2009 is almost upon us...

I have been thinking & thinking of what I want my goals to be in 2009 & I still haven't narrowed it down to a set list of things that can be accomplished.

To review 2008 -

1. Budget our money better
2. Pay down our debt
3. Use savings, rebates & misc found money to fund our emergency fund.
4. Blog daily.
5. Work on DIY project everyday.
6. Do better with cards for family & friends.
7. Focus on more MYO foods.
8. Eliminate more clutter

Well we didn't do well with a lot of these, like the blog everyday and the cards for family & friends. But I did accomplish one task not on the list, we went back to church! Finally got the hubby to get out the door & decide to go.

We also had to deal with my Mother in law's illness & passing, but we did accomplish some things like MYO food & eating from the pantry. I'm actually stressed because it's looking bare, unless you really like chicken & rice soup (I get tons from my Grandma). We cut our eating out way back. We went from a couple times a week to maybe once a week, or every other.

Organizing & tossing - I did manage to get a lot out, but there is a lot more to go. I'm not sure where it all came from but the guest bedroom became storage & it all has to go!

Paying down our debt was accomplished mostly because we finally cleared up some nagging medical bills. Oh we didn't pay them, we just made out insurance company do their job. I think that & actually paying some bills we were able to clear up about $4800 in debt. Now we need to tackle the other medical bills, from the birth of my now 5 year old. It's going to be difficult, but I'm considering a lawyer. Apparently the insurance company not only didn't insure my daughter from her day of birth (coverage started on Dec 1, she was born Nov 21) the hospital confused my husband with my father in law, somehow on the official paper work. Not sure how, all our paperwork is correct. Of course the hospital has no record & hasn't been able to find any record in the last 2 years. I'm not sure what our recourse will be in the end, but I just can't bring myself to make a payment on something that was supposed to be covered by insurance I was paying for at the time... Confused? I was!








Stumble It!

Snow Day!

The kids are home. School was canceled due to the forecast of a lot of snow. So I have lost my day to catch up, wrap presents & enjoy some peace & quiet! Hubby will be home from work early, so hopefully I can head up to the sewing room & get a couple of these adorable aprons made. I picked up some fantastic fabric at Wal*mart the other day. It had such a great feel and will make lovely aprons. I also want to put together a few of these slippers.

I do feel bad for the kids though, they were both supposed to have Holiday parties today & I still have their teacher gifts. I guess it'll have to wait until after break now. Of course the elementary kids were supposed to have their sing along today too. They've been working so hard, I hope the school lets them hold it when they go back.

The kids were up early, and I woke up to the 5:55 school phone call, yikes, but we're still moving pretty slow.

I just sat down at my desk to get it cleaned off. It amazes me how quickly papers pile up here. We are supposed to have dentist appointments today but I had to reschedule. It's really coming down now.

After I finish with my desk I am moving on the the kitchen. I really need to clear off my shelf. Hubby uses it to empty his pockets, so there's a ton of stuff up there!

Happy snowy Friday!!!





Stumble It!

I've been so swamped!

I've been barely getting through my blog reader & email each day, right now I should be emptying the dish washer & starting on cookie dough. I have 2 1/2 hours until I have to pick the Princess up from school, it really isn't long enough!

I have several sewing projects in the works, we have the artificial tree up, most of the decorations are out. I'm just not feeling it this year. I'm going to blame my birthday or hormones!

Thankfully our finances should be back to normal by the end of December (or as normal as possible). Maybe I'll have something frugal to talk about then, and our get out of debt plan will be up & running! We'll see my hubby has a way of planning & then tossing our plan out the window for his, LOL! You know like, I'm going to get this work from home job & get my MBA online starting this fall, so you can go get a job because I'll be home for the kids... That lasted like 5 minutes after I got my job!!! There was an issue with his registration & financial aid, apparently he didn't get immunization forms back in June with the packet & then we had an interesting time trying to locate the most up to date ones & Then he got a job working as a food coordinator at our local food bank & soup kitchen...

I am happy about the job, both of them, I really like what I'm doing & I think he can be very effective in the job he has, it's just right now trying to make his full time schedule work with my part time schedule & only 1 vehicle... it's stressful for me. Mostly because I am a little OCD (ha!) and it just feels out of control to me & I don't like it. And with no one being home 3 days a week it's made babysitting a problem. Right now they go to my Mom's when they aren't in school. It's worked out so far, but again, it's stressful!

So, I'm going to put on some Christmas music & do something!





Stumble It!

Tackle it Wednesday???

I worked Monday & Tuesday so I didn't get my Tackle up or my to do list for the week!
Sunday we are having a little birthday party for the Princess. Nothing too big & just 2 hours, but I will have a house full of 3, 4, & 5 year olds, yikes!!!

Today's list
Laundry
Empty dishwasher
dishes
dust mop floors
deposit @ bank
Grocery shop a little
clear front room for decorating
spend 30 minutes in guest bedroom, flinging
Bring up Christmas decor

This week:
Pick up a cake & snacks
Send treat to preschool Friday
put up tree
clear fall stuff off front porch
set up Dr appointments (flu shots, overdue, oops)
Spend time in sewing room

My Favorite Local Wines for the Holidays (or anytime)

There is one thing that I throw my "cheap" hat out the window for and that is wine! Don't get me wrong, sometimes a $10 jug will do, but I'll splurge on local wines if I can! By splurge I still don't spend over $20 (in fact it's usually under $15). New York state has some fabulous wineries & I am unlucky lucky enough to have the Chautauqua Wine Trail in my back yard! Most of our wines are available in our local wine & liquor stores so I can get a variety in one stop. Of course it is nice to stop into the winery, especially if you want to try before you buy!

Sparkling Ponds makes a few I enjoy but our favorite is the "Woman Pleaser" the splash of cranberry is a nice touch, very drinkable.

Vetter Vineyards is a small rural winery with a big selection of nice wines.
Brig Niagara and the Concord are 2 of my favorites.

On a wine trail tour a few years ago we discovered Willow Creek Wines had a Merlot that I could drink. That is an accomplishment, since I don't care for the dry oak-y stuff.

One of our older wineries has an annual Strawberry Festival and they make a Strawberry Festival Wine that is tasty & fun! They also make my current favorite Bella Rosa, it's a very nice semi-sweet red.

With New York making it more winery friendly in recent years, we have had several new ones that I haven't had a chance to visit yet (like 5 or so!) We'll get there some time I'm sure, guess I'll have to drag my Mom out for a couple stops some Sunday afternoon!!!





Stumble It!

We survived!

2 Turkey dinners, 2 birthdays, 1 anniversary & one major cold for me! Thankfully I was able to spend most of yesterday resting.

We did go out Black Friday. Just to Walmart & JCPenny. We had to get our snow globe, I have a collection now! Afterwards we went to my sisters for some gift wrapping. It wasn't all about the deals, more about tradition, we have fun and I did get a lot of shopping done!

I guess it was successful for retailers, but I didn't see it. This year it wasn't nearly as crazy as I've seen it in the past. Maybe they were just buying more expensive items (TVs were big, as were bikes). We went for the fun & some of the small things movies, wii games, MP3 players, PJs.

Anybody taking advantage of cyber Monday? I don't think there are any that I can't avoid! Besides, I am tapped until payday! No more money for gifts until Wednesday, LOL!





Stumble It!