Sam Squared

      Has anyone heard or know anything about Coffee with Ritter? We're a small blog community and I regularly read her Saturday posts but it's been a few weeks, and now her blog is down completely. She's had some hard times, but seems like such a lovely caring person. I hope the nasty trolls left her alone. If you're reading posts, Ritter, know you have people concerned and rooting for you.       Every day since I got home has been perfect Minnesota Fall. It's almost a message to say, "See, Minnesota is wonderful. You don't need anywhere else." I had so much indoor stuff to do but managed to get a good walk. Fall colors are mediocre again this year because of the unseasonably warm September, but I still enjoy the walk by the pond or the rivers.       My older daughter had something fall on her toe so she decided to not come for the Vikings game but spend the day icing it. I'll meet her to get the dog in the morning. I missed that g...

      I'm in the real countdown mode as I leave in just two weeks for the UK! My time in Florida went so fast and next week will be wrapping up any loose ends for my contract job, with just a few hours and a few days the following week. I've just banked earnings to date as it's all above my budget and I truly don't know how it will impact my bizarre 2025 taxes. Having time to slow down last week also gave me thinking time.      I've come to sort of a decision. I do want to have regular longer stays in warm areas annually. I don't know if the Florida Gulf coast will work for me though, but I don't know what mid-January-early March, my likely get away times would be like. My friend says that's the slow time and traffic would be nothing like it's been. It was far better on the weekdays, but that weekend traffic was bad. Yet, I love that gulf view and getting my feet in the sand. Are there places that are less touristy, but same weather? I'm quite ig...

                                                          My trip was fantastic, little bits in the recap below. For Friday Fiscal Wellness Check,  I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset, I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, October 10 to Thursday, October 16. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs We only ate out four times, not counting the airport bagel and coffee. We did a grocery run for sandwich and salad fixings, a never ending meat, cheese, and cracker tray, fruit, snacks, bagels, yogurt and beverages including coffee.  After the first expensive and mediocre lunch because it was both on the beach and walking distance, we ...

      The last two days have been incredibly relaxing (if I ignore the bumper to bumper traffic on the main tourist strips of the north Florida Gulf coast). We've had tranquil views, dips in the water, and walks on Sandy beaches so white it looks like the stuff found in Michael's for crafting! The best is time with friends. One, our host, has been pretty much running on fumes with her job, her parents health needs, her MIL, and adult children. My other friend is coming off the adrenaline and chaos leading up to her daughters August wedding, in the process of building a cabin,  and now, faced with budget cuts on her school special education budget, and staffing shifts and larger classroom sizes. I'm just here listening and supporting and laughing, and being with them.       My friend's condo ownership is complex with other family owning other units and a mix of personal use and vacation rentals to cover the overhead. I couldn't or wouldn't want to ...

                                                        For Friday Fiscal Wellness Check,  I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset, I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, October 4 to Thursday, October 9. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs Verdict is out if frugal as a small fortune was spent but I did what seems to be quarterly Sam's Club stock up on basics. I also used an accumulation of Menards rebate checks for grass seed, three furnace filters, and the extra large and strong trash bags. Those will last years. I saved miles by coordinating Trader Joe's and Aldi, a Kohl's pick up with the Sam's/Menards run. I was strategic with the rou...

      I've been groggy today after a fun late afternoon to late evening with my siblings. We cleaned a very tidy park, then had a delicious dinner spread compliments of my sister with a few sides and desserts from the rest of us. We finally got to a very deep book club discussion of Suzanne Redfearns In an Instant.  We played cards after and lost track of time. After helping my sister cleanup, I finally got home after midnight.       I still was up just a bit later than normal and watched the Vikings in London come from behind victory. I finally did a bit more than just tidy and cleaned bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed, and a huge load of towels. I've a busy week ahead so needed to take advantage of a quiet house. Dinner was good company and just OK food. I avoided anything to drink other than water as between last night's and tonight's rich and salty food, I just needed to balance.       We got a nice slow well needed rain late mor...

      In one week I'll be on the first of three trips I've got scheduled over the next six months. The travel fever has bit me. I've got saved searches for both driving distance and flights as far out as Orbitz and airlines allow and notes and budget calculations on a separate journal type notebook. The planning is a big part of my hobby, if you can call my travel wishes and wants a hobby.       I've been researching how last minute deals work. Not that I'm going to add another so soon, but a five day All Inclusive resort including air in early December would run me under $1500 in Punta Cana. A more domestic  options like a hotel in Old Savannah can give me a get away for under $500 though meals would need to be covered. Quirky hotels with breakfast in the quaint area of Galena, IL can get me a three day get away for $300 and a couple tanks of gas. That's crazy to me to know if I just pick a few weeks here and there, then am flexible with destination, ...

                                                      For Friday Fiscal Wellness Check,  I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset, I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, September 26 to Thursday, October 2. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs Saturdays entertainment was a free visit to the nature center and a raptor bird release. Seeing hawks and eagles in flight is incredible. This is annual and I joined my brother who's visiting from Florida. I rarely get one to one time with him and so it was extra special and not taken for granted.  Picked apples from the trees and have been using in quick bread. Also processed six huge zucchinis from m...

          What a boring topic for a long winded post, and yet here I type. I am not a shop for entertainment person and never have been. My teen years were the glory days of the shopping mall rise. Some of my friends would have easily planted themselves at Burnsville Center or Maplewood Mall ( these are barely retail venues anymore- not much shopping there) all day, browsing, some buying, hanging at the food court stretching an over priced sofa and fries for an hour to people watch. That's the only reason I joined, and their company. None of us had a lot of money to spend, but my friends would bounce from store to store, trying things on, putting looks together, before making a few purchases. Even then, I was a practical shopper and my fashion sense was non-existent.       My older kids were very young when The Mall of America was built. That became their school shopping destination of choice. Before they drove, but when old enough (and fairl...