I got a $25 Amazon certificate in the mail yesterday. My Chase card (that I just paid off) is an Amazon Awards card and since I charged all the Christmas gifts to it I wracked up enough points to get the certificate. I had promised the next one to DH so he gets to do some shopping.

I had my 2 tests this morning. I headed over the hill early because the lake-effect snow was starting up and I wanted to get over there before the roads were too bad. So I went to the office for a half hour and then on to the hospital.

The thyroid ultrasound was really uncomfortable only because you have to lay with your shoulders on a pillow so your head is tilted in such a way that they can get to your thyroid. Well, that position made me feel like my head was going to explode. I'm assuming because of the blood pressure.

After the ultrasound I waited in the waiting area for 45 minutes until it was time for the echocardiogram. I got to feeling so poorly that if I trusted myself to try to walk on my own I would have walked down the hall to the ER. I just felt terrible. I just hung in there though and was relieved when it was someone I know that came to get me for the test. I told her I wasn't feeling well, just in case.

But after lying on my left side for 20 minutes while she did the test I felt better. She took my BP after she was done and it was 180/108 so I can only imagine what it was before I laid down.

My MRI of the brain is scheduled for Tuesday morning. They said that all of my blood work came back perfect. There is no sign of any heart problems that the blood test picked up on and my thyroid levels were fine. Good, but disappointing that it didn't pinpoint what the problem is.

If none of these tests show anything they're going to test me for Cushing's Disease. The more I read about that, the more it sounds just like I've been feeling.

DH said we'll let them finish the tests they're thinking of doing, but if they don't find anything we're either headed to Buffalo or Erie to some specialists.

$4.45 for a sub for lunch

I ended up not going to work today. I woke up at 4:15 as usual and my right hand was swollen twice it's normal size. The left was also swollen, but not nearly as badly. I didn't dare to do my usual exercises since I knew what my blood pressure was the night before. By 7:00 my hand was back to normal.

I called the doctor's office first thing and asked to speak to the nurse that is a bit more "forceful" about patients' needs. She had been in the office last night but wasn't the one that tended to me. When I told her what my BP had been she threw a fit that I was even let to go home. She told me to come right down.

The doctor wasn't in yet, but the 2 nurses drew blood to run more tests. They drew an extra vial for a test that shows if something is wrong with your heart that could cause problems in the next few months. They commented on how "thick" and tight my skin is. Yep, been trying to tell the doctor that for almost a year!

I am scheduled for an ultrasound of my thyroid tomorrow at 9:45 a.m. to see if I have nodules and for an echocardiogram at 11 to see what's going on with my heart. My son also has his EEG tomorrow. Ack!!!

The nurses said they'd probably be in trouble, but something needed to be done. You don't gain 50 pounds in less than one year for no reason.

They are supposed to be calling me back to let me know if I'm allowed to do my book deliveries. I explained that I don't sit at a desk and just check out books. I lug 50 pound totes of books around to places.

They also sent me home with a nice blood pressure machine and I'm supposed to check it at least 2 times a day. I'm to call them if I start to feel funny in any way. They are only 3 blocks away and know where I live.

A friend sent me a link to Cushing's Syndrome which sounds remarkably like what's been going on, so I've been reading up on that and taking naps. :-)

Gift for librarian friend= $50.00
Tithe= $113.00
Credit Card #2= $76.00
Credit Card #1= $531.44

Total= $770.44

Just got back from my 2nd doctor's visit today. They aren't too happy with me that I kept putting off going. My blood pressure was 220/188! And that's with taking BP medicine daily. So...

He gave me samples of the BP med I'm taking but doubled the dose and included a diuretic in it. I told him that I've felt bloated and swollen for months and that I've gained over 40 pounds in less than a year. I'm still exercising daily. My skin is constantly dry and I just feel uncomfortable. My last thyroid test came back fine so he thinks I'm retaining water from the BP med.

This is really getting expensive. I've had to buy all kinds of clothes in different sizes plus I just refilled the BP medicine that he doesn't want me to take!

Ugh!!!

I got home to find DH's profit sharing check on the computer desk ready for me to work my magic. LOL!

So CC#1 is paid off! I put aside $200 for new glasses for the 3 that I know are going to need them this month. And some of it is going to my librarian friend.

After doing this I reran my Quicken Debt Reduction Planner. These are the results:

Debt-Free Date= 8/2013 (includes mortgages)
Interest Paid= $21,589.18
Interest Saved= $42,689.17

This goal is without any extra payments on the debts. You know I'm going to pay any extra that I can manage!

I'm really motivated now to get down to business!

Oh, and woo-hoo! Change box got over $10 today!

Thank you so much, Julie! The ING invite arrived today and I opened my account. There was no minimum required so I just matched the free $25. It's a start.

I just love the ING site. Orange is my favorite color so it's a very attractive site to me. LOL!

I let the invite gather no dust. From the time I received it until the account was opened was less than 10 minutes. :-)

I just submitted a request for a quote for disability insurance on myself. We've had disability insurance on DH for quite a while now, but until 4 years ago I was a SAHM and didn't really think about it. Now that I've got an income that we depend on, I think this is the next step to take. It looks like it would amount to less than $500 a year. That's not too bad.

I just have been feeling lately that we really need to get our bases covered just in case.

I was thinking the other day as I was watching Top Chef that I would watch a show where people from different economic classes lived in each other's shoes for a while. It would be interesting to see how people adjusted to lower incomes.

Since I started the $20 challenge I have been trying to think of other ways to add to it. So far I am:

- paying myself $5 every time I do a book delivery and take lunch with me instead of buying
- adding the money we get from taking back returnable pop bottles

And now I've decided that since I'm getting more into on-line bill paying that I'll add the money that I save on postage. Not a lot, but it will add up eventually. I think I'll add it up for the month and then make the deposit rather than make a few 39 cent transfers.

I decided to add my list of family Christmas traditions since it's been fun to read the others.

1. Christmas Breakfast: This is the most important tradition that we have because it started our very first Christmas together back in 1985. We were very poor and I wanted to do something special for breakfast but had very little in the cupboards. I found that I did have the ingredients for homemade cinnamon rolls and Swedish Tea Ring. So that has been our traditional Christmas breakfast ever since. It just wouldn't be Christmas without it.

2. Christmas Eve morning at my parents': We always go to my parents' house on Christmas Eve morning and have presents with them and one of my brothers family. Then we have lunch together and just hang out most of the day.

3. Stockings: These seem to be the most important presents for some silly reason. They are usually filled with things from the dollar store, yet the kids seem to enjoy them more than the real gifts. The kids get their stocking Christmas Eve night.

4. Make Mom cry: Ever since the Christmas that my husband bought me my heart-shaped garnet ring and I cried when I opened it, it's been his mission to make me cry each year. LOL! One year he bought me a topaz necklace and had it around the neck of a stuffed dog that looked just like the dog we had at the time. Sentimental things that pull at the heartstrings.

5. Yumasetta: I know....yuma what??? It's a Pennsylvania Dutch dish that I learned to make several years ago and "tweaked" a bit so that it is my family's favorite meal. Just last year we decided that instead of the huge Christmas meal we were going to have this instead since it's fast, easy, and after eating all the sweet rolls and tea ring we're not that hungry for a huge meal.

6. The countdown: We have a little wooden snowman that does the countdown for Christmas. The youngest likes to be in charge of changing the number of days left til Christmas.

7. The snowman collection: I have tons of snowmen that I use to decorate the kitchen each year. I put them out when we decorate for Christmas and leave them up until the end of winter.

CC #1 will be paid off tonight! Cheers! Celebration! LOL!

DH gets his profit sharing check tonight so I will be scheduling the payment to pay it off. From here on it will only be used for DD#2's flute payments because they are automatically billed to it each month. The flute is almost paid off so that won't be for long, then I am closing the card since it's the Chase card that is starting to charge interest from the day the charge is made.

DS#1 emailed with more info about the attempted bombing at his school. He had just left the building. 2 students decided to throw potting soil and various other available at home products into an oven to make a homemade bomb. They also poured hot wax down the sink while running cold water in order to solidify it within the pipes. They had also stolen a plasma tv from a building that has been closed on campus and smashed it everywhere. Nice, huh?

$12.70 at Walmart for windshield wipers for son's car
$17.83 for gasoline
$27.47 at Dairy Queen for lunch for dinner for DD#1, DS#2, and me. DS had to go from his medical test to work so needed a meal. Otherwise I'd have eaten at home.
$44.95 to renew my fitness subscription for the year

Total=$102.95

I got an email from DS#1 shortly after I got to work today. I thought it was unusual to get one so soon after hearing from him yesterday. (He's not the chatty sort).

He says that 2 students tried to blow up the building that he works in at college! They are being charged with 250 counts of attempted murder. He didn't say if he was there at the time or not or when exactly this happened. He just said "just a bit ago", so I have no idea what that means as far as timeframe.

The really disturbing thing is that he works in the dorm for the handicapped students on campus. His college has one of the 3 highest enrollments of handicapped students. He helps them bathe, get in and out of wheelchairs, whatever they need.

What kind of demented people want to blow up a building full of handicapped kids???? That really disturbs me.

Today is the day of the MRA for DS#2 to check for an aneurysm. I will go in and work half a day and then go get him from Vo-tech. There is snow on the roads today and I talked to DH after he got to work. He said they're icy in spots so I'm assuming all the hills I have to drive over are going to be fun.

I also need to stop on my way to get DS and pick up a copier cartridge for the church copier. This should be the last time I need to do it since I'm not doing the bulletins next year. Instead, I've taken on the job of Financial Secretary. I liked doing bulletins but I know I'll enjoy this job much more.

$6.00 to DD#1 for college project
$52.99 on Norton Anti-virus subscription

I just hate spending the money each year on the Norton anti-virus subscription. It slows my computer down and seems like any time I have a problem, it's connected to that. But I haven't heard of a good alternative that also includes parental control measures to block websites for kids. Any ideas out there?

That's how much I got for returning pop bottles. So that money will be added to my $20 challenge total since it's money that I would not normally have coming in. Not much, but I'll take it!

I haven't had time to blog about this, but it's been on my mind a lot lately. I have written about my librarian friend who is going through difficult times and have mentioned that I'd spent a couple of days working on a proposed budget for her library for 2007.

The board meeting took place a couple of weeks ago and they passed the budget. Sad to say, but it does not include a raise for her. Her assistant will get a raise because they have to give her one since minimum wage in PA is going up. So she will be making almost as much as my friend who has all the responsibility on her shoulders.

My friend will continue to make less than $15,000 a year while trying to support herself and 2 teenage girls.

One of the board members did take her and her full-time volunteer and buy them new eyeglasses. I thought that was very kind of her.

I sure do wish that library boards saw themselves as an employer and not just volunteers. I have seen it over and over again in these small, rural libraries. They pay peanuts, yet expect the librarian to do everything, usually including the fundraising, which is the board's responsibility.

that CC#1 will be paid off! DH gets his profit sharing check this Tuesday. This will be enough to pay off the credit card with some left over.

That will be one step closer to financial freedom!

I have to say that I have really enjoyed my time at SavingAdvice and blogging. It's keeping me focused on our finances and paying down our debt as much as possible. I have made some decisions, like term insurance and Vanguard, that I would never have done previously. I have learned a lot and want to thank all of you for the wisdom that you share!

This morning I set up a transer of the $10 bonus that I got for opening the Emigrant account to my Amboy Emergency Fund account this morning. Thanks Jeffrey!

Today I need to go to the Post Office and pay the extra postage on my paperwork for my IRA rollover from Northwest Savings Bank to Vanguard. I hope this can be done quickly and smoothly.

Still haven't heard on either of our term insurance applications.

Tuesday DH should get his profit sharing check. I want to apply all of it after the tithe to CC#1 and hopefully pay that off.

Birthday cake= $12.99
Electric bill= $151.00
Home Depot= $274.67 on CC#2 (DH's purchases for the home repairs)

Total=$438.66

Exercise= 1 mile walk

Yesterday was a very long day. It started with a visit to the neurologist with my 16 year-old DS#2. This doctor only sees adults, but the nurse in our primary physician's office managed to get us an appointment since the neurologist we've been seeing has been basically worthless. Imagine our surprise when the first thing he did was ask what had been going on and actually listened to every detail and asked questions! Unbelievable!!! LOL! And then to top it all off he even examined him! Quite different from our experience with neurologist #1!

So on Monday DS#2 goes for an MRA to see if he has an aneurysm. Then on Thursday he goes for an EEG to see if the numbness he's had in his face and neck for over a year since the first hemiplegic migraine was from a stroke during the migraine. Finally a doctor willing to do something!

After that we went and got some breakfast because he was going to miss lunch since I needed to take him straight to Vo-Tech for his auto mechanics classes. After taking him to school I came home for 20 minutes before heading back out with my mom to finish up Christmas shopping and get groceries.

All I have left to do for Christmas is get a gift certificate for my aunt and a gift for one of my co-workers. Then I am totally done.

I woke up today to really swollen hands. They are even worse than yesterday. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I am hoping it is simply that my blood pressure medicine needs to be changed and include a diuretic.

Gasket for son's car= $16.72
Walmart= $78.61 (household items, clothes, Christmas gifts)
Furniture payment= $77.00
Doctor visit= $15.00
Dollar Tree= $21.60 (Stocking stuffers)
Gasoline= $23.79
Groceries= $66.30

Total= $299.02