Getting Ready to Set Up Shop on Etsy

I've been working hard crafting for the past week making felt pins and quilted coasters all in an effort to have a few items to post for sale on Etsy.com.  I wish I could see better for close work.  My glasses just don't seem to cut it.  I bought one of those magnifiers that you put around your neck and rest on your chest, but I just couldn't maneuver around it to sew the tiny stitches necessary.  I'm going to try some of the cheap drugstore glasses as a visit to the optometrist is not in the budget right now.


My parents just had a pellet stove installed today in the hopes of saving money on heating oil in the future.  It is really pretty and feels so nice and cozy.  We are going to see how it goes for them in terms of saving and then perhaps consider installing one next year.


Purchased most of what I need to cook for Thanksgiving today.  On the menu:  turkey (of course), French Canadian meat stuffing, cornbread stuffing, turnip, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and apple pie.  Phew, I feel tired just thinking about it.  I cook for hours and the meal is over in 20 minutes.  Then we sit and talk for a while and move to the cleanup.  Fun.  I suppose the cleanup time gives our tummies time to digest and  make room for pie and coffee.  And don't forget the men drifting off to the couches!   


Have a great night and God bless.
Lisa

Juggling aka Multi-tasking

Well, yesterday was my weekly Walmart shopping.  The store was packed even though the weather was rainy and miserable.   I managed to spend under $150 which is good for me.

I have so many things going on right now in my life.  We're trying to save our home from foreclosure so I'm trying to save money as well as earn some money from home.  I've sold on Ebay.com for a couple of years now and manage to glean a few dollars from there, but my newest venture is trying to make and sell craft items.  I'm making things for a giant arts fair in our area on Nov. 6 and plan on also selling them on Etsy.com at some point.  

But my days are too short!  I'm running out of time and not getting half of what I need to do done.  So I've been getting books from the library to help me (if I even have time to open their cover).  One I'm reading now is "Life is a Verb" by Patti Digh.  It's about mindfulness in your life and being in the moment, something I'm definitely struggling with right now.

Time is so precious--I read somewhere that we are in a "time famine" and I truly believe that.  But I'm going to try to focus on each day and not let them all run into a big blur.  Good luck to me!

God Bless!

Lisa

Mommy's Big Adventure

Well, here it is, my very first blog post!  Bear with me as I begin this big adventure in my crazy life! 

 

As today is Thursday, that means "shopping day" at Walmart.  I really hate shopping, especially when I get my total at the register.  Now, it is even worse as I have very little money to spend as our family is on a super-tight budget.  We are trying to hang on to our home and have recently filed bankruptcy, so as I said, money is tight!

So my goal is to see how little I can spend and that, my friends, is no easy task for me!  I must confess that after 30 years of marriage, me (and my husband) are not very good with money.  We've always managed to get by and have had a nice basic life.  But we like to spend.  Not on big things, but small things.  Like pizza, or magazines, or fabric for sewing, or books (I am a bookaholic).  So going to Walmart is scary as I find too many things I would like to buy.  Not need, but want.  

So, I need to avert my eyes from the magazines at the front and go right by the craft department!  In fact, I think I should skip 3/4 of the store and go right to the food.  I must steel myself before I even set foot in the store.

I don't need to buy meat as I am trying to shop from my freezer and pantry right now.  So, for dinner, I'm thinking hot dogs (.99 each pkg) and some baked beans.  I'm thinking of trying a recipe for Coogootz (an old Italian recipe I found) that combines canned pork and beans along with zucchini and tomato sauce.  The hot dogs are my backup in case it's yucky!  

So, it's time to go!  I will post my finds at Walmart later today.

God Bless!

Lisa