July 1 kind of crept up on me out of nowhere. There's all the usual stuff to do: budgeting, paying bills, shopping lists...and this time it's actually fun. Jay's new job and the extra money sure helps take some of the stress out of the mix. Good thing, since we have car payments and extra insurance to pay for. We took delivery of a 2004 Dodge Stratus SE two weeks ago! We got a snail mail "offer" that I nearly threw in the trash that said I was preapproved for money for a new car. It was no joke! Our old car was 13 years old, and it was a matter of time before repair bills would be problematic. I sold that car to Lauren, who is thrilled to have it. (She already had her first flat, and was laughing about it since she had the car for just two days when it happened.) She's being very responsible about making her payments. I didn't demand a lot of money for the car, but I do want her to have some financial obligation for it. Our insurance is actually very reasonable, for full coverage, and the premium will go down in September, although I don't know how much it will decrease.

I still think we got a huge break with the cable package (digital cable with DVR, cable phone and internet access). The DVR is neat, because I can watch television when I have time for it, and still not miss anything. I taped Sybil with Joanne Woodward and Sally Field, from the book by Flora Reta Schreiber. I read the book in college, and it gave me nightmares for days, and shook me up in a major way...and now I work with child abuse treatment/prevention.