Danielle and I actually hung out on Saturday, and it went well. We went to Harmony on Buford Hwy, then did some shopping on Barrett Pkwy. Nightmare traffic, of course. I bought her a little wallet and some lotion and body spray from Victoria's Secret in a scent that she likes for her birthday. She also bought herself a few things with some money she got for her birthday. (I got a purse for $5 and a pair of designer jeans for $12! Woohoo! Now I just need to have them hemmed.)

I asked her what she thought about her mom, and she said she was thinking of calling her. She was still upset that she thinks she had something to do with the break-in. I'm trying to stay neutral, so I told her I would not harrass her about calling. I just said that if she did call, they'd have to come to some sort of understanding about that issue. I think she'll call her eventually.

She told me about her Dad taking her mom to court when she remarried a black man. Ridiculous. She also said that he doesn't want her to date black guys, so she's not trying to date anyone for the time being. Probably the best option right now.

I'm in a much better place now than I was last week. For one, I just sent in the refi application. Because the appraisal was higher than we thought, we were able to combine the mortgage and HELOC balances. We were also able to do 20 years at 5.875%. The loan agent told me it was considered a cash-out loan, so I got kind of worried. I called Clark Howard's Consumer Action Center (again), and was told, "Do it." I guess he's worried about people doing cash-out loans and blowing the money, which we're not doing. So in summary, I'm lowering rates of 7.8% and 6.875% to 5.875%. We also got our new credit card, but I'm waiting on the balance transfer at 0% to go through. I just have an overall sense that things are falling into place, financially and otherwise. A miniscule example of this, compared to the refi/appraisal thing, is the Charlie's Angels shirt I bought yesterday. I saw it while shopping with Danielle for $9.99, but that store didn't have a large. I found it at the Target near my house for $6.98. I ended up having to return it because the graphic was off center, and I just can't have that. The one I exchanged it for was even less - $5.98.

I'm also trying not to work myself into a tizzy about getting everything done at once. I'm trying to prioritize things better - if I can't get to going through my clothes to see what can go to the consignment shop today, no panic. I was able to weed out about 6 pairs of jeans from my collection. I tend to hoard them, so that is a significant number. I'm not wasting much time on message boards in the afternoons either, which gives me more time to walk the dog and work out. Speaking of which...