**School decided on an awesome fundraiser this year (versus a most lame one last spring). Anyway, they made arrangements with a local cooking school. For $50, we get a gourmet meal, and they may also add a childcare component to the fundraiser. Since they had limited spots, dh signed up the second he got the e-mail. Plus, he already made enough money on amazon this month to make up for it (now that I think about it).

**Saved some money today. Doctor rescheduled my appointment. Was going to drop the kids off at care, but they rescheduled for a morning later in the week - while kids are at school. I figured he'd look at my incision, say "looks good," and that would be the extent of it. I even feel up to driving myself, but dh insists on going with me.

**Tonight I get to ESCAPE the house for dinner. Yay! The restaurant where dh frequently meets our parents to trade off kids (about 60 miles away) was closed down and they ended up finding a cheap buffet. I wasn't that impressed when they took me on a Sunday. The prices were expensive for Sunday brunch and it had a bit of a *ghetto* feel. Dh swore lunch was much better than the dinner menu they were apparently serving. The ice cream was disgusting, too.

That said, dh swore by their lunch, and they opened the same restaurant chain right by my work. Since I work in a terrible area, I wasn't overly thrilled to check it out. (Um okay - so they like to operate in less than desirable locales).

& then we walked inside...

The price was a little stiffer in Sacramento, but we quickly let it go. The scene was right out of Vegas. Otherwise I have never seen a bigger buffet. It was huge and yummy.

SO, we had promised to take the kids sometime. They love buffets and always get their money's worth. Just $4/each for them and their giant stomachs.

So, since I no longer have a doctor appointment to go to, we decided to go out and eat. Will check out dinner, anyway. We couldn't swing lunch with the kids any time the next week or so.

**We had agreed to sign up BM for track this winter, but I was worried when the local track club had not updated their website. Wonder if they went broke or something - lack of interest? (My kids love the track and love to run - but I know few like them). Even LM wants to sign up - but he is too young (he never wants to sign up for anything).

Anyway, I meant to e-mail the club and express interest, but it's been a bit crazy here.

Thankfully, I saw they updated their website. To join for "recreation only" is a mere $50. But I will probably just sign up for "competition" at $150.

**I am relieved that I should feel up to the dentist Saturday. IT will be a sad day. Our last visit with my very affordable/reasonable/conservative forever dentist.

I have no other plan but to ask around a LOT - we may have to try a lot of dentists this year. I've already tried two highly recommended dentists up here that were nothing but scammy. *sigh* I dread it and will probably send out dh this time around. See what kind of random dental work the scammers will dream up for him. I Was quoted several thousand for work I clearly don't need. That was almost a decade ago, and my teeth are still healthy as they always have been - no work needed. We decided to stick with our dentist back home - the drive no longer sounded so bad. (The scary part was how highly recommended these dentists had been!!)

Anyway, I'd mostly like to drive there and back (usually we'd make a weekend of it). But, if I feel up to it, we will meet my parents for dinner at a favorite restaurant, before driving back home.

I will eat well this week!

**Finally, retirement officially hit six figures on Friday. Yay, stock market. Not holding my breath that it will last long, but feels nice for now. I didn't put much in the market last year, but will resume more aggressive contributions next paycheck (Feb. 1). Yes- must be why the market is high.

**Oh, I finally finished my 800-page book. On to book 2. I've done little this week but read, and go for some short walks. The book is good motivation to sit still. It started out kind of "eh," but as it gets more complex it is harder to put down. I am hoping to finish book #2 on the Nook (getting used to the larger granny print I can use). For book #3, all I have is a book with a font that looks like a 6. Ugh. Dh is keeping an eye out for it to go on sale. My eye site may be worth $10 for book #3.