Lots of things happening this weekend:
-My Mother-in-law had an episode and had to be rushed to the hospital Thursday morning. She was disoriented and could not tell time. She pointed the TV remote control at the microwave and expected it to work. Everyone thought stroke but it appears she was not taking a medication properly. She went home and yesterday again was rushed to the hospital. This time she will stay in for a few days. Aparently, her thyroid is way out of whack, which isn't unusual as she has had previous issues, but this time something is definitely up. For now, we are not flying to Alberta as they are keeping her in to do more tests.
-My Mother called me yesterday excited as someone appears very interested in buying her old mobile home. This would be excellent news as a condo two blocks away from our home here in Comox awaits her arrival. We cannot have her move until the mobile sells as it is much cheaper to keep the condo vacant than the mobile. She put it on the market in May. The woman who is interested cannot make an offer as she is waiting on a divorce settlement. We are trying not to get excited as it really means nothing until an offer is made. I have no idea how long she has to wait on her settlement so for now things are as they were.
-We just brought up 8 large Rubbermaid containers of Christmas Crap from the basement, all purchases and/or inherited many years ago. Some of it was downsized before we left Alberta. It seems I have a bit more downsizing to go. I just don't have the energy for it anymore. I decorate a little bit each day or when I feel like it. Today the only Christmas crap that went up was the wreath on the front door. For now the rest of it has been stuffed in the spare bedroom. My goal every year is to have the decorating and shopping done by December 1 so I can relax and enjoy the holiday season. I have two full weeks and the intention was to get the exterior lights on the house this weekend. That didn't happen due to Corporate blog issues so hopefully we can get it done next weekend. The lights, however, have been located and are ready to go.
-I have no mojo, blogging mojo that is. It might be that we just switched over our Corporate blog web host to a different provider and I spent three hours yesterday learning Wordpress and re-loading lots of old blogs. These new guys are great but we prefer to have lots of control over our Corporate blog so there are still lots of kinks to be worked out and things I need to learn.
-I am sick of fighting with my monthly grocery budget of $425. Prices have risen and my thrifty powers are still not cutting it. As of December 1 I am raising my budget to $450 - for all food, cleaning and over the counter medications and vitamins. This month hubby stocked up on vitamins and we have now already exceeded the budget. Oh well, we are pretty healthy and as we pay as you go for healthcare costs this is money well-spent.
-It is beautiful here this weekend. Five degrees celcius and sunshine. The family in Alberta are dealing with the aftermath of a snowstorm. Looks like it is going to be a really white Christmas in Alberta this year.
So, as the title goes, whatever will be will be. Life goes on while we wait medical and financial news for our parents. How was your weekend?
Spent a good deal on my weekend in the garage and at the storage unit trying to clean/clear it out. Got another load ready for Salvation Army....yay me!lol
ReplyDeleteBonus of selling a few things online over the course of Sat/Sun too.
I don't blame you for boosting your household food/hba/toiletries budget. I am hard pressed some months to stay under $400 and that's WITH a huge stockpile of hba/toiletries here.
I have a tiny stockpile, think rubbermaid four drawer dresser for toiletries. If I find a smoking hot deal though we have lots of room under the house - none of those recently found though.
DeleteI figure everything I put up decoration-wise also has to come down. I am less inclined to go wild because I don't want to spend time in January putting it all away. I am going to continue to try the <75 per week but am not sure this will be consistently doable. If I run out of oil or nuts during a given week, I'll have to get creative. It's just not easy!
ReplyDeleteI try and have a few oils at my disposal in case one runs out or I can't find it on sale- olive,canola and sesame are all requirements!
DeleteGetting ready for winter. Our decorations will not be going up until Dec14th, so I don;t have to think about those for now.
ReplyDeleteHope all goes well with mum and mum in law.
Jane x
Wow, Dec 14th - you have self-control!
DeleteHi CC
ReplyDeleteI too hope all goes well with your parental issues, always a worry when these things happen as in mother in law but hopefully will get sorted. And fingers crossed for your Mum to sell her mobile home!
One of my goals this month is to sort my Christmas collection (fits into part of my blanket box in the lounge so no hardship) but just need to find the energy to do so. I'll put my decs out December 1 but compared to previous years, will not take me long!
I think it's worth upping the food budget, no point in trying to struggle through and be annoyed each month, you have to eat healthy and look after yourself and if it costs a little more then so be it!
xx
We can afford to up the food budget and I would much rather cut a different area of our budget - we are both cooks and enjoy cooking so I like to have a full pantry.
DeleteFingers crossed for both of your mothers - on the health side & financial side. My weekend was pretty great- time for a long run, homemade pizza this evening, & we took photos for our holiday cards today & they turned out well. Love that. :-)
ReplyDeleteYour pics turned out great - we need to get a tripod too for our self-timer
DeleteI may be wrong, but it seems that medical issues with old folks always happen this time of year. Hopefully everything will be fine and you can enjoy a stress free holiday season. I can't believe it's almost December. It was just June! After a cold spell a few days ago, it was actually warm yesterday with some humidity. It felt wonderful!
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right. Hubby's dad had cancer five years ago and we spent that Christmas season by his bedside in the Hospital. He held off on dying until Dec 26th - although he was in a coma that last week. It was a tough season and not one I want to repeat.
DeleteI hope everything works out as well. I am so happy that I am not the only one who calls it Christmas crap. There are some years I just want to pitch it out when Christmas is over lol. I understand about groceries, our meat and dairy prices are going up, which is usually blamed on our gas prices going up but our gas prices are going down, we haven't had any weather to cause it to rise but yet it's going up.
ReplyDeleteI just can't understand the cost of meat - $18 for a roast that feeds two people? We tend to eat the cheap meats, lots of pork and chicken. Most always with a pink marked down sticker attached to it.
DeleteI do hope everything ends up being OK with your MIL. My mom is also in the hospital..they are still running tests.
ReplyDeleteAbout your food budget...how about breaking it up into several budgets, as it has worked so much better for us. I have $300 for food(just food, no cleaning stuff etc), with some months not needing the whole $300, $100 for household (cleaning stuff, toilet paper, soda, cold meds,etc.), $225 for family (movies, clothing, books/mags etc). We also have a dining out budget of $125 as this was our biggest budget buster. It amazes me how much less I spend on non food stuff when left with a smaller budget...and yes, due to ongoing anemia I take lots of vitamins. Just a suggestion, hope it helps.
blessings, jill
visiting from Rhonda's..ifyoudostuff
Welcome Jill! The only way I keep to the budget is by keeping it simple. I still just use a little notebook. I know exactly what kills the budget everymonth and it is non-food items. I only keep on doing it as it keeps us on track financially. Thanks for visiting!
DeleteWow. You've been having a time of it. Sure hope your mother-in-law is well taken care of and on the mend.
ReplyDeleteAlso hope your mother's buyer's divorce gets settled!
2-1/2 years ago, we went from 10 boxes/Rubbermaid tubs of Christmas crap down to 2 Rubbermaid tubs of Christmas worthies! Such a good feeling. But I have to admit I sometimes miss the crap!
Well, keeping a good thought for the mothers of your family!
We still have about 6 of the rubbermaid containers. Hubby is okay with parting with some of it, me not so much
DeleteYou have a lot going on. The best thing to do is just roll with it like you said. It's a hard thing for me sometimes as I have control issues. Shhhhh, don't tell anyone that I live with that I admitted to that.
ReplyDeleteWe all have control issues lol :)
DeleteBest wishes for a quick recovery for you MIL! Hope your Mom's deal goes through soon, too. We put up outdoor decorations a few days ago. Just a bit too early for the lights to actually get turned on yet. Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteThe plan for the lights is hopefully this weeked.
DeleteI'm really trying to downsize Christmas decorations too. I don't mind getting rid of things now that Kazi is older. Christmas really is for kids. Hope all works out with your MIL - harder to cope when you're not physically close.
ReplyDeleteDon't get rid of too much, you will have more time and want to decorate down the road!
DeleteI found your blog thru Powell River Books. I blog from Powell River. It is nice to find another blogger close by even if you are a ferry ride away. We seem to have a lot in common. I will enjoy reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Susan, Usually it is far more upbeat than lately. Thanks for visiting!
DeleteGood luck with all the craziness going on, hope all will be well again soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Van
Delete