Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Sick

I jinxed myself last week by commenting on how I haven't been sick in a while. I have had bouts of the scratchy throat that is the precursor to sickness. This weekend it came on full force. On Saturday I made the mistake of trying to fend off sickness by taking over the counter cold medicine. That made me drowsy and feel off.


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I went to bed early on Saturday and was a bum all day Sunday. I was feeling better but by the evening I was worse. The sneezing, the watery eyes, the running nose and the aches. I decided that even with a never ending workload I needed to take a sick day.

I have been off for two days. That is equivalent to missing out on seeing about 25 people. I am trying not to stress about this since I am honestly sick. When I go back to work tomorrow I will prioritize who needs to be seen and reschedule the rest. Monday is a holiday so that would have pushed some appointments back anyway.


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So I have spent the last few days watching way too much television. Yes, a lot of bad television. Today I tried to redeem myself with a lot of Law & Order SVU. 

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Road to Freedom

I have been fighting with my new phone to copy photos to my laptop. It was working so well with the cord straight to the laptop. Then it stopped working. I tried Kies Air. That didn't work as well. Now I am trying to upload straight to Picasa. Oops, now I can;t find them. Wasted data usage.


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We have been staying home or staying in the area. So no interesting adventures. I need a good road trip. I am taking a day off this week and I have some ideas and a couple groupons....


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On the work front I am staying at my current job. We finally received offers from the new company. It is an increase even with higher priced health insurance. Plus they offer pay increases, which my current employer does not. I am still debating what to do with the pay out of my leave time. One idea is to pay off my car and what is left on the personal loan we took out a few years ago for the AC unit at my now rented house. That would take us out of monthly bills of almost $500. I am excited. Once both our houses are paid off in 2015 we will be debt free. It feels so close. I cannot wait  to be to that wonderful point.


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I have made changes before and since going through bankruptcy. I actually save money. I don't use credit cards. I have not accumulated any new debt. I am still working on getting into a student loan repayment program. Not banking on that but hoping since that would wipe out the last of my debt after the house is paid off.

So I am off to search for adventure while on the road to financial freedom...


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Sunday, August 11, 2013

In a Heat Induced Slump and a Pub

That is the only way I can explain it. We haven't been venturing to new places. We have been spending more time at home on weekend. But we have been using groupons/coupons.

The other week we used a coupon for The King's Head British Pub in St Augustine. I have been fighting my newish phone to connect with the computer, but even by wire it is being difficult. So here are some borrowed pictures from the web:

Here is the outside. The glass windows have these circles in them. I have no idea what that is but it was fascinating to me.


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This is about what our table's view was. I had things to look at the whole time. Plus eavesdropping on other people's conversations.


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This is what I ate. I figured if I was at an English pub I should eat fish and chips. It was yummy, but the price was high due to being based on current fish prices. The husband had a burger. He said it was good.


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The double decker bus was on the other side of the building. We were there the weekend of their 21st anniversary. They had a fundraiser car wash, lots of bikers, a band and classic cars.


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Their logo. It is off the beaten path and north of downtown St Augustine and all the touristy spots.


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The husband has a black and tan with his lunch. I am glad we got their in early afternoon because I am sure the place gets very packed on a Saturday. The staff were quick and friendly.

Here is their website:

King's Head British Pub

Sunday, August 4, 2013

13 in 13: July Update

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1. Sell 150 items: 
36 items sold in 2013. Slow going.



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2. Weekly Blog Posts: 
5 posts


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3. Read a Book Per Month: 
My Life Map: A Journal to Help You Shape Your Future




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4. Track my Food to Lose Weight: 
I am waling more with the new work assignment. I feel the burn.

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5. Monthly Adventures: 
No super adventures, but I did get a lot of thrifting in.


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6. Get serious about starting a family: 
No change in this one.


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7. Save Money: 
I ended up using the savings when I blew a tire. But that is what it was for - emergencies. I am back to building it back up.

      
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8. Watch More Movies:
Despicable Me (twice)
Parker
Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice (1969)
Stonewall




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9. Improve at Work: 
I caught up on paperwork this week and then went back to being slightly behind. It will be a constant struggle since I see more people than normal. I am working on better ways to stay organized. One word: Excel. I can't wait until the monthly report comes out and it shows how much work I have done.


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10. Take a Real Vacation: 
We took our vacation last month. Since I am staying with the current job I will see if I get the vacation planned for October since that is the week we switch over.

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11. Try Something New: 
I tried new things with moving things around in the house and in the second bedroom clean up.


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12. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: 
We found another trash can. More room for recycling. The husband is slow to burn the burn pile. I still don't accumulate much trash. I took a bunch of stuff from the bedroom clean out to my favorite local thrift.


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13. More home improvement: 
We moved both of the bookshelves into the second bedroom due to the cats and their climbing issues. We are plotting the kitchen redo. It will happen this winter when I get my work blood money.