Mass Was Meaningful Today

⛸🎄🍪

The Bon Appetit cookie cover was hard to resist at supermarket checkout today. New twist on Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie, with a lot of fresh mint to tint the dough green. Hoping I can cut down the sugar and
use high-quality bittersweet chocolate. (Official Thin Mints use peppermint oil.)

I liked the sermon/homily at Mass today. It was about having hope. Also, the Advent wreath on the altar was lit--3 purple candles, and 1 pink one, so far just the first 2 purples glowing, for the first two weeks of Advent.

Our sweet friends were there in the "crying room" [generally for families with kids]--Jessica and Ben and their children, George, 5; Leo, almost 3; and Violet, born August 12. I had seen Ben at Kings after Violet was born--we had both biked there to get groceries--but Punch and I hadn't gotten over to meet the baby and drop anything off yet.

All three kids are darling....but the baby girl.....a precious little angel, smiling and pure and pretty with soft little tights and adorable shoes......such a treat.

TCOY

1. I found beauty and community at Mass--and friendship/talk when I went to pick up Punchy from sleepover at her friend's before 10:30 Mass. Her pal's Dad, a Londoner, is very nice, as are his wife and two girls. 
2. Good homemade coffee.
3. I'm going to take a cat nap if it's the last thing I do. 
4. Dan and I planning to go to see the 7 pm movie "Knives Out" with Punchy tonite. Figgy is busy.
5. Writing this post/tracking money spent.
6. Made a broccoli quiche from Joy of Cooking.
7. Face wash.
8. Eye cream.
9. Filled my Mom’s crystal bowl w clementines.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Lit a candle at church and said a prayer, $3.
• Jessica and Ben like to take the boys [now with baby sis] to the bagel shop after Mass, so Punch and I joined and I treated, counting turkey on bagel for me and tofu spread on bagel for Fig, $23.13.
• Kings, lots of groceries, because I'm finding that Dan is not so good at blending work and dinner planning and dishes, and we are not eating very healthfully. It's a ramp, a moving walkway we are all on since I have gone back to work in NYC. Sack of Halos clementines, five Bosc pears, large container baby spinach, dried figs, fresh broccoli, vegan "Provolone" cheese slices, Bell & Evans frozen chicken patties x 2, Gardein vegan entrees [buy one/get one free], good Russian rye bread, bag of Brie bites, dinner rolls, no-hormone chicken sausage breakfast patties x 2, wet dog food x 2, dozen eggs, half-gallon whole milk, whole-wheat English muffins, 2 gallons distilled water for CPAP machine, family-size box Triscuits, very large box plain Cheerios, half-pint cream, quart half and half, Murphy's Oil orange wood cleaning spray, 2 very large yams, Cheddar slices, large wedge Jarlsberg cheese, bottle Marie's Buttermilk Ranch Dressing and, something I have eyed for a while since Kings launched its Italian festival--Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. She is so well-known. I hope to make a dish or two to honor my/Dad's/Rosie's Italian heritage this Christmas season. I think the only M. Hazan recipes I've made are tiramisu and a simple, delicious tomato sauce my friend Rach told me about, with a bit of butter in it. $194.07. Oh--and this included the December issue of Bon Appetit Magazine, with a close-up of a beautiful chocolate-dipped minty green cookie on the cover. It was $7.99 cover price, crazy but true. I pledge that this will be my last holiday magazine purchased this year.
• Delvino's Restaurant on Main Street in Belfast, gift card to thank Pat and Martha for their hospitality in Maine over Thanksgiving. Our family stayed there; Pat and Martha so gracious. The gift card will be mailed to them. $50.

TOTAL DAILY SPEND: $270.20.

Ongoing monthly spend as of Dec. 8: $1,641.15.

Avg daily spend: $205.14.
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COMPARE TO 4 PRIOR MONTHS:

Total spend for November (30 days): $2,979.03. ⬆️

Average daily spend: $99.30. ⬆️

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TOTAL SPEND FOR OCTOBER (31 DAYS): $2,495.36.🍎 ⬆️

AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $80.49.🍎 ⬆️

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TOTAL SPEND FOR SEPTEMBER (30 DAYS): $2,214.43.🍎⬇️

AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $73.81.🍎⬇️

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TOTAL SPEND FOR AUGUST (31 DAYS): $2,895.06. ⬆️

AUGUST AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $93.39.  ⬆️

Hello from Grand Central Station ⏱☕️🚆

I'm working on my Rose Gold 🌹💰laptop. I pulled it out, like a proud magician, from my new Lilly tech sleeve. The one with the golden zipper and cute neoprene print.

I met Sis and her friend, Nicole, for lunch and then accompanied brave, elegant Sis to her dr. appt. I walked her back to her track here at Grand Central and am now ensconced in Great Northern Food Hall.

With a nice large iced coffee by my side.

I really have to get my ducks in a row for my next round of freelance assignments....contact the sources, review images and material, prepare interview questions. Then write the pieces.

And....I want to continue looking for a full-time job with benefits, but TBH, I'm not sure how to plow that path anymore. Job boards? Personal contacts? Networking? All of the above, I guess.

TCOY

1. Aveeno Stress Relief body wash.
2. Walked from Port Authority to Grand Central to meet Sis and then we walked to restaurant and to dr.
3. Had kale salad at lunch [for appetizer].
4. Taking this time to work, and contemplate career steps.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

Sunday, June 16

• Two donations, $10.
• Cornerstone General Store, presents for Punchy's elementary school graduation this Thursday [daily planner, Unplug Everyday book, tower of cute reusable lunch/snack boxes to pack, stickers --all things to smooth her way into middle school in September], Father's Day card from her to Dan, Desert Island Dilemmas game, candle, planter with saucer and more, $135.73. From the store website: The General Store is part of Cornerstone Montclair, a business with a vision of fostering a community in which people of all abilities have opportunities for meaningful work, social engagement and active lifestyles.
• Macy's, Father's Day gifts for Dan, $46.
• California Pizza Kitchen plus tip, $22.36.

Today

• Round trip bus fare, Montclair to NYC, $15.30.
• Bistango Italian restaurant on 50th Street, excellent prix fixe lunch for $24.95. I paid for Sis, $71.11 plus $4 of the tip, $75.11.
• Great Northern Food Hall, large iced coffee and 4 mini round brownie bites. No tip jar in sight. $8.17.

TOTAL SPEND FOR YESTERDAY AND TODAY: $312.67.

RUNNING TOTAL FOR MONTH AS OF JUNE 17: $2,779.35.

AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $163.49.

MONEY THOUGHTS: Big June spends include LillyPulitzer.com dress, tech sleeve 
for laptop, market tote, $154; Vamp salon cut, color and shampoo product, $271; 
gift, $80; Ubers while our only car was in shop for 4 days; 
Joyist, school morning, $37; teachers' toasts tickets, $74; 
teachers' gift contribution, $40; Aerin sale at Williams-Sonoma, $78; blowout 
June 14, $45; 15-class yoga pass, $285; Maggie's Organics, 3 items clothing plus Dan,
$107; Local Coffee, beans plus etc., $31; CVS good sunscreen sale plus, $79; Aveda
lipstick, $24; taking Sis to lunch in NYC June 17, $75; Cornerstone General Store,
graduation gifts for Punch plus more, $136.

KEEPING AN EYE ON PAST MONTHS

MAY TOTAL SPEND: $2,348.24.

MAY AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $75.75. 

APRIL TOTAL SPEND: $3,634.28.

APRIL AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $121.14.

Succumbed to Moss & More--& Italian Store

$MSOOP

• Donation, $5.
• Parking meter, $1.
• Red-eye espresso and a baked vegan chocolate-espresso donut from Java Love to bring to Figgy at work, about $8.
• Went into Moss & More [a "botanical boutique"] and bought three tiny "fairy plants" in tiny pots, one each for Fig, Sis and Will--we had sibling lunch in NYC. Sibs liked. Then succumbed to small, spiky succulent in pretty blue and white planter for my desk. About $24. 
• White Cheddar Cheez-It Grooves, about $2.
• Rosario's Shop to get Ferrara Torrone nougat candy, the little individually boxed treats our Grandma Rosie used to bring us on holidays. $9.99. [Sibs liked.] 1 lb. sausage & peppers, $8.99. 2 small loaves Italian bread, $2.60. Big jar anchovies, $15.99. This equals $37.57.

Total is $77.57

Doesn't count our pricey part of bill at excellent Italian restaurant in NYC or price to park on street at meters there, or for that matter, the toll to drive through the Lincoln Tunnel. But those expenses came out of Dan's wallet, not mine....still our family expenses, though....

The Elf on the Shelf

She definitely sees you when you're sleeping; this is Punch's room.

My sister-in-law Eileen showed me her family's Elf on the Shelf up in Maine a couple years ago. Now we have one in our house, who is watching Punch and moving around from high spot to high spot every night, by magic. Can you please not put that in the bathroom? It's creepy, said Figgy. It was creepy, watching us from high atop the bathroom mirror.

I do feel a bit commercial about the whole thing, like maybe we should have Baby Jesus's empty crib moving around the house. And I love a statue my friend Jean has; it shows big Santa kneeling at the baby Savior's crib. Still, Punch named her elf Sparkle, and we texted a photo to Eileen's daughter, Izzy, 7, up in Maine. Then Eileen texted us a photo of Izzy and her elf, named Snowy.

It's a muracle, Punch said when Sparkle showed up the first morning. She takes everyone up to see it--her child services caseworker and the county nurse today, Nikki and Anne yesterday. She'd surely show the mailman if she could.

Note to self: Talk more about the birth of Jesus here in our house. Slip it in, sneak it in.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Boot camp in the park.
2. 30-minute nap.
3. Turkey sandwich.