First Test Of the new Start

 If you read my last blog post you already know that I am trying not to spend or waste money.  I am turning over a new leaf as they say.  Today was the first of many test.  Yes I did spend money at Joan's, but not for fabrics or crafts. I bought a dollar pair of gloves. Yes I need them ( I pledged to buy only what I really need.)  my hand were freezing.  Normally I would of bought a pair for around 10 dollars. 
 It was really tough being in the store today because every thing was on sale ( after Christmas sales)  I saw some fabric I would love to have for  $16.99 but walked away. OK maybe I did carry it around a little bit before putting it back. But I did put it back.  They   also had needle work patterns on sale for half off.  I didn't even go near them. That was a temptation I know I couldn't win.  There was also this cute Christmas throw with kitties on it. I love Kitties! But with a forlorn look I walked away.
 I walked out of the store head held high.  Only to have to return, because my one dollar gloves had a

hole in them.   

Shockers and Changes

My husband pays the bills so I really didn't know what we spend our money on. Boy did I get a wake up call. I happen to see our Bright House bill. ( home phone, cable, and internet ) Lets just say it was up there near the two hundred mark. And the bad thing is we don't watch a lot of TV. Maybe a hand full of shows. We also haven't used our home phone in forever. The only time it's used is when someone calls us on it when they can't get us on our cell.
My husband keep a log on what we spend and where. This was my next shocker! We eat out way to much! Then you add in the things we buy that we really don't need. It's amazing how much we waste.

I spend a lot of time looking at blogs that talk about living a simpler life ,not to mention you tube videos. I love all the homesteading shows like Alaska the last frontier, Ricking it all ( off grid living ) and Pioneers . I have 3 garden spots , chickens and I even raised a pig. But somewhere down the line I am still not getting the whole idea of a simpler life style.
 No, I don't want to live with out water or lights. I do how ever need to get away from the idea of consumerism. I love cooking ( hate washing dishes ) so why not just stay home and cook.
 I have so much fabric for quilting ,yet if I see a fabric I like I buy it.  Then  I turned around and sold 3 big tubs of fabric at a yard sell this summer. What's wrong with this picture? I can't remember half the stuff I bought last month, so I really didn't need it.

I am making a goal for my self. I am starting out small and going from there. First thing is to get rid of cable. We have Net flix and Hulu Plus ( which we also rarely watch) that total 16 dollars a month. I will keep them. They do have some of the shows I watch. Second, now that Christmas is over, I will not buy anything I don't REALLY need. I am going to write down what I normally would of spent eating out or shopping and see just how much I have saved. I may shock my self.

The next step is my food bill. I will buy something planning to make it only to have it go bad in the frig.  Or I will buy meat ( on sale) and stick it in the freezer in the garage. Only to forget about it and it get freezer burned. It's time to think about a weekly  menu. Using up all the food I have stored in my two freezer. The small one does have a lot of veggies from the garden in it.  See I am not all bad LOL.
 The first part of my journey begins. Don't worry ladies I will be posting my bragging and complaining and even ratting along the way for your enjoyment. Be warned you will hear my pain.

Christmas House tour.

I won't bore you with a lot of words.  Ok, maybe a few. I never was one to keep my mouth shut. You can always skip over the words and just look at the picture.

 My old girl Dusty loves to sit and lay on the Christmas throw.

 This was a Christmas gift from my friend Penny. I love this quilt.

 The nativity usually stays here in front of the fireplace. But since I had a fire going I put it in front of the TV 

 I love all the bubble lights.

 Dinning room

 The deer head is one I made my husband. He wanted to get a deer head for over the fireplace. This was the compromise so far. I am sure I will lose this battle and we will end up with a real one.

 Kitchen

Hope you enjoyed the tour. May you have a blessed Christmas this year.

Christmas light tour

Homemade dog treats

Even our dogs need a gift under the tree at Christmas.


Homemade Dog Treat Recipe

• 2 cups boiled and pureed carrots
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats

Combine pureed carrots & eggs, mixing until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly – dough will be sticky. Place dough on floured 12×16 cookie sheet, sprinkle dough lightly with flour & roll out, adding a sprinkling of flour if it gets too sticky. (dough will be about 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick) Cut into desired treat sizes. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes or to desired crunchiness. (They continue to harden as they cool)  As with any shelf-stable dehydrating, make sure these treats are completely dry before storing or they will mold.

New dog and family member

Had to take my old girl Dusty to the vet due to an eye infection.She is fine ,but not happy about the drops we have to put in her eyes nor the dog that came home with us.

 Since I had to wait on Dusty to finish with the vet and the pet lodge was right up the street I decided to walk over and get Sabrina a new tag.  While waiting on her tags I over heard a guy talking about  the puppy that a neighbor just thru out to fend for it's self. He had called Marley's mutts unfortunately  they were full.  I turned to look at the puppy and heard my self saying That I would take the dog if my husband was on board with it. I don't know who took over my brain or mouth. But there it was out there.  Eric ( the gentleman's name ) said he had a co- worker that might have someone who will take the dog. But hadn't heard back. He then went on to say how much he would of liked to keep the dog but couldn't. He gave me his number and let me take a picture of him holding the dog. When I showed my husband the picture he wanted to meet the dog.

I called Eric and got his address. On arriving my husband instantly fell for the puppy. Eric was telling us how much he liked the dog and how his other dogs had fallen in love with her. When we said we would take the dog he informed us that he had to wait on the other guy to call him. That he would get a hold of us tomorrow. So we left empty handed. My husband was sure he had decided to keep the dog for him self. I could tell he was really disappointed. Then later that afternoon I got a phone call that they would like to bring us the dog. When they arrived I told him how my husband was sure he would keep the dog. Eric said he would like to but couldn't. At the same time his wife interjected that they were NOT keeping the dog. I have a funny feeling she was the tipping point to us getting the puppy.

I so enjoyed seeing my husband face when he came home to find the puppy sleeping with Sabrina.  Sabrina and her get along  really good together. Sabrina does get on to her when she gos after the cats. As far as Sabrina is concerned the cats are part of her family and therefore under her protection. But Tasha ( that's what we named her )  will learn the rules. She does  follow Sabrina's lead not to mention following her  every where. Luckily Sabrina has no problem acting as her mom. We now have 3 cats ,2 dogs, and 9 chickens. I think we are now a full house. No more animals.  At least that's my story and I am sticking to it.

10 tip for surviving Christmas

How to get what you want for Christmas. Make your husband a list with what you want,where it is, and how much it is. Things work much better with men if they don't have to think. It  also doesn't hurt to add a love note. Example: Honey, I know you will do great and this will be a great Christmas. Please remember I have a credit card and know how to use it. Love ya.

The house will not burn down if you don't unplug all the Christmas lights. If it does you can officially say I told you so.

 Not everything has to be on timers. Bending down to turn the tree lights on and off may be the only time  we get to see our toes.

 Do not drink wine while making out your Christmas cards. The last thing you want to do is send your co-worker that sexually suggestive  Christmas card.

How to survive Christmas dinner. Just order that 40 dollar meal from the store. Then plaster them with wine. They will never remember if they eat or not.

If you get that ugly sweater or outfit don't sweat it. Just return it and tell them your saving it for a special occasion. If they brings it up at a future date just say you loved it. But unfortunately you have gained a few pounds and it no longer fits.  Not only are you off the hook but you have made they day. Everyone loves to hear that somebody besides them has gained weight.

Want to get rid of your in laws quickly. Just get out the slide show of you in high school  . Old vacation slid work well also. One very important thing to remember. No slides of grand kids. You will never get rid of them if you make this mistake.

Being called a tree Nazi  is not a good thing. You will survive if the tree looks lopsided due to the ornaments being place mostly on one side. Just set back and smile as you see the tree get better with each past year and your loved children turn into their own little tree Nazi.

For all of you that have that one relative that talks with they mouth full. Invite your self over. Accidentally pick up their cell  making sure to be in another room so they don't hear it ring.  Then text them that dinner is an hour earlier. That way when they show up after dinner. You can always ask " Didn't you get my text."

When it gets to the point you want to kill someone.: Grab a glass of wine . No make that a bottle. Head up stairs to the bedroom ,lock the door and put in ear plugs.  The last thing you need is to be arrested. And I can guaranty no cop wants to be filing out a report on a crazed women when he can be home with his family.

Now you have an insight to how my brain works. Scary isn't it.

Times change and so does Christmas

It's that time of year again. Time for gifts,cookie, candies, and calories. I love this time of year only this year is a little different. I am trying to transition from the Christmas when my kids were young to Christmas with adult children.
When I was a child my mother made Christmas a big deal. During the year we didn't get toys just to get toys. We got them for our birthday and Christmas only.  With 6 kids you would go broke trying to buy gifts thru out the year.  Money was always tight yet Mom and Dad would save thru out the year so we could have a big Christmas.  They made sure at least one thing on our list was under the tree
The thing I remember most was the excitement of trying to figure out  what we got more then the gift  itself.   We treasured everything we got be it large or small.
I don't know if it was because we knew it would be another year till we got new toys. Or the fact that back then we were taught to appreciate everything we got. Something most kids are sadly missing now a days.
I did the same thing with my girls. ( I guess our mothers do wear off on us ). But now that they are adults with family and boyfriends of their own, things have changed.
No more toys or bedtime stories . Traditions we use to share have slowly faded away. I am now decorating the tree on my own. No more going out on Christmas eve for pizza and looking at Christmas lights. Then coming home for coco and cookies as we watch The Christmas Story.   There's no longer any reason to get up early on Christmas day. The kids show up around noon to open presents and have dinner, then it off to their significant others  homes for Christmas with their families.  Which is only fair,but still doesn't make it any easier seeing them walk out the door.

   Life changes and no matter how hard we want to hold on, it will keep moving. One day they will have kids of their own even move out of the area. I guess what I am trying to say in a long draw out way is that I need to let life move on. And learn not to hold on so tightly to past Christmas. Maybe it's time for Rick and I to start new traditions of our own.     My one hope is that my girls hold on to some of our family traditions as they start their own families. Yes I know by saying that I am still trying to hold on to a little bit of past Christmases .( Baby Steps, Baby steps )