including postage. I have tried on google to find other exchange sites but have only had luck with this one so far, and there is only one book available. I have a month before I need it, so I am not sure if I should wait it out, or buy it. I guess any saving is a good saving. I should really start keeping an eye out for the textbooks I need in the future as well.

This morning I got up relatively late (7am), took the dogs for a walk and bought some milk from the corner shop. I have emailed our most recent electricity bill to our friend and eaten breakfast - suddenly it's 9am! The internet is sure distracting!

My plans for the day:
- vaccuum & mop
- tidy lounge & dining rooms
- kitchen
- 2x loads of laundry
- some gardening & tidying yard

Well, a lot has happened in the past few days since I last posted.

I was able to talk to my colleague. I don't know if it was the right thing to do, but I pretended that I had not heard she had cancer. My friend told me, because she tells me everything - but to me something as serious as this should not be spread around the workplace like common gossip. So I let her tell me in her own words. It turns out it is Lymphoma, which is treatable. But she thinks that maybe when it is all done and the treatment is over, she may not want to come back to work. Which is completely understandable. In the meantime, she is grateful for our boss and his wife for working around her treatment dates and not giving her job away. I can imagine being faced with this sort of health issue and then having to think about your job future would only add to the stress.

To further add to an already crappy week, our main baker resigned. He is a fantastic guy and has only worked with us for one year. He has a rather rocky relationship with his partner, but they have three children. Last week he came home after spending a night at his brothers catching up, to find she had packed up the house and moved with their kids, back to the town they used to live in five years ago - where their parents both live. She has moved in with her parents. Apparently she had never been happy where they had been living, but never told him. She said if he still wanted to be with her and see their children, he had to move. So now, he is faced with packing the rest of their stuff, cleaning their house and organising breaking the lease. There are no job prospects where he is moving, and he is annoyed. But I have to admire him, he says to me 'they're my kids and family, you know. You gotta do what you gotta do.' Poor guy.

So, my boss is faced with losing two employees. I now definately have an extra day lined up, and a weekday too, I think. My best friend may also have another day to work as well.

One thing about this annoys me though:

I KNOW with 100% certainty that if there was ever a time that my boss would have put me onto an apprenticeship like he said he would a year ago, now would be the time. But that kind of hurts a little, because he wouldn't be doing it as a favour to me, he'd be doing it to get himself out of a jam. And that sucks!

But whatever. I know that this whole 'me going to uni' is just a slap in the face to him, and a small part of me just wants to go 'HAHAHA!'. I think that probably makes me evil on some level, but I don't care.

Maybe I should just shutup and not talk about my dramas. It seems that every couple of hours our circumstances change. I hate to sound like a rollercoaster of ups and downs because that is really what I do NOT strive for in my life! And one of the things I can't stand is sitting there listening to a friend go on and on and on about all the drama in his/her life. And yet this is what my life currently sounds like!

So, apologies to everyone. I really would rather blog about the more mundane financial things like cheap recipes, savings, comparing one item to another, and finding things on sale, because to me that is the Good Stuff of personal finance blogs

Today my friend/colleague told me that she had accidently told my boss about my situation at my other work (the losing a day thing). She was very sorry (I really didn't mind anyway) but only did it because apparently a co-worker has been diagnosed with cancer - which is very heartbreaking. She will probably tell me herself next week, so I don't want her to know that I know yet. Nothing worse than something so horrible and serious spreading like common gossip. But in the meantime, my boss is stressing over who will cover this ladys shifts while she has treatments - of which my friend volunteered me for. Which, in such an unfortunate event, I guess is a silver lining for me. So my problem of finding more work is partially solved.

Now I just have to make extra money on the side to compensate for DF's loss of pay too.

Please keep my co-worker in your thoughts for me as she begins her treatments. She's a lovely little thing who I have worked with for nearly 5 years.

So yesterday I recieve the news that I am now downgraded from two days to one day a week at my book-keeping job, and my pay will be cut in half per hour as well. Not sure when it was supposed to start, but I was so annoyed that I decided to not go in to work today. Not sure they will miss me, because I was pretty mad yesterday. I mean, I understand hard times call for these measures. But I don't think they need to be that extreme. If I were being that extreme, I would not cut a workers pay to a quarter of what it was. But anyway. This is why I am annoyed:

- DF's pay will be cut. Not sure how much, but he sacrificed $1.50 per hour a year ago to give his apprentice a pay rise. That apprentice has since qualified and left, and DF did not regain the p/h rate. He also only gets paid a max of 8 hours per day but is sometimes away from home for 12 hours.
- DF's apprentice is being cut from 38 hours a week to just 15 (so is going from full-time to part-time).

And the owners of the business, DF's dad and my mother...?

Nope. That's it. Oh I think they said something about 'oh and we will have to cut back too...' Which doesn't really mean anything based on past events.

Anyway. So yes, I'm very annoyed right now. But I am trying to make the most of it.
I have listed 5 items on eBay and 4 have watchers, and 1 already has a bid.
I'm going to catch up on some internet surveys. Even if it's only a couple of bucks I am sure it is worth it.
Also I plan to do a spot of gardening. It's rather overcast and raining today, which is probably the best conditions for it anyway.
I'm going to get some laundry done and do a lot of cleaning up. We have guests staying on Friday night, and are going away on Saturday for a friends childs first birthday.
I also have to find a tiny little tshirt to screenprint as a gift.

I am going to drop some hints at work and try to pick up another day - otherwise I will begin to look for some part-time work elsewhere. At the moment I am just not very confident in myself, I have had the same jobs for 8 years and 5 years - I am not so sure how I would go in a new environment, you know? I guess it's just the new-job jitters. But, I think I'd like something customer-service-ey or food-industry related - something where I can go and not have to think too much, as with the family business it was all worry, stress, worry, stress. And coupled with starting uni I think the least amount of thinking I can get away with at work is a good thing!

DF and I are in an uncertain times at the moment. I think that my university course was started at a perfect time, because it gives me direction, even though the next 6 years are undoubtedly going to be tough. DF's dads business appears to be coming to a close. His dads inability to control his expenditure and finances, and take in any advice from others, means that in the next few months, unless some miracle happens, he may have to sell his house to pay his debts, and the business which has been running for nearly 10 years will have to fold. This leaves DF out of full-time work, and me out of part-time work. I don't see getting a job to be a big problem - I think that there is a lot of work out there, just not the glamorous, sought after jobs. If DF and I were in need of jobs, we would not be picky, which I think is a problem around here.

In other news, I am close to getting to a point where I feel that I would be better off never talking to or seeing my mother again. People constantly say that family is blood, and you can never let anything get in the way of that. But I know many of you SA'ers out there don't talk to close family at all, and it gives me hope that I am not the horrible person that I will no doubt be made out to be in the next couple of weeks. I don't really want to get into it in much detail (trust me, this entry could be a novel describing the events that have transpired over the past couple of days), as I am sure a few regular readers know of the difficulties I have with my mother and her drinking problems, paranoia and gambling problems etc etc. But basically the latest is that my DF is the alcoholic, and he is a bully and my mother is 'concerned' that I am with him. But when I questioned her on why, apparently it is because he confronted her yet again, this morning and yesterday, about her drinking and gambling habits. After some words from me, now she says she is no longer concerned about me, because I am 'the same as him'.

Seeing as in the 7.5 years DF and I have been together we have never fought and never separated, and always encouraged each other to have friends and have outside interests - I am glad DF and I are 'the same'.

In comparison, my mother and her partner have had hundreds of alcohol-fueled arguments and have separated completely and lived separately four times in the ten years they have been together. My mother has also driven all of her partners friends away and gets paranoid and jealous whenever he attempts to see a few mates who have stuck by him, or play a rare game of golf without her.

So, I guess I am glad that I am who I am, and DF is who he is. In the end, we should surround ourselves with positive and supportive people. My mother is not positive or supportive towards me, and I am not towards her. So I guess it is a two-way street really, and we would both be better off.

On another note, my eldest sister does not talk to my mum either, and has sworn she will not for another 9 years. It was for a completely different reason, but I wonder how many siblings it will take before she realises her mistakes?

Not a lot has been happening financially with me. We seem to be spending a lot, probably too much.

We did get our tax refund though. On the weekend we went and bought a punching bag, two pairs of gloves and a pair of shoes for DF's work. Spent nearly $300 but did manage to save $62 by asking for deals & haggling. Saved $6 on each pair of boxing gloves, saved $30 on the punching bag and saved $20 on DF's shoes. I feel too uncomfortable to haggle, but DF is pretty good, it seems.

I am going to try and list some things on eBay to sell, but not sure what. Really I just want less junk in my life, but for some items I think that someone might use them, so it would be worth it to try and get a little bit from them, even if it is only a few dollars. All I can think of at the moment are some books I have read but don't want to keep or read again, and some makeup products that I got for free and won't use. What do you sell on eBay? What have you sold that surprised you?

I have decided that I am definately going to change our life insurance and superannuation over to a new policy. It will save us money, and an added benefit is that we will be able to log into our bank and be able to see our superannuation balance as well. Not really doing anything, but it's a perk anyway. Makes me feel a little richer!

It is DF's 30th birthday in a little over a month. We are planning on hosting a big do - so it really is time for me to get started on organising everything. Things like this always stress me out a little, but are worth it in the end.

We will have to organise invitations in the next week or two, and food when the rsvp's come. DF will have to clean up our rumpus/shed area and mow and tidy the lawn. I will have to get the spare rooms ready for guests.

The other thing I have to organise in secret is some type of 'memorial' thing. DF has done collages in the past for his sisters 21st, his dads 50th and his grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. He made colour copies and laminated them, and everyone got one to keep.

So I was thinking of doing something like that, but instead just doing one large collage. Also was thinking of having a notebook for everyone to write DF a message on the night.

Any other ideas for a 30th Birthday? What memorable things have you had at a birthday or special event that someone has done for you?

How much difference a day makes!

DF gets to work today to find out that there is actually a job booked for tomorrow that he was not aware of.

He also did a quote for someone who seems as though they have researched DF's work and doesn't appear to be getting any other quotes - he just wants DF to do the work.

It is reassuring when DF hears things like that. He will never be 'the cheapest' floor installer & sander because he does not work that way - point blank refuses to, actually. In the famous words of Sailor Jerry 'Good work ain't cheap, and cheap work ain't good!'.

But when times are tough I guess people always go for the cheap work - and it's times like this that you really begin to stress that maybe the 'quality masters' are losing their place in industries, and the ones who do shoddy work and cut corners are going to be the ones to survive. Thankfully there are still people out there that have some sense!

Anyway. So on the work front, things seem to be moving along at a pace... a snails pace, but a pace nonetheless.

Last night we had a pesto pasta dish instead of getting our usual pizza that we get (Tuesday is cheap night, $6 pizzas from the place down the street). DF normally gets two pizzas and I get one, and we have the leftovers for lunch the next day. But I have decided the only times we are eating out for the next few months will be when people visit us, or for something super-special.
Although probably not the cheapest meal I could have made, I can guesstimate that the pasta dish was cheaper than one pizza!

I under estimated how much food we would need for this week though, and am running low even though it's only Wednesday. I think it's having an extra mouth to feed, in the form of my 15 year old sister. She goes home tomorrow, but whew! Not sure what to do for meals for DF and I tomorrow and Friday. Tonight we're having an Indian coconut curry which will probably use up all of our vegetables. Hmmm...

Have been experimenting with icy-pole recipes and made up my own, which I really quite like. I could see myself eating these all summer:

- 1-2 bananas
- 1-2 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 cup milk

Blend or process until smooth and fill icy-pole moulds or cups and freeze until firm. I think the banana and milk make a nice ice-creamey texture and they don't freeze super hard either. Sooo goood...

Our tax refund hit our account today. Woo! ~$3k.

Though it is rather stressful at the moment. I am trying to not let it weigh me down too much, but DF's dads business is not doing so well. Just when DF's dad had turned a corner financially speaking, and it looked like he might be able to manage his money appropriately - the industry up and dies on us! I am keeping my fingers crossed that he gets a slew of jobs to keep them super busy up until the new year - which is generally what happens, but not so sure it will happen this year with the economy and all. They say it's picking up, but I don't know who 'they' are or where they work either.

What worries me most is DF's ability to find another job. Well, let me rephrase. I don't doubt his ability to find a job (he is skilled in several industries), rather his motivation. Sometimes it seems like he has blind faith and loyalty to the business, and won't consider looking for outside work. Even when there is no work, he will do something to do with the family business (which equals no pay, obviously) instead of, I don't know... day labour? listing some junk on ebay?

So, that is what is stressing me right now. Even though the tax refund calmed my fears a little bit, not I am not so sure if we should go ahead with our plans to buy a new TV. We are already discussing downsizing from the original idea of a 40" to a 32". I know a flat screen TV is not a neccesity - which is why we have not bought one yet - but it is something we have wanted to buy ourselves for a reallllly long time (like, five-years-long-time). And seeing as every tube-tv we have has broken in some way or another, bar the one we are currently using - which is about to, I might add, it is not as if we are going out and just buying one because everyone else has one.

*sigh*

Anyway. To further stress me out, DF has a couple of days off work right now, and is utilising his apprentice (who must work every day - or get paid for doing nothing) to paint the exterior of our house. I just wonder how much the paint is going to cost. Though, I do forget sometimes that we have money put aside for renovations. And I guess we are saving a lot of money by not paying someone to do it. And atleast DF is actually doing something productive. I guess I should just calm down and breathe.

Thanks for letting me get that out. You know when things seem so much bigger in your head? Yeah, that.

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In other news, I registered Banjo finally today, and re-registered Jed for the year. $20 it cost to register them! Instead of $224 it would have cost if we hadn't de-sexed and microchipped them. The surgery will pay for itself in two more years.
On another note, they also seem, dare I say, a little happier? Since the surgery there has been NO, I repeat NO pee on our deck. It's incredible. And Jed seems to be finally mellowing a little bit, which is nice. Though we have another couple of years with Banjo acting like a crazed little thing before they both settle down. Banjo is much nicer and easier to hold than Jed (don't know how long that will last - Banjo is definately smaller than Jed which is one thing, but he is still growing), though now Jed will have moments where he will sit on your lap and not try to cover your face in slobber and claw you. For about two minutes. This morning I read two pages of a book before I had to put him down. It was lovely!

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I know this completely contradicts my previous whine about money (or lack of), but in my defense I have been looking out for this sale for aaaaages. It just so happened to appear during the week where I have a big stress. *sigh*.
Anyway: every year Clinique have a special 'Gift Time' sale where if you spend over $60 you get a free makeup bag full of products. I always try to buy my foundation during this time. I pretty much buy foundation and an eyeliner pencil- any other makeup products I use come directly from this 'freebie' I get. I'm kinda cheap when it comes to makeup - except for the fact that I don't actually use 'cheap' brands, I buy the absolute basic items and everything else I do without unless I get it for free somehow. So anyway, I bought it today. The foundation is $49 and the eyeliner is $36. Eyeliner lasts me about 3 years - foundation about 1. They did not have my shade in stock, so they gave me a sample pot and will call me when it comes in. I also signed up for their rewards program. For every 200 points you get $10 to spend. I already have 85 points. It's at a chemist, so I am sure I will buy other items from them anyway.

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I made a delicious pumpkin, feta & caramelised onion tart for dinner last night. We had it with a garden salad and steamed vegetables, and because DF is working at home today, I was able to take the leftovers for lunch. So good!

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My little sister is due to go home tomorrow as our mother is back from her trip. I have noticed over the week how much my poor little sister cares about what people think/what she looks like/what clothes she wears/letting down her friends/going to parties etc. Also realised how much I DO NOT CARE. Is that a good or a bad thing? I am polite and nice, which helps I guess. Not sure if DF and I were at all a grounding influence on her, but I hope to maybe some extent we were. She does not get a lot of support from our mother, but maybe staying with us she has realised there is a bigger picture in life than the things she is currently worrying about. In *so many* ways my little sister and I are similar, but unfortunately my little sister is rather impressionable, which I never was. I wasn't really an outcast at school but I was always on the sideline because I didn't really understand why everyone worried about stupid little things when there was so much more to consider in life.

I had a work thing to go to today. I just got my little sister a job at my work, and staff had their lunches paid for. We were allowed to bring spouses but they would have to pay for themselves so DF did come. In the end my boss just paid for DF I think we spent about $20 on drinks.

After that we decided to go and have a look at TV's at a store we're thinking of buying from. Ended up buying season 2 of Arrested Development for $24.98. (funniest show ever, I should add!). I figured that would be how much DF's lunch would have cost anyway, so it all evened out in the end.

Had a lovely start to the weekend so far. A store near us was having a sale on home-brewing supplies, so DF stocked up on a few items. Saved probably about $10. Not a huge amount, but now he is good for atleast another few months. (less trips to the store for DF means less spending - as he always goes in for one thing and comes out with ten extra items!).

I bought two summer tops for $15, three pairs of underwear for $21 and a hair accesory band for $9. Also shouted my SIL to a coffee and myself, $8.10.

I tried on a new style of dress that seems to be in all the stores at the moment and realised it actually looks alright on me - now thinking of finding one in a pattern that I like! The good thing about them being in a lot of stores is firstly, variety of prints and materials, and secondly, I can find the best price too. So I guess that will be my treat for the month. Might buy those in palce of the flip flops, seeing as I can't find any under $120 and don't really want to pay that much for them.

This morning I went to the market and spent approx $35 on fruit and veges for the week. I also bought some plastic icy-pole containers, so that through summer we can be cool & healthy

Any ideas for what to make them with? In the freezer I currently have sliced strawberries and apple cider.

A friend of a friend (I would say she's my friend, except that sometimes I feel like strangling her...) posted on facebook yesterday that she had some accounting text-books she wanted to get rid of, and would anyone be interested in buying them?
So of course I said yes, and said I would go and check what ones I needed. She said great, because she needed space on her bookshelf.
So I go away and come back, and lo-and-behold, someone else has written that they want them too, so this friend of a friend writes the ones she has, and the other person gets them all!

Is it just me, or is this rude?

It irks me a bit, but I am saved by the fact that DF's mother and aunt have also done the same degrees and would happily GIVE them to me. So phew.

Still trying to figure out a way to tell my boss I've enrolled at university. I think pretty soon it will get to the stage of ridiculous. You know when you leave things just a little too long? I'm famous for that.

But I have thought of a possible way to slide the news in nonchalantly. I'm going to call my boss and his wife at home just to inform them that in February I'll have to take a few days off for exams. Then they will ask questions. So that solves my problem.

In other news, we are looking after my little sister for a week and a half while my mum is away. I have to pack her lunch and pick her up from school - feeling a little bit domestic right now, I am sure I will be over it by the end of the week though.

Though also feeling rather unqualified to do it all because all I could find for lunch for her on Monday was some banana bread, an apple, a carmans muesli bar, a packet of Vege Chips and some Japanese seaweed rice crackers. Though apparently it's similar to what she takes every day anyway. Like me she doesn't like a heavy lunch and prefers to snack on things every couple of hours. Must run in the family.

Any ideas, fellow parenting SA'ers? I'm stumped. She doesn't want a 'lunch' lunch, like a sandwich or a salad, or anything in containers that she has to carry around all day. Picky thing.

Anyways.

This weekend I have to drive her to work at 6am, then I will probably go to the market bright and early, 6.30am on the way home, right when it opens for the day. I'll have first pick of the produce!

Sunday I have a work lunch to attend. It is paid for me, but not DF. Not sure about my little sister either, though technically she just started working at my work too...? Though the juniors weren't invited. Hmmm. Will have to check on that.

I decided not to get my fitflops, because I couldn't find any under $120. Online they are $80!

Well, that's all my updates for now.