Frugal Babe

Wow, what a week this has been.  And we don’t even “do” Christmas - can’t imagine what it would be like if we did!  On Monday, I bought a shadow box picture frame (50% off) and was up until midnight making a scrapbook page to put in the frame for one of my best friends.  I used a picture of her husband and their son, and it turned out adorable.  I mailed it on Tuesday, with lots of recycled air filled packaging stuff and crossed fingers that it would get to her in one piece.  She called last night and said it arrived and she loved it, so that was good.

On Wednesday morning, a coworker had a coffee/tea party at her house, and we went there for a little bit before heading to see our midwife for our 19 week checkup.  We had been hoping that we could hear the baby’s heartbeat, but the baby wasn’t cooperating, and we didn’t get to hear it this time.  By next time (22 weeks) we should be able to hear it no matter what position the baby’s in (we elected not to listen with a Doppler because it’s uses ultrasound and we don’t want any ultrasounds done unless there’s a medical reason to do so).

After our appointment, we went shopping our our turkey, and found an organic one at Whole Foods.  It set us back $55, but I feel good about it’s origin, so I’m happy with the price.  My whole family is coming for Christmas, so I see lots of cooking in my future.  Although my parents are coming early that day and my mother is going to help me, which is a huge plus. 

I went in to the library on Wednesday afternoon, even though I’m usually off on Wednesdays.  They needed extra help, and since we’re going to be closed on Monday and Tuesday next week, adding hours now allows me to avoid taking paid time off for days that we’re closed (I’m saving all the paid time off that I can, so that we’ll have it when the baby arrives).  I’m working this weekend as well, so I’ll actually get my full hours in for this pay period without taking any vacation at all.  And I think I have the same thing set up for next week, when we’re closed for New Year’s.  But I’m looking forward to three days off next week, since I’m working at least part days at the library for seven days in a row this week.

I finished making Christmas presents for my coworkers - I made note cards using photographs I had taken, and tied them up with pretty yarn.  I made 3 dozen cookies on Wednesday night, and divided them up among the eight women I work with.  I’ve had lots of positive comments about the cookies and the cards, so I’m satisfied with my efforts there.

Last night we went to a white elephant party with a bunch of friends, which was a huge helping of comic relief.  We had a blast, and I’m glad we were able to fit that party into our week.  We had a get together with some neighbors last Saturday, and I baked stuff for both of those parties, so I’ve been spending a lot of my free time in the kitchen (with more to come in the next few days…) 

Whew!  And that’s just the stuff we DID do for Christmas.   We don’t have a tree, we don’t have any decorations up except for the Christmas cards we’ve received.  We don’t do Christmas presents for each other or for anyone in my family (everyone who’s coming here on Tuesday).  I like the way we did it.  Most of our presents were homemade (I estimate we spent about $120 for all the Christmas presents and cards we gave out this year).  We’ve had no financial stress at all from the holiday.  It has taken up some extra time, but I enjoyed making stuff for people, and I honestly think that I still spent far less time in my craft nook than most people spend wandering around the mall looking for gifts. 

Now it’s time to clean the house before our company gets here next week.  And I better start making a shopping list for the grocery store…  At least I won’t be at the mall this weekend!