Am…musings

In the fall, I cashed in my change jar for about $90. Not too shabby for money I hadn’t missed, but it took me several years to reach that point. Plus over the past year or so, my change saving slowed in direct correlation to a new client whose offices are downtown requiring meter parking (although my friend and coworker Chrissy will tell you that I rarely ever have change for the meter and she’s always bailing me out!).

I found a new strategy in a Women’s Day mag … start saving $5 bills as you would your change. I believe the family featured in the article saved almost $2,000 over a one-year period and used the money for vacation.

By Photos8.com on Flickr

There are two $5 bills laying on the table next to me that are headed for the jar (although I’m thinking I may need to exchange my jar for a different container). There are also a few dimes, nickels and pennies because quarters are best for meters. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. And I’d love to hear if you have a change jar story or unusual strategy.

I finally bought a dishwasher … after weeks of waiting on Presidents’ Day Sales and nearly a week of being too busy with work and puppies to shop.

I found the exact model I wanted at Ultimate Electronics for $40 less than Lowe’s. Until I peeked at the ad a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know they carried appliances. They are worth a look if you are in need.

Also, this dishwasher thing has me a little perplexed. The new one was under $265. It’s a Whirlpool … not an off brand, and exactly like the one I had, which lasted more than 10 years. It has an electronic key pad, but isn’t stainless, although I think it was available for a just bit more. But gosh, I saw other models for $1,000+. What in the heck sort of dishwasher bells and whistles could be worth $700+? Those dishes come out clean … my dishes come out clean. What else is there? For that much money, I’d expect my dishes to come out of there with a freshly made gourmet meals on them!

My Stray Rescue foster duties include sending a profile and pics of the pups for the Web site.

It was tough to photograph the puppies when I first brought them home. They were small, clinging to each other and constantly sleepy:

Three and a half weeks flew by fast, and last night, my wonderful retired neighbor that feeds and takes the pups out around noon every day gently asked if I’d gotten them on the Web site. Although Buster and Paisley were more than ready for their individual close-ups, and I had a good idea of their personalities for the profiles, I just hadn’t gotten around to doing it.

The guilt quickly set in … my neighbor is very kind (she has spent time with Chewy pretty much every day while I’m at work since he was a puppy), but the fosters require a more set schedule and are a lot of work. And speaking of Chewy … he’s the reason I started fostering puppies because he loves playing with other dogs. However, I fostered the first set of puppies when he wasn’t quite one year old. Now, at nearly three, he’s not having quite as much fun. These puppies are also a bit needier and seem to have bonded more with me than the others (Paisley is in my lap as I type)… and Chew is just a smidge jealous.

So I made a huge sacrifice last night , and instead of hand washing dishes (still no dishwasher … because I haven’t quite gotten around to that either), I wrote their profile and took their pics (which was a LOT like herding cats).

Here are their profiles: Paisley (aka Whitesnake) and Buster (aka Poison). (Some of their littermates … Kiss, Bon Jovi, Tesla, Twisted Sister, Guns N Roses … are also on the site.)

And here are a few pics that didn’t make it on the site:

P.S. They went for their second round of shots Monday and each weighed around 13 pounds!

The dishwasher put up a valiant fight after showing signs of an eminent death in October, but took its last breath about a week ago. I’m far from cheap, but hate spending more than necessary so I’m waiting it out for the Presidents’ Day sales this weekend. I’ve never been without a dishwasher so I was a little nervous, but have been pleased to find that dishwashing … like showering and blow drying my hair … is a great time to think.

While washing and thinking last night, I had to giggle at the thought that I was like a 50s housewife washing dishes with yellow rubber gloves and a gin cocktail …

And yelling at the kids …

I also had to give thanks once again for Facebook as I realized the gin cocktail was the result of a tip from my friend Val on a low-sugar adult beverage (she suggested vodka, lime and club soda; I chose gin). Katie suggested the rubber gloves when I lamented about prune-y fingers. And I got an awesome tip from Sandy, who shared she’d been using her broken dishwasher as a drying rack … brilliant, given that you can keep the dishes out of sight while they dry (if I’m washing, I’m certainly not drying!)

Val, Katie and Sandy are three people I likely wouldn’t talk to very regularly at this point in my life, and certainly not about the issues they helped solved for me.

Here’s hoping for a great dishwasher sale this weekend. And while I’ll never love hand washing dishes, I’ll certainly dread it a lot less … I’ll just have to make sure I have rubber gloves and a cocktail.

Last week, I could easily carry both foster puppies from Stray Rescue at one time. They’ve grown so much in just a few days (especially Ms. Paisley, who isn’t so petite any more) that it’s becoming a bit of a struggle.

They are still cute as buttons though.

I did learn they came from a litter of 10 and were living in a run-down abandoned house in North County with their amazing mom … she kept 10 little ones safe and alive even in the horrid conditions and cold temps. They were able to rescue her with the pups and she’s available for adoption too. Here’s the story of their rescue (in the first row of pictures, momma’s on the left and one of their littermates is on the right).

The living on the street thing explains the slight skittishness they had at first, but that’s getting better everyday as they learn to trust and are being schooled on being a house dog by Chewy, who is enjoying them more as they get older (and less annoying … to him).

And even though Buster and Paisley won’t be going to college, they are pretty smart. They still have accidents, but mostly get that they need to potty outside even at less than 10 weeks old.

If you know anyone looking for a puppy, they are each available for adoption. And if you are able and interested, Stray Rescue can always use fosters. (Read the whole story in the link above and here for evidence of the amazing work they do … and to maybe shed a few tears for the ones that were lost.)