Tuesday, I am off, on vacation, I mean...

Before I leave let me share my Christmas card from Anne (Anne in the kitchen).

She taped two dimes in my card, so I have already found some change.

I hope she only put a one dime in Sluggies.  The race is on.

 Have a wonderful Christmas you, guys!  I will miss you but try and post some.

Kim

Monday, Gettin it done!

 Since I am not fond of wrapping presents of course I put it off as long as possible.  I finally finished this morning and now I have to pack.

We flyout tomorrow at 12:30. our son in law will come down and get us to the airport, so Hubs says we will have a police escort. 

I really need to get some housework done.  Kelsa has been here for two days, and neatness does not come with the two-year old. They are a lesson in entropy. 

I have my paperwork printed out, and I can't wait to get to my sister's. Slug and her hubby fly in the day after us.  I think we are both on the mend.

Had the missionaries here for dinner yesterday, made shrimp pasta and homemade rolls, and a fennel salad.

I still have a few bills to pay which I will do as soon as I am done with this post. There are just so many details to getting out of town.  Here is my list for my sanity:

1. pay bills

2. send wedding gift

3. put wrapping paper away

4. clean spare room

5. mend nates uniform

6. clean master bath

7.get suitcases out

8. go to post office

9. deliver 12 days of Christmas stuff along with cash

10. get cat things ready

11. clean family room

12. clean spare bath

12. clean kitchen 

13. pack!!!!!!!!

Okay let's see what Kim can do. 

All of you have a Merry, Merry Christmas and may the peace of the Lord be in yours hearts.

Kim

get suitcases out

 

Friday, Feeling better! Coin Bank!

 I took my coin bank in and I had $351.12 in my bank.  I add this to the $676.00 I had in my save a penny a day bank and that gives me over $1000 for my trip.  Woot! Woot!  These are two really easy ways to save if you have any extra money.  But if you are like most of us you will never have any extra money unless you work at it.  Money is just too easy to spend.

I also completed my last chart of the year.  There are still a couple of things to be picked up.  But I am done for the year.  I did not sew the last dress as it is due out Jan 17th I will do it when I get home.  I look at it like a seed for the shop.  January and February are notoriously slow so this is fine.

I also went to the carpet store and picked out new linoleum for my shop and new carpet for the spare room.  I made an appt for installation on the 10th of January.  This means I have to get home, get that dress done and paint both rooms and get them ready for new flooring.  

Sissie is supposed to come in January to help me reset the shop.  This way I am on the books.  Now I have only to wrap the gifts  that stay here and pack including all the paperwork for the cruise and passports and such.

We have the grand kids tomorrow as Signe' has to work at a fundraiser at Will's school. We also have a church Christmas party tomorrow night.  Hubs is a wise man ( I think it should be wiseguy) so I knocked up a costume for him with some yardage and I have to make a large green beans casserole.  We will take the kids with us.

So three days left before we leave and I am trying to make sure everything is done.   Go to phone store to get international sim cards. Pay a couple of last minute bills.  Make sure animals are cared for and a schedule for those who come in to do so.

I am feeling good enough to go and visit a friend and my Lil sis tonight.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

 

Kim 

Thursday, Eating an Elephant

 That is exactly what I am doing.  Then again, I love elephants and the idea of eating one is just too sad.  We call Braunwyn our baby elephant, as she is the youngest.  The youngest elephant in the herd does not even have to feed himself.  He or she remains the baby of the herd.  Just like many youngest children.

My throat is a little better today, but I am still taking meds every 4 hours to make life livable. I did get all the sewing done for yesterday. It took me three hours and I kept making mistakes, and I seldom have to rip anything out.  It was aggravating.

 I still have an easy wedding dress and bridesmaid dress alteration that I can probably get done in an hour and then one other dress that will probably take an hour, but I don't know if I will get to them today.  I might wait until tomorrow. I am just too tired and a little weak.  So much for taking Friday off, but I will play it by ear.  An elephant ear that is.

I wore a mask and picked up my meds from the doctor, and also the pharmacy so we have enough to get us on the other side of the trip, at last.  I also put a check from Hub's mom in the bank for our Christmas present.  We plan on replacing the kitchen sink and we put the money toward that. I paid the power bill and mailed the checks that I could not pay locally.  Also, put cash in the bank to pay for my ticket to Sissie's, so no interest. 

A bride picked up her dress today and I have another pick up at 5:30 today.  Just a few more things to be picked up and I will be done for the year.  I can hardly wait.  I am really tired of sewing, almost to the point of burn out.  I think this is the worst it has ever been, but not feeling well probably has something to do with it. 

Tomorrow, I will cash in my penny can and my change jar, also my $5.00 bill accumulation.  We will use this money on our trip.  It will be fun to see just how much I saved. 

Thrifty Thursday:

1. saved all my change

2. saved all my 5's $265.00 so 55.00 in the last 2 weeks

3. put another 96.12 in penny can for the month of December

4. tried to cook all Thanksgiving from scratch

5. used up Turkey leftovers and froze.

6. used $100 in points at Talbots for Hub's mom's gift

7. cashed in Fetch rewards for gift cards for holiday

8. checked around for cheapest gas to fill vehicles

9. using up as much as we can in fridge so we can go and not waste

10. found out our house taxes were lowered over $400.00 as I complained to city about the city drainage covering the lower part of our lot when we have heavy rain.  We actually have a drainage pipe.  We cannot build or use it for garden.  They claimed there was not pipe there and nothing showed on their plats.  But they came out and looked and had to admit it was a city over water drainage. I was pleased.  I was nice but firm.  If they are going to drain on our land I should not be taxed as n heavily.

Hubs and I still have to go cash a check and get cat and chicken food, so we have enough while we are gone.  That is really the last of my errands.  I also need to pick up some gift boxes to wrap Christmas gifts.

I am very tired and need a nap.  I think I will take one when we get home and I will wear a mask.

Also, Sluggy is really sick with a sinus and double ear infection and is now on an antibiotic.  We have to get well, or our husbands will be cruising without us.

Tomorrow, I have a nail and pedicure appointment, plus I get to see how much I saved.  I am so excited.

Do any of you save for Christmas?  If you do, how do you do it?  I am always looking for ways to make saving fun. Because for me it is never easy.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

Tuesday, Kim is cranky

 Woke up this morning with a throat full of knives.  Took some pain meds and it is better. I don't really need to feel punk right now.  Too much to do to get out of town.  I am going to need a vacation after I get ready to go on vacation.

Here I am trying really hard to be chipper.  It is not working. That bed is not made yet and it may not get there today as I might be crawling back into it after I complete my sewing tasks. By the way these are the pants that I bought at Talbots a few years ago, and I put them on and then could not get them off.  They would not slide back over my heels.  Hubs tried to help and pulled me down the hall trying to get them off my feet.  We finally had to cut them to get them off. But Hubs had a good laugh he kept pulling me all over the house, I could not get him to stop.

I was able to complete two wedding dresses yesterday and get a good start on the third before I ran out of oomph. I also ran to post office to stop our mail and pick up a mailer for a small gift. I also ran to paper co. and stopped paper and left a Christmas check for the carrier. I picked up a few more items for my nieces' Christmas box, as I realized I had purchased way more for the younger one than the older one. Ross had some really good deals. Then home to sew and we had leftover enchiladas for dinner.  I went to bed early.

I still need to hem a wedding dress and do three other alterations.  Just 3!  I am having a hard time convincing myself I can do this. Really, I am feeling okay right now, but I am just not motivated.

Trying to get enough meds to be gone almost a month has been very trying.  Every day it is a new story about how or why we cannot get them.  Insurance company's do not want to pay for more than one month at a time and we need more than a month.  Now some of my meds are controlled and that makes it even harder. I had one that was supposed to be filled before I left for Nampa and when I got back, they said that insurance had not approved it yet.  It had been 10 days what do they need?  Well, I found out I could just purchase the drug it was all about payment. (of course, rotten dirty bast%RDs )  How much $47.00 for 3 months.  I am already charge $10.00 a month so I paid the generous insurance portion of $17.00. Now I realize that I will run out of my most expensive med.  I can pay for the prescription to be shipped to Sissie's early, but it will be $4974.00.  Yeah, I just happen to have that in a piggy bank.  I called my doctor, and they are going to give me a sample to get me through.  Hubs has been having the same issues. We have been at the pharmacy every day and will return tomorrow. All I can do is try and stay in good humor.

All of Thanksgiving except blankets and pillows is stacked on the table in the dining room.  I might get up the energy to get it put back in its box.

Signe' threw away their Christmas tree last year that had seen better days.  She went to buy one and they were outrageous, so she called and asked to borrow our tree as we were not going to put it up.  Then she will buy one after the holiday when the go down in price.  I love that my daughter's sometimes think like me. I am not sure which shed Hubs has the tree stored in outside. He is back at the school again today. He came home after a 12-hour day last night and took some aspirin and went to bed. He took a lunch this morning as he only has an hour, and it is 20 minutes to the school, and 20 minutes back.

I went and mailed my brother's package so that is off the list of to do's. I also stopped to check on scripts and found out I have 5 Albertson's point that have to be used before I leave.  I will check and see if Signe' needs anything. I do not want to waste them.

I also ordered Starbucks gift cards with my Fetch points for my eldest daughter's mother-in-law.  Fetch would only allow me to order $10.00 cards.  Last year I could get a $25.00 one, so I ordered 3 and I am waiting for them to come through so I can print them off and get my last box mailed and then other than wrapping I am done with Christmas.

My neck and shoulders ache so does my bad hip.  Whenever I get feverish it just seems to sink into the joints in my body that are bad. I have some keloids in my abdomen from a major surgery I had as a little girl. There is scar tissue that formed in a couple of places.  As I grew the tissue moved.  One place is high on the right side of my upper abdomen just under my ribs.  The other is on the left side just above my hip.  So, when I get a fever, those spots burn and ache.  It was hell to be pregnant when I got really big as those keloids tore and were painful. In fact, if I gain too much weight on my stomach one of them will just throb constantly, and it makes me so miserable I just go on a diet.  But trust me it is a forced diet.  They cannot remove these as they would just come back and get bigger.  These jeans are rubbing the hip keloid, now I can change pants but what about the artificial big toe joint in my right foot.  I cannot remove that and as it is artificial why does it hurt? Where are my scissors?  I told you I was cranky, and you read this far so ......

Okay I can do this if I set my timer and try:

1. put patches on police uniform

2. put stripes on dress blues

3. shorten coat sleeves

4. hem wedding dress and bustle

5. clean cat box

6. put decorations away

7. pay as many bills as possible

8. go to bed

On your mark get set go!  This still leaves two dress one is easy the other is not and one more bridal dress before we go.  I feel like this year will never end.

Eldest daughter just called and said she had been assigned a shaken baby case.  She was waiting all day yesterday along with her colleagues for the hospital to call that they had taken the infant off life support. She said, there was not a dry eye in the building, even the big burly police officers were in tears. Having done these cases before, she said sometimes it is a blessing as the children have severe brain damage and coming from the homes most of them do, they do not get the care and the resources they need.  Luckily the 3 year old was taken away and will likely never go back. You just have to give these kinds of things over to God, as there is no way to explain this kind of behavior, or the hurt that it brings. I do not like my daughter's job. but she is good at it, and someone has to prosecute, to protect and innocent.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

Tuesday, It's snowing!

 We had a terrific snowstorm yesterday and Hubs spent the day trying to keep up. He had the snowblower out and even attached the plow to the 4 wheeler. It is so beautiful to look out our back yard.

I am sure this will melt off in a week.  We call snow poor man's fertilizer.  We need all this to soak into the ground so the farmers here can grow winter wheat.  We don't irrigate here on the Polous but depend on snow and rain.

Hubs is at the high school today and just called to say that he will get a burger for lunch as he does not have time to get home.  This is a busy time of the year at the schools, and we are leaving right when it starts.  This puts pressure on the other 2 men who share this part time job with Hubs. Hubs is more versatile in some ways as he musically can help the conductors coming in.  He can step into the piano and direct as the conductors go about the auditorium checking sound. So, he is really going to be missed. 

This is a very part time job that pays very poorly, and Hubs really does it almost on a volunteer basis.  So, to put off traveling for this is not an option.

I was able to get both my wedding dresses almost done yesterday.  One was tried on this morning and fits perfectly.  Now I have to finish it and then I have to steam the other and they can be picked up.  I also started on a 3rd dress by making the sleeves that she wanted attached to the dress.  I still have to get all the lace that I have pinned on sewn on by hand.  My goal today is to get Thanksgiving put away (it is all gathered on the table) and get the three wedding dresses done.  Then I just have one more to go and a couple of bridesmaids.  It is so nice to be able to say no I am not taking in any additional work until after the new year. 

Just talked to Lil sis, and she is just surviving.  She is back to work but is still in pain.  Not excruciating, but enough to put her off her game.  She found out she has a degenerating disk.  So is now waiting for permission to have steroid injections and if that does not work, she will have surgery.  But healthcare in this valley is not the best and we usually have to go out for good service. I just feel so bad for her.

I woke up with a cough and a hoarse throat.  Every time I cough, I get a sharp pain between my shoulder blades. Just what I need right now. Hubs was running fever Sunday night but after taking meds he is just fine, so I don't know what that was all about.  We have to be well for this trip.

Well, I am off to get wedding dresses done. If any of you would like some pie recipe's feel free to ask. I am very giving that way:)

Have a great and productive day straying positive while you are in the negative. 

Kim

Monday, Home, Crazy Thanksgiving!

 We started out our Thanksgiving prep with more than our share of disasters.  Non-life threatening I might add.

Hubs and I arrived at his mom's place about 4:30 in the afternoon on Tuesday with good weather and roads all the way.  Of course, she insisted on making food for us, but we begged off as we wanted to go out and see Hub's sister.  She cannot be around crowds of people.  I thought she looked good. She is thin, but she is beautiful and has a great attitude. She will have another cat scan on Dec. 2nd to tell if the chemo is working.  We are all praying hard for her.

When we returned to mom's she insisted we eat.  She had made clam chowder, but she thought she had turned down the skillet when actually she had turned it up, so it was burned to the bottom of the pan.  No worries just scrap that burned stuff off and mix it in and serve it. It was not edible, but she ate hers.  The rolls were hard as rock and tasted bitter.  Well, she could not find the corn meal as son in law had tossed it (he said it was more bugs than meal) so she used corn flour and then later found the butter in the microwave, so the batter had no butter.  Luckily Hubs and I had cheese and crackers to sustain us.

Wednesday, daughter showed up and we went to pick the kids, Signe', Kelsa, and Will at the airport.  Well the flight was 2.5 hours late so we wandered around Boise.  His mom kept calling and asking what we wanted for dinner offering all these things she had to feed us and we told her no and picked up Chinese.

We all set to work, making dishes ahead.  I did the stuffing, and daughters did other sides, which we stored in the fridge so all we had to do on the day was the turkey and the rolls.  I started to make pumpkin pies last.  Daughter had made 4 of her famous vodka piecrusts.  I made two pies, and some left over pumpkin in a side dish.  I pulled them out at midnight.  The girls had already left for the hotel with the kids as they all wanted to swim.  I tasted the pumpkin, and it was awful.  It actually burned my mouth and throat and upset my stomach.  I went to check the spices.  The cinnamon was fine and so were the cloves, but I noticed the ginger was in a bottle that had been relabeled.  I smelled it and it did not smell like ginger.  It looked like ginger.  We suspect now it was old Alum.

Anyway, hubs and I were back at Winco after midnight buying all new ingredients and I was in tears. It was two o'clock when I got to bed.  I actually bought those crappy piecrusts as I was not going to make more that late at night.  I called Jethelyn and told her about the fiasco and she said Danny (her eldest was running a fever) and Kelsa had just vomited all over the bed.  So, they were having about as much fun as I was. 

Now it is Thanksgiving morning, and the kids are back, and Danny is better.  J pulls the turkey out of the cooler so I can stuff it and I tore the bag wrong and all the brine it had been soaking in poured out all over me and the floor.  Finally got that sticky mess cleaned up and I changed clothes.  Jess started to make her famous chocolate creme pie.  When she was pouring it into the shell, she tasted the spatula and said, "Mom come taste this something is really wrong!"  Well mom had put salt in her sugar container and J had used salt instead of sugar.  So run to the store again for all new ingredients for pie. J was so mad.  I just took it with a grain of salt.... Okay bad pun.

We had thrown away three lovely pies. Finally, while J and I were out getting replacement ingredients, Carolyn (Jethelyn's mother-in-law) showed up and we all tasted everything we put into anything.  We threw away so many things out of the kitchen. AS upsetting as it all was, we still found a way to laugh about it because that is what we do.

Here is J wishing there was really alcohol in this bottle.

All of us at dinner well except for the lunatic who has the solo picture.  We had a wonderful time.  Lots of laughs and great food. Mom had such a good time.  We used all her lovely China and did all the work, and she was just in her element.

The girls went shopping Black Friday and I stayed and watched the kids. Then we all piled in cars and went our separate ways. We brought Signe', Will and Kelsa home with us.  We left Roscoe with J and her boys until we get back.  It is weird not having him here.  He is such a presence. But he will enjoy his time with the boys.

I have a house that has been destroyed by the grandkids, Signe' and Nate just came and got the two little ones. I brought the leftover turkey and the scraps from the boiled carcass home and have a pan of turkey enchiladas for dinner tonight and then I froze the rest for later.

I ordered J and Paul's present this morning and I just have two boxes to mail this week and I am done with Christmas. 

Now I have to get my butt in the shop as I have two wedding dresses due out tomorrow!  Will this year ever end?  

I am also turning down all work until the first of the year.  Well except for the policeman that just came. I have 4 wedding dresses to get out this week.  That is all I am going to do and then just remember all the things I have to do to get out of town again.

How was your Thanksgiving?  Any disasters to report?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim 

Monday, another chart, 100 things to do...

 Finished another chart. It certainly has been a good year. I want to say I hope next year is as good, but really, I don't ever want to be that busy again. 

I swear I have a list of over 100 things to get done today.  I have made lists and I am crossing them off.  I have a few small things to finish in the shop.  Two zippers, a hem and mending on a dress.  It should not even take me an hour once I get in there.

Hubs is out with both Oliver and Kelsa and the dog.  I hope he brings them back asleep. A girl can dream right? Oliver's parents will be by to pick him up a little after 3.  Kelsa just got here, and she will go at about 6. One thing about having them together is that they entertain one another and that is nice.

I went a got my 4th COVID booster this morning.  I wanted it over the weekend, but could not get in.  The line was so long Saturday morning that I went back at 5:30 and as the pharmacy closes early on Saturday (I forgot) they did not have time to run paperwork.  But I was determined to have it a good two weeks before the cruise.

After the shot I went and cashed some checks and ran to the store.  Hubs wanted pancakes for breakfast yesterday and I pulled out ingredients and my baking powder can had about 2 tsp left and I needed 4.  I ran out to storage and NO baking powder.  How did I let that happen?  I am usually so good at keeping track of staples. Well, the no spend challenges this year have not helped and the food storage is such a mess, I could not see that I had used the last of the baking powder.  The first thing I am going to do when we get back after Christmas is get that pantry organized in the garage.  These are precarious times, and one does not need to be out of important things to bake from scratch with (dangling part)

I went to WinCo after a quick search through as much of the food storage as I could see and bought 2 large containers of Crisco, a jar of mayo, 3 soda, 3 baking powder, one large bag of corn meal, one large bag of yeast, and restocked the dry goods pantry. 

I have gotten the cat food and water and box ready for the week. I also have packed the dog, checked into the cruise line, made sure my online meds were ordered to get here next week, stated packing some food stuffs. I have done the laundry, so all clothes are clean.

We are taking several Christmas gifts down with us and those have to be wrapped. I hate wrapping and I am honestly bad at it.  But I hope to get Hubs to do this chore and he is worse at wrapping than me.  Obviously, this is a high priority item. 

But next it is the sewing shop:

1. zipper in jump suit

2. zipper on missionary pants

3. mend dress

4. hem top

5. get hubs to wrap presents

6. start getting food packed

7. pack me

8. pack dog

9. get cat area done

10. check on meds

11. double check and cross reference lists.

All of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, just in case I don't get to blog tomorrow.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

Friday, This is all my fault...

 This is my new motto and one that certainly fits my week. I did not do as much as I needed on Monday.  I did nothing on Tuesday but run around. Wednesday, I did get busy, but had a lot of loose ends to tie up.  Thursday, I melted down and cried off and, on the day.

But by Thursday evening, as Hub's left for work, I decided to set my timer for 15-minute intervals and just get up and do something.  I actually felt a little bit of calm overtake me; I am sure due to all you.

In the next three hours, I got sewing done, most items only taking a few minutes to complete. I cleaned, vacuumed, mopped, and did three loads of laundry. I felt much better when hubs got home, and my house was clean, and I had reached status quote in the shop.

However, because I was so lax this week, I am staying open today.  Many people need to pick things up and we are leaving next Tuesday.  I also have things that need to be done in the shop and I will do them today.  It is okay.  This is what happens when you have an off three or four days.  It is what it is.

Thanks for all the prayers and the well wishes they could really be felt, and they helped. 

We have actually eaten down the freezer enough that we were able to get my free butter ball turkey in the freezer!  Hooray! 

I have many things to do this weekend to get ready to leave on Tuesday.  As Signe' was going to drive down with her two kids alone and one is Kelsa, we decided it would be better to fly her one way with the two kids and then Hubs and I will bring her home with us.  But this means we will have to take the truck, so we have room for all the bodies coming home.  We are taking Roscoe down with us and leaving him with our eldest and her family through the New Year. If we boarded him for that long, it would be well over $1000.

I am going to get my covid booster later today.  I hope I don't get sick like I did last time, but I want it before we meet with all the people in southern Idaho and then I also want it for the cruise.

 Well, I have two suit coats to alter and a dress blue uniform. I also have some chair covers to alter that should not take too long if I just get in there and do them.  It is all about just getting in there and doing them.  But then I am the entire problem.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

Thursday, Kim's psyche needs a boost!

 This picture is for Anne and I and I think it sums up our state of mind exactly. But I probably had to pee (I know TMI) before I came and saw.

I did not get as much done as I wanted yesterday, but I have several things started and not finished.  Like the sweatshirts that I needed to get bias tape for, and the dress that I needed to buy trim for, and it will only take a few minutes to finish them today.

I also found three other things that I need to do in the shop before I get to the wedding dresses.

I started out the morning with a face book post of my nephew telling me that a year ago today he dropped the kids off at their mom's and they did not want to go into her house.  But he promised them that he would see them in two days and that two days never came.  I have dreaded this week knowing that we would all be reliving that nightmare, but especially him.  I can do nothing.  I am helpless to ease his suffering.  My Lil sister is in excruciating pain and is now playing the insurance tap dance.

She had to go to a PT appt. and a pain clinic appt. where they made her scream and sob in pain lifting her neck so they could both prove she had a ruptured disk before the insurance company would authorize the MRI.  I am so upset as she is strong and never complains, so I cannot imagine her suffering. I am also angry that they purposely hurt her for the sake of a company. 

I am so blue; I am forcing myself to do things.  Like Kim go make the bed, you will feel better. I don't feel better, but the bed is made.

Hubs and I both got called into the food bank last night to pack boxes and it was two hours of nonstop work, but we and 14 others got it done.  We were all sweaty and tired when we drug our butts out of the building at 8 last night.

Lil sis needs me to run errands today and I have to finish the sewing things from yesterday plus the ones I found that I had forgotten about. I just want to crawl back in bed and pull the covers over my head. I have to take a deep breath and regroup. 

Thank goodness for Slugs and Anne texting, as they keep me laughing at their stupidity. Notice it is not my stupidity as everything I do makes total sense. 

I keep telling myself to take deep breaths. I don't want to be here, and I don't want to feel like this. More deep breathing.  Okay, okay I can do this.

Thrifty Thursday:

1. saved all my spare change in my coca cola bank

2. saved all my $5 dollar bills now have $205.00 saved so $55.00 this week

3. rec'd a $997.00 check from an IRA payout that we have to take.  Unexpected but nice.

4. bought forever stamps as they are going up!

5. cooked at home from pantry and storage

6. dehydrated more apples, blueberries, and grapes

7. planned Thanksgiving, with Hub's mom and eldest Daughter.  Will have to buy nothing but maybe chocolates.

8. Only bought a few loss leaders at store and no real grocery spending.

9. Fed all food scraps to chickens

10. downloaded all receipts to fetch.

11. Completed my turkey bonus with Ibotta. So will get a good buy on a turkey

12. got daily soda at the station where we pay once a month 

13. bought gas where it was the cheapest

14. used clothes dryer when we could to save on electricity

Really the same old, same old. But it all adds up over time.

I am off to pick up a prescription for Lil sis and do a few things for her.  The sun is shining, and I need to be out moving to keep my mind occupied for a few hours and then home to sew.

Please keep my nephew Travis, My Lil sis and me in your prayers. I hate to be such a boob, but this is hard.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim is in the negative today....

Kim

Wednesday, Let's get back on track, but not in a car

I felt like I spent my whole day yesterday in a car.  I left the house at 9:20 for a doctor appointment at 9:40.   Did not see doctor until 10:20. How can they already be so far behind? I immediately went to Lil sis's to find her laid out like a trout. She sent me across the river to a pharmacy to pick up her meds that had been called in at 8 this morning from the ER.

I got to pharmacy they were not filled yest, as they were short staffed.  Pooped around for 45 minutes, finally drove back to Lil sis gave her meds.  Xferred some laundry for her.

It is now almost noon. Came home and wrote my blog post and made Hubs some lunch then took off with a car full of things to donate.  Stopped at good will, animal shelter, the antique dealer and then it was 2:15 so picked up elderly took neighbor to her food bank, drove home and put away her groceries.  It was now 3:45. Called Lil sis her Walmart order was ready, so I drove back over the bridge and picked it up, drove back to her house and put away groceries.  Now it is 4:45 and I started potatoes, and sliced up the leftover roast beef, and made gravy.  Mashed the potatoes with some butter, milk and garlic and then took the hot pans back to Lil sis's.  Transferred the hot food to containers at her place and drove back home where I served Hub's a brat.  He still has not forgiven me.

Did I get any housework done?  NO.  Did I get any sewing done? NO.  Did I fill the car with gas? YES.

SO today is about getting back on my track. All the things I needed or wanted to do yesterday.  At least I got all the donation things out of the front room where they have sat for the last two weeks.

1. cash some checks

2. pick up picture from framers

3. thaw some meat

4. call some clients

5. finish two pairs of pants

6. replace a zipper

7. do some mending

8. hem a dress

9. mend a pile of missionary pants

10. fix two sweatshirts

11. finish hemming coat sleeves

12. look at two wedding dresses to see which one to start first.

13. call MIL to plan Thanksgiving

14. Make a double batch of blueberry scones

15. maybe clean the house?

Well, there you have it. Now I must convince myself to do it. That is the hard part.  But if I can get through most of this (giggling) I will be able to leave next week and feel okay about it.

The convincing part starts now. If I had a chocolate bar it would be a little easier.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

Tuesday, Doctor, food bank, Lil sis down

 There was a phone call on my phone that came in at about 4 in the morning and I saw it was from my Lil sis.  Since I leave my phone plugged in, in another room I did not hear the ring.  This is never a good thing.  

She had done something to her neck and I knew she had a problem with it on Sunday, but last night it went over the top requiring her to get to an emergency room. She was able to get a co-worker to get her there.

She texts me to say she was home that a friend had taken her because her no good rotten sister would not get out of bed. 

I had a doctor appt. this morning just trying to get meds lined up for next month.  Some of the meds I am on you can only get for 30 days and they are very strict. But we will be leaving for 26 days and I will need refills.  I need a 60 or 90 day supply.  Insurance companies do not want to let you have those.  What a pain.  Just trying to help the doctor and the pharmacist get the meds I need before leaving the country. 

Right after the doctor I ran to Lil sis's and she sent me to the pharmacy for her scripts.  Well of course they were not ready, so I had to wait.  Then back to her place.  I will need to go pick up a Wal-mart order for her later this afternoon, and I also have to take my elderly neighbor to the food bank. There is enough roast left from Sunday that I will slice it thin and make garlic mashed potatoes with gravy and take that to Lil sis's for her and Hub's dinner.  Her significant other just had knee surgery so he cannot drive. They are both laid out like a couple of trout.  I told him that he broke my sister.

Lil sis had back surgery several years ago for a ruptured disk and they think she ruptured another in her neck.  I see Kim doing a lot of nursing in the near future.  I feel so bad for her, because she is in terrible pain.  All three of us girls have very high pain tolerances, so when one of us goes down you know it is bad.

Anyway, I foresee no sewing today and I might a get a few things done this evening. Hubs had to escort the legislature (Idaho's) through the high school today and he had to work the theater tonight.  He is getting brats for dinner as the really good roast beef goes to my sister.  Yeah, I am that kind of wife.

It is just a busy day, and I think I will just run some other errands that I have been putting off before picking up neighbor.  I need to take pillows and blankets to animal shelter. I need to drop off things at good will.  I need to take a few things down to the antique shop that can be sold. I also need to gas up the car.  I have had about three large piles of things to take to these different places stacked in the front room for a couple of weeks.  Might as well get those things done.  Since it looks like I will be in the car for the rest of the day.

This is a day that did not go as planned.  Do you ever have days like this?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

Monday, Another week of money savings

 I always start out my week, by counting up any money I saved the week previous.  For instance, this is when I would add my savings challenges.  

Right now, I am trying to get enough cash to pay off my plane ticket for my last trip.  I will have to pay it off on the 4th of next month to keep from having any interest charges.  

Right now, I have $170.00 in a 5's challenge, and I will continue to add to this.  I also have $700.00 saved from work and savings since I returned from my trip. My ticket was $1040.00 so I am getting close to what I need, and I am grateful.

I will get to turn in my change savings a little early this year as we are going to be leaving for DC before the 7th of December.  That is the day I usually cash in my change for the year. I will also have my penny a day savings which will be over $600.00.  Between those two challenges I should have close to $1000.00 which will be Hubs and my spending allowance for our cruise and time at Sissies

I still will need to pay for our plane tickets there.  But I think that is doable. At least it keeps me working!

I was able to get B's apartment really put together.  We deep cleaned the bathroom and went through all the old makeup, medicine, and things you buy and then don't use.  We had a very heavy trash bag of things to get rid of.  It is surprising what one holds onto.  We chalk painted the corner TV unit and her old oak TV stand.  We used the old long TV cupboard as a new coffee table and were able to get rid of an older smaller coffee table.  We also tipped the sofa at an angle which allowed us to bring in their large comfy recliner. Just facing everything to the corner, made the play area for Oliver so much bigger. Less furniture, less clutter in every room.  It is getting better there.  It is hard to be in an apartment for over 5 years.  You just collect things.  Both of them work fulltime and then a busy 2 year old. 

Hubs and I moved so much when we were young marrieds, we were never able to acquire much.  It all had to fit on the back of the truck and in a small trailer.  

I made a large pot roast yesterday, with one of the free roasts, we received. I made a couple of baked potatoes and added carrots to the roast.  I also made a double batch of homemade sesame buns.  I want to have brats sometime this week, so I was thinking ahead about buns to use with them. On Mondays I try to think ahead about what we will have for dinner, but I so often don't stick to my plans.  Either I change my mind, or we still have leftovers, so things do not get cooked. Still just thinking about what the week holds for meals will save you money.

You can cook what you have and plan what you may need. Now that I am doing a grocery challenge and trying to empty the freezer, I really need to pay attention.  

Hubs is booked almost solid at the school this week and still have plenty to do in the shop.

How do you plan your week financially? Do you keep track or look ahead?  Do you see where you stand weekly?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

 

Friday, Free Day!

 Happy Veterans Day and a great big shout out of thanks to all who have served past and present.

I have a free Friday, NOT!  So much to do, but things I need to do and want to do so I am happy about that.

Kelsa was sick on our bed last night, so sheets are washing, and I had planned on changing sheets today anyway.

I was able to get all those curtain panels hemmed yesterday but did not finish until about 7 last night.  Just so happy they are done.  I despise curtains.

Roasted a large pumpkin last night and I need to puree and freeze it today.  I also just made up about 3 cups of chicken salad with the meat I pulled off the carcass. We had chicken enchiladas last night with some of the meat and this was the last of it.  I also boiled the giblets and the bones and made a nice container of broth.  So, one chicken will feed us at least 7-8 meals depending on what I do with it.  If you can snag whole chickens, they are the way to go.

My youngest and I have been looking for a corner TV unit on Facebook marketplace for her apartment and we finally found a nice large one for $100.  The people delivered it to our house this morning and we are going to take it up there later today.  I will spend the night and help her more with the organization of her apartment. 

So, I have much to do today before I leave.

I also finished another chart yesterday! I cannot believe I am on chart #30.

But I am sure that will be the last one for the year, as we will be gone so much of December.

Also, I got this picture yesterday.  All Williams wants for Christmas is his two front teeth.  Poor bug was on his way down the hill to karate lessons and his ears were hurting, by the time they reached the bottom he was crying.  So, they went right to the med center and sure enough a double ear infection. Kelsa was dropped off here while they waited and then went to get the antibiotic.  We kept Kelsa, as I know how bad ear infections hurt and I did not know if William would keep them up late or not.

Today I have:

1. three loads of laundry

2. remake both beds with fresh sheets

3. make up a chicken salad

4. puree roasted pumpkin and freeze

5. go to bank

6. clean spare room as Signe' is spending the night.

7. do a general straighten of the house

8. get up to B's and unload this TV hutch.

9. help B with her apartment and snuggle Oliver

10. Don't forget to run down and feed the neighbors, pig, chickens, ducks, parrot, dogs, and cats. 

SO much for taking the day off!

Someone is behind me really concentrating on .....

Loading her pants and I just caught her. Look at that little poop.  Literally, something is stanky.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

Thursday, Getting thrifty here!

 Cooking for the holidays can be overwhelming and expensive, but not if you cook from scratch and look ahead. A standard American meal for Thanksgiving here in the west is:

1. TURKEY/gravy

2. potatoes

3.stuffing

4.vegetable

5.sweet potatoes

6. olives/relishes

7. rolls

8. cranberries

9. pies

Now some of you might have other traditional foods and different regions have different things that they cook.

So how does one go about cooking a large meal like this and not going way over budget or causing the checkbook to overrun?

First, if you are hosting, ask for help.   Ask people to bring, the wine, or drinks.  Ask people to bring the relish tray and olives.  Ask people to bring the sides, even the sweet potatoes can be brought in and also the pies.  Delegate so you are not doing it all.

If you do find yourself responsible for everything learn to cook the traditional food yourself.

Stuffing (mine) is made from dried bread, butter, cooked giblets for broth and flavor.  More chicken stock can of condensed milk, seasonings. Onions, celery.  Sage, salt, pepper, parsley, or whatever you like.

I get a loaf of bread from the day-old bakery and put it out to dry then cube it and let it dry some more.  Or you can make corn bread and do the same.  I cook my giblets and onions and celery in chicken stock and a cube of butter on the stove until they are tender and then remove the giblets and use the stock for flavor.  Pour over dried bread, and mix, now add a can of condensed milk, and mix in your spices.  I also add a can of chopped olives and some mushrooms, but these are optional.

I also make a small side of oyster stuffing for hubs with a can of oysters chopped into it.  But I do not stuff my turkey with this as it gives the entire turkey the taste of oysters and some don't like that.

Potatoes/ onions are mostly free here so that is a blessing. Boil your peeled russets or whatever kind you prefer and then whip with butter and canned milk, salt and pepper.

We do pay a premium for sweet potatoes.  However, two large, sweet potatoes are all you need for a large crowd.  With everything else you are serving consider this a side.

Many have that green bean dish with crunchy onions on top.  I buy French style green beans on sale when they are .50 a can.  I also buy the cream of mushroom soup when it is on sale.  Then the onions will be marked down after the holidays so buy a package then and save.  I have some I purchased last year, and they are good through 2024.

You can do whole cranberries if you wish and cook, and these will go on sale after the holiday, and you can freeze.  But I prefer to serve both the canned jelly and the canned crushed at my table.  Again, I buy on sale and have them from last year.

I make my own rolls. Here is my favorite roll recipe:  Start now and practice, you will be surprised how easy this is.

one package yeast (I buy yeast in bulk, so I measure out 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of yeast per batch

one cup of warm water (105 to 115) I just use tap water and make sure it is not too hot

3 tablespoons sugar This will feed the yeast

Mix the above and let set for about 5-10 minutes, until the yeast starts to bubble and foam.

Now soften or melt

2tablespoons and butter or shortening (make sure it is not too hot)

one egg 

3/4 teaspoon salt  

Mix the above three ingredients as you beat you egg.  I just put my egg, shortening and salt all together and beat.

Now add your flour to yeast mixture, I add 2 cups and stir in and then add the egg mixture.  After this is incorporated you add another 1 to 1.5 cups flour depending on how sticky the dough is.  Just add one cup at first.

Now I put my other 1/2 cup flour out on counter and dump sticky dough onto the flour.  I use my hands to make a soft dough and knead about 10 times. Do not over knead. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover let it stand in a warm place.  After an hour, punch down and make up your desires rolls, (this can be used for cinnamon or any kind of roll) let rise again covered and then bake at 400 for 15 -20 minutes.

You can also just put this dough once it is made into fridge for up to 5 days before you raise it.  Then remove from fridge and raise punch down and make rolls and raise again.

I usually triple this recipe, because the best part of Thanksgiving is getting the leftover turkey and a roll and eating it.

_____________________________________________________________________________

I also make my own pies here is my favorite piecrust recipe and it never fails.

This recipe makes 3 pie crusts, I usually triple it and freeze, disks of dough in wax paper and then put into a freezer bag.  I just pull one or two out as needed.

mix 3 cups of flour with 1tsp baking powder and one tsp. salt.  I just use a wire whisk.

now add 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of Crisco (I use Crisco cheaper shortenings will give you a hard to work with crust, but I have used them before, Sissie, uses butter) 

Cut this in until it is fine.

in a separate bowl add 1 egg and 1 tbsp of vinegar (it can be white or apple cider), 1/3 cup cold water.  Beat until egg is foamy

Now add to flour/crisco mixture.  You can use hands or large spoon until you have a dough you can handle. I divide according to the amount you make.

Again practice. You will get the hang of this.

__________________________________________________________________________

Frozen pie crust can be a different consistency and harder to roll than fresh.  I usually just put my disk into my pie shell and press it out with my fingers.

I always make my pies a day ahead.

I do an apple, at least 2 pumpkin and some kind of cream pie.

I have apples already cut in slices in the freezer for pies.  I also have cooked down pumpkin in the freezer.  A cream pie is a cornstarch/egg based hot milk with chocolate or flavoring added. 

 I will always have, canned pumpkin, both kinds of cranberries, potatoes, onions, celery, spices, green beans, mushroom soup, butter, canned milk, crunchy onions, olives, sliced apples or pie ingredients in my pantry stored year-round.

Watch the sales right now for these ingredients, and stock up a few cans of things for next year. 

Whip cream is on sale now and can be frozen.  Cool whip will be under a dollar right now and I usually store about 4 of these year-round. 

Sissie also bought me a little devise that uses a gas cartridge to make spray whip cream.  Whip cream will store for up to two months in a fridge.  This has saved me many dollars over the years, and nothing is better than fresh whipped cream.

Now if you will follow this plan and buy a head, a Holiday meal other than the Turkey will not be such an expense.

Thrifty Thursday:

1. saved all my spare change

2. saved all my $5 bills now have 150.00 so saved $45.00 this week

3. only bought butter and cream at the grocery store on sale with coupons and Ibotta points

4. used coupons at Jo anns for zippers

5. downloaded receipts to fetch

6. cooked from scratch using pantry ingredients

7. car is in shop so staying home more

8. shared the expense of a housewarming gift with Lil sis.

9. fed all food scraps to the chickens

10. still working on getting a free turkey from Ibotta, but will only do things I actually use, and this is hard.  I have 5 more items to go.

11. Getting sodas at station every morning saving a trip to MC D's

12. Used more flexible dates for plane tickets to Sis's saving over $500.00 for two

13. added to my airline miles getting closer to a free ticket to use next year.

14. used American Express Delta card to get free luggage to and from. 

15. cooking down a chicken carcass I just cooked yesterday to make broth for the freezer.  Or for us as my freezer does not eat.

What did you do to save money this week?  Do you buy ahead for the next year's holidays? Do you try and cook from scratch?  Do you bake some dishes ahead, so you are not overwhelmed the day of?

What are some of your secrets for and easy (well that is an understatement) holiday celebration?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

Wednesday, Free Turkey?

 So as Wednesday is grocery add day it is time to peruse and see what we can't live without.   I am on a do not buy grocery challenge, I will only buy what is beyond a good sale.

So, the Thanksgiving adds are coming out and our local Albertson's has a deal where if you buy $150.00 worth of groceries you will get a Turkey free.  I have never bought $150.00 worth of groceries in my life.  Even when I am stocking up.  You can also get a turkey for .69 a pound if you spend over $50.00.  Now that is doable, but not for me at Albertsons, as I only buy loss leaders there and I rarely go over $20.00.

My grocery budget (when I am buying) is $75.00 a week and that is usually spread between 3 stores. I was at $40.00 a week for several years, and then had to go to $50 and this year I had to really jump it. I tried $60.00 and that was not even enough. By stockpiling what is on sale and gardening and getting leftovers from the food bank really helps me keep this total down.  I don't count on the leftovers, but I will take them.

Albertsons had a very expensive brand of butter that is usually $6 on sale for $2.99 limit 2.  I don't even think that is a good buy, but I do have a $1.25 off on Ibotta, so I will go back and get another when I pick up scripts.  If I buy one at a time, I will get a $2.50 credit on my Ibotta app.  That is the extent of my groceries for the week folks.  I will check at Winco for their Turkey special as it will be close to Albertson's and that is where I would normally shop for most things.

I actually talked myself off my cliff yesterday ad did get things done.  Thanks for all the support.  I don't know why I let things derail me like that. I think I just really hate wasting my time waiting for people on phone trees. It is so aggravating. 

I have five projects I would like to finish today.

1. wedding dress

2. make table runners

3. hem a bathrobe that is lined

4. get a pillow topper made with trim

5. start on a large pile of curtains

I managed to get to Jo anns last night for a couple of zippers and used a coupon as zippers are so expensive. But I stopped at Wal mart for serger thread.  The same brand thread is $2.49 at Wal-mart and it is $5.49 at Jo anns. Jo anns irritates me to no end with their prices. But I have to shop there as I really don't have many choices here.

I am going to put a chicken onto roast and get to work.  Let's see what I can get done today.

Any good sales in your area?  Are stores offering free Turkeys if you buy so much?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negtive.

Kim

Tuesday, Kim's a wreck addition

 I think spending almost 2 hours trying to book tickets online for our Christmas vacation and then over 20  minutes more than once trying to just get an appointment at the clinic is enough to put one over the edge.

My whole morning gone for a couple of things that should have taken a few minutes.  Plus, I forgot to take that whole chicken out of the freezer and now I can't put it in for dinner.  When I did go out to find it, I found another large bag of frozen strawberries for jam that I should have used Saturday.  Oh well I will probably find more fruit on sale that I can jam later and besides I need to buy more lids.

Can anyone possible invite me for dinner so I don't have to cook as I am behind on what I wanted to get done today. 

Aggravation thy name is KIM.

At least I can say that I did get my meds refilled and I did get an appointment booked for next week and I did finally get my tickets.  So those things are off my plate.  But 3 hours of my life gone?

We had a hard frost last night and now it is in the 60's.  But at least the garden is in. Now I have to figure out how I am going to salvage my day....

I have this perfectionist problem (I am not a perfectionist) that many people with ADHD have.  It involves time management and going with the flow.  I have plans or ideas in my head of what is going, or what I want to happen and when things go haywire, and I am thrown off schedule, I have a tendency to say, "Well if I can't do it all I can't do anything."  Which is so not true.

For instance, I am usually into the shop between 12 and 1 and I sew for 3 to 4 hours.  But today that is totally thrown off by the above scenario.  I also now have to wing dinner and I do not want to add that to my thought process which can totally throw off my whole game.  What can I do?  

Well, this is what I used to do, but I am trying to train myself not to do this.  I would do nothing.  You all know I do nothing well. Now I have to fight myself and tell myself that 1/2 the sewing I planned to do is better than no sewing.

The world is not going to end.  All these feeling of frustration and loss of time will not disrupt the time I still have left.  I can do something.  My head is rushing, and my eyes are bugging out. (Well not really) but that is what I emotionally feel like.

Hubs and I voted this morning, or I should say we went and cancelled out each other's votes as we have for the last 43 years.  If we are anything it is consistent.

So, I am going to make a list and see if I can possibly get myself to do something even if it is not everything.  Just something.

1. hem 2 pairs of black pants

2. call clients

3. peg two pairs of slacks and call client

4. hem 4 pairs of pants

5. hem mother of the bride

6. hem mother of the bride attach belt

7. alter wedding dress

I made a list of everything I need to have done before we leave for Thanksgiving, and it is a long one.  Thanksgiving will be here before you know it! I must do something. 

I can get things done; I will not allow distractions.

ARGHHHHH! Are you not happy you don't have to deal with me brain?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are int the negative.

Kim

Monday, Busy weekend

 THIS WAS MY WEEKEND!  It was long and it made my feet hurt.  I also had Kelsa Friday night and all-day Saturday, so I could not get any jam made. Jam is something that you need to pay attention to and so is a two-year-old.

 Before Hubs went to the High School, I ran to Ace hardware to get a new apple corer as the handle broke off my old one which was actually my grandmother's, so I think we got the goody out of it. I also purchased a new water bath canner.  I had my grandmothers for years, but it was getting really rusty, and we threw it away when we moved.  I had a 50% off coupon so only had to spend 22.00 for a new one.

I spent the day coring and slicing 5 bags of apples and 1 bag of pears.  It took Friday and Saturday night to get this big bag of Apples and a few pears done.

When you dry fruit you really concentrate the sweetness, and it is so good. This will be snacks for many small and large hands over the winter.

Finally, after Nate picked Kelsa up, I got to the jam making.  I did up 4 batches of raspberry, and strawberry jam.  It is so good. I am completely out of small lids and will look for more after canning season is over and stock up.

You can just imagine what my kitchen floor looks like.  

I started out Friday afternoon, by cleaning the fridge, and using 2 small heads of cabbage from the garden to make a large coleslaw.  I also took the advice of many and seeded and cut up a bag of peppers for the freezer. I also made homemade marinara sauce and a batch of eggplant parm which is delicious.

We will finish it today.

I went through the freezers, and I pulled out a bag of apple slices and the last pie crust and made Hubs a Dutch apple pie.  I also took out a bag of pumpkin, I will be making piecrusts this week, just not today.

So, one of the things I wanted to get done was free up some space in the freezers.  I did a pretty good job.  Missionaries called on Sunday afternoon looking for a place to eat and I was going to have left over eggplant parm, but there was not enough for everyone, so I pulled out two bags of porkchops, 1/2 bag of frozen corn, and two bags of applesauce. I baked some potatoes and made homemade biscuits with fresh jam.  Halloween candy for dessert.

So, this weekend I was able to get major things out of the freezer:

 

1. a pie crust

2. a bag of pumpkin

3. a large bag of sliced apples

4. large bag of strawberries

5. two large bags of raspberries

6.two packages of porkchops

7. two bags of apples sauce

8. 1/2 bag of corn

I also found a whole chicken that I am going to take out and thaw as it needs to be used.  I don't like to find freezer burned food, so I am careful to dig to the bottom and really look at what I have. I was pretty pleased with what I got done, but it really wasn't what I had planned.  Oh well the things I wanted to do are still in need of doing, they will not go away.

Hub's and I took our car in this morning to have the body work done, as they finally got in the parts.  This leaves us with one vehicle and Hubs has a busy week at the High School.  So, I have no excuse to not get projects done as I have no car that I can escape in.  Kim is good at escape.

Today I am going to get the shop cleaned and organized if it kills me.  It just might.  I can ignore the rest of the house for a while, but I have to sew in the shop, and it is just beyond me right now.

Do you ever just plan something and then God laughs and throw another something at you?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim who is going to clean her shop....

Friday, Taking the day off to make a mess

 Here it is my Friday off and what am I doing?  Making a terrific mess of my house! 

What should I be doing?  Well cleaning up the shop, like I have said I would do every day this week.

But instead, I am going through cupboards and removing things I don't need.  Things I have not used since we moved in.  Downsizing again.  And in turn have made a revolting mess of the kitchen,

While I was enjoying myself make a revolting mess of the kitchen, my neighbor brought over a huge amount of produce from the food bank she worked at last night.  So now I have another mess to deal with.  As grateful as I am for the thought, I really don't have time to deal with extra as my fridge is full of the garden.

Hubs has the garden all pulled now and I was able to give away about 1/2 my peppers and some of the eggplant.  I will be doing eggplant parm today along with chicken.

So far, I have filled two large boxes with things to take to good will and I have not even touched the spare room, where I really wanted to concentrate on linens, I have not used in the two years we have lived here.

 I have three bags of apple that need to be processed as there is no way we can eat them.  I also need to go through the freezers and pull out all the fruit I froze for jam, as the kids are asking for jam.  They are spoiled I tell you.

I hate to say there is too much food in this house but there is.  I see an apple pie and a pumpkin pie in my future just to get things out of the fridge.

If you store food and garden, you can really get overwhelmed quickly.  I do not do overwhelmed well, but I sure seem to get myself here on a regular basis.

So far, I have cleaned out all the upper cupboards, except the cookbook cupboard.  I am going to attack the kitchen drawers next.  Then the freezer and the fridge. The freezer outside is next and I am going to get hubs to help me.

Kim has a lot to do, as her inner brat has escaped and turned the kitchen into a nightmare.  But don't you worry, she will get it set to rights.

See what taking a day off does to me?

I am having so much fun, really, I am.

DO you love creating chaos and then fixing it?  As long as you make things better?

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

Thursday, Plugging away, Thrifty Thursday

 I was pretty proud of what I got done yesterday.  I stuck to my timer and list. Hubs had to work at the high school yesterday and I just pulled some soup I had frozen out of the freezer for dinner, so that was quick and easy.

I have no idea what I will do today, but it should probably be better than soup.

Hubs pulled two of our large tomato plants and pulled off all the green tomatoes to ripen in the garage.  He still has several more to do.  We should be able to make about 4 batches of homemade sauce. Plus, more eggplant and the green peppers are crazy.  I will have to put the green peppers on the giving page as we have way, way too many for us to eat.

Today I want to get to a couple of wedding dresses, I have one very easy one and then I must get the shop cleaned and organized, it is starting to cause me to get discombobulated.  But there is just no end to the work coming in right now.

Thrifty doings this week:

1. saved all my change, found 3 dimes, one nickel, and 4 pennies.

2. saved all my $5 dollar bills now have $105.00 so $55.00 this week

3. put $96.08 in my penny can for the month of November

4. Ate all meals except for the pizza from the pantry and freezer

5. obtained many roasts and steaks and other meats, from runners that stayed with us.

6. used coupons at Jo anns

7. used points at Albertsons to get free broth and apple juice

8. Still using fresh produce from the garden

9. Sunday paper had Dairy Gold coupons and I combined them with a local sale and got some butter for $1.75 a pound and large bottles of 1/2 and 1/2. for a really good deal.  I will freeze most of this. I just can't turn down those kind of sales.

10. downloaded receipts to fetch 

11. saved all food scraps for chickens

12. Working on getting a free Turkey from Ibotta.  But only buying what we need.

Did you do anything this week to save money?  If so, what?

Well, I am off to get some work done.  And some cleaning done.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim

Wednesday, What Kim found out...

 

For those of you that have been reading me for a while, you have realized that I am a little slow on the uptick. Now I move very fast, but boy do I learn slow.

I had a revelation yesterday, that will cause my Sissie to beat me over the head next time she sees me and to have Anne in the kitchen saying, "I told you so."

I was going about my business yesterday faithfully setting my timer at one-hour intervals to encourage my ADHD brain to stay focused and working.  The first hour went by and I got many piles done and then the timer was reset.  I pulled out a pair of pants and hemmed them probably less than 5 minutes.  The doorbell rang and it was a bride along with a bridesmaid.

So, I fit both. It was your normal alterations and then they left, and I picked up a second pair of pants and the timer went off! I had only been able to get one pair of pants done in an hour!  But how could that be?

Well because, you have to let the bride try on and change clothes.  Then you have to finish getting her into dress, as in buttons, and hooks, and spreading out tulle and underskirts.  Then you have to discuss and pin alterations.  Then you fill out paperwork, and she had to change again after you spend time unbuttoning and unhooking.  Then you have to get dress back in the bag.  Plus, I pinned a bridesmaid dress.  An entire hour gone! I charge by the hour.  So, when the bride comes back, I will have to do this all again.  Maybe another hour. I am not charging enough for brides.  They take too much of my sewing time. I need to charge for my time lost.  Gee, how did I not realize this?

Sew (so) now I am going to add fitting time to my brides.  If I have to do more than one fitting the cost is going up. Kim is learning. Slowly but she is learning.

Now for today:

1. fix slit on skirt

2. hem two pairs of jeans

3. hem three pairs of pants

4. hem a burgundy bridesmaid dress

5. alter a black dress under the arms

6. hem a pink mother of the bride

7. alter and collar on a sweatshirt

8. hem a navy-blue bridesmaid dress

9. alter a wedding dress

10. call on an alteration that is done

That is enough for today.

I felt really good about what I got done yesterday, well except for the time for the bride changing. 

I would also like to get the shop cleaned and a little more organized today!

Have a great and [productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim