Bits and Pieces

I surprise myself today. At knitting Inge brought her sister who is visiting from Germany.  I took German in the 7th grade and have not practiced much since then.  I did remember how to say guttentag and ein bitta  with the correct pronunciation at the right time.  By the way my spellcheck does not like to check my spelling in German.  So I am truly sorry if I misspelled anything.

I was too tired to shop for clothes so I went grocery shopping instead.   I managed to save about 30% of the total bill with coupons.  The bad news is that I ran out of time to get everything out of the van and still eat lunch before I had to pick up Eric. So I put the perishables up front and everything else in the rear hatch area. Yes, the Popsicle's made it into the freezer before they melted.  Eric was picked up on time..  Eric then supervised the unloading of the van.  John got home just in time to help.  As of now not everything is put away yet.

Eric had a bit of a rough day.  We managed to catch everything before he went full eyrpy.  He is ow on pedilyte and I will go to sleep when he gets to about 30 mls per hour.  He will be home with me tomorrow.  Hopefully he will be up to a car ride and my physical therapy secession. I know they say no kids allowed, but he is older than some of the staff so I am going to bring him along.

No Workers Today

Today was a day without contractors in the house. So I tried to catch up with laundry and cleaning. I almost got through Eric's laundry today, all 5 loads. I am happy to say that the new larger counter is a great folding table. Apparently no matter how many loads that I wash and fold in a day, tonight's aide determined that I did too much of Eric's laundry and only put away 3 loads. Since Eric is asleep, I will put the rest of the laundry away tomorrow. Eric did manage to make another load tonight. I am debating putting on before I go to sleep so I can start with the fussy loads tomorrow.

I packed up the back splash tile that we did not choose, John will return the samples tomorrow. I also worked on the bookcase and have one shelf finished. I managed to fill another bag of books for Bookman's. The recycle bin is now half full, I hope to fill it by Sunday. I also sent a few bags to the trash bin. With so much tile, I also did a quick dust mop, I think that may now be a daily chore. Not bad for 5 hours of house cleaning.

I managed to get to Target for a few things we were out of. I seems like ages since I went shopping with coupons. I forgot to use my Cartwheel app in the store and left about $1.00 on the table.

I have made a decision tonight to go through all my knitting books and donate the ones that I no longer want to the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild for the monthly raffle prizes. Another great reason to join Tucson's only knitting guild.

I am hitting the 16 hour make of my day, with most of it working, so I think I will call it a night. 5 am comes very early, but I seem to be waking up at 5 am with no alarm like I did when I was younger.

A Productive Day

Today I had a very productive day.  I got through all my high priority items. I am also finding it harder to save more than 25% off my grocery bill. Everything seems stacked against the consumer. I find it amazing at how much work I can get done without a headache.  I ran until I fell asleep.  After a 3 hour nap I played last nights last skein of yarn. 

John and I cooked dinner together. Although I was disappointed that my favorite brand of goat cheese mozerella  is now lighter by about 2 ounces per package. I figured it out when I was shearding the cheese.  So we had less cheese on our pizza. I don't know why they did not leave the package the same size and just raise the price like they have done for the past few years.  

After dinner I spun 2 more skeins of art yarn.  Tomorrow I think that I will have a major change of plans.  Eric has an eyrpy tummy and is clammy. I was suppose to teach someone to knit and do a yarn pick up,for the guild. I will see what tonight holds for Eric and then make what changes that I need too tomorrow.  

Sorry about the scattered blog post, I have been scattered all day. 

The Last of the Week

As I write this post load number 30 of the week is in the dryer.  I am thankful that this week of sheer laundry madness is almost over.  I am also thankful that I did not run out of Tide Unscented this week. Just to let you know the wonderful people at Proctor and Gamble did not pay for this blog post and all the opinions are my own.  However, I am grateful for the Tide coupons in my Sunday Arizona Daily Star and the sales on Tide that occur about the same time. 

I know with Eric being sick, that I had a few extra loads of laundry this week. This is a picture of just 2 days worth of laundry for Eric when he is feeling good.  Yes he did go through 5 night time t-shirts in 2 days. That is just Eric. Also if I did not wash the dozen bibs, I would have had a whole lot more laundry to do.  Every bib saves me from washing 1 additional outfit. 

I hope to do a few less loads of laundry next week and spend more time creating. 

Hanging Out With Eric

Today Eric had a day off from his day program.  So we spent the morning watching Sesame Street and getting ready for our shopping trip to Target. Eric likes going out to the store.  2 hours later and hugs from total strangers for taking Eric shopping with me we headed home.  Just a hint to the general public, when I am out with Eric, I don't need to be told how heroic I am for being Eric's mom.  Also hugging total strangers is a little odd in my book.  We did a great job with coupons saving a little over $68.00. I even have almost everything put away. 

Eric kept me very busy today; therefore I did not get everything on my to do list done.   I had hoped to knit 3 hats today, I only finished 1 and got 1/2 way through a second hat.  Even though Eric makes a huge amount of laundry, the washer and dryer got the day off.  I also did not finish the scarf on the loom or spin the rest of the brown Shetland wool that I am spinning.  Well ther is always tomorrow.  

The Blender

Today was one of those completely awful days, by 6:08am my day had already hit the blender.  Eric's morning aide was a no show,  luckily John did not have to work today. Between the 2 of us we managed to get Eric out the door at a reasonable time.

On the way to program the tire pressure light went on on the van's dashboard. So as I was getting Eric out of the van I checked the tires. Thank goodness none were flat, they just looked a little low. Eric was also very disappointed that his one on one advocate was out sick today. So as soon as I found out who had Eric, I gave my usual how he slept and what was needed for today.

Then it was off to get gas for the van at Quick Stop, I got a quart size cup of unsweetened iced tea because I thought that seemed like a good plan at the time. Then it was off to Jack Furrier's Tires to get the tires checked out. Thank goodness I brought my knitting, I got 4 inches knit on a hat, while I was waiting and also borrowed a plug to charge my phone which was almost out of battery.  The good news is that there was nothing majorly wrong with the tires. They were just 4 pounds of pressure low. So I would like everyone who is reading this blog post to get their tire pressure checked out this week as the weather changes. Thanks in advance.

Since I was so close to Trader Joe's, I picked up some things for dinner. I put the groceries away. Then I finished my 2 loads of laundry for the day, I really had more but decided to go on strike. I thought the same with house work too.

I also have to start looking into a lift system to get Eric in and out of bed. Right now we are grandfathered in with the agency, but I don't know how long that will last. Eric is quite a few pounds more than the 50 pounds or so that is now acceptable for lifts. So I am going to look into something called helping hands.

After leftovers for lunch, I decided it was time to do a little weaving to zen out. That did not last long. I got a call that Eric had thrown up at program. So I stopped weaving. Asked John for a mommy time out, by this time I really needed one, he just laughed. So I went to pick up my sick boy. Yes he will be home tomorrow too.

I went to Target to get a few things that we needed, I used my paper coupons but forgot to use the cartwheel app at the register, I lost about $1.00 in savings. Oh well there is always next time.

While dinner was cooking I went back to weaving. I had to refill my shuttle, so I did not get the scarf done today. I am hoping that the tension headache that turned into a migraine goes away soon, I know its going to be a long day tomorrow with Eric home, but it will be a better day.

Busy, busy, busy

Today was filled with laundry, 4 loads all of it Eric's. Grocery shopping, yes I managed to fill the cart and save $75.00 with coupons. Now if I could get deals like that on fruits and vegetables.  Yes fully half the cart was filled with fruits and vegetables. A little cleaning and some knitting also got done. 

Mondays to do list is longer, if you can imagian that.  I have 1 meeting, working on 1 fundraiser, making a red pot for dinner with my sous chief busy for the day. That means that I will do all the choping of vegetables myself, finish today's laundry. Do some sewing for a fundraiser. Last but not least more cleaning.  Wish me luck and don't get between me and my caffeine. 

Have a busy and productive week everyone.  

An Uphill Climb

Today started out less than perfect for me. I did not sleep well. I also found a baby tarantula ( about the size of a silver dollar) in the bathroom at around 2am. I did manage to get him outside without waking the house. Although I think he was more happy in the house than outside. The question that still remains is how the heck did that little guy get all the way to the middle of the house? After that I found it hard to get back to sleep. So I woke up with a pre-migraine. I took my Tylenol and caffeine with breakfast. Around lunch time things started clicking for me.

After lunch I got the grocery shopping done. I also noticed something at the check out line today. When I save money with coupons the cashier usually says you saved x amount of money today. Today was different, I approached the $100 mark in savings with coupons. I did not even get to the 40% off mark. There were a lot of buy one get one free along with a few high value coupons. The cashier just looked at it and handed it to me. Then there was just enough time to put the frozen food away and pick up Eric from his program.

I added another 1 1/2 inches to the never ending poncho, I did make it to the second half of the second piece so that went well.  I also listed a few audio books on e-bay. Then went on to start stocking my Etsy shop Handmade~by~Sheri . John has mentioned that I have a little to much hand spun yarn hanging around and a lot of finished items. So it is time to zen the house a little. To that end I listed 13 items today with more to come in the next few days. To help things move I have added a coupon code for 50% off all items in the shop. Just use the code: "Husband" at check out. It will apply to your entire purchase through August 25, 2013. Please feel free to share the sale with all your friends. There is no limit on the amount of coupons that can be used. One coupon applies to the whole transaction.  The more that leaves the house the happier my guys will be, yes even Eric.

I almost forgot to mention that I have a new Face book page just for Handmade~by~Sheri where I will put all the shop updates. Just type in Handmade~by~Sheri in the search field. I would like to get to 50 followers of the shop by the end of the month, can you help me make that goal?

Well I think that it is time to call it a night.

A great Day

All in all things went pretty well today.  Eric is feeling better. The laundry is caught up, but please don't tell Eric. It did not take long to do a quick pick up.  I even got out to do so shopping this afternoon.  

The best part of shopping was having a coupon for just about everything in my basket.  The guy behind was grumbling about the coupons, but his jaw dropped when the cashier said that I saved $11.00 in coupons.  That did not include the extra 5% off for using the stores credit card.  My Ganga of the shopping trip was 5 bottles of Tide on sale for $4.47 ( the regular price is $6.99) with coupons of $4.00 off the 5 bottles.  For a savings of over $16.00. It might seem like buying that much laundry  detergent is hoarding, but I do an avarage of 21 loads a week, more when Eric is sick, so each bottle lasts about a week and a half.   The savings did not end there. I needed to go to Joann's for some supplies for a class next week. I had a 40% off 1 item coupon and a very gracious lady ahead of me in line shared a 15% off the total purchase coupon.  So that brought my total cost to &20.00.  That brings the cost per student to a little more tha a $1.00 per student with some supplies left over.  

I thought I screw up dinner. I bought salami instead of pepperoni for the pizza. You really do have to try salami on pizza, it was great.  Well I have a few more things to do before bed tonight.  

Close to Almost Perfect

Eric was tired from his week at his day program so he slept most of the day. John had a late night so he rested for most of the day. So what else is a girl to do but spin and wash yarn. I have 5 skeins of newly spun this week yarn on the line to dry. I have one skein that I am in the middle of plying on the wheel. I also found time to do a little knitting with ribbon yarn. and go to the grocery store. I managed to save $52.00 with coupons today.

I also found time to do 4 loads of laundry. Don't worry that I will be bored tomorrow. I will have at least 4 loads of sheets and towels plus what ever laundry we make between now and then. The garage is also at the 5 minute time limit for cleaning so I don't get overwhelmed with it all. The very good news about this is that every thing I touched I was able to recycle. Yes I filled 1/2 of the big roll out half full in just 5 minutes. I am just that awesome at times.

Well my ice cream is finished. It is also about time to give Eric his nightly breathing treatment and night time meds. So Please enjoy your weekend as much as I am enjoying mine.

TGIF

After being up almost all last night with Eric, I am truly surprised that I got so much done today. Yes both guys are still sick, but chores must get done. I do have to admit that it was a rather late start in our house today. After finally getting to bed at 4:30 am I actually took the luxury of sleeping in until 8:30am. I ignored the to do list today and puttered getting a little done here and there.

Once I had help for Eric, it was time to do some running around town. The 1st stop was at Tucson Yarn Company. I needed some information off a yarn label to complete a pattern write up. With any luck I should be able to post it sometime this weekend. I also bought their last 2 bottles of Soak Wash and am very sad that they won't be carrying it anymore.

Then it was off to pick up both pairs of new glasses. They were not suppose to come in until January so I am very happy Pearl Vision got them in so quick. The lenses are a little larger than the last pair, at least for the indoor pair so I do still need to get use to the head tilt of the progressive lenses. With the stronger lens it did make it easier to see my knitting, but that does not mean that I am going to start looking at my hands while I knit. You will not be able to tell I got new sunglasses because they are my usual Ray-Bans.

I did a great job at the grocery store. I was organized to the hilt, I had most of my coupons pulled or loaded up on my Safeway card before I got to the store. I also had a very good list. I manage to irk the lady behind me with my large order and all my coupons, but let her be irked. I managed to knock off  $140.00 from my grocery bill which was about 40% off. I did not buy what we did not need, and none of the items were bought in hoarder quantity's, I don't shop that way.

Eric did do a con job on us tonight. He was very quiet so we let him watch the movie "We Bought a Zoo" based on a true story. I would recommend this movie to you if you have not seen it already. I also managed to finish a charity scarf and start a cotton scarf for my shop during the movie. Well it is not that late but I am very tired tonight. So I am calling it a night. I hope my boss agrees.

A Very Good Day

After getting Eric on the bus for late start Wednesday, I headed over to the Honda Dealership to get an 1-A service and new wipers. I kept my self busy by organizing my coupon folder, throwing away expired coupons and filing the recently cut coupons. Once that was done I moved over to the TV area to work on some knitting. I made good progress I have almost finished the first fingerless glove, since they are black I will have to wait for good light to finish them.

The next choice was shopping at Target or going out to lunch. I choose Target and did some semi-retail therapy. I don't think you can really call it retail therapy if your basket is filled with food, sundries and cleaning supplies. Talking about cleaning supplies I cornered the market on the Mega Shower Foamer Scrubbing Bubbles, they had coupons on the cans, so I got 4 cans and saved 4 dollars. I will finish the bathroom floor later.

I had a great time with my coupons I saved $56.68 in coupons, and received a coupon for 5 dollars of my next visit, the cashier said I was the recession buster queen for the day. I guess she has not seen many people use the coupons to the max. I do have to say that it took almost as long to ring up the coupons as it did the items in my shopping basket. I do have to say that I left some coupons for other shoppers, I did not feel we needed 2 bags of chips and I had a better coupon on the toilet paper. As a bonus Target now gives 5 cents per bag rebate credit. Since some of my shopping bags are almost as old as Teri so I am sure that they have paid for themselves already.

I took 45 minutes to put almost everything away. I don't know how it got to be 3 pm. but I did make a sandwich for lunch and was still munching on lunch as Eric's bus pulled up. I really think it was colder when Eric got off the bus today, then when I put him on the bus, at least they covered him with a blanket to send him home.

I went a little teary eyed today when yet another one of Eric's doctors called to say that he was yet again at the top of their list for their limited supply of H1N1 vaccines. This was the second call this week. I think that there is a huge elephant in the room that everyone acknowledges but refuses to talk about. He did get his shot on Monday and I hope that it kicks in before the flu over takes his school.

I guess it is time to do a little cleaning and straighting before John gets home. I have an easy dinner planned, fish and chips with broccoli. I can open bags and boxes with the best of them.

Have a great evening and enjoy your families.