Happy New Year

 Today starts the first day of ZERO spending for seven days. I have plenty to do at home for the next seven days that should keep me off the streets! Example one. New minky fabric I picked up Monday from the fabric outlet.

 Example number two of things to do. Christmas fabric for more Christmas quilts next year. My Christmas stash was getting mighty low.

 I gave myself a few hours off yesterday to make some neck rice bags using a bit of the new minky fabric. I sew did not need to be doing this but I couldn't stop myself. Before I knew it the rotary cutter was in my hot little hands

 Then spent the evening packing up Christmas

It's a messy job but somebody's got to do it!

The last of my spending occurred when a friend called last night to see if I wanted to get a bite to eat with some GF's. I'm not much of and out to eat person in the evenings preferring instead to eat from home but she caught me at a weak moment as I was packing up Christmas! I think I would have used any excuse to get away from this mess!! I treated all of the ladies to a minky rice neck bag to ring in the New Year. They deserved something special for saving me from the piles of tubs taking over the kitchen.

On today's To Do list is finish packing up Christmas then load it all into the garage. Once that task is complete and the kitchen is back in order I HAVE to get back to Tyler's Bama quilt. I had thought I would gift it to him today when we were together for New Years dinner but I couldn't take one more day of putting off the undecorating. I don't know about y'all but I am ready to get normal back in my life!

Anyone else in for Sharon's ZERO spending week or Carla's No/Low spending month? I had to fill up my car on the way home from the airport Monday so I am starting the month off on full in that department. The pantry and freezers are full, other than milk, eggs, and fruit the grocery bill should be super low. The only other shopping that might be needed is to purchase backing fabric for some Christmas quilts I will be working on over the next year. I hate to pass up the 70% off sales on Christmas fabric.

New Years resolutions....I'm just not much into those things, but goals are a different story. We have more home improvements coming up for 2014, some have pretty hefty price tags :(. Hubby has decided 2014 is the perfect year to do a family vacation to Disney, that my dears ain't gonna be cheap! Once I recover from all the recent festivities I need to get back to giving more rooms in the house a face lift, cha-ching. We are going to be needing some cash in 2014 as 2013 wiped us out in the home improvement category. Hubby's surgery last winter put a real hurt on our savings as well.

2014 is our year to save so we can spend.

I didn't work out a long term plan for a change this year as far as income is concerned. We have most things set up on auto pilot that is working just fine for retirement, health care, and regular savings. I will take some time to look over the bank statements in the near future to see where we are overspending but for the most part I think I already know the answer to that, "The Grands"  Hubby nor I can seem to pass a toy isle or children's clothing store without spending.

 Example: Now that we know the new peanut is a boy I had to go out yesterday morning to buy his first outfit. We have done this with each of the grands on the day we find out what "flavor" as we call it baby will be joining our family. What the heck, Kara could use some new jammies, might as well pick a pair up while I am at it, and that blue minky puppy with white polka dots, Oh Ya, he needs a good home. End result of just a little something for the new man in our life $97.00 and that my dears was with everything I bought on sale, sigh

The experts say that recognizing the problem is the first step in fixing the problem. I might be a lost cause!!

Happy New Year!!!