Compulsive Debtor's Finance Blog

Not much financial going on.

It's the first real cold and dreary weekend of fall here. I finally relented and turned the heat back on. Also, I had to get some laundry done this weekend so I ended up using the dryer for the first time since last May.

I did sell a couple CDs on eBay so I'm adding $6.23 to the challenge. My new total is $12,899.45.

Otherwise a very quiet weekend here...

I've decided to definitely NOT buy a Vespa next spring as planned. With private school looming in the not-too-distant future and the economy tanking, I can think of other ways to spend the few thousand dollars that the Vespa would cost.

That decision coupled with the very likely closing of my daughter's current school and our need to relocate her and ourselves has me feeling down in the dumps. Plus, there's the whole economy mess, my debt and the general disarray of the world.

Yeah, I'm really in a great mood today...

On another note, I made $33.33 selling more junk on eBay. See the new Challenge total over there on the left if you're interested.

We spent the weekend "window shopping" for a new house. We don't necessarily want or need a new house, but as part of the eventual move of my daughter to a private school we will most likely be relocating as well.

Right now, all the schools we're considering are not in this city because this city simply is lacking when it comes to providing educational opportunities for non-traditional learners.

The schools that do cater to non-traditional learners are all in the city where my husband works; so assuming The Midge goes to one of those schools, we will eventually move in order to save commuting costs for both my husband and myself (aka The Midge's personal chauffer...)

Ideally, we'd like to either downsize our mortgage or simply do an even swap. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is very doable. I was afraid all the houses in the other city would be way over our price range. But we did find a few that could work.

Of course, we will be giving up a lot of space, but I'm actually OK with that. I don't particularly like having a huge yard and house, and the thought of unloading at least half my belongings is oddly cathartic.

For now, my husband and I have decided to just keep visiting schools and occasionally checking the MLS so we can keep an eye on home prices. Then, by February we'll hopefully know where The Midge will be going next year and we can move forward with the house hunting.

On another note, I'm adding $29.26 to the challenge, so my new total is $12,859.89.

Of today's addition, I'm putting $6.76 toward the Vespa fund, so the new total there is $292.51.

Yes, I'm having doubts about buying the Vespa next spring. Not because I don't want it anymore, but because I'm thinking that money will be better spent elsewhere.

We are thinking of speeding up my daughter's move to private school because the combination of her learning differences and the public school situation here is not getting any better.

Also, even if we don't move her to private school next year, I'm thinking I would like to either pay cash for our next car or make a very large down payment.

For now, though, I'm just going to keep saving away for the Vespa helmet and rearview mirrors....

On that note, I'm adding $90.96 to the challenge. Of that, $7.38 is going toward the Vespa fund. Here are the new totals:

Challenge: $12,830.63
Vespa: $285.75

Today I went to United's website to purchase a ticket home for the adult stepson. The ticket was a gift for my husband, who is graduating with yet another degree in December and who asked that we fly the adult stepson home for the graduation ceremony/party.

I was able to find an airfare for $279, and I wanted to apply a $100 travel voucher toward the cost of the ticket and then pay for the rest of the ticket out of pocket.

I got to the screen where you pay when I realized there was nowhere to enter a voucher number, so I called United's customer service number and was told I would have to call the reservation line to book the flight if I was using a paper voucher (which I was).

Before I go any further, let me explain how I got the paper voucher. Last October while The Midge was traveling back from California with my sister, United decided at the last minute to cancel their flight because it was way undersold. Instead, they stuck them on a later flight. However, they didn't cancel the flight until The Midge had arrived at the airport. Then they made her sit at the airport for 10 hours and she didn't make it home until 11 p.m. -- not good for a 7 year old who had to be up the next day to go to school.

My sister threw a fit, which caused an earthquake in southern California. The skies opened up and the gods bestowed on my daughter a $100 travel voucher for the "inconvenience." A travel voucher that was fully transferable.

So back to today ...

I call the reservation line and I'm told I will be charged an extra $25 if I have a real live agent book the flight, so I go through United's automated phone system instead. Everything's going along swimmingly up until the point where I have to pay for the ticket -- and, again, no way to enter a voucher number... .

At this point, I repeat a dozen times "Agent please!" and I'm eventually connected to a real live human, to whom I explain that I'm trying to buy a ticket with a voucher so my adult stepson can come home. (Home as in he lives in one state and I live in another state where home is... .)

I'm then told that in order to get the quoted fare I will need to go to the nearest airport within 24 hours with the voucher and The Midge and the adult stepson -- who lives in ANOTHER STATE!!!!

HELLO!!!!! KIND OF HARD TO GET US ALL TOGETHER AT THE SAME AIRPORT WITHIN 24 HOURS UNLESS SOMEONE'S GOING TO BESTOW A FREE TICKET OR TWO HERE!!!!

After I explain all this to the agent on the phone again, she puts me on hold to "check with her supervisor" (also known as checking with her brain).

A while later, she comes back and says I can have the adult stepson fax or e-mail a copy of his government-issued identification to me and then I can mail it along with the voucher -- and a copy of a government-issued ID for The Midge -- to some address in Michigan within 24 hours.

"Uh, what if The Midge's government-issued ID is sitting in a safety deposit box that I can't access until tomorrow at the earliest," I ask, totally forgetting that her passport is actually sitting downstairs in my husband's office.

"If we don't have a copy of both government-issued IDs and the original voucher postmarked within 24 hours, we won't honor the voucher," I'm told.

"So, explain this to me: we got this voucher because of your lousy service, but we can't use it because of your lousy service," I ask.

"Yes, sorry," is the response from the United agent, readily admitting that her employer provides lousy service.

In the end, I did end up buying the ticket with the voucher, government-issued ID for both "children," and cold-hard cash -- but only after spending an hour dealing with United and promising them my left arm, all future earnings and any future grandchildren the above-mentioned children may spawn. ...

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Oh, and as long as I'm here, I'm adding $37.50 to the Challenge from a small job I did for a client of the booming business. That brings my new total to $12,731.67.

Tootles...

Shipped more eBay stuff, so I'm adding $19.66 to the Challenge and Vespa funds. The new totals there are:

Challenge: $12,694.17

Vespa: $278.37

My daughter got a coupon for free ice cream at Baskin Robbins for her birthday and we also got a 2 for 1 coupon there in the paper last week, so we're going out for ice cream tonight after eating the chicken dinner I made in the Crock Pot. (Chicken that's been in my freezer forever, but good chicken nonetheless....)

I made the mistake of opening an email that I got from Rubios this morning. Ever since then, I've been cravings a fish taco.

Although I have plenty of money left in my personal expense account for the month, I didn't want to waste gas by driving all the way to Rubios.

However, the craving kept gnawing at me, so I knew I had to do something quick to get over it.

My solution was to eat leftover mac and cheese from last night. As a result I now have massive heartburn.

Not a good thing... .

I might need to drive to the store for some Rolaids if I can't find some here soon.

Today is a fund-raiser night at a local restaurant to benefit my daughter's school. I don't particularly care for the food there -- plus I already planned to cook tonight -- so I've decided the school will get over our NOT being there.

This morning I had to go to the doctor for a biopsy thing I have to get done twice year. The doctor was "concerned" that he didn't get a good enough sample and suggested I might need to come back in two months for another biopsy. I happened to be in excrutiating pain at the moment that he said this and suggested he might want to refund my $30 copay if he didn't do his job "right." He didn't think it was that funny... .

After the not-so-fun doctor visit, I stopped off at the post office to ship off a jacket that I sold on eBay, so I'm adding $9.54 to the challenge and to the Vespa fund. My new totals are:

Challenge: $12,674.51

Vespa: $258.71

I got a $3 check from PineCone, so I'm putting that toward the challenge. My new total is $12,664.97.

It was a spendy day today since I got gas for my car, haircuts for both myself and The Midge (plus some hair products), and we met up with my husband for dinner.

Tomorrow is The Midge's birthday party. I'm already feeling like I've been run over and trampled by a bunch of rabid kids jacked up on sugar, so no telling what tomorrow will bring....

Got another check for the booming business. After I put some of the $1,140 aside for taxes, I have $855 to put toward the challenge, so my new total is $12,661.97.

I applied to be a ChaCha guide a couple weeks ago and was accepted, but haven't activated my account because I've been so busy.

I'm hosting 8 little girls for a party this weekend since it's The Midge's birthday, so I doubt I'll have time to do it until next week but I definitely want to get started on it so I can start putting more toward the Challenge -- specifically the Vespa fund.

Today's addition is actually going toward my vacation fund. I've got a Thanksgiving trip coming up that I'm paying cash for and I'm also planning to pay cash for another trip in May so I want to jump start that fund as well.

I have a few more auctions up at eBay, but nothing terribly exciting. With any luck, next week I'll get more stuff posted there as well.

And, to update you all on my husband's sleep apnea, he wore the CPAP machine for the first time last night and I have to say it was a wonderful thing not to have him snoring all night long....

My otherwise fit and healthy husband, recently found out that he has severe sleep apnea, which causes him to stop breathing for brief periods of time throughout the night (in his case 42 times per hour) -- plus snore so loud that the neighbors across the street can hear him.

Today, we met with a respiratory therapist to fit him for a CPAP machine. There was another patient who also was meeting with the therapist at the same time.

The first thing the therapist did was go over the cost of the machine. She informed my husband and I that our insurance would cover 100 percent of the cost for any equipment. Then she explained to the other woman that her insurance only covered 70 percent of the cost. The basic CPAP machine costs $1,000, plus the hose and mask and filters and all this other stuff has to be replaced at a minimum every 6 months. There's also an optional humidifier that you can add onto the machine, and there are certain medications they recommend if you're prone to sinus problems in our extra dry climate. All of this adds up to a lot of extra medical expense each month.

So as the therapist went over all this, I could just see the other woman's face begin to melt into that horrified look that one gets when they realize their insurance sucks.

The clincher was when the therapist explained to the woman that she would have to leave a $200 deposit today. We, on the other hand, were free to go on our merry way.

I felt really bad for the lady. This is a machine that could ultimately save -- or, at the very least -- prolong her life.

I'm assuming she paid her deposit because I later saw her in the parking lot carrying the machine and a bag of supplies that went with it.

As we were leaving, I was thinking how glad I was we do indeed have good insurance, because otherwise the only thing keeping my husband from stopping breathing 42 times an hour tonight was my elbow into his ribs everytime he woke me up with his snoring....

... I got free jeans, a sweater, lunch and a turkey today.

Yes, that's right, free jeans from Nordstroms, a really, really nice sweater, a so-so lunch and a huge honkin' turkey.

How did this happen, you ask?

Well, my mother who is quite possibly the craziest most difficult human being on Earth (but I still love her dearly), wanted me to go shopping with her for a birthday gift for The Midge because she didn't know what to get her.

She showed up at my house with the sweater and the Butterball. She originally bought the sweater for herself but then decided she didn't like it and rather than take it back decided to pass it to me (and then my sister if it doesn't fit me).

As for the turkey, it's been in the freezer since the Nixon administration -- along with about 8 other turkeys -- and she needed to make room for an Obama administration turkey. Thus, the free turkey now defrosting in my fridge....

So after the turkey/sweater exchange (for which I am eternally grateful because one can never have too dry or old a turkey...), we then went off to the mall. Not being a mall-type person (or even a shopper for that matter), this was going to be a painful trip no matter what, but then my mom had to go and crank up the crazy/difficult mode a notch.

I won't go into the all the crazy/difficult details because to re-create them would be too painful, but suffice it to say that at one point I was seen huddled in the children's department of a major department store begging for someone to put me out of my misery.

After that little meltdown on my part, my mother decided we should eat and ordered me to call my sister to join us. I dutifully complied and got hysterical laughter from my sister when I told her and then nothing but dial tone. (Thanks a bunch, C.)

So off I go to lunch with my mom, which I figured would be safe until she broke my arm when I reached for my wallet to pay.

She then ditched me in Nordstrom so I decided to try on some jeans that were on sale (a planned purchase). After I bought the jeans, I went back to find her and when she saw that I had bought something for myself, she threatened to break my other arm for not letting her buy it (even though it isn't my birthday) -- and then she wrestled $40 into my pocket and said it was time for her to go terrorize my sister for not joining us for lunch.

I'm now home nursing my arm and my sanity and wondering how long it's going to take that turkey to defrost....

Got more eBay stuff shipped off today, so I'm adding $17.93 to the Challenge and Vespa funds. The new totals are:

Challenge: $11,806.97

Vespa: $249.17

I need to get more stuff posted on eBay, but don't know if I'll get around to it this week.

Also on my to-do list this week is to get my flex pay stuff submitted, so I get reimbursed for the glasses and contacts. My plan is to drag my husband out with me Friday to pick new glasses, then submit the flex pay stuff over the weekend.


I splurged and ate Taco Bell for lunch today since I was out and about running errands. I've been really good about eating lunch at home every day (yummy, homemade leftovers from the night before). But because I didn't cook last night, I decided one lunch out was more than reasonable -- especially since I hadn't spent any of my personal expense account money this week.

I am jacked up on too much Pepsi now, though, and I'm having a hard time focusing on my work for the booming business so next time I might rethink the "run for the border."

Sold and shipped a couple of my daughter's outfits. My "share" was $8.88, which I'm putting toward the Challenge, so the new total is $11,789.04.

I had to take some money out of the Vespa fund -- not for a Vespa tire, but for something else that I hadn't budgeted for -- so my adjusted total there is $231.24.

I had to get my eyes examined and order a year's supply of contacts today, so I spent $310, which I'll be reimbursed for from my flexible spending account. I also need to order new glasses for those times that I can't wear my contacts. I'll be doing that later this week after I recover from writing the check for the contact lenses....

On a good note, I took advantage of

I know you are all dying to know what happened to my new DVD player after the 5-ton TV fell on it.

Well, I'm happy to report that it works just fine, and you can't even notice the dent and broken plastic.

On to other riveting news, I forgot to have Gil the Grocer deliver butter yesterday (guess who wasn't too awake when she placed her grocery order...), so today despite the rain I climbed on my bike and rode over to the nearest store. I also told The Midge, who is recovering from the crud, that we are skipping karate tonight. All this was not done to better my health or The Midge's health, but simply to avoid driving today.

Not much else going on financially. The booming business has me chained to my desk; so as much as I feel like shopping for some fall clothes, it's not going to happen today.

As I've mentioned before, we do not have cable. Instead we borrow DVDs from the library and have an obnoxious set of rabbit ears on our bedroom TV so we can kind of tune in to local channels if we get desperate.

The big TV is in the basement family room, which we rarely use so all it's hooked up to is a DVD player. When it's too icy to run outside, I will go downstairs to run on the treadmill and put a movie in the DVD player so I don't go stark raving mad from boredom.

However, a few months ago, the bedroom DVD player died so I moved the basement DVD player upstairs so I could occupy The Midge with a movie every now and then.

I just got around to buying a new DVD player for the basement last week and my husband graciously was hooking up the DVD player for me this afternoon when the TV fell on the new DVD player -- and sort of on him, but not enough to hurt him.

After we righted the TV (which, by the way, weighs more than the two of us can easily lift...), we discovered the plastic around the DVD drawer was broken and the DVD player itself was slightly dented. However, the power still comes on and the drawer still opens, so hopefully the DVD player itself is still useable. (It's still questionable because my husband is still downstairs working on it. Did I mention that I'm the one with the technical skills in the household?)

If it doesn't work, another DVD player purchase is definitely in my future before the snow hits....

On to other matters, today is going to be a no-drive day. But no such luck with the no-spend day since I did have my groceries delivered this morning. Plus, I rode my bike to the grocery store to get some veggies for a last-minute dish I added to the menu, so more money spent there.

Then I got home and realized I forgot potatoes. After running 4 miles and then biking another 3, my legs were rubber so I was ready to give up on the last-minute dish until I happened to be talking to my neighbor, who said she was going to the grocery store. I asked if she wouldn't mind picking up some potatoes for me, which she was more than happy to do. (I love my neighbors....)

Back to my husband, he bought all our plants for the landscaping project he started last week. $300 later, the corner that usually resembles a weed-laden crack house finally looks decent.

We still have to rip out a dead evergreen by our front door (hate evergreen and/or pine anything). Then we're going to lay a bunch of mulch down and let everything settle over the winter (including our spending plan) before extending our front patio a bit next spring.

Not only is The Midge home sick, but so is my husband. I've ordered them to stay away from me so I can get some work done -- and so I don't catch the cold again....

So today should be a complete no-drive/no-spend day for the whole family. I'm getting ready to make BLT sandwiches for lunch and for dinner we're having homemade pizza.

I also might defrost some pastry puffs from the freezer and make them a treat if I'm able to get at least one booming business project done today.

My doctor finally emailed me and said I have a "slightly abnormal" esophagus and I should go to the GI doctors to get it stretched again, which would be the third time they've stretched it.

I'm thinking I'll wait a while since there's no mass and I'm not going to die or anything like that.

After a spendy day yesterday, I managed to have a no-spend day today despite actually leaving the house to volunteer this afternoon.

The Midge has a sore throat, so I think I'll keep her home from school tomorrow -- and hopefully keep myself home as well, which should result in a no spend/no drive day.

No word from my doctor about the results of my esophagus x-ray yesterday, so I'm going to assume I'm just a hypochondriac and forget about the whole nasty experience.

I got up early to run this morning and now I'm fading fast so a quick dinner of tortellini with homemade pesto (using basil from my garden) and homegrown tomatoes is on the menu tonight. Then it's early to bed for me and the little sicko kid.

Finally shipped off this week's eBay stuff and I ended up making a mere $10.74, which I'm putting toward the challenge so my new total is $11,780.16.

Of that, I'm only putting $1.52 toward the Vespa Fund because I used the rest on stuff for The Midget's birthday party, which is coming up in a few weeks, so I now have $304.35.

After a no drive/no spend day yesterday, today has been a whole lot o' driving and spending.

First thing this morning, I had to drive downtown to get an x-ray of my esophagus taken. Let's just say that a barium swallow to start the day is NOT FUN!

After that trip to hell and back -- plus a whole lot of water to wash away the barium taste -- I took my car in to the tire place, where I was informed I needed two new tires to the tune of $200.

I also need to order The Midget's new karate uniform today and the infamous Beauty (of Beauty and Beast fame) is off at the groomer's, so that will set me back at least $36 as well (plus Beauty and her boyfriend, the Beast, need their special bank-breaking dog food so I'll be buying that while I'm at the vet/groomer's as well....)

As mentioned in my previous post, I spent a good part of today posting all my daughter's fall clothes that no longer fit on eBay.

Because I'm not above a little self-promotion, here's

For the most part, this weekend was spent puttering around the house.

I managed to get caught up on all my coupon filing. I had coupons from June that I needed to get clipped and put away, so everytime I sat down this weekend I grabbed a handful and went to town. I finally finished with that project around 9 last night.

Yesterday I also had four eBay auctions close and made some money. I still need to ship stuff off tomorrow -- my errand day -- so I haven't figured out how much I'll be adding to the challenge yet.

Today I'm anticipating a no spend/no drive day. Speaking of which, I ended up with 6 no-spend days in August and 4 no-drive days. Not bad, but I could definitely do better.

Over the weekend, I also made The Midge try on a closet full of fall clothes that were leftover from last year. Despite having tons that she outgrew, she still has a whole wardrobe -- or two -- that fit her. (Of course, her birthday is coming up so we're anticipating even more clothes from her crazy aunt and grandma....)

Today I'm trying to get a bunch of the clothes that didn't fit posted on eBay. I'll have to post a link once I get that done.

My husband has been working on our front yard landscaping and decided we needed some big rocks to accent the plants. Rather than buy them, he dragged us to the mountains today and loaded up my trunk with free rocks.

Tomorrow, he's going to make a small retaining wall with some of them.

In other news, I sold the Twilight book I finished reading last week (which I received for free) and made $5.43, which I'm adding to the challenge. My new total is $11,769.42

The postman delivered a check for the booming business in the amount of $1,080. After setting aside some for taxes and meeting my basic spending plan requirements, I was able to put $353.96 toward the challenge, which brings my new total to $11,763.99.

We did go out for falafels tonight and I have Gil the Grocer making a delivery tomorrow morning. Plus, next week I have to get some work done on my car, so there's no hope for a no-spend day the next few days.

Managed another day without spending money. Aside from taking The Midge to karate, I didn't go anywhere today.

The French dip sandwiches I made yesterday in the Crock Pot were delicious, so I ate one again for lunch this afternoon.

Tonight I'm making lemon linguine with prosciutto and I also made a peach cobbler for dessert -- both of which should provide another yummy lunch tomorrow.

I do need to make my monthly run to Costco tomorrow, though. It's also my volunteer day at The Midge's school, so I'll probably treat myself to a Starbucks to sustain me through 3 1/2 hours of small creatures following me around....

Ugh... I just mailed off a huge stack of paperwork to get my daughter evaluated for learning "differences" at the local children's hospital. Of course insurance won't cover it, so we're paying $900 out of pocket to have a bunch of testing done before we decide where to place her for school next year.

There is a possibility that her current public school will be closing next year or that a number of new students will transfer in because another school in the district may be closing. Either way, this doesn't bode well for her because she needs to be in a very small classroom setting and/or have one-on-one assistance throughout most of the day.

Because of this, we are thinking of putting her in a private school that will better suit her needs. The tests her current school already conducted to assess her needs weren't thorough enough, so that's why we're having to pay out-of-pocket for more testing before we decide on a school.

Our flexible spending account for health care will cover the tests, but that means less money available for things like dental care, eyeglasses, real medical "issues," etc.

GRRRRRRR!!!!!!

OK, enough ranting.

I did manage to haul the Midge to karate and back yesterday without splurging on that certain Asian cuisine that I've been asked not to mention anymore -- lest it lead to mass cravings here. (As predicted, we ate Ramen noodles instead....)

Despite the craving for the above-mentioned Asian food, I've been particularly pleased with myself because I've been pretty much staying home during the day and working -- and not splurging on things like Starbucks, trips to Target and lunch out. For instance, today I warmed up a leftover Greek burger that we made from scratch Friday when the Asian food craving first hit (I know ... Greek/Asian -- not the same thing...)

And, for dinner tonight, I'm making French dip sandwiches using the Crock Pot for my husband and I to eat after we get done with back-to-school/squeeze-your-adult-body-in-a-chair-meant-for-the-Midge night.

I'm guessing there will be more than enough left over for me to eat tomorrow for lunch as well.

Someone in my neighborhood spent this morning either painting or staining something. Because I'm overly sensitive to smells, I've been struggling all day not to close the windows and turn on the AC.

However, my sensitivities finally won out and I have since sealed up the house and cranked the AC.

Grrrr....

On to other financial-related matters, I posted four pairs of my daughter's jeans on eBay today. They are in perfect condition (just too short for her) and three of the pair came from Gymboree (don't worry I didn't buy them for her). I'm hoping I get some bids on them after my good profits last week with eBay.

I have to take the sprouting Midget to karate later so I'll be driving. While she's learning how to kick butt, I'm walking two doors down to the natural food store to pick up some odds and ends that weren't available with my regular grocery delivery.

Since my husband is working late tonight, we may give in to that Chinese food craving I had last week now that there's money in the spending plan -- or we may just come home and eat Ramen noodles, which is about all I feel like cooking now that the stench of paint/wood stain has soured my mood....

I took a "sick day" today and didn't leave my house, so technically I had a no-spend/no-drive day. I say "technically" because my husband did bring me Arby's for lunch -- but he paid for it so I figure it doesn't count against me personally.

The problem with working at home full time is that you can't really take a "sick day." I still found myself wandering into the office every now and then to chip away at a project I'm working on for the booming business.

But, for the most part, I spent the day napping and reading Twilight, which someone sent me for free along with the second book in the series.

Shipped off some eBay stuff and made a $5.04 profit so my Challenge fund is now up to $11,410.03 and my Vespa fund is $302.83.

There's a big convention coming to town next week and one of the "events" is this thing called the "American Presidential Experience." I humored my husband and let him drag me there today. I should have stayed home and continued nursing myself back to health....

Not only am I now feeling worse (thanks BA), but we also spent $40 to get into the thing, which was worth more like $4.

I did manage to stay home yesterday and not spend money so I logged another no-spend/no-drive day. The Chinese food craving has passed, so I think I'm safe for now....

I'm home alone today working (as usual) with no real plans to spend money or go anywhere, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking "Hmmmmm... Chinese food sounds good."

I'm trying to justify it by telling myself:

1. I've not been feeling well (thanks to the virus BA sent me)and Chinese would make me feel better.

2. It's the end of a long week that saw The Midge head off to 2nd grade and she loves Chinese food so it would be a nice treat for her.

3. The Midge is having hot dogs for lunch at school and our dinner plans tonight called for grilled burgers and dogs, so this way she'd get to eat something different for dinner -- plus something healthier.

On the other hand, the rational, smart, thrifty side of me is saying I should stay home, grill the burgers and tofu instead of hot dogs, and thus have a no-spend/no-drive day.

Someone STOP THE MADNESS please....

Mailed the eBay stuff, so I'm adding $190.59 to the Challenge, which brings my total to $11,404.99.

Of that money, $158.14 is going to the Vespa fund, so I'm now up to $297.79 and think I might be able to buy a tire now.

I'm still feverish and generally yucky all over, but I'm struggling to get some work done for the booming business today so I can go back to bed.

The only reason I left the house today is because the lunch lady sent my daughter home from school with a stamp saying she only had one lunch left on her account. Since I just wrote a check for lunches Monday and she's only eaten one lunch at school since she went back Tuesday, I figured she either bought lunch for her whole class or there was a huge mistake.

Rather than try to deal with it over the phone, I drove The Midge to school this morning and paid a visit to the lunch lady, who explained she just hadn't entered the check I wrote Monday into my daughter's account. Kind of ticked me off since I was on the verge of passing out and a school cafeteria was last on my list of places I wanted to be....