It's the last day of June, and no spending today -- so time for my recap!

Housing - $769

Vacation/Travel - $456 (airline ticket)

Fees/Services - $212 (BestBuy service plan)

Utilities - $197

Gifts/Charity - $195 (two birthdays and care package)

Eating Out/Takeout - $49

Groceries - $47 (skipped two weeks, one because I was babysitting, one because smoke kept me housebound)

Household Supplies - $41

Phone - $38

Entertainment - $31

Gas - $26

Medical/Health - $26

Laundry - $18

Car - $8 (car wash and bargain car mats bought at garage sale)

Grand Total - $2113

Variables - 88%

It's always a good month when my expenditure is lower than my income. I can sweep $3000 into savings!

I calculated my expenditures while babysitting wrong. For some reason I saw $17 on the Subway receipt instead of $7. I didn't realize it until DIL reimbursed me correctly. So, anyway, I have wiped out those expenditures from my spreadsheet and my variables are now 88%.

I was planning on grocery shopping yesterday, but the air quality was too unhealthy to go out. Then I was planning on today, but there hasn't been much change. Now I'm so close to the end of the month, I may just skip it altogether. I have what I really need. Well, the creamer may not hold out, but I do have milk and sugar!

Using up things -- I made carrot soup yesterday. It took so long for the carrots to get soft that I ate something else instead and the soup is in the fridge waiting to be heated up for today's lunch. I also used up an apple by making apple pancake batter. I had apple pancakes yesterday and today and there's still more for tomorrow.

I'm getting stir crazy, and I'm glad I have a lot of books on hand for entertainment. With any luck, we will have rain today and that might drive away the smoke.

Oh, almost forgot! I have to pay $90 for my share of a legal fee to get our property valuation lowered. This will lower our taxes in the future, but I'm not sure if it will really make a difference to me, since I have a senior freeze exemption. I guess I'll find out soon. The funny thing is that I looked at this email in the middle of the night and my bleary eyes saw $9000 instead of $90.00. I was quite relieved this morning to verify what I knew must be true!

I just got home from spending a long weekend "babysitting" my teenage grandsons, while my son and his wife traveled out west. Everything went well, but I got pretty tired. I'm getting too old for this! I spent quite a bit, some of which may be reimbursed, but I'm not going to stress about it. I spent $64 on eating out & takeout and $13 on groceries. Well, I guess that wasn't so much after all.

I did not meet BFF for lunch as I had planned. Her car wouldn't start, so the meetup was a non-starter. Haha.

I didn't get as much sleep as I needed, so today is going to be a day of rest, except for catching up on laundry.

Variables are at 91%.

Since my last entry I bought a birthday present for DIL ($63) and have now spent 80% of my variables budget. That's unusual before payday, but payday is a little late this month, coming on the 21st.

My son continues to make slow progress, but he is getting better. There is no hurry for him to get back to work because -- get this -- they have eliminated his position! It has nothing to do with his illness or with his performance in any way. It's a reorg thing. But the timing is terrible. He doesn't need this stress. Oh, I should be quick to say, he is not losing his employment; he has been promised that there will be a job for him, they just haven't figured out what it will be. And it probably won't be at the same level. It is a blow, but not a bad one, and right now he is more focused on regaining his health than he is on workplace drama.

Tomorrow I'm going to meet BFF in the middle city for lunch. I'm a little worried about the drive. There is going to be a NASCAR street race on Lake Shore Drive on July 1 & 2, and they are already closing lanes and streets in preparation. LSD is the route I always take, so I think I'm going to have to figure out another way. Hope Google Maps is up to date on street closings.

Thank you all for your kind words about my son and his health crisis. I am happy to report that he is home and recovering well from his second surgery. It will take him some time to get back to normal, but he is young and strong and he will do it.

I bought a plane ticket to go visit him in mid-July. The ticket was $485. I've also spent $50 on a care package, $26 for gas, $12 for cleaning supplies, $4 for paper plates, $24 for groceries, and $6 for laundry. I have spent 72% of my variables budget, and that's not counting the plane ticket, which is coming out of savings.

I am finding that I am very tired now that everything is getting back to normal. I was so tense for such a long time while my son was struggling. Once I started to believe that everything would be okay, I sort of crashed. I am hoping to regain some strength in the next few days, because next Thursday I will be babysitting my local grandkids while their parents take a long weekend vacation. "Babysitting" doesn't quite describe it, since they are teenagers, but I will be there to keep on eye on things, making sure they are fed and showing up when and where they're supposed to. It will be good to spend some time with them!

I have had a terrible week. My son was sent home from the hospital too early -- sounds to me like the doc was anxious to get started on his vacation -- and he hadn't been properly monitored (IMHO), so a day after he came home he woke up in the night vomiting bile and went back to the hospital in an ambulance. He went back into surgery the same day and part of his colon was removed due to two blockages -- one caused by scar tissue and one section that just wasn't working. He also has some residual infection. A port has been installed so that any fluid buildup can be detected early. I am hoping and praying that he is now really on the road to recovery. I have had one conversation with him since the second surgery, and he sounds better. I think the new surgeon is a big improvement over the first, but who knows, maybe the problem just wasn't obvious before.

I have been frantic, beyond stressed.

Spending: $23 for groceries, $81 for gifts, and my Best Buy technology plan renewed for $212. And this morning I spent $5 at a garage sale for two car mats. I was planning to get Weathertech mats, but these are heavy and fit well enough and I think they are going to be fine. Saved me a lot of money.

Yesterday's spending: $25 for toilet paper at Sam's, and $2 for laundry. Variables are at 11%.

I forgot to report that last month's variables spending was only 54% of the allotted amount. A very good month.

My son in Oregon is in the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Unfortunately, the appendix burst, so he is in a lot of pain and in danger of infection. I am very stressed about that. I am also stressed because I have several spots that the Urgent Care doctor wants me to have looked at by a dermatologist, with an eye toward a possible biopsy. I couldn't get an appointment before September 11! I am on the waiting list for anything earlier. So frustrating.

Vacation plans are on hold while these issues are sorted out.