I Got My Blog Back!

Something updated.

Then things started popping up.

Some things I wanted, some I didn't.

A window opened and said, connect to Blogger, or something like that...

I have been trying to get into my Blogger account for YEARS.

I am using one sentence paragraphs for emphasis.

YEARS.

I answered some questions and got a code.

And now I'm in.

Yay!

Recycled Snacks

Don't throw out chips or other snacks because they're stale.

Turn on the oven to about 300 degrees.  Put the chips (Bugles in my case today) on a cookie sheet and spread them out.  Put the sheet in the oven for a few minutes, then turn off the oven.  Leave the cookie sheet in the oven where it's dry and warm til the snack is revived and dry and nice and crunchy!

I do this all the time with tortilla chips from restaurants.  Sometimes they're even better when I'm done with them.

Free Ribbon Collection

Did you know that you can cut off those little ribbons from your new clothes and the world will not come to an end?

Today, I noticed that the ribbon loops on some new garments were very nice, and pretty and could be useful.  So I cut them off and saved them.

 

As an bonus, I will save them in a recycled jar!

I will let you know when I find a use for them!

Unexpected Benefit of Couponing

I use three shopping apps that give me rebates on certain items I buy.  I print coupons almost every morning while I drink coffee, and I use coupons every time I shop. These things save me money at the store, which is the whole point of doing them.

I have learned, however, that there is one really great, and possibly even more important benefit of spending time planning my shopping trips.

There is a fat envelope in my purse where coupons are arranged according to Walmart's store layout.  This helps me find what I need if I run across a good deal I hadn't anticipated.  Also, my phone's data is turned on to my shopping apps so that I can scan bar codes and make sure that items "match" the rebates.  So there is a lot of juggling going on in my grocery basket while I go slowly up and down the aisles.  Add reading glasses to the mix - they come off, they go on, they come off, etc - and it's kind of like actual work.

I spend time organizing before I go to the store, and I spend time in the store, making sure I get the very best bargain I can.  So it's a time investment and it's important to me to protect that.

Now, imagine planning all this out and you get home and realize the clerk has charged you twice for something and you bought only one.  If you're not couponing, it might not be a big deal.  You think, well, they make mistakes in my favor sometimes, too, and it probably all evens out eventually.  Or it's not worth standing in line at the service desk to make things right.  Or, worst, you might not even notice!  But when you do coupon, and clip, and plan, and organize, it's kind of a big deal.

There is a bench just inside the entrance of my Walmart where I now sit after I've checked out, and I look at my receipt.  It's easy to find mistakes because I know exactly what I've paid for every item, and what should be in my basket, and how many coupons should be subtracted from my total.  If I find a mistake, guess what?  I roll back in the door and up to the service desk and get it fixed.  I've already invested time, so what's a little more?  I swear this is the mindset you have when saving money on groceries becomes important to you.

So the unexpected benefit of couponing is total awareness of what I am spending.  I never, ever just throw something in my basket anymore.  I make very few purchases that I have not carefully planned.  And I know exactly what my receipt should look like.  The pennies become important.  And they add up to dollars. 

Coming out of the Frugal Closet

Trying to pretend to be like everyone else will do a real number on your sense of well-being.

Don't want to set the world on fire in your career? 

Don't mind being at home making do with a part-time income?

Like working in the yard instead of at, well, work?

Really?  Well, that's just weird. 

I can't tell you how many days I have spent dragging myself around the house being depressed and convincing myself there was something wrong with me because I didn't want the things I'm supposed to want.  When it finally hit me that I was free to choose any kind of life I wanted, and that it was all right to be happy being different, it just changed everything.

Now, I still worry about money sometimes, but I'm happy.  And there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do.  Projects!  Projects!  Coupons!  Lists!

This is my path.  It's pretty narrow and kind of lonely.  It's also full of interesting little turns and feels good under my bare feet.

No Guilt

I decided not to feel guilty about anything today.

I took my son to school and then came home and went back to bed. I had no intention of going back to sleep. It was just cold and wet and my bed felt good, so I got back in it. And I fell asleep. Til 10:30!

When I got up, I cut a piece of bread and made a tuna sandwich for breakfast. Why eat eggs or oatmeal when you don't really want them?

After the sandwich I made coffee and drank it while watching "America's Top Model."

I have decided to run when I feel like it and not "make myself" because it's good for me.

If I feel like cleaning something, I do.

I like the kitchen clean so I did the dishes.

I can't do this all day every day, but for today, it was fun.

Sunny, Cold Day

We've been saving our coffee pods. Today I dumped all the coffee out of them and tore out the filters. I washed them (probably unnecessary) and lined them up in a cardboard pie box.

I'm going to go fill them with potting soil and plant some seeds, then put them in a window.

I am so in love with reusing things.

If I get a new phone today, I will take a picture for you.

So I Wrote an Ebook

I wrote and wrote, story after story about my experiences as a nursing home nurse. I wanted 10,000 words, but came up with only 9,300. I probably could have written one more chapter and reached my goal, but I got impatient with wanting the thing to be done. And I wanted to see what it would be like to have my writing "out there."

 It's out there now. I posted the news in a few online fora and had a nice response. I ran into my son's room last night and said, with self-deprecating mock excitement, "I've made almost $3! I'm a professional writer!"

My son said, with no excitement at all, mock or otherwise, "It's all from people you know."

"Well, yeah, but still..."

So then I decided it would be a milestone when someone who doesn't know me buys a copy of my ebook. One friend has very graciously posted the book on his own facebook page and recommended it to his followers. I'm hoping one or more of them will do as he suggests and snap up a copy of this very "well-written" and inexpensive ebook!

I used the self-publishing aspect of Amazon.com to format and "publish" my book. I recommend it. It's straightforward and simple for a non-technical person like me. And they have a nice selection of free cover art. If you have something to say, this is a nice way to get it said.

Go buy it, please. I have bills to pay.

Nursing Home Sketches: My First Year As a Nurse. On Amazon.com, Kindle Books.

https://kdp.amazon.com/title-setup/AN9ZO0RBW32R4

Let's Talk About Student Loans

I'm a pretty responsible person. I don't carry balances on my credit cards. I never pay anything late. I avoid financing fees when I pay my car insurance. I rarely ever buy anything new. I work. I don't overextend myself.

But I experienced a serious disconnect when I took out my student loans. The first time I needed money, I accepted only the subsidized amount. But later on I thought, how much interest can there be on these little student loans? And I took as much money as they would give me. When I wasn't working, I used it for living expenses.

The answer to my question above is: a lot!

6.8%.

That's higher than a mortgage rate.

So when I checked all this out I panicked a little.

And then I found out how much my monthly payment would be.

And I panicked a little more.

But I came up with a plan. It's not going to accomplish any miracles, but at least it's a plan and I can sleep at night knowing it's in place.

I want to save up six months of living expenses. When that's done, I will put every extra penny I have on the biggest unsubsidized loan I have. I've done my research. I know where my loans are and the percentage rates on each one. Now I have at least a modicum of control.

It might be twenty dollars a month. Some months it might not be anything. But I do have a plan. Now when I sell something on Ebay or in a consignment shop I can apply the money to a loan and feel a sense of accomplishment. Hopefully it won't take the typical ten years to pay them all off.

Also, if I get a chance to take a job as a school nurse, I will jump on it! If you work for a government entity, your payments are cancelled. Yes, CANCELLED.

Finally, a Sewing Day

Yesterday I cut and, with this project, it was really kind of fun. Today I sewed. I challenged myself to get all the pieces sewn together. I can do the hem and elastic another day. The idea that hit me while looking through the men's tee shirts at my favorite place, The Clothes Closet, was to buy tee shirts with words or slogans and piece them into a skirt. I had the perfect pattern with lots of pieces. I've almost finished the skirt and it's pretty cute. It's not as busy as I thought it would be because it's hard to get all the words and pictures and still keep the grain the right direction. But I think it turned out cool and the next one will be even better. Two extra large tee shirts were enough for all the pieces of my pattern. My shirts were different shades of white and I used the two colors at random. Love it. I will show you when I get my camera fixed (or a new phone). The next idea I had is even better! I usually ignore the ladies' shirt section because outdated shirts are too short. They are useful only for fabric and there's not that much fabric in a ladies' top. But then I realized that an extra large ladies' blouse will be long enough. I can alter these blouses to fit! I found a nice, white linen blouse with tons of pin tucks. I can't wait to cut it down and do something cute with it! Tomorrow I work. As in earn money. And that, my friends, is a blessing.

Random Acts of Thrift

I am in love with glass jars. I love to empty out a nice pickle jar and wash it and remove the label and see that I have nice, new, free jar. I have started using jars to put my silverware in. One for spoons, etc. I keep them in my tiny pantry. I have almost no storage in my kitchen.

My favorite jar right now is a Marie Callendars's Cole Slaw Dressing jar. It's thick and substantial and has a neat shape. I put coffee in it. I like the way it feels in my hand in the morning when I make coffee.

I put flour in another jar and keep it in the refrigerator. Jars just seem like free canisters to me. I don't know why anyone wouldn't keep a good jar and find something to put in it. Everything looks nicer in a glass jar.

One time I bought a huge jar of pickles just because I liked the huge jar they were in. Of course, with number 3 son, I had no trouble emptying it. I keep tea bags in it next to a pretty little teapot. It's another little thing that makes me happy whenever I see it.

I found a turkey in the "almost gone bad" bargain section of the grocery store and cooked it for New Year's Day. I cooked down the carcass and saved the broth in an empty ice cream bucket. I love buckets! They are also free and very handy, and large enough to save a lot of broth. I keep these buckets of broth in the extra freezer. I don't buy a lot of ice cream, but my son does. We have a lot of buckets!

I picked the meat off the turkey bones and made a pot pie!

Today I made my son turkey quesadillas and I still have more meat. I put it in an empty tortilla bag and closed it with a clothes pin. I guess it's time for soup.

This turkey cost nine dollars and I got several meals from it. The only thing is, I get kind of tired of the taste of turkey after a while. There's always the freezer!

How I Saved Money This Week

The very best thing I can do to lift my frugal spirits is to visit our church's clothes closet. Every clothing item here is 25 cents. It is an endless supply of affordable fabric, buttons, and even clothes to wear as, well, clothes.

I got my younger son two shirts for school, my older son a long underwear shirt that he has already worn to an outdoor Halloween event, a tee shirt for my fiancee, and
drum roll, please...

a manual typewriter I've been promising my younger son since I couldn't find one for his birthday!
It was $3.

Don't tell him. He thinks it's wonderful and that it must have cost a lot of money.

On Friday, I was cleaning up a little and found three hot dog buns that were dried out and two bread ends. I almost threw them out, but changed my mind.

(Ok, I did throw them out and then dug them out of the trash when I got an idea.)

I cut all this into cubes, rolled them around in melted butter, added some parsley flakes and salt and garlic, and put them in a slow oven until they were crunchy.

Now I have homemade croutons. I put them in a cleaned pickle jar. I can't tell you how happy this made me!

I used to think that watching grocery ads was a waste of time. I thought it would save money over the long run to go to one store, get what I need, and come home and cook. This week I watched the store ads. I used a store coupon to get 9 pounds of frozen chicken breasts for $1.58 per pound, and bought 6 pounds of grated cheddar for $2.50 per pound. I like this method and will try it again next week. I hope to build up a nice supply of cheap groceries this way.

Our Walmart had small bags of sweetened cereal for $1.00 each. This comes to 10-11 cents per ounce, which is good. But I went home and found a Malt O Meal coupon online for $1.50 off three bags of cereal. So the final price was about 5 cents per ounce, which is fantastic! We have cereal to last a while now, because I let my kids eat sweetened cereal only on weekends.

What I want to stress here is that I found the product, then found the coupon. I didn't buy something just because I had a coupon. Find a good deal on something you buy anyway, then look for a coupon to further increase your savings.

See What Happens

Follow my blog with Bloglovin This is an experiment.

How to make a man's dress shirt into a skirt

Here is the shirt. I had already cut off one sleeve before I remembered to take a picture. But you can't really tell, can you? So go ahead and cut off those sleeves. Don't cut both thicknesses at once, just snip into it and then stick your scissors in and follow the seam.

Now you want to cut off the collar. Use a straight edge to cut off the top of the shirt.

Cut all the way down the side seams. Then you can cut off the old seam so your new seams won't be so thick.

I had a little bit of the back yoke left and you don't want that, so cut it off.

My shirt had a pleat in the back, so I used my ripper to rip out those stitches.

I cut off the old sleeve seams, but it really wasn't necessary. You'll get rid of them when you trim your seams.

Now make sure the buttons are all buttoned up and lay the front fabric on top of the back fabric. They won't line up perfectly, but that's okay. Just do the best you can to keep both pieces straight across (matching grains).

Here's how mine looked. The points of the underarms didn't match up, but it doesn't matter.

Now pin the sides in as straight a line as you can and sew your new seam. Do the same on the other side. You want to be as perpendicular to the bottom as you can so your seams won't curve or slant. They're hard to steam open when they're not straight up and down.

You'll have a huge seam allowance in some places where the fabric at the bottom is wider than the top. Trim it to about 5/8", but don't worry if it's not perfect. You can use only the bottom part of the fabric if you want and it will work out a lot straighter and you can preserve more of the fabric for a fuller skirt. I used the top because I wanted to keep the little pocket that was on the original shirt!

Now turn down the top edge and sew it under a little less than half an inch. Make sure you're not hitting a button. You might want to trim the top to make sure that your skirt top starts with a little space in the placket and not a button!

Now turn it down another inch or less and sew, leaving a space for inserting the elastic.

I stopped sewing here so I will have a little space for the elastic to go in. I trimmed my seam very close for an inch or two from the top so it wouldn't get in the way of the safety pin going through the casing. Trim both seams close. It makes things a lot easier!

Stick a safety pin through your elastic so you have something to hang onto as a guide to pulling your elastic through the waist. Don't pull it all the way or you have to start all over! You want two ends to sew together. Do this with a needle and thread or use the machine. It doesn't matter which. Just make sure your ends are secure and that the elastic isn't twisted.

Now cut off the bottom to a length you like. You want the back of the skirt to be a little longer than the front to allow for butt stickoutage. Turn up the bottom edge a little bit and sew, then turn up an inch or two for a hem.

Here's how it should look. See how I left room above the first button? And I pulled the back up a little higher than the front before I cut off the bottom to make sure it hangs right when my butt is in there!

I cut off the original buttons because they were boring. I got some brightly colored buttons out of my button jar and sewed them on in the same places where I cut off the old ones. You don't need to really use the buttons to get your skirt on, so it's okay if the buttons are bigger than the button holes. I kept the button on the pocket because I want the pocket to remain functional.

Here it is on me. (Sorry, my sons don't like taking pictures for me so I couldn't be picky about quality!) This was a neat learning garment. Not sure I will ever actually wear it, but I did figure out some things that I will do next time to make a skirt that I will really like!

And here's how it started out again.

Afterthoughts:

1) My church's clothes closet sells every article of clothing for 25 cents, so I can make a skirt for a quarter! I could use two coordinating shirts and use one for a band around the bottom or contrasting front pockets. Goodwill organizes shirts by color, so you will have all the best combinations already there for you, but don't limit yourself. I'm in love with the idea of a sage green print with a solid black band. Beware that Goodwill is not cheap anymore.

2) Look through catalogs to find skirts that you like before you start and copy them. Then you won't end up making a skirt that seemed like a good idea at first, but that you really don't want to wear.

3) The next time I go to the clothes closet I will look for corduroy shirts so I can make a skirt to wear in winter. Plaids are cute, but be careful not to get something that looks too "school uniform."

4) The bigger the shirt, the more fabric you get and the price is the same! Get a huge shirt and you can cut off the placket and seam the two pieces together and use the front of the shirt for the back of the skirt. I don't see why you couldn't make a waistband and put in a zipper if you want! But you'd end up spending money on a zipper unless you have some stashed away.

5) The sleeves from a short-sleeve shirt would be perfect for side pockets. If I find some corduroy I want to try this. You might be able to use long sleeves for something else like a waistband or yoke.

6) The ugliest men's shirts can be the prettiest choices for a skirt. Hawaiian shirts often have no back yoke and therefore yield more fabric. Buy a big one! And don't worry about a frayed collar - you don't want the collar anyway. Missing buttons are no problem, either, if you're going to replace them with better ones.

7) Think of your thrift store or hand me down bags as a huge and inexpensive fabric store. It's fun! Next you'll be redesigning women's dresses. Buy the big ones!

A Pox on Walmart

The thing all of us in the accelerated nursing program have in common is that we all already have degrees in other things. One girl in our group is a pharmacist at Walmart. At lunch the other day she was telling the rest of us how Walmart treats their employees. I won't go into details here, but as a result of our lunchtime discussion I have decided I will at least try not to shop there as much.

When I took B to work at Brookshires the other day, I followed him in and purchased some things that I normally would have gotten at Walmart. I spent $20.45.

I took my receipt to Walmart and checked the prices of the same items there. I interpolated for the sugar substitute, since the Walmart package had more in it, and I gave Walmart the benefit of the doubt on the chips since they don't even have them in the store. I assumed they would be the same price if they were available.

Brookshire's

Cape Cod chips.............................2.50
Folgers coffee.............................9.49
Splenda....................................7.29
Store brand bread..........................1.59
Hothouse tomato............................1.58

Total.....................................20.45



Walmart

Cape Cod chips (not available)..............2.50
Folgers coffee.............................14.78
Splenda.....................................5.94
Store brand bread...........................1.08
Anemic-looking tomato.........................85

Total......................................25.15

Brookshire's won this one because of the coffee. Also, the selection was better.

Chair Project

My parents bought two matching rockers from Tell City in the seventies. This one was recovered several years ago by a professional reupholsterer. It's okay, but very dark and still quite Early American looking.



This one still has its original skirt. EXTREMELY Early American!



Here is the original chair with its skirt removed. It has been sanded.



Here is one chair primed. The white primer gives a hint of what they will look like painted white or another light color.



I liked the idea of a black and white toile on the back cushion and skirt, with a pink seat cushion, like the pretty little chair Kelly @ Much To Do With Nothing did. But I want to get away from the Early American look so I think a black and white, or brown and white Anthropologie type print would be better. Not quite to the point of choosing fabrics, though.

Wild Animals in My Closet!

When I put on my Easter shoes, they hurt my feet. So I took them back today and got these!

I don't need them. I don't even know what I will wear with them. But I love them!

I almost bought pink plaid peep toe pumps, but the plaids weren't placed the same on both shoes and I knew it would really bother me.

I have gone shoe crazy. Zebra stripes with pink heels! What do I wear with them?

Another Project?

This is a Felicity dress I started a LONG time ago and have never been able to finish. I am posting a picture of it here to see if it will shame me into working on it. I can't seem to think of a trim or color that would give it enough pizazz that someone would want it.

I'm at a standstill. At this point I would rather just finish it any old how. If you have any ideas for spicing it up let me know. If I could just get it hemmed and put the velcro in I'd be ecstatic. Then I could add something pretty or fluffy and be done!

I want to work on another dress, but won't let myself until I finish this one.

What's On Your Nightstand?

I saw this at vintage simple.

And here's my nightstand. I can show it only because I cleaned my room yesterday.



The book is "Lost Moon" by Jim Lovell. I'm reading it aloud to the boys.

The roses are from my boyfriend, just because he's like that.

There's my phone and an odd candle that I should probably throw away. And a lamp that I study by (or look at magazines by). An eyeglasses case from Goodwill - ha! Bible. The letter "T" paper weight. A highliter that I use to study. And that's my table. I don't know what it says about me except that "this little table is fairly neat right now, it must be a miracle!"

Scrapped

I decided to do some fun mindless things on this project, like cutting off the buttons,



...and ripping out the side seams...




Then I shaped up the armholes, using the pattern pieces from that vintage patern. As you can see, the original armholes are so huge that I couldn't really cut the curve of the new ones. I fudged on the angle so I could get at least part of the curve. I thought maybe I could fiddle with the seam allowances and make it work.




I pinned in one of the sleeves and tried it on. As you can see, the fudging I did took up all the fullness of the bodice. I didn't foresee that the different sleeve shapes would be such a problem. I could have added gussets or pieced the fabric to get the right amount for the new sleeve, but that started feeling like drudgery. I have officially scrapped this project. The light blue will make perfect doll aprons for Kirsten someday!

Lesson learned: You can't really adapt a man's sleeve to a woman's because, even though there is more fabric in the shirt, it has been cut AWAY more in the armhole.



Let's all cry together. Wah!