Travels with Kris

Another workshop at Home Depot, I really want to practice some tile laying, just to see if I can do it.   I’ve learned about backsplash and floor tiles now.   Lots of different preset and grout and the differences between the different types and prices.   I learned how to look at the symbols on tile boxes and see how much moisture they will absorb, how slippery they will be, how breakable they are and what that long number means (it’s a batch number and will ensure consistency with colors). After home depot, I worked my way over to the library and spent the rest of the day there.   Got lots done, but lots more to do.   After the library, I went to Barnes and Noble and kept working until they closed at 9pm.   Got a message from a friend from work and headed over to catch a movie I’d been wanting to see.   Little Women, it was very good and I’m glad I was able to catch it. Up early and at the main library when it opened.   Worked until 2pm...

Another 4 day work week, due to the holiday.   I worked close to 10 hours a day to ensure I was going to get decent paycheck.   I received my release date this week, my assignment will be ending January 31 st .   This will get me an additional $1000 than I have this week, and I’ll still have time to explore before I have to be in the Los Angeles area.   I got an unexpected check from my 401k company, which I no longer have an account with.   I called them, since it was issued in August and I closed my account in late May/early June.   They insist that its my money and I won’t get arrested if I cash the check.   So I cashed it.   I also pulled more than $300 from dividend income from my stock portfolio.   So, this week, my credit card debt is down to zero, and I’ll have another $1000 to work on before I have to hit the Wells Fargo account.   I’m finally getting serious about the money saving, and I’m going to try really really h...

Another holiday and a four day work week, beginning with a three day weekend.   I had originally thought I’d spend the two day weekend at the library.   When I figured out it was a three day weekend, I changed my mind.   I should have planned it a little better, as on MLK day many places were closed, including the library.   Had I thought about it beforehand, I would have spent Saturday at the library and did the things I did on Saturday or Sunday on Monday.   But that wasn’t the way it worked.   I started out at Home Depot Saturday morning and did a workshop on tile.   I learned about lots of different pre-sets and grout and cement board and times.   It was extremely educational, and I hope I can retain the information.   From there, I jumped on the expressway and headed to Prescott.   Prescott is a little historical town in Arizona.   Most of the historic district burned down in 1900 but construction started quickly after...

I was told my assignment here would end between mid to end of January and I’m feeling a little stressed.   I’m ready to move on, but every check is another week on the road.   My credit card isn’t paid off, but I transferred a few hundred dollars from stock dividends and paid off a little more.   Somehow, Vanguard sent me another check (not sure why) and when Gina deposits it for me, that will pay off a little more.   The check I get on Monday will take care of the rest.   So if I work next week, (it’ll be a short week, another holiday) that will put me in the black.   I still have my emergency money and I can always sell off stock if I need too, but I’d rather live within the budget, its just hard to stay no to hot food when I’m really hungry and try to be happy with a protein steak instead.   I have discovered that Walmart chicken salad isn’t horrible….I’d tried in once about 10 years ago and it was really bad.   So I can go a long time with...

Left work Friday and jumped on the I-40 east.   It was supposed to be cold and I got the hell out of Dodge for the bulk of it.   Friday night I arrived in Winslow around 6:30pm, found a nice parking spot at the Winslow Theater and caught a 7pm showing of Spies in Disguise.   It was cute.   The theater is historic and has been well maintained.   The seats were relatively new and the concessions were relatively inexpensive.   Headed over to the truck stop and found a nice parking spot close to the train tracks.   I remember the train being closer, but I could still here it through the night, the nice soothing rhythmic sounds. Saturday morning I headed to Holbrook.   I had a reservation at the Wigwam Motel but check in wasn’t until 4pm.   I found the library and did lots of work until around 2:00pm.   Went to the Corral, a Route 66 historical bar and grill and enjoyed an Angry Orchard with some chicken wings.   Finally headed ...

Another week at work.   I know my time here is winding up, but I’m still not caught up with the credit cards.   I know working, I’m less strict with the money and I need to stop that.   But with the gym, I’m also not needing to get a room weekly to shower.   I expect it’s the food and gas that is keeping the cards from being completely paid off. Nickle and Dime stuff.   Fast food here is expensive and the harder I work out, the hungrier I get.   Plus, going out with the girls for lunch once or twice a week gets costly.   Then on the weekends, I tend to go out to eat too.   I need to review the food I have in the car and start utilizing it more.   Maybe go out once with the girls and once on my own and all other meals from the car.   I have enough protein powder to last six months, its not like I’d be starving.   I think low protein is a problem as I crave steak or big chunks of meat after a really hard workout.

The plan was to spend most of the weekend at the library.   But I slept a lot and vegged a lot and the library isn’t open late on the weekend.   I did a little bit of work at the library, then managed to lose my keys Saturday night.   Had to call AAA to get into my car for the spare set and the library called me on Sunday after noon to let me know they were found.   I still can’t image where they were, I searched everywhere I’d been.   Regardless, I was a happy girl.   I thought about exploring some local hiking trails, but the snow was melty and everything looked slushy and muddy and I didn’t hike.   Ended up at the gym and did 2 5k sessions on the treadmill.   I had a nice break in between to hydrate and get my heart rate down.   But once I’d cooled off, I was ready to do a little more.   And a little more ended up being a second full 5k.   My time wasn’t as good as the first one, but it didn’t suck.  

No work on New Years day!   I admit it, I was bored.   I would have really liked to be in the library and get some work done, but it was closed.   The gym was open, but no one wants to do 12 hours at the gym. I ended up going to the movie theater and spent most of the day there.   Finally saw the Mr Rogers Movie: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?   Cried like an idiot.   Then googled the magazine article that the movie is based on and cried through that too.   I’m such a sap.   Then caught Ford vs Ferrari which I didn’t know anything about.   Figured it would be a Fast and Furius copy.   Nope, it was the story of Ford hiring Carol Shelby to build a race car to beat Ferrari.   I’d seen one of these cars 10 days previously at the Shelby Museum.   I read about beating Ferrari at Le Mans.   And the movie told the story of how that happened.   The creation of the Shelby/Ford GT-40.   It was a great movie.

Short week at work, but they’ve allowed me to continue working extra hours   to make up for the unpaid Holiday.   I really hate unpaid holidays.   I wasn’t as diligent about working 10 hour days this time around.   Got a couple of paper cuts that were deep and in bad places so I kept re-opening the cuts.   But I worked some on a new project and had a couple of long days due to actual work.   There really isn’t enough work here for two people.   I would like the work if there was more of it, but spending all day waiting for work is old.   I’ve started working on photo projects in between cases and I managed to complete two books before the security setting were updated and I couldn’t access the website I needed.   It’s a shame though, the larger screens at work make it easier and therefore faster to do the photo work.   I get it, its not what I’m being paid to do…but sitting her doing nothing and waiting for more work super sucks.