Went to a local travel expo today sponsored by a new travel agency. It was sort of a small event but they had all the
various tour groups represented and I enjoyed it. They had free shrimp but I don't eat seafood. I did have some cheese and crackers. I also got some free canvas bags, chip clips and stuff like that. I still had to work today but didn't start till 5 pm. so that worked out too.

Got my paycheck today.
From this check I'm putting $50 towards my extra mortgage principal, $40 towards the new Binoculars I want, and approxamately $20 towards a small new suitcase I'm getting for vacation. I need quite a few things (mostly small stuff) for my vacation so I'm squeezing them into the budget slowly. I have till the end of May to get everything I want/need.

Its funny I have about 5 weeks till vacation and I already rather suddenly decided where I want to go next year. My vacation plans are always subject to change but I usually know when I fall onto something that I just have to do.
First I saw a travel show about it last night then I saw a very nice tour to the place at my travel expo today. I think I'm going to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands in 2010.
Like I said there are lots of variables that can change my mind. Especially price! It looks like a 14 day trip will cost over $6000. But once I get a place in my mind and I get a certain feeling about it means I'll probably be going.

Thanks again everyone for all the kind words about the loss of my cat Penny.
I'm doing ok about it and I think she is better off. I still worry about her and all the people and animals I have lost over the years if they are OK wherever they may be.

My cat Penny died last night. She's been sick for quite awhile so I knew it was coming and probably for the best. But I'll miss her.

Got my paycheck thursday night. This paycheck is what I consider my extra paycheck. I get 3 this month instead of 2.
Out of this check I will put $100 towards my E-Fund.
$100 towards my travel fund. $200 towards 2010 IRA. I'm going to leave $100 in my checking thats basically just extra cusion but in reality it will go towards a new front door I want to buy for my house. And I designated $40 towards a pair of binoculars I want. Not sure if I'll get them or not. They will cost me a total of about $170 if I do get them. I've been wanting a good pair of binoculars for years but couldn't justify buying them. But since they would be wonderful on my vacation this year I am re-considering it.

Yesterday I spent a long time and energy booking my long awaited vacation for this year. I ended up going at least full circle of my original plans. I originally planned on a a tour of Costa Rica for a week to 14 days last year. Then things didn't go as planned so I thought maybe a short cruise. The cruises weren't exactly what I wanted so I looked into just a short stay in Aruba. Then thought about it and decided I could do the same thing in Costa Rica which is where I wanted to go in the first place. LOL.
So I booked a flight and hotel to San Jose, Costa Rica for 5 nights starting the end of May. I can book the little excursions that I want to take right from the hotel. Some of the main things I want to do is a canopy tour and a trip to Arenal vulcano. I'll also explore San Jose and its museums. There seems to be endless amounts of things to see there but this will satisfy my travel bug and give me a taste of the country to maybe go back again another time.

I received a phishing scam email yesterday for a credit card that I no longer have. I called the credit card up to report it and they asked me to forward the email to them.

Today I picked up my tax papers finally from HR Block. All I have to do now is send in the city taxes. The rest is being e-filed. I think I did pretty good. I will get $1484 back from Federal and $134
back from Ohio. Pretty much pays for vacation more or less.

I did some exploring with a friend of mine today. We went to a covered bridge and a cemetary thats supposed to be haunted. It wasn't scary but it was a nice day outside. We also stopped at another "haunted" cemetary. It wasn't scary at all but it was historically interesting. There were quite a few civil war veterans burried there and one tombstone that said "Hero of Bunker Hill" from a Revolutionary War veteran.
Otherwise I was more interested in some near by cows. I tried to trick them to come to me by pretending I had an apple. They edged closer and closer but wouldn't fall for it.
All in all it was a pretty good day.