free research

One more way I fake having a real office ... free Westlaw access at the New York City Bar in midtown. Sure, that means commuting into Manhattan when I don't really need to, but today I have a hearing anyway, so here I am. I pay my yearly membership dues, and that gets me unlimited westlaw access (and many other research tools) in the library of the New York City Bar, and gives me limited westlaw access from home (forms, which are pretty useful!). Westlaw subscriptions cost a lot more than the $244/year I will spend in City Bar dues, and of course I am also granted free or cheap CLEs several times a month. Pretty good deal! WHO NEEDS LAW FIRMS? Not I.

Today I am covering an appearance for another attorney, a guy whose parents were my clients at my old firm. Networking, people. That's what it's all about. If you are starting your own business of any sort, the first step is to call everyone you know, and tell them you are already in business. Fake it till you make it.

OK, back to researching ...

My Fake Law Office

So, I am a real lawyer, and I am doing real legal work, but I am doing it in a fake office. Well, it's a real office, I guess, inasmuch as I have a desk and a computer, but it also happens to be adjacent to my washer and dryer, and next door to my baby's room. But it functions just as well as any office I have ever worked in, and here is why:

I have Evernote, a combination iphone app and computer website that helps me keep track of files and documents.

I have eFax, a virtual fax machine that lets me receive faxes at a true (fake) fax number, and sends them to my email.

I have JotNot, an iPhone app that allows me to photograph documents and then magically turns them into scans, and, in combination with Evernote and eFax, lets me fax them to my recipients.

I have Vonage, which allowed me to keep my home phone number (as I discussed below), and which then sends voicemails to my email address. Since I receive emails on my iPhone and am able to play audio files, I can listen to my home voicemail even when I am away from my "office."

I have Flat Rate shipping from the US Postal Service. I ordered boxes of various sizes (for free), and I can print my own labels and schedule pickups at my home. I don't even need to be home when the pickup happens -- I can leave the package outside my door and the mailman will take it.

I have a PayPal account, and can accept payment from my clients online. The only drawback to this is that unless I get a premium PayPal account, I do lose a small percentage of my fee to PayPal processing.

I have EasyBiller, an iPhone app that helps me record all of my billable hours. It sorts the time by client and by matter, and emails me reports in a wonderful, easy to read spreadsheet.

So, that is how I run my real (fake (real)) law practice from my "office." Gotta love technology. If I ever get too busy, I may employ the services of GetFriday.com, so I can have a telephone receptionist and personal assistant (and even light paralegal work).

Of course I do not see clients in my "office." My whole practice is based on making Estate Planning convenient for my clients -- when they are ready to deal with their wills, I come to their home, meet with them where it is easy for them, and I go back to my "office" to do my work ... and then execute the wills in their homes. They think I am the most flexible, accommodating lawyer ever. Nah ... just too cheap to rent my own conference room!

gadgets and whatnot

So, among other news since I last blogged a million years ago (not counting last week): I quit my job in April. Everyone congratulated me on my "decision to stay home with the baby." Well, thanks, but I never really made that decision. I decided to quit that particular job. I did look around for other jobs before I quit, and I didn't find anything, and I decided I didn't really need to find the next rung on the ladder before I let go of that one. With a lot of support and encouragement from my husband and wisdom from my parents, I let the job go and did not know what was next.

I decided I would do a little bit of work on my own in the neighborhood. I told everyone I knew that I was starting my own practice, even though the truth was I had NO IDEA if I really wanted to start my own practice. Suddenly, I was pretty busy! I actually have real, live clients who are paying me in real, live money. Pretty cool.

I kept daycare twice a week, and Baby still enjoys going there when I have client appointments, court dates, or other things to do. It has worked out well. Of course, it's not free, and even though my little nascent firm is doing ok, I am not consistently making more than the cost of childcare, and we are of course behind where we were when we were both working full-time. So, that has led to some creative belt-tightening. Here is what we do:

CHEAP FOOD

Though I am not much of an environmentalist, I did find some inspiration in an online publication called The Daily Green. In a blog post about foods that cost less than a dollar a pound, the site dishes out some pretty excellent advice. So, we eat a lot of chicken legs and thighs, lentils, beans, bananas, cabbage, beets, potatoes, eggs, and rice. And you know what? We are happy and healthy. Also, I do not miss boring, flavorless chicken breasts one bit.

CHEAP ENTERTAINMENT

We cut cable! This was a pretty exciting step, and it wasn't painful at all. First, we realized that our wii, which we already owned thanks to Santa Claus a few years ago, can receive streaming netflix and deliver it to our tv. So, for $9.99 / month we signed up for Netflix, and now have unlimited access to streaming movies on our wii, or computer, our iphones, and our (new) iPad. It is amazing. We can also receive one DVD at a time via mail, but we rarely bother.

We got an iPad. I will not pretend that this was a budget-conscious purchase, but we can watch almost all primetime ABC shows on it, which is pretty neat, and we can also watch iTunes on it. And, with a $30 cable, we can connect it to our TV and watch iTunes on our tv. We do this for Mad Men, which is one of the few shows we love that we cannot watch on wii/Netflix or Hulu. The season pass to Mad Men on iTunes was $30. Anyway, the iPad is amazing, and I will gush about it more in a later post.

I also bought a digital antenna for $20 and can receive HDTV via free digital broadcast. Most of the channels come in pretty well. And, don't tell the cable company, but since we are still internet subscribers, the cable that comes into our house still gives us the first 13 channels for free. Not in HD, but clear enough to watch the Giants preseason game yesterday (unfortunately the Giants play just as poorly on free tv).

CHEAP COMMUNICATIONS

We got Vonage and cut our telephone service that we had been subscribing to through the cable company. We pay $15 / month now for 200 minutes of outgoing calls and unlimited incoming calls. We also get call waiting, caller ID, and voicemail, and the voicemail gets emailed to me as a wav file, so I can listen right on my iPhone if I am out or on my computer (or iPad) if I am home. Pretty cool. And, we were able to keep our phone number.

Our "triple play" through the cable company used to cost $189 / month. After getting rid of TV service and phone service, we now pay $41 for internet service, plus $15 for Vonage and $10 for Netflix. Pretty cool.

We also use Skype all the time, to talk to my parents, my in-laws, and friends around the country. They get to see the baby, and the baby gets to see them. This is essential at 10am when the baby gets fussy and bored, and my mom sings Itsy Bitsy Spider to her via Skype.

And, just now, I enabled the calling feature in gmail. I can call any phone in the country for free from my computer. Zero dollars. Awesome. I am looking forward to using this a lot.

.... I think that is it for our major adjustments lately. But we are having fun!

xoxo,

Your faithful blogger

Back, with a request

Ok folks, I am blogging again after more than a year. Is this thing on? Can anybody hear me?

Just to bring you up to speed ... in the 13 months since I last posted, we had a baby girl named Noodle (not really), who has red hair and is adorable. She is now 10.5 months old and almost walking. She knows a few words and has a very silly sense of humor. She is a good napper and a pretty good sleeper, God bless her.

We are still in the same apartment -- it will be three years next month! Since Noodle's arrival, it has gotten kind of full and cluttered. I was really loving our apartment until I made friends with a mom two doors down living in an apartment identical to ours, but much better decorated. Suddenly I feel like all of our stuff, especially our furniture, is too big, and the whole place looks like an old lady lived here for 50 years and died, leaving a huge pile of junk. I need help! I am humbly posting pictures of my living room from four different angles. Please ignore the huge mess in the dining room and kitchen -- I had to move some clutter out so that you can see what is going on in the living room. I do not have much of a budget for new furniture, so we need to work with what we have, and I am open to rearranging it. Also, the long chaise piece on the couch can be moved to any other couch cushion or the arm chair.

Thank you, and please be nice!

We're Stuff-Free!

Well, not really. But we're getting there.

Hubbyhubs and I are fans of two gurus ... Dave Ramsey and David Allen. Dave Ramsey advocates being debt-free, and we're working on that (we just have some stubborn student loans). When you are truly debt-free, you get to call Dave Ramsey's radio show and yell "WE'RE DEBT-FREE!" We are looking forward to that. David Allen shares methods for getting rid of all the "stuff" in your life -- emails cluttering your in-box, to-do lists stashed in every pocket, and that nagging feeling of not quite being in control of all of the tasks you have to take care of. Both men share the philosophy that if you would only take the time to plan, and to grow up, the results will be worth it. So, along those lines, we've been working on getting rid of "stuff" in our apartment. We also need to make room for baby.

In order to more promptly rid ourselves of stuff, we've been using freecycle. I'm a huge fan. So far, we've unloaded my bike (which was later stolen from the new owner. bastards), my desk, my desktop computer (sans hard drive), the speakers from my computer, a huge stack of towels, a slipcover for a couch I no longer own, and a light fixture we bought, decided not to use, and didn't return in time. Yesterday, we finally got rid of the shelves that had been in the guest room forever. Feels good to be getting rid of our stuff! So, now we just need a radio show that we can call to say, "WE'RE STUFF-FREE!"

some things are not hereditary

I will never understand how my grandmother, God rest her soul, endured her first three pregnancies. Her first she carried while a million miles from home, 20 yrs old, a newlywed in a strange country (the Philippines). The entirety of her second she carried while a prisoner of war, in an internment camp, while chasing her toddler. The third pregnancy began in the camp (while chasing both children), survived a starvation period wherein she was making bread out of laundry starch, journeyed home, and concluded in New York. Knowing her, she never breathed a word of complaint to her husband, and never faltered in keeping up her energy or her smile, even while she vomited a very expensive turkey dinner upon hearing that other prisoners had killed and eaten a cat for Christmas.

I'm having trouble getting through ten-hour days at my desk in my air-conditioned office, writing motions, making phone calls, and talking to old ladies. Clearly I'm not made from the same stuff she was.

I swear I love my job ...

I really do. But I'm having one of those days. Boss is freaking out about something that has been discussed and settled fourteen times ... clients are needing even more hand-holding than usual. The days are slipping by and the work is piling up, and I'm freaking out about getting everything wrapped up in the next ten weeks. Doesn't help that the baby kept me up kicking all night last night ... and when she wasn't kicking, I was getting the worst cramps in my calves, which also woke me up. I am tired of being pregnant and I still have a ways to go. I want a drink, and my mommy. And a day off.

A non-baby post

...that is still sort of a baby post. As I mentioned earlier in the "expanding" post, I've been feeling a little bit unattractive lately. This is particularly dangerous, and hubbyhubs can testify ... a furniture salesman flirted with me and I spent six times what I planned to spend. Anyway, I bought a new lipstick a few weeks ago and it's really helped. I actually feel somewhat pretty! I'm a huge fan of Mac Slimshine lipsticks -- they are shiny like gloss, but have a real color like lipstick, and they don't get sticky. Huge, huge fan. [Slimshine in Scant]

Mirror, mirror, on the wall ...

What do you think of this for the nursery? At $55, I think it's a good deal ...

I'm expanding

I had trouble pulling my pants up this morning ... my maternity pants. I am not amused.

More Nursery Stuff

Sorry if this is boring ... it's all I got. I picked out a few accent pieces to go with the furniture and whatnot. The crib bedding will be neutral (ecru, ivory), but I want to add a few of these things:


There is, of course, a whole crib bedding set in that pattern, but it's crazy expensive, so I'm going to go with the accent pieces. I won't be putting the blankets and pillows in the crib, but will put a couple on the sofabed and one on the chair, and see how it looks from there.

Baby's room also has a closet with sliding doors, but the doors are obnoxious and annoying, so I am going to replace them, I think with this curtain:

It is a shower curtain, but with the rod inside the closet, I think it will look fine. It's fabric, not plastic, don't worry. I might get another one and use it for the window on the opposite wall. We shall see.

Thoughts?

So, I had a dream last night that I was entertaining a toddler, and she kept on kicking me in the stomach. I woke up to realize that of course I was being kicked -- hard! -- by my own little munchkin. Let's hope this is not the beginning of bad sleep. I'm tired enough as it is!

I am feeling somewhat huge, and it feels like it happened overnight. I went from having a cute round little belly to carrying a pumpkin with me. I am going to try not to whine too much over the next 12 (well, 10-14) weeks, but no promises.

And Baby Makes Three!

I know I am the world's worst blogger.  I'm sorry.  I'm not even going to commit right now to blogging again, but I thought I would start today.  

As you can tell from the subject (and as all of my 3 readers know), we're expecting a baby!  I'm 28 weeks pregnant, due on October 11.  Thank God I've been feeling really good.  The first 12 weeks or so were rough -- a lot of nausea and just unending fatigue -- but I've felt pretty much like a rock star ever since.  Somewhere around 24 weeks my belly started really becoming cumbersome, and now that I am starting the third trimester I am really feeling the extra weight and the extra size!  But all in all, no complaints.  We are really excited to meet our baby girl, whom we call, for now, Cloetus the Foetus.  Hubby Hubs and I have decided on a name, but we're going to keep it between us until she's born.  

So, in anticipation of her arrival, we've started the job of turning the guest room into a nursery.  I have never been much of a decorator, and no magic mommy genes have changed that thus far.  But I've found some great inspiration rooms online, and we are slowly but surely getting there.  I like this room. 

 That's basically the style I am going for, sort of a feminine vintage.  The room is currently painted "creamy praline," which is sort of a candlelight color, and I think we are going to leave it.  Actually, it's really very close to the background color of this blog.  Here's what we have so far: 

The Crib (to be delivered next weekend):    

We are going to keep the same dresser we've had (which I scored for $89 at Salvation Army in 2003).  I am toying with the idea of painting it white, but I'm not really sure about that.  You can sort of see the wall color in the background.  

What do you think? Should I leave it that color or try to match it to the crib? One of my favorite things about this arrangement is the way the wicker design on the crib matches the design on the cabinets of the dresser. I think they are going to look great together!

Of course, since we live in 1,200 square feet, the baby's room still has to function as a guest room.  The inlaws and outlaws visit often enough, so we've purchased a sofabed to go in the baby's room (and baby will stay in a pack n' play in our room during those visits). 

This is what we got:

It's shown in beige, but we got it in sand, the color shown in the rocker below, which we also bought:  

I really hope it all comes together, and that it isn't too crowded in the room. I think with some throw pillows on the couch and the rocker, I'll be able to pull it all together. I hope so, anyway. I want it to look like a sweet little nursery, not like a jumble of furniture. Now that I say that, I'm leaning more and more toward painting the dresser to match the crib. I don't know.

For the walls, I'm thinking of scanning, enlarging, and framing illustrations from The Bumper Book, which has been a favorite in my family since my mom was a little girl.  

Here are some examples: 

And of course, a few other classics, not from the bumper book, such as:

Anyway, that's about where I am. I need to pick out crib bedding, curtains, and maybe a rug or something. I'd love to hear from you, if you have some help or advice to offer!


Life otherwise is pretty normal. I have been with my "new" firm for over eight months, and I really love it, still. Of course, like any job, there are drawbacks, but for the most part it's been really rewarding and educational. I feel valued there and I enjoy the work.

Hubbyhubs has a transition on the horizon.  After about a year and a half with a very promising company that ultimately disappointed him, he's joining a different operation and is very excited about it.  He'll be starting in early August, and we're thrilled!  

Not much else to report ... thanks for reading!  

Marital Bliss

Tonight I made my Extra Special Meatloaf ... some broccoli on the side, some salad to start, and some Fat Bastard Shiraz to go with it. What a wonderful night and a wonderful meal with my wonderful husband. He loves the meatloaf (and so do I). We had some jazz playing while we ate, and our wedding song came on at the end. Yes, we got up and danced in the living room. And now he's cleaning the kitchen. Yes, I married the best man ever. Don't tell him I said that -- gotta keep his self-esteem low so I can retain the upper hand.

I'm back, I think.

I've decided to start blogging again.  I never really decided to stop, but had a very busy Fall.  Right after my last post, I got a job interview with an estate planning firm in my neighborhood.  I was skeptical -- thought it would be a mom and pop operation -- but thought I would check it out.  I came away from my first interview extremely impressed with the firm and hoping for a second interview.  Well, I got the second interview, and I got the job!  The next few weeks at my old job were pretty busy, tying up loose ends and preparing to leave.  So, that didn't leave too much time for blogging.  I did take a couple weeks off between the old job and the new, and spent plenty of time catching up on my rest and my housekeeping (too much of the former and not enough of the latter).  

The new job has been wonderful.  I've been there for just about two months and it's going swimmingly.  I don't miss the action of litigation at all, but I do miss writing, so I'm happy to be blogging again.  I've caught on pretty quickly to the basics of estate planning and estate administration.  I love (LOVE) working with elderly clients and being able to help people through difficult situations.  My coworkers are all pretty cool, and my boss is both a terrific lawyer and a tremendous entrepreneur.  All in all, I am extremely satisfied with the new job.  Of course, it has its ups and downs, as any job does, but my stress level is comfortably low.  I leave by 7pm no matter what, and nobody calls or emails me after hours.  Life is good. 

Life at home continues to be wonderful.  It's hard to believe that we have been married for seven months already!  There really is nothing like it.  I love absolutely everything about being married.  We're still working on a system for keeping our house clean, but we've got our budget down to a science, and I've been doing pretty well with meal planning.  Now that I walk to and from work (did I mention that part?) I am able to ease up on the planning a little bit and shop for fresh ingredients on the way home.  I cook probably 4 or 5 nights in an average week, and I love having more time for that now.  Like I said, life is good. 

We were with my family for Thanksgiving, and with hubbhub's family for Christmas.  It was my first Christmas away from home, but it was nice, and quiet, and calm.  Of course I got sick on our last  night there (still fighting it off), but I am so glad we went.  I am also glad to hear that the mayor of Seattle has decided that he will authorize the salting of roads during the next snow storm.  Duh. 

I can't think of too many other updates.  I discovered that my love for good scotch extends to scotch cocktails -- particularly, the Rusty Nail.  Give it a try -- you can thank me later.  

I will say this ...

Obama's daughters are really, really cute. I was excited for them last night, and I hope they remember their dad's speech proudly for a long time.

Other than that, I was not impressed, and I spent most of my time rolling my eyes as the inexperienced Obama spouted cliche after platitude after cliche. I think David Brooks summed it up best here.

But on to more positive and exciting news: PALIN! PALIN! PALIN!
I could not possibly be more excited. I really really really hope it's true. I would have Palin's babies if that were physically possible. This woman is so correct on every social issue I care about (and McCain usually isn't). McCain/Palin would give me everything I am looking for in a candidate. I would be so ridiculously happy to have her as VP. Fingers crossed!

-------

Aside from Palin, I am also really excited to be going up to Hull, MA this weekend. We leave in a couple of hours (I'm working a half-ish day). My sister-in-law's parents live up there (brother's wife's parents), and I've gone up there for the last couple of Labor Days. It's quiet and chill, and right by the beach. I cannot wait to see my cutiepie nephews and drink some beers. Hooray for the long weekend (especially after the horrific night I had last night at work, which I will not relive by recounting here).

Time to finish my August billing so I can get the heck outta here ....

GO PALIN!

These guy's

Are my hero's.

Just Say No

to National Flakery.

I love Craigslist

Really?

FREE PAN

Cheating is Disgusting.

And so is the Chinese government for sanctioning it. See also: this.

Guess who's back?

Sorry for the hiatus. I am boring when I'm sick, and I was sick until about two days ago. Thanks to the magic of Zithromax, I am finally back in the game. Thanks also to my former roommie Dr. Christina, for all her advice.

Part of being back in the game is that I am cooking up a storm. I am so excited about the dinner I made last night (with help from Hubbyhubs!).

Pork Medallions with Melon Salsa and Grilled Limes

From Good Housekeeping
triple-tested at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute

We spike this cantaloupe and honeydew melon salsa with fresh cilantro and plenty of fresh lime juice to make a showstopping pork tenderloin topper.

INGREDIENTS

conv. chart

U.S.

Metric

1 whole(s)	(1 1/4-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat
5	limes
1 tablespoon(s)	olive oil
1/2 cup(s)	(loosely packed) fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon(s)	salt
1/8 teaspoon(s)	coarsely ground black pepper
2 cup(s)	chopped cantaloupe
1 cup(s)	chopped honeydew melon
1	jalapeño chile, minced

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare outdoor grill for direct grilling on medium.
2. Cut pork tenderloin crosswise into 8 equal pieces. With palm of hand, firmly press on cut side of each piece to flatten to about 1-inch-thick medallion.
3. Cut 2 limes in half; reserve for grilling. From remaining limes, grate 1 teaspoon peel and squeeze 1/4 cup juice. In small bowl, combine oil, 1/2 teaspoon lime peel, half of cilantro, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Rub cilantro mixture on pork medallions to season both sides.
4. Place pork on hot grill grate and cook 4 minutes. Turn pork over. Add lime halves, cut sides down, to same grill grate and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until lightly browned and warm. Cook pork 4 to 5 minutes longer or until browned on the outside and still slightly pink in the center.
5. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine melons, jalapeño, lime juice, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and remaining cilantro and lime peel. Makes about 3 cups salsa.

We followed the recipe almost exactly, with a couple of minor variations. First, I used my Emeril Grill Pan (one of my favorite bridal shower gifts, thanks RM!), instead of a barbecue, because I don't have a barbecue. If you're doing this in an apartment, it's very important to position a large fan in front of your smoke detector, blowing the smoke away. Trust me on that. Also, we only had cantaloupe, no honeydew (long story), but the salsa was just fine without it. I think it's only there to provide color contrast. We also used dried cilantro instead of fresh.

I can't even explain to you how incredibly good this was. The pork was insanely juicy and so tender, and really really lean. We ate the entire recipe. I am happy to say I have another pound of pork tenderloin in the freezer and another cantaloupe. Mom and Dad are talking about coming out this weekend -- I'm totally making this. It was super fast, too.

On Sunday night, I made another Good Housekeeping recipe that I can't find online. It was a Lasagna Toss, meaning you cook up the noodles in a pot and then just mix it together with the sauce and serve. No layering, no baking. Delicious. It was a nice bolognese sauce, topped with some spiced-up ricotta. I had leftovers for lunch yesterday, and will have more today (sorry, Hubbyhubs, I finished it ... ).

Tonight I'm making some sort of chicken wraps. We'll see!

I am fully into my adopted habit of sitting down on Sunday afternoon with my magazines and cookbooks and the Foodtown circular. I send Hubbyhubs to the grocery store (isn't he awesome?) with a long list (divided into sections of the store), and he comes back with everything we need for a week. I type up the weekly menu and clip it to the fridge, along with the recipes if they are torn out of magazines (or a note about which cookbook and which page to find them on), and every night when I get home, I don't have to think about what to make for dinner. It's such a relief. Everything I need is guaranteed to be in the house, and we get to eat a yummy, planned dinner. It's just fantastic.

I'm also trying to get control over other areas of homemaking, where I am SEVERELY lacking -- namely, cleaning. Um, and organizing. I'm just awful. I never had to share my bedroom as a kid, and honestly, I think that's a bad thing. My bad habits were just reinforced over and over again, and I just leave my clothes and my shoes everywhere. It's awful, and it's not fair to my husband, and I need to do better. I started by attacking the linen closet on Sunday. Again, thanks to Good Housekeeping, where I found a little guide to organizing your linen closet. I just needed a little direction! Everything fits beautifully now -- with room to spare! I took it one step further than GH by incorporating another idea I'd come across lately. For each sheet set, I take the fitted sheet, the flat sheet, and one pillow case, fold them up, and insert them inside the other pillow case. That way, sheet sets always stay together! It makes the shelves look just a little bit lumpy, but it's a good tradeoff.

All of that organizing didn't leave too much time for much else, but I did manage to get two loads of laundry done and make the Lasagna Toss, so not a bad night, overall. Also, two weeks ago I had to work from home because I had a doctor's appointment right in the middle of the day. I did get a lot of work done, but I also spent considerable time FINALLY cleaning out my bedroom closet to make room for Hubbyhubs (told you I'm a jerk -- he didn't even have his clothes in the bedroom closet). I totally went to town, putting my off-season and special occasion clothes in the back, adding an additional bar lower down for skirts and shirts, and moving all of Hubbyhubs' stuff into the other half of the closet. In the process, the guest room closet (where HH had previously been relegated) became completely empty. I cannot believe I live in NYC and I have a SPARE ROOM with a SPARE CLOSET. Life does not get any better than this.

We still have a few projects we need to tackle. The closet in the office is a total disaster, and we actually own the shelves that need to be put up in there, so we will get on that soon. Once that's in place, we should be able to move the remaining wedding presents from the guest room into that closet. Then, the guest room will be empty, until my parents show up this weekend with everything else that got sent to their house!

Everything else is going really well. I finally feel like we have a great handle on our spending and our budget, which is a terrific feeling. We do meet at least monthly (if not more) to go over the spreadsheet and see how we are doing. I use mint.com to keep track of everything, and I check in at least once a day. It's sort of a pain, but not really. I like knowing where all our hard-earned money is going!

So now, on day 87 of our marriage, I can say it's totally fabulous and under control. It's been fabulous the whole time, of course ... it's just less chaotic now!