The Professional Domestic

2024 Goals Weeks 15-18 of 52

Lots of stuff going on the last four weeks! I feel like I am making good progress on my goals, although the big stuff is going a little slow.

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

I am putting all of these repairs and projects on hold for now because we need to concentrate on getting the credit cards paid off. Some of these we will work on ourselves when we have time.

Home projects done by us – Paint all trim in kitchen, re-paint upper kitchen cabinets, paint ceiling and walls in hallway, finish painting and put up picket pallet fencing, finish painting master bedroom and ~~hang mantle over bed~~, front porch stained or painted, new brick patio in the backyard.

I have been getting more info about how to install a small brick patio myself because I feel we can tackle that without professional help. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but I do want it to last. My husband and I have a difference in opinion on how to do it. We’ll see which opinion wins out.

We got over 400 bricks for free last year from a woman right in our town that just wanted to get rid of them. It took us two nights and two trailer loads but free is free, right?

Last Friday, I had our plow guy rototill the spot where we want to install the new patio, so hopefully, it will motivate us to get it finished.

Home projects done so far: Hang mantle over bed

Sewing projects – ~~Finish Joyce’s Rose~~, New curtains for kitchen window, new seat cover for kitchen chair, new curtain over cat’s window seat, Christmas tree skirt, finish winter and summer season x-stitch projects

I purchased the new patterns for both the seat cover for my kitchen chair and the curtain over the cat’s window seat. I also have made good progress on the Summer House in the series I started years ago from Brooke’s Publishing. I have already completed the Spring and Autumn houses, so this will be my third in this series.

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

I finished reading two books in the last 4 weeks.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles, by Agatha Christie. It’s her first novel in the Poirot series, and I really enjoyed it. I have shied away from reading Christie in the past because I was overwhelmed by the number of her characters, but I did well reading this work of hers.

I read this Agatha Christie book because it was included in the quarterly subscription box I get from the Literary Book Club.

This book subscription helps you read the classics and makes it enjoyable.

Every three months, subscribers receive a box with the classic book and wrapped goodies to be opened at designated pages. It’s a lot of fun! Here is the link to the subscription: https://www.theliterarybookclub.com/

I also finished reading “Witch is When Stuff Got Serious”, by Adele Abbott. I needed a palate cleanser after the Agatha Christie novel.

Books read so far in 2024:

1. “Not Quite Prince Charming” by Liz Talley

2. “Buttercups in the Basement” by Jane Harvey

3. “Searching for Sandra” by Jane Harvey

4. “Christmas at Hummingbird House” by Jane Harvey

5. “Perfectly Charming” by Liz Talley

6. “Home for Christmas” by Lloyd C. Douglas

7. “Witch Is When I Said Goodbye” by Adele Abbott

8. “The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur”

9. “God Never Blinks by Regina Brett”

10. “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, by Agatha Christie

11. “Witch is When Stuff Got Serious”, by Adele Abbott

That’s 11 books read. 19 to go.

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

Nada on this.

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

I have gotten quite a bit done on this goal! I picked a small amount of asparagus this morning as well as our first go at the rhubarb.

I replanted over 50 seedlings into their second home.

I planted peas and they are up, garlic is looking great.

I got the two new raised beds set in my new kitchen garden I just need to fill them and stone them in. I also want to brick in a raised bed up against the pallet fencing.

Don’t worry it will look great when I get it all filled in

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

I have been really bad at this of course. I did exercise this morning but I have been getting most of my exercise done in the garden.

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

I got 31 listings up in my Etsy shop in the last 4 weeks. One Saturday I spent four hours just photographing and all the rest of the weekend listing it all. I hope to have another weekend like that next weekend.

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

Nothing more on this one.

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

After Little League is done and I have my husband back I will work on this goal.

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 17 listings in the past few weeks! 96 down, 204 to go!

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

Our next thrift sale is June 8th!

Pay off one of the two credit cards.

There’s nothing new on this.

Welp, that’s it for now. I wish I could accomplish more but hey, what I have done so far is pretty great! Do you have a yearly goal list? Any major projects in the works for you this year? Do tell! -MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com

SAL-Project Summer House

I am so excited to start a new project! This chart is from Brooke’s Publishing and is called Summer House. I have already completed her Spring and Autumn houses and now for Summer House. Aren’t they sweet?

I had a heck of a time finding DMC 225, but after a 2 hour drive to Horseheads NY, I finally got a skein.

Here is where I left off this time with Summer House.

The way I am going, I’ll have this project done in no time!

Now off to see what the other ladies in the group are stitching! Links to their blogs below.

See you in three weeks!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon,

Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Cindy

2024 Goals Week 10-14 of 52

I have been busy the last month working on bakery orders and such and haven’t had the time to buckle down and work on projects but let’s see if I got much accomplished in the goal department.

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

The tree guy is coming over this week to look at all of the work that needs to be done in our yard so I can get an idea on timeline and cost. I’ll report back next week on this.

Home projects done by us – Paint all trim in kitchen, re-paint upper kitchen cabinets, paint ceiling and walls in hallway, finish painting and put up picket pallet fencing, finish painting master bedroom and hang mantle over bed, front porch stained or painted, new brick patio in the backyard.

Nothing done on this goal.

Sewing projects – Finish Joyce’s Rose, New curtains for kitchen window, new seat cover for kitchen chair, new curtain over cat’s window seat, Christmas tree skirt, finish winter and summer season x-stitch projects

Joyce’s Rose is complete!! It took me two years and 3 months to complete it but here she is!

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

I finished reading two books in the last few weeks. The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur, and God Never Blinks by Regina Brett. Very different books! The Sun and Her Flowers was a poetic work. I haven’t read poetry in years and I liked it.

Books read so far in 2024:

1. “Not Quite Prince Charming” by Liz Talley

2. “Buttercups in the Basement” by Jane Harvey

3. “Searching for Sandra” by Jane Harvey

4. “Christmas at Hummingbird House” by Jane Harvey

5. “Perfectly Charming” by Liz Talley

6. “Home for Christmas” by Lloyd C. Douglas

7. “Witch Is When I Said Goodbye” by Adele Abbott

8. The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

9. God Never Blinks by Regina Brett

That’s 9 books read. 21 to go.

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

Nothing really talked about yet for this one.

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

I started 7 different varieties of seeds:

Purple Red Rubin basil, Green Italian basil, Green cabbage, Big Beef tomatoes, jalapenos, bell peppers, and

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

I have been doing great with exercising. I have been doing my stretches and before I go to work in the morning I have been getting 1000 steps in before I sit at my desk. My goal each day is 5000 steps.

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

Well this goal is not going to get done by March 31st but I am still keeping it here because I need to keep going with it. I have gotten 14 more listings up officially but I have a ton more I have photographed that need their listings completed.

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

We explored the spots closest to us which were Warsaw and Mt. Morris. I really want to explore Arcade next.

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

Warmer weather for this goal.

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 31 listings in the past 4 weeks. 79 down, 221 to go!

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

Our next thrift sale is this weekend! We have been working so hard. My hubby, a friend and I helped clean a house out two weeks ago getting some wonderful new items for our sale and many individuals have continued to drop their items off directly to us. If you are local stop by!

Pay off one of the two credit cards.

Here is my last update:

Not Impressed with Our Debt

Not Impressed With Our Debt March 2024

That’s it this time! Nothing terribly excited going on in the Ripley household and with the excitement we have been dealing with lately I think that’s perfectly ok. How are you doing with your goals? – MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com

SAL-Project Joyce’s Rose #25 – Happy Dance

I am reporting a happy dance on Joyce’s Rose! After 2 years and 4 months I am considering this project finished 🙂 There are a few tweaks I need to make, but I need to move on to the next project. It’s certainly been a journey!

I am definitely going to work on something MUCH smaller for my next project.

Now I’ll see what the other ladies in the group are stitching. Join me, their projects are always so fun to see!

See you in three weeks!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon,

Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Cindy

Not Impressed With Our Debt March 2024

March was a struggle too but a whole lot better than February. I am excited to say for the first time in years we got an actual tax refund! All of this refund will be going to our credit card. Amazing!

In March I made payments of $1234.00 to this credit card, our total is now back down to $10,721.74.

Goal for April: We get the credit card back into the 9000s

Until next time -MM

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning 2024 Week 10-12 of 52

My apologies for getting so behind on posting! Nothing earth shattering just life I guess.

Three weeks ago I actually didn’t grocery shop. What I did do was buy dinner fixings for us on that Sunday because my father in-law ate with us and then I shopped for a dinner for 7 of us on the 14th to celebrate mine and a friend’s birthday. We got together and we provided the steaks, potatoes and birthday cake and they brought a fresh salad, drinks and charcuterie plate. Total spent that week was $77.17

Last week, I made up for not buying a lot the week before, spending $121.99. I splurged on a bag of frozen scallops for $17.99. Unfortunately, they were awful, and after cooking them, I threw them out…ugh what a waste, right?

Yesterday I spent $79.22 so back down to my normal. 5-lb bags of white potatoes were BOGO so $2.50/bag. Land O Lakes Butter was on sale for $3.50/lb, Strawberries were 2 for $7, and Perry’s ice cream was also BOGO. I didn’t get a ton of stuff in this shopping trip because I have a very full pantry and need to use some things up.

In the meal department we ate all sorts of stuff the last couple of weeks including:

Pineapple upside down cake, tacos, potato skins, spaghetti with meat sauce, breakfast for dinner, chicken Kiev, scalloped potatoes and ham, corned beef and cabbage, potato salad, steak dinner and fried chicken. I also pre-made breakfast egg bites and popped more of my favorite breakfast oat treats into the freezer for on-the-go mornings. Not too shabby!

On the menu for this week is a chuck roast, broccoli alfredo, oven roasted split chicken breasts and the rest I will wing.

Total spent on groceries so far in 2024 – $1,194.18

Question of the week: Have you ever had a parsnip? Any recipes for them?

Until next week- MM

SAL-Project Joyce’s Rose #24

It’s been six weeks since I gave a proper update on Joyce’s Rose. I did manage to get a few stitches in, but it is probably hard to see them.

Here is where I left off last update:

And here is where I am now.

Just the very center of the rose left. And I WILL be done my next update. I am so close!

See you in three weeks!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Jackie, Sunny, Megan,

Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Helen, MaryMargaret, Cindy

Not Impressed With Our Debt February 2024

I think February 2024 will go down as one of the worst months I have had in a really long time. So bad in fact that I started seeing a therapist again and that says a lot because I am a very strong person.

Included in our sh*tty month of February was the stress of wrapping up our Hyundai Sante Fe vehicle lease, which we turned into the dealership on December 12th. Yes, you read that right, December 12th. So why then, are we still talking about a lease in February that was done in December?

After surrendering the Sante Fe in December we received a letter (registered letter) from Hyundai stating that because we did not go for another lease with them (I went back to leasing a Subaru because I hated the Hyundai) we were being charged $400 and 3 out of the 4 tires were so balled that they were charging us $160 each for them and there was curb rash on one of the rims/hubcaps so more money for that. On top of that, we got another letter a few weeks after that initial letter that said we had gone over our mileage by 9000 miles. Wait a minute, what? I distinctly read in our lease (or at least I thought I read it) that we had 15,000 miles per year, and they were saying we had 12,000 miles per year. So I went to look for our original lease paperwork and guess what…COULDN’T FIND IT ANYWHERE. I was frantic at this point. I called my husband and he said he remembered seeing 15,000 miles too but had no idea what happened to the lease paperwork after he cleaned out the car to turn it in. So, without being able to look at the lease to see where our mistake was, there wasn’t much we could do. They emailed an original copy of it to us, and it clearly stated 12,000 miles per year.

Hyundai sent us a final bill after a full inspection of the vehicle and it was determined that we owed over $3000! What the heck, we didn’t have $3000 just sitting around. And get this, they wouldn’t take a credit card to pay that bill. And we had less than a month to come up with that money. I had just paid our property taxes and had zero extra money of that magnitude left to pay this bill.

For a couple of weeks, I just let it simmer. I thought maybe I could raise the money by selling extra online or baking more, but then my mother-in-law died, we had the funeral, the thrift sale at the church, I was in the middle of tax season at the town hall and my nerves were just shot.

So, how did I manage to pay that astronomical amount without a loan? Although I did use my credit card to pay this bill, I did not take a cash advance on it.

Let’s go back to my meltdown point. After I got multiple phone calls asking for that money, I called my credit card company and said I wanted convenience checks from them to pay this bill. The woman on the phone was super nice and said there was a better way I could pay Hyundai. She said a cash advance would be really high interest, which I knew, but I didn’t think I had a choice. She said to do a balance transfer instead. “I can do that?” I asked her. She said yes and walked me through the entire process while I was on the phone with her.

Getting that transfer completed wasn’t as easy as she said it would be though. First, that transfer request caused a fraud alert on my account and they called me believe it or not during my mother-in-law’s funeral, (which I did not answer of course) Second, because of the fraud alert they denied the transfer request. I had to redo the whole thing, and then they said it would take 17 days to get to Hyundai. I was fuming by then and completely beside myself.

As of today, March 6th, I finally got the confirmation that Hyundai had received our full payment. What a nightmare. Don’t even get me started about the DMV and the whole plate surrender thing, either. That’s a whole other blog post.

The only good part about all of this is that the $3000 is interest-free for 12 months. That is a relief!

So, once again more money had to be put back on the credit card. This again is my frustration. And what’s more frustrating is that no matter how much I try to pay a credit card down or off there is always something that happens that puts it right back on. I just don’t know how other people do it.

In February, I made a $783 payment to this credit card, but with the $3,140.79 put on the account this month, our total is now back up to $11,841.51. This will set my goal back by three or four months.

Goal for March: we win the lottery, lol.

Until next time -MM

P.S. no more car leases for this family. I am buying out my Subaru when the lease ends.

2024 Goals Week 9 of 52

Last week was a really good week! Not any real drama to speak of. Dad’s doing great in his new home. 🙂 Here is what I accomplished on my goal list.

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

Still have to get the new countertops and my guy is coming this week to measure again.

Home projects done by us – Paint all trim in kitchen, re-paint upper kitchen cabinets, paint ceiling and walls in hallway, finish painting and put up picket pallet fencing, finish painting master bedroom and hang mantle over bed, front porch stained or painted, new brick patio in the backyard.

Nothing done on this goal this week.

Didn’t feel like picking the needle up this past week.

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

No books finished this week but reading several at the moment. One is an interesting book of poetry.

Books read so far in 2024:

1. “Not Quite Prince Charming” by Liz Talley

2. “Buttercups in the Basement” by Jane Harvey

3. “Searching for Sandra” by Jane Harvey

4. “Christmas at Hummingbird House” by Jane Harvey

5. “Perfectly Charming” by Liz Talley

6. “Home for Christmas” by Lloyd C. Douglas

7. “Witch Is When I Said Goodbye” by Adele Abbott

That’s 7 books read. 23 to go.

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

We are talking about visiting NC in July but nothing firmed up yet.

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

I started digging in the garden! This week I am doing an inventory of my seeds.

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

I did core exercises 2x last week

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

I got 12 listings up in my Etsy shop this past week!

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

I might have to go alone for this one in order to get this goal knocked off my list.

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

Warmer weather for this goal.

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 5 listings this past week. 252 out of 300 to go!

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

Our next thrift sale is in April! (God willing)

Pay off one of the two credit cards.

Stay tuned for that update some time today.

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning 2024 Week 9 of 52

Week 8 was a great week in the food dept. because I cooked one time on Sunday and we pretty much ate it the rest of the week. Plus the boy even cooked one night for us. Yay!

Sunday it was warm enough to cook on the grill outside so we did a massive grilling session of burgers, hots, Italian sausage and chicken breast. During the week we made big salads, quesadillas, garbage plates, (that was for the boy and his friends) and just enjoyed having easy meals. The one night the boy made dinner he wanted chili and made it for the first time all himself. It was fantastic too!

I have been trying to eat more mindfully for breakfast. Typically I grab a bagel or a piece of toast and coffee and that’s it. Problem with that being half an hour later I am ready to chew my arm off, I am so hungry. I prefer a savory breakfast over a sweet breakfast. Sometimes I’ll even eat leftover stir-fry at 10:00 in the morning!

After researching savory breakfast ideas, I baked myself a loaf of black bread and 3 times last week I ate savory toast which consisted of eggs, cheese, spinach on top of the black bread toast. It was yum! I added a handful of red raspberries drizzled with honey for a side element and a cup of coffee and voila! Excellent breakfast.

Ok, so I forgot to take a pic of the savory toast, but this was yummy too!

I grocery shopped for this week on Sunday after church and spent $112.20. I had to buy a lot of expensive, once in a while items like A-1 steak sauce and Red Hot this week plus the coffee and Sahlen’s deli ham were each over $10. I didn’t get a pic of the butter, sour cream or can of whipped cream I bought but the rest is pictured below.

On the menu this week: I gave the “What’s for Dinner” list to the boy and asked him to pick out what he wanted for dinner this week. He wisely chose scalloped potatoes and ham, chicken Kiev and breakfast for dinner. We also have cheap steaks on the menu, big salads and probably a night or two of leftovers.

If you are curious about my “What’s for Dinner” list click here and check out that past blog post. There are 69 dinner ideas!

Total spent on groceries so far in 2024 – $915.80

Question of the week: what do you typically eat for breakfast?

Until next week- MM

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