We were so broke this week that we didn't do much other than the most basic things and with one or two kids home sick pretty much all of last week and then a husband just depressed and things over the weekend from us being super broke...it wasn't a fun week we'll just leave it at that.
I did, however, manage to get some things, despite it all, accomplished! So, let's get to that!
1. I went through my fabric and found a heavy duty suit type of material to use to refurbish the love seat upstairs. It's a BIT like the material I used on the couch downstairs but a bit coarser in texture. I am figuring on doing a dark grey for the body and a dark tan or something similar for the cushions, but I haven't gotten that far yet.
I managed to get the back of the love seat pried off on the top and got the new love seat back secured where the old back used to be and tacked it all back into place (this will help the material to stay put and not tear unlike if I had just sewed the new material to the old material on the back of the love seat). I haven't sewed the bottom of the back cushions into place yet, mainly because I ran out of time before having to make dinner, but so far, so good (seen up top in stage 1).
2. Shopping was pretty much non existent this week. I spent 12.00 between milk and absolute minimum boy food and that was it for shopping this week. My list of things I'm going to need to pick up once we get paid keeps growing (as we're three weeks in between pay checks this time around the way it all worked out), so I'm wondering how much shopping is going to cost me this week, but I'll do what I can to keep costs down when I get to go shopping.
3. I received a gift of coffee this week, which with how I have been feeling was a seriously awesome gift to receive. I have been thoroughly enjoying being able to drink coffee again the last few days :).
5. I spent a good portion of the week getting caught up on dishes and vacuuming and then trying to keep on top of the chores so that I didn't fall behind in them again, despite sick offspring and such. So far, so good, although now that the kids are back in school I have more deep cleaning on the house to do.
6. I rearranged my living room this week and got clutter put away. It was driving me a bit crazy and I knew making the living environment simpler would make everything feel better overall, so that's what I did and so far I really like it :).
7. We finally got my husband's W2 in from work, so I went online and got everything on taxes done, minus the final submitting of the taxes (one of the few things I pay for is I pay to store our taxes through a third party and get all of our basic information imported to make my life easier with taxes every year. Totally worth the 34.00 a year to me) so we know how much we are getting back and everything. I'll pay them and e-file the taxes as soon as we have the paycheck in the bank.
Depressing part is after paying off dental bills, paying car insurance on my husband's car for the year and paying bank fees to get a home equity loan rolling (we hope it all goes well on that end, anyway) we won't have much of a tax return left at all.
At least we didn't owe money. That was at least a relief.
8. I added water to the last of the dish soap to make the remnants last longer.
9. I managed to actually get a few freezer meals done and into the freezer this week. I made some manicotti and stuck that into the freezer and also froze the leftover minestrone in individual sized portions and froze those as well so I have soup for later on when I need it (the pasta will get mushy, but I'll live ;).
10. I got to talk to my half sister this week. She's been going through a rough time the last little bit, so it has been great to reconnect with her and help her through things, even if it is from across the country (she's the older of my two half sisters and lives on her own and not really around family, so it's rough for her).
And yeah, there's some of my week in a nutshell. How about you? How did your week go?
My husband and I have also had times when money was so tight - there was not a penny to spare. Its those times that we are closest though....I remember a time years back - money was so tight - that after dinner, we would turn off the lights, turn the heat way down and go to bed under blankets to watch tv....in an effort to keep the heating and electric bill low. I am glad you were gifted coffee -- coffee is my biggest pleasure in the morning !
ReplyDeleteDo you have any time during he day to do murtuck? I have heard online people like it to make some extra money and not a lot of time. Sorry money is so tight for you. Cheryl
ReplyDeleteWe were so happy once we got our similar sectional covered, I know you will too! Boo for bonded leather!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had your energy. I've got to get more done. I'm just splitting myself between so many little jobs, I can't stay on top of anything. I tell myself once I don't have to backtrack 3 days a week to take the youngeat to and from prek, then my work it will be easier.
My husband needs a surgury next week, so trying to figure out how to get 4 people in 4 very different directions, plus planning for scouts blue and gold banquet and a zillion school events, plus a new person sharing my little room at work ...soo much stress
Hope it all goes well for you this week.
That lemon blueberry cake looks divine! I have a recipe for something similar using yogurt. So good!
ReplyDeleteWhen my sinuses act up, I use a lavender stuffed ‘bag’, for lack of a better word, that I can microwave. This helps me SO MUCH when I lay it across my face! I made my own one year with a clean, odd sock that I tied at the end. It ended up being long enough to put across my neck, too.
When we were first married, we didn’t have any money, either. (We still don’t have a lot but we do have some savings.) My husband actually swiped some toilet paper from a fast food restaurant because we just didn’t have the money to buy any. It’s difficult to budget when the weeks aren’t equal and you have young children. I hope this week is better for you.
Debbie
You are very creative and have a good imagination - so I am sure you will get through till a good grocery stock-up. It is amazing how creative we can be when we need too, Think outside the box.
ReplyDeleteGlad you get a refund, at least you can pay some stuff with it.
Hope you have a great week.
Great work so far on the couch. Isn't it frustrating to get a bit of money and it all goes to bills?
ReplyDeleteIt's hard when money is so tight. We've had our moments (long moments) of barely any cash as well and we still have those weeks too. Right now our money is low, so buying the barest minimum of groceries to at least make meals for the month and just eating from our stock. Entertainment is at home with popcorn as our snacks. Can't afford anything else.
ReplyDeleteBut I know from experience, this will pass and there'll be better days ahead soon. It's good that you're still seeing the blessings in your situation. I find that always bring strength to go one more day. And I'm sure better times are right around the corner, so keep your spirits high!
It sounds like you did a great job with what you had. Yes its fruit so it can be breakfast. We eat carrot cake for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteI was just reading about how you were thinking about using the lemon. This is a little off topic, but may be useful later on. When I buy oranges for example, if someone is interested in eating one, I always grate the peel onto a sheet of plastic wrap before they eat it. Then I fold up the zest into a little square and freeze in a Ziploc bag. The point of doing this is so that I always have some orange zest on hand to add to muffins or pancakes etc. even when I don't actually have any oranges in my fridge. I do the same with lemons, or limes. Everytime I use a lime for a Mexican dish for example, I'll zest it first like I described how I did with the oranges and put in the freezer. It doesn't take long to accumulate a stash of different kinds of zest to add to baked goods.
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