Frugal Friday with Marsha --Week in Review 7/10/15

I hope this post finds that you have had a good week. We've had rain here and cooler weather, which has been so nice. It's felt like a dry desert out there with triple digits temps and no rain.
My few sunflowers are starting to bloom. Here is a nice picture to share with you. Not near as many as I usual have, but still a delight to see when I am driving down the street to come home each time.

Not sure about the frugal week in itself. I still can't get hubby to understand that paying the bills comes first and we have to make due with what is left.
Again it's been babysitting grandchildren and my daughter bringing food for me to feed them that has mostly gotten us by.

Oh, I guess I should add that part of my problem with hubby is once again his grocery shopping without asking...and you know, without paying the bills first. He bought ground beef and ground turkey. It is hard to complain just because yes, having food is nice. But, what happens when we can't cook the food because he's not paid the gas and light bills?
He's also been doing the cooking with this food too.

I, on the other hand, am guilty too. For 2 months I spent the 2200 Swagbucks to redeem for $25 Walmart gift cards. My sole purpose....to buy us a new bedding set. We've had the other for 7 years and it was really past being worn out...plus it was brown and ugly. I know that could have waited and I should have been using the $50 at Walmart for food and other necessities over buying the bedding set. It sure was nice to get into bed last night though. I will continue to take swagbucks deal to get my choice of a $25 gift card for the discounted points of 2200 instead of 2500 once a month. Otherwise I am getting $25 paypal now, which I actually did use that to shop at Aldi.
p.s. I did buy the bedding set through Walmart.com and through swagbucks to earn a few more points there. I picked it up at the store.

How has your week been? I hope there are those of you out there who post your coupon deals that will link up and motivate me to get back to my couponing. ALL frugal type posts are welcome in the linky!

An InLinkz Link-up

Writer's Unite 7/9/15

Another week has gone by for me without posting here on my blog, or on bubblews.
So busy...again with birthdays and the holiday. At home I'm busy still earning with the traffic exchanges I am doing. I will have a dedicated post to one that I've joined with an early invite when it goes live on Monday!

I'm also downright busy getting ready for the quilt show July 23-25th. I am in charge of quilt entry intake. I'm putting in all of the information from entries now into a google spreadsheet. This is taking awhile to number entries as I put them in. Over 150 entries. Another gal is waiting on my to finish the spreadsheet so that she can make the tags that go with each entry! Not to mention that along with the paperwork that I also have 2 quilts of my own that need to be finished before the 23rd in order to enter them in the show.

I have been more active on tsu as we've been out and about. The tsu app is great and so easy to use. I plan a post with a linky for anyone to put in their tsu profile page so that I have a reference to go by to check in on active users. In fact, I will make it a page in the index for anyone to use when they would like to.

In the meantime, I do look forward to seeing what you have been writing.....and it doesn't have to be something written in the last week either. Feel free to share anything you would like, no matter when you wrote it!

An InLinkz Link-up

Frugal Friday With Marsha Week in Review

This has been an interesting week. Monday was my middle daughters birthday and I said I would keep the 3 children overnight.
Their 3 plus my oldest daughters 5 meant 8 children overnight. Gluten for punishment that I am, (LOL) I offered to also keep them the next night as well.

Of course I love having them, but they do require a lot of energy, especially that many at once. Food was provided by the parents though. Pork chops, cucumbers, strawberries and bananas for the first nights supper and pizza and watermelon (with popsicles for later) for the next nights supper by one daughter. The other daughter brought Icee treats, fruit snacks,Kool-Aid, 3 boxes of cereal, and milk.

My middle daughter also paid me some dollars for keeping hers a second night which enabled me to buy some lunch and other household items. My oldest daughter put some gas in my van.

All of this adds up to what I posted a couple of weeks ago.....that things work out.
Hubby and I did spend a little on groceries, but under $20. Actually, he let me shop. I chose to buy bologna, cheese slices, bread, potato salad, a bag of chicken fingers, tomatoes, a head of lettuce, mayonnaise, salad dressing, bbq sauce, and a gallon of milk and paid $19.51. I think I did well and didn't even use any coupons.

How was your week?

An InLinkz Link-up

Writer's Unite 7/2/15

Can you believe that July is already here?  I can't, but what is even harder for me to believe is that I found yesterday that I hadn't written a blog post since June 19!  I apologize to my regular contributors for not being here.
There will be a week this month that I will miss....the week of July 26th.  It's vacation week and we have a big family camping trip planned.  I will write up a reminder post before then.

Bubblews updated their site since the last time I was here.  Admittedly, I am doing too many other things and not writing there much.  It is fun to write now taking time to use the markdowns and add the emotions to posts too.  I will be adding my latest 2 posts there in the linky this week.

July looks like it will be just as busy with family and other activities away from home.  How is your summer going?

An InLinkz Link-up

WIP Wednesday 7/1/15

Well, here we are to July already.  June has been super super super busy. July is looking pretty much the same.  Still asking myself why I always think that once school is out that things will slow down.
I couldn't believe when I opened my blog that I've not written since June 19th??  I had to look 3 times.

July brings our quilt guild quilt show.  I am so unprepared all the way around.  First of all, I am in charge of quilt intake.  I have a huge stack of entry forms and have to get all of the info into a document and then mailed off to the gal who is making the labels.
I have 2 quilts that I want to finish before then.  Yeah right ....not sure I can do it even if I sew every day!

I have been working here and there....very randomly around other life events....on my fractured pineapple quilt.   I'm working now to finish up quilting the rest of the blocks.

I worked some on the color blue for the June color with the soscrappy blog rainbow scrap challenge.
Now it's July.  I will check the color, but honestly have no business worrying about it until my other quilts are done!

Please with me luck on getting the quilts done.  I hope I have a good report for you next week on my progress!

UFO's:

Rectangle quilt
challenge wall hanging
GoodNight Irene quilt/wall hanging
Emerald Island Fusique table runner
Five and Dime quilt
Fractured Pineapple quilt
Charming Stars quilt
Brown half square triangle quilt
5 sets of doll blanket, pillows and rug
Hexagon flower table runner
Wall hanging for quilt guild
Challenge quilt for quilt guild
multiple hexagons that I need to make into projects
yo-yo's that need to be made into projects


2015 Finishes:

Locker Hook Rug
re-do binding on blue and peach patchwork
9 lined fabric bags
yellow crazy quilt lined bag
Pink hexagon table topper
Blue hexagon table topper
Yo-Yo Table runner

I am linking up with the following blog:

Frugal Friday with Marsha -- Week in Review

I intend from now on for my Frugal Friday posts to be a week in review.  This will encourage me to really be watching for the things that I do, even the little things.  Hopefully it will not only motivate me, but others as well.

I can't say that we've had a frugal week this past week.   Hubby took it upon himself to go grocery shopping and spent close to $100.  Sigh....he obviously didn't understand the deal.  The deal being that he is to not spend any money outside of paying the bills and keeping gas in his truck.

He's not even supposed to be willy nilly spending on food and drinks while working.

As I said, he did not keep up his end of the deal, and, I've been pretty upset with him all week!

Don't think that I am not appreciative of the groceries that he bought...and not only bought, but did most of the cooking all week as well.  However, what he bought was: 3 packs of hot dogs, large can of pork and beans, large tub of potato salad, gallon of milk, box of Lucky Charms, 3 dozen eggs, 2 packages of bacon, pound roll of sausage and quite a lot of 2 ltrs or Dr.Pepper.

I think you will see the theme that we've had a lot of breakfast meals all week.  Not complaining there either really since that is my favorite meal foods.

And, my complaint is that he shopped BEFORE paying bills to see if that money he spent was really spendable money.

I have once again not been keeping up with my coupons.  In fact, I owe my friend for at least 3 weeks worth on insert orders.  Money is an issue....I don't have the money to go pick up my coupons and pay her!   It does no good whatsoever to pay for extra coupons and then not keep them cut and organized and actually use them!  I will be contacting her to get them picked up.

I did a review this past week of The Gnome Project, which talks about the importance of regular routine.  Starting today, not only is working on sewing/crafts each day, working on coupons is also going to be a daily must for me!

I hope to have a nice list for you to read next week.  In the meantime, please do link up some frugal/money saving/DIY type posts and motivate me to keep going.

An InLinkz Link-up

Writer's Unite 6/18/15

An InLinkz Link-up

WIP Wednesday 6/17/15

Let's talk first about the light blue for the soscrappy blog rainbow challenge.
At least I did get my blues out and have them strung together in 2's towards making them in to 4 patches.  I really doubt that I get past this however with the quilt show so close and me not getting near close to being done with what I hope to enter.

Now about my fractured pineapple quilt....
I managed to get one more row on at sit n' sew Friday night.  I messed up one block that I have to play rip it on because my back piece wasn't large enough.
Sadly, I discovered that I am missing one of my blocks.  I've looked and looked for it and am finding it nowhere.
I won't hurry to make another one until I absolutely have to to finish it!  You know, in hopes that it will turn up somewhere.  Cross your fingers for me as it takes a couple hours just to make one block!
I'm doubting myself to begin with on whether I can get this done in time for the quilt show.
I'm thinking I need to get out my other stuff, then if I have time to finish this one.....too many choices and not the sewing time that I should be taking.

UFO's:

Rectangle quilt
challenge wall hanging
GoodNight Irene quilt/wall hanging
Emerald Island Fusique table runner
Five and Dime quilt
Fractured Pineapple quilt
Charming Stars quilt
Brown half square triangle quilt
5 sets of doll blanket, pillows and rug
Hexagon flower table runner
Wall hanging for quilt guild
Challenge quilt for quilt guild
multiple hexagons that I need to make into projects
yo-yo's that need to be made into projects


2015 Finishes:

Locker Hook Rug
re-do binding on blue and peach patchwork
9 lined fabric bags
yellow crazy quilt lined bag
Pink hexagon table topper
Blue hexagon table topper
Yo-Yo Table runner

I am linking up with the following blogs:

The Gnome Project by Jessica Peill-Meininghaus

The Gnome Project--One Woman's Wild and Woolly Adventure is written by Jessica Peill-Meininghaus and is about her journey to figure out how to have follow-through in life.

She had issues with starting things, and not finishing them.  Boy, do I know all about that!
In fact, right at the beginning of the book struck a cord with me.  Pages 8 and 9 tell the story of my life.
Jessica has a friend whose home is always nice and tidy. One day she broke down and asked her friend just how she does it.  Her friend told her that she simply chooses a day each week for the bigger chores, she makes her bed every morning, smooths the couch blankets every time she walks by, never goes to bed until the dishes and kitchen are clean etc.
I wish I could tell you that I started doing the same, but alas, all I got into a routine of SO FAR is straightening the blankets on the couch every time I walk by it.

Life is all about routines and Jessica decided that her daily routine would be to felt a Gnome every day of the year.  She missed a day here and there being sick or just too worn out and chided herself for it. Over the course of the year she learned not to do that.
The Gnomes soon became a part of her life, the normal amongst the chaos of raising her 4 children alone as the family moved across the country and her husband had to stay behind until his job allowed him to also make the move.
The rest of a routine life followed naturally once she had established just the one routine.

The book is delightful.  It's full of pictures of the Gnomes she made throughout the year, all in cute poses.  The end of the book is over 30 pages with step by step instruction and illustrations on how to felt Gnomes.
The lessons she learned and shared in the book about the importance of routine in life are priceless.

I know that I feel better when I am crafting daily, then I get in a slump and don't work on anything for a week or more.   I took a lot from the book, a lot more than just crafting daily.   However, starting today, I am going to make crafting my definite routine in my life and just as it happened for Jessica, the rest will follow.

If interested, you can check out Jessica's blog here.  She blogged about her Gnomes and still does as well as also give workshops and much more.

Super Sunday Reviews Link Up

An InLinkz Link-up