But, anyway, when it came to monthly goals this week it was kind of a mixed bag.
1. I started work on my yearly financial goals for this year and abandoned it until I can do some more number crunching. So far we've got WAY more money going out than is coming in (if I use the average of the last three years of income as a guide, which is what I normally do to figure out current year financial figures) than I want to deal with, so I'm trying to figure out more ways to cut spending down. We've got vehicle registrations due on my husband's truck (his work rig) and my car (which is needed for day to day operations as well). We have continuing education classes (16 hours worth) to pay for as my husband's Journeyman's License has to renew this year and then we have to pay for said license on top of it (200.00). On top of dental bills and day to day expenses. And I have a yearly insurance payment to make on my husband's car coming up. Can I breath into a paper bag now? I'm still in good spirits and determined, it's just a matter of thinking outside the box on how to make all of this happen. It might get interesting here.
In other news, I did get some things accomplished on my monthly goals list.
2. There's not been hide nor hair of W-2's yet, so taxes aren't done, which I'm earnestly awaiting said form so I can pre-file the taxes to get our refund as quickly as possible. We need it, desperately, to make the bills I need to make here in the next few months, so waiting is the hardest part as they say.
I did, however, go and file for insurance for the year, which I was happy with the results in that for the first time in nearly 15 years of marriage my husband and I now have insurance. It's actually kind of thrilling knowing that we'll be able to get something, anything, off of medical bills when we need to go to the doctor's or something. And it was a price we could afford to pay, which was one of the things giving me heart palpitations. So, yay for having insurance!
I also got PFD's filed for this year (mentioned that on the monthly goal post itself, but it bears repeating as I'll forget and want to look up and make sure I did it ;).
3. I made a Spring themed table runner out of some vintage linen I found at the used store for .50 (seen above with some stand in place mats as my light yellow ones are currently drying in my laundry room :). I was hoping that there would be enough material when I bought it to make a tablecloth for the coffee table or something and when I opened it I realized it was actually a cut up old tablecloth that someone had used and really really hacked the fabric. It made me sad to see it. So, I squared everything off, was able to cobble it together and made a floral table runner with it instead. This is the time of year where I yearn, and I mean YEARN for Spring as you quickly realize here in January that we have five months of winter left. It can really get you down. So, I like to bring Spring themed things into the house early to brighten the place, and my mood, up a bit.
4. I started, but haven't finished, the hallway closet yet as I need to gut the entire thing to get the "fall out" things from all over the house cleaned out of it before I really start to organize things better in there. I'll try to take a before picture. You want to know what catch all spaces look like? Yeah, it's kind of like that *laugh*.
So, now onto this week's goals:
Sewing Goals:
- Start to sew dress together (I got a cut out dress from the used store a while ago for 1.00 in a light yellow color. I'm curious to see if it will, indeed, fit me as it's an older pattern. It's supposedly in my size, but we shall see).
- Cut out robe for self (if I have enough material)
- Cut out and sew napkins to embroider
- Cut out and sew more dish towels.
- Scrub master bathroom thoroughly.
- Re-caulk children's tub in their bathroom
- Get house cleaned up the rest of the way, so that I have a good start point to do cleaning schedule from.
- Bake bread
- Bake chocolate chip muffins (never got to this last week)
- Make granola (ditto on this one).
- See if the boxes left over from Christmas will work to house empty mason jars. Place in pantry if possible.
- Weed through old bills. Mark any updates on financial work ups for last year and then pitch if no longer important.
- Clip cat's claws and give them both a bath (this is always a highlight of my life. And yes, I'm being sarcastic *laugh*).
- Give son and daughter hair cuts. Have husband trim my hair.
- Take inventory of milk products. Make sure I am stocked up as dairy prices are looking to go up, possibly by a substantial amount, due to dairy cattle being impacted by the winter storms this year (something like 30,000 dairy cattle were killed I read somewhere). Since dairy is one area where we go through a LOT of it, I'm really nervous about this as my son goes through a lot of milk and it's one of his main sources of good nutrition right now.
- Re-do winter menu. Try to work in more chicken since pork has gone up so much in price of late.
Just a quick note about the sewing pattern--I hope you realize that pattern sizes and ready to wear sizes are not the same. You should measure your body with a tape measure and compare the measurements with the sizes listed on the pattern envelope. I know you'd feel bad if you cut out your fabric in the wrong size.
ReplyDeleteWell, in this case this is a complete gamble on my part. The entire pattern is pre-cut in the size above what I normally wear, so I'm hoping that making adjustments will be possible. If not, I figure no matter what that I can either donate said dress so someone can wear it (vs it sitting in an envelope and collecting dust) or I can adjust it down to fit my daughter :). I figure I can also do a make do and mend trick and put panels in the dress in strategic areas to expand the sewing area, thus salvaging the dress. I'm kind of doing this as a challenge more than anything else *laugh*.
DeleteAnd I mean the pattern AND the fabric are pre-cut :).
DeleteJust a thought on the milk. I know that instant powdered milk doesn't taste good for drinking, but it is excellent for cooking and baking with. If you can afford to buy a big bag for the pantry, if might reduce the amount of fresh milk you need to buy for drinking and to use in cereal. I pay around $25 Canadian in the grocery store for a 5.5lb bag but you might be able to find a cheaper price on line from an American source. You can mix just the amount of powdered milk needed for the recipe your making.
ReplyDeleteIt is also handy to have if the hydro goes out for extended periods of time, because you can mix small amounts to use as needed so refrigeration is not required. Living in an area where winter storms are bound to happen, it's one way to prepare for emergencies.
Right now I do have dried milk and evaporated milk. I'm mainly thinking of getting more boxed/shelf stable milk that is more suitable for drinking and mixing it in with fresh milk in times of "Milk costs HOW much???" panic *laugh*.
DeleteMy mother-in-law actually bought us a box of food storage for Christmas, so I just got another #10 can of dehydrated milk too, which is always good to have. And you're right. For baking I've never been able to tell the difference. It doesn't make bad chocolate milk, either, if you mix a bit of fresh milk in with it too (the chocolate helps to cover the chalky taste).
I also need to budget out and buy more butter. I have margarine for baking, but the kids like butter on their toast (and of course sometimes you can't substitute out the butter) and I'm running low. We'll see what happens, though. We might be dealing with margarine and butter flavored Crisco a lot.
DeleteIt will be fun to see how the dress turned out. That sounds like a fun project.
ReplyDeleteHere's a little hope for you on the dairy......As far as I know Tillamook did not suffer any losses in their cows, and Fred Meyers often puts Tillamook dairy products on for a very nice price. The town of Tillamook is over on the Oregon Coast and we love watching the cheese-making process. We've visited the cheese factory numerous times. I don't know where they get their FM milk that is often so reasonably priced, but cheese and butter are occasionally on for a great price. Here's hoping for us both.....I need to re-stock my cheese and butter as well.
I think you are doing fantastic. Schooling(for your husband) costs and insurance are an investment in your family's future. Being Canadian I am ever grateful we do not have to pay for medical insurance. Cdns do pay for prescriptions though unless one has coverage through work (and that is not always full coverage).I know of people without coverage who are simply unable to afford needed meds. I cannot imagine having to decide against medical care because of the lack of insurance. Long story short, YAY for you getting insurance!!!!!!!!! That is wonderful :).
ReplyDeleteLove reading your blog.