Keurigs and Kittehs

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Meaghan

April sucked. It sucked so much, in almost every area it could suck. We evicted our tenants. I spent our savings on our empty duplex. We had a huge sale fall through. A window freaking fell out of the duplex in a storm. Petey ran away and hasn’t been back since. And the list goes on.

Finally, my Keurig full-out exploded. Hot coffee grounds from floor to ceiling and all over me. No amount of drying and cleaning saved it, either. Believe me, I tried.

And with no coffee, I gave up all hope for the future.

Seriously:

It exploded.

The thin thread I’d been holding on by slowly disintegrated before my eyes. No coffee. No hope.

But there were forces at work in the universe. Well, in the twitterverse, to be specific. While I wallowed in despair, some amazing people starting to come together. And on Friday of that same desperate week, I met Natasha at the park.

And in her car, she had this:

From her. And Tom. And Sarah. And Dash. And Darci. And Raymie. And April. And I cried big fat tears.

I was speechless.

I was blown away.

I was unbroken. Pieced back together with love and kindness. Amazed by the hearts of the community I love so much. Some whom I know in real life and cherish dearly, others whose voices I’ve never heard speak.

And now I have the opportunity to give them thanks with every cup:

So, thank you, for helping me and supporting me in that very dark hour. Thank you for being the light in my world when I needed it the most. Thank you for being there.

Thank you for giving me strength, so that when we realized Petey probably wasn’t coming home, I was able to deal with it. Because in the last week, we lost Petey and the promise of our new puppy later this summer.

We’d priced out Mastiff pups, and had two breeders who were expecting June litters. Sadly, one’s pregnancy didn’t take and the other didn’t come into season in time for summer babies. So my 250lb furball dreams are put on hold.

Leith has been missing Petey a lot too, and so have the girls. Thus, we took a trip to the Parkland County Animal Shelter today and picked up this guy:

Meet Kitty Soft Paws. He’s embarrassed by his name, but he’ll get over it. Kit-kat had him named before we even got to the shelter. He’s 5 weeks of spunk and spitfire, and he has the chiweenie torn between mad love and heartbreak. I’m sure they’ll be cuddling in no time.

And the best part? He’s a polydactyl. He has 7 toes on each front paw, which apparently makes him very lucky.

I think that we can use all the luck we can get.

Kitties and Keurigs. Sometimes the simplest things in life have the greatest depth. It’s all up from here.

Well that escalated quickly…!

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Meaghan

Two weeks ago, I slipped on the ice. It was nothing at the time: slow motion slide to the ground as I walked around the back of my car. No bumps, no bruises. Just a sore palm from scraping against the ice as a last hurrah.

I was fine. Until the next night.

I made it through 15 minutes of 4-year old creative dance before I could no longer put my right hand on my waist. By the end of the night, I was sitting curled up in a ball, barely able to lift my head up to direct my students through their exercises.

It was pathetic.

Thankfully, a blizzard rolled through our area and I was able to cancel the next two nights of classes. Unfortunately, said blizzard also cut off my access to my physiotherapist and I wasn’t able to see her for a full week Let’s just say that the “healing” pain I finally endured made me sob silent tears into my pillow and pop more Motrin than I could refill in a day…

After tweeting with my angel of pain, it became clear: just dance (or just running, or just anything) wasn’t going to cut it anymore. I needed support. I needed strength. I needed to stop using physio as my personal ~~expensive~~ bottle of Advil to get me through the season. So I called in the pro:

Jessica Zapata from Infinite Fitness. A longtime twitter friend and renowned fitness expert in these parts…and by “parts”, I mean across the country. The woman is a force to be reckoned with. As I would soon find out…

Within a few days, with couple of keystrokes and an online coaching program made with love, I was laying on the carpet of my basement floor, willing myself to stand up. Thanks, Jess. You single-handedly destroyed me from the comfort of your home office. I love you THIS MUCH:

She warned me: Monday and Saturday would be my hard days. But really??! Did she have to kill me? Because I didn’t realize “hard” was code for “kill Magz, or at least maim and leave for dead”. Sigh…

I started with 2:1 sprints. 8mph for 2 minutes, 5mph recovery for one minute. Not my old sprint speed, but for 3.5 months off, I’ll take it. Oh, wait: three sets. And then an insane 3-exercise circuit on my TRX suspension trainer. Wheeee! 3 rounds!!! Then 3 more rounds of sprints!!! Then another insane circuit of full body strength training. Then???!

She expected another round of sprints! For the ever-lovin-love-of-mother-truckin-mud. Thank goodness my IT-band decided to squawk loudly, thus allowing my dignity to creep down to a brisk walk without feeling like I was quitting.

I’ve never passively stretched so passively before. I basically laid on the floor and willed body parts to flop together while I trembled uncontrollably. I gulped water like I’d spent a month in the Mojave desert. If I breathed too quickly, I coughed like I’d inhaled a gust of sand and fiberglass insulation. I could barely hold up my own body weight to roll out my aching legs.

Then I dragged my sore-y ass upstairs and poured myself into a bath that was half Epsom-salt brine.

Tomorrow is my day off. Someone should really check in to make sure I’m not dead. Don’t panic if I don’t pick up my phone. The thing weighs something like 85 grams. So. Heavy.

This, my friends, is payback for every client I made puke or cry while I did a “maintenance” workout after their session. And then drove to McDonald’s.

Karma is a bitch.

The Creative Oasis

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Meaghan

What a tagline, hey? As soon as I saw it on the DanceTeacherWeb Facebook page, I was hooked. I pulled strings, booked babysitters, and paid for flights.

It was worth it all.

I don’t even know where to start with my recap of my 3-day dance teachers’ convention. My heart is full, my head is spinning, and my body is just starting to feel normal again! 3 days, starting with breakfast at 7:30am, only breaking for an hour at lunch, and wrapping up at 6pm. Stuffed full of inspiration, here are the highlights for me:

The location! Nestled at the base of the mountains on the far east end of Las Vegas, the Red Rock Resort was breathtaking. I posted my photos here, but even they don’t do it justice. It was beyond luxurious – and our conference rate was only $109US a night! Crazy! I also booked a massage the afternoon I arrived, and it was top-notch. Beautiful spa, with every amenity you could ask for. I will definitely be back, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an off-strip escape to Las Vegas (or anywhere!).
The freebies! I can’t even start to remember everything we were given with our conference fee. There was a full expo/trade show during the conference, and it went far beyond the usual trade show swag. We also received a backpack, t-shirt, free breakfast daily, treats at lunch every day, a $50 gift card from Discount Dance Supply, free shoes from Capezio, free massages on Wednesday…not to mention the INSANE amount of prizes that were given away! And to top it all off, when we pre-registered for the 2013 conference, we received a full year of DanceTeacherWeb membership! Wow.
Louis Kavouras! Oh my… I have such a deep love of real modern dance, and Louis’ classes took my breath away. I moved in a way I haven’t been able to since I took classes with Maria Chia. The chair of the UNLV dance program, his style and his personality spoke to my heart and my body, and I just can’t escape the organic feeling. I cannot wait to inspire my own students in their modern classes this fall!
Simone dePaolo! Spunk and awesome. Hilarity. And pushing me out of my comfort zone into an Afro-Jazz class where I felt so grounded and connected to the earth like never before. I was FREEin her class. I adore her, and cannot wait to work with her again next year.
Thanks to Kristi for the photo…which doesn’t do justice to my insane, sweaty, lions-mane hair I was sporting after Afro-jazz!!
Cathy Roe! One of the few faculty names I knew going in, her classes on composition absolutely changed the way I look at choreography. Wow. Just so much wow. And her personality is beautiful. Charming, hilarious, open. Loved her.
JV Goecke! I’ve never met a teacher who reminded me so much of myself. She said the things I only think. Totally fantastic. I would also LOVE to have her come out to Edmonton to hold one of her Jumpstart bootcamps for dancers!!!
Jessica Rizzo! I recognized her right off the bat – she’d adjudicated in Edmonton a few years ago, and I love her enthusiasm. Her pre-teen modern class was EVERYTHING I hoped for! It’s my first time teaching modern in years, and it’s easy to forgot how simple you need to be, and yet how complex you can make a simple, beginner exercise phrase. So perfect. Her improvisation class was also incredible – it’s something I’ve always struggled with, and it was the perfect pathway to introducing my kids to improv!
The company! I spent the week with Miss Kristi, and it was so much fun! It’s always scary to suddenly spend every day with someone you usually only see for a couple hours at a time, but we had a blast. It reminded me of how much fun I had with Krist-a during our ADAPT teacher training years ago.
The Mirage! We decided to spend Thursday night on the Strip at the Mirage. I’d only stayed at the MGM before this week, and the Mirage was the perfect choice. Weekdays are slow, so they upgraded us to a premium room on the 21st floor with an incredible view for no extra charge!
Crazy Horse Cabaret at the MGM! We decided we wanted to see a burlesque show in Vegas. No one has wanted to go the last two times I’ve gone to Vegas, so I was so excited to go with Kristi!! And WOW! It was classic cabaret – tease, comedy, sexy, sultry, and campy. It was awesome. We were right up front…a little unsettling at first, but it turned out great! It’s a topless show, which I wasn’t expecting, but the fact that the bodies were so natural was very inspiring – not a single implant on stage! Bums jiggled and shoulders shimmied. The level of art was sky-high, and the choreography and music were incredible! A must-see show, and only $57US for the best seats in the house! Bijou bijou bijou!

My (overpriced!) souvenir photo from Crazy Horse
Tabu! When you’ve already spent $70 on 4 drinks (between the two of us – only 2 each!!), a free-drink wristband is a godsend Even better was the group of 65-70 year old ladies in line for the MGM nightclub – no goofy 21-year old party for us! We closed down Tabu, dancing until our feet couldn’t stand, and actually being asked to leave when the lights came on. I haven’t danced like that in years. It was the most fun I’ve ever had at a Vegas nightclub…or any club!!
Shopping! I never spend money on myself at the outlets, but I always get my bugz a full closet. I did finally buy myself two of the famous Vegas wrap dresses that I’ve wanted for years, and a pair of Merrel Pace Gloves for only $86!

It was a great week. I was actually a little sad to come home, even though I missed my family. My only regret is that I didn’t take more pictures!

I have to spend a few days decompressing and wrapping my head around all the dance-intenstive awesomeness. I wish classes started next week, not 3 weeks from now. Mind you, how is it only 3 weeks from now???? But most times, I’m ready to come home by Day 4. I was gone for 5 days, and I could have stayed a few more. It was incredible.

The creative oasis was just what this girl needed to recharge.

***

Hopefully this makes up for the week of slacker posts This post is a part of the Summer Blog Challenge! Join the rest of us:

Natural Urban Mama
This Mom’s Got Something To Say
The Dulock Diaries
2 Plus 2×2

52 weeks

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Meaghan

Rest assured: the tears aren’t of regret, or falling for those left behind.

They are for the innocence lost; for the eyes that look into my heart and beg trust from me.

To which I will sadly shake my head at all the kindness and say,

No.

Where there once was trust, I live knowing that I will never love again. And that deserves my tears tonight.

5 Things

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Meaghan

My friend Josline at Modern Mama Spruce Grove wrote a FABULOUS post last night about the 5 things she allows herself to do. It was inspiring and gentle – I loved it. We all need to give ourselves permission to let go once in awhile.

Here are the 5 things I allow myself to do:

Do the things I love, regardless of my family commitments. I’ve been called selfish for doing this, but when I take the time to do the things I love, I’m a happier person. When I’m a happier person, I can spend more energy on my family. When I ignore the things I love (running, dance, yoga, hiding out away from everyone), I’m cranky and snappish. No one wins.
Nap in the middle of the day. This is such a luxury, and it may seem unproductive, but little moments of rest make up for any early mornings or late nights. It’s also delicious to curl up on the couch with my girls while they watch a Disney movie in the afternoon. We get lots of cuddles, and I wake up refreshed.
Ignore the housework. I get the basics done on a need-to basis. The dishes get done, the laundry gets done, the floor gets vacuumed. But is my kitchen spotless at any given time? Hell no. I’d rather spend my time on the relationships in my life, including my relationship with myself.
Slack off. I’m training for a marathon right now, and it’s really hard to stay motivated. The thing is, I’ll do it eventually and I’m not in it to win. I’m in it to finish, so if I need a day off, I take it. I’m not about to turn a passion into a chore. Anytime I force myself to do anything, I end up resenting it. I do what makes me happy so that I can enjoy my life.
Avoid people and places that make me uncomfortable. I’ve been burned badly and it’s made me a bit of a social-phobe. I have a network of friends now, but if there is an event or situation I don’t feel 100% in, I back out. I also avoid being social when I feel like I have to force it. I am committed to only participating wholly. If I don’t like it, I’m not putting on a fake happy face.

What do you allow yourself to do? More so, what should you allow yourself to do that you don’t?

And for fun, I’m tagging some people: Heather, Hethr, Natasha, Jen, and Sarah. Feel free to join

Wavering

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Meaghan

It’s Day Two of the Whole 30. I hate every living minute of it.

I have never, ever, in my whole life wanted to quit something so quickly.

I hate it. Yes, the food is tasty. Whatever. It’s not satisfying at all. At. All.

My reasons for doing this were varied:

Of course weight loss is always a little bit nice. I haven’t been able to break 135lbs, but I also haven’t been trying.
I like the paleo food lifestyle. We can’t eat gluten-y grains, and we avoid most dairy anyway. This provided some structure, which was much-needed and much-wanted.
I love doing stupid challenges, like my sugar fast. I wanted to see if I could do it.
I wanted to feel better.

But guess what? The Whole 30 is a HUGE, SUDDEN CHANGE, even for someone who eats 90% gluten/dairy-free already. The physical act of cooking and eating the super-strict Whole 30 food isn’t what’s hard. It’s the mental commitment to it.

You see, I’m already pushing my brain beyond it’s happy place with my marathon training. I have to run 18 miles this Sunday, and I have some serious mental energy that needs to unblock before then. This year’s training is taking more mental commitment than anything I’ve ever done.

I also have a husband who has been gone since Saturday, and now won’t be home until August 2nd. He was supposed to be home today. Surprise!!

There’s also the timing on top of the mental stress. I am going away for the August long weekend with two celiac kids. I already need to plan for their food, and I don’t know if I want the added stress of bringing my own food too. Plus, it’s kind of imposing and rude to my hostess (even though she’s a beautiful, accommodating soul). The morning after we get back, I leave for 5 days in Las Vegas. I’ll be dancing from 9-5 every day, plus three training runs. I’ll have a tight schedule around meal times, and I’ll be at a hotel the whole time. The hotel is at the edge of town – no time for grocery store trips or anything like that.

That, my friends, is 8 solid days of food stress. On top of travel stress, on top of training stress.

I honestly don’t think I can do this right now. I actually feel anxious about eating. THAT is not healthy. I actually want to CRY. It’s pathetic. I don’t want to run out and get a Blizzard and a bottle of wine. I just don’t want to feel trapped and anxious!

I’m a healthy person! I’m not overweight, and I’m very active. I have no discernible health concerns. This isn’t a do-or-die nutrition situation. But I have to stop and wonder: am I having trouble because of all the other stress it’s causing, or because I really need to do this for my body. Is this just withdrawal/cleanse, and I need to push through it? Or is it just BS and I need to take the warning signs and walk away, try again later?

And it’s not like I’ve been starving. I’ve eaten LOTS – at least 2000kcal each day for the past two days. But I’m forcing it in, and I’m still not getting nearly enough carbohydrates to support my training.

Ugh.

I don’t like quitting, and I quit too often. But it’s not worth the struggle right now. Even if I woke up tomorrow and it was an easy day, it’s not worth it right now.

I can go gluten-free and dairy-free. I can’t do this Whole 30 right now. So while the title of this post is “Wavering“, what it really means is “Quitting“.

I need some breathing room right now. I can’t do food guilt. I need to just eat and train and dance and run that marathon in October!

So, Whole 30? I quit.

The Moose is Loose

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Meaghan

I’m going to start this off with the biggest disappointment:

Despite the name, there was NO moose anywhere on the race course.

Sadness.

But I did get up bright and early today to run my second half marathon!! It was also my second half marathon in 2012, and my second half marathon in 6 weeks!!

I was a little disappointed in the course. I was expecting a rolling 21.1km of trails. Instead, I got a fairly flat course that was only about half trail. The rest was paved pathway. Not quite the “trail run” I’d been told about… The course volunteers were also less than enthusiastic for the most part, sitting in chairs, not clapping or cheering, barely acknowledging the runners.

But the sun was shining, and it wasn’t yet scorching hot out. Once the initial bottleneck thinned out, I had a really enjoyable 21k! My IT band didn’t bother me until 14k, and it didn’t stop me in my tracks until almost 18k. Even still, I was able to keep a normal gait this time

I also ran the full distance! I took 5 seconds to walk and chug 2oz of water at 4 aid stations, and about 15 seconds when my IT band smacked me at 18k, but that’s it! My pace was awesome too: I varied between 5:30 min/km and 6:30 min/km for an average pace of 6:00 min/km. I was blown away! While my “burst” at Footstock was 5:30, I ran my last kilometer at about 4:15, with energy to spare!

All that speed meant that I knocked nearly FIVE MINUTES off my Footstock time! I finished in 2:05:56 by my Garmin!!

Crazy!

Half marathon #2 is done for 2012! I don’t think I’d do this race again, but it was still a nice morning. There’s no rest for the wicked though: next week’s long run is 18 miles in preparation for Kelowna!

Meanwhile, I have another finisher’s medal to add to my collection:

Whole 30 – Week One

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Meaghan

My meal plans are set out for the next seven days! Today and tomorrow are my farewell-to-grain days, as I am preparing for the Moose is Loose half marathon in the morning. Monday morning is the start of my Whole 30 Challenge!!

Breakfasts:

Egg muffins with spinach, sausage, onion, and pepper
Ground turkey with onion, kale, and apples
Shredded chicken with yam/carrot/onion hash
Sausages with sweet potato hash brown cakes
Omelette with spinach, onion, peppers
Apples with almond butter, hard boiled eggs, left-over asparagus
Shredded chicken with apples, onions and carrots

Lunches:

Spinach salad with tuna, avocado, peppers, and cucumber
Spinach salad with salmon, red onion, capers, and olives
Peppers stuffed with tuna, carrots, peppers, avocado, mayonaise
Shredded chicken, sweet potatoes, fruit
Omelette with sausage, kale, and asparagus
Left-over beef roast with kale, onion, green beans and sweet potato
Left-over beef stew with apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, and onion

Dinners:

Spaghetti squash with ground beef, diced tomatoes, spinach, onions, and peppers
Beef roast with kale, onion, carrots, sweet potatoes, and green beans
Beef stew with apples, carrots, sweet potatoes and onion
Turkey chili with tomatoes, onions, and kale
Cauliflower pizza dough with sausage, onion, tomatoes, and peppers
Sausages with onions, apples, kale, and cucumber salad
Crustless spinach quiche

I’ll be honest: looking at my meal plan, the estimated cost of groceries for this week terrified me! Nothing but fresh produce and meat! And this is my first week of living on cash only! What if it was more than the $200 I allotted us??

I had a handful of the ingredients already (5 peppers, green beans, cucumbers, riced cauliflower, diced tomatoes, almond butter, and capers) but I needed to buy everything else. When the cashier at Superstore finished ringing up my items, I was shocked!

Shocked!!!

Now, I still need 2 rotisserie chickens (those are my lazy-protien days ) and a spaghetti squash, so my final total will be closer to $150. I’m sure I could do a little better on the produce if I went to H&W Produce, but I didn’t want to make 2 trips into the city today.

Not bad, hey? And this is for ALL FOUR of us!

Switching to gluten-free grain flours and products bumped my monthly food bill from $600/month to $850. It kills me to spend $4-8 on a loaf of bread. This will take a huge chunk off that total, AND it will also keep Leith from buying lunch every day. $8-10 a day, 5 days a week?? That’s another $200 a month saved right there!

I am so excited, and my mouth is watering just looking at the menu. I can’t wait to start…48 hours to go!

The No’s: any grains/rice/quinoa, seeds (including peas and corn), soy, dairy, legumes, sugar, caffeine (other than tea), and alcohol

I can’t wait to share the results with you

The Whole 30 Plunge

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Meaghan

I’m a little bit excited, a whole lot nervous, and very indecisive about when to start…

I read a great book this past week, in keeping with two other foodie books I read this past year. The first was Wheat Belly. This was my insight into the problems caused by eating grain. I needed to understand more about celiac and gluten, and this was a great resource.

From there, I moved onto Robb Wolf’s paleo bible, The Paleo Solution. It was another interesting read, but quite frankly, I didn’t like his tone. It was too casual and condescending for me. I know too many of “those types” from my fitness background. But I liked the material and the theories. Between that and Wheat Belly, it all made sense.

But of course, I like dairy and I love wine.

Unfortunately, 6 weeks into my naturopathic journey, I still feel blah despite strengthening my adrenal system and trying to improve my quality of sleep. I’ve thought about doing another sugar fast, and other than two oversights, I have been gluten free for all of July.

That’s when Laurie pointed me in the direction of It Starts With Food. It’s another paleo-style book, but I found a greater connection to the why: why I shouldn’t be eating dairy, or legumes, or grains. It also lays out a great 30-day purge, if you will, to challenge you to eat within Paleolithic nutritional guidelines and what to expect.

More importantly? It didn’t end with 30 days of meal plans. I hate meal plans. I won’t follow them, and I know that my family won’t follow them. I’ve tried to get eggs into my kids at breakfast. Not. Happening.

But guidelines? Perfect! Help me implement a lifestyle, instead of follow a chart! That I can do. I need that kind of flexibility.

I already know that nutritionally, I have something funky going on. My celiac test came back negative, but I feel better when I follow my girls’ celiac diet. One of the next steps my naturopath wants to take is eliminating dairy. Between those two, I’m halfway there already, so why not take the full Whole 30 plunge?

I just can’t narrow down the when. You see, there’s nothing stopping me from starting tomorrow. The problem lies in my Vegas trip in just under 3 weeks. I know that it will be a hard thing to follow while staying in a hotel, revolving around a conference schedule. I don’t know how easy it will be (time- or convenience-wise), and I don’t want to set myself up for failure.

What would you do? Would you commit to the full 30 days, and hope for the best for 5 days in Vegas? Or would you wait until you got back and just make small changes in the meantime?

I really want to try this. I want to buckle my diet down to good food that my body was designed to digest. I am SO sick of feeling sick and tired and unwell. I’m tired of feeling achy, dehydrated, sore, swollen, and inflamed with no discernible cause.

I’m giving myself until Monday to (decide to) start. My next half marathon is this Sunday, and I don’t want to change anything right before a race. But in the meantime, I’d love some feedback. And, if you’d like to join me, I’d love to have a team to survive with

Sew much money

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Meaghan

Last year, my Gramma gave me a sewing machine for my birthday. This is it:

Can you find it in there?

The thing is, I actually asked for it. I didn’t have a sewing machine, and one of the things on my list of 101 in 1001 is to sew curtains for my kitchen window. I have the smallest amount of sewing knowledge, but I managed to pass Home Ed in grade 7 and sew elastics and ribbons on ballet shoes for years. I even did this for the bugz first Christmas!

So I asked, and I received. And it has collected dust ever since. I haven’t even threaded it. I don’t know if I even have thread.

But I want to sew! I want to learn again! I want to make stuff. I don’t know why…maybe because I am surrounded by ridiculously crafty people who know how to sew…maybe because of Pinterest…who knows…

Fortunately, this coincides with a new challenge for our family: Money Jars. Yes, just like Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s, although not nearly as exciting as my Bad Choice Jar…

We are overspending like crazy lately, and it needs to be reeled in. We make way too much money to have nothing left at the end of the pay cycle. Don’t get me wrong: our savings is topped up every week, and all our bills are being paid. I just hate that SO MUCH goes to waste. Random interac purchases, lunches out, boredom shopping…I hate it. So today, I dug out Gail’s interactive budget worksheet for the first time in a few years.

(I have a budget spreadsheet…hers is just prettier, and I like the way the categories are broken down versus my list of in/out and due dates…!)

We tried to do this a few years ago, but we were flat broke and our expenses outweighed our income. It was an utter failure. Now we are on the flip-side, and the numbers actually work. And being a visual creature, I have always loved the idea of SEEING what I have. When it’s hidden in a bank account, I can’t see it or grasp it or break it down. I’m also far too lazy to keep an accounting ledger like my mom does.

But jars? Jars are kind of a pain in the bottom to lug around in my purse. And they’re noisy. And breakable.

Well, this morning I saw this tutorial on Pinterest:

from just*imagine*heaven

The timing was perfect, so I clicked the link and to my surprise, it was a REALLY easy project! Two squares sewn together, then folded and sewn again to make an envelope! Now I have a project to work on next week (after I pick up scraps from Erin!), and just in time for our next pay day. They are soft enough to throw in my purse, and all the change from the envelopes will go in a jar. And truthfully? There should be a lot leftover at the end of each week.

I’m killing two birds with one stone: finally sewing something AND getting our discretionary spending under control!! Yay!

Have you used the jar technique for budgeting before? How has it worked for your family?

MagzD Life

Category Archives: detox2012