My grandmother passed away Saturday morning (exactly six weeks after my mom, her daughter). I am sad, but it was time. I hope she can rest in peace now. The funeral is tomorrow and then I will finally go home. I have been gone since the 10th.

There were seven of us staying with grandma for the last week of her life. We ended up with four Thanksgiving dinners due to family and friends. I am sad it was my grandma's declining health that brought on the situation, but otherwise I enjoyed spending time with my family last week.

I am not sure if I mentioned it, but during the conference in Vegas I negotiated more responsibilities with my company. I will square those away once I get home.

It has been one hell of a year. I can't wait for it to be over. However, it WILL end on a sweet note. My daughter is due on December 24th. I can't wait to meet my granddaughter!

Vegas was great. I got home and spent last Friday with a friend. My grandma got considerably worse and I have been at her house staying with several family members since this past Saturday. It has been very hard watching her die a slow death. She is 91 and has had a long life. The upsetting part is having to see her die this way. It doesn't make it any easier that my mom died less than 6 weeks ago.

Regardless, I am thankful for my family. If there is anything positive in all of this is spending quality time with my family the last few days. I am also thankful my mom will have her own mother with her very soon. I hope you all have a peaceful Thanksgiving. I know it has been a tough few months for several of my SA friends.

I leave for Vegas on Sunday morning. I am traveling alone. Most of the trip is already paid for including:

Conference ($125)
Hotel Room ($392 including resort fees and taxes)
Plane Ticket ($275)
Three Meals (Lunch on Mon and Tues are part of the conference, and our company's owner is covering dinner on Monday.)-FREE
Shuttle to and from airport ($26)
High Roller ($20)


I have $150 to spend, and I also have $15 in Starbucks cards to cover coffee. I figure this should be plenty for food, gambling and tipping. Forty of that is from the change I saved all summer for gambling, which is the limit for me. I don't plan on seeing any shows.

Sunday-Treat myself to brunch and the High Roller before checking in at the hotel. I will just relax Sunday night (I actually am responsible for editing that day). I will find a cheap dinner option for Sunday evening at the hotel food court.

Monday is all conference related and dinner with my coworkers.

Tuesday is also conference related. It would have been my mom's 70th birthday, so that is my gambling day in honor of her (She loved bingo, so I will do my best to find a bingo slot machine). I will gamble after the conference. I will keep dinner cheap that day too.

Wednesday-Walk the strip and enjoy the freebie entertainment at the different hotels. I also have to work that day. If I win anything gambling on Tuesday, I have told myself I can keep 25% for fun. Depending on what is left in the food budget, I may find a mid-range dinner option.

I head home on Thursday morning. I will let you know how the budget panned out when I return.

I have an indemnity plan through subbing that covers the ACA. It is mainly a preventative care program and covers very nominal amounts for a hospital stay or surgery ($300/$500 per day respectively). I have been looking into health sharing ministries for additional coverage. I found chministiries.org and am thinking of adding the Bronze level for $45 per month. This would cover inpatient and outpatient hospital care up to $125k after my out of pocket cost of $5k (which can be reduced if I negotiate discounts).

Thoughts?