Penny Pinching Mom

I Want a Plasma TV

There are things that I need, and then there are things that I want. On the needs list is some new clothes and shoes, a laptop, and a dishwasher. Yes, I know that I can live without the dishwasher, but if you saw my kitchen half of the time you would realize that it is something of a necessity.

On my wants list, there really aren’t that many things. But one thing I would love to have is a plasma TV. It would be great to be able to put up a plasma mount and hang the television right on the wall. Then I could move out that bulky entertainment center that’s in the living room and have a lot more space.

I have yet to figure out where I would put the DVD player, satellite box, and all of our movies. But I would figure something out.

Domain Prices Went Up

I got a notice about one of my domains that will expiring soon a couple of days ago, and decided to log into my account at GoDaddy and make sure everything was set up correctly to automatically renew them when the time comes. I’m glad I looked, because it turns out that .com domain names have gone up by $1 a year.

$1 a year should not be that big of a deal to me, because I only have a handful of domains. But I’m a cheapskate by necessity, and it would have been nice to know about it before they went and charged my account for them. I mean, there have been times when I’ve just had enough in there to pay for things I knew would be coming out of it.

Maybe they did notify me and it got lost in the shuffle. At least I know now.

An Overworked Brain

I haven’t gotten nearly as much writing done in the past few days as I have needed to. I guess the past few weeks of constant overtime is taking its toll. There have been a couple of days when I have worked 18 hours.

There have been moments when I’ve considered switching to a career in power supply repair or something. But I suppose the people who do that get burned out too.

I love what I do, but the overabundance of work has been a bit overwhelming. I’ll be glad when I can find a few steady, good paying jobs that I can depend on. Then maybe I won’t have to work 24/7 just to make a living.

Time for Costumes

No, I’m not talking about sexy costumes to be worn behind closed doors. I’m talking about Halloween costumes!

I wouldn’t mind dressing up this year, but I don’t think I’m going to. I’ve got better things to spend money on than a costume for myself, and I’m not so good at creating them. But I have got to take Pumpkin out tomorrow and get her a costume. She picked one out several weeks ago, but we didn’t have the money to get it at the time. I hope they still have it in her size.

She had said she wanted to wear the same costume she wore last year, but she changed her mind. Oh well. She’ll look so cute in the one she picked out if they still have it.

Still Hard At It

I’ve been working entirely too hard lately. I’ve barely taken a break, except for over the weekend, and that was because I was sick. I’ll be glad when I get the project I’m working on done and can take a breather!

That’s the thing about being your own boss: Life is extreme. One week you have nothing to do but twiddle your thumbs, and the next you’re so hopelessly buried in work that you don’t know where to start.

It is reassuring to know that all of those job postings I responded to weren’t in vain. Several of them got back to me the next week. By then I had already accepted this gargantuan project I’m working on now and couldn’t take on much more, but at least I won’t be quite as panicky next time I hit a dry spell.

Maybe once it’s all said and done I can get caught up on the bills again. Then I can go shopping for stuff that we need, and then start working on Christmas.

Missed Birthdays

I haven’t gotten anything for any of my sister’s kids’ birthdays this year. The only one who hasn’t had a birthday yet is the second oldest one, and hers is coming up next month. I think I’ll just wait and try to get them all something really nice for Christmas.

She has three girls and one boy. The oldest ones love jewelry, so that’s probably what I’ll get them. The youngest girl is a couple of years older than Pumpkin, so she’s at an age that might prove to be tricky. I’ll have to think on that. The boy is about a year older than her, but I’m pretty sure he would like a model rocket, or something along those lines. Although my sis might kill me for that.

I just hope I have enough money to have a good Christmas this year. I know it’s not about the gifts, but I like putting some thought into it and giving people stuff they will enjoy.

Miss Me?

It has been almost a week since I wrote anything here. Where has the time gone?

I’ve been working really hard on that big project that I probably won’t get done on time. It won’t be for lack of trying, though. I’ve spent lots of long days and nights on it. Last night was the first night I was in bed before midnight this week, and that was because Hubby asked me to spend some time with him while giving me that puppy-dog look that gets me every time. So I finished up what I was doing after Pumpkin went to bed and watched wrestling with him.

I’m probably going to be pretty spotty with my posting for a while. Please forgive me. Gotta earn those pennies, you know.

Should Have Gone to Law School

I considered being a lawyer when I was younger. People tended to laugh when I said that, because I’m a very easygoing kind of person for the most part.

The only person who thought I would make a good lawyer was my Dad. I don’t think I ever told him I had considered the legal profession. But he was a perceptive kind of guy, and one day he was talking about what all of his kids should have gone into. And he said I should have been a lawyer.

If I had gone to law school, I might have been in practice with some Raleigh personal injury attorneys by now. I’d be rolling in the dough and laughing all the way to the bank instead of pinching pennies.

But if things had gone that way, I probably would never have met Hubby and had Pumpkin. If that’s the case, I’ll take my life the way it is now.

More Great Deals from HP

30%-off web-only coupon for a CTO HP Pavilion Notebook PC at $999 or more. Not valid on HP Pavilion HDX model. Ends 10/9. Code NB3025

If I weren’t so broke, I’d be all over that! When they had the 20% off coupon, I customized a laptop that would have been a little over $1000. So with this coupon, it would have been a little over $700.

I even managed to get my hands on a wireless Lexmark printer. Now all I need is a nice new laptop to use with it. *Sigh* Maybe one of these days.

Busting My Hump

I’ve spent a large majority of my time for the past five days in front of the computer. I’m working on a big project, one that will pay quite a bit more than I made all month last month. The pay per word isn’t very good, but it’s a ton of work. And I need that money desperately.

Once I’ve finished and gotten paid, I’m going to go out and buy myself something. I won’t have enough to get myself an Audemars Piguet watch or anything, but maybe some new clothes. That’s something I can really use.