A couple weeks ago I posted this post about being up to my eyeballs in debt and what I my plan was to get my numbers down. Well, I was well on my way to not breaking my budget for this pay period when I decided to take my sister-in-law and my friend Michelle to our town's yarn store. Oh, we're not talking your Red Heart yarn here ladies and gent's...we're talking handspun/handpainted/dyed and more expensive than Red Heart yarn yarn's. Which is apparently why I like it so much.
Well let's just put it this way...I spent a considerable chunk of money that day as well as learned some new skills. In addition to my new skills I found the webpage Ravelry where knitters and crocheters can post their projects and find patterns and buy yarn and just have ton's of knitting and crocheting fun. If your on Ravelry you can find me as Sheeplesinthecity.
And this is were I went wrong.
Now that I've found this site and found TONS of patterns that I want to make...I've blown my budget all to hell on needle's and yarn. I'm not making excuses...I'm just stating a fact. Oh sure there's still money in the account but not as much as I would have liked to have had left over. So much for being good with my first paycheck after paying off my car. :(
I'll do better next week that's for sure.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Random Photo and Saturday blog hop
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Double Pointed Knitting!
Yesterday my friend/co-worker Michelle, my sister-in-law Jeanie and myself went up to our local yarn shop because we're knitters and crocheters. And I gave Michelle a gift certificate to the store for Christmas and she wanted to use it. While there we all spent a small fortune on yarn, kitting needles and patterns.
While in the store one of the owners was talking to me about how knitting on Double Pointed Needles just looked intimidating and how easy it was to learn. So there I was talked into learning Double Points and now I'm in the process of knitting mittens out of Three Irish Girls Irish Sea yarn.
That's the stuff right there...I'm really excited that I learned all these new skills yesterday. I can hardly wait to show y'all the pictures of my mittens!
While in the store one of the owners was talking to me about how knitting on Double Pointed Needles just looked intimidating and how easy it was to learn. So there I was talked into learning Double Points and now I'm in the process of knitting mittens out of Three Irish Girls Irish Sea yarn.
Monday, January 17, 2011
A Repost, a Blog Hop and I got nothing....
Let's start with the blog hops! They sound like a lot of fun and the question of the week for Follow Us Monday is really interesting...I can hardly wait to check out all the different answers!
This blog hop is hosted by Being Frugal and Making it Work and Frugality is Free. The Hot Blog of the Week is The Coupon Loving CPA.
Now for the question of the week: Are you ready for spring? What's the one thing you are most excited about, when it comes to spring?
I am soooo ready for spring. I'm tired of being cold all the time and a billion inches of snow...ok so that's an exageration but still it's a lot of snow and I'm tired of it. The one thing that I look forward to the most when it comes to spring are the tulips in our flower beds....You can always tell when spring is on it's way when the tulips start coming up.
Now it's time for the re-post!
Ok confession time....I'm in debt. I'm about $8000 in debt. All most all of this debt is credit card debt. I'm not proud of this. I wish I knew then what I know now....Plastic shopping is THE DEVIL!
For Christmas this year I received a copy of Quicken Starter Edition for my computer. So far I'm really happy with the program. It's helping me track my spending and helping me set up spending goals for each month. It also sends me reminders of upcoming bills that need to be paid! I'm pretty amazed at how out of this world my spending has been. CRAZINESS!
Now that my vehicle is paid off (YIPPEE SKIPPY!!!!) I have more money to devote to getting my debts paid off and putting more money into my savings account. My goal for this year is to pay off 1 or maybe 2 credit cards and make a dent in paying back my dad the money I owe him from when my A/C belt in my car broke and cost me $1200 to get fixed.
So far, with the help of my handy dandy Quicken program, I've been able to see different areas in which I can save money and cut spending. Like for example, one month I spent close to $100 on just books. $100 is a HUGE chunk of money when you're already living paycheck to paycheck. So for now, I've found that most of the books that I have on my wish list are available in the library system. My plan is to check the book out of the library first and decide if it's worth spending the money on. I mean minus any library fine's using the library is FREE. Sure they may not have ALL the newer books but in the last month I've been compiling a list of books I want to read and only a VERY small handful were NOT available in the library system. And this is just one example of where I've been able to cut in order to save.
I've also taken to trying to use cash more. I've found in the past that if I pay with cash, I'm less likely to spend my money willy nilly. Also, by paying with cash you sometimes get change back. Change that I am adding to my whale bank until it's full and then I'm going to add the totaled amount to my savings account.
Another area in which I've been trying to implement at our house to save about $8 every few days is making our own bread. Between my dad and I (yes, I'm still living at home. Debt will do that to you.) we go through 2 loaves of bread in a matter of days. The bread that we usually by is any where from $3-$4 a loaf depending upon where you buy it. This week alone I've had the bread machine out 2 times and my mom has had it out once. We've still got bread left over!
In addition to my handy dandy Quicken program I've been doing a lot of studying on Dave Ramsey's web page. There seems to be a lot of helpful information on there as well as motivation from other's who are or were in debt to keep on the straight and narrow.
So there it is. My confession for the day. Anyone else out there reading have any idea's or tips that I can implement to help aid in my quest to be debt free? I've shared mine...please feel free to share yours.
Now for the question of the week: Are you ready for spring? What's the one thing you are most excited about, when it comes to spring?
I am soooo ready for spring. I'm tired of being cold all the time and a billion inches of snow...ok so that's an exageration but still it's a lot of snow and I'm tired of it. The one thing that I look forward to the most when it comes to spring are the tulips in our flower beds....You can always tell when spring is on it's way when the tulips start coming up.
Now it's time for the re-post!
Ok confession time....I'm in debt. I'm about $8000 in debt. All most all of this debt is credit card debt. I'm not proud of this. I wish I knew then what I know now....Plastic shopping is THE DEVIL!
For Christmas this year I received a copy of Quicken Starter Edition for my computer. So far I'm really happy with the program. It's helping me track my spending and helping me set up spending goals for each month. It also sends me reminders of upcoming bills that need to be paid! I'm pretty amazed at how out of this world my spending has been. CRAZINESS!
Now that my vehicle is paid off (YIPPEE SKIPPY!!!!) I have more money to devote to getting my debts paid off and putting more money into my savings account. My goal for this year is to pay off 1 or maybe 2 credit cards and make a dent in paying back my dad the money I owe him from when my A/C belt in my car broke and cost me $1200 to get fixed.
So far, with the help of my handy dandy Quicken program, I've been able to see different areas in which I can save money and cut spending. Like for example, one month I spent close to $100 on just books. $100 is a HUGE chunk of money when you're already living paycheck to paycheck. So for now, I've found that most of the books that I have on my wish list are available in the library system. My plan is to check the book out of the library first and decide if it's worth spending the money on. I mean minus any library fine's using the library is FREE. Sure they may not have ALL the newer books but in the last month I've been compiling a list of books I want to read and only a VERY small handful were NOT available in the library system. And this is just one example of where I've been able to cut in order to save.
I've also taken to trying to use cash more. I've found in the past that if I pay with cash, I'm less likely to spend my money willy nilly. Also, by paying with cash you sometimes get change back. Change that I am adding to my whale bank until it's full and then I'm going to add the totaled amount to my savings account.
Another area in which I've been trying to implement at our house to save about $8 every few days is making our own bread. Between my dad and I (yes, I'm still living at home. Debt will do that to you.) we go through 2 loaves of bread in a matter of days. The bread that we usually by is any where from $3-$4 a loaf depending upon where you buy it. This week alone I've had the bread machine out 2 times and my mom has had it out once. We've still got bread left over!
In addition to my handy dandy Quicken program I've been doing a lot of studying on Dave Ramsey's web page. There seems to be a lot of helpful information on there as well as motivation from other's who are or were in debt to keep on the straight and narrow.
So there it is. My confession for the day. Anyone else out there reading have any idea's or tips that I can implement to help aid in my quest to be debt free? I've shared mine...please feel free to share yours.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Baked Macaroni & Cheese recipe
1-3/4 cups Market Pantry Elbows
1/4 + 1 Tbsp butter, divided
3 Tsp flour
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt or seasoned salt
2-1/2 cups milk
8 oz (about 2 cups) shredded Cheddar Monterey Jack blend
2 Tsp dry bread crumbs
2 Tsp grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 1-1/2 or 2 quart casserole or baking dish.
2. In medium saucepan, over MEDIUM heat, melt 1/4 cup butter; whisk in flour, mustard and salt. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Remove from heat. Add shredded cheese; stir until melted.
3. Combine sauce with macaroni in casserole. In small bowl, melting remaining 1 Tbs butter. Combine with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over top of macaroni.
4. Bake 20 minutes or until crumb mixture is golden brown and edges are bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
4 main dish servings
Hands on time: 25 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
1/4 + 1 Tbsp butter, divided
3 Tsp flour
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt or seasoned salt
2-1/2 cups milk
8 oz (about 2 cups) shredded Cheddar Monterey Jack blend
2 Tsp dry bread crumbs
2 Tsp grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 1-1/2 or 2 quart casserole or baking dish.
2. In medium saucepan, over MEDIUM heat, melt 1/4 cup butter; whisk in flour, mustard and salt. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Remove from heat. Add shredded cheese; stir until melted.
3. Combine sauce with macaroni in casserole. In small bowl, melting remaining 1 Tbs butter. Combine with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over top of macaroni.
4. Bake 20 minutes or until crumb mixture is golden brown and edges are bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
4 main dish servings
Hands on time: 25 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Stepping By Saturday
Welcome to Sheepless in the City. This is my personal blog where I blog about life in general, my quest to become debt free, recipe's that I've found and my family enjoys, as well as posting about my knitting and other crafty projects that I have going on. I've also decided that I'm going to blog about my other quest...To lose about 40 pounds.
This blog is still in it's infancy so there's not a whole lot here yet but like me it's a work in progress. So thank you for stopping by and I hope to meet some new bloggy pals. Have a great weekend!
Jamie
400 Mile Fitness Challenge Week 2
80 miles of walking @ work
1 mile worth of cardio this week
It's been a slow week here. Got a lot on my plate and it's been a bit to nippy here to take the girls out for a walk. I'm thinking that I need to dig out the Wii Fit and start working out on that more. I LOVE some of the balance games...they're a lot of fun!
Confession Time ~ Debt Edition
Ok confession time....I'm in debt. I'm about $8000 in debt. All most all of this debt is credit card debt. I'm not proud of this. I wish I knew then what I know now....Plastic shopping is THE DEVIL!
For Christmas this year I received a copy of Quicken Starter Edition for my computer. So far I'm really happy with the program. It's helping me track my spending and helping me set up spending goals for each month. It also sends me reminders of upcoming bills that need to be paid! I'm pretty amazed at how out of this world my spending has been. CRAZINESS!
Now that my vehicle is paid off (YIPPEE SKIPPY!!!!) I have more money to devote to getting my debts paid off and putting more money into my savings account. My goal for this year is to pay off 1 or maybe 2 credit cards and make a dent in paying back my dad the money I owe him from when my A/C belt in my car broke and cost me $1200 to get fixed.
So far, with the help of my handy dandy Quicken program, I've been able to see different areas in which I can save money and cut spending. Like for example, one month I spent close to $100 on just books. $100 is a HUGE chunk of money when you're already living paycheck to paycheck. So for now, I've found that most of the books that I have on my wish list are available in the library system. My plan is to check the book out of the library first and decide if it's worth spending the money on. I mean minus any library fine's using the library is FREE. Sure they may not have ALL the newer books but in the last month I've been compiling a list of books I want to read and only a VERY small handful were NOT available in the library system. And this is just one example of where I've been able to cut in order to save.
I've also taken to trying to use cash more. I've found in the past that if I pay with cash, I'm less likely to spend my money willy nilly. Also, by paying with cash you sometimes get change back. Change that I am adding to my whale bank until it's full and then I'm going to add the totaled amount to my savings account.
Another area in which I've been trying to implement at our house to save about $8 every few days is making our own bread. Between my dad and I (yes, I'm still living at home. Debt will do that to you.) we go through 2 loaves of bread in a matter of days. The bread that we usually by is any where from $3-$4 a loaf depending upon where you buy it. This week alone I've had the bread machine out 2 times and my mom has had it out once. We've still got bread left over!
In addition to my handy dandy Quicken program I've been doing a lot of studying on Dave Ramsey's web page. There seems to be a lot of helpful information on there as well as motivation from other's who are or were in debt to keep on the straight and narrow.
So there it is. My confession for the day. Anyone else out there reading have any idea's or tips that I can implement to help aid in my quest to be debt free? I've shared mine...please feel free to share yours.
For Christmas this year I received a copy of Quicken Starter Edition for my computer. So far I'm really happy with the program. It's helping me track my spending and helping me set up spending goals for each month. It also sends me reminders of upcoming bills that need to be paid! I'm pretty amazed at how out of this world my spending has been. CRAZINESS!
Now that my vehicle is paid off (YIPPEE SKIPPY!!!!) I have more money to devote to getting my debts paid off and putting more money into my savings account. My goal for this year is to pay off 1 or maybe 2 credit cards and make a dent in paying back my dad the money I owe him from when my A/C belt in my car broke and cost me $1200 to get fixed.
So far, with the help of my handy dandy Quicken program, I've been able to see different areas in which I can save money and cut spending. Like for example, one month I spent close to $100 on just books. $100 is a HUGE chunk of money when you're already living paycheck to paycheck. So for now, I've found that most of the books that I have on my wish list are available in the library system. My plan is to check the book out of the library first and decide if it's worth spending the money on. I mean minus any library fine's using the library is FREE. Sure they may not have ALL the newer books but in the last month I've been compiling a list of books I want to read and only a VERY small handful were NOT available in the library system. And this is just one example of where I've been able to cut in order to save.
I've also taken to trying to use cash more. I've found in the past that if I pay with cash, I'm less likely to spend my money willy nilly. Also, by paying with cash you sometimes get change back. Change that I am adding to my whale bank until it's full and then I'm going to add the totaled amount to my savings account.
Another area in which I've been trying to implement at our house to save about $8 every few days is making our own bread. Between my dad and I (yes, I'm still living at home. Debt will do that to you.) we go through 2 loaves of bread in a matter of days. The bread that we usually by is any where from $3-$4 a loaf depending upon where you buy it. This week alone I've had the bread machine out 2 times and my mom has had it out once. We've still got bread left over!
In addition to my handy dandy Quicken program I've been doing a lot of studying on Dave Ramsey's web page. There seems to be a lot of helpful information on there as well as motivation from other's who are or were in debt to keep on the straight and narrow.
So there it is. My confession for the day. Anyone else out there reading have any idea's or tips that I can implement to help aid in my quest to be debt free? I've shared mine...please feel free to share yours.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
400 Mile Fitness Challenge Week #1
I feel like I'm cheating at this challenge....While I'm at work I'm on my feet walking around for 9 hours 4 days a week....in a 4 day span I walk close to 80 miles while I'm on the clock. Out side of work I've been able to take my dogs for a walk 3 days this week...It's been really frickin' cold here in WI!....3 15 minute walks = 3 miles.
So if we count the miles I walk at work and the miles I from walking my dogs I'm at 83 miles...but if my work miles don't count I'm perfectly happy with my 3 miles. It's a good start for someone as out of shape as I am.
400 Mile Fitness Challenge
"
I've seen lots of book challenges for 2011, but only a few fitness challenges, and none that were for the whole year of 2011, so I decided to start one to help me to lose some weight and get fit. It's easier to do it when you have the support and motivation from others trying to get fit too!
Please add the button to your blog to help draw in participants
Details:
The challenge will run from January 1st thru December 31st
The purpose is to reach the equivalent of 400 miles (at least) during the year, not a set number of miles a day.
Every Saturday starting 1/8/11, come back here and add the link to your update post. If you'd rather post an update every two weeks, that's fine too, but please visit a few participants every week and give them support.
Don't have a blog? That's ok. Just leave your progress update in the comment section of the Saturday post.
What counts:
mile for mile-
walking/jogging/running outside or inside on a treadmill
biking inside or inside on a recumbent, spin or stationary bike
WATP Mile DVD's: 1mile walk, 2 mile walk etc.
15 min. equals 1 mile-
cardio
step aerobics
swimming
weight lifting
workout videos
exercise classes
Minutes and miles can roll over:
If you only walk for 3/4 mile, or exercise for 10 minutes, you can add those minutes/minutes to the next day."
RECIPE~ Roasted Potato Wedges
I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman Cooks and I thought that I would share it with you. It looks REALLY good!
Ingredients:
Potatoes (number and variety of your choosing....Russets work well)
1/4 cups (approximately) Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Fresh Herbs to taste
2 Tablespoons melted butter
Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons (to 3 Tablespoons) Balsamic Vinegar
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Wash potatoes
Cut potatoes into wedges
Toss with oil, butter, salt, pepper, and whatever else you'd like: garlic, balsamic, spices, etc.
Roast for 15 minutes
Shake around. Stir.
Roast for another 20 minutes. Check'em. Keep cookin' 'em.
Take 'em out. Check the seasoning. Add more if necessary.
Sprinkle with herbs.
Serve immediately
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOK TIME: 35 minutes
SERVINGS: 6
Ingredients:
Potatoes (number and variety of your choosing....Russets work well)
1/4 cups (approximately) Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Fresh Herbs to taste
2 Tablespoons melted butter
Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons (to 3 Tablespoons) Balsamic Vinegar
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Wash potatoes
Cut potatoes into wedges
Toss with oil, butter, salt, pepper, and whatever else you'd like: garlic, balsamic, spices, etc.
Roast for 15 minutes
Shake around. Stir.
Roast for another 20 minutes. Check'em. Keep cookin' 'em.
Take 'em out. Check the seasoning. Add more if necessary.
Sprinkle with herbs.
Serve immediately
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOK TIME: 35 minutes
SERVINGS: 6
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