Unexpected pleasures....

Another raise! In the short time I have been at this job full time, I have had two 25 cent raises. 

I have just found out that mom is off Wednesday, and if the weather is good she, my niece and great nephew are coming up to spend the day, if my niece is able. If not, mom will come up on her own and we will do a lot of shopping and talking. Weather permitting, of course. There is supposed to be snow tonight and cold temps the next couple days.

Funny how going weeks without seeing mom is harder with only a two hour drive between us than it was with 4000 miles. I suppose I just KNEW I wouldn't see her often when I was in the UK. Now it is just conflicting work schedules that make it difficult.

I can buy Tell City Pretzels in town! I found some yesterday. Oh the JOY! Tell City Pretzels is a family owned pretzel business, in Tell City, IN, which is 98 miles from where I am. I grew up about 15 miles from Tell City and have always loved the pretzels. They are very popular and sell well, but have always had a limited distribution area. I didn't realize they came this far up. I'd always known to to be about a 50 mile radius.

I've been weighing the pros and cons of getting a washer and dryer vs continuing to go to the laundromat, financially. Yesterday our friend in town decided to upgrade his washer and dryer and is giving us his old ones. The old ones are maybe 5 years old at the most, and are still in great condition. With him being a bachelor it has only done two or three loads of clothes a week maximum in that time.

I've been weighing the pros and cons of getting a washer and dryer vs continuing to go to the laundromat, financially.

I know we have saved money with our washer and drier, especially since we cloth diapered our two daughters, but boy I can't wait til I can justify going to the laundromat again.  I loved going and washing everything at once, then coming home and putting it all away in 20 minutes [because I folded, hung, and organized it at the 'mat].  Having that time all to myself was nice, too, and it really saved time. I am hoping that in London we live close enough to one and it's reasonably cheap enough to have it in the budget again.

My pleasure lately has been to have lots of people around me.  A girlfriend came and spent most of last week with us with her little daughter while she transitioned from one living situation to another. My husband has been working from home these last three days due to 'snow days'.  And it sure was nice to see a blanket of white in Georgia.  It's melting now, and I'm glad to see the sunshine again, but it was nice while it lasted and I'm grateful for what else it brought.

Hi,

Getting two cheques for a couple thousand that I simply wasn't expecting at ALL!

I thought they'd be for perhaps a couple hundred at most!

Re-invested straight into my business plans

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I know we have saved money with our washer and drier, especially since we cloth diapered our two daughters, but boy I can't wait til I can justify going to the laundromat again.  I loved going and washing everything at once, then coming home and putting it all away in 20 minutes [because I folded, hung, and organized it at the 'mat].  Having that time all to myself was nice, too, and it really saved time. I am hoping that in London we live close enough to one and it's reasonably cheap enough to have it in the budget again.

My pleasure lately has been to have lots of people around me.  A girlfriend came and spent most of last week with us with her little daughter while she transitioned from one living situation to another. My husband has been working from home these last three days due to 'snow days'.  And it sure was nice to see a blanket of white in Georgia.  It's melting now, and I'm glad to see the sunshine again, but it was nice while it lasted and I'm grateful for what else it brought.

I will miss the getting it all done and organized at the laundromat, and putting it away quickly part. I will miss the sitting on my butt reading part most of all. I should allow myself that time while things are washing and drying to sit and read, but the nagging thoughts of other things to clean, organize, etc distract me.

Haven't been on UKY in a long time, but it's so nice to see that everyone is as helpful and lovely as ever. Love to you all!

Haven't been on UKY in a long time, but it's so nice to see that everyone is as helpful and lovely as ever. Love to you all!

Now I have two UPs!

1. Seeing you here! I have been wondering where you got to.

2.  We were given a case of 24 jumbo jalapeno cheese stuffed soft pretzels. They are amazingly tasty, and free is always awesome.

Now I have two UPs!

1. Seeing you here! I have been wondering where you got to.

2.  We were given a case of 24 jumbo jalapeno cheese stuffed soft pretzels. They are amazingly tasty, and free is always awesome.

Awww! :-) I just don't get on here much anymore. But you can add me on FB!

Seeing racheee on the plane on the way back to the UK (Chicago to Manchester leg of the journey) and finally getting to meet her in line for passport control and then the luggage carousel.

Seeing racheee on the plane on the way back to the UK (Chicago to Manchester leg of the journey) and finally getting to meet her in line for passport control and then the luggage carousel.

Neat! 

So many this week!

1] We were approved for a transfer from our 3 bed apartment to a 2, which is a HUGE boon because my dad died and we no longer need the space AND its sad here AND it will save $$ so we can be better off when we move to London AND it's SOUTH FACING so I can grow herbs on my Patio and in my windows and have lots of sunlight. They let us move even though we didn't yet meet the requirements, they waved $200 of the fees AND the Pet Deposit for the new apartment [since the pets didn't make a mess here].

2] For some reason, even though tree pollen is already going strong, I have been on task and have gotten lots of stuff done, as well as stayed on top of my every day stuff. This is unexpected generally even when things are going well because I have two small kids, lol.

3] My Mama not only offered to take my kids the weekend of the move, but also NEXT WEEKEND. I'm going to the spa....

4] The Korean Spa [JeJu] is WALKING DISTANCE from my apt.  I have budgeted a 24 hour stay every two weeks until...well...probably until we move to England. You can't beat $25 to relax in a calm, immaculately clean environment with 8 dry, 3 wet, and 1 steam sauna. Ha!

A bit long winded but...

We booked our flights on Valentine's Day. Five days later, a $70 fee was taken out of our account for an international ATM fee. I called the company we booked through, and asked why it was charged when there was nothing saying we would have any fees. I had to talk to two people and explain at least 12 times that $70 was taken out. It was a British company, and they were wanting to talk to me in pounds and euros. I kept explaining it was dollars.

They agreed to put it back in, but put it as 70 pounds (no pound sign on my keyboard). They took out $70 and put $116 back in. I'd feel bad about it, but after explaining it as dollars so many times to two different people, it is out of my hands that they didn't listen to me.

Nice little bonus. 

After hubby changed our phone package online, it didn't show on the online bill to reflect the savings, so I called AT&T today. The woman I spoke to was able to give us a MUCH better package for $25 less than the one he chose online! From where we were before his initial change and where we are after today's, we are saving $60 a month with more mobile data than we will use each month, compared to barely using it if we weren't somewhere with wifi. Woohoo!