Where have I been ??

I have just completed two weeks of busyness that is finally over.  I had a women's group meeting that I planned and led.  We made Christmas tree ornaments and in order to save time I did all the prep work which took a few days.  I prepared a meal of homemade baked macaroni and cheese, salad and pumpkin streusel coffee cake to a group of around 25 people and then I took the remaining food to elderly members of our church.  There have been committee meetings at church to attend and plan.  I have filled in at the library when some employees had to be gone.  I'm trying to look back over the past two weeks and there were more activities that I took part in and it was two weeks of rushing and definitely over the top things to get done..

I attended a seminar at our local County Extension office on healthy meals in minutes and I am now attempting to cut the sodium in my diet and am going to make as many things as practical from scratch.  And then there was yesterday at noon when all my commitments ended and I got to go with my husband to Des Moines to Living History Farms for him to pick up his race packet for a cross country race that he is running right now.  A fun drive of 1 hour, just him and I, talking and enjoying each other's uninterrupted conversation and then a nice lunch in at the "Machine Shed" restaurant.  Then it was off to browse books at Barnes and Noble.  

Barnes and Noble is one of those places that have happy memories for our family.  About twice a year we would take a Saturday and drive to Des Moines to Barnes and Noble.  That was back when I was working and with two incomes it was nothing for us to spend at least $200 for our fill of books.  When we walked into Barnes and Noble yesterday I instantly was taken aback by the sudden happiness I was feeling.  It was the music, the displays of books and the smell of coffee and treats.  There is just something about it.  I looked at several books, making a list of several, so I could check and see if our library (yes the one that I now work at on Saturday afternoons) carries any of the titles.  It was an enjoyable hour of nostalgia and then it was time to get on the road and get home to feed our dogs.  

But wait, there's more.  My youngest son and I decided at 8:00 p.m. last night to drive around our community stopping at every convenience and grocery store looking for Twinkies.  With the Hostess company going bankrupt and with the good possibility that Twinkies will no longer be made, we decided that we needed one last Twinkie.  We were able to find two packages at our last stop.  Now, I haven't had a Twinkie in years because they are junk food and high in calories, but I just had to have one last one as a remembrance of my childhood.  So, we each had a package and we went home to eat them.  I have to say that they must have tasted better when I was a kid because I could have easily stopped after one bite.  Then I remembered that when I was a kid my mom couldn't afford the real Twinkies and we bought a cheaper competitor's brand that is still now being produced, which tastes better.  Oh well, it was fun to drive around in my husband's truck with my 19 year old son on a quest for Twinkies.

Now, it's over.  

I have the next 5 days to get ready for Thanksgiving and I have 5 weeks to prepare for Christmas.  I have already purchased 2 turkeys for the holidays.  A few good deals were to be found this week adn I have purchased nearly everything I need for baking goodies.  I need a sale on M & M's and then I am set to bake.  

I don't know how I did it, but I effectively got my schedule cleared in order to have time to prepare and celebrate the upcoming holidays AND BLOG!!!!!

I will have a posting later today about everything I have been up to. This morning is my last morning of training at the library. My mind has been swirling with library policies and procedures. I am so glad I was offered the opportunity to work there. More details coming later today with my thoughts on the economy, drought and being prepared for more bad economic times.

Been a Hot and Busy Week

Like most of the country, we have been experiencing quite a heat wave in Iowa. The daytime temperatures have been in the 90's and 100 degree Fahrenheit with a heat index today of 105 degrees Fahrenheit. I don't mind breaking records in a sporting event but not when it comes to the weather. Unless it is for the greatest weather ever - that would be a record I would like to see.

When it is this hot, you might as well know that your electric bill will be very high due to using air conditioning. There is just no way getting around not using air conditioning when it is this hot. It is just too dangerous not to use it. The only way to save money is to turn your thermostat up so that you are comfortable but not cold. I have been keeping the thermostat at 78 to 80 degrees mostly so that the air conditioner wouldn't run constantly. Our air conditioner is 20 years old and you never know when it will go. Hopefully we can get through this summer without any problems.

My week has been busy as I started my training at the public library. The first day of my training I felt like I had made a big mistake in taking the job. There are so many policies, procedures and general how to's to learn and I was overwhelmed. Then the second day came and I went home again feeling like I would never get it and I might have to give up. By the third day, I was starting to understand and then yesterday I was "getting it" more and more. In fact as I walked home yesterday I was so glad that I had answered the ad. 

The women that I work with are very nice. I am definitely on a team and what I like the most is that we are all there to serve the public which is something I enjoy.

Today I went to the library on my own time to just walk around and make sure I knew where things were located. As I sit and type this I know that I am going to understand the job more and more and that I am definitely glad that I answered that ad and was offered the opportunity to work at the library.

I will work a few Saturdays a month and will also cover as needed for vacations. It won't interrupt my schedule at home and the income I receive will pay off some bills and add money to savings. It is nice to have something to call my own again. Also I am an immense history buff and avid learner so working at a library is perfect for me. 

Since I took the library job I have encountered several women who are working a few part time jobs. For whatever reason they cannot find full time employment and have pieced together 2 or even 3 part time jobs together. I honestly don't know when these women have a day off or a break. It is something that I have encountered with college students also. 

I talked with one of these women and she looked tired, and I mean very tired. I don't know how she keeps her schedule straight, but as she said - these jobs pay her bills and that is what is most important. After talking with her I felt quite fortunate that even though I am working a small part time job, our life does not depend on it and I don't have to work several jobs to make ends meet.

Life is not easy for many people and I fear that with the extremely hot weather and drought like conditions that we may be in for higher food prices and perhaps lay offs from farm related industries. It's a perfect example of the trickle down effect. Practicing frugality with the addition of a part time job or temporary job will help families offset the rising prices and cost of living.

Baby Robins

Here is what I found in my arbor near my front door today. 

I took this picture with my cell phone and I am not a photographer. Not bad for me.  It's fun to have time to enjoy nature.

Meet Molly . . . .

. . . . our wonderful new labradoodle puppy.  Been up at night with her and spending my days getting her housebroke.  She is so sweet.

Will post more tomorrow including the blogs that I will be awarding the Liebster Award to and a discussion about grinding your own meats. 

What Have I Been Up To?

Tomorrow I will post an update but here is a teaser:  I have been working on a Mad Men style dress for Easter, testing my own homemade cleaners, trying a new recipe - chicken tortilla soup, and getting decluttered and organized. 

BUT

I have missed posting and will get back on track.  Kind of hard to post when it is 80 degrees and beautiful outside.  I took a staycation and enjoyed the weather. 

Feeling so much better

I am feeling so much better today.  I haven't been that sick for a very, very long time.  When I was a child I would get sinus infections, sore throats and tonsilitis all the time.  When I was 15 years old I had my tonsils and adenoids removed and after that I would get an occasional cold.

This was different.  I was flat on my back sick for several days.  Thank goodness for antibiotics. 

I do have some big news.  I will tell you all about it in my next post which I promise will be later today as I don't want to make you wait long.  I will give you a hint.  Frugality has made it possible for my family to help others out in a big way.

Sick and won't be posting for a few days

I have been fighting a sinus infection for several days and went on some strong antibiotics yesterday.  The side effects are awful and I won't be posting for a few days. 

Should be back to posting, I hope by Tuesday, the 28th.

I'm back from Kansas City

My day today is filled with laundry, picking up around the house and updating my calendar and organizing my volunteer work.  I had a wonderful time in Kansas City.  Here are glimpses' of my post that will be published tonight:

1.  Went to Goodwill and found a couple of additions to my fall wardrobe.  No more department store shopping for me.  I loved the treasure hunt.

2.  I hit a brick wall with my weaning off Paxil and I am back on it.

3.  I'm still tired from my trip but strangely I am energized to get stuff done at home and at church. 

Missed you all and hope all is well with your families.  I will "talk" to you tonight.

Back to Normal Tomorrow

I'll be back to normal posting tomorrow.  My 18 year old son just won a seat on the local school board.  I've been spending time helping with his campaign so tomorrow I go back to "normal" whatever that is!!!

I'm Having a Busy Day

I am sorry that I didn't post anything last night and I won't be posting tonight.  I have had a lot to do yesterday and today and haven't had a moment to sit down and write what's on my mind.  I will definitely be posting tomorrow.

Have your days gotten busier lately?  Next week our youngest starts college and I will be happy to get back into the swing of things (school year that is).  In the meantime I am getting caught up on some volunteer work. 

Many times I feel as if my posts are conversations with all of you and I must say that I do miss "talking" with all of you. 

Ode to Laundry and Cinnamon Rolls

Yesterday I washed clothes and hung everything on the clothesline in 115 degree heat.  I think it took about 10 minutes per load to dry. 

Today I washed bedding, quilts, comforters and towels.  I hung everything on the line.  I let the towels get almost dry and then I tossed them in the dryer for about 10 minutes to fluff and get soft.

It is now 10:15 p.m. and I have made 3 dozen cinnamon rolls.  One pan is in the oven and 2 more are in the rising phase and will be ready to bake soon. 

All of this to say that I am bone tired and will post tomorrow what I was going to post today.

Tomorrow I want to give you my recipe for making a soft soap or actually my own face cleanser using a bar of Castile soap.  Castile soap is made with coconut oil and it is very good for your skin.   Also, I want to talk about corn.  Yes, corn.  Not just corn, but cornmeal, corn products and yes even high fructose corn syrup.  And I will also add a couple of my recipes for pie crust that "Debs" requested.

Where have I been?

Well I haven't blogged for a few days and it seems along the way I lost 2 followers.  But I don't blog just to see my followers list increase, I blog to see if there are like minded people out there like me and what I can learn from them and perhaps they can learn from me.

I have been in what I refer to as a little bit of a "funk" the past few days and have been so tired that I have spent most of my time resting.  I have been on Paxil since the end of December and it causes me to be tired the majority of the time but more so than ever.  

I take it in the morning so a few weeks ago I tried to take it before bedtime and I noticed no difference in being tired all day long.  Then I tried going to bed at 10:00 p.m. and not 11:00 p.m., sleeping in another hour to gain in total 2 hours of sleep per night.  I was still needing to lie down in the middle of the day for at least a 1 hour nap.

I decided that being sleepy outweighed having OCD and Depression so I called my doctor to see about being weaned off of it.  The nurse asked me twice if I was sure and I said yes.  Then I was doubtful especially when family members said that I appeared happier and better able to cope with life in general when I was taking an anti-depressant.  So, I changed my decision and I am sticking with Paxil.

This has led me to try different ways to get more rest.  Perhaps the problem is trying to experiment with my sleep cycle in order to find what best works for me.  In the end I made the decision that if I need 10 to 12 hours of sleep per day in order to feel rested and get done what needs to me done, then so be it.  It is better to get more rest than to try to go through the day with not enough sleep, yawning and constantly tired and not feeling like I have the energy to do anything at all.

So my schedule is that I am in bed by 10:30 at night and I do my best to stay in bed until 7:30 in the morning.  Then I get up and eat my breakfast, read the paper and then take a 1 hour nap.  By that time it is 9:00 a.m. and I am ready to shower and such and be ready to face the day by 10:00 a.m.  Then I am good until bedtime. 

At first I could only see that it takes me to 10:00 in the morning to actually be ready for doing housework and such, but now I view it as being totally rested and able to get more done than being tired all day long as I was before. 

My family is right.  I am better able to cope with my life and being weaned off Paxil may not be the best for me right now especially when there is the fear that old behavior such as OCD could creep back into my life robbing me of my joy.

So, that's what has been going on in the past few days and I will be back to blogging tonight, after I get some cleaning done. 

We will continue looking at the Tightwad Gazette III and then I have some budget information to share with you that I have been working on over the past few weeks along with my feelings about the current economy and what I feel all of us need to not worry about, but be prepared for. 

So, there you have it.  Have a wonderful Saturday and I will be back this evening with more to share - how about a little teaser - my $37.50 per week food budget for the next few months and the need to prepare for the future more than ever. 

Random Money Thoughts and Tightwad Gazette III

Today I am sitting on my back porch as a way of avoiding the housework I must do today.  Well, I'm not avoiding it, just delaying it.  As I sit here I made a list of the things that were on my mind. 
Here they are:

1. Desk. Need a desk for my son to put in the den next to my desk. He’s been using my desk and it doesn’t work to share. I will have him use a card table until I find a used desk.. Solves two problems – will he really use a desk of his own and and if we decide this is a need, he can use the card table until we find a used desk.

2. New workout shoes. I wore my workout shoes on vacation as we did a lot of walking but Curves insists on wearing “clean” shoes when you work out. I can’t afford new shoes. Instead I will clean them off with all purpose cleaner after my evening walk and will be able to take them to Curves instead of buying another pair.

3. I need to clip and organize my coupons as I grew lax over the past few weeks between graduation and vacation.

4. Bike more. Yes, gasoline has gone down in price but at $3.39 a gallon it still is high by any standard. I’m biking places now. The bike basket I bought over two years ago doesn’t fit my bike and is collecting dust. Instead of ordering a new one on line perhaps there is some way I can make it work by “remaking” it.

5. I need to get rid of more clothes so I can make room for some of my new sewing creations.

6. I need to make a list of items to sew for Christmas presents so I can do a little bit at a time. One idea for gifts is to make kitchen valances out of different holiday fabrics that I have found on sale throughout the year. I have the following theme fabric: Valentine's Day, Easter, Patriotic, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

7. Price Book – my dream would be to own a tablet computer and put my price book on that, but not on an austerity budget. I need to re-organize and re-do my Price Book and put it in the old fashioned way – a small notebook – to fit my purse. I have everything in Excel but I am finding prices are really starting to vary from Wal-mart store brand items to other grocery store brands. I can no longer rely on memory. Prices are changing constantly and I am struggling to figure out the best price for meat. There is power and money to be saved by updating this tool.

I have read the reading for today for the Tightwad Gazette III and will post it this evening.  I am surprised that after 2 books Amy is still giving great advice and it is not just a repeat of prior books.  You will love going through this book with me. 

I'm going to take a break for a few days

I have a lot to do around my house over the next several days.  I need to totally declutter as I put so many things on hold while I was painting and getting ready for my son's graduation party.  

I'll post when I can but I will definitely be back to regular blogging in a week.  Also I have moved the start date to our Tightwad Gazette Book III reading to June 27th.   

Some projects I need to think about for the future is getting back to a Household notebook or organizer of some kind.  I have not been using mine for the past year and it definitely shows.  Also I have only been working out 3 times a week and I need to up the ante and get myself to Curves 6 times a week. 

Do you have any organizational projects or personal goals for the summer?

Graduation

I will be back to posting on May 23rd.  My livingroom is beautiful and I will post pictures.  As to my son and his party, it was a wonderful party and he was overwhelmed by the people that came.

The weather wasn't perfect as it stormed most of the day and was raining when the party started so I had people all over the downstairs of our house.  We had a lot of fun.

Graduation is tomorrow and I will be back to my daily blogging Monday.  I have much to write about.

The Painting is Finished

Just wanted to post a quick update.  First of all, I now see that my "Followers Gadget" is missing and that this is another problem in Blogger.  Hopefully this will get fixed soon.

I finished all of my painting today!!!  After 4 1/2 months of scraping wallpaper, washing down the walls, patching all of the holes and cracks in the plaster, sanding the repaired plaster, priming the walls, painting two basecoats, painting faux finish one and two, and then I had to faux finish the ceilings, it is finally done.  The result is a beautiful livingroom and entryway just the way I imagined it.  I will post pictures after I have cleaned it and put up the drapes. 

It took a long time but I wanted to do it right so that it would look like wallpaper and it does.  The rest of the week will be spent cleaning, doing yard work and cooking.  My son's graduation party is Friday evening so I have a lot to do.  I've checked in on many of your blogs and have enjoyed the many varied posts.  I will be back to my regular posting come this weekend.

In the meantime, have a blessed week.

Where have I been?

No, nothing bad has happened and I haven't gone away.  I will post tomorrow regarding the latest Tightwad Gazette reading which I should have done yesterday.  But, yesterday, -- I was soooo miserable.

The temperature was in the 90's and the heat index was 100 degrees.  We have yet to put the window air conditioners in the downstairs windows so I was trying to paint without fainting.  I had sweat going down my arms and finally I gave up.  In the middle of painting I heard a neighbor yell "Oh no, " so I went outside to see what had happened.  Her two dogs got loose and I spent some time chasing after dogs while my dog was in our fenced in yard watching.  At one point I thought I could actually see my dog rooting for the dogs that were running loose.

 By the time I got back home, the heat had totally zapped my strength (along with the great dog chase).  I slept horribly last night.  (The air conditioners will go in this weekend.) 

Our upstairs has a separate furnace with central air but my husband felt that it wasn't too bad.  I disagreed.  I slept in our basement family room.  Well we call it that but it really is just a piece of carpet and some old furniture along with a t.v.  It was nice and cool.  I drifted off to sleep only to wake up to a mouse running around with our cat in chase.  The rest of the night I slept fitfully and dreamt really weird stuff.  Maybe I should right a book like that lady did from her dream about vampires. 

I got up this morning and I knew that I wasn't going to make it so at 8:30 I took a nap and again dreamt some wild dreams.  After 45 minutes I got up and decided that I couldn't spent the whole day fighting sleep and being tired so I got to the laundry and started picking up.  It was a lot cooler today.  Yea!!

Then I heard a noise.  I didn't recognize it at first and then I realized what it was.  I ran outside in time to see our son's dog tearing off the lattice work around the base of our deck in order to catch a bunny.  I ran and yelled at the dog only to stub my right little toe on a stake that is in the ground holding the dog tie out.  It started to swell and I hobbled over to the deck and leaned a ladder against the lattice work. 

I came inside and inspected my toe.  It wasn't broken, but it was bleeding and I knew it wouldn't take long for it to get really sore.  Oh well, it's sandal season anyway. 

This afternoon it was back to the painting in the other side of the livingroom.  I finished the first faux finish on the walls about 45 minutes ago. 

So, there you have it.  There are no big sales at the grocery stores so I don't need to go shopping this week except for a few things.  With the time I am saving by not shopping, I will use it to paint. 

One side of the living room is all finished and I am working on the other side. It has to be finished by Saturday.  My son's graduation party is on the 20th so I have a little over a week to get everything painted, the house cleaned and the cooking and baking done.  I should be okay as long as I don't have to chase a dog. 

My Day - Wishing for a Maid

I stated in an earlier post how I have been watching episodes of the BBC series Downton Abbey.  In the series they have valets, lady's maids, butlers, scullery maids, cooks, a housekeeper, maids to clean, chauffers, footmen and perhaps a few more servants.  The whole time I was doing my "chores" today I kept wondering what it would be like to sit around and read while someone else does everything.  Then I found myself wishing that a maid would show up to help me. 

I did several loads of laundry.  The loads consisted of my husband's dress shirts and pants, my son's dress shirts and pants (for work), polo shirts, whites, darks, towels, cold wash, warm wash, drying on low and drying on medium.  It took most of the day to wash the loads, hang things up immediately from the dryer and to fold everything. 

There is something about folding laundry that I don't mind.  I usually do this at the dining room table and watch the piles of neatly folded laundry collect during the day.  Then I put them on the beds and warn everyone when they come in the door that their clean clothes must be put away. 

While doing the laundry I cleaned up the mess I left in my kitchen last night.  We provided hot dogs and baked beans for our youth group last night.  Others provided the buns, chips and dessert.  I volunteered for the hot dogs and baked beans as I am the only one of the volunteers that doesn't work outside of the home so I knew it would be easier for me to do the hot food.  The Oscar Meyer hot dogs were bought last fall on sale and after using a coupon, they cost me anywhere from 25 cents to 50 cents a package.

I bought 2 large institutional sized cans of Bush's baked beans as they have the brown sugar and bacon already in them.  I put the beans in two crockpots and then I skillet fried the hot dogs (70 of them) til browned and put them in another crockpot.  It was easy and it was also the last time I will have to do this as my son graduates from high school this year.

For supper tonight we had oven barbecued chicken with my homemade barbecue sauce.  I posted the recipe for the sauce here.   I served cornbread and leftover baked beans with this humble meal.  It was very filling and good.  For dessert we had homemade oatmeal cookies.

There were other things that I accomplished today but I felt like I was spinning my wheels a lot.  The reason is that last night I stayed up too late and didn't make up a plan for today.  I have been doing this recently.  I have an 8 1/2 by 11 wire  bound weekly calendar that I have been using this year to keep myself organized.  On Sunday evenings I write down what I want to accomplish each day of the week and then I review the list each evening to update or make changes. 

It is something as simple as having a plan that has helped me to get more done in my day than I ever have gotten done before.  So in a few minutes I will get that calendar out and make sure I have a plan for tomorrow.  It's funny but I never needed to plan so much when I worked full time.  Now that I am home I have to plan my day or time gets away from me and I won't get anything done.

My Day Off and Recipe Needed

Today I am not painting and I am not going to Curves to work out.  My back needs a break and so do I.  Today I have laundry to do (or should I say the washer has laundry to do), an article to write for a news site, a nail appointment (yea!) and I will be helping at our last after school children's time of the year at our church.

Do you ever have a "need to research list"?  I do.  I buy a few convenience foods but as I have used these up, I am researching homemade versions.  One of these foods is yellow cake.  I cannot make a homemade version that is as moist as the version that comes from a box.  I don't want to make a homemade batter and have to add a pudding mix, instead I am searching for a yellow cake that has perhaps the ingredients for pudding in it. 

You know that my family is going to enjoy tasting different recipes of yellow cake over the next few weeks. So, if you have a great yellow cake recipe and would like to share it, please leave a comment.