Lists Lists Lists

So I've always been a little OCD about planning and scheduling. It goes back to the last resolution I ever made to not procrastinate. "Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today." What sage advice! So ever since then, I've been big into lists. I never did another New Year's resolution because that was something you promised for a single year and if you fell off the trend in March or April, you'd either hate yourself for failing or you'd shrug and say, "Well, we'll try again on next year's resolution!"

So instead I'd do weekly resolution lists. I'd plan my meals, shopping, work, cleaning, gym work out-everything. If I didn't accomplish everything for each day, eh, it wasn't the end of the world and hey, what about all those other days I nailed it? Well for this past weekend I'm so grateful for this OCD method because it truly saved time and stress. From planning the kiddo's kid birthday party at Jungle Jims on Saturday (with me running to fill balloons and buy the cake first thing that day), to the family luncheon the next day (with me running to buy platters after getting the crockpot soup going and putting up decorations) to today, planning fun activities like the pool and the zoo to make the day extra special for my daughter. Whew! Not to mention the beginning of the week I'd portioned out painting 2 coats of paint in the bathroom-walls and trim, cleaning the whole house-I'll say it again-whew! Everything came together Each day ON TIME and for that, I'll always champion the list making method. And my daughter even mimicks me when she has paper and a pencil, she'll make a little slash and say, "Check!"

The Terrible Two's

My mother says it's called the Terrible Two's because it lasts 2 years-from age 2-4. I've been pretty lucky with my daughter. She's very helpful-well as much as she can be at her age. She turns 3 on the 30th and I must say, the "terrible" has arrived. We will be having the best time and any changes, or time for end or any transition whatsoever causes a complete and utter meltdown. She'll randomly throw things, she kicks in play, even when I let her know it's not okay. She fights eating at dinner and she refuses to let anyone do anything but pay absolute attention to her. She used to be so mellow and so almost OCD in helping in cleaning or doing what was asked of her I must say that just makes this phase much more jolting. I'm very excited about the birthday plans we have for her this weekend but I must admit, I'm a little tentative as well. Will it be the angelic Janessa that comes out for the fun? Or will it be the Mr. Hyde version that freaks out in the middle of things? Being a planner, this is difficult because no matter what, you cannot plan how your children will behave, you just work with what they give you. And maybe keep your fingers crossed behind your back the entire time. :)

When It Pours, It Floods

So to top of my Rain it Pours blog, we had our 5th "2015 hates us and wants to kick us while we're down" incident. While driving my husband and daughter to a cousin's birthday party we were in a car accident. It was the other lady's fault but in Utah, it's always the fault of the person making the left turn (me) unless under a protected arrow. Never mind the fact that she'd slowed to stop, changed her mind, punched it and neither slowed nor swerved to avoid me even though I certainly swerved to avoid her. No brake marks showing she attempted to avoid to slow down or stop, nothing. But it's my fault now. I'm the one who got hit, I'm the one that has that on my record for 3 years and I'm the one that will have a fun time getting covered by insurance companies. Talk about victimizing the victims! After this incident I learned my brother-in-law when he totaled my old car-he was making a left turn. The guy who appraised my car had a daughter who'd just totaled hers due to a driver "changing his mind" at the last minute. A friend of mine had been in the intersection when the light turned red and other driver ran it and hit her-still her fault. What does this tell me? Not that it's unfair-hell, life is unfair. This a man made law and it is Wrong. Ultimately, the other car is hitting the left turner, not the other way around and not only that, the left turner gets penalized three fold by the system. Now I understand the line, "You can't fight City Hall." This also tells me that hey, if you're the other driver you can get away with Anything. Absolute B.S.

However, in my attempt to squintingly see a cloudy silver lining-no one in my car was hurt. My daughter's car seat is behind my seat because I've always anticipated that I'm more likely to be hit on the right side than the driver's. My swerve prevented the SUV from hitting the passenger door where my husband was and instead hit the back right door. The car is still driveable and will be repaired (hopefully in the near future) while I'm given a rental. My husband's starting to have the mentality that the "It could always be worse" just makes more bad things happen which is ironic as he used to be the blind optimist and even though he called me a fatalist I'm what Psychology books would describe as a defensive pessimist. Expect the worst, be pleasantly surprised but never disappointed. Of course, with the year we're having the defensive pessimist in me has thrown up her hands and gone into a corner to hide. :)

Here's to hoping my next entries will be less in the tales of woe department!

Competitive Pricing

So this is a great time to hit multiple stores for those killer deals. If you live in Utah, these are some the best prices per product for Reams, Maceys, and Smiths:

Reams:

• Ground beef $2.89 lb
• Sarah Lee Bread 2/$4
• Pepsi 12 pack 3/$10 (also available at Maceys)
• Chef Boyardee pastas 99 cents
• Coolaid packets 7/$1
• Yoplait 8 pack $3.99
• Cantalope 59 cents
• Large Ambrosia apples 69 cents
• Yellow Onions 5/$1

Maceys:

• Currently doing their fill a bag of select produce for $10-mainly apples, oranges, potatoes, onions, and pears
• Frito Lay Chips $1.99
• Jack Links Original Jerky 2/$6
• Tomatoes $1.29 lb
• Lay's Chips 2/$5
• Claritin 10 ct $9.99
• Keebler cookies 2/$6
• Tostitos Chips 2/$6
• Rockstar drinks 5/$5
• Baby Back Ribs $2.99 lb
• Grapes $1.89 lb

Smiths:

• Milk 2/$4
• Cottonelle Toilet Paper 12 Double Rolls 2/$10
• Kroger crescents/biscuits 10/$10
• Kroger cheese bars/shreds 2/$5
• Strawberries 2/$5
• Dial Handsoap 10/$10
• Simple Truth carrots $1.48/2lb bag
• Select bakeware 20% off
• Pork Shoulder Butt Roast $1.99 lb
• Kroger frozen potatoes select varieties $1.99

That's to name a few. Hurry out, sales end Tuesday!

Weak Trick

So not much in additional news other than a little trick that personally helps me and who knows, maybe it can help you too. I'm the one that does the bills in my household and it's always been that way because I'm a tiny bit OCD on getting things taken care of and when you have money coming/going and you can have your power turned off (had that happen once in the beginning of my marriage) because you're not paying close attention, well, you either get OCD or you get to move everything out of your fridge to somewhere cold before it rots.

Anyways, when we're getting near to the next paycheck, especially after coming off one that gets hit with the biggest bills, there's the money crunch/anxiety. This is where being the bill payer has its advantage. If you don't pay the bill and hit the ATM you may see a larger number in your account than is actually there-pending charges that haven't hit, bills that are automated but haven't deducted yet, but will before the next paycheck. I account for every single bill due for each paycheck as soon as that paycheck hits. I go through my account and use a super simple excel spreadsheet (no formulas even, I use the computer calculator to do my tallies-this also makes it hit home where your money is going) and I add the date of every charge that cleared already and make a rough estimate of the expenses we'll cover before the next paycheck.

This last weekend as the money ran tight I decided to be even more OCD (if that's possible) for every cent. After I did the bills, subtracted pending charges, etc, I typed the balance amount into my phone calculator. Then, any errand I or my husband made, I immediately went to my phone and deducted that amount so I knew exactly where we stood as we go. So much easier than running home to pull up my excel sheet. Lame but effective. That's my tip for the week. Such as it is. :)

When It Rains It Pours

So 2015 is just not shaping up to be a good year:

• I rang in the New Year recovering from a headcold
• My husband was pulled over for a DUI during Sundance-the cost of which is going to eat half our savings
• Halfway through a Chips Ahoy bag I chomped on something that appeared/felt suspiciously like bone-I am very thankful it was me, however, and not my 2 year old-the results of that make me shudder still.
• A puppy tried to attack my foot while I was walking my daughter in her stroller-and here I've always been the cat/dog whisperer!
• My husband and toddler were afflicted with a terrible headcold on Valentines Day of which I'm now catching
• One of my cats I abruptly realized was no longer an adult, but a senior and sick enough that's he's lost 7 pounds in the past 3 months-immediate trip to the Vet for testing! Chalk up another $500 and a vague notion of a possible problem that could be confirmed with an ultrasound but won't be necessary if I can get him to piece meal special food, not vomit it up and appears to be without pain. On our first day with that and so far, doing ok so I am thankful for that.

I've always believed in the scenario that when it rains it pours and that karma IS real whether you believe in it or not-so if you've been putting out negative vibes, even just mentaly-well it's gonna give you a knock-or five to wake you the hell up. I also believe in Murphy's Law such as when you have no excess money that's when the real spending begins.

Moral of this story? Be grateful for what you have while you have it. Negativity will bring bad things-one way or another, even if you don't think you're acting on them. Things can always be worse so try to find the silver lining in that if nothing else. Oh and the irony? I don't do New Years or Valentines but ya, those were the timelines for sickness. Maybe I should change that tradition. Hmmm.

Live and Learn

So although I am so grateful for the ability to be an at-home mom I must say that what I miss the most is all the disposable income. I'm sure that goes without saying for anyone who is in the same situation but it really is surprising how much you take it for granted. Even for the first two years I was still working and earning a bi-weekly check which alternated from my husband's pay date so we were getting paid every week. Now I'm not a big spender really. My obsessions were an occasional online clothing spurge (cheaper than stores), crafts (when the mood struck, which wasn't that often or that expensive), books and movies-I still struggle here. Books and movies are my lifelong compulsion. I can go months without buying anything and then suddenly-bam! I have to own those hard to find books or those old movies I grew up watching. It's not enough to stream or check them out from the library-even if that is an option. I must have them. After my daughter was born, spending on her was my new obsession. She had to have those adorable brand new outfits, the coolest toys and tons of them. Never mind the fact that she doesn't care what she wears and she'd rather play with me than any toys-it was just that need to inundate her with everything, especially around the big events-birthdays, Christmas, etc. And of course eating out and ordering pizza was a regular thing-now it's very rare as it's healthier to eat homemade and it is SO much cheaper.
As they say, hindsight is 20/20. Oh well, live and learn.

There are some great things out there for those trying to save money. It's just a matter of subscribing to things or just keeping your eyes open to some of the things that come in your mail. For instance, Joann's is offering a killing in savings this weekend for President's Day. I've decided to try my hand at a patch quilt from my Sewing 101 book. I bought 20 quilt squares and Queen matting and with the savings and the coupon they mailed me, spent only $32 and saved $42-wow. If you have a mind to start projects that are going to ultimately cost-keep an eye out for these kinds of deals. But yikes, don't go on Saturday! I had intended to buy backing for the quilt, but the line to have fabric cut was about as long as the ones to get through the registers...only moving much slower. Luckily I have more coupons from being on their mailing lists so I will go back another day and use them then. Also, if you know someone who qualifies as a senior, they save 20% on February 25 just by showing their ID.

Home Depot offers free workshops. Another project is to completely redo my small main bathroom. If that goes well, I'll move onto the rest of the house. The classes they're offering this month are PERFECT: Interior drywall/paint repair, updating cabinets, basic elecrical and tiling. Be warned, it may be a class of one or maybe several and it's held in any given area of the store but if you come armed with questions or need the A-Z spelled out for you, this is the place and e-how or youtube can be your emergency aid during the project.