December was not as challenging even with Christmas. Our employer income stayed the same. Additional income of $775.40 in the form of...
$269.40 - the hubs bonus (after taxes)
$220.00 - health reimbursement from my company
$286.00 - cash out stock that was no longer publicly traded ($230 went to savings)
We have decided to take the $1000 we have in a CD that matures next month and put it in savings. Then combined with our tax return we should have enough to have the work that was done on my Subaru last spring done AGAIN cause they messed it up. We are hoping the new mechanic finds fault with the work so we can get reimbursed. That's a long story for another day. Anything left over will immediately go on debt.
We went over our Christmas budget by $15 but that is not too bad since we bought gifts for many people on $500 by shopping sales and making some hand crafted items. We also cut back a little this year but didn't everyone? More hand crafted items are in store that were not finished but I have learned to start early next year.
As far as monthly expenses we track such as groceries, gas, eating out and coffee.
Grocery budget $400 - actual $492.20 and we still need stuff for New Years Eve
Gas budget $140 - actual $125.56 (and my tank is FULL)
Eating out $136.12 which is $3.05 more than last month
Coffee $96.59 which is $15.32 less than last month
Goals for January...
Finances
Reduce debt by $1800 ($1095 on credit cards and $705 on loans)
Reduce eating out to $50 (date night with the hubs)
Reduce coffee to $50 (twice per week)
Increase grocery budget to $500
Health
Continue walking on Sunday mornings with my friend
Add elliptical machine twice per week
Add The Firm video once per week
Increase water intake
Date night with the hubs (see eating out)
Hand crafting
Finish SD tabi socks
Finish SS fingerless gloves
Sew headband
Decluttering and Condo projects
Put away pattern pieces found in storage tub
Find homes or donate stuff behind the couch
Find homes or donate stuff along wall in master bedroom
Donate items already bagged
And there you have it. I think these are all attainable and I like the focus on several areas in my life. Here's to 2009!
My goals for 2009 are pretty simple. In fact, simplicity plays a role in all of my goals for this year. I need to get back to basics and not get distracted from my end result.
Finances I have set up a detailed budget for 2009. The hubs and I plan to pay down our consumer debt by minimally $15,000 which is just shy of half of our consumer debt (not including interest). Any extra we can come up with will go towards debt as well. Our tax return for 2008 and $1000 of the stimulus check we received last spring will go towards needed repairs and new tires on my Subaru. Anything left over will be placed on debt. The hubs and I will be looking in to starting a home business and revenue from that will go towards our debt reduction.
Health My focus we be on getting back in shape and losing some weight. I have my twenty year high school reunion this summer which I am still not sure I'm attending. In the past I have been really gung ho in the beginning and have taken on too much at once which is a recipe for failure. Baby steps to begin with. Throughout this past year every Sunday morning at 7 I have been walking the mall with my friend. In January I will be adding ten minutes twice a week on my elliptical trainer and doing a Firm video once a week. The goal here is to increase Firm workouts to three times a week. As the weather get's warmer I would like to be more active outside riding my bike, hiking and rock climbing.
I also plan on revamping my menu. To being with I am going to cut back on carbs like bread and pasta and eat brown instead of white rice. The goal is for every meal to divide my plate and have 1/4 from lean protein, 1/4 from carbs/starches and 1/2 from veggies and fruit. Increase in water intake as well as decrease in coffee with Starbucks only once per week. Every Sunday will be my menu planning day for the week so I know what I need to get at the grocery store as well as what we are eating throughout the week.
Surroundings It's time to finish decluttering my home. My condo is not very big but there is so much stuff that takes up room. I have craft items I no longer need and piles of stuff that need to be gone through and a home found for them or they need to be donated. I will also work on not bringing more stuff in to the house. My big weakness is books and I have been utilizing the local library system a lot more lately.
I also have some condo projects that need to be completed if we ever hope to put our place on the market spring 2010 and move to a house. Plus, it would be really nice to have my surrounding look done instead of a hodge podge of furniture and accessories in the house. I am going to write down the projects I hope to complete this year and actually schedule them.
Fun I would like to find new ways to have fun and enjoy my family. Not all of these things have to cost money. Some of them will include things I have already mentioned like bike riding and hiking. Things like game nights and movie marathons are easy ways to accomplish this.
I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas for those who celebrate it. I was pretty excited to have more snow on the ground when I woke up. It snowed all morning until around one and then started to warm up. We still have plenty on the ground but I expect it will be gone before the weekend is over. That is really fine with me cause I am getting a little sick of it.
Normally the hubs and I hit the movie theater on Christmas day. This year we and I stayed in PJ's all day long watching movies. I also started a book I got for Christmas. The kids had a great Christmas and scored with Wii games. I know what they will be doing all next week at our house with the hubs.
We are spending today at our friend and neighbors house for a movie marathon. In fact, I don't think we will venture out for the entire weekend with the exception of taking some library books back that are due today.
I'm working on my 2009 goals and have revamped my debt reduction plan and will post soon.
I am happy to report that I finished my brothers Christmas gift last night. I still have a few thousand threads to snip then I will get it in to a box and wrap it. I'm calling it Tetris for obvious reasons. Oh - and it's HUGE!
I'm pretty thrilled with the randomness of the look of the quilt but there is nothing random about the pattern. Where you see the orange squares is where I stitched an X through the front and back with orange thread to "quilt" them together. The backing became the binding on the front. It's in the dryer right now cause it's all snowy from the photo.
Here is a special treat for you all. Someone gave me this recipe last year and it replicates a certain giant coffee sellers Christmassy treat with cranberry's and white chocolate.
1 ½cups packed light brown sugar
1cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2eggs
2teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ¼cups all-purpose flour
1teaspoon baking powder
1teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups white chocolate chips
1 ½cups dried cranberries, coarsely chopped (I use Craisins)
1cup toasted chopped pecans (if desired)
¼ cup grated orange zest
Preheat the oven to 350°
Lightly butter an 11 by 15 inch jelly roll pan or rimmed baking sheet.Whisk together the brown sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.Whisk in the flour, baking powder, and salt until well blended, then stir in the white chocolate ships, cranberries, pecans, and orange zest.Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan (it will be quite stiff) and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 22 minutes.Set aside on a wire rack to cool.
Frosting
8ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1cup powdered sugar
½cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3tablespoons grated orange zest, divided
2teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup dried cranberries coarsely chopped
6ounces high quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
Cream together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, 1 tablespoon of the orange zest, and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and fluffy.Spread the mixture over the cooled base.Stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons orange zest with the dried cranberries in a small bowl and sprinkle the mixture over the frosting. Melt the white chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth.Drizzle the white chocolate over the bars and let sit until the chocolate is set.
Cut the bars into 3 inch squares and then diagonally into triangles, makes 48 bars.
I was unable to finish the Tabi socks for my SD, the fingerless gloves for my SS or the scarf for my mom. Never fear, the SK's will get their gifts in January some time and I will finish the scarf and give it to my mom or save it. It's never to early to start for next year!
Below is a shot of the first Tabi sock and a skein of yarn. I'm about to turn the heel on this sock. This color way is called Wicked Witch. I was leaning towards Lost Boys cause I thought Evil Stepmother was over the top. I will post a photo when they are done.
This is the first ever white Christmas for me and I am thrilled! Now it's time to get my house back in order. There is sewing and wrapping stuff everywhere. I may just make myself a new pair of flannel PJ bottoms first.
I was tagged today by my friend and I agree with her - seriously cruel! Pardon my efforts at taking a self portrait. Digital camera's sure are handy but not this handy.
Soooo..................................
1) Take of picture of yourself right NOW. 2) DON'T change your clothes. DON'T fix your hair. Just take a picture. 3) Post that picture with no editing. 4) Post these instructions with your picture. 5) Tag 10 people to do this.
We still have a ton of white stuff on the ground here at chez paisleypenguin. It snowed more last night and there was quite a bit of wind. I only have two days to work this week and then I am off Wednesday for the holiday. I'm a bit nervous about the drive to and from work and could work from home again but went stir crazy toward the end of Friday.
Yesterday the hubs and I picked up my mom and headed to the mall. First we hit Barnes & Noble and Old Navy which are near the mall. We found a majority of gifts at B&N cause my family are all big readers. I scored at ON for my SD (her favorite store) with stuff on sale and discounts handed to us at the door. Can you imagine a t-shirt for $1?
After that we went to the mall and to save our sanity the hubs used valet parking. Poor guy, he was the only one working the valet tent and people just started leaving their cars in the valet turnaround. The hubs gave him a decent tip cause he was working his but off!
It's weird going to the mall during regular business hours. Usually Sunday mornings I meet a friend at 7:00 and we walk inside the mall. There are others walkers there and cleaning crew. It's nice and empty. We got to the mall early enough that it wasn't too crowded and the lines were not so bad. The hubs and I managed to get most of the rest of our shopping done before the stress of the holiday and the amount of people started to bother me and make me feel claustrophobic and frustrated. I have to admit there were a few gift cards bought at that point.
The hubs and I dropped my mom off and went to Archie McPhee for stocking stuffers. I can't tell you what I got for the hubs cause he reads my blog but I can tell you the few things we got for the kids. SD got the Cat-A-Pult and SS got the Chuck-A-Duck. I'm partial to the Flying Monkeys myself. The hubs got a free plastic crocodile with his purchases which is now sitting in my car.
You can get all sorts of interesting things at Archie McPhee (they have an online store as well) like bacon flavored anything (band aids, car fresheners, floss, gumballs). Different bath ducks - they have a zombie one, a devil one a pirate one - you name it they probably have it. Don't forget dashboard Jesus. No Christmas stocking would be complete without the Yodeling Pickle.
We also stopped at the fabric store so I could purchase the backing flannel for my brothers quilt. That is what I will be working on today. I need a couple small items and then I am done. I started wrapping gifts last night but need more boxes. I am going to venture to my mom's in the snow cause she has a refrigerator box FULL of boxes I can use.
