I know! I know!

Hi! *waves*

I'm guessing you are here looking for budgeting help. You've come to the right place!

Several years ago I developed an effective and user-friendly Excel spreadsheet to track my own personal finances, and with it, I pulled myself out of a $16,000 hole of credit card debt. Realizing the spreadsheet's power (the force is strong with it), I offered a copy to my friends. They liked it! They recommended it to their friends. They liked it, too! I decided this is something I should stick with. I don't make a living from this -- far from it (I'm a schoolteacher) -- I just like helping people. So, I do this from time to time on the side.

My offer is thus: ( detailsCollapse )

My spreadsheet has been called "addictive," "life-changing," and "often the very best part of my day." You'll be surprised how much fun it is!

I'm trying to keep a list of my livejournal recommendations here (some are locked, some aren't). If you made a post I haven't seen, please let me know! I love them! Thanks so, so much to those of you helping spread the word. I've been at this since 2008, and it's been such a rewarding experience helping improve people's lives. Because of you, I passed client #100 in May 2012, and still counting!

- minervacat here
- ldthomps here
- thefourthvine here
- nos4a2no9 here
- belmanoir here
- damaris here
- brooklinegirl here
- misspamela here
- demolitionwoman here
- saikogrrl here

Here is a sneak peek of what half my current template looks like, but of course, every sheet is a little different. If this is something you're interested in, either leave a comment on this post or email me at jarrow272 at gmail dot com.

Please point people in my direction if you think they might be interested as well! No situation is too simple or complex! I've helped friends, parents, siblings, partners, and even bosses alike. I've given budgets as gifts! Being on a budget isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. Let me help you reach your goals!

(If anyone wants to donate to the John's Paying Off His Student Loans Fund, my paypal is jarrow272 at hotmail dot com. And bless you.)

I FEEL SO COOL AND FAMOUS. (Like cesperanza and brynnmck!)



I got interviewed about TGIF/F, the femslash con I run, and it was SO FUN. Go read the thing and spread the word about femslash! \o/

Hi friends! As you may or may not know, I have co-founded a multi-fandom femslash convention called TGIF/F ("TGIFemslash"). It's in LA in February, and we are SUPER excited about it. It should be much bigger than FaberryCon, upwards of 200 people if we fill up. It's the first time (that we know of) that there's been an official space like this for all kinds of femslash.



Registration just opened, and we want to spread the word. 30+ people signed up the first day, but we want to keep it going. Everyone who registers in October gets to vote on what fandoms will get their own single panels at the con. (Like Bitchin Party does.) If you know of anyone who might be interested in joining us or are willing to give us a signal boost, you can point people in any of these directions:

- Our official website / reg page
- Our Tumblr / reg boost post
- Our Twitter

Thank you so, so much for supporting fan-run cons and femslash (and me!) ♥

And a big shout-out to Killa, Anoel, and ShinyAlice for already registering! ♥ ♥ ♥

My first VVC Premiere in 4 years (unless you count Auction), and lordy, this vid made me work for it. It was worth it.

"Warriors"
Source: The 100
Music: Imagine Dragons
Summary: Here we are. (A recruiter vid)
Warning: Graphic violence

Download: [here] (88MB, mp4)
Tumblr: [here]

This vid wouldn't be what it is without all the help Alicia contributed during our hell week together ♥ Big thanks also to trelkez and Laura Shapiro for great, helpful beta! And thank you anoel for being a great cheerleader the whole way!

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But more than anything, I'm so glad I made myself sit down and vid this. I really really thought someone else was going to vid the same song to something for Premieres (maybe MCU). I was so scared, y'all. But I did it anyway and got my groove back. VVC was a richer experience having new vids and being a part of that again after several years off. It was so gratifying to hear all the kind words at Vid Review and throughout the weekend. Thank you so much to everyone who said something; it really meant a lot.

NOW GO WATCH THE 100 ALREADY.

My first Club Vivid vid in FOUR YEARS WHAT.

"Spring Breakers"
Source: Spring Breakers (film)
Music: "Kids" by Sleigh Bells
Summary: It's Spring Break, bitch.
Warning: Nudity (NSFW)

Download: [here] (41MB, mp4)

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I went to the 2015 Women's World Cup final.

It was an experience unlike any other I will ever have in my life.

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I have been converted to the world of soccer. And I'm loving it.

After six years, Glee ends tonight.

I've watched over 100 TV shows to completion in the 13 years I've been fannish. Of those, there are 4 that I would say I was truly fannish about. 4 shows for which I felt I was part of a fandom in some way; 4 shows that, for a period of time, dominated my life/headspace. Buffy (2002-2004), Firefly and Battlestar Galactica (2004-2007), and then Glee (2011-2015). The time gap there (2007-2011) was when I discovered vidding and the vidding fandom dominated my life.

Each show is different. Each fandom is different. Each one is its own experience. Glee has certainly been no exception to that. As the end has approached, I've done a lot of thinking about how I would characterize this particular experience and put into words what it has meant to me. I feel it's only fair I provide context and my history, my story.

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I'm raising a glass tonight to this show and everything it's brought me. It brought me music. It brought me joy. It brought me laughter. It brought me romance and art and passion. It brought me a community I never thought I could find and don't ever want to be without. And I will cherish these times, these years, forever.

I can't believe it's been 2 years since I posted a vid. Well, here goes nothing.

"Just Another Girl"
Source: Glee
Music: The Killers
Summary: Rachel Berry will never be just another girl. Not to Quinn Fabray.

Download: [here] (mp4, 52MB)
Tumblr: [here]

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I'm releasing this on Thanksgiving and dedicating it to my Rachel stans -- Pooh, Pouty, Molly, and Dak. This year I'm thankful for Rachel Berry, and I'm thankful for you ♥

So, my peoples.

I am coming out of lurkerness to let you know about a VERY IMPORTANT THING.

My FaberryCon co-chair, Karyn, is a filmmaker and screenwriter, on top of being an incredible fic writer. She's working on her third feature right now, Probable Robot, (press release is here), which is a sci-fi/B-movie/comedy thing described as "Clerks meets Invasion of the Body Snatches for generation Netflix, made by a ladygay." She is writing, directing, and producing it, and it features two queer lady leads (who happen to be ex-girlfriends. Who work in neighboring retail shops. And must begrudgingly work together to stop a robot takeover.) Seriously, go read about it and/or watch videos of Karyn talking about it. It's so cool. It's also the biggest professional project she's ever taken on, and we want this to be her big break. She's amazing and she deserves it.

We need your help.

She's making this movie because representation is important, and because almost all lesbian movies are sad or terrible and/or focus on the coming out process or girl-meets-girl. Here, the queerness is omnipresent but not center stage as the reason for the story. It's just queer ladies kicking ass because they can. And it's really, really important.

I'm late to promoting this here, I confess, as I've just been focused on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. (Oops.) But there's only one more week left in the campaign to raise funds, and we're still far short of where we'd like to be to make the best movie we can. (I say "we" because I'M IN IT. YEP. Just as an extra on video, but still! MY FACE IS IN THIS MOVIE.)

If you have $5 (or more!) to throw at it, that would be amazing. I've proudly put a large chunk of change in, but I know not everyone can do that, obviously. But there is a $1 level that gets your name on the credits, and awesome perks higher than that. Even if you can't support it financially, would you please consider supporting us by spreading the word. Every signal boost helps. Here's what you can link to, as you like:

- The official IndieGoGo campaign page
- Twitter
- Tumblr or reblog this post

Really, anything helps, and you'll have my undying gratitude. ♥

A few weeks ago, I made a music video for Toad the Wet Sprocket, one of my favorite bands, to enter their contest for their new single. The winner gets to have dinner with them before a show, which would be a dream come true.

The entries have been posted, and it'd be really great if you'd take 10 seconds and go vote for mine by clicking the heart under my video. You can watch it there, too, of course.

I'm already getting crushed in votes by what I agree is the best video, so right now I'm kind of both resigned to losing this thing I really wanted and feeling sick to my stomach over how hard I worked on it. But who knows, maybe it'll turn around. A few votes from y'all will help me feel less crushed. ♥