We have our staff xmas party later tonight, but I’ve been wearing most of my outfit since this morning.

I’m kind of regretting it.

While my outfit is cute and chic, it is a royal pain to get in and out of! I’ve been holding my pee like a mofo all day to try and limit my trips to the loo! It’s too much work! (and one of my brand new nylons has a hole already! *cries*)

So what am I wearing that is causing me so much grief? Well I’ll tell you.

I’m wearing a cute little black skirt with a (tasteful) lime-green silk top that I have belted with a wide black belt.

Ok, sounds harmless enough.

Unfortunately my body blubber has exponentially increased since last year, and nothing is sitting right! So out comes the shapewear.

I am wearing my panties, then my thigh-butt-tummy shapewear that I pull up to my boobs, then nylons over that, skirt over that, shirt over the skirt, and a belt around my middle to finish it off!

To get nekked I have to remove SIX pieces of clothing just to pee! What have I gotten myself into!?!?

Needless to say I will be eating and drinking lightly all evening.

If I can get a decent photo of the outfit tonight, perhaps I will post it. It’s not very Christmas-y, but at least its dressier than my normal jeans & t-shirt at work. Plus I brought out the serious bling to wear tonight.

Well, I’m off to apply my signature red lips (my avatar ain’t lyin’!). Toodles!

I’ve been talking a little bit lately about the gifts I’ve been preparing for my friends this holiday. It’s a tight year for me so I thought I’d go the homemade route to save some money. I also didn’t want to spend much because I have a feeling my efforts won’t be reciprocated. While I give the gifts because I want to and it makes me happy, it still hurts when you don’t get anything (no matter how small) back from your friends. The holidays are always a bittersweet time for me. One day I hope that I won’t have to be the one to initiate the thoughtful gift-giving tradition and I can be pleasantly surprised by a thoughtful someone. (I don’t care if you think I’m selfish, if you knew the history behind my feelings you would understand)

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I wanted to show everyone what my months of labour and planning came to! I finished all the gifts a week or two ago but haven’t gotten around to assembling the post for a while.

My idea was to give each girl a gift basket filled with delicious. In the summer, I spent a couple weekends picking, preparing and canning local fruits and veggies. I picked organic pears from a friend’s yard, organic plums from my very own plum tree, and some pickling cucumbers from a local farmer’s market. I prepared them all in syrup or brine and they’ve been “soaking” for the past couple of months, and should be ready to eat for the holidays.

I also made up a batch of apple butter in my crockpot which I canned.

Each person is getting a canned fruit or pickle, a jar of apple butter, some homemade treats and a tree ornament or necklace; all re-gifted but totally nice.

The treats were originally going to be supercool, elaborate things, but then reality struck. I didn’t have a lot of the tools, ingredients or know-how to pull off a lot of the stuff I wanted to do without a trial run, so I had to simplify.

In the end, I made:

Chocolate-covered nuts & bolts mix (Nestle sent me some Tollhouse chocolate chips so that saved me some cost!) and candy-cane bark (Thanks Amy!)

Chocolate party mix & candy cane bark

I also tried out a recipe FB recommended for hot chocolate on a stick! It sure was an interesting experience, but here’s how it turned out:

Hot chocolate on a stick!

Mmm mmm good!

I had a lot of fun figuring out how to pack everything up and make it pretty in a frugal sort of way. I love doing this stuff and it is really easy to go overboard and buy all the really nice materials… but I tried to operate within a budget and got all the trappings at the dollar store, if you can believe it! I don’t think it looks too bad.

Here is the first set of treat bags I put together:

And 3 of the gifts almost done (just had to wrap the baskets in cellophane. The tote bag I got from the Flare party and one friend said she really liked it so I thought it would be a good way for me to unclutter while making her happy!):

Here’s a closeup of one of the baskets:

And that’s that! I made a total of 4 baskets, one of which I had already given away at the time I took these photos. In that one I included a bottle of my homemade vanilla extract because out of all my friends, I knew she would appreciate it and use it the most!

As for costs, if I don’t count the costs for the canned items, it works out to about $12-13 per person which is pretty reasonable. But a LOT of work went into these baskets and I just hope they appreciate that! I would normally do a better job on presentation and wrapping, but I was getting flustered at the time and just wanted everything to get done. When I have more time I’m sure they will all see my proper wrapping skills in the future

Now, I have some photos of the processes and such for a couple of the recipes I used and I thought I might post them later on. Would any of yall be interested if I did that? Maybe some of you can give these recipes a shot!

So, that extra $200 I was wondering what to do with?

I sort of keep waffling on it. First I said I’d use it to cover Christmas presents, but then I was also thinking about getting a new winter coat.

Now I’ve gone and changed my mind again!

I have a feeling that no matter what I peg it for, it will just be picked away at until it disappears into the ether.

So I actually went out and bought a new winter coat. It’s  not bad, it meets all my requirements, BUT I can’t shake this little niggly feeling of guilt, of being unsettled with something about it. I bought the coat but haven’t worn it yet… and I think I might return it.

What prompted this change of heart was that I found out that the new Ikea desk I asked of my parents for Christmas will not be coming my way. My mom flat out told me I will not be getting it. So I went back and reevaluated how I feel about things.

Frankly, I want the desk more than the coat. It would be functional and practical, but also entertain me (I love to organize & set up new stuff!) and give me that “new stuff!” thrill that my coat purchase just wasn’t giving me. Besides, my old winter coat is still serviceable. A little on the ratty side but not awful yet.

So I think that’s what I’m going to do with my extra money. Assuming I haven’t piddled it away in takeout & movie tickets already!

There’s just so many things that you could buy with extra money—and I think that is part of the problem. It just makes me feel bad. I got a little money; just enough to feel like I could upgrade something, but  not enough to actually do all the things I want to do with it. Not that I am ungrateful for the extra cash, but it seems to be complicating my life more than necessary! Sheesh!

Today is so gross.

It’s cold.
It’s wet.
It’s snowing AND raining AND hailing
It’s windy
It’s slushy
It’s grey

Ugh. Not a very pleasant day at all! I don’t know what is up with the weather today! I was expecting some nice fluffy snow and instead I get soaked to my skivvies on the way to the subway this morning. Then the subway is too crowded so I wait 4 trains and then get on one which then halts because one ahead of it broke! Bah humbug!

So yeah. Not a totally happy camper. But you know what? My feet are still warm and dry.

I know. I can’t believe that in all the slush I had to walk through this morning sans wellingtons or umbrella that my tootsies would be warm and dry. But it’s the silver lining to my day, it seems.

What do I have to thank for this reprieve from chilly misery?

My cheap-ass Walmart boots!

(Not actually my leg, and my boots are black instead)

They’re totally plastic and kind of cheap-looking, but I’ll be damned if they didn’t keep out all the rain and slush! They’re almost as good as rain boots! I never would have expected this of them; all my experiences with Walmart brand ANYTHING usually end up with me chucking out whatever I bought because of some defect or the shit quality.

I guess as long as the glue holds they’ll keep the water out! I am so tempted to spray them with my leather protector too, to give them that extra oompf.

I want to send props out to the Fatshionista community and particularly socrepuscular (That is her leg up there) for posting about these babies. It’s not easy to find cute, inexpensive boots that actually fit plus sized calves, so these were quite the find. Fashionable, AND practical! The holy grail!

Why do people enter in contests with emails and contact details that they never check? Or enter them incorrectly?

And also why do they enter contests without checking whether or not they are eligible to win?

I just don’t get it. Wouldn’t you WANT to win, if you enter a contest?

This last contest I ran did not go very well at all! Half of the winners either didn’t respond or didn’t qualify, and I’m scrambling to get everything in order so that everyone gets their bag on time.

So….

If you recently won a My Bag from me, please contact me if you haven’t done so already! Check your email!

I just made the coolest intro video for the blog, check this out!

Do you like it?

What would you do with an extra $200?

That’s a question I’ve been asking myself today. As I mentioned yesterday, I spent the evening at a focus group about mobile technology and walked away with two crisp $100 bills in my hands.

And I’m not sure what to do with it.

——————————————

Well, that’s what I started writing yesterday before I got tied up in something else. When I got home I was going over my budget trackers and decided to add up the costs for all the recent gifts I’ve had to buy for one reason or another. After I wrote the intro above I actually went to the bank and deposited the $200 into my account—keeping that much cash on my person was giving me the heebie jeebies and I wanted it in a safe place.

After tallying up the costs of the holidays so far, I realized that this $200 I made didn’t even cover it all, so I definitely need to use it towards Christmas this year.

Anyway, that thought kind of depresses me (using it for such a boring purpose) so I thought I’d share some of the other ideas I had been thinking of spending it on before I decided to deposit it.

What did I consider doing with $200 cash?

• Saving it in my emergency fund (which is not totally full yet)
• Buying a new winter coat (I have one but it’s pretty raggedy)
• Getting a hair cut (my hair is also getting raggedy)
• Walking around the mall or Queen St. West with it burning a hole in my pocket—what can I buy that is pretty and fun?
• Buying some new pots and pans—again with the raggedy issue. Had to throw out a Teflon one recently because the coating was lifting off
• Using the money towards French classes to refresh myself with a language I love
• Using it towards more silversmithing studio time, or to take other crafty classes on glassblowing or pottery/ceramics

  Or my favourite idea:

• Putting all $200 in cash in my emergency kit (in case of nuclear winter, zombie apocalypse, etc.) with my bottled water, candles & matches and dyno-powered emergency radio (What? It could happen! Always better to be prepared! This has been an ongoing project for some years, so I don’t have everything together yet!)

Which leads me to wonder—what would YOU do with an extra $200, besides paying off your debt?

I’m a bit excited today, because tonight I’m going to make an extra $200 for participating in a focus group. Yay!

This really couldn’t have come at a better time, while I have been trying to be frugal with my gifts I really wasn’t prepared for xmas spending like I should have been. It just sort of snuck up on me! This extra money will alleviate some of the spending pain from my wallet.

I have been keeping up with the outgoing money tracking for the past month or so, so most of my gift costs have been captured (wrapping, ingredients, etc.) so I wonder if I should try and figure out how much Christmas is costing me this year, and then see if this bonus $200 covers it all.

If it covers most of it, I might spend a little more on me! I could really use a haircut or possibly a new winter coat. Hmmm. We’ll see. I should probably save it, right?

I found myself in a place I said I would never go again.

A shopping mall.

I went back today because it has a Walmart and I wanted to get this cheapo pair of flat boots that would fit my wide calf (as seen in the Fatshionista! community). Lucky for me it wasn’t the zoo it was on the weekend. Note to self: do your shopping on a weird day!

I ended up taking several detours, slowly accumulating bags and purchases like it was my business! (Luckily I had my trusty reusable bags with me to help carry everything, including my My Bag! You can win one from me too, you know! To help you with your shopping! Just click here to enter!)

I just finished jotting down a list of all the people/events I must provide a gift for, and it breaks down like this:

7 (minimum) xmas gifts
4 birthdays
1 housewarming

That is TWELVE gifts that I have to come up with! For me that is a simply staggering amount! I am doing everything as frugally as possible, and I vacillate between being ridiculously proud of myself and crying in the corner because I still spent so much money.

So far I have about 6 of the gifts covered, and am well on my way to finishing up the remainder.

For my friends I’m trying to be uber-frugal, but in the end I wonder how much everything is going to cost. All the little pieces, sunk costs and miscellaneous bits that need to come together for these gifts could end up being quite the investment. For wrapping, I’ve been using the little that I have on hand, and have also visited a dollar store for some interesting items. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m going to be baking/making little bags of goodies for everyone as the finishing piece to their gifts.

Here’s a photo of some of the things I’m giving away that I have ready to go:

Homemade apple butter & vanilla extract

I made and canned a batch of apple butter in the summer, and also made my own vanilla extract, both of which you can see in this photo.

I’m actually going to be including more stuff in each gift basket for my friends, but I don’t have it all in one place yet. Each friend is roughly going to get:

• A jar of canned fruit I grew, picked & canned myself in the summer (pears or plums)
• a jar of apple butter
• and/or homemade pickles I made at the same time
• and/or a bottle of vanilla
• a bag or two of sweets
• a pretty little basket or bag to hold it all in!

Once I’ve got it all together I’ll be sure to take some photos–if everything works out they should be pretty good-looking gifts! (Not gonna lie… when I try I am very talented at wrapping & presentation! You can see my mom’s gift in the background )

Even though I bitch and complain about putting these gifts together, I really enjoy doing it. If I had more or unlimited money I would do so much more! But I’d still probably include something handmade, and I like all my gifts to be as thoughtful as possible.

I just wish money wasn’t such a big concern for me right now. I don’t want to think about it, and I haven’t tallied anything up yet, but I have an inkling that these “frugal gifts” are actually costing me a lot more than I anticipated. Everything from the cost of the jars & wrapping supplies and the ingredients to make the goodies will eventually add up.

The question is–do I really want to know?

I just realized that I am going to have to spend a small fortune this season.

Not only are there xmas presents to buy (or buy materials for) but I’ve also got a bunch of birthdays coming up as well! Ugh!

Overall I’m not spending huge amounts (like those people who drop hundreds on their families, and buy $75 gifts for their friends) but I think I’m still going to feel the squeeze.

I am making most of my gifts for friends (especially since we are not having a formal gift exchange or anything so I don’t want to feel bad when I don’t get anything in return) but the costs are still adding up. Just to buy the ingredients to make my goodies, plus the packaging and most of all my time and effort! That’s a lot! I wonder if I am going overboard?

It seems to me it would almost be easier to just buy them something!

Maybe I’m just being a miser. I just hate getting burned at xmas, always the one that gives but never receives. Same for birthdays.

I don’t know what the point of this post was, really. Just bitching and complaining about money again I guess! I thought I was doing well in the finance area finally, and then this season hits!

Bah Humbug!