**I had to sit down and square away everything for September, since we will be gone the end of the month. NO sitting and waiting if dh makes some amazon sales or if money falls out of the sky by the end of the month (sometimes it does)! Most the bills are paid the 31st (health insurance and mortgage - the biggies).

So, we barely spent anything on gas or groceries all month, and yet my checkbook balance for 9/30 was -$250. Frustrated by this, indeed.

As I looked at it, I remembered my mom owes me $110 for the cell phone. (They reimburse me every other month - on the months I have a bi-monthly utility bill - so works out perfect).

Phew. I looked at the months' expenditures - we spent a fair amount in Denver (food) I hadn't reimbursed from savings. Also, soccer expenses, and some clothing. So I transferred that amount from savings - soccer/Denver/clothing. I can live with that.

I told dh it was a fine month, but that we relied heavily on an efficient gas/grocery month.

On the flip side, it is easy to curb spending this time of year. Dh's family is big on the wish lists, so anything I have the urge to buy goes on my wish list, and I will probably get it come December. As of now, my last fleeting thought was a bike basket - for the farmers market. On the wish list it shall go.

My stress level with BM's dental situation has also decreased because we get 10% cash discount + 25% off when it comes to income tax deductions and credit card rewards. We are 2 months away from cashing out another $250 Chase reward. Plus, with all the medical bills, I am estimating about $2k income tax refund at this point. (I usually go for breakeven, so this is pretty substantial for us - decided not to change my withholdings for such a freak year - and do appreciate the forced savings). I will probably just transfer that to my IRA, early next year - to reach my 2010 financial goals. Which makes my 2010 goals much more doable - with that extra $2k to utilize. I usually file around January 31, so expect the money in February - and will apply to 2010 IRAs.

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This weekend has been nice.

**On Saturday, the wild salmon was on sale. I honestly couldn't tell the difference (usually they have farmed salmon). BUT, the kids certainly could. They helped me eat 1 pound of salmon, over the last 2 nights. I did the crockpot recipe - it is so delish.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03/crockpot-sweet-and-s...

But yeah, the kids never like it, so I Was impressed that they ate so much of it.

**Yesterday we went to the Gold Rush days - 2nd year in a row for us. SO MUCH FUN!

To start, you pan for gold and turn it in for a certificate. Then, you can go to 6 businesses for a treat.

Last year was much better. Almost every business was giving away things. Apparently, the kids' favorite was a real flake of gold from the jewelry store. So we ran to the jewelry store first, to find they weren't giving away real gold this time (aw, shucks). {I can't say I minded much - last year's gold is just taking up space - not real useful!} From there, we didn't see a participating business for many blocks. Last year we were sampling food and all sorts of goodies. !! (I think we had found some extra certificates on the ground, at some point, last year - we took advantage).

We were wary at lunch since we have had some pretty horrendous meals there in the past. Should have researched better. We ended up at some small cajun place which boasted "Best cajun food" or something like that, on their walls. I wondered how much cajun food there really is in Sacramento, anyway. Still a little wary.

Well, we lucked out. The food was excellent. Since dh's Grandfather lives in Florida, and I had never tried the gator meat (didn't remember, anyway), they ordered alligator for me. (His parents were with us, and treated). It was okay. Dh delighted in ordering hushpuppies. I was wary to order the Buffalo burger since I am particular, but I wish I had. IT was REALLY good (tried a piece of MIL's). Definitely worth the wait.

After that we found some treats (VERY crowded since the participating stores were hard to find). One candy store was just giving candy away to anyone - what a MOB!

WE found the "Historic Schoolhouse Museum" which was really cute. No idea it existed. We also found a museum that focused on the Pony Express, plus saw lots of Pony Express riders on the way out.

BM proved to be quite the gambler, and we filled up on Sarsaparilla, of course.

I think there were way more costumed people than last year.

I think the best part was that it was similar to last year, but a completely unique experience. We will definitely go again next year. We spent about $5 on sarsaparilla, and $8 to park.

They literally dumped tons of dirt on the streets.



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Today we plan to lounge by the pool, though we invited a couple of the kids' friends and have sandwich fixings for lunch, if they decide to stay and eat with us.

I have a $10 coupon for Kohls. As usual, I really think I can go on and find something for $10-ish. I usually fail, and spend a ton. BUT, I actually walked in their a couple of times in recent months without buying anything. Don't ask me how! So, I will probably pick up a top - something fitting for work. I am still on the neverending search for a button up sweater to wear over my work dresses. I can never find anything flattering - just a lot of odd styles. That will be my pie in the sky goal. But, a regular old top is probably what I will settle on.