I hate being pregnant. There, I said it. I’m not one of those women who just floats through it and has no worries or complaints. I despise it. Of course, I am grateful that I will soon have a child in my arms but I am not grateful for the amount of crap I have to go through to get there. I have spent the last 48 hours in pure morning sickness (or should I say all day sickness?!) hell. I can’t stand up longer than 5 minutes without feeling like I’m going to faint. I am taking some pills for the nausea but they don’t seem to be doing their job lately. Looks like I may be paying another visit to the doctor rather shortly. Hopefully this will all be over with in the next 3 weeks or so like everyone keeps telling me it will. Otherwise, I will be spending alot of time snuggling up on the couch.

Seeing as how I have been feeling so crappy for oh… the last 2 months (!!!), I haven’t done much cooking which is super depressing because I love to cook. I am trying to think of a chocolatey dessert for tonight but all I can think of is my yummy lava cakes and I’m scared to make those because the last time I made them they didn’t turn out well (I honestly think it was the stove.. this recipe worked a million times for us in our old place).

Well, my sappy tv show is back on (The Bachelor), so off I go! I think I’ll give the lava cakes another shot…

As much as I love my cats, they can be a real pain in the butt sometimes. This morning all 3 of them had appointments to get their yearly shots. We only have one cat carrier but one of the cats is okay out of it in the car so we put the 2 smaller cats in the carrier and have the other one walk around in the car. So this morning on our way out the door, I get Missy into the carrier, shut the door and go get Dewey. He knows what’s up and darts away from me faster than you can even imagine. I finally manage to get ahold of him and open up the carrier door to put him in and he is not having it. He puts his two front paws out to the side to push himself away from the carrier and starts clawing me with the nails in his back paws. So I got a little frustrated, called him some bad names, used language my mother wouldn’t be proud of and then… he got away… and so did Missy. To make a long story short, Missy managed to hide somewhere that we could not physically reach her and we were already 5 minutes late to our appointment so we just left her home and took the other two to the vet. They did well, the vet said they were beautiful and perfect and they got some treats (which make everything better, by the way). Missy gets to go by herself on the 17th. Damn that cat.

My dad came to visit after we were done at the vet and fixed a few things on my computer for me, because it was acting up. I don’t know what I’d do if my dad wasn’t such a computer whiz. Well, actually I do know what I’d have to do, and it wouldn’t be pretty. I started to get really really tired so I laid on the couch for a bit before DH left to take Maggie to the dog park. He dropped my dad off on the way. I feel like I was such a bad hostess but gosh dangit I was SO TIRED. I am tired all the time… exhausted tired too, not just ‘I don’t feel like doing chores today so I think I’ll snooze instead’ type tired. It really sucks.

Because I felt so tired and just overall crappy today, DH was nice and made dinner. We had Tangy Sesame Chicken (click the link for the recipe), which is one of our favourite dishes. It was very very yummy. I’m trying to think of something tasty to make for dessert while we watch Tropic Thunder. Mmmm… dessert. The best part of any meal!

PS. Anyone want New York Yankees tickets?

Well, here’s the new layout! I wanted to start the year off with something fresh and clean and I think this layout does the trick quite well. What do you think?

Alright, now let’s get down to business… here’s our December Budget Recap!

INCOME
Moi: $1441.83
DH: $2309.87
=$3751.70
+ Extra Income = $317.80 (selling things, etc.)
= $4069.50

EXPENSES
Rent = $995/$995
Groceries = $339.81/$150 (over $189.81 - 5 huge bags of dog food I got really cheap, so I stocked up)
Entertainment = $78.22/$25 (over $53.22)
Bank Fees = $12.95/$12.95
Hosting = $79.81/$67 (over $12.81)
Cable = $135/$135
DH Cellphone = $155.89/$50 (over $105.89)
Hydro = $50/$50 (haven’t got the bill yet, am assuming this amount)
House Oil = $288/$288
Car Payment = $287.13/$287.13
DH Car Payment = $200/$200
DH Car Insurance = $118.21/$118.21
Misc. = $174.87/$183 (under $8.13)
Taxes Accnt. for 2009 bill = $271/$271
Yearly Expenses Accnt. (dentist, haircuts, pet shots, etc.) = $274.50/$274.50
Car Gas = $70/$100 (under $30)
DH Networking = $33.42/$18 (over $15.42)
DH Dry Cleaning = $11.97/$25 (under $13.03)
DH Train Pass = $252/$252

Total Spent = $3827.78/$4069.50 (under $241.72)
We also got $2225.00 for Christmas and put $2000 of that in our emergency fund. We spent $83.89 on random stuff for ourselves from the $225 and the rest is still sitting in our chequing account.

We put a grand total of $3354.44 into our emergency fund this month and I have to admit, I’m really proud of us for doing that!

All in all, it was a crappy month. Money wise, we did okay, but we could have done alot better. I blame it on both of us being sick (mainly me) for the entire month. We ate out alot because we were too weak to cook for ourselves. Oh well, what can ya do. We just have to try to do better in January! I need to buy a compact flash card for my camera but I’m not sure if I will do that right away or wait awhile. Ahhh the decisions..

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday this year! Unfortunetely, I wasn’t in the spirit as much as I usually am since I was pretty much sick for the entire month of December.. but I am very happy that I was well enough to be with family yesterday.

On Wednesday we went to DH’s aunt and uncles house for dinner which was really really tasty. I also got to hold his cousins 2 week old baby who was like the perfect baby ever. She didn’t cry once! She is too cute. People found out we were expecting (we didn’t say anything unless they asked) and were congratulating us. It was nice. Then we had to leave to head to my grandparents’ house and before we left his aunt gave us a card and a jar with ingredients for some oatmeal raisin cookies. How nice!

I ended up dropping DH off at home because he really wasn’t feeling that well so I went to my grandparents’ house by myself. When I got there it was just me and my mom but about half an hour later people started showing up. I stayed until midnight and then went home to bed.

Yesterday was very busy. We got up around 9:30 and had breakfast and then packed up the car with presents and headed over to my mom’s house. We all opened presents there and then DH and I went over to my dads and did the same thing. Around 12:30 we left there and went to my grandparents’ house to open even more gifts. Then we went to DH’s parents’ house and opened gifts there. Finally, we went next door to his aunt and uncles house and had a yummy Christmas dinner.

Here’s a list of some of the great things we got this year: new phones, over $200 in cash, over $250 in gift cards, batteries, 2 cute baby outfits from my sister (they are soooo adorable), a cheque for $2000 from DH’s parents (wow!!!! - that goes right into the emergency fund - though we might have to spend some on laptop memory for DH’s computer), socks, lots of chocolates and candy, tea pot, new towels, new set of pots and pans from my mom, cutting board and new knives, flashlight, oh and we won almost $40 on the scratch tickets that we got. Yippie!

I hope everyone was happy with their gifts. We mostly handed out gift baskets/bags this year but then also gave our parents a few “regular” gifts. It really helped with our budget this year but next year we will have $500 to spend, we are already saving for it. We put aside $72 a week into our “yearly expenses” account and use that money for Christmas gifts, birthdays, vet checkups, etc.

Oh and before I forget we finally told my mom about her birthday trip to Florida in May. She was so shocked, I don’t think she was expecting that at all. Needless to say, she was very happy and I was happy to finally get it off my chest. Whoo hoo!

When DH and I first opened our ING direct account about 2 months ago, we immediately deposited $100 to get the ball rolling. Since then we have earned .19 in interest (yippie!). I also paid all of our bills for December and we had a pretty hefty chunk of change left over from our wedding gift money so on Sunday I sent another $600 to ING.

Today we received a check from our previous landlord for approximately half of our rent at the old place because we paid too much one month. That came out to $754.44 and I deposited that check today and transfered it over to ING right away. So that means right now in our emergency fund we have $1,454.63! We’re only $13,545.37 away from our goal of $15,000. Wow, that seems like alot. I know we will get there though, we just gotta keep pushing through. I am just happy we have finally opened up this account and started to contribute to it!

PS. If you would like a referal to ING DIRECT (they have tax free savings accounts, up to $5,000 a year!), please leave me a message with your email. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!

I think it’s safe to say that the weekend and I are not friends. Not one bit. Most people look forward to the weekend, they say TGIF!!!! I just slump down in my chair and say “aww crap”. I’m sure most people love the weekend because they work or go to school Monday-Friday so Saturday and Sunday are their free days. That makes sense, I get it, really. However, I work Monday-Sunday and from home. That’s right, 7 days a week. I also work 24 hours a week. Yes, even while I’m sleeping - don’t ask me how that works, it’s a dirty little secret.

I dread the weekend because it’s no different than Monday-Friday. Well, except for the fact that there is nothing on TV, no one is online and everyone is out having a life. Everyone except me.

Working from home is fantastic and I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but MAN is it boring. I have no routine, no structure and no self discipine to implement it. When I think real hard, I guess I do have somewhat of a routine. It goes a little something like this:

- wake up
- eat
- work for an hour, sometimes two
- write some fat burner reviews (just kidding)
- eat
- watch tv
- work for another hour or two
- eat
- watch tv
- work for another hour or two
- make dinner
- eat
- watch tv for most of the night

Yes, I do alot of eating (I’m growing a baby here!), watching tv and working on the computer. That means I do alot of SITTING. Damn, my back hurts. I’m surprised I’m not 500lbs. at this point. Mind you, I do get up and do things around the house if they need done. DH and I also go for a 30 minute walk almost every night.

I’m just sick of being BORED. I’m bored all the time. Even when I’m working I’m bored. My work is no longer fun. It’s tedious and I hate doing it, but it needs to be done. It will be great when baby is here so I have someone to get me out of bed in the morning. Someone to make me get up off my butt and feed them, bathe them, change their diaper. I just need an excuse to GET UP. I’m going nuts!

Let me start off by saying, I never do new years resolutions. This is not because I dislike the idea, but simply because I either a) forget or b) don’t feel like it. However, I have decided to do them this year except they are not really resolutions but more aspirations. Also, they are all focused on this website. Check out what I have in store for you fine folk:

More Posting!
It’s as simple as that. I’d love to say I will post every day, but I am much too lazy for that. If I can post 4-5 times per week I will be satisfied and hope you will be too. Heck, you never know, maybe I’ll go crazy and post more than that. You’ll just have to wait and see!

Cooking and Baking
I love doing both and would love to share some of my favourite recipes with you all. I already have a recipes page but I think I’d like to spice it up and update it more frequently.

Money/Budgeting/Deals/Etc.
I love money. I eat, drink and sleep it. I love to talk about it and I love to read about it. This is not because I am Scrooge and I believe money solves everything but money simply makes me happy. That’s all! I plan to write more posts on how I save, make and spend my money wisely (and sometimes not so wisely).

Organizing and Homemaking
I really enjoy organizing my home. It makes me giddy and sometimes I squeal a bit too loudly when I think of a fabulous organizing idea. I am always looking for ways to make every day tasks a little bit simpler and I’d like to pass on all of my ideas as well as other ideas that I steal from others (whoops, I mean borrow).

More Photos
I truely believe adding photos to a post is a huge pain in the butt but I also believe that it makes a post much more enjoyable. That being said, I’d like to start adding a photo to every post. However, like I mentioned - I’m lazy. So a photo may not get posted every SINGLE post. I politely ask that you do not freak out and threaten to beat me up. I’ll try harder next time, I promise.

So there you have it - mrsjanuary.com in 2009. Let’s see how long I can keep it up!

I’m worried that by posting that I’m feeling better, I am going to get sick again… but I’m better. So far, so good anyway. Today I went shopping for the first time in 3 weeks! I went with Erica and we went to Walmart which was brutal because we had a cranky old lady and then to Zellers where we had a nice old lady. All in all, I got some great deals. Check them out!

8x Kleenex @ .59 each = $4.72 - 4/$1.00 WUB 2 coupons = .72 (saved including coupons = approx. $7.20)
16x Shaving Gel @ $1.99 each = $31.84 - 16/$2.00 coupons = .16 (saved including coupons = $50.24)
5x Travel Tylenol @ $1.99 each = $9.95 - 4/$3.00 coupons = +$2.03 (saved = $12.00)
2x Jergens Hand Soap @ .69 each = $1.38 - 2/$1.00 coupons = +.62 (saved including coupons = approx. $5.56)
6x Travel Olay Lotion @ $1.57 each = $9.42 - 2/$10.00 coupons (rung in as $5.33 each) = FREE! (saved = $10.66)
2x Fusion Razors @ $8.99 each = $17.98 - 2/$10.00 coupons (rung in as $10.16 for some reason) = FREE! (saved = $20.32)
2x Toblerone @ .97 each = $1.94 - 2/$1.00 coupons = +.06 (saved = $2.00)
5x Tylenol @ $2.98 each = $14.90 - 5/$3.00 coupons = +.10 (saved = $15.00)
1x Meow Mix Wet Cat Food @ .57 - FREE coupon = FREE! (saved = .57)
Tax @ $12.05 - SPC card discount @ $3.20 = $8.85

Total Spent = $6.60
Total Saved = $123.55

I won’t need any diet pills with all the walking around we did today!

Sorry for the delay in posting. I have had a horrible headache and headcold for the last week and it’s finally just starting to go away now. The house is a mess, I haven’t showered in days and I am miserable. I can’t wait to be back to my old self again!

I have been eating alot lately as well because with my morning sickness, if I don’t eat every 2 hours, I start to feel sick and then throw up. Good times. So I’ve been eating alot lately which is such a pain in the ass because I don’t want to be some huge cow after I give birth. Maybe some diet supplements after the baby… hmm. Ugh, I just want to stop eating! Half of the time I’m not even hungry, I just have to eat something so I don’t vomit all over the place.

Somebody save me!

I am pretty much finished my Christmas shopping. I have been done for probably the last 3 or 4 months now. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I am giving gift baskets to everyone. I know everyone is going to love them because they are packed with things they use alot (soap, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, pain relievers, food items, cleaning items, etc.). Personally, I would love a gift like this! Well, maybe not one with the items I am putting in mine, but only because I have enough of that stuff as it is with all of my deal hunting - but I love gift baskets in general. Themed gift baskets are the best such as pet baskets with pet food, toys and maybe a blanket. Movie lovers baskets with some popcorn, pop, other snacks and a gift card to Blockbuster, a tea lover basket with a mug or 2 and a bunch of tea and maybe some cookies… I just love baskets! They are so much fun to make, usually very cheap and always go over well! I’m so excited to give out my baskets this year. Not only do I have baskets for everyone, but a gift bag full of stuff too (because it wouldn’t all fit in the basket!).

We’ve also decided to get our parents a little something extra, other than gift baskets so that is pretty much all we have left to do. My dad’s gift is done so we’re just brainstorming for my mom and my in-laws. I can’t wait to hand out all of our gifts - that’s my favourite part of this holiday! I love seeing the look on everyones’ faces! I also can’t wait to give them out because they are taking up so much room on my bookshelves downstairs. I may have to move them to the floor because I’m running out of room to put my stockpile items, which also keep flying into the house. Ahh, I love you coupons.

INCOME
Moi: $2185.03
DH: $2309.87
=$4494.90
+ Extra Income = $439.91 (selling things, etc.)
= $4934.81

EXPENSES
Rent = $995/$995
Groceries = $236.54/$150 (over $86.54)
Entertainment = $36.04/$25 (over $11.04)
Bank Fees = $12.95/$12.95
Hosting = $71.69/$65 (over $6.69)
Cable = $135/$135
DH Cellphone = $180.01/$50 (over $130.01)
Hydro = $50/$50 (haven’t got the bill yet, am assuming this amount)
House Oil = $288/$288
Car Payment = $288/$288
DH Car Payment = $300/$300
DH Car Insurance = $118.21/$118.21
Misc. = $227.84/$63 (over $162.84)
Taxes Accnt. for 2009 bill = $271/$271
Yearly Expenses Accnt. (dentist, haircuts, pet shots, etc.) = $288/$288
Car Gas = $113.73/$100 (over $13.73)
DH Networking = $12/$50 (under $32)
DH Dry Cleaning = $0/$25 (under $25)
DH Train Pass = $252/$252

Total Spent = $3591.01/$4534.81 (under $1343.80)
The extra money is going into our ING account. I have to wait for DH’s work cheque to clear (UGH!) and then I think we will be able to put a little over $2,000 into the account for this month (I’d have done it already if it weren’t for the stupid bank holding the funds)!

So November was a bad month, money wise. We went over on pretty much everything. Alot of it was for careless things, some of it was necessary. I’m just glad it’s over and we can start from scratch in December. How did you do this month?

I went over to Zellers today because I wanted to use my raincheck on dog food but of course they had every kind of dog food BUT the kind I needed. So instead I got this (I’ll have to go to another Zellers tomorrow for dog food):

- 2 Scotties Facial Tissue @ $1.29 each = $2.58 - 2/$1.50 coupons = +.42 (saved = $3.00)
- 1 Vlasic Pickles @ $3.49 - FREE coupon = FREE! (saved = $3.49)
- 3 Dove Hand Soap Refills @ .89 each = $2.67 - $2.50 off 2 coupon and $1.00 coupon = +.83 (saved including coupons = $12.20)
- 2 4ct. Tampax Pearl @ .69 each = $1.38 - 2/$1.00 coupons = +.62 (saved including coupons = approx. $3.60)
- 1 Trial Size Arm + Hammer Toothpaste @ .97 - $1.00 coupon = +.03 (saved = $1.00)
- Tax = .99

Total MADE: .92
Total Saved: $23.29

I made a trip to Walmart to use up some great coupons. Here’s what I got today:

- 4 Razors @ $10.59 each = $42.36 - 4/$10 coupons = $2.36 (saved = $40.00)
- 2 Trial Size Deodorant @ $1.27 each = $2.54 - $3.00 off 2 coupon = +.46 (saved = $3.00)
- 12 Trial Size Lotion @ $1.57 each = $18.84 - 4/$10 off 3 coupon = +$21.12 (saved = $40.00)
- 2 Chocolate Bars @ .92 each = $1.84 - 2/$1.00 coupons = +.16 (saved = $2.00)
- 5 Tylenol @ $2.98 each = $14.90 - 5/$3.00 coupons = +.10 (saved = $15.00)
- 1 Oral-B Power Toothbrush @ $7.88 - $10.00 coupon = +$1.12 (saved = $10.00)
- 5 Toblerone @ .97 each = $4.85 - 5/$1.00 coupons = +.15 (saved = $5.00)
- Tax = $12.12
- Send in for $20 Walmart gift card for buying $50 in Gillette and Olay

Total MADE: $28.63
Total Saved: $135.00

Yahoooooooooooo! I used that overage towards some printer paper we needed and a few grocery items. This is my best trip, all thanks to the coupon overage!

So it turns out that DH only gets paid once a MONTH. Today he got his first cheque and it is just over $100 more than we had anticipated so that is great! I’m going to update our budget to reflect this because he will be getting the same amount on each cheque he gets until he gets his bonuses.

Speaking of bonuses, by June or July of next year, he should get about $6,000 added to his salary. That’s an extra $500 every month we will be taking in! After taxes it will probably be around $350-$400 which is still great! Every little bit helps!

We’re still focused on building that emergency fund, especially now with a baby on the way. I’m so excited for the 30th to be here so I can transfer that bonus money over to our ING account. I can’t wait to see that account grow and grow!

I am still trying to find secure jobs to do for myself since what I’m earning just isn’t enough to make me happy. I’ve found a few odd jobs but they are just things that I can only do occassionally, thus not making much money. Maybe I can do photography… nah, I know someone who does that for a living and they said you make next to nothing, especially this time of year. Dang. Speaking of photography, would anyone like a SD card for the holidays? I know I would! I take alot of pictures, especially around holidays.

Day One:
- Tacos

Day Two:
- Cheesy Penne Pasta (click here for recipe)

Day Three:
- Chicken Fingers
- Twice Baked potatoes (click here for recipe)
- Baby Carrots

Day Four:
- Pork Chops
- Roasted Potatoes
- Baby Carrots

Day Five:
- Shepherds Pie

Day Six:
- Honey Mustard Chicken (click here for recipe)
- Mashed Potatoes
- Peas

Day Seven:
- Fried Rice (click here for recipe)