The Professional Domestic

Days 4-8 without Facebook

Busy is an understatement if I needed to accurately describe the last four days without social media.

Things I got accomplished on Wednesday without thinking about social media:

I worked a normal day at the Town office.

Dinner was leftovers for me because the Hubs was golfing after work.

I got to work after dinner, getting two batches of peach jam made, and after cleaning that all up, I got two half sheets baked for the weekend’s orders.

Things I got accomplished on Thursday:

Thursday was an interesting day at the Town, I know it wasn’t a full moon, but boy people were whacky that day. Neighbors were fighting with each other. One was throwing stuff in a hedgerow, one swore her neighbor’s new fence was an inch higher than 6 feet, and wanted code enforcement to do something about it. One old woman we had never seen before came in and asked where the deli went, and we told her it hadn’t moved yet and it was still up the street… she started arguing that we were wrong. Whatever, right? Sheesh!

After such an aggravating day, we took the ’57 over to the Charcoal Corral about 25 minutes from us and had dinner. The Corral is a local treasure with two drive-in movie screens, mini golf, fine dining, pizza, ice cream, and arcade. We know the owner and he sat and chatted with us until we got our food.

It was a beautuful night for a drive, good food and good friends.

Things I got accomplished on Friday:

Friday started off awful, and it never got better.

I got up early to get a cake done for the grade school and over to them by 7:45 but one of my cat’s started acting really distressed. I thought he had something caught in his mouth but quickly realized he had an abscessed tooth. Everything snowballed after that. Call to the vet, cake done and to the school, made the cat as comfortable as possible until his appt., alone at the clerks office because the clerk had a funeral, ran home on lunch to check on cat, back to work, left at 2:30 to wrangled sick cat into carrier which is never fun, cat to vet, pulled tooth, antibiotic shot, rabies shot (it was due) in and out in 20 minutes, cat deposited back home, me back to work until end of day at 4:30.

Then, when I got home, I had to make cookies for my son, who asked me to bake cookies for his friend’s birthday party, which he had asked me for weeks ago.

We ate leftover pizza and wings for dinner.

Then I told Hubs let’s get some fresh air and go for a walk. He said absolutely! We both needed it!

What a Friday!

What I got accomplished on Saturday:

Yesterday was still a nightmare with the cat. He was drooling and hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink since Friday morning. Poor guy! I called a vet tech friend and she gave me some advice. Pretty much this was all normal but boy was I worried about him.

I also had 3 more cakes to do, and this weekend was just not my friend. What should have taken me just the morning took me all day.

After one order was picked up, I headed to the grocery store because the one day sale was too good to miss. $2.99/lb butter and eggs $2.50/ doz?? Yes, please!

By the end of yesterday, we were so frustrated and tired that we went to bed by 9:30. Ugh.

What I got accomplished today (Sunday)

Today was a better day. Kitty still looks awful, but he took some licks of water and a few licks of food. I tried to clean his neck fur but it’s so matted. He let me touch him, which is a good sign.

I finished the cakes that I started yesterday and delivered one before church and one after church.

We grilled steak and chicken on the BBQ, ate outside, I finished my book, stitched for of Lavendar Girl, cleaned up the kitchen, and went for a walk after dinner. We even stopped and said hi to my mom on the way back from the walk.

I am pretty sure I am glad this week is over. Actually, I absolutely positive it’s over!

Ok, so this week, I did not go on Facebook except to post the live feed for my church, and I checked my messages on Messenger. I did look at a few accounts on Instagram that I really like, and that brought me joy but did not waste my time going down any rabbit holes.

Should I keep posting on what I have done on a daily basis without social media doomscrolling? I wish I could get off completely but I do use social media for my two businesses and the organizations I am the administrator for.

Sorry for the REALLY long post!

-MM

“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” -Dalai Lama

Day 3 without Facebook

I haven’t scrolled mindlessly in 3 days!

Things I got accomplished on Tuesday without thinking about social media:

I slept in until 7:15 because I was up till after midnight, not because I was scrolling obviously but because my peri-menopausal brain wouldn’t let me fall asleep….sigh.

I got my first post written about not being on Facebook done before I went to work.

I worked my typical work day at the Town.

Dinner was a sandwich for him and a salad for me. (We are getting sick of the ham)

Ran to the store, then to my planning board meeting (I am the recording secretary). We had a land separation and two variances to get through.

When I got home, I got 4 quarts of beans in the pressure canner, which I had prepped for before I went to the meeting. After those were done and waiting to come out of the canner, I got 7 pints of the peach syrup in the water bath canner. In between all of this, I got 6 bunches of herbs hung up to dry and had Dancing with the Stars on in the background.

By 10:45 I was done for the night and I dropped into bed.

If I had been on social media scrolling, I would not have accomplished all of this!

More to come tomorrow! I am definitely on a roll!

-MM

Peace is letting it be. Letting life flow, letting emotions flow through you.

–Kamal Ravikant

Day 1 and 2 without Facebook

“Let’s just stay off of Facebook for a bit,” this is what I told myself on Saturday after the week’s events.

We need to post less on Social Media and start mowing our lawns. Am I right??

Things I got accomplished on Sunday without thinking about social media:

-Went to Sunday School, Church and we had a coffee hour after. I stayed and chatted without rushing to leave.

-When I got home, I baked 2 pizza bread and a raisin bread and dropped one pizza bread to a friend, and chatted a bit.

-Made a ham, mashed potatoes and beans for dinner, had the kid come over and eat with us too. Speaking of beans I picked all of the beans from the garden and boy were some of them tasty right then for dinner!

-Mom stopped by and I gave her two bags of beans and a container of cookies to share with her friend for her dinner.

-I got to work getting 8 lbs of peaches juiced for peach syrup and got the rest of the beans trimmed and cut for canning.

-We ran the dishwasher 3 times!

-Did my 3-week SAL update with the girls and stitched some more on Lavender Girl.

-Folded and put away the laundry.

-Listened to 30% of my current book while working in the kitchen.

-Relaxed and watched the Bills game and the Chiefs game with the hubs in between it all.

Sunday, I got so much accomplished and felt so much better mentally that I carried it into Monday!

Things I got accomplished on Monday without Social Media:

-Baked 2 dozen scones and a peach crumb pie for an order before I went to work.

-Worked a typical Monday at the office.

-Walked with the hubs after work and while walking we dropped a deposit at the bank, turned in a lottery ticket at the gas station and went to the library and relaxed for a bit. I picked out a couple of books to bring home.

I figure I can just double these recipes for 2!

-We ate an easy dinner, relaxed and watched football again as I stitched more on Lavender Girl.

-Worked on bills and finances. Our new system has been working the last 3 weeks! More on that later.

I love being off of social media so much that I am going to keep going without it to see how much I can get done.

I’ll post again!

-MM

The life of inner peace, being harmonious and without stress, is the easiest type of existence.

–Norman Vincent Peale

SAL-Girl in Lavendar Field 7

Happy Sunday to everyone! It’s time for our three week update!

Here’s the before:

And here’s the after.

I got a ton stitched these last three weeks!

That’s it for me this update. Time to blog hop the other stitchers in our group!

Thank you, Avis, for organizing this Stitch-a-Long. Please visit the other blogs to see what other fabulous stitchy projects they are stitching. We are all working on different pieces!

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

SAL-Girl in Lavendar Field 6

Happy Sunday to everyone! It’s time for our three week update!

Here’s the before:

And here’s the after.

I stitched a little bit in all the places, her skirt, the right side of the lavendar, the left of her skirt, her right arm is about finished, and more on the sky.

That’s it for me this update. Time to blog hop the other stitchers in our group!

Thank you, Avis, for organizing this Stitch-a-Long. Please visit the other blogs to see what other fabulous stitchy projects they are stitching. We are all working on different pieces!

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

SAL-Girl in Lavendar Field 5

I didn’t get a ton done in the last 3 weeks on this project, unfortunately.

Here’s where I was last update:

And here I am now.

I stitched more on her right arm, and I stitched to the very top of the project.

I did get an old project finished, though! Remember the seat cover I stitched for my desk chair? Well, I agreed with Avis when she said it was too nice to sit on, so I quilted it (first time ever for that), and although I am not sure if I am going to hang it or use it on a table I am pretty darn proud of myself!

Thank you, Avis, for organizing this Stitch-a-Long. Please visit the other blogs to see what other fabulous stitchy projects they are stitching. We are all working on different pieces!

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Not Impressed With Our Debt – Still working on It

I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since my last official Not Impressed post.

Paying off our debt is still a struggle and sometimes I just want to give up but we have to keep at it right?

In March I came home on a Sunday after church and sat at the computer and something just gave way inside my brain. I needed to make a big move with our debt. I got on line with my credit card company and applied for a credit increase and the response was immediate. Seriously, it was!

I now had enough credit to transfer my husband’s credit card balance to my credit card. Whoa…that doesn’t sound like the greatest idea MM. I’ll admit, I have been contemplating this move for a while but when I came home that day I had had enough of fearing it. If you want results sometimes you have to make a bold move and accept the risk.

I then called my credit card company and asked the very nice woman to help me with transferring $10,000 from my husband’s credit card to mine. She said no problem she would get the process started but first he needed to put my name on his credit card account. She set everything up and she said once my name was added to his account the process of the balance transfer would happen automatically. The rate of interest would be 0% through February 2026.

I told my husband what I had done. He looked a bit concerned but he got on the phone with his CC company and added my name to his account. It took about one extra billing cycle to go through but in the end his balance was transferred to mine and I added his name to my account also.

His rate of interest was 28% and only once did they have a promotional lowering of interest. Mine on the other hand would lower the rate of interest significantly IF you called and asked. I did that also this time.

Here is the breakdown on this:

$10,000 was transferred from his to mine
I finished paying his by making one last small payment of about $130
His interest rate was 28%
After asking for a better rate mine is now 15.99% for 6 months
We were paying over $250 per month just in interest on my husband’s card!
We are now only paying about $60 a month for the balance I had on the card and zero interest on the $10,000 I transferred from his.
Doing this balance transfer and asking for a lower interest rate has saved us about $300/month!

To date I have made three $1000 payments to our combined credit card balance. It currently stands at $12,781 from $15,500.

Keep moving forward even when you have to take a step back to see your progress. Don’t give up!

Until next time -MM

SAL-Girl in Lavendar Field 4

This time around, I started working on the horizon line. I am pretty sure this project will fit perfectly in this frame without having to move it, which is a bonus!

Here’s where I was last update:

And here I am now.

I also did a few stitches on the skirt and on the lavendar.

Thank you, Avis, for organizing this Stitch-a-Long. Please visit the other blogs to see what other fabulous stitchy projects they are stitching. We are all working on different pieces!

Avis, Claire, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie,

Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

2025 Goals Update

My BFF reminded me at our campfire on the 4th that I hadn’t done a goals update in a while. Here’s where I am at in the goals department.

Home Repairs Professionally Done -New back door and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

We got a new back door installed last week! So happy!

We went from a 50+ year old door and aluminum screen door to a brand new solid fiberglass entry door with full glass storm. Although it’s darker in the entryway when the solid door is closed the light when the door is open and it’s just the full glass/screen door open …amazing! This winter when the snow and wind are beating on that back entry we will be nice and toasty inside I tell ya. Plus I feel more secure. Our home could have easily been compromised with just one good punch of the glass. I did keep the wooden door. Not sure what I am going to do with it yet but we’ll see.

Home Projects Done By Us – Paint everything in the kitchen and revamp some of said kitchen.

Well I bought the paint! That’s about it though. I have been too busy messing up the kitchen with all of these cakes.

Learn to Sew DONE!

I took another sewing class for pillows but it was a bit of a bust. I was stressed out before I got there and right before I reached the store I caught a train and it stopped right in the middle of the tracks so I had to go around and I got there 10 mins late…the zipper gave me issues and I didn’t like the teacher as much so I went home a little frustrated. It’s OK though, I experimented with stuff on my own and made another “bag” with no straps. I practiced quilting with some random fabric I had and made a liner and boxed the corners and did a decorative stitch around the top. I was very impressed with myself and my new found sewing skills! Now I keep all of my current cross-stitch supplies in it by my living room chair. Love it!

If you are local and would like more info on sewing classes, contact Sew Creative in Fairport. They offer a ton of great classes. Tell them I sent you!

Add my husband to all of our household bills and finally change my name to my new married name instead of my old married name (it’s only been 15 years lol) DONE!

All three have been changed and I feel much better.

Try 10 of my Granny’s recipes from her stash

Still haven’t done anything yet.

Go to three cultured events this year like a concert, play, musical, etc

So far, just one event done. An afternoon with Cary Elwes and watching the Princess Bride at UB

Wear all 18 dresses I have at least once this year

I wore a dress for Easter, a dress for a funeral, and a dress for Mother’s Day so far.

Three down 15 to go!

Get my mom and son moved into their new homes and re-arrange our own home now that the kid will be on his own

Done with the kid and mom move. Still have to finish getting a couple of couches out of our house and over to the kid’s house but we did start to re-arrange our house. My husband finally has his own closet! I’ll post photos when everything is more complete.

Everyone is settled in. It was hell moving the two of them and I had to go back to therapy for it but it’s done!

Try 10 recipes off the internet

Nothing more on this.

Do some continuing education for cake decorating technique for myself

Still working on this.

Pay off $10,000 in credit card debt

I want to do a post on this, this week. Lots has been going on behind the scenes with this goal.

Get that fruit garden installed this year that I wanted last year

Well I have the ground ready but I still haven’t gotten the plants yet.

Watch Masterclass

I canceled Masterclass. I didn’t want to pay the $100+ subscription fee again this year!

That’s it for now. I am just so happy to have that back door done! Yippee!

Until next update! -MM

Construction of a Sunshine Cake

I posted a photo of the sunshine cake I decorated for an order this Spring but I never posted about it’s construction.

I made this cake with a 12″ flower shaped cake pan. To feed the number of people needed, I did a double layer of this shape, and it was half chocolate and half white,

The filling between the layers was just the buttercream frosting

Here’s the cake frosted.

Piping the center circle, the right size is key for balancing the size of the petals. If I ever needed a sunny side up egg cake, this would be it! Lol!

Each petal was started at the very top and center of each rise and piped wider and wider until I reached the center circle.

Then I piped the smile of the sunshine and outlined each petal in black frosting. Then for an extra decorative element, I piped a few more lines for rays of sunshine.