The conference I helped to plan was a great success. Okay, we lost some money, but we expected to. Our speakers were rather costly this year. For the first time we engaged a speaker who actually charged a fee ($1600 -- her reduced rate for nonprofits). And the three speakers came from Florida, New York, and Colorado, so there were airline tickets and hotel fees for all. Not to mention outrageous taxi fares. We could sure save a lot of money for our organization if we sent someone to pick up the speakers at the airport!
However, they were all good, and I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed the conference immensely.
My personal spending that day was $4 for breakfast (I got there too early, so basically just needed to find a place to wait, which turned out to be a bagel shop). $12 for parking. Lunch was provided; and there was so much left over that my dinner was provided, too. 
My son's visit turned out much different than I expected. I thought there would be two major restaurant meals to pay for, but both of those meals were free. I was treated on Tuesday night, and on Saturday morning, we took advantage of the hotel's complimentary breakfast. However, I DID spend the money I had budgeted -- I took Friday off work, and treated my son's family at a children's museum, and then for a hamburger lunch afterwards. I also bought some diapers, bibs, spoons and socks for the baby. All together that was close to $100. And worth every penny -- it was a wonderful visit; we had some special moments.
After my son left I did my grocery shopping, sticking to my ten items:
Cat Food
Kitty Litter
Eggs
Wine
Pork Cutlets
Raspberries
Sweet Potato
Sourdough Bread
Granola
Cookies
$36 in total. Then two loads of laundry for $3.
On Sunday I made chicken enchiladas and took half to my other son's house. Their kids were laid up with strep throat, so I just dropped the food off and left.
I did some mending, some hand washing, a little cleaning. It was a laid-back catch-up day.
Monday came too soon!
A great conference and a great visit
September 30th, 2013 at 07:32 pm
September 30th, 2013 at 07:37 pm 1380566251
October 1st, 2013 at 02:12 pm 1380633126
2. Negotiating in the workplace
3. Data analytics in fundraising
October 1st, 2013 at 02:54 pm 1380635659
October 1st, 2013 at 03:12 pm 1380636749