Besides the one that a few others have mentioned (recording every penny you spend/make/etc), I think my personal MOMA is quit making excuses and take responsibility. I always told myself that the reason I couldn't save was because I had too much to pay for, too little time to do more, etc etc etc. Most people look at thier finances as out of thier own control and willpower. When you finally find a way to say no and not make up an excuse, you'll be doing much better. Now. I need to keep following that advice...

The online systems with National City seem to be a bit faulty... heh. I got an email last night that said my credit card application was declined, but apparently (after a call to customer support) the actual app was approved indeed, and the visa showed up on my online banking accounts this morning. Woo! I was really bummed and confused last night... so much so I looked at my credit score. It seemed odd they would deny me a credit card with a score of 710, and apparently I was right

Work was long, but very prosperous last night. I've been making fantastic money this week. My EF will be getting a good chunk of that, given it doesn't all go into this online class. I was, however, thinking about putting the class on my credit card to have something to pay off over a couple months. Still toying with the idea. $800 is pretty do-able in 2 months.

At any rate, I'm trying to figure out the best way to get to work... the buses dont run regularly on saturdays, and BF is out of town. Eh. I'll figure it out. Other than that, I want to stop at Barnes and Noble to pick up that planner I was going to get last week. BF talked me out of it at the time, and I'm glad he did. However, after thinking about it for a long time I've decided to go for it. It's got whole pages for individual days, and that's the kind of space I need to keep organized.

I got my Japanese book in the mail last night along with the electric bill. Another $100 month, but BF and I made an agreement that he would pay the difference because he is the one who insists on using the AC. Thus, I am only paying $30 of the bill. Sweet deal on my end...

At any rate, I better get going! Everyone have a great day!

After a really pleasant couple of days, my friends are gone. I am no longer playing the hostess. *sigh* Thank. Goodness. I absolutely love entertaining, but there's nothing more tiresome or expensive than going out and about 3 days in a row... Now I'm back at work. Double today. I made decent money at lunch. It was a crazy shift though. The pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates is Japanese (well, WAS the pitcher... I guess he got booted on monday), and he's eaten at the restaurant a number of times. However, since he got fired, I believe he's moving back to Japan. A number of Japanese TV stations were at the restaurant today interviewing him (including NHK... I'll have to watch that later). So the restaurant was a complete ZOO for a while. Fans and cameramen and all sorts of fun stuff. It's too bad the guy got fired. He's a really nice person. At any rate, I should get going. I sort of have work to do

Yesterday was a blast. It was indeed a bit pricey, but I still managed to have a wonderful time and dinner was FANTASTIC. The boys were incredibly impressed. Even mine, who doesn't particularly care for eggplant

Today we're off for more shopping. There were a couple stores along the way we wanted to check out yesterday on the South Side, but a lot of things were closed by the time we got to them. Not on that list was the Culture Shop (my all time favorite store there). They were having a sale- 50% off all clothes. I was doing very well not buying clothes for the last few weeks, but seeing this really changed things I cant usually get a skirt there for less than $40-- the reason why I own none. But $20 is much better, so I bought a skirt and a pair of pants (so comfy!) for $35, which is really good. If I could buy clothes like that just anywhere, it wouldn't have been an issue, but I dont see too many indian import clothing/accessory/jewelry/home decor stores. heh.

Work tonight, so I'll be making a little more moolah. Then out to the bars, but I'll be drinking cheap. Our friends leave tomorrow morning, and I'm happy to say I'll be relieved. It's been great having them, but entertaining is quite a bit of effort (and money)!

Later guys!

Well, last night we didn't end up going out to dinner or the bar... our friends got in later than expected. The upside to this is that we saved money on the restaurant. We'll probably end up going out to lunch today anyways, so it works out. I'd much rather pay for lunch than dinner BF and I did stop by Target to pick up snacks and an inflatable matress for them to sleep on. It was $20 for the matress and $20 for the pump! BF ended up trying to fill the matress with a hairdryer, and the funny thing is that it WORKED. hahaha. So we'll be taking that pump back The only other money I spent yesterday was for juice (I needed a mixer... hehe). BF and I also took a trip to the exchange to sell some stuff. Namely, the xbox my dad gave me because he already had one, and somehow inherited a second. We played it for a while, but after getting the wii it seems silly to have the xbox too. I dont have time to play either as it is. heh.

Today we go visit the matress factory and some other fun stuff. We're eating breakfast and drinking tea now, so pretty soon here we'll be off! I'm hoping it doesn't end up too expensive of a day. Tonight, my friend Hallie and I are making dinner for the boys. The menu:

Appetizer: marinated fresh mozzarella and tomatoes drizzled in olive oil.
Dinner: Eggplant parmesan and linguine marinara with salad and baked asparagus.
Dessert: Berry Peach Cobbler cups.

Well. I put in my application last night for the my National City Visa. I obviously haven't found out what my interest rate will be, but as someone pointed out before. Why does it matter if I pay it off every month? It is a rewards card, through the points system I already have for my debit card (which I think is a pretty good one). On my debit card, I get a certain amount of points for every dollar I spend. It started out being 1 point per dollar, then went to 2, then to 4, and is back at 2 for some reason. heh. On the credit card, I get 5 per dollar spent on my credit card. I usually use the points to get various gift cards. I ended up giving one to my friend for xmas, and I've used them in the past for textbooks (gotta love B&N giftcards).

I emailed my mom today to ask her to puuuuhleeeeze give me her tax info (my parents are famous for getting extensions until october to file thier taxes... except this screws me over big time), or else last year's so I can file my FAFSA and find out how much money I'm getting in financial aid this year, so I can apply for the loan I need for school. The only thing that stinks is that I have to register for a class through another university to take it online, and I'll most likely have to pay for that out of pocket. And I dont have $758 just lying around... So I also asked mom for the textbook money she said she'd give me (woot!). It still wont cover everything, but an extra $300 or so wouldn't hurt, either.

Tonight friends of ours are coming in to visit. We're going to dinner tonight, and then doing the South Side bar crawl. We're going to this place called the Pittsburgh Steak Company. It's a little pricey, but I looked at thier menu online again to check prices, and have already decided what I'm going to order. It's $10 I'll also be drinking cheap tonight. Not something I particularly prefer, but maybe that'll keep me from enjoying myself *too* much

So the plan for today? Clean clean clean. The apartment isn't awful, but it could definitely use a going-over. At any rate, everyone have a good night! I'm planning to!

Today was entirely productive. I attacked my to-do list with gusto, AND made a killing at work. Now for my well-deserved days off...

Now, I was considering getting a credit card. I trust myself enough to start building my credit, but all of the cards I've looked at online seem to have outrageous interest rates (22% and up for standard... I dont have enough of a credit history to get premium rates, I feel). Is this usual? I admit I'm a bit ignorant on the subject. Does anyone have a suggestion? I'm with National City bank, and it was the same story with thier cards. I'd like to have a cool cash-back rewards card or something along the same line... Any ideas?

So I did my grocery shopping today and decided on a menu for wednesday night, so that's out of the way now. I also printed and filled out the registration form for the spanish test I'll be taking. I worked for a while, but tonight was slow and I didn't make too much. eh. You win some, you lose some, that's the nature of the waitressing game

I made a couple different purchases earlier aside from the groceries. I bought a book on kanji- a necessary evil if I do end up living in Japan for 2 years (which hopefully I will!). That was a little under $20 with my B&N members card. I also bought a set of ramekins at Target, because I'm making these baked fruit cobbler cups on wednesday. They are quite yummy, but last time I made them I didn't have ramekins, so it was lacking in presentation to be sure. I did keep myself from buying a CD I've been eyeing. I figured study materials and kitchen things could be passed off as somewhat necessary, but alas, music is not at the moment. heh.

My to-do list for tomorrow is rather lengthy:

1. Go to the bank.
2. Pay parking ticket (ugh. I'm saving $3 by paying it in person rather than online, though).
3. Drop off registration form.
4. Get some info at my university about cross-registration.
5. Psychology club meeting.
6. Work at 4:00.

Whew! I'll be taking an early bus, for sure! Everyone have a great night!

It's been a while, but I've had a no-spend day I'd like to say tomorrow will be the same, but alas, I only went to a farmers market thursday and only bought a couple things. The staples need purchased still. So tomorrow I go to the grocery store. Tonight will be spent raiding my cupboards and cleaning things out of my fridge. I'll compile a list. We have friends visiting for a few days this week, and that's likely to get pricey. I suggested making dinner one night, and my friend loved the idea. I figured we could have one less expensive night considering we'll go out the night they get here. I'm really excited to see them, I'm just hoping it doesn't end up being *too* pricey. We'll see, I guess. At any rate, I'd better get cracking! Night, everyone!

I pulled a double yesterday (read: 12 hour shift. ugh). I managed to make a decent amount of money between lunch and dinner, though dinner was s-loooow. It was our friend's 21st b-day, so we went out to Dave and Buster's after I got off. I swung by Mickey D's to save myself some $ before going (the food there is so expensive! Well, everything is...). BF bought the drinks, so I bought the game card. I ended up spending $14 total. I didn't drink too much because I have to work yet another double today. Erg. By tonight I'm convinced I will have collapsed. Wish me luck! I hear this lunch shift I'm working is a busy one!

Well, despite all that "pumping myself up to cook" I did yesterday, it ended up being a pricey dining-out day. Part of that is because I paid for lunch and dinner for BF (a favor), part of that is because I had an unusual craving for crab legs... heh. We went to Red Lobster, which had a bit of a wait, so we each got one drink at the bar. We were seated, and decided to share the pick-3 deal. It seemed an unusually long amount of time we were waiting for our food, but we were talking and hardly noticed it when a woman came up to us to say our dinner would be taken off the bill because it was accidentally given to someone else and it would take about 5 more minutes. We were much appreciative, and a bit baffled, but at the same time pleased that we got our food for free (obviously). So we each got another drink with dinner At the time, our dinner was the ONLY thing on the check, and hey, I was still gonna leave the kid a tip... that's at least how I sort of rationalized my very non-frugal drink purchase. haha. Regardless, that was the best and cheapest visit I've ever had to Red Lobster ($23 total for one meal, 4 drinks, and tip. I win!). Cant say I minded my food coming out late...

I keep finding myself taking long breaks from SA. Why? Short attention span? Too busy? Not sure, but I'm back again. hehe. Many changes have occured in the life of Tara. Well, changes in attitude and/or life plans. Class starts back up again at the end of this month, and I'm looking forward to it, the nerd that I am. It's going to be a VERY busy semester, as I decided recently that I want to graduate next summer (read that?? In a YEAR!). In order to do this, I need to:

1. Test out of a spanish class (studying as I type...).
2. Either talk my way out of 2 general sciences courses or test out of those as well (quite possible).
3. Take 21 credit hours this semester (insane, but do-able, I believe).
4. Take 18 credit hours in the spring and 12-ish in the summer, while writing my senior thesis.

...unless of course I can test out of more classes... I'm still researching that one. Now. The reason I want to graduate in June is because I'm going to be applying for the JET Program (the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program). If I'm accepted, I leave for Japan at the end of next July/beginning of next August. Let's cross our fingers.

The other thing I need to do is survive all this. haha. It's going to take some incredible time-managing and most likely a ton of redbull, but a friend of mine just did all this (minus the Japan part), and seemed to live to tell the tale. Also, the less time I'm in undergrad, the less time I have to pay for.

I plan on being in Japan for a year, perhaps two before grad school, and then I plan on applying to the University of Colorado. I'll worry about that after I graduate though

BF and I are still together, graduating about the same time ideally, and he plans on applying for the program as well! So wish us both luck!

And the financial breakdown of Tara as of right now: Savings have been for the most part depleted, and I'm working on putting more back in. My vacation at the beginning of the summer ended up being pricier than expected and work has been a bit slow. Other than that, I'm doing A-okay. Just trying to keep myself from going out and spending too much (so difficult during the summer, I've noticed). Once school arrives, though, I wont have much time to go out anyhoo Well, I think that's enough for one day. Glad to see everyone's doing well still! Later!

So. I'm just now leaving the age everyone goes through: "I'm a teenager! I have an endless supply of energy and strength! I'm invincible!" Now a woman at the age of 21 (still a pup, but the metabolism's wearing thin.. hehe), I find myself realizing that I wont live forever. Furthermore, if I want to keep healthy, I have to do it actively.

I have a currently undiagnosed problem with my blood sugar. Thankfully not diabetic, but my blood sugar levels drop really bad if I dont eat/excercise/eat right/etc etc etc. I've literally fainted 3 times within the last year and a half or so. That was almost 4 while hiking in the mountains in Arizona during vacation.

While I was sitting at the top of the mountain with my head between my legs, I decided enough is enough. I'm going to take care of my body. My regimen started yesterday. I'm just sick of feeling weak. I'm tired of getting the shakes and being cranky all the time. I was reading up on it on the internet a little more yesterday, and it seems there are many more side effects I attributed to other causes that seem to be caused by my blood sugar. BF wondered why I get horribly irritable when I'm hungry...

So here I am... balanced diet complete with my vitamins, making sure to get enough protein and fiber every day. Keeping the refined sugar to a bare minimum, eating small snacks throughout the day ("meals"), and exercising regularly. Sounds like a plan that would be good for me even despite the blood sugar problem, so this will be particularly good for me. I'm determined to keep it up. The last thing in the world I want is to become a diabetic, so work I will! I'll therefore be putting in here the things I eat every day, and if a candybar sneaks in there, you guys better rail me for it! haha. jk.

As for finances today? Taking the bus downtown as BF had class at 8 am. I'll be swinging by the university to scope out isbn numbers for my textbooks. I need to make sure I have the edition numbers right. Other than that, just taking it easy and hoping to make money tonight. Everyone have a great day!

So I am home after a very long 16-day vacation. I am also broke. Quite. haha. I can honestly say it was entirely worth it, but I am broke. I guess it's back to reality

Here is my vacation summary:

Pennsylvania to Missouri, to Denver, to Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam, to San Diego, to Phoenix, Arizona, to the Grand Canyon, back to Missouri, then Columbus, Ohio, back to Pittsburgh. Whoo!

Tara has taken on the whole country! Hoo buddy!

We only stayed in a hotel one night, which wasn't a necessity but sounded fun. All the other nights we slept at a friends' or in the car. Gas total was a little under $600. Not too shabby... The bulk of the money was spent on food and such. We ate at some really fantastic restaurants and did some pretty cool things. I didn't buy too many souvenirs, just a couple things from the zoo and some postcards. It was so much fun.

Upon arrival, I recieved my tuition statement and priced my books. Yikes. Books can be much cheaper, but tuition increased yet again (big surprise). Not to mention, I have a plane ticket to buy for my trip to Florida next month. Ack!

Luckily for me, mom is paying for books this semester. Woo! Mom and I have been on great terms for the last few months, and I really appreciate the fact that she's helping me out.

At any rate, I better get going. I have work soon. I'll post some pictures up later! Everyone have a good night!

Last night at work we were expecting a rather large party of 25 people. Usually on mondays we only have 2 servers in and one of my coworkers takes the hosting position so my boss can have the day off. Because of this party, my boss came in and all 3 of us worked as servers. They called in and said they wouldn't be coming (I think it was more of a misunderstanding than a calling-off, but that's a different story). Thus, we were over-staffed.

My boss said he would go home, and we could resume our usual posts, but then my coworker that was going to host took another table! This kind of sucks for me and my other coworker (read: his girlfriend), considering we were supposed to take all the other tables (the host gets paid more than the usual $2.85 or whatever it is us servers get paid hourly). As you can imagine, my other coworker, this guy's girlfriend (a really great girl, I love her to death) was a bit upset. It seems her BF is kind of a jerk when it comes to money-making and the like and gets angry with her anytime she makes more money than him. I'd kick the guy to the curb, but thier relationship is really none of my business, though I know the interest points in the relationship and they're pretty dim (ladies, if you stay with a guy 'cause you think he's gonna get you a green card, you need to re-evaluate the situation).

At any rate, my boss wanted me to work this morning, anticipating a busy lunch shift, so I told him I'd come in if I could go home early last night. It was very slow in the restaurant, and I needed to pack and clean and whatnot. Besides, it worked out better for my coworkers because the one wouldn't be a sly cheat (my boss would stay and they would both remain servers for tne night).

It really bothers me how dishonest our one server is. He has a bad habit of taking tables he knows tip good because they are "his regular customers." Dont get me wrong, this kid has worked at the restaurant for 5 or so years, he's gonna have people requesting him. He does, however, take tables when people dont even ask, which is not cool on his part. It messes the schedule up and he does it for his own monetary gain. He's also withheld cash in our tip-out, which goes to the bus people and chefs. There are times I've thought about it (particularly when the bus boys stand around and do nothing), but I never once have. I just dont find it morally right to break the restaurant's rules and cheat other people out of money. Ugh. They would never fire this guy though, because he's been at the restaurant for so long and does his job so well.

I guess the man at the table is a bit better than the man behind the scenes.

On a happy note, however, I'm leeeeeeaving!!! Tomorrow!!! hehehe.

I got everything on my to-do list done yesterday, save getting stamps. I'll be getting a couple from my boss today, though, and mailing my bills. Oh, and I had wonderful luck at Macy's returning my gifts. The jewelry Gram bought for me ended up being much pricier than I had thought, so I exchanged it for another necklace I liked a bit better, earrings that had a little more pizzaz, and a really cute wallet that holds checkbook and all.

I looked at shoes for nearly an hour and they either had nothing in my size, or I didn't like it. My sandals are about to bite the dust, and I'm looking for something a bit more casual, but still cute. No luck whatsoever. We went to KMart to find me a duffle bag, and it seemed the shoe-fairy was shining down on me. I found 2 pairs there that were very cute and comfy. Slight heel to both, but comfy enough to where I think I can live with it. Oh, and they were buy one get one half off! woo!

Aaaaallllmost reeeaaaaady!!!! One more day of work! Wish me luck!

So with all of this talk of lowering my electric bill... it came out even higher this month. Of course this pro-active behavior came about pretty late in the billing month, but still. It was $97.81

I was surprised, to say the least. Granted, it's been hotter than it was last month, and the AC was on for a good portion of the month. It will NOT, however, be on for the majority of this month. Of course, we'll be gone for 2 weeks as well, and that should help it a bit.

Regardless, I'm limiting my computer time, trying to shut all lights off when possible, and leaving that AC off!

It was another slow night at work, despite it being Father's day. I'm trying to finish all things on my to-do list before we leave on wednesday. It seems being gone for 2 weeks takes a lot of preparation! Tomorrow brings a run to the bank, the paying of all bills, a bit of grocery shopping and picking up my perscription. Also a trip to KMart to look for a duffle bag. BF wants to buy a fan in lieu of our not using the air conditioning. I'm not sure if it's entirely necessary, though. I'll decide when I see the pricetag...

At any rate, I should get going. I need to turn this computer off! hehe. So much electricity... If only I could turn the fridge off when I wasn't looking through it... hehe.

So for the second night in a row BF is not in town, which means I get a ride home from a coworker. Also, for the second night in a row I've had an hour or two to kill waiting for my coworker to get finished up. I'm not complaining about my coworker, I've just been flat out bored. Not only that, but very tempted to go get drinks/food at nearby restaurants in the mean time. Quite a testament of willpower, if I say so myself. I've even refrained from buying drinks at my own restaurant.

Tonight's plan? Saving Advice. hehe. Still waiting, deciding what I want to do when I get home. Unlike yesterday, I am not dog-tired. I dont, however, want to go out. I spent $1.75 for the bus, and $2.69 for subway before work (though honestly, that's the cheapest subway I've ever gotten. Thank goodness for grand openings!). I would have just eaten at home, but my bus left at 2:30 and I had to be at work at 4:00. I have to eat before I work, or my blood sugar gets low, but 2:30 is just too early for me to eat anything resembling dinner. I went to Subway, and they had a special: if I bought the largest drink, I get my 6-in. sub for $0.99. Not bad, and I even got them to switch the drink for a cookie (I get pop free at work). Woo!

I think perhaps I'll go home and play videogames. I've been avoiding anything that uses electricity lately, trying to shrink my bill, but I can budge for the night Besides, there's no daylight to keep me outside. Have a good night, everyone!

I doubled today, though it seems it was scarcely worth it. We had 2 servers in today for lunch, and we both made about $10. I guess money is money, however. We were slow for dinner as well. I made about $65 for the day. erg.

The up-side of this equation is that it was a no-spend day. My boss also bought my coworker and I Starbucks and yummy tiramisu from the Italian restaurant nearby. Mmm. I spent most of the day learning more japanese from my coworkers.

Which brings me to my next topic... vacation NEXT year. I know it's silly to think about, with this year's coming up on wednesday (eek!). However, a trip overseas is nothing to do last-minute, so I think a year in advance is just fine to start planning. So here it is:

Japan.

It makes me excited just thinking about it, but I'm more than certain that we can do a fairly decent priced 2 week vacation in Japan next summer. I have quite a few connections, just working where I work. We wouldn't have to pay any money for lodging, as everyone I work with has family there, and they all assured me that thier relatives would be delighted to let me stay. One of my coworkers has even talked of going with us, which would be great. I wont get into TOO much detail now, however. Dont want to steal any thunder from my up-coming roadtrip

As for frugal acts of the day... 1. I finished off my leftover soup for breakfast. 2. I had a no-spend day. 3. I didn't buy a beer after work, tempted as I was. That saved me $4 in itself.

My boss said it wouldn't be necessary to work lunch tomorrow, so I get to sleep in. Woo! I go in at 4:00. I hope it gets busier! I'd like to make at least another $100 before I leave for vacation (if not more!).

At any rate, tsukareta desu. Atsukare sama deshita! (I'm tired, until tomorrow!)

I'm going to at least partially blame BF for it though. Yesterday he had his car in the detail shop to get the windows tinted (something about making the airconditioner work less while we're driving across the country). He had nothing to do, so asked me to meet him downtown. I figured, okay, I needed to get my hair cut anyway. We ate subway, I got my hair cut, took the trolley to the area where he was getting his car done, went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick up a bottle opener (ours vanished sometime during the move). I ended up getting loaf pan and somehow we managed to NOT buy trash bags, though we can only buy them there and have been out for about a week. Ugh.

Regardless, I spent $17 on food I shouldn't have. I should have just stayed at home all day and eaten here. We certainly have enough food. On top of it all we ate out the night before. I spent enough at restaurants/food courts in two days to get me groceries for two weeks! BF tells me not to beat myself up over it, but if I dont, who will? I didn't mind going out for our anniversary, but spending that much on mall food and subway seems silly when I have all that food at home. Perhaps this beating up of myself will keep me from doing it again anytime soon.

Erg, well, I have a double to day. Wish me luck!

Last night BF and I ended up going out to dinner after all. We went to a nice small Japanese place (similar to where I work). First we stopped at the Exchange, and sold a couple of things. We also picked up a copy of "Spanglish." Very cute, I would recommend it to anyone.

Dinner was good and I was left with a TON of leftovers, so I consider it a good deal. Besides, it was our anniversary, we wanted to go out to celebrate. Lucky for us, this place doesn't have a liquor license, so no booze to tempt us. I drank water with lemon The cash we got selling the couple things we had covered about $20 of dinner. That was nice.

After dinner we stopped at the beer distributor. BF is going back to Ohio this weekend and wanted to stock up. We ended up drinking a 4th of what we bought last night though (and we bought 48 bottles! Sheesh!). At any rate, that was another $15.

Now that the anniversary is over, however, it's back to minimal spending and max-saving. I've got enough leftovers to eat for weeks. hehe. I work tonight and double tomorrow and saturday. Let's hope I make some money!

With all this talk about electric bills lately, I've been thinking about mine quite a bit. Our bill was $74 last month. I live in a 1-bedroom apartment, this seems a bit much to me. So recently I've been shutting off the AC, opening the windows, and shutting off all the lights. It's been 2 days like this, and I have to say I enjoy it. BF is a tough nut to crack, but he hasn't tried to turn the AC on once. I'm so proud He's even been turning lights off when I tell him to instead of arguing. On top of all that, I've been shutting my computer off when I'm not using it. Cant say the same for BF, but when I'm done here, I'll shut it off for him (he's got my laptop out and about today).

My electric company has some really nice tips on how to save on my electricity, so I'm hoping some of them work. It just seems silly to pay so much for such a small place (though it is 800 sq.ft.). Wish me luck!

p.s. it's a no-spend day. Woo!

So I'm making dinner tonight, and otherwise just making myself pretty. BF and I were thinking of doing something tonight in celebration, but we're at a loss of things to do. There really are no movies out that we want to see enough to pay for. Perhaps we'll go buy a movie from the exchange or something. That would be nice, and much more cost efficient than going to the movies. More cozy as well... at any rate, I'll figure SOMETHING out. He gets home at about 5:00. I want to have dinner ready about then.

Other than that, here are some pics. Enjoy!


The card I bought BF at the Tokyo store.


A close up of the Sumo wrestlers.


The table he put it on. Next to our bamboo, asian playing card set, a picture of us from Christmas, and the box I decorated for him for our 1 month anniversary


The yarn I'm using to make my friend's scarf... a surprise I've been recently working on.


The granny squares I've constructed thus far (for the scarf)... they're coming along!

I doubled today, and in between shifts, a coworker of mine and myself went to the Tokyo Store (i.e. Japanese grocery store). I had never been there, and it's probably good I dont go back for a long time. haha. I ended up spending $34 total. $13 of it was spent on a greeting card for BF. Read: Beautiful. I didn't even write on it, I wrote my message on a scrap peice of paper and taped it to the plastic the card was in. haha. BF and I love Japanese decoration of all kinds, dishes, etc. He liked it quite a bit. It was set with a fan that had sumo wrestlers painted on it. I'll have to post a pic here soon. I also picked him up some Pockey (a favorite japanese snack) and some other little odds and ends. For me, I picked up an Ogura Mocchi cake (a small rice cake filled with sweet beans, for those who are unfamiliar) and a kid's magazine. I'm trying to learn a bit more Japanese, and not only was it adorable, but it was educational as well. And imported, so it was $10. Totally worth it, though, in my opinion.

So I spent $34, but part of it was gift-purchases. I've been doing good, I'm not going to beat myself up over it. As for tomorrow, I'll be making dinner and perhaps surprising BF with oatmeal cookies. I haven't decided on that one, as I got him sweets already and he's trying to lose some weight Nonetheless, I plan on celebrating in some way! I'll figure it out between now and tomorrow evening. He goes to school for a bit tomorrow, I'll have time to plan!

At any rate, I can hardly believe it's been 2 years already! It seems so much shorter and so much longer than that all at the same time. I guess that's a good thing? hehe. Nonetheless, I think he's sticking around! Not that he has any choice in the matter... Have a good night, everyone!

p.s. Vacation savings up to $442 already! Not bad...

I got a birthday card in the mail from my Grandma (complete with insurance cards... mom must have mailed it for her! She's been meaning to get those to me). And in it was a $15 check. Every little bit helps! Actually, it just about covered the parking money I gave to BF ($5) and my get-together with classmate. I spent $8 total- $2.39 for fries (Mmm), $2.50 for beer (Penn Pilsner. Mmm again), and a couple dollars for tip. By no means a no-spend day, but it was entirely worth it.

I made decent money today with the big party that came in. We're expecting the rest of the week to be busy as well. I hope we're right.

Oh! Other news: My anniversary is tomorrow (or I guess today, it is after midnight...)! 2 years BF and I have been together. Woo! And still going strong (a snag here and there, but hey, I love the kid. What can I say?). We're not really doing anything, as I have to work a double. I'll be gone all day. I guess that's cheaper anyway. I've got wednesday off, and I'm planning on making a nice dinner. We'll have to celebrate then. Perhaps I'll do something nice for him while he's at class. I could make him oatmeal cookies. He likes those quite a bit... We'll see... at any rate, everyone have a good night!

So I'm still attempting to eat all in my fridge without wasting or throwing anything out. I'm eating my stirfry for breakfast (yes, as BF would agree with you, anything very not-breakfasty for breakfast may not be orthodox, and to some slightly gross. It's all food to me, though, so I'll do it anyways. hehe). I still have enough for one meal, though.

I got a call yesterday from a classmate of mine I havent seen, well, since the semester ended. I was so excited to have heard from someone from school (once summer came about, it seems we all lose touch), and I'll be doing an early dinner with her pre-work at Primanti's (bar and grill, fantastic sandwiches). I'm alotting $15 including tip, for a sandwich and a beer. On second thought, I might just get a basket of fries. That'll knock the price down a couple bucks, I'll just eat something small before I go. I know I said I wasn't going to go out to eat until vacation, but I consider this more of an entertainment expense than a restaurant expense because I'm spending time with a friend.

Sooo. I'll be making White Bean and Sausage Soup with Peppers for lunch and saving the leftovers. This is another silver palate recipe, though I'll be doing some substitutes. I have a bag of mixed beans that I've had since before we moved. For some reason, I haven't found a recipe to try with them, so I figured to substitute the mixed beans for the white beans. It wont be the prettiest of colors, I'm sure (you puree the soup before adding the sausage and peppers), but I'm sure it will taste just fine.

Well, that's about it for today. I'll cook, I'll go to the bank downtown, and get dinner with my friend before work. Then work. We have a party of 35 coming in tonight, so it's going to be a busy night. Yay US open. Cross your fingers I earn some moo-lah!

Work last night was busy and a bit of a letdown. Sometimes just being a waitress is enough. It's not even the money, but the drop in morale one gets when they work thier butt off, and still end up with the bare minimum in tips. Why does anyone ever tip 10% if they are completely satisfied with the service?? Especially if it's a table of 7 very demanding people who see to it to interrupt one another every chance they get while a poor girl is trying to write down who wants what sushi and hey that guy over there changed his mind six times! I usually dont complain about my tips, ever, but there are just times that you wonder if you did something wrong. At any rate, enough of that rant.

I expect the rest of the week to be just as crazy, if not more so.

I went to the asian grocery store and trader joe's yesterday, to pick up the last few things needed for recipes I have planned for the week. Ended up spending $45 (I'm so bad at keeping on grocery budget, but at least I'm not eating at restaurants this week). I shouldn't have to shop again before vacation, however.

I did make a frugal choice or two last night. I took snacks to work to avoid a trip to the vending machine. I also decided against going to the bar after work (something I seemed to desparately want to do), and opted for a beer at home, in front of my laptop. I made a menu list for the rest of the week, and if I stick to it, I dont think anything will go bad in my fridge before I leave for vacation on the 20th.

Today I'll be cooking stir-fry, as I have bean sprouts and snap peas that will go bad if I dont cook them soon. I figure it'll leave me leftovers at least for one meal, if not two. That's lunch, as I have work at 4:00. Here's hoping I dont lose my mind! Or my feet dont fall off...

I completely forgot to mention my [super] frugal picnic last night! BF and I decided to do dinner IN, rather than out. Well, we were certainly OUTside, but eating yummy things bought from Aldi about a week ago... We grilled brats and these chile lime chicken burgers from Trader Joes, and I boiled the corn with chives and it was quite good! And certainly cheaper than going to a restaurant! In light of my new camera (which was the best gift, EVER), I hope to be posting more pictures. Here are a few from our picnic last night:


A view of the pool outside my apartment building, the picnic area is right next to it.


A picnic table, and our cooler :P


Our bounty.


A dog done right.


The sun was setting on our lovely meal. So pretty!

Aside from the picnic, work was long (yet profitable). As it turns out, my schedule will be awfully hectic next week, what with the US open. I work 6 days, 3 of them doubles. :P This, while good for my wallet, will be incredibly tiresome. It'll be a long week. At any rate, I'm hoping the weather's nice tomorrow. I'm going to try and relax before work.

I need to continue working on my friend's surprise-- a scarf I'm crocheting for her! I'll have to post pictures! Yay! Night, all!

I've got my double ahead today, and I'm about to leave for work. Yesterday ended up being a no-spend day. I'm hoping today will be the same. I'm also hoping to make a decent amount of money, making up for the shortage early in the week. I finished the 6th Harry Potter book yesterday, and it almost left me in tears! I wont give away endings or anything, but for who anyone who has already read it, I want to convene and shout, "why?? whyyyyy???" Such a good man, afterall...

That's about it for today, everyone wish me luck!

So a couple of friends came over last night, we played the wii and drank a bit. Made sure to stay in. It ended up being much cheaper that way! This morning one of them was still here, so I made us breakfast to avoid heading out to get breakfast. Also a good choice. As for the rest of the day, I'm going to clean up the apartment a bit, then head outside and lay by the pool. It was a bit too chilly yesterday, unfortunately.

By the way, my artichoke came out pretty good yesterday, especially for a first-timer. I'm not sure if I'll make another anytime soon, as BF doesn't eat them, and eating an entire globe artichoke by myself constituted dinner. They're a bit of a pain to eat as well, it seems. But tasty! Tonight I think we'll grill, as BF will be home and we have brats and corn-on-the-cob.

Tomorrow it's back to work, which is both good and bad, I suppose. I enjoy my days off and tomorrow is my double, but the $$ coming in is always nice! I think it'll be a low-key night, perhaps I'll watch a movie later. At any rate, everyone have a good day!

p.s. On a final note, I canceled my world of warcraft subscription... $15 a month I'm saving. Yay! I dont think I'll miss it too much.

Ahh... my day off. What to do? I already slept in til noon The great abundence of odd, vivid dreams tells me I [finally] caught up on all that sleep I've been missing out on since the weekend. Either that, or I'm going crazy. Those dreams certainly were. At any rate, I'm planning the course of the day.

It's sunny, and supposed to remain that way, so I might go lay out by the pool for a while and read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I've started it, halfway through it, and love it. Cant wait til the 7th book comes out. I dont know what I'm going to do when the series ends, though. It'll be a shame. I'm always so sad when the books end.

Friends of ours may be coming over later, but we have enough alcohol leftover from the party to intoxicate an army, so there will be no need to buy more. We could easily barbecue using the food we have here. Come to think of it, we really should make that corn.

I was going to cook an artichoke, too. haha. I saw one in the store and realized that I haven't had one in YEARS. I honestly dont remember where I had one, either. It certainly wasn't with my parents. Either way, I intend on making one. Let's hope it comes out alright. We bought one at Trader joes, and it was quite big. I read in a cookbook that the medium-small size taste the best (after I bought them, of course), so I hope this one turns out okay. It's not huge by any means, but it is certainly on the larger side of medium. Cross your fingers!

After all that's been said, I think it's going to be another no-spend day. Yesterday was, save my bus fare. I finished off my pasta this afternoon as well, so I'm out of leftovers. Just the right time to get cooking again! I was thinking of baking cookies today as well. Mmm. Work last night ended up being better than expected. My focus is now on saving that money I've earned. I'm thinking of listing a couple things on amazon and taking a trip to the exchange. We'll see... Well, have a great day, everyone!

...I'm cracking down on this spending. For real. With vacation quickly approaching, I've realized that I should have MUCH more saved up than I do right now. I calculated out how much I'll need, approximately, and how much I'll make between now and then. It's a bit startling, but I also made my estimates based on lower income than usual. The restaurant's been doing very poorly for the last month. Lucky for me, the US open is coming up, and before vacation. I'm hoping this brings in quite a bit of traffic. The only downside is our big booming business is going to be majority foreign, so I cant expect booming tips (though if I do get them, I'll be VERY pleasantly surprised!).

My coworker has been teaching me some japanese here and there, I want to learn how to at least carry on a small conversation with my customers. Here's what I learned yesterday:

onomimono wa doonasai masuka?
(what would you like to drink?)

More will follow! It's been quite a while since my last japanese class, so the refreshment is nice. Work tonight, but it's all you can eat. erg. Not the best of nights, most of us servers dread it. Bad tips, noone really buys appetizers or desserts, and it's a total mess. More work, more I have to tip out to chefs... poo. But money is money, so I'll just have to look at things optimistically.

As for the time spent before work, I haven't decided. I bought the 6th Harry Potter book the other day (got 30% off because I'm friends with the guy at the bookstore). I believe I'll be reading that for the better part of the day. Now, where is the real question. BF has class at 2:45, and I usually ride with him downtown at that point. HOWEVER, I usually end up spending $10-15 when I do that because I'm sitting around downtown for 3 hours and the evil forces of Starbucks, etc draw me in. The other option is to take the bus. This would cost me $1.75, but that's a bit less than $10. Not to mention, I'd be able to eat dinner at home. I suppose I could pack my dinner to take with me, but I was going to eat leftovers.

I got the Silver Palate cookbook for my birthday (thanks Gram and Gramps!) and I tried a recipe yesterday: Pasta Primavera Gregory. I cut it in half and still ended up with tons of leftovers. Not that I'm complaining I love leftovers. I did, though, have to buy bags of things (produce), so I'm going to be scouring my cookbooks for recipes to use the excess before it goes bad. I hate wasting, afterall...

Speaking of wasting, it's been bothering me quite badly lately. I'm trying to be much more eco-friendly and conservationistic. I bought 2 canvas bags at trader joe's for my groceries and started trying to recycle my paper products and such. But I keep noticing all the foodwaste that goes on here in the US. I work at a restaurant, and we put veggies and potatoes and such on the plate with our eentres. 70% of the time, those veggies go untouched and get thrown away. Same with rice. Same with fruit on the plate with icecream. I went to Chipotle when I was in Ohio. I told the boy I wanted a veggie burrito, so he heated up my tortilla and slid it to the next boy down, who put beef on it. When the first boy told the second that I wanted only veggies, he threw it in the trash! A bit heap of rice, beans, and chicken! I would have told him I would still eat it, but he threw it away before I had the chance. It kills me all the wasting that is done in restaurants when there are so many starving all over the world. There are days that I want to load up syrofoam containers with the untouched food that my restaurant is throwing out, and hand it out to the homeless! Or take it home... haha. Our veggies are pretty good, you know

Either way, sorry for the superlong post. Everyone have a great day!