200th Entry...

Alright, yay for 200 entries.. Boo for not having posted an entry since July..

And honestly, I'm not sure where this entry is going to go..  So please bear with me..

I am coming up to my 32nd birthday..  Some people make New Year's Resolutions in January.. I make mine every November..

This past year, I've been feeling more and more like I am in the wrong place..  I keep trying to make things "stick" here, like a relationship, or other life choices, and they just don't..  Yes, I may self-sabotage a little every now and then, but I am starting to wonder if this is part of the universes way of telling me I'm meant to do something different, or be SOMEWHERE different..

My mind is so conflicted right now.. 

I've not been following my heart, but with my ADD, that's sometimes a good thing..

I think for my 32nd year, I'm going to focus on myself again, but this time for a totally different reason.. 

My main 2 goals for my 32nd year??

Competing in a figure competition, and 
getting everything in place to have a baby on my own for my 33rd year!!

There are several "sub-goals" to each of these, of course..  I can't be the only one who wants to try to get all their ducks in a row (or as much as possible) before embarking on such huge projects, right!?

So my November goal is to work on a budget and stick to it.. November is a NO SPEND NOVEMBER!!

No Spend November, for me, is:

* Budget out paycheck to ZERO

* Any birthday money is okay to blow

* Any outside income (Doll Baby Threadz income, eBay 

sales, etc) is to be budgeted

* Make at least $200 from outside income

For those that don't follow me on Instagram (what is WRONG with you?!?!), I am taking the next step in my WLS journey and getting a tummy tuck done on the 12th of November.. I will have kept my weight off for over 3 years at that point, so I figure I deserve to get rid of the excess skin..  And to see the abs I know are under there.. :)

So November will be all about recuperating, planning, and working from home.. No workouts (WHAT?!?!?), no full time job (YAY!!!) and no excuses to fail in December when I'm okayed to go back to the gym..  32 will be my year to make more of my dreams come true..

So be sure to stay tuned..

Well, geez..

I always wanted to turn this blog into a place people could come and learn something from.. Whether it be about ADD, life after VSG, or dating after 30 in a small town.. 

And yet, I can't seem to keep up with life AND blogging.. It always slips my mind.. Even though I have time, I just don't remember that this is here.. 

So, my promise to myself (and anyone who still reads this thing) is that I will make more of an effort.. Life is about to get interesting, as I have a huge project I'm about to undertake, and I can't wait to share it with you all.. 

Until I announce that, which will probably be next week, here is my plan:

* Money Monday's (money 'advice' I've found on the Internet, updates on my savings/bills, etc)..

* Tasty Tuesday's (meal prep, recipes I've loved/hated, etc)..

* Freeforall Friday's (whatever I get requests for, whatever I'm working on craft-wise, etc).. 

Hope y'all will tune in and see what I have in store for you all.. I'm really excited.. 😃

January Wrap Up.. Just a Little Late..

Well, it's official.. This month went by WAY too fast..

Honestly, it feels like it was just Thanksgiving, doesn't it?!

Well, January has been a month that has been super busy, as you can tell by my lack of posts..  Sorry, if anyone has even noticed.. lol.. I've been reluctant to post while at work, because the tattle tales are always watching (I thought we were all adults here, but I guess I was wrong), so I can only post when I'm home..  Which hasn't been very often, honestly..

Work has been crazy, as you can see by my schedule below.. And sadly, it will not be getting any more sane in the coming months, as the other CNA on night shift has decided to leave.. Eh, good riddance.. More money for me..



Something exciting in my world right now is that I have decided to sell my doll clothes on Etsy!!  While it is a slow process, again because of the tattle tales at work making it impossible to sew on my breaks, I am excited to get more clothes made and start selling them.. I did have my first "official" custom order for a co-worker, and that is being delivered Tuesday.. Yippee!!

January, for me, was supposed to be a month to work a lot and pay off collection bills.. Well, I didn't really think about how much money I'd have to put into fabric for my clothes and such.. And me being me, I may have gotten a LOT of fabric for future projects..  What can I say, old habits die hard.. VERY HARD.. lol.. So while I did pay all of my current bills, plus some extra on my car payment, I did not get any old bills paid off..

February, however, is going to be a month about saving money..  I was going to make it a no spend month, but with my tax check coming, and my trip to VA at the end of the month, I know that will never stick.. And I'm trying to improve my consistency this year..  So, I've got everything budgeted for this month, and my goal for the month is to get 1/2 of a month's worth of bills put away in savings, if not a full month..

Here's my budget:

Tax time is always a favorite time of mine.. This year, thanks to an increase in income, I'm getting back a little extra than last year.. The plan??  To put $1,000 of it towards my car, to pay $436 to pay my car insurance in full (I've never done that before.. Eep!!), take $1,000 with me to VA, and the rest will go into savings for my trip to Nashville in March..  Sounds like a good plan, huh??  Let's hope I can stick with it.. Again, consistency..

New Venture for 2015..

With all my talk about making and saving money in 2015, I knew I'd need to do something other than work my job to make this happen.. 

This Christmas, I made some 18" doll clothes for a co-worker.. Posted them on FB, and got a couple people asking me how much they cost and if they could get some.. 

This gave me an idea.. I'll sell doll clothes on Etsy!! After looking on Etsy, I noticed a lot of options but I think I could do well with this.. Of course, I plan to make a lot of inventory first, but will also plan to do custom orders (eventually)..

I realize I'm just starting out with making these, and I don't have the special machines that will make these look 'professional' but I have no doubt I will love making these AND make a little money.. Plus, it'll help me get rid of my fabric stash (which has gotten a little out of control.. Hehe).. 

So, 2015 will be the start of Sew Special by Sarah.. Wish me luck!!

My Wish To You..

... Is for the end of 2014 to be filled with fun, laughter and lots of love..

And for 2015 to be all you wish it to be.. 

I hope you have a very fabulous holiday (whichever you may celebrate) and let's make 2015 better than 2014.. 

December is Almost Gone..

Where did the month go??

Hell, where did 2014 go?!?!

This month has been pretty good to me.. I've seen a lot of friends, had a lot of fun, and ate a lot of good foods..

Saw my ex roomie, and did a fun event called #selfiewithsanta.. I never thought I'd get to the point where I could be in big crowds of talking strangers again.. My anxiety used to be that bad.. But it was a lot of fun.. Except when we had to bike 12 blocks on the Thirsty Pedaler to get to Santa.. THAT was a workout.. Lmao, how drunk people do that, I'll never know..

Saw one of my besties and went to a flea market.. Sadly, she has UC so our trip was cut short.. But we are making plans for Tuesday to go see the Lights Under Louisville.. Yay!!

Had our family Christmas get together today.. I sadly woke up late (and had to work tonight) so I only stayed a little over an hour, but it was fun and good food was eaten.. Yum yum yum..

I will be posting some of my Pinterest projects after Christmas.. I'm currently working on two Frozen pajama sets for 18" dolls.. Which is part of my possible project I'm thinking about.. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!

Starting early..

So, my 2015 goals are generally focused on money.. This will be the year I get my ass in gear and pay off bills (including my car).. 

BUT, it's not just about paying off bills.. It's also about saving money for now (I'd love to have my $1,000 'emergency fund' finished by the end of 2015), AND saving for retirement.. 

Last year, on my 30th birthday, I started putting in $15/paycheck into a 403b account.. My job, thankfully, will match 1/2 of your contribution (up to 4% of your salary).. I found this last part out (the 4% part) just recently, so I decided to up my contribution to 2% of my paycheck.. And will continue to up it each year by 1% more.. In most cases, my contribution should be around $25-30/paycheck.. 

If you have the option, at your job, to contribute to some kind of retirement plan, please take advantage of it.. I'm barely making ends meet some paychecks, but I make sure to keep that going in.. Because while it may be hard now, I can work more.. If I end up 80 and broke, I can't get work too easily..

Also, this paycheck is when my auto deposit starts in my savings account.. It's at a bank that I can't physically touch, and has a decent interest rate (.75% APY).. Plus, some of the money I make on the side too..

This paycheck was interesting, as it has all my changes on it, PLUS I had 24 hours of overtime on it.. So, this made my 2% contribution to my 403(b) $59.. Lmao.. Oops, forgot about that part.. Eh, can't hurt me.. 

Got Christmas paid for, and got some ideas to bring in extra income (will talk about that once I get it rolling, since I'm the queen of false starts).. Now, onto working a bunch and starting off 2015 on the right foot (my first paycheck of the new year falls on the 1st)..