Month: May 2013 (Page 1 of 2)

Extra paycheck this month, so I made an extra credit card payment. We owe less than $1,000 now! Almost there. Next month should do it easily. I’m so excited! It seems like it has taken a long time, but it took a long time to get that much debt, too.

We’ve had rain just about every day for a week. Glad it isn’t snow! Actually it came at a good time, because everything is planted except the glad bulbs. We’ll get them in as soon as the ground dries up a bit. I know other people are frustrated because they didn’t get things in before the rain. But I did!

Last concert tonight. I have the most confusing page turning ever. I have various pages copied and have to get them all set up in the correct order, then played in the correct order. I’m a bit nervous about that, especially since we didn’t go all the way through the music in class today. But I figure what happens, happens. I’ll just do my best.

I was out at 10 minutes to 6 this a.m. to go to a garage sale that started at 6 because I wanted the little laminater. I got it for $15, a little more than I’d hoped. But I hesitated on a $10 croquet set and someone else got it.

Then I came home and ran and did my weight workout, showered and headed to a plant sale that started at 8:00. I got $30 worth of perennials, which was quite a few, since they ran from $1 – $2 each!

Then I came home and in a little bit Dad and I left to go to some garage sales together. We found some real treasures and spent way too much money. Oh, well…it was fun!

After lunch we went down to New Auburn and dug up just the strawberries that had escaped from the bed and were growing in another part of the garden or in the lawn. We had enough to plant a huge bed here in Chetek. Then we planted all the perennials, since our hands were already dirty. It is going to be GLORIOUS when they are all blooming!

I’m going to make egg glurp for supper with homemade noodles, that I learned to make a couple weeks ago.

I’m supposed to be doing something productive, but I just can’t seem to get motivated. It was such a busy weekend, then a rather busy morning because of the funeral. I did my two first classes at 8:15 and 9:00, then showered and came back and did the 10:30 class at about 10:05 (there is only one person on Mondays and she was there already). Then I went up and did the funeral, came back to Chetek and ate, then went back to work from 12:00 until 1:30.  At least I don’t have any lessons today or any choir to practice with.

The weather is weird – it will sprinkle a bit, then the sun will come out, then it will cloud up and do the same thing over again. So it isn’t the greatest day for outside work. I did clean up the yard (from Sherlock, if you know what I mean) and planted a few perennials.

Oh, well, I should at least do some housecleaning, shouldn’t I?

Yesterday was the second day of the garage sale at work, although I wasn’t involved all day. Great to have such good volunteers! I started the coffee when I was there doing my Saturday weight training after my run around 7:00. Then I had to go unlock around 8:00 and I also priced some more kids’ clothes I had. Then I left until Dad and I went over for lunch (yummy pulled pork sandwiches!). Then I was on the tear-down crew, but that only took an hour. I also took some pictures of our big things that didn’t sell. Then I went home and posted them on Craig’s List. Since then, we’ve sold the chair and had some interest on the desk. We also had that old sink/stove/fridge unit that was in the grooming room of the kennel and we put free on it and someone finally took it today. Yea! The grand piano is still there, unfortunately, but I have an idea of what to do with it if Nancy Dutmer doesn’t want it to make things out of. My podium that I used to teach from didn’t sell, but it is nicer than the one we have at work, so I’m going to throw the old work one away and keep that one over there.

Then, after all that, I had to get the things made for the recital today and get the programs made. I asked a couple students what we should have and they suggested Special K bars and when I asked, “What about people who don’t like chocolate?” they suggested caramel apples. So the menu included, in addition to punch, Special K bars, sliced apples and optional caramel, creme puffs, and wheat thins with some amazing garlic and herb cheese that I got on our trip Thursday.

Today was church as usual, with our final choir practice for the year, since we’ll be going to one service after the holiday and I don’t want to have to hang around. Plus our numbers are getting smaller and smaller. I think they sound good, though, even if they are barely more than a trio!

The recital was at our church at 2:00, so Dad and I headed up around 1:30 and got things set up. I had 12 students play and the last two (David Bognar and Jamison Wendlandt) had their class A solos to play. Everyone did fine and parents were quite impressed. This year I told how long everyone had been playing, so people (especially other students) could see how long it takes to get that good. David has been taking lessons for 5 years (he’s in 8th grade this year) and Jamison for 7 years (he is a junior this year.) And also, Jamison got the Chopin award at the concert Friday evening, so I am very proud of him. He wants to do well, but is involved in so many good things that he doesn’t practice quite as much as he should. But still, he is doing well – much better than his siblings, in my opinion. (They didn’t take from me, though, and I’m a slave-driver, as you all know!)

After the recital we came home and I quickly mowed before the lawn got rained on. Then I, even more quickly, planted some plants in the garden. I just made it before the rain started, so I didn’t even have to water. I put in a few lettuce plants, some beet plants, some kohl rabi, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. They are all just inside the back picket fence at 123 Stout. We got a trailer-load of black dirt and ran a garden about 24′ wide all along that fence. The strawberries are going to go on the east side of the walk and the veggies are on the west side.

I’m going to relax the rest of the evening.

Nothing too exciting to report. It was a busy week because there was a high school concert last night, so I had to go in to practice in the afternoons. Then I was trying to get into the swing of working 2 hours each day on my network marketing. (I made 100 calls yesterday!) Plus we had our annual “spring garden center trip” with the senior citizens on Thursday. That went great. I got a few plants, but I’m waiting until the price goes down to get more. Then yesterday and today were the garage sale days at work, so I was busy getting ready for that, too. We dragged over a lot of big stuff from the garage, like the grand piano, the big trunk with the drawers, a glider rocker with no cushions, a lamp, etc. etc.

Hope everyone is finally enjoying spring. I know I am!!

Hope your children are all treating you right! Special greetings to Krista who is celebrating her first Mother’s Day with sweet little Mae!

I’ll bet you all think I just forgot about that $5 a month chance to make big money. Noooo. I’ve just been researching the whole domain of network marketing and learning a whole lot about it. And I did give serious thought to what you said, Nathan.

And I’m pleased to announce that I now know what the actual value of the “basic package” is – the coupon book, called the FTS coupon book, that is ONLY available to members. You see, the problem was that no one seems to be using it (probably because a lot of people aren’t bothered by the ethics of it, since it is only $5) But I looked into it a bit and contacted the main office and it is actually possible for businesses to run a coupon in that online coupon book at no charge to them (which has appealed to everyone I talked to!)  Right now the only coupons are from somewhere in New York state, which doesn’t do us much good, but they are great coupons if you live close enough to use them.

So my current project is contacting Chetek businesses about running coupons. Once I get several local coupons in there (enough to make it worth at least $5 a month), I can begin recruiting others to join at the $5 a month cost. And I think they will, mostly because of the opportunity to make money, but also because of the true value of the coupons. So far I’ve got my sales letter out to 6 businesses, 3 more to deliver tomorrow and 5 more to call back and two that I left messages to call me.

So, the reason I’m writing this now is that there are only 4 places left on my top tier and if I actually make this work, and fill my down line, there is money to be made, and the closer to me that you are in the matrix, the more I will be able to help you make money. You don’t have to do anything (other than pay the $5 a month). I’ll be recruiting people from the Chetek, Cameron, Rice Lake area, since that is where the coupons will be valid, and I’m confident I’ll fill the 5 places below each of the top 5 places and the 5 places below each of those 25 people with local folks who want a little extra income, plus coupons. If you ever want to replicate what I’ve done here, in your community, you could, but you don’t have to.

I’m thinking that when people are reading the information I’ve put together about the coupon opportunity, they might want to join, themselves, so those 5 places could fill very quickly. I’m not trying to push you into anything. I’m just saying “Now is the time to act.”

Sometimes using cash only adds to the excitement of shopping. We needed to get some things for a project at work, and forgot to bring along extra money for it. But we were pretty sure we had enough. When we got everything at Menards, it was $150 and Dad had $153 in his wallet. So that was fine. I saved my money for Walmart.

In addition to the weeks’ groceries, I got a whole lot of fabric at Walmart, and when I estimated the total of the fabric it was about $60. I had taken $100 cash along. So I said, let’s do the food first and if we are under $40, we will be fine. When the food was done it was $42. Not wanting to use the debit card, I remembered Dad’s $3.00. It looked like we’d make it. But when the total came up, it was $104 and something. But I remembered I had $1 in my wallet from yesterday. I thought Dad would have plenty of change, but he didn’t have enough. So I remembered I’d dumped some coins in my purse loose. I dug around and found 2 dimes. “Will that make it?” It did – we got 7 cents change. We felt like we’d won some sort of crazy shopping game!

So much more fun than just pulling out a credit card.

State music contest was today. First year I remember when there was snow on the ground for state.  But, actually, the weather was pretty mild for much of the day, so walking from building to building was pretty pleasant. Everyone did well, and someone gave me a Subway gift card as a thank-you gift, so Dad and I went out for supper!

Tomorrow is the Cameron High School spring concert, and I only practiced with them once. So, I’ve got to go practice their music a bit more. I don’t have any trouble following the director, so as long as I really know the music, it should go fine with only one practice.