w00t w00t booyah

A grand a month for daycare.

A grand a month for health insurance

NOT TWO GRAND AND CHANGE.

Ghads. How could I missed that one? Don't answer that. Have I been sick? Why, yes. Yes, I have! Have I been working sick? Why, yes. Yes, I have! Do I have a new child at home too? Why yes. Yes - *slaps self*

*Makes changes in who gets the good stuff* There is no way I'm spending more on a plan I'm using as a backup than my mortgage. Yeeeeesh!*

Why, yes. Yes, I can do everything - but there's no way for me to get it all done by myself - in time.

In other news, glad July has three paychecks in it.

Heh. Payday. And I think I now know what our income is going to look like, post-kid and family level health insurance deductions.

*gulps* Well, okay then.

(In all honesty, looking at what we spent the last pay period? Mostly food out. And entertainment - out. And paying credit cards - most of which were Ai-chan's last needs. All elective and controllable.)

Boy, I'm glad July has three paychecks in it.

Heh. Payday. And I think I now know what our income is going to look like, post-kid and family level health insurance deductions.

*gulps* Well, okay then.

(In all honesty, looking at what we spent the last pay period? Mostly food out. And entertainment - out. And paying credit cards - most of which were Ai-chan's last needs. All elective and controllable.)

Boy, I'm glad July has three paychecks in it.

There is not a whole lot of things more frustrating than to get bills from the agency for things we planned to do AFTER we got the kid back home.

And then look at the checking account and see how far over we've spent getting ready.

*sigh* We'll manage. But...just once, I'd like to have it all covered and not have to worry.

Peanut butter and jelly, here we come. I am SO glad I decided to get that steer and half a lamb now, you have no idea.

Jim wants to squirrel away about $8,000 this year to complete the China adoption - whenever that decides to happen. Frankly, I'm all for it.

One problem. We're not putting away more than $200 in savings as is - and squealing badly at that. The culprit is the credit card load, and only time (and paying them decently) will get rid of that.

However, end of the year is usually a good time to put money away because 1) it's a stock sale period, 2) Mom sends $$$ for Christmas and 3) I get a bonus.

This year - I only got half the bonus. The stock sale has generated half what I'm used to. And because Mom is taking care of a 19 year old niece with a newborn, we got %25 of what she sent in past years. *sighs* We're the big kids and can take care of ourselves. *thumps self on shoulder* Yar yar we be tough!

I can't get going to Switzerland out of my head, though. Hawaii, neither. Japan again HAS to be. The house. The kids.

*sighs*

And I won't back away from feeding people and putting shoes on their feet. If I tell you where dinner is and you show up, I'm paying. After being the victim of being invited to dinner...and then being expected to pay $50 a plate, once too often...I just won't do it to others. You wonder why I'm not rich. *laughs* Well, it's not going to change things a whole lot if I stop doing that...so I'm not.

The latest studies though, say the average person would only find an additional $15,000 a year would make them rich enough to be happier...more doesn't do much for happiness after that.

After getting the lump sum life insurance payment after Cliff passed, I'll second that. After paying off everything with it - there was about $20,000 left and that was LIVING...stupidly...for a number of years. I took people to Hawaii. I ran up more parking tickets than I'd ever cop to. STUPID tickets. Bought stuff that is still in the original packaging and stored somewhere...because I could. Then gave it away. Gained a lot of weight.

Don't need to be rich. It makes one stupid. The last of that original money paid for Jim's surgery when he got here - it was repaid, mind. But if I hadn't had that put aside...suffice it to say, I don't go there. (You want bloody details, go ahead and ask.) I had it - and having told Cliff on more than on occasion before he died how angry I was that these resources would only be around AFTER he was dead...his only request was if I didn't want them, to use them to help someone else. Got it.

And I've put most, if not all of that back, via 401K. *checks* Yeah, that and then some.

Tax return? Feh. Break even, if I'm any guess.

So, while I'd love to support, donate and buy cookies - I won't be, for a while.

I may buy a few lottery tickets here and there, though. *chuckles* I'm also going to see what it takes to get certified to teach swimming...and make that a summer job this year, if I can.

Jim wants to squirrel away about $8,000 this year to complete the China adoption - whenever that decides to happen. Frankly, I'm all for it.

One problem. We're not putting away more than $200 in savings as is - and squealing badly at that. The culprit is the credit card load, and only time (and paying them decently) will get rid of that.

However, end of the year is usually a good time to put money away because 1) it's a stock sale period, 2) Mom sends $$$ for Christmas and 3) I get a bonus.

This year - I only got half the bonus. The stock sale has generated half what I'm used to. And because Mom is taking care of a 19 year old niece with a newborn, we got %25 of what she sent in past years. *sighs* We're the big kids and can take care of ourselves. *thumps self on shoulder* Yar yar we be tough!

I can't get going to Switzerland out of my head, though. Hawaii, neither. Japan again HAS to be. The house. The kids.

*sighs*

And I won't back away from feeding people and putting shoes on their feet. If I tell you where dinner is and you show up, I'm paying. After being the victim of being invited to dinner...and then being expected to pay $50 a plate, once too often...I just won't do it to others. You wonder why I'm not rich. *laughs* Well, it's not going to change things a whole lot if I stop doing that...so I'm not.

The latest studies though, say the average person would only find an additional $15,000 a year would make them rich enough to be happier...more doesn't do much for happiness after that.

After getting the lump sum life insurance payment after Cliff passed, I'll second that. After paying off everything with it - there was about $20,000 left and that was LIVING...stupidly...for a number of years. I took people to Hawaii. I ran up more parking tickets than I'd ever cop to. STUPID tickets. Bought stuff that is still in the original packaging and stored somewhere...because I could. Then gave it away. Gained a lot of weight.

Don't need to be rich. It makes one stupid. The last of that original money paid for Jim's surgery when he got here - it was repaid, mind. But if I hadn't had that put aside...suffice it to say, I don't go there. (You want bloody details, go ahead and ask.) I had it - and having told Cliff on more than on occasion before he died how angry I was that these resources would only be around AFTER he was dead...his only request was if I didn't want them, to use them to help someone else. Got it.

And I've put most, if not all of that back, via 401K. *checks* Yeah, that and then some.

Tax return? Feh. Break even, if I'm any guess.

So, while I'd love to support, donate and buy cookies - I won't be, for a while.

I may buy a few lottery tickets here and there, though. *chuckles* I'm also going to see what it takes to get certified to teach swimming...and make that a summer job this year, if I can.

I've mentioned the horns and the tail. I've mentioned the metric buttload of extra activity shoved into my schedule and assumed to be Just Fine and SMILE.

I don't talk about the amount of $$$ that leaves the building this time of year in addition. Yanno.

I'm not refusing, mind you. I'm not leaving anything out in the breeze. It's considerably better than in year's past, to be honest.

But damn, I haven't got another five bucks for anyone's Paypal drive. Nobody's. Seriously.

I just gave in and reserved the extra table with the rental place. $65, roughly vs. $164 and some shipping. The $100 is mattering THAT much right now. (Shipping likely another hundred, who am I kidding....)

Every year, the same demands. Every year, the same thing. You'd think I'd learn by now to get these purchases made some other time of the year. Like, May or something.

*facesmacks*

That said, Barry Manilow is coming back to Los Angeles for a concert at the Staples Center on Valentine's Day. Cheapest seats were ten bucks a pop...were not spectacularly worse than ones three times as much (bring the binoculars, so what else is new)...and they wanted MORE in service charges and parking that the tickets were!

UH. *bought tickets, curses Ticketmaster* I'm taking the metro in. Screw the parking all to hell and breakfast.

By then, maybe I'll have other plans surrounding that. ^^ Proximity to Little Tokyo and all.

Excuse me, but I gotta go find me a turkey and some trimmings. I'd like two paychecks right now. That would solve everything. Maybe.

The adoption boards are all a-chatter about it this morning - the Chinese Adoption Authority updated their site, and in the last 23 days - they've managed to get through 7 days of LIDs.

Doing the math, our wait could be as long as three years from LID, which we haven't got official confirmation of yet. (Should be the first couple of weeks of February. It's June. Still don't know. Grr.)

No, I don't need drugs. Of any kind. And chocolate is not going to make me feel better.

I'm doing what I always do. I get in motion.

I'm going to get the second adoption started. With my luck, that program will also begin to slow to the point where we could get both referrals at the same time - I'm willing to risk it.

My preference is Taiwan, but I'll go to Vietnam at this point - I want my family, I want us to find each other and begin this journey, however it's going to come about.

In the meantime, I'm going to start looking for money. I've had it.

The adoption boards are all a-chatter about it this morning - the Chinese Adoption Authority updated their site, and in the last 23 days - they've managed to get through 7 days of LIDs.

Doing the math, our wait could be as long as three years from LID, which we haven't got official confirmation of yet. (Should be the first couple of weeks of February. It's June. Still don't know. Grr.)

No, I don't need drugs. Of any kind. And chocolate is not going to make me feel better.

I'm doing what I always do. I get in motion.

I'm going to get the second adoption started. With my luck, that program will also begin to slow to the point where we could get both referrals at the same time - I'm willing to risk it.

My preference is Taiwan, but I'll go to Vietnam at this point - I want my family, I want us to find each other and begin this journey, however it's going to come about.

In the meantime, I'm going to start looking for money. I've had it.

The eBay place?

Contacted me this morning. They have our auctions up and active.

For your information, they are:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=130121967832
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=130121522747
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=130121524406
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=130121525696
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=130121524679
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=130121525217
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=130121963759

The rest? (And there's a lot of it.) I have to go get - somehow.

Guess I'm going to be putting in a bit more sweat labor on this project - holy chrome.

*SIGH*