It's December!

It is indeed the most wonderful time of the year!  I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful season as much as I am!

each fall and winter I look forward the first cool weather so I can enjoy a baby bonfire

I recently realized that I have been so busy savoring the moments of life, that I have been totally delinquent in recording them here.  So much for the "dailies", lol. Nonetheless, it has still been, (although simply lived) extraordinary.

Christmas day is looming large on the horizon...

I, long ago, decided not to let the pressure of marketing campaigns, and expectations of others, guilt me into spending beyond our budget, whatever it happened to be at the time.  It all began when I was a single mom of three small children.  I did the best I could with what I had and made do.  I've always enjoyed baking and making treats and gifts from the kitchen, so since that can help in keeping gift giving costs low, that was the bulk of gifts I gave to friends, family and co-workers.  I also enjoyed crafting and would occasionally make handmade crafty items to give.  (True, not everyone appreciated a homemade gift.  There are people in the world that feel that if you haven't spent a pretty penny on a gift, that it isn't worthy.  I couldn't allow that to be my problem.)  In all honesty, I do occasionally struggle with this.  But I find my equilibrium again and move forward...and ENJOY the season simply.

These days, all our children are grown and my gift giving list has shrunk to close family and those who perform and provide services for us.  For those, we usually gift them a little cash.  Having come from the service industry ourselves, my hubby and I both know how hard they work, and how much that little bit of extra money can mean, so we plan and budget for it.  Also, we no longer have co-workers and an extensive list of friends that requires me to come up with many, many gifts to give.

As far as decorating goes, in the past I would put out many decorations all around the house.  The past few years I have put out only a few, well chosen decorations that I mostly had on hand.  The Christmas tree, stockings on the hearth, a wreath on the front door and cards that we receive in the mail from friends and family.  This year I framed our front door with a strand of colorful lights, bought two beautiful pink poinsettias to set outside on each side of the front door and also a white narcissus bulb to force in water.  Simple. Cozy. Homey.

So, the theme of our Christmases these past few years has become: "simplify".

a simple breakfast of cinnamon toast on a chilly morning

I'm quite enjoying this newer, quieter season in our lives.  (As much as I love my children, I've never been a morning person and do not miss those crack of dawn, call-to-action-to-see-what-Santa-left, mornings.  GASP!~hey, just being honest.)  In this new season of life, with it's slow, quiet mornings, no pressure afternoons and lazy evenings, I have decided to add another theme along with "simplify".  And that is "savor".

slow cooker bean and ham soup on a winter's eve

Don't get me wrong.  I still have that soft, annoying, nagging voice that likes to remind me of all the things we can't do since my husband has become disabled and is in constant pain.  I struggle with it.  I wrestle with it, sometimes until I feel bruised and bloodied emotionally.  But, I always come back to the fact we still have SO much to be grateful for.  We still have SO much more than many others.  And it could ALWAYS be worse.  And then I find it easier to adjust my attitude from discontent, to gratitude.  And that is a much, much nicer place to dwell!

Wishing you joy and peace in this hustle and bustle holiday season!

Thanks for stopping by! ~TJ

Five Frugal Things ~ December 1, 2017

Happy December!  I know everyone says it but, can you believe we are in December already?!  This year has flown.

With Christmas looming, I am doing my bit of shopping.  I have never been one to be extravagant with gift giving, usually setting a limit of not more than $100 per person.  Now that my children are older, and decisively more choosy, I buy them gift cards to their favorite places so they can get exactly what they want.  They are much happier with that than receiving gifts they really don't care for.  And I feel letting them choose gifts that they really want is much more "frugal" in the long run because they actually use the item rather than it ending up in the trash. I figure it also alleviates the possibility of them associating any guilt for getting rid of a present their mama or mamaw gave them.  Win, win.

Oh, I still buy little hand picked gifts for their stockings, and I like to gift homemade baked goodies and tins of popcorn and nuts.  Sometimes I might sew or make them things.  I don't think anyone walks away from the tree on Christmas day feeling unloved or unhappy.

All that to say, November and December aren't the frugalist (is that even a word?  If not, now it is, haha!) of months for us in many ways, but I still continue my daily frugal endeavors no matter what month or time of year.  It is just ingrained in me.  (My daughter and I were cracking up this evening at all my penny pinching escapades...I was laughing so hard at myself I had tears streaming down my cheeks!  We have a good time together.)

So, this past week I:

•  bought only a loaf of bread as far as grocery shopping goes, since we are pretty well stocked up in our larder and freezers.  I used to bake our bread until my food processor bowl broke.  I don't knead.  Call me lazy or whatever you want.  I still won't knead.  I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we get a new bread kneading contraption though, since I 've gone through two bread machines & the aforementioned bowl in my breadmaking career.  So...fear not.

•  went to the dollar theater in our area for a mother daughter date.  We like to find inexpensive ways to have a little girl time together on occasion.

•  used Christmas decorations we have on hand to decorate for the season.

•  making a point to hold off on purchases for as long as possible, until a) we absolutely must purchase the item out of necessity, b) I find an item I already have on hand that I can use instead, or c) I decide I can live without the item.

•  froze or finished most of the leftovers from our Thanksgiving meal with minimal waste.  The exceptions were the key lime pie that no one liked, so most of it got thrown away.  It truly pains me to throw out food but it was just not going to get eaten.  I didn't know anyone else that might have liked it or I would have given it away.

 I hope you are finding fun ways of minding your money during this season of indulgence!

Thanks for stopping by! ~TJ