What have I been up to??

Recovering from Christmas, mostly.

It’s been super chilly here the past few days, not like Florida at all!  At least we didn’t get hit with all those tornadoes like areas to our west!  That storm was bad.  Today is a little warmer here than yesterday but not much.  We’ve had the heat on higher than usual, for the baby.  He gets overheated if you put him in a heavy sleeper, starts sweating.  But in a light sleeper he gets a little chilly.  So til his body starts regulating his temp more reliably we’ll keep the heat up.

It doesn’t seem like Friday to me.  This 3 day work week threw me off.  And next week is the same.  I’m planning to see my parents over this long weekend, Ayla isn’t up to a long  drive yet so she and Zane won’t  be going with us, but Randy said if I would go on Sunday (his day off) he and Lyla will go with Drake and me.  So the plan for this weekend is to go there on Sunday, the rest of the time off will be to do as I please.  I want to use the theater GC Heather gave me to go see a movie this weekend, maybe a matinee on Monday.  Maybe do a little sewing, definitely do some cooking and housework.

Last night after we ate I froze the leftover stuffing, packaged up for 2 separate meals.   I froze the ham bone for beans or soup, there was no ham left on it so nothing there to freeze separately!!  It looked like locusts go a hold of that thing, it was so bare.  I divided the turkey into 4 packages, but each package is really enough to eat one meal of turkey, then use the leftovers from that in a casserole or soup, so at least 8 meals there.  I meant to leave out a little for tonight’s stirfry made from the veggie tray leftovers, but I forgot so that will be a vegetarian meal. No big deal.  I’ll make the turkey stock from the frozen bones this weekend, too.

I went grocery shopping last night and spent just over $40.  I need to stop at Sam’s on the way home tonight, get the big jug of laundry detergent and some spinach.  Hubby’s blood work registered too high on the Coumadin check so he needs to eat some leafy greens to bring it back down, and we’re out of spinach.  What this means to me is that we’ll be having spinach artichoke dip for New Year’s day.  Yum.  I bought a can of artichokes last night and I already had everything else.  I’d better make lots!!  That stuff goes fast at our house.   

Introducing…

Zane Thomas.  Born yesterday, weighing 6 lb, 15 oz.  Mommy and baby are doing well.  Big brother seems to be handling things pretty well also, he slept well last night despite his parents being away.  We sat in his room and watched Cars, so that was special.

Ready…Set…GO!

You know that feeling when you’re at the top of the roller coaster, just about to go over the top and down the big plunge, plummeting headlong to your doom?  But then you survive and it turns out the whole thing was really a lot of fun?  I’m hoping I look back on the next week and remember how great it was, not that it was stressful.  But it is what it is!  And by this time tomorrow I’ll have my new grandson in my arms, probably right alongside the 2 year old.  He’s not big on sharing.  With any luck they’ll be home from the hospital by Friday, then next week is Christmas.  It’ll be pretty low-key this year, pretty much all about the baby.  But then, wasn’t it always supposed to be about a baby? 

Money Musings

I read an article a few day ago where someone from the same general area of the country as me is having a hard time feeding herself and her 4 year old daughter on $400 a month in food stamps.  If this person lived somewhere else and I wasn't familiar with what things cost there, I might not think too much about that.  But I know where she lives, I know what prices are like there.  After I stopped yelling I considered posting a comment about how maybe food stamps should pay for cookbooks, but then I remembered a friend sending me a link to the free SNAP cookbook online. 

Moral of the story?
You can give someone financial aid but you can't give them sense or good judgement.

I once knew a man who often said, in America poor people have cable.  He's right.  Contrast many of our "poor" to those of other nations and you might see a startling difference.

The only person I can control is me.  I shouldn't worry about this stuff but it's frustrating at times.  I need to focus on my own goals, and I think I've done pretty well with that lately, my savings haven't grown but I've taken on a lot more financial responsibility and still managed to keep expenses down.  Two things are coinciding my life that are typically VERY expensive, Christmas and the birth of a new baby.  Not my baby, I'm way too old for that.   But without my help, this grandchild might be coming into the world with very little.  I've spent maybe $100 or so and kitted him out pretty nicely.  Between my daughter and me, we've pulled out every trick in the book, borrowing and asking for hand-me-downs, thrift stores, etc.  He'll have everything his tiny self needs, and then some.  As for Christmas, my goal was to make most of the gifts, and most of what isn't being handmade is second-hand.  I really don't know what I've spent, since I've been sewing, knitting, etc. all year.  But I do know I haven't spent a lot, and what I did spend has been spread out so much it's been no problem at all.  No January Blues for me.             

Thanksgiving is all about family

Well, family and food.  We had the feast on Thursday, then on Saturday I took Ayla and Drake to visit my parents, about 3 hours away.  We had a really nice visit.  I was pleased to see how well my mother is recovering from her knee replacement surgery. 

Drake discovered some fun and exciting ways to have fun in the country!  No cash needs to be spent to have a good time, just hitch a ride on somebody’s lap.

Sorry this one turned out so badly, somehow my camera had gotten the settings changed.  But it’s still cute, Drake riding on the back of Mom’s chair.

 

And finally, the tractor.  This provided hours of "driving" fun.  He pretended to run over me, he pretended to run over the dog, etc.  

 

Now, on to Christmas!  I made a paper chain to count down the days.  Beginning December 1st, we'll tear off one ring and read the bible verse printed inside.  When they're gone, it's Christmas!!

 

 

 

 

You can serve a Thanksgiving meal for 8 people for under $100!

You can serve a Thanksgiving meal for 8 people for under $100!

That was an actual headline I saw online early last week.  My reaction:

Um, what?

I know this is the time of year people tend to bust out their family heirloom recipes, and go all out for the feasts and festivities.  And yes, you can certainly feed 8 people at Thanksgiving for under $100.  But my opinion is, you can feed them for a LOT less than $100.  I didn’t even read that article, I was laughing so hard.  I really don’t know what sort of recipes they were promoting.  I planned to feed 10 adults and 3 small children.  As it turned out, and I knew beforehand that this was a possibility, several people didn’t make it.  We ended up with 5 adults and 2 toddlers, and TONS of leftovers.  In preparation for this I spent $38, which included an extra turkey since they were on sale and is now safely abiding in my freezer, along with bits and pieces of his already-cooked brethren.  Oh, and let’s not forget, add the cost of a couple extra pie crusts because we ate the chocolate pies the night before and had to make more.  I had made 2 pie crusts, we bought 4 more and used 2 of them.  The others will be saved for later.  I could have made more but I wimped out. 

Ask anyone in my family if they feel the food would have been better if I spent more.  Go on, I dare you!  Because they seemed to be enjoying it, and enjoying it, and enjoying it….  I don’t feel that spending another $60-65 would have improved our meal even a tiny fraction.  Looks good, doesn't it?

I think Ayla is now our official pie lady.  She doesn’t yet know how to make crust, but she can turn out a pumpkin or chocolate fudge pie in no time, and it’s GOOD.  Here she is, helping Drake make his very first pie:

 

 

You’d think people who are 8 months pregnant would know better than to get in the floor but she said it was easier than holding Drake up to the counter while he helped.  At least there were people around to hoist her back up.        

Baking Bread

I keep saying I'm going to post my bread  recipe, but I never seem to have time.  So I'm giving a link to the website wher I got the recipe.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx?page=2

I usually make rolls or rectangular loaves with this, but it can be made into bread sticks, round loaves (plopped onto a baking sheet, no pan involved), cinnamon rolls, or pizza dough, if you like a fairly thick crust.  You can add herbs to the liquid, make it sweeter if you like it that way, use water for french bread, milk for a soft bread.  I replace 1/4 cup of flour with an equal amount of potato flour to keep it soft and fresh longer.  I love this stuff, it's so versatile.

Let me know if you try it.

Everyone have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and be safe!