Budget Crackdown: Day Seven

I'm doing much better on my budget resolutions than on my new year's resolutions, though I am still walking pretty much daily (despite a couple slip ups last week). I haven't had any fast food for a week and a half and I actually ended up not spending any money going out over the weekend. That won't be the case this coming weekend (birthdays must be celebrated), but it will be limited to one night. I have also decided to add another budgetary restriction. No book buying. I was shelving books this weekend and made a list of the ones that I have and haven't read. It's too long, therefore, I am not allowed to buy any new books until I get through a sizeable chunk of the ones I already own and haven't read. I actually finished three books that I've been stumbling through forever this weekend, one being the second in a Jane Austen mystery series by Stephanie Barron that though I enjoy the idea immensely and the mysteries are so far quite intriguing, they tend to drag a bit at times with lots of historical detail that gets a bit slow, but I find it to be good research and a bit easier to digest than my Regency historical texts. I did get good news this weekend. My sister (who is studying accounting/finances) found out that there is a way for me to claim my severance so that it isn't taxed twice, which should cut my taxes in half. Take that, IRS.

And now for something completely different...
Zombie Poll Results!

1st Place is a Three-Way Tie between "I've got a cricket bat in my car just in case," "Is that who Bella Swan falls in love with next?" and "It's a hoax by the Republicans," which each received 1 vote.
In last place, with no votes, are "My best friend is one," "Zombies? What are those again?" and "What bad horror movie are you living in?"

When Zombies Attack Austin...

To continue Tuesday's theme, in addition to attacking my favorite literary characters, apparently the Zombies have struck in Austin as well. KXAN.com has the full story on the hackers, who changed road signs on major streets in Austin to read "Zombies in Area! Run for Your Lives!" As a bonus, they've included a guide to the undead, which has a link to the Jane Austen book my friend Sarah found (their site has much better details about the book than Amazon or BN).It's hilarious. Apparently this is a "very serious crime" but honestly, I can't help saluting the balls and brilliance of whoever did it. If you're worried about your chances against the undead and want to create your very own escape plan, here's a great place to start. My question is, what's with the popularity of zombies all of a sudden? Is it like when all the children's fantasy novels got popular riding on the back of the Harry Potter series? All the paranormal beings are trendy now that everybody's in love with the vampires and werewolves in Twilight?

Jane Austen Poll Results:
P&P wins with four votes. Emma gets second with one and the others lose with zero.