2012 Resolution #5 - Spend Less Save More

Here I am at the last of my 2012 New YEars REsolutions! Ths last one is another one of those things that everyone sticks on their list with high hopes and great expectations. Even more so more in this World's economy.

I noticed that a trend that is growing in America is clipping coupons. There is even a TV show caleed Extreme Couponing that I see every once in awhile shown here in the UK. My daughter Aurora and I love it. People buying hundreds of dollars worth of stuff for under a tenner. WOW! Here in the UK there isn't much in the way of coupon clipping but there are ways to hunt out bargains... such as Groupon and Wowcher.

But all that is fine if you actuall BUY stuff. I love buying stuff...I have more stuff than I need really...so along with the spend less I want to buy less AND get rid of the clutter. My hubby loves this idea but he spends as much as I do. We are in our mid 40s and for the first time in our lives we have the income to buy what we want when we want it without having to scrape up for it. But just because we have the money doesn't mean we should always spend it. I also want to direct any extra spending on my crafting and ink for my printer.

Things I'm doing to curb spending is:
For gorcery shopping - Don't we all LOVE grocery shopping? (eye roll) Well here in the UK we are so lucky to have home delivery available from all our big name grocery stores, Tesco, ASDA, Sainsburies, Waitrose (Ocada). I cannot tell you how much I love this. I don't have to wheel around busy stores on weekends, don't have people smashing their trollies into me, no bag packing and no impulse purchases. Another perk is, because it does take a bit of time to do, I end up buying less food. What we also do is create a meal plan for one to two weeks and buy only what we need for those meals. On my frig is a notepad for a shopping list to write things we run out of or stuff my daughter needs. It all works.

Banking - To stop my online buying so much, I am leaving very little money in my personal bank account that is joined to my PayPal account and has a debit card. That is so I cut down on spending there. I move the money over into a savings account, I happen to be pretty good at saving money so I leave it in there and don't move it back. I have credit cards but not lots of them...if fact I've always been pretty good with those as well. I just have one Visa that I use and mostly use it for large purchases only or for places that do not take my debit card. To be honest, I am not really that bad, my hubby does like to spend money too and he's not as good at keeping track as I am. This is why he gives money to me to take care of for him...lol.

Saving - This is where I want to concentrate our money on. We own our house and it's gets to a point where things start breaking down. Big things....like the boiler, roof, garden, house painting, etc. One day we will need new windows and doors (all ours are less than a year old but ya never know.) We also haven't had a proper holiday in a couple of years and that would be nice. Since I'm in a wheelchair, we can't do those cheap all inclusives, we have to drive places and stay in hotels as there are few disabled access places to stay other than that.

Thank you for joining me for this year's list of resolutions. I hope it inspired you or at least made you want to check in with me every once in awhile to see how I'm doing...lol. That was alll I could think of for this year...although most of these resolutions should be kept all year every year, I know I will do better at some of them than others. I've already slacked a bit on the exercises...ugh. I've been pretty sick this week so didn't do them. I couldn't breathe so I figured to give myself a break. Tomorrow though...back to work...lol. Please let me know what you think andif you've made any progress in your resolutions. Heck I'd just love to know if you've made any breakthroughs in your life..so if you have any good news, drop me a comment anytime!

Here are two cool coupon organisers I found online, some are paper and some are sewn. they all are pretty...lol:

This is an Etsy shop where she sells sewing patterns and other fabric crafts. She has lots of coupon organisers here (image linked):


Here is a tutorial to make your own our of cardboard and your fave papers (image linked):

2012 Resolution #4 - Do What You Love

My 4th Resolution for this year is to spend more time doing the things that I love. I look back on 2011 and I see that I was really lost....and I wasted a lot of time doing things that I really didn't want to do or felt obligated to do. Mostly I was my normal dumb self and procrastinated way too much and NOT do things I a really love doing.

Of course there are a few things I love to do but alas I cannot do them anymore due to my wheelchair. The thing I love most to do in the world is dance. I took dance lessons from the age of about 8 until the age of 28. When I was a kid I took your standard tap, jaz and ballet. When I was 21 I was introduced to belly dancing! OK I love to belly dance call me weird but I took to it right away and took lessons, went to seminars, traveled to classes, etc. Once I settled down with a fiancee, I changed over to taking dance classes locally and I found a Hawaiian/Tahitian teacher who was lovely to learn from. I ordered costumes directly from Hawaii. I danced in reviews and in group dance competitions. My last show was a Regional Dance Competition in Philadelphia, PA, USA and I was month pregnant with my daughter. We were one of the many troupes dancing in the adult division and WE WON! The other thing was I loved Aerobic classes. I had built up to a one and a half hour power class...loved it. Those things were in the past though.

In the last 15 yrs I've developed other things that I love to do. Mainly this is designing graphics. I was so proud of myself when I took up Photoshop. I am self taught, it took me 2 years and I still don't all there is to know. This year I'm planning to go to Illustrator as I told you. I am really excited about this...I love to create pretties...lol. This one of the things I love to do that I'm going to spend more time doing. I also love to be in my craft room. It's not completely set up exactly how I want it but little by little its coming together. I love making cards...I love designing graphics for making cards. I love that I can take my own ideas put them on the computer, print them out and them create a real craft project with them. This is why I love hybrid crafting and scrapping so much!

So this is what I'm going to spend more time doing...designing and crafting! What do you love to do? Think of how to spend more time doing it. It will calm you down, make your happier and all those around you will reap the benefit of you being happier...that is for sure! Drop me a comment...I'd love to know what you love to do...lol.

2012 Resolution #3 - Learn Something New

I'm very sorry I didn't get this post out yesterday. I woke up yesterday morning with a really bad head cold and I felt lousy so I went to bed. I feel a bit better today thank goodness...hope it wasn't a problem!

My 3rd resolution is to learn something new this year. I've been wanting to learn how to use Illustrator better so I am planning on taking an online class. I joined up over at Vector Diary and their training tutorials. I also am thinking about taking a class at Jessica Sprague.com. I've always did my best to use my own images and doing as much of my own creating as possible and I think using Illustrator will help so much. I also have another program I bought last year that I really want to get to grips with...more on this one later. hee hee hee.

I also want to take a few crafting classes. It's hard for me to get to them sometimes and in my area there aren't many around to begin with but I have a few feelers out. I might even just do a make and take at a craft show which I've never done before. There are a few craft techniques I want to get more into as well such as using alcohol inks and stains. I love messy crafting...lol. I also received a mini sewing machine for Christmas. It's just a cheap one but it should be perfect for sewing on craft projects. I cannot use most sewing machines due to the fact I cannot use my feet to work the pedal (I'm paralysed remember.) This craft one also can be run by a button so I need to get it out of the box and give it a go.

So you can see I have quite a few new things I want to try. How about you? Is there something you've been wanting to find out more about? It doens't have to be taught in a classroom, just reading about or researching a new topic that you know nothing about is learning. Using your brain is the best way to stay younger longer. Hey we could all use some of that...lol! Leave me a comment and tell me what you would like to learn this year.

No images today...just text....horrors of horrors! Me, not use graphics???? AHHHHHH....lol.

Hugs, Dorothy

2012 Resolution #2 - Get Organised/Make Money

Here is another one of those pesky resolutions that everyone seems to put on their list each year. We all want to make more money and along with that in my life that goes hand in hand with being more organised. I am a scatterbrain sometimes. I'm not dumb, I just misplace things, forget appointments...and its getting worse the older I get.

As for the getting organised part, I've always been a big fan of daily planners or diaries. I also love TO DO lists. But are you like me...you LOSE the to do list under a pile of junk? I have 2 ways that I am keeping my lists, one is hanging a daily list on the corkboard here in my office. I also keep one on my Google homepage that I look at every time I go online.

As for the make more money part, I want to revamp Print Cut N Create again. I desperately need to move to a new host as the one I have now is awesome...but expensive. Since I've not made much money the last year at PCNC, I'll be branching out in other shops. I'm also toying with another business idea but that won't get going until at least March. But they are planned...it's a good start.

Have you been wanting to start a new business? Do what the Nike ads say...JUST DO IT. The worst that can happen is you have an epic fail. I know, I've been there 3 times! I have failed at 3 businesses that I loved. I may fail at a few more but I know one day I will succeed...even if I don't, I had a wonderful ride along the way.

Here are some ideas for you on how to craft your way to better organisation and more money:

Kitty CD Calender by Sugar Plum Paperie
Green & Checks CD Calender Tutorial by Scrap Girls

The first planner is just of the many handmade ones you can find over at Etsy.
The coupon book was made by Spotted Canary

Lastly, here is my Google homepage. I have 2 different apps with TO DO lists on it. Just sign into your Google account and customise your homepage with one of the many to do list apps.

2012 Resolution #1 - Lose Weight Get Healthy

2012 Resolution #1 - Lose Weight Get Healthy

I know I know...borrrrring! EVERYONE chooses this as a resolution...what's the big deal. Well thsi is a big one for me as the last 2 years I've been getting bigger and bigger. I've also been more and more senditary. Many would say I have a good reason for this..I'm a paraplegic. I am confined to a wheelchair and I don't get to leave the house very often. Since I'm at home most of time I spend most of my time sitting at the computer...not a very healthy lifestyle at the present. Add to the fact I am overweight to start with and have Type II Diabetes. UGH!

Thing is...even though I am overweight, I do eat very healthy. I have eliminated dairy , limit meat to 3-4 times per week, eat many vegetables, fruit and grains. I eat a lot of beans and lentils to to make up my protein. I take lots of vitamins as well. I've been eating this way for over years. Trouble is.... I LOVE cake. I do like my sweets but another of my problems is I just eat too much. I am an over eater. I love all food, healthy food but even too much of a good thing will make you gain weight if you aren't able to move around very much or control your portions. Years ago before I became paralysed, I used to go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week, did aerobics, pilates and took dance lessons. I was active..now I'm not and I have to change. Since I cannot stand or walk I've had to come up with my own exercises. I am playing Tennis on the Wii and my hope is that it helps my balance as I am paralysed kind of high up. I'm also doing stomach crunches in bed. If anyone out there has any other suggestions for exercises for the disabled...give me a shout!

One thing I started yesterday was a Food Journal. I am doing it in Excel at the moment but I want to create a pretty album to place my charts it. I will print out each day and place it in the album so I can look back on what I've been eating and I will also add my exercise log to it as well. Another book on my list is a Recipe Book. This will help me with meal plans and give me ideas on good things to eat.

I really could write a book on this...lol. I hope I gave you some ideas. Below are images and ideas to help you with your own weight loss resolution...hope I've inspired you!

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Here are some examples of food journals you can make yourself. Below the image are links to the blogs of each journal's creator so you can check them out yourself:

1. Prairie Paper & Ink

2. Karen Spaiches Get Scrappy

3. Ramadhan Planner Blog

If you love your mobile (cell) phone, then these cool Apps might help you with your meal plan and weight loss. I've not used either so I don't know how good they are:

For iPhone (image linked):



For Android phones (image linked):