Last Year

Yesterday was the first day of my last year of law school. Can't wait for this to be over!!

I'm already swamped, and won't catch a break until Thursday... I still need to update my sidebars, but it'll have to wait until then. My loan funds were already disbursed, so I'm looking forward to paying down some of my credit cards!

PineCone Research

I received the below e-mail from PineCone and thought some of you might be interested. They're probably the only survey site from which I've consistently made money!
_______________________________________________

PineCone Research is growing and we invite you to help! We are offering select members the opportunity to recommend membership to a friend or relative who is NOT a member of their household.

Do you know of households that would like to join the PineCone Research Panel? If so, please FORWARD A COPY of this email to each household you would like to refer so that they may click on the registration link shown below. That household should complete the registration form themselves and submit it. REMEMBER THAT ONLY ONE PERSON PER HOUSEHOLD MAY REGISTER. Multiple registrations of the same Household will void all registrations.

Here is the link to the registration:

http://www.pineconeresearch.com/signup/ds552Referral1.asp

As a member in good standing, you've already seen the benefits of being part of PineCone Research. So please, share the benefits of membership with a friend. Don't forget, please don't tell them about any of the products that you have seen in our questionnaires or tried in your home. Remember, it's important that your PineCone Research survey and product testing experiences remain confidential.

If your referral has any questions, they can email us at scott@pineconeresearch.com or click on the attached links to learn more about PineCone Research.

http://www.pineconeresearch.com//about.HTM

http://www.pineconeresearch.com//policy.htm

Europe

I promised in my previous post to explain why I need to book hotels in France and Germany. Well... because I'm going with M! For two weeks!! I'm excited (many many exclamation points worth ;))!

And no, I can't afford it. Which is why my lovely lovely boy is treating me! It's our 5th anniversary in a few months, and this is his gift. :) He also feels he "owes" me for all the time he's been away (almost 5 months of him working everyday til 12 and most weekends)... It was definitely depressing me for awhile, but I've been ok lately... I know the project is coming to an end, and we've been making the most of the time together we do have.

I do feel he owes me a solid block of alone time once the project's completed, not necessarily a trip, but... who am I to argue? ;) This is a HUGE departure from our conversations/arguments in May, when he didn't want to even consider going anywhere... It's been somewhat less hectic lately, so I guess he took a moment to think about things. I'm very happy this was the outcome. :) I'm doing all the planning, trying to keep that stress away from him (he still has a few more weeks of long hours). I would love to hear your input about interesting sights to see in Paris (off-the-beaten path sights - I have all the main touristy things down)! :)

Obviously, the trip to New York is off; maybe we'll go for Valentine's Day next year? That would fit in with my 5 year plan! ;) Now the only thing left to do is find a full-time job, and lose 20 lbs!

August Goals

Wow, it's already August in 2 days. I have to re-take the MPRE next Friday, and a week after that I'm back at school. Time is whizzing by...

• Study for, take (and pass!!) the MPRE
• Buy school books on Amazon (have to do this fast before the good deals are snatched up...) This was another ~$300 that had to go on the credit card. :( Even buying used, it really adds up!
  
• Schedule appointment w/gyno (I think this has been a goal for the past 3 mos! Can you tell I'm not excited about this one? :p)
• Book hotels in France/Germany (more about this in a later post...)
• Start learning basic French/German
  
• Put purses/clothes up for sale on ebay
• Gym 2x/week (maybe swim & elliptical)
  
• Swimming 2x/week (at an outdoor pool - I'm tired of being so pale!)
• Yoga 2x/week
• Keep up with readings for school (this is very important, since I'm going to be missing 2 weeks for the Europe trip...)

Credit Mentality

I was reading Debt and the City's post today about slipping into the credit mentality, and that "all it takes is one swipe" and I completely agree.

What drove me to that first swipe was likely a combination of stress from my move and from losing my job (all on the same day!). Since then, the stress has continued to pile on from unpacking (and subsequent feelings of suffocation), arguments/letters to the old landlord to try to get the security deposit back, finishing my paper and presentation, and dealing with a couple (thankfully minor) family emergencies.... the swipes have followed fervently behind.

The damage? I've spent about $3000 on a purse, shoes, and clothes (how quickly we fall into old habits!), not to mention all the money I've spent eating out with family and friends (neither M or I have cooked since we moved in... we only went to the grocery store for the first time a week ago).

I still haven't listed any of my old purses on ebay, so that will offset some of what I've spent (if all goes well, roughly half).

I'm going to wait for a few returns to post, add up every last cent I've charged to the credit cards, and then update my sidebars. And then I'll create a plan for tackling it! And I'm determined to fall back into the HEALTHY pattern I was in before we moved - namely, reacting to stress by exercising, NOT by spending! Not only have I been spending loads, I haven't been exercising at all... I am very disappointed in myself. :(

Busy

I've been neglecting the blog this past week, and I know why... I don't want to hold myself accountable for my recent spending. :p That and I've been writing a 25 page paper. Very, very slowly writing it. It's due Thursday afternoon, and then I'll have a real summer vacation for a couple weeks, so that's when I'll be updating my side bars and writing a post detailing exactly how much spending I've been doing.

Tonight I'm going to take a break from reality and go see Harry Potter with M. I actually get to see him before 8pm today!! The final project deadline was yesterday, and for the next month he'll just have some minor things to take care of (and then he gets a paid, full month off). The days of daily midnight working have passed! YAY. :) I anticipate lots of tennis, swimming, basketball, snuggling and video games (ok, mostly those last two ;))!

I got an award!

Thanks to Mydebtcomeback for the lovely Love Ya award! ;)

Here are the rules:
This award is bestowed on to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to six bloggers who must choose six more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

I'm passing on the "Love Ya"s to these six bloggers:

1. Serendipity's Guide to Saving
   
2. M is for Money
   
3. Sense to Dollars
   
4. Beachgirl's Budget Blog
   
5. Living La Vida Broka
   
6. Moneyapolis