Passionate Penny Pincher

For as long as I can remember, I have used a planner.  I remember when I was in high school and college,  I would write things down on a notebook to keep me on track with projects and assignments.  I then got married and still used a planner to help me.  My husband and I decided to homeschool our sons and I used a planner to keep their assignments on track and myself too with the household chores.  But I would get tired of having to write down the same chores and what day they needed to be done.

Fast track to 2020 where I stumbled upon Passionate Penny Pincher.  PPP was designed by Laurie Hise.  I finally found the planner I've been searching for.  In 2019 she launched her planner.  It seems that there were many ladies looking for the same thing.  She has a wonderful group of ladies that help her.  In the planner, she has a table for morning and evening chores for the whole week.  For each day, there are certain chores that can be done along with lines for what you're going to have for dinner, what you're grateful for, and how much money was spent that particular day.  For each month there is a budget worksheet.  

If you are looking for a planner that will help you even more, I would highly recommend this one.  Her website is very good and she offers so much more than just the planner.  She only has a few left but you also purchase the PDF for the planner.  Click on the link below to go to her website.

Passionate Penny Pincher

This is my planner for this year.

This is what my week looked like.

I am able to keep track of how much water I'm drinking

There are enough lines for me to add other things

that need to get done during the week.

This is the monthly budget worksheet.

I don't use it because I have an app

on my phone that I can input my expenses.

Laurie and her team have developed different recipes.

She the freezer meals, the summer menu meals,

and the slow cooker meals.

They can be purchased as recipes cards and the tin

or the PDF can be purchased and you can 

print the recipes yourself.

I chose the freezer and slow cooker meals

and printed them.  I took them to Office Depot

and had them bound.  In each one there are 

a weeks worth of recipes and also a shopping list.

Again, I highly recommend this planner.  It has helped me a lot and has helped me stay on track with all of my things.  Enjoy!

Sewing Corner

Yesterday and all morning today I spent time going through all of my containers that have fabric.  I realized that this would be the perfect time to sort out what I would keep, throw away and donate.

Going through box by box, I found fabric that I forgot I had.  I really had to be cold hearted and decide what I was actually going to keep. The more I went through, the easier it got for me to decide what I was keeping.  My sweet Lucy kept me company and was "supervising" me as I continued on my quest.

I also got rid of my desk and I bought a Sterlite three drawer container that holds all the things I had in my desk drawers.  I did a lot of purging there too.  My laptop and printer are now on the long banquet table next to my embroidery machine.  This will help me to download programs for my machine.  

Now that I am all done with organizing my sewing corner, I can get to work on projects that I've had on hold.  Getting rid of things is very freeing.  I had to use my phrase, "If I haven't used it in 4 years, then it's gone."  I stuck firm to that and kept only what I wanted.

I had to use the upstairs to sort through fabric because I ran out of room downstairs

Three containers filled with fabric to donate.
I filled four bags with trash.

 

It's so nice to see everything in it's place ready for me to create!

Lucy kept me company as I worked and worked really hard supervising me.

2019 Review

This has been quite a year for Jorge and me.  So much has happened that I wanted to sit down and think about everything that has happened to us as we close the year.

In January, Jorge surprised me with a dog.  Her name is Lucy and she is four years old.  Lucy was my Christmas present but it was not until in January that I was able to get her.  She is a rescue dog.  Lucy is half Jack Russell Terrier and half Australian Shepherd.  She is really cute but boy, she has the energy of the Jack Russell.  She is definitely my dog.  She loves Jorge but if she had to choose, I would win.  Jorge even recognizes that she is my dog.  She has gone on many long distance trips with us.  She is a very sweet girl.

Getting to spend time with our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter before they left for Niger was wonderful.  We went to Washington DC for the weeekend.  Lucy came with us for this trip.  David and Amber took us to a few places of interest.  Jorge and I even got to spend the day with Elena, our granddaughter, so that David and Amber could get their things packed for their move to Africa.  Yes, that was hard for us because we knew that we wouldn't be able to see them as much as we would like to.

I finally was able to attend the Sports Riding Motorcycle School.  There were seven sessions and after each session, the class was able to  given the opportunity to ride the track.  I was finally to conquer my fear of curves.  Being with friends was an added bonus.  Their words of encouragement also helped me.

In May, I was given the biggest surprise.  Chris, my youngest son flew from Indiana to Florida for Mother's Day weekend.  Jorge was in on it and so were my bosses.  Chris comes into my office and surprises me.  But Chris also brought someone very special.  Her name is Amanda and Jorge and I got to meet her.  What she didn't realize was that she was going to be at the receiving end of a surprise just for her.  On Friday morning before sunrise, we all head out to the beach so that Chris could propose to Amanda as the sun was rising in the back.  Jorge and I were beyond happy that we were gaining another wonderful and beautiful family member.

 

In June, I was finally able to go on my first mission trip.  I went to Tuxtepec Mexico with several other people from my church.  We got to go to several different villages during the week that we were there.  I most definitely want to go back again.  I fell in love with the people

October was a wonderful month for us because that is when Chris and Amanda got married.  She looked absolutely beautiful.  Did I cry?  Yes I did but they were very happy tears.  Elena was one of the flower girls along with Amanda's niece and nephew.  Elena had done well the day before at the rehearsal but on the day of the wedding, she changed her mind and was not wanting to drop the petals.  At least she didn't cry as she was walking down the aisle with her dad.  It was a wonderful day.

But the biggest change that happened to us was when Jorge received an email from one of the Project Managers of Allison Transmission to see if he would be interested in coming back to work for them.  Jorge had never sought out the job.  We both talked about it and prayed.  He sent his resume and the week of the wedding, he had a face to face interview.  We also saw that my mom's health was not good at all and my brother was dealing with his own health issues.  That is when we realize that if the job with Allison works out, we would take it.  It took ten days before we heard from Allison with the job offer.  Those were the hardest days for me.  I was on pins and needles.  Jorge was much more calm.  Needless to say, the offer came and Jorge said yes.  

We sold our house in a day to Open Door and they made us a very good offer.  That was a load of our shoulders.  We decided to pack some things we didn't want to get lost or stolen.  So we loaded up our motorhome, trailer, Suburban, and the U-Haul trailer and we get on the road.  Unfortunately, the motorhome didn't make it to Indiana.  We had to leave it in Ringgold, Georgia.  God took care of us and we found a shop that deals with diesel engines and they are working on it.  When we finally arrive to our house, there was a wonderful sign on our garage door welcoming us home.  I broke down in tears.  

The phrase "Old Things Are New Again" certainly applies to us.  We moved back to our old house since the renters left in May.  Jorge and I are updating the house and I'm excited about the changes we'll be doing on the house.  We are back to our old church.  Jorge is back with the company he used to work for before and in the same building.

So this has been quite a year for us.  Lots of changes.  I miss the friends that we made in Florida.  I miss our dear sweet neighbors, Tom and Connie.  I miss the church that we were active in.  I know that God had sent us there for a reason.  We thought that we were going to be there forever but God had other plans.  We are now back in Indiana and looking forward to what 2020 will hold for us.

Back Home To Indiana Day One

It has been a while since I have written on my blog.  A little over four years ago, God called my husband and me to move to Florida.  We made a new life there and we thought we would live out the rest of our days there.

Fast forward to now and God is calling us to move back to Indiana.  My youngest son and his wife have been wanting us to come back.  When we were in Indiana in October for my son's wedding, we saw that my mom needs us back due to her health.  So we are moving back to our old house and a new/old job for my husband.

It has been quite an adventure to get us back to Indiana.  My husband is driving our motorhome aka The Beast and pulling a trailer and I'm driving our Suburban while also pulling a trailer.  Lucy, my dog, is riding with me. 

We are in Macclenny Florida when my husband sees smoke coming from the back.  He smelled rubber burning before he saw the smoke and he thought it was a trucker on the side of the road.  No, it was him.  The brakes on the trailer engaged and caused everything to heat up.  The tire blew.  Thankfully he had a spare and off he went to replace it.  We did have to make a stop at a shop for them to remove the broken brake pads.  Jorge didn't have the tools to do it.  They did a wonderful job.

Now fast forward several hours in we are in Atlanta Georgia.  I'm a few miles ahead if Jorge when he calls me to tell me the motorhome dies on him in the middle of I-285.  He suspects it's the fuel filter.  Thankfully a State Farm tow truck came and pulled him off the center Lane and onto the shoulder.  I'm in Marietta waiting on what he wants me to do.  The tow truck driver recommended a mobile mechanic and Jorge called him.  He came and brought two fuel filters and got everything going again.  We ended up spending the night in Acworth Georgia.

We were all tired but happy that everything was better.  We decided that night that the next day we were going to use it as a vacation day and head on off to Chickamauga Battlefield!  I was already there but Jorge had never been.  I was looking forward to it.

CHANGES IN THE BACK YARD

It's been kind of hard trying to get motivated in doing

any kind of landscaping or yard work in my back yard.

I have such a long list of things that I want to get done.

When I look at that list I just get unmotivated

because of all that I would like to get done.

I would especially like to get it done

before it gets horribly hot here in Florida.

The last two weeks I started pushing myself in

getting started and checking off the things

on my list to get my yard the way I want it.

Last year I took out two very large bushes 

next to the back porch.

That was a lot of work, but I got it done.

It laid bare for a year because

I had not decided what I wanted to do

I would keep changing my mind.

This week I finally decided what I wanted to do

and off I went to the nursery to purchase my plants,

soil, and black mulch.

I had been amending the soil because for a long

time with shredded leaves  and grass cuttings

because it's all sand.

At the nursery I bought three roses, two small dahlias, and five hostas.

I was very happy to get started on working

in the back yard and making it look like the way I want.

It took me pretty much all day to get everything done.

I'm very happy with the way things turned out.

 The area where I was making  the changes.

 After 25 years of service, my back hoe broke.

The three roses that I purchased are yellow and smell so good.

 The yellow rose is called Patrick.

 One of the dahlias

 Finished project.

The shade garden in a corner of the backyard.

I  am very pleased with the way things have turned out.

This has motivated me to continue my work

in the back yard and get it to look like I want.

Off to my next project!

BAVARIAN CROCHET

This new year I've been challenging myself to learn new stitches.

I'm a member of a crochet group on  Facebook

and one of ladies posted a picture of an afghan

she made using  the Bavarian crochet stitch.

I fell in love with her project that I had to make one.

Again, I went to Youtube to the Crochet  Crowd channel

and found the video with the step by step instructions.

To see how this is made, click the link below.

Bavarian Crochet

I'm making a  baby blanket for a friend of mine.

She and her husband are expecting a baby boy

and the colors that they both like are blue and gray.

I'm really pleased with the way it's turning out so far.

Have fun!

DIVINE HAT

Cancer is a word that just about everyone dreads.

Many people's lives have been affected by cancer.

I have a friend who is battling cancer again.

When I heard her cancer came back,  I was very sad for her.

She is a fighter and she's fighting this again.

She shared that she has shaven her hair off

because it was already coming off.

That's when I decided to make her a hat.

So off I went to make her a hat.

This hat is very easy to make.

I found the pattern on Ravelry.

Click the link below for the pattern.

Divine Hat

I added extra rounds to make it a bit longer

than what the pattern called for.

Now off to mail this and keep praying for my friend.

MEMORY QUILT

I have made many quilts for family and friends.

I have also made many baby quilts.

I have always loved making quilts

for people because it is one of

the ways that I can show them 

how much  they mean to me.

A couple of months ago,

a dear couple that I've known for a long time,

asked me if I  could make a special quilt for them.

This was one of the hardest projects that

I have ever done for anyone.

You see, the reason that this quilt was so hard for me to make,

is that this wonderful and lovely couple

lost their baby while she was five months pregnant.

Both my husband and I know how hard that is

because we went through that several times.

The father sent me a picture of what the nursery

was supposed to look when they would have brought

their son home from the hospital.

This was one quilt that I was determined

to make exactly how they wanted.

It took me many weeks trying to find

the zig zag fabric to match from the picture he sent me.

I am so glad that I got it done exactly how they wanted.

Now I just need to quilt it and put it in the mail.

This couple is very dear to me

and I hope that this is a blessing to them.

SCRAPPY YARN

I'm a quilter, and when making quilts,  I have leftover fabric.

I can't bring myself to throwing away the fabric.

I am always coming up with ideas of what 

I can make with the leftover fabric.

Well,I have the same situation with my yarn.

I can't bring myself  to getting rid of the yarn

once I am done with a project.

I  came up with an idea and I'm liking the way it's turning out.

I am  crocheting granny squares using

the leftover yarn from previous projects.

I am going to make 120 granny squares

and join them with black yarn.

My goal is to get this done before Christmas

and give it as a present to a friend.

Making a granny square is a very easy

crochet pattern to make.

There are many YouTube videos

that can teach you how to do one.

My favorite YouTube Channel is Crochet Crowd.

Click the link below for their instructions.

Granny Square

 What I did yesterday after we got home from church.

I was watching football and crocheting.

One of the bags filled with yarn that I'm going to use.

It's definitely going to be a scrappy yarn blanket.

I can't wait to see how it's going to look when I'm done.

I SO LOVE YARN!!!!!!

I so love to play with yarn!

I so love to play with fabric too!

I'm a member of a group on  Facebook that loves to crochet.

One of the members posted a picture of a scarf

they have been working on.

I absolutely fell in love with it

and I knew that I had to make one.

I found the tutorial on YouTube.

I have learned that I'm a visual learner

so I need to see it being done so that I don't  make mistakes.

I'm  so happy YouTube exists.

I found the pattern under Crochet Crowd.

Click the link below:

Corner to Corner Scarf

Once I finished the scarf, I decided to make a hat.

I made the Messie Bun Beanie.

I found the pattern on Ravelry.

It's a very easy pattern to make.

I made this bun in about three hours.

Messie Mom  Bun Beanie

Enjoy and have fun making these items.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF THANKSGIVING

This Thanksgiving, Jorge and I will not have either one of our sons with us.

To be perfectly honest, I don't like it.

Living hundreds of miles away from them does not help.

But this is life and it is what it is.

Jorge and I are so thankful for the sons the Lord has blessed us with.

David, our oldest, is a wonderful son who works very hard

and is always helping those in need.

He has been blessed with an awesome wife,  Amber.

She is an answer to our prayers.

I don't know how she does it in supporting

him in a lot of his activities.

We're thankful for Chris, our youngest son.

He has always had a tender heart for the underdog.

I don't know how many times he has come to people's aid.

In a few weeks, he will marry his princess, Liz.

She too is an answer to our prayers.
She has such a zest for life.
To know that she will care and love my son is an
answer to a parent's prayer.

I'm thankful for my husband who has loved me for the last 33 years.

We've gone through our ups and downs

but he has always been there for me.

I'm so thankful that he is still alive from the 

motorcycle accident he had this past September.

I'm thankful that he wants to serve the Lord in the best way possible.

So yes, this year, our Thanksgiving is going to be different.

Our sons are not going to be with us but I am still thankful.

God has blessed me in so many ways.

We will be spending Thanksgiving with friends from church.

We will have fun  and it will be different.

So as you spend this day with your family,

reflect on the blessings that God has given you.

WEDDING QUILT

My youngest son, Chris, has found his princess and she said yes!

I couldn't be happier.

Liz  is a very fun loving, joyful and beautiful young lady.

Because of this wonderful occasion,

I'm making them a quilt.

I asked Liz what are her favorite colors.

I happily went to the quilt shop

and selected fabric.

Chris and Liz will be getting married December 17, 2016.

I have a short period of time to get the quilt ready.

So I had better get to work.

FLORIDA BREEZE SHOP HOP

Back in January of this year, I participated

in my first Florida Shop Hop.

A shop hop is where different quilt shops

work together in coming up with a theme.

They then design a block for their particular shop

and the customers go to each shop and purchase

the kit from that particular shop.

I decided to do it and check out the shops.

The shops were in different parts of Florida.

The furthest I had to travel to was in Orlando.

Yes, I was determined to go to every shop and get the kits.

Since I only had a week to visit each shop,

I had to plan my itinerary very carefully

so that I can maximize my time and travel.

I was able to accomplish all of the visits.

When I got home, I put away the kits

and had completely forgotten about them.

Last week, I decided I needed to get to work on

them because I'm doing another shop hop.

The blocks are all applique.

I rarely do any applique but I decided I would this time.

I still need to finish the edging on the pieces,

make the sashing and put the blocks together,

add the borders and then quilt it.