Cool Clouds

I was so grateful I made it into the building before it started storming this morning.  I have given up my $107/month parking spot to try to preserve a little money now that I am only working 3 days a week.  I have to walk about 2 blocks.  So, when I bring lunch/drinks/snacks I have to be mindful of how heavy it is!  This morning I meant to bring my bag of tortilla chips in, but forgot.  I will have to put them in the front seat tomorrow!  We have a very nice lady who has a store downstairs and I do buy things from her, but I try to limit what I buy because she has to mark it up to make money, I understand this...but dang.  I bought a soda last week (rare treat) and it was $2!  She actually carries kombucha which I buy from her occasionally when I don't feel like lugging heavy glass bottles, the mark up is not nearly as bad.

I also managed to bring my snacks and lunch for all 3 days this week and part of next week.  When I pack the Monday before I drive to the city, I get all my clothes/workout clothes, sheets/towels and pills/supplements packed and in the car.  In the morning at 4am, all I mess with is my coffee and my cooler. 

This week I brought hard boiled eggs for snack and tortillas with spinach, bacon and avocado for my lunch, along with home grown tomatoes/cherry tomatoes.  In the evenings I fix a smoothie at my aunt's house.  Usu almond milk, frozen fruit and kale or spinach with vegan protein and a 1/2 of banana.  Last night I stopped at the store because I was out of bananas and saw the English toffee MM's.  I did not care for the taste.  So I gave them to my aunt who shared them with her 4 greats.  They were all there when I got home.  No worries, I smoothied, showered and collapsed - all after my hour workout. 

I feel tired but pretty rested this morning.  Nothing a little caffeine and work won't fix. 

After this weekend of mass shootings, I felt sad.  I mostly think of the people directly involved, but I also think of our poor children and wonder how it affects them.  Feel bad.  1 Corinthians 15:43 "Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory.  They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength."  Sometimes it feels like our country is broken.

Budget

I have 3 months to pay off my 4000 credit card, while maintaining my stringent saving and budgeting plan.  This is $100 over budget, because I charged my mani pedi instead of paying cash.  I also plan to go back one more time to this esthetician and have a facial along with my mani pedi - maybe right before we move.  I will make it up.  I received $107 from a class action settlement about billing practices for this licensing prep class.  I will add it to our cash stash - we are up to $800.  We want to have $1000 squirreled away in our home safe for emergencies.
I also have to buy another delivery of a couple of my supplements before I am in between addresses - so, that is another $200 I have to come up with.  I may have to see if the extended stay hotel will let me get a package.  I order a probiotic from Amazon that is pricey and has to be refrigerated, but if i go more than a couple of days with out it, I get incredibly sick.  I already put aside $400 for my last 4 months of parking.  So, I should be ok.  We have to pay $103 a month to park.  For the first 10 years I worked here at this downtown, I found free parking a couple blocks away.  It was sort of a pain, but I got used to it.  At another place in another city, I had to pay $50 a month 20 years ago and still walk further than 2 blocks, so walking 2 blocks for free seemed doable.  Then, we had a pretty cold winter this past winter and a friend and I decided to pay Jan through March to park in parking garage and we never looked back!  But, we did figure out that by parking free for 10 years, we had saved over $12,000!  $100/month x 12 = 1200 x 10 years = $12,000.  So paying for 8 months isn't so bad.  Hope everyone has a great Wednesday.