2011 Season

As I sit here watching the Red Sox play the Twins I am in heaven. Butler just won to advance to the final four. I made a delicious dinner, something I had gotten out of the habit of doing AND I'm watching 2 of my favorite teams in preseason baseball. One week from today is my birthday!

So, the quest to save money has begun again. One thing that is helping me is the website: mint.com.

I am on such a self-improvement kick of late. I am reading everything I can get my hands on, books for work: For Hearing People Only, books about writing: Hooked , self-help books: Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel, and reading for fun Late, Late at Night by Rick Springfield.

The new full time job I was so excited about has been cut to PART TIME for next year. And so the job search begins anew. As for this job... as my cousin Jamie once said regarding wedding dresses she was trying on "I don't hate it."

And I don't. I get up and leave relatively on time every morning. I keep to myself and have received two glowing performance reviews. The kid is okay, some days are better than others. I adore the girl I work with. The money sucks and the kid is out a lot but when she's on, POW! She does great. Did I mention the money sucks? And it's a very foreign land, this rural country school.

But it is spring, baseball is about to start next week at this time I will be enjoying Jameson and celebrating my birthday.... Can't be all bad, right?

Saving Myself for Joe Mauer

All I want to do is see Joe Mauer play baseball in person. Okay, so I did back in the day when he was on the Rochester Red Wings, but that doesn't count (although I was sitting behind homeplate!)

I don't care if it's in Minnesota, NY, Boston, Baltimore or Chicago.

I have seen all of my other favorites over the years play in person: David Cone (I drove from Buffalo to Toronto after my morning classes to see him pitch for the Yankees, saw him pitch well for the Sox AND sat in freezing drizzle to watch him get his final Major League win at Shea Stadium), Jason Varitek, Robin Ventura, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera... I need to see Mauer.

However, I am at a crossroads. My full time teaching position was cut back in February to a part-time one, I have been doing some independent consulting to help pay the bills and am scraping by. But I have no money to spare. I am not good with money, other than saving up for something I want. I need to save for the bigger picture.

So, this summer I am setting some goals for myself, that include not spending any money, working out a budget for myself and saving not just for my future, but to see Mauer play. Seeing him play is my incentive to 'save myself' and get myself out of this financial hole.

This is the final countdown. The project begins on July 1st. Wish me luck.