New Year New Method

The new year usually brings a lot of resolutions that we do not keep. I have been guilty of making these every year and this year I am sure is no different. There is a wedding I am supposed to go to in June and I am hoping to be a little lighter before then. The resolutions that I am hoping to keep are cultivating better friendships and changing my grocery shopping methods. On the first it is not that I do not have friends or even good friends but I feel like I am not as good a friend as I should be. I also do not slow down enough to just chat with friends. It seems that I always have something going on and they are accessories not the center as they should be. The second goal is to not shop once a month anymore which since having Clark has not worked. The boys drink more milk that I can store from the first of the month and these extra trips were really adding up because of additional items picked up. My new plan is to look at what produce I get in my produce co-op baskets every other week and then make a rough menu using these items. I will then shop weekly with $50 cash for items we need for this menu and staples. This will really be a change for me as I have literally shopped on the once a month method since I moved out of my parent's house at 18. Getting this zebra to change it's stripes will be something to see. The budget will go back to the $200 a month as before Phillip had been laid off since he has gone back to work and we will no longer qualify for SNAP or WIC.

Hope everyone has a wonderful new year and that you make resolutions for a happier you.

Books Nov 20th Through Dec 21st

My turn for In Cold Blood came back round and so I picked up where I had left off.  The story is just so tragic and the book well written.  After that was finished I listened to A Duty to the Dead. I liked this book at the beginning but it became predictable and wore on longer than it needed. It is the first in a series but I am totally ok with not continuing.  Once I finished this one I listened to Troublemaker which was a really good book. I listened to this one almost non stop so I could hear the whole story. Tom Cruise was not my favorite before this book and now I really do not like him at all. Due to my speed listening session I was able to finish the book in a couple of days and then listen to Stuffology which has to be on the worst book ever list. The book had absolutely no point and I am not sure why I even committed any time to finishing it but I did. After that book I started listening to My Story by Elizabeth Smart and I have to say it was not much better. My wish is that people with a story to tell would get ghost or co writers who will focus them as well as be honest with them when they make no sense. After that nonsense I started Born to Run which I found interesting. There was a lot of information in the book and it jumped around some to the point I was confused who some of the people were but I still would recommend it. Yesterday I started listening to The Road to Character which I had originally started physically reading until I noticed there was an audio version.


Print books that I have read make a shorter list but are still present in my life.  I managed to finish Your Money or Your Life and did not really glean any new insights.  The next book I picked up was one I had previously started and needed to finish, Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Pst-Consumer World and really did not find anything new in it either. I had initially started The Road to Character before switching to the audio version. So I picked How to Be Idle up and that is where it currently sits. I am hoping to be done with How to be Idle within the next couple of days.

December with a New Job

We have vaulted into the month of December! This is a month when stretching the dollar becomes an Olympic sport. We do not have credit cards and so all our holiday purchases have to be made with money we have or made from supplies we have on hand. This year it is a little harder as Phillip got a job, at first this seems like it would make it easier except it will be a while before he gets paid. In the weeks leading up to payday we are still having to pay our bills but also have to add in gas money for him to get to and from work as well as paying the sitter for both kids full time. 

We are just going day by day hoping to make it through to steadier time.