Sunday, August 8, 2010

GBU - August 8, 2010

Here we are, face to face, a ....... (quick, name that theme song).

Another week under our belt.  Let's see how we did.

The Good:  I won!  I won a blog makeover!  I am uber excited!  Maybe I can actually get it to do the stuff I want it to do.  Yippee!!!!
 

The Bad:  This is sort of a bad in progress.  We took our tax return money this year toward home improvement.  The remainder (about $250) is going toward repainting the halls and stairwell (walls, trim, and ceiling).  IF we have enough to get new lighting....great.  But I don't see that happening.  But that is just the back story to the real "bad" thing.

There is a bathroom at the end of the hall.  And at one point, we were going redo that room first, and changed our mind.  During that time period, the walls in the bathroom were going to be some sort of light tan, with white wainscotting.  The problem was that I also wanted tan for the hallway.  So we decided to pick the bathroom first since it will have to match the shower curtain.  And Pandora's Box was opened.

After looking at about a zillion shower curtains, we decided on this ridiculously overpriced $60 one from DKNY in navy/lime.  It really is nice.  But I can't believe it is $60.  We saw another version at Bed Bath and Beyond, so we know what it looks like, but of course they don't have the one we want.  This has now turned into:

Green walls with white trim
Vanity (from Ikea, if it is the right color in person)
Bamboo floor (probably from Lumber Liquidators)
Probably new lights (yet to be determined)
Probably new toilet  (yet to be determined)

Needless to say, this project is on HOLD.  Maybe paint if we could swing it now, but the rest is way on HOLD.  We are estimating about $1500 for what we want to do. 

And all of this so we could pick a tan color for the hallway.

The Ugly:  Our month of no eating out in July showed me two things:  1)  You don't have to eat out, and 2) when you deny yourself something, the pendulum swings too far in the other direction.  We have eaten out 2x already in August!!!  All due to poor planning.  No one to blame but us.

And I hate to put this in the Ugly category, but it really could turn into it if I am not careful.  My new friend, S, and I have gone out a few times.  It has been about 5 years since I had a friend to go out with.  But I am going to have to budget for all of this!  (Luckily, she is a bargain hunter!!).  We did paint your own pottery one week (which I did budget for ), but when we went back to pick up the pieces, we decided after much deliberation to do a mosaic project (not in the budget).    Fun, but need to be careful!!!


How about you all?  What are your GBUs for the week???

7 comments:

  1. If you deprive yourself for too long, it can definitely force the pendulum in the other direction. That's my bad for the week - that I almost bought unnecessary shoes and pants just because it had been a while since I'd spent money on clothes. Not a good excuse in my book! :)

    I can't think of an ugly, but on the good side, I took the $80 I almost spent on Gap jeans and applied it to my debt instead. :) I'll revisit the jeans when it gets down to 70 outside. This 90 degree weather is not suitable for pants.

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  2. Good - Nothing really
    Bad - Overspent on food budget
    Ugly - High School blues (see my blog)

    Not a good week for me at all.

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  3. This must have been the week for lots of bads and uglys. Wasn't a good week for me either! (see my blog) Hopefully next week gets better for everyone.

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  4. The only thing that is ugly around here is the fact that my dog keeps breaking the bank. Fleas, hurt leg + being skunked. Seriously...over $500 in the last two months on this dog not including her food. Other than that we are doing good.
    Hubs got a pay cut so that kindof stinks...but the whole district had to take one. ATleast he still has his job.

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  5. "....a couple of silver spoons..."

    Am I really the only one who had to start singing that to themselves?

    I totally get the pendulum thing. I've been shopping more... I should maybe say, I've been shopping. After not doing hardly any for so long it feels good to splurge a little. Emphasis on "little". I even got my kids some silly bands today. They felt like they hit the jackpot. Of course, that wasn't all...

    Keep it up! A little pendulum swinging won't stop you. And friends are a good thing! Maybe you can just meet for coffee and hang? Or go out to dinner but just get an appetizer? Definitely budget something in; it's so worth it!

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  6. Oh, and I totally get the shower curtain thing. I was being so cheap we were just using a clear plastic one from IKEA in our bathroom, and my teenage son hated it. I finally came across one (beige and bland, but at least not ugly) at the Thrift store, new and unopened, for like, $5. (Or maybe less?) The really cute ones at regular retail are super high-priced, it's crazy.

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  7. @Red - way to hold strong! Great job!

    @Rhitter - c'mon...dig deep....there must have been something good!

    @Rachel - this too shall pass...promise.

    @Mimi - sorry about the vet bills...we have a cat that probably needs a tooth out...and that is gonna cost $. And the cut in pay. Ouch!

    @Jolyn -thank you for knowing the theme song....I was getting worried there for a minute I was a geek. ;) My kids love the silly bands too. They only have 1 package of real ones, all the rest are cheap knock off, but they are happy with them

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