Another Month

I am amazed at how fast January went by! Life gets busy and time flies by without us even taking notice until its gone.

We have been very busy with the girls and Basketball Season. We have had a tournament every weekend this entire month. Needless to say one of us (the resedent 4 yr. old) have had enough and have firmly stated that they will stay with Aunt Kim and go to no more games!

Hubby has had no luck on the job front. There is just nothing out there! A few times he has went to places that said he was a day late.... Spring will be here soon enough and we will be back in the hay business and having no free time. I keep thinking, if we can make it through this winter, then we should be able to save enough money this summer to get us through next winter and if a winter jobs comes around next year it will just make it less tight financially.

Our grocery bill has went from 70-100 dollars a week down to 20! I have been able to do this using the WIC Program, and the meat we grew or hunted. That is a nice feeling.

I am trying to focus on all the things we have instead of what we are doing without. There are lots more people out there that are doing it well on much less. So I am counting my blessings!!!

January went by in a blur, I am going to try and make an effort to find something everyday in February to take notice of. Slow things down a bit and enjoy this life.

Christmas Vacation Is Over....

Today was the first day back to school for almost all of us here on the farm. I had to go back to work, Jesse and Boo went back to school. Shannon stayed home with daddy. She is feeling much better (Sick since Dec 26th) but I am a big fan of an extra day of rest once you feel better. My mom use to do that for us, and I really think it works.

I also started to get back on track with my eating and start this year off on a healthy new foot. I have a huge Sugar Detox headache, but like my daddy use to tell me at 5am building fence after coming home wayyyy after curfew.... YOU WANT TO DANCE YOUNG LADY, YOU HAVE TO PAY THE FIDDLER!

Well I have danced with Fudge, Cookies, Chips, Dip, and loads of other none healthy foods since Thanksgiving. Now its time to pay the fiddler.

On a lighter note...

On a happier note the girls are getting along so well it makes me wonder what they are up to?? Last night Jesse actually invited Boo to go into her room to listen to music and do each others nails…. Who are these people and what have they done with my kids?

$20.00 to my name and no payday until January, 30th

Breaks down, that’s five dollars a week. I did go to the WIC office to see if we could participate in the program and thank goodness we qualify. I got my first set of vouchers good from 12/30 – 1/11 here is what we get.

WIC Food Package

Milk- 3 gallons + 1 Quart
2 loaves 100% whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortillas or corn tortillas
36 oz cereal
1 dozen eggs
1 lb. cheese
1 lb beans or 18 oz. jar Peanut Butter
2 -64 oz 100% Juice frozen or bottled
$6.00 Voucher for fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables

With a little creativity I think I can make this last the month. I have powdered milk in the freezer, so if I make 50/50 milk (half gallon fresh milk mixed with half a gallon re-constituted powder milk) I can get 2 gallons from 1 gallon of fresh that will make 6 gallons for the month that will be little more than a gallon a week.

Since all the kids eat breakfast and lunch at school I think I will get it in tortillas so that I can make tacos, enchiladas, and other Mexican favorites the whole family loves.

I think I can get the most out of that $6.00 vegetable voucher if I am smart. I can get canned vegetables. Tomatoes, green beans and corn are pretty affordable. Cabbage, onions, carrots and celery are good staples that are usually at an affordable price. I did read that you can go over on your vegetable voucher and pay the difference with cash.

Making a dozen eggs and a pound of cheese stretch a month is going to be hard. I guess we just wont use as much as we use to. That is all we can do.

I checked the propane tank, we are at 30% it’s a bit low but if we only use it for hot water and cooking we should get by. I just need to make sure that we can get fuel in February.

Happy New Year!

2010... What will this new year bring us?

I really don't know but it is starting out a little tougher than years past. I hear in the news that the recession is coming to an end, and that a better tomorrow is just around the corner. I know that things will get better, its just a matter of when???

Right now we are trying to live on $850.00 dollars a month and its not working to well. Hubby is trying to find work, and not having to much luck in that area. He had found a few odd jobs here and there, enough to keep the "Wolves" away but its getting scary.

I said in a previous post that I had to come up with a plan. So far this is what I have came up with.

1. Keep the Faith! I will remember that " The will of God, will not take us anywhere that the Grace of God, can not keep us!"

2. Get organized! Going through "Junk Drawers" and cupboards and putting things back in there proper places will save us all time and money. If we know where the items are that we need we will not think we need to buy them.

3. Save where I can.

If anyone has any tips that will help feel free to post away.

Another Christmas done and gone...

The once glorious tree gleaming with twinkling lights, silver and gold ball, and carefully placed ornaments, is now looking a bit worse for ware. It is resembling a middle aged man who is thinning on top, a bit to round in the middle, and is grasping desperately to resemble his former glory.

My children, who only 48 hrs. ago where chaneling the arc angel himself, have now slipped back to there former selves who have gone deaf to my requests to dump the trash or take kitchen scraps out to the chickens.

The 3 yr old who was working so hard at staying on the "Nice List" has came down with a bug of some kind, and is making everyone in ear shot suffer right along with her.... If Shannon isn't feeling good, aint no one feeling good!!!

25 days of "Peace on Earth, good will to man" and with little to no fan fair it is all placed neatly (or not so neatly) in the box under the bed to rest for 358 days, and we are launched back to the real world of a sluggish economy, bill's that must be paid, and to much month and not enough money.

The job market is not good, we are now trying to live on a fourth of what is needed to make bills. I am going to see if we can get back on WIC. That was a big help last year, I hope we can do it again.

I am working on a plan.... I will post it once I get it all figured out...stay tuned for more "Feeling the Pinch" tips and ideas I am working on.

Recaping 2009

Yes, it's that time of year again…Garlands on the mantel...Cookies in the oven...Voices raised in joyous song...Isn't Christmas wonderful? Granted I have yet to set foot in a department store, or fight to find a parking spot at the mall. All the same I am filled with a wonderful feeling of Christmas Cheer! Maybe it's because the house is filled with the excitement of the season that only a 3 year old trying so hard to stay on the Nice List can bring. Or it could be the "Christmas Cheer" that is making my eggnog so wonderfully delicious!

I thought it would be nice to recap the 2009 year and so we start out in January with a cruise to Mexico! They don't call it a "Fun Ship" because there is nothing to do, that's for sure! Everyone had a good time. It was on this ship that we came to realize it might be a good idea to put Shannon into Pre-School where she could play with kids her own age. She was very upset to find not everyone "Minds Her" the way her mom and dad do.

For the next few months we where totally occupied with Basketball season, 4-H Projects, the County Fair and Softball. Jessica had a good basketball season, no broken bones, twisted ankles, or jammed finger to report. However we had lots of bruises, and Jessica is sure that every referee in the county is out to get her.

Both girls took animals to the fair this year. Jessica took a hog and Becca took a lamb. I even entered a few items myself. We all did well bring home blue ribbons, and lots of dirty clothes. During the year I took a job with a local high school filling in for there cafeteria cook while she recovered from surgery. I had lots of fun and really enjoyed the work.

Soon enough summer came and we where knee deep in the hay season and my darling husband was super busy with everything he has to do to get the hay off the fields. What better time for the girls and I to go on a Road Trip! We packed up the Ol' 4 Runner and headed north!

We made our way up I-5 and found ourselves at the Forest Edge Bed and Breakfast, aka my sister in laws house. I highly recommend the Alexander Suite, it is wonderful! While we where up there Jessica had her 14th birthday. What better way to say “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” than a day trip to Forks, Washington to see if we could find any vampires or werewolves. Sadly we didn't run into Edward Cullen or Jacob Black, but we did see some beautiful sights in the Olympic Rain Forest.

In August summer vacation was coming to an end and I got a phone call asking if I would be interested in a permanent position at the school I was working at earlier in the year as the manager of the kitchens and cook for the high school. I said yes, and joined the ranks of working moms across the nation. I really enjoy the job, I get to cook for 100 hungry kids everyday!

In October, my darling hubby was able to go on a Deer & Elk hunt in Idaho. He had a successful hunt and filled both tags.

Which brings us here at the holidays once again, and the start of another basketball season. Both Jessica and Becca are playing this year. Our schedule is a bit crazy but we are enjoying ourselves all the same!

Well that about sums up our year. My eggnog is almost gone and I think I have occupied enough of your time.

We would like to wish you the very best for the New Year. May you be blessed with good health and lots of happy memories to share the next time we are together!