$318.49 Tithe
_500.00 Utilities
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
_700.00 Medical Fund
__75.00 Household Envelope
_115.17 Internet
__36.00 Garbage
_100.00 Car Insurance Fund
_100.00 Gas Money
_100.00 Spending Money Adults
_120.00 Allowances Kids
_200.00 Christmas/Gift Fund
_100.00 Clothing Envelope
_300.00 Cell Phone Fund
--------------
3164.66 Total Money Out

The Christmas/Gift Fund is now up to $900. I will definitely meet my goal of $1200 by Christmas (one of the things DH and I are getting is a propane BBQ so that is why that amount is so high. I want to get a good one. And part of that is for Christmas dinner, too. We get a prime rib roast for that, a new tradition we started last year, because I didn't feel like making another turkey and stuffing so soon after Thanksgiving. It was nice not to have to.

Aside from the propane grill we will be buying sometime after Christmas with Christmas and birthday money, I have been thinking about other things that I would like to purchase and other goals.

Of course my first big goal is to get the Emergency Fund to $30K, but a couple of things need to be done along the way over the next several years.

1. I need a new bed. I would like one that has the ability to raise and lower the head and foot of the bed and help me sit up, like a hospital bed, but larger. We are looking at getting a Purple bed, because you can get one that does that. DS just got his Purple mattress and I laid on it for about a half an hour last night, and it was so supportive and I didn't hurt after that long laying on it like I do on a normal bed. I also felt like my pelvis was aligned, which is a big thing for me. My pressure points did not hurt while laying on it. Purple is supposed to be very good for people with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia.

It will probably cost about $1500 to $1600 for the set I can get the mattress first, though, and think it is a priority to do that. DH can build a platform for it. He can just cut the king bed one down to size since he built it. I can still get up and down without help, but in the future I know it will just get harder, so this is an investment in my health. We will save our bed frame for the King, just because it is solid wood and really good and I don't want to just get rid of it.

I am looking at a queen or a double. DH does not sleep in the same bed as me because he snores even with the bi-pap machine, and has restless legs syndrome. I eventually got tired of being woken up all the time. It works for us. I'd like to just get the double as it's cheaper and will take up less space in my room, but DH would like me to get the queen.

The double would definitely allow me to rearrange things in my room and get my bed off the laundry room wall. The washer and dryer are very loud and will wake me up or keep me up if they are started at the wrong times of day. One wall is a window wall and I can't sleep on a window wall without waking up with a sore throat. The other is the hallway wall and if I put my head that way I can hear everyone walking through the hallway. The fourth wall has the closet in it, so the bed needs to be able to fit between the closet and the bedroom door fully opened, where my dresser currently is.

It is possible the queen might fit in the spot, too. We'll have to measure. It'll come awfully close. It'll open a lot of space in my room, though. Sixteen inches by five feet of extra floor space is nothing to sneeze at. I could finally scoot my computer chair all the way out from my desk without banging the wall. And with the bed on that wall, I have room for another set of shelves in there and get better organized.

2. I want to get a family-sized hot tub, one we can sit in and not be crowded up against each other. I ache so much and so does my daughter with the fibromyalgia as well. Soaking in a hot tub makes a huge difference. We cancelled our club membership as soon as they reopened and we could, because they were not opening the hot tub and you could only make appointments to use the pool and they were always full. I am going to take the money we were paying for the gym and save it towards buying a hot tub. The one we are looking at is between $6000 and $7000. So that is a bit of a long-term goal.

3. I'd like to replace the flooring in our section of the house. The flooring is the same as when it was built in 1986. The rugs are horrible (not to mention pink and blue so nothing matches. Since Mom told us we are inheriting the house because we are taking care of her and it, I am willing to put some money into it, as soon as she updates the will. I'd like to replace the rugs with bamboo flooring. Rugs are not at all good for people with allergies.

I'd like to start with replacing the hallway rug. I'd like to get some new lino or maybe tile for the kitchen since there are a couple of tears in it. I'd like to repaint the hallway.

4. I'd like to put tile on the kitchen counter tops. The formica is dated and ugly and worse for wear. I would like something clean, like white or cobalt or some shade of greeny blue (teal maybe). Not a fan of granite counters or marble counters and butcher block takes a lot of maintenance. I'd also like to replace the kitchen sink and get one of those tall sprayers for the faucet. I'd also like to put in a garbage disposal but that will require an electrician.

5. I'd like to rip out the shower/tub combo in the bathroom in our section of the house and put in a full size shower that is walk in, that has a built in bench seat, and more handicapped rails. Also, if we can figure out the plumbing, a shower head on both ends would be nice. Until that can happen we are taking off the shower door on the tub and putting up a curtain. I hate the thing and wish it had never been put on. It's hard to bend my knee that extra two inches to get it above the door runner. Same for my daughter. And no one likes it. The tub has a couple of cracks in it, anyway, that we have filled, but they look ugly. But it is more that with our limitations a walk in shower is better for our needs.

6. I'd like to get the van repainted, the dents pulled out, and the one rust spot attended to. This should probably be #2 on the list after getting a new mattress. DH recently put a dent in the van and also got a bunch of paint on it. There was no damage to the other car so they just let it go. DH has put all the dents in the van. I would like to paint the van blue or possibly a teal color.

I have never really been a fan of the salsa red, but they had ugly blues the year we bought it and it was the best choice out of what other colors they had. It was also a very popular van and color, so we often come out from the store and look for our van and get a little confused by all the other Siennas in the parking lot. I've had a case once where we ended up having two other vans identical to ours park on either side of us. Had to check the license plates, than goodness for vanity plates. Having a color the van doesn't actually come in, but that Toyota still has available, would be nice.

I can't think of much else right now, but I am sure other things will come up. Mattress and EF are the priority now, though.

$318.52 Tithe
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
__75.00 Household Envelope
_500.00 Handicapped Ramp (finished paying)
1050.00 New Mattress for DS (delivered and old mattress removal
_280.00 Monthly Chiropractor Family Plan
__71.99 Life Insurance DH
__60.46 Life Insurance Me
_100.00 Spending Money Adults
_120.00 Allowances Kids
_100.00 Car Maintenance
------------
3175.19 Total Money Out

I also paid the six month's car insurance bill from the Car Insurance Fund. I set aside so much every month and then pay it for the discount. There is a ten dollar a month fee to pay in installments and I haven't done that in years. I highly recommend doing it this way. Find a time when you can set the amount of the initial payment aside, like tax refund time, and then save 1/6 of the cost each month until it comes due again. For me it saves $120 a year, which may not seem like much in the long run, but why waste it when I can save it?

I was finally well enough to go in to the doctor for my Wellness visit, which I needed to do by October 1, because if DH and I both do that yearly and turn in the results of our labs to his work, we get $20 a month off our insurance premium, which is a savings of $240 a year. They don't report these to the insurance company, however, it's just a company program to make sure you get your check ups. I had the labs done back in early June, but had to cancel the appointment that went with it when I got sick and then didn't get better until recently.

For the most part my labs are better. There has been a steady improvement in the last 2 years, but this one was really good, except for my glucose level, which went up from 106, which was higher than it should have been, to 119, but I had eaten an unusual amount of sugar the night before (as in two gluten free brownies) for a special occasion.

We are going to retest that next week and I'll make sure not to eat things I don't usually eat. I won't try to be extra good, though, as I want a real reading, based on my normal eating. I just won't be extra bad. I don't tend to eat processed sugar, just fruit and not every day on that.

My good cholesterol (HDL) went up one point, from 43 to 44. My bad cholesterol (LDL) went down by 10 points from 67 to 57. My Triglycerides went down 26 points from 162 to 136. And my total cholesterol went from 142 to 128. So a nice downward trend on everything. My numbers were really good last time and the doctor is happy with the even better improved numbers.

I wonder what my lipid panel would have looked like if I'd had it while on my dietbet and eating for weight loss all month? I did win my dietbet goal, but until all weigh-ins are in at midnight tonight and they close it out on Saturday, I won't know by how much. I think I'm going to wait a week or two before signing up for another one. It is motivational, but I started a bit of a flare and am retaining water like crazy, so would like to wait until that is sorted.

The doctor did up the portion of my blood pressure medicine that is a diuretic because of the water retention. That's been an ongoing problem. The HCTZ has gone from 12.5 mg to 25 mg. He had to do it in a separate pill, because the 50 mg Losartan doesn't come with more than 12.5. Only the 100 mg comes with 25. So another pill for me to take, but oh, well. If it helps get rid of this fluid that's fine.

He also renewed my hydrocodone prescription, since the last time I had it renewed was February. I don't use it much, only a half a pill at a time when I flare and usually just at bedtime so I can sleep through the pain. I had to use up most of what I had when my knee got so painful. It is doing a lot better, actually. I have been consistent with my physical therapy exercises and watching how much inflammatory foods I eat. Hopefully I won't need it much longer.

The last few days have been exhausting, but I have muddled through like I always do. I have started canning my green beans from the garden. I have to pick again and get another load or two going tomorrow. My tomatoes are starting to turn red and I will freeze them as they ripen until I have enough to can. Freezing them means that when I thaw them the skins will pop right off, saving me the step of blanching. I have more cucumbers than I know what do with. There are only so many pickles you can eat during the year.

I went to the dentist yesterday and got the chipped tooth repaired. It looks really good, they matched the color of my tooth enamel exactly, and I don't have to worry about further damage happening anymore. I had been due to have it fixed before Covid happened, so was grateful to actually get it done. It has been on the to do list for quite some time.

I still haven't gotten a hair cut. Each time I go to make the appointment I just hesitate. I know it is silly, but I am still worried about doing it. My mom has had hers cut twice since the salon's reopened. We are doing so well here. But something in my gut is still worried. And summer will be over soon and the warmth of long thick hair will be wanted.

I have got my toilet paper and tissue stores back up to the levels that make me feel comfortable again. I need to work on getting butter again and I'd like to get more gluten free flour ingredients in buckets. We still have plenty of rice and beans. I do need to get a ton of meat canned, so hopefully I can get that accomplished here soon.

I ordered some replacement rubber gaskets for my narrow mouth reusable canning lids. I just cannot find where I put them. Fortunately the wide mouth are stored together with the lids. I do have quite a few metal lids, too, as I was making it a habit to buy about 4 boxes every payday through the year. Between the two types I will have enough, I hope, to get through canning season. I am still finding metal ones, but at places like grocery stores, and only narrow mouth.

I really need to take an inventory of my long term food storage now. I've done all the freezers, but everything that is canned or in #10 cans needs to be written down. I need to know easily where we stand on all food supplies. I want to be ready before mid-fall for whatever is going to be thrown at us with the coming flu/Covid season.

I have got my medicine stores up to a comfortable level, but will continue to buy a box of each item each payday for a while yet. Better safe than sorry.

DH and I have decided not to do a late summer getaway. My nephew has gone off on some long-term house-sitting gig and I don't want to leave my mother with just the kids. I can't rely on anyone else in the family to help, so it is better not to go right now. The way I have been feeling I don't really want to go away, either. I am just so exhausted all the time.

The weight loss is going well. I have to lose 5.5 more pounds to win my dietbet and I have two weeks and 2 days left to do it in. I think I will make it. I feel a lot better already having lost what I have.

Not much else going on, but thought I should check in.

My son and I went through and inventoried the mini chest freezer, the spare fridge freezer, and the two shelves I have in Mom's freezer. So that is four freezer's down and just the main fridge freezer to go. We did not have to throw away too much, a few old homemade freezer meals made with gluten pasta. I might have saved them for DH since he still eats wheat, but they were from June of 2019, so I didn't. We filled up a plastic grocery bag full of freezer burned stuff.

I added everything to my spreadsheet and will make another meal plan for two weeks based off of it tomorrow. I think I can go another month without buying any meat except meat for canning. I really want to do up some chuck roast and some chicken. Having canned beef makes it so easy to make beef stew in the fall and winter. You just open a jar of beef, make gravy from the beef juice and fat, add a jar of carrots, a jar of potatoes, and a jar of parsnips. Then heat it for twenty minutes to let the flavors meld. It beats a couple hours of stewing for a fast and easy meal.

I also want to do chicken because that way I can have it on hand to make taquitos, enchiladas, and chicken alfredo. It shreds really easily right out of the jar and it just takes that extra step away of cooking the chicken since it is already done and waiting for you. Chicken is really easy since you can just put boneless skinless thighs or breasts into the jar without cutting them up. Chuck roast has to be cubed. But either way, the difference it makes on those nights when I am wiped out from my RA and FM symptoms is between a home cooked meal and takeout.

I would like to get the meat canned now because I am getting blossoms on the green beans and want to get it out of the way so that as the heavy load hits from the garden I can keep up with it. I need to make my pickles tomorrow, though. I have enough for a half gallon jar of refrigerator garlic dill pickles, maybe more with what I pick tomorrow. I wish I had an old-fashioned crock, but the jar will probably fit much better than the crock anyway.

I finally sat down and balanced the checking account of my Medical Fund. I quit doing it back in October and then it started to become this insurmountable thing that I just didn't want to deal with. At least that is the way it seemed. It took me all of an hour to do it. Sometimes I think we build these things up in our heads to the size of mountains, when it is really just a foothill. Everything balanced out and I didn't have to hunt down any transpositions or subtraction or addition errors. I love it when it is easy.

After that I set up the August budget. If we can keep the eating out under control, things should be back on track. I will still be adding to the Medical Fund, so the EF will not grow as quickly as I would like, but without the MF we would just be raiding the EF constantly. Makes more sense to just put it there in the first place.

I finally got out of my mother the other day that Dad wanted to leave us daughters an inheritance, so she has it in her head that she has to do that. I told her flat out that I don't care about that, she needs to use her money on herself. Dad wouldn't want the end of her life to be so miserable. I mean, sure, if there is anything left, that's fine, but she is not to even let it enter her head that she shouldn't make her own life more comfortable.

We may be looking at a move to Montana in the future and she just may sell the house and move with us if we do. She knows that she can't live alone now, and neither of my sisters are willing to deal with it. She would like us to get a big enough property that she can put a single wide manufactured home somewhere on our lot. We are planning on rural 10 acres if it gets to that point, so that would not be a problem.

Her money is all tied up in the house now, but if she just bought a little house she would have a lot of money available. Her final years would be so much better. Then that house would belong to us after she dies, because we have cared for her all these years with no help from my sisters, though I would allow either of my sisters to live there if they wanted to up and move. I don't think they would since their kids are all here, though.

I don't particularly like the idea of transferring to Montana down the road, but at the same time I don't like what my state is becoming, especially in the Seattle area. If this violence and lawlessness becomes too much worse or comes closer, I'm prepared to leave the state once we can afford it. I hate cold, snowy winters, and it'll be hard to not be near the ocean, but Montana is beautiful, less populated, less political, and has a lower cost of living, and so I'd cope. It would be a few years down the road, anyway.

My Google AdSense Payment hit this week so I combined that with DH's pay and upped the tithe accordingly. I also had some money left in the checking account. No money went into the EF this time as we replaced some items and upgraded others that I was holding off on when we were still in debt and DH needed new boots.

We also got take out more than we should have as I tripped over a floor fan and banged myself into the bedroom door and then as I stumbled forward got my other side on the door jamb. Not fun. I am doing better today, but the last week was really rough. I am still pretty stiff and sore when I wake up, but at least I can dress myself again and walk around without my cane.

I did not spend all of the grocery money from last payday, though, so that went into a new fund, the Freezer Fund. So that envelope was started with $179. I want to get a good freezer, not from Lowe's or Home Depot, so we will have to go to the actual appliance store and price what I want, which is a freezer with a temperature display on the outside and that beeps if the door is open too long. Frost free would be nice as well.

Here's how the paycheck broke down today.

$328.70 Tithe
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
__75.00 Household Envelope
_500.00 Medical Fund
1608.60 Citi
__71.99 Life Insurance DH
__60.46 Life Insurance Me
_100.00 Spending Money Adults
_120.00 Allowances Kids
_100.00 Car Insurance Fund
-------------
3364.75 Total Money Out

Monday was a long, long day. The garden is getting into gear and I harvested a ton of basil, my first two zucchinis, 4 cucumbers, and pulled a bunch of weeds. They never do stop. Tomorrow I need to pick strawberries, peas, and blueberries. Maybe raspberries, too. But I have to do it early, because it was 80 degrees for most of the day and it was just too hot outside.

Inside the house we are working on completely redoing our makeshift kitchen/pantry area. Already it has opened up the room so much. We have spent about six hours so far and it probably needs another two to finish the section we are doing. Then the other section will probably take another six hours and will be done.

I need to get a couple of small baskets to store all our storage bowl lids, jar lids, and measuring cups and spoons in to keep them from taking up an entire drawer. If I free up that drawer I finally have a place to store my kitchen towels and wash cloths.

I would also like to get a double decker lazy Susan for my most commonly used spices and oils. I am tired of having to go search through the less commonly used items all the time. No matter how well I organize the spice drawer, other people are always moving things around.

I saw an electric citrus juicer today on a video. It is expensive, $99, but it really would make my life so much easier. I am going to think on it. My manual citrus juicer is getting really hard for me to operate, plus it is rusting. I don't think it is the stainless steel it purports to be. I have plenty of money in my allowance folder. I just need to think on it since it is a big purchase. MIL spends that much at Christmas so maybe I'll have her get it for me if I don't want to spend that much myself.

Not only did DH manage to find a big case of Charmin toilet paper at Costco, he found a six pack of Puffs tissues at Safeway. Both had a limit of one. My supply of things had gotten pretty low. I would like to stock up before cold and flu season hits again, but it has been very hard to find the soft stuff. With sensitive skin and allergies, we have to be very careful what brands we buy and they can only be white, no dyed patterns.

I have always tried to keep two cases of toilet paper on hand and two six packs of Puffs, but now I feel like I'd like to have four cases of each on hand. And no, that is not hoarding, it is prepping. Hoarding is filling your garage to excess with stuff you won't ever get through. I am going to try again on Monday at Costco. Sometimes they have them in and sometimes they don't, but you always have to go in in the morning after they open. I'd like to get them while they are semi-available and not run up against shortages when everyone starts getting sick again or they have to lock down hard again, which I suspect they will this fall or early winter.

I'd also like to have 2 cases of paper towels on hand, and shore up my dish soap, dishwasher soap, and laundry detergent, as well as some liquid hand soap refills. I mostly use bar soap and we have 8 of those, but I like to use the liquid soap pump for if I am cleaning my hands after getting meat or blood on them so I don't get that all over the bar soap. I also need more disposable gloves, a couple pairs of kitchen gloves, and some Scrub Daddies, my preferred type of sponge.

Other things I'd like to stock up on are dye free Benadryl, Sudafed, Nyquil, Dayquil, Mucinex, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, bandages, guaze, medical tape, Neosporin, antacids, Imodium, and Afrin. Everything but the Mucinex and Afrin are actually store brands of things, but it is easier to type out the brand names. If I can find it, a couple bottles of dye free, unscented hand sanitizer, too. I just really want to be prepared going into this. It really paid off when we all got hit with either Covid or a really bad flu in February. No one had to go out for anything.

I need to get a new pair of shoes and DH needs to get new work boots and new shoes. Then after that DS needs to get new shoes. I just keep adding to the clothing envelope and using as we go. DH's will be pricey. He is a size 16 shoe. His boots will be around $150 and his shoes around $100. Mine will be $80 because I need the largest width they make which seems to come in only one brand of shoe. And DS wants to get some custom Van's. He also has a large foot in size 14, which is at least possible to get in Van's.

I'd also like to get a new kitchen faucet that is much higher and has a built in sprayer so I can wash my hair in the kitchen sink and finally get the bathroom faucet replaced (we've had the new one of that for a couple months, just not put it on).

It feels like a lot, but it is all just the tip of the iceberg.

DS and I inventoried the big chest freezer a couple of days ago, which was a lot of work and we also got the sides defrosted. It doesn't frost up too much, but enough that we had to use a butter knife to break it lose. It take about six months or so to build up about an inch and it only does it on the back side. Anyway, we have a lot of food in there and now I know what it is exactly, so I will better be able to meal plan.

I made up an Excel spread sheet to track it as we use it. We still have to inventory the smaller freezers, but I am working on eating down the two shelves we have in Mom's freezer so she can have use of all of it, because she wants to buy some beef come the end of summer. Like a quarter.

I guess my eldest sister wants to buy a quarter as well and Mom is trying to push me into buying a half. First of all, I don't have room for it, and once I do have room, I want to get half a hog, not necessarily half a beef. If I were to get beef at some point, I would want a whole one, not a half or at least not a half I was splitting with her.

I know my mother. She would want to pick and choose her cuts out of the entire beef, not just the quarter she would be entitled to. My mom would take all the best cuts for herself and more than the amount she was entitled to and we'd be left with all the tougher cuts. No, thank you. I saw the way she divided up the chickens we raised together and I don't want that happening again.

Another issue is that I don't have the money for it right now. She's pushing saying that it is a couple months from now. Sorry, no. I have other priorities. DH's driving lessons, a handicapped ramp for the back porch (our entrance), and an upright freezer are what is next on my agenda. Then building the Emergency Fund. I might be able to get a whole lamb, though, but that is neither here nor there.

Right now I feel like I can just get loss leaders for beef. I have been doing fine with that this year. I want to keep at least two month's worth of meat in the freezer during the upcoming virus season, but I can't do more at the moment. Maybe if MIL gives us more money, but I have no idea if that is even going to happen. She hasn't given us any money this year at all and since it hasn't been a great stock market year, she may not.

Oh, well. I made a fantastic Japanese Chicken Curry for dinner last night. I've never made a curry before and I did it completely from scratch, even the curry roux, which can be bought in stores but has MSG and other nasties in it. It wasn't hard, not much different from making stew really. I used gluten free flour to make it gluten free. It's fantastic with rice, which we have a ton of, and gives it a good flavor.

It uses warming spices as opposed to the hot spices. It is aimed at the Japanese flavor palate as opposed to the Indian flavor palate. Now I would like a mild Indian curry myself, but my daughter would never be able to eat it, so it is easier to find stuff she does like. This was a hit. It is here

I had a major fibromyalgia flare when we got back from Seattle followed by a cold I'm pretty sure I caught at the hospital, so I haven't been updating anything for a while. I still feel a little cruddy, but at least I am now upright. We are still on a wait and see with DD's tumor. We get another scan in 6 months. As for payday, there were a few hours of overtime on it, and here's what we did.

$337.18 Tithe
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
1000.00 Medical Fund
__75.00 Household Envelope
_753.08 Citi
__71.99 Life Insurance DH
__60.46 Life Insurance Me
_100.00 Spending Money Adults
_120.00 Allowances Kids
_100.00 Car Insurance Fund
_150.00 Gift/Christmas Fund
_100.00 Clothing Fund
_100.00 Laptop Fund
----------------
3367.71 Total Money Out

My new skillet was delivered today. It's a 12 inch Michaelangelo that works on induction cooktops. It's a really pretty blue granite design. It is non-stick, but not the kind that poisons you. It isn't ceramic, but it is similar to that. It is made in Italy, not China. Most of the induction stuff I have is made in China, but the brand I normally use doesn't have a 12 inch skillet and these days I try to buy elsewhere if I can. The North American continent doesn't seem to actually make any induction cookware that is any good, though.

They also have a ten inch skillet that is a purple (though they call it red) granite design. If I like this skillet, I might get that one later on down the road. It isn't super heavy. Much lighter than cast iron and a bit lighter than stainless steel, but not super light like a Green Pan. And it came with a lid. It was $42. I'll give it a good workout this week. I am hoping this pan will be what I am looking for for this size. It had good reviews.

We got the rest of the beans weeded today and the 3rd and 4th row replanted. I did not see any rabbit damage today at all and some of the stripped stems are coming back. We got some weeding done along the fence, too, all along the back of the strawberries and some of the overgrown raspberry plants pulled out and more morning glory. Do not, I repeat, do not ever plant morning glory. And if you must plant it in a pot it cannot escape from and put it on concrete that has no cracks in it. I am still annoyed 15 years after the fact with the neighbor who planted it on their property and let is spread to five other houses.

I planted 15 broccoli plants today and some spinach. The potatoes are really growing. We'll have to hill them on Tuesday, since tomorrow we are going down to Virginia Mason to meet with two different doctors and have some labs run for DD. One of the doctors is the liver specialist about her tumor. DS will stay here with my mom. She's been a little unsteady on her feet lately, so DS will be keeping an eye on her.

I cleaned off my desk today. It really needed it. I am working towards being more organized in my bedroom. It is an uphill battle, but it becomes easier as I clear out more things. Now that Good Will is open again and taking donations, that will help a lot. But my desk has nothing to do with that. My desk has to do with this thing called procrastination. I just had a lot of stuff I needed to recycle or shred for recycling.

I found my pocket Constitution, which also has the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. It also has a few other federalist papers and things about being a juror. It's cool to have that and it was always helpful when I was homeschooling the subject of history. Each kid has one, too, as well as DH. I think it is something every American ought to have copies of, really.

Well, I best be off to bed. I've got an early morning ahead of me.

DH had some overtime on this paycheck so we had $361.93 extra in take home pay. Part of that went to keep the tithe at 10% and the rest to the medical fund since it is getting quite low. We have hit the out of pocket max now, though, so it is just a question of building it back up again. There was about $127 left in checking, just some carry over which will stay in there for next payday.

$354.86 Tithe
_500.00 Utilities
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
_300.00 Medical Fund
__75.00 Household Fund
_280.00 Chiropractor Family Plan
_115.17 Internet
__36.00 Garbage
_100.00 Car Maintenance Envelope
_100.00 Gas Money
_100.00 Spending Money Adults
_120.00 Allowances Kids
1000.00 Monster Mom Loan
-------------
3481.03 Total Money Out

The guys came back from fishing with a lot of spot prawns, hopefully the first of many successful trips. They got two of their pots picked even though they were in the area. Poachers are rotten people. It's not that hard to get your own pots. If you can afford your own boat, you can afford your own pots and bait. Some people are just bad to the core like that. Still, we have plenty for dinner tomorrow and some for the freezer.

I did some cleaning in the kitchen today and I made two batches of hard ice cream, one strawberry, which I haven't made before, and one chocolate. I use the no ice cream machine method. All it requires is a mixer and sometimes a blender, depending on what flavor you are making. Besides chocolate, in the past I have done maple cookie and vanilla. I want to try blackberry, orange, maple pecan, and root beer flavors this summer. Maybe a mint chip for the others (not one I care for). It's super easy. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes of hands on time and then into the freezer for 8 hours.

I do have a hard ice cream maker but it only does one pint at a time. I also have a soft ice cream maker. One day when I have more space I will use them again, but this really is just so simple.

I got some laundry done today and some dishes as well. I didn't do any gardening, though. I also took DD to physical therapy, did a quick grocery run for ice cream ingredients, and then went back to wait to pick her up. While waiting I read a book that is on my phone. When DD came out I tried to start up the car, but the battery was dead. I had to call a towing service to come jump start me since DH was out to sea. He is never home when this happens! The jump cost $85. If DH had been around it would have cost nothing. They were fast to come though. I probably waited 15 minutes from the time I called, if that.

We will be buying a new battery and I am going to bite the bullet and go back on AAA. The local service they used to use that I hated has now gone out of business and the good one that is left in town is what they have to use. So my issues with AAA have been resolved. If I order now, the cards should come before the trip to Virginia Mason in Seattle June 22nd.

I am still waiting to hear back from the liver doctor. If she wants to see DD, I am hoping we can make it for the same day as it is in the building across the street from where her other appointment will be. It would be nice to just make one trip this month instead of two.

Where is everyone? It has been awfully quiet the last couple of days.

If anyone wants to see the latest, I put up a new gardening video:

I'm pretty wiped out today from working in the garden yesterday, but I am still hoping to get at least an hour in later today when the sun moves behind a tree. Yesterday I got the rest of the dirt out of the one long raised bed and then got the rotten wood all torn down. Then I started working on weeding the next bed. I got one 8 foot by 3 foot section finished and then about 2 more feet by 2 feet additional done.

I moved 2 wheelbarrow loads of soil as well. Today DS will help with moving soil while I continue to weed. He puts the dirt into the wheelbarrow and then I help him unload it. That is easier for me to do since the wheelbarrow is at a good height for me and the soil is all loose at that point. At least we will do that if I can get my body moving. Some days are much harder than others. It might not get done until tomorrow. I have to pace myself within my body's limitations.

If I don't do it today, I am going to sit down and make myself do a one hour writing sprint. I just need to get over the hump on something and then I can move along on the book again. I tell myself I have to be a productive human being for at least one hour a day, so I don't fall into a slump of just watching YouTube or Netflix all day, every day. That is not good for the mental health.

I sat down and have made up two budgets. One I am calling an emergency budget and one I am calling an extreme no income budget. The emergency budget is for if DH has to go down to 32 hours a week again. The extreme budget is for if he gets laid off. It was looking like we were going to weather this okay, but what with the oil companies getting slammed this week, I don't know. He works as a lead engineer for a construction company that does work for refineries. So this could trickle down to hurt his company.

Anyway, I figured out that with an extreme budget we can get by on $1683.18 a month excluding medical. That's cutting out everything that isn't a bill and cutting the grocery budget in half. Without an income there is no tithe, either, which also cuts things down a fair amount. If DH gets laid off they will continue to pay their portion of medical for two months. I am not sure how much our portion is, but I think it is around $450 a month, so I would have to add that in. After that it would be the full amount for the COBRA. DH would qualify for unemployment so that would basically go to pay medical and if anything was left, to the Emergency Fund, for future months.

With what is in the EF now, that will last four and a half months. We will be harvesting from the garden by then, too. Of course we are going to continue to add as much to the EF as we can between now and any possible future layoff. I feel better having some kind of a plan in place. It is scary to think about, but it is scarier not to think about it at this point. Better to know what we might be getting into.

I hate living with uncertainty. I always have. I just pray his job continues, even if it is at reduced hours. The medical insurance is the big thing. It is what absolutely leveled us last time. When you have people on life-saving drugs, it is sometimes the only thing.

$285.22 Tithe
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
__75.00 Household Envelope
_600.00 Autopays
__66.55 DH Life Insurance
__60.46 Me Life Insurance
1000.00 Emergency Fund
__50.00 Car Maintenance Fund
_100.00 Computer Fund
------------
2637.23 Total Money Out

While I am still putting money into the Car Maintenance Fund and the Computer Fund those will be available to be raided for additional Emergency Fund dollars if it comes down to that. I have no intention of buying a new laptop unless this thing gives up the ghost, but I would like to continue saving with it in mind and of course all bets are off if this lock down gets worse and it affects DH's job more than the cut hours. Looks like that was only for one week at this point and that was on today's paycheck. But it is possible that could happen again down the road.

The last couple of days have been really crazy, but we are as prepared as we can be to a hunker down in place order, which could come down at any moment. Inslee seems a little hesitant to shoot that arrow, but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't happen by the end of the weekend.

The banks are closed now except for drive-thru. Toilet paper is selling for $1 a roll. I am glad we got it before this mess started. I usually stock up quite a bit every couple of months or so, as I hate going to Costco. We also have our emergency squeeze water bottles and 48 brown wash cloths, with 2 buckets with lids to fall back on if what we have is not enough. And enough laundry soap to handle doing a load of those daily.

We have locked up all our outbuildings. One of them has a big chest freezer full of food and we decided not to leave that unlocked anymore. People on our neighborhood forum are already trying to suss out who has food and toilet paper. Yeah, it might be all innocent, but it might not be, either. There's a lot of "I'll come to your house if I run out," going around that forum for the people that do say something. That's not the sort of information you give out unless you are completely anonymous and there is no way to track you. Not in a situation like this where you might be targeted for what you have. They are also asking about whether or not people are armed, so it is not just me being paranoid.

I was able to get an at home nebulizer and medicine for it for my asthma and I did my first treatment and man, it feels great to take full breaths again. My bronchials haven't been like this in months. I was even able to go outside and do a little work in the garden with my son. I mostly supervised and kept him company, but I did shovel some compost for about 20 minutes. It was light-weight stuff. I saved the heavy stuff for DS. We didn't get it done, because the timer went off for dinner to come out of the oven, but we will work some more on it tomorrow.

As for the raised beds we got one of them weeded and we will weed the long bed tomorrow and maybe get some of the soil transferred to the one we did today and then transplant all of the strawberries into it and repeat with the other green bed. It has sunk so much over the winter, it really needs to be filled up. And since we are taking out the other beds the soil has to be moved.

I was not going to do a big garden this year, but as I look at what is going around in the world with this virus, I have changed my mind. There may be shortages. DS promises he will help with the upkeep. I went through all of my seeds to see what I have and there is plenty there so I don't have to order any seeds.

We can start planting parsnips, carrots, and radishes as soon as we get the beds ready and I can start cabbage, kohlrabi, and broccoli in the house under the grow light. We need to order seed potatoes and I need to get some bunching onions started as well. We do need to build some kind of thing to keep the deer out. I don't want them eating any of our food this year. I think I want individual cages on each garden bed. I also worry about keeping out people if things get really bad, but what are you going to do? It's all in the back yard, it's not really easy to see from the road, especially with all the cars in the driveway.

My order of seed pods for my Aerogarden finally processed today, so hopefully that means they will actually be shipped soon. The have completely sold out of the farm units. I wish I'd jumped the gun on that like I wanted to, but I still have the Bounty and will grow my lettuce there to save bed space. It takes 9 seed pots, so we shouldn't have to buy greens at all during the late spring and summer once it gets going. I bought a total of 27 pods so I can keep it going, into the fall and winter as well.

In more personal news with my eldest sister, it turns out that while the mass was benign, the uterus itself had stage 3 cancer. Makes me really glad I had a complete hysterectomy when I was 33. So now she has to deal with going down and getting further tests to make sure it hasn't spread anywhere else in her body. I thought this was all over with and she was free and clear, but she is not. She has moved in with us for the duration. It's a full house, but it is nice to have someone else around to keep Mom distracted. She behaves herself better when my sister is here, although that may change with it becoming more permanent. Pray for my sister if you would.

$431.17 Tithe
_500.00 Utilities
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
__75.00 Household Envelope
_115.17 Internet
__36.00 Garbage
_100.00 Car Insurance Fund
_100.00 Gas Money
_100.00 Blow Money Adults
_120.00 Kids' Allowances
_100.00 Gift/Christmas Envelope
_100.00 Clothing Envelope
1000.00 Citi
1000.00 Monster Mom Loan Payment
__78.00 Miscellaneous
-------------
4255.34 Total Money Out

I really wish I'd been well enough to cook in February. Our takeout expenses were through the roof. That's what the Citi payment was for. We had takeout nearly every night in February. And the next Citi payment will be for vacation. Some of which we will get back after as it is a damage deposit on the cottage. I have put the card away and we will go back to a normal amount of takeout in the future. It is what it is, but we are able to pay the card off in full and carry no interest. Sometimes health issues make for bad money choices, but people needed to eat, so what are you going to do? Pay the piper, that's what.

$5000.00 Balance Forward
-1000.00 Payment Made
-----------
$4000.00 New Balance

With the amount of overtime DH is getting, I think we will have this paid off in April, instead of May or June like we had figured at the beginning of the year. He got 15 this week which will be on the next paycheck and will get at least 10 this coming week, maybe 15 again, which will also be on the next paycheck.

I really hope the overtime continues for a while after that, too, because then we can get our three month's of income saved up for. We are about $1600 shy of one month's income. I know some people save for expenses, but I would rather have income. So that is $14,600 we need to save, which I will just round to $15,000.

With 20 hours of overtime per paycheck and keeping our takeout budget under control, we could save $1500 a paycheck, or 10 paychecks until goal. Without it, we could save $1000 a paycheck, or 15 paychecks. Either way we would have it this year, either by August or the end of October. And then we can finally start seriously saving on a down payment for a house, while slowing working towards getting the EF to six month's income.

And DH may get a raise in July. I don't know. When he got his last raise they said he wouldn't get another one before July of 2020, which would be 18 months from his last one. That doesn't mean he will get one, but his boss told him they wouldn't be able to ask the higher ups for one again until then. I am hoping there will be one, since he's really made himself invaluable. His boss says so and so does his boss's boss.

I will be glad when we can move out of here, but it will take a couple years of hard savings, so maybe by the end of 2023 or start of 2024. My eldest sister is going to move in when we move out so mom won't be alone. And so might one of my middle sister's sons. Actually he might move down here for a job and take up residence in the attic, which has two bedrooms and a storage area long before that. It has no heat, but he can use a space heater. The internet doesn't reach up there and it is only wired for 2 prong outlets and not very many, so it is not ideal, but beggar's can't be choosers.

There was 19 hours of overtime on DH's paycheck this pay period, which was an additional $1070.87 over the new normal pay period. Part of the $800 to Citi was the initial payment and deposit for our vacation in March. Some of it was the new baking supplies and the induction skillets and sauté pan and gluten free flours, a sweatshirt and dress for my DD, a dress and a pair of boots for my birthday, etc.

$425.72 Tithe
_500.00 Utilities
_400.00 Grocery Envelope
_100.00 Household Envelope
_280.00 Family Chiropractor Monthly Plan
_111.08 Internet
__36.00 Garbage
_100.00 Car Insurance Fund
_100.00 Gas Money
_100.00 Blow Money Adults
__90.00 Allowances Kids
1000.00 Monster Mom Loan
_800.00 Citi
_100.00 Gift Fund
-------------
4142.80 Total Money Out

Well, my Amazon order came today. Yes, I have been buying a lot of stuff recently, but it has all been planned and budgeted for. I got some new cooking and baking things, which was 2 skillets, a sauté pan, both of which are for induction cook tops but lined with ceramic for easy non-stick cooking (that copper stuff doesn't last), a pastry brush, 2 whisks, two dough scrapers (the pack of two was cheaper than buying one one), a set of 7 stainless steel measuring cups and 7 stainless steel measuring spoons with a leveler, a tortilla press, and 2 dough buckets with lids.

So now I can get started on making the gluten free fridge doughs. I really like the idea of doing this, making up a huge batch of dough that is good for up to ten days and then baking from it. I got two buckets so that I could have the bread dough going and the flatbread/pizza dough going at the same time. And the great thing about this system is that after five days it begins to take on a sourdough flavor.

I really like the idea of making dough once and then baking from it until you run out over several days. Making dough tomorrow is my project. I will do the pizza/flatbread dough first because I want to make Naan bread tomorrow for chicken shawarma.

I used to bake all the time to save money and even though the ingredients are more expensive than wheat flour, it is still much cheaper to make my own gluten free breads than to purchase them and of course I can get a greater variety by doing it myself and it will all be fresh, not frozen.