…hard at work, my editor-in-chief

See you all soon-ish!

=^..^=

Sigh. Onward to other weekend jibber jabber:

“My Financial Challenge Update”

As a stay-at-home mommy without a reliable income stream, I made a financial challenge at the start of summer to raise $1,000, somehow. This is how things currently stand:

(All income was passively made from previous writing projects & sponsors.)

June – $80.00
July – $57.71
August – $425.80
September – $0
October – $262.50 (yaaaay!)

TOTAL: $826.01

Starting in November I’ve been called to participate in a two-week focus group on lip balm (heh), which will compensate around $150. Hecka’ cool!

Broke-Ass Mommy Site Stats

Subscribers –

July 3rd:
2 subscribers (Can I send you something to express my gratitude? A jelly bean, perhaps?)

July 18th:
11 subscribers

August 8th:
18 subscribers

September 5th:
31 subscribers

October 12th:
51 subscribers

October 20th:
73 broke-ass subscribers, as of this morning. (woo-hoo!)

Alexa Rankings –

July 10th: 3,507,434
July 17th: 1,725,804
July 30th: 1,236,943
August 6th: 906,877
August 8th: 826, 155
September 5th: 369, 754
September 16th: 312,130
October 12th: 261,838
(current) October 20th: 237,847

Page Rank: 2

Here are some personal finance reads I enjoyed for your weekend perusing pleasure.

So Over This – Why I Stopped Pushing My Son to Go to College.

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff – Build A Home Series: Finally Closed (and pics!)

The Financial Blogger – Why Everybody Gets In Line to Kick Me in the Nuts???

Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses – How the Recession Has Motivated Me to Kick Ass at Life.

Finance Fox – Money Mistakes in Relationships.

Modest Money – Why I Would Never Lease A Car.

Edward Antrobus – My Money Pet Peeve: Skipping Frugality Because Earning More Is ‘Better’. (Congratulations on having your article mentioned in MSN Money, Edward!)

Femme Frugality – Frugal Tip: Student Deals and Discounts.

Club Thrifty – What I Want My Kids to Know About Money.

Pelican On Money – Get Rid of Credit Card Debt Once and for All.

Shared tweets for Broke-Ass Mommy this week. You guys are awesome!

Modest Money | @ModestMoney (Twitter)
When Life Gives You Lemons…Add Vodka | @add_vodka (Twitter)
Frugal Rules | @FrugalRules (Twitter)
Reach Financial Independence | @RFIndependence(Twitter)

Broke-Ass Mommy featured around the web:

Yakezie Carnival at CultOfMoney
Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Master the Art of Saving
Wealth Artisan’s FinCarn at Wealth Artisan
Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty
Carnival of MoneyPros at Making Sense of Cents

Remember my blurry spider from last time? Well, here he is again in all his glory BECAUSE HE IS SO BAD ASS. I knew I had a better pic burrowed somewhere, and I finally extracted it from one of our phones that got shoved into some random corner of the apartment after our camping trip, until it was re-discovered last night meshed in a pile with M.’s other gadgety stuff.

Presenting Itsy Bitsy, the Spider:

Rawr! Have a bad ass weekend, y’all.

hugs, me.

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(Blurry) Spider: Git off’a my land, you #~$&@

Related posts:

• Debaucherous Foofery
• Grizzled Rock Peep
• Languorous Austerity
• Lambchops
• Airport Lounging

On Saturday we indulged in a brisk paddle in the canoe and chortled our way through the Allegheny Reservoir, during a temporary Great Rift in the otherwise continuous downpour.

Lexi is pumped for her Willow Bay camping excursion

Allegheny Reservoir

Right now it feels heavenly: not to lose my shit over a drenched tent (or bedding down in chilly temperatures), and to experience the luxury of a snack while curled in a nice warm bed, while catching up on things that need catching up on.

Still recovering, so I’ll be dribbling crumbs over here if you need me. —>
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I am ferociously giddy with autumn wine-making. This week we harvested and pressed our wild apples and grapes, with two carboy-filled juic-y science experiments now bubbling in the kitchen with yeast and honey. And we are also busily traipsing through town with out-of-state relatives.

Lexi, helping prepare the press

I ate so many wild apples and grapes, I developed a tummy ache.

Further updates forthcoming. How is your week developing?

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“As long as you still experience the stars as something “above your head”, you lack the eye of knowledge.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

scanty reflection.

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Lexi, among the carnage.

Brutal truth: My kid is much more efficient than I am.

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P.S. Between typing and editing this, Lexi started to rouse and I tiptoed away, straight into a pool of cat vomit. This cat has been puking for three days straight. What is wrong with my kitteh?? ; (

P.P.S. Okay, baby now up. Must go. (it’s two in the morning, ffs…)

Alexis Skye

…one saucy snapper

Our Anticipated Budget For Our Road Trip: $960.00

Starting Mileage: 37,224
Ending Mileage: 38,300

Total Distance Traveled: 1,076 miles

Day 1 -
Saturday, July 21, 2012.

The first day consisted mainly of driving for over ten hours and then staking a claim to our land upon arrival, followed by camp set-up.

Lexi and I in our humble dwelling for the week

Final Cost :  $49.32 gas / $2.65 large coffee / $16.65 tolls / $128.00 Cape Ann camping, four days = $196.57

Day 2 -
Sunday, July 22, 2012.

We drove to Good Harbor beach during the morning, and then visited Wingaersheek Beach for some evening clamming during low tide. Lexi was delighted to watch Papa sift through and dig wayyy down into the sand with his bare hands, to harvest some fresh Atlantic clams.

Final Cost: $6.99 brandy / $33.43 groceries / $7.00 ice & tent stakes = $47.42

Day 3 -
Monday, July 23, 2012.

We explored the Cape Ann and Ipswich area further, and browsed some antique shops in Essex. For dinner, we stopped by the docks and bought four live lobsters straight off the boat, and brought the wriggling, thrashing beasts back to camp for a scrumptious lobster feast over our campfire.

Our campfire lobster feast.

Lexi has the claws duke it out.

Final Cost: $20 four fresh lobster, straight off the boat / $47.50 beer, ice, lemon & asparagus, salad, and other groceries = $67.50

Day 4 -
Tuesday, July 24, 2012. Lexi’s first birthday!

It was my butter bean’s first birthday and we spent the afternoon swishing through the streets of Salem and visiting the haunting, eerie sites from the witch trial hysteria of 1692.
(I was less than bewitched, however, to discover a Salem parking ticket tacked to the windshield.)

Salem, Massachusetts

Then it was off to the Cape Ann harbor for a festive dinner at the Gloucester House. I ordered some steamers and succulent seafood ravioli, and M. and I polished the birthday celebration off with a slice of triple-layer chocolate cake, with one unlit peppermint candle plopped among the buttery ripples.

We sang happy birthday to Lexi (who was absolutely tickled to be up past her bedtime) and, while she was absorbed with cooing and waving at the waitresses, Mommy slyly wolfed down the delectable chocolate treat.

Happy first birthday, Lexi!

Final Cost: $64 camp reservations, two more nights / $2 ice / $44.21 gas / $16 Salem Dungeon entrance fee / $12 Salem Witch Museum entrance fee / $22 Urban Oasis for lunch / $15 parking ticket in Salem / $100.00 dinner at the Gloucester House in Cape Ann = $275.21

Day 5 -
Wednesday, July 25, 2012.

Wednesday morning was gorgeous so we returned to Wingaersheek Beach during low-tide so Lexi could wade into the water and scout for sea shells and sand dollars. My precious girl was soo captivated by the beach and got a kick out of observing other children splashing around and playing in the ocean.

Spotted: clams, crabs, loads of fish, and sand dollars.

Wingaersheek Beach

Final Cost: $18.00 ice, water, propane & other groceries / $10.00 Wingaersheek beach parking pass / $11.81 beer / $4.00 ice & a Snickers ice cream bar / $20.00 groceries = $63.81

Day 6-
Thursday, July 26, 2012.

Stick figure built to ward against any lingering bad mojo from Salem. Seconds later, Lexi decapitated the poor chap.

The Cape Ann weather forecast was ominously warning about possible severe storms and hail, so we decided to break camp a day early and head to Boston before returning home.

We had a comical incident where I was gnawed on by a tick and consequently burned, and then it was off to the Boston Aquarium for the morning. We left Boston right before rush-hour traffic started to jam up the highways, and were homeward-bound by 3 p.m.

Final Cost: $35.00 Boston parking garage / $45.90 Boston Aquarium Admission / $35.46 gas / $3.80 Boston toll / $4.00 Massachusetts Pike toll / $40.54 lunch @ Applebee’s / $5 two coffees / $11.95 toll =   $181.65

In conclusion:
The original pre-planned budget was roughly $960.00.

Unexpected Expenses: $15.00 Parking ticket in Salem, Massachusetts

Cape Ann & Boston, Final Vacation Cost: $832.16

Now that our vacation is over, it’s back to the writing hole, so expect regular updates once again.

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Related articles on photography that may tickle your pickle:

• Seeking Splendor in the Morning Glint
• Airport Lounging

•  Win a Kindle Touch from Love Home Swap (US & Canada, ends July 9)
• For fellow drifters and vagabonds, win the NY Times ’36 Hours Travel’ book from Addicted2Etsy (US, ends July 4)

Credit: The Persuasive Pineapple

• Weee, our favorite dancing banana! Win a $100 Banana Republic Gift Card at the Persuasive Pineapple (US & Canada, ends July 14)
• Shutterbugs, you can win a Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera, valued at $749.99 from Cuckoo For Coupon Deals (worldwide, ends July 11)
• Share your favorite lyric with MUSICDosage and one lucky follower will win a $50 iTunes email gift certificate (ends August 1)
• John Cave Osborne has an opportunity to win a free large Big Green Egg Grill ($800 retail), which he will give to one lucky reader who shares a grilling tip with him! (ends July 8)

Good luck to all participants. See you for the next Broke-Ass Monday!

=^..^=

Ok, now a confession.

My productivity this week has been horrendous.

My daughter Lexi has just started with separation anxiety. Meaning, every time I leave her line of sight for more than a moment, an explosive barrage of tears and snot ensues, which unfolds something like this:

“Yes, baby, we can do another round of Itsy Bitsy Spider. We’ve done it five times now, but, hey, you seem to dig it. Ok, ready?”

(A giggle, hands clap in delight; I’m offered a cherubic smile, with some blubbering and drool.)

So far, so good.

“Uh oh, baby. Mommy’s got to sneak away to the bathroom real quick first. Here, let’s put you in your play yard for a moment, sweetheart. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as Lexi realizes I’m tip toeing away from her toward the door: cue the outrageous, piercing howls.

(thump thump thump thump) — jumping up and down in the play yard, violently rattling the side — Mehmeh! Mehmeh! MEHH MEHHH!! MEHMEHMEHMEHMEHMEEEEEEH!!!

(‘Mehmeh’ is me, I’ve come to realize.)

My delicate, angelic baby transitions into a frenzied, hysterical devil, complete with beastly head spins and wailing until she barfs.

Due to this current phase of clinginess, it’s difficult to focus on and finish tasks throughout the day. Or eat.

Or sleep.

Oh god, I’m so hungry.

So what does one do all day with a baby velcroed to one’s leg, constantly demanding attention?

My pint-sized shadow and I just returned from a mailbox stroll — it took some persuasion to pry my envelope from chubby, snot-filled fists, but I did manage to slip the letter (mostly) unscathed into the slot … just a tad soggy, with a teeny nibble in the right corner.

As I type this, she’s bouncing on my lap, engaged in jolly chitter-chatter, while manipulating open the desk drawer and vigorously chucking everything from said drawer onto the hardwood floor.

What a hoot, there goes the stapler.

I’m exhausted. And so, so in love. Oh god, so tired…

And did she just poo all over my lap???

Satan, herself.

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