Make it stop! My right eye has been twitching all day, and I can't take my wonderous nap today because the trick or treaters are supposed to be coming between 3 and 6pm... drats!

I'm sitting on the porch, playing on the computer and waiting for them. It's 3 minutes after 3... where are they? Maybe they're playing it cool and will be fashionable late?

Spyros set up the washer and the dryer venting system today.... we had to go to town though to get longer hoses for the dryer.... we also got a six drawer microwave cart thingy for the kitchen... now I have more counter space (since the micro is off of it), and I can find the tupperware lids more easily! Such simple things to get me happy....

We also bought some more (chocolate) candy... I didn't want to be the house that didn't give away any good stuff.... we had bought Smarties and Dumdums (which I loved as a kid), but decided they will get a chocolatey treat too.... Plus I'm hoping there's some chocolate left for me and DH.

Thought of the Day: Give your love some extra attention today so they don't question the strange smelling brew coming from the crock pot.

It isn't our dryer with the problem, it's the washer... the transmission and clutch are slipping and it's leaking oil.... (yes, the washer not the car).
And we'll be getting a new washer for only $50!!! Our house has a home owner's warranty on it (came with the house), and all the parts/repairs would come to $400, so the insurance place is sending us a check for $400.... we just had to pay a $50 deductable, which we actually paid to the repairmen for the service call.
So after we buy the washer, we'll hopefully have over $100 left over!

It's been said that God (or whatever Diety you believe in) will provide for you, if you just have faith.... when I was younger I would scoff at this, but now....

We cancelled insurance on the van that no longer runs well since we don't drive it: $22 refund.
DutchBoy Refund check for all the paint we bought when we moved in: $20
Snack Food Research Check: $60
Spyros's Check for the Photography jobs: $220
And I'll be getting $105 on Tuesday for babysitting.... no granted Spyros and I did the work for the last three, but we were given the opportunity to do something we either enjoy or that was easy to do.
Plus I'm still waiting on a $50 check for an internet panel and I'll be getting a bit over $50 for the mystery shops I did this month....

Oh and a Auto Company in town wants our business since we just moved in, and they're offering us a free lube, oil and filter change with no strings attached (at least not any I can find).... which came at a great time since we need to change the oil very soon on the van....

Thought of the Day: Have faith, but realize you have to grab the opportuniy when it comes skipping.

I'm babysitting today too, and Zach was not a demon child... we played Legos, coloring, cards, cars and with some scary Fischer Price action toys... he watched Scooby Doo, took a bath with half a container of bubble bath, looked at some books, and laid down to sleep watching Scooby Doo...
Doesn't seem like too much but I was there from 1pm and he didn't lay down until about 9:30...

Today I'll be watching him and Cory (whenever he gets home from his moms). So we'll see how well Zach and Cory play together... and if they play well together I may get to watch a HGTV or DIY program....

I have two mystery shops tomorrow and I'm going to be going to my Mom's for a yummy dinner and to help her package her Avon orders... I was going to spend the night, but Spyros is going along on a photoshoot tomorrow and needs the van at 6am.... so I'll be driving home at night, which I don't really like, but oh well....

Our dryer isn't heating up properly and it's been taking two times to dry anything, so a repair man is coming on Thursday... we got a home warranty when we bought the house, so after a $50 deductable whatever is left hopefully the warranty covers.
I would rather be hanging clothes out, but it's getting too cold to dry them....

Thought of the Day: Don't let an 8 year old pour milk into the mac and cheese by themselves... you could get a really runny dinner.

I will be babysitting this Saturday and probably Sunday... not for Cory, but his Dad's girlfriend's son, Zachary instead.
The extra money will be nice, but from the various clues I've picked up the child seems to act like a demon spawn.... so it should be interesting...

I'm going to be able to unpack a couple more boxes today, which is wonderful. One is full of cookbooks, and I put a small bookshelf behind the door in the dining room, so that's where they and our library books will go.
And I had a box full of Health, Organic Living and Organic Style Magazines that I was keeping because they are full of good articles.... but they're also full of advertisements, so I'll tear out what I want to keep and recycle the rest.

It saddens me because this library does not have a free magazine bin, where you can put old magazines into and take whatever you want. They're redoing the library right know so maybe when their done, they will have one.
When we stopped at the library yesterday they were having a book sale, so I got a gook on Celtic magic and DH got a book of Poe's stories and poems... $1 total and we helped one of our favorite places...

Frugal/Simple Thought of the Day: One way for us to tighten our purse strings is to make sure we do all of our errands on one day, especiall the with the price of gas... so Thursday is now our official go into Rapids day.

Well it's officially fall (to me at least), because I had to turn up the heat this week. I try to wait as long as possible, almost as if it's a game, but I've been really cold lately... even with a sweater and socks.

Did a mystery shop this past weekend, and hopefully I get paid for this one! The last one I did I still haven't seen payment, so I need to contact them and find out why.

My cat is driving my frickin' crazy. When he was younger I would turn on the faucet for him to drink from, after awhile I weened him from this. So my DH decides after reading some animal rights book to let him starting drinking from the faucet again....
Last week I decided no more! He wakes us up around 6am because he wants the water turned on. So I'm hoping once he drinks from a bowl again, he'll let us sleep.

I haven't written much lately, because not too much is going on. DH really wants to quit Kwik Trip so we're tightening the purse strings as much as we can, in hopes of paying off our loans quicker...

Well I'm off to strangle my cat....

I decided to turn the animal shelter job down... I know, I know... the biggest reason is our second vehicle is not as reliable as I thought, and there's a good chance it will die soon.
The other reason is I decided to focus more on helping Spyros with the photography/web design business.
Plus I really am a homebody and would rather be doing laundry, cooking or rearranging cupboards...

I'm still babysitting every Tuesday and Thursday though for some extra cash, and a few survey checks have been coming in.... and one I didn't even know I was getting paid!!!

My sister (who I haven't seen in about three years) is coming up for a short visit on Saturday with two of her sons (she has four), and her fiance' (whom Spyros and I haven't met yet). So that should be interesting.... unfortunately DH can't get the day off, but he may be able to get part of his shift off.

I was a little sad that it was this Saturday though, because a friend from highschool was having a stamping party, which I won't be able to make now.... but hopefully the next one... and we just need to call her and her husband to invite them over for dinner.... but with DH working everyday now, I don't know when that will be... probably not until after Christmas.... Maybe we could invite them over for lunch some weekend day though...before Christmas.

Simple/Frugal Thought of the Day: With technology being as fast and easy as it is, there is really no excuse why you don't keep in touch with friends and family.... so email a note today, or even better send off a letter... everyone loves getting mail that isn't a bill!

Blogger hasn't been letting me post...
Hmmm.... maybe it's trying to tell me something?

Not too much new on the homefront, DH is out taking photos... I just finished the dishes....

I'm going to straighten the house today since there's some stray items from the boxes I brought in from the garage... and I think I'll rearrange our clothes (put away the summer and bring out the winter)
Perhaps I'll even bring the sewing machine up to make some tiebacks for the curtains in the porch... Mom could only find three and there's ten curtains total... so I'll use the two valances and cut them into strips to make the tiebacks...

Thought of the Day: Stay warm!