I apologize for the excessive blogging as of late. I guess that avoiding facebook for the month has caused me to blog considerably more than usual. I feel like I have a ton of random updates due to my increase of posts.
1.) Turns out I love clementine marmalade! The little batch I made awhile back is almost gone and I will for certain be making more.
2.) After two successful loaves of cheese bread I will be taking a stab at sourdough this weekend/ week. I'm going to make the sourdough starter tonight so I shouldn't have an actual loaf of bread (or three... the starter makes three loaves) until Monday or Tuesday. I'm thinking I will be giving a loaf of bread to someone come Tuesday, that is if they turn out super yummy.
3.) I'm moving along in the basement much quicker than I'd hoped. I'm both super proud of myself and super excited that we may have a usable/ clutter free/ junk free, clean basement quite soon.
4.) On the "food waste" front I ended up throwing out a bit of taco meat yesterday and a red pepper today. The pepper was just beautiful. I cut it open and it was all moldy inside. I can't be blamed really for that one, I mean, a moldy pepper in disguise was not my fault. Add to that the few moldy clementines I threw out a few days back and that is all of our food waste for the month so far.
5.) Tonight I'm making a huge pot of soup with the three remaining chicken breasts from the $1.99lb chicken I bought earlier this month. It will be chicken and dumplings soup and although my husband is not a huge fan of soup or chicken I'm rather excited about it. Yum! I used several carrots that were at the end of their life, a little bit of already chopped onions left in the fridge, a very small portion of the pepper I threw out (it was free of mold and looked good), four large cloves of garlic, salt, and a hearty amount of corn and peas.
6.) I have a very long to-do list for the weekend. I'm calling it the weekend of the dogs. I've already scraped plaque from their teeth today. I intend to trim their hair, cut their toe nails, and give them baths and a good brushing. That's enough for one weekend but I hope to clean a good bit more in the basement, do some sort of fun activity with little Abe, and maybe get some reading in (which would include a trip to the library). Among other things I have a pretty good list ahead of me. I'm glad it's the weekend.
7.) I went shopping today and spent considerably more than I'd planned but with the exception of some boneless skinless chicken thighs that I found for $1.59lb that I could not pass up, I stuck to my list. I had to buy dog food and picked up a few chews for them too. I spent $30.26 on the dogs and $30.88 on groceries.
8.) I'd really hoped for a no spend tomorrow but a dear friend of mine asked me to go to breakfast tomorrow for her birthday. I was absolutely not going to turn her down simply due to my plans for a no spend. I will gladly give that one up. Also, it will be the first time I've eaten any sort of food away from home this month (beverages included). I think making it half way through January without a single food or drink purchase away from home is pretty darn good.
I'm off to make some dumplings for my soup now.
I hope each and everyone of you has a fantastic weekend!
Average daily spending for 2015: $18.02
Friday, January 16, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Basement Adventures, wee
Little Abe and I spent a good deal of time cleaning in the basement today. I'm feeling very accomplished. It's such a huge job but it feels good to make little dents. One thing I've enjoyed about cleaning down there is that several VERY OLD and honestly really yucky items that I put at the curb (a day early on purpose just in a case anyone would come by and pick them up) have been picked up. I love that people are taking things I'm throwing out. I'd WAY rather they be re-used if just for scrap wood or whatever than to go in the landfill. And today I contacted a scrapper who's picking up some stuff that I left in the driveway for her. I've thrown out a ton of trash/ damaged/ ruined things from the abyss that is my basement but I'm very happy whenever I'm able to find an alternative to the landfill for the junk down there. And truly, to me, every bit of what I'm discarding is junk.
I've also gotten rid of at least 90% of the spider webs that have accumulated over the years... we don't use the basement except for one little corner to do laundry in. After having vacuumed up a good deal of the chipped paint from the floor (maybe 40%) and gotten rid of most of the webs from everywhere else it already looks kind of cozy; okay, that's a stretch, but comparatively I think I can say "kind of" cozy.
I thought I'd share with you some of the most interesting of my basement discoveries today. Again, for any new comers, my husband and I purchased his grandparent's house when they passed. The family took the things they wanted and left everything they did not.
In other very non-interesting news I ended up getting a few groceries today. Tomorrow will be a no spend. I used my $10 store reward and spent $3.35 out of pocket, stuck to my list, and only went $1.15 over what I'd hoped to spend.
Average daily spending for 2015: $16.35
I've also gotten rid of at least 90% of the spider webs that have accumulated over the years... we don't use the basement except for one little corner to do laundry in. After having vacuumed up a good deal of the chipped paint from the floor (maybe 40%) and gotten rid of most of the webs from everywhere else it already looks kind of cozy; okay, that's a stretch, but comparatively I think I can say "kind of" cozy.
I thought I'd share with you some of the most interesting of my basement discoveries today. Again, for any new comers, my husband and I purchased his grandparent's house when they passed. The family took the things they wanted and left everything they did not.
This little guy is rusty as can be but I think it's splendid. It's probably something that will continue to live in my basement pantry for a very long time just because I love it.
I've never heard of nor seen a "frozen food box." This package is honestly completely full of the things. It's one of those odd finds that just leaves you feeling like you've stepped back in history for a moment, you know, before Ziploc. I don't feel like throwing these out but I certainly don't know what to do with them.
This has probably got some value in it. I'll try and sell it on Etsy as soon as I can figure out how to calculate shipping... there are just some things that seem too complicated.
In other very non-interesting news I ended up getting a few groceries today. Tomorrow will be a no spend. I used my $10 store reward and spent $3.35 out of pocket, stuck to my list, and only went $1.15 over what I'd hoped to spend.
Average daily spending for 2015: $16.35
Cheese Bread Recipe
I've made a second loaf of cheese bread today. It's only just a regular loaf of bread with a bit of shredded cheese in it but it's SO yummy! I must say I absolutely love the aroma that fills the house when bread is baking in the oven. This second try at the recipe turned out just as good (only my loaf was a bit more wobbly looking... I've yet to learn to make a pretty loaf of bread)
This recipe is from a Martha Day Complete Baking recipe book.
Ingredients: Cost $1.75 for one loaf
1 package active dry yeast .50
1 cup of luke warm milk .20
2 tablespoons melted butter cooled a bit .20
3 cups flour .35
2 teaspoons of salt ?
1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese .50
*I used all purpose unbleached flour. The book specifically says bread flour for several other recipes but not for this one so I am fairly certain that this recipe calls for an all purpose flour.
1. Stir together the milk and yeast and leave for 15 minutes to dissolve.
2. Add the melted butter to the milk yeast mixture. (The yeast is alive so if you pour hot butter onto it you'll likely kill it. Letting the melted butter cool for a little bit prevents it from killing the yeast. But you still need melted butter.)
3. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture.
4. With a wooden spoon stir from the center incorporating flour with each turn to obtain a rough dough. If the dough seems too dry, add 2-3 tablespoons of water.
5. Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Return to the bowl, cover, and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 2-3 hours.
6. Grease a 9x5 inch bread pan. Punch down the dough with your fist. Knead in the cheese, distributing it as evenly as possible.
7. Twist the dough, form into a loaf shape, and place in the pan, tucking the ends under. Leave in a warm place until the dough rises above the rim of the pan. (Rising about the rim took a much longer time for mine than I'd anticipated but patience is a very important part of bread making.)
8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes more. Cool on a rack.
This recipe is from a Martha Day Complete Baking recipe book.
Ingredients: Cost $1.75 for one loaf
1 package active dry yeast .50
1 cup of luke warm milk .20
2 tablespoons melted butter cooled a bit .20
3 cups flour .35
2 teaspoons of salt ?
1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese .50
*I used all purpose unbleached flour. The book specifically says bread flour for several other recipes but not for this one so I am fairly certain that this recipe calls for an all purpose flour.
1. Stir together the milk and yeast and leave for 15 minutes to dissolve.
2. Add the melted butter to the milk yeast mixture. (The yeast is alive so if you pour hot butter onto it you'll likely kill it. Letting the melted butter cool for a little bit prevents it from killing the yeast. But you still need melted butter.)
3. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture.
4. With a wooden spoon stir from the center incorporating flour with each turn to obtain a rough dough. If the dough seems too dry, add 2-3 tablespoons of water.
5. Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Return to the bowl, cover, and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 2-3 hours.
6. Grease a 9x5 inch bread pan. Punch down the dough with your fist. Knead in the cheese, distributing it as evenly as possible.
7. Twist the dough, form into a loaf shape, and place in the pan, tucking the ends under. Leave in a warm place until the dough rises above the rim of the pan. (Rising about the rim took a much longer time for mine than I'd anticipated but patience is a very important part of bread making.)
8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes more. Cool on a rack.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Ways I've learned to save money/ What's the point of a no spend day
Where there is no vision, the people perish- The number one way I've learned to save money is to plan out my purchases. If I don't bring a list to the store then I will buy a good deal of random excessive stuff that we do not need. Ideally the list will be well thought out with the majority of items on sale and/or that I have coupons for.
-Prov. 29:18
- Not eating out/ drive through/ delivery is a very effective way for my family to save money.
- Similarly if I'm able to avoid buying food at work/ while working then I save a great deal of money. I'm continually amazed at how much money I save when I don't buy food at work and how much money absolutely flies out of the bank account on weeks that I get lazy and don't plan food for work.
- Simply not using the charge card is also a really good way to save money. Let's say you're really good at paying your balance before interest kicks in. Well you're already one up on the majority of people and way up on me but "a study of credit card use at McDonald’s found that people spent 47% more when using credit instead of cash," regularly sighted by Dave Ramsey. People simply tend to spend less when they're spending real money as opposed to credit which can offer a disconnect to reality. I know this is true for me.
- Contemplating a purchase two or three times before you make it is a really good way to save money. Let's say you want to buy a new rug; first of all do you actually need it? Second, if you've come to the conclusion that you really"need" a new rug I recommend not buying the rug you come across until your second or third trip to the store. Chances are very high that you'll find a cheaper one in the mean time, find one you like more, or decide in the end you don't need it after all. And lastly if you end up purchasing it I think you'll be much happier with your new rug and have a greater appreciation for it after all the thought you've put into it. More times than not patience is a very good way to save money.
- I'm very slowly, day by day, getting better at sale hunting and coupon using but obviously spending less on the things you regularly buy is a very good way to save money. I'd suggest stopping by Sluggy's blog if you want to be a great bargain shopper.
- Frugal hacks. 1.) I never buy paper towels or napkins. If someone in this home needs a napkin then they can use a wash cloth. I use old socks for any paper towel use. Yes, they aren't pretty but once the sock is quite worn I cut the toe off (so that we don't continue wearing the old ratty thing) and begin it's second life as a kitchen rag. 2.) I love using spaghetti sauce jars for drinking glasses. 3.) I trim my own hair. 4.) I groom our dogs. 5.) I'm not entirely sure how frugal cloth diapers are, I like to think they're very much so, but after taking sometime to grow on me I LOVE not buying diapers and using cloth diapers for my kiddo. He only wears a diaper to sleep at night now but I truly feel good putting one on him every night. It's awesome not buying diapers. I'm sure there's others but I'm drawing a blank. 6.) Something I've learned from frugallychallenged over at trundling through life is that very old worn sheets make for excellent soft facial tissues. We, thank the Lord, very rarely get sick around here but a strong runny nose and an old sheet sewn into a lovely tissue go wonderfully together. They really are the best.
- Keep it simple. Find free activities that you love. It seems people are always trying to find something exciting to do; entertainment. But simply enjoying the people you're with and noticing the loveliness of today can be very entertaining. I find that going for a simple walk with my son and focusing on each other and our surroundings can be, sometimes, the most fun thing ever. Watching a movie at home, making it a neat event instead of just another movie can be very entertaining. Just the other day we went sledding and it was the most fun free activity ever. My family loves walking around downtown and not buying anything but just enjoying the day together. Simple can be very wonderful.
- Frugal hacks. 1.) I never buy paper towels or napkins. If someone in this home needs a napkin then they can use a wash cloth. I use old socks for any paper towel use. Yes, they aren't pretty but once the sock is quite worn I cut the toe off (so that we don't continue wearing the old ratty thing) and begin it's second life as a kitchen rag. 2.) I love using spaghetti sauce jars for drinking glasses. 3.) I trim my own hair. 4.) I groom our dogs. 5.) I'm not entirely sure how frugal cloth diapers are, I like to think they're very much so, but after taking sometime to grow on me I LOVE not buying diapers and using cloth diapers for my kiddo. He only wears a diaper to sleep at night now but I truly feel good putting one on him every night. It's awesome not buying diapers. I'm sure there's others but I'm drawing a blank. 6.) Something I've learned from frugallychallenged over at trundling through life is that very old worn sheets make for excellent soft facial tissues. We, thank the Lord, very rarely get sick around here but a strong runny nose and an old sheet sewn into a lovely tissue go wonderfully together. They really are the best.
- Keep it simple. Find free activities that you love. It seems people are always trying to find something exciting to do; entertainment. But simply enjoying the people you're with and noticing the loveliness of today can be very entertaining. I find that going for a simple walk with my son and focusing on each other and our surroundings can be, sometimes, the most fun thing ever. Watching a movie at home, making it a neat event instead of just another movie can be very entertaining. Just the other day we went sledding and it was the most fun free activity ever. My family loves walking around downtown and not buying anything but just enjoying the day together. Simple can be very wonderful.
- I find that no spend days encourage me to spend less.
I wrote the following almost two years ago so I thought it might be time for a refresher:
What's the point of a no spend day anyway, after all if I don't buy the milk, and the eggs, and the cocoa powder today I'll just buy it tomorrow. What did I accomplish by putting off the purchase just one day?
What's the point of a no spend day anyway, after all if I don't buy the milk, and the eggs, and the cocoa powder today I'll just buy it tomorrow. What did I accomplish by putting off the purchase just one day?
I'd like to think that NO SPEND days are very healthy like exercise. For financial weaklings like me successfully accomplishing challenges like a NO SPEND help significantly strengthen my financial muscles. Even if you'll just purchase the milk, eggs, and cocoa powder tomorrow you still had to have a plan in place that allowed you to have all your necessities for today. And every single NO SPEND day guards you from impulse buys. You weren't able to plop that candy bar on the belt today if you didn't spend a penny now were you?
NO SPEND days:
Help teach the unorganized shopper to plan
Guard against impulse buys
Offer little financial goals during the long arduous process of paying off debt
Encourage frugality
Definitely help save money
If you try for a few NO SPENDs I think you'd be surprised at the little things you end up not buying.
All that being said I didn't focus on no spends very much last year. This year I really am shooting for an every other day average. It's the biggest no spend challenge I've taken on but as long as I don't fall behind in a major way it's a very doable challenge. 182 no spends for 2015!
Monday, January 12, 2015
Monday Shopping
Today was grocery shopping day. I'm planning no spends for tomorrow and Wednesday. I'll make chili today. We'll eat leftovers tomorrow and then tacos on Wed. I went to the store with my list hoping to spend $45 and came away spending $48.55 on a $60.66 bill. I saved $12.11 with coupons, sales, and a $5 store reward and I earned another $10 in store rewards for my next shopping trip. That will make Thursday's shopping total pretty low. I didn't buy anything that wasn't on my list so I guess I did pretty good. I also think I have enough toilet bowl cleaner and dish soap to last for several months now. I picked up a pack of dust masks for my basement cleaning project. Between the decades old layers of dust in some spots, hiding mold spurs, and who knows what kind of paint I'm chipping off the floor I decided to stop deep cleaning until I picked up some masks.
Now I must make chili, get my kid down for a nap, and head off to work. Maybe I'll get a little cleaning in and hopefully I won't eat all the bread before all is said and done. Happy Monday everyone!
Average daily spending for 2015: $17.28
Oh yeah, clementine marmalade on cheese bread is very tasty : )
Now I must make chili, get my kid down for a nap, and head off to work. Maybe I'll get a little cleaning in and hopefully I won't eat all the bread before all is said and done. Happy Monday everyone!
Average daily spending for 2015: $17.28
Oh yeah, clementine marmalade on cheese bread is very tasty : )
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Great Quiet Day Here
I'll be going to sleep tonight with a smile on my face because today was just about perfect.
-Went sledding with my guys
-Baked a wonderful loaf of cheese bread
-Cleaned a bit in the yuck basement
-Made a new dinner
-Got a shower in during the little guy's nap
-Pulled off NO SPEND day 6 for the year
-Put together a shopping list for tomorrow and planned out meals for the week
Yep. All of the above leaves me feeling a bit like super woman and very happy.
Average daily spending for 2015: $17.58
-Went sledding with my guys
-Baked a wonderful loaf of cheese bread
-Cleaned a bit in the yuck basement
-Made a new dinner
-Got a shower in during the little guy's nap
-Pulled off NO SPEND day 6 for the year
-Put together a shopping list for tomorrow and planned out meals for the week
Yep. All of the above leaves me feeling a bit like super woman and very happy.
Average daily spending for 2015: $17.58
I'm by no means an experienced bread maker but this loaf was SUPER tasty (we've already eaten half of it), puts me closer to my quarterly goals, and turned out better than any other bread I've made. Yay!
Free Fun - Sledding
It finally warmed up! Hooray! My husband walks in the front door this morning and say's, "It's 30 degrees outside." (that's Fahrenheit, 2 degrees below freezing) To which I immediately (because I knew what he was getting at) said, "Awesome! We can go sledding now!" Little Abe has not been sledding yet. It was just too cold last winter (much like this winter has been so far) and we didn't get out with him. Today so far has been sunny and relatively warm with no wind... perfect! Someone gave me a sled for him a few weeks ago (I honestly do not advertise that I'm frugal, truly).
It was the most beautiful morning ever; just the three of us out in the sunny snowy winter wonderland. There were birds chirping the entire time. I couldn't help but feel embraced by beauty as we had the time of our lives. Little Abe loved sledding and my husband had an absolute blast with his son. The pure white snow glistened on tree branches everywhere you looked. I promise there were absolutely no trees anywhere near the sledding paths. The sun was bright on the horizon in the distance with it's rays peaking between trees.
So perfect and didn't cost one single penny!
Just perfect!
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Food Waste Update - Clementine marmalade
We're ten days in to the new year. I'm paying super close attention to what food we're throwing away this year and hoping to throw away very little. Until today I had been very successful at using up anything that was close to going bad.
I had a box with several shriveling clementines that I didn't really know what to do with though. I imagined I'd have to throw them out sooner or later (because I tried to eat one and it was gross) but I held onto them anyhow. I bought a new box of clementines a few days ago and gosh darn it there were 3 moldy ones and a few really shriveled ones in there too.
Now, do I buy orange marmalade? No. Have I ever made orange marmalade before? No. Have I ever eaten orange marmalade before? I honestly do not remember. But for some reason it crossed my mind today to use up the not moldy but very shriveled clementines (I think I put about 10 in) to make clementine marmalade. It's so yummy!!! The stuff is like candy. I made a very small batch because I just used the shriveled clementines I had but it's awesome.
Today I threw away six moldy clementines but the marmalade that I made with the shriveled ones is a total success!
Friday shopping trip
Today, very hopefully will be a no spend. I do not want to leave the house.
Yesterday I spent WAY more than I'd planned. I was hoping to grab "a few essentials" on my way out of work and spend maybe $5 to $8. Haha! I should absolutely not under any circumstances allow myself to shop without a list. I spent... wait for it... $32. Yeah, a bit more than $5 I'd say.
One thing I got though that I hadn't planned originally was coffee grounds. I'm almost out and whenever I run out I end up buying coffee from McDonald's or someplace more expensive during the interim. I should also not allow myself to run out of coffee grounds. I got some that are a bit nicer than the Maxwell house I've been buying (I do prefer a bit more expensive coffee than Maxwell house) and they were on sale for $5.99 a pound. I'm glad I got them. Here's the silly thing. I will often be cross with myself for spending lets say $4.98 on a bag of coffee grounds "ah, so much money" and yet I've struggled for years to break a Starbucks addiction (which I have successfully broken). Do you have any idea how many pounds of coffee beans I could have purchased with the amount of money I've spent on Starbucks beverages? Now that is nonsense. I'll keep purchasing grounds instead, thank-you very much.
The rest of the $32 shopping trip was lots of fruits and veggies, some granola bars and juice for my boy, and other pretty much essential food. I spent more than I'd have liked but I did not buy anything wasteful. So I guess it's a win.
Now I will google something to do with clementines that are, um, not in their prime. I do not want to throw them away. Anyone ever make orange marmalade? I bet I could use the little guys up for that sort of a thing. Hmm, clementine jam... I might just have some yummy work ahead of me.
Average daily spending for 2015: $19.33
Oh goodness, I almost forgot to mention: We still haven't eaten out, coffees, sodas, a quick drive thru burger or pizza delivery included at all this year. I feel like this is note worthy.
Yesterday I spent WAY more than I'd planned. I was hoping to grab "a few essentials" on my way out of work and spend maybe $5 to $8. Haha! I should absolutely not under any circumstances allow myself to shop without a list. I spent... wait for it... $32. Yeah, a bit more than $5 I'd say.
One thing I got though that I hadn't planned originally was coffee grounds. I'm almost out and whenever I run out I end up buying coffee from McDonald's or someplace more expensive during the interim. I should also not allow myself to run out of coffee grounds. I got some that are a bit nicer than the Maxwell house I've been buying (I do prefer a bit more expensive coffee than Maxwell house) and they were on sale for $5.99 a pound. I'm glad I got them. Here's the silly thing. I will often be cross with myself for spending lets say $4.98 on a bag of coffee grounds "ah, so much money" and yet I've struggled for years to break a Starbucks addiction (which I have successfully broken). Do you have any idea how many pounds of coffee beans I could have purchased with the amount of money I've spent on Starbucks beverages? Now that is nonsense. I'll keep purchasing grounds instead, thank-you very much.
The rest of the $32 shopping trip was lots of fruits and veggies, some granola bars and juice for my boy, and other pretty much essential food. I spent more than I'd have liked but I did not buy anything wasteful. So I guess it's a win.
Now I will google something to do with clementines that are, um, not in their prime. I do not want to throw them away. Anyone ever make orange marmalade? I bet I could use the little guys up for that sort of a thing. Hmm, clementine jam... I might just have some yummy work ahead of me.
Average daily spending for 2015: $19.33
Oh goodness, I almost forgot to mention: We still haven't eaten out, coffees, sodas, a quick drive thru burger or pizza delivery included at all this year. I feel like this is note worthy.
Friday, January 9, 2015
The Tithe, The Blizzard, and The Furnace
Preface: I've gone to church virtually all my life. I've been tithing since my first job, a neighborhood paper route I got as a young kid. I am very passionate about our Creator and I love Jesus. The Bible is my absolute favorite book. A few years ago the church I'd attended for 15 years had some head pastor "issues" and seemingly almost over night my church was no longer. So many people left and so many people came that before I had time to blink the church that I'd taught Sunday school in for ages, the church that I attended 4 mission trips with, the church that I'd spent almost more time at during high school than what I spent at school was not really my church any longer. I stopped going shortly after my baby Abe came along and I've had very little motivation to find a new one. I have trust issues and I'm not one that easily finds a brand new "family." I say all that to end at: a few years back I also stopped tithing.
The story: Every day I thank the Lord for being our protector and our provider. I know that He blesses us and that He protects us. He is in control and to add to that our debt and financial messes are from pure stupidity on our parts not because of any shortcoming on His part. A few months back I heard that still small voice say, "You need to start tithing again." I always respond to these sort of things and I politely replied, "really? now? This is quite possibly the tightest our finances have been in years. You can't be serious." To which I heard the still small voice say, "Yes, now. If you are faithful I will bless you." I don't need much more than that these days. I've learned it's not best to ignore the quiet nudges.
Last night on the coldest most snowy most windy night I can remember in a very long time our furnace stop kicking out heat. My husband had just left for work when I discovered the house growing cold. The temp in our house dropped from 69 to 60 in just about an hour. I figured with a lot of blankets and snuggled in bed together that little Abe and I would be fine through the night but I was a bit scared at how cold it could get with the horrid weather outside. I turned the furnace off completely and let it sit a bit twice before I called my husband to let him know there was an issue and that we'd need to get it fixed asap in the morning. Staying warm was the foremost thought on my mind but of course I'm thinking all the while about how much this repair would cost, where I would come up with the money for it (things should not be allowed to break after Christmas), and how would tomorrow be as it grew colder and colder, would I need to find some place for our three furry kids to stay, how would I prevent the pipes from bursting once it got to freezing temps, would a furnace repair man even be available in this kind of blizzard... oh, the thoughts.
My husband ended up calling his sister who lives down the road from us. She came and picked up me and little Abe to spend the night in her living room. His car seat was in the car my husband took to work but her kids were sleeping, her husband was home (he had to shovel out their driveway at just about midnight before she could come by and get us even) and little Abe was able to sit in his cousins car seat on the ride over. It's a good thing she's got 4wheel drive too. The roads were filled with snow and not plowed in the least. It was quite the adventure. I hardly slept last night. I couldn't stop thinking about how cold my home was getting and hoping it wasn't too cold for my other babies. I kept questioning, and I felt wrong doing so, but "why this Lord? how are you going to provide for this? we can not afford this." I was hoping for a miracle of sorts. I kept saying "thank-you Lord, I know that you are our provider, you are our protector."
My husband came home from work to a 40 degree F house. The animals were fine. And for some reason before calling a furnace guy, all I can think is that is was by the leading of God, in snow up to his waist and temps around 0F he walked over to the side of the house that the furnace intake is on. We don't walk over there as it's the opposite side of the driveway. We don't drive past there since it's not the direction of anything we go to. And I've mentioned it before, my husband is NOT handy. I don't know why he thought to look over there at all. There was a drift of snow that came to the bottom of our windows. The air conditioning unit and the furnace air intake were completely buried, just gone. He shoveled all the snow away from the intake, went inside, turned the furnace on, and there came the heat.
Conclusion: Sometimes stupid things happen and you are forced to cart your 2 year old around in the middle of the night in a horrendous blizzard and inconvenience family members and then in the end you feel very blessed for things to have worked out just perfectly. I'm feeling very thankful. Much like the time the tire blew out on my van and instead of it becoming one of the worst days ever it was an exceptionally awesome day. <linked here
The Lord is most certainly my provider and protector and I think maybe it takes a little shaking up of things here and there to help me see this truth more clearly. He tends to work that way, the shaking up of things. To many it might just look like Murphy.. you know, Murphy's law; life happens. But to me it looks like a subtle reminder. I think I'll continue to listen to the still small voice even when it asks me to give away money I hardly feel I have. In my mind I'd be foolish not to.
The end
(I felt this post needed a p.s.)
p.s. I just visited the post about my van and oddly enough the tire blew out on the exact same day last year as this year's furnace incident. I'm not sure if I should eagerly await January 8th from now on or be a little nervous as it approaches. How odd.
The story: Every day I thank the Lord for being our protector and our provider. I know that He blesses us and that He protects us. He is in control and to add to that our debt and financial messes are from pure stupidity on our parts not because of any shortcoming on His part. A few months back I heard that still small voice say, "You need to start tithing again." I always respond to these sort of things and I politely replied, "really? now? This is quite possibly the tightest our finances have been in years. You can't be serious." To which I heard the still small voice say, "Yes, now. If you are faithful I will bless you." I don't need much more than that these days. I've learned it's not best to ignore the quiet nudges.
Last night on the coldest most snowy most windy night I can remember in a very long time our furnace stop kicking out heat. My husband had just left for work when I discovered the house growing cold. The temp in our house dropped from 69 to 60 in just about an hour. I figured with a lot of blankets and snuggled in bed together that little Abe and I would be fine through the night but I was a bit scared at how cold it could get with the horrid weather outside. I turned the furnace off completely and let it sit a bit twice before I called my husband to let him know there was an issue and that we'd need to get it fixed asap in the morning. Staying warm was the foremost thought on my mind but of course I'm thinking all the while about how much this repair would cost, where I would come up with the money for it (things should not be allowed to break after Christmas), and how would tomorrow be as it grew colder and colder, would I need to find some place for our three furry kids to stay, how would I prevent the pipes from bursting once it got to freezing temps, would a furnace repair man even be available in this kind of blizzard... oh, the thoughts.
My husband ended up calling his sister who lives down the road from us. She came and picked up me and little Abe to spend the night in her living room. His car seat was in the car my husband took to work but her kids were sleeping, her husband was home (he had to shovel out their driveway at just about midnight before she could come by and get us even) and little Abe was able to sit in his cousins car seat on the ride over. It's a good thing she's got 4wheel drive too. The roads were filled with snow and not plowed in the least. It was quite the adventure. I hardly slept last night. I couldn't stop thinking about how cold my home was getting and hoping it wasn't too cold for my other babies. I kept questioning, and I felt wrong doing so, but "why this Lord? how are you going to provide for this? we can not afford this." I was hoping for a miracle of sorts. I kept saying "thank-you Lord, I know that you are our provider, you are our protector."
My husband came home from work to a 40 degree F house. The animals were fine. And for some reason before calling a furnace guy, all I can think is that is was by the leading of God, in snow up to his waist and temps around 0F he walked over to the side of the house that the furnace intake is on. We don't walk over there as it's the opposite side of the driveway. We don't drive past there since it's not the direction of anything we go to. And I've mentioned it before, my husband is NOT handy. I don't know why he thought to look over there at all. There was a drift of snow that came to the bottom of our windows. The air conditioning unit and the furnace air intake were completely buried, just gone. He shoveled all the snow away from the intake, went inside, turned the furnace on, and there came the heat.
Conclusion: Sometimes stupid things happen and you are forced to cart your 2 year old around in the middle of the night in a horrendous blizzard and inconvenience family members and then in the end you feel very blessed for things to have worked out just perfectly. I'm feeling very thankful. Much like the time the tire blew out on my van and instead of it becoming one of the worst days ever it was an exceptionally awesome day. <linked here
The Lord is most certainly my provider and protector and I think maybe it takes a little shaking up of things here and there to help me see this truth more clearly. He tends to work that way, the shaking up of things. To many it might just look like Murphy.. you know, Murphy's law; life happens. But to me it looks like a subtle reminder. I think I'll continue to listen to the still small voice even when it asks me to give away money I hardly feel I have. In my mind I'd be foolish not to.
The end
(I felt this post needed a p.s.)
p.s. I just visited the post about my van and oddly enough the tire blew out on the exact same day last year as this year's furnace incident. I'm not sure if I should eagerly await January 8th from now on or be a little nervous as it approaches. How odd.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Just Another Day in Siberia
It's been snowing non stop here for days. And today was the worst. It was in the single digits Fahrenheit all day. 6F when I got home. And the wind chill is absurd. Very negative degrees going on there. The inches of freezing cold white stuff are accumulating faster than anyone can clear them. I've been home from work for 3 hours and I've been hearing neighbors snow blowing their driveways ever since I arrived. No snow blower here though. Just a good old fashioned shovel and a freak who thinks snow is one of the most visually stunning events in nature (that'd be me). I enjoy it much more when it's not so cold though.
This fabulously (and a tad bit scary) snowy Thursday turned out to be a NO SPEND, number 4 for the year, that I'm particularly proud of. My work phone was broke Monday thru Wednesday and I needed to fill out a bunch of reports on the replacement phone today at 5 different stores. I drove at least 100 miles today in this nonsense (for the record I'm used to LOTS of driving from years past and I'm very careful in snow which I'm also very accustomed to driving in). Did I want to pick up a Starbucks beverage during the middle of the day? Oh yeah. Did I want to grab a few clearance items while working in the 5 different stores? Yep. Did I want to get a few groceries before I headed home. Yes I did. I really wanted to pick up a box of granola bars for my little Abe. But I resolved this morning to not spend a dime. I brought some snacks with me for the day, made myself a big cup of coffee before I left the house and just stuck to it. I'm kind of shocked that I pulled this one off. Usually when I work a longer day, particularly one with a lot of driving, I can't squeak out a no spend.
Woohoo!
Average daily spending for 2015: $20.11
This fabulously (and a tad bit scary) snowy Thursday turned out to be a NO SPEND, number 4 for the year, that I'm particularly proud of. My work phone was broke Monday thru Wednesday and I needed to fill out a bunch of reports on the replacement phone today at 5 different stores. I drove at least 100 miles today in this nonsense (for the record I'm used to LOTS of driving from years past and I'm very careful in snow which I'm also very accustomed to driving in). Did I want to pick up a Starbucks beverage during the middle of the day? Oh yeah. Did I want to grab a few clearance items while working in the 5 different stores? Yep. Did I want to get a few groceries before I headed home. Yes I did. I really wanted to pick up a box of granola bars for my little Abe. But I resolved this morning to not spend a dime. I brought some snacks with me for the day, made myself a big cup of coffee before I left the house and just stuck to it. I'm kind of shocked that I pulled this one off. Usually when I work a longer day, particularly one with a lot of driving, I can't squeak out a no spend.
Woohoo!
Average daily spending for 2015: $20.11
We only went out for about 3 minutes to shovel the front steps.
But he liked getting out of the house.
That strange thing in back was making a home in my basement.
I'm getting rid of it.
Little Abe calls in the spider webby roof.
I have no idea what it is; I think it was a project some kid made at one time.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Gristle Soup
I am totally loving what I'm calling gristle soup for lunch. Since I purchased 12 pounds of chicken breast the other day and my husband isn't such a fan I've been trimming those suckers like crazy before I bake them to get all the gristle off. I had thought to throw the trimmings in some boiling water so they wouldn't stink up my trash can and the idea evolved into a chicken broth veggie soup. Since then I've made the soup each time I've cooked chicken. My goodness I've been missing out on some yummy soup all of my life.
If you too must cut essentially all the white parts off of boneless skinless chicken breasts then here's my recipe (I just made it up) for Gristle Soup:
You can really use any veggies you have on hand. I've been delighted with how many times I was able to use up a veggie or a chunk of onion that was just about to spoil by throwing it into my gristle soup this past week. I only hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot with energy costs by boiling my about two servings worth of soup for an hour...
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I want to call today a no spend even though it was not because it was my husband who finished off both the juice and milk last night that should have easily lasted for one more day. Ah, that would be cheating. Unfortunately we cannot go a day in this house without juice and milk. My little guy would lose it. I spent $3.86 today on two gallons of milk, a bottle of apple juice, coffee creamer and a tiny carton of heavy whipping cream. The latter two items were a treat for me so that totally cancels out the no spend cheat anyhow. I had 50 cents off the milk, $1 off the whipping cream, and a $7 store reward so it wasn't that bad of a trip in the long run. Still ruins the planned no spend. Que sera sera.
Average daily spending for 2015: $22.98
Today's lovely: When I let the dogs out this morning I was not expecting any sort of a sunrise since it was already very light out. When I looked to the west the sky was absolutely on fire. In contrast with the inches of freshly fallen pure white snow the sight was breath taking. I do love the sky. There is just something so overwhelmingly memorizing about the beauty of it. We look up to it every single day (I hope) and yet the changes in it's perfect blues, the variations in it's spectacular clouds formations, the stars at night, especially on a clear dark night when they're in all their glory, and sunrises and sunsets when the sky almost creates anew the most beautiful works of art the world has ever seen; I think it's God's reminder to us to look up and remember always that there are more amazing, more beautiful things than we've ever seen or dreamed of waiting for us beyond this world. I love the sky!
If you too must cut essentially all the white parts off of boneless skinless chicken breasts then here's my recipe (I just made it up) for Gristle Soup:
about 5 cups of water
the trimmings from 3 chicken breasts
a carrot sliced
2 cloves of garlic minced
some onion sliced
season with salt to your liking (we don't use much salt... food network would not approve)
bring to boil, simmer for just under an hour, I leave uncovered
strain the soup and remove the chicken parts then add the rest of the contents back to the broth
(last time I pulled the edible chicken from the "gristle" and put it back into the soup)
bring back to boil and add about 1/3 cup of frozen pea and 1/3 cup of frozen corn
simmer for 3 or 4 minutes
done
You can really use any veggies you have on hand. I've been delighted with how many times I was able to use up a veggie or a chunk of onion that was just about to spoil by throwing it into my gristle soup this past week. I only hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot with energy costs by boiling my about two servings worth of soup for an hour...
_____________________________________
I want to call today a no spend even though it was not because it was my husband who finished off both the juice and milk last night that should have easily lasted for one more day. Ah, that would be cheating. Unfortunately we cannot go a day in this house without juice and milk. My little guy would lose it. I spent $3.86 today on two gallons of milk, a bottle of apple juice, coffee creamer and a tiny carton of heavy whipping cream. The latter two items were a treat for me so that totally cancels out the no spend cheat anyhow. I had 50 cents off the milk, $1 off the whipping cream, and a $7 store reward so it wasn't that bad of a trip in the long run. Still ruins the planned no spend. Que sera sera.
Average daily spending for 2015: $22.98
Today's lovely: When I let the dogs out this morning I was not expecting any sort of a sunrise since it was already very light out. When I looked to the west the sky was absolutely on fire. In contrast with the inches of freshly fallen pure white snow the sight was breath taking. I do love the sky. There is just something so overwhelmingly memorizing about the beauty of it. We look up to it every single day (I hope) and yet the changes in it's perfect blues, the variations in it's spectacular clouds formations, the stars at night, especially on a clear dark night when they're in all their glory, and sunrises and sunsets when the sky almost creates anew the most beautiful works of art the world has ever seen; I think it's God's reminder to us to look up and remember always that there are more amazing, more beautiful things than we've ever seen or dreamed of waiting for us beyond this world. I love the sky!
2014 In Review
Financially... not such a good year. Between the back injury which resulted in going to the chiropractor A LOT (pretty much all out of pocket), buying a car in April, and not working a ton this past year I was hardly able to keep our heads above water. But if I hadn't learned to spend less, live frugally, and have changed our horrid money ways as much as I have this past year would have been awful. My 2014 review is simply a look back at this blog and the highlights that stuck out to me.
We started making our own wrapping paper out of the funny pages from the Sunday news paper.
Little Abe made his first pinata.
We grew strawberries and tomatoes in our back yard. (this was the highlight of my year)
I did not purchase one single diaper. (started out the year with a potty trained 22 month old who wears cloth diapers at night time)
Little Abe took gymnastics at the Y and started horse riding lessons.
I made jam for the first time and a great deal of very delicious pies too.
I used the rosehips from the backyard... a little at least.
We went blueberry picking... SOOOO yummy!
I fixed our sink all on my own; HUGE accomplishment for me!
My favorite posts from this blog were:
and
Overall I really enjoyed spending the year with my kiddo. There were countless moments of glee and delight and enjoying time with each other. In retrospect I really need to make a conscious effort to spend quality time with my husband (and for him to spend quality time with Abe).
But there is this:
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Muffins, Pants, Leftovers
I wasn't going to shop today but we were out of flour and I really wanted to use some over ripe bananas we had for banana walnut muffins. It's a recipe I haven't made before so that marks off one new baked goody from my 2015 first quarter goals. They're in the oven right now. Tomorrow will be a no spend day instead.
I ended up buying a new pair of pants for work too so that shot my daily average up a bit. As much as I hate spending money some things are just absolute necessity. I saved $12 on a pair of $26 pants so I think I did pretty good with that buy.
I've two little accomplishments that I'm kind of happy to report after just about one week into 2015: 1.) We haven't thrown out any food. I've been doing great using up leftovers and making sure fruits and veggies get used up before they go bad. I'm not sure we've ever thrown out a ton of food but we definitely aren't great at using up all the left overs and there's occasional produce that just doesn't make it. I'm going to pay super close attention to what's around so that we aren't throwing any food out. 2.) There's been no dining out, take out, fast food, drive through coffee; no food away from home period. That just makes me smile.
Also, the basement clean up is in full swing. I think it's really going to take me at least 12 weeks but I'm so proud of my progress.
And that's my January 6 update : )
Average daily spending for 2015: $20.43
I ended up buying a new pair of pants for work too so that shot my daily average up a bit. As much as I hate spending money some things are just absolute necessity. I saved $12 on a pair of $26 pants so I think I did pretty good with that buy.
I've two little accomplishments that I'm kind of happy to report after just about one week into 2015: 1.) We haven't thrown out any food. I've been doing great using up leftovers and making sure fruits and veggies get used up before they go bad. I'm not sure we've ever thrown out a ton of food but we definitely aren't great at using up all the left overs and there's occasional produce that just doesn't make it. I'm going to pay super close attention to what's around so that we aren't throwing any food out. 2.) There's been no dining out, take out, fast food, drive through coffee; no food away from home period. That just makes me smile.
Also, the basement clean up is in full swing. I think it's really going to take me at least 12 weeks but I'm so proud of my progress.
And that's my January 6 update : )
Average daily spending for 2015: $20.43
Monday, January 5, 2015
2015, First Quarter Goals
I wasn't going to post "New Year's Resolutions" or even 2015 goals because I just can't stick to anything for an entire year. I look back at my goals once the year's flown by and at least in my own eyes I end up looking a bit like a failure. None the less my mind has been racing with things I want to accomplish this year, goals, plans, yep New Year's resolutions. I've decided to make some first quarter goals instead. I can handle focusing on a thing for three months. That's probably about my attention span limit anyhow. Come the second quarter I'll reassess and see where I am then instead of waiting 12 months and ending up with a big oops, I forgot.
For the next 13 weeks I'd like to:
1. Learn 10 Irish words/ phrases
-1. Dia Duit
2. Bake 10 new recipes
- 1. Banana walnut muffins
- 2. A loaf of cheese bread
- 3. Brownies with frosting
- 4. Sourdough bread
- 5. Walnut Tassies
- 6. Apple Tassies
- 7. Citrus cupcakes
- 8. Cinnamon roll cake
- 9. Lemon cake with lemon frosting
3. Read 4 books
- 1. "Dreamers and Deceivers" Glenn Beck
- 2. "Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims" Rush Limbaugh
- 3. "Rush Revere and the First Patriots" Rush Limbaugh
- 4. "St. Patrick of Ireland" Philip Freeman
- 5. "Rush Revere and the American Revolution" Rush Limbaugh
4. Not cut my hair
-I'm known for having rather long hair but it's been awhile since it was really long. I'd like to get there again and then I'd like to donate it again maybe come next January.
5. Clean out the basement
This might take me more than three months but it's a goal. Our basement is just a spidery mess of other people's stuff that I need to go through, get rid of, and clean up. I'd like it to not have anything we don't need or use.
-Go through hubby's grandparent's and hubby's dad's stuff and if it needs to be kept it needs to belong somewhere (other than the basement)
-Get rid of the garbage/ damaged stuff from the flood
-Get rid of the mattress
-Get rid of the boards
-Get rid of the paint cans
-Clear out my mom and sister's stuff
-Clear out Jessika's stuff
-Give Dave's huge fan back
-Scrape up the old paint on the floor
-Wash the floor
-Clean the walls
-Move the ping pong table to other side
-Move the tool and dye stuff (grandpa's) to tool room
- I'd like it to be a place little Abe can ride his bike around in and where we can do art projects (and for it to not be gross)
6. Only spend every other day/ 45 NO SPEND days
- 28 so far
7. Build the emergency fund back up
- $1000
Average daily spending for 2015: $19.59
For the next 13 weeks I'd like to:
1. Learn 10 Irish words/ phrases
-1. Dia Duit
2. Bake 10 new recipes
- 1. Banana walnut muffins
- 2. A loaf of cheese bread
- 3. Brownies with frosting
- 4. Sourdough bread
- 5. Walnut Tassies
- 6. Apple Tassies
- 7. Citrus cupcakes
- 8. Cinnamon roll cake
- 9. Lemon cake with lemon frosting
3. Read 4 books
- 1. "Dreamers and Deceivers" Glenn Beck
- 2. "Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims" Rush Limbaugh
- 3. "Rush Revere and the First Patriots" Rush Limbaugh
- 4. "St. Patrick of Ireland" Philip Freeman
- 5. "Rush Revere and the American Revolution" Rush Limbaugh
4. Not cut my hair
-I'm known for having rather long hair but it's been awhile since it was really long. I'd like to get there again and then I'd like to donate it again maybe come next January.
5. Clean out the basement
This might take me more than three months but it's a goal. Our basement is just a spidery mess of other people's stuff that I need to go through, get rid of, and clean up. I'd like it to not have anything we don't need or use.
-Go through hubby's grandparent's and hubby's dad's stuff and if it needs to be kept it needs to belong somewhere (other than the basement)
-Get rid of the garbage/ damaged stuff from the flood
-Get rid of the mattress
-Get rid of the boards
-Get rid of the paint cans
-Clear out my mom and sister's stuff
-Clear out Jessika's stuff
-Give Dave's huge fan back
-Scrape up the old paint on the floor
-Wash the floor
-Clean the walls
-Move the ping pong table to other side
-Move the tool and dye stuff (grandpa's) to tool room
- I'd like it to be a place little Abe can ride his bike around in and where we can do art projects (and for it to not be gross)
6. Only spend every other day/ 45 NO SPEND days
- 28 so far
7. Build the emergency fund back up
- $1000
Average daily spending for 2015: $19.59
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Groceries, groceries, blah, blah, blah
I spent $38.73 at the grocery store today including a newspaper for $2. It had some great coupons in it. I clipped $22 worth of coupons for almost all things I regularly purchase. Now that's rare! I'll try and use each of the coupons while the items are on sale. That's always my goal anyhow.
So far this year I've spent $91.67 ($15.29 a day) on food groceries and $25.89 ($4.32 a day) on other. The next two days should be no spends (I've factored them into the averages).
We'll have barbecue chicken breasts with mashed potatoes and corn tonight, ground chicken tacos tomorrow, and the mushroom soup chicken again on Tuesday (I really loved it). I've not planned farther out than that but I'll need to shop again on Wednesday for the regulars; Juice and milk and hopefully not much more.
I should be at 4 NO SPEND days for the year by Tuesday.
I haven't logged into facebook thus far.
I've gotten rid of two large boxes of clutter already.
Average daily spending for 2015: $19.59
So far this year I've spent $91.67 ($15.29 a day) on food groceries and $25.89 ($4.32 a day) on other. The next two days should be no spends (I've factored them into the averages).
We'll have barbecue chicken breasts with mashed potatoes and corn tonight, ground chicken tacos tomorrow, and the mushroom soup chicken again on Tuesday (I really loved it). I've not planned farther out than that but I'll need to shop again on Wednesday for the regulars; Juice and milk and hopefully not much more.
I should be at 4 NO SPEND days for the year by Tuesday.
I haven't logged into facebook thus far.
I've gotten rid of two large boxes of clutter already.
Average daily spending for 2015: $19.59
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Facebook... gah!
I decided to not log into facebook this month: facebook free January. I kind of love facebook. I've friends all over the world and it's such a great way to keep in touch and well it gives such a terrific false sense of human interaction. It's also such a huge waste of time and I'm certain I have an addiction. Now facebook is driving me crazy. I haven't logged in for three days and they keep e-mailing me telling me that I've so many un-read messages and so many notifications pending. When did they start doing this? I've gone a few days without logging in before and now one day without and I'm getting "come back" e-mails. Kind of pushy, eh?
Staying away the first two days was easy. Now after two e-mails I feel like I'm missing out on something by not checking these un-read messages and pending notifications. Am I missing anything, no! I have a telephone. Most people who would need to contact me can call. gah!
Staying away the first two days was easy. Now after two e-mails I feel like I'm missing out on something by not checking these un-read messages and pending notifications. Am I missing anything, no! I have a telephone. Most people who would need to contact me can call. gah!
Christmas Clearance
I bought a box of candy canes for 37 cents (yesterday). I bought a gingerbread house kit for $2.69 (Monday). Those two items are the total of my Christmas clearance purchases. I didn't buy any wrapping paper or decorations or other Christmas candies or toys. Working in a supermarket makes resisting such things very difficult but I think I did good this year. Sidenote: there would have been nothing wrong with purchasing any of the above in normal circumstances. Christmas clearance is a great way to buy any of those things except that I was behind on the bills for December and it would have been counterproductive to "save" money on a ton of reduced Christmas items.
We decorated the gingerbread house last night after our scrumptious chicken dinner (the chicken turned out super tasty!). He had so much fun with this. It was well worth the $2.69 that I paid for it.
Friday, January 2, 2015
I'm so insanely proud of myself right now it's at least slightly absurd
First: I bought almost twelve pounds of fresh chicken breasts today for $22. That's less than $2 a pound. Only catch is that my husband doesn't like chicken breast. He says he always gets gristle in his. I should rephrase that, he pretty much only likes ground meats. Ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey. Call me mean but I've decided that since I do all the grocery shopping, all the budgeting, all the cooking, and since I've spent several years cooking only what he likes it's about time I start making stuff I like too every now and again. Happy New Year!
Second: tonight I made a brand new chicken dish. It's in the oven right now and smells awesome. I should not be this excited to eat baked chicken breast but I really really am! I tweaked a recipe to use what I had on hand so hopefully it turns out as good as it smells: three chicken breasts (I pounded them pretty flat), a can of cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup of sour cream (which I was excited about because I had just about that much in the fridge that I was about to throw away... just about to go bad), 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, salt and pepper. Baked for an hour at 350F.
Third: I cut all of the gristle I could find off of the three chicken breasts before I put them in the oven and I didn't want to throw raw chicken in the trash can. We don't produce a ton of trash and I knew it would start to smell way before I needed to empty the trash can. So I threw the yuck pieces in water and popped them on the stove. My "boil the chicken junk so it doesn't smell" idea instantly became "make soup" instead. I also don't make soup. My husband also doesn't like soup. I know, you're thinking, "who is this guy you married Rivulet?" I'd answer a guy who was raised on steak and potatoes and tv dinners. His mom does not cook.
I boiled the soup for almost an hour with some carrots, a rapidly aging onion that I might have thrown out if I hadn't decided to make soup with it, garlic powder, and a little salt. I took the chicken bits out after the hour and threw in some corn and peas. I just tasted my thrown together soup and it will make a fabulous lunch for me and little Abe sometime this week. I'll probably make some baking powder biscuits to go with it. They's so rustic, easy, quick, and little Abe has a lot of fun making them with me.
Yep, I'm way proud of my accomplishments for this second day of January.
Average daily spending for 2015: $26.27
But that'll drop down pretty fast. I did a good job shopping today.
Second: tonight I made a brand new chicken dish. It's in the oven right now and smells awesome. I should not be this excited to eat baked chicken breast but I really really am! I tweaked a recipe to use what I had on hand so hopefully it turns out as good as it smells: three chicken breasts (I pounded them pretty flat), a can of cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 cup of sour cream (which I was excited about because I had just about that much in the fridge that I was about to throw away... just about to go bad), 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, salt and pepper. Baked for an hour at 350F.
Third: I cut all of the gristle I could find off of the three chicken breasts before I put them in the oven and I didn't want to throw raw chicken in the trash can. We don't produce a ton of trash and I knew it would start to smell way before I needed to empty the trash can. So I threw the yuck pieces in water and popped them on the stove. My "boil the chicken junk so it doesn't smell" idea instantly became "make soup" instead. I also don't make soup. My husband also doesn't like soup. I know, you're thinking, "who is this guy you married Rivulet?" I'd answer a guy who was raised on steak and potatoes and tv dinners. His mom does not cook.
I boiled the soup for almost an hour with some carrots, a rapidly aging onion that I might have thrown out if I hadn't decided to make soup with it, garlic powder, and a little salt. I took the chicken bits out after the hour and threw in some corn and peas. I just tasted my thrown together soup and it will make a fabulous lunch for me and little Abe sometime this week. I'll probably make some baking powder biscuits to go with it. They's so rustic, easy, quick, and little Abe has a lot of fun making them with me.
Yep, I'm way proud of my accomplishments for this second day of January.
Average daily spending for 2015: $26.27
But that'll drop down pretty fast. I did a good job shopping today.
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