Spending Fast Underway! Sort of….

To say our spending fast is underway is a bit of a cheat.  We are committing to it and being very careful about what groceries we buy and avoiding spending money on non-essential items.  However, as I’ve mentioned before we have a chunk of money put aside to pay for Christmas gifts so while I am not out shopping up a storm I am totally excited about getting some Christmas shopping done.  Which is really scratching the “I need to buy stuff” itch.  January is going to be a bit of a shock to the system I think!

For more about the spending fast check out Anna Newell Jones’ page:  http://www.andthenshesaved.com/spendingfastguidelines/

Yesterday I was all pumped up and excited about making some DIY gifts.  The snag is that I have people in my life who, through no fault of their own, are not fans of the DIY gift.  They are quasi-snobs I suppose, but honestly very nice and generally awesome people.  They just don’t like that sort of stuff.  So while I was hoping to slash our Christmas gift budget I’m not sure how to do it without feeling unfair.  Like I can’t buy gifts for my sister-in-law and her family but give my brothers DIY stuff.  That does not seem right to me.  Now, if I could make something that my brothers would love as much as my sister-in-law’s family gifts that would be a different story.  But frankly, I’m just not that artistically inclined!

My new plan?  Supplement!  Everyone gets at least one flashy, commercial (assembled in China! LOL!), polished gift that was on their wish list.  After that, they get DIY gifts to “fill up” with.  After I finish this post I need to get to work on figuring out what everyone will be getting and what I will need to make.  With so many great websites out there, it will be hard to settle on a decision but at the same time, at least I can keep looking until I find the right gift!

DIY gifts pics will be posted here for our entertainment!

Today was better than yesterday, and oddly I had a worse night sleep last night and no nap today.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better…or the same…but seeing as I’ll be lugging a baby in and out of stores, I’ll have to be efficient, have toys, diapers and food handy, and focused.  Think happy baby thoughts for me!

So, do you have any “budget challenging” people to buy for this year?  How do you plan to handle it?  Or perhaps just share a bitch-fest with me in the comment section, that’s cool too! ; )

Find of the (yester)day:  Photoshop free 30 day trials!  We had a ton of pictures from trips that turned out grainy due to poor camera settings (or maybe poor choice of camera).  Using the Photoshop Lightroom program, the graininess is gone and memories that I thought were destined only for my mind can now be printed and shared.  I can not describe the relief I feel.  I don’t have to spend $300 to salvage these pictures and everytime I thought of these pictures going to waste it really made me sad But no more!

BEFORE!

AFTER!!