Friday, I got some sleep!

 

Hubs was able to drain is own fluids last night as his hands have gotten better.  So, I was only woken up once and it was wonderful.  I am feeling much better this morning.  Also, the women of the church have brought in evening meals, with enough for lunches and that had been so nice.  I did not expect it or ask for it, but what a thoughtful gesture and it really helps.

I think he is doing better every day. He will walk more today. I am still worried about bringing the dog home, but I sure miss my puppy.  I am just afraid he will jump on Hubs drains.  Although he is a very well-behaved dog. Signe' is bringing him home tonight and we are going to see what he does and then she will take him back, if we feel that it is too much.  He can come back home when Hubs is no longer hooked up to so many things.

Got most of the bills paid yesterday, except the power which has not come yet, but it should be here before I leave. I am getting excited as I leave in 5 days! Thinking about what to pack.  Can't wait to see my Sissie and her husband and then Slugs and Anne.  We are going to have so much fun.  It will just be relaxing.  Laying in the sun, swimming, the beach, shopping, eating out at restaurants. Lots of laughing.

I am going to pickle peppers and green beans and other veggies today.  There are so many and too many to freeze.  Hubs also loves pickled veggies.  I will do about 16 pints for him. I have all the ingredients so I might as well do it. I hate to waste what we have grown.  I am also going to make some fresh salsa, and a yummy crab salad that uses a lot of cucumber.  We have a plethora of lemon cucumbers. 

The ironing is getting out of control so that is another project to work on.  Even though I am not sewing I still find plenty to do.  I have to take care of the chickens and do some of the housework that Hubs usually does.  But I am happy to do it.  I will rearrange a few things in the kitchen.  

My baking cupboard is always a mess and I just realized that I could move the shelves up and down and store things in a better way.  Dumb of me not to have figure this out earlier. This is why I need Sissie she would have seen this immediately.

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers in hubs behalf.  We really appreciate them.

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

Kim

Thursday, home and tired. Thrifty Thursday

 Finished this chart late Friday afternoon.  So, onto #28. I am wondering if I will hit 30 by the end of the year.

I have been asking clients to wait until I return from my trip, and most have been lovely.  There are a few things I will have to get done before I go but very few.

We came home from the hospital Wednesday about noon. I think the surgery went well and there were a few hiccups. We had to be at the hospital at 12:30 and the surgeon ended up behind and Hubs did not go in until 3:30. The operation was 3.5 hours long and Hubs was back in his room about 9 p.m.  

Everything I predicted and had informed the staff came true.  He was without his tremor meds for over 24 hours.  He had a really hard time holding still when he was awake.  He was in terrible pain.  Even though his vitals could bring him out of post-surgery, his mind and body were not there yet.  He could not communicate or make sense of what they were saying.  Of course, he could not hear.  

When they would leave the room, he would whisper Pain-Pain.  Then fall back to sleep, when he slept the tremors stopped, but then again, he would say pain, pain.  I would call and because he could not communicate, they would leave.  Finally, he said terrible, terrible.  I call again and I was somewhat firm.  I again reiterated that he was deaf, he had not been properly medicated for the tremors and he had dementia issues, so coming out from under anesthesia would be more difficult. I wanted him to have some pain meds.  So, the nurse wakes him and says, (quietly) Mr. Haverfield can you rate your pain scale from 0-10?  Of course, he hears nothing and looks at her cross eyed, not being able to even understand her if he could hear.  He can't make rational logical determinations like that in this condition.

I lost it. (See Shirley McClain's academy award winning performance in Terms of Endearment). I thought I was going to have to be bailed out.  She finally gave him some pain medication and then picked up the call button and explains all the buttons to him, as in this is your TV, volume and station, here you order dinner and meals, remember this number and dial, also here you turn off 4 different lights and here you can call me if you need anything.  Then she lays the large device on his chest.  Like he understood any of that. 

Now I brought out the big guns, I told them I was calling my daughters and they would be arriving at various stages.  Number one would come in with a lawsuit written up, #2 would go to her office and get drugs and put them in his IV for me, and #3 just might turn off the main valves to the sewage department for the hospital.  But they could take their chances. Then I was asked if I was staying the night?  Hell, yes, I was. Things got much better after this, and actually the staff was wonderful.  He received very good care.

Home now with a catheter, and a JP drain, and I have to give him shots in his stomach every day.  Unfortunately, I have to set the alarm clock to go off every 4 hours round the clock to empty, his drain and bag.  He should be able to do these things himself, but his hands tremor too much for really fine motor skills.  He would make such a mess.  They tried to get him to do it in the hospital and there was blood and urine everywhere.  He did not close his drain and the bed was soaked in blood.  I know (TMI)  So all these duties must fall to me.   But he is up walking around, and only repeating himself a little.  I am very tired.

It is like taking care of a newborn, only a newborn is sweet and cuddly and smells better. Signe' is going to spend Friday night here so I can get a good night's sleep.

I am paying all the bills I can today and here are the ways I saved money this last week:

1. saved all my spare change

2. saved all my $5 bills saved $1285.00 so far so $100 this week it was crazy with 5's

3. Saved a $1, $5, $10, $20 bill 

4. put $91.47 in my penny can for the penny a day savings challenge for October

5. bought only loss leaders at grocery store

6. found good sale on petite sirloin, package was marked down to $8.98 and then 1/2 off, but clerk did not give me marked down price and I had her correct it saving over $8.00.  You just have to watch them. 

7. Air conditioner turned off for now.

8. using ceiling fans in rooms to cool us.

9. Using a lot of produce from garden for meals

10. received two coupons for $5 off meals at Hospital cafeteria.

11. used clothesline instead of dryer to save energy

12. when I went to buy a shrimp loss leader, they were out so I got a raincheck for later

13. had hospital load me up with supplies for dressing changes, so I don't have to buy these things to care for Hubs

Thanks to all of you for your well wishes and prayers.  It is nice to have an army behind me.

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

Kim

                        . 

Friday, Last dress standing!!!!!

 I finished the last wedding dress in the shop yesterday!  I should have two dresses picked up today in fact one just called and is on her way. The other will come around 5.  Then the third will be picked up next week.

I am done!!! The season is over.  I am sure I will get a few more in before the end of the year, but the mad time is definitely over.

I doubt I ever see a season like this again and for that I am grateful.  The money was nice, but not nice enough to offset the peace of mind.

Dresses to left to be picked up, stuff to right to be done later

There are a few things left in the shop to sew but nothing before next week.  Actually, taking in any work in the next couple of weeks unless it is easy is a moot point. The shop is clean I am going to make Kimbap today and Kelsa is here for the night.

I have done a little housework and I am just enjoying the stress-free time I am having.

Going to put rice in the rice cooker and start slicing carrots.

Wow, I am so happy.  I can enjoy the weekend with Hubs and then hit the hospital next week.

Keep hubby in your prayers.

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

Kim

Thursday, welcome Fall

 I still can't believe that summer is over.  I turned off the air conditioner this morning, not that it will stay off as we will have many more days of well into the 90's in the next few weeks, but it is chilly this morning.

The garden plants that love cooler weather are producing like crazy.  Eggplant, green beans, cucumbers all are a little happier when it cools down. I picked a nice big bowl of green beans yesterday.

I will probably pick more cucumbers and make hubs the tomato, cucumber salad he loves. It will be sad when the garden is done, and I can't just run out there and grab something for dinner.

I have two piles of sewing to do today and 3 pairs of jeans to shorten and then that last wedding dress to tackle and I am done with my list of work for this week.  

There are three wedding dresses hanging ready to go, I just need final fittings. They should all be out by late tomorrow.  I can hardly wait.

The beaded dress is done except for the lining, which I can do on the machine.  I sewed by hand on that sucker for over 2 hours last night. Then as I was getting up to go in and sew the lining, I did one more snip of a thread and managed to cut myself badly with the tip of the scissors.  It was a slice of the middle finger on my left hand.  Also, a corner cut and quite deep so no way it would lay down and quit bleeding.  I was bleeding all over the place.  This is what happens when I get tired. Anyway, between hubs and I we finally were able to get some superglue on the cut and get a band aid on top of it. What a mess.

Kelsa is very into choosing her own clothes and outfits. Often it is several layers. This was yesterday's selection.  Her dad came around the corner and discovered a chicken in the house. (or a cluck, cluck as Kelsa calls them) By the way always wear a spare bathrobe.  She had to wear this all day and screamed if they tried to take off the headdress.  I think she needs lessons from Ephemera.  She has such style.  If you read her blog and see all the outfits she puts together, it is quite impressive. I do believe that Kelsa and Ephemera jumped off the same star, Kelsa just needs a few pointers from her role model. By the way a t-shirt can make a nice balaclava in a pinch.

Thrifty Thursday:

1. saved all my spare change

2. saved all my $5 dollar bills.  Now have 1185.00 so $40 this week.

3. saved a $1, $5, $10, $20 bill 

4. paid the house taxes for the year

5. ate all meals at home from food on hand except the one where we were invited out.

6. stocked up on butter that was on sale

7. picked, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, potatoes form garden to eat with meals

8. took neighbor to food bank and received, nectarines, prunes, dates, lettuce, cereal, fake crab, spinach, cans of condensed milk. Why would people refuse to take condensed milk?  They don't know what to do with it?

9. turned the air conditioner off a few days

10. used points at Albertsons for free items.

11. used the clothesline instead of the dryer

12. bought gas at least expensive station

13. used frozen pumpkin from last year for dessert

14. used coupons at Joanns for supplies

Well, I am off to get the rest of my sewing done and then it is onto housework.  I have such an exciting life.  I bet you guys are all jealous.

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

Kim

14. 

Wednesday, Am I going backwards?

 Yesterday was just busy and not as productive as I would have liked.  But then I did have interruptions, as in Kelsa, food bank trip and dinner with friends.  I have to remind myself that these are all really good things.  The work I shall always have with me.

I had two dresses done and ready for pickup, and they both needed more work.  One was too long, and she also decided to have the sleeves shortened, the other had to have a lace up back put in it and I just did not write that down.  Neither of these is a big job and I can fix both in less than an hour, but I did feel like I was going backwards.

Right now, I have started to work on a wedding dress that I want to continue on and get it ready to fit, then I will only have one wedding dress left in the shop.  Can you believe that?  I can hardly believe it. I have just worked so hard, and I am pretty darn proud of myself.  Just imagine the shop with no wedding dresses on the rack.....

I have to tell you that the house is a real mess and needs vacuumed and dusted and the floors need a good clean, but I am ignoring all until I feel like I have caught up with where I need to be with sewing.  I can always clean later.

Grocery adds came out and there was a good sale on cheese, but I don't need any of that.  I was given, strawberries, and nectarines at the food bank.  Alos I have all the things to make a Korean sushi that we really like although it is so time consuming.  The food bank was trying to get rid of large packages of those fake crab sticks and also frozen spinach.  Both are ingredients for the sushi along with carrots and eggs, and daikon pickled radish which I have on hand.  I see me making this on Saturday.

Large shrimp are on sale only on Friday, so I will be going and getting a few bags for the freezer. Other than that, I saw nothing that I am willing to buy.

So, the wedding dress I was talking about a few paragraphs ago, just stopped in and I got it cut, so all I have to do now is hem and steam, that means I will have three ready to go out of the shop.  This is really happening.

This is the dress I was hoping to get to yesterday.  I guess it is more beads than sequins, either way, sewing machines hate both.  They break needles, pieces fall into the machine and jam it up also if you cut the dang thing beads can start to unravel.  It can be a real mess.  I have to remove the sleeves and take up the shoulders and then put sleeves back in, it also has to be hemmed which I will do by hand. Lovely project. NOT!

While the kids were here, we decorated for fall, and they loved that.  Actually, I love it also.  Most of these things I received from mom, or I picked up on really good sales after holidays. 

When I decorate the table, I don't pile crap on it.  

I bought these Martha Stewart pumpkin baking dishes on a clearance about 8 years ago.  There were 4 of them and they can go right in the oven.  I know I paid less than $10 for the set of 4.  I love them because they are decorative and functional. I bake pumpkin pie in these without the crust.  I also make a pumpkin soup to serve, and this keeps the soup hot.  I did not put out grandma's silver or the glasses. But William loved unpacking everything.  Even though he was not interested in the girly stuff, just eating the pumpkin pudding as he called it.

I am so ready to get into the shop today and get things off the main list. Which by the way keeps growing with bits and bobs.  All easy things but they still need to be done.

1. fix lace up back on bridesmaid dress

2. rehem MOB dress and hem sleeves

3. hem a pair of jeans

4. hem a pair of jeans

5. hem wedding dress and steam

6. hem a pair of pants

7. let pants out and hem and hem sleeves in suit jacket (emergency job for Saturday)

8. get started on MOB sequin dress

9. Look at last wedding dress if possible.

I had better get busy.  I am having fried cabbage and kielbasa for dinner. Easy and low carb for hubs. Plus, he can have pumpkin pudding, that I used a stevia sweetener in along with whip cream.

I have to get to work.  Wish me luck.  DO you ever feel like you are going backwards after you make a plan?

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

Kim

Tuesday, Stick to the plan

 I did not sleep well last night, and boy am I tired today.  No chance I can get in a nap as it is take the neighbor to pantry day, and we have been invited out to dinner by some friends. Which is nice as I don't have to cook!

I had a long talk with my sister-in-law who has cancer last night. She had her chemo port put in yesterday and was very sore.  She has already lost a lot of weight and is worried about that.  I told her to eat, eat, eat as that is only going to get worse.  But she seemed really positive.

I was pleased with the progress I made on my weekly work list. Today I hope to get the one wedding dress finished and another started and ready for fitting.  The mother of the bride is a solid sequin dress and has to be taken up in the shoulders.  Which means I have to remove the sleeves.  With anything that is sequins it is a hard job.  But it must be done.  If I can get through those three items I will be thrilled.

We carved a pumpkin last night with William.  I know it is a little early, but he was so excited.  I will cut it up in a few days and cook it.  We have two more pumpkins for later.

Kelsa did not like the Jack o Lantern and was scared of it when we lit it at night.  She went running to Pop Pop and had to be held the whole time.  She also did not like the pumpkin insides and would not touch them.  William loved slimy pumpkin innards from the time he was two.  She is so different.

Well let's see what I can get done today as far as the list goes. 

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

Kim

Monday, Weekly goals

 I finished another chart on Friday, and I also forced myself to get some work done.  Thanks for all the suggestions and support even though I was whining.

I must tell you that I am really burnt out.  This has been a long hard bridal season and I have pushed myself to the nth degree.  I am so hoping next year is not as bad.

I do have some plans in the works to make things a little easier next year.  I am going to try and only have a 4 day work week, and I have also raised my prices on hemming, which is my most frequent job.  It is hard as you have to make sure and have the right change and then I also will not raise prices on sr. citizens.  I know they are on fixed incomes, and many cannot sew anymore due to eyesight and becoming widows. I will be changing my hours next January to Monday through Thursday, 10-5 evenings by appointment.  It is just time.

I did take Saturday to get some mums, and pumpkins and redo some of the flower boxes where plants had burned off with the heat.  It was a beautiful day with the smoke about clearing in the valley and only 88 degrees.  Yes, I say only. Hubs and I also did a little cleaning around the yard and put away plastic flowers pots I saved to use next year to replant seedlings.

It was just lovely to be able to be outside most of the day. We also perused some secondhand stores looking for a corner shelf unit for B.  Hubs found a few tools; he could carry on his 4-wheeler for a good price. We had dinner at Lil sis's and then played cards.  Good laughs.

Sunday, I had a big dinner of roast and carrots and new potatoes dug from the garden.  I had Lil sis and Dean up for dinner.  Made a low carb dessert and we had a nice evening on the deck.  The weather was perfect. 

I don't know about you, but this is how I feel most of the time.  Well at least I am trying.  Right? 

Kelsa and Will are due in late this afternoon as Nate's schedule has changed.  They will stay the night and Hubs will run Will up the hill to school tomorrow. Nate needs a good lie in as he has been working so many strange shifts and is dead on his feet. Hubs and I bought pumpkins this weekend for the kids to carve.  Also, window clings for Kelsa and I went to the dollar store for candy google eyes for Halloween cookies.  You remember that Will is really into eyes when he decorates his cookies.  I can't wait to see what he comes up with this year. I know we will be carving a pumpkin tonight.  It is a little early, but fun is fun.  I also made a large batch of pumpkin pie filling and just baked it like a pudding this weekend.  I wanted to get it out of the fridge before I cooked and froze this year's pumpkins.

So, this week I want to catch up on all sewing or as much as possible as I will gone three days next week with Hubs.  I have a long list of what I want done by Friday and then of course small things will come in that will need to be done.

Okay blogger is not cooperating, and I just don't want to argue with a program right now. Here is the list of what I want to get done this week and out of the house if possible.

1. finish mother of the bride I started on Friday

2. hem a pair of groom's pants                           

3. hem two pairs of pants                                   

                             4. finish a bride dress    got a good start                                          

  5. alter a homecoming dress                                 

6. Alter a mother of the bride                             

7. alter a bridesmaid                                          

    8. alter a bridesmaid                                               

  9.  Alter a wedding dress                                     

          10. alter a wedding dress      started                               

 11. alter a wedding dress                                       

12. get a pair of pants hemmed                             

13. alter a pile of clothing                                     

14. hem 6 pairs of shirt sleeves                             

15.alter a pile of clothes               

 So, this is not too bad a list for a week.  But if all this is done, I will feel like I can leave to help Hubs and be gone for a few days.  Even if all of it is not picked up at least when people call, I can say when I will return and that the items is done.  Of course, I call everyone once I finish an item and then if they don't pick up it won't be my problem.  So that is the plan and I need to get busy and see just how much I can knock off this list today before the kids arrive. Let's see what Kim can do now that she has a plan. 

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

Kim (who's spacing if off among other things)                       

              

                        

         

                          

             

                         

Friday, Kim has an attitude

 Kim has an attitude, and it is a poor one at that. Sh does not want to do anything and there is a lot to do. I will have to really talk myself into getting my butt in the shop. It is not even going to be a really bad sewing day.  I only have one stinky job and the rest are easy.  I should be out of there in about 2 hours.  But so far have not even opened the door.

I am eyeing the door with malevolence. I want to escape.  I want to go peruse secondhand stores, I want to go get mums and pumpkins.  I do really need to go to the bank.

I think I am just tired of sewing and I am tired of the pressure.  But things are I think slowing down.  Okay I hope they are slowing down.  I just have to keep the pressure on myself for one more week and I am sure to be out of the mire.

I am supposed to have clients picking up today, but who really knows if they will show? Should I stick around for them?  If I get the work done set for today, next week will start a lot easier..... Hmmmm..... the thought process....

If I had a chocolate bar or a doughnut maybe?

Kim has started a load of laundry and hung it on the line.  Kim has put away some clothes. Kim has done a few things. I cleaned out both crispers in the fridge.  I froze some peppers. Kim is trying to make herself feel like she is actually doing something important.  None of the above is or was important.  These were avoidance tactics to stay out of the shop.  Kim is very good at avoidance tactics.

Make a list, do the easiest thing first, do the hardest thing first, do something, do anything.  Sorry not working.

I did get my quota done yesterday, and it was a long day.  My back hurt by the end of the day.  I do have a limited time I can stand sewing anymore.  But I was able to get myself to do even the things I had been putting off, like the damn Christmas stockings (6 of them), and the heavy zipper in a jacket.  I did them.  But today nada, nothing. 

See the list:

1. hem bridesmaid dress

2. hem bridesmaid dress

3. alter flower girl dress (easy)

4.hem mother of the bride

5. alter mother of the bride (hard)  1/2 done

6. straighten up shop started

See easy day.  I can do this. Set timer. What will I do first?  

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

Kim

Thursday, my lace tucker slipped

 

I spent the afternoon in Pullman taking notes and watching Hubs undergo tests, and we were home in time for my client.  All my clients were so understanding which was sweet. The bride that showed up at 5:30 had a dress that needed to have lace placed on the bottom.  I had pulled the lace off and then she came, and I cut the dress and was going to pin the lace back on......But alas NO LACE!!!!!

It should have been in the bottom of her bag.  This is not good.  Now I am very careful to always put anything I take off a dress into the bag.  But then I realized right away that her dress bag was identical to one that had just gone out and was it possible the lace was in the bottom of that bag?  Why yes it was, and the darling bride just returned it to me this morning.  This is not the kind of snafu I needed after a stressful day. But all well that ends well.

I am very worried about Hubs, as the closer the surgery gets the more his mind is befuddled.  I know it is just stress.  He is easily flustered. I am trying my best to find ways to calm him, but I need to do better.  I did not even tell him about my lace fiasco, as I normally would have. One less thing for him to have on his mind. But it sure was on my mind.  So, all appointments from now on go through me.  At the hospital, they are to call me, not him. It was pretty obvious to the staff that his hearing and comprehension were not great, so they did not argue. I think after this is all over, he will return to somewhat normal.  The doctor is removing all the lymph nodes to check for cancer spread, which has me worried, but I just tell myself not to go there.

Hubs and I went out last night and had veggie salads at TACO TIME they were on special, and we needed a treat after our afternoon. Then home to finish a little sewing. Today it will be a lot of sewing. 

We went and got our free (sip and save) sodas this morning and there were two women at the register, and I could tell they were very upset.  They were from out of town, and somehow had filled the car with gas and had no money.  They only had $4 in cash.  I didn't get the whole story, as they were both cackling like chickens.  The gas station could not let them go, until someone came to pay for the gas.  I took hubs CC and paid the bill and just told them to pay it forward.  I do not know who was more relieved, the women or the gas station manager having to listen to the two of them in the store for hours waiting for someone to come with money.  He ran out after we left to thank me.  It was pretty funny.  Hubs got a good laugh out of the manager's relief.  

Thrifty Thursday:

1. saved all my spared change

2. saved all my 5-dollar bills, now have $1145.00 so $50.00 in 5's this week

3. saved a $1, $5, $10, $20 bill

4. picked fresh veggies from garden for meals this week, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes

5. bought gas at least expensive station

6. ate all meals at homes from storage and freezers

7. used coupons at Jo anns

8. when we went out, we ordered the special and drank water instead of soda

9. used Albertson's points for some free items

10. brought home a few things that daughter did not want to deal with and sold them on Facebook

11. will only buy loss leader items this week at grocer. 

12. used the clothesline instead of the dryer

13. turned off the air conditioner as the house is staying cooler

Well, I really need to get to work.  I have a few things due out today and tomorrow, and I just want to get on even keel. Is Kim ever on even keel?  Has she ever been on even keel? Please don't answer that question.

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

Kim

Wednesday, Falling off roll

 See Kim be super positive for two days!

See Kim utterly fail when she realizes her Husband just upset her schedule.

See Kim try hard and catch up on her work!

See Kim get a load of work in one day's time.

Is Kim coming or going?

When Kim thinks she is on a roll she needs to eat the roll. Even if it has carbs in it....

So, hubs comes into the shop yesterday when I was feeling so proud to me and says he has an oncology appt at 1:45 today so we need to leave here at 12:30 as Pullman is a good hour away and there is construction.

NOOOOOOO, I have so many appointments in the afternoon and bride coming from out of town.  You cannot spring this on me. But you can fall it in me and he did.  I have to go as he cannot hear and does not comprehend when he is nervous. Crap, crap and double crap okay I already did that.

Now do I know everyone I have to call to reschedule?  Yes, all but one and that was someone that was supposed to be in yesterday and called to come today and I know it was late afternoon but not as late as we are going to be.  So, I will just have to leave a note that I am sorry and will be home about 5:30. I really dislike this, but I have no choice. This is why I need Sissie as Sissie would have written down the name of the reschedule and had her phone # readily available. Remember she got the organized gene. I got her eggs, and along with having to have my kids and hers it caused ADHD.  That is my excuse, and I am sticking to it.

Here I am trying so hard to get everything caught up and done before his surgery and I feel like I have had a big step backwards.  Really it is not that bad, I just feel like it is. I will recover, but I have to complain about it first and obviously if you are still reading you have to listen. Feel free to quit reading now.

The shop was uber busy yesterday and two brides to fit and get out and that takes time.  Plus, so much work came in. Taking care of clients is a big part of my time so less sewing gets done.  Again, why I need Sissie.  As she could deal with the smaller stuff and there is much more small stuff than wedding dresses.

As in the pants that came in and need to be out tomorrow, the pillow sham that needs made, the bathrobe that needs hemmed, the flower girl dress to be taken in, the bridesmaid dress to be altered, the ghee that needs to be hemmed. Plus remember the list Kim made yesterday (sure you do) that she was going to get through and be ahead of the game by Friday. She was going to buy small mums and replant some flower boxes and maybe get a few pumpkins to decorate the front porch. She was going to relax and feel free to waste a little time doing happy Kim things? Well, that is blown to hell.  Kim needs to go eat about 4 doughnuts, then she will feel better.

Are you tired of me whining?  I am tired of me.

Had a few good buys in the grocery adds today. Apple juice was on sale, so was cheese, also good ground beef for under $3 a pound. 

So, Kim will be in Pullman all afternoon and I hope to get back and get a little sewing done tonight. Right now, I need to go quickly hem a pair of black pants for a client that needs to pick them up this evening.

Do you ever have reverses like this?  How do you handle them?  I bitch and use humor. If I can laugh at it, I can live with it.  Like I have a choice....

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

Kim

Tuesday, On a roll!

 Well, I am pretty darn proud of myself, as I was able to get those three wedding dresses ready for final fitting and one has already been picked up!  Another will be picked up this afternoon and the third tomorrow, so I am done with wedding dresses for the week.

Now have to concentrate on the bridesmaids/mother of the bride/homecoming dresses and I think I have 7 to do and I want them out this week.  

I blew my meatloaf this week by putting too many breadcrumbs in it.  It smells wonderful but tastes a little bland.  We will eat it, Hubs with lots of mustard.  Don't you hate it when you screw up a recipe you have made for years?  By the way Linda I did put in some green pepper and that did help my mistake a little.  The green pepper kind of offset the too many breadcrumbs.

Had to run to the store today to get apple juice for Kelsa, and I used my Alberstons points to get a package of sliced cheese, a lb of sausage links, and a gallon of apple juice with points.  When the cashier rang up the three items, she thought she had done something wrong as the total was 0. But I only used points and bought nothing else.  Kind of the way I shop at Albertsons, other than loss leaders and 50% off meat I just don't buy things there. 

So today:

1. hem and take up shoulders in a bridesmaid dress

2. put zipper in the side of a jr. miss dress

3. hem a jr. miss dress and slip

4. hem a homecoming dress

5. alter a homecoming dress

6. hem 5 pairs of jeans

7. patch a pair of jeans and cut out 6 Christmas stockings

8. put a zipper in a coat

9. take shoulders up in mother of the bride and call for fitting

I doubt I get all this done but it will certainly help me get most of the weeks work out if I can get these things out.  There are a couple more piles and more dresses, that need to be done for Oct 1, and the 8th that I should try and get done by the end of the week.

I would love to get some mums planted in my flower boxes, and a little work done outside as far as fall flowers are concerned and I hope to be able to do that this week. Just sewing all the time gets dull.

I need to run mail some pants to a client and I keep forgetting.  So, when Hubs gets up with Kelsa (they are napping) I will try to run do that.

Just got word from eldest that she will be in town the night of the 4th of October to stay with her dad, as I leave the 5th and I don't think his catheter will be out before I leave.  I don't want him alone at that time as wacky things can happen. So grateful to my girls for rallying.  Signe' was trying to rearrange her patient load to free up time at the office, and Braunwyn was switching out days with co-workers.  Between the three he will be well cared for.

So that is one more load off my mind.  Are you kids (if you have them) good at stepping in when you need them?  

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

Kim

Monday, Another chart, Love my life, in spite....

Finished another chart before I left for Braunwyn's.  I also ripped into 3 wedding dresses, that I will continue to work on today. That is my main goal for the week is to get these three done amongst the other things, and piles.
 

I think things are slowing down.  Or maybe I am just more organized.  I am not sure what is different, but I am not feeling as stressed as I was a month ago. Now don't ask mee how I will feel in a week.  Just today is positive.

More bridesmaid dresses and flowers girl dresses coming in rather than wedding dresses and that is just fine with me. Much less work and stress.

Report on B's place.  We were able to get 5-33 gallon bags of donations out of that house.  Mostly baby clothes, and things, B's things she will never get back into, and even Dan was good about going through his clothes and getting rid of things from his high school years.  I was very proud of them.  We threw away and donated large pieces of furniture that were too large for that apartment and allowed them more room for the baby to play.

Hubs came up to help with babies, but we are on a smoke health watch (it is so bad here right now) so he could not take Kelsa and Oliver out.  Signe', I and Braunwyn worked hard, and we had babies under foot, but we just did our best.  Hubs and Dan carried out the large stuff and helped a lot.  Kelsa and Oliver would hold hands and run from his bedroom across the living room holding hands and laughing.  So much more room for him to play.  It was sweet to watch even though they undid any toy pick up we did over and over.

We all wore out by Saturday evening.  I had planned to go back Sunday after church, but I was too sore and tired.  Also, B needs a day off as she is going into her 7-day rotation shift change.  Dan is running his plant as his boss is out of the country again, so he is in charge and will work 7 days a week also.  Plus, he gets called back in whenever a graduate or a doctoral student has a problem at the lab. No wonder he can't finish his Master's. Frustrating. 

So, we were able to really declutter, and deep clean the baby's room and their room.  Baby things were packed away and the crib was taken down to be stored. We took out a huge tv credenza that was made for a large house and had them store all the cd's and dvd's in a storage case in alphabetical order.  We moved a bookcase that we decluttered, into the bedroom as the crib and a makeup table that were not used was taken out. 

We bought under the bed storage containers, for baby things saved.  Also, a box for memorabilia for each of them.  This really helped. We also deep cleaned the front room and part of the kitchen.  I plan on going back up in a couple weeks, after shift change to do the laundry room and the bathroom and finish the kitchen. There are two large closets we did not get to, and one is a huge walk in.  But it needs more shelving so we can put things on it.  Like baby things they are saving.  B's father-in-law who watches Oliver a couple of days a week is going to take care of that before I go up again.

We worked ourselves to death, but we also had a good time and lots of laughs.  There is a plan in place for shelving and a a corner storage unit that we have to find.  The place is just so much more livable.  I was happy with what we got done.

I have a had a busy last three weekends.  I have pushed myself a bit too hard, so next weekend is a no large plan weekend.  I can't believe how fast this month is going.  Hubs has a pre operation meeting this week and his surgery is in a couple of weeks. Yikes!

I also can't believe I completely missed 9/11. I always called one of my dance students as it was his birthday. He is over 30 now with 3 children.  I have never missed a call.  But I called him this morning. Maybe the horror of that day is finally diminishing, although the girls and I all talked about it when we were cleaning.

Well, I have work to do so I had better get busy.  Have you got any plans for the week?

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

Kim

Friday, Irritations...

 My plane ticket to my Sissie's for the girl's trip was twice what I wanted to pay.  I knew tickets had gone up and I could have flown out of Spokane and saved some money.  But this would involve a two-hour drive there and back, so $50.00 in gas and then a stay over-night at a hotel as the flight was at the butt crack of dawn.  Add minimum $150.00. Then put car in storage, $20 a day so another, $260.00.  When I added up all the expenses I just flew out of Lewiston.  I should quit whining as I am blessed to be able to go.

Then I just found out that my Rheumatologist is leaving his practice here and who knows if we will ever get another.  Plus, he was such a good doctor, and we do have tendency to get crap doctors here.  Now I will have to drive two hours to see a doctor and I have had two car accidents in Spokane, just going to the doctor.  My track record is not good.

I will be leaving for girl's trip before Hub's fully recovers from his surgery, but he keeps telling me he will be okay.  The girls can take care of him. But I feel guilty. I did pay to get a refundable ticket if something goes really wrong.

Really everyone should have my problems, right?

I actually did nothing yesterday.  I have huge cold sores on my upper and lower lips, and I was just tired.  I didn't even care, I just slept and vegged in front of the TV.

I do have to get some sewing done today, but I am leaving later this afternoon to go up to Braunwyn's and help her declutter her apartment.  They are blessed to have a rather large apartment that is rent controlled. It is a handicap apt. so large bathroom and closets for wheelchair turn around.  Now the sinks are lower, but so is the rent.  They have been there 5 years and with the baby now 2 they have just outgrown the space.  With the housing market the way it is they cannot buy for a while.  We must make that space do. B works full time at a very demanding job, and she gets two days off a week to get things done.

I will be helping her purge many baby things and just stuff that has built up over time. I am going to spend the night up there.  We can get a good start on the baby's room and then continue all day tomorrow.  I really want to get through both bedrooms, the living area and the bathroom.  Plus get some shelving hung for storage in a very large closet. I think Signe' is going to come help us.  I am getting Hub's to come up tomorrow morning to deal with Oliver as Dan works tomorrow. I hope we can get through the place in the amount of time we have allocated.

I think they will be there at least another 2 years, so I want her to be able to come home and be able to relax and have a clean place and a place to put everything.  Her husband Dan is a stasher, so he may not like me when I get done.  I am also taking a labeler.  She has a huge dresser that was my mothers in the baby's room.  Every drawer is bursting.  That baby should have one drawer for socks and under clothes, one for shirts, one for pants and one for sleep wear. The drawers are small but there are plenty of them.  Way too many toys and I know there are clothes galore that she is no longer wearing.  It will be purge, purge, purge.   

Anything exciting happening for your weekend, because mine is so exciting, I bet you are jealous.

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

Kim

Thursday, God save the Queen

I have always been somewhat of an Anglophile, and I was so sorry to hear about the death of Queen Elizabeth.  She has always fascinated me. Now she is back with her beloved husband and the monarchy moves on.  She had such an interesting life. God bless her and her family as they mourn.

My sister-in-law is recovering from her surgery where the doctors were able to remove 90% of the cancer in her abdomen and are confident that they can get to the other 10% with chemotherapy. They originally were going to do chemo and then surgery, but at the last minute decided to go this route and they were happy they did. I don't have many details. I was just relieved to hear this and took it as good news.

I got that wedding dress done and out and also ripped a few dresses that I will do today.  Did not get to the hunting pants, also a job for today.  I want to pull three more wedding dresses for next week. One is for the 24th and the other 2 for Oct.1st.  I need to get those out, so I don't get overwhelmed with homecoming dresses. I am actually looking forward to business dying down, please remind me of this when I am complaining in January of nothing to do. 

I do plan on moving my shop into the bigger of our two spare rooms in January.  I want a linoleum floor and get rid of the nasty carpet.  Also, the room I am in now gets full hot sun and is the hottest room in the house.  It will be nice to get out of the tinder box. I will need to paint and reorganize, and I am hoping to have Sissie here for the move, as she is great and this kind of thing.

Four homecoming dresses came in yesterday, along with a pile of alterations.  I just want things to slow down a bit.  I am tired.

Thrifty Thursday:

1.Saved all my spare change

2. saved all my $5 bills, now have $1095.00, so $50.00 in 5's this last week

3. saved a $1, $5, $10, $20 bill now have $720.00 

4. stayed on budget during trip to Twin Falls

5. eating out of garden as much as possible

6. purchased 12 pounds of butter for $2.50 a pound.  

7. got a really good deal on chicken hindquarters using points and 50% off sticker

8. got a really good deal on burger using points and a 50% off sticker

9. using our sip and save promo, but it is a pain as the computer keeps going down at the station

10. Used my Albertsons card in Twin falls to help daughter save on groceries.

11. brought home some produce from mom's garden that she would not be able to eat.

12. eating out of freezers and pantry

13. downloaded all receipts to fetch

Not much this week as we were traveling.  I always take cash for spending on things I want when traveling and when that money is gone, I am done spending.  But I also save the change and the 5's so that is part of my savings plan and keeps me accountable.  I like to shop, and I needed nothing but a new bra, but still managed to spend my quota. I amaze myself, with my not so frugal ways! 

How do you manage your travel budget for unnecessary things? 

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

Kim

Wednesday, Back in the saddle

 We had a lovely time at our daughters. Hubs took the boys to the fair, and to the Falls, and to a local park. Daughter, and her mother-in-law and I worked on this huge project. Once again, I hit my limit.  I hate that I can't do the things I love to do anymore. It is so frustrating. But I also need to be grateful that I can do anything, as I have had relatives with this kind of RA that were dead in their 50s. I am blessed.

Daughter inherited a Duncan Fife table and chairs (4th generation).  So, we spent the weekend sanding and sanding, and sanding.   Of course, my joints rebelled after the first day and then slowly refused to co-operate until I was useless.  But I did get two coats of stain on these chairs before I could no longer hold anything. 

Drat and double drat!  I used to be able to rip a sofa on day one and completely recover it on day two.  But I realized that was over several years ago when daughter brought me a Danish platform sofa and it took me a week to strip it and then two weeks to recover it.  My hands were just too weak for the work.  Now I realize my hands are too weak to strip and do any kind of furniture refinishing. 

My right hand and arm swelled like a sausage and the skin was tight and I could not make a fist anymore.  I also became very tired by Monday as my body went into a flare. (Not good) I slept a lot and just did not allow myself to even pick up a paint brush although I wanted to start putting coats of shellac on the chairs.  Luckily  Jethelyn's mother-in-law is an artist, and this kind of work is right up her alley.  She said she would do a couple of chairs a day while the boys are in school.

Isn't this table beautiful? We had to use a stripper on this and then sand it.  But daughter did most of the table, I just sanded, chairs for hours.  It will be a beautiful set when done.  Alas I met my limit the second day into the project, and I was very annoyed. 

Horrible night sweats ins sued along with exhaustion and pain all night long.  I am much better now because I made myself stop, but my mouth has cold sores and some on my lips, from the fever that I ran. Lovely, so aggravating.

Home to start sewing again.  Thank goodness I can.  IF I had not stopped, I probably would be in the throes of a horribly painful carpel tunnel episode, and you all know how I love those. Anyway, Kim faces her limitations with no dignity.

It was nice to come home to a clean house and a shop that was clean, and I knew where I stood there. (Thanks Lil Sis)

Today I must get a wedding dress done and another dress and 6 pairs of hunting pants hemmed, and a mother of the bride ripped for a fitting this week.  Then I need to see what other wedding dresses need to go out before Hub's surgery.  I think there are at least 8 dresses.

Homecoming is on the 6th and 15th here as we have two high schools one in Lewiston and one in Clarkston, so I have to gear up for that.  They have to get in early as I will be leaving.  No last-minute dresses I am afraid. I have sent the word out that people need to get in here asap.

Kelsa is here today, and we have already had a tea party and Pop pop is now taking her for a walk in her stroller and she will go down for a nap.

We are having Kielbasa, fried cabbage and green beans for dinner.  No carbs for hubs who has already lost 7 lbs.  I am proud of him as he really does love to eat.  So do I but I love to eat crap!

My sister-in-law is in surgery as I type, and I have been in a constant litany of prayer for her recovery.  I am waiting anxiously for a report.

Anything exciting happen while I was gone, as in good exciting? I have read about some of the not so good things, and I am shocked and saddened about the stabbings in Cananda.  These things make one almost lose faith.  But we must all remain strong as in who else will bear the world's problems if not us? Also, Ephemera has a very sick kitty, and that is so hard. Slugs is in the mist of long-distance move which is wearing on her cheerful personality. Robyn posted while I was gone and her husband is not doing well, and I don't know how she keeps going having to do it all, poor darling.

By the way butter on sale for $2.50 a pound no limit and although this is not the price, I had hoped for it is the best I have seen in a year, so I am going to buy 20 lbs. But that is it for groceries here.  The garden is producing enough to feed us daily along with whatever protein I pull from the freezer. That is, it on the weekly money savings grocery front and I will take it!

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

Kim

Thursday, Just a little left and thriftyness

 I just have a few things left to do in the shop.  I will not finish the wedding dress for next week but will get a start on it.

Yesterday was frustrating, I had so much patching and mending to do and that is time consuming, and I am not charging nearly enough for it.  After 4 hours I realized I could have gotten 2 wedding dresses done and I had monetarily gotten little funds for a lot of patching.  I will address this with the next client that brings me a bag of patching.

I do want people to be able to save clothing with rips and tears as I think we are way too much of a throwaway society, but not at my monetary expense. You have to change the thread color on every item, and I spend the majority of my time rethreading my machine. Some of these tears are and inch long and minor, I feel silly even charging for them, but after a whole afternoon of this, I am losing money by the hourly rate I charge.  Anyway, the piles are done.

Lil sis did my hair last night and I am so grateful, this would have cost me close to 200 dollars at a salon.  She foiled in some blond and then colored the rest and gave me a haircut.  I also was able to get in and get my nails redone. I was too tired when I got home to do anymore sewing.

So, for today, I am going to finish a skirt, and work a little on a wedding dress, and alter a swimsuit for Lil sis, then I have a list of things to do before we leave in the morning.

1. go to bank and cash checks

2. pay all the bills for the month

3. make sure items that I need to return to Talbots are in the car

4. make sure mom's things are in the car

5. make sure skirts I remodeled for Jess's mother-in-law are in the car

6. do a load or two of laundry

7. pack

8. vacuum

9. mop

10. check in with sitter for chickens and watering

I want to come home to a clean house, as I know next week will be crazy. Kim is trying to make her life a little simpler, I think.....

I was not able to do a Thrifty Thursday post last week as I was out having fun. So here goes.

1. saved all my $5 bills, I have $1045.00 saved and had $65 in fives the last two weeks

2. I saved all my spare change

3. I saved a $1, $5, $10, $20 bill

4. I put $80 something into the penny a day can for the month of Sept.

5. I downloaded all receipts to fetch

6. searched for the least expensive place to gas up

7. Used many things from garden for meals, cabbage, beans, cukes, tomatoes, peppers squash.

8. Used coupons at Joanns

9. used points at Albertsons and found two large packages of Chicken legs for 50% off. making 8 pounds of chicken legs $3.47. 

10. used the clothesline instead of the dryer to save money

11. freezing small bags of tomatoes for enough to can a larger batch

12. hubs did up the apples for the year yielding apples sauce and pie filling

13. Strung up hot peppers to dry for seasoning later.

14. Made sure to come home from camping and use up all the leftovers.  Made three meals of soup to freeze for later

15. fed all food scraps to chickens to save on feed

16. using our sip and save promotion for diet cokes in the morning this really saves us money although I really love MCd's diet coke.

17. Had Lil sis do my hair; the product cost was $30 opposed to $200 in a salon.

Well, I am off to get a few things done in the shop, and then pay bills and attack my list.  This is going to be an easier day than the last three and for that I am grateful. 

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

Kim