Spring Purging, Organizing. . . and Spending

The past couple of weeks I have been in purge & organize mode again. It always amazes me how I ALWAYS have things to donate, freecycle, or throw away--no matter how recently I went through everything.

This past week I worked on the a few sections of the big rolltop desk--thanks to Smiley, who I allowed to climb up on the desk and sit and go through drawers. I didn't mind--until he pulled all kinds of things out of drawers and slots and made a big mess. But actually, even then I didn't mind--I have been meaning to give the whole desk a thorough going-through, and so he gave me reason to start.

And it turned out to be so productive!  He found an envelope in which I had stashed a bunch of random gift cards and merchandise credits--for safekeeping, of course. Which meant I had completely forgotten about them, of course.  I took the time to call the phone #'s on the back of each card to see if they were still any good. And they all were!  So here's what I ended up with:

$100 card to Walmart
$15 card to Safeway
$10 card to Trader Joe's
Approx $16 credit at Williams-Sonoma
Approx $12 credit at Toys R Us
$100 card to Home Depot

Whoo-hoo!

And then, because I am in Getting-It-Done-and-Out-of-My-Thoughts mode, I also made it a priority to spend them.

--I stop by Trader Joe's already about every week or so, so that baby was easy to spend.

--I got an email from Swagbucks offering 2 Swagbucks for every dollar spent online at Walmart. Perfect!  So I went and found the exact size of storage containers I was already planning on buying from Target (12 bins total), and a galvanized metal bin I am hoping can hold boots in the kids' closest.  Free shipping on the whole order. With tax, I paid $18.00.  I will end up getting about 200 Swagbucks for the entire order, which will bring my Swagbucks total up high enough to get $5 free on amazon.com. 

--Williams-Sonoma sent, with perfect timing, an email offer for free shipping on any size order. So I ordered these gorgeous glass food storage containers, and a stainless steel kitchen funnel, both on sale. With the gift card, I paid $8 total.

Those last two really made me feel thrifty! I was purchasing things I already needed and planned on buying, but I got them almost completely free, and saved myself the driving to boot. : )  The last couple of cards I will spend ASAP.  Safeway is actually the closest store to our house, I just don't go there as often because they don't have the best prices or selection on the things I routinely buy. But I will make a point of stopping by this week. The Toys R Us one will be a little trickier--but I have a friend I will offer it to for diapers, and if she does not need that, I guess I will go look for little things on sale for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. : )

The Home Depot card I will give to DH to spend, next time he goes there. He does so frequently when working on projects, so that should be very quickly used!

I also made myself make some returns this past week, which also ended up "saving" me money and getting things out of my house--win-win!  The jeans I ordered (again, free shipping & on sale) from Old Navy for Sunny which didn't fit her (I ordered several and we kept the two that fit best)--$40.  Craft supplies we didn't end up needing for a project, which I could have saved to maybe use someday, but which I was much happier taking back--$13.  A Trader Joe's reusable cloth bag which had come completely unstitched after only a few uses, and which I took in to exchange, which they did. (Not getting rid of clutter there, but eliminating an annoyance, for free. : )

Finally, while Smiley was up there ransacking the desk, he pulled out our store of savings bonds. Looking at those brought back so many fond memories, as many of them were bought for me by my grandmother, who is now deceased,  to celebrate birthdays, graduations, marriage.  I took the time to look up all those bonds online, and write lightly in pencil what they are worth at this point in time.  While doing so I learned that some of the bonds have not only doubled or tripled their value (or more!) but some are also mature, so will not be earning any more interest. Time to take them to the bank!  I think the total of the mature bonds was about $2000.  I know Grandma would be so pleased at how her wise and loving investment is going to bless us now.

And it really is perfect timing, since we really don't have a lot extra every month, and we have some expensive things needs at the moment--vehicle & house repairs, dental work, etc.

Re-discovering, investigating, and scurrying around town and on the web making the most of these gifts made me feel like such a good little hausfrau and steward.  So satisfying!  I know those amounts of money might seem small to some people, but they made me happy, as did spending them as carefully as I could.

What's a little bit of happiness/satisfaction from your week?  I would love to hear it. : )

Smiley's big-boy haircut

I cut all the hair in our family, except my own.  (For me I splurge on the quarterly CostCutters visit--it is just too obnoxious trying to do a decent job on my own bangs.) Smiley has had two haircuts from me previously in his life, the first I think just over a year ago.  That first "real" haircut happened by accident; his bangs were in his eyes, so I intended just to trim them, but then had to trim around the ears too. . . but I hated to cut off the adorable curls in the back. . . and when it was all said and done I stepped back and gave a horrified cry, "I just gave my son a mullet!" 

After the shock wore off, he started to look pretty darn cute in it, actually.  Like an adorable little two-year-old boy should look (at least to my Central Illinois late 70's-early 80's memories of childhood ; ). But, alas, I am pretty sure this happened a year ago, at the same time that our computer crashed, and as far as I can tell, any pics of him in his first mullet are part of the data that was lost. 

Then I meant to give him a haircut this summer, before my family came out, and it just did not happen.  I was so crazy busy trying to get stuff done before they came, and the haircut was in the category of "would like to happen," and to be honest, I never quite made it out of the "I'll just die of embarassment if that is still like that when they get here" category.  (Thank you, family, for politely averting your eyes from some of the things that you would think any decent housewife/daughter/sister would have taken care of before such a monumental visit.  Sigh.)

My little tousled surfer boy.

But when my cousin Stacia's wedding came up in the Fall, I had to do something, and kinda just grabbed locks of hair and cut them off while we were walking out of the door.  Yes, it was that good.  But at least his hair was out of his eyes again (and I cut off some of the back, so there was no more outgrown mullet, blech) and so he did not look terrible for the wedding (and Disney!) photos:

But by the time the holidays came around, my little guy was looking pretty shaggy.  Below is the day we went to cut down our Christmas tree:

He's still so cute, of course. ; )  But I'm not a fan of long hair on boys, and had previously only been hesitant to go short for two reasons:  a) I had not wanted to lose the adorable baby curls at the back, and b) I did not want him to all of a sudden look like a big boy.  Yes, I confess, I did not want to lose my little  boy any sooner than I had to.  But with the pre-wedding haircut I had finally trimmed the curls in the back off, and it looked like they were not going to be growing back (sob), so there went that reason.  And he was looking like such a mophead, I knew it was time for the "big boy" haircut.

You're going to do what with those scissors? 

Just kidding.  Could not resist sticking in a random but adorable pants-on-the-head-while-on-the-potty pic.

And so, the day before we went up for Christmas with DH's parents, I cut Smiley's hair. And I was so pleasantly surprised to find that he did not look less like a toddler, but did look oh so much cuter!

Not bad for a scissor cut on a wiggly three-year-old.  Mom and Dad, these are the pics from when we were talking on the phone together, and I told you that Smiley got his phone and was pretending to talk to you too, next to me on the bed.  It was over the top adorable. 

Ohhhh, I love how his haircut shows off his sweet, oh-so-kissable cheeks!  And his hair off his forehead brings out his bright brown eyes. 

Mmmmmmmmmmmm.  I just can't get enough of my boy, and his haircut made him all the yummier.  : )

He is a blessing to my heart, even when he is being VERY "three," as we say, and I am always mindful to enjoy every moment I get.

Saturdays, Continued.

OK, so I was telling you Sat. about the first Saturday of Blessing a few weeks back, when I got to spend the whole day with a fabulous group of homeschool moms (maybe I should have mentioned each of the women there I also count as friend--including my dear Becky--which, as you can imagine, totally magnified the fabulousness) being mentored in homeschooling and uplifted by the Spirit.

Then the following Saturday was even more amazing and restorative for my soul. 

A friend had told me about a "Community Farm Day" happening at a local organic farm, and so we decided to go as a family.  This is where my words are bound to fail me, as I cannot spend enough time on this post to choose all the right words and phrasings to describe the perfect, simple, heavenly goodness of that day.  Our goal was to pick organic tomatoes (at $1.50/lb, which is really good for this area), and so we did that first.  Happy was my partner, Sunny and Merry teamed up, and DH took Smiley, and we each took separate rows and had WAY more fun picking tomatoes than I ever thought we would.

The day was gorgeous--sunshiney and warm but not too hot, and in about 30 minutes we had picked about 30 lbs of tomatoes!  And we ate quite a few too--the farmers had told everyone they would be welcome to eat as much as they wanted right there in the field, and even said to bring your salt-shaker!  : )  Somehow the generosity of the farmer spread the warmth of the day throughout my spirit, and even though I have not been the biggest fan of tomatoes in my lifetime, that day has forever changed them for me.  It was the first time in my life I ate a tomato right off the vine that was warm, and perfectly ripe, and so sweet. . . I have eaten my fair share of fresh homegrown tomatoes, people, and these tasted like the day--the best I have ever tasted.

When we were done picking, we were just in time to hop aboard a flatbed pulled by a tractor, and got the tour of the farm.  The tour stopped midway at the apple grove and everyone got to pick a Gala to eat on the spot, and were invited to pick a few strawberries, and when we got back to the tomatoes, the farmer said we were welcome to pick raspberries and eat what we like while picking.  And that is when the day went from amazing to heaven for me.  I am allergic to most raw fruits, including apples; raspberries do me no harm, but organic ones are so expensive at the store, and usually pretty flavorless.  These were flat-out the best raspberries I have ever tried in my life.  No, it was not just the whole experience coloring my taste-buds--other people there said the same thing.  So to walk through the comfortably baking raspberry patch picking berries with Smiley and watching him stuff them into his little chubby cheeks, to savor the flavor of those berries and eat as much as I wanted. . . seriously, it was so beautiful. 

And then on the way home we stopped at the homes of friends delivering gifts of those lovely tomatoes, since anything that wonderful can only be made better by sharing.  Later, those friends also told me the tomatoes were absolutely fantastic--and knowing their pleasure just keeps giving me pleasure.

The event was free.  We paid for the tomatoes, but they were a good deal and so worth it.  (In fact, while I meant to freeze some for later on, we enjoyed them so much we ate ALL of them fresh over the next two weeks!) I figure we ate at least $20 of raspberries, and I would have paid them for that priviledge.  And it was me and my family out in God's bountiful creation, enjoying the sun, the flavors of summer, and one another.

It was the most fun we have had together in a long time (not counting all the fun with my family when they were here--I mean just our little family unit).  In fact, I think it is one of the most fun things we have done ever.

And the tomatoes were so worthwhile that I jumped to take advantage of a second opportunity to pick on Saturday, which was why I did not finish this post that day like I had planned!  This time it was not the whole farm-utopian event, just tomatoes, so I did not take the  whole family but just the girls--but eating those tomatoes again this week brings the first flush of pleasure rushing back.

file under "score one for my adventuresome kids"

Today's breakfast:  Peach Oatmeal Smoothie

Ingredients:

The last of the whole fat yoghurt (about 3/4 cup)
One large bowl leftover cold oatmeal (originally cooked with cinnamon)
Small bag frozen peaches
Last of the skim milk (about one cup? a little more?)
Generous dollup of honey

Blend it all up, serve immediately.  See if the kids can guess what all is in it.  Be amazed when they say it's decent enough that if I made it again they would gladly eat it.

Served with a side of fresh strawberries and an assortment of nuts.

And it was all stuff I wanted to use up!  (even the honey, which is getting old and crystalizing)  Whoo-hoo!

So glad my kids are so used to eating weird stuff trying new dishes that they happily try almost anything. : )

Dinner 2: Big Cozy Beef Pot with Sautéed Veggie Polenta

**Please see DISCLAIMERS on the post for Dinner #1.

For Aubrey, who had typical pantry goods and the following Foods To Use Up: carrots, celery, asparagus, ground beef, quinoa polenta. Gluten free and dairy free!

Main Dish:  Big Cozy Beef Pot 

Ingredients:

--1 big onion (yellow or white)
--celery, chopped
--mushrooms (optional, if you have them and like them)
--carrot, chopped
--Better Than Bullion or broth of some kind
--1 can tomato sauce
--1 can diced tomatoes
--1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
--Approx. ½ tsp. garlic powder, or more to taste
--1-2 Tsp. Rosemary, or more to taste
--1 bay leaf
--pepper (lots!)
--frozen green beans or peas (optional, I recommend using if NOT using mushroom)
--fresh parsley if you have it (optional, I recommend using if NOT using peas)

In your big pot, sauté the onion and celery (approximately similar amounts of each veggie) in olive oil for a few minutes, until soft and translucent, adding tablespoon of water if necessary to keep them from getting too brown. Add mushrooms if you like, and sauté a few minutes more.

Add carrot and along with it about 1-2 inches of water and a little "Better Than Bullion" (or just use the broth of your choice) in your pot. Crank up your heat and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until carrots are mostly done.

In the meantime, (or before, depending on how well you multi-task, or don’t) cook your ground beef in a separate skillet however you like. (You can use the same pot as the veggies, if you like, just cook the meat first, then remove and set it aside until you need it again.)

When carrots are almost done, uncover and add the cooked ground beef, the tomato sauce and canned chopped tomatoes, the kidney beans, the garlic powder and herbs. Stir well and re-cover. When the ingredients reach a simmer, add the frozen green beans if you want them. Stir well and cover and cook at a low simmer for about 5-15 minutes, however long seems right, stirring as necessary.

When ready, remove bay leaf and stir in pepper. If adding frozen peas, add them here at the end and stir well—they will get cooked just enough by the heat of the other foods. If you did not use peas and have fresh parsley, snip some into the pot and stir in.  Pepper (and salt) to taste.

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Side Dish: Sautéed Veggie Polenta

Ingredients:

--chopped onion (any will do, even green)
--diced garlic
--asparagus, snapped into approx. 1 inch segments
--sweet red pepper (if you have it), cut into one-inch long strips
--mushrooms (if you have them and if you like them), sliced thinly
--1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (if you have them and like them)
--a little broth
--dried basil, pepper, salt if you like

In skillet, sauté chopped onion and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes, adding a tablespoon of water if necessary to keep from sticking. Add red pepper and mushroom if you have them, and sauté for a few more minutes. Add asparagus and sauté for just a few minutes—no longer than 3 minutes!

Meanwhile, crumble the quinoa polenta in a bowl—use a fork or potato masher if necessary. If you like the consistency as is, then great. If you think it is too dry, add a little warm broth (can use some from main dish) and mash together. (The goal is a grainy texture, but not too dry—if it ends up mush that will not be as nice on the tongue but should still taste great!)

When veggies are ready, add polenta to skillet along with just a little broth and stir well.

Add garbanzo beans. Add a sprinkle of dried basil and pepper (salt if desired), put the lid on the pot and set heat to low. Let asparagus and veggies steam for a few minutes, and the quinoa get warm throughout. But do NOT let the asparagus get overdone! This will be the trickiest part of the meal to time, because overcooked asparagus is just no good. So if you are worried about the timing, don’t sauté the asparagus with the other veggies, but just add it to the pot with the quinoa polenta and add a bit more broth so they can steam fully. Remember the asparagus will continue to cook after you turn off the heat as long as the lid is on the pot, and time things accordingly.

(I apologize, Aubrey, if you know all about cooking asparagus—some of the people who read this may not!)

If you have fresh basil, use it instead of the dry, but just snip it into the dish at the very end and mix it in before you serve. Or you can snip green onion or fresh parsley on top too! OR chop some fresh diced tomato on top before you serve. . . a little fresh taste with a hot grainy dish does amazing things!

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There you are, Aubrey! I think these two dishes would taste good served together, but you could omit the beans from one of the dishes if you do. (They should be really good with this dish if the polenta turns out more grainy than mushy—if the polenta is mushy, omit the beans and leave them in the entrée.) A green salad would be perfect on the side, but you already have so many beautiful veggies represented that if you are tired of chopping after you have made these dishes, they will be fine on their own.

Please let us know if you actually make either of these! : )

Dinner 1: Savory Cabbage and Potato Pot

Our first dinner in the Blessed Table Dinner Challenge!

DISCLAIMERS: I cook on a gas stove, and whenever I cook on someone else’s electric I am always completely flummoxed by how long it takes for the burner to respond to my changes on the dial, so I apologize right now if my instructions for managing temperature don’t work with your stove. Think about how you normally cook, how your stovetop normally responds, and modify my instructions as needed!

You are always welcome to chop your veggies into whatever shapes are most pleasing to you—I made suggestions here that seem to fit the flavors and feel of the dish, and that look pretty together. : ) Just remember to keep your chopped veggies roughly the same size, so they cook about the same length of time.

And remember, I am making this up in my head, but I am a visual person and cook best with the ingredients in front of me. So, do what seems logical! If I say half a cabbage and your cabbage is small and you have a lot of the other ingredients, then use the whole cabbage. Keep things proportional—that’s the key. : )

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Anon’s list of Things to Be Used Up: Ground turkey, cabbage, Maui Onions, spinach, carrots and regular pantry staples on hand. Given this combination—esp. the sweet nature of those Maui onions and sautéed cabbage—I immediately thought of Eastern European flavors.


Savory Cabbage and Potato Pot

Ingredients:
--ground turkey (don’t know how to approximate amounts of this—one package? Eye-ball it so you don't end up with proportionally more meat than the amount of veggies)
--One large Maui onion (or 2 small), sliced in thin rounds
--About ½ a medium green cabbage, chopped
--About 3-4 carrots, quartered lengthwise and then cut into 1 inch pieces
--About 2-3 potatoes—red, gold, russet—chopped into pieces 1” or smaller (you want to end up with proportionally a little more potato than carrot, so adjust the # of potatoes you use depending upon how big they are)
--garlic powder, pepper, dried dill weed (if you don’t have dill, go with crushed dried rosemary and thyme)
--a lot of fresh spinach, rinsed and sorted (I dunno, about ½ a bag? Remember, it will reduce drastically, so always add a little more than you think you need) If the leaves are really big, then tear or chop. If baby spinach, just toss in as is.
--OPTIONAL but recommended: sour cream, yogurt, or sharp cheddar cheese (any cheddar will do, but sharp is best)

Cook your ground turkey in a skillet however you like. (That’s as close to instructions as this vegetarian can get!)

(To save washing an extra pot, you can cook the meat and then transfer it to another dish and use the same pot for the next steps. Or if you prefer to be cooking them at the same time, you can use two pots.)

In large pot, sauté onion and cabbage in olive oil for a few minutes until transluscent, adding a tablespoon of water every now and then, as necessary, to keep them from sticking and getting too brown.

Add a little water—about ¾ cup--and add your chopped carrots. Cover the pot and crank up the heat, bringing the contents to a simmer. When simmering, add the potato and stir, adjusting the temperature under the pot to keep the food simmering, but not boiling. Cover and let cook for at least 5 minutes. When potatoes and carrots feel mostly done (fork prick test), add ground turkey and stir well. Sprinkle liberally with garlic powder and pepper and LOTS of dried dill. (Can salt too, if you desire, just go easy. : ) Cook, uncovered now, for about 5-10 minutes, until everything is hot and cooked through.

When it all looks good, toss in your fresh spinach and stir it in. Put on the lid, set to low heat, and let it cook for about 2 minutes more. Uncover, turn off the heat, stir, and sprinkle one last round of dill. (Can’t have too much dill!)

At this point you have options—you can mix in a couple tablespoons of sour cream or yogurt right there in the pot and serve it like that (not too much, now!). You can add some grated sharp cheddar cheese on top. You can deliver it to the table as is, and allow people to add sour cream/yogurt/cheese if they desire. You can even do a little of both your creamy white and your shredded orange! You can serve this over or alongside egg noodles or brown rice, or just have garlic bread on the side. Make a nice green salad and some applesauce sprinkled with cinnamon and you have a beautiful, healthy meal!

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Here you are, Anon! You did not say the color of your cabbage, so I just assumed green. Red won’t be as nice in this dish, if that’s what you have—I usually reserve red cabbage for salads—but you can use it, or leave it out and just use the other ingredients. If you use rosemary instead of dill, might want to add it when you add the water, to let it cook longer. You did not say what kind of spinach you had, so I guessed fresh. If your spinach is frozen, just thaw it out beforehand, and then add it when you add the ground turkey, to let the flavors meld a bit longer. And if your spinach was frozen, add more dill, and go with the grated cheddar on top instead of the sour cream.  And if you didn't have potatoes, no worries!  Just use all that cabbage, and be sure to serve alongside a starch, like rice. 

Please let us know if you actually try this dish!  : )

The Blessed Table Dinner Challenge is on!

Since only three brave souls wanted to play, everyone's a winner!  So, Aubrey, Stacy, and Nydia, you're on!  (Except, um, Stacy?  If that mac n cheese is a week old, I am barring it from the game--just my luck it would give you food poisoning and everyone would blame ME! ; )

So here's what you do:
1) leave a comment here telling me what you have in the fridge that you really want to use up, and what foods your family loves (i.e. Mexican, Italian, etc.) and what foods they hate, and any particular dietary needs of your family.  (don't worry, I'm not asking you to be exhaustive--just give me the basics)

2) I will try to "make" you a dinner from your list!  I'll assume you have staples like milk, some cheese, basic veggies like potatoes and carrots and some basic canned goods like tomato sauce, so be sure to tell me if you are out of something you think I might use.

If you leave your list by Friday noon, I will "make" your dinner that afternoon!   If you don't see this or have a chance to comment by then, don't worry, just post your list when it is convenient, and I will respond as soon as I can!  (DH's parents might be coming for this 3-day weekend, and we have a birthday party AND the start of a homeschool "camp" here!  Whew!)

Thanks for playing, ladies.  This just might be fun!

Oh, and Stacy, thanks for the game name idea--your explanation is good, and I love the additional implication that my whipping up dinner is sometimes a "miracle."  too true.  But I am balking at there being the least thought in anyone's minds that I think what I come up with is anything even remotely close to what Jesus would.  ; )  (WWJD? Not put that ricotta into a soup with that pumpkin and that oatmeal, is what y'all would be thinking!)

I'm really excited about this!  Thanks for humoring me. : )

Let Freecycle Play Santa!

Oh, my dear friends, family and readers, I am feeling lots of joy and goodwill towards humankind this morning.  I have written before about freecycle, so you all know how awesome it is for blessing others with your unwanted stuff.  But this weekend we are experiencing the other side, that is really special at this time of year--receiving gifts of generosity from complete strangers.

Last year I saw how our local freecycle group was suggesting people could post "Dear Santa" lists--which is pretty much no different than the usual way of asking, except that the "Santa" element suggests an added element of holiday spirit, and I think people might consider responding to those lists with an extra generous spirit.  We have to be careful with our finances this year, as most people do these days, and as always most of what we will be giving the children is something they need--on the list this year, for example, are a new bike helmet, a child's leather belt, new shoes, a raincoat for the biggest girl, etc.  But we also try to get a few fun, good things that we think will be enjoyed.  For example, for over a year Happy has been wanting to learn to play the ukelele.  So cute!  But when I looked online earlier this year for a "real" one, and not just a toy, I was discouraged because the ukeleles I found either looked like junk, or were hundreds of dollars! 

But when I saw the announcement the other day from our local freecycle group about the "Dear Santa" lists, I thought I would try.  So I made a simple post:

Dear Santa,


We would like a nice ukelele to give to our daughter for Christmas. One that is meant to be played as an instrument, not a toy.


Thank you!

A few hours later, I saw I had received in my inbox this response, from a lady named Diana:

I have a uke you may have.  I bought it about 12 years ago for $75 & I never learned to play it.  So it would be wonderful if it could bless someone instead of hanging on my wall.  It would be great to know that someone was playing it m& having fun with it.  It is a Hilo model 2651 & it has the serial # inside as well.

I am going to meet her this afternoon to pick it up.  How cool is that?!

And then last night, after DH and I finalized the gift list, I made this post:

Dear Santa,


We got some tracks, but need some trains! We are looking for the trains that fit the Thomas/Brio sized wooden tracks. We prefer wooden or die-cast metal, but plastic would be fine too if they are in good shape. Santa, maybe you know of a child who has outgrown his? We would give them a great home!

And this morning I found this response in my in-box, from a lady named Mary:
 
I have a bag of these I picked up at a yard sale.  Some pieces seem to be metal, some plastic and some wood.  There are also some wooden track pieces.  My plan was to buy more tracks and gift them to my great nephew, but I looked at tracks at a toy store and they're expensive!!  So, this bag of goodies is all yours if you want it. 
 
I'll be picking these up today as well. 

Some people don't think giving used gifts is appropriate; I think it depends upon who you are giving to.  My kids get used things all the time as gifts, and they are growing up seeing the value of the thing, not whether or not they are the first ones to take it out of its package.  Now, if the toys are really banged up, I might not choose to wrap them all up under the tree--we would just wrap up a few pieces in good condition or put them in the kids' stockings.  The rest we would bring out later.  Whatever we will give the kids will be clean and nice looking, no matter where it comes from. : )

Used goods save money and don't add to our carbon footprint--frugal and green, two of my goals for more healthy living. Of course anyone asking for free things has to use her judgement, as some things would not be good to ask for--old baby toys that might have phalates or lead, for example. But as my day attests, freecycle can not only be a great way to get some very cool gifts, but can also generate all kinds of Christmas cheer in your community!  And I am ALL about spreading the love. : )

UPDATE:
Picked up the things. Ukelele is beautiful wood, looks new.  Trains are mainly plastic, but they are "Thomas" pieces so they are cute and look brand new!  So happy with these FREE things.  Now I just need to offer something on freecycle in the same spirit, and keep the love going!

Saving produce without plastic

A few weeks back, on the Fake Plastic Fish blog, Beth Terry was featuring a new facebook group she started called The Plastic Crap Wall of Shame.  It's pretty eye-opening:

individually pacaged ice cubes.  yes. really.

Basically it is to raise awareness of the worst plastics for our environment--single use plastics, things which are made just to be immediately thrown away as soon as they are bought. But the group also features plastic items that have limited usefulness, to raise our awareness of how we spend money on plastic things that we could easily do without.  Specifically the other day she mentioned little plastic containers for storing left-over fruits:

The jokes for this partiular item just tell themselves.  

But if people are buying these kinds of food savers, then it must be because don't readily think of other ways to keep these things fresh.  So, just in case it is helpful to any of you out there, here are some of the ways I save produce without plastic baggies or special containers:

Banana
For anyone wanting to save half a banana, here is the trick: don't slice it in half before peeling. Peel it down to expose as much of the banana as you plan on eating, but then break off the amount of banana you want. Ideally you break it off as close to the untorn peel as possible. Then just lay the banana in the fridge with the peel naturally lying mostly closed. The next day, not only is the banana still good, but the end should only be the teeniest bit darkened--not at all unappetizing. If you wait more than one day, you may have to cut off the smallest sliver of darkened banana at the end, if the slight discoloration bothers you.

Avocado
Nowadays I never cover my half of an avodado--I just keep the half with the pit and stick the whole thing in the fridge bare on the shelf (flesh side up, obviously) and the air causes just the very top of the exposed flesh to cure, like the skin on pudding. The next day or day after when I want to use it, I just take a sharp knife and cut away the "skin", and underneath it is perfectly fresh. I don't consider this wasteful, since even when I used to put it in a storage container or--long ago--wrap it in a piece of plastic wrap, the outer edge would still get discolored and I would still end up trimming it.

Tomato
If you have half of a tomato left-over, just place it sliced side down on a ceramic saucer--the juices will basically seal the cut to the saucer surface, stick it in the fridge on a shelf, and it will be still fresh the next day (this is for a tomato that has not been peeled, obviously).  If you feel better about containing it, do the same thing in a small Pyrex or other brand of glass storage container that has a lid.  I just don't recommend doing this in a plastic storage container, since the acid in the tomato juices will make the plastic leach chemicals.

But I actually don't end up with that many bits left over--I learned long ago the number one way to reduce food waste in my kitchen was to cook with whole produce as much as possible.  So that means if the recipe calls for half of a vegetable, I always throw in the whole thing.  Never once has this ruined the dish. ; )  I try to do the same thing with canned goods, within reason--so if the recipe calls for 1 T tomato paste, clearly I'll be saving the rest for future use, but if it calls for 1/2 a can of tomato sauce, I'll usually throw the whole can in.

AND here is the perfect, mess free way to butter corn on the cob: use a stick of butter, and just tear off an inch of paper from one end.  Hold the papered end while you slide the exposed end against your corn. You now have the perfect tool for buttering that is much easier than a knife (and probably does not waste as much) and keeps your fingers neat to boot! If it is a hot day, use a frozen stick of butter, and it will go easily on the hot corn but will not soften in your hands as quickly.

Ok, so those are some of my ideas.  Anyone else have any easy and waste-free food storage ideas?

And the whole article on single-use plastics was fascinating--I recommend it.

swagbucks follow-up

Just today I scored 49 SB for one search ("chromosomes"), and then 10 for another ("What Your Kindergartner Should Know")! Whoo-hoo!

I have never won so many in one day--but forgot to mention in my SB post that Fridays are the MUST SEARCH days, because Swagbucks advertizes that they give away bigger prizes on those days. 

And I just started participating in the "daily poll" which you access from the Swagbucks search page--takes literally 20 seconds max and gets you 1 SB.  Well, if I remember to do that when I am on the computer already, it will be an easy 200 SB a year, I figure.  Remember, the goal is to get SB without effort.  This fits.

There are also NOSO: "No Obligation Special Offers" you can view daily to earn 1 SB.  Takes about 1 minute to click through about 5-6 offers and click the "no" button for all of them--so don't know that I will do this routinely, but maybe.  If I did it whenever I also did the poll, then I can easily see 400 SB a year.

Now, it takes 450 SB to get one $5.00 Amazon gift card, which is my goal.  So that could seem like a lot of work for very little return.  Except I am already getting about 14 SB a DAY (not week, as I first mistakenly wrote) for my usual searches, which I would expect would get me a minimum of 3500 SB a year. . . so add the 400 to that, and you have an EASY 4000 SB a year--which translates to $40 bucks in cold, hard, virtual cash. ; )  I can use that. 

AND I did some research into the Swagbucks partner stores, and found out that some of them are ones I plan on using this next year, and you get 2 SB for every 1 dollar you spend.  Some of the stores I plan on visiting--so I would be giving them my $ anyway and now get SB as icing on the cake--are The Children's Place, Snapfish, Shoes.com, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Target, Kohls. . . and since I only order from these places when there are specials on shipping I should be able to score big!

Mom. . . just so you know, Fannie May Candies and Hanna Andersson are two of the partner stores.  Ahem. 

So for me, Swagbucks is a clear no-brainer.  It won't be for everyone so don't consider this a sales pitch but just an FYI.

swagbucks, celebrated

This is another one of those posts that I have been meaning to write for a looooong time. 

You have probably wondered at some point what that little thing over on my right-hand sidebar that says "Swagbucks" is all about.  Swagbucks is essentially a marketing tool--but I don't see how they are making any money off of me, the way I use it, and I am getting free money in return. 

Seriously.  I recently decided to finally cash in my accummulated swagbucks (SB) for gift cards to amazon.com, and just yesterday I used them to get books for our home library.  I got thirty bucks worth of books, for free.  And the gift cards are good for any amazon purchase--food, clothes, music, toys, whatever is being sold through amazon!

Now, there are lots of other ways you can cash in your swagbucks--the most bang for your buck is actually music downloads, but we don't download music yet (I know, we are SO nineteen nineties) and I get a lot of stuff on amazon, so that is the way I'll be using my SB.

Now, it also takes a loooooooong time to rack up $30 worth of SB.  There are ways you can get them faster--and Moderate Means posted here and here about her SB experiences and methods so you can compare with mine--but I am all about 1) laziness and 2) not signing up for anything I don't want, and 3) privacy.  So, I basically have Swagbucks set as my homepage and use it instead of Google anytime I do a search, if I am not being particular about the results.   If I don't find the results I want, I hop over to Google and try again.  (And don't bother using the SB search engine for images--it's not make for it, and has a clear dearth of images.) 

(And it works!  Just this minute I put "Moderate Means" into the SB search engine, because I was being too lazy to open a separate page with my blog so I could see her link from my sidebar--and won 10 SB for my "effort"!)

I also use the Swagbucks search engine as a dictionary!  I just type the word as I think it might be spelled and hit "search" and it will come back with "did you mean _____?"  and there is my answer, with sometimes SB awarded for my "effort"!  I also sometimes use it to get places like amazon.com, zappos, etc.--places that I could type an actual address for, but for which I sometimes get SB when I get to them via the Swagbucks search engine. 

I am on the computer looking things up a lot.  So just by doing what I would normally be doing anyway, I get about 6-14 SB a day.  It takes a long time for them to add up this way, but I'm ok with that.  Because I don't want to get sucked into thinking I need more swagbucks--because that is when I would become prey to the marketing, and might end up tempted to spend money on some special offer just to get a bunch of swagbucks.  And unless the special offer involves something I want to do anyway, it is just not worth it. 

The only offer I routinely see that I would do--except I am already doing it--is Netflix.  If you ever want to sign up for the Netflix trial subscription and have not yet done so, this would be the way to do it--free trial period AND free swagbucks.  (And that's another thing I want to write about soon--how we stretch our family's Netflix subscription to get the most for our money, so stay tuned for that! ; )

Anyway, Swagbucks is a no-brainer way to get a little bit of something for free, for almost no effort. 

If you do decide to sign up for Swagbucks, just please do it by clicking on the link on my sidebar--I think if you sign up that way I get a few extra SB as kickback! 

Oh, and before I forget--I think SB has a partnership with some online stores so that if you visit them through the SB home page you get one SB for every dollar you spend in the store!  I always forget to try this, though.  And of course it would only be wise if you were already planning on spending that money in the store.  (But I do a lot of my shopping online, so this is something I need to remember!)

Free stuff?  I am all over it.

(If you currently use SB, and have an easy sure-fire way of getting them, please let me know in the comments!  Stacy, I just saw the SB widget on your blog--will be checking that out!)

Amazing Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ok, your foodies, and you frugal chefs, here is one for you!

Last night we were out of salad dressing and so I had to whip one up from scratch. This one sounded promising--and was THE BEST SALAD DRESSING I have eaten in maybe forever. Oh, it is good. And SO SO easy! And SO frugal--this must have cost something like 30 cents to make! And green too, since making my own dressing will save on packaging. Awesome all around!

And best of all, in my mind, it showed me that a simple salad can be amazingly good, with the right dressing. Because I was cleaning out the fridge last night and all I had for the salad was red leaf lettuce, red cabbage, and carrot. That seemed really boring until I added the dressing! But then the flavor woke up my mouth and I realized I had ripe avocado and added that too--Mmmmmmm!

Please someone try it and let me know what you think!

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Whisk together:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3-5 cloves raw garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons finely grated Parmesean cheese

Gradually add:
1 cup olive oil (I used extra virgin)

Salt and pepper to taste (I only did pepper, since the cheese is naturally salty)

(Frugal) Idea for the Day: Re-using baking soda

Every now and then I get an idea for being just a little bit "greener" or for simplifying life, or for saving one fraction of a penny. Sometimes when I am actually practicing one of these ideas, I think to myself, "I should blog about this."


So, here is idea #1! You lucky people. And warning--this is pretty much a "well, duh!" kind of idea. But hey, every idea is new to someone sometime.


Pretty much everybody knows baking soda is a great, natural and even plastic free (in the cardboard boxes, that is--I have seen plastic bags of it at Costco. Hssssss.) agent for cleaning. You can use it for all KINDS of things--I particularly enjoy it for cleaning my stove top and kitchen sink. But that is not the point of this post. I am trying to learn how to be a better steward of the Earth, and make wise choices about its resources. So anytime I can get multiple uses out of any one thing, I am very happy.

So here is how I get more than one use out of baking soda! First, I start with a fresh box for cooking. After that box has been open a while in the pantry, I swap it out for a new one. The older box gets its top opened almost all the way, and is placed in the fridge or freezer to absorb odors. When the box is no longer working at that job (about 3 months max, and it probably works best to stir the baking soda if you ever think about it) I then empty the contents into a glass screw-lid jar I keep in the cleaning cupboard--labeled "Baking soda, for cleaning." This is the jar I go to when I want to scour something, or to neutralize a stinky outdoor trash can before pick-up day (just dump it on, liberally!). The Arm & Hammer website also says you can "recycle" your used baking soda by rinsing it down the drains--supposedly it helps keep your pipes cleaner, so in theory they won't get clogged, although A&H is quick to say they do not recommend trying to unclog pipes with it.

And oh, here is one more green--frugal--plastic free use for baking soda: use a cotton ball or powder puff to apply under your arms for a natural deodorant. Seriously, try it! I like it so much better than the old stuff--here comes a little TMI--since before after shaving under my arms my skin would be too sensitive for deodorant after the shower. The baking soda does not irritate, so I can be smooth AND fresh at the same time! Niiiiiiiice.

There you go! Many more ideas of this caliber to come. . . ; )

Every Day is Earth Day--Change for the Better #1

I'm not late, really--I have been celebrating Earth Day for months now. ; )

And I am honesty psyched about the few little changes we are making.

It started a few months back, when I was thinking about how I could cut down some of our plastic intake and cut out some of the questionable chemicals I have been using on my family. I had heard about other families going "no poo"--shampoo, that is--and was not sure I could make that switch. I have long, thick, but also fine hair and oily skin/scalp. I have traditionally had to wash my hair every day or it would look oily--at the very least if I did not shower I would shampoo my bangs while bending over the bathroom sink, or they would look so limp and gross. I did not think the hardcore "no poo" solution of baking soda and the occassional vinegar rinse would work well--it is so hard to get even shampoo to the scalp through all my hair, and shampoo has chemicals added (similar to teflon--I am not joking) to make it lather and slide through the hair well. How would I work a paste through my hair?

So I had been thinking about this, but not sure what to do, until I saw a post from Stacy over at Moderate Means, in which she extolled the virtues of a shampoo bar she had been using to replace traditional shampoo. She writes about the results of using shampoo bars here and here. Immediately I knew this was the solution for me. So I ordered some, and got some naturally exfoliating face soaps while I was at it, so that when my Clean&Clear runs out I won't need to replace it with another plastic bottle full of chemicals and plastic microbeads.* I was pleased with the soaps from the moment they arrived:

Beautiful, affordable, natural, and they arrived without plastic packaging.

The two loofahs--"Leafas"--I ordered from the same company to use with the soaps were plastic--d'oh! And they are a little too rough to use on skin everyday, and now that I am learning more about plastics, I don't really want to be rubbing them into my skin--BUT these loofas are PERFECT for holding the soaps in the shower so they don't get waterlogged and mushy and half the bar is wasted down the drain. I just hang them by their string loops from one of the shower curtain rings so they are easily reached and the soap dries quickly after each use. And when the loofahs do get soapy, I can choose to use them on my body or even to give the shower walls a quick scrub**, so no soap is wasted.

So how does the shampoo bar work? Really, really well. The lather the bar quickly produces is much thicker and richer than shampoo lather, and it works through my hair easily. I do find that your hair has to be really wet, though--so I stick one side of my head in the water, then immediately work the lather through to the scalp on that side and scrub (as I tell the girls, you are not washing your hair, you are washing your scalp) and then without rinsing, turn and wet the other side and immediately start working lather through to the scalp there. Then without rinsing I wet the crown, etc., and then look downwards and wet the back of my head, etc. etc. Then my whole head is nice and lathery and I can scrub how I see fit.

One benefit I noticed from the shampoo bar right away: normally if my shampoo lather gets a little dry and I try to quickly dash some water on my hair to help work the shampoo through, even that quick splash of water ends up rinsing away the shampoo lather and leaving nothing to work with. So I usually had to wash my hair twice to get all the way through my thick hair to the scalp and make it feel clean. How is that an efficient use of time or money? The shampoo bar lather is so thick and rich that you can give a quick splash of water to build it up and work it through more. It feels great in the hands and on my hair. And when it is time to rinse, I noticed that it rinses out more quickly and easily than shampoo does, at least in my hair. There have been way too many times when I would rinse and rinse and rinse and then turn off the water and get out to dry off--and toss my hair forward and hear all the little bubbles of leftover shampoo popping next to my ears. Arrgggghhhh. That has not happened once since I started using the shampoo bar.

I also had worried that I would not like the feel of my hair after using the shampoo bar--I have never been a fan of bar soap, and can't stand the feeling of a film left on my skin (shudder). I thought I would have to learn to put up with such a feeling, and would have to use an apple cider vinegar rinse every week or so to get rid of soapy build-up. But no, while my hair does not feel stripped like it does after two washes with shampoo, it feels fine. And when it is dry, I REALLY like the way it looks, feels, and hangs now! I think my hair is less prone to static now, and if there is a soap film being left on my hair, it is making my hair look and feel great, so I am fine with it!

But the BEST part--I no longer have to wash my hair every day. I can--and have, ahem--gone three days without washing my hair, and it looks not only fine, but even good. Amazing! Even my bangs!!! This, from what I have learned in my "no poo" research, is because shampoo actually strips your scalp of all its oil, which then makes your oil glands overproduce to compensate, which makes your hair look greasy, which makes you shampoo, which starts the whole cycle of dependency over again. So most people who go "no poo" say that you have to be willing to go through an initial period of greasy hair (seems to last about 2 weeks) while your scalp re-adjusts to life without chemicals and settles down in oil production. But since I have been using the shampoo bar, I have not had such a phase! So I think the shampoo bar is the perfect middle ground.

So here are the PROS of the shampoo bar I have tried:
--better lather, so I am using less than shampoo (more frugal)
--completely natural and biodegradable (more green)
--no plastic packaging (much more green)
--don't have to wash my hair every day (more frugal, more green--less hot water--and more time efficient)

The CONS:
--the particular bar I am using is made in Canada, not the US, so my dollars are not supporting our home industry (but I am sure I can find something local--suggestions, anyone? But it will have to work as well as this one!)
--Ordering online means paying shipping fees, although this company does not charge you for shipping if you order at least 4 bars of soap, which of course I did.
--the only negative about the way my hair feels and handles is that it seems more prone to tangling. So sometimes I use conditioner just on the ends, which seems to solve the problem.

So, there you have it! My first concrete step towards making choices in our home that are better for us and the world!

And it feels so good.

*and would you all please, please, go here to read why we should all work to eliminate from our bathrooms products that use microbeads

**I can't believe I have not yet written about this. It is one of those things I have been meaning to write ever since I started. It is a simple, beautiful, easy, frugal, greener solution to cleaning your shower: the same soap that left scum on the shower walls/door will take it off again. Seriously. So I have not used anything except cheap shampoo and a scrubbie to clean my shower for years. Seriously. It works perfectly, I am not exposing myself or the kids to dangerous chemical residue or fumes, I am not running harmful waste down the drain to enter the water cycle, and since I now scrub for a minute while I am in the shower already--just chosing a different spot to scrub each time--cleaning the shower has become not a chore but a pleasant excuse to stay in the hot water one more minute. ; )

So, how are those New Year's goals coming along?

It seemed like all the bloggers I routinely read decided to make New Year's Resolutions this year. But that makes sense--most of the blogs I read are about living more frugally, or purposefully, or naturally, etc. They are written by women who see themselves in transition to better, healthier ways of living, and are constantly challenging themselves to keep moving forward; the New Year is a logical time to "up the bar" on better living. That is the spirit in which I made my own Goals for the New Year.

Then it seemed like around the end of January/beginning of February the bloggers I read started to give the honest appraisal of how they were (or were not) meeting those goals. Sure, some of them were already falling off the wagon after less than one month trying, and they were frustrated and discouraged by it. But all of them are determined to keep working on those goals and just keep getting on the wagon--and that is why their lives will be better this year. It does not matter how many goals we make for ourselves, and whether or not we are perfectly meeting them; it really just matters that we don't stop trying to improve ourselves, to better our lives, to grow, to stretch, to learn, to live.

Since I am always the late one to the party, my New Year's update has been in the works (well, in my head, that is) for weeks. But it is still worth writing down--some of you may be interested in how I am doing on my goals, and some of you might need a little encouragement/inspiration to keep on struggling with you own!

So here is where I am, now, in my efforts to Live More Purposefully, Healthily, and Fully in 2010:

Goal 1--not living in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) anymore!

Well, the good news is I finally got those piles of stuff out of the living room, just in time for Merry's birthday this week. Whoo-hoo! The bad news is that I still have loads of miscellaneous stuff crammed into bins under the house waiting to be dealt with. The two biggest things to deal with are outgrown children's clothing (is it really safe to get rid of those last few favorite things? Do I try to sell on eBay the designer stuff, or just give it to Goodwill for the tax deduction?) and papers (our filing cabinet is finally full, and while there is a little wiggle room, there isn't much. Which means lots of sorting and shredding ahead).

The bad news is that I am discouraged by the state of our house, which has SO many projects needing attention. It is hard to get motivated to wash all the windows when all I see are the rusty frames and find myself thinking why bother, it is still going to look crappy anyway. Yes, self, but it will at least be clean, so we will still look poor and in over our heads, but at least not like complete pigs.

The other discouraging thing is that my schedule for keeping the house running smoothly has derailed. So cleaning and all my normal household chores have seemed harder, since they are not happening in the most logical, disciplined, timely manner.

The bright side: Now that the piles are gone and I have freecycled most of the unloved stuff around here (for now!), I have more space to think and work. I loved having the house looking nice for Merry's birthday dinner, and so hope that ideal will get me moving to a regular rhythm of home maintance again.

Conclusion: Things are better than they were before the New Year, so I might be moving slowly on this one, but am not at a standstill!

Goal 2--cooking with more raw foods (specifically daily smoothies and a once-a-week raw dinner challenge!)

Once again, not going the way I had hoped. I did start out well, but our blender was just not powerful enough to really puree the fruits and veggies into a smooth texture, so the girls were not crazy about the green smoothie we made. Then the second week of the New Year I came down with a horrible allergy attack (to something in the air? I still don't know) that lasted several weeks and just completely drained me of energy. It was hard enough just making food for my family, let alone trying new things. That and the fact that--sadly--I am allergic to so many raw fruits, which made me not want to try more raw meals/smoothies and potentially exacerbate my allergic reactions. So, this goal had a great start, but then had to be put on hold. I am much better now, though, so now just need to get up the impetus again for starting over!

The bright side: the smoothie challenge will be all the more easier thanks for my Valentine's (so she says) gift from my Mother-in-law: one of those horrificially large and expensive Vita-Mix blenders currently being demonstrated at Costco. Yes, MIL shows love through buying stuff, which can be frustrating for people like us who live in such a small space, and even unloving at times if control issues get in the way--but she and I are learning how to communicate, and to channel her buying/giving urges into healthy, affirming purchases, which make both of us happy. This blender does not fit our kitchen, or our budget, so I would not have bought it. But from all the reviews I have read it is a fantastic machine, and so I have decided to be grateful for MIL's urge to love on me with it, and to make the most of it! Green smoothies all around!

Conclusion: Hey, a stalled beginning is still a beginning! And since I will soon have a behemoth blender taking up permanent residence on my counter, I am sure I will be motivated to make it worth the real estate. The smoothies are just one aspect of eating more raw foods, but I am still gung-ho about improving our eating and just need to be more disciplined about 1) getting to the groccery store for that good, fresh, local, organic produce, and 2) starting my evening routine on time so that I have plenty of time to cook. Because when I don't follow the schedule, then don't allow myself time and mental space for experimenting with foods.

Goal 3--baking my own bread and making yoghurt

Um, these are the two things I have not even started. I keep meaning to, and I *will*--but I need to work time for doing these things into the weekly routine, because at the moment I think that is the problem.

The bright side: the longer I procrastinate, the more inspiring bread recipes and methods I learn about! In particular I am very excited about checking out the bread book recommended by Susan--sounds easy and looks so yummy!

Conclusion: Still two goals I care about. Let's see if I can make a purposeful effort to start this in the next month.

Goal 4--trying new "green" and frugal products and lifestyle changes
and Goal 5--trying to cut out some of our plastic intake/outtake

These two I am still very excited about. I am almost out of shampoo, and when it runs out I plan on trying a shampoo bar, to cut out our chemical use and our plastic intake. Same with the laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid and hand soap--so at the moment I have been researching potential replacement products. When I have been using some of those new products for a while I will let you know how they work compared to the usual kinds.

I am also implementing a few other changes for the better--but I will blog about those specifically later on.

Conclusion: A good start so far!

Goal 6--flossing my teeth nightly

Well, since gums get sensitive when you first start flossing I have ammended the goal to every other night. But I usually remember every night, and that is half of the battle! (i.e. if it is a natural part of the routine, it will happen!)

Conclusion: Another good start!

Goal 7--attending the early service at Vintage Faith once a month, so that our girls can experience the"adult" gathering while not missing out on their Sunday School classes.

Yep--so far so good!

Goal 8--starting a price book, so I can know where to buy what for the best local deals (and doing it with the girls as a homeschool project)

Well, Sunny and I have gathered the information from one groccery store at which we routinely shop--but we have two (maybe three) more to go. It is hard getting this one done, because it does not work to do with all the kids (Sunny is doing great at recording the info herself, but is not exactly fast about it, and the little ones hanging out in the cart get impatient, understandably), which only leaves the evenings and weekends to do, and we have been busy.

Conclusion: At least it is started! Need to plan when we will do more stores, making a realistic goal of one store per week. I want to get it done so I know where the best deals are--all this time I have been pretty much guessing.

Goal 9--visiting the same local beach every Friday morning at the same time, to experience the changes in the ocean and weather over the course of a year.

Yes, we have actually been doing this, which is a major deal for lazy homebody me! Ok, ok, we don't get there at exactly the same time every Friday, which messes with the "scientific" data gathering aspect. But my goal was just to get there and get them observing, and THAT we are doing!

Yay for me!

Goal 10--making home schooling more structured, so we get our goals met, but have plenty of time for fun and play

This started out really well, with me cracking down hard on the girls and the daily schedule. For some reason I noticed last week that things have started to slide again, so I just need to stay positive and utilize more tools to help the girls be more self-regulating about the daily routine, like charts on the fridge.

Conclusion: The foundation has been laid, and now I just need to formalize the routine and then be a stickler about staying with it!

Goal 11--parenting with more patience and gentleness and grace

This one is tough. Some days I have almost miraculously parented through really rough phases feeling like the goodness of God was flowing through me to the children. . . and other days I have been so irritable I snap at the girls for the least little infraction. Sigh. But I am being purposeful, if not perfect, and am communicating with the girls so they hear me apologize when I have been harsh with them, and hopefully am at least modeling how to turn things around. : ) But I don't mean to sound negative--I think I am aware every moment of how I am parenting, and that alone is helping me be a better mommy. I am also trying to be wise with how I schedule the day and when I do my own stuff so that I am not setting myself or the girls up for frustration and unrealistic expectations.

The bright side: Sunny has been so great recently, so helpful and cheerful in attitude. And I can tell when Merry is making good choices that might not be coming easily at that moment. And Happy has been so generous and quick to forgive her sisters when they fight. And Smiley is getting into everything, but at least is so cute about it. I have been noticing the little good bits of each of my children, and being thankful for them, and using them to build up our relationships with one another in love.

Conclusion: I'll take every day, every moment, as it comes, and pray that God will help me be the mommy He wants me to be.

The Big Picture:

So, looking over these, it really seems like firming up our daily/weekly routine and carving purposeful space in it for the things we want to add will be key to my achieving these goals. If I do not--in advance--set aside time to try new things, to enjoy quality time with each child one-on-one, to research green products, etc. then they just won't happen.

I have been feeling like this was true, and have really noticed how the days kind of crumple in on themselves when we are not staying on our planned routine. But it is good to see here, written down, how planning/routine are probably the most important thing I can do each week to help me meet my goals.

So, thanks for letting me write this all out! Not the most interesting post for you to read, but a necessary one for me to write.

So, how are YOUR goals for 2010 working out?

fashion quandries Pt 1: ideology

Ok, so earlier this month I was writing about my history with the world of fashion--and my more recent 10-yr long sabbatical from it. Okay, maybe not quite that long, but it sure feels like it at this point.

As I said before, the main issue is that I do not trust my fashion sense anymore, so that even when I see something I think is totally adorable, I don't know if it is considered "in," or what to wear it with (or more specifically, what not to wear it with). The reason I even care: I feel like a frump--an old, out of date frump. Exercise will help me fight the frumpies, and so will taking good care of myself (you know, like showering ; ), but I also just want to get a few pieces of clothing that will not make me feel frumpish when I am wearing them.

I do have some cute outfits, and some are even new to my closet, thanks to hand-me-downs and my Mother inlaw's generosity last Black Friday, when she bought me two sweaters. But I also have had a lot of clothes begging for retirement--things that have been well loved and are now stretched out/shrunk/stained. So I have started letting them go (meaning they will either be shared on freecycle, or will begin new lives as rags!). Which means I have needed a few more items, particularly tops, to fit the wardrobe gaps. So last summer and fall I started looking around, to see how I could build my wardrobe back up and add some more current and upbeat style to my wardrobe.

But it took me until just a few weekend ago to actually buy any new winterish clothes. Why did it take me so long to get anything? First, because I don't get that many shopping excursions without kids. ; ) Second, because I am really, really picky about what clothes I buy.

Because just like in jr. high and high school, I still really, really like clothes. They are not just covering for the body; clothes can be artistic expression, cultural identity, self-indulgence, interpersonal communication, camoflage or spotlight, a form of rhetoric! I am fascinated by the psychological and spiritual side of how we clothe ourselves, and the pure aesthetics of clothing. But I am repelled by the uglier sides of fashion: the materialism, the envy, the overspending, the pride, the negative body stereotyping, the urge to conform, etc. So my enjoyment of clothes is balanced out by my ever-growing desire to not buy into the cultural messages of mindless fasion, esp. needing to have lots of clothes, and the latest styles in clothes, etc. Trying to stay on top of fashion does not at all fit my life values:

--it is not frugal to feel like you have to replace perfectly good clothes just because they are not the latest look.

--it is not green to continually "update" your wardrobe with things made in developing countries that don't have eco-conscious industry, and that might be exploiting their workers to boot.

--it is not moral either. That adorable beaded top at the mall isn't so cute when you think about the potentially six year old Cambodian hands that painstakingly worked each bead. On the other hand, she might be helping feed her family and be glad for the job, so I don't pretend to know what is right or wrong about buying clothes made in such countries, but I do know that treating clothes as disposable reflects our national penchant towards treating the third-world people who made them as disposable too.

--it is not space efficient to have a large, fully accessorized wardrobe (esp. the shoes!).

--it is not healthy for the spirit to care too much what others think about the way you look, or to seek attention/affirmation for your insides by what you do to the outsides.

--it is not ok to squander the monetary blessings God has given us on things that ultimately don't matter, and might even hinder our hearts staying in tune with His desires for us.

But with these values in mind, there is nothing wrong with buying new clothes when you actually need them, and there is nothing wrong with wanting those new clothes to be stylish as well as good quality. In fact, while I am by nature a bargin shopper, I would rather spend more money on just a few well made, good quality items that I really, really like than spend less money on a whole cartload (hello Ross!) of clothing items that are not going to last very long and might be cute but not thrill me to wear them.

Yes, I am a clothes snob. But I believe that buying fewer, but better quality clothes actually saves me money in the long run. Since I am not "flipping" my wardrobe every year, that is! Not everyone feels this way--lots of women would rather get inexpensive clothes every year and get to update their wardrobe more frequently, since the clothes will not last as long, or they can justify getting rid of them fairly quickly since it only cost ten bucks, so it's no big deal that it's not my favorite top, I'll just wear it a few more times to "get my money's worth" and then give it to Goodwill.

But I have learned over the years that the cheaply made things just are not worth it, no matter how "great" a price, or how "in" the look. This standard was reinforced for me this last summer when we went on our first road trip to IL and I had almost no clothing with me on the trip. Well, cute clothing--I had plenty of faded and stained camisole tanks and t-shirts! So when I was staying with my parents, I tried to do some shopping, and remember well going through the entire mall without any luck, trying on ten tops at a time in stores like Charlotte Russe and Wet Seal and Forever 21, and all the clothes that I liked color and style-wise were so cheap in fabric, in worksmanship, and so ill-fitting. So after exhausting all those kind of inexpensive stores, I went into Banana Republic, and the first black top I tried on was so lovely in fabric, and when I pulled it on and looked in the mirror to see me looking years younger and pounds slimmer, I literally moaned aloud in pleasure, Oh, yeah, baby, THAT's what I'm talking about. It was expensive, for a simple top--not even on sale!--but it makes me look and feel great. It was worth it.

So for the past few months I have not spent that much time clothes shopping, but I have just looked when given the chance, and have kept my eyes out for cute things when out and about. I have learned to be patient and wait for the right items, not just buy what is there at the store. I don't have a lot of money to spend or space to store things, and so I have learned to be very dilligent about only buying things that I like, like, like immediately. This means I that if I am not sure about it in the dressing room, I should not get it. Period. Seriously, if I have to stand there and evaluate it and think about it in front of the mirror, then that is a clear sign that it will most likely not be a piece I will wear with complete confidence and pleasure. So no matter how much I like it, I won't get it.

Other bits of life experience/values that creep into my clothes shopping: I really want to buy American made things. It only makes sense to put my money into our own industry, esp. given that I don't know how my money spend on foreign-made items might be harming the earth or its humans. Even better, I want to buy things made locally. Best yet, I want to buy things made by individuals, not companies. I don't know the best places to do these yet, but I am trying to learn.

I really wish I could sew and knit and crochet and do all those self-sufficient things that would not only be frugal and green but also give me another outlet for creative expression. But honestly I admit I do not wish it enough to make a real effort to learn at this stage in life. I am already working towards making my own bread, yogurt, and healthy meals from scratch--for now, with homeschooling and everything else, that is all I can realistically do. So for the moment, I will just try to shop carefully and be wise with the money I do have for new clothes and try to get things that I will wear and enjoy for a long time.

This is where you all come in!

I am looking for some feedback here, so please jump on in and tell me what you think I should do. When I finally got some clothes a few weekends back, the main thing I found were three 3/4 sleeve tops, one black, one blue, one fushia. They were from a local store (yay!) and nicely made (yay!) and made in the US (yay!) and were simple but just what I needed to wear under my new sweaters and replace some of my too-old tops. They were not cheap (oh, well) and only one was on sale. At the same store I found an adorable Free People tunic that looks great over the blue to--and it was on sale (although if you know the Free People label, you know that is not saying much). But I like, like, like all these items, and have worn them constantly since getting them.

But much as I like these new clothing items, they are only the beginning. I have the foundation--now I want to build some style into my wardrobe!

To be continued. . .


*Fashion paper doll images from the incredible artistry of Paperfashion. Gorgeous work throughout the website!

#2

When I was getting ready to send the prizes from my bloggiversary (hey, I just noticed "give/giver" in the middle of that made-up word! Perfect!), I happened to see Mary at Owlhaven's post about upcycled mailing envelopes. That was just the right touch for packaging these little gifts--pretty, green, frugal, and slightly crafty. I save gift bags for regifting, and so had a nice selection to choose from--and as you can see, came up with some pretty girly (but not necessarily little girly) designs.

I'm not sure mine turned out as well as Mary's did. The big pink one with white flower was the first I tried, and if you fold the top of the bag under (where the holes for the carrying strings are) then you end up with a square envelope--was barely the right size for what I was mailing. So then for the next one, with the girl and dogs, I just left the string holes visible (I couldn't decapitate the poor girl by turning the top edges under!) and put clear packing tape over them. The last one--the iridescent pink!--I had to take apart to fit the book into. If you don't start out with a big enough envelope, then you have to undo the flaps that make up the bottom of the bag, and then that leaves big creases on your "envelope." So I think mine looked a little more makeshift than they would have otherwise. . . But still, the packaging fits the values and ideas in this blog, esp. being less than perfect! ; )

And the post office lady did not bat an eye when I handed them over, including the one going all the way to England.

Rebecca, Carrie, Nydia, let me know if they arrive safely!

Under Pressure--Bayou Black Bean Soup

So, this past fall my mother-in-law gave me an old pressure cooker, fixed up and ready for use. You see, she has started using one, and pretty much whenever my MIL gets a bee in her bonnet about something she thinks is great, she thinks I should be on the bandwagon too. Don't get me wrong--this can be great, and is the reason I have received from her my clothes steamer, bread machine, and black leather dress coat, among other things. And am going to receive local classes in Cooking Raw sometime in the next couple of months! (eating more Raw being one of my goals for this year, and luckily my MIL has gotten interested in it at the same time.) But sometimes I don't like the feeling of pressure (ha--cooker!) to be trying new things when I am either a) perfectly content in whatever rut I am in or b) thinking it would make sense to jump on the bandwagon, but not feeling like I have the time or mental energy to do it at the present time. The pressure cooker has been falling into the latter category. I have heard good things about them from MIL and SIL, about how much more quickly foods cook in them. I have also heard that if you are not careful the pot can explode.

I am not much into things exploding, esp. in my kitchen. (Oh, the mess! the horror! Forget the third-degree burns on whomever is nearby--what scares me is the thought of scraping lentils off the ceiling.) So I have been a little scared to try out the pressure cooker, even thought I understand that they are completely safe when used as directed. Slow cookers, like crock pots, seem so tame in comparison, so safe--you can't even tell they are working until you touch the side and burn your finger, like I did just this past Sunday morning.

But just the other day, my friend Alberta--my inspiration in many things healthy and frugal in the kitchen--bragged that she uses a pressure cooker to make up her dry beans, and she can whip up a batch in 30 minutes. Without soaking.

Those of you who cook with dry beans are now probably muttering skeptical things to your computer monitor. Those of you who do not cook with dry beans, well I have two things to say to you: First, you should. They are cheap and good for you. But second, you typically have to soak the beans overnight (or a quick soak method on the stove top that still takes several hours) and then you have to cook them for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours on the stove to get them edible--and if the beans are older and have lost more moisture, they can take even longer. (You do not have to soak lentils or dried peas.) So while dry beans are a great base for a mainly vegetarian diet like ours, they usually require planning ahead.

But I am pretty much a stand-in-front-of-the-open-refrigerator-at-4:00 p.m.-thinking "Hmmmm, what do I want to make for dinner tonight?" kind of gal, and so don't usually remember to soak the beans the night before. So I have been using canned beans more than I would like. But now, if I get up the nerve to use the pressure cooker, I can use dry beans and STILL make my dinner plans that afternoon!

So last night I decided it was a good night for black bean soup, and I only had time to make it if I used the pressure cooker, since of course I forgot to soak the beans the night before. I got myself all psyched up, read all the instructions, googled other instructions, got out the pan and set it all up--and then realized I was all out of dry beans.

D'oh! So, I made the recipe using canned beans and it turned out fine, of course. But next time, I will do it from scratch. ; )

Here are the reasons to use dry beans over canned:
*much cheaper (Mary over at owlhaven figures roughly 1/3rd the cost of canned)
*much tastier
*no additives in your beans like sugar and salt, which are common in canned versions

Here are the reasons to use a pressure cooker to make your dry beans:

*cooks in much, much less time (roughly 20 min. for black beans compared to 1 1/2-2 hours on the stove or even more for the slow-cooker)
*no need to pre-soak your beans
*uses less energy used than conventional stove-top methods (don't know how compares to slow cooker)
*supposedly retains much more nutritional value in the foods being cooked
*you can be lazy and not have to prepare for dinner the night before!

This posting is clearly part public-service announcement and part psyching myself up to try it again. ; ) But when you lay out the benefits like this--it seems like pressure cooking is a clear winner.

And now I cannot resist sharing what was originally the whole reason I sat down to type: an old family recipe that I will call Bayou Black Bean Soup. It is SO yummy--kids love it. The original version is for meat-lovers, and those not counting calories, and for feeding a small army. I'll share it and my own vegetarian version below:

Bayou Black Bean Soup (Original recipe--serves 20-24)

1/2 c olive oil
1/2 lb salt pork or bacon, diced
1 lb ham hocks
8 large onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
6 stalks celery, including leaves, chopped
2 lbs black beans, sorted and rinsed*
1/2 tsp. cayenne
4 tsp. ground cumin
6 quarts regular strength chicken broth
1/4 c wine vinegar
1 c dry sherry

In a 10-12 quart kettle, cook on medium heat the salt pork (or bacon), ham, onion, garlic and celery until all juices have evaporated, about 40 minutes. Add beans, cayenne, cumin and broth. Bring to a boil on high, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently 1 1/2 to 3 hours or until beans mash easily.

When soup is done, discard ham hock skins and bone. Let cool slightly, then whirl in blender until smooth. You can now either chill or re-heat (can be stored, covered, 3 days in fridge).

When reheating to serve, stir in vinegar and sherry. Ladle into bowls and serve at table with the following condiments to top:
--warm Polish sausage or garlic sausage, cut in 1/2 inch slices
--cooked rice (we actually heap a mound under our soup and then top with the rest)
--finely chopped green or red onion (we like red)
--hard boiled eggs, chopped
--lemons cut into wedges, to squeeze over top
--sweet pickle relish
--canned chopped green chilis

Yes, believe it or not, all those toppings actually taste really good on the soup--at the same time! But each to his/her own--my kids at the moment just like the relish, chilis and sausage** on top. Oh, and the lemon--they can't get enough of the lemon!


Bayou Black Bean Soup (vegetarian/easy version--serves a whole lot less)

About 2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped (or more!)
3 stalks celery, including leaves, chopped
1 lb black beans, sorted, soaked and rinsed
1/4 tsp. cayenne
3 tsp. ground cumin
3 quarts vegetable broth (I recommend "Better Than Bullion"--no MSG)
1/4 C wine vinegar
1/2 c dry sherry

Saute veggies in oil until translucent--about 10 min. Then follow rest of directions above.

If anyone out there is feeling adventuresome, please try this! My vegetarian version is frugal and good for you too!



*this original recipe did not say to presoak the beans, but it also requires you to cook the soup for 3 hours, and I found sometimes it took even longer than that.

**Yes, I do warm up sausage for our soup--one of the choices that make us more "flexitarian" than completely vegetarian--and found a great GMO/MSG-free fully-cooked sausage at Costco that was about as healthy as you can get with pork sausage and a good price too.