I may not be updating this blog much between now and Christmas. Mostly because I have a deadline for work and I'll be doing a lot of writing between now and the 24th. I expect that I'll have to work after-hours to finish the project. Why after-hours? Because, while I'm at work I'll be writing a grant for the grant writer we hired (who made it clear we'd both be sitting at my desk working on my computer, joy)--silly question. So I'll be writing everyday...just not the kind of writing I'd prefer to be doing.
In the meantime, I'll try to update my Reverb 10 page everyday. I caught up this evening with all my reflecting and manifesting: reflectifesting, maniflecting.
In saving news, I put up the insulated curtains this morning and my nose no longer instantly starts to run when I enter the cold room. Perhaps it was just full of phantoms chased away by the weird khaki-colored curtain that now graces the wall. Or maybe the ghosts were connected to the old, dusty, faded plaid valance that got taken down. One thing's for sure--it's not the light bulbs heating up the room...(see next paragraph...)
Stay tuned for a highly entertaining blog post Husband proposed: LED Light Bulbs! He's super excited about it. I'm super excited that Husband is now telling me what to write about. Maybe he's just trying to keep me from typing about his man-crush on Alexander Hamilton or his plastic man-doll (sorry, action figure) collection. Anyway, I hope you're excited about it, too.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
What's It Worth to Ya?
I often repeat and sometimes reflect on thrifty colloquialisms I heard growing up. A couple of them came from my grandma via Mom--"He has more dollars than he has sense" and "It's good to want." But if you ever told my parents how much something was "worth," they would respond with something along the lines of, "Well, you gotta find someone who is willing to pay that much for it."
Like beauty, worth is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. Husband can't possibly understand why I am willing, eager even, to pay money to waste time at a sit-down restaurant. I can't comprehend how anyone could pay money to amass the amount of muscular, sculpted, articulated hunks of plastic painted in primary colors and populating multiple cardboard boxes that hog our limited living space. While he finds absolutely no pleasure in slowing down and savoring food, I get heart palpitations when I have to slow down on shopping errands to inspect the artfulness (albeit mass produced) found in the toy aisle.
This evening I engaged in another ritual he doesn't understand--but that's ok, because he's out looking at plastic man-dolls. A weekend evening + house to myself = Christmas come early. I was supposed to go home tonight. But because of scheduling conflicts, I wasn't ready to leave last night. And if I"m not ready to leave on a Thursday evening, I'm not going home until Saturday morning.
One of my favorite things to do on evenings like this is to stop by the grocery store and spend a lot of money on fancy food. I did keep it under control tonight though--less than $20--and incorporate some ingredients I already had at home. I had some of my favorite things for dinner: Smoked Salmon on Wasa with Laughing Cow, cucumber, red pepper, green onion and tapanade with some white wine my parents gave me. A three course dessert followed: dried figs and feta; Christmas cookies; and my Christmas bonus (three fancy chocolates--I accidentally squashed one on the way home.)
All this was accompanied by trashy tv on my computer (Thanks, Bravo, for the Real Housewives, but I don't think I can handle them anymore.) and a magazine.
There are a couple of magazines that I always am tempted to buy at the check-out line: Real Simple and In Style. Why do they appeal to me? I have no idea. They are both just ways to shill stuff--I'm not talking about the ads either. I mean, I have an adequate citrus juicer that I hardly ever use. I don't need a $67 stainless-steel one, no matter how artful you say it is. Besides, it's good to want.
This month, however, Real Simple's cover promised to help me "be happier" in 2011. I gave into temptation. And I must say, $25 for a nice, low-key evening alone, with leftover food and leftover articles to read? While it may prove that I have more dollars than I have sense, I'll claim temporary insanity. I'm the person who, on occasion, will pay that much for a quiet, solitary floor picnic. To me, it's worth it.
Like beauty, worth is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. Husband can't possibly understand why I am willing, eager even, to pay money to waste time at a sit-down restaurant. I can't comprehend how anyone could pay money to amass the amount of muscular, sculpted, articulated hunks of plastic painted in primary colors and populating multiple cardboard boxes that hog our limited living space. While he finds absolutely no pleasure in slowing down and savoring food, I get heart palpitations when I have to slow down on shopping errands to inspect the artfulness (albeit mass produced) found in the toy aisle.
This evening I engaged in another ritual he doesn't understand--but that's ok, because he's out looking at plastic man-dolls. A weekend evening + house to myself = Christmas come early. I was supposed to go home tonight. But because of scheduling conflicts, I wasn't ready to leave last night. And if I"m not ready to leave on a Thursday evening, I'm not going home until Saturday morning.
One of my favorite things to do on evenings like this is to stop by the grocery store and spend a lot of money on fancy food. I did keep it under control tonight though--less than $20--and incorporate some ingredients I already had at home. I had some of my favorite things for dinner: Smoked Salmon on Wasa with Laughing Cow, cucumber, red pepper, green onion and tapanade with some white wine my parents gave me. A three course dessert followed: dried figs and feta; Christmas cookies; and my Christmas bonus (three fancy chocolates--I accidentally squashed one on the way home.)
All this was accompanied by trashy tv on my computer (Thanks, Bravo, for the Real Housewives, but I don't think I can handle them anymore.) and a magazine.
There are a couple of magazines that I always am tempted to buy at the check-out line: Real Simple and In Style. Why do they appeal to me? I have no idea. They are both just ways to shill stuff--I'm not talking about the ads either. I mean, I have an adequate citrus juicer that I hardly ever use. I don't need a $67 stainless-steel one, no matter how artful you say it is. Besides, it's good to want.
This month, however, Real Simple's cover promised to help me "be happier" in 2011. I gave into temptation. And I must say, $25 for a nice, low-key evening alone, with leftover food and leftover articles to read? While it may prove that I have more dollars than I have sense, I'll claim temporary insanity. I'm the person who, on occasion, will pay that much for a quiet, solitary floor picnic. To me, it's worth it.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Bits and Pieces
I got a little Reverb writing done during my lunch break Plan to get all caught up on the weekend. I keep Reverb responses in a separate page. The link is over there ----------->
No recipe today. We had a whirlwind evening. It included leaving work early, using a BOGO Sonic coupon, attending a junior high basketball game ($3 for 4 games. If you can stomach watching other people's children playing sports and most importantly if you can stomach the parents, that's a lot of entertainment for just $3.), buying a new hot water heater and insulated curtains (an endcap sale at Target--they were cheaper than I could make them.), and installing a new headlight on my car (Husband did this. I shivered and held the flashlight and made silent prayers that nothing went wrong.. Because 9:30 PM is as good a time as any to change a headlight.). Also, I collected shoes to take home and give to Barber Larry to give to his friend to take to Haiti. No time for cooking and not a lot of time for blogging.
I got a nice, unexpected Christmas bonus--a referral for a friend that turned into some good work for him which turned into a few extra bucks in my pocket. Hello savings account. How long can I keep raking in unexpected money? I swear it's not from pole-work. AND some delicious Christmas cookies from Office Space. She should be the one posting recipes today.
No recipe today. We had a whirlwind evening. It included leaving work early, using a BOGO Sonic coupon, attending a junior high basketball game ($3 for 4 games. If you can stomach watching other people's children playing sports and most importantly if you can stomach the parents, that's a lot of entertainment for just $3.), buying a new hot water heater and insulated curtains (an endcap sale at Target--they were cheaper than I could make them.), and installing a new headlight on my car (Husband did this. I shivered and held the flashlight and made silent prayers that nothing went wrong.. Because 9:30 PM is as good a time as any to change a headlight.). Also, I collected shoes to take home and give to Barber Larry to give to his friend to take to Haiti. No time for cooking and not a lot of time for blogging.
I got a nice, unexpected Christmas bonus--a referral for a friend that turned into some good work for him which turned into a few extra bucks in my pocket. Hello savings account. How long can I keep raking in unexpected money? I swear it's not from pole-work. AND some delicious Christmas cookies from Office Space. She should be the one posting recipes today.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Trash
Being wasteful is not something I aspire to. In this neighborhood, it also costs money. We live in a community that doesn't provide trash service. If you want someone to take your trash, you have to pay a collection service to come pick it up.
I like those towns that offer free curbside recycling and composting and charge you by the bag for trash disposal. That seems like a good way to keep trash down. So much of what we put in the garbage is mindless. We don't have to think about where it goes after we put it in the dumpster or at the curb. But our trash has a life after the garbage truck picks it up. It's not a pretty life either. Way back when I was little, I was in a speech contest and I wrote a speech about recycling. That was over 20 years ago and here is one thing I still remember: landfills aren't designed to allow stuff to break down. Landfill excavations have unearthed 40-year-old newspapers that are still legible. If you've ever left a newspaper in your back window or outside for even a small amount of time, you'd know how ridiculous that is.
So, for starters, we try not to create trash. I use reusable Tupperware-type containers to take my lunch. We use cloth napkins. I'm a fan of the old man handkerchief. I've been known to reuse zipper bags and aluminum foil. We have reusable plastic stuff for picnics. I try to remember my shopping bags. Like most of you, I'm sure, we do what we can and what we can think of to stop trash before it starts.
We try to compost as much as we can, too. Any uncooked, unprocessed food waste goes into the compost bin I made last year, along with "brown material" like shredded paper, leaves, egg cartons, etc. Next spring I won't have to buy soil amendments at the box store because I'll have my own.
We also take everything to the recycling place that we can. It's a hassle but I cart recycling around in my car trunk for weeks until we can make it to the place to sort all our treasures. But it is worth it, to me, to keep stuff out of the trash.
I also research what to do with typically non-recyclable stuff--stuff our recycling place won't take. You can take number 5 plastics and Brita filters to most Whole Foods stores. My running shoe store will take old shoes and wash them up and give them to needy people. If something has value (even if it's only a nickle), we try to put it in a garage sale.
Only at a last resort do we take stuff to the Goodwill or other thrift stores. Here's why: sometimes those stores have too much stuff. If they can't process things, they might end up throwing it in the dumpster. No joke. And that's ok--they're limited by how much storage they have and how much stuff they can sell. But don't think that just because you take something to a thrift store that it is going to find another home. You may have just dropped stuff off for someone else to do your dirty work. (I've heard the same about recycling, too. I have possibly optimistic and limited faith in our recycling place, though.)
And lastly, we don't pay for the trash truck to drive down our street. We have an arrangement with in-laws, who live down the road and also have to pay for trash service. Because we try to keep our trash production low, the four of us can get by with one can a week, saving a lot of money.
________________________________
Breakfast: I ran out of time this morning and ate a gas station sandwich $1.84
Lunch: Non-awkward work lunch
Dinner: Free food Mother-In-Law left at our house on Monday.
Total: $1.84
I like those towns that offer free curbside recycling and composting and charge you by the bag for trash disposal. That seems like a good way to keep trash down. So much of what we put in the garbage is mindless. We don't have to think about where it goes after we put it in the dumpster or at the curb. But our trash has a life after the garbage truck picks it up. It's not a pretty life either. Way back when I was little, I was in a speech contest and I wrote a speech about recycling. That was over 20 years ago and here is one thing I still remember: landfills aren't designed to allow stuff to break down. Landfill excavations have unearthed 40-year-old newspapers that are still legible. If you've ever left a newspaper in your back window or outside for even a small amount of time, you'd know how ridiculous that is.
So, for starters, we try not to create trash. I use reusable Tupperware-type containers to take my lunch. We use cloth napkins. I'm a fan of the old man handkerchief. I've been known to reuse zipper bags and aluminum foil. We have reusable plastic stuff for picnics. I try to remember my shopping bags. Like most of you, I'm sure, we do what we can and what we can think of to stop trash before it starts.
We try to compost as much as we can, too. Any uncooked, unprocessed food waste goes into the compost bin I made last year, along with "brown material" like shredded paper, leaves, egg cartons, etc. Next spring I won't have to buy soil amendments at the box store because I'll have my own.
We also take everything to the recycling place that we can. It's a hassle but I cart recycling around in my car trunk for weeks until we can make it to the place to sort all our treasures. But it is worth it, to me, to keep stuff out of the trash.
I also research what to do with typically non-recyclable stuff--stuff our recycling place won't take. You can take number 5 plastics and Brita filters to most Whole Foods stores. My running shoe store will take old shoes and wash them up and give them to needy people. If something has value (even if it's only a nickle), we try to put it in a garage sale.
Only at a last resort do we take stuff to the Goodwill or other thrift stores. Here's why: sometimes those stores have too much stuff. If they can't process things, they might end up throwing it in the dumpster. No joke. And that's ok--they're limited by how much storage they have and how much stuff they can sell. But don't think that just because you take something to a thrift store that it is going to find another home. You may have just dropped stuff off for someone else to do your dirty work. (I've heard the same about recycling, too. I have possibly optimistic and limited faith in our recycling place, though.)
And lastly, we don't pay for the trash truck to drive down our street. We have an arrangement with in-laws, who live down the road and also have to pay for trash service. Because we try to keep our trash production low, the four of us can get by with one can a week, saving a lot of money.
________________________________
Breakfast: I ran out of time this morning and ate a gas station sandwich $1.84
Lunch: Non-awkward work lunch
Dinner: Free food Mother-In-Law left at our house on Monday.
Total: $1.84
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Chicken Enchiladas
This meets all the requirements for comfort food in my book: cheesy, cheesy, cheesy. This is one of my few go-to recipes, along with Ravioli Casserole. We all like it and it's good in a pinch--especially if you have cooked chicken on hand.
Mother-in-law brought over enchiladas last night. Not my recipe but free and delicious. I stole the leftover one and took it to work for lunch today. I think my husband wanted it--he went to Taco Bell instead.
Chicken Enchiladas
2 cups chicken (I only used the chicken from 1 quarter) 75 cents
1/4 c onion 13 cents
small can diced green chilies 98 cents
2/3 can red enchilada sauce 66 cents
2 tablespoons butter 14 cents
1 tablespoon milk 1 cent
3 oz cream cheese 45 cents
4 tortillas 50 cents
1/2 cup shredded cheese 32 cents
Cook the onion in butter and add 1 tbsp of green chilies and cumin. Mix milk,cream cheese, onions and chicken. Spoon into tortillas and roll up. Place in a baking dish. Mix chilies with sauce. Top enchiladas. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, covered. Uncover, add cheese, bake 5 minutes more.
Total: $3.94
4 servings: 99 cents
The variations are really endless. Once I used a can of refried beans instead of chicken--turkey, beef or pork would work well too. Once I only had 2 oz of cream cheese so I threw some cottage cheese in, too. You couldn't tell the difference. I'm going to use salsa instead of the chilies and sauce because I have free salsa in the fridge.
__________________
Breakfast: Oatmeal, milk, blueberries, and flavored coffee creamer 25 cents
Lunch: Enchilada and chips $1
Snack: Cucumbers, laughing cow, red pepper, tapanade: $1.31
Dinner: McChicken Sandwich, small fries $2--I know, I know. But at least I ordered off the dollar menu, right?
Total: $4.56
Mother-in-law brought over enchiladas last night. Not my recipe but free and delicious. I stole the leftover one and took it to work for lunch today. I think my husband wanted it--he went to Taco Bell instead.
Chicken Enchiladas
2 cups chicken (I only used the chicken from 1 quarter) 75 cents
1/4 c onion 13 cents
small can diced green chilies 98 cents
2/3 can red enchilada sauce 66 cents
2 tablespoons butter 14 cents
1 tablespoon milk 1 cent
3 oz cream cheese 45 cents
4 tortillas 50 cents
1/2 cup shredded cheese 32 cents
Cook the onion in butter and add 1 tbsp of green chilies and cumin. Mix milk,cream cheese, onions and chicken. Spoon into tortillas and roll up. Place in a baking dish. Mix chilies with sauce. Top enchiladas. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, covered. Uncover, add cheese, bake 5 minutes more.
Total: $3.94
4 servings: 99 cents
The variations are really endless. Once I used a can of refried beans instead of chicken--turkey, beef or pork would work well too. Once I only had 2 oz of cream cheese so I threw some cottage cheese in, too. You couldn't tell the difference. I'm going to use salsa instead of the chilies and sauce because I have free salsa in the fridge.
__________________
Breakfast: Oatmeal, milk, blueberries, and flavored coffee creamer 25 cents
Lunch: Enchilada and chips $1
Snack: Cucumbers, laughing cow, red pepper, tapanade: $1.31
Dinner: McChicken Sandwich, small fries $2--I know, I know. But at least I ordered off the dollar menu, right?
Total: $4.56
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