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November 15th, 2015 at 07:36 am
I was unable to pick up my turkey today because the road to the farm was underwater. Fortunately they called me before I left so I didn't make a wasted trip. Assuming the flooding has gone down I will be able to pick it up next Saturday. I am actually kind of glad I did not have to drive down there as I am still not 100% out of the brain fog department from being sick. DH will be home to drive down next Saturday if I am still out of it by then. Let's hope not.
I guess there was flooding in our county as well. Now that I don't live anywhere near the river I don't pay as much attention to those sorts of things, but I guess the mountain got 19 inches of snow and then it rained and caused the river to go a foot over its banks. There hasn't been much local coverage of such things because everything is on the events in Paris.
Luna kindled today. She gave birth to 4 kits. Since she missed on the last two breedings, missing today would have been her 3rd strike. At which point she would have been taken out of the breeding program become a house bunny because she is a love and totally would adapt to being a pet. I had my suspicions it wasn't her, but the bucks she had been bred with. This was a different buck who has never failed and he did his job.
I am still waiting to see the results from Ruby (who is building a crazy big nest), Serena, and Kalia. I'm pretty sure Kalia is pregnant as she is so like the woman who is 2 weeks over due and just plops down and doesn't move and prays for it to just be done already. She is always like that the last week of her pregnancy. She did build a nest last week. Serena has also built a nest, but it's hard to tell with her. She's a slim rabbit and doesn't show when she's pregnant. She also missed last time for the first time, so hopefully she won't this time.
These will be the last births of the year as I won't breed any of them again until February.
Posted in
When Life Happens,
Ee ii ee ii oo
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4 Comments »
November 13th, 2015 at 07:39 pm
$2044.59 BOA Visa
___55.25 Garbage
__197.67 Christmas Fund
__300.00 Meat from the Farm
__200.00 Groceries
___50.00 Allowances
------------------------
$2847.51 Total Out
I probably won't spend all of that $200 this week since I just bought groceries yesterday. I just have one or two things to pick up that weren't at the other store.
The Visa was high this month because I had DH purchase all of his holiday travel tickets last month. Waiting too close to his travel dates at this time of year would mean his plane tickets would cost double of normal. So he bought 3 tickets on that month's Visa instead of the usual 1. Fortunately we are at a place in the budget where I was able to absorb that without too much of a blip.
I misplaced the Comcast bill for out internet. I need to find it. It's not due until the 21st. If I can't find it by the 18th, we will go in person and pay it. It is out near the airport and I'll be picking DH up that day so it won't be an extra trip. Usually I pay it at the start of the month, but as I had to pay some doctor bills then, I decided to wait until closer to the due date.
I never set it up to pay online as they charged a fee for online payments. I don't know if they still do now that online paying is becoming a norm, but the last thing I wanted to do was give them extra money. Plus I really didn't want them having the ability to just take money out of my account or off my card. I've heard too many horror stories about that company to let them have carte blanche.
I'll get it figured out, though. And look some more for the bill. It's got to be around here somewhere.
Posted in
,
Spending Journal,
Organize My Life,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing,
Is Budget a Four Letter Word?
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0 Comments »
November 13th, 2015 at 07:23 pm
$752.33 Starting Balance
+197.67 Deposit Added
---------------------
$950.00 New Balance
It feels good to have that out of the way. Now I can start my Christmas shopping and get it done with well in advance. I pick up our heritage turkey tomorrow for Thanksgiving. I included that in the Christmas Fund as I didn't really want to have two separate ones listed here for such a small thing. I call it the Christmas Fund, but I guess it is really the Holiday Fund.
Posted in
,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing
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2 Comments »
November 12th, 2015 at 07:26 pm
$743.33 Starting Balance
+_10.00 Weekly Deposit
-----------------
$753.33 Ending Balance
$197.67 to go.
Posted in
Goals,
,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing
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0 Comments »
November 11th, 2015 at 10:45 pm
I made it to the grocery store this morning without children, which is always so much cheaper to do. I bought everything on my list except one thing they didn't have and ended up getting some organic apples instead. I also bought a magazine. I had 2 good coupons for stuff on my list and saved $10.96 off my total. Since I mostly buy whole foods it is hard for me to use coupons at all, but I needed to stock up on some soup for DH and a condiment they had on the coupons. I ended up spending $135.02 total.
I have been shopping a lot at the new Safeway these last few months and I find I am saving a lot of money (about $300 per month). They are cheaper on most items. I almost never go into Haggen anymore. Their shelves are never fully stocked and it is frustrating to waste a trip there and only be able to get half the things on my list and still have to go elsewhere.
Between Safeway and Trader Joe's I can pretty much get everything but the filler free lunch meat. I will stop at Haggen and check if I am going by anyway and if they have the lunch meat (sometimes they are out of roast beef) pick some up. But I no longer go there specifically. It's a shame. They used to be such a good store a few years ago before the original owners sold it off.
After I shopped, I stopped at the Safeway gas station and bought gas. I had 5 points on my Safeway card so got 50 cents off per gallon. I also used cash so got an additional 10 cents off per gallon over the credit card price. I got 15.695 gallons at $1.81 a gallon, spending a total of $28.55. I timed it perfectly so that the majority of my October shopping points still counted and I had almost a completely empty tank of gas. Go me.
Posted in
Spending Journal,
Vehicle Expenses,
Grocery Shopping
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5 Comments »
November 11th, 2015 at 06:43 am
As exhausted as I am, and as sick as I still am, I am doing better on the antibiotics. Better enough to have cooked for the past 7 days. A week without takeout feels like a major milestone at this point. Now granted, some of the meals were pretty simple, just heating up food I'd previously frozen, like lasagna, or homemade TV dinners, but even so, no money wasted on takeout.
I have so much to do still, though. I need to clean up the garden beds I haven't gotten to yet. I've got rabbits due to kindle this coming weekend, but I've prepared their nesting boxes and given them to them, so now it's just a wait for it thing. I need to get their trays changed though. I did half of them on Sunday and need to get the other half done tomorrow. DS doesn't have school so we should be able to do it pretty quickly.
I finally made it through 3 hampers of laundry today, 4 loads of which were towels, and 2 loads of which were clothes. I think we have too many towels, but I guess it was good when I was too sick to do the laundry. I have one load of clothes and sheets left to do for me and then there is another hamper full of DH's stuff, but he won't be home until the 18th, so that can slide if needed.
I will have to drag myself to the store tomorrow as we are out of milk and I have a small list of other things to pick up. Then I have to pick up a prescription. I haven't gone out since Friday, so it'll be nice to get out of the house. Cabin fever, I think. I may go to water aerobics if I can drag myself out of bed in the morning. No school so I don't have to. Haven't done water aerobics since Tuesday of last week. I miss it, but it's hard when you have brain fog from an illness to move in the mornings.
We may be pulling DS from school and homeschooling again. I've found a good program that is heavily video based which he needs. He still hasn't recovered all of what he lost with the concussion several years ago, so lots of reading is just hard on him. But this combines words on the screen being read aloud and he just does so much better that way. He learns very well from hearing or hands on work and he can still memorize easily, but his reading is so slow. It's been over 3 years so I'm not sure he'll ever get that back.
He's just been so sick this school year he has missed more days than he's gone. By a lot. School is making him sick with all its sick kids and germs and then he comes home and gets me and his sister sick and I think for all our sakes it may be the right thing to do. He also complains that his math teacher can't keep control of the class so it is hard for him to concentrate. Math is usually his best subject and he enjoys it, but he just can't focus.
We'll make the decision one way or the other by the end of the week. The program is $100 a month, but I think that is worth it for our health and his ability to go at his own pace. I know he'll race through some things and go slow on others, but he'll be allowed to, unlike in public school. He'll also be able to take AP classes if he wants to, which are only offered before school currently at his high school.
Once he turns 16 in March he can join me and his sister at water aerobics, too, so he can get his PE credits that way. Or do the home school PE program at the gym. There is one.
It's a lot to take on homeschooling again, but I think this program will be far less hands on for me than the one we did before. I'll likely only have to baby-sit him through English. And we'll get a transcript from it so if he ends up going back his senior year to get a diploma things will transfer. Although I think he might be able to get a diploma through this program, too. I don't remember for sure as I have looked at a lot of curricula this week.
It would be nice not to have to be a slave to the school schedule anymore. Better all around for all of us.
Posted in
,
Just Rambling
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3 Comments »
November 9th, 2015 at 08:41 pm
Monday:
Baked chicken
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Broccoli/cauliflower
Orange/banana/yogurt smoothie
Tuesday:
Chicken Tortellini with homemade ugly sauce
Garlic bread
Salad
Pineapple
Wednesday:
Beef pot roast
Mashed potatoes and gravy (leftovers)
Green Beans
Orange/banana/yogurt smoothie
Thursday:
Sloppy Hoppies on Kaiser rolls
Sweet potato fries
Coleslaw
Grapes
Friday:
Rabbit stew with carrots and potatoes
Fresh baked bread
Coleslaw
Strawberry/banana/yogurt smoothie
Saturday:
Homemade pizza with pepperoni, ham, onions, bell peppers, and fresh basil leaves
Pineapple
Sunday:
BBQ pulled pork on Kaiser rolls
Fried potatoes
Green Beans
Strawberry/banana/yogurt smoothie
Posted in
Meal Planning
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5 Comments »
November 6th, 2015 at 10:47 pm
$662.33 Starting Balance
+_81.00 (Egg Money, Farm Sales, Coin Jar)
-----------------
$743.33 Ending Balance
$206.67 to go.
This weekend I will go to pick up my Thanksgiving turkey and pay the balance, so I'll deduct that amount from my end goal once I know what it is. I should have this account fully funded by November 20th. Then I can get to work actually buying the Christmas presents and have it done hopefully by the beginning of December.
The kids already know what they want. I want to get a strum stick and perhaps a small TV and DVD player for the bedroom. We don't have a TV anymore and I do get a little tired of watching DVD's on the computer. I think DH knows what he wants. Then it'll just be shopping for MIL and FIL, SIL, and one niece, since the other is now 20 and has aged out of our buying gifts. We don't exchange with my mother.
I think I'd like to have a small tree this year, and maybe a wreath for our door, but we'll see. It is hard to have a tree when we only have 1000 square feet of space and most of it is otherwise occupied.
Posted in
Goals,
,
Extra Income Sources,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing
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3 Comments »
November 5th, 2015 at 11:25 pm
$652.33 Starting Balance
+_10.00 Weekly Deposit
-----------
$662.33 New Balance
$287.67 to go.
Posted in
Goals,
,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing
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0 Comments »
November 2nd, 2015 at 05:43 am
Monday:
Spaghetti with Homemade Sauce and Meatballs
Salad
Grapes
Tuesday:
Baked chicken
Baked sweet potatoes
Broccoli/cauliflower
Pineapple
Wednesday:
Stir-fried chicken, peppers, and onions
Salad
Apples
Thursday:
Southern Fried Rabbit
Baked potatoes
Broccoli/cauliflower
Oranges
Friday:
Bacon rabbit cheeseburgers
Fried potatoes
Salad
Canned nectarines
Saturday:
Homemade pizza with pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, and fresh basil
Cole slaw
Sunday:
Rabbit stew
Green Beans
Pineapple
Posted in
Meal Planning
|
0 Comments »
November 2nd, 2015 at 05:38 am
$620.84 Starting Balance
+_31.49 Interest Added
----------------
$652.33 New Balance
$297.67 to go. This is moving along nicely.
Posted in
,
Extra Income Sources,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing
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0 Comments »
October 30th, 2015 at 01:56 am
$610.84 Starting Balance
+_10.00 Weekly Deposit
----------------
$620.84 New Balance
$329.16 to go. I think I will have this fully funded by the end of November.
Posted in
Goals,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing
|
2 Comments »
October 28th, 2015 at 11:19 pm
$555.84 Starting Balance
+_55.00 Deposit (Egg Money, Coin Jar)
---------------
$610.84 New Balance
$339.16 left to go.
Posted in
Holiday Planning and Purchasing
|
1 Comments »
October 25th, 2015 at 09:26 pm
And I am glad that a new week is starting. I had such a bad cold this week. It's my own fault. I accidentally grabbed my son's nasal spray and not mine and 2 days later, BAM, I was in misery. On Wednesday I wasn't sure I was ever going to feel better again, but by Thursday morning my fever had broken. I am still pretty stuffy headed, but am doing so much better.
I didn't exercise at all this week. I will be glad to get into the pool again tomorrow, although I am sure I will be sore afterwards. And I am going to go sit in the sauna afterwards and try to bake the rest of this thing out of me.
I did really well, though, on the food front. No eating out at all, finally, for a whole week. Of course when you are too sick to drive anywhere, that helps with the whole will-power situation. I had been going out at least once per week to get take out. I don't know, but that needs to stop. Twice a month is enough, especially with our savings goals.
Anyway, here is the plan for this week.
Sunday:
Baked chicken
Baked yams
Green beans
Grapes
Monday:
Pork chops
Broccoli/Cauliflower
Fried Potatoes
Grapes
Tuesday:
Southern Fried Rabbit
Baked potatoes
Green beans
Oranges
Wednesday:
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Garlic bread
Salad
Apples
Thursday:
Baked chicken tortellini
Garlic Bread
Green Beans
Canned nectarines
Friday:
Homemade pizza with pepperoni, salami, sausage, onions, peppers, basil, mozzarella, parmesan, romano, homemade pizza sauce
Salad
Saturday:
Bacon rabbit cheeseburgers
French fries
Cole slaw
Canned pineapple
Sunday:
Rabbit stew
Salad
Applesauce
Posted in
Meal Planning
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2 Comments »
October 24th, 2015 at 08:23 pm
$50.00 Initial Deposit
$350.00 to go.
Posted in
Goals,
,
Laptop Fund
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0 Comments »
October 24th, 2015 at 08:21 pm
$32,000.00 Starting Balance
+_1000.00 Deposit Added
-----------------
$33,000.00 New Balance
$47,000.00 to go.
Posted in
|
0 Comments »
October 24th, 2015 at 08:19 pm
$455.84 Starting Balance
+100.00 Deposit Added
-----------------
$555.84 New Balance
$394.16 to go.
Posted in
Goals,
,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing
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0 Comments »
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:45 pm
I just filled up my gas tank for $1.86 a gallon. I had 30 points on my Safeway card since I've spent $300 there this month. So that was 30 cents off per gallon, and then I used cash which made it an additional 10 cents off per gallon. So while Safeway's regular gas price won't beat Costco's regular gas price, with points and cash discount, it is 20 cents cheaper to get it at Safeway. Plus Safeway is only a mile from my house and not on the other side of town.
I am thinking hard about letting my Costco card go when it expires in March. I keep it mostly for buying organic olive oil, butter, toilet paper, organic brown rice, organic sugar, organic tomato sauce and paste, organic frozen broccoli, and organic chicken.
But...we have a freezer full of chicken we grew this year. I now have enough spaghetti sauce canned for a year from my garden. I could stock up on a year's supply of olive oil, butter, tomato paste, brown rice, sugar and frozen broccoli right before it expires. I don't have to renew it and I can revisit the idea in a year of using the membership. Or my FIL and MIL have a membership so we could have them pick up what we need when we need it.
I used to buy cheese there, but Safeway's sales and often their regular prices are better than Costco's regular price. I am finding a lot of things that is true on. I know if I watch sales I can probably find Charmin for cheaper and find coupons for it. And when we run out of chicken, Trader Joe's does have less expensive organic chicken nowadays.
Another reason I am thinking of dropping Costco is that they will no longer be partnering with AMEX, which means I'd have to get another credit card and I don't want to.
It's just that the many things that used to be selling points for a Costco membership are now being chipped away at and as prices rise it just no longer seems the bargain it once was. The parking is atrocious and it's just getting to the point where it is not really worth it anymore.
Posted in
Cutting Expenses,
Vehicle Expenses,
Just Rambling
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11 Comments »
October 22nd, 2015 at 06:32 pm
$445.84 Starting Balance
+_10.00 Weekly Deposit
--------------------
$455.84 New Balance
$494.16 to go. I'm almost to the halfway point.
Now I need to go and recreate my budget spreadsheets. *sighs* I've been putting it off, but can't do that any longer.
Posted in
,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing
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0 Comments »
October 22nd, 2015 at 05:03 pm
I was interviewed last month by The Homestead Nation and it went up on youtube on Tuesday night. It talks about how I am raising meat animals, a big garden, and trying to be as self-sufficient as possible on half an acre in the city and what brought me on this journey. It was a really fun interview. Brad and Tommy are great.
I have found The Homestead Nation to be an excellent resource for all kinds of information in regards to this lifestyle. They also cover some preparedness issues. If anyone is interested in seeing it, it is here:
Text is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQfQYj60EIQ and Link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQfQYj60EIQ
It's a little over half an hour long, so make sure you have a chunk of time if you are going to watch it.
Posted in
Ee ii ee ii oo,
Sustainable Living,
Towards Healthier Living
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4 Comments »
October 21st, 2015 at 10:40 pm
Why does our society have to be so throw it away? I have been trying for the last 10 days or so to replace the charger cord for my laptop. My laptop is only 3 years old. This should not be an issue. First I started by going to Toshiba direct and entering in my laptop model number in their search engine and them telling me that yes, we can replace that part. So they sent me the charger that was supposedly compatible. It's not. It's for the computers that came out the next model year.
Right after I bought my laptop, they decided to go to a universal type of charger for Toshibas. Mine is not one of those, it is still from when every model year had a different charger, but their search engine thinks it is. *sighs* So then I had to go through all of the rigamarole of trying to get a hold of their customer service. After a few days, I got that sorted out and finally got the mailing label to send it back to them.
Meanwhile I had ordered a different charger off of Amazon, that assured it was the correct one for my laptop, listing the model number in their title and everything. It even showed the correct tip in the photograph. It was not the one they sent me. That was, of course, just like the wrong one Toshiba sent me. They didn't actually have one that works with my laptop. At least getting a return mailing label from them was simple. So now I have two packages that I need to go drop off at the FedEx/UPS store (or Fed Up as I like to call it).
The universal chargers that Insignia and Targus makes do not have the right tip for my charger. Targus is supposed to have more tips available, but they haven't gotten back to me five days later, so I consider them to be a dead end.
We found a charger on e-bay and double checked with the guy with both the computer model number and the charger model number and he said it was the correct one, so here is hoping.
I will be so frustrated if I can't use my laptop, a perfectly good laptop with my beloved Windows 7 on it, anymore because I can't charge it. It has all of my spreadsheets on it. I have some of them backed up, but not the last few months, so I would have to recreate a lot of information. I pulled off what I could before the last 20 minutes of battery power drained.
I know we could take the hard drive out and transfer it, but I just love my old laptop. It has the wonderful keyboard and everything is set just the way I like it. Plus I just installed new software on it with only one license. Ugh.
Posted in
When Life Happens
|
2 Comments »
October 17th, 2015 at 09:40 pm
Water Aerobics: 45 minutes
Water Weights: 15 minutes
Laps: 16 in 30 minutes
Total exercise: 90 minutes
I was really happy to find out that during lap swim on Saturdays and Sundays they are completely dead. I had the whole pool to myself while I was swimming laps after my class. Someone did finally come in to swim laps as I was changing afterwards. This is great because I hate swimming when it is crowded.
I did 4 water aerobics classes this week, 2 with the weights during the last 15 minutes. There are no classes tomorrow, so I will go and swim laps. I did not want to get out of the pool today. It makes me feel so good. I didn't realize how much I missed swimming laps. It is so peaceful and calm and I love the way the sunlight looks on the bottom of the pool as it streams through the window. It makes me feel like I am somewhere tropical.
I am sleeping better and I did learn that if I go in the hot tub after I get out of the pool and get warmed back up, I don't have the huge, ravenous must eat now response when I get home, but on days I don't use the hot tub, I get that. I mean, I still want to eat lunch, but it doesn't feel like I must eat everything I see. I think that happens because the fastest way for the body to warm up is to eat.
This club membership is definitely paying for itself. I don't know if I will be going 7 days a week. 4 for sure, but with attempts for more. I am careful to do only what my knee allows and wear my knee brace in the water, but I can already feel some strength returning to my knee.
The only downside is that I have to wash my hair and dry it every time I use the pool and I'll have to spend more money on conditioner or there will be some serious damage. Still, it is so worth it. At least my hair is still above my shoulders so it won't be like it was when my hair was at my waist. Although I am growing it back out at least long enough to put into a pony tail.
I am having to spend some money now on some things related to swimming.
$12 goggles
$57 for a second swimsuit
$12 for a big beach sized towel
I still need to purchase a second knee brace and a second beach towel. With two of everything I can alternate use and stuff can dry naturally so I'm not having to launder it every day or put on a wet suit.
I also spent $60 on new bras. It would have been twice that except for the sale and discount I got them on (thanks to Laura). I have really been needing them with the weight loss but was holding off because I need very supportive ones without underwire and they are expensive. I had to buy new underwear last week. Mine was falling off. I guess that is a good reason, right?
Posted in
Spending Journal,
Towards Healthier Living
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3 Comments »
October 16th, 2015 at 06:40 am
$435.84 Starting Balance
+_10.00 Weekly Deposit
-------------------
$445.84 New Balance
It looks like DH may be getting some overtime, so I may have this fully funded by the end of the month. That would be nice.
Posted in
,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing
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2 Comments »
October 8th, 2015 at 10:03 pm
We made the decision last week to go back to the athletic club we used to go to before we got serious about paying off the van (which was paid off in March or April). It's $109 a month for the 4 of us. It is more expensive than other gyms, but other gyms don't have pools and that is where I need to do that majority of my exercise due to my knee.
Today my daughter and I completed our fourth water aerobics class. I never did one of these the last time we were members and I have to say that we are both having a really good time with it. I was really sore the first two times, but I don't have that anymore.
The only thing I don't like is that there is a different teacher for every class. Some of the knee work is a little challenging, but we all go at our own pace and I don't do any jumping from just that leg and so far I am doing well. I feel stronger and I feel like my leg is getting better. I also am sleeping better.
I just wish my coordination was better. For someone who has great rhythm when it comes to playing musical instruments, I seem to have some issues with making my feet do something that my arms aren't doing as well. Like feet in and out when arms are going up and down. If my arms go in and out while my feet go in and out I'm fine.
I hope to start swimming laps again soon, but I would have to do that at night time or at 6 a.m.. Which is okay, but means I have to get all the farm chores done either later or earlier. But I always love swimming laps. It makes me feel so energized.
The only other thing I can really do at the club is the recumbent bike. Well, I could do the weight machines, but I don't want to. I will when I get stronger, probably. I'd like to strengthen my quads and the muscles around the knee cap. We do some work with weights in water aerobics, though, so there is some resistance training going on.
I hope this exercise will help with the weight loss. I've been stalled since the big loss earlier this year. I'd really like to see it going down again, which is why I'm not much fussed about spending the $109 each month for the club. Why do I always forget how good I feel after exercising? And while exercising?
Posted in
Spending Journal,
Towards Healthier Living
|
6 Comments »
October 8th, 2015 at 08:55 pm
$345.84 Starting Balance
+_10.00 Weekly Deposit
+_67.00 Rabbit Money
+_13.00 Coin Jar Money
---------------------
$435.84 New Balance
$514.16 left to hit my goal of $950 (revised down from $1000 since I put a $50 deposit down for my turkey).
Posted in
Goals,
,
Holiday Planning and Purchasing,
Ee ii ee ii oo,
Emergency Fund/Coin Jar
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1 Comments »
October 5th, 2015 at 09:55 pm
Monday:
Teriyaki Beef short ribs
Acorn squash (from the garden)
Strawberries (from the garden)
Salad (from the garden)
Tuesday:
Garlic Butter Chicken
Baked sweet potatoes
Broccoli and cauliflower
Apple
Wednesday:
Beef Pot roast
Roasted Zucchini and Summer Squash (from the garden)
Baked potatoes (from the garden)
Watermelon (from the garden)
Thursday:
Herb roasted rabbit (home raised)
Fried potatoes (from the garden)
Green beans (from the garden)
Home canned nectarines
Friday:
Sloppy Hoppies (home raised rabbit) on homemade buns
Cole slaw (cabbage from the garden)
Canned pineapple
Saturday:
Spaghetti with home grown and homemade spaghetti sauce and rabbit meatballs
Garlic bread
Oranges
Sunday:
Barbecue Rabbit Wings
Leftover vegetables from the week
Applesauce
Posted in
Meal Planning,
Towards Healthier Living
|
3 Comments »
October 5th, 2015 at 09:45 pm
I am just a wee bit behind there.
$500.00 Loan to Mom
$400.00 Mom's Utilities
__47.86 Life Insurance DH
__44.66 Life Insurance Me
__84.32 Car Insurance
_204.00 Meat from Farm
__50.00 Allowances
__65.03 Groceries
_205.00 Storage
__48.71 50 pounds of no spray potatoes for canning
__16.00 25 pounds of no spray carrots for canning
__15.00 20 no spray bell peppers for freezing
___5.00 10 pounds of no spray onions for freezing
----------------------
$1685.58 Total Money Out
Posted in
Spending Journal,
Paying the Bills
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0 Comments »
October 4th, 2015 at 06:50 am
I earned $67 today selling a rabbit to the lady at the farm we buy meat from sometimes. I also spent $204 buying bacon and pork chops. We got quite a bit of it. Part of the $204 was that we put down a $50 deposit on our turkey to be picked up 11/14.
The rabbit money will go into the Christmas Fund, but I'll also be able to lower the fund goal to $950 since I already spent $50 on the turkey. I also need to track down another heritage turkey for the holidays, since I couldn't raise any this year. I think we definitely will next year, though.
Posted in
Holiday Planning and Purchasing,
Ee ii ee ii oo
|
2 Comments »
October 3rd, 2015 at 01:32 am
I'm having to switch rabbit feed and I'm not happy about it. But I can't get it here without an exorbitant shipping cost. The only way for the shipping to even be reasonable would be to buy 29 fifty pound bags at once. I have the capacity to store 15 bags at the moment.
In order to store 29 I would have to purchase 5 more containers capable of storing 150 pounds in each. I can't leave them on a pallet in the garage because we'll get mice. They have to be in chew proof containers. And we don't have the space to store 5 more bins anyway. Even if I could, it would take too long to get through the feed. It would be very stale and have the possibility of going rancid by the time we went through so much feed.
With the buying club having gone under, I can't reasonably get the organic feed anymore. So we are switching back to the feed we were buying before, which is about 33% of the cost of the organic feed. I hate the idea of going back onto a feed that might have GMOs in it, but there is not much I can do at this point. I will investigate other options, but at least getting this type of feed will buy us time. They do, at least, attempt to get non-GMO ingredients for their feeds, they just can't guarantee it.
I do have to admit it will be nice to see the feed bill drop by so much.
Posted in
Cutting Expenses,
Ee ii ee ii oo
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6 Comments »
October 1st, 2015 at 09:54 pm
Our back up refrigerator went out earlier this week. Because we use it a lot during harvest time and butchering time, which is now, it is really bad not to have the extra fridge/freezer combo. Since it went out after we had butchered 28 chickens, but before we cut up and froze the meat, it was a somewhat urgent situation. Not totally urgent because the meat was in ice and water in coolers, but that is only good for so long.
We priced new low end fridges and the best price we could find on one of those was $479 plus $42.63 in sales tax. That was way more than we wanted to spend. We went to an estate clearance place because they had a fridge for $159, but it smelled like freezer burn, which in my mind makes me think it will cause serious freezer burn. Plus it was ancient. Not all was lost there, though, because I did find a double boiler for $16.95. I have been looking high and low for one for my salve making and haven't been able to find one and didn't want to buy the expensive ones on Amazon.
We also went to a place that refurbishes used fridges, but they do a ten day testing period and while they had a half dozen fridges, they were all 1 to 3 days into the testing period.
The place that clearances previous model years were all over $500. There were quite a few on Craigslist, some for $200, some for new prices even though they were used. Most of them did not have the right dimensions for the space, though.
Finally we went to the Habitat for Humanity resale store and they had several fridges in working condition. Only two met our dimensions and one of those the freezer part was way too small. So that narrowed it down to one off-white side by side that was perfect for our needs. Grand total spent: $75. Well under what we wanted to spend and helped to support a good charity.
It works great, too. It may not be pretty, but a back up fridge in the laundry room does not have to be. And it's not ugly. It's just not pretty. I am really happy we found it. I would really not have been happy to have to have bought 2 brand new refrigerators in the space of 12 months.
It also does have the hook ups to have filtered water in the door. Obviously we can't do that here, but we might be able to do that in the future after we move. It's an option, anyway. I am very happy with what we managed to find with a lot of legwork and some outside the box thinking.
Posted in
Appliance Antics and Household Purchases,
Spending Journal
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1 Comments »
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