collected another $200 for services! yay!...this one goes with August!!

I hate mosquitoes! ...Ale apparently got bitten again and now she has dengue fever...she's at home, resting, getting about 1,001 medicines and gallons of electrolytes...

We are now in the middle of Phase II - training
We finished our Entrepreneurship Abilities Workshop and our Business Plan drafting seminar....now we will be paired with special counselors to draw up the business plan and get it ready to be presented to the jury....this will e theend of phase II, on Oct 2nd.... then they'll choose 24 finalists for Phase III and, from these they'll pick the 9 winners...wish me luck!....I like my idea and, from what I see, even if I didn't win, it wouldn't take that much money to set things in motion...getting it to the point where I could quit my job to dedicate myself full time to my business would be something else, though! ...still, it would make a good "side" source of income ....

ugh!...the event really messed up my record keeping...all I know is I'm waaaay oberbudget and I have this feeling that there are expenses missing (I have input what I could based on invoices and bills...but, I still feel like some things are missing...) --sigh!
I'm back on track as of today, but...

another $250 collected to be added to my $20 challenge for August....
pending $1,450....

that's my basic update!...
gotta go to bed and get some zzzzzzzzzzzzz
(it's 12:19 at night!)

'll catch up once the workshop is over!

I've missed YOU!...I've been MIA at the workshop...have had to do a lot of work...but, it's definetely worth it!...I love it!!...right now I'm doing my (self-imposed) homework, which is a very simple flyer for my translations...Tomorrow I have to gather up the courage to ask for permission to post it at bulletin boards in several places...

Oh, it finished printing!...gotta go!
(I still have to work on an email!)

I probably won't be on "full time" until Monday 28th or thereabouts!...(but, I'll lurk as much as I can! LOL!)

$120 more paid for services - delayed payment....to be added to my $20 challenge for August...

paid for services...
to be added to the $20-challenge
(August will be a good month!)...
I'll keep pressing to get all my money this month!

stupid me! procastinated all weekend and then forgot all about it...luckily, I rememberd while I was watching CSI (starts at 9:00pm my time!)...so, here I am, just finishing up and sending the translations to my office email...they are for the company, but, contrary to custom, they are paying for this ones! ($60, yay!)
This goes to the $20 challenge for August (since it's less than $75, it gets paid via petty cash!)

I just received a call from the US Embassy, asking me to come for testing (English proficiency and Spanish drafting) on Wednesday...
but...I'm in the workshop for the contest all week...and if I miss any of the workshop, I'm automatically out...
I told the lady from the US Embassy no...
Please, someone tell me this was the right thing to do!...
The position available at the Embassy is for an HR clerk (which would be ideal for me..or rather, for which I would be ideally suited), paying more than I'm currently earning, 4 blocks away from my house...many, many,many additional benefits....but, also, it's not like they were offering me a second interview or something like that...in fact, it would be the third time I go take the test (and, just my stupid luck, they keep them for 6 months and the last time I went there was 10 months ago!)...

The decision really has been made already, so I guess all I need is some reassurance....

she asked very casually: we couldn't make brownies at home, could we? (we have made cookies and cakes...I stay away from brownies because my niece and I are both chocoholics and migraine sufferers, not a particularly happy mix!)... I told Ale Yes, we could...and she said: Don't tell me you have a brownie recipe??...I could get one...
Oooohhh, can we bake some, so I can take them to school??...
this might actually prove more expensive than buying them at school, if we have to pay for my headache pills --plus, I imagine she won't limit herself to just one, and I'm not sure I like that...will have to leave strict instructions with the nanny... but, we'll give it a try....

LOL! she forgot her money today!...for about 2 seconds I considered loaning her the $0.30 from my money, but, then I decided that wouldn't be right. If she fortgets her money at home, she has to make do without...it won't kill her (she has a lunch box and enough food, anyway) and, next time, I bet she will remember! -- I already told her the $0.30 will go to her piggy bank this afternoon!

I asked the receptionist at work whether I could pay the Technokids fee for the whole year ($54 total) and, she told me that this year, eventhough they are going to have the sessions, this year the price has already been included in the monthly fees! YAY!!... another $54 saved!!

today was Ale's first day of school...I dropped her off half an hour early (LOL!, we weren't sure how long it was going to take to get to the school at that time!)...she was nervous, but seemed positive about the whole thing...
her cousin Clau "ironed" her hair flat yesterday night (Ale's hair is curly!) and helped her choose her First Day of School Clothes (they are allowed to wear "normal" clothes today and tomorrow, they have to wear their uniforms as of Monday)...I gave her $1 (since this week only has 2 school days, it seemed logical not to give her $2)...

Oh, and, I spoke to the lady with the transport service yesterday night, she likes to receive her money between the 1st and the 3rd of the month, so, I only have to pay for 15 days on Monday and, pay for Sept at the beginning of the month...Also, she found another little girl with the same route, so instead of $40, she'll charge me $30...that's a "savings" of $10 a month!!

I'll let you know what she thought of her first day!

************ UPDATE
she enjoyed it and, I met her Spanish teacher (they have a Spanish and an English teacher, I had met the English teacher when she went for testing)...she told me Ale is extraordinarily well adjusted, has already made friends (all the while we were talking, Ale was hugging her, so I guess they like each other already!)...the kids were asked to draw a picture of their family... Ale is just as tall as the rest of us in the picture, so I imagine that means her self-esteem is good...

On more mundane issues, she spent $0.70 on a brownie and an apple juice (good choice of beverage!)...so she's got $0.30 left for tomorrow! ...I'm happy, she didn't lose the money!!