Mortgage Challenge

With us so busy outside I nearly forgot to check on things. But mortgage is down to 121,120 down from 121,250. Next week we are out of the 121's. Exciting times!

Progress Day 3

I planted seeds this morning. I had a helper. Hundreds of tomatoes are now going.

We went out back today. One bed is totally in and filled. We will be doing 2 more beds and filling those and then calling it good. Any left over dirt will be used to top off other beds and such.

The backyard.

One of my herb sections.

Garlic is looking good and no clover in sight! I might get garlic this year?

This photo just OMG. I was out taking photos of Buddy. Just snapping away and then up pops Trooper, his son. No idea where he came from just popped up, I didn't even see him until I reviewed the photos. I finally got a photo of father and son. Pretty cool. Loving my b/w feature.

No Progress tomorrow, I'm off to the sewing show!

Progress Day 2

Well beds are all filled.

I'm on the couch with the heating pad.

We still have dirt left.

Life

It's been a couple of crazy days. So I got this new camera, I can take photos in b/w. I LOVE that feature! And yes, Vader is still here. And Vader is getting FIXED next month. So is Buddy, that is the exciting one.

Kirby who likes NO-ONE curled up with fur ball on my chair.

Well Saturday we got an early start on getting the dirt, because hubby would have to make 2-3 trips and I wanted to try a new place. Well one trip up and back and he announces that ride was hell and the truck has to go back to the shop on Monday. Luckily I had him calm down before calling the car guy! In the mean time we had dirt to unload. He bought 2 yards and it filled 3 beds. So Saturday after he refused to drive the truck again we figured we would have to call and have dirt brought in.

So last Monday well the boys were at the movies watching Lego's, I went to a nursery. I should NOT be left alone in a nursery! They had Brazel Berries. I have been wanting Brazel Berries for years. They brought in all three this year verses the one type last year. I caved, I bought two of each. And well two pink lemonade's (pink blue berry) I then had to go to Costco to buy planters. So by the end of the week they will all be planted and placed. Beyond excited.

It's Monday, well Late Monday and our dirt order finally shows up! After three calls, in saying come on we are two blocks away! Show me the DIRT!

They claimed they were having trouble with a machine. I don't care, I called the order in Saturday! It's late Monday! I want my dirt. 10 yards of dirt. Joy! So after it was left, hubby and I went out in the pouring rain and filled one bed. Just six more to go in the front!

My Baker Seed order came in. OH Baker is so my company. I had to hold myself back from ordering everything I wanted. But added some tomatoes to my collection. And expanded my cucumber collection and zucchini's. And Turnips are good, they make the potatoes go further. Trying some new squashes and such. Should be an exciting year!

Seeds of the Month came in. I have been wanting to add Clover to my herbs so this is good. And Asparagus, it's one I have been wanting to try. Guess I'm trying it now?

Picked up the truck a few hours after taking it over. It costs nothing as something juggled loose from the last repair. Last repair as in last week!

So tomorrow and Wednesday nothing but filling front yard beds! If we have time we will head out back and work there. We have enough bricks for 1-2 beds, but we need to flatten things out back there. So it will take some work. But hoping I have enough dirt for those beds as well. We also need to move around a fence line so make room for orange trees. We got rid of one bunny cage, one more to go. This one will place out front and on Craigslist, it's a good one, just needs some love. The other one had been through way too many bunnies and was just toast. Now it's in pieces in a burn pile. Freeing up a lot of space.

Luckily it looks like the rain will be moving out? which would be good news lets us work outside longer. Hubby is only off for a week, need to get a lot done!

And just a note as I type this I have a heating pad on my back. I'm feeling muscles' I haven't felt in a year. Well since the last time we moved 10 yards of dirt!

Mortgage Challenge & Weekly Update

How to save 500 plus dollars? Fix the dishwasher yourself! We realized our heating element probably went out. As dishes were not dry, they were so cold and then they stopped getting clean. I put in a cleaner and there was no heat to open the bottle. SOOOO after some googling I found a part number, found the part on Amazon and ordered it. Found a website that explained how to change it out. It seems simple enough. If need be there was also you tube we could have checked out. So for 20 dollars. All is fixed and it's up and running great now.

Part of tax money was spent on grow lights. I bought 2 this year, these are 4 foot long. So in the next few days tomatoes and a few other things will be started. We will try the hallway, but with 5 dogs and 3 cats I worry! Might have to give up my sewing table for awhile?

Sewing table. Speaking of which is packed full of stuff I'm working on. Things just pop into my head and stay there until I get them out on fabric. Which in turn makes room for more in my head before I have other projects all sewed up. This is what I"m working on this week. I will post more as soon as it's sent to the intended person. I just don't dare post early in case she reads a blog????

My baby is officially 7. OUCH. On Monday he got a BIG surprise. Daddy took them to see the Lego movie. Oh that was exciting. And then off to Toys r us for his birthday gift. Of course all Lego Movie Lego's well what else. He had our birthday money, and grandparents. And now the other grandparents gave him money so he is off to get a missing piece or two? So he had a big day.

So this upcoming week is bound to be NUTS. Hubby is taking the week off. We will start filling the boxes out front with dirt. The watering system is nearly in. Probably one more good day and we will be all set? So lots of dirt. Ethan and I have a sewing show on Thursday. We look forward to this all year long.

So Mortgage, as excited as I am every week. I'm freaking out. I'm sure it's because the neighbors house went back to the bank this week. Just hard to believe all the work she put in and everything she did and she walked away. IDK I can't give up my house. So I want to pay it down asap. But each payment seems so slow. Although I know we are doing good. And if all works out we will be below 113k at the end of the year. Just need to keep breathing and taking it day by day. But it's hard. On the other hand we are busting at the seems some days. What I wouldn't give for a few hundred more feet some days. 

We clean, we declutter and it never seems enough. I have grow lights now. Soon I will have jars everywhere. So I do think when we are under 100k and we think about re-fi-ing. Part of me wants to stop paying down the house so hard, and bulk up savings and really start to keep our eyes open for either our dream home? or adding on some feet to this house. But that isn't this year. So a debate for another time. 

Right now, it's dirt, it's getting the growing season up and growing and OHHHH the BIG news. Our local nursery had Brazzel Berries. I have been wanting these for YEARS. And then I found out last year the local nursery had them, but I totally missed out. So well the boys were at the movie. I went and poked around the nursery and fell in LOVE. I got 2 of each. So those will be planted next week with the load of dirt. I'm off tomorrow to get everything they will need for planting. I'll try and have photos next week. 

OOPS Mortgage is down to 121,250 from 121,380 come first week of March we will be out of the 121's. Exciting.

$302,000

$302,000 I just read it costs that much to raise a child born in 2012. ARE YOU FLIPPING KIDDING ME? 

OK so granted that number is for someone making 60k-105k plus. Since we will never see that cut that in half. So about 150k. Now at 150k do you know math wise how many years it will take for us to make that? 

Now to spend it on a child? I think NOT! 

Granted I don't know what is all in the total. But I think it would be interesting to keep track of how much I actually spend on one child per year. 

Maybe it's me and me being frugal? Or the fact we just don't make much a week? IDK. 

But I try to keep food about 50 a week. I only buy used clothes as my boys are so rough. Man if I spent 20 dollars on pants and they put a hole in it, how bad would I feel? at 3 dollars I don't feel so bad. I have also started to make some of their clothes from my fabric scraps. I also buy the bulk of my fabric at goodwill and use knit sheets to make the pj's. I don't believe we will go out to eat at all this year. They only get 100 dollars for their birthday. No extra gifts. I do buy school supplies, but books used off Amazon are very cheap. 

They get allowance but are fully expected to be working around here. Tucker is also a saver and soon will have more in the bank then us. A very scary thought, when your child can out save ya?

I garden to off set food costs. We save every scrap of food. We are frugal beyond frugal. From canning to drying to making to baking.

Although hoping for the upcoming year that we can cut things back some more. Well keep paying down the house. Have to ask ourselves do we really need this? Well do you, or do you want to put the money in the bank? 

IDK I'm glad I don't buy my kids anything. I'm glad I make them do chores and save money, and if they want anything they have to buy it themselves. We will get them through life, and school and if they do college we will get them through that as well. There are ways to do that frugally as well. 

Good golly just thinking of that number? that could buy us a dream home with many acres! Lots of land to feed these growing boys. 

Progress Day 3

Well all boxes are done! All weed blocker is put down. All but ten pavers are in place. We are now ready for the watering system to be installed.

See this small bed? Small, it's a 2 x 8 foot bed. It will be my Ginger Bed. How exciting is that?

So I now have 7 beds that are 4 x 12 foot beds. I have 2 that are 4 x 8 foot beds and I have 1 that is a 2 x 8 foot bed. Not to mention a triangle bed that is 12 x 12 x 12. I call that my basil bed. And I have added another triangle bed that is also 12 x 12 x 12 that will be my herb flower bed.

So next up a watering system, ten more pavers, then dirt, and bark and planting of the new seeds. Ever so exciting.

Weekly Update and Mortgage Challenge

We had some snow, no. We got about 8 inches, the snow covered our new beds. It was the puppy's first snow. Did you know puppy's don't like to pee in the snow?

We had a wind storm last night. We finally lost our fence. It's propped up for now, it was on the list, just need to do it sooner then later.

My kids were jumping. I have no idea why?

This one caught some air?

Someone is gearing up to turn the big 7. It will be a very sad day for me. 

We got our tax return in. I was worried after reading that they may be delayed. But we got it. I had a list a mile long of stuff to take care of. So we have started on that list. All medical is paid up. So for the moment we are medical debt free. It won't last long but hay. The truck is in the shop. We are just working down the list. It will be nice to have things done around here. Sadly I'm sure the money won't last long and will be gone soon. But we are getting things done and that is the important part. The list is now about cut in half. We will keep at it. Which now includes fixing the gate sooner then later.

Our mortgage went from 121,514.85 to 121,380. Very exciting to keep seeing the drop. Now that things are coming off the list and being done it will make it easier to keep paying down the mortgage.

Weekly Update & Mortgage Challenge

Seeds of the month came, well last month, I just lack time to do any posting. I plan on using all four. So excited to be out planning the garden soon. By the end of the month the front yard should be totally done. I can't wait. Granted the snow has to melt first! I'm doing a seed order next week, just need to sit down for a minute. OH and I'm ordering grow lights. Be starting tomatoes here shortly.

Been off sewing. I have a nice pile of pillowcases, and squares for quilts. This is the back of a pillowcase, just stunning. I don't know yet when I will go live. I'll let you all know. Just a lot of sewing this week.

Mortgage update. So excited this week, it was a big drop. Although it hurts. We did the monthly mortgage payment. We did the extra, and then some I had tucked away. So we went from 121,900 to 121,514.85. I'm in shock we have made it this far. Just the end goal in site of being in the 112k range. 

Sad day tomorrow as neighbors house goes up for auction. They keep dropping the opening bid. It will be interesting to see if someone buys it or if it goes back to the bank? Kinda hope I get a neighbor who does nothing but gardening......