What are you saving for?

I’ve mentioned before how much I love You Need a Budget. I bought the pro version of the program last summer, looked at it briefly and used it half-assed for a couple of weeks and then didn’t touch it again until December. I wish I had started using it sooner. It’s so simple to use and seeing money accumulating in my categories of Savings and Emergency Fund makes me want to save more. Really. Seeing it in black and white and seeing amounts grow from month to month works for me. I love how I can put $15 or $20 in a category each month and when January rolls around and I get my yearly water bill, I have the money to pay it without having to deprive other areas of my January budget. I do the same for my insurance payments (which I pay every four months) and my hot water heater rental (which is due every three months). I love the accountability and when I see the figure climbing in my savings accounts, it makes me not want to do anything to jeopardize that. It only took me 30 years to understand that a budget is the way to go. I wish I had started years ago.

I’m saving for a three-month emergency fund and for home improvements. I have $5470 on my LOC and I want to pay that off and get the balance back to zero. I also have approximately $1200 on my MasterCard to pay off. I’m putting regular amounts each month towards those. I know that some recommend gathering that emergency fund first before putting more than the minimum towards debt but I’m tackling both at once. My debts are so low that I don’t want to carry them. I have only the one credit card and the line of credit. I used most of the $7000 LOC (to pay down the credit card (yes, it got out of hand a little; however, I’m delighted to say that I haven’t used it in over a month) and I need to pay back the LOC a bit before I’ll feel comfortable using it on the credit card again, which I will do to pay off whatever remains because obviously the interest rate is so much better.

On the home improvement front, I have a window I’d like to add (above the toilet in the bathroom) and a window to replace in the living room, the last of the windows to be done. I’d love to take out the carpet in the living room too. It was put in after I bought the house so it’s not old but I’d also like to take out the linoleum in the kitchen and put in wood (laminate) to unify the spaces (the kitchen is open concept) and in order to create a dining area in the kitchen end of the current living room space. (That’s a post for another day though; no room for pictures today and no pictures to show.)

The bathroom is awful. This picture is from when I was moving it so the cabinet now has its drawer back in, the shower rod has been changed, and there is not a shower curtain. Everything else is the same. The only things I don’t mind are the floor (which needs new grout) and the cabinet. The tiles are on all four walls of the bathroom floor to ceiling and are pink and I am not a pink-loving girl. My plans are to take down the tile, replace the drywall behind it, put in a tub surround and new counter (the counter is cultured marble and the basin is crazed with big ugly lines), replace the awful mirror/medicine cabinet and lights, replace the taps in the tub and sink, put in that window, and take down the ceiling, which is beyond popcorn or blown and well into "dripping Cool-Whip". I’m thinking I’ll likely use beadboard on the lower portions of the walls and regular drywall above. The grout in tiles will either just be freshened up (currently brown, which I don’t mind) or changed to natural. I’m not sure on my colour scheme but I’m thinking a nice spring green and white and an accent colour of something else. Deceisions, decisions… I’m hoping to have it down by late summer so let the penny-saving continue!

Green is the colour of the day. Green knitting, green food-ing, and green blogging. And then white snow. But we won’t talk about the snow. I’m waiting for spring, which incidentally is also green (and brown but we’ll ignore that too).

Today I read back to the beginning of the Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op blog. My bookmarks have now grown by quite a few. The whole blog is a gem but I found a few particular treasures to add to my gardening file, kitchen-related bookmarks, and general house ideas. If you haven’t seen the blog before or it’s been awhile since you have been over, go read a few pages and soak in all the inspiration.

There’s not much that is earthier and more pride-inducing than a growing set of cotton dishcloths. Well, maybe there is but these are doing if for me right now. A few days ago when I did that bit of organization in my laundry room and moved all of my old facecloths down there, I also put my dishcloths in the rag bucket. All but two solid also-green ones like the guys pictured above. I love this pattern. I know there are a ton of dishcloth patterns out there but to me, this one is the classic. Maybe that’s because it’s the only pattern I’ve seen knit up "in real life" or maybe it’s because I love the simplicity of it, the garter stitch creating a bit of a built in soft scrubber. They knit up so fast too. I couldn’t remember the exact stitches to cast on and work up to so I googled and came up with this adorable variation. It reminded me of a vest I knit my younger brother back when I was around 7 or 8 (or maybe 9 but not much older). It had a row of owls across the upper chest and on the back of the vest it had the owls again but this time showing their backsides. The pattern sheet was a single-page leaflet with cat, rabbit, and lion variations. I’m going to knit up a total of five cloths (that’s the plan) and then make a few scrubbies using the tutorial at Berlin’s Whismy. I have this one bookmarked too and it’s pretty similar to the scrubbie I already have but I’m really liking my variegated cotton yarn right now.

Also in the green category, I took a bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower mix that I have no idea why I bought, boiled it up, pureed it, and then froze it flat in baggies in 1/2-cup portions. I was going to toss it because, as I said, I’m not sure why I bought it; I’ve never liked the feel of frozen-then-cooked carrots, broccoli, or cauliflower as a vegetable on its own. So now I have five 1/2-cup bags of puree to add to soup, pasta sauce, muffins (maybe? with a strong-flavoured fruit?), or whatever strikes my fancy. It felt very "crunchy" to do that. I felt good. So simple and practical and probably even logical but not something that I would’ve thought of 18 months ago. I saved the water that they’d boiled in too. I’m learning.

And that’s it for me tonight. I have a Junior Kindergarten Report card response form to fill out and send back to school with B tomorrow. I don’t like things like this. "At home, my child likes to…; at school, my child really enjoys…; I am pleased with my child’s development of…; I will work with my child in…" I’m off to do that and then knit a bit more on the third dishcloth. I didn’t get the back entrance tidied like I have planned on my cleaning schedule but I did get 90% of the driveway down before I remembered my doctor’s appointment for my second B12 shot (and had to shower, wash my hair, get both B and I dressed, and get to the doctor’s office in the span of 40 minutes). So back entrance back shmentrance - knitting is more fun. Toodles for tonight.

Ignore the bedhead and the red and raw area below the poor kid’s nose. He’s sick. Again. And ignore the ever-present "cheeeeese!" face. The tissues in the ears? I had just cleaned his ears and he told me, "There’s a little bit of wet there" and this was his solution.

The little booger melted my heart this afternoon. I often tell him, "Don’t forget that," immediately after telling him that I love him. He’s been increasingly liberal in his "I love you" and "I love you too" statements the past couple of months but this afternoon he came up and hugged me as I was taking a moment to calm down, frustrated tears threatening to well up in my eyes (I’m operating on limited sleep and had my second night shift starting later in the afternoon). He put his arm around me, his head on my shoulder, kissed me ever-so-gently on the lips ("like Sleeping Beauty!"), and told me, "Never forget I love you, okay?" Sniff, sniff, waaaaaah!!

Some time back, my boyfriend and his daughter gave me a small potted rose plant and when I first saw it I was instantly apprehensive. It’s one thing for cut flowers to fade and die (they’re supposed to) but a potted plant should have a longer life than that. I’ve had roses like these in the past (never in the summer when I could plant them either) and they always die after a few weeks. I’m sure part of the problem is that I have nowhere to sit plants so they get direct sun or even indirect sun. The most I can provide is just regular daylight. This particular pot has five individual plants in it; currently two of the five are dead (dry, brown stems) but the other three are still green and have sprouted new leaves. If I can somehow keep it alive until spring, I’m going to plant it outside and see how it does. It was such a surprise to see the new growth. I know I’ll be upset I can’t sustain the plant until the spring.

I made up a batch of soup yesterday morning. It was a good freezer cleaner as many of the ingredients came from there. I took a small onion and chopped it fine, sweating it in a bit of sunflower oil and then adding a chopped carrot to the pot to cook for a bit. I tossed in some low-sodium chicken broth (just enough to add a bit of liquid for cooking) and added frozen peas and corn, and chopped some leftover canned mushrooms I had frozen. Also from the freezer threw in about one cup of leftover 5-grain rice (including millet, brown rice, barley, wild rice), the last of the chopped spinach, leftover honey-baked lentils, and about two cups of pureed tomatoes from last summer’s garden. Lastly, more chicken broth, a single-serve can of V8, a bit of spelt flour mixed into the broth, leftover rostisserie chicken that had been chopped and frozen, and some salt and pepper. Mmmmm! Some to share (mom), some to freeze, and some to eat now.

Some people are far too cheerful at 5:30 in the morning. On a Saturday. At 5:30 in the morning. When I have to work today and had to get up even earlier, at 4:45. In the morning. On a Saturday.

You’re adorable, Pocoyo, but I am not smiling back at you or waving.

It often takes hours to find me and then I run out of daylight before I run out of motivation. The two big things today were to do some cleaning and tackle a project that I’ve been wanting to do for months.

This morning I did three loads of laundry and cleaned the bathroom. I love Seventh Generation products. I’ve only used their all-purpose cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, and tub/tile cleaner but I’m very impressed. I then re-organized the shelves in the laundry room and was amazed at the difference it made just putting logical items together instead of just sitting something on a random shelf. The laundry room is never messy but it’s tiny (you almost have to back out of it) so even one thing out of place changes the mood.

Looks like I need to empty the garbage. 

The unfinished wall came with the house. It’s not a priority right now.

There are a lot of items on those shelves that I would like to get rid of because I don’t use them but I feel guilty throwing them away since they’re still more than half full. My laundry routine consists of homemade powder detergent (Borax, washing soda, Oxy, and grated Sunlight soap) and vinegar in both the bleach and softener cups. I use dryer balls and Natura static-free sheets in the dryer. I’m trying to clean with vinegar and water and other common items but I still have Febreeze (haven’t used it in over a year), Windex, Shout, bleach, etc on the shelves. 

This afternoon I finally broke out the staple gun and quilt batting and took apart two footstools I had that have seen better days. I love them because they’re small (about 13.5" square by about 18" tall) and neutral but they’ve become worn and every time I vacuum I’m sucking up flakes and shreds of reed.

Once all the little staples had been removed, the reed "fabric" slipped right off like a cover.

I covered the sides with two layers of quilt batting and, later, the top with four layers of batting.

Before I put everything away for the night I had both stools all batting’d up. I trimmed the batting at the bottom and also at the top edge before putting the layers on the top, stretching it slightly over the edge. The next step is to find some fabric (hopefully in my stash; hello, budget) to make a permanent cover to go between the batting and the print fabric that I’ll use as the outer. I wasn’t going to do the extra layer but I think it will make it so much easier to slip the outer print on and off if/when I need to wash it. Instead of trying to wrestle it over grippy batting, it’ll hopefully slide a little better over a cotton woven. It won’t be effortless (I want it to be snug) but hopefully easier. But that’s a step for another day.

I’ll leave this post with two more pictures, the first being of a pair of $3.99 shoes which I found, brand new, at Value Village last month. B tried them on this morning and I think they’ll fit for summer provided he doesn’t grow a full size before then. He has room in the toes but I couldn’t tell exactly how much.

So ugly they’re cute. I like them. Minus the socks and pajamas.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned going for a draw to have blood work done to see if there was anything causing some changes I’d been noticing in myself. I had the appointment for the results this morning and the verdict is that my B12 is very low. My sister and mom both have this with a couple other blood issues but each time I’ve been tested it’s always been negative. Up until now. He gave me a shot today and I’ll have one for each of the next five weeks too in attempt to quickly get my B12 up. I’m assuming that after that I’ll have to have monthly shots but he didn’t say and I didn’t think to ask very many questions. My boyfriend was almost annoyed because I couldn’t answer any of the questions he was asking me after my appointment. I just didn’t think to ask anything. I will next week. I did learn that the intermittent sharp/deep ache I’ve been getting in my left thigh for the past couple of weeks is most likely related since low B12 affects the muscles and neurological system. It doesn’t hurt per se but it does sometimes make me pause and almost catch my breath. If it doesn’t ease with the shots and the rising levels then he’ll order a bone scan.

Today was a day off work and not a school day for B so he came with me. It’s been almost two years since he’s been to the doctor’s, as a patient or otherwise. His immunizations will need to be updated soon-ish (I should take a look at his chart) so in hindsight it wasn’t a good idea to take him. I didn’t know I’d be getting a needle though. I absolutely hate needles and get fairly tense when I have to get a shot. He asked me, "Is it going to hurt?" just before the shot. As we were going home he told me, "I’m not coming here ever again because if I do I’ll get a needle." Oops. I tried to assure him that when he stubs his toe or steps on one of his toys it hurts more than a needle. Most needles don’t hurt if you don’t think about and I know that, I just get so tense and can’t think of anything but the needle, even if I’m not watching them do it.

While I was booking the five appointments to follow, B amused himself by taking pictures of things in the waiting room:

It’s been a fairly quiet day and it feels like a Saturday for some reason. It’s my Saturday; maybe that’s it. I’m off for two days and back in to work for five starting on Saturday. It’s also dreary and wet outside, which is good for melting some of the snow and ice and clearing off my driveway but not so good for motivation. I did make a Pineapple Upside Down cake (9" square pan) and six mini ones using a muffin tin. I made this recipe using a PC Organics vanilla cake mix. I added a bit more flour because my mix was smaller than called for. I also subbed half the oil with applesauce and added in some ground flax seed and cinnamon.

The picture’s a little gray. Sorry. Crappy weather makes for dark natural "light".

They’re not radioactive, despite the warning in pineapple.

*The title it completely unrelated to anything in this post but I asked B what I should name it and that’s what he wanted. So it is. 

Off sick from work yesterday, I was able to pick B up at school instead of meeting the bus at my mom’s. We walked through the lobby to exit the school and he detoured away from the door to check out a thin tree branch, which had been stuck upright in a pail of sand as part of a display over by the gym doors. He asked me what kind of tree this was and I replied that I wasn’t sure. He peered closely at it looking over the branches and at the few small dried fruits at the tips, gently touched one of the fruits, turned to me and grinned the biggest grin: "It’s a raisin tree!" I thouight it was adorable as the dried fruit, whatever they were, did look very much like raisins. And then I googled and learned that there is such a thing as a Raisin Tree (though the one in the foyer was not) which has edible stalks that apparently taste much like raisins, hence the name. Who knew?

Today is another sick day. I’m freezing and have that awful too-warm feeling that leaves me faintly sweaty and flushed just doing the most regular of things like walking and wiping off a counter. I should’ve been napping today while B is away but instead I put a pork roast in the crock pot and wiped down my stove.

I cleared off a small three-shelf space at the end of my upper kitchen cabinets, which has become a catchall. I’ve sorted through those contents but the things I’m keeping are now just sitting in a laundry basket awaiting a trip to the appropriate places in the house.

I had hoped to clean out the cupboard above my fridge (huge, deep, and a place to toss things out of B’s reach) and one or two of the corner cupboards but that nap is really calling me. What I will probably end up doing is just sitting here thinking about how I shouldn’t nap because I need to do the cupboards but also that a nap would do me well and the cupboards will wait. (They’ve waited a year and a half already.) If I hurry, I could squeeze in a heavenly two-hour nap (I’m dead tired right now) before I have to go get B.

And a little of that. Starting with a picture of my lovable but sanity robbing child looking cute and being sweet. And wow, does he ever look grown up!

He wanted the picture taken just like this. He carefully placed the alligator cracker so it would look like his puppy was eating it. And after the picture was taken, he promptly took the camera and ran around taking pictures of everything in sight. I know he would absolutely love to have a camera of his own but I’m afraid it wouldn’t last a day and so I’m hesitant to find one, even just a cheap geared-to-kids one. Maybe next Christmas.

He had a nice cold and fever a week ago, which he promptly gave to my boyfriend (after a half-hour visit); it took a little longer to find me and I phoned in to work this morning and booked off. Tomorrow will be an off day too as I’m still feeling rather off kilter physically. I got some sleep, picked him up from school instead of having him take the bus, and took him to skating tonight because he wanted to go (and if he’s eager and asking to go, then we definitely go). The cold air in the rink actually felt good and made me a little more alert.

B did very well at skating tonight and branched out into actually moving both feet in a regular skating motion instead of shuffling. I was surprised and couldn’t stop grinning at him. He said to me, "See? I knew I could do it!" It really was a leap forward for him and I hope he’s just as confident next week. I don’t have any plans to push him into any sort of competitive skating or hockey, I would just like for him to be able to skate confidently. I don’t have that myself and I’d like to encourage him in it.

I made him drop his pants so I could get the boxers he was wearing.

When I was sewing up his t-shirt and pajamas, I came across five pairs of boxers that I had cut out for him late last summer while I was cutting some out for my niece. After getting them all done I held them up to a single pair that I had made probably three or more years ago and that he has been wearing ever since potty learning. They appeared to be the exact same size but these new ones seem to fit bigger, which is great. I was afraid that he would have no growing room. The back on the pair above has another bug print panel which is a little bigger, extending probably 1.5 inches on either side as compared to the front panel. 

The pattern is from the Winter 2004 (04/04) issue of Ottobre. I love this pattern. The blue camouflage pair was made from a tweaked pattern, which has the legs and back all being one piece, which makes for a three-seam pair of boxers. The others have a contrasting panel on the backside. Excuse the wrinkled trucks pair; they are clean and unworn but I pulled them from B’s overnight bag. The story behind the identical twin pair of brow and gold ones is that I cut out two right legs in the dinosaur print and had to work with that; I’m not happy with the solid brown leg but I didn’t have a brown that matched better and couldn’t visulaize blue since the blue is actually more of an aqua shade.

A little bit of B’s photography to close off -

"Let’s put the alligators back in the batainer [container] and take a picture!
Isn’t that a GREAT idea!?"

"Here, hold Chocolate and I’ll take your picture."
(Note the sticker on my chest. He gave me that for doing a good job but I don’t
remember what that job was.)