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With a new month starting tomorrow I took the time to think about goals for February. Here we go. 1. The weight loss goal will stay the same = 5 pounds 2. I will continue to cull through my clothes and donate to Goodwill. 3. Get my taxes done as well as Ian's and Rachel"s. Have them all e-filed by the end of the month. 4. Continue to pay down bills. Total saved per month so far: $113 per month. 5. Start working on Christmas gifts. Finish afghans this month. 6. Finish organizing my coupons and start using them more consistently. 7. Stay within our budget. #6 will help a lot in this area. Like I did this month I will revisit at the end of the month.

Well it is the last day of January already. It seems like it was just New Years and here we are staring February in the face. I thought I would revisit my goals for this month. 1. Lose 5 pounds = not good. I gained 2 pounds. When I am stressed I eat and this was a stressful month. Even too much of good things are not good. 2. Cull through my clothes = I have started this but I am not done yet. 3. Get better organized for next tax season = Success !! I found an expandable folder that is designed for taxes and it has been placed where I can find it. I already have some of this years info in it already. 4. Don't buy craft supplies just because = I have had to buy some to finish a piece I am working on. I did buy some for my next project but I haven't spent a lot this month. 5. Pay down bills = Success again !! We have paid off a hospital bill this month. This has freed up $113 a month. Now on to the next bill. Now on to next month.

The other night I cook an 11.6 lb turkey. It was falling off the bone almost when I served it at dinner along with stuffing and green beans. A little taste of heaven ... yummm We have had turkey sandwiches today and tonight I think I am going to try turkey tetranzzi. I have found a new recipe that sounds good and I have all of the ingredients. :) If it is a keeper I will post the recipe. What are some of the things that you like to fix with cooked turkey? I will sometimes make a "thanksgiving" casserole. I also like to fix turkey stir-fry. Tomorrow I might serve some turkey with baked potatoes and carrots. Yummy

So far this winter we have had more snow then I can ever remember having in Tennessee. I have lived in Tennessee for 21 years now. I have enjoyed it as long as I have not had to go out in it. My concern is that the southeast is not use to so much snow and cold. A lot of fragile crops grow in these areas and they are already talking about prices going up due to crop damage. I have already started to see prices going up. Everything from fresh foods to tuna are higher than last month. I have been surprised that apples (that are in season right now) are still very expensive. Dh and I went to do a little shopping yesterday and just like that we spent $27.05. We got 4 thick hamburger patties, 4 servings of white fish, a half pound of bologna, one pound of sliced ham, bag of baking potatoes, sour cream, tortilla chips and sliced cheese. The hamburger patties will be reshaped into a total of 8 thinner patties. With the tortilla chips I made nachos with cheese for dinner. I added 1/2...

Yesterday we had no heat -- just what we needed on a cold, snowy day. Tech came out last night and said that he needed to order a piece and it would be today before he could fix it. Something about a piece that the company knew to have problems and ours just went out yesterday. The piece was covered under warranty but the labour was not. $214 gone. Actually borrowed from dd.

Wow !! As I type we are getting more snow. Schools are closed for the third day straight. I am so glad that I don't have young children anymore. My teacher husband is fine with it. He has been working on lesson plans that will go into next week now. On to the good news -- my ds who has been out of work since the middle of October has found himself a full time job !!!! Yeah !! Praise God. He will start on Jan 21. He will keep his weekend job until he gets past the 90 day window and then will consider quitting the weekend job. He is going to work really hard at getting his bills caught up and then paid off. We are so happy for him. School starts on Thursday for dd. Her classes are MWF but her internship is Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I wish she was being paid for this but she is enjoying it. She is taking 15 hours this semester and she is done with her general required courses. So she is in her major now. She has maintained her GPA so her hope scholarship is still...

We awoke to snow this morning. We have already received more snow this year then we normally get all winter. My dd was kind enough to take some photos for me. Enjoy.

With January usually comes with setting goals for oneself. I am no different. However this year I have been trying to be more realistic. Setting a goal to lose weight is to general but I tend to be to specific also. So here is what I have come up with so far: 1. I hope to lose 5 pounds a month. I think this is doable. 2. I will cull through my clothes and remove those that no longer fit or something I will never wear again. Take to Goodwill. 3. I need to be better organized with our tax information so next years goes easier. 4. I need to focus on the craft supplies that I already have and try hard to not purchase anything that I don't absolutely needs. 5. Start to focus on paying down debt. I have one that will be paid off in January and one in February. I need to look at the rest of it to gauge the rest of them. That is it for now. I hope to have monthly goals also. I need to be held more accountable with my goals.

Here is to wishing everyone a happy new year.