I felt tired yesterday and became quite sick in the night. Today I'm not really better, just spent.

I didn't spend anything yesterday and I won't today.

I really need to do laundry but I can't manage those steps until I feel a lot better.

Thank goodness, DIL is not working today and I don't have to watch GS2.

Hoping when I check in again I'll be much improved.

Did my mystery shop last night, spending .78 over the amount I will be reimbursed. But I'll also get an $8 payment. Not till next month, of course. I brought home a bag of leftover fries, which I will turn into home fries.

Afterwards I went to son's house and played a new board game with him and GS2, who is already lonely for his brother.

I need to get a few groceries today. I may have time to do that after the gym. But I have to be on Grandma duty at 9:30.

Variables are at 9%.

I helped send GS1 off to camp this morning, and afterwards we all went out for breakfast. GS's grandpa and uncle picked up the tab -- so nice! This evening I have a mystery shop to do at a hamburger place. I don't think I'll need to eat anything else all day.

My contract with Spark Energy ended and I chose not to renew. I'm going back to ComEd as the supplier. I thought I would have a hard time cancelling, as SE was very aggressive in signing me up in the first place. But I was able to do it via email, and I just got the confirmation from ComEd. Don't believe they ever saved me any money, and I never did like the way they hooked me in the first place. (Salesperson made it sound like they represented ComEd. It was all very shady.)

I have a day of rest ahead of me before I go back on Grandma duty tomorrow. It will be just one boy for the next two weeks. Not sure if it will actually be any easier, as they entertain each other!

Weather is finally beautiful -- clear, cool and sunny. No AC needed. I think I'll take a nap!

I got back from my Michigan vacation today. I'm very tired, because it's not much of a vacation when you're running after two little boys. That said, they were really pretty good at entertaining themselves. But with a pool and a lake in the back yard, I had to be vigilant.

I spent only $56. $27 of that was for gas and the rest for food on the road. We hit a few garage sales on Friday morning and I spent $2 on things the boys wanted as well as a Christmas gift. We also went to my SIL's antique shop and I spent $10 there on a gift for DIL.

I caught up on my bill paying, as pay day came the day I left. Everything looks to be in order.

Variables for this new month are now at 8%.

Now I'm going to get some serious rest! Really, I had a lovely time. The weather was perfect, if a little cool, and my brother served up some fabulous meals. I am truly lucky to have a brother who is a chef -- and a good one at that!

It was a low-spend month overall, but mainly because no assessment fee hit during this month. (It hit twice last month.)

Housing: $321
Utilities: $171
Property Taxes: $168
Groceries: $110
Eating Out: $99
Fees/Services: $60
Vet/Pet Supplies: $59
Gas: $57
Phone: $52
Medical/Health: $36
Household Supplies: $29
Entertainment: $25
Laundry: $19
Furnishings/Equipment/Decor: $18
Car Repair/Maintenance: $17
Gifts/Charity: $5
Fares/Parking: $1

Grand Total: $1265

This has been my first whole month of Gap Year. I hope they all go this well. I spent 68% of my variables budget.

I have an extra $79 to put into the coming month's variables budget -- a combination of mystery shopping, surveys, cashback rewards, and money found on the street.

I was able to add $333 to the mortgage fund.

Next month will probably be more of a challenge. I'm driving to Michigan tomorrow with the boys, and I plan to go again later in the month with my son and DIL as well. That will be to celebrate my birthday.

I looked at the HelloFresh wine club site, and found that the $45 off is being offered to everyone. It does appear I could cancel at any time, but the wine prices are pretty high, so it's probably not worth the trouble of ordering and cancelling.

I took another alley walk today and found four more boxes. One contained some toddler girl's clothing in pretty good condition, so I'll add that to the sale, after washing it.

Since I cannot arrive at my brother's too early tomorrow, the boys and I are going to the children's movie at 10 a.m. (Paddington 2) and then we'll hit the road. Maybe stop at Culver's on the way. I'm not actually packed yet, but I have everything set out, ready to stick in the bag. I can't pack the bag till the last minute because it upsets Iggy so much!

Yesterday the boys asked if it could be Eat Out Day, since they were going to Six Flags on Tuesday and will be in Michigan the rest of the week. I caved. I guess I'm glad they enjoy Eat Out Day so much. (But this is hardly going to be a week of deprivation for them!)

We settled on Outback Steakhouse, since they were offering free bloomin' onions yesterday. But it turned out awfully expensive, anyway. The boys ordered ribs from the kids' menu, and they each ordered a drink. GS1 got root beer, which came in a bottle. He asked for a refill, and we got another bottle -- another charge, of course. I only ordered a cup of soup and water. The free stuff was two small loaves of bread and the onion. The total bill, with tip, was $37.

After lunch, we were almost home when we got a text from my son that GS1 had left his violin at music lessons. We went back to get it, but when we arrived at the music teacher's home, she wasn't answering the door. By that time, we were all needing to go to the bathroom (and we were 30 minutes away from home) so we went seeking a public restroom. We ended up using one at a gas station, and I spent $5 there on ice cream treats. (Around here, you don't use a public restroom unless you're a paying customer!) In fact, the person on duty was in a tirade because someone had tied up the bathroom for 25 minutes without buying anything.

We did finally get the violin. It took a while because I didn't have the music teacher's phone number, so I couldn't text her directly. But that's been remedied now.

I brought home enough food for a lunch or two. Enough meat to make a sandwich, and most of the onion, which I have frozen, but I'll use later in potato scramble. Oh, and GS1 didn't touch his side of fruit, so I'm going to have that for breakfast.

I got my reimbursement from the warranty company yesterday, and I've deposited it into the mortgage fund, since I don't need it in checking. I'm going to try to put all extras into the mortgage fund, as there isn't enough there yet to pay the mortgage through the year.

This is the day before pay day. I'll probably do a monthly recap later in the day, since I'll be leaving early in the morning for Michigan.

It was a calm Sunday. My only outings (which I combined in one) was to go to the library and the gym.

I pulled out some old files and went through them, throwing away about 90%.

I logged $8 income from IntelliShop. There is more coming, which apparently didn't make the cutoff, but I was glad to see that income.

Iggy threw up on my bed yesterday, so I had to wash the sheets and mattress pad. I hadn't made the bed, so he didn't get the comforter or quilt.

I logged my annual payment to AAA, which goes on my credit card. $58. Variables are now 66%. Only two days to go.

Today I am babysitting from 7 to 5:30. My DIL is working at a conference in Montana, so I am on duty according to my son's work hours today. I'm leaving as soon as I finish this. I doubt that I will get through this day without spending something.

Yesterday I went to Jewel and got my free MyMixx items -- barbecue sauce, coconut water, and a coffee smoothie. I saw ketchup on sale, so I bought that. Total price - .90.

I also gave $1 each to two panhandlers. One was actually raising money for a team; the other was just there with his cup.

From there I went to PetSmart. I had it marked in my calendar that Top Fin supplies were 30% off. I picked up two different kinds of fish food, but when they were scanned, I got no discount. I asked the cashier about it, and she said to find the original email and come back with my receipt.

Well, I went to the car, and I quickly found the email with the offer. Took it inside and got the adjustment. Turns out, there was a Top Fin associate set up at a table inside the store with coupons. I should have used one of those coupons, but I had no idea. Unfortunate that the cashiers had no idea, either.

After all was said and done, I paid $16 for the fish food.

Sometimes you just have to fight for your money.

Today I'm going to the gym and the library. I'm also going to get back to decluttering. My poor dining room is now completely devoted to the garage sale. I'll be glad when I can move it all out.

I spent the whole day at home yesterday. I did go out for a walk in the morning, hitting the alleys once more. I found a great box from Hello Fresh. When I got home, I discovered it still contained a card offering $45 off your first order of wine, if you join the Hello Fresh wine club. I'll have to read up on it to see if I could cancel after the first order. I don't drink wine any more, but it makes good gifts.

I also found some paper plates and plastic cups still in their wraps -- just set out, not in the dumpster, so I felt okay about taking them. There was other disposable tableware, but I passed them up. They were not wrapped.

Also found three Thanksgiving place mats, which will go in the sale.

And I found .11 as well.

I did a load of laundry, and continued pulling out things for the garage sale. I had a huge stash of fabric that I know I'm never going to use, so it's going on the block. I did save the material for a quilt I was was working on and forgot about. That would be a nice activity this winter.

I've gone through the whole house now, except for the kitchen and the storage unit.

I'm beginning to wonder how I'm going to get this all to Indiana. It will take several trips, for sure.

I also did some kitchen stuff yesterday. I made some chicken fajita filling, and I pulled out some hot dog buns from the freezer to dry and turn into breadcrumbs. They were too dry to use as buns.

Mostly I read and relaxed. It was a good day.

I went to Food4Less and Aldi yesterday, which pushed my grocery spending above $100 for the month. I don't like to ever break $100, but it happens once in a while. At Aldi, in particular, I did some stocking up -- for instance, meat to keep in the freezer. I think this food should last for a while.

I had a bit of a scare at Aldi. I pulled up to the store and there was a huge construction fence and the store itself was stripped of any recognizable feature. I thought they were demolishing it! But no, it was a remodel, and I was able to follow a path to get in, where everything was intact.

I also went to the gym, and, of course, babysat in the afternoon. The boys take their lunches to morning sports camp, and I have been going through the remains they bring home. Yesterday one of them brought back a whole sandwich. Knowing it would be thrown out otherwise, I ate it for my dinner. A free meal!

Next week will be a change of pace. Monday will be normal, Tuesday the boys are going to Six Flags, so I'll be off, and on Wednesday I'm going to take them to the kids' movie (Paddington 2), grab lunch, and then drive to Michigan. We'll stay at my brother's until Saturday morning. This will be the first time it's been just me and boys at my brother's house, and I hope it goes well.

The trip to Michigan will begin on pay day, so all of the cost of it will go on next month's budget.

Right now, variables are at 55%. Only five days till pay day.

I found a $5 bill yesterday! It was just lying in the street, folded up. I'm getting so close now to picking up $100!

I took a walk in the alleys yesterday. I found about six boxes, but nothing new to put in the garage sale.

I went to the last baseball game of the season. Our team lost pretty bad, and GS1 had a bad game, striking out twice and missing an important catch. But they all went out to Portillo's afterwards in good spirits. I drove separately, so I passed on the meal out. Not only do I not want to spend the money -- I don't want to eat that late in the day.

Today I slept kind of late, but I need to get to the gym and shop a little before I go take care of the boys.

GS2 is very sad that his cousin, who is almost the same age, has moved out of town, all the way to Oregon. We are all trying to think of ways to let them see each other. I am toying with idea of BFF and I taking the train to Portland with our grandchildren. She has a brother there. I haven't even introduced this idea to her, and it won't happen for a while, even if she likes the idea. It would be hard for me to do during Gap Year. But it is something to think about and aim for. BFF and I were planning to take another trip together, anyway. Maybe next summer?

My mystery shop went well, and I've entered my report. I have not received payment from this particular company for more than a month, so I'm not going to accept any more from them until they do. Unlike some of the others, there is nothing on their site showing what has been paid and what is pending, so it's a little nerve-wracking.

After the shop, I went straight to GS1's playoff game. It was a VERY LONG game. It was stalled many times because of issues with the ump and the coaches. In the end, we finally won, in an exciting comeback, but it was three and a half hours!

I found a Trader Joe's before the game and bought some snacks, spending $7. Most of them I ended up bringing home. Those snacks were my supper. I was planning on going out with the kids after the game, but since the game ran so long, I begged off. Saved me some money.

Variables are now at 51%, with only one week to go.

It was another no-spend day for me, other than $1.50 for laundry, which I don't really count as spending. I took the boys to the library after their sports camp. They had eaten lunch at the camp, so there was no decision about what to do about feeding them. We were there a short while and then GS1 had to go to baseball practice.

In the evening, I went to GS2's championship game. We lost, but it was an exciting game, and GS2 got his first trophy. And I found a nickel in the bleachers!

I ordered my free OTC drugs -- $50 worth. This time I got low-dose aspirin, dairy pills, generic Zyrtec, famotide, acetominophen, and a small box of pantyliners.

This morning I took a walk around the neighborhood. I headed home by way of the alleys, where I found a nice cardboard box. I also found a plastic wastebasket, a small tire and a 12" baking pan, all in good condition. I'll put the wastebasket and tire in the garage sale, but I'll keep the baking pan. I also found a set of paper lanterns still in plastic wrap -- but they had been damaged by rain, so I left them.

These are all things that were set out by the dumpsters, not in them. I don't actually go dumpster diving!

It seems many of the millennials I live among declutter by taking things to the dumpster and do not donate to Goodwill. So wasteful! But I'm sure there are others like me who come along and snatch them up!

Today I have a mystery shop to do, which may interfere, time-wise, with GS1's away game tonight. I have to do the mystery shop, once I'm signed up, so it will get priority.

My cash back from Discover hit the bank, almost $8.

I cleaned that tank, I hung those pictures, and I squeezed in a visit to the gym in between the baseball games. I also managed to put aside more stuff for the garage sale. I've worked my way about halfway through my house.

My only spending yesterday was .50 for lemonade at the ball park.

It was a good day, especially for GS2, whose team won all three games and will now play in the championship game tonight.

This week the boys are going to a morning sports camp, so I don't go on duty until 1:30. With DIL coming home around 3-4, it will be a light week. (My body appreciates that!) Next week I'm taking them up to Michigan. Not nailed down yet, but probably Wednesday through Friday.

I need to do some more laundry today, but first I need to go get quarters. I think I'll take a walk to the bank before it gets too steamy and hot.