Doesn't look like too much spending today either.
Steve gave offering at church. I forgot to ask him about any other spending, but I see bottles of soda over beside the couch. I will need to remember to ask him tomorrow if he bought anything else while buying those. My grandson says he stopped and bought those after church.
I paid my mom for an Avon order. I ordered my daughter and I each a bottle of the mosaic nail polish. Not a needed item but it's sure cool. I also like to help my mom earn too when I can order a little now and then.
On my sheet from tracking in August I have $2 only for clothing. We don't spend much here at all. That was 2 t-shirts on clearance for $1 each. For gifts I only have $1.75 that I spent to mail a gift to a friend. We had 3 birthday's in August but I made each of them doll quilts and jewelry from materials I already had here at the house.
Check out the linky with over 700 others who are also doing the 31 Days Challenge HERE
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Shop Hop--Restructuring Plan
This post is a day late but I'm getting there.
I've been thinking of some restructuring.
Last week I sold 2 more books on half.com. I also listed several more up for sale.
My plan is to take the books, or most of them, that I have listed over on blujay and add them to half.com. Also, same with the books on homeschoolbuy. My auctions at homeschoolbuy have all expired. There are over 1000 members on homeschoolbuy yet I've been the only one with listings for a long time now.
Some of the books that have been listed at both places I will be donating to a fundraising rummage sale. The sale is for the youth group that Jasmine (my daughter) has been going to. They are going on a trip to England in March.
I've been working on crochet orders this past week, but did manage to get 1 set of washcloths listed in my etsy store. I had to buy colors and then make them to get the ok on colors for one of the orders I am working on.
I've been thinking of some restructuring.
Last week I sold 2 more books on half.com. I also listed several more up for sale.
My plan is to take the books, or most of them, that I have listed over on blujay and add them to half.com. Also, same with the books on homeschoolbuy. My auctions at homeschoolbuy have all expired. There are over 1000 members on homeschoolbuy yet I've been the only one with listings for a long time now.
Some of the books that have been listed at both places I will be donating to a fundraising rummage sale. The sale is for the youth group that Jasmine (my daughter) has been going to. They are going on a trip to England in March.
I've been working on crochet orders this past week, but did manage to get 1 set of washcloths listed in my etsy store. I had to buy colors and then make them to get the ok on colors for one of the orders I am working on.
I am linking this post to:
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Saturday, October 15, 2011
31 Days of Tracking Spending --Day 15
I chose the cent sign for my icon again today since not too much money was spent today.
Steve informs me of the usual pack of cigarettes and soda. He also says he spent $7 total eating while at work.
That's it for today. I didn't spend anything.
We went to the races this evening but it was merchant night so tickets were free. We took in our own soda so nothing spent at concessions either. I was sure tempted though with money in my pocket that I made at today's garage sale.
I'm out for today..short and sweet.
Check out the linky with over 700 others who are also doing the 31 Days Challenge HERE
Steve informs me of the usual pack of cigarettes and soda. He also says he spent $7 total eating while at work.
That's it for today. I didn't spend anything.
We went to the races this evening but it was merchant night so tickets were free. We took in our own soda so nothing spent at concessions either. I was sure tempted though with money in my pocket that I made at today's garage sale.
I'm out for today..short and sweet.
Check out the linky with over 700 others who are also doing the 31 Days Challenge HERE
put the seat down by Jess MacCallum Review and Giveaway
put the seat down (And Other Brilliant Insights for an Awesome First Year of Marriage) by Jess MacCallum
ISBN 978-0-7847-7462-5
Published by Standard Publishing
I looked forward to getting this book for review since I was just married July 30. Yeah, the book is based for the guys.....and written by a man.
I actually read the book out loud to my husband. I knew he wouldn't take the time to read it himself. We had some laughs....some agreements....and some disagreements as we read it.
I really appreciate that this is a Christian based book. We did look up some of the Bible verses cited in our own Bibles to see just how the version we use reads. That is one thing about my husband, he joined my church after the wedding. Now it's our church.
From a woman's point of view, the advice in this book is right on. It's written in plain English---easy to read, easy to understand. It's a small book both in size and pages. Just 125 pages. Each chapter starts with a cute cartoon. I showed the book to our pastor and he just couldn't stop laughing over the cartoon at the beginning of chapter 7. Chapter 7, by the way, is entitled holy sex!
Jess MacCallum has been married for 22 years. He's also written another book entitled "I Married Wonder Woman....Now What?" You can find his website at: http://www.jessmaccallum.com/Jess_MacCallum/Welcome.html
Along with the book came a little note that I could use the book for giveaway once I was done reviewing it. I've decided to do just that. Whether you've been married a long time, just thinking of getting married, newly married, or even single, you will enjoy reading this book.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
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31 Days of Tracking Spending--Day 14
Today the house icon represents that today was mortgage payment day. We do pay it every other Friday. This way it was easier for us to pay as well as it ends up giving us an extra month's payment each year. They tell us that this will cut 7 to 8 years off of the loan.
Otherwise in money it's not been a good day. Remember the electric bill payment that was returned? I had told Steve to call the electric company to make sure they weren't going to send it back through. Instead he just went online and paid it again. Yep, you guessed it...they took both payments. However, it bounced at the bank again. This time they did pay it. Wouldn't be that big of a deal but because of it there wasn't enough for the other 2 auto pays coming out today--loan payment on vehicle and life insurance.
Steve made a trip to the loan company and got the payment date extended so all is well for now.
Other spending included the usual soda and cigarettes. Plus the overdraft charge again. Yikes! That's $60 wasted this month---that would have been enough to pay the water bill.
Tomorrow is a new day...ok, so it's past midnight so it is today LOL
Check out the linky with over 700 others who are also doing the 31 Days Challenge HERE
Otherwise in money it's not been a good day. Remember the electric bill payment that was returned? I had told Steve to call the electric company to make sure they weren't going to send it back through. Instead he just went online and paid it again. Yep, you guessed it...they took both payments. However, it bounced at the bank again. This time they did pay it. Wouldn't be that big of a deal but because of it there wasn't enough for the other 2 auto pays coming out today--loan payment on vehicle and life insurance.
Steve made a trip to the loan company and got the payment date extended so all is well for now.
Other spending included the usual soda and cigarettes. Plus the overdraft charge again. Yikes! That's $60 wasted this month---that would have been enough to pay the water bill.
Tomorrow is a new day...ok, so it's past midnight so it is today LOL
Check out the linky with over 700 others who are also doing the 31 Days Challenge HERE
Friday, October 14, 2011
Frugal Friday Link up--Uses for Butter
Good Friday morning. I'm a little late posting this week because I chose to sleep in--at least my body chose to!
I'm doing a series in case you've missed it-- 31 Days of Tracking Spending. It is a challenge put on through The Nesting Place blog. There are over 700 bloggers who have taken the challenge to choose a subject to blog about for the 31 days of October. There's some great stuff in the linky to check out. I chose spending to ensure that I do keep track. Hubby and I must track where the money is going to so that we can make up a budget of some sort. All that "little" money adds up to big money in a months time. (The link above will take you to my Day 1, where there are links to all the rest of the days as I get them done)
On to those uses for butter. These are out of the 99 Cent Solutions book. The book doesn't state that you can substitute margarine for these, so I assume it's real butter that has to be used for these uses.
1. Keep onions and cheese fresh. Both benefit from butter when it comes to storage. Rub the cut side of an onion with butter and wrap in plastic wrap. The onion will stay fresh for days longer, and you can dice the buttery part right in to your skillet.
Hard and semi-soft cheese will stay mold free for weeks if you rub the cut sides with softened butter, sealing them to keep the air out before rewrapping in plastic and storing in the fridge.
2. Get the medicine down. Whether the pill is large or you just have trouble swallowing pills, try a dab of butter to ease the job. Lightly rub butter all over the outside of the pill and it will slip gently down with a sip of water, no sticking awkwardly in your throat.
3. Strip off sticky sap. Tree sap on your hands is nearly impossible to get off, unless you rub it well with butter. Use a generous amount and slather it on your hands like you are rubbing in lotion. Wipe it off with a paper towel and wash with soap and water.

I'm doing a series in case you've missed it-- 31 Days of Tracking Spending. It is a challenge put on through The Nesting Place blog. There are over 700 bloggers who have taken the challenge to choose a subject to blog about for the 31 days of October. There's some great stuff in the linky to check out. I chose spending to ensure that I do keep track. Hubby and I must track where the money is going to so that we can make up a budget of some sort. All that "little" money adds up to big money in a months time. (The link above will take you to my Day 1, where there are links to all the rest of the days as I get them done)
On to those uses for butter. These are out of the 99 Cent Solutions book. The book doesn't state that you can substitute margarine for these, so I assume it's real butter that has to be used for these uses.
1. Keep onions and cheese fresh. Both benefit from butter when it comes to storage. Rub the cut side of an onion with butter and wrap in plastic wrap. The onion will stay fresh for days longer, and you can dice the buttery part right in to your skillet.
Hard and semi-soft cheese will stay mold free for weeks if you rub the cut sides with softened butter, sealing them to keep the air out before rewrapping in plastic and storing in the fridge.
2. Get the medicine down. Whether the pill is large or you just have trouble swallowing pills, try a dab of butter to ease the job. Lightly rub butter all over the outside of the pill and it will slip gently down with a sip of water, no sticking awkwardly in your throat.
3. Strip off sticky sap. Tree sap on your hands is nearly impossible to get off, unless you rub it well with butter. Use a generous amount and slather it on your hands like you are rubbing in lotion. Wipe it off with a paper towel and wash with soap and water.

31 Days of Tracking Spending--Day 13
Egads! So technically it's after midnight and the 14th but I won't tell if you won't. I actually forgot all about doing this post until I was reading someone's gather post about their blog.
Not a whole lot of spending today really. Hubby says he bought food while working twice...but he also bought 2 packs of cigarettes today too, which isn't good.
I paid the sales tax for Jasmine on an item she wanted with her birthday money and then used a free coupon that I had to pay the sales tax on. I also bought a picture frame at the dollar store.
Oh yes, Steve also bought soda again today. Tomorrow (well today) is going to be the trick. Will his paycheck be enough to cover the 3 bills that are automatically coming out of the bank tomorrow? Stay tuned for my next post to find out!
Check out the linky with over 700 others who are also doing the 31 Days Challenge HERE
Not a whole lot of spending today really. Hubby says he bought food while working twice...but he also bought 2 packs of cigarettes today too, which isn't good.
I paid the sales tax for Jasmine on an item she wanted with her birthday money and then used a free coupon that I had to pay the sales tax on. I also bought a picture frame at the dollar store.
Oh yes, Steve also bought soda again today. Tomorrow (well today) is going to be the trick. Will his paycheck be enough to cover the 3 bills that are automatically coming out of the bank tomorrow? Stay tuned for my next post to find out!
Check out the linky with over 700 others who are also doing the 31 Days Challenge HERE
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Squidoo Hopping Link Up--10/13/11
Happy Thursday--Let's get to Squidoo hopping!
I'm still not finding the time that I want and need to dedicate to squidoo :(
I did an update in my Jerky Direct Business Opportunity lens. I updated some of the wording to be read better and updated the sizes of the packages.
I'm still working on getting all of my lenses giving 10% to a charity. This week I added The LiveLovely Foundation to my Guns n' Roses lens, and dosomething.org to my Death Note lens.
I got a couple more of my lens links shared on redgage.
I did add my more recent book review lens into my book reviews lens. Boy, do I have a lot of book review lenses that could be built! I also need to play catch up on getting This Day in History lenses done for dates that are important to me too. Once I get them caught up I want to build a placeholder lens where anyone looking for a certain date might find it in that lens. I've still not started the new homeschooling lens for this year either. Who knows, I might surprise you next week and actually have new lenses to announce!
Yay! It's squidoo payday today too. $13.50 is my payday this week plus what was given to charity. My paydays are low but I strive to put in more time on squidoo and continue to watch each month grow. I am seeing some going to charity now with the lenses that I have moved over too.
Please do hook up and share your lenses, or posts that include helpful information about squidoo. Thanks!

I'm still not finding the time that I want and need to dedicate to squidoo :(
I did an update in my Jerky Direct Business Opportunity lens. I updated some of the wording to be read better and updated the sizes of the packages.
I'm still working on getting all of my lenses giving 10% to a charity. This week I added The LiveLovely Foundation to my Guns n' Roses lens, and dosomething.org to my Death Note lens.
I got a couple more of my lens links shared on redgage.
I did add my more recent book review lens into my book reviews lens. Boy, do I have a lot of book review lenses that could be built! I also need to play catch up on getting This Day in History lenses done for dates that are important to me too. Once I get them caught up I want to build a placeholder lens where anyone looking for a certain date might find it in that lens. I've still not started the new homeschooling lens for this year either. Who knows, I might surprise you next week and actually have new lenses to announce!
Yay! It's squidoo payday today too. $13.50 is my payday this week plus what was given to charity. My paydays are low but I strive to put in more time on squidoo and continue to watch each month grow. I am seeing some going to charity now with the lenses that I have moved over too.
Please do hook up and share your lenses, or posts that include helpful information about squidoo. Thanks!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011
31 Days of Tracking Spending--Day 12
We didn't spend too much money today.
The spending started with my husband buying his usual pack of cigarettes and then buying soda for all 3 of us.
Next we were off to eat lunch at Chili's. We had gotten a $20 gift card as a wedding gift and hadn't used it yet. We picked lunch to get cheaper meals for the 3 of us. The service was slow. So slow that they brought us out some free chips and salsa. Then, when we got the bill they didn't charge us for our drinks. The total was just $21.60 for the 3 lunches. Woo hoo! $1.60 for lunch plus the tip we left.
After that we made a trip to Wal Mart to buy my Carnation Instant Breakfast. I always buy it at Wal Mart over the grocery store because they sell it for $2 cheaper. We also used $10 of my Free Del Monty fresh fruit and veggie coupons that I won from the Frugality is Free blog giveaway. We had $10.25 worth so just paid .25 plus the sales tax for the fruit.
That's it, that's all the money that was spent today :)
Check out the linky with over 700 others who are also doing the 31 Days Challenge HERE
The spending started with my husband buying his usual pack of cigarettes and then buying soda for all 3 of us.
Next we were off to eat lunch at Chili's. We had gotten a $20 gift card as a wedding gift and hadn't used it yet. We picked lunch to get cheaper meals for the 3 of us. The service was slow. So slow that they brought us out some free chips and salsa. Then, when we got the bill they didn't charge us for our drinks. The total was just $21.60 for the 3 lunches. Woo hoo! $1.60 for lunch plus the tip we left.
After that we made a trip to Wal Mart to buy my Carnation Instant Breakfast. I always buy it at Wal Mart over the grocery store because they sell it for $2 cheaper. We also used $10 of my Free Del Monty fresh fruit and veggie coupons that I won from the Frugality is Free blog giveaway. We had $10.25 worth so just paid .25 plus the sales tax for the fruit.
That's it, that's all the money that was spent today :)
Check out the linky with over 700 others who are also doing the 31 Days Challenge HERE
WIP Wednesday 10/12/11
The majority of this past week was spent working on crocheting dish scrubbies for my orders. I didn't take another photo but I still need to make 3 purple ones for one order and 5 black ones for the other order.
I tried to get out the toothbrush rug but only ended up putting in 5 strips before I got sidetracked on something else that needed to be done. I didn't take another picture of it either since I got so little done.
Yesterday was sewing club at my church (we meet just once a month from 10-3). Only 3 of us were able to make it so:
Anita ironed the material
Betty was cutting material in to strips
And I sewed the squares
We ended up with 13 squares completed, minus cutting them down to the right size. I brought home strips, so hopefully next week I will have more to show you done. We need 54 for the quilt top we want to make.
I also made a few crocheted washcloths this last week. I'm working on an order but needed to make up a few to show the gal colors available.
So...first I'm going to finish up the dish scrubbie orders. Then I'm going to finish up the washcloth order. In between I may just do some sewing for church. I'm in hopes of getting strips cut for my next jelly roll style quilt as well as see what I can do to get started on some Christmas presents.
Here is something else that I keep forgetting to report. What is it you ask? Well, we heard that you can take your material scraps, fill a pillowcase and make them in to pet beds to be donated to the animal shelter. We started filling a pillow case at sewing club a few months ago. The pillowcase in the picture is the one that I am filling at home. It's a great way to make sure that nothing goes to waste. It's filled with the bits and scraps that normally would have been thrown away.
I am linking up with the following blogs:

I tried to get out the toothbrush rug but only ended up putting in 5 strips before I got sidetracked on something else that needed to be done. I didn't take another picture of it either since I got so little done.
Yesterday was sewing club at my church (we meet just once a month from 10-3). Only 3 of us were able to make it so:
Anita ironed the material
Betty was cutting material in to strips
And I sewed the squares
We ended up with 13 squares completed, minus cutting them down to the right size. I brought home strips, so hopefully next week I will have more to show you done. We need 54 for the quilt top we want to make.
I also made a few crocheted washcloths this last week. I'm working on an order but needed to make up a few to show the gal colors available.
So...first I'm going to finish up the dish scrubbie orders. Then I'm going to finish up the washcloth order. In between I may just do some sewing for church. I'm in hopes of getting strips cut for my next jelly roll style quilt as well as see what I can do to get started on some Christmas presents.
Here is something else that I keep forgetting to report. What is it you ask? Well, we heard that you can take your material scraps, fill a pillowcase and make them in to pet beds to be donated to the animal shelter. We started filling a pillow case at sewing club a few months ago. The pillowcase in the picture is the one that I am filling at home. It's a great way to make sure that nothing goes to waste. It's filled with the bits and scraps that normally would have been thrown away.
I am linking up with the following blogs:

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