Nose-nipping time

Oh no! It's Thursday over here which means it's Wednesday in the States. Sorry but Gordon is on night shift this week which means that most of my days are occupied. I was going to try and update this morning but I had a very important matter to attend to. That was...unpacking all of my winter clothes. I've had enough of the chilly mornings and evenings and have decided that its time to break out the long sleeve tees because my poor arms can't take it anymore. There's only so much a thin sweater can do. I told Gordon that it's a good thing that I have so many clothes because that means I won't have to shop in a very long time. The only time I will have to is when we get pregnant and I have to get some maternity clothes. Looking through all my boxes made me realize that I've forgotten to pack my winter coat as well. It was a lovely pea coat from Old Navy. I've asked Mom to look for it so she may be able to find it. That or customs confiscated it because I did have some missing boxes that never arrived.

I was working this week on doing some embroidery with cards. I took some samples that Christine had and scanned them so that I could have a copy of them. Already I've completed four bookmarks and five card inserts. I actually feel very accomplished whenever I do complete one because they do look pretty good. I'll take some pictures for y'all to look at. I have the basic colors along with some threads that change different hues of one color and some metallic thread. These embroidered things can be very time consuming so I don't know how viable this would be but it does take up lots of my day and makes me feel better at the end of it. I've tried to work with the old sewing machine that was left for me by Christine but I've run into the same problem. My foot can't put the right pressure on the pedal so the machine speeds up and makes the bobbin all messy. I was able to create a haphazard pouch but when I started on the others the thread got all tangled each time. I was frustrated and gave up.

Its going to take me longer than I thought to set-up Scrappy Apple on Etsy.com due to financial restraints but I'm going to create a stock pile and add to it every couple of weeks so that I can build a good base. I've taken this week to do the embroidered cards and bookmarks and next week I'm going to work on Alphabet pillows. The week after will be reserved for cards and some will be sent to The Clock Peddler and the others stocked away. Due to a high phone bill this month, I've decided to wait to take my sewing class until Spring so my patterns will have to go into storage right now. One pattern I've received looks very simple and I may try to sew it. I just have to find some tracing paper to put the pattern on because I want to use the different sizes on the pattern.

I also had women's fellowship last week. We had a speaker from the Citizens Advice Bureau, which is a volunteer organization usually funded by their local councils. It was very informative but made me feel like a complete fool. I got an extended warranty for my washer and dryer and apparently we don't need one because if our machine breaks down due to a machine malfunction then the company is obligated to repair it, if it is before a certain time. Also, we have a bill with GE credit and apparently they like to charge huge amounts of interest if you are even a day late with your payment. Gordon and I definitely make our payments on time but it freaked me out so I arrived home not feeling so stellar. Gordon and I had a talk and he then talked to GE so we could get the whole story on our payments and interest. We've decided that if push comes to shove then we can get a personal loan with our bank to pay off the GE bill and then just pay back the bank for the funds, they would give us lower interest anyways. Everything is starting to seem less dire and I'm learning to roll with the punches when a surprise expense pops it head around. I'm going to try and talk to the citizens advice bureau to see what I can do about hospitalization when I do pregnant because I am worried about those costs due to my paperwork. Who knows, they may rush my paperwork if I get pregnant but I'm not holding my breath.

Next Monday is our big family day out to Wellington. It turns out that Kylie is going to join Christine, Gordon and me to see the Monet exhibit. It should be really fun and I'm looking forward to it. It will be our last grand day out until our anniversary. Gordon and I are working really hard to stick to budget and pay off the credit card faster than we can. I'm using some of my tax refund to buy groceries for a couple of weeks each month so that makes some more money available to be put onto the payment. We should be all paid up by December but we are still going to have to be frugal with Christmas. I'm also using some of my tax refund to get my glasses replaced because they are very scratched and dirty and I need new contacts as well. I'm going to get the monthly contacts so that I don't have to replace them every two weeks.

I made some great zucchini bread last week as well that used applesauce instead of butter. I don't know the equivalent of applesauce to butter in bread for use in other recipes but it was tasty. I'm putting the recipe into my family recipe book as a nice way to enjoy zucchini bread without so much hassle from fat content. Mojo decided that he wanted to eat the bread too and we found that he had chewed his way through the tin foil to the bread on the table. Needless to say, I was not very happy with him each morning I found that had happened. Looks like we're going to have to lock-up our bread. I think for Christmas presents this year I may use the recipes I've learned and our favorites and compile them to create a recipe book of New American cooking (my take on New Zealand-American fusion). I know that many women have been cooking from scratch for years but when I cook a dinner from scratch it astounds me or a cake.

All in all, there can't be any complaints over here in New Zealand. Well maybe just one and that's the use of multiple phone companies out here so that you get charged exorbitant prices if you call someone from a rival company. Its not very nice and makes me mad but what can I do besides writing a strongly-worded letter to someone. I just learn to let it go and roll with the punches. I hope everyone is enjoying the promise of Spring. It looks like if I want tulips or daffodils or ranunculus in the Spring I have to plant them now. While it gets warm over there it will be getting colder over here.