Into February

Where did January go?? I can't believe that we've rolled right into February already. Reflecting back on January, I am ecstatic with my frugal spending, and the ability to pay and extra $300 towards my car. This month is going just as well. However, I confess that I have done some "bad" (but necessary!) things:

First of all....earlier this week, I went to the fabric store and spent $145 on fabric! Not only did I spend $145, but it was on my (gasp!) credit card!

But, I think I've got the justification for doing it: on Monday I got a call, out of the blue, from a girl who wanted to buy cloth diapers. Well, as you may know, I used to make cloth diapers (back when Kwabena used diapers, really). I had planned to start a real business making cloth diapers, but after realizing how little they cost and how loonnnggg they take to make, it just didn't seem cost-effective. In any event, I started a business called Mellow Joe. (Check out my site: www.MellowJoe.com). I soon started focusing on baby carriers, and sold a few. I didn't do any heavy marketing; I sold to a friend, and to a guy who saw one out on the street one day and liked it.

So I get this call from a girl in Northern VA., looking for local cloth diapers. She did a Google search and found my website! After some discussion, I told her that I primarily work on carriers; she said she was interested. I had some fabric selections, but not enough, so I headed to the fabric store where they were having a fabulous sale. I swooped up enough cards to make probably 6 carriers maybe?? Oh, and some lining fabric.

I'm ready to go!

This weekend I will get started on her carrier, with the goal of completing it by Sunday evening. It's so exciting!

I find it amazing how much I really want to focus on Mellow Joe this year, and--VIOLA!--out of the blue a customer calls and is interested :) That's a good time, and I'm feeling very motivated.

So as you can see....spending that $145 was a necessary expense. Did I have to put it on credit? Ahhh...maybe. But, I will pay off this weekend.

Another thing I did that I felt "terrible" (but justified) doing this week was going to Trader Joe's and spending money on groceries with my debit card. I have this CASH ONLY policy, and I should have planned better, to make sure I had cash in my pocket before going to the store. Anyhow, not really a biggie; we really needed fresh fruit and something to prepare for dinner! But, next time, I will plan ahead to have cash. Credit cards are EVIL. They allow you to spend way more than you ever would with cash.

It IS February and I STILL haven't taken the initiative to do a will, and durable power of attorney, etc. Why in the world am I procrastinating on this?? It's an absolute MUST. I will have it drafted by the end of this month. PROMISE.

I've also adopted a new goal; a new project. I'm using a site (www.Blurb.com) to import all of my blog posts from Kwabena's site into a book. I had planned to copy and paste all my blog posts into my journal, anyhow. But, I like the idea of a book. I will have to pair it down, because I'm already up to 400 pages. HA! I also would like to get all my journals (since the age of 15) into electronic format and create a hard-cover book. Not that my life is so interesting...but I like having something tangible that documents my life and thoughts and experiences! Something to pass on to Kwabena (should he ever be so interested, LOL).