Well, it's more like a 65 day goal review, but here goes:
Home Projects: Kitchen
update - I don't have anything new to report since my post And So It Begins, except that I found replacement cabinets at Home Depot that will match my existing cabinets. However, I'm waiting until next week when they go on sale before I purchase what I need. A girl on a budget has got to save anyway she can. GRADE - B (Bored with waiting!)
Fitness: I have been just a little better than hit and miss on this goal. I was doing good about attending class until the week of Valentine's Day when I missed both days; one due to class being cancelled, and one due to a very special date with my hubby. And the week after that our instructor was sick one day and we had a threat of snow on the other day. I got back on track, but missed another couple of classes due to illness. I still haven't added a third day of working out on my own. Yet. Did I ever mention that I'm not fond of exercise? I have also been hit and miss on taking my vitamins and I have only incorporated two or three really healthy meals into our menu the last month. GRADE - D
Financial: I met with the manager of the
brokerage firm where I have my IRA and we made some changes to how my investments are allocated. But for now, I'm going to stick with just $50 a month being diverted from my paycheck to this account. Since I am going to be dipping heavily into my savings to pay for the kitchen remodel, it makes more sense to allocate an extra $50 a month to the regular savings account than to my IRA. That way the savings account won't be completely depleted. And after I get the savings account back up to the amount recommend by Dave Ramsey, I can revisit adding more to my IRA on a monthly basis. So my financial goals have changed slightly, but overall, I'm still concentrating on increasing the amount I put into savings. GRADE - A
February was not a good month for sales in my side business (antique/resale booth). I spent more on inventory than I made in sales. Still, I received a small commissions check even after my rent was paid. However, this month I have challenged myself not to spend any money on anything other than groceries and gas. See My March Madness post. That means no new inventory purchases for the booth. I'm just going to use things that I already have and finish a couple of my flea market flip projects to try to make a bigger profit this month. Fingers crossed!!
Personal:
Date nights with the Hubs have been going pretty good. We haven't changed things up from our usual routine very much, but we have gone to the movie theater more than we normally do. Also, we had a fantastic four course dinner at our favorite fancy restaurant for Valentines' Day. A couple of the dates we have pulled from the date jar included going out to breakfast at a local coffee shop and spending a couple of hours shooting at an indoor gun range. That was fun! Loud, but fun. And I finally got to shoot my hand gun I got for Christmas a couple of years ago. I'm excited for upcoming warm weather months, when I hope more of our dates will be outdoors. I don't know about you, but I get a little stir crazy after a long winter. GRADE - B+
Educational:
I have read and pinned a few things from Pinterest about photography and I actually took my Cannon out and played around with the F-Stop and ISO settings. I tend to procrastinate when things don't come easy. I keep praying that someday I'll have that magic light bulb moment and all the things that I don't understand about manual settings will just suddenly make sense. Until then, I'm still having fun taking pictures with my i-phone. GRADE - L (for Lazy)
Dreams:
As for my blogging efforts, I'm happy to say that I'm on-track! I have
published at least one post for every week since January 10, the day I posted New Year - New Goals. Currently, I have six followers of my blog,
and according to the stats, I have over 1,000 page views! Many of my friends and family have linked up through Facebook and
given me feedback and encouragement. It's all very exciting! GRADE - A
Spiritual: Something that I didn't include in my New Year - New Goals post was my spiritual goals for the year. I told myself that it was because that was too personal. That those goals were just between me and God. The truth is that I was afraid. Afraid of people thinking that I was trying to preach to them or shove Christianity down their throat. So I hid my light under a bushel. But today, I was reminded that fear can block the flow of God's strength into me. I don't want fear to keep me from being whom God intends me to be. I believe with all my heart that the main reason for this blog is for me to share what God has done and is doing in my life. If I can share just one thing that the Lord has taught me on life's journey that will help someone else, then I will know that God's purpose for me was met. That is how I will measure my success. Not by how many page views I get or how many people follow this blog. If I never make a dime from this venture it will not matter as long as I am serving Jesus Christ. Whew! With all that said, my spiritual goal for this year is to share God's Love on a more personal level. While I may share some of the ways God is helping me to reach this commitment, I will not be grading myself on this goal. I tend to be critical of myself, and a critical spirit is not of God. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27
How about you? Are you still on track with your new year's resolutions/goals? Is anybody else as OCD as I am?
Friday, March 22, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
And so it begins...
Steps for Kitchen Remodel:
Step # 1: Number and label all the cabinet doors and and their
corresponding cabinet.
Okay, actually it's something more like Step # 445. I didn't list all the planning, and scouring the internet for kitchen ideas, and calling everyone I know to get references for painters, plumbers, carpenters and electricians, and actually calling all those referred people to give me estimates, and running all over West-Tennessee to price materials, as steps in this kitchen update; but they were VERY important steps none the less. No, I just decided to start my list of steps with the beginning of actual physical labor being accomplished.
Step # 2: Rearrange my cabinet contents and purge A LOT of stuff.
I really started doing this a few weeks ago, but I got serious about it last night. And as the Hubs said as he walked in on me in full-on rearranging craziness, "You're messing with the whole system now." Yep Honey, that's the plan! I wish I had taken pictures of what the inside of the cabinets looked like before I started rearranging, but honestly, as a person who prides herself on being organized, I would have been too embarrassed. Now, because I have decided to have glass panels inserted into a couple of my doors, I needed to stage those cabinets not only to be functional, but pretty as well.
Please forgive the quality of the photos; I was working at night and just used my iphone to snap some quick pictures instead of pulling out the DSLR camera and trying to set up a whole perfect lighting scenario. Anywho, I removed the doors to the cabinets where I will have the glass paneled doors installed and organized all our everyday green dishes in there. I also added my white ramekins and a milk glass basket for a little interest. These cabinets formally housed all my Tupperware bowls and other plastic storage containers. It was organized, but not very pretty. So I had to shift things from other cabinets to accommodate the plastic stuff. You might be asking why I didn't just move all the plastic stuff to the cabinet I took my green dishes from. Well, I have a very good answer for that. That cabinet still houses a bunch of our other everyday dishes, just not the pretty matching ones. I know. I know. I should just get rid of all those other dishes; and eventually I will. But for now, I just can't afford to replace them. And they serve a particular function. And I'm trying not to go too crazy with getting rid of things. Is that enough excuses? Yeah, well it's a process.
Step #3: Remove the cabinet doors above the refrigerator.
Another home blogger that I follow did this in her kitchen makeover and I really liked it. Instead of having a hard to access cabinet that hides stuff that I don't need; by removing the doors, I now have another display cabinet for some of the lovely things that I need but don't use very often. Before I started this purging, I didn't realize how much stuff I was squirreling away. As organized as I like to think that I am, I'm still a little bit of a pack-rat.
Okay! That's enough for now. I really wish I could keep going, but that's all I was able to accomplish last night. Well actually, I did get one other thing done. I had another contractor (my uncle) come over and give me a second opinion about moving the sink. His verdict - it can be done. With enough money, anything is possible. And I'm probably gonna have to loose an upper cabinet, and it may not be aesthetically pleasing to anyone but me; but if that is what I truly want and I'm willing to pay for it; don't let anybody change my mind. We shall see.
Step # 1: Number and label all the cabinet doors and and their
corresponding cabinet.
Okay, actually it's something more like Step # 445. I didn't list all the planning, and scouring the internet for kitchen ideas, and calling everyone I know to get references for painters, plumbers, carpenters and electricians, and actually calling all those referred people to give me estimates, and running all over West-Tennessee to price materials, as steps in this kitchen update; but they were VERY important steps none the less. No, I just decided to start my list of steps with the beginning of actual physical labor being accomplished.
Step # 2: Rearrange my cabinet contents and purge A LOT of stuff.
I really started doing this a few weeks ago, but I got serious about it last night. And as the Hubs said as he walked in on me in full-on rearranging craziness, "You're messing with the whole system now." Yep Honey, that's the plan! I wish I had taken pictures of what the inside of the cabinets looked like before I started rearranging, but honestly, as a person who prides herself on being organized, I would have been too embarrassed. Now, because I have decided to have glass panels inserted into a couple of my doors, I needed to stage those cabinets not only to be functional, but pretty as well.
Please forgive the quality of the photos; I was working at night and just used my iphone to snap some quick pictures instead of pulling out the DSLR camera and trying to set up a whole perfect lighting scenario. Anywho, I removed the doors to the cabinets where I will have the glass paneled doors installed and organized all our everyday green dishes in there. I also added my white ramekins and a milk glass basket for a little interest. These cabinets formally housed all my Tupperware bowls and other plastic storage containers. It was organized, but not very pretty. So I had to shift things from other cabinets to accommodate the plastic stuff. You might be asking why I didn't just move all the plastic stuff to the cabinet I took my green dishes from. Well, I have a very good answer for that. That cabinet still houses a bunch of our other everyday dishes, just not the pretty matching ones. I know. I know. I should just get rid of all those other dishes; and eventually I will. But for now, I just can't afford to replace them. And they serve a particular function. And I'm trying not to go too crazy with getting rid of things. Is that enough excuses? Yeah, well it's a process.
Step #3: Remove the cabinet doors above the refrigerator.
Another home blogger that I follow did this in her kitchen makeover and I really liked it. Instead of having a hard to access cabinet that hides stuff that I don't need; by removing the doors, I now have another display cabinet for some of the lovely things that I need but don't use very often. Before I started this purging, I didn't realize how much stuff I was squirreling away. As organized as I like to think that I am, I'm still a little bit of a pack-rat.
Okay! That's enough for now. I really wish I could keep going, but that's all I was able to accomplish last night. Well actually, I did get one other thing done. I had another contractor (my uncle) come over and give me a second opinion about moving the sink. His verdict - it can be done. With enough money, anything is possible. And I'm probably gonna have to loose an upper cabinet, and it may not be aesthetically pleasing to anyone but me; but if that is what I truly want and I'm willing to pay for it; don't let anybody change my mind. We shall see.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Bunnies vs. Zombies
My Hubby is a big fan of the t.v. series The Walking Dead. Me, not so much. In fact, I just don't get the whole fascination with zombies. Or vampires either for that matter. The sound effects alone give me the heebie jeebies. And just watching 5 minutes of the "undead" can give me nightmares for weeks. Okay, I know, I'm a wuss.
Anyway, the other night when his zombie show came on, I do what I always do when the zombie show is on; I disappear to another part of the house. I didn't feel like cleaning, so I went down to the basement to see what I could get into. I had recently stripped a grapevine wreath of it's old dirty flowers and it was just crying out to be turned into a new spring/Easter wreath. So, I started rummaging through the boxes of my floral supplies and came up with some Forsythia stems, Hyacinths, orange Gerber Daisies, and some ivy. Also, I had this cute wooden bunny that had retired with the rest of my country decor. What better to stick on an Easter wreath than a bunny? Well, after an hour of wielding the hot glue gun and floral wire, this is what I came up with.
Anyway, the other night when his zombie show came on, I do what I always do when the zombie show is on; I disappear to another part of the house. I didn't feel like cleaning, so I went down to the basement to see what I could get into. I had recently stripped a grapevine wreath of it's old dirty flowers and it was just crying out to be turned into a new spring/Easter wreath. So, I started rummaging through the boxes of my floral supplies and came up with some Forsythia stems, Hyacinths, orange Gerber Daisies, and some ivy. Also, I had this cute wooden bunny that had retired with the rest of my country decor. What better to stick on an Easter wreath than a bunny? Well, after an hour of wielding the hot glue gun and floral wire, this is what I came up with.
Kinda cute, don't ya think?
In my book,
bunnies beat zombies every day of the week!
Happy Spring Y'all!
If you have a spring or Easter wreath that you're pretty proud of, send me picture. Just link it up in the comments.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
My March Madness
Last year I started following a blog called "Bye Buy Clothes" by Rebecca Kohler. She challenged herself to buy no clothes, shoes or accessories for a full calendar year. Her aim was to rethink her fashion choices and to save money. Not only could she not buy any clothing for herself, in her challenge she could not buy any clothing or accessories for any of her family members either. Her children are grown, so it was a little easier than if she had school aged kiddos. And it gave her husband and college age son a chance to shop for themselves. She succeeded on a grand scale. I think she learned a lot about herself and a few valuable life lessons as well.
Anyway, I thought I would follow her example by taking on the same challenge for the month of March. My goal isn't so much geared toward fashion lessons, but to save money. Because I'm getting ready to update my kitchen, and because I'm on a very tight budget, it makes sense to save as much as I can in other areas. I'm actually extending my no spend goal to include everything except for groceries and gas. This is not going to be easy! Some people might say that my idea is madness!!
I was really put to the test over the weekend. My twin nieces had asked me to be a chaperone on a trip to a band competition they had on Saturday. They competed in ensemble pairs and trios. After the competition we went to the mall for lunch and the kids were given an extra hour to hang out and shop before we all had to load back up on the bus for the return trip home. It's hard for me to deny them anything. Thank goodness they had their own money! But you know, you can still have fun shopping even if you don't buy anything.
Anyway, I thought I would follow her example by taking on the same challenge for the month of March. My goal isn't so much geared toward fashion lessons, but to save money. Because I'm getting ready to update my kitchen, and because I'm on a very tight budget, it makes sense to save as much as I can in other areas. I'm actually extending my no spend goal to include everything except for groceries and gas. This is not going to be easy! Some people might say that my idea is madness!!
I was really put to the test over the weekend. My twin nieces had asked me to be a chaperone on a trip to a band competition they had on Saturday. They competed in ensemble pairs and trios. After the competition we went to the mall for lunch and the kids were given an extra hour to hang out and shop before we all had to load back up on the bus for the return trip home. It's hard for me to deny them anything. Thank goodness they had their own money! But you know, you can still have fun shopping even if you don't buy anything.
Me and my crazy nieces!
We had a blast trying on these novelty sunglasses at Claires. And thanks to my iphone, we have lots of pictures to remember the fun.
So what do you think, is my March savings plan doable or complete madness? Have you ever set yourself a similar savings goal?
So what do you think, is my March savings plan doable or complete madness? Have you ever set yourself a similar savings goal?
Monday, March 4, 2013
Kitchen Progress Report
I don't think I realized how slow paced this re-modeling thing is. I
have been talking about updating our kitchen since before Christmas,
and now March is already here and not one cabinet door has been
removed. Not one piece of tile has been laid. Not one drop of paint
has been spread.
But I have gotten:
Okay! Enough of the gloomy Gus stuff. Let me tell you what I am happy about. I have found a granite that I really like. It's affordable. It will pair nicely with the ivory paint and black glaze that I chose for my cabinets, while still tying in with my existing green and cream checker board ceramic tile floor. Wow! That's a lot of expectations for one hunk of granite!
It's called Uba Tuba. Isn't it lovely?!
I really wish you could see all the colors in this stone. It actually has a little bit of a green undertone which, as I said, will tie in nicely with my existing floors. Tearing up that ceramic tile floor and replacing it was just never an option for me.
For the record, that is not one of my cabinet doors. It's just a sample that they had at the counter top place. But it does give you an idea of what I'm aiming for. I Love, Love, Love the contrast!
Finally, I have narrowed down my choices for the faucet, lighting, and hardware. I also pretty much decided on the tile for my back splash. But I'll save that for another day.
What are your "under construction" stories? Have you ever started a remodel project with specific ideas in mind, only to be told that what you wanted wasn't structurally possible or affordable?
But I have gotten:
- Four estimates on counter tops;
- One estimate on moving some of my cabinets and adding trim work; and
- One estimate for painting the cabinets.
Okay! Enough of the gloomy Gus stuff. Let me tell you what I am happy about. I have found a granite that I really like. It's affordable. It will pair nicely with the ivory paint and black glaze that I chose for my cabinets, while still tying in with my existing green and cream checker board ceramic tile floor. Wow! That's a lot of expectations for one hunk of granite!
It's called Uba Tuba. Isn't it lovely?!
I really wish you could see all the colors in this stone. It actually has a little bit of a green undertone which, as I said, will tie in nicely with my existing floors. Tearing up that ceramic tile floor and replacing it was just never an option for me.
For the record, that is not one of my cabinet doors. It's just a sample that they had at the counter top place. But it does give you an idea of what I'm aiming for. I Love, Love, Love the contrast!
Finally, I have narrowed down my choices for the faucet, lighting, and hardware. I also pretty much decided on the tile for my back splash. But I'll save that for another day.
What are your "under construction" stories? Have you ever started a remodel project with specific ideas in mind, only to be told that what you wanted wasn't structurally possible or affordable?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)