Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Sewing and jobs
I've lost my sewing mojo, lol....someone, quick, send it back! I have an apron pretty much done, and then I realized that I didn't cut any neck straps. And, I don't have any extra material. So, off it goes as a UFO (that's unfinished object for you that don't know) for now. I'll take a scrap of the material and try to find something that will compliment it well.
I've also decided that I need more bias tape for more aprons, but the cost really adds up quickly! Instead, I think I'm going to buy a bias tape maker. Fairly cheap, but a lot more work on my part.
Sean's been looking for jobs. He actually has found a few in the area that interest him - most about 40 minutes to an hour away (sometimes worse with traffic/snow conditions). His last job was five minutes from home. It was nice, he came home for lunch almost every day. Having a long commute again would be a bummer, but, a job is a job, eh? Especially in this economy.
I've also decided that I need more bias tape for more aprons, but the cost really adds up quickly! Instead, I think I'm going to buy a bias tape maker. Fairly cheap, but a lot more work on my part.
Sean's been looking for jobs. He actually has found a few in the area that interest him - most about 40 minutes to an hour away (sometimes worse with traffic/snow conditions). His last job was five minutes from home. It was nice, he came home for lunch almost every day. Having a long commute again would be a bummer, but, a job is a job, eh? Especially in this economy.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Snap pliers and the kids
The week before Sean got laid off, I ordered a pair of snap pliers - lookee the package that I got! Looks like I'll be a snapping fool soon. :)
Josh got his first hair cut this weekend - and, yes, I did it. I took a little off the back and around his ears.
Finally, Nora. LOL, Josh and I were out and about most of the day. When I got home, she was napping. I got her out of bed and this is what she was wearing. Guess this is what happens when you spend the day with Daddy. And, while you might not think this is such an odd look if you live in say, California or Texas, this is quite the outfit today in the Cleveland area since Buckeye Chuck saw his shadow today. ;) Doesn't she look cute, lol, with her wild hair and all. ;) Ignore the fact that the baseboards are missing. They another incomplete, er work in progress out in the garage. I think they've been completely sanded and primed - I should add those to the honeydo list that I have posted on the fridge. All items are things that Sean can do while he's laid off that do not require any materials - since we've already bought the materials for these projects.
Josh got his first hair cut this weekend - and, yes, I did it. I took a little off the back and around his ears.
Finally, Nora. LOL, Josh and I were out and about most of the day. When I got home, she was napping. I got her out of bed and this is what she was wearing. Guess this is what happens when you spend the day with Daddy. And, while you might not think this is such an odd look if you live in say, California or Texas, this is quite the outfit today in the Cleveland area since Buckeye Chuck saw his shadow today. ;) Doesn't she look cute, lol, with her wild hair and all. ;) Ignore the fact that the baseboards are missing. They another incomplete, er work in progress out in the garage. I think they've been completely sanded and primed - I should add those to the honeydo list that I have posted on the fridge. All items are things that Sean can do while he's laid off that do not require any materials - since we've already bought the materials for these projects.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
The Craptastic Economy
My husband was laid off on Thursday. I spent a lot of time crying on Thursday. Fear, mainly. How will we make it? How will we manage to pay our bills if we are not fortunate enough for him to find another job before his one severance pay comes along? The job market in NE Ohio has not been great for some time, especially in the area of IT. He was laid off after 9/11 and it took him 10 months to find a job. He had known of the impending layoff, so he had stashed up a decent sized emergency fund. That, combined with the fact that as his emergency fund was being depleted, I was fortunate to find a great job. So, those ten months weren't all that bad - in fact, I don't think our lifestyles changed much at all.
This time, though, things are different. I'm basically a stay at home mom. I mean, I work one day per week, for just a few hours (2-3) for my mother in law's business, filing insurance claims and billing people for things like their copays and deductibles. Still, it's not like I can just increase my hours there - her business is hurting right now too. She shared with me yesterday that she wasn't able to pay herself for about four months in 2008. Wow. So, I basically stay home. And, we have two young children.
We've been following Dave Ramsey since last year, so we do have a very small baby emergency fund. Still, it's not enough to keep us going for any length of time - the whole point of that BEF was not to prepare us if Sean lost his job, rather it was our barrier against Murphy (Murphy's law) in case the truck broke, an emergency repair of some sort was needed, etc.
So, here we are, with my husband out of work. Scary times. And, yet, I have a peace about it all. No matter what - we'll make it. I'll be organizing my coupons and really starting to make those work. I'll be doing a lot of cooking from scratch - which we do often enough that it's not a horrible endeavor anyways. We have one more pay coming, on the 15th. We'll get our regular grocery amount for our envelopes, but we'll be paying way more mind to where the money is going - and stocking up on essentials. We've already implemented this during our weekly grocery trip this weekend. Butter was fairly cheap (under $2 for four sticks) so we bought enough to stick in the freezer plus get us through the week. Even though we had half a container of oatmeal, we went ahead and bought two more. Why? Because it's a really, really cheap breakfast - and it's super nice on cold mornings too.
The thing that was most worrisome to me are having enough to feed our family, have health insurance of some kind and keeping a roof over our head with utilities on. Beyond that, well, that's all just a bonus. Thankfully, we live in a country that does have some help for those that are going through a rough time. DH will file for unemployment right after he receives his last check (at least, that's when we think he's allowed to follow, which he'll be clarifying this week). We have health insurance through the end of February. Which, admittedly, still rather sucks - we haven't had any claims filed for 2009, so we'll have to meet our entire deductible if we go for anything other than a yearly (or wbv for Josh) visit. So, yeah, we're not exactly planning on trips to the Dr for everyone. Josh will go tomorrow for his WBV and get those shots that we were planning on anyways. DH and I will make appointments for eye exams. Hopefully, his eyes will continue to be good. Mine suck, but we already knew that. ;) I simply need a new prescription so that I can order some $8 glasses. And, if he doesn't get a job, we'll have to look into some state aid for health benefits. Food stamps might be in order as well.
Somehow, we'll make it.
This time, though, things are different. I'm basically a stay at home mom. I mean, I work one day per week, for just a few hours (2-3) for my mother in law's business, filing insurance claims and billing people for things like their copays and deductibles. Still, it's not like I can just increase my hours there - her business is hurting right now too. She shared with me yesterday that she wasn't able to pay herself for about four months in 2008. Wow. So, I basically stay home. And, we have two young children.
We've been following Dave Ramsey since last year, so we do have a very small baby emergency fund. Still, it's not enough to keep us going for any length of time - the whole point of that BEF was not to prepare us if Sean lost his job, rather it was our barrier against Murphy (Murphy's law) in case the truck broke, an emergency repair of some sort was needed, etc.
So, here we are, with my husband out of work. Scary times. And, yet, I have a peace about it all. No matter what - we'll make it. I'll be organizing my coupons and really starting to make those work. I'll be doing a lot of cooking from scratch - which we do often enough that it's not a horrible endeavor anyways. We have one more pay coming, on the 15th. We'll get our regular grocery amount for our envelopes, but we'll be paying way more mind to where the money is going - and stocking up on essentials. We've already implemented this during our weekly grocery trip this weekend. Butter was fairly cheap (under $2 for four sticks) so we bought enough to stick in the freezer plus get us through the week. Even though we had half a container of oatmeal, we went ahead and bought two more. Why? Because it's a really, really cheap breakfast - and it's super nice on cold mornings too.
The thing that was most worrisome to me are having enough to feed our family, have health insurance of some kind and keeping a roof over our head with utilities on. Beyond that, well, that's all just a bonus. Thankfully, we live in a country that does have some help for those that are going through a rough time. DH will file for unemployment right after he receives his last check (at least, that's when we think he's allowed to follow, which he'll be clarifying this week). We have health insurance through the end of February. Which, admittedly, still rather sucks - we haven't had any claims filed for 2009, so we'll have to meet our entire deductible if we go for anything other than a yearly (or wbv for Josh) visit. So, yeah, we're not exactly planning on trips to the Dr for everyone. Josh will go tomorrow for his WBV and get those shots that we were planning on anyways. DH and I will make appointments for eye exams. Hopefully, his eyes will continue to be good. Mine suck, but we already knew that. ;) I simply need a new prescription so that I can order some $8 glasses. And, if he doesn't get a job, we'll have to look into some state aid for health benefits. Food stamps might be in order as well.
Somehow, we'll make it.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
CPSIA - revisited
Well, it's not a perfect solution, but at least it gives a year for them to change it again!
So, yay, we can still sell things that we make for kiddos, so long as we know and take caution that our items are lead free - so we can hold the manufacturer responsible for this.
Linky, linky to the CPSIA.
So, yay, we can still sell things that we make for kiddos, so long as we know and take caution that our items are lead free - so we can hold the manufacturer responsible for this.
Linky, linky to the CPSIA.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
CPSIA
So, for those of you who have not heard the news, Congress passed a piece of legislation last summer. It goes into effect on February 10th.
It's bad news for parents and grandparents who love sites like etsy. Why is it bad news? Because the law is requiring testing on items to make sure they don't have any lead or some other stuff that most of us can't even pronounce. And it's expensive. And it's on each piece that is used to construct the toy or garment, actually anything intended for those under 12. That's thread, buttons, snap, fabrics, etc. Reach the end of the spool? Time for more testing.
In a law that was intended to keep our kids safe from the big name toy manufacturers like Fisher Price and Mattel, it's actually rewarded them. No longer will mom and pop type places be able to compete with the money that the big fish have. It's a sad. sad day.
In somewhat hopeful news, originally, this was going to effect even resale of used items. Thankfully, the letter writing that many have done to the Senators and Congressional Representatives did not fall on deaf ears and they have clarified part of the law to say that we can still buy and sell used goods. They also said that if the items were made from natural, undyed materials you can use that. Great, here's a ball of undyed wool - have fun with it. But, the hopeful news is that the flood of emails and calls to our Senators and Representatives spurred them into some kind of action.
Please, join me today in contacting your Senators and Congressional Representatives - perhaps a flood of emails and phone calls will enable us to get the change that we need so that we can still keep selling products intended for children under the age of 12, products that are made in America. After all, this is goign to effect everything - towels, bedding, etc.
For my local readers, only Senator Sherrod Brown responded to me. Senator Voinovich and Representative Marcy Kaptur, shame on you for not responding to your constituents!
As for me, if this law goes on, I'll know longer be able to make mommy and me apron sets, crayon rolls, etc. I'll just have to concentrate on my aprons for adults.
Oh, and this also effects schools and libraries - they'll need to have their products tested. Wonder how that's going to go over?
Please check out this blog for more information. Thanks for doing your part!
It's bad news for parents and grandparents who love sites like etsy. Why is it bad news? Because the law is requiring testing on items to make sure they don't have any lead or some other stuff that most of us can't even pronounce. And it's expensive. And it's on each piece that is used to construct the toy or garment, actually anything intended for those under 12. That's thread, buttons, snap, fabrics, etc. Reach the end of the spool? Time for more testing.
In a law that was intended to keep our kids safe from the big name toy manufacturers like Fisher Price and Mattel, it's actually rewarded them. No longer will mom and pop type places be able to compete with the money that the big fish have. It's a sad. sad day.
In somewhat hopeful news, originally, this was going to effect even resale of used items. Thankfully, the letter writing that many have done to the Senators and Congressional Representatives did not fall on deaf ears and they have clarified part of the law to say that we can still buy and sell used goods. They also said that if the items were made from natural, undyed materials you can use that. Great, here's a ball of undyed wool - have fun with it. But, the hopeful news is that the flood of emails and calls to our Senators and Representatives spurred them into some kind of action.
Please, join me today in contacting your Senators and Congressional Representatives - perhaps a flood of emails and phone calls will enable us to get the change that we need so that we can still keep selling products intended for children under the age of 12, products that are made in America. After all, this is goign to effect everything - towels, bedding, etc.
For my local readers, only Senator Sherrod Brown responded to me. Senator Voinovich and Representative Marcy Kaptur, shame on you for not responding to your constituents!
As for me, if this law goes on, I'll know longer be able to make mommy and me apron sets, crayon rolls, etc. I'll just have to concentrate on my aprons for adults.
Oh, and this also effects schools and libraries - they'll need to have their products tested. Wonder how that's going to go over?
Please check out this blog for more information. Thanks for doing your part!
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