Home-made shelf for printer and fax machine

After many weeks of looking into different web sites and found nothing fits into what we want, my husband finally decided to build the shelf himself. Of course he did not volunteer, it was after many weeks of nagging and looking before he finally gave in. And look at how great the home-made shelf looks. It only costs him about $17 and 1.5 hours of time to get it done and it’s custom made to fit exactly.

We could’ve easily eliminate the fax if we have efax service but because I have to deal with people who do not use emails or computers, we have to keep the fax and thus a shelf is needed to save some space.

My first Black Friday shopping experience

So I finally went shopping on Black Friday and I got there at 4AM. I didn’t wait on the line for Best Buy to buy any electronics. I went to Kohl’s to look for baby clothing and toys instead. The line for Best Buy wrapped around half of the parking lot already. I was glad that I didn’t have to wait on the line to get into Kohl’s. I got the toy I wanted and picked up some clothing for our baby and myself. I wanted to go into Toys r us too but my husband called and asked if I can go to Staples to pick up the portable hard drive for him. So I went to staples and got on line. I waited for at least 40 minutes to get into the store and of course, they sold out the item long time ago. As my husband said, they might already sold out as most stores probably just carry a few of the advertised items to lure you in there to buy other stuff.

Then I hit home but unable to take a nap until my daughter takes her nap as well.

What is my experience on Black Friday shopping? It was not terrible. I won’t do it again if it’s not for something special. I might do it again next year…but all depends if there is anything we need and that I won’t have to go to work.

Black Friday shopping

Last week, I decided to go shopping this coming Black Friday to take advantage whatever low pricing there are for baby clothing. I have read and heard of people get stuff for great deals but they have to be waiting outside the store very early in the morning and in the cold. I am not a fan of all that. There is absolutely nothing that I want so badly that I want to sit in the cold and wait outside the store for deep discount for…at least I haven’t thought of anything worthy of my time and energy.

I don’t have much hand me down baby girl clothing so now we have to go shopping for her needs as she grows. I am looking into buying for next winter as well as for the fall and spring. And I am looking into shopping after the season is over for greater deals.

I have looked into a few web sites and this web site seems to be my favorite.

Learn to organize (clothing and accessories) from my unorganized other half

When it comes to organizing a home and documents, I think I am much better than my husband. However the other day, I realized there is something he does much better than I am in organizing – clothing and accessories.

My husband occupied much more space (although he gave me some drawers and closet space) in the closet than I am because I moved into his apartment after we got married. He organized his clothing by category in drawers and shelves. He puts all his white socks in one draw, another draw with all black. He has all his ties in one place, all his sweaters in another shelves all together, all shirts are together from light color to dark color and all of his winter accessories (hats, gloves, scarves) in one bag. I finally appreciate how he put all his accessories together in one place and makes it very easy to change a pair of gloves if he chooses to.

I bag (with label) all my clothing by season. I have 2-3 bags of clothing for the summer. And then I have another 2-3 bags of clothing for winter. If I need to look for something, I have to go through the bags to find what I want. I have casual, formal and sporty clothing all together in the bags. I have my winter accessories all mixed up in my coats and winter clothing. So when I put on my blue coat the other day, I was wearing a pair of completely different color gloves because I didn’t have time to look for the blue gloves I have.

I am in the mission of at lease put all my winter accessories together in one bag (with label) so when I need to change a coat, all I have to do is go through this bag and get the color that matches the best.

My next bigger project will be organizing the clothing I have. Summer, winter, fall, spring, bathing suit, scarves, gloves, dresses, formal wear, casual wear, sporting wear, winter coats, spring jackets, dressy coats and jackets etc…Who has the time for all of this!

Remembering My Grandma

I still think of my grandma who passed away this past February. I remember I packed up a box of soft tissue for her. She used a lot of tissue because she coughed every once in a while. I also packed a nail clipper to help her cut her fingernails; a comb to comb her hair; a new soft cloth (those that babies use to wash their face) to help her wash her face.

Unfortunately that Saturday morning before I got up to go see her and deliver all that stuff to her in the hospital, my mother called and told me that she already passed away. When I got there, she was already wrapped up in plastic and only her face was showing. I touched her face, her hair, her arms and her feet. She was still warm and then she turned colder. We were all very sad but I knew she was at peace finally. She was in too much pain the few nights that I spent with her in the hospital.

Doctors said she lived to age 98 that is like live twice for other people. Indeed she did live a long life but from seeing her go through surgery, rehabilitation, falls and to dead, I hope I won’t have to go through as much if I were to live that long. I hope to live a healthier life than her. She is always in my mind and reminds me of what life is all about and not to sweat the small things in life.

Cash for Clunkers Program and The First Time Home Buyer’s Credit

While the Clunkers program was in effect, my husband and I analyzed our situation on whether to buy a bigger car and take advantage of the cash for Clunkers program. Unfortunately, our car did not qualify. And even if we did, we properly did not want to be part of the program as well. Reasons: (1) We are living on one income right now. (2) our car mileage is only 50k - 60k (3) even if our car qualify for the program, we would still have to spend money…that’s is adding debt...it’s not a good idea for a one income family at the moment.

We came to the conclusion, “just because something is on sale, it doesn’t mean you have to buy It”. I think I mentioned this as I was de-cluttering our apartment. I bought office supplies and clothing just because they were on sale. And now, I have tons of office supplies that take up space and a lot of new clothing that I haven’t worn.

As our family grows and as the economy gets better (hopefully within the next few years), when I return to work full-time and accumulate enough money to buy a bigger car, we’ll paid cash (if not all, it will be mostly cash) for it.

I feel the same way about Obama’s credit for first time buying a house. (1) we have one income, (2) just because something is on sale, it doesn’t mean you must buy it (3) I want to be able to sleep at night because I do not want to be in big debt. This type of debt we can not and will not be able to pay all cash but would definitely take advantage if we have 2 incomes. This isn’t the right time for us.

For that, I will be able to sleep at night because we are not in big debt and we are not spending simply because something is on sale.

Family dinner

We finally received our dinning table and eat as a family like how our parents always had it when we were young and had dinner together every night. Our daughter got so excited that she refused to take a nap. While we were eating dinner, she fell asleep on her high chair. It was hilarious.

I got a table cloth and realized it didn’t fit because what was inside the bag didn’t match the description of the box. It was too late to return it because it was just 2 days after the 30 days return policy. Thank goodness it wasn’t an expensive table cloth. I had to go back to the same store (Century 21 – Zagat rated #1 discount store) and look for another one. I got a vinyl table cloth instead of a regular cloth one. It fit nicely on the table but would look much better if we have a regular table cloth. With toddlers at home, even this loose vinyl table cloth isn’t going to work. Toddlers like to pull on tablecloths. So our final decision for later is to buy a elasticized vinyl table cloth from Improvements.

Our first dinner together as a family was wonderful. I can’t wait for many more to come. I just hope if we ever move, the new home that we’ll move to will be able to accommodate this dinning room table. Even though I can remove 1 leaf to have it as a smaller table, I love the space of a big table. I can do many things with flat surfaces…reading a paper, paying bills or simply a cup of tea.