Huzzah for the curtains!

Well all, I did manage to finish the curtains this past weekend, one set at least. So now my Living room is darker, but probably warmer. I see one hem that needs tweaking but I am so not interested in fixing that.

Today we made an excursion to the Goodwill today to procure some sweaters. I looked through everything I have, and the kids clothes, and realized that we didn't really have very many sweaters or sweatshirts for the ladies of the house. I don't think we needed them before we moved here, the mobile had forced air and I kept it pretty contant and warm with the kids being little. Now here I just turn on the little wall heaters in the morning for half an hour, the baby (not-so-baby, she is almost 18 months now....) is the only member of the household who doesn't keep her blankies on her at night, so she gets heat overnight. So I took a $20 and managed to come home with an almost new Old Navy sweater for myself, a play sweatshirt for the baby, a sweatshirt, a fleece pullover, a long sleeve shirt, and a chinelle turtleneck sweater for sundays for Ivria. Not bad for twenty bucks.

Some great news on the Etsy front, I've made my sales goal for the month already (which means I need to set a higher one that will actually support us, scary!)..... which is great because I haven't been able to find a part time job yet. If I can keep things rolling the next week or two, I will have enough put away to sustain us through next month. I have two craft sales next month, and my aunt might take a few things on consignment to a show she is doing this weekend. So, we will see how things pan out. I have had several people inquire about wholesale, but looking at my pricing structure, I don't think that's in the cards right now.

So things are going well here. I can feel myself losing focus sometimes, it takes an immense amount of willpower to have cut back our spending. Even a candy bar purchase has to be analyzed at this point. The amazing byproduct of the situation is that we (and not just I the bookkeeper) are together more keenly aware of our finances. I didn't really notice before this how much we frittered away on little thoughtless stuff. Meals out are out of the question, so I've learned to pack peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches when we will be gone more than an hour or so. I'm using the fresh foods I buy more diligently, knowing that half a head of lettuce wasted each week, over a year, adds up to the cost of a couple of oil changes potentially. This new awareness brings a sense of power. :-) We have so much less money, but so much more unity and teamwork in our marriage. And the great part is, because we made this choice, we don't feel ashamed about our situation. I'm proud of us. Feels kinda like we needed to leave the nest in a way, even though we are in our late twenties and early thirties. I'm spending time developing friendships, because without my ministry involvement, I realized that I had no social life. I'm spending more energy on the quality of time I have with the girls. Before, they were always with me even at work/church, but even today I just sat and watched Ivria building a house for her imaginary pet "bugs". It's amazing how you can be around your kids all day, but lose sight of appreciating them. When my energy was going so many different ways, I didn't have any left to step into their worlds and play imaginary games. Last night before bed we pretended that we were the Wonderpets (kids tv show). We rescued baby crabs, and flew in our airplane. And I again realized how amazing and wonderful my life is. And I'm crying right now because I am just so happy to be me. I have stretch marks, and my body is not perfect, but I have a husband who can't keep his hands off me, and I know that he would never leave me or cheat on me. I have the most amazing little girls who are the constant light of my life, even when most of what was the previous meal is all over the floor.... one sweet game of "kiss me through the crib slats mama" makes that all dissapear. Sigh.

Wow that was a long sappy post. I need to go wind off some thread for a dye batch tonight, but I'll be back soon. Ten points if you made it this far :-)