Hub's and I made a quick last minute trip to Spokane Sunday after church. Daughter # 2 was supposed to be down with the elf on Saturday but they got a good snow storm and we even received 4 inches of snow. So that trip was cancelled. We had all of the gifts for their family and Daughter #3 that she was supposed to pick up. So we decided we would run up and deliver and come home, but ended up staying as daughter had to be to work at 8, Monday morning and son-in-law had to be on the road at 7. Their care giver and live in sitter had to have out patient surgery at 6 and her ride did not have 4 wheel drive into the city. So we stayed to watch the elf, and Hub's took sitter into the surgery clinic, they were home by 10 a.m. just as daughter #2's mother in law arrived to save the day. Surgery went well and we traveled back down to D#3's to drop off gifts for her significant other and then home for me run like a mad woman to try and get a few more things done around here.We also came home with a car full of presents for our son-in-laws brother and their family. So we have to deliver those today. We are like Santa Claus. We will take all of daughter #1 and the in laws gifts down on Friday,we have no decorations up around here except a wreath on the front door, but we will have delivered gifts all over the state by the time Christmas gets here.
Today is Hub's birthday so I will be whipping up a German Chocolate cake and cleaning a little house in my mad time. I usually make a big fried chicken dinner but I told Hub's I was cutting back so I am ordering pizza and his cousins and their 4 boys will come over as usual for an early Christmas with Uncle. I hate to cut back at his expense and mine (cost of pizza)but I still have sewing that needs to be done today and mom and I have packages to send, the house needs love for company and I am still making some gifties.
So here is Monday's money saving madness a day late!
1. Did all my usual money saving strategies. Cooked all meals at home, reused plastic containers,fed food scraps to chickens, etc.
2. Made three beautiful pillows for D#3 from left overs in shop. Even the zippers were given to me and the pillow forms were picked up at goodwill (brand new) for .99 a piece making this gift a whopping $3.00 (picture later)
3. Picked up a beautiful hand made 100% wool sweater from goodwill it had never been worn and was made in Iceland. $6.00 (now everyone wants it)
4. Added to my embroider stash from good will.
5. Used coupons at Joanns, good dish towel to embroider 70% off.
6. Picked up remnants to finish projects for pennies at Wal-mart
7. wrapped all presents so far in paper purchased at 90% off last year.
8. asked for extra boxes at stores to wrap gifts so I didn't have to buy any.
9. ordered gift making supplies off amazon rather than ordering gift already made allowing me to make many for the price of one (picture later)
10. waited for a particular gift to go to 50% off and then added a 20.00 and two 25.00 coupons to take total down 75.00 dollars more. It pays to wait.Although this close to Christmas it was nerve racking.
11. Watched bi-rite's small sewing department for sales and picked up already stamped pillow cases for 1/2 price. I will add my own lace from my stash. (picture later)
12. Helped mom make pillow cases for gifts from flannel purchased for 2.50 yard.
So what have you done this week to save money on the Holidays or other wise?
Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.
Kim
I guess Santa Kim won't make it out to PA this year?
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Idaho's Chili Champion!!
I mailed your package but alas it will arrive after Christmas. Thanks for the goodies. I ate some and I hid some:) I could have gotten your box to you on time for $56.00 but I knew you would kill me for that, so it is coming by slow boat via China.
DeleteI scored 1/2 ham and turkey breast free, plus a gallon of milk and two loaves of bread and four huge potatoes. Many of my gifts were rather expensive but marked down to less than 50%. Since I am recovering from the flu, it's all over for me. Mailing things exhausted me.
ReplyDeleteI hate mailing things also. It is much nicer to send a check.
DeleteSavings? Now? Yikes! Let's see.....the food budget!! And the gas budget! I've been using what is in the freezer to make room for Christmas leftovers. As a result I only spent $30 on groceries this week. I had $80 in my gas budget but redirected $60 of that as I didn't use it. However...on the other hand I spent a bit more on gifts than expected but that's ok. What with Kazi's boyfriend and half-sister the family is expanding a bit which makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteOh crap. MOTHER IS COMING! Quick kids eat all the processed food in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...now what did I do today.
12:30 am - wake up to give older son Tylenol as he has come down with that virus that is going around.
2:15 am - Wake up again as baby is crying. Husband gets up to make baby bottle but baby won't take bottle. Grumpy husband comes back to bed while baby cries in crib.
2:30 am - baby continues to cry while husband begins acting like more of a baby than baby.
2:31 am - get up with baby.
2:45 am - Put baby back in crib check on older son.
2:46 am - older son's fever has broken (yea) climb in bead with son as I am too tired to walk back down the hallway and I need to keep checking on him.
3:10 am - tell baby to go to sleep for seventh time.
4:30 am - Have terrible nightmare about a dance performance with missing music and a five car pileup. Wake up drenched in sweat next to son who's fever has returned. Give more Tylenol to son.
7:00 am - Alarm goes off WTF? It's still dark outside and I got maybe five hours of sleep.
ReplyDelete7:30 am- I really have got to get up now, but luckily I have no court this morning.
8:15 am - finish fixing my Chewbacca hair, put on make up, get dressed which includes pantyhose and heels. Curse court dress code.
8:20 am - Older son is awake. Give him yet more medication and rush out the door.
8:30 am - Get to work. Balance three Christmas cakes while walking into courthouse in freezing temperatures. Deliver cakes to bailiffs, clerks and my office.
8:45 am - Find giant stack of work waiting for me because I had to leave early yesterday due to son's illness. Start cleaning out inbox review three judgments, three sets of initial discovery and review four new files. Of the four, three are drug crimes. Congratulate war on drugs for winning the war on drugs.
9:30 am - Get phone call from defense counsel. He did not get an offer in new case. Apologize because co-worker who said she would do offer yesterday didn't do offer. Send offer.
9:45-10:30 am - finish cleaning out in-box. Send e-mail to detective who insists on using passive voice in his reports. "Drugs were found." Who found the drugs? Whom do I call for trial? Write e-mail to detective explaining the need for this information in the report. Get snippy e-mail back from detective. Roll eyes.
10:45 am - check Facebook for a few minutes as reward to self for cleaning out inbox and get new diet coke as I have run out and need more caffeine.
11:00 am - Start writing Motion in Limine in repeat DUI offender case. (Wonder if my ability to complete this mundane task makes me now eligible for Federal Judgeship).
12:00 pm - office Christmas potluck (0: eat way too much.
1:00 - 3:00 pm- finish writing Motion in Liminie with multiple interruptions. Explain what Motion in Limine is to new assistant who thought I was finishing up a motion in lemonade.
3:05 pm - start prepping new cases for prelims Friday morning. I was supposed to get Friday off , but new case is pressing and must be handled. Grumble to self.
3:30 pm - figure out what is going on with prelims and field several calls from officers wondering if they "have to come to court tomorrow."
4:00 pm - Call off officers with help of legal assistant, field call from Court Compliance officer who tells me defendant A left her halfway house and is now MIA.
4:18 pm - Finish warrant for Defendant A and watch as new legal assistant fights unreasonably cumbersome but touted as time saving electronic filing system . Listen to legal assistant swear quietly to herself.
ReplyDelete4:35 pm - receive frantic phone call from mother-in-law baby is now running fever and is screaming his head off in the background. She cannot find the dosing chart on the infant drops and doesn't know how much to give baby. Tell mother-in-law I am heading home.
4:36 pm - co-worker agrees to take pressing Friday hearing as all of his hearing have been continued or waived. Thank co-worker.
4:38 pm - Call defense counsel and give him shit or get off the pot warning on offer as my kids are sick and the offer expired 38 minutes ago .
4:45 pm - Finish up and run to car.
4:50 pm - Call defense counsel from car. No answer
4:53 pm - try again no answer
4:55 - Call legal assistant and instruct her to get in touch with defense counsel as he is probably over in visiting at the jail.
4:59 pm - Pull in driveway, give baby proper dose of Tylenol put him down for a nap.
5:20 - Start dinner. Think to self is husband starting dinner? No, he never makes dinner. If I died tomorrow he would be found petrified weeks later at a stove trying to boil water.
6:00 pm - eat dinner
6:30 pm - wonder what mom is doing check her blog. Think hey, if she can write about all the amazing things and impress people then dammit I can too.