Shoes

I saw this woman on tv who had an entire closet bigger than my room (I do not kid, my room is 10' 6" x 6' 6") full of shoes and purses. Sure they were nicely organized, but what does one need all those shoes for?

I have:
black snow boots
black dress flats (paid $9 at Walmart 10 years ago, and I love these shoes)
black dress shoes with slight chunk heel (my newest pair, bought at Payless,$25)
black slip on shoes (from Kohl's, had three years, paid $20)
tan New Balance sneakers (bought in 2008, about $60)
brown leather handmade moccasins (bought in 2010 for $50.)

The snow boots rarely get worn. My dress shoes are for church, weddings, and special occasions. I wear the slip on shoes daily. I wear my sneakers for walks, exercise, and cleaning. The moccasins, although I love, I do not wear often. They have no soles, and if it rains or snows your feet will get wet.

I also have two pairs of slippers that I wear around the house.

My boys each have a pair of snow boots, plus two pairs of sneakers. They wear their sneakers everyday, even to church and other special events. I did buy them nicer shoes at one point and they never wore them, so it is not a battle I wish to fight.

I feel so blessed for the shoes we do have.

Hope this wasn't the most boring post you have ever read.

-Becky

41 Followers

Yeah to 41 followers. I want to thank you all for reading my blog. Also thanks for the prayers and comments. Have a great day!

-Becky

Tattoos

When I came to know the Lord I wondered if God was against tattoos. I came to the conclusion that if your need for tattoos comes before Him or if you get tattoos that are against what He stands for then yes, they can be a sin (just like ANYTHING else you put before Him.)

That being said I do have a few.

I got my first tattoo when I was 15 years old. (My parents had no clue, I went in, said I was 18, no questions asked. This was 17 years ago.) It is a blue tear drop on my big toe on my right foot.



I got my second tattoo when I was 19. I wanted something to celebrate my new found relationship with the Lord. I wanted a visual reminder. It is an anklet of Jesus fish. It is black.


I got my third tattoo last year. I wanted something for the peace of Christ and to remind me of His promises. It is a dove in my favorite color, turquoise. It also has an olive branch in its mouth just like one of the doves Noah sent out. It is on my back, closer to my right shoulder.


I will admit, although I like the second, it is not very good. The fish links are not even, and most people have no idea what it is supposed to be. Not much I can do about that now (I know it can be removed, but it is very costly and still leaves a scar.)

The third is my favorite, I especially like the color.

I am pretty sure that I will not get any more tattoos. Especially since after getting the last one I really started to question the dye they use. I don't let my kids eat food with artificial dye and I also try to avoid them. Yet I now have dye permanently in my skin. Not sure if or how bad this is, but for now I am done.

What are your thoughts? Do you have any tattoos? Also did you think I had any?

-Becky

Lost a follower

I lost a follower. Not sure who. I hope it was one of the followers that are just made for advertising purposes. And yes I am sensitive so losing a follower it is a slight ding to my self esteem. I know I am ridiculous, but that's who I am.

-Becky

Oops

Made a mistake. Overdrew my account by $17, but bounced two things and now owe the bank $68 in fees. Stupid mistakes. One thing was .05 short and I still owe the $34 fee.

I usually have my bank accounts balanced to the penny, but I forgot about a check I wrote two weeks ago, and I put .05 cents in my other account to make it even.

So much for yesterdays excitement.

-Becky

2011 Bills

I just paid the final utility from 2011. Yeah! I should also be able to pay all the bills for this month as well. Now to work on coming up with extra to pay off debt!

-Becky

Today's Meals

Breakfast:
*two scrambled eggs
*spinach
salsa
wheat wrap
water

Lunch:
*two slices wheat bread
*lentil burger
*romaine
*ketchup
water

Dinner:
*quinoa
*broccoli
*cauliflower
onions
sparkling cider

Snacks:
3 *carrots
water

This is where I am at nutrition wise:

Calories 909
Fat 16 g
Cholesterol 480 mg (over what I should have)
Sodium 1569 mg
Carbs 136 g
Fiber 27 g
Protein 39 g
Sugars 30 g

I am tracking my food, meals, and exercise at this website.

Today is so far a good day, but most days I have gone over the 1,600 calories I am supposed to have. It hasn't helped that we had a huge bag of chocolate in the house, so I gave it to my mom yesterday (but by then it was almost all gone.) Sugar and candy is a huge weakness of mine.

I also walked 30 min. on Mon. and 60 min. today. Will also walk tomorrow about an hour.

-Becky

*organic

Cut $1,000 from your spending this year

Some of you may already be doing this sort of stuff, so the savings will not be as much, some of you may think I am too extreme. But by doing all of these things I saved over $1,000. I have been doing these things since 2008, so those savings are for each year.


1) Make your own laundry soap. Cost about $20 for 20 gallons. Get the recipe I use here.
Savings about $160 a year (if you spend $15 a month on laundry soap.)[Bonus the homemade stuff is free of added scents that irritate my son's skin.)

2) Use cloth paper towels. Chances are you have plenty of cloth towels in your home that will work just as well as paper towels, if not better. Savings about $240 (if you spend $20 a month on paper towels.)

3) Use cloth napkins. Again chances are you have some nice washcloths or a set of cloth napkins already. These work better than paper napkins. Savings about $60 a year.

4) Use cloth tissues. Use some of the washcloths, towels, etc., you already have around the home. One of my cloth tissues works way better than about 5 paper tissues. Savings about $60 a year.

5) Use cloth menstrual pads or a Diva cup. Switching to cloth menstrual pads has been amazing for me, read about it here. In 2008 I bought a set, so in 2009 & 2010 I have no costs. Savings over three years, about $500. Buy from a great work site here.

6) Use cloth toilet paper. I just cut up old clothes, see here. Savings about $120 a year.

7) Line dry your clothes. Did you know it cost .30-.60 cents per load to dry clothes in the dryer. If you wash 4 loads a week, that is about $2.00 to dry your clothes. $2 x 52 weeks is $104. I actually do about 6 loads a week, so for me that would cost $156 a year. So I line dry my clothes from March-Nov. Saving about another $100 a year. [Bonus it works out my arms to hang the clothes.]

8) Clean with only baking soda and vinegar. Savings about $100 a year (or more.)

9) Use white vinegar as fabric softener. Savings about $20 a year.

10) If you need something, look around and see if already have something similar that will do the job before you buy something new. Savings can really add up.

11) Join Freecycle.org. This site was created to keep good items out of landfills. Join online for free and post things you need (and want to give away as well) before you go out and buy something new. I have gotten rugs, toys, clothes, and so much more. Savings can be very high. [Bonus you can give away stuff and declutter while not feeling guilty that it will be in landfill.]

Leave a comment with a great money saving tip you have. Thanks!

-Becky

Stuff I need and want to do in my home

Household repairs / maintenance / updates

Inside:
Furnace/ac unit repair (estimated at $1,200)

Living Room:
*fix holes and cracks in walls
*paint
replace floor
replace couch

My room:
remove paneling
sheetrock walls
put in closet
new floor
paint
*hang blind

Kitchen:
*replace utensil drawer
*fix towel drawer
*install under counter cd player
replace sink
paint

Bathroom:
fix shower head / bathtub diverter
*replace mirror
replace vanity
*paint
*replace towel bars, and toilet paper holder
*hang glass shelf
*remove bottom of closet to make extra shelf

Backroom:
install shelf above garbage can
remove homeschool closet & sheet rock where closet used to be
paint

Stairs:
*fix holes in wall
paint white part of stairs
*remove all carpets and nails
paint walls

Upstairs hallway:
*fix holes in walls
paint
remove carpet
put new floor down

Josh's room:
*fix holes in walls

Jason's room:
*fix holes in walls
*fix / replace door and door frame
*hang blind
*paint
*hang shelves for Lego creations
make a better closet solution

Outside:
*remove pile of tree limbs
replace cracked siding
install gutter covers
wash house
wash deck
stain deck
wash shed
stain shed
*finish tree fort
put up fence
*fix lawn mower


*plan to do in 2012

-Becky

2011 Debt

This is the debt I gained from 2011:

$750 Mastercard
$150 Kohl's charge
$127 dentist
$ 80 owe phone/internet/cable
$ 50 owe water bill

$1157 total debt

I also need:

$168 sewer bill due Jan 1st
$1200 taxes due Feb. 1st

I hate debt and being behind on bills, so I want to get this stuff paid and all caught up asap.

-Becky

HAPPY NEW YEAR!