I have no cel coverage at my brothers house, so I am saying hello to the board from Home Despot.

Note to self: do not vacation at a house with two toddlers and four gangs of contractors...

Otoh, it's still better than work...

Board! DON'T DO THAT! I missed you!

• sigh* We had the money talk. We're fucked. I'm still doing the freelance thing, but I have sent off one resume for a PT gig. And tomorrow, we sit down with the piles of scary paper and map out a strategy.

No more ebooks, no more candles, and I am cutting down on my smoking hugely. I may have to become a PT domme -- anyone got any leather/PVC corsets they can lend me?

Bright side: I convinced D to use Mint.com. Woo.

I got my credit reports while the board was down, and started a Mint account.

Anyone have good ideas of reputable places that will help us dig ourselves out of this hole? Or tips, books, websites, etc?

We are chopping cable, will be living on Aldi's food, and I'll be having a garage sale and selling some jewelry, and I think D will be selling at least one of his guitars.

And if you know of anyone who can use my writing services, send them my way, pretty, pretty please.

But finding a Beta edition Black Lotus in perfect shape goes a long way to making the pain easier to bear.

Oh good.

ION, who the hell spends $5000 (recent eBay price) for a piece of paper with ink on it that wasn't issued by a government or financial institution? And where can I find their email address?

Connie, email me NEXT WEEK about finding out who you should talk to. Not right now, as I am prepping for an event tomorrow, and then I have a tech-industry networking/career fair thing on Tuesday morning. So right now, I have no brain. After Tuesday? I should.

I may have to become a PT domme -- anyone got any leather/PVC corsets they can lend me?

What size are you? And do you care if it's a waist cincher with HOLY SHIT BRIGHT pink Scotchlight reflective tape trim?

The range of the hivemind is truly awe-inspiring. Car parts to corsets, and everything in between.

I used our down time to stalk professional cyclists. They have nice legs. And bikes.

Connie, email me NEXT WEEK about finding out who you should talk to.

Hubby talks on Monday to the guy with the 6K in cash for Magic. If he doesn't show proper appreciation, I will definitely contact you.

Anyone have good ideas of reputable places that will help us dig ourselves out of this hole? Or tips, books, websites, etc?

Erin, I am happy to send you finance books and budgeting info if you ping me with your address. It's a promise I made to myself when I was getting out debt.

I've found Suze Orman's books pretty good for setting out plans for what to pay first, what to pay next, how to figure out what money goes where, and so on. I haven't read very many others, so I can't really compare them, but I thought hers were good.

I find that both Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey are the best for easy-to-understand basic financial advice. They differ on a few points, with Orman focused more on building wealth and Ramsey on sacrificing and getting out of debt, but both are very sound and practical.