ZoeGirls Five Year Challenge

When I got home today I had a free 3 stick sample pack of licorice in the post as well as a $10 supermarket voucher from surverys!! :beer: Great way to end the working week. Also, just checked and a book I claimed via doing reviews on an online book site has just shipped my free book which I choose for my sons bday present!!

Edited to say: That makes me sound a little cheap, he is not just getting the free book, I won $250 worth of Transformers last year, and gave him some for xmas but there are still 3 left plus an assortment of bits and bobs in the present cupboard for him.

:T :T :T

Thanks, will check it out.

Have been making very good progress with the goals above

Including about 40 crochet squares in the first week of the school holidays, was just churning them out, am getting quite excited about this and might post a pic of it soon so people can see my progress, now that I have enough to make part of a blanket I can finally see the end in site!!

Have been going well with the selling too, and the bonus side of that is cleaning things out of my room! I am always surprised by what sells...

Have overspent on my sanity allowance (personal spending) and food shopping during the holidays so have to scrape together a bit more during the next two weeks until I have caught up.

Am going to set myself a food based challenge and come up with a weeks menu with meals that my son will like and try and have it within a set budget. He eats so much these days I am investigating more cheap puddings too!!

:rotfl:Next thing I wanted to say was the amazing (or weird ) things one can make out of a pair of old black pants, pref the stretchy kind for the headband, but try it with others?

First, cut the band of each leg, cut about finger length, then hem the rough ends over on the sewing machine in stretch stitch so it won't undo easily. Easy black headbands! Works great for me anyway, probably best for bootcut pants as opposed to tapered ends which would be far too small. If you don't want to sew em, just be lazy, cut a straight line and then wear that part at the back, no one will notice. Made one the other day and I love it.

Now, with one of the legs, cut it across at the upper thigh somewhere. Measure first to see how wide your doorways are and cut them to this length. Don't need to have black pants for this, use any pants. Not cut the leg up the middle (unless you are skinny in which case, yours are probably small enough hehe) so you have two draught stoppers. Use sewing machine (or stapler or glue etc) to make a tube. If you have no idea how to approach this, then lay the leg inside out, so you can see the seam. Now keeping it inside out, fold the two edges together, putting the 'good' sides together, then secure. Now turn in the right way, it will be a tube and you won't be able to see seems. Stuff with what have you, some fabric scraps, old clothes, rags, etc. A few stones helps weight it down, so add a few of em in there too.

Next, with the other leg cut it off in a similar place. Now cut across into inch wide strips approximately. There is a method http://www.craftstylish.com/item/39345/how-to-crochet-a-rug-out-of-t-shirts for making a great rug out of t-shirts that I am making out of a mix of tshirts and old pants, or cut the pant leg into long strips and use for garden use, eg, tying off plants etc. Or if all else fails, for stuffing the draught stoppers above.

Lastly, the top part is left. Cut through the crutch part, pull it on over your clothes and laugh at your "mini skirt". After doing that, cut straight across bottom to flattern it out, now sew straight along and you have a bag with pockets, just add a cord or something. You could also make a strange looking cushion, stuffing with what have you. Or just use this as scrap material for stuffing, cutting into smallish pieces? Or, if you want to toss this part, take off the button and the zip...to hoard. :rotfl:

I had great fun doing all of the above, I choose hoarding the buttons etc in the last step, and using material for the stuffing bag, and I love my headband. Feels so good to have used up the whole pair and not have thrown anything out!!!! :A

Recently joined a soccer and netball team and have been enjoying the exercise, even if I am just hopeless at each of these decided at beginning of year that I needed to do something and the gym was too expensive, the sports team memberships set me back $140 but you get to make new friends and its my health in the end, so I decided its okay. Still a good savings from a gym membership and I would have felt no motivation to keep attending, with sports teams you feel you have to turn up....:T:T