I love my Alaskan life and the challenge of living on a small budget in this expensive state. Come along with me as I share my chicken lovin', homeschooling, penny pinching life!
This weekend something new went on my to do list that I am super excited about! Spring is here and it is now a goal to get out and get our 30 minutes of fresh air each day.
Here is what was on my list this weekend. The always list: Laundry - 2 loads and hang to dry Bathroom - Scrub and sanitize Kitchen - ditto the bathroom This weekend or until done list Kill the mouse - it's taunting us now and watching movies with us Kitchen list Make bread - will happen Monday because I forgot to get the sourdough out Make the pot of beans - yep, create the magic Dehydrate the excess veggies and fruit - hubby came home with extra mushrooms eBay store list reconcile the spreadsheet for February - not even close to happening yet list 5 items - on #4 currently Stormy list Hug, love and pinch on - and work on numbers Extra Bubbles bath Personal list Keep reading Atlas Shrugged Knit a pair of mittens Get 30 minutes of fresh air and walk Update blog Here is what I wish was on my list
Ha Ha - Cabin fever is setting in apparently. I got to get going, I've only accomplished about 20% of my list and it is Sunday evening already! Lovin' life
I am feeling so disappointed in myself, I broke down and bought something Made in China. Actually, I lacked the willpower to return something I bought recently, which somehow seems worse.
Recently I was cruising through a blog site and saw an easy pattern for some really warm mittens. Everyone knows, when you live in Alaska, you really need warm mittens. They were made on a Knifty Knitter loom that I didn't have, but have been wanting for awhile. Those mittens pushed me off the fence and I started shopping for the loom. First, I looked for used ones on eBay, but with shipping it was expensive and they didn't include the loom hook or instructions. I switched my search over to Amazon and found a pack of 4 different sizes for less of a cost than one used one. Can you say temptation?
In fairness, I zoomed on to the pictures and tried my best to find the "Made In" area. I even googled it, but to no avail, I could not positively figure out where the looms were made in. With trepidation, I ordered them, saying to myself that, just maybe, they were made in the Philippines or Vietnam. NOPE, I opened the box, and after a minute of hunting, in tiny print, mixed in with the french instructions there it was, Fabrique in China. Uggghhh!
By now, you have figured out that I kept the looms. Buying used ones just didn't make financial sense to me. I'm trying to justify it and I can make some good arguments with myself but it is still a fail.
My first project - not the mitten pattern that caused me to buy the looms, an easier pattern for my first go at it. I made the pair in about 2 hours and spent $3.99 on the yarn. If one bought the yarn on sale, or used a coupon, the cost would by half. In an Alaskan store, you could easily spend over $10 for a pair like this.
Looming isn't new to me. I've been looming socks for about a year now and find it the easiest of crafts to do. I think the new looms will be easy for Stormy to one day learn on.
Here is a pair of wool socks I'm making on the KB sock loom. These are for Stormy to wear under her rubber boots, once spring breakup hits up here. A pair of socks takes me about a month to make and the cost of the wool is expensive, around $6.99. I could probably buy her cheaper socks but I love being able to custom make them.
I have already picked out my next project. A hooded cowl that I think is just brilliant. I have many jackets that do not have a hood and this is a perfect solution. I can also see it as another layer while hiking and foraging this spring and fall. I expect this project to take a couple of days and cost me roughly $7 in yarn.
As far as my challenge goes, I'm going to keep with it and try to keep my China dollars under $20 for the year.
Lovin' Life with warm mitts on my hands and disappointment in my heart.
I am a month into my personal challenge of not buying anything Made in China. So far, it has been very easy.
I'm keeping a closer eye on what I spend my money on and I bought very little lately. No doubt this is true because, I am pretty tight with my money and I was feeling a bit of burnout after all the holiday shopping. In January, we did our monthly food shopping, which came in under $500 and I did check labels. All the food we purchased came from the North America including Canada and Mexico. I also needed to purchase some zippered hoodies to wear during exercising. My current ones are disgraceful or too warm. I did value shopping and checked a few websites. My go to site is Old Navy because they offer cheap clothes and free shipping to Alaska but what I usually buy appears to be made in Indonesia. Pretty close to China and probably a sweat shop. I decided to buy a few used sweaters off of eBay. Not sure where they were made in but because they are used, and I will be happy to recycle them until they too, are a shredded mess. I picked out quality labels (Columbia) that I hope will last longer. For the three used hoodies, with shipping, I spent $31.00. In fairness, three new sweaters from Old Navy I would have paid $35.91 but I had a 25% off code, so it would have been $26.95. So much for the saying, "Buy used and save the difference". I'm not complaining though, I like knowing that I'm willing and happy to use what someone else doesn't want and hopefully the person selling the products were happy to make a sell and the income can help them out. I'd rather support my fellow citizen than a huge corporation. To keep the energy equal, I did send a few boxes of donation goods to our local charity. That's it for January and barring any surprises, February should be equally as boring. This may be the longest lasting New Year's resolution that I have ever made. Lovin' life and feeling a bit smug. The China Challenge Total Days China Free - 31 Total Saved/Lost -$4.05
Maybe it was all the Christmas shopping that caused a bit of disillusionment in me or maybe it was my upbringing haunting me, but I only made one resolution for 2014. Every single soul that I have shared my resolution with has said the exact same phrase - "Good luck with that" followed by a chuckle no less. My resolution is to go as long as I can without buying any product that has been made in China.
I am not much of a shopper and I don't think I will be very challenged until Stormy's birthday or when it comes to buying new scrubs for work. I do know that I will have to avoid the Chinese factory outlet aka Walmart. I usually only shop at Walmart about 6 times a year, and I usually buy yarn, some shop supplies like antifreeze and oil (hmmm, maybe that won't be made in China....) and personal items. For Stormy's birthday, I really want to to buy an outside play set and I'm hoping to find a good used one. In fact, I will buy something used that is made in China, if needed. I feel that there is more positive in recycling an item than not. So far this resolution is saving me money. For an evening, I was very tempted to buy a Fitbit. I was already hesitant about it because I would lose privacy, but I justified that by saying I already log everything into MyFitnessPal. Of course, Fitbit and all others similar items are made in China. I could probably find one used but the impulse has passed and I am $129 the richer for it. Lovin' life - NOT made in China The China Challenge Total days China-free - 11 Total amount saved - $129
For the first time in many, many years, I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Normally, we are invited to my mother-in-laws house and we yummy up all of her cooking. Unfortunately for our bellies, she is not here. Time for me to woman up and hit the kitchen. Here is our menu for the day: Appetizers: Deviled eggs, olive and cheese tray Main: Glazed lentil loaf, stuffing, cranberry sauce, potato salad, whipped sweet potatoes Desert: Pumpkin cheesecake, coffee and eggnog If we were going to my mother in laws, believe me it would be different. Everyone gets their own pie. There would be turkey and mashed potatoes, and no doubt, some type of rolls. I just don't have that ambition in me, and one day of diet killing is sufficient.' One of the lessons that I have learned this year is nobody wants to come to a vegetarian's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Ouch, but I understand. Really thinking about spending the money for an organic turkey next year, but I hear they run about $100 a bird. Yikes! Talk about gobbling up your checking account.
The rest of our day will be family time. Hubby has agreed to spend time with us today, but that is tough on him, he'd rather be working. It's a bit ironic that as I type this, there are some definite snoring sounds coming from his recliner. Maybe it's time to join him in a nap. Happy Thanksgiving! Lovin' Life and thankful everyday
Sometimes insomnia is sweet. Like last night, when it was just such a push to get a resistant Stormy to bed. Hubby went to bed early, I mean like 8:00 early and it seemed like a good idea for all of us to get some extra rest. Finally, after extra stories, Stormy was in her own bed and I am wide awake. Since the hubster was snoring soundly I didn't think he would mind if I surfed YouTube on my tablet. I am so happy I did, because I found a concert that flooded me with childhood memories. With every song sung, I found myself remembering truck rides with my dad, dinners at the lodge with the jukebox blasting, school dances and hanging out in the kitchen when we had company over listening to them pick at their guitar. Listening to this concert was just like spending an evening with old friends.
I wish that I could have gone to The Highwaymen concert. Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson together are the best. I truly miss music like they sing. It was music with heart in it. It was music about things that mattered, life and love and freedoms and events. It wasn't afraid to mention Jesus or honor our soldiers. I know there was plenty of love gone wrong songs but even those seemed real. I don't listen to popular music anymore. It's agenda seems to be to promote sex and drugs, and the artists seem to be chosen, not for their talent, but other, er, abilities. Miley Cyrus comes to mind as I type this out. So I applaud those men. Thank you for sharing your music even though it meant baring your soul. Lovin' Life with a tear in my eye.
I woke up tired this morning and not motivated. That must mean that it is time to make a list of things to accomplish and publish it to the world. I mean, I'd hate to show off to everyone just how lazy I can be. More than anything, I really need to work on getting my body better. I am on a wonderful diet, which I will write more about after I have given it more time. Let's just say, I could do better. This weekend I will try, try try to... 1. Drink more water - really just drink more liquids. I'm feeling very dehydrated 2. Only eat when hungry - I'm totally sabotaging my weight loss lately with snacking. 3. Exercise - which means the hated elliptical. When my treadmill gave up the ghost I thought it would be fun to change things up and buy an elliptical, I was very, very wrong. I hate every minute of it but I only have room for one piece of equipment and this is it for now. I may dust off some Paul Lam videos and get in some Tai chi. If you haven't checked out Paul Lam, you should.
I am a fan of Tai Chi because it forces me to stretch and the video make sure that I do it for the right amount of time. I know my limits...I will never become a warrior. Ready, set, go! Happy weekend to all.
