I have had many payday personalities over the years.

I can remember my very first paycheck and the excitement that came with all that money. (I made $1.65 an hour and worked part-time, but it still seemed like I was rich.) Paychecks meant shopping for whatever I wanted after I paid my car payment and insurance.

Then, paydays mutated into a very worrisome event after I got married...I hoped that I could beat the outstanding checks Id written to the bank. I had carefully timed end of the payperiod purchases or mailed bills so that I could do just that...every once in a while I missed and I would get a fee and a bounced check (ouch)

Eventually, payday became a less stressful time. I had a nice line of credit that would cover those pre-payday checks...but I was spending as much as I made and so payday was still a pretty big deal.

Funny, but now that I am home and making less than we have in many, many years, payday has become almost a non-event. I mail 'my' little paycheck to bank A and that money goes towards food and allowance at the end of the week. DHs paycheck sometimes makes it to bank B on Friday (payday) and sometimes early the following week as it just gets deposited and bills are paid the following month.

Don't get me wrong, we still enjoy payday and the independence it brings.

But thankfully, there is no urgency connected to payday anymore- which is a very nice feeling indeed.

As planned, I stayed home yesterday and played catch up on some much needed housework.

Finished all laundry and hung it all outside to dry...even did all of my bedding, right down to the shams!

Grilled some yummy bbq ribs for all of us + DD2 and her SO. Have enough left over for another meal today.

Today I will work on those coupons...that train should be making a pitstop in my mailbox soon and I want to be ready when it does!

Planning a no-spender again today.

Laundry- hang all out to dry
Crockpot Dinner
Go through coupons- out with the old, in with the new
Resume decluttering/cleaning
Go nowhere
Spend nothing
Miss my Friend

Back into the groove.

Feels good.

My friend and her DH are heading north tomorrow. They were in town for TWO weddings...if you can believe it...two sisters one last weekend, and one this coming weekend...at opposite ends of the state...(those poor parents) But the girls planned the weddings this close so that the family coming from England/Spain would only have to travel once.

So, off they all will go tomorrow to caravan up to daughter #2 's wedding.

Today my friend is spending time with her dad...and I hope to get in one last visit this afternoon or tonight. I wont see her again for about a year.

So, what does this have to do with money?

This week has been a costly one...I seem to derail and all too easily slide right out of my frugal shoes when it comes to entertaining my out of town friend. Altho, I did pretty well with spending on our shopping day...only buying little christmas gifts. I bought a couple bottles of nice wine on our excursion- and nice wine is definately NOT in my budget.

I guess I am just eager to put the frugal shoes back on and get back on track.

But sad at the same time to see my buddy off for another year.

Who knew we had all these great wineries right here in So. Oregon.

Today was my friends birthday and she wanted to go wine tasting. She is in town for a cousins wedding, so our mix of companions for the day included the new bride, brides mother, an aunt from England that now lives in Spain, another aunt from England, Aunt 'Rosie" (83) and a couple of others...9 of us in all. Since Linda and I have been friends since we were kids, I am sortof like family and knew most everyone already.

My first mistake...not eating breakfast.

We visited 4 wineries...let's see, thats about 24 tastes (3-4 glasses of wine in about 5-6 hours)...all on a pretty empty tummy...

Got home at 6:30, had a quick bite...and proceeded to crash....slept for 4 hours and now it is 11pm an Im wide awake.

It was a great day with my friend and her relatives. Such a festive group. (Designated driver was my friends poor DH who got to spend his day with all the tipsy female in-laws)

On the drive to the first winery, my friend was commenting how much she loved the city and how I was now such a country girl...she said she could never live somewhere like this....too boring....

all while passing mountains filled with pine trees, pear orchards, homes that were built at the end of the Oregon trail...lakes, rivers....

Well, we dont have Disneyland, competing theatres, famous dinner houses, Orange County or 90210....but we have large doses of unpopulated land between towns and no traffic jams on our one little freeway.

The country mouse is perfectly happy in her fairly routine, simple, calm, quiet little neck of the woods...Ill leave the city for the city mices...for I fear I would never be bored there...and oh, what joys I would miss in that.

I have decided to make a list of things that I am not going to buy for myself for the rest of 2006. Here goes:

clothes (excluding 1 pkg undies and socks)
make-up
haircuts
shoes
craft supplies (except yarn for GDs xmas blanket- need 4-5 more scans)
nice bath soap (will use existing supply)
books
magazines
perfume
purses


I will add to the list as I go...I am going to make do with what I have or do without.

They actually grew up in the city near each other. Enjoying life together...having so much carefree fun.

When their young married lives started, the city mouse was poor as could be...and the country mouse would bring groceries whenever she could.

Throughout, they remained the best of friends...

City mouse eventually inherited quite a bit of money...and moved into a mini mansion...gorgeous home, pool, great neighborhood...not too far from a freeway that could take them to any entertainment establishment around (and there are many, many of these places around)....the freeways are often clogged to a standstill with all the people trying to get to them.

Country mouse moved to the country. It took her a few years to figure out that she wasnt a city mouse anymore...and that she didnt need to run off to a job in the city everyday to have a fulfilling life.

Country mouse made alot of changes to become the country mouse that she always wanted to be...she stopped buying alot of clothes (she only owns one pair of shorts, two pairs of pants and a few summer and winter tops)
No designer anything...nothing fancy...just the basics needed to get through a country day. She hangs her clothes, cooks from scratch, uses coupons, loves freebies, splits wood in her backyard, raises dogs, and cares for parents and grandbabies.

City mouse calls herself a 'clothes diva'. She shops bargains and gets clothes pretty darn cheap....but country mouse sees no need...and as she recently read in another blog...she saves 100% by just not buying any.

City mouse and her DH take a nice vacation each year...photo albums fill her shelves with memories of cruises, exotic beaches and elegant dresses and suits.

Country mouse and her DH camp by a nearby river or lake. Pictures of fireside visits with family and friends. Coutry mouse dreams of one day taking a short cruise..but is content with her vacations as they are...as they are an extension of the country life she loves.

City mouse and country mouse love each other dearly...but they look at each others life now with a slight head-scratching. City mouse is clearly mystified by the changes in country mouse. Country mouse didnt realize there was so much "you do what" in her daily routines.

City mouse and country mouse love to visit each other...to laugh like teenagers again and enjoy the solidness of a long time friendship...but neither would change lives with the other. City mouse would be bored to tears...and country mouse detests the crowds and costs of city life. And that's ok...they both are content with the way things are.