Of course, the week I had no time (rather unexpectedly) to post at all, is the week after I intentionally “took” a week off.

Sigh.

To those who’re new, or who’ve forgotten , I work full time AND I’m a student. And, this semester I’m happy to report I’m finally at my “last” campus (I did one year at Ithaca College before leaving to get married, got my associates this past spring (so that I got a discount at state school/could get my Gen Eds out of the way locally), and now am finally about 33 credits away from my B.A. *phew!*

While working on my AA, it worked out nicely since most of my classes were online or only 15 minutes away. Plus, they were community college courses. It was rather like Middle School. The only difficult courses were 2 due to this 1 professor, so last fall I only took 2 courses, this past spring just 1, and this summer I had off. Great for blogging regularly.

NOW, however, I’m commuting about 45 min-1 hr. each way in and out of Boston, taking 3 classes at “normal” college level, actually getting challenging homework/tests, and still working 40+ hours a week. In fact, let’s go all the way and write out my schedule for this fall:

Monday: Work 9-5:30, home at 6.
Tuesday: Get up at 5 AM, work 6:30-3:00, drive straight to Boston, class until 5:15, home at 6:30/7 PM (yay traffic!)
Wednesday: Work 9-5:30, husband’s Bible Study till 10 PM (I’ve been skipping a lot)
Thursday: Up at 5, work 6:30-3:00, TWO classes in Boston, get home at 10-10:30 PM
Friday: Work 9-5:30
Saturday: Class w/ driving times: 10:30-3:30; Class if I take the commuter rail: 9:00-5:00
Sunday: Church including after-church ministries

And add in dates with friends, and most importantly, homework, and I’ve found my blogging time reduced to about 2 hours if I’m on top of everything. Last week I was obviously rushed since I was camping all weekend, and that carried over…so, long story short, it’s hard, and I’m NOT planning on temporarily shutting down…but I beg your patience in the meantime. I’m ahead of the game this week, so…*crosses fingers*.

Thanks,

Kat

I had meant to post before I left, but ended up running out the door with backpacks barely filled and flashlights untested.

Anyways, I’m camping (yes, in a tent) in the upper woods of NH where I can thankfully post this on my blackberry, but other than that have no computer access…which unfortunately means no posts for this week. But we’ll be back in action next week; thanks, and happy shopping!

So, it looks like the Hannaford site circular is currently down…and I’m going to go to bed early to help fight off this cold. But I’ll try again tomorrow!

Have a good night, folks-

Kat

There is a LINE between good-frugal and ridiculous. And I really, really should learn to get on the good side of that line in all circumstances…because somehow, there is a mechanism in my brain that will ALWAYS let me buy the $3.99 DeSomethings Cream Puffs at Market Basket (that are always $6.99 at Shaws), but WON’T let me buy a box of tissues without a coupon when I feel a cold coming on (and when my stash is depleted…how did that happen?).

That decision never goes well for me.  Because now I’m here with a nose is so sore I can’t even SMILE. Eeeeh. But, I stayed home from church today and slept in till oh, about an hour ago, so I’m going to get ready for the day, throw in a load of laundry, and put up blog posts (market basket first!) in between trying to get my house back in order, since really, who feels like cleaning when they’re sick? Not meeee….and then I’ll have my husband pick up some Puffs Premium with Aloe tissues and maybe some Panera soup on his way home.

Crazy how just one busy night will throw everything off…My husband just got back from a long trip Thursday night, so I didn’t post then, tonight I’m busy packing since all day tomorrow I’ll be hanging out in New York City! So I plan to post sometime on Sunday, God-willing and weather permitting.

There are not enough English words in the OED to express how thankful I am that I took this past week off frugal-blogging, since honestly, that’s the last place my head’s been. And my empty cupboards can prove it.

I’ve been utterly glued to Nico Pitney’s liveblog on the Iran Election for the Huffington Post, and while I took the time off to spend with my family (they left the day after the results were announced), I couldn’t have blogged at the start of all this anyways. I’ve just been reading articles, watching youtube vidoes, scanning twitter posts, and figuring out how to incorporate green into my daily wardrobe pretty much non-stop.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m 1/2 Iranian (living in New England…it’s the other side that came here in the 1600s), and I still have family in Tehran, Tabriz, and other cities, so this is hugely important to me. I think I’m still absorbing a lot of it, but as an Iranian-American, I’m in this odd place of caring so much, and yet being able to do so little. So crazy, and I’m just brimming with emotion for my cousins that are still over there, my family living & watching here, and with thankfulness that the current administration is staying quiet. *HUGE* sigh of relief there. So, any prayers for my family’s safety & well-being are appreciated, as well as for the families of those killed during the rallies.

On the much, much lighter side, we had a fantastic time with my sister-in-law, her husband, and our unbelievably adorable niece and nephew…just so cute watching them run around, play (some hair-pulling involved!), and “read” their books. My other sister-in-law had probably the most beautiful baby shower I’ve been to (with the best food as well!), and it was fun seeing all the gifts that she’ll be setting up her nursary with. It would have been perfect except that most all of us (yet another reason I’m glad I had the week off here!) ended up getting a 24-hour flu bug, in all its 3-am-lying-on-the-bathroom-floor glory. NOT fun, that part.

I think in all, we made about 10 trips to NH & back, and gassed up a million more times than normal, but it was a great week–so many thanks for your patience, and I’m staring on Shaws & Stop & Shop right now!

So, apparently my plan of blogging from the next state up (NH) while watching my 3yo niece and 1yo nephew who’ve flown in from Seattle, while visiting with one of my best friends who’s up from Virginia, while going out to celebrate another friend’s birthday didn’t QUITE work out. I always get too ambitious, and what I just have to keep reminding myself is that it’s much better to take on what I can handle…otherwise people get left hanging!

So, I’m going to take off this week from blogging (on a Thurs.) which means that I won’t be posting MB/Hannafords for this ongoing week, nor will I be posting any for this upcoming week. And I hope this break gives me some extra hours to relax with these days off from work, catch my breath, enjoy the rare time together with my friends & family, and maybe even get a chance to finally write some non-grocery store posts that I really, really want to, but never have time for!

So, I thank you for your patience & I’ll see you next Thursday!!

I love days like today. I got home from work at 4:30, grabbed my latest read: One Square Inch of Silence, and walked the few blocks to the beach. The wind had a bite, but I had a blanket (I won), so I got to read a few chapters with my feet in the sand, little waves washing up on the rocks, and a cluster of preschoolers trying to learn organized games on the grass.

There’s nothing like a break from EVERYTHING. I’m done classes for the summer; my husband’s graduation & party are over; a stressful work week is behind me. I, for the first time in MONTHS…actually, since last March…over a year! can come home, and have zero obligations hanging over me. I can read a book! I can bake! I can watch a movie! I can do the things I love to do! The relief is just washing over me every single day, and I am just So. Thankful.

I even found some beach treasures: a marble among the snail shells, some mussell shells I might make into this Martha Stewart wreath, some bigger shells for the ledge coming into our house.

I think they’ll go nicely with my one planned summer decor purchase: this beach sign from Uncommon Goods (which will hopefully come back in stock!)

I came home, made my wish list for the summer of 2009, and baked some bread for tomorrow.

And now, I’m going to clip coupons while watching Audrey Hepburn movies, finish my book, and once my husband wakes up, TRY to get the scanner to work again. And the night is still young.

So it’s come at last: Finals Week. I won’t be blogging this week, since I’ll be:

1.) Completing an honors statistics report with hand-drawn graphs and original analysis. (aprox. 8 pages)

2.) Completing an open-book biology assignment. (aprox. 10 pages)

3.) Studying for a semester-comprehensive Biology Final

4.) Studying for a semester-comprehensive Statistics final

and THEN, I’ll be cleaning the whole house inside-and-out, shopping, and decorating for my husband’s M. Div graduation party…which leaves me, oh, about negative 300 hours to get everything done. So, I’ll be taking leave of absence this week, but next week? I’ll be back!

So. You know you’re busy when you have to take a full day off of work in order to get everything done!

The latter part of my week has so far looked like/will look like:
Thurs: Big Test
Fri: At work, then out for dinner with family. Back home after 11 PM
Sat: Worked till noon (only few times a year this happens); so tired slept till later in the day; cleaned!
Sun: Church, getting together with another congregant afterward.
Mon: Took off, so I can study for another big test for my other class!

I’m hoping and planning to put up the stores tomorrow–realllly crossing my fingers, since I wanted to not only do that, but perhaps even some blog improvements. So if I haven’t gotten back to anyone yet, please forgive me, and know I intend to soon…or at least when I have a spare second!