Buying stuff...or not

I'm planning to do as much of a "no spend" October as possible.  By "no spend", I mean not spending on anything unnecessary.  I will still buy groceries and gas.  We will make one trip to our favorite restaurant an hour and a half away (this is a mental health expenditure as much as a food one...we'd have to be on the verge of bankruptcy to give it up and, fortunately, we're not.)

But, as I'm planning this, I see things coming to derail me.  The little girl is selling stuff for girl scouts and school.  The girls want halloween costumes.  I'm sure some other school stuff will come up.  Birthday party invites.  Stuff like that.  It's amazing how easy it is to get derailed.

Right now, I'll just enjoy the fact that both dogs are asleep on the floor.

Walking

I have been majorly stressed and on edge lately for a variety of reasons.  I know something needs to change for me to improve things for all of us because it's not fair for the girls to have to tolerate my bad moods.  I'm going to try to start walking again.

When we moved back into our home, my parents gave me their treadmill since my dad can't use it anymore.  I used it for a bit right after we moved in and then life got in the way.  I've decided that I really need to figure out a way to make time for it if I want to maintain any sense of sanity.

Life is not quite normal these last two weeks because my parents have been out of town.  As a result, I've left work earlier two days a week and we've been home much earlier since we're not eating at my parents' house.  I like getting home earlier but I'm not so thrilled about not being fed and having to cook myself.  Fortunately, I have the help of the big girl and I do a lot on Sunday to prepare for the week and minimize cooking time on week nights.

Anyway, last night while the girls were eating after tutoring, I came and walked for 30 minutes.  Also, last night, I charge up my fitbit and put it back on my arm.  Today, I walked again for 30 minutes and then, after dinner, we all took the dogs for a walk.  (Romeo needs to be worn out so we can all sleep.)  So far today I've walked 7,907 steps.  I may get a few more but my day is essentially over at this point.

Still, I've felt much calmer this afternoon.  I'm trying to implement a couple of other things to help with the stress - mostly things I'm learning in a series of parenting classes I'm taking - and the little girl and I talked about it this afternoon.  Of course, right now it's all new and fun to practice but hopefully that practice will carry over into the time when it's not so new and fun.

I know I won't have time to walk in the afternoon since we're going to get my parents at the airport after work but I am going to try to walk at lunch.  It's so nice here right now, I think I can just take my tennis shoes and get outside without getting too sweaty and stinky.

We'll see how it keeps going!

Going crazy...must blog

I've got to get back into the habit of journaling or blogging.  I feel like I'm losing my mind and need to deal with life's craziness.

The house is getting better and better.  The girls' bedrooms are completely done.  My bedroom is mostly done.  I haven't found any artwork but there's no rush for that.  The kitchen is completely done.  The living room and dining room are mostly done.  I need a tv for occassional family movies and some artwork.  Also, 3 chairs for the dining table and get the artwork hung.  The sunroom is completely done.  There are a few things in the garage to put away still but very few.  All of this is so much easier when you don't have much stuff.

The girls are in school and it's going great and so-so, depending on the child in question. The little girl had a birthday recently and turned 8.  The big girl will be 14 soon.  We added a new family member at the beginning of September.  His name is Romeo and he's a 1-year-old chug.  I'm not thrilled with his presence currently and he's been much more work than the big girl expected but I know it will get better with time and we will love him to bits.  It has been weird having a dog who can hear!

As I try not to bring more stuff than we really need back into the house, how did we handle the little girl's birthday?  Well, we didn't have a party.  That was for reasons other than minimalism but it helps with that too.  From me and the big girl, she got a dress and a bracelet.  From the grandparents, she got two books and an Elsa hat with a long blond braid.  That's it!  These are all things that 1) don't take up much space, 2) that she will use, and 3) that she loves.

Now I must contemplate the big girl's birthday.  It's coming soon and she never asks for anything so she's much harder to shop for.

4 weeks

Yesterday was 4 weeks home.

We were out of town for a long weekend last weekend so we didn't get anything done around the house.  The only thing we came home with was a Monopoly game and some Christmas ornaments.  There was lots of other stuff I could have bought so I'm glad I just replaced some stuff lost in the fire.  We'll have a full tree by December for sure.

Yesterday, we spent most of the day in the kitchen.  My mom came over in the morning and helped us can tomatoes.  She had previous experience but this was my first time so it was nice to have her input rather than just following a website and hoping for the best.  We ended up with 20 pints of tomatoes.  Yay!  We have a few more tomatoes in the freezer too.  As the last full batch was in the water bath, one of the jars broke open so we had to let everything cool to clean it up.  Fortunately, clean up wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  If these end up tasting good, I may do more next year.

I also made brownie bites for the big girl's back to school pot luck.  It was a new recipe but they turned out well. 

This afternoon, I need to cook a cabbage and potato dish (at the big girl's request) for school lunches later this week and then I'm going to work in the little girl's bedroom until time for the big girl's school pot luck.  There are a couple of boxes in there that need to be unpacked so I can get to the top of her desk to finish painting it.  I need to hurry since school starts soon.

The good news of the new house...the big girl has made her bed every single day and yesterday was the only day I haven't made mine.  She's also kept her room neat (although I haven't looked in her closet.)  In fact, the whole house is pretty neat.  It's easy to do when you haven't been home much but it's nice.

Home

We've been home 2 weeks now.  Two weeks.  It's hard to believe.

There is still a little more unpacking to do but not a ton.
I need to finish painting the little girl's desk.
I need to paint the sunroom floor once it cools off a little.
I need to build the coffee table.
I need to put the sunroom furniture together (planning to do that before the floor gets painted.
I need to hang the artwork we have and see what else I might want to look for.

I am amazed at how quickly this house felt like home again, comfortable and safe, both for me and the girls...mostly for the girls as they were both so nervous about coming back here.

We still have so much less stuff than we had before and I know there are a few things I still want to get (a new alarm clock, drawer dividers for the kitchen drawer) but overall, we have everything we need and want.  It feels great!

The big girl loves her room and has been working hard to keep it neat.  She's made her bed every day!  I'm trying to get into the habit of making my bed too.  With less stuff, it's been easier to keep things picked up so other than the stuff sitting around that we haven't decided where to put, our home has been easy to keep clean.

Izzy, the basset hound, came home and got settled in.  It was nerve-wracking at front because she was rather traumatized by the transition.  She's almost completely deaf and even though she came to the same house, nothing was the same.  She's settled in and is very comfortable now.  We are all annoyed by her barking and so happy to have her back with us!

All in all, WE'RE HOME!!!  It feels great!  I feel like we can live again.  I didn't notice it while we we're out of our home but now that we're back, I can say life was on hold for all of us.  Now we're living again.

Part of that living...the little girl and I are getting up and walking in the morning before work.  The big girl normally runs at the same time but she's at camp right now.

More shopping

While most people spent Easter weekend hunting for eggs, my mom and I took the girls out of town for a shopping trip.  Most of it was house-related shopping but we did surprise the girls with a trip to the American Girl store to replace the stuff lost in the fire.  Oh, the excitement!  I was told so many times that I was the best mom ever and making the best day ever by the little girl.

On the house front, we found some living room chairs and a rug at World Market.  I ordered the chairs tonight.

I found the couch I wanted at Ikea, as well as some shelves with storage to make a sofa table.  The big girl got a metal cart to serve as a bedside table and found a bed and desk at Ikea.  We also picked up some other stuff like another metal shelf for the kitchen and a shelf with a towel rack and toilet paper holder for the bathroom and a few other little things.

It seems like we're almost done but then my mom and I started making a list on the way home on Sunday.  Yikes!  There's still a lot to do.

We need to pick out tile for the back splash and a pedastal sink for the small bath.  There's still beds to buy for the little girl and me plus lots of other little stuff like trash cans and mats for the rolling chairs and bar stools and chairs for the dining table and a coffee table and a tv and, and, and.  It's feeling very overwhelming at this point but I know it will get better and if we move in with some things not yet bought, we'll be fine.

On Saturday, my dad and I are going to work on trimming the neighbor's cedar trees that hang way over the fence into my yard.  They need to be trimmed up so I can have the privacy fence put in when they get to me.

I've also hired a yard service for the first time.  My sweet father has always done it for me but he's having too many problems with his back so it was time to give him a break.  Although I'm not thrilled about the money, I'm kind of glad since I always felt a little guilty having him do it.

Painting started this week at the house.  The second coat went on the trim today.  I'm not sure if they'll start painting walls tomorrow or not.  The kitchen cabinet that was messed up is fixed.  Yay!  Progress is being made.  It just seems like it's going to be forever right now but I know it's not really going to take that long.

Trim and granite

Most of the trim is now up in the house.  Cabinets are mostly in.  Just a couple of small things that need to be corrected in the kitchen.  The pantry needs to be installed but it looks great.  The bench seat is in the dining room.  Paint colors are picked out.  I know today they came and measured for the granite in the kitchen.  My mom and I picked out the lighting on Friday.  (I found a couple of fans for the girls' rooms and the sun room that I LOVED but at $400+ and $700+ apiece, they stayed at the store.  Oh well.)

Progress is being made.  I'm hopeful for another month or so but we'll see how it really plays out. 

Getting closer

The big girl and I stopped by the house yesterday.  The outside that I'd never finished painting for something like 5+ years is now painted.  The kitchen cabinets were in.  Some of the crown molding was up and much of the base board was laid out.  The pantry unit was in the garage along with one of the built in shelf units for the living room.

There were a couple of small problems with the kitchen cabinets (which kept me up much of the night worrying but which were all quickly resolved this morning).  They are great though!!!  The drawers will be so much easier to open and close than what we had before.  We have these awesome corner drawers instead of a lazy susan.  I was a guinea pig for building them and I've heard that the builder said never again but they are AWESOME!!!

I stopped by tonight and the bathroom linen closet unit and the other shelving unit for the living room were also in the garage.

I went by the paint store today and they loaned me a fan book of paint colors.  Tonight my mom and I picked out colors for the whole house.  I feel so good to have that done!

I need to take back the bathroom faucets we bought because a different brand was recommended as being better quality and more easily repairable in the case of problems.  I also need to finalize the the pedestal sink and all the light fixtures, door knobs, drawer pulls and kitchen back splash tile.  Still, I feel like we're making progress and I can get through this weekend, with the big girl's birthday party, and next weekend, with our out-of-town shopping trip, without too much worry.

Then we need to get back to work on the house and the yard!

Shopping

My mom and I are taking the girls on a shopping trip for the house in a couple of weeks.  Of course, we'll be hitting up Ikea for a few more things for the house...

• Couch (double checking what I want to order online)
• 2 living room chairs(double checking what I want to order online)
• 2 book cases to make a sofa table (may have to order these online)
• Picture ledges for the girls' bedrooms
• 2 more metal shelves for the kitchen
• Picture frames???
• Counter stools for the kitchen bar
• Cabinet to go under TV for DVD player/roku/movie & game storage
• Wall lamps
• Rolling cart for the big girl's bedside table

 World Market

• Throw pillows
•  Floor poufs
• The little Indian dangly thing with elephants or birds on it (I promised the little girl the last time we were there

We're also going to be doing a little shopping that they'll like more but we're keeping that a secret.  Then we'll meet some friends at our favorite Ethiopian restaurant (in that area...definitely not our fav overall!)

Done and to do

The girls and I went by the house on Saturday to look at the floors.  All the wood is down except the transitions between the closets and the rooms where we moved closets and the wood didn't go through.  Mark offered me two ways to do it, one that cost $50 per closet and one that cost $275 per closet.  I chose the $50 option.  The tile floors in the bathrooms and utility room are down and grouted too.  They look great.  I asked about laying the tile on the diagonal and it would have cost more so I had them lay it off-set so the grout lines of each row are off-set by half the tile width.  I really like how it turned out.

Mark called me on Friday afternoon and said he wanted to get together at the house this week to talk about the trim. 

I have lots of other questions for him too.

• When do I need to finalize decisions for...
•  kitchen back splash
• toilets
• pedestal sink 
• main bath counter and sink
• medicine cabinet/mirror
• lights/ceiling fans
• paint colors
• shower door
• door and cabinet hardware

• When will the heat and air unit be cleaned and tested
• Can they hang all of my shelves in the kitchen where I'm not putting upper cabinets and make sure they attach them to studs since they be holding dishes
• What to do about the ruts in the front yard and cleaning up the debris in the back yard (worried about glass and puppy dog feet)
• Shelves in the laundry room...mom suggested putting up a long board where the coat hooks are going and attaching the hooks to that so we don't have to worry about attaching them to studs...love that idea
• Counter top about the washer and dryer
• Is there some kind of fixed-length shower curtain rod...I hate how the rings snag on the bump in the middle of the adjustable ones...not good with the kids
• Can I put in rain barrels when they add the guttering

My most important question of all...

• What is the current estimation for move-in-day???

As we get more and more stuff, I'm getting more and more anxious to move home.

Yard work

There is a row of nandina along the back fence.  It was there when I bought the house almost 10 years ago (along with lots of other nandina that has since been removed.  One of my goals for this spring, even before the fire, was to get it all taken out.  One of the issues though is that in taking it out, I also need to put up a privacy fence because the fence there now is just a chain link one and it's got some ugly patches in it to keep Molly (one of the bassets) from getting out.

I bit the bullet today.  I spent part of the afternoon (not as long as I'd hoped due to fatigue) over at the house digging it out and trimming back the cedar trees from the neighbor's yard that hang over the nandina.  Still, I was pretty impressed with what I got done.  I want to get a lot of it cut down before the birds start building their spring nests in it.

I never realized how much room was back between the nandina and the fence.  It's going to add quite a bit of space to the yard to get it all out.

I talked to the neighbor today and asked about the chain link fence.  She's lived in her house a lot longer than me and she said the fence was there when she moved in so we don't know who it belongs to.  She would rather I just leave it up and put the privacy fence on my side.  The benefit of this is that it will be cheaper for me as there will be nothing for them to take down.

I'm going to call my insurance agent tomorrow because my dad mentioned that he has a good fence builder.  We're getting closer to moving home and I want to get it done before we get the dogs back there.

Floors

We went by the house last Friday.  They were in the process of laying the wood floors back down in the living room, kitchen and entry way.

My mom was there yesterday pruning the rose bushes in the front yard.  She said the tile guy was there working on the sub floor and would be back today to start laying the tile.

Yay!!!

Our spare bedroom here is filling up with stuff we've bought for the house.

We're getting closer!!!

Buying stuff

My mom made the point that I need to start buying stuff and stockpiling it until we move.

Tonight I bought the following on amazon...
food processor and blade holder...exactly what I had before
ice cream maker with extra bowl
popcorn popper
immersion blender
utensil set
insulated cookie sheet
2 cup measuring cup

On my list to get are...
kitchenaid mixer
bamboo spatula
measuring cups/spoons
bread pans
muffin tins
noninsulated cookie sheet
cutting board
knives
silverware
towels
dish rags
trash bin/recycle bin
pots/pans - set versus individual pieces
peeler

sheets
blankets
bed covers
towels

Trying to figure out what else I need and what I can get here to support local business versus what will be best to buy online.

Meeting

On Friday, my mom and I met with the contractor and construction supervisor.  It went well.

We talked kitchen cabinets and made plans for the few uppers and what I want on the lowers.  They're going to give me a good deal to use me as a guinea pig on these awesome corner drawers.  I'm so excited.  I picked out cabinet fronts and they're going to match the finish at Lowe's that I like.

I picked out the tub/shower surrounds.  Mark told me today that the solid surround is about $300 more than tile would be in the shower but the same in the bath tub.  That's $300 well spent to not have to deal with grout.  I still need to pick out the counter top/sink for the hall bath.

We're going to do the same wood floor in the kitchen.  That makes me happy.  I'm going to put linoleum in the utility room for cheapness and convenience with dogs food and water in there.

We talked about where to look at granite for the kitchen.  I'm not sold on granite.  I'm not sure why but I'm not.  Anyway, I need to go look.

The framing inspection was supposed to be done on March 3rd (2 days ago).  I'm not sure if it got done on time or not because of bad weather.  After that, it will be insulation and drywall.

I need to call the Container Store and change the delivery address on the closet systems and they can store everything at the warehouse.

They're saying end of April for completion.  I hope, hope, hope.  I could celebrate 41 in my own home!!!

Progress continues

I believe the electrical work is mostly done until it's time to install actual outlets, switches and fixtures.  The plumbing is done or nearly so.  New windows are in.  (It's amazing how much more light the house is now that the windows are not covered with soot.)  There's a bathtub sitting in the right spot in the bathroom.  Doors have been ordered for everything except the front door.

The weekend before last, my mom, the little girl, and I went on a shopping weekend to Ikea, The Container Store, and World Market.  I got closet systems for all of the bedroom closets.  Yay!!!  It's basically like built in dressers in the closet so we don't have to use that room out in the bedrooms.  I got a kitchen faucet I really liked at Ikea and found a sink I like but I'll have to go back and get it since they were on back order.  I found some couches I like at Ikea and World Market.  Many couches make me feel like a little kid because when I sit on them, my feet don't touch the ground.  Ikea couches tend to be lower to the ground so I can sit on them and feel like a grown up.  I also found a dining table I plan to order at World Market.  We came back from that trip with the car loaded down with stuff.  Thank goodness the big girl had lots going on and couldn't come that weekend because we couldn't have fit everything in the car on the way home.  We're planning another shopping expedition at the end of March or beginning of April.

Tomorrow, I have a meeting with the contractor to go over remaining timeline, dollar allowances for some things, cabinet finishes, etc.

The progress isn't as fast as I'd like it to be...you know, since it's not done...but it's moving along.

Walkthrough

Yesterday, my mom and I met the contractor and construction supervisor at the house for a walk through.  The framing is mostly done (except for where we were going to put a pocket door but now we're not.  They were in the process of spraying the smell-killing stuff on the studs so the smoke smell doesn't leach out of the walls.  Yay!  (It's been a little delayed this week because of the temp.)

We talked about outlets, lights, doors, cabinets, where to put the sink in the kitchen, how to build out the pantry, etc.  The back porch is now a sun room and smaller than before but big enough.  I think it's going to be so much more useful with windows that can be closed to keep out the dust but opened when we want to.  I'm really excited about the change!

I felt really good about the walk through.  They gave us some good ideas and get what I want.  Electric work measurements for cabinets will start to happen next week, pending weather.  Today, my mom and I are going to look at doors at Lowes.

I wish we could just snap our fingers and be home but at least it's coming along.

Windows and more

I spoke with the construction supervisor today.  He ordered my new windows.  Yay!  They were spraying the stuff that kills the smoke smell today.  We have a meeting over there on Friday to talk about doors, electrical outlets, light switches and fixtures, tv placement, etc.  Yay again!

Another visit

We went over to the house again on Saturday.  As I've mentioned, the little girl is pretty scared of the house right now.  It came out that one of her big concerns is that she is going to fall through the floor into a great abyss.  I tried to explain to her that, while a crawl space is not somewhere I want to be, it's not deep and her head would still be above the floor even if she was standing on the floor of the crawl space.

Anyway, Saturday was a nice day so we went over there after the big girl's basket ball game.  The little girl did amazingly well.  We looked around and talked about the changes.  In the bathroom where the tub was, you can actually see through the floor to the crawl space.  I shined a flash light in there so the little girl could see just how not deep it was.  That made her feel slightly better.

After holding it together to tour the inside, we went out back.  The girls decided to put the trampoline to use for the first time since the day of the fire.  It was great to hear the little girl laugh so heartily in a place that brings up so much fear right now.

After we left the house, we rewarded ourselves with a trip to starbucks for coffee and chai lattes.  Yum!

Moving along

I have a busy week this week so my mom met with the contractor yesterday at the house to go over some things.  So glad my mom and I think a lot alike on this stuff and she has some great ideas on design stuff.  She's so handy to have as a mom. :-)

Anyway, the contractor told her that they should be done framing this week and sometime next week, I'll need to do a walk-through with them to talk about placement of light switches, electrical outlet, and light fixtures.  Wow! Wow! Wow!  I know there will be times that it will feel like it's dragging but I'm so glad that that time is not right now.

The contractor also told me that by the end of this week or the beginning of next week I should have a better schedule of when I'll need certain things for the house and what the financial allowances will be on different things.

I'm so frustrated with the dryer situation right now (I paid extra to have the company I bought it from hook it up but then they couldn't and it's been a mess but I adore the plumber that's been working on it and part of the issue now is the way the vent was put in the house.  Ugh!) that I need some good news.

Minimalism and money

Since we had the fire, I've had to buy some things...new underwear and socks, a new washer and drier, etc.  Still, I haven't bought a lot.  We were lucky enough to have enough kitchen supplies and furniture donated or loaned to us that we haven't needed to buy much for the rental.  Other than the new underwear and socks the night of the fire, I also haven't bought the girls any clothes or shoes related to the fire (that doesn't count the new riding boots I got the little girl...that was not because her old ones were fire damaged.  They were just too small.)  I have bought myself a few new clothing items but not many.

Anyway, since I started contributing to the retirement plan at work and funding a separate Roth, saving extra money has been hard with all the other necesities of daily life.

My motivation for not shopping now is that I really want to get by with the bare necessities until we move back home.  I want the girls to learn how to live with less stuff.  I want to have less stuff to clean and organize.  Plus, we don't have storage pieces of furniture...at least not much...nothing like we were used to having.

The amount of time spent cleaning and organizing while still having a neat house is tremendously decreased from our prefire life.  There are some things laying around because we don't have book shelves to put them on but our house doesn't look like a tornado hit.

Another benefit of not buying...extra money.  I get paid every two weeks.  Two weeks ago, I had $400 left over from my previous paycheck.  Yesterday was payday again and I had $300 left over.  That was after some extra eating out, a trip to the Ethiopian restaurant an hour and a half away, and buying myself a new fitbit for $140.  Had I been better about the food, I would have had lots more left over.

There are a lot of easier ways to achieve a more minimalist lifestyle.  However, since this one has been forced upon us, I'm going to enjoy the side benefits.

Framing has begun

I need to get some pics of the progress on here but until I do, here are some words.

Demo is done.  (Well, there may be some to finish in the garage.  I didn't get to check that out today.)  Framing started inside on Tuesday!!!

The girls and I stopped by tonight after work/school.  We didn't get to stay long because the little girl panicked.  (Anxiety sucks and house fires make anxiety explode!!)  Still, they'd started framing the new walls in the kitchen and utility room area.  They'd framed the new closet in the little girl's room and closed of her old closet and opened it up into the big girl's room.  There's more work to be done on the big girl's new closet and her old closet hasn't been reframed yet.  Oh, and they'd also framed over the fireplace since that's going to be closed off with sheet rock.

I wish I could have looked around more but the panic attack forced a speedy exit.  Maybe tomorrow I can get by there without the little girl.

I was amazed at how fast the demo went.  It started on Monday and I went over Wednesday at noon and they were almost done inside.  It was crazy fast!

As far as the rebuild goes, the supervisor told me his guess is 90 to 120 days but don't quote him on that.  That would be mid April to mid May.  I am sooooo hoping he's right.  When we got back to the rental, the little girl said, "I hate this house!"  I have to agree with here, not because anything is wrong with this house.  It's just not our house.  I'm ready to be home again and so are the girls.  The big girl doesn't show it as much as the little girl does but they're both feeling lots of stress over this life change.

While on break, the little girl's anxiety wasn't so bad.  Since they've been back in school, it's been out of control.  I'm getting lots of what-if questions related to fires that I can never give satisfactory answers too because the situations she presents will lead only to death.  If were trapped by fire in a room and every exit is blocked, I can't give her an acceptable answer that will save us. :-(

Getting back home will bring it's own set of worries...after all it caught fire once, right?  However, it will also bring peace in settling back in with our own stuff, having the dogs back with us, etc.

Oh, and the really good news with the rebuild...the changes I'm making, many of which I'd planned to do in about 5 years, will cost about $6,000 over the insurance payment.  Basically, I'm getting my remodel for $6,000.  Now, I would have rather waited 5 years and paid for it myself than lose everything and suffer the trauma that is a house fire but since we did, we might as well celebrate the silver linings.

Now, I'm off to peruse pinterest for ideas.

Progress

My mom and I went to the house yesterday after I decided to get the desk out of the garage that I'd bought for the little girl.  She was thrilled by the way.  I decided to get it because she's cried about it a few times and she's lost so much already.  I'm not sure if it will need to go to restoration or not since the garage is not as bad as the rest of the house.

We also go a metal tub out of the garage and then took a look around the inside.  We ended up getting the quilt my uncle and then great grandmother had had and some place mats that my gran wove.  There was also a box of genealogy research and the big girl's kindergarten year book that I picked up too.

There's a porta-potty in front of the house now and the dumpster is supposed to come tomorrow.  I'm not sure if that will happen now with the weather (we woke up to snow) but at least it should come later this week if not tomorrow.

It was my last time, I think, seeing the house before demo starts.  It's still so crazy to look at.  I mean, I know it happened but when I walk into the house, it's like holy f!@#$%g s^&t! I can't believe this happened to us.

My mom and I talked about some remodeling stuff yesterday and then I looked at pinterest way to long into the night last night before I finally fell asleep to dreams of kitchen cabinets all night long.

At least the demo's getting ready to start!

Demo

I spoke with the construction company today.  A dumpster will be delivered on Monday and the demo crew will start on Monday or Tuesday.  I'm ready.  I keep thinking of more things to save.  I'm not getting them but I know if I wait any longer, there will be more and more stuff that I'll want to get out.  I'm ready to have it all gone so we can start rebuilding.  I really think the little girl will be better off when it's all gone too.  It's very hard knowing it's all in the house and we just can't have it because it's so dirty and stinky.

Saving

Right now, we have lots of gift cards to buy necesities as they come up.  Friends and family near and far were so generous to us after the fire.  The outpouring of support has been one of the most amazing things in this whole debacle.  Since we have the essentials for life right now, I'm hoping to hold on to most of them until the time comes to start furnishing our new (again) home.  And since, coupled with that, I'm hoping not to buy a lot of stuff for the rental, I'm hoping to be able to save quite a bit this year.

There's a savings plan I've seen for a couple of years now where you save $1 the first week of the year and increase that by a dollar each week so that the last week of the year you save $52, for a total of almost $1400 over the course of the year.  The problem with that for me is that you start out saving almost nothing each week and end up with big dents by the end of the year.

My plan is to save the same amount by readjust the numbers so that we're saving roughly the same amount every two weeks (my pay periods).  Of course, this will be in addition to my regular savings.  It will go to bulk up our emergency fund.  Any additional found money that comes in will be saved in addition to this savings plan.

So here's what it looks like for me...

I get paid every other Friday so each Friday, I will transfer the specified amount into my regular savings account.  I'm looking forward to watching it grow!