Hello again! It has been such a long time since I have posted. I apologize. I put my thoughts of blogging on a shelf for a while. But I am back and hope to write on a regular basis.
I have thought about what to write about here and I still haven't yet decided what to make this blog into. I would love to make it a sewing/quilting blog,but there are so many wonderful blogs out there already. So I have decided for now, I will chat about a little bit of everything.
I have recently turned 50. Yep, the BIG 50. When I turned 40, I decided that I would be fabulous in my 40's. I started out fabulous, but somehow I got busy and forgot to finish fabulously. Now that I am 50, I have a new plan. I am going to be in my fantastic 50's. Before I go on, I'd like to say that I do not feel 50. My brain is still 22 years old. BUT the bad part of it being 22 is that it seems stuck in the 80's and 90's sometimes. I still sing and dance when I hear a song from that time and once in a while I almost slip and say the catchy sayings of that time. Thank goodness I stop myself. I would really sound outdated. When I watch any movies or music videos from the 80's and 90's, they just don't seem as cool as they once were. I keep trying to keep current and up to date, but it just doesn't seem to work. Oh well, it's ok. Keeping up with the latest trends isn't as important as it once was. I guess I am maturing. What is important to me is relationships. Showing the people who are important to me how much I love and care about them. It is so important to show others how much they are valued.
Things have really changed since I was younger. But what hasn't changed is how people lack in nurturing relationships. I'll stop here for today, but think about the people you love and care about. How can you show them how much you value them? It's easier than we think it is.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Stretching a Chicken
I had stated in a previous post that I have been thinking about my Grandparents a lot lately. I miss both of them tremendously and am thankful of the time I had with them. When I was younger I thought my Grandma had an amazing gift of being able to put a meal on the table in what seemed like 5 minutes flat. I am sure it took her a bit longer, but Grandma always had things 'put up'(canned) and in the freezer ready at a moments notice to become a delicious meal for all of us. I used to think Grandma had some kind of magic ability. What I never realized was that I wasn't there when she was working in the hot kitchen preparing all that delicious food. She just pulled it out of the freezer or her cupboard and viola supper is ready! As an adult, I now know it took her a little prep time and planning.
In today's world everything is instant. I admit being impatient waiting the minute for my food to warm up in the microwave. Since I have been on my 'use it up' challenge, I've been thinking of ways to make my own quick meals as well as stretch one meal into two or three. One easy way I thought of is to buy a roasted chicken at Sam's club. (or from another store or roast your own if you have time.) Here are some of the things I do with one roasted chicken:
1) Chicken salad- I pull the breast meat off and cut it into small pieces and place it on top of a romaine salad. Add a little shredded cheddar cheese and some croutons and the dressing of your choice. I save the dark meat for my husband's lunches or for leftover night.
2) Chicken broth for soups and gravies. After I pull all the meat off the bones, I boil the carcass in a pot full of water. I add a few seasonings (Italian seasoning, parsley flakes, minced onion and garlic, chives and anything else I have on hand) and some celery and carrots cut up if I have them in the fridge. I boil it for several hours and then drain it in cheese cloth. Out of this broth I can make Chicken and wild rice soup (similar to Paneras), or a regular chicken noodle soup as well as use it for a chicken gravy base. Out of one chicken carcass, I got 20 cups of broth. I freeze it in two sizes. Medium and small. The small containers thaw out pretty quickly when I need to make gravy.
3) Barbecue Chicken Pizza- use a homemade or store bought pizza crust, place BBQ sauce on the crust,add a little bit of mild cheddar and mozzarella/provolone mixed cheeses, cut the chicken breast into small strips then top with more of the two cheeses. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. A good friend recommended this recipe and it was delicious!
How many other meals can you make with one roasted chicken? I'd love to get some more ideas!
It truly makes me happy to get more than one meal out of something. I feel like I am getting a good value for my time and my money. A few other things I do to save time and money are to buy ground meat 5lbs at a time. I make a meatloaf for dinner and while it is cooking, I will either make meatballs or hamburgers with the rest. While we are eating the meatloaf, I bake the meatballs since the oven is already hot. I pre-form our burgers and freeze them on a cookie sheet. After the burgers are completely frozen, I put them in double freezer baggies for another day. I also buy several pounds of boneless sirloin steaks or top round steaks when they are on sale. I cut all the fat off of them and cut them into portion sizes and tenderize them. I buy chicken breast and cut it in half horizontally. It makes the breast a little bit thinner to cook faster, and it stretches the chicken to get more meals out of it. I also freeze the chicken on a cookie sheet and then double freezer bag them. It makes it easy to just pull what I need out of the freezer that day and supper is as quick as Grandma used to make it.
I inherited a little bit of my want to do more with less attitude from my grandparents and my Mom. I am very blessed to have a Mom who is thrifty. Mom had once helped me pay off my new car in a very short time. She gave me a $5 a week allowance. It was very painful for a teenager at that time ( mid 1980's) but I stuck with it and all the sacrifice paid off. I owned my very own new car! Which was pretty awesome for an 18 year old. Mom taught me many different ways to economize. I still use those ideas today as well as come up with a few of my own ideas. Thanks Mom!
I can only hope that I am as good of an economical role model to my daughter as Mom was to me.
In today's world everything is instant. I admit being impatient waiting the minute for my food to warm up in the microwave. Since I have been on my 'use it up' challenge, I've been thinking of ways to make my own quick meals as well as stretch one meal into two or three. One easy way I thought of is to buy a roasted chicken at Sam's club. (or from another store or roast your own if you have time.) Here are some of the things I do with one roasted chicken:
1) Chicken salad- I pull the breast meat off and cut it into small pieces and place it on top of a romaine salad. Add a little shredded cheddar cheese and some croutons and the dressing of your choice. I save the dark meat for my husband's lunches or for leftover night.
2) Chicken broth for soups and gravies. After I pull all the meat off the bones, I boil the carcass in a pot full of water. I add a few seasonings (Italian seasoning, parsley flakes, minced onion and garlic, chives and anything else I have on hand) and some celery and carrots cut up if I have them in the fridge. I boil it for several hours and then drain it in cheese cloth. Out of this broth I can make Chicken and wild rice soup (similar to Paneras), or a regular chicken noodle soup as well as use it for a chicken gravy base. Out of one chicken carcass, I got 20 cups of broth. I freeze it in two sizes. Medium and small. The small containers thaw out pretty quickly when I need to make gravy.
3) Barbecue Chicken Pizza- use a homemade or store bought pizza crust, place BBQ sauce on the crust,add a little bit of mild cheddar and mozzarella/provolone mixed cheeses, cut the chicken breast into small strips then top with more of the two cheeses. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. A good friend recommended this recipe and it was delicious!
How many other meals can you make with one roasted chicken? I'd love to get some more ideas!
It truly makes me happy to get more than one meal out of something. I feel like I am getting a good value for my time and my money. A few other things I do to save time and money are to buy ground meat 5lbs at a time. I make a meatloaf for dinner and while it is cooking, I will either make meatballs or hamburgers with the rest. While we are eating the meatloaf, I bake the meatballs since the oven is already hot. I pre-form our burgers and freeze them on a cookie sheet. After the burgers are completely frozen, I put them in double freezer baggies for another day. I also buy several pounds of boneless sirloin steaks or top round steaks when they are on sale. I cut all the fat off of them and cut them into portion sizes and tenderize them. I buy chicken breast and cut it in half horizontally. It makes the breast a little bit thinner to cook faster, and it stretches the chicken to get more meals out of it. I also freeze the chicken on a cookie sheet and then double freezer bag them. It makes it easy to just pull what I need out of the freezer that day and supper is as quick as Grandma used to make it.
I inherited a little bit of my want to do more with less attitude from my grandparents and my Mom. I am very blessed to have a Mom who is thrifty. Mom had once helped me pay off my new car in a very short time. She gave me a $5 a week allowance. It was very painful for a teenager at that time ( mid 1980's) but I stuck with it and all the sacrifice paid off. I owned my very own new car! Which was pretty awesome for an 18 year old. Mom taught me many different ways to economize. I still use those ideas today as well as come up with a few of my own ideas. Thanks Mom!
I can only hope that I am as good of an economical role model to my daughter as Mom was to me.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Baby Steps
Have you ever dreamt you were in your underpants and half naked at work or at school? I have heard about how people feel completely exposed and embarrassed even after they wake up from this nightmare.
By writing this blog, this is my showing my underpants to the whole world. Don't worry, I mean it figuratively and not literally! You will never ever see me like that. lol. You will see parts of my messy house though. You will see parts of my house only my family sees and has to live with every day. By writing this blog, it is what holds me accountable to myself as well as to anyone who reads this.
This weekend I didn't have as monumental success as I had hoped. I did however, take baby steps toward being cleaned out. I took a few hours to work a couple of my kitchen cupboards. Here are some before and after pictures. It feels better just to get started.
Corner cupboard before.
Corner cupboard after.
Main cupboard after!
Corner cupboard before.
Main cupboard before
I was a success in a couple of other small areas this weekend. I went shopping for a few things and didn't make any impulse purchases. I stuck with my list. I'll admit I did look at yarn and crafting magazines but I didn't buy. For me that is huge! I know most of my faults and fully admit to them. I am an impulse buyer. My main excuse is: "Oh, it's just $5 magazine what will it hurt? " Well, each time I spend just $5, it all adds up. Twenty $5 bills adds up to $100. What could I do with $100? Lots of things!
My husband and I took a few minutes to go through some of his clothes. It made a big dent in our closet space. It was really nice working with him on it. We finished in 15 minutes. Really. When I look a round and see all of the things that might take 15 minutes of my time and how I walk past them many times throughout the day. Why? Is it laziness? Am I just too busy? I believe a little bit of both. Going through Carl's clothes encouraged me to get to work on my own. It took me a bit longer,but I now have a pretty big pile to go to Goodwill and a big bag of rags for the garage. And my clothes are organized!
My method of cleaning out is a bit disorganized right now. I worked on the kitchen cupboards and then go to my closet. Not the best way to work. But it does feel good to get little bits here and there organized. So I will try not to get distracted and focus on the task at hand then move to the next area that needs work.
Years ago I would have been really hard on myself for not making the most of my day. Looking back, I wish I had been kinder to my younger self. Beating myself up for things left undone never accomplished anything. By doing that, it only hurt my desire to do more or even try. I would doubt myself and give up. I would tell myself that I am a lousy housekeeper ( and a lousy person) and say some pretty rotten things about myself. Why? I had more of a need for perfection back then. It took me a very long time to realize I will never be perfect. Only God is perfect. I am a flawed human being. We all are flawed in one way or another.
.
I hope I am getting wiser with age. Today I am happy I got a few small tasks completed. I can always do a bit more tomorrow. And a bit more the day after that. It took a long time to get myself into this mess, I'm sure it will take me a while to get out of it too. I'll start with baby steps.
What can you get accomplished this week? Even if you get one thing done today count that as a victory! It is better than not doing anything. The saying "slow and steady wins the race" is very true. I'm not expecting complete perfection for myself anymore. Getting one or two little things will add up in time.
You can do it too!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Today our new adventure begins! In order to simplify our lives, I am going to change the way I think about myself in many ways. My goal is to clear out the clutter in our lives. Not only the physical clutter, but the emotional, and mental clutter that holds me back from living my life to the fullest. My plan is to work on changing for a year~ August 1, 2013 to July 31, 2014.
The things I hope to achieve are:
1) Money: Work out a budget plan and stick to it, find ways to tighten our belts so we can become debt-free and pay toward our daughter's college costs. Save for the things we need as well as have an actual savings plan.
2) Food: Work out a menu plan and stick to it. As well as eat healthier.
3) Simplify and Being Frugal : Clean out and not bring in anymore more 'stuff.' Use things up or find an alternative purpose for them.
4) Hobbies: I will not bring any more sewing/craft projects into the house until I finish what I have on hand.
Last but not least is the most important of all.
5) Family: Make time for my family, cherish our time together and make sure they know I love them both with all my heart.
I have been thinking a lot about my grandparents lately. They lived through the depression era. They made due with what they had. And were happy and content with their lives.They were generous to a fault. Time back then seemed to go at a slower pace. Things got accomplished. Grandma kept an immaculate house. She canned and froze fruits and veggies from her garden. They had one car. Trips to the grocery store were made only once a week. Granddad was always fixing something or coming up with another use for it. They had all that they needed and didn't seem to long for more.
What has changed in the world since then ? Many people seem to spend so much time and money stuffing themselves and their houses. I am guilty of stuffing myself as well as my home. What led me to this point? Why do I constantly bring things into the house that I intend on doing something with but never get to?
I could play the blame game and place the blame in a variety of places. My parents, my generation, the culture, I'm just too busy, etc. When it simply comes down to me. I let myself get to this place. I need to roll up my sleeves and get to work on fixing it.
My two steps for this first part of my journey are to work on cleaning up areas that really need it and adding to my yard sale pile. Today I hope to clean out my kitchen cupboards. Hopefully I'll find a few yard sale items in all that.
Here's to an amazing and productive day!
The things I hope to achieve are:
1) Money: Work out a budget plan and stick to it, find ways to tighten our belts so we can become debt-free and pay toward our daughter's college costs. Save for the things we need as well as have an actual savings plan.
2) Food: Work out a menu plan and stick to it. As well as eat healthier.
3) Simplify and Being Frugal : Clean out and not bring in anymore more 'stuff.' Use things up or find an alternative purpose for them.
4) Hobbies: I will not bring any more sewing/craft projects into the house until I finish what I have on hand.
Last but not least is the most important of all.
5) Family: Make time for my family, cherish our time together and make sure they know I love them both with all my heart.
I have been thinking a lot about my grandparents lately. They lived through the depression era. They made due with what they had. And were happy and content with their lives.They were generous to a fault. Time back then seemed to go at a slower pace. Things got accomplished. Grandma kept an immaculate house. She canned and froze fruits and veggies from her garden. They had one car. Trips to the grocery store were made only once a week. Granddad was always fixing something or coming up with another use for it. They had all that they needed and didn't seem to long for more.
What has changed in the world since then ? Many people seem to spend so much time and money stuffing themselves and their houses. I am guilty of stuffing myself as well as my home. What led me to this point? Why do I constantly bring things into the house that I intend on doing something with but never get to?
I could play the blame game and place the blame in a variety of places. My parents, my generation, the culture, I'm just too busy, etc. When it simply comes down to me. I let myself get to this place. I need to roll up my sleeves and get to work on fixing it.
My two steps for this first part of my journey are to work on cleaning up areas that really need it and adding to my yard sale pile. Today I hope to clean out my kitchen cupboards. Hopefully I'll find a few yard sale items in all that.
Here's to an amazing and productive day!
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
HI again,
I started this blog so long ago. I blinked and the time passed way too quickly. I am back and plan to post regularly from this point on.
One thing that has been on my mind lately has been cleaning out the clutter in my home. I long to be organized and live a simpler, less cluttered life. I have decided to challenge myself to take one year and set goals to be more organized and have a tidier home, and work on budgeting our money. As well as attempt to become better at being frugal, saving money and re-purposing things. It will be a huge undertaking for me. I hope this challenge will grow and stretch me beyond where I am today.
I plan to officially start my challenge on August 1, 2013. Right now I am working out a few plans.
Step 1:
To begin piling things up for a yard sale. I love going to yard sales, but hate having them. I have always felt they are a ton of work with a small reward. My neighbor and her family has a big multi-family sale every year and is very successful with it. Each year she invites me to bring a few things over and I decline. Too much work I say. This year I am digging in and taking her up on her invitation. I am blessed to have a free space to store all of the yard sale intended stuff. I fill a box and take it over to storage. It helps that is it completely out of sight and out of mind. I can't wait to see how much stuff I end up with!
The money I make from the yard sale will go towards paying down our bills. Like most other Americans,we are in debt. Thankfully we aren't in HUGE debt. But any debt is still debt. Part of my plan is to be on a budget, pay off our bills and eventually pay our mortgage in full! Another part of working toward being debt free is helping our daughter with her college tuition and college expenses. My hope is she will graduate with a very little left to pay.
I will keep you posted on my plans and progress.
My challenge is going to be a lot of work. But I'm ready!!
I started this blog so long ago. I blinked and the time passed way too quickly. I am back and plan to post regularly from this point on.
One thing that has been on my mind lately has been cleaning out the clutter in my home. I long to be organized and live a simpler, less cluttered life. I have decided to challenge myself to take one year and set goals to be more organized and have a tidier home, and work on budgeting our money. As well as attempt to become better at being frugal, saving money and re-purposing things. It will be a huge undertaking for me. I hope this challenge will grow and stretch me beyond where I am today.
I plan to officially start my challenge on August 1, 2013. Right now I am working out a few plans.
Step 1:
To begin piling things up for a yard sale. I love going to yard sales, but hate having them. I have always felt they are a ton of work with a small reward. My neighbor and her family has a big multi-family sale every year and is very successful with it. Each year she invites me to bring a few things over and I decline. Too much work I say. This year I am digging in and taking her up on her invitation. I am blessed to have a free space to store all of the yard sale intended stuff. I fill a box and take it over to storage. It helps that is it completely out of sight and out of mind. I can't wait to see how much stuff I end up with!
The money I make from the yard sale will go towards paying down our bills. Like most other Americans,we are in debt. Thankfully we aren't in HUGE debt. But any debt is still debt. Part of my plan is to be on a budget, pay off our bills and eventually pay our mortgage in full! Another part of working toward being debt free is helping our daughter with her college tuition and college expenses. My hope is she will graduate with a very little left to pay.
I will keep you posted on my plans and progress.
My challenge is going to be a lot of work. But I'm ready!!
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