I said yesterday I was working on something to contain the mountains of cash I have rolling around all over my house.

So here’s the thing:

We try to do the cash only thing …each payday we withdraw the cash for all of our spending and stick it in envelopes…when the envelopes are empty no more spending. 

We’re not gonna go into how disciplined we are about really not spending when the cash is gone.

What I want to talk about is the envelopes.

I found a long time ago that the envelopes are useless if they are kept at home.  We just end up using the debit care because we know we have the cash at home, and then of course the cash never makes it’s way back to the bank… you get the idea.

So generally I carry the envelopes in my purse (now I guess you all have enough info to rob me!).

Here’s my problem:

The envelopes do not hold up well in my purse.  They tend to end up in shreds.  And it’s annoying.

So I decided to make something to replace them with.

I started by tracing rectangles a little larger than an envelope onto an old pair of jeans.

After cutting them out, I embroidered names for all of our designated funds on them:  Food (groceries), Fun (spending money), Love (gifts), and Health (medical expenses).

(The dollar sign is for the front).

Then I cut out pieces of scrap fabric to back each piece, sewed them together wrong sides out and flipped them,  finished the edges, and finally sewed all the pieces together with some embroidery thread along the bottom and sides.

(Sorry I didn’t take pictures of each step; it was getting a little tedious)

The finished product is a kind of accordian style little pouch.  Much like the bunch of envelopes I had stapled together, only hopefully tougher.

I put  a button on the front piece and a loop on the back to secure the money inside.

It turned about the same size as a checkbook.

Not glamorous, I know.  But I think it’s kind of cute, and hopefully it will do the job

Almost daily, someone I know feels the need to share with me the price of gas, and how it will continue to rise until no one can afford to start their car.

I’m all about conservative use of gas, but when you live in a place with ZERO public transit options, there’s not a whole lot you can do.

If, as some annoying well-meaning people have been telling me, gas reaches six dollars a gallon, or beyond, I will be able to drive my car about once a week.  So, in the meantime, here is what I will be doing to pass the days:

• Sweeping my floor twenty times a day because if my children even think of food, crumbs instantly appear.
• Giving my girls really elaborate hairstyles and emailing pictures to everyone so it will feel worth the effort.
• Watching Superwhy everday at 10 o’clock.
• Painting little girls fingernails, and then repainting every ten minutes to avoid the emotional breakdown brought on by a smudge.
• Having glamorous dress up tea parties, and doing the necessary mopping afterwards.
• Lounging on my couch while being serenaded by two very loud voices singing the Dora theme song over and over and over……
• Hiding in the bathroom so I don’t have to play Candyland ever again.
• Teaching young minds why Little House on the Prairie is WAY more exciting than the Backyardigans.
• Counting down by the minute how long until bedtime; and encouraging all kinds of exhausting play so maybe I can justify bedtime coming a little sooner.

SO, ALL OF THIS, on top of my already busy days doing school, doing laundry, washing dishes, talking on the phone, reading educational books aloud, controlling wrestling matches teaching manners, and making gourmet, healthy, exciting meals.  I am going to be SOOOOO busy!  I should just start staying home right now to get ahead on all of this excitement.  I don’t know what I’ve been thinking, leaving my house on a regular basis.

By the way, if I start inviting you over for a game of Princess Monopoly, maybe you could just offer me a ride somewhere!