Wal-mart and New Year's resolutions...

I'm officially a permanent cashier at Wal-mart. I will most likely stay that way until we have my in-laws paid off (they helped pay for our ac/heater in November). I know money isn't everything, but this job has helped sooooo much! Right now I'm checking out people that have made a lot of New Year's resolutions...they've got a lot of fruits and vegetables, and they have yoga mats and sports bras.

I've been thinking a lot about my New Year's resolutions. Here is what I've come up with so far:

1. Get in better health. Next week I have yet another appointment with my ENT, and he will be looking at blockage in my right sinus under my eye. If he doesn't like what he sees next week, we're looking at surgery. I really want to be off all the antibiotics (they are wrecking havoc on other areas of my body). And of course there's the weight...I'm still 80 pounds overweight. So eating right and exercising need to be high on my to-do list. Drinking 8-8oz glasses of water a day is another big goal of mine.

2. I need to be a better time manager. There are so many things on my daily to-do list and yet here I am sitting on the computer. Maybe the computer just needs to be turned off.

3. My house needs daily help, and there are some days I completely ignore it. So doing one load of laundry a day (at least) and washing dishes every day need to be a resolution.

4. The kids' school work. We're trying to get back in our groove here. Both of the girls are reading! Their bedtime story right now is Pinocchio, last month was Alice in Wonderland. We need to continue to read to them every night, and I need to stay on top of their school work. I need to work especially hard on Addie's spelling. This Summer I want to graduate two 1st graders with flying colors!

5. I need to find a way to read the whole Bible this year! There are days I've completely ignored that Book, so I need to change that! Daily prayer time is also something that needs done. I can't ignore this area of my life anymore since I can't make it to church every Sunday thanks to Wal-mart.

What I've been up to...

So the weekend after Thanksgiving I started what I thought would be a temp job at Wal-mart. I have been working a LOT...it's very hard to work until midnight...not go to bed until 1...and then wake up early in the morning so Jeff can go to work. But I will get a very handsome paycheck on Christmas Eve, so that will make it all worth it. :)

Frugal-wise, both sides of our families have done away with buying gifts for everyone. We only concentrate on parents, Jeff's grandmother, and all kids 18 and under. This has helped so much!

The new year will bring new challenges with our food budget...I have zero energy to cook from scratch! So hopefully when I get a few days off I'll be able to get some good zzzz's. I don't see the point in me working if all we're going to buy is fast food and frozen dinners!

Making my home a haven...

I will be participating in this this week: http://thehomespunheart.blogspot.com/2008/11/making-your-home-haven.html

Today was tidy day here. I put away dishes, loaded the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen countertop, and cleared off one of my pianos.

Tomorrow will be fun day...we'll be going to the zoo (for free...thanks to zoo pass we got from the inlaws last Christmas!)

Something we're doing FREE tomorrow...

We're going back to my hometown for the "World's oldest free fly-in". We'll be watching it from behind my mother's boss's house LOL.

Here's a challenge...find something free to do this weekend, and then post a comment about what you did. It's always fun seeing what other people are doing for free. :)

Frugal war on gnats!

I've waged a war on gnats in my kitchen. So far I've killed about 7 using this method...take a small bowl or measuring cup, and put some dishsoap in it. Then put a fair amount of vinegar in it. I use just plain vinegar, but I've heard some had to use apple vinegar. Let this sit on your kitchen counter for awhile (all day or night even) and then pour out. All the gnats sink down to the bottom of the bowl.

Going on a diet...

So I may not be able to be as frugal as I hoped. My diet will be filled with a lot of fruits and veggies, and a lot less Dr. Pepper (so that's frugal I guess LOL).

So my blog from now on will be about loosing weight with no money for a gym! As a family we walked over 1/2 mile one way to Subway Saturday evening. I've also got a walking route mapped out around my neighborhood for the days when I don't have to run out the door as soon as Jeff gets home. :)

Gas is going down...

just like the stock market. Gas in Oklahoma City today is $2.57! Finally some relief in that department!