2021 Goals - January Week 1

 1.  Pantry Challenge

I am happy to say we stayed home this week so I spent nothing on groceries.  I do need to pick up a couple of things next week but am determined to keep it as low as possible.  The pantry and freezers are still well stocked.

2.  Spending Freeze

Life happens....Sadie who is still in puppy phase had chewed up my inside tennis shoes.  After I broke my foot I took to wearing shoes all of the time.  I did without inside shoes for a few months, but I started to have major foot pain.  I ended up ordering some slip on Crocs for less than $20.  My feet are much happier.  Then the pump in our outside goldfish pond quit.  It keeps the water from freezing during the winter.  I opted for a slightly better model than our previous one also at less than $20.  For both of these items I do have emergency money set aside.

In the win column I ordered pet food from Chewy.  The prices were the same or lower than the big box store.  I was not at all tempted to order any unnecessary non-pet extras.

3.  Add Eight Items to My Etsy Shop

I added two items this week for Valentine's.

Weekend Book Reviews

 Varnished Without a Trace by Misty Simon is the fifth book in the Tallie Graver Mystery series.  Tallie is taking some time off from her cleaning business to enjoy the Christmas season with her boyfriend, Max.  She finds herself playing referee between her mother and grandmother though.  That leads to Tallie discovering the body of her Aunt Ronda and in the middle of another mystery.  The mystery is a bit on the lighter side, but I do like the series.  While not my favorite in the series, it is a good holiday themed mystery.

The fifth book in the Kebab Kitchen series by Tina Kashian is Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder.  Lucy is taking a morning off from Kebab Kitchen to take part in a Polar Bear Plunge along with many others from Ocean Crest.  When a fellow polar bear is murdered, Lucy finds herself in the midst of another mystery.  The problem this time is she is hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't want the man dead.  This is another of my favorite series.  This is a classic cozy with a fun female lead, mystery, and just a hint of romance.  It is a good, relaxing read.

A Case of Cat and Mouse by Sofie Kelly is the twelfth book in the Magical Cats Mystery series.  When I read the "magical cats" part, I felt certain I was not going to like the book.  I could not have been more wrong. Even though I have not read any other books in the series, I had no problem jumping right in with this book.  Librarian Kathleen is hired to help with research for a cooking competition.  After she discovers one of the judges dead, she finds herself doing investigation along with the research.  While the cats did have "magical powers", it was not the focus of the book and certainly not as out there as I feared.  This could easily become one of my favorite series!

disclosure:  I received these e-books through NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!

2021 Goals - January

 I decided that trying to do year long goals just did not work form me.  Instead I am going to with monthly goals.  I will pick 2-4 things I want to work on during the month.  Let's get right to January.

1.  Pantry Challenge - I am budgeting $30 for the entire month for grocery spending.  Our pantry and freezers are full.  I half jokingly told my husband that I was going to open the freezer and grab the first thing I saw.  The truth part is that I am doing that with our refrigerator freezers.  They are just a mess and are driving me crazy.  My ultimate goal is to use the kitchen refrigerator freezer for the current week's meals.  The pantry refrigerator freezer will be for leftovers and breads.  Our main freezer in the laundry room will be for stocking up and larger stuff.

2.  Spending Freeze - If we can do without it, we will.  I do have money set aside for some purchases such as garden seeds.  Of course bills, pet foods, etc will be allowed.  I just want to cut out any extra purchases.  I started out by skipping my Amazon Subscribe and Save this month.  Nothing on there was a true need so I saved a bit to start off.

3.  Add Eight Items to My Etsy Shop - My Etsy shop did well this past year so I want to expand it a bit with new items. 

Are you setting any goals for the year?  I would love to hear from you so I can cheer you on.  Let's make 2021 awesome!!