December Recap

Note: I just discovered that my weeks in Savings were off since May. Ugh! Why didn’t anyone tell me that! It is now correct beginning this month; but, I am NOT going back to previous months to correct those! Ha! Also, I will continue to save $100+ a week for the year 2015.

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	2344.00
  Week 44 (12/01)	+98.00	2442.00
  Week 45 (12/8)	+100.00	2542.00
  Week 46 (12/15)	+102.00	2644.00
  Week 52 (12/21)	+104.00	2748.00
  Week 53 (12/29)	+104.00	2852.00

  
  

• Book Finishes I have not read much in the way of books this month. I spent it mostly working around the house or watching silly sappy Christmas movies on TV.
  • #28: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

    This book is the first book part of a series (14 total) called The Wizard of Oz. I have always wanted to read them even as a child; but, I never did. I saw two books being sold at Barnes and Nobles at discount prices and could not resist. One of them held the first five novels and the other contained novels six through ten.

    This book was cute and interesting and a very quick read which is what I wanted and needed. There were notable differences between the classic movie and the book that I found fascinating. I am so glad I finally got a chance to read this book and plan on reading the others in the series.

• Projects
  • My Room

    Slow and steady wins the race. The fabric built-in units were more or less completed on the last day of December! Hurray! All that is left is the making of the shelves.

  • Laundry Room

    This endeavor was also completed on the last day of December! It is an AWESOME transformation and I am one happy camper.

• Other
  • Christmas

    We spent a little time with one of my brother’s family over the holiday and had a very lovely time. The rest of the holiday/vacation was spent at our house working around the house and whatnot.

  • Staycation

    We did take one day after Christmas to do a “staycation”. We went to the San Marcos outlet malls {Premium and (Tanger) where I restocked my Yankee Candle supply, Bath and Body works soaps, and purchased me some lovely overalls by Dickies.

    We also went to Dick’s Classic garage car museum. This was a spur of the moment thing we did. All cars were in the 50s or older. My advice would be to skip the cost of the museum unless you are into extremely old classics, history, and whatnot. It was not worth it to us as we are more interested in cars from the 60s. However, we did have a good time gazing at old cars older than us!

    We also stopped by a couple of antique stores in New Braunfels. I just googled antique stores and picked two that came up in the search engine. Both stores were on the same street and both were fabulous shops! I was thrilled that we hit stores that I particularly like which are a combination of junk and antiques.

    Dan found some 1966 license plates for his Ford Mustang and I found a couple of yardsticks and a cool odd looking metal curved ruler. I did not know what it was used for; but, I liked it so much that I had to have it. Ha! In my research upon arriving home, I discovered that it is used by designers, tailors, dress makers and pattern makers. How cool is that?!?! And, perfect as “art” for my sewing room. I also discovered that I got it about half the cost of a new one. It pleased me to know that my instinct for bargains is still on the mark.

November Recap

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	1972.00
  Week 40 (11/03)	+90.00	2062.00
  Week 41 (11/10)	+92.00	2154.00
  Week 42 (11/17)	+94.00	2248.00
  Week 43 (11/24)	+96.00	2344.00

  
  

• Book Finishes
  • #22: The Lion, The Witch an the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

    This book is part of a series of books called The Chronicles of Narnia. And, I currently have an unabridged version of all seven books in one volume and the books are presented in the author’s preferred reading order.

    I read this particular book in childhood and loved reading it again. It is fiction. It is fantasy. It is written for children; but, adults would enjoy reading it too. None of the storylines and/or characters is supposed to ring true (to Christianity). The similarities are awesome. But, they are just biblical allusions not strong allegories. I wish people would stick to what it is: fiction and fantasy. But no, they have to nitpick details and whatnot, and by doing so, they destroy a beautiful story for themselves. This book makes for an excellent read for both children and adults.

  • #23: Dark Witch by Nora Roberts.
  • #24: Shadow Spell by Nora Roberts.
  • #25: Blood Magick by Nora Roberts.

    These books are all romantic fantasies. It deals with subject matter that may be offensive to some (witches and magic); but, I treat it for what it is, fantasy and fiction. It is not real. And, it is not supposed to be treated as such. As long as one remains grounded in their personal beliefs, one will not be drawn astray by reading books like these.

    Anyway, I have read a few of Nora Roberts’ books eons ago. Nora Roberts has a way of writing that just draws you into the story, the landscapes, the characters and more. You can get lost in her books. I must confess that I just skimmed over the sex scenes in these books. She has a way of being very graphic without being overly pornographic. However, I avoid them because why get your heart and mind in a tangle wishing for things you do not have? It is the storylines and the characters that I am more interested in.

    Each book concentrates on one character (or two) and usually, the main characters of each book all have a connection to one another. But, I have to say that this series is just a retread of many of her prior books and I have to wonder why the rip-off? Is she losing her ground? Running out of ideas? Plot lines? My initial thought is that these were her earlier writings that did not make print and is now only being printed in spite of some issues. Who knows what the real reason is; but, I think it might have been a mistake to get these books to print because they will drive some of her hardcore fans away.

    My favorite series by Nora Roberts is the Key trilogy. I also loved her Born In trilogy. Even after reading these latest books, The Key trilogy is still my favorite series. And, I am saddened that some of the characters seemed to be ripped off from her earlier books I have read. Nonetheless, these are still good reads; and at times, the characters made me laugh. At the very least, the books are quick reads when in need of a quick read!

  • #26: The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.

    This book is part of a series of books called The Chronicles of Narnia. And, I currently have an unabridged version of all seven books in one volume and the books are presented in the author’s preferred reading order.

    I believe this is the first time I have read this book and I enjoyed it immensely. It follows two desperate runaways. It is an excellent read for both kids and adults alike except for those who like to nitpick everything including the fact the storyline touches upon slavery (which is still a reality in many countries today) and possibly racist overtones. Yes, I have read a few reviews on this book. Face it, if I entered a country like Japan, China, or any one country in the Middle East, I would stand out in both skin color, how I dress and even in cultural nuances. How can I NOT notice (and feel) the difference? It is a fact of life that these things exist. We are so fortunate to live in a melting pot that differences are less noticeable. Anyway, I don’t believe the book is racist. However, many consider it to be which I will never understand.

  • #27: A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen.

    I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a better book than Jackson Galaxy’s memoire which does not explain how his cat saved his life nor does it talk about the cat much. It was all about him (the author).

    A Street Cat Named Bob is a much better book and it was not just about the author; but, the cat too. Street cats can save your life. I should know. My first cat came off the streets. I will never ever forget our first meeting after I prayed to God for a friend. And, that cat chose to stay with us in spite of the fact there were four of us (kids).

    Anyway, Bob is a very likeable and sociable cat and the author was more or less homeless and struggling to come off addiction. It is honest and not forced even though it may not be well written. It is straight from the heart unlike Galaxy’s memoire which I struggled to read through. And oh, Bob (the cat) doesn’t die! There is a sequel which is a continuing story of these two and I have it on my wish list.

• Projects
  • My Room

    Slow and steady wins the race. The fabric built-in units are coming along fabulously! I can now finally see the end in sight.

  • Laundry Room

    I cannot remember why we started the laundry room. I do know that we were at a standstill and Dan was bored. So, we started ripping out the shelving to paint the laundry room. I was amazed and thrilled that the paint I had chosen matched one of the colors of the apron I used as the inspiration for the kitchen. Anyway, the laundry room is now painted. We are waiting for a good day to spray paint the cabinets that I bought from Habitat from Humanity restore and then hang them up in there with some new shelving. It is going to be fabulous when it is done.

• Other
  • Thanksgiving

    We spent a little time with one of my brother’s family over the holiday and had a very good visit. We even played Mario Party (a video game) and that was a blast. And, lots of cribbage games in which I was beaten soundly.

October Recap

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	1640.00
  Week 35 (10/06)	+82.00	1720.00
  Week 36 (10/13)	+84.00	1802.00
  Week 38 (10/20)	+86.00	1886.00
  Week 39 (10/27)	+88.00	1972.00

  
  

• Book Finishes
  • #19: My Foolish Heart by Susan May Warren.

    This book is Christian fiction and romance. It currently has 4.6 stars on Amazon and 4.16 stars on Goodreads. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads. The book is well written and the characters are well developed. The two main characters have disabilities – one with panic attacks that kept her trapped inside her own home and the other lost part of his leg in a tour in Iraq. Both struggle to move on with their lives and ultimately help one another out and fall in love.

    I really enjoy reading good clean romances once in a great while and this is definitely among the better ones out there as I did not put the book down unless I absolutely needed to do something else.

  • #20: The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis.

    This book is part of a series of books called The Chronicles of Narnia. And, I currently have an unabridged version of all seven books in one volume and the books are presented in the author’s preferred reading order.

    I must confess that this is the first time I have read The Magician’s Nephew. I have read quite a few other books from this series; but, never this particular book. It basically shows how the land of Narnia came into being with Aslan as its creator and how the witch became a part of that world. It is a short quick good read and really should be read first before the others. But, as with most of these books, they obviously can be read as a stand alone book. I would give it 4 stars.

  • #21: Dandelions on the Wind by Mona Hodgson.

    This novella is part of a three-in-one Omnibus called The Quilted Heart. I purchased it for dirt cheap. The novellas are of a Christian, historical and romance genre. The quilting aspect appealed to me. Of course it would! Ha! In reality, quilting was hardly touched upon. The ladies would meet regularly for a quilting bee.

    The main character of this novella is a mail-order-bride rejected by the potential groom due to the fact her eyesight was failing. She ended up working for a lady taking care of her granddaughter and chores around the farm/ranch whose mother died and childbirth and father joined the war. The father of the child returned hoping to make amends and of course, you know where it goes from here on! It is a clean quick read which I like. I would give it 4 stars.

• Projects
  • Yard Sale: We sold the 1999 Ford Ranger right off the bat along with a pair of his and her bikes and furniture. (I kept a mountain bike I loved.) I was surprised at how fast some things sold. Some ladies came at the last minute and bought a bunch of fabrics. We sold a lot of goods and took most of the rest to Goodwill.

    I advertised the rest of the fabrics on our city’s yard sale page on facebook the next morning and immediately got responses. I ended up selling them for twice my asking price! I was amazed at how many people were interested and wanted the fabrics. The lady that bought the fabrics said that I was selling them dirt cheap and that it was well worth what she paid me for them.

    All in all, the yard sale garnered over a thousand dollars and almost all of it will go directly into the new A/C fund. It was a lot of work; but, well worth the effort. I am real pleased. And, we still have a few things we most likely will try to sell via the city's facebook yard sale page or craigslist. The nice thing about this is we can take our time with those things.

    And oh, We rearranged the den (living room) the day after the yard sale. Both of us are much happier with the result. Simplifying and decluttering our lives have made us happier AND, at the same time, helped raised funds.

• Other
  • I had Abby out during the yard sale with harness and leash for a while. Quite a few people were fascinated by her. She was overly cautious but not fearful and, at the same time, very friendly and curious. As much as I did not want people to bother or pet her, an older child calmly approached her. Abby sniffed the child’s fingers, lifted up her head and rubbed it against the palm of the child’s hand. She (Abby) amazed both Dan and I. That was the only contact Abby had with other humans as I was very protective of both humans and Abby. I just did not want anything bad to happen. All in all, it was great experience for Abby.
  • We took a brief trip to Galveston October 29 – 31. We originally were going to stay through November 1; but, I was worried about Chessie. She currently needs to eat more than usual and she has trouble eating hard cat food. I was so glad we came home because it was obvious she lost weight.

    Anyway, I went to the Houston’s International Quilt Festival on Thursday (October 30). I had a real good time, gained some neat ideas and freebies and purchased a pattern that I could not resist. I also purchased a souvenir shirt because this is most likely the last time I will ever go to the festival.

    We also went to our former bank to finally close down an account. For some reason or another, we could not close the account long distance. The most likely reason is due to the fact that I was primary account holder and they would not let Dan handle the details for me. Note, I do not handle details on the phone due to the fact I am profoundly deaf.

    This closed a chapter of our former life in Houston. We no longer have a reason to go to Houston and Galveston. If I wish to go to the beach, Padre Island or Corpus Christi is tons closer. So, this latest trip was really a “goodbye” trip for me as I never dreamed we would not return (to Houston) when we first moved here. We are very happy and content where we are living now.

September Recap

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	1260.00
  Week 30 (09/01)	+72.00	1332.00
  Week 31 (09/08)	+74.00	1406.00
  Week 32 (09/15)	+76.00	1482.00
  Week 33 (09/22)	+78.00	1560.00
  Week 34 (09/29)	+80.00	1640.00

  
  

• Book Finishes
  • None. I have been so focused on other things. I did start a book. That is something, correct?

    We also had a Doctor Who marathon. We missed one episode due to the fact the DVR failed to record the episode for some unknown reason. The newest season with the Twelfth Doctor seems to be fairly good. I am looking forward to more episodes (which are being DVRed).

• Projects
  • My Room: After five weeks of waiting for them to fix the A/C unit, the manufacturer finally gave the okay to replace the unit. Fortunately, it was all still under warranty; so, not a penny was spent.

    It was slow going getting started again. Progress is being made. I am real please with how the room is turning out. The built-ins for the fabrics looking great!

• Other
  • We went to the San Antonio Home and Garden show which was a fun diversion.

    I had someone come out and give an estimate on getting a new patio done out back and was shocked at the cost! The cost is mostly with new concrete which is mega expensive. Needless to say, it will be awhile before we get a new patio/porch.

    I also arranged to have someone come out and look at the kitchen on October 25th. I am not very optimistic after hearing about the cost of getting a new patio/porch! The biggest thing is I want a new bigger (much bigger) kitchen window. I got spoiled living at the rental with the huge window looking out the backyard. The window here is so small you can barely see anything! Why did they even bother putting one in? It is not even bringing in much light during the day! Anyway, like I said, I am not optimistic.

  • I apologize for not having much to say this month. I did not journal or jot down notes like I usually do. This month just flew by.

August Recap

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	992.00
  Week 27 (08/04)	+64.00	1056.00
  Week 28 (08/11)	+66.00	1122.00
  Week 28 (08/18)	+68.00	1190.00
  Week 29 (08/25)	+70.00	1260.00

  
  

• Book Finishes
  • #17: The Book of Sight by Deborah Dunlevy.

    #18: The Broken Circle by Deborah Dunlevy.

    These two books were fairly good reads and are considered to be of the young adult and fantasy genre. They caught my eye when they were on a book list and when I read the synopsis for the first one, I thought I would like to read them both.

    They received 3.47 and 4.00 respectively on Goodreads. I gave them both 4 stars (on Goodreads). Amazon had 4.4 and 5 stars for both respectively as of this writing.

    I think the books would be excellent reads for kids. I immediately picked up the second book after finishing the first. I am looking forward to the third book which should be released soon.

  • Note: Dan and I have been having a Doctor Who marathon. BBC America aired all episodes before the newest season began. Yes, I had them recorded. We are watching two or three episodes a night and gradually going through the list. As of this writing, we have 50 more episodes on the list (which includes two new ones). I can hardly wait to get to the newest episodes I have not yet seen. So, my reading of books have slowed down considerably. Ha!

• Projects
  • My Room: Not a lot was accomplished this month due to the fact the both the main and my room's A/C broke down at one point or another. My room’s A/C just fried due to faulty parts and as of this writing, it has been going on 3 weeks attempting to get it fixed. Fortunately, we can survive the summers without this system; but, it is frustrating because it is simply too hot to work in that room. I can hardly wait for cooler weather to come. It has been a tough summer for us both.

    Before the A/C fiasco happened; we were In the process of getting my desk area completed. That area is coming along.

    Dan managed to get one small section of a built-in for fabrics completed in spite of the heat. I was thrilled upon seeing it because what is in my mind (and on paper) is becoming a reality.

  • Unpacking boxes: I have successfully unpacked all of the boxes! With the exception of a few moving boxes storing some stuff (such as old blue jeans to make a quilt out of), we are no longer have things in those awful cardboard boxes! Hurray!

    It is interesting to note when I started on Dan's room last Saturday (August 30), Dan had to get involved. In fact, he went much further than what I planned! I just wanted to go through the boxes in and out of the closets. But, he continued cleaning and organizing stuff in that room. The room looks like a real room (or office) now!

    We will be having a yard sale soon – Most likely on Saturday, October 4. We have quite a bit to get out of this house. I will be pleased when all (or most) of it is gone. Any money garnered from this yard sale will most likely go into the house (new A/C) fund – every little penny will help.

• Other
  • Speaking of savings, we do not plan on sacrificing trips or short vacations in our endeavor to save up the necessary funds for a new A/C system by next spring. We do have a vacation fund and we will make it work. We will not rob Peter to pay Paul. In fact, Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover strongly advises against doing this very thing as making sacrifices can discourage a person from saving and ultimately obtaining debt freedom.

    Anyway, we already have one trip late October planned and I am looking forward to it. We also probably will do some things over both Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. We just do not know exactly what we will do yet.

July Recap

• I took almost the entire of July off from blogging. I did not intend to be gone so long; but, it was a very good and much needed break. I just did not feel like blogging due to things that cropped up in life. I intend to slowly return to blogging.

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	756.00
  Week 23 (07/7)	+56.00	812.00
  Week 24 (07/14)	+58.00	870.00
  Week 25 (07/21)	+60.00	930.00
  Week 26 (07/28)	+62.00	992.00

  
  

• Book Finishes
  • #16: The Graveyard Book by Neil Galman.

    This is a (paranormal/supernatural) fantasy written for youth (ages 10 and up). I had purchased this book at a deep discount quite some time ago simply because it was a Newbery Medal winner in 2009. This book has 4.09 stars on Goodreads and 4.5 stars on Amazon.

    It was an interesting read. It is about a boy raised in a graveyard by ghosts with a guardian that is neither living nor dead. He has to stay hidden from the man who killed his family when he was just a toddler. This book is unique in that it draws you into the characters and the story line. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

• Projects
  • My room: We are making slow but steady progress in my room. We are gradually getting the desk and crafting station set up. We have not figured out how to safely hang up the garage sale cabinets yet; but, once we do, we will get those hung. Cheap paneling is being added to the closet at this moment and once that is completed, the closet will basically be completed. All that will need to be added are shelving and lighting. We will need an electrician to help us with the lighting situation(s).
  • Unpacking boxes: I have unpacked a few boxes doing the usual keep and purge routine until I came across two more medium sized boxes labeled “fabrics”. Needless to say, I was surprised because I thought I was done with them! I am now going through those boxes. I have already done the keep and purge routine. Of course, I did not purge a lot! Ha! I am now putting fabrics onto “bolts”.

• Other
  • Dan took Thursday off before the Fourth of July. We took our time traveling to my brother’s lake house for a small family reunion.

    We stopped at Junk Gypsies in Round Top, Texas. I watch the TV Show and am a fan. The second series is actually airing on GAC.

    The last time I was at this store, I wanted an item; but, it was already sold. This time, there was absolutely nothing I wanted. Well, I purchased a T-shirt for cheap; but, other than that, nothing. I do enjoy looking at everything and it was cool to see some items that I saw on the TV show in the store.

    We had a wonderful time visiting with family, swimming, playing games and just being lazy. They even shot off some fireworks. I say “they” because I went off and hid due to the fact I do not like fireworks. (I am too sensitive to loud noise.) Anyway, A fun time was had by all.

  • When we got back from the lake, Chessie needed to be taken into the vet as her tiny lump had exploded. The vet originally wanted to just keep an eye on about a year ago. We scheduled to get the lump removed (7/14). Her blood work is fabulous for a 17 year old cat. However, he was not able to remove the lump completely. The lump was sent out to be tested. It is cancer. Specifically, a fibrosarcoma. Hers is thought to be inflammatory reaction from a sticker burr.

    At this moment, she is doing so much better and seems more like herself back in the old days of her youth. We are going to spoil her and let her live out her life until she wants or needs to be let go. We are taking her for a consult with a cancer specialist so that we can learn more about this type of cancer and our options. But, I have to confess, I do not want to do anything traumatic to Chessie. She is amazing and a survivor. (She survived a stomach blockage and pancreatitis way back in 2007. For those of you who do not know, pancreatitis for cats is usually a death sentence.)

  • The A/C has stopped working twice since our last incident. Once due to ants which are attracted to electricity. Ugh! Dan managed to get the A/C working again after it stopped the third time and we know it is not due to ants. We have a guy coming out Saturday Aug, 2nd to check over the A/C and see if he can figure out why it stopped working.
  • I have been going outside a lot these days. We have Cardinals nesting in a Crepe Myrtle tree out back. They were hatched between the 19th and 22nd of July as I snapped a picture on the 19th and there were eggs in the nest. When I snapped a picture on the 22nd, there were babies in the nest. I have been keeping an eye on them.

    The crazy Cardinals are doing wonderful in this horrid heat. I did put out a feeder with sunflower seeds one morning because I thought the Daddy bird was struggling. He had taken off in flight after feeding the babies and just struggled (with flying). After I put out the feeder, I watched for a bit. He chomped away at a few seeds and then flew to a smaller Crepe Myrtle tree located directly across the back door window where I was watching. He looked directly at me as if he was saying “thanks” all the while working away at a seed. He rested for a bit and then took off flying and his flight was so much better! Not long afterwards, the Momma bird also ate at the feeder. She is a lot more skittish than the Daddy bird. I was worried that they would eat from the feeder too much; but, I did not have to worry. They are rarely at the feeder. Smart birds!

    I calculated that the babies will be kicked out of the nest around the first of August and will then take flight around the ninth of August. But, they took off early. One of them left the 30th and the other left the 31st of July.

    I pretty much left them alone and I have not let the cats out back once the babies were hatched. Instead, they were let out front in the evenings whenever they beg desperately to go outside. They are definitely happy to be going out back once again now that the babies are gone.

June Recap

I am briefly breaking the blogging break to post this for posterity sake and then it will be back down the rabbit hole from whence I came.

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	506.00
  Week 23 (06/2)	+46.00	552.00
  Week 24 (06/9)	+48.00	600.00
  Week 25 (06/16)	+50.00	650.00
  Week 26 (06/23)	+52.00	702.00
  Week 27 (06/30)	+54.00	756.00

  
  

• Book Finishes
  • #11: Good Call by Jase Robertson.

    At the time of this writing, this book has 4.12 stars at Goodreads and 4.9 stars at Amazon. It is still fairly new; so, I am sure the ratings will change over time. Unlike the other two Duck Commander books, I gave it four(instead of five) stars. It is still a good read; but, I felt like the author was filling in the gaps with lots of words and whatnot. The other two books were written by seniors (Phil and Uncle Si) - they had a lot of living and memories. Jase is the son of Phil Robertson and, if God is willing, has a lot more living to do to get a decent memoir. That is just my humble opinion for what it is worth. FYI: If you're anti-Christian, then this is not the book for you.

  • #12: A Promise in Pieces by Emily T. Wierenga.

    This is a book I won recently in a giveaway. It is a Christian fiction written in a first person narative. This book has 4.72 stars at Goodreads and 4.8 stars at Amazon. I gave it four stars on Goodreads. The only reason I did not give it five stars is that I felt it was not a book I would keep and reread. Other than that, it was an excellent read and I enjoyed reading the book.

  • #13: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.

    I have heard of this book for years and finally decided to read it when I found it for dirt cheap. Why did I wait all these years to read this book?

    I have never been a fan of memoirs dealing with wars and atrocities. The Diary of Anne Frank, which I read eons ago because it was a required reading, was really a good book; but, I hated it at the same time. I think this is why I avoided reading The Hiding Place. Once I picked it up, I could barely put it down. I read this in a total of two days. Yes, two days! I most likely would have read it in one day if I had not forced myself to put it down about half way through the book.

    This book has 4.40 stars at Goodreads and Goodreads and 4.9 stars at Amazon. I gave it five stars at Goodreads. It is about a war (holocaust/World War II) through a Christian perspective experienced by a Christian woman (and family). I would read this one again and am planning on keeping the book.

  • #14: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.

    This book appeared on many "must read" lists that I added it to my list of books to read. It is written for the young adults. It has 3.63 stars on Good reads and 4.4 stars on Amazon. I gave it four stars on Goodreads. It is a survival story of a young boy stranded in a wilderness with only a hatchet his mother gave him along with the will to live. It is very repetitive; but otherwise a good read.

  • #15: Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy.

    This book has 3.92 stars on Goodreads and 4.5 stars on Amazon. I gave it four stars on Goodreads. I first heard of Jackson Galaxy from watching a TV show called My Cat from Hell on Animal Planet. Jackson Galaxy has a lot of wisdom and common sense about cats. It still amazes me that so many people out there have cats and have no absolutely no understanding of their nature and personalities. Those people want to give up on them rather than take the time to figure out what makes them tick and why they are behaving the way they do. Jackson Galaxy (via the show) just cinched my philosophy on cats and made me realize that I am not the only one who feels the way I do. When I saw this book on discount, I had to pick up the book to read.

    The book was completely different from what I expected. This man went through hell on earth via a variety of addictions. Also, the book was not all about Benny (the cat that helped Jackson Galaxy). It was more about Jackson Galaxy and how he came to be the man he is today with the help of Benny, luck, and a few good people. And, this book made me cry like all books with animals dying do.

    I do have three warnings concerning this book. 1) Language (f-word used quite a bit in the beginning), 2) in my humble opinion, it is not a book for children due to adult topics such as addictions to drugs and food along with sexual matters, and 3) if your sensitive (empathetic) like me, it will be a tough read. I am having to stop reading books for a few days to simply recoop and regroup my psyche.

• Projects
  • Worked on the Den. I went through all our DVDs, tossed approximately twelve of them into the Half-Price box, and organized the rest. When we first moved, we just tossed all the DVDs and video games into the specially built cabinets that Dan made. Now it is much better than it was before!

    I removed the TV trays. We no longer use them to eat in front of the TV. Why hang onto them and just create more chaos and clutter? So, I talked with Dan about getting rid of them. We decided to put them into the garage sale stuff because they just do not serve their purpose and become hot spots when we do use them temporarily.

    It has been sort of frustrating to work in the den (living room) because some of the items are my childhood chairs and tables and my Mother's childhood chairs. I have always dreamed of giving them to my own children; but, now I do not know what to do with them because we do not have kids. Some of these items are designated to go into the future guest/gaming room. In the meantime, they are temporarily ensconced in the den.

    Also, the garage sale stuff is piled up along one wall. There is not much we can do until we have the sale (which is planned for September). We also decided to get rid of Dad's lazyboy. The thought of that makes me very sad. Abby absolutely loves that lazyboy; but, it no longer has a purpose or designation in this house. It needs a lot of love (reupholstery) and I do not have the time or inclination to fix it up. I am certain someone would be more than happy to take it and fix it up themselves. There seems to be a lot of DIYers around this area. As much as I hate the thought, the best thing to do is to let it go as we really do not have the space.

• Other
  • Dan managed to get a Friday off and we went to Garner State Park to meet up with some family for the day. I had a wonderful time visiting with family, holding my adorable grand nephew for the first time, and swimming / tubing on the Frio River.
  • We have been making slow progress with my room (the garage conversion). We would paint this or that and would have to wait for it to dry. Same with gluing. We have lots of projects going.
  • We discovered that the main A/C unit was leaking water. I do not know how long it was leaking; but, the underlayment underneath the flooring in the hallway was completely soaked. Squish, squish, squish went the flooring with every step. This means that the flooring itself is ruined. In fact, the flooring in the extended pantry already shows signs of warping. Anyway, we got a A/C guy to come out and fix the problem for us. This is the second time we have used this company and they are absolutely wonderful. I am glad we have at least one reliable company to call upon around here. We are a little poorer but very relieved to discover it was not major. In other words, we did not need to replace the A/C unit itself which would have cost an arm and a leg.

    We did start the process of filing a claim with the house insurance. We are waiting for them to come out and do an estimate on the damage and determine how much they will cover/fix. We are not sure if the whole hallway and den needs to be replaced. If they will only do the hallway, then it most likely will not be worth the cost of actually filing the claim, We will instead pay for and do the work of replacing the flooring ourselves.

  • In looking at our finances and whatnot, I realized a certain company has NOT sent us bills since April. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper and we will not be doing business with this particular company again. It was a subtle unethical if not illegal thing they did. I decided to pay them off in entirety to avoid crap in the future. This meant that we had to dip into the funds once again. It was related to the house and this means the house fund is now totally depleted.

    I am feeling tons poorer with the fact we bought a new vehicle with cash (depleting that particular fund) recently along with having to dip into the emergency and house funds. We now need to focus on rebuilding the emergency and other funds. This means tightening up our belts once again. We have been needing to do this for awhile now anyway but were lazy and lax in this area. I am glad we are doing the savings challenge now because it is getting me back into the Gazelle Intensity frame of mind to rebuild the funds we established. I have also rebuilt our budget. We are not on a no-spend period; but, we are going into an extreme frugal mode.

May Recap

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	342.00
  Week 15 (05/05)	+38.00	380.00
  Week 16 (05/12)	+40.00	420.00
  Week 17 (05/19)	+42.00	462.00
  Week 18 (05/26)	+44.00	506.00

  
  

• Book Finishes
  
  • #10: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle.

    This book received 4.17 stars on Goodreads and 4.6 stars on Amazon. I gave it four stars on Goodreads. This book often appears on “must read” lists. I finally got around to reading this particular fantasy written for young adults. It supposedly ranks with Tolkien’s Hobbit and the Earthsea trilogy (a favorite of mine). Let me tell you, I was disappointed. In my opinion, this book is nowhere near the famous classics I mentioned. It is sadly lacking something in spite of the poetic and prose like writing. It just feels incomplete. I have no other way of explaining this feeling.

• Projects
  • Worked on the kitchen. The kitchen has way too many hot spots which was driving me crazy! I cleared out the kitchen tossing a lot in the trash and the rest into the rummage sale pile. I was reorganizing a cabinet making room for new mason jars when I thought to myself, “Why are we holding onto these fancy drinking glasses we never use?” I ended up placing the drinking glasses into the rummage sale too. The kitchen, which includes the eating area and the laundry room, is looking so much better! And, I am attempting to keep the hot spots free of junk which is not an easy task.

• Other
  • The progress on my room is moving along slowly. We are working on the garage sale cabinets we purchased awhile back. You can see them here. One cabinet is completed and the other is a work in progress. We are also working on the desk and beading station area. All in all, we are extremely tired of painting. Ha!
  • We also took the time for other things.
    • We attended a local Bluebonnet parade and Bluebonnet Festival.
    • We met up with some of Dan’s coworkers at K1 Speed for a morning of fun. Let me tell you, it was a blast! I could only do one race as I got motion sickness near the end; but, I am looking forward to going again! This was my first time racing and I think I did pretty well considering the fact that most of the guys race frequently. By the way, these are not your ordinary go karts, they are beefed up performance machines. The karts can reach up to 45 mph.
    • We took some time to look at a car and ended up purchasing Houndini {The Great Escape}.
  • Gardening is going well. I harvested quite a few pickling cucumbers. My pepper plants are FINALLY producing peppers. I think I will focus on growing pickling cucumbers in the future and forget about spinach and peppers. I will also concentrate on red potatoes too.

April Recap

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	90.00
  Week 15 (04/07)	+30.00	240.00
  Week 16 (04/14)	+32.00	272.00
  Week 17 (04/21)	+34.00	306.00
  Week 18 (04/28)	+36.00	342.00

  
  

• Book Finishes
  
  • #7: The Skin Map (Bright Empires #1) by Stephen R. Lawhead.

    I have read The Dragon King Trilogy and The Song of Albion trilogy eons ago by this same author. While browsing clearances at a local christian bookstore, I spied this lone book for under $6.00. After reading the inside flap, I knew I wanted to purchase the book. After all, I really liked the first trilogy mentioned above and the second trilogy was fairly good. I knew that this could potentially be good read.

    This book has 3.72 stars at Goodreads and 3.9 stars at Amazon. I gave it 4 stars at Goodreads. It is a mixture of fantasy and adventure with a little Sci-Fi thrown in. It is also a Christian genre. This book really picked up near the end and I am wanting (and hoping) to find book #2 and #3 at Half Price Books the next time we make a trip to the "city".

  • #8: Happy, Happy, Happy by Phil Robertson

    I read this book and #9 below in one day. Yes, you heard that right. Two books in one day! I am a fan of the Duck Dynasty TV show and have been wanting to read both books when they first were published. This book has 4.08 stars at Goodreads and 4.8 stars on Amazon. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads. It is impossible to give it 4.5 stars; so, I felt 5 stars is a better reflection than 4 stars. I really enjoyed this book and loved the insights into the founder of Duck Commander. His life was by no means perfect. Even two of his children, the elder and the youngest, went through difficult times.

  • #9: Si-Cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite Uncle by Si Robertson

    This book received 3.9 stars at Goodreads and 4.8 stars on Amazon. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads for the same reason I gave for the book, Happy, Happy, Happy. It is just impossible to give it 4.5 stars. I enjoyed reading about his life.

  Note: I believe only fans of Duck Dynasty would enjoy reading the above two books. Anyone else who reads these books would could get lost and/or offended by a variety of things including Christianity.

• Projects
  • Finished organizing the patterns I found in a packing box last month. I threw out over half of the patterns and organized the rest into file folders.
  • Finished organizing my signature images as best as I could.
  • Cleaned labels off of 70 baby food jars that I found off ebay for dirt cheap with free shipping. I ended up with sore joints in my fingers. But, it was well worth the effort. It took a lot of experimentation and I ultimately figured out WD-40 along with a wire brush (that does not scratch glass) worked best in removing the sticky residue from the jars themselves. These jars will be used for crafts. I believe the seller washed these jars (in a dishwasher). If you remove the labels and sticky residue before washing the jars, you will find it tons easier to remove the sticky residue.
  • I put more fabrics onto "bolts" throughout the month. It is a slow tedious job. But, I think it will be well worth the effort in the end.
  • I unpacked two more big boxes and put a lot of the stuff into the rummage sale as the stuff no longer fits our decor of house (it is a ranch house with craftsman style stuff). Plus, I am being extreme in trying to live simple. We do not need all that stuff.

• Other
  • Filed Income Tax Returns. I do not know why I procrastinate because it really is not that hard to do and I have been doing this myself for years.
  • We spent a weekend in Fredericksburg, Texas for our 20th anniversary. We had a very good time and I would say it was a success because Dan mentioned that he did not think about work or the house once. We went to Wild Seed Farms, did shopping on Main Street, went antiquing and attended the Texas VW Classic Show. I had a wonderful weekend and I believe Dan had a good time too.
  • I have been happiest outside this spring. So, when I am feeling well, I am out there weeding and tending to my garden while watching the cats who love to be outside too.

    I have been harvesting strawberries. It appears that I have temporarily won the war against the ants. We recently harvested a decent pile of red potatoes. The Yukon gold potatoes are growing and will be ready to harvest in several weeks. The onions (red and yellow), garlic, carrots and peppers are all growing wonderfully and will soon be ready to harvest.

    I also have pickling cucumbers and some melons growing. There are a variety of herbs in pots along with some peas and beans because I ran out of bedding space!

    Due to the successful harvest of red potatoes. We will be building another potato bed this fall/winter simply because we want a larger harvest. Ha! We will also be building two more regular garden beds. I have always envisioned a total of four beds and with this successful gardening season, I am really wanting four! I am already thinking about what plants I could grow this fall and will need to do some research into fall gardening.

March Recap

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	90.00
  Week 10 (03/03)	+20.00	110.00
  Week 11 (03/10)	+22.00	132.00
  Week 12 (03/17)	+24.00	156.00
  Week 13 (03/24)	+26.00	182.00
  Week 14 (03/31)	+28.00	210.00

  
  

• Book Finishes
  
  • #6: Small Change by Sheila Roberts.

    I picked up this book a while back due to the fact it sounded interesting and not your typical chick lit or romance. This book has 3.65 stars at Goodreads and 4.6 stars at Amazon. I gave it three stars (at Goodreads). With that said, I must say that it is not a bad book. In fact, it is a good quick read in which one may identify with any one of the characters who struggle with financial issues. It is just not a memorable read. In other words, It is a book that is easily forgotten within a week or so. Maybe I was unfair with the rating; but, I would not recommend this book to anyone unless they are looking for a quick mindless read.

• Projects
  • I took one week off to do my own thing and that turned into two. This is the problem for me with taking time off. I should never take any time off or things would not get done. I pretty much did basics things such as gardening, cook, clean and just be lazy. The cats really enjoyed this time because I let them go outside frequently. The time to do this now because summer is approaching and it is going to get HOT!
  • I finally took the time to go through a pile of boxes in the kitchen. I knew it was going to be tedious; so, I had been procrastinating on that endeavor. I finally went through it all and designated the majority to rummage sale.
  • Started unpacking a box from the temporary guest/sewing room and discovered a bunch of patterns (beading/quilting/cross stitch) I ripped out of magazines and saved. So, I have another tedious project on my hands. I had vowed that when I moved, I would organize everything I unpack (except kitchen). As a result, I am taking the time to input each one into Excel and assigning each to a file folder. At times like this, I wish I had MS Access. (Remember, I used to be a professional programmer in my past life and know how to work databases.) Anyway, I am being extreme and tossing those patterns I know I will never be able to make. This is process going to take me awhile.
  • I am also taking the time to organize my signature images. I have let them pile up that it has become chaotic. Dan and I got into a discussion one night recently and he is going to work out a solution for me using a database and a web page! Woo Hoo! I should get him to do something similar for me with the patterns I am saving from magazines. One thing at a time. Ha!

• Other
  • The flooring in my room is done! (completed on 3/15).
  • Gardening is coming along real well. Red and yellow potatoes, red and yellow onions, garlic, carrots, cucumbers, melons, one variety of peppers, a few herbs and a few spinach seeds have sprouted. I harvested a few strawberries already.

    I planted eight different kinds of herbs in pots and they are now in a spot out back where I plan to have a real herb garden some day. I also planted peas and beans in pots as there was no room in the garden beds. Ha! I really wanted to grow some peas and beans. I will have to get Dan to build another garden bed for me next year.

    The blackberry bush I planted last year is doing fabulous. I planted a blueberry and raspberry bush and some grapes this year. I am not sure if the raspberry bush will survive; but, I am willing to try. The blueberry bush is doing great. We put up a fence for the grapes. I believe it will take several years before it even needs the fence. But, I read that a fence needs to be put in place before planting grapes.

    I also planted some sunflowers seeds out behind the potato bed. According to the seed package, they can get up to six feet tall! Yikes! I do not know if they will grow; but, the area has been marked so that I will not mow over them later this summer.

    I have been enjoying going out early in the mornings (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) to water the garden and other plants when it has not rained. At the moment, I am watering each bush and the potato bed for two minutes. The bigger garden beds gets four minutes each. As the summer progresses, I will increase the watering times because it gets extremely hot hereabouts.

February's Recap

• Savings

  	Previous Balance	30.00
  Week 6 (02/03)	+12.00	42.00
  Week 7 (02/10)	+14.00	56.00
  Week 8 (02/17)	+16.00	72.00
  Week 9 (02/24)	+18.00	90.00

  
  

• Book Finishes
  
  • #2: I am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirkby.

    I picked this book up on a extreme clearance for $1.00. This book is autobiography and has a 3.64 star rating at Goodreads and 4.3 stars at Amazon.com. I gave it three stars (at Goodreads). I have always been fascinated with the Anabaptist groups - Amish, Mennonite and Hutterite. About half the book delves into the Hutterite culture and the author's childhood as a Hutterite which I enjoyed very much and found interesting. The other half deals with when her parents left the community due to politics and the author's struggles growing up in a secular world.

  • #3: Words by Ginny L. Yttrup.

    This book is Christian fiction and has 4.8 stars at Amazon.com and 4.36 stars at Goodreads. I gave it five stars at Goodreads. This book dealt with child abuse in a very sensitive and tender way. It tells the story from the perspective of two people - the child and the woman who eventually comes to care for her.

  • #4: The Innocent Mage: Kingmaker, Kingbreaker (book one) by Karen Miller.

    This book is a fantasy. It has 3.2 stars on Amazon and 3.63 stars on Goodreads. I gave it three stars on Goodreads. I picked up the duology from a Half Price Books store with coupons. I have to be honest. This was an extremely slow read. I am hoping that the second book will be a better read than the first. Due to a variety of reasons, I would not recommend this book to anyone. Hopefully, the second book will be much better than the first. We shall see.

  • #5: The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus by Lee Strobel.

    This book was given to us by a very good friend. It has many genres such as Christian, non-fiction, historical, theology, etc., and etc. Amazon has 3.9 stars and Goodreads has 4.03 stars. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads as it is impossible to give it 4.5 stars. I read this book one chapter at a time as it was technical and logical. This is one of the better non-fiction apologetic book I have read in eons.

• Projects
  • I cleaned and reorganized four upper cabinets, four lower cabinets and all of the kitchen island cabinets. When we moved, I just threw things haphazardly into most of the cabinets. They are now cleaned out and reorganized. I threw out of lot of stuff and designated a few things for the rummage sale. I feel good about the kitchen now.

  • I cleaned out and reorganized the extended pantry. Our extended pantry is what most people consider to be the hall closet. There is no purpose for us to have a hall closet. Since this closet is so close to the kitchen, I turned it into an extended pantry. It contains kitchen items not used often along with bulk food staples and paper goods such as paper towels. This area was in the same kind of condition as my kitchen cabinets. I unpacked a tall moving box and I tossed out a few things (for rummage sale and trash). I am feeling a bit ruthless these days. As a result, I am feeling better about the state of things.
  • I cleaned out a writing desk with three drawers that I used to pay bills and whatnot back in our Houston days. But now, it serves as a entry way table and dumping ground (e.g. my purse), cat toy and care storage, and place for the sheets to the small sleeper sofa. I designed a lot of things for the rummage sale and threw out a few things.
  • I went through the filing cabinet and important papers. This took two days of effort - about eight hours total. It was tons of stuff and much of it was sentimental value. For example, I held onto papers from the first house we owned (which was built). Come on! Why am I hoarding crap?!?!? So, I ruthlessly shredded a bunch of papers. Now, I down to about half of a filing cabinet drawer. I am feeling a heck of a lot better; although, I am also feeling a bit worried that I may have been too ruthless. Ha!

  • I put many fabrics onto "bolts". This was a relaxing endeavor and I think my cats enjoyed the times I worked outdoors on our farmhouse table because I would let them outside.

• Other
  • We have slowly but surely been working on the flooring in my room. We are now half way done. Why are we not done? It is slow going on account of a variety of factors including patching (adding) tile in the doorway between the kitchen and my room, shopping for threshold, the size of the flooring (3 inches wide as opposed to 5 inches), etc., and etc.
  • In addition to the reasons listed in the above bullet point, we also have taken breaks to work on other small projects around the house. Dan started on making a bench to match the farmhouse table. We worked on making garden beds and filling them up with dirt. We planted some stuff in the 'potato bed' on 2/23/2014. I am currently making some lightweight garden screening for the regular beds to protect my plants from gophers and birds.

January Recap

My word of the year, focus, has been good for me so far. I think my focus have been better than in the past. My goals were 52 weeks of savings, books and projects. So far, savings is on track. Books is behind and projects is going slowly. But hey, I feel like I am accomplishing things for the first time in a long time! So, here is a recap of January.

• Savings

  I am recapping some of what I wrote in my A {Long} Week in Review post and adding to it. From here on, I will create a new (updated) table beginning with an updated last balance.

  
  

  	Previous Balance	0.00
  Week 1 (12/30)	+2.00	2.00
  Week 2 (01/06)>	+4.00	6.00
  Week 3 (01/13)	+6.00	12.00
  Week 4 (01/20)	+8.00	20.00
  Week 5 (01/27)	+10.00	30.00

  
  

• Book Finishes

  
  

  • #1: Except the Queen by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder

    I picked this book up on a deep clearance a long time ago. It had a quote by Patricia A. McKillip, an author whose books I have read and liked in the past. This, along with an excerpt from the book on the back of the jacket persuaded me to buy the book. This book barely has 4 stars at Goodreads and 4-1/2 stars at Amazon.com. I gave it two stars (at Goodreads). Even though it is for young adults in the fantasy genre, I struggled through this book. There is nothing compelling within the pages that keeps me wanting to read. I would not recommend this book to anyone – young or old.

• Projects

  I did cyber organization the first week. I continued along with the organization theme within the house the rest of the month. I reorganized four kitchen drawers. I also cleaned out and organized my dresser throwing out some old clothes and donating a few nice shirts that I no longer wear. And, I finally got around to shredding thousands of papers from files.

• Other

  We took off a weekend and attended a baby shower up Dallas way. I had a very good time and plan to blog about it at a later date. I need to get to the pictures I took during that time. To be honest, I am afraid to look at them. I think it is because I want the pictures to come out well. I have become so particular when it comes to pictures of events like this baby shower. I just need to remember that even if they are snapshot quality, it is still good. In fact, it is better than nothing.

  I struggled with a bad sinus infection for about a week – allergies finally got the best of me. Being sick for a week put a damper on things (such as projects). But, I am not quitting.

  The progress on the garage conversion is coming along slowly. In addition to working on my room, we will soon be building a garden bed for potatoes and making benches for our farmhouse table I recently built. I think we have too many irons in the fire so to speak. Besides what I mentioned, we are wanting to build a shed, a chicken coop, a fire pit, etc., and etc. But, in spite of all this, we are happy and that is all that matters, correct?

  

A {Long} Week in Review:

• Savings

  This actually started December 30th, which is the week January 1st landed on. It is never too early to start a challenge and / or saving money, correct?

  	Previous Balance	0.00
  Week 1	+2.00	2.00
  Week 2	+4.00	6.00

  
  

• Books

  I am actually reading two books and a yearly (365 days) devotional that was given to me. One is a fantasy book which does not have a great start; but, it is beginning to get interesting. The other book is a Christology and Biography. I am about halfway through book. The devotional is rather good. So, that "book" will be finished December 31st and counted as one of 52 books. Ha!

  It has been lovely reading here and there; but, I still feel guilty. This is hard to overcome but I am hoping it becomes easier over time.

• Projects

  I decided to do some cyber organization for my first week. The tags on my blog posts were chaotic and disorganized and it was driving me crazy. So, I decided to go through them all and managed to get rid of many tags. I think it is much more organized now.

  I then moved onto my bookmarks, especially the recipes, because they were driving me crazy. I needed to break them up even further into different categories. So, I made that attempt. I am a little happier and will resume at a later date.

• Other

  There were a couple of days during this time frame where I was not feeling well with headache and migraine. So, I took it easy (and limited time on computer). I clipped words and phrases from magazines to save for use later. I also worked on my altered composition books which I will share at a later date.

  During this time, I managed to sliced a few layers of skin off my right index finger while cutting paper using a rotary cutter using an old blade. It scared me to death considering how quickly it happened. You do not know what you have done until it is too late. The injury did not bleed; but, it did ooze a tad. Just because it is scrapbook paper, it does not mean that I do not have to take the same precautions I do with fabric. Sheesh. This is my first injury since I have started using the notion in 1994.

  Actually, this my first injury while slicing something with the cutter. I have nicked my face because I reached up to scratch my nose. This taught me to put the cutter down before doing anything else. I have also cut my stomach in the early days before I learned how to slice fabrics properly -- always slice away from you (not towards you). And, even though this isn’t an injury, I have sliced my hair! I now have my hair up in a ponytail whenever using the rotary cutter.

  
  

2014 Word of the Year and My Stupid List

Word of the Year

2011 – Do
2012 – Finish
2013 – Anew (Afresh)

2014 – Focus

I have been so unfocused lately that it is driving me insane. I am sure it is driving Dan crazy. So, the word of the year for 2014 is focus. I need to take a deep breath and center myself. I am going to endeavor to concentrate on one thing at a time. One project at a time. One task at a time. One meal at a time. And, get it done. You get the drift.

As for setting goals this year, they are not extensive as I seem to just out and out fail due to life and other reasons. So, it is just a simple 52 weeks:

• Savings Challenge

  This is an incremental challenge that I find very easy to do. Since there are two of us, I am setting aside $2 for the first week, $4 the second, $6 the third and so on and so forth. {To find out more, just search for “52 weeks savings plan” as this challenge is viral.}

• Books

  I miss reading books and have not really enjoyed reading them for a long time due to a variety of reasons including judgmental souls who told me that I was being anti-social and needed to be more involved. I have been unhappy trying to fulfill my promise (to get them off my back) to try to participate. By the way, this was years and years ago – before I got married. Well, I am done with them. I am returning to my first love and that is books and I do not care what others may think of me. By the way, this challenge may or may not include books previously read. Also, I may choose to read young adult or preteen books which often are quick reads and exactly what I need for that moment.

• Projects

  This will be a variety of things such as crafting, organization, baking or cooking (new recipes), etc., and etc. For example, I may want to alter several composition books; so, that could be my project for the week. Or, I may want to clean out and organize the extended pantry which is currently driving me batty. So, that could be my project of the week.

Simple enough, right? Right. <---- That is sarcasm in case you did not read the emotion behind the word.

And oh, we have officially gone on to the “no spend month” only it will extend into two or three months. The exceptions to the rule is 1) travel and hotel costs (to visit family) and 2) house and related expenses to continue work. How is that for fun start to the New Year?