Tag: coupons

Three Day Weekend Equals Three Visits to a Craft Store

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life

This past weekend was busy.  It seemed like there was no time to do anything.  I hoped for more progress than I got on my list but I don’t know when we could have done more.

Saturday I paid bills, worked on budget and we went to my sister-in-laws wedding.  Sunday we went to several stores.  The first was Home Depot and after that I sat in the car while Vicki and Ken went into the stores.  Vicki and I did go to Joann’s.  There were Ibottas and coupons.  I got a lot of money back for buying yarn I was going to buy anyways and 10% back.  Additionally I had a coupon for 20% off my whole order.  On Sunday, I had two coupons for 60% off any regular priced item.  I got two lengths of luxe fleece.  This is super soft fleece which is normally $15 – $20 per yard.  I only buy it when I have big coupons or it is on steep discount.  I also found lace I liked for the front window.  Ken had put up an dark blue ugly curtain I didn’t like on our front door.  I looked through the lace.  There was this gorgeous feeling white which I loved the feel of but didn’t really suit the room.  Vicki picked out a color I liked but I didn’t think Ken would.  I’m not sure he likes it but I do.

Monday Vicki and Ken went back to Home Depot to get a range hood.  Ours has been getting louder and louder as well as working less.  They picked up one.  Ken came home and installed it.  We discovered more strange things about how they did things in our house.  The range hood is on the same breaker as our garage.  Vicki and I went back to Joann’s because when we were there on Sunday we picked up some buttons on clearance.  These are the fancy buttons which normally cost anywhere from $1 – $5 each but on clearance for 50 cents.  When we were there on Saturday the buttons had all sorts of prices on them but they rang up as 50 cents.  So Sunday we went back specifically for buttons.  Vicki and I picked over what they had and then found a table to lay them all out at.  We weeded through and narrowed it down.  I still spent over $20 on buttons.  But I got a great deal on them.  Plus I got the 10% back on Ibotta.

All three days we went to Joann’s and I used coupons to save big, bought stuff on clearance, or used Ibotta to get rebates.  I saved over $16 in rebates from Ibotta but in savings from the coupons and in store sales I saved over $85.  I saved almost as much as I spent so really good deals.

As for what did get accomplished, I got bills paid.  That was on my list.  Ken finished the closet space in the family room.  Next step is for Vicki and I to figure out what we want out there.  I did work on crocheting all weekend.  I got six sets of hand towels / dish towels done.  I also prepped five fleece blankets for crocheting.  I crocheted the edging for two of them.  Other items I worked on, I got four pairs of earrings and four scrubbies made.  I organized all the stuff which had been accumulating on my couch.  I’m going to keep working on dish towels and hand towels.  I have three skeins of scrubbie material so I’m going to keep making them up.  All the excess crocheted items are going on the rummage and craft sale we’re going to have.

I got stuff done.  I shouldn’t feel bad I didn’t get stuff done.  I just didn’t get the stuff done I planned to get done.  In the meanwhile, I’m going to keep crocheting and adding to my stockpile for the sale.  I have excess fleece in the craft room which I plan to make up into blankets for the sale.  In my head I have a list of things I want to make for the sale.  I’ll see how far I get in making the stuff.  I’m trying to only use the yarn I have on hand.  I’m trying to use up my stash of yarns and reduce the amount of stuff I have in my craft room.

Ultimately a productive weekend but not productive for my list.  Part of me says to let go of the damn list but another part of me knows I’ll forget things if I don’t keep my list.

Long Long Day

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

Ken left for Georgia yesterday.  Vicki and I took him to the airport at 3:30 in the morning.  This meant we were up at 2:30.

Not being a morning person, this was not a great start to the day.  Vicki and I were home by 6:00 but we didn’t come back and go back to bed.  We stopped at Woodman’s.  We shopped for both her household and mine.  By the time we were done, we’d saved $57 in coupons, $6.25 in Ibotta rebates, and $2 in Checkout 51 rebates.

We came home so she could unload.  All the perishables got put away and some of the sorting out of what she wanted and what I wanted.  My mother and sister stopped by so they got to see Vicki for a few minutes.

Once they left, we made a list for Sorgs and I called it in.  Since it was Saturday Sorgs is always busy so we wanted to expedite our time there.  We stopped at Urgent Care because Vicki has a sinus infection.

The rest of our morning we spent time going to Shopko, Target, Penera, and Walgreens.  That finished our morning.  We came home to eat lunch.  I took a nap but she was bouncing all over getting things organized.

She brought home her laundry so she wouldn’t have to pay to go to a laundromat.  She did our laundry as well, so we folded and hung up several baskets of clothes.  Once we were done with that, we went to the kitchen.

The two of us made lasagne, chicken tetrazzini, and diced chicken which we marinated with dressing.  Once those were all done, we had lasagne for supper, did some more laundry, and then went back to the kitchen to make cranberry apple sauce.  Vicki canned the results of this experiment so she had to stay up long enough to get the ten pints in and out of the water bath.

All of this got done yesterday with only about three hours of sleep.  All in all, a good day but exhausting.  I kicked Vicki to bed at about 10:30 and got to sleep short after 11:00.  Today, I’m going to work on crocheting and watching movies or documentaries.  I’m planning to enjoy my peace and quiet.

Back to Couponing and Crocheting and Publishing

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life, Writing

Saturday afternoon I spent a chunk of time clipping coupons – for myself, my sister, and my daughters.  For the first time in nearly six weeks, I made a grocery list based on my apps and coupons.

Ken went grocery shopping early on Sunday as he usually does.  He overspent by a little but I knew he would because we haven’t really shopped while we’ve been helping our daughter move.  He used a bunch of coupons – saving over $32.  In apps, he saved over $5.

I meant to spend my Saturday working on publishing but by the time we were done with errands, I was wiped out.  I tried napping to get rid of a headache and get some energy back but spent the time talking on the phone with multiple people including some of my daughters.

Sunday I managed to get one book published – Draconian Peace.  Here’s a brief description of it:

Racial tension has destroyed the relationship between the Draconians and the humans, leaving thousands of mixed breeds disenfranchised.  Prejudice and suspicion mar the joining of Dewi Bradon, half and half, and Lord Lachlan Camdon until they learn to look passed their race and trust in each other.  As they begin to trust, changes ripple through society and expose rampant corruption and crime.

It’s available on Amazon and Smashwords for now.  It will get out to all the other options as time permits.  There is a paperback as well on Createspace.

I kept getting interrupted so only one item published.  I did work on a holiday gift and have it about three quarters done.  I’m pleased with the pattern and how it’s working out but it means I’ll have another pattern to publish.  I might submit it for publication first to see if I can get it in a magazine.

Plan Shot To Hell

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

If you’ve read anything in my blog, you know I’m a list maker.  I make to do lists all the time and work off them to keep myself on track.  All week I’ve had a list I’m working off.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one who schedules every second.  But I wrote up a general list of things I wanted to get done while I was on vacation.

Today is payday so I had a plan for my day.  Yes an actual plan starting with getting up early and getting things done.  That didn’t happen.  It actually got off track yesterday when I got a migraine.  I couldn’t sleep because of the migraine, so I ended up being up till 2 am.  Not a problem – I’m on vacation.

This morning, I talked to one of my daughters early (6:30 – 7:00 ish).  While I was talking to her I could feel the migraine coming back.  I did what any reasonable person would do, I went back to sleep.  However, this blew my timeframe out of the water.  I wanted bills done early so I could work on publishing.

Here I am at noon and I’ve still not showered (good thing no one is here) or done any of my other morning routines.  I do have bills paid, have dealt with all my personal emails, and have handled a call for assistance from my mom.

While my plan for the day is shot to hell, I’m still going to get stuff done.  Showering is high on my priority, then I’ll see what other mischief I get up to.  I have lots of publishing stuff to do but I may try to tackle it tomorrow.  I’ll see how my mood goes once I’ve showered.  I’ve got other things on my to do list to tackle like couponing, sorting through some clothes, and organizing some stuff.

Coupons, Rebates, Errands, and a Dozen Other Things

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

Last night after a rough week for me, I started thinking about all the things I need to get done.  I’ve had two requests for possibly paid writing assignments, as well as a number of errands to run today.  My brain was going a mile a minute so I did what I always do.  I made a list.  I also set my alarm.

I hate setting my alarm on the weekend because I hate mornings.  Mornings shouldn’t start until noon but that isn’t how the world works.

This morning I woke up at 3:30 in pain (no news there).  It was too early to take my daily meds.  I tried to go back to sleep and only managed to doze.  When my alarm went off, I took my meds and refused to get up.  My brain simply wouldn’t function enough to be upright.

However, I was up, showered, and dressed by 8:15 at which time I hit the computer.  I paid bills yesterday but I had a bunch of other things to do.  I’ve gotten six things of my long long list done this morning.  Actually as I look at my desk, I’ve gotten more because I’ve also started a grocery list.

I need new cartridges for my printer so I ordered stuff online to pick up in the store.  I have to give them an hour.  In that hour, I’m hoping to check off a couple of other things from my to do list.

One of the writing assignments is an editor wants to see one of my crochet patterns in different pictures.  Unfortunately, I’ve given away the item so I can’t just snap new pics for her.  I have to make a new one.  I’ve already had two people offer to take the item when I’m done with it so that’s good.  I need to figure out colors – need two.  I’ll look at the pattern and see what yarn I used before and then I’ll hit my stash.  If I remember correctly, the pattern only took a couple of nights so I’m hoping I can finish it quickly in order to take the requested pictures.

For the other writing assignment, I have to get a rough draft done and off to the editor in a week.  I made a start but when I wrote it I sort of hated it.  I’ve done this before.  I’m often too critical of my own work.  I’ll reread what I have and see if it’s usable and if not, I’ll start over.  The other thing is to see what pictures I have to go with the article.  The editor gave me a deadline but not length requirements which makes it more difficult.

Shortly, Ken and I will run errands and probably pick up lunch.  Then I’m hitting the recliner and writing – article or novel – unless Ken wants to spend time with me.  If he does, I’ll work on crocheting.  It’s going to be a busy day and busy weekend but hopefully I can clear up my to do list and make a fresh start for next week.

Bad Sleep

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life

Ken got the shopping done early this morning.  With my list, coupons, sales flyer shopping and rebates, he saved over $20!  This is about 20% of what he spent.

Last night I made a list of what I wanted to get done today.  I meant to get up early, get to work, and keep at it as long as possible.  I didn’t count on a bad night’s sleep.  I got up this morning – woken up by one of the daughters.  After talking to her, I did the rebates for the shopping.  Then I proceeded to do nothing more strenuous than play a couple of games on my phone.  I’m up and moving again.  After I’m done on the computer, I’ll head back to the kitchen to do some food prep for the week.

If I find any energy, I’ll go back to the craft room and work on organizing.  I have a few things Ken needs to carry out and put elsewhere – mostly empty rubbermaid containers.  There is some stuff which is going in a box to our daughters in Atlanta.  If my energy level stays, I’m hoping to make more of a dent in that room today.

Last night I worked on a skirt for a friend.  I LOVE how it is turning out.  I made the waistband using broomstick lace technique.  Then it’s a simple hdc for the rest but with a vertical stripe – which means I have seven strands of yarn hanging down.  This slows me down a bit but it is still coming along nicely. As I’m working, I’m writing the pattern.  I’m trying to write it in such a way it doesn’t need sizing.  However, I’ll have to see how successful I am at this.  I’ve never written a pattern for clothing before – one of the reasons is I don’t like to size things.

New experiences are good even if they are a little scary.  I’ll keep pushing forward and hope it works out.  Once I’m done with this size, I may have to try the pattern on a larger size to see if it works for the plus size person.

Unfortunately, with the bad night’s sleep I just want a nap but Sundays are a bad day to nap because I have to go back to work tomorrow.  I’ll have to find my energy and work on things which keep me moving forward and awake.  Hopefully that means I accomplish a lot but only time will tell on this.

More Crochet Projects Published!

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life, Writing

Yesterday I worked on the computer for the morning – personal business, editing, and so on.  After spending a lot of time on the computer, I crashed on the couch only to be thrown out of the living room – sort of.  Ken wanted to rearrange.

This morning, Ken did the grocery shopping and saved over $14 in coupons and over $7 in rebates.  It may not seem like a lot but every little bit helps.

Today I worked on publishing crochet patterns.  Once I was back on my computer I realized I had more ready to go than I thought.  I got four of the five done.  The last one is going to take a little more refining before I can publish it.

While I was working on the computer, I updated some of the stuff on my web site as well.  In addition to adding these four patterns, I put in new pictures on the home page and changed the background color.

I posted these on Ravelry.com today and already have likes on the site.  I’m thrilled by that.  Hopefully it will translate into sales.

I was hoping to get more done but my legs are bugging me so shortly I’ll be hitting the recliner again.  The good thing is I got two sessions on the computer today and lots accomplished.

Tomorrow I’m off work and plan to be a bit mellow about the day.  I have a couple tasks I’d like to do but in addition I may take time out to read.  It depends on what I get accomplished.

I finished Stargate and Stargate Atlantis.  Now I have to look for a new show to watch.  Or I may just go back to writing every night.  I’ll have to see how the mood takes me.  I do need to finish three projects fairly soon.  I might need a show to watch while I finish those off.

Having said that, I need to get back to marketing – like posting on twitter blurb for  my books.  I’ve been thinking about setting up a nightly schedule but I’m so not good at adhering to a schedule.

I can’t decide if it would be better to say this night of the week, I’m doing marketing and this night I’m doing editing and so on.  Or if it would be better to do a little of each every night.  Marketing from 6:30 to 7:30, submissions from 7:30 to 8:00 and writing the rest of the night.  I’m not sure either technique will work for me but I need to figure out how to get more of this stuff done.

In the meanwhile, I keep plugging away.  These four patterns are proof of it.  They are available on Smashwords and Amazon.  You can find links on my web site http://eileentroemel.weebly.com/ 

Motivation Needed

by eileentroemel, posted in Life

I meant to get up early today and get to work on publishing.  That didn’t happen.  Instead I slept late and only got up when one of my daughters called.  I chatted with her, worked on sales, coupons, rebates, and so on.

Ken is off now to go do stuff with his family.  I’m going to work on publishing – I swear.  It is pay weekend so I need to do coupons today so he can take them with him tomorrow when he does the grocery shopping.  We are going to have Panera for breakfast.  I had a rebate of $1 if I spent $7 and got a drink.  We are getting three pastries and a coffee (for Ken not me).  The bill came to roughly $12.  Ordering online, I had a $2 coupon from Panera and then through Find & Save, I have a $1 rebate.  This takes my 12 down to 9 which is nice.

I’ve been reading my Wayfarer series for multiple reasons.  The first is to get excerpts so I can post them on social media and the second is to get back in the story and characters as I edit 10 and finish writing 11.  I started Wayfarer Freedom last night which is book 8.  This means I’m almost caught up to do the editing on 10.  I’m hoping to finish it and publish it next month.

The first week back for classes was a bit rough.  It was insanely busy but I got through it.  Hopefully it gets a bit better this next week.

I’m trying to decide if I want to take my birthday off.  It’s a Monday which is sort of a bad day to take off.  I need to decide soon.  I may just save the day so I can have a writing weekend later.  

While it’s quiet I should get something accomplished.  I shouldn’t just be a bum and do nothing or play computer games – right?  I need to focus and get to work.  The motivation is a bit lacking today.  This is not a good sign.

No Jammies Today

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life

It was supposed to be a stay in my jammies day and do little to nothing.  That didn’t work.  I got up to an email from Joann with one of the things I wanted for a project being on sale.

After spending part of the morning on marketing, I got organized and Ken and I headed out to Joann’s.  While I was looking at things online, I got a notice to text Joann’s to get a coupon.  I did.  I got a 20% off coupon.

The items I wanted were already 50% off so we went in, found what I wanted and picked them up.  At checkout, they used my coupon and I spent nearly $10 less than I had budgeted.  I spent $42 and saved $60.  This is good shopping as far as I’m concerned.

I’ve spent the last two hours working on getting marketing stuff organized into a One Note notebook.  This is the software I just learned how to use.  I have to say, I’m finding it useful both at work and with my writing things.  I’ve created two notebooks to make my marketing tasks simpler.  I’m still gathering quotes from different books but it’s coming along nicely.

Looking to move on to the next thing – will it be more marketing, work on the project I just got the materials for, or something completely different?  I’ll have to see how the mood strikes me.

Coupons, Crocheting, and Juggling…

by eileentroemel, posted in Crochet and crafting, Life, Writing

After I finish a manuscript and switch to something else, I feel like I’m not accomplishing anything.  I have to remind myself there is more to life than writing. 

Sunday, I spent the day listening to an audio book and going through the stack of coupons.  Since my stack was so large, it took me most of the morning to go through them.  I got the three piles done (one for me, one for my middle daughter, and one for my Atlanta daughters).  I talked to my middle daughter for a bit to sooth her pre-test nerves. 

Ken came home from helping his sister with a car that wouldn’t start and we had lunch.  I worked on a throw and finally finished it last night about 8:30.  I started another crochet project but realized I had done the first row wrong so I have to tear it out and start over.  I like the pattern, I just got the count wrong – at least that’s my hope because otherwise the pattern is screwy.  It’s a new book so it could be the pattern but I’ll try the first row again tonight. 

I’m still listening to Obsession in Death.  I’m up to chapter 13 and enjoying it.  Robb does a good job in drawing in the reader and even though this is the 40th book in the series, it is still an interesting story. 

I have editing to do.  I’m trying not to think about writing so I don’t get more manuscripts to edit but the third book in the Defenders is calling to me.  I know what the next two or three scenes will be.  I just need time to write them.  However, I also want to make sure I get the editing done.  I’m juggling again, juggling projects for both writing and crocheting. 

Often I feel like I have too many things to do and not enough time to do them.  That is when I remind myself it will all get done in time.  I have to remember to not be too hard of a boss to myself.  I get annoyed when I know I should do things – like marketing – and find myself opting to do things I know I like more – like writing.  It is a matter of balance.