I put my garage sale leftovers up on craigslist. I sold two children's sleeping bags and one yoga video. Grand total $7!

I have quite a few things still listed, but not too many inquiries. I will be listing many of them on ebay this weekend in the hopes of getting a few sales that way. Craigslist is just too slow for me.

Even my couch is still up for sale! The listing is going to expire pretty soon, too. I guess my price is too high.
I will probably relist and hope the right buyer comes along. I'm really not in a big hurry on it anyway.

Kids are out of school now...so, I will be looking for inexpensive, educational and fun things to do with my girls.

Tonight we played the game of Life together. I'd rather be outside, but it is very humid...so I'm sticking to indoors.

My friend bought me lunch today since I helped her do some organizing at her office. We had brown rice and veggies with teryaki sauce. It was really good.

My girls school offered lemonade and cookies to volunteers today. I didn't go because I was with my friend.

It is nice to be recognized for the giving of my time, but that isn't why I do it. I enjoy spending time with my kids at school and knowing the people they spend their day with.

I really like getting out of the house to help others. Sometimes the mundane chores at home just aren't enough.

We received our water bill yesterday. It was approximately $42 for the month. It is about $6 lower than last month.

I think we used less water because my husband was out of town more...less showers. My younger daughter didn't shower quite as often as she should have. I also was slacking on the laundry, so I think I did fewer loads.

It's nice to see a bill drop!

With the recent van purchase, our debt has increased. We have two loans now other than our primary mortgage. The home equity loan is the smaller of the two, and sits at 7.5% interest. The van loan is larger at 3.9%.

Our home equity loan needs to be paid off in about 2.5 years or December 2010. Or at least that is my preferrence to have that money ready for the next home we purchase. It is very likely that is when we will need to move a few months after that.

It looks like if I add another $435 to the regular payment we can meet this goal on time. I will also put all extra income towards this loan as well.

I have another $1K, that I'd be willing to put towards the loan, but I'm holding off. DH needs new clothes...really he's now a size medium after our weight loss, but he's wearing Large shirts...he's just swimming in them. We bought the girls bikes and we would like them also. The van would then need a bike rack.

I really should hit the garage sales for these things...so that I can put more towards the home equity.

It's really amazing how an increase in income after a long time of sacrafice can put one in a spendy mood. We're still saving and investing on top of all the spending...so I can be too upset at myself. I need to get back into the debt payoff mode!

We bought a used dark gray 2007 Honda Odyssey with 4500 miles (that's not a typo) on Saturday. We got a great deal on it, too!

The van had been stolen from the previous owner and recovered after 10 days with major smoke damage to the interior. The DVD player had also been ripped from the ceiling. I don't know all the details, except that the insurance company insisted that the carpets and seats be replaced. As a result, the interior is like new. I think the previous owner was a bit traumatized by the whole ordeal and decided to get something else. Their loss...is our gain.

It is certified, so we get an extended warranty on it. We did bring it home this weekend and will need to take it back in to have a tow hitch put on, as well as, get the DVD repaired.

We were able to get the van for about $4500 off the dealer's certified price listed on Edmund's and Kelly Blue Book, so we feel like we received an excellent deal.

It was a whirlwind of a sale, we were notified at about 4pm on Friday by the sales agent about the van. We didn't receive the message until much later on Friday. We called first thing on Saturday morning. After a couple calls back and forth, we received a price over the phone. From there we check that price online to see that it was a great deal. We told the sales agent we were very interested and short on time...daughter's had dance recital that started at 1:30pm. He asked about our trade, which we told him over the phone. We headed over for a test drive and were out of the dealership in 1 hour and 45 minutes!

I apologize that I don't have any before pictures, but the color was a golden tan. The wall color now is a light blue. One daughter gets the brown towels and the other the teal towels.

Here's a few pictures of after...