No more paper towels!

One of my goals for 2016 is to reduce waste. My first "project" is to eliminate paper towels. We go through almost an entire roll of paper towels every single day. Even buying the cheaper DG Home brand, we spend close to $40 per month on p. towels. So, to reduce our waste and save some money, I am going to start using cloth/terry towels. I can get 100 (17 x 14 inch) terry cloth towels for $36, which will last for a long time! Where our paper towels sit, there will be a basket of clean towels and a special basket in the laundry room for the dirty towels. Any towels used for greasy spills,  etc will be presoaked before washing, of course. Less waste, less trash, and money saved. I will have to go cold turkey at first, Wish me luck. Reaching for the paper towels may prove to be a hard habit to break!

Crochet flower headbands!

My latest project:

Crochet headbands are now available for $6!! Many colors available!

This is the Year of Sue! I mean, Tonya!

I am not sure if anyone will understand the title of this post. You would have to be a fan of "The Middle" on NBC. Anyway....

I know, I know.

It's so cliche to make a New Year's Resolutions post, so I won't. Instead, I will make a "2016 Goals post", which is pretty much the exact same thing but whatever!

I will have to divide these up, because there are quite a few!

One of my goals is to take care of myself! I have multiple health issues that I have been neglecting. I have had "lady problems" for a couple years now. Like, almost have to go to the hospital kind of problems. I always tell myself that I will make an appointment, but I am full of excuses. I don't have an excuse anymore, because I was approved for financial assistance. I am one of the lucky people who seems to fall through the cracks. It would cost $250 extra every month (on top of what we already pay for the husband and kids) to insure just me. The insurance plans for state employees are terrible. Obamacare did nothing for me. The cheapest plan available on "the market" was something like $700 per month! Not so "affordable". I qualify for Medicaid, but Missouri opted not to expand the Medicaid program. So, I have been uninsured for many years. I did got to an ortho for my back and hip pain a couple months ago and all he did was want to send me to pain management. Nope. Not interested in having huge needles shoved in my body regularly. But thanks anyway. I have multiple bone spurs, degeneration of my spine, blah blah blah. As for my bilateral hip pain, he thinks it trochanteric bursitis and iliotibial band syndrome. The exercises he gave me didn't help much, if at all. So, I continue to live with daily pain.

I think I am going to try Yoga and see if my low back and hips can handle it.

I, also, need dental work done. Ugh. Dentists. *shudder*

This year I am really going to focus on me a little more, because I am no good to anyone if I am a mess.

Shark Hat!

Isn't this the cutest?! I will be testing this pattern out very soon! I will post an update when they will be available for purchase!

Like my page, "Tonya Day Crochet" on Facebook for more updates

smile emoticon

http://www.repeatcrafterme.com/…/crochet-shark-hat-pattern.…

Tedious Tonya

te·di·ous

ˈtēdēəs/

adjective

1.                              too long, slow, or dull: tiresome or monotonous.

"a tedious journey"

synonyms:

boring, dull, monotonous, repetitive, unrelieved, unvaried, uneventful

1.                               

I titled this post “Tedious Tonya”, because I sometimes feel like my life is very monotonous, very dull. Most of the time, I am totally fine with it, and I even like it. I’d much rather have a boring like than a life filled with drama. BUT, there are times where I wonder if I am really “living” life or I am just existing and going through the motions. I think the answer is….sometimes both are true. I sit and think about what I might feel like I am “missing out on”. I don’t really have much desire to travel, as I am a homebody. Are there any places I would love to go? If I had to pick a dream vacation, it would be to Ireland or Italy, but I don’t have a burning desire to make it happen or anything. I don’t want to go skydiving or go on any crazy adventures. I am totally happy curled up in bed, watching Netflix, and crocheting a scarf. I really think a lot of my issue is my chronic pain. I am in pain almost 24/7, and it really starts to wear you down mentally. It’s hard to find joy in life, when you have a cloud of pain, so to speak, hanging over your head. Most days I feel very “meh”. I can recall a time when I was funny, witty, and enjoyed life (even when it was tedious).

I’d like to find that Tonya again. 

Crochet neck warmers

This is what I do in my free time. Aren't they the cutest? :)

Hello, 2016!!

I’m really killing it at this blogging thing! I haven’t posted in for-ev-er (A few days shy of an entire year....yikes!)

I have the asbolute worst scatterbrain. I am pretty sure if I were to start losing my marbles in old age, no one would really notice much. (Disclaimer: I know, on a personal level, that Alzheimers is a terrible disease, and I am not making light of it.) Not to mention, my life really isn’t all that interesting.

Tomorrow is back-to-school day! I have mixed feeling about it. The kids were fairly well behaved, and I don’t recall thinking to myself at any point, “I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL VACATION IS OVER!!!” So, that’s a good thing. They are a lot older now, and they can pretty much entertain themselves. They did eat a butt load of food and run me ragged attempting to keep up with the housework, though. I like not having a set routine, even though I need one because of my scatterbrain.

The kids had a great Christmas and made out like bandits. I decided a couple years ago that I was no longer buying gifts for the kids. They all knew Santa wasn’t real and, quite frankly, I dreaded Christmas every year. Do you know how almost impossible it is to shop for 6 kids and try to keep everything equal and fair? I am pretty sure that’s where my grey wispies on my temples came from. So, now, the kids get cash, and they can buy whatever their hearts desire. Less stress. They are happy. I am happy, and we all live happily every after. (And I give them grief about all the useless crap they buy lol)

Let’s see, what has happened since my last post. Lots of laundry happened. My oldest daughter got her license then promptly wrecked her car (smh). She is fine! The car is banged up, but still gets her from point A to B. It is, apparently, totally embarassing to drive now. Sorry, kid. Live and learn.

Hmmmm…..

The husband got a promotion. He is now a Lieutenant and working at a women’s prison. After spending 13 years at a men’s prison, he said the biggest difference is that if there is a fight, the women love to tell everything they know. He said there could be 50 men who witness a fight, and “no one saw anything”. The women are totally the opposite.

We went to Six Flags. We went to the movies. We went ziplining. We went skating. We went swimming. A lot of regular stuff happened in between, but that’s pretty much all I can think of. 2015 wasn’t a bad year.

Well, I am outta here. I gotta wake up at 4 am. :(