To-Do List: 21-27 Dec

I’ve been bad about posting my to-do lists for the last few weeks.  Everything that was going on with my dad made it difficult to plan ahead, and then after he passed, I had a lack of motivation for a lot of things.  I still have quite a few things left on my 109 in 2009 list, but many of them will be done at the end of the month.  I’m going to try to be good about compiling and completing a to-do list for the last 2 weeks of the year.

• Finish Con Law book
• Go on a date

US Airways Refund

When we cancelled our flight Saturday evening, the USAir rep said it normally can take up to 2 weeks for the refund to be issued and sent to the credit card, but that with all the issues, it could take longer.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when I checked the status of our refund on USAir’s website (www.usairways.com/refunds) and found that it had already been issued and sent to my credit card.  That was pretty fast.  Kudos to USAir!

Edited on 12/23: The refund has been posted on my credit card.  Yeah!

Cancelled

Due to the weather, our flight(s) tomorrow were cancelled.  The earliest they could rebook us was for Monday evening.  That would mean we’d miss the memorial get-together.  My mom and I talked about it and decided to cancel our trip and get a refund.  We’re sad we’ll miss the get-together, but what can you do.  At least we knew about it tonight rather than finding out after getting up at 5:00 tomorrow morning.  We’re just going to stay at my aunt’s house until Saturday.  My other aunt is driving down on Thursday from Virginia (they got 2 feet of snow), so we’ll just enjoy the holidays with the family.

Good news

I found out yesterday that I was accepted at Wake Forest for law school.  I am really excited.  Right now, I am leaning towards attending Wake over UNC (if I get in).  Although UNC is cheaper as an in-state student, I really like a lot of what Wake has to offer.  They have an Elder Law clinic, which allows you to work with the elderly on different issues (wills, health, debts, etc).  That is the area that I am interested in so it would be a great opportunity.  I am hoping for a scholarship to help bring the cost down.  Tuition alone is about $36k.  While I have money set aside to help cover some costs, I’d still have to take quite a bit out in loans, so a scholarship would help defray that.

My mom and I are supposed to leave for western NY tomorrow for a memorial up there for my dad.  And of course, we had to get a bad snow storm in the Northeast.  We’re hoping it doesn’t end up delaying things too badly and that we’ll make it on time.  Unfortunately, our flight gets in a little before noon, and the memorial is set for 2.  Doesn’t leave much wiggle room for delays.

Sorry

Sorry for being so MIA.  Things have been really busy.  I was up in DC last week for work.  We are going up to NY for a few days next week to have a get together with family and friends for my dad, and then spending Christmas with my aunt in Raleigh.  I’m looking forward to the new year just so that things calm down.  I’ve got about half of my holiday cards mailed out and need to do the other half.  There’s also quite a few things left on my 109 in 2009 goals list to complete in the next 2 weeks.

Things are going well here.  We are doing pretty well.  My mom has been busy making lots of phone calls.  Quite a few of the doctor’s bills have said that since his half of their assets (car and home) was so low, they are going to write-off what they owed.  That will help out quite a bit.  She is still waiting to hear whether Medicaid has been approved for October and November.  That would help out a lot, especially with hospice.  My mom is also back to work.  She started a new waitressing job on the 5th.  She’s enjoying it but isn’t making a lot of money.  This time of year is hard, especially since he’s only open for breakfast and lunch right now (he’ll start dinners after the new year).  Hopefully she’ll make enough to pay her bills.

November Snowflaking

• $6.00 Pinecone
• $190.85 Work travel reimbursement
• $16.00 VA Car Registration refund
• $76.66 Interest

Total: $289.51

November Net Worth

My net worth increased to $108,976.79, an increase of $4,977.01.  I had a pretty good month with my 401k and was able to put a decent amount into my law school savings.

Top 10 Referrers for November

Thanks to all of you for being so wonderful these last few weeks with everything that happened with my dad.  I really appreciate it.  And thanks to those who link to me.

1. Saving4Later
2. Blogging Away Debt
3. Moonblossom’s Financial Freedom Blog
4. GRACEful Retirement
5. Shaking the Money Tree
6. Sick of Being Poor
7. Shtinkykat’s PF Blog
8. Saving to Pay Down My Home
9. CENTS-TO-SAVE
10. Dedicated to Financial Freedom

Memorial Service

We had the memorial service today for my dad.  It was wonderful.  A lot of people that we’ve known since moving to NC came and many talked about memories of him.  It was really touching.  It was so nice seeing people that I hadn’t seen in years.  My grandpa drove down from NY, arriving this morning.  It is so good to see him.  My dad’s brothers weren’t able to make the trip (which I won’t discuss), but they want to have a get-together in honor of my dad up in NY.  We’re hoping to go up for that.

It was a long day too though.  When my aunts and uncles left, it felt like 7:30, but was only 5:30.  I stayed up late chatting on the phone with a friend I’ve known for 6 years.  It’s good cause we talk about my dad, but we also talk about random stuff…which is needed.  Everyone here only seems to ask us how we’re doing, which is fine but sometimes it’s good to talk about other things.

My mom was cute the other day.  She realized that she’s a widow.  She hadn’t thought about it.  I told her that being a widow only describes a fraction of who she is, and that it doesn’t change anything about her.  She’s still the same person.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving.  My mom and I are just going to hang out at home.  Even before my dad passed, we weren’t planning to do much.  We’ve been running around so much and making tons of phone calls, so it is nice not having anything we can do for a day.  A friend gave us a pot roast, so we’re going to have that for dinner.  Then, on Saturday, the place where we live is getting everyone together to have a Thanksgiving dinner.  Everyone brings a dish to pass.  It should be a lot of fun.  They asked us if it was still ok if they had it, and we said of course and that we would attend.  My dad would want it to go on and for us to attend.