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Archive for July, 2007

The "good" news is, I don't have the money!!

July 31st, 2007 at 11:41 pm

LOL!...a local fabric store is having a "super sale", 30-70% off...
generally, the ugly fabrics get put on sale, and the nicer ones get overpriced!...soooo, the "good" news is I don't have the money to buy the fabric for my curtain, because that means I won't even go browsing (which means I cannot fall in love with ANY fabric at this time!) LOL!...

Wants vs Needs- again!

July 31st, 2007 at 08:05 pm

Reality check before I go on vacation:

NEEDS: ($150-$200 for ALL)
Uniforms for Ale (including shoes, socks)
Oil change for the car
New windshield wipers (rainy season!!)
New dictionary for translations….(not URGENT, but IMPORTANT!...if I’m to get serious about the translations, I need the right tools!)



WANTS: (about $100-$150 for ALL)
New curtain for my bedroom (been using an old sheet and, frankly, it does nothing for the room!...and, since we have been decluttering-reorganizing, I’ve started to feel that it would look SOOOO much better with something nicer, in a different color…)

New clothes for me – just because my older clothes have started disintegrating!!...I still have enough to make do for a while, though, so not really a need!

New shoes…after all, we HAVE been going to all those shoe stores! LOL!...don’t worry, I won’t give in so easily! (although if I find a bargain like last year, Hush Puppies at $10, I will probably get them!)

1 day of relaxation at the beach during these holiday period (4 days…) not likely to happen…

I think it’s good to list them (first of all, it helps to see “wants” as WANTS!...and, to assign a $ figure, that way I know how realistic it is to grant myself some of those Wants… (no way I’m going to pour $100 in Wants when I have $200 worth of Needs!)

School expenses- uniforms

July 31st, 2007 at 05:30 pm

Polo-shirts are $6.86 (thank God Ale’s are still in very good shape and, I bought them on the large side, so they still fit!)…but, I DO have to get:

Pants ($7.00) – I didn’t get the “official” ones last year…they let it pass because they didn’t have them when I enrolled Ale and THEY told me they wouldn’t order more…so, they couldn’t really enforce the “full uniform” rule on us!
T-shirts ($5.14) – the ones from last year look awful!!!
Skorts (??) – the ones we have are too short and, the hem is too narrow to make a difference!!...

Shoes
Tennis shoes
(my lowest quote so far is $24 for both)

Hair accessories (~$3)
Socks ($2 for a six pack)

So…depending on how many pants/t-shirts/skorts I buy, I’m looking at anywhere between $53- $65….

I guess I will go for 1 pants/1 T-shirt, 2 skorts and see if that is enough….if not, then we’ll buy an additional set of pants/T-shirt and 1 more skort… I’ll plan on $53, then….and keep quoting shoes….I still have 2 weeks!! (hey, we’re having a “Consuma” fair this week…maybe I should look there!!!....yeah, I know, the name gives ME the chills, too!)

income tax return

July 25th, 2007 at 03:47 pm

FINALLY! my income tax return is ready!!! woo-hoo! $172...see it come and go, as it has already been allocated for debt (this one goes to B.Agricol.a.)...oh, but, of course, instead of depositing it directly in my account (as I had requested!), they issued it through another one, so today I have to go to the bank at noon to withdraw it and then go pay it! ....oh, well, at least it's here!

I never can say Good-bye!

July 24th, 2007 at 12:22 am

Ok, I admit it, I'm a hopeless sentimental and good-byes are really (REALLY) hard for me...this past weekend I went to my former boss' farewell party (VP)...needless to say, my eyes started watering the moment I said Hello and, once they showed a video the guys from the office made for him, there was no stopping me from crying....it was like Niagara falls!...awful, awful...to the point where people were asking if I was ok...and this was BEFORE I had to officially say good-bye to him!...and, on top of that, my other former boss (the director)is also relocating in about a week, so I had to say good-bye to him and his wife (the ones that have helped me with Ale's school)...so, I've been in "cry mode" the whole weekend...literally, you can make me cry just by looking at me right now...
(I KNEW there was a reason I NEVER went to ANY of the other farewell parties!!)...but, after all he did for me, how could I NOT go to this one??...there I go, crying again!!!...ok, I'll log off and go home now! ugh!

headboard for Ale's bed- FREE!!

July 23rd, 2007 at 07:53 pm

WOO-HOO!...I was thinking of doing something really cheap (but really cool) and just getting a thin board and paint it pink and put some giant stickers- Disney Princesses, what else!...ok, maybe Hello Kitty!), or buy one of those plastic curtains (kind of like beaded courtains, but with platic shapes, like flowers or hearts or...what else! Hello Kitty!)....and, was going to start quoting the stuff this weekend (I know the stickers were going to be $3!)...when my niece announced that, since her dad is upgrading her little brother's room, he was getting rid of the old furniture and she asked if she could have it (smart girl!)...so, Ale gets the headboard and niece gets the dresser...she also asked for the night-table, although we are not yet sure who will keep it/where they'll put it!...Niece is a wonder with furniture arrangement (you'll shake your head and say: It won't fit, and if it does, it'll look crammed...and she'll find a way to make it fit AND look good and spacious!...I always said she should be an interior designer!)...bottom line is, we have a new headboard....and it was FREE!!!...didn't even have to pay for transportation!!

God is great!

July 14th, 2007 at 04:36 pm

...I´ve been asking for extra money and, yesterday I got an email from my previous job inquiring about a translation for this weekend (they haven´t sent the document yet, though) and, today I got a call to go do a job for a documentary producer (just voice over)...those are fun and generally well paid!...so, tomorrow I´m supposed to go there at 9am...I´ll probably be home in time to cook lunch and, they generally pay within 15 days! woo-hoo!!

school-related expenses

July 12th, 2007 at 08:39 pm

well, not counting the stuff I took from our stock of school supplies, I spent $24...and I'm still missing a couple of things which might be about $5....
and that does not include 2 dictionaries (Spanish/Spanish and English/English) and a school planner for $13 total...
so far, Ale's first grade is costing:

$200 - English books
$330 - enrollment fee
$33- Spanish books
~$30- school supplies
$9 - school bag
$13- dictionaries and planner
=====
$615

and I haven't bought shoes and uniforms (I'm waiting to see if at least SOMETHING fits by the time she has to start school!)...the good news is, so far, only $115 have come out of my pocket, since I did get those $500 from J, as help for Ale...

Domino effect!

July 10th, 2007 at 10:54 pm

soooo....since the price of corn has almost doubled, prices at the marketplace are already rising:

onions used to be $0.15 each, now= $0.25
lb of beans was $0.56, now= $0.64
platains were 6 X $1.00, now you get 5
tomatos remain at $0.25 by some miracle...

and, potatoes have gone down...they were 5lbs/1$ and this weekend they were 7lb/$1...

It's my turn to do grocery shopping this weekend...we'll see how far I can stretch my $$$

why tortilla prices matter to me

July 6th, 2007 at 09:26 pm

tortillas are the basis of Salvadoran diet, so, if tortillas become more expensive, EVERYTHING will soon be more expensive, too!!...they used to be $0.04 each and now they're $0.05 each!!...we hardly ever eat tortillas at my house (or bread, for that matter...did you know white bread is considered a "luxury item" by some segments of the population here??) but, if corn prices go up, soon everything else follows!...because of the atypical rainy season we're having, corn is scarce....ES is opening it's borders to Honduran and Nicaraguan corn to try to bring down the price a bit...I do hope the Salvadoran corn crops can be saved, though!

Unexpected expenses that should have been planned for!

July 5th, 2007 at 11:01 pm

...I took Fiona for her annual vaccines/deworming and a nail clipping (I don't have the stomach to do this myself, I'm always afraid of hurting her!)...$40...eye doctor appointment for myself (my eye had a red spot!!) and Ale (annual exam!)... $35 ($16 for Dr and $19 for eye drops!)...now, besides the appointment for myself, which was due to "illness", everything else should have been programmed, preferably before May or after August, so it didn't coincide with school expenses!!!! ((kicking myself over this!))
oh, and the Dr said there's nothing wrong with my eye, that I've probably just been too stressed and the blood pressure broke some veins in my eyes...said I should be back to normal in 15 days...and I can wear my contacts once the discomfort passes!...Ale's sight is perfect, but she DOES have a slight allergie (either from the pool or from kitty!)....

Happy 4th of July!

July 4th, 2007 at 06:19 pm

I have the day off today!...I´m taking advantage of it NOT being a holiday in ES to do a lot of stuff I normally don´t have the time to (go to Ale´s school and pay for her Spanish books...school is open from 7:30-4:00pm), go to the eye doctor (I thought I could do it this morning, but he only comes in the afternoon on Wednesdays!)...take my niece job hunting!...make cc and other payments...oh, Joy of Joys!!..lol!
wish us luck!

"pending" money

July 2nd, 2007 at 06:59 pm

ok, a list of $$$ that is "pending" coming in:

$172 - income tax return (STILL!)
$74 - translations
$261 - translations

I DO hope I get this before the 16th!...it's all allocated to debt already!!

How Ale spent her birthday money...

July 2nd, 2007 at 06:13 pm

a friend of our family gave her $25...she decided she did NOT want to save any of it!!!...she spent $4.50 at the little store at the country club...then he bought 2 pairs of shoes (she asked me to take her to a store where she had seen a 2X1 special) for $10...then she said she wanted toys, and asked me to take her somplace where she could buy them...I took her to the toy section of the dept store, as they were having "an additional 35% off sale prices" if purchase was made with store card...she wandered the aisles looking at what she could buy for $10....she then found the "additional 35%" aisle and asked the saleslady to check on final prices for several things...she finally decided on a "potty training Kelly" for $9.49....
I charged it on my card and she gave me $9.49 to pay it off right then and there!...she then spent $0.25 on gum from a gum ball machine...so she still has $0.80 left...perhaps I could persuade her to save THAT???
All in all, she didn't do too bad for a 7-year old...at least she looked for bargains!

I can die in peace!

July 2nd, 2007 at 05:03 pm

LOL!...well, no, not really, but, at least now the places in the cementery and the funerals are all paid off! Yay!...officially, July would have been the last payment, but, I called the company and the lady that handles billings told me I had 2 options:
1. Make only the June payment ($35.33) and then finish paying in July (another $35.33), or
2. pay $42.18 and finish paying NOW!...

guess what I did?? (the difference is for debt insurance, taxes, interest and fees!- OUCH!)...
....now, the cementery lot is ok (fits 5, and only mom and dad are there at the moment), but the funeral services were 3, so that leaves only 1 paid for/available....and there's still 4 of us! (sis, Ale, niece, nephew and myself!)...and while some would rather shut their eyes to the possibilities, we all WILL die someday!...