Merry Christmas 2014

  I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas morning so far. Hubs is off to work for 8 hours of double time. We could surely use it. There isn't much under the tree so everybody is sleeping in. Sounds sad but it is okay. This year just sucketh but we are all here. That is a good thing. It is almost 8am est and it is 54 deg F here. It will go up to the mid 60s when the sun comes out. Weirdo weather.
 I have smoked turkey necks bubbling away to make broth for the collard greens. We will have dinner later because he wont be home till dinnertime anyway.  I will putter around to get stuff done. I am glad for the warm temps.

   So next week is January 1, 2015. I have not changed my mind about paying off debt and saving money next year. I will be the most hated Mom on the planet at times but I dont care. The sick dog and a dead furnace have sealed the fate of our finances. I will be purchasing a fridge (yes..the old one is still kicking) and hubby needs new phone (old and cracked) after the furnace is fixed.  After those are done.. Spending fast at full tilt.  For the first few months of this year, it will be rough because we have that high deductible on our health insurance. We have to pay for everything medically out of pocket till we hit the magic $4k.  <----ridiculous!  I am positive that it will be very hard but the outcome for next December will be amazing. 
 Amazing, I say! 
 
   If I do what I plan, it shouldn't be too hard to achieve to pay it all off.  Bills, Groceries, Pharmacy, Gas, Dr appointments, and anything that is a REAL need. There will be a envelope with $50 every month for Hubs and I to do some fun. He is not completely participating. He will bring dinner to work but he still wants his small bit of money every week. I have obliged him that. All other shit will be a no. If we want it, we will have to go without or try a way to get it ourselves. I will document about it once a week.



They opened their gifts and there was a small bit of a smile from them both. I bought most of their gifts from local shops and I made them each two infinity scarves. It isnt a crappy Christmas after all. Yay! I bought two vintage cabbage patch dolls (1984) from Ebay for our niece. She is in love! I did good.
Okay, I have water boiling to wash dishes. I have a ham to dress for the oven, cupcakes to frost, potato salad to finish, and deviled eggs! Yes!


Merry Christmas to you all. Have a great long weekend.



I hope you all have a great day. Enjoy!

Pot Boiling is a art form

 I got a pot going right now. It is my third today. I finished cleaning the kitchen and pretty soon I will start dinner. I have some pesto pork chops marinating. Our Christmas ham is all defrosted and sitting in the fridge to be dressed tomorrow. I have to cut a diamond pattern, poke cloves all over, and schmear red grapefruit jam all over it. That last part may not sound really good but it glazes the ham sooooo good. It is sweet and tart added to the salty of the ham. It is genius! I have prep work to do tomorrow also. It isnt going to be the best Christmas ever. There are not many presents under the tree (none for hubby and I at all) and we don't have heat but we have each other. The food will be good and so will the company.

  We may hear something from his job about getting help to replace the furnace  for up to two weeks. Yup. <---Sucks!!!!!!!
It has already been two weeks so that will be a month. I hope to God it is sooner. I have relented on having a kerosene heater. A friend of hubby`s is loaning us his. We will clear out the middle of the basement for it to sit. I have read a bit about it. It works for 12 hours when you fill it. That will be good at night. It costs over $5 a gallon. We will use it when it is bitterly cold. Gotta keep those pipes warm!
I am pretty sure the GoFund has stalled. After they take their cut, we will have cash to pay the electric bill. WooHoo! I am grateful for that. Say a prayer for us if you dont mind. I hope we hear something soon. This is WHY I will be on a spending fast for 2015. This should have never been a issue. I will be a adult and say no to my adult children. They dont intend to help us out of this problem of no heat. So why should I coddle them and let them take advantage. This was a real wake up call. More then when the dog got sick. I am done spending our money on them

I am still tired of being perpetually cold but the upside is that I have less hot flashes. hehehe

Merry Christmas everybody!

Christmas is coming

That looks warm and cozy

   But Santa aint bringing a furnace. Hubby filled out the paperwork with his job to get help. We will probably get a call tomorrow (Monday). I have to gather estimate paperwork to be faxed. We asked for the furnace to be replaced and fill the oil tank. If we do get their help, the Gofund money will be used for electricity bill that will probably be HUGE. Like $500 huge. If there is any left, I have a person that is having troubles with buying groceries for her and her child. I will anonymously send her a couple grocery store gift cards to get her through the next month.  That way I feel good that I paid it forward. And the people that donated will know that it all went to good causes. Every penny.
If all goes smoothly, I hope to have heat by my birthday, January 6th. We have had warmer temps and upper 50s this week.  As long as it stays above freezing most of the day..we are good.

  I am being positive. And I am STILL going to start my debt diet on January 1st. There is alot of changes coming in the air. My family better hold onto their britches.

R.I.P. sweet furnace

 The furnace is beyond repair. The seals are shot. Water pours into the other chambers and puts the flame out. It cannot be repaired. Then we find out that the home owners insurance wont pay for it! It is considered normal wear and tear. They only pay for sudden events! I have cried enough over this shit. That is why there is a GoFund button. Read it and determined for yourself. We will be also trying other avenues but I had to do something to get the ball rolling. Pray for us. If you cant help, I totally understand. I guess I am just hoping for a miracle. I never thought this would happen to us. Share the GoFund please. The more that see it, the better chances that I might get a hot bath in my future.
Shit. I wish I could drink!

Brrrr!!! Literally!

 Our furnace is dead. May she rest in peace. And we are having a nor`easter today! Oh Joy!

Thankfully, we have a rider on our insurance that will cover the replacement and labor. We will have to pay a deductible but it is a smidge compared to how much it would cost outright. Fred has a guy who does furnaces with his Dad. He is coming by today to do a diagnostic. The insurance chic said we will definitely be all set before Christmas. So we are cold-ish. We have the portable heaters chugging. I set them low this afternoon to give them a break. We have no hot water. We have a thingamabob that is attached to the furnace that gives us continuous hot water. Until now. I bought a dish pan and I have been boiling water for the dishes. I feel so Colonial! Let`s collectively cross fingers that this shit does not take forever.

I am cold and getting over a stomach bug and just not in mood. Have to calculate how to get the deductible together. Ho Hum


I will talk about this at a later time to give you a update.

Successfully no no no

*250* <----off the GP tomorrow. Ugh!

     December 1st is upon us. My last month of spending. I have actually been able to say no in such a way that I am not getting back lash or hen pecked. Today I paid the mortgage and a gift for a niece. I have gas money. There IS money in the bank but I wont touch it. I want to get all the major bills paid before I buy the gifts I am planning on getting. I said no! And didnt stumble.

no! no! no!

 Fred did a barter of sorts in my favor. He was able to get this lappy looked at by a geek. He cleaned it up, took away all the crap the girls dont use anymore, told me that I have to get a new wireless router (ours is not good for the thick walled houses of new england) and he can fix my keyboard!! It will be $30 parts and labor and I will have a new keyboard and a letter n. I wont have to paste the damn thing all the time. I do want a new computer but if this one is okay for now, I will keep using it.  That sames me a chunk of cash.

 It has been freakishly warm the past couple of days. We took advantage of it and bagged all the leaves. I noticed as we raked that I was finding piles of feathers. Later on in the day, I found out why. We have a Cooper`s Hawk in our neighborhood. I watched him/her pick apart a bird from the feeders over at the house across the way. This hawk has been busy. I have seen four feather bunches strung about here and there. It is a very cool bird to look at. I hope to get to see this raptor more often over the winter months.

 Have you finished shopping? I have just begun. There will not be alot to purchase but I will make sure everyone gets something nice. I already have our ham so if all else fails, we will have food!

I cannot wait for a new keyboard!!! Longer posts here! *twirling in imaginary floofy skirt*