...today cousin was telling me about what she bought her darling son: a new pair of jeans, a new shirt and a new sweater...total cost of $160!!!!....(remember she still owes me $1000!!!)...I felt so enraged!...I asked why she had bought that and she said: It's his Xmas present...WHAT??...I have a fixed income, am semi-current on all my debts and I'm trying to buy all Ale's presents for less than $30!!!... for a while, I FELT like just going and buying everything I WANT for Ale...and I thought: why does she, who doesn't have a fixed income and doesn't pay her debts, get to buy anything she wants??...then the voice in my head said loud and clear: BECAUSE YOU'RE TRYING TO BE FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE, AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THAT THE TERM EXISTS!!!....so, I didn't go out and buy anything!...and, guess what...It FEELS GOOD!

we had what was supposed to be the last party on Saturday....but, there´s one company that says they´re interested that won´t have it´s children´s party until next weekend, so we still may do that one...

if not, then we´ll just start working on the school supplies...

Friday was truly crazy, my cousin -who´s diabetic and DOESN´T take care of herself!- fainted and had a seizure...noone at home but my niece (sis´daughter, who´s 17) and that good-for-nothing son of hers...they had to take her to the hospital, and in the end it turned out it was a stress-induced sugar imbalance...

well, her darling son was home because he¨"had a stomach ache" and couldn´t go to work...on Thursday it was a sore throat!...so, what does her darling son do, after she´s released from the hospital??...takes her car (he is 16, doesn´t have a license AND is on curfew by the judge!) and leaves her alone in the house, and comes back at 4am....Cousin found out because a girlfriend of his (who didn´t know anything about cousin´s episode) called to warn her that he had been to her house and was driving the car (the girl KNOWS he had stolen it!)...

Needless to say on Saturday he took advantage of his boss having said that "he neededn't come to work if he had to take care of his mom"...

I'm really starting to hate this kid!

....we have to deliver 4 orders by this weekend, as all 4 companies are having their Xmas parties on Saturday....

so is my company...at a water park 45 minutes away from the city!!!...from 7 to 12...which means I'm sending Ale with my friend B, the Other Admin....

Saturday is also Ale's church pageant...at 4:30pm...so she's going with my sis...

because cousin and I have to go host a customer's children's party! ...starting at 2:30....

AND, our unit at work is going to the Padre Vito Guarato Home (yes, I wanted them to go, but, did they have to pick THIS Saturday to do it??)

Besides the physical exhaustion, the stress is killing me! ((think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts))

there was a special sale on crafts and I bought Ale 2 kits for her b-day....I totally forgot then and, it just hit me right now, that those toys are (or were!) hidden in nanny's "bedroom" (or what would be her bedroom if she were a live-in maid, but we just use it as a laundry room!)....I just called nanny and asked her to check! (this was the room my nephew used when he lived with us, so if he found the stuff, he might have sold it!)...cross your fingers that they're still there, these would be absolutely perfect for Xmas!

Well, to start the business "formally", I decided to quote computers and see if I can get one from the translation that I'm working on now (that would be sooo great!...since I didn't have that budgeted for anything, it would be so great to use it to start the business!)...I called our IT guy (the one that we bother, er, call whenever we need things done ASAP!)...he told me to send an email to another of our IT guys --also well known in our dept!-- and let him know what I wanted, and that he could get one for me "really cheap"...so, I already wrote to him...I also have other quotes and several newspaper ads...while all of this seems a bit unreal, it feels good to actually research and "get serious" about the business...

I told Ale yesterday that we are going into our own business, she and I and God...she was very excited, and asked: "what's my job?"...I told her I didn't know yet, but that I was sure we would find something she can do that will contribute...(might give her the "accounts payable" job...now that she can read, I could post a calendar with dates/amounts/bills to be paid so she can remind me....how does that sound?)

LOL!...yesterday we were wrapping toys and, at one point, Ale almost fell inside one of the boxes, so we put the box on its side to make it easier for her to pass the toys to us for wrapping...at the end, she just stayed in the box and declared it her box house (casa caja)...we asked her to move it because it was in the middle of the room and, thus it became her mobile box house...she took a permanent marker and painted shingles on the "roof", then attached a small twig she found, as her "tv antenna"...she then declared all it needed was windows...which she painted on...she then asked to borrow the exacto knife to cut them out...I said no to the exacto knife, but I cut out the windows for her...she loves it!...I don't think she'd be happier if I had bought her one of those fancy plastic houses (which sell here for anything from $450-$1,500!!)...my niece didn't quite like the idea of having an "ugly worn box" in the house around Xmas time, because she wants to invite some friends over, but, she's agreed to let Ale have it at least until the weekend ....

we'll find other boxes to make Mega Super Mobile Box HOuses after Xmas!

I found the cutest flip flops the other day,each shoe is shaped like half an orange/lime and they create perfect¨"slices" when seen side by side....sooooo....I decided to buy 4 pairs...1 orange in size 7 for my niece, 1 orange in size 3 for sis (I tried them on, and they fit, and, since her foot is smaller than mine...)...1 lime in size 2 for Ale (these will be a bit big, but it was the smallest size, plus, she´s growing!) and a lime in size 3 for myself!....total cost: $8.40!!!....I´m going to put them in a large box under the tree and label it Clason Girls, then label each pair...it´s going to be soooo cute! ...and a nice inexpensive surprise for everyone!!...I know Ale is going to love it that we all have "the same" shoes!!

we were discussing the potential earnings for the season and, at one point she mentioned she had "needs" and some "wants" she wanted to cover with these...she mentioned she "needs" to repaint her house...she later admitted this is not really a "need", but a "want"...but mentioned she will most certainly do it because all she needs is $25 for the paint...she also said she "wants" to upgrade her computer's memory....but that "needs" come first...at this point I told her: Please tell me paying me is a "need" and not a "want" for this season...
She agreed and, has said she will pay me $500-$600 in December and the rest from the January school supply sale...

Hopefully, she'll stick to her committment...I really do hope she pays me the $600 in December...that would at least cover the remaining $400 that are still unpaid, so that would make a +$100 difference in my budget! ....since I've already paid for the rest, whatever else she gives me (above the $400) go towards debt...it's a plan!

still searching for this one...however, there's a new development...since my cousin needs to buy a new bed for her spare bedroom (to rent it out), then we will go together and try to get a special discount because: "We are buying 2!"...can't hurt to try!...

we are having a cold wave and it's COLD in San Salvador....this means temperatures are about 12 degrees (C)....and, YES, we consider that COLD...freezing, almost!!....

Now, I DID buy her a perfect sweater, navy blue, to wear with her uniform....she wore it to school ONCE and doesn't know where she left it...I've checked at both schools...not there....I've checked with the transport lady...not there...so, I let her wear her purple sweater with ponies on it two days ago....GONE!...she doesn't know where she left it...If I were my father, I'd let her go without a sweater so she learns to take better care of her things...I probably would do it, except that she'd get sick and then I'd feel guilty!

And, in case you are wondering, it IS difficult to find sweaters in San Salvador...(seeing that we normally don't need them, few stores carry them...generally European or American franchises...like Benett0n, Zara or Mimo...which means they are EXPENSIVE!!!)...

I've commissioned my cousin to try to find a "generic" one downtown!...

ugh! still no water at our neighborhood!... I swear, you really don't appreciate what a blessing it is to have running water until you lose it!...Thankfully, we are scheduled to get ours back today, but, I cannot help to think of all those families that do NOT have access...During the war, because of the guerilla blowing up towers our electricity was rationed and, we had to do without for 8 hours...it wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't meant that, somewhere across the city, the water pumps were ALSO left without power, so we were left without water for 8 hours each day!...since the schedules were rotating, there was a time when the water arrived at 1am!...we had set out alarm clocks to wake up at that time and do laundry, wash dishes and fill barrels!

She asked me last week if she could join the "Art club" at school...I told her to find out: 1. when they meet, 2. what time they're done and 3. how much it costs....she did!...they meet on Mondays, from 3-4pm (right after school ends) and it costs $20/month....
So...I told her if she REALLY wants to join, then we would have to give up going out to "places that cost money" on the weekends...she started crying and said: but, Mom, I want the art classes AND going out to places...so, we finally reached an agreement...we will still go out, but will minimize our spending (a specific example: if we go to the movies, we WON'T buy popcorn, soda and/or candy anymore!, and we will always go to the matinee, which is cheaper)....she also agreed to having her weekly allowance reduced from $2 to $1... This will free me $5-$7/month from the enterntainment budget, and $3-$5 from the allowance budget, so I still have to find $8-$12....

I guess she REALLY wants to join the Art Club!....I need to contact the school secretary tomorrow to verify Ale's info, though!

...they are fixing a main feed pipe in our neighborhood, so we have had no running water since Saturday! (still, we are the lucky ones, other parts of the neighborhood haven't had any water since Friday morning!)...work is expected to be finished today...((crossing my fingers))...I had to go to a friend's house to take a shower yesterday!...most of my clothes are in the hamper and, the sink in the kitchen is overflowing with dirty dishes (from Friday night and Saturday morning, when we still didn't know that we wouldn't have water!)... yuck!...luckily we still have the habit (acquired during the war years!) of keeping barrels of water in the house, so at least we have been able to flush toilets!!!

I'm still tweaking it to make it "perfect"....only, this time I have an additional challenge...I want it to be simple enough so that my sister can use it...(she's "technologically challenged"...the most she can do in Excel is the autosum thing....) so I'm "cleaning" a lot of things that I generally "fix as I go"... so far, it's just an "expense tracking" tool....but, I want to work in income so that we can really use it to budget...it's nothing fancy, and I'm sure I'll have it ready by mid-December....

I guess the most difficult part will be to get sis to use it...(still sticking her head in the sand at times!...not sure she'll want to look at her finances in SUCH detail!)

we went to one of our suppliers downtown and, Ale wanted some ponies...they had "bagfuls" of ponies...(6 to a bag)...Ale asked and got told they were "$2 for half a dozen, $3.90 for a dozen"...I gave in and bought her "a bagful" of ponies (6)...mostly because I just had a meeting with her teacher and, turns out she made the honor roll...what is wonderful is, she didn't have the slightest idea that she did or even what it was! LOL!...the report even said: She sets a good example for others...
So, we bought the 6 ponies and brought them home...while grooming them, we noticed one of the hooves in each ponie was hollow...that got me thinking, so I checked the other ones and, sure enough, there was the brand name!...so, it turns out these are My*Little*Pony* ponies..."seconds" most probably, which is why they don't have the signature magnet in the hoof and, why they sell for $0.33 at a warehouse in downtown S.S. without a pretty box...
I have spent most of my weekend brushing the ponies' hair, and, of course, Ale has been sleeping with 7 ponies (she found one of her old ones...) I wouldn't be surprised if I came home to 9 or 10 ponies tonight, as I know she has some more in her toy box!! ...HELP!

for some strange reason, I was thinking about red shoes this morning...more specifically, I was thinking about the beautiful red mary-janes that my next-door neighbor's, from when I was about 6... Oh, how I admired those shoes...I begged, and begged, and begged and Mom never bought me red shoes...not that she wouldn't buy me shoes...I had tons of them...clogs, mary-janes, sandals, knee-high boots in 3 different colors, tennis shoes...just...never red ones!...Mom said they "don't go with anything"...and, even now...30 years later, whenever I see red shoes, something inside me goes: ooooooooooohhhh! ... I do own a pair of red loafers...I just love them! ...I guess I was thinking that maybe someday I should buy Ale some of those deliciously frilly, silly go-with-nothing shoes that she sometimes asks for....if they are not too expensive...((sigh))

...cousin calls today and says 2 more orders for toys have come in...she then proceeds to tell me her friend who had asked if we could include her in the venture, and that she could lend us up to $5K, provided she got a percentage of the earnings and did not have to get involved other than with the money side of it, has suddenly backed out and said that she lent her money to someone else...cousin then says: what can we do?... do you know anybody who might be willing to lend us $2K?...(she knows the answer is "no" -- outside of the people in my office, we all know the same people!-- ) ...I know where this is headed, so I play dumb...eh, no. Noone comes to mind...so, since I'm not saying it, she suggests it, finally: "and, you don't think any of the managers would...you know"...No, I don't know them that well - I say. ...In reality, I know a couple of them well enough to ask, but, it's MY NAME on the line, they would be lending that money TO ME, not TO US...and, bear in mind, that money would have to be at HER house so that she could go buy the toys...remember what happened last time??....now, what is there to assure me that it won't happen again??...that D. gave his word and that he has the judges orders that say he can't drink, or go out after 9pm and that he has to go to rehab and family therapy??...((ALARM BELLS)) don't think so!!!...now, admitted, I AM investing some of my own money into this, but, worst case scenario, I'll end up in more debt than before ((knock on wood))...but, if I ask these guys to invest THEIR money, my reputation is at stake, too!... no, I cannot risk that and, NO, I'm not going to ask! ...I'd rather we lose the business that could be generated by those 2 orders!!...Besides, as I told her: this wouldn't be necessary if she had fixed her problem with Bank S. (she had a cc, and she had arranged for her last employer to deduct the payments for the cc directly from her salary...as per Bank S, she owes them 2 payments....and the accrued interest for the past 5 years!...as per cousin, those 2 payments came out of her severance and, if the employer didn't pay it, it's not her responsibility -- HELLO??!! -- I've been telling her for years to get that fixed!)...if she had, she would be eligible for a "seasonal loan" for micro-business...but, it's "too much hassle"...
and "she doesn't have the time"...uh-uh, as I said before: not gonna happen!!
(I know she's probably thinking that I'm silly -- or a much harsher word!-- for not taking this opportunity, but, I'm not budging!)

I like to compare year over year so I can see whether there has been some progress...while my financial situation is still far from being in order, at least it's much better than it was last year...There are still spending issues, and I'm still struggling, but, overall, things are better (of course, that thing with the phonecalls didn't help a bit!...I'd be much better off today if I hadn't had to pay for that! -- hopefully, my cousin will repay me out of the toy money -- I will insist on this, as I know otherwise I will end up waiting for another full year to get my money back!)

Believe it or not...we were fish food!...we went to the Termos del Rio park (very nice, very clean!...didn't get to taste the food, although my sister did, and she says the burgers were awful!)...well, we went into the thermal water pool and...there were fish in it!...and, they thought feeding off our skin was the greatest thing!!!! it tickles!!!...my niece thought it was EEEWWW...but, curiosity got the best of her and she ended up getting into the pool with us!

Ale enjoyed the "wave" pool the most...and, it was shallow enough for her to swim around a bit (at the other parks we've gone to, wave pools have been very deep!)...

There were a lot of people but, my friend - the other admin- tells me it was even more crowded when she went there on a weekend!...

It ended up being very cheap, since a friend of our family went with us and he paid for the entry fees and parking...we didn't bring any food, but the other admin shared her sandwiches with Ale and myself...and then we treated her and her children for ice cream!...so I spent about $7 in all!

We took a lot of pictures...will post them once they've been developed!

tomorrow is Day of the Dead, and, the company decided that anyone that was willing to sacrifice 1 vacation day would have the 3rd pre-approved!!...needless to say, I'm off to much needed rest (only 5/22 people in my unit will come to work!--but that is mostly because the projects they're working on are operations-related!...)

We ARE going to try Termos del Rio (www.termosdelrio.com.sv) I'll let you know how it goes!

...well, I guess this one dropped off the radar somehow!...niece is graduating HS and, we have the party on Nov 16th...of course, I want to give her a nice present, but, I don't want to go broke over it....I went scouting for parfums today...a nice boxed gift set of Amarige Mariage (100ml parfum + body lotion + shower gel) is $74!...I'm thiniking of asking one of the managers to quote how much it would be at the duty free store at the airport (they travel almost every week!)...I could even ask them to buy it if it's around $60, for example...

Still, before doing this, I might look into other (hopefuly, cheaper) options...

we must come across as such a horrible family!...and we aren't, honestly!...

Nephew D - cousin's son, he of the phone calls!- is causing trouble again (not that he ever stopped, I guess it was just that he hadn't had the opportunity!)...

cousin got paid the 50% advance from two toy purchase orders, amounting to $2,100...for some strange reason (I really have no idea...I may ask later, but not right now -- you'll see why!)...well, for some strange reason she cashed the check and kept the $$$ at home! ...now, for some even stranger reason, she decided to tell D where she was leaving the money, in case anything happened to her -- maybe she hasn't been feeling well, I don't know, she's overweight and diabetic and, she doesn't exactly take care of herself! --now...I know EVERYONE here knows where this is headed, right?

RIGHT! He stole $300 and spent the whole afternoon binge-drinking with "friends"...he came back dead drunk and with $21 in his pockets...

I'm unlucky enough to have been there 1) when she discovered the theft -- which was obvious, as we HAD to take out the money so she could give me the money for the expenses that I had incurred!...I must say, when she mentioned she had told him, the first thought that crossed my mind was: WHY did you do that??...had to bite my toungue...and 2) when he arrived home!...oh, that was a scene from a bad soap opera!...really...I mean,at some point he said: search me, I don't have $300!...she got so mad she slapped him and he fell on the floor (he could barely stand anyway!) and he just went to sleep and started snoring!...it was just awful!...she had called a friend of hers to come help and, I waited there until he arrived...then I excused myself and left!...
I called her this morning, after coming from the Transport Protectin Division of the police (still trying to get the documents needed for that missing license plate for the company car! -- but that's another story!)...she told me she had called the police and they had come to get him...he was still sleeping when they got him out of the house...he is a minor and they had the mother's permission)...Apparently, he woke up sometime around 2am and tried to call his Uncle T. (cousin's best friend)...he couldn't take the call, he was out of the house, they know from a message in their machine!...

So, anyway, cousin is out $300 MORE ... which would be bad enough already if someone else had done it...but, being her son...Plus, obiously, now she has to 1) face the fact that the boy IS an alcoholic and 2) as a mother, living with putting your son in jail, whether merited or not, must be really difficult....

nanny's DD1 is graduating highschool next month!...she'll be the 1st one in her family!!!...AND, she has already taken her placement tests at the National University (she wants to become an engineer)...unfortunately, her test scores weren't good enough to guarantee her entry, but, fortunately, they WERE good enough to allow her to take a second test!

We went to the mall yesterday (needed to repair DD's schoolbag, but the store that does it was closed!)...we passed in front of store #2, they had the exact same bed that store #1 sells at $199.20....only at #2 it was priced at $219...the payment plan?? (also on the card displayed on top of the bed, we didnt go in!)...24 easy payments of $16/ 52.00% interest + VAT...(so, I could get the exact bed for $315!!!)...honestly, I had to laugh!...

Plus, at this moment I really don't know if it makes any sense to keep looking...there's a (slight) chance that we may be moving out of the country in 3-6 months...true, Ale is almost at the limit and her tiny toddler bed will soon be uncomfy, but...I'm honestly thinking of waiting until March (this is when we would know more about that potential opportunity!)...

I decided to buy a simpler bed for Ale, and settled on a Capri Jr, which has a cute headboard...I went to a store that has a special promotion: buy now pay your first installement in December (yes, they are after our Xmas bonuses!)...the bed costs $199 (I should have marched right out, I've seen this exact bed at $165 elsewhere!)...still I asked the saleslady to quote a "6-month,no interest" plan...the don't have it...so, the "normal" plan is $25 downpayment and 12 monthly payments of $19.90 ...that's almost $65 in interest they are collecting! ...they're crazy (or else, they think I am!...
I'll keep searching, thank you!

I decided that next year I'm going to keep my current debt tracker (which calculates monthly interest and pending balances, along with how long it will take to clear them!), but that I will incorporate the monthly payments into my expense tracker...I also decided to add the "fixed" expenses under the category "House" (rent, utilities, nanny...although nanny should go with school and that should merge into Child care....but, since she also does housework...)...anyway, I did that and, I calculated what my monthly expenses from these 2 categories are...I added the monthly totals to the categories already being tracked and, it turns out, to cover all I would need $1,237.XX NET per month! LOL!...I'm making $1,062 GROSS...no wonder I'm always scraping for money! (and, no wonder a few weeks off the frugal wagon can have such a nasty impact!)...so, all in all, I'm not doing THAT bad (I mean, eventhough my fixed income is about $372 BELOW my expenses, I more or less manage to get along and survive! --and have the occasional treat now and then! )

I have to think of a way to lower the spending some more in some of the categories... but, honestly, it would be VERY hard to carve $372!(35%)...unless we all decide to go on a 3-day fast once a month! LOL!...

He checked himself into another rehab 3 days ago -- not the latest he was at, but one we tried about 5 years ago...this one is Christian-based...maybe that is what he needs...find his faith...anyway, we found out because the Director of the home called my sis to see if she could/would help with the fees or if he has to be taken in as "without family" (they do that, if possible, they try to get the families to help out financially, but you don't get turned out for lack of funds)...she told the guy she could not lie to him and that she was happy he had taken that course, but, unfortunately she could not believe he had done that sincerely and in good faith and, as far as she was concerned he was alone...she also gave them the father's phone number and adviced them to call him, as he had once said that if R. stayed in rehab at least X amount of months, he might consider helping financially...

so, he's still out of the house and he's still disowned, but sis is a lot calmer thinking that he's in a rehab center and not at a crack house, and that he has a roof over his head and isn't sleeping under a bridge!...I know in the end, if he DOES finish with this program, she will accept him again...I just hope she has the strength to keep away for long enough...I've been talking to her...I told her if she gives in now and sees him, it would be the equivalent of buying a new gun for someone with suicidal tendencies...

I really think my nephew needs to find God ...

and sis has disowned him...that means he is cut off from the family altogether...

we just couldn't go on anymore...7 years is enough!

November 2nd is Day of the Dead, and a National Holiday....since it's a Thursday, the company has "authorized" we take Friday off as well (automatically deducted from our vacation period, of course!)...so, anyway, we have a 4-day weekend!...I'm planning what we will do...I'm thinking that Friday we go to the Aquapark (that Ale showed me on the paper)...so that'll be $4 + $2 + $1 = $7 entry fees and I'll add $10 for gas and $10 for luch...so that'll be $27...on Saturday she has her normal activities and Sunday my sis goes to the supermarket, so we might cook something for a family lunch...

That leaves Thursday...I've been wanting to do a "craft day" with her for a long time...that shouldn't be too expensive (we'd use recycled materials and we have paints and stuff...) ...or, who knows, if my niece is back at home they might paint their room (they have a 1/2 gallon can of Princess Pink paint!)

My cousin arranged the purchase of 4 boxes of Kimberly paper for printing our Business Plans for the contest (she gets them at $1.50 each, 100 page box....local price is between $1.90-$2.25 for a box of 25!)...well, the business plans are due Monday at noon, and, we had agreed to try to have them by Friday noon so we could hand them in either Friday afternoon or Monday at 8:00am...but, she still hasn't gone to pick it up!!!!...and it's THURSDAY...and it's almost noon!!...((sigh))...
my plan was to print the main body here at the office (b/w) and take only the color pages (about 6 per plan) to X*erox across the street to have those printed today and then have the whole thing bound...

She said she'd drop them off as soon as she gets them...we'll see...otherwise, I'll have to come up with a Plan B before end of day today! ugh!


**** woo-hoo! update!!! she has the paper and will drop it off after lunch!