Mr Mojo and the Envelopes

Wow! Mr Mojo is well and truly back today. After doing my post yesterday I was itching to do something inky  but somehow I got sucked into online stuff and well, after that nothing happens. Then last night after the kids had gone to bed I ended up going out to visit a friend of mine and well, after that nothing happens! LOL. So this morning I packed Herself off to school on the bus and Weeself decided that she was happy playing on her own, so I decided to follow her example and headed to my desk. I had about 3 or 4 hours of complete (almost) uninterrupted bliss!!

Now, before I show you what I made I'd like to explain a little of the 'back story' to this item..... Our finances are currently a mess. I think most of you will know the feeling, especially as the pay cuts, inflation, higher taxes, higher fuel costs, and super-inflated grocery costs all hit our pockets. Added to that the fact that hubby hasn't had a pay rise in nearly 6 years, we're carrying two mortgages (long story!) and both cars seem to be determined to be as expensive possible at the moment we're definitely finding it hard going at the moment. Please tell me I'm not alone in this?? Does any of it sound familiar?

Well, I often read the Life as Mom blog and had seen her explain how they got out of debt using a modified form of the Envelope System. I took no notice as I figured this was a 'big American thing that couldn't possibly apply to us'. Then I saw (quite by accident) a video on YouTube on it, a book on Amazon about it and heard another friend talking about it. By that time I was sitting up and taking notice... and finally getting the message that maybe this idea was being presented to me over and over again for. a. reason. The final straw was when I was browsing on my mobile phone only to find an App for it!! So hubby and I have done a budget and labelled up some envelopes and we've been using the system for about 3 weeks now. And it SO WORKS!! Have a look at this video to see how this system works.

My only problem is.... it's not PRETTY. Yep, as a crafter I have to resist the urge to make it pretty. And today I completely failed on the resisting front!! Mr Mojo came back in full force and I went with the flow..... including cutting up an old pair of jeans. Not my usual way of working but I'm soooo pleased with the results....

 

So there it is... Mr Mojo's much-prettier-completely-craftyfied-envelope system. What do you think??

The Trouble With Holidays

The Trouble with Holidays.... is that you get nothing done. The kids are off and the sun is shining so you sit outdoors while they play with bubbles, bounce on trampolines and learn to ride a bike. OR . The kids are off and the rain is pouring so you sit indoors and watch movies, rubbish telly or them to make sure they don't get the paint/playdough all over the floor and walls. What you don't do is get anything done. All those things that were absolutely pressing before the holidays now get shelved in favour of doing nothing in particular with the kids all day. When your hubby gets home and asks 'so what did you all do today' the kids answer "nothing!" and you nod and say "well, I had to watch them didn't I?" Okay, so you still cook and tidy up... but that's not doing anything, that's just ticking over.... and so, the blog gets neglected and the crafting stuff gathers dust.

Well, after today that is all going to change. Because? Well, the holidays are over and the eldest one officially went off on the bus back to school to start Primary 2. She's grown up so much over the past year! I have a feeling that this year is going to fly by.

So, all those pressing things that needed doing before the holidays have all come rushing back to sit on my shoulders again. The thing is I know they're still there and that I need to do them, but just for today I'm going to tell them to go sit quietly in the corner while I blog a little and get back to my poor neglected desk. Ahhhhh, that's better! So here's my starting point.... I'm sure there will be quite a few proper projects on this desk fairly soon.

Until then I've got a list, on this piece of paper, of various challenge blogs that I might use to inspire me and get the mojo going again!

I'm looking forward to getting back into a regular posting schedule again, picking up routines again and getting stuff done again.... but just for today.... I'm going to pretend it's still the holidays! I might even get to hop around some of the other blogs on Julia's WOYWW just to see what everyone else has been up to. But first.... A Cup of Tea!