Beautiful day today

It's 64 degrees right now and not a cloud in the sky. Husband was gone most of the morning. Then came home and started measuring. He then went and got prices on windows for our enclosed porch. YAY... we are gonna replace the old windows. Some don't really even fit...and they are very old windows. Then I started counting the money I had saved. His eyes bout popped out of his head. Then I said oops here's some more. He just shook his head in disbelief. And I've been doing grocery shopping and every time the kid needs money for school lunches or piano lessons or tournaments, I dole it out. Hubby uses the credit card to get gas. I don't do that. I pay in cash. It's all good! Anyway, he asked me if I wanted him to go ahead and order the windows...it would take 7 to 10 days for them to get in. I told him the guy that's doing our siding may not be working on the house for awhile anyway. Today would've been nice day for him and his workers to finish if they could. But I imagine he had other plans for the weekend.
Am wondering if walmart has seed packets in yet. I wanna get started on planting seeds. Tomorrow is first of February, and that is what day I figured I would start planting in my own little homemade peatpots. Amazing what a warm sunshiney day does to a person's attitude. There's a strong breeze, but nice and warm....warm to me anyway. Thinkin bout goin to walmart. eh... I try not to go there often....because I don't want to spend money.
Kid is going to pick up the acorns all over the old flower bed. I don't need more baby oaks growing..especially where I'm going to plant veggies!
Monday will sorta be a good day and sorta not. I will be fretting about going to see the doctor. I need to start taking some medicine again, so need to see him first. And then, if I don't chicken out, will tell him about my bad knee. I'm just not the type to go to the doctor for every little thing. Yes that is why we pay insurance. But I just hate having to pay a doctor bill. Insurance pays only so much. And then they wanna argue that it is pre-existing. UGH! I know I need to walk more. But with my knee in the shape it's in....it would be a bit hard on me. Taking glucosamine and chondroitin should help a little.
Enough wallowing in self pity. Still worried about my job and keeping it. Budget cuts will be very hard on a lot of people, so I may not have a job come August. I will know possibly between April and June. Who knows what will happen with hubby's job as well. Everyone has problems. And right now....just keeping our heads above water is all we can do. So far so good.
Youngest son has a volcano about to erupt any moment now....about 100 miles from his home, but it is very powerful and will be explosive. His city will get a lot of the ash....he said he went to a volcano party at friends' house last night. Silly boy. If he gets a job he just interviewed for, there won't be many people around. He will be in the middle of nowhere. But he's always said he wanted to be away from all the hustle and bustle and crime. Just live in the wilderness. Sometimes I feel that would be great. You would take anything for granted. Everything you used and needed, you had to work very hard for....maybe even MAKE stuff to use. Warmth...you'd have to cut firewood...also to cook with. Go to a town somewhere to stock up on nonperishables.....once in a while. Not like going to walmart whenever the mood hits or whenever needing one ingredient for something. It would have to be well thought and planned out...maybe once a month go to a store somewhere to get what's needed....not what is wanted.
Need to get some knitting done....been too long since I've finished some squares and some dishcloths. Need to get some different ones made for the reunion coming up in 4 months or so. That is something to look forward to. ..besides the end of school and start of summer vacation. :o)
Right now....I have hope. I just need to remember that there is hope....for the state of this country, financially and politically (they go hand in hand), and that we can get through all this crap. No matter how bleak things look....

No school today!

I'm glad....because I am a little under the weather. Haven't gotten out of my nightgown and robe. Reason schools are closed? Freezing rain last night, turned to sleet ....try driving in the stuff. Then later it started snowing. It still is snowing, but for as long as it has been doing so...there isn't that much accumulation on the ground. Who knows...maybe no school tomorrow too? It'w was to get up in the mid 30s tomorrow. Now the forecast is that it might get up near 30. So this stuff isn't going away any time soon. I don't really care. We have stuff in our cupboards, enuff tp, critter food ....we will manage if we were snowed in for a couple of weeks! Although the thought of not being able to get out....even if we don't need to....eh....we'd do fine. I have plenty of books to read....so does the kid. And LOTS of YARN to knit. Plenty of wood to keep the stove stoked and burning.
Tonight's supper....hamburger helper. Yeah... I don't like it much, but when it's on sale....grab it. If I'm lucky, there will be some leftover that I can take to work for lunch tomorrow...if we have school that is. Things could be worse...like no electricity, which would mean cable would be out too, which would mean no internet and no tv. We'd still get by.
Youngest son had a job interview to become an environmental coordinator. Something he can use his degree for. He would be out in the middle of nowhere...I just hope that if he gets it, he will get paid well. Good luck Grizzly!

Dreary Monday

Supposed to get bad weather today.....starting around noon. Sleet and snow. Gonna be fun. But I tell ya this...it's free entertainment....looking out the windows at the pretty snow falling. Even watching the yucky sleet comin down is something to do. Kinda mesmerizing....hypnotic.
Gotta make a doctor's appointment today. Thinking NEXT Monday would be a good time. Yes.. putting it off, but if I get the appt made, I am less likely to chicken out. I'll just fret about it until it's over with. Anyone else is hurt or sick, I don't hesitate on getting them in to see the doc. Me...nope. Funny thing is...what do we pay insurance for anyway? It pays for part of any medical care needed....even if it is just a simple checkup. But I tend to dwell on things...worry....and that's not a good thing either. I mean, it's good to worry about things...it shows you care and that you have feelings and are sensitive. But constantly worrying and dwelling...not a good thing.
Not much sleep again. Need to go back to bed for an hour or so...read and relax and possibly doze of for a bit. Then have lots of stuff today, including running errands around town. I'd rather do nothing.....wouldn't we all.
Seems veggie prices are on the rise because of the drought in California. All the more reason to start from seed indoors...cheaper....cheaper even if you buy the plants at a store then put them in the ground. But I'm all for the cheapest route of all..buying seed and planting in my toilet paper roll halves and letting them grow indoors where it's warm....then transplanting outside when the time comes. We will do what we need to do....to have our veggies.
Would break my heart if we didn't have school tomorrow because of dangerous weather conditions. Really sad. haha

hmmm

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/02/06/little-steps-100-great-tips-for-saving-money-for-those-just-getting-started/
Most of these make a lot of sense.
Another one... http://www.doughroller.net/2007/11/06/51-painless-money-saving-tips/

Inauguration and stuff

This is my MONDAY, even though it's Tuesday. And a 12 hr day to boot! The program for data entry has been down since Friday night, and we don't know when it will come back up, but hopefully some time today. I have lots to put in. Otherwise, it should be a fairly light work load today.
Boss sent everyone an email with a link so we can watch the inauguration live online. Then the head tech guy said not to use that link, that it is only for a small group. But he promised he would send out a link so we could get a live feed. That would be nice. It starts at 11:30am, and I won't be in my room until a half hour later. And since I don't have a smartboard, nobody else in my room will be able to watch it but me. Oh well....I'm sure it will be rebroadcast many times. It does make me feel hopeful though. A black man as president. At this point though, ANYONE taking over the reins would be a good thing. This man Obama has a lot of crap to deal with, left over from the bastard that WAS running the country (running it into the ground that is!) Obama has a long row to hoe, but maybe he can do something to help us all. Can't wait to see some sort of improvements. So much despair right now.....anything will be a breath of fresh air. And it's not just our country, it's the whole world. Bush had a lot to do with it. And guess what folks? We will be paying him the same amount of money while he's in retirement, doing nothing, as when he was president! Thanks for screwing up our country, oh and by the way, your check will be direct deposited in your account by the first of every month! Somethin just aint right about that. I think that even if a person is no longer president, if they are collecting retirement from us taxpayers, they should still be working for us in some capacity! It just aint right!

Dedicated to Kent Riggs

Kent died December 29th, 2008. He suffered from cancer for approximately 18 months. He was a great guy....crazy sense of humor. He left behind an elderly father, a sister and a niece. He was loved by his friends and co-workers. And there were MANY friends!
Kent will be sorely missed.

More Rumors

Last night husband told me that more rumors are flying at his workplace. Now it's being said that over half of the workers will be let go, and there will only be 250 workers that will be in the plant. There have been rumors before, and most have ended up true. So we need to save whatever we can, because it's gonna be a bumpy road ahead. I am hoping the rumors are just that....rumors.
Funny, all this crap going on...and I had a wonderful dream! I would say it was more of a greedy dream. But when a person doesn't have much, these kind of dreams keep us going: hubby and I were walking through a gorgeous big old house. A realtor was showing it to us. I loved everything about the house. The top floor seemed to have been made for a rec room or something. Another room was all carpeted with a bar, and even a flat screen tv that came up out of the floor at the touch of a button. I told hubby that we just couldn't afford it. He said if I wanted it, we would get it. OMG I was so elated. Then that was the end of the dream. But when I woke up...I kept mulling this dream over and over in my mind. But really...what do we all really need? We don't need fancy stuff. I could live in a one room cabin and be fine. With no conveniences. Give me a potbellied stove and wood....and other basics. I'd be fine. I'm scared to death of guns and don't like loud noises. But, if need be, I would learn to hunt. I don't like killing things unless they are bugs or fish. But I would have to get over it, wouldn't I!
Sad thing with all this economic woe is that prices are still going UP on groceries and other necessities! WHY? I noticed in the past couple of weeks that gas is on it's way back up. It was at one time 1.54 and now it is 1.84! Are we going back up to over $4.00 a gallon again?
I try to do run several errands during the same trip. Saves time and gas. BigMouth, the woman who lives across the alley, is constantly coming and going. Can she really afford to do that? I mean...she has no room to complain about gas, if she won't cut down on her trips. Her husband carpools with my husband. He's in the same boat....he might end up laid off permanently. I doubt she makes more than I do, at her workplace. And they have two boys. So how do they afford it? Maybe they cut back on something else? He smokes, and drinks quite a bit. My hubby and I don't smoke, and drink very little. I don't understand things sometimes. Guess I'm not supposed to...it's just the control freak in me.
It has gotten up to 53 degrees now...at 3 in the afternoon. I haven't gotten out of the house cept to let the dog/cats out and back in.
Middle kid called me from Alaska. Said Juneau had an avalanche last year which left everyone there without power for quite awhile. Another avalanche had just happened. People are using diesel powered generators. But diesel is so expensive. The town has pretty much closed down for now. I'm sure people will survive it, but the sick and elderly might have a rougher go of things.
We talked about how hard things are. He said we need to get a cow for milk and some chickens and ducks. We would do just fine. I told him we would need to be on a farm. He said he thinks I would do great on a farm. I think so too, cept for the snake population. Can't stand those things. Some people want to live on a farm just for the novelty of it. They can't or won't take care of the livestock. I would LOVE having ducks and chickens. We used to have ducks, thanks to that son. He ordered a male and a female rouen ducklings. Later he rescued a duck that one kid had bought for the novelty...it was a mallard. We ended up with a whole flock of ducks eventually. I have learned a lot about ducks. Their eggs are great, but u boil them....don't expect to be able to peel them. The membrane between the yolk and shell is much tougher. You try to peel it and it just falls apart....the membrane adhears to the shell. They are good for frying or for baking with. But we had to candle them if we thought they had laid there for more than a day. Don't want any unborn ducklings to come falling out. And the ducklings after they are born...so cute. But the adult drakes will go on a killing spree of the ducklings. They peck the babies in the neck til they die. Our cats had no problem with the babies or the adults. But people would walk by and tell us there were cats in our yard, and they were afraid the cats would get at the ducks. I always said "no....those cats sleep with the ducks! They all live here together!" And they would. The ducks could hold their own. The drakes and hens could flog any stray animals coming into our yard. They didn't bother our cats, but if strange cats came into the yard, the ducks would be after them.
When my maternal gramma had chickens, and I was a little kid, I loves spending weekends and summers there. I would go out and collect eggs several times a day. And I loves throwing table scraps out to the chickens. They would all come running to the fence. It was hilarious. Aah the good ol' days.

TGIF

It's Friday once again! Homecoming at the high school and it's also spirit week, which means today is class competition day. Daughter's grade has to wear anything yellow. She ordered a tshirt, but I don't know what else she could wear that's yellow. It's going to be wild and crazy today....I just know it. Very entertaining to say the least. The kid also volunteered to work concessions during I THINK at least two basketball games today. If there are three, she will be there for all three.....she will be one tired puppy. But she really enjoys doing it. I'm proud of her. She volunteered her time last summer at the public library for children's puppet shows. She loved that. The year before, she would help with grade schoolers at the youth center. She helped cook breakfast and lunch for them and also helped with nutrition classes. She's always been the baby of the family, so I'm sure it was nice for her to be the one in charge and taking care of the younger ones. She has also helped teach knitting at "kids college" and also the knitting class at the public library. Been awhile since either of us have been there, what with all of her homework and after school activities....
Heat wave goin on here! 13 degrees! Was about 7 degrees around 8pm last night. Windchill is zero, which is warmer than it was yesterday morning. brrr! In spite of the cold, the economic situation and some personal things going on, I consider myself pretty lucky. Got a decent home and if the electricity were to go out right now, we have plenty of wood and a woodstove for heat. We can cook on it too, if need be. BUT, lol, don't EVER use a broom to sweep off the top of a woodstove while it is burning wood! Husband did that yesterday when he got home from work. I think he set some of the wood on top of the stove while he was putting some IN the stove. So he thought he'd sweep it off with the kitchen broom. BAD idea! The plastic from the bristles started melting on top of the stove and made a black tarry mess! If it had been a straw broom, it probably would've caught fire! I had to laugh at husband for not thinking at the time, and said sarcastically " well, it's a good thing you didn't think the stove needed to be thoroughly cleaned, and throw a bunch of gasoline on it!" He said he would if I thought it would help. I told him no, not unless I got everything out of the house first...especially my family pictures. Of course he would never do something like that. What is it about males and fire anyway? I mean I love a nice fire to look at. It's hypnotic. But guys seem to want to set everything on fire! Husband tends to get the wood stove TOO stoked and sometimes it gets stifling hot. Then I feel like I died and went to hell! He almost set the house on fire one day last year. I came home from work and the grass was burnt clear up to the patio and part of the neighbor's back yard was burnt too. It had burned right up to husband's truck and in places had gone clear up to the alley! When I asked him about it, he said he had cleaned the ashes and coals out of the wood stove and dumped them out in the yard, thinking since the ground was damp, that it wouldn't hurt anything. WRONG! He said he didn't notice that the grass had burned (the grass was dead and all dried up) all over, until hours after he'd dumped the coals. And that it must've burned itself out. OMG! I asked him if the fire dept came by, and he said no. He could've been fined for that! He didn't seem too worried. Was calm and cool as a cucumber about it. I told him I didn't wanna have another house fire! And this time, it would've included the icky little rental house next door! He would've been fined BIG TIME for THAT! Men!
Well, off to get ready for work. Should be a very VERY mild day today work-wise. Then again, the boss may have lots of things for me to do besides my regular duties! We will see.

Waiting for a shoe to drop

Well, when I first got to work, I had plenty to do. But since then, it has calmed down....so much so that I'm just waiting for something to happen...and not necessarily a good thing. Things are slow right now, but may pick up later on. This is my long day (12 hrs). One of my kids texted me about something...so I guess the shoe has dropped. Something else for me to worry about, along with my own aches and pains. I try to shrug things off that I have no control over (BIG CONTROL FREAK HERE!), but I still care and worry about so many things. I wouldn't want people to treat me differently...ie keeping things from me. That would make things worse when I found out.
On to other things....an official layoff of employees where my husband works, was put in our local paper this morning. I'm sure there will be more layoffs in the future, but right now husband is working...albeit 32 hours instead of the normal 40.
People just want to live in denial...that layoffs won't happen to them. Then all of a sudden it bites em on their butts...they didn't see it coming, and they weren't prepared. Oh, nobody is completely prepared for losing their job or getting laid off, whether it is temporary or permanent. But when things are said about stock markets dropping drastically, banks needing bailed out, the BIG THREE wanting us to bail them out....well...we know the future looks a tad bit bleak. Then there are the "always cheerful" people who say "count your blessings!" Yeah I'm happy we have our health, food, clothing, a home....but with all the crap that is going on....it doesn't make ya wanna do a jig (unless you've been imbibing in the devil's drink!)
We need to stand up, help each other, and do what needs to be done to save money and make all this crap hurt just a little less.
I remember hearing about the "victory gardens" that everyone planted during WWII. Why can't we do that now? Lots of people still garden just to be growing things and because there's nothing like eating fresh homegrown produce. But there are people that sit around and boohoo, when they could be working the soil up and making a compost pile from table scraps...so they can eat! And it's good therapy. Yeah you may have to do a little weeding/hoeing/tending the garden, but oh how much money you will save! I don't have a compost pile right now. But when I have veggie scraps, I throw it out in the garden spot and let it deteriorate into the ground. It will help my garden out when I till it all up. Sure, it looks funny when a person walks up to the back door and sees tater peelins and onion peelins and ends of celery stalks, but so what! I want to put egg shells out there too, but my cats and dog would be out there munching on them.
We are the masters of our own destiny. We can sit around and complain, bitch and moan about what is going on, or we can do whatever we can to make things a bit easier on ourselves.
Bartering and trading....things people used to do. There are those that still do it. No money is exchanged. Maybe a neighbor wants a garden, so I will till it up for them, and in exchange maybe they will give me some firewood. See how it works? A friend needs a hair permanent, but can't afford to go to a beauty shop. I will give her one in exchange for some of the mess of fish her family caught out of their pond. No money exchanged. Maybe I will knit or crochet an afghan that someone wants, in exchange for some service I might need. Okay, I know what some people will think...."so I have to do somethin to get somethin". Not necessarily. Maybe you just need to be neighborly. If you can do something for someone, without expecting something in return...hey that's GREAT! Or if you need something, but don't know of anyway to repay someone.....maybe they will just do whatever you need, for free. Say someone is selling fresh farm eggs. They never sell all of them before they have another bunch. They would just end up tossing them eventually. Why not ask for those eggs to throw in a compost pile? Or if you need eggs and you KNOW they are still good....ask if you can take them off the person's hands. Maybe they will cut you a good deal. It's all good! If people would just not be uppity, and help others....it will come back to them ten-fold. And even if it didn't come back you....so what? You've helped someone out!

Monday Monday

Peace and quiet. Took the kid to school. Husband left earlier this morning for work. I love Mondays by myself. Although, since it is only the three of us (along with two cats and a dog), it tends to be fairly quiet and peaceful anyway.
Still in nightgown and robe. Thinking about going back to bed and finishing up the book I'm reading...Edgar Sawtelle. Very good book. After reading a good book, I feel let down. The book and adventure is over. Now what? Then I get another book. And it's hard to get into a new one at times. I want the book I finish to go on and on....neverending. It is such a cheap and fantastic escape....getting really into a book. People who don't like to read, I don't understand. If life is getting you down or you are bored, crack open a good book and dig in. You won't be disappointed. The cost of a good book is much cheaper than say....going to a shopping mall, or traveling out of state to see the sites. In a book, you can be wherever it takes you. If you'd rather not spend money on a book, go to the public library! They have tons of excitement there, just waiting for you.
My husband and daughter don't eat roast leftovers but maybe once. So I took a roast and turned it into beef stew. Simmered it with onions and celery, then a few hours later I threw in taters and carrots and half a bag of frozen chopped broccoli. It was great! Husband took some with him to work for lunch. I will have it for lunch today and will take some for lunch tomorrow as well. Stew goes a lot further than just roast. Everyone wants to have a big slice or two of roast, and a few veggies on the side. This way, you get small doses of roast with veggies along with the soup broth full of spices and yummyness.
Tomorrow will be my real Monday. A nice long twelve hour shift. Oh, once I get there it's not so bad. It's the time leading up to it that bothers me. I don't enjoy my Monday evenings. I sit and wonder what will be in store for me when I get to work. Then I start fretting. Then I get crabby. Then husband and daughter think I'm crazy. See where this is leading?
The kid has a scholars bowl tournament this afternoon out of town. So I won't see her until I pick her up at the high school later on this evening. She's always a busy bee. But when she has nothing going on....she does know how to relax. She gets on the computer and plays games or chats with friends (along with texting said friends at the same time), reading, watching tv and knitting. Hmmm monkey see-monkey do?
Doom and Gloom--People are getting laid off from their jobs or are being let go because of businesses being shut down...everywhere! My little burg isn't safe from this either. People are tightening their belts and pursestrings even more. With that going on, the restaurants and fast food places will suffer.....along with stores. Grocery stores might suffer a little, as people will be buying more basics than fancy expensive stuff. But we all have to have food to survive. As a divorced mom of two little boys (without child support...the courts didn't follow through with forcing the ordered child support), we existed on bologna and cheese and hotdogs and peanut butter among other cheap and simple foods. It irritated me to no end when I would be behind someone who had slapped on the counter big ol steaks and potroasts and junkfood....then they'd whip out the foodstamps. Made my blood boil. Welfare is for people who are down on their luck (like divorced moms), and people who lost their jobs from downsizing, people on a fixed income such as social security, people with terminal illness and neverending medical bills and such. And it is supposed to be a temporary thing, until the people can get back on their feet. But some don't wanna get on their feet and back into the workforce. It's much easier to kick back and let the taxpayers take care of them. The system is really messed up IMO.
What can we do about it? Just something to ponder.

Start of Something New

Hello.
I have started a new blog. It's for anyone who wants to read about my life....being cheap, crabby and crazy. It also will include cheap and easy ways to save money, and the crabby part...well...that's my rantings. And if anyone else wants to let it out, they can too, by commenting. The crazy part....well that is just the norm. To some, (okay most), it might be a bit boring and might put you to sleep. But it's my life, such as it is.
I will add more later, so be forewarned.