Successful and Accomplished

so these days i find myself busy with creating "to-do"lists and then trying to accomplish everything on them. School has yet to start... i still have another month. I'm not working. so i find making the aforementioned 'to-do' list and checking the items off, gives me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction and an overal feeling of control of my life. it is so easy in the world of unemployment far far away from friends and whatnots to sit and feel like your life has no meaning and is rather pointless. and it is depressing to apply for job after job after job with no one even to respond to tell you, you are crap go knock on someone Else's virtual door. so the 'to-do' list has become my effect tool of feeling successful.

Some of the things on my to-do list currently are to Finalize the details of subletting my apartment. I finally found a taker on friday. I am still holding my breath until the papers are signed, but it's there. it's within reach. Email the Bests - they are coming this way for family vacation and i've done some research on good deals and fun places to go. Follow up on my National City Points - it's been a huge debacle... but i'm getting me my points back and those points are gunna buy me a bed (whoo!). Call DTE - my heating bill for an apartment i don't live in and the heat is set at 50 degrees by the apartment complex so the pipes won't freeze is costing me $150 this month. so an inquiry to how an apartment i don't live in cost so much in heat i don't use - is now required. Research Coupons. (i'll come back to this) and then a couple of other things like mail some cards out to people and other things i can't say cuz what if i type them here and you read them and then it spoils the surprise. so other things like that.

So Coupons. Coupons have become my life. it started off with the Savvy Shopper, i think. A publication that comes in the mail with coupons to places in the area. When going on a date, or out for any reason we try to use one of these bad boys. Then Friday i began to wonder if there might be a coupon for harp's Iams. so i googled "iams coupons" and hit upon a now favorite money saving site "Mommy Saves Big". It's got tons of savings. so now. i'm a savings addict. With me unemployed, and tommy doing his best to work and bring in what he can to combat 'the man'... i can't actually INCREASE the household income. But i CAN save money and lower the cost of living. and so that's what i'm doing. Over the course of two days i researched the local sale ads (kroger, target (it's a super target), walmart), going through the coupon site for stuff we would ACTUALLY use. and then looking through our cookbooks for recipes that used the ingredients that were 1. on sale or 2. i had a coupon for or 3. both. Then i created a shopping list from there. and then off the shopping list, i went back to the coupon web sites to look for specific pricey items that i needed that were not on sale and that i hadn't found a coupon for. For instance... Rice Wine. It's not something we use regularly. Actually we've never used it... but the next two weeks includes three dishes that have it as an ingredient.... so i went in looking for it since it's something off the beaten path. and it paid off. We have a budget of $100 for two weeks of food. this is a couple items for breakfast, lunchmeat, and then one planned dinner meal (the recipe).... for $100 we can create 12 meals. most those meals have leftovers and become the next days lunch. and so this is a lengthy paragraph in which i just described how awesome i am and super successful at accomplishing my made up tasks on my aforementioned to-do list.

another thing of late that i've become consumed with is facebook. i'm not sure what has snapped inside me. but staying apart of everyones life that i know has become really important to me. Perhaps it's the lack of people interaction that i have here in atlanta. and thus, facebook is creating for me a sense of community. maybe that is pathetic. or maybe it's not. but staying in touch has created a sense of being loved and connected to the ones i loved and so if it is pathetic, then i suppose i'm willing to be pathetic in order to feel good.

and now, i hear my sister yelling through the house because she wants me to help her with her algebra test. which is... another blog in and of itself.

but before i dash off - an update on the visit of Rachel. It was so wonderful to see her. It is just always good conversation. Friday T made three bean chili a vegetarian dish which was great and had lots of flavor (email me and i'll get you the recipe) and three of us all talked and just enjoyed one another company. Saturday, we all went out for Sushi (using a coupon from the Savvy Shopper of course) and then to the favorite place (Dreamy Gelato) for of course... Gelato. So good. and again had great conversation. it was just good to get out and interact with a person and a bonus that, that person was the great Rachel.