Category Archives: Life

5 Things Friday

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  1. We don’t have any set plans or goal for the weekend!  This is very exciting for me as I have been really really tired the last couple of days!  We also will start AAU baseball in 2 weeks which means an end to Saturdays at home.
  2. We have decided to add electricity to the greenhouse, this will make it much easier to heat and cool as well as adding a watering system.
  3. Matt’ is beginning to receive some of his inheritance from his father. We are staying very quiet about this and plan to use to make some updates and upgrades that are needed.  We have spent many hours discussing what we want to do and will share some things in the upcoming weeks.
  4. Lily has decided not to participate in Youth Theater this fall. She did not feel that she was given a fair chance at auditions. She also did not want to devote the next 2 months to it.
  5. The weather remains really really hot. 2 days in the next week are predicted to be over 90.  At this point I am ready for fall and some cooler weather to stay around at least so we can open the windows soon.

5 Things Friday

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  1. Everyone except for Lily has a 3 day weekend. Lily is working all three days. The next scheduled holiday or break from school is Thanksgiving.
  2. Our project for the weekend is to convert the old playhouse to a green house. We will be removing the roof and replacing it with plastic. Adding shelves and a watering system. We are hoping to reuse most of the materials. The plastic has already been purchased with a gift card!  I will plan to share pictures this week.
  3. Zach has officially started baseball practice. We have agreed to let him play both rec ball and AAU team. The AAU team is only going to travel in state and hopefully less than 2 hours away.
  4. The weather has finally decided to start to cool down a bit. We have been at or above 90 degrees for most of the month of August.  Fortunately we have no more 90 degree days in the forecast but I expect it to be close to the end of September before we are able to turn off the air conditioning.
  5. This week we are having a drive way addition installed. It will also include cement around the garden boxes that we bulit in the spring. I can’t wait to have a finished product!

5 Things Friday

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  1. We were without air conditioning for a total of 8 days.  I only worked one of those days. We were blessed to borrow a portable air conditioner for 4 days to use. With this we were able to sleep at night.
  2. Our August electric bill came in as the exact same amount as our July bill. I am anticipating that it will be extremely high in September. This electricity was used in an attempt to keep us cool.
  3. I have managed to cook or produced a meal every evening since the air was fixed. Although our budget for August is so far over, this should mean a minimal to no spending month in September.
  4. The kids have all finished their first full week of school with mask being optional. I anticipate this will change next week. As quarantining rules stated that if both students are wearing a mask even with close contact the exposed student does not have to quarantine.  This makes sense to help keep the kids in school.
  5. I finally have a squash bloom. I don’t anticipate that I will actually get a squash but I am continuing to work on improving the soil for next year!

Life Happens- NO Air Conditioning.

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Today is Monday so I normally plan to post a menu plan for the week but Life Happens.

Last Monday night we began to smell something burning in the house. Lily around 10:30 heard a pop sound.  I woke up around 4 and knew immediately that the air was not working.

Just for the record highs last week have been above 90 each day.  Tuesday night and Wednesday night the kids all stayed with Amanda.  On Thursday, we were blessed with the ability to borrow a portable air conditioner which we are using in our bedroom.   On Saturday and Sunday nights we have been blessed by storms that have cooled not only the air but made sleeping in girl’s room possible.

We have not been following a menu plan- it is simply too hot to cook and add anything in the air. We are eating out most meals.  We have done minimal laundry as again it is too hot to add any more heat in the house.  We have spent time at the pool.

It has also been too hot for me to concentrate on working , I did manage 2 hours in Guam last week but have an uphill battle ahead.

Sleeping is hard when you are hot. Functioning as a normal human being is hard when you are hot.

Other small things are going wrong that just add to the stress. But it only takes a minute  to realize that we are  facing only very small problems compared to others.

Life Happens…

5 Things Friday

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  1. Today starts our last full week of summer break. Next week will be filled with last minute appointments and some extra fun if we can arrange it.  Braxton will also be with us for the entire week.  Today is a pool day so we plan to spend most of the day at the pool.
  2. I had a huge food waste fail this week- We had an entire watermelon that had not been cut go back and spilled on the floor. I have definitely become a little bit more aware of our food following the clean up.  I did manage to make half a squash casserole with the remaining squash.  I am also beginning to use dill and basil that has been previously frozen in dishes.  I had forgotten about these treasures until we attempted to organize the freezer. Since I was unable to grow either this year, I am thankful to find them.  I did cook our first official meal this summer that include several items.
  3. Tomatoes are continuing to produce.  I had hoped for much more but I do realize that this summer has not been the best for tomato growing.  We have been able to freeze enough spaghetti sauce for the year in addition to eating several times. I should be able to continue to make a batch a week which means at least 4# of tomatoes.
  4. I talked with the neighbor and will start using goat manure to improve the dirt in my square foot garden. I am hoping that with this and more worm casting next year it will support and grow a garden full.
  5. We received our school supply list. I am excited that we need only to purchase a couple of notebooks and clear water bottles. I have been trying to stock up on items as they have been on sale. I anticipate less than $50 for all supplies for all 3 kids!

Five Things Friday

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  1. No Monday Menu will be posted this week. Next week our church is hosting Vacation Bible School from 6 to 8 Monday thur Thursday and a pool party on Friday. Dinner is provided for workers and their children.
  2. Our new oven has arrived!  I have been experimenting and getting use to it over the past couple of days. So far I am very impressed!
  3. With only 3 weeks left of summer vacation, I have established a couple of goals that I want to work toward which will make my life easier in the fall. First- prepare easy to heat and eat meals as much as possible. This week we have focused on making pizza dough. We have all the ingredients but it takes around 2 hours to make the dough. Kendall has made 12 this week. This will make for easy pizza in the fall. Simply unthaw the dough in the morning and add toppings. We also made 2 additional cheeseburger pizza toppings to add to the dough. Second- Stock up and organize the freezers and pantry.  This is also close to completion. I will be adding a couple of cookie, bread and cake mixes during the next week. Finally-enjoy lots of down time by sitting by the pool.
  4. Square Foot Garden- we are making plans to add cement to complete this area but I am also continue to try and figure out how I can improve the soil for next year. We are fortunate to get tomatoes but I am so frustrated that the money I spent on soil is basically worthless this year!
  5. July has turned out to be one of the most expensive months EVER but we are still holding our heads above water. I am ready to start reaping the benefits of all my bargains and saving.

5 Things Friday

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  1. We have entered week 6 of no working oven.. This is actually starting to bother me!
  2. Beach vacation is coming up!  We are going much earlier this year and to a totally different beach. New adventures await!
  3. The garden at this point has been a total failure. Even the plant that I have purchased are not growing!
  4. The good news is that  we are at least starting to figure out and work on the problem. After buying a ph meter, our soil is alkaline.  We purchased a bag of lime this week and have started adding it to the soil.  Even after the first application we started to see some new growth. I am going to stay positive and hope we can at least harvest a few fresh veggies this year.
  5. I have managed to pull a muscle in my back. Not sure how I completed this but it is very painful!

5 Things Friday

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  1. Guam’s school year officially ends on Monday (Sunday for me) this means that I will be only working on Sunday night from now until the beginning of August!
    1. A sweet Guam mother sent a care package that I received on Thursday!  It included all items exclusively available in Guam. I cried!  Everything is beyond delicious.  I really needed this boost!
    2. I will have worked at least 40 hours in Guam in the month of May!  This is after sharing the majority of my caseload with others!
  2. We were able to go 45 days without heat or air. We caved yesterday May 20th and turned on the air condition.
  3. Unfortunately we discovered a water leak last weekend. The leak was in the line to one of our ice makers so that was a $5 fix.  It had been leaking on our HVAC duct work which had to be replaced. I have not received a bill for this yet.
  4. Gas prices have risen significantly over the past several week plus we need to get the oil changed in the van. Our gas budget is going to be higher than previous month but still under the budget.
  5. Grocery prices continue to rise much more than I can ever remember. We have a fully stocked pantry and freezers so I am currently focusing on re-stocking only items that we are absolutely out of in addition to more “convivence” items just to make the weeks go easier with less eating out!

February in Review

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February was an extremely busy month. I worked an additional 60 hours in Guam. This meant that everyone has stepped up and is doing lots of extra stuff around the house. February has brought lots of rain. But the good news is that I have finally decided a plan for the square foot garden which will increase my overall growing space, raise the beds and make it pretty. This will be an intense time consuming project but I am very excited by it.

Groceries– budget amount is $650.   We have actually spent $599.71. This is not as low as I had hoped but still a full $50 under budget. I am only planning to purchase needs in March and then use the rest of the money for food in Disney.

Auto/ Gas / Insurance: . My goal is  $400 a month.  The price of gas has significantly (60 cents a gallon) increased over the past 2 weeks.  We are also driving to work and school five days a week. total for the month is $280.69 so well under budget. Next month will bring oil changes to both vehicles. So I anticipate the amount to remain under budget but not by much!

Cash Envelope system- GOAL Met!   We are continuing to use this system. I was able to pay an additional $500 on our Disney trip this month but also covered the cost of the repair of the washer.  Both Matt and I got paid this past week so the envelopes are back to zero. Any money saved this month is spending money in Disney.

Goal #4- Blogging- 15 post per month.  This is post number 6 for the month. See explanation from  above

Goal # 5- Fitness– Goal is to exercise of some type at least 10 days a month.   Nope not even close

Goal #6 – Bible study- Goal-  Read or Listen to the entire Bible in a year.  I have been listening to a podcast every day that I drive to work. I should be able to listen to the entire session by June.!

Earnings- $25 in gift cards

No Spend Days- another fail

March is going to be a month of financial change for us. We are in the process of re-financing our mortgage to drop the interest rate again. We are also considering rolling some other debit in the re-financing so I will explain everything once it is settled.  March should be fast and busy but the Disney count down is on so I am excited!!!!