Get Ready, Here Comes 2009

I suffered from postpardum depression after my daughter was born. It is nothing to take lightly. This year I am moving to a cash-only system to help me better control my spending at the grocery store and so forth. I even made a wallet last week for that very purpose! Come by and take a look! If you are interested, I would be happy to write an article about moving to a cash only/ envelope system. Happy New year!

I second Heather! It's been ages since I took that home-ec class in junior high, and I have this wonderful sewing machine I'm almost afraid to use because I can't remember oh, how to thread the bobbin & set the tension :)

I'm so with you on the depression- my meds are working well, but I'm going to try cutting back on them. The one non-medication-related thing I keep hearing about that pretty much always works is (*gulp*) regular aerobic exercise. I HATE exercising, and I can't find time to do it even when I try, but there you go- I guess I need to figure that one out this year.

Otherwise, I just want to keep learning how to keep this household running smoothly and try to spend more time focusing on my kids- not thinking about other stuff I "should" be doing while I'm with them- just letting it all go and enjoying this time I'm so lucky to have with them. :)

Happy New Year, everyone!

Good for you, Ivy, for taking your depression seriously and managing it. It's so important, just like if you had a physical condition. So many people just don't get that.

My resolutions aren't quite so creative as you sewing Mommas out there. I just want to de-clutter my house, keep us under budget and drop a few pounds.

Cheers,

Anna

I resolve to be a bombshell this year!

I so love reading your witty tutorials on ANYTHING. I am all about learning the tricks to keeping a home clean and the kiddos well fed. Time saving tips are my goal for 2009!!

As for depression....I, too, tend to suffer from this (it runs in the fam). I have had to learn to recognize the triggers.....and adopt a "this thing that is making me slide is NOT going to kill me" attitude. Most days are better than others......but, occasionally, a real doozy pops out of nowhere. I appreciate that people are willing to talk about their depression more readily.....TALKING about it helps us all not to feel like we are supposed to hide it.

Kudos to you guys many times over for having such a wonderful and useful site! I love my daily dose of Home Ec 101 and am glad I found y'all!!

Sewing from the ground up, please. :) I took sewing lessons *cough* 28 years ago, and I remember very little. I can hand-stitch enough to fix a hole in a piece of clothing, but I'd really like to use the sewing machine I have (and paid to have cleaned a year ago).

Looking forward to new tutorials...how about fun and CHEAP crafts for kids? Easy ways to introduce them to gardening, sewing and the like. Lawn care or cheap and easy landscape for (idiots) dummies like muah.

Speaking of depression, I wonder what triggers this one? (You easily get depress?). Please get rid of this word and start the new year with your vocabulary book minus this. Continue doing your stuff of tutorials and be positive all year round.

Happy New Year, Ivey!
I'd love some encouragement with simple and practical sewing projects, with organizing those cluttered areas in my home (sewing room, office, kitchen storage), and some great ideas for simple meals that can be stretched into a planned-over meal.
Thanks for all you and Heather do.
Hope your 2009 is full of joy!

I had organizing my home on last years list. I am still gonna finish this resolution this year and get it done. I am trying to make lists and cross things off one at a time. The new year resolution will be to maintain what I have done. So far the kitchen and living room at almost there. I found your lovely site today from a yahoo group. You have a nice site here, Thanks so much for the inspiration. Blessings for the New Year !!

Easy (very easy and cheap) vegetarian meals

The closest I have to a resolution is to find work that pays the bills, but not at the expense of my soul. I've had 30 years of jobs that vampired my body and spirit, and kept hoping that somehow the next one would be better...some were, a bit, but none made me feel happy or fulfilled, or even that I wasn't flushing 9-16 hours a day down the commode 5-7 days a week. I have another 30 years of work ahead of me, statistically speaking, and I don't want them to be as miserable as the first 30. I think I've earned some me-time and the right to claim the rewards of my accomplishments for once. That means working for myself, of course.

I can't think of any suggestions for sewing projects I would like to see; I am already pretty handy in that area. I already wrote a comment about my approach to shortcut quilting. The thing I always wanted to master and never quite did was knitting without a knitting machine. I machine-knit well and can crochet "ok," but knitting with needles never quite seems to work out for me.

Oops! I meant "trim with bias tape"...tripping I can do on my own.

Bias tape! Would you please show me how to trip with bias tape when the item has a corner (like a pot holder)...I so messed that up with my home-made Christmas attempts...

Well, 2008 was my year to get out of debt. Did great until the last two months, with Christmas spending, but in December paid all I had charged in November, and in January will pay off all we spent in December, including remodeling two rooms and a new washer we bought in September, so I am okay with a little Christmas debt running until Feb 1. Started 08, $8,000 in debt, so I am extremely happy with the results. :)

So... my resolution for 2009 is to start saving 20% of the household budget so that it can be spent on things that cause us to have debt to begin with, like new washers, back to school clothes for three kids, college tuition(s). It's automatically put into savings, I just have to be resolved to leave it there and not be so resolved that I don't spend it on the things it's earmarked for. I am great at paying off bills, terrible at saving. Hubby is our saver, so he's the one who takes care of the family savings account. But I would like to start saving up for rainy days instead of paying them off after the flood. IYKWIM. :)

Mine would be to not have to owe my parents any money at the end of next year... that was mine last year and it did not work out so well. I would also like to be able to save money each week so when I want to go shopping I have money on hand, yes I love to shop.

Also I want to sew more and get more involved with my kids.. I love to watch them play, but I feel like I am taking a back seat just a little too much.

CURTAINS! I repainted my livingroom and kitchen at the end of August and haven't found curtains to suit me yet. (The other ones were 8 years old, and I made them without a pattern.) I'm ready for something different, but don't know where to start, have a limited budget, and want something that offers privacy without blocking out all the light. A tall order that I can't seem to fill.