Griping Post...

No, that's not something to tie an unhappy horse to, but it might work for me..WARNING--this post is going to be full of griping and general bitching.





We recently got the van back after having $400 worth of work done on it. The water pump was out so it was overheating. We took it in and This morning I took it to the grocery store and it started overheating. CRAP! I am taking it back to the mechanic on Friday, but in the meantime, hubby and I are juggling transportation. We are guessing it might just be a hose that disconnected, not a huge problem...We have three cars--two with one down. That seems like a fair amount, but in reality we have come to the conclusion that having three working cars is important to us and we adjust our spending to compensate for that. For quite a while we were down to two--the compact and an older bigger car. We are hoping to trade in the older car soon for something more gas efficient. I would rather spend my $ on things we need, not gas for a gas hog. With all the activities the kids are in and the work/school schedule of my husband, having multiple working cars is imperative.





Have you started holiday preparations yet? What are you doing for gifts this year?





For family and friends, we are giving homemade candy and cookies, jams and other baked goods. This will allow us to give gifts that will be consumed instead of gathering dust on the recipient's shelf, plus save us money. I am going to the Dollar store next week to start amassing tins and cookie trays for the goodies. Some are going to also get hand knitted dishcloth sets. I have been using up my surplus cotton yarn stash while making these and they are a lot of fun. I've made two so far from pretty ornate patterns that look really pretty. Unfortunately they do take longer, so the recipients will probably get one ornate and two not so ornate dishcloths tied together with at pretty ribbon and some seventh generation dish soap that I order it in bulk from Amazon (at quite a substantial savings since I am having it shipped through their subscribe and save program...LOVE THIS DISH SOAP-LOVE SAVING $ !) . I was going to make homemade vanilla extract, but given the late date, I don't think it would have time to age, so I'll do that at a later date. I'm going to actively involve the boys in the making and taking--I think it gives more meaning to the holiday.





I'm still mad about the van, but I feel a little better now. I used to shop when I was stressed, now I blog--it works out better this way.





Now if only I could clean house when I am stressed. I'd have one spotless house!!I know, DREAM ON!