- Good food, good company, good advice from Grandma

A New Financial Goal For The New Year

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credit card debt, financial goals, paying off debt

Now that we have closed on the house, and spent tons of money on the sewer connection, electric connection parts, propane tank, furniture, etc., etc., etc. it is time to start planning for the next phase. We have a little bit more to accomplish before we leave to go back to Arizona, but for the most part we are done spending money. Now we are going to be on a mission to pay off our credit card debt.

We have less than $5,000 to pay off, which is not a lot. We have had way more credit card debts in the past, but paid them off long ago. We have tried really hard to keep those bills in check. I have only used credit cards for medical bills–and those credit cards have come in handy when I needed them.

Along with the credit card balances we have on three cards, we also have a couple of medical bills that are being carried by the medical facilities. I thought about paying them off with one of the credit cards, but those facilities are not charging interest on the balance, so I am just making the monthly payments on those. Once we pay off the credit cards, I will use the money we have been paying on the credit cards to pay off those medical bills.

The last thing we have to pay off is a consumer credit debt we just incurred to purchase a washing machine and dryer for the new house. I would have liked to have waited until we had the cash to pay for them, but the company offered a payment plan

“12 months same as cash”, where we can take a year to pay for those two items, and pay no interest on the debt. It made sense to us to go ahead and get them now, and save the money we have been spending at the Laundromat. That $12 a week for 52 weeks will almost pay for the purchase.

So, here is our long term plan for 2012:

Pay off three credit cards
Pay off two medical bills
Pay off one consumer credit account
Put $2,500 a month in a savings account
Reduce the amount we spend on groceries by 25%
Close our account at Bank of America (we have already opened a new account at a credit union)
Eat out less

That is my financial plan for this year. Are you taking any steps to change your financial status this year? Do you set goals for savings or for paying off bills?

Sewing For The New Baby

Karen · 1 Comment

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I know y’all know I love to sew, but I love to sew for the new babies most of all. I spent yesterday cutting out two projects so that I could sit down to sew this afternoon. The first project was a changing pad. It was a really quick and easy project: you cut out two oval pieces of fabric, and two oval pieces of batting. Layer them together with the fabric right sides out. Stitch some quilting, trim, and finish off with some bias tape. Done.

quilted changing pad — Quilted changing pad

The other side of this is striped in the same colors. Just roll it up, put an elastic band around it, and it is good to go.

quilted changing pad, sewing for baby — Roll it up and you're ready to go

When it is rolled up, it fits into the diaper bag. Actually, this is a large bag, so it will hold quite a bit of stuff. The breast feeding cover matches it, too. I didn’t finish this today. I got the outside quilted and stitched together, and the pockets attached to the lining before it was time to make dinner.

quilted diaper bag, sewing for baby — The Monkey diaper bag

I used Pellon 70 stiff interfacing and some polyester fiberfill batting to make a nice quilted bag that will stand up by itself. The bottom is reinforced with a second piece of Pellon 70 to make it extra sturdy. When I did the quilting stitches on the monkey print part, I used wavy lines because it is easier to do that without it looking like you messed up. On the brown fabric on the bottom, I used just straight lines. Tomorrow I’ll finish the lining and attach the handles and it will be done. Then I can start on a matching quilt. Sewing for a baby is fun!

A Cute Gift!

Karen · 5 Comments

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Every once in a while, you meet someone who just ‘gets’ you. That is how it is with me and Marcie. She is a fellow fulltime RV’er. We have corresponded online for several years, and participate in a couple of forums related to RVing, and we met in person a couple of summers ago in Kanab, Utah. She is in Tuscon, Arizona, hanging out with family and enjoying her two grandsons.

I received a package in the mail from her this week, a surprise! When I opened it up, here is what was inside:

The note inside said something about using these in my office where I can plan my next trip. How cute is that?

Thrifty Thursday

Karen · 3 Comments

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I love shopping thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales, and other places like that. Besides getting great prices on neat stuff, it is, to me, one of the best ways to recycle and re-use. Why buy something brand new when you can get the same thing for less money used? That is the idea behind Thrifty Thursday, where I show you the things I have found each week while shopping the thrift stores. This week I am including a linky, where you can link up and show me what you have found, too! Come back every Thursday to link up and play along with Thrifty Thursday.

I forgot to get the price on these, but I love them! I used to have one a long time ago. If they are still in the store next time I go, I am going to get at least one of them.

This week we went back to the Apple Barrel Antique Mall in Bremen, Georgia. While it isn’t technically a thrift shop, we like to look for bargains in antique shops, too.

copper molds, copper decorative molds, thrifty thursday — Copper molds

I have always wanted some of these copper molds to hang on the kitchen wall. These were in excellent condition and had a price tag of $24 for the set of five, which was a good price, but I didn’t have $24. This is something else I’m going to get next time I go it if is still there.

embroidered vintage apron, thrifty thursday — Vintage embroidered apron

That’s it for this week. What did you find?

SOPA Is Censorship

Karen · 1 Comment

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I Got The Sewing Machine Set Up Today

Karen · 10 Comments

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my sewing space, sewing room, crafting space — The lving room is the temporary sewing room.

I spent the first part of the day moving my sewing stuff out of the trailer and into the house. I set up the sewing machine and other sewing stuff in the living room temporarily. I have sooo much room now to sew. I was ready to make something, anything, and Emily asked me to make her a breast feeding cover, which is a pretty drape to use when you are breast feeding baby in public.

breast feeding cover, drape for breast feeding, covering baby while breast feeding — This is the pattern I used.

We shopped for fabric while we were out yesterday, and got enough of this cute fabric to make the cover, a diaper bag, a zippered bag, and a changing pad. Monkeys!

monkey fabric, green and brown fabric — How cute is that?

After I got the sewing area set up, I started on the cover. It was such an easy pattern to make. Of course, the the thing that took the longest was the cutting. After that, it was all straight lines, and some gathering for the ruffle. Finished in about two hours.

breast feeding cover, drape for breast feeding, cover for feeding baby — All finished!

This one has a piece of boning in the top so that it will stay open. That lets Mom see what’s going on with baby but prevents everyone else from seeing in.

breast feeding cover, drape for breast feeding — The straps

I used D rings to make the strap adjustable. This was really quick and easy to make, and will be quite useful for Emily when Baby Rascoe gets here.

Congratulations Are In Order!

Karen · 11 Comments

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ob appointment, ultrasound, pregnancy confirmed — That's Emily in the exam room

This was a very special day for me. Yes, I know I just had a special day last month when we closed on our house, but this is even more special-er than that! Today I was invited to go to my daughter, Emily’s, OB appointment with her. Today was the day that she got to see, via ultrasound, that there is indeed a little Fab-grandchild a baking away! While this will be grandchild number six, I have never been in the right place at the right time to get to be there when the ultrasound was done. We both cried. Yeah, we are silly like that.

ob appointment, exam room — Waiting for the doctor to come in

She was a very good sport and allowed me to take pictures of her in the exam room. Can you tell how happy she is?

The doctor was a very nice and pleasant guy. He answered all of Emily’s questions to her satisfaction. He explained to her that whenever someone over 35 years old is pregnant, they call her an “elderly mother”. We got a huge laugh out of that, because if SHE is elderly, what does that make ME??? OH, and baby is due August 26th.

Update On The Hitch

Karen · 2 Comments

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This morning I had a response to the tweet I sent to Progress Manufacturing, the company who manufactures the Equal-i-zer hitch, with a phone number and name for us to call. Fabgrandpa called and talked to Daniel, who was very nice and said that they are sending a brand new hitch along with all the brackets and sway bars and other stuff that goes with it. They are also sending a prepaid shipping label to return the one that broke. They have been so nice and easy to work with. Just wanted everyone to know this because people rarely broadcast good customer service interactions. It is also good to know that if this had happened while we were traveling instead of when we are just parked in our yard, that this company would have us back on the road in no time! Thank you, Daniel and Progress Manufacturing!