Mar
Maybe a name change is in order…?
I’m starting to think that the name of this site should’ve been “Domesticating Rachel” or something along those lines, since that seems to be what is happening lately. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m really enjoying learning to do all the “housewifely” things I didn’t know how to do before. I really think that homemaking skills are becoming a lost art, which is sad. Don’t get me wrong, I would consider myself a “progressive female”, but I still think there are basic skills that women traditionally used to have that shouldn’t be left behind.
*Side note!* We were recently looking through a family history book about my husband’s side of the family and came across the story of a woman named Caroline, who is my new hero. She was described as a “progressive female” because she was thrown in jail for voting before the 19th Amendment was passed. Hearing that made me want to pump my fist and cheer! I LOVE strong women like that! It makes me wonder if I would’ve been brave enough to do the same thing had I lived back then.
Anyway, a little while ago we had some leftover ham that needed to be used. I thought, hey! Why not make a quiche? Even though I’ve never done anything like that before in my life, I figured it was worth a shot. While I was at the grocery store I picked up a frozen pie crust. It just seemed to make sense to buy a pre-made one. I’ve never made a pie crust before! And looky! There’s one right here! Easy! But, I paused and thought about it. What would a frugalista do? She would make a pie crust from scratch, that’s what. Especially considering I already had all the ingredients for one at home. I had no excuse.
So I went home, broke out the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (a great resource for how to do the basics) and attempted my first pie crust. I’ll admit, I was nervous. Would it be too tough? Would it be soggy? Everyone loves a perfect, flaky pie crust but I didn’t know how to achieve it.
Turns out, it’s not as hard as I thought.
BEHOLD!
It was a thing of beauty. The crust itself wasn’t exactly perfect looking, but it sure tasted good. So did the rest of the quiche!
Now I can’t wait to try a whole pie from scratch! I just need an excuse to make one…
Mar
Running beside the wagon
Here’s the thing about frugal living: you have to think about it EVERY SINGLE DAY. At least at first. It’s not easy making the change, especially when your husband suggests Del Taco because nothing else at home sounds good and we have no leftovers from previous dinners. Sure, we have other food on hand. Sure, I could make something from scratch. But if I have to expend energy to stand on my feet and cook something for lunch (lunch! Who cooks something for lunch??) (the more I type the word ‘lunch’ the funnier it looks. Ha! Lunch lunch lunch…) (where was I?)…Oh yes, I am not going to expend precious energy to creatively combine random pantry ingredients to cook a satisfying lunch from scratch EVERY DAY. That’s crazy talk.
Needless to say, my zeal for frugal living has it’s ups and downs.
Clearly, I have the wrong frame of mind. The key to frugal living is Big Picture type thinking. The little sacrifices, the planning ahead, the constant effort…it all pays off in the end. In the end you’ll have extra money to [insert desired activity/item here]. But some days it is really hard to think Big Picture. Sometimes I can’t help but just think about Right Now. And Right Now mama’s tired and wants a burrito.
I’m not off the frugal-livin’-n-lovin’ wagon yet, just kind of dangling off the edge a little and dragging my feet in the sand. And I’ll get back on. Just you wait. One day I’ll be driving that bad boy. Just you wait…
Tags: frugal living, thinking
Feb
The fun never stops around here
As the snow started melting a few weeks ago we noticed our tiny backyard looked rather different. We put grass in a couple of years ago, and last fall it looked just fine. Now, it looks like this:
This, my friends, is the work of a vole, a hamster/mouse-like rodent that burrows and eats roots and grass. For a couple of weeks we could not figure out what sort of creature would make runways in the grass. Then one day recently I saw it poking it’s little head out of one of the holes, causing a scramble by my husband to exterminate the rodent. He tried drowning it by sticking the hose down one of the holes, but it soon emerged soaking wet from another hole and began scurrying along it’s little runways, my husband dousing it with water the whole time. The thing suddenly made a dash for the open doorway, where our daughter was sitting in her highchair. With a flying leap Brady jumped onto the patio and sprayed the vole into hiding under our BBQ. When he came down the steps to inspect it, the vole charged him, causing him to let out a scream, leap back onto the patio, and spray it with water more vigorously. The vole then disappeared down another hole and we haven’t seen it since.
Well! Cut to last Saturday. After returning home from the blogger brunch I attended, I was showing my mom (who was kind enough to baby-sit) the damage the vole had done to our backyard. As she was looking out the window she suddenly exclaimed, “Rache! There’s a snake out there!” I dashed to the window, and to my horror there was indeed a snake just chillin’ on the grass. Oddly, the first thing that popped into my mind was well I hope it ate the vole! But then reality hit again: there was a SNAKE six feet away from my house. At least this time it wasn’t IN my house, but if one got in before, this one could too.
My petite, super-brave little mother marched right out there with a rake and told me to get a trash bag. Already shaking, I handed it to her and was about to dash inside, but the wind was blowing and she couldn’t could the bag open and scoop the snake in at the same time and needed help. I tried to pawn it off on Claire, but she turned me down. Slacker! Darn kid needs to start earning her keep around this place.
I hope none of my neighbors were out, because they would’ve overheard this:
mom: Ok, just hold the bag open…come on snake…ooh, yuck…come on…
me: ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!
mom: ok, almost got him! Now, Rache, just hold the bag open-
me: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
mom: Crap! Lost him, ok here we go. Haha! Ok. Rache, hold the bag- yeah, just hold the bag open-
me: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
mom: Rache, come on, just hold the bag open! Just like that! Haha! Ok, I think I’ve got him! Crap, you can’t drop the bag! Just hold it open for a sec…
me: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
As you can tell, I was a huge help.
By some magic we were able to get the horrid thing into a bag and tie it off and throw it in the dumpster down the street. I didn’t know what else to do with it. And it smelled. The snake, that is, not the dumpster. Well actually, yes, the dumpster did too, but you know what I mean. Have you ever heard of a snake smelling bad?
So.Gross.
Feb
Confession
Internet, I have a confession to make: I am socially inept.
Ok, that’s too strong of a statement. I am not socially inept. I get along just fine with people and can hold my own when necessary. I guess the better term is that I am shy. But sometimes that makes me feel socially inept.
The odd thing is I have no fear of public speaking or anything like that. I’ll get up and give presentations and actually enjoy it. But when it comes to socializing with strangers that is where I get all anxious and feel like I’m all thumbs and two left feet and like my tongue is swelling up in my mouth or something. Why, I do not know. It drives me crazy. And the older I get the worse it gets.
In all honesty there are days when I feel like I would be perfectly happy forever with just a small circle of friends and family, never to have to network or build relationships elsewhere. I know that is completely unreasonable and really not true either. Deep down I need other people just like anyone else, and in this world it’s not what you know it’s who you know, right? So I try to force myself to get out there and be a real person once in a while.
(I just read over what I wrote and it sounds so pathetic. Good grief.)
About a week ago I stumbled across a blog I love written by a local woman. She was hosting a free blogger brunch on Saturday the 20th to help launch a service project. At first I blew it off, because of course I NEVER do anything like that. Make small talk, with strangers? BY MYSELF? Yeah right! But the more I thought about, the more I knew it would be a good thing. There would be other women there with the same interests as me. I could get involved in some sort of service project and therefore be a better person because of it. Besides, it was like, 10 minutes away from my house and I had a babysitter, so I had absolutely no excuse.
The event was being hosted at the Blue Lemon restaurant in Highland, Utah which was really awesome of them because they did it for free. It was actually really beautiful, so hit them up if you’re hosting an event! The whole time I was driving out there I resisted the urge to turn around and return to my safe haven of shyness. BUT, I went in, slapped on a timid smile, and did my best to get out there.
We did a “speed-dating” type thing where we rotated around getting to know the different women, what they blog about, etc. It was awesome! I’ve never met so many nice ladies in one place like that before. We then compiled ideas for a fabulous service project that I will post about in the future in case anyone else wants to get involved (you should!).
And Internet, I have another confession to make: I walked away from that blogger brunch feeling great. Yes, it was outside my comfort zone and I felt a moment of terror when I first walked in, but I was so proud of myself for actually participating. Plus, I finally did something for myself for once. I got to meet new people and talk about something I’m interested in, and not go to work or do homework or wash dishes or wipe noses or all those other things that dominate my time these days. It was an amazing feeling to do something I had chosen to do, and not something I felt obligated to do. Hopefully I can get a taste of that feeling more often in the future!
Feb
Taming the beast
There are a lot of words you could use to describe my husband: Competitive. Sentimental. Hard-working. Athletic. Fun. Soft-spoken.
CARNIVORE.
And not just as in “oh sure, a little grilled chicken would be nice.” I mean carnivore as in, “give me the biggest slab of prime rib you’ve got- and RARE!” We’re talking about the man that turned to me once and said, “I think ham is my 5th favorite meat.”
“You rank your meats?” I replied.
“Well, yeah. Don’t you?” he said innocently, as if it wasn’t bizarre to love meat so much that you classify them.
So when I read that one of the Eleven Miserly Guidelines was to cut back on meat I wanted to laugh. A big, hearty, YEAH RIGHT kind of laugh. HAHAHAHAHA!
But I remembered a while back I had proposed that we maybe institute a vegetarian night one night a week for health reasons, and he actually kind of agreed. It didn’t stick though. So this time I approached him with the argument that we really should try to be more veggie-lovin’ for the sake of our wallets. To which he gave a big, hearty laugh. He didn’t believe that forgoing meat occasionally would be cheaper. He has been under the incorrect assumption that centering meals around meat is less expensive, as long as you get the meat for a good price. However, really, meat ain’t cheap folks. Unless there’s a great sale. Overall though, cutting back on meats on a regular basis can do a lot for your budget.
I don’t really have anyone that I’m close to that is vegetarian, so I’m really quite stupid when it comes to how to go about this. One of my concerns was that many meatless dishes were very fattening, usually centering around some sort of cheesy pasta (yummy, but not healthy). That didn’t exactly seem like the right sort of trade off.
So since then I’ve been on the hunt for healthy, satisfying vegetarian recipes. Yesterday I made a sweet potato and black bean chili that was fabulous. Flavorful, filling, and super healthy. I doubled the recipe so we could have some for dinner, and then I froze the other half for a dinner later on.
Here’s the recipe if you want to give it a go (this is the original recipe. I doubled mine and made some changes to it which I will explain in just a sec):
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground chipotle chili
1/8 tsp salt, or to taste
1 1/3 cups water
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed
1 cup canned diced tomatoes (I like the petite diced tomatoes)
2 tsp lime juice
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and potato and cook, stirring often, until onion is slightly softened, about 4 min. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle, and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to maintain gentle simmer and cook until potato is tender, 10-12 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 4 min. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
So, my version was slightly different. I realized after I started cooking I didn’t have any chili powder, so I substituted it with some pork rub seasoning and I actually think it turned out better- a little sweeter and smokier, which we like. I also didn’t have any chipotle seasoning, which was fine. I added a dash of black pepper and seasoned salt as well as garlic salt, and I didn’t put in any lime (didn’t have any. I was rather ill-prepared). I served it with a little dollop of light sour cream. Delish! Husband even loved it!
Any vegetarians out there that have some good, healthy recipes? I’d love to learn more!
*Recipe from www.eatingwell.com
Tags: chili recipe, meat lover, vegetarian
Feb
Speaking of superheros…
I have to admit that this last week I felt like supermom. Not to toot my own horn or anything (TOOT TOOT!), but this is a breakthrough for me.
Look what I managed to do:
I know it doesn’t look like much in the picture, but I now have THREE meals made from scratch chillin’ in my freezer. Made by yours truly. All while I managed to study for a test, take care of my busy toddler, and then work all afternoon/evening. Oh, and I was fighting a cold. BOO-YAH!
TOOT TOOT!
What you are looking at is a chicken & veggie noodle casserole (which is pretty good, I must say), and an Italian veggie & pasta soup.
Normally we try to stock up our freezer with a couple of frozen meals for the week, just in case we’re too tired to cook anything. Typically we buy a bag of some sort of frozen pasta meal, which would consist of chicken, veggies, noddles, and some sauce. It costs around $10 a bag.
By making my own convenience meals I was able to make three for just under $10. I got triple the value by doing it myself. Plus, I was able to control how much salt and fat went into it, without the preservatives too. Yeah, I had to sacrifice some time. But I gotta tell ya that it feels good to know that I am taking care of my family. There is something surprisingly satisfying about it. It feels so…wholesome, I guess that’s the word I’m looking for. And I’m saving money, too.
I’m almost done with Miserly Moms. I haven’t applied everything, but the few things I have done so far have worked out well. Now I just have to keep it up as I try to master some of the other skills of being miserly.
I made the soup using a guide I found on a cooking blog I like. The soup guide is awesome. It gives you directions on how to make a soup out of pretty much anything. The book I’m reading suggests instituting a soup night or baked potato night once a week, since it is an inexpensive but typically hearty meal. On a night you don’t know what to cook you can use the soup guide to make use of some of the leftover veggies, proteins, and grains you have kicking around in your fridge and pantry rather than spending the extra money to go out. Seriously, check it out. The soup guide is in the left column if you scroll down. You can thank me later.
Tags: frozen meals, soup, supermom
Feb
Fish-sitting
This is Batman. He lives in a flower vase.
He belongs to one of the little neighbor boys. We are taking care of this bad boy while the family is out of town.
Batman the Fish. How cute is that?
Feb
Sucker punched
Sometimes motherhood is just a big punch in the gut.
You carry the baby inside you for 9 months. You’re exhausted, sick, misshapen, and swollen. You lovingly note every kick and turn and anticipate the day the discomfort will all pay off.
You endure pain and stitches and sleepless night after sleepless night. You change diapers and cuddle and coo and rock and sway and bounce and then you do it all again.
You love.
And you worry. Oh, how you worry! And you know the worry will never end.
And you love some more.
And then…
Cold, hard REJECTION. Your toddler that you nurtured and sacrificed for and loved and worried about wants nothing to do with you. She buries her face into her daddy’s shoulder when you try to say hi to her in the morning. She bypasses you as she reaches her arms out to be held by her daddy. She bawls when he leaves in the morning and pushes you away.
KID, I AM YOUR MOTHER.
Did I do something wrong? Do I not sing enough songs or make enough silly faces? Are my hugs inferior?
The guilt sets in. Maybe I’m too impatient. Maybe I’m not around enough. I work too much…maybe…maybe…maybe…
Or maybe it’s just a classic case of a Daddy’s Girl. And I am grateful that my girl has a daddy who loves her.
All I can say is my future boys better be Mama’s Boys.
Feb
Starting from scratch
As I am in this pursuit to be more miserly and save some money, I’ve realized how clueless I am. One of the Eleven Miserly Guidelines outlined in the book I am reading is to make and freeze several meals at one time. This reduces costs because a) you can buy food in bulk without it eventually going to waste and b) you don’t have to spend as much money on convenience items, such as frozen dinners. As it turns out, frozen meals cost up to 6 times more than making it from scratch. Who knew? I certainly didn’t. Plus, I’ve found out that from scratch really means from scratch. As in, cracking open a box of Bisquick to make pancakes is not making them from scratch, even though I have to add the eggs and milk myself and then I have to mix it, which takes all sorts of effort! Turns out pancakes from scratch really means I have to put together the flour and baking soda and uh, whatever else goes into that powdery mix. But it’s cheaper! And really, not that hard…not that I’ve tried it yet.
So, I decided to follow this advice and make a casserole from scratch and freeze it for later. I doubled the recipe so I could have more on hand for a later date when we’re just too pooped to cook a real meal. I’m getting all set to work my magic and feel all thrifty and domesticated, when I realized I don’t have a clue on how to freeze a casserole for later use. Just typing it makes it sound even more ridiculous, because really, how hard could it be? Apparently too hard for me!
So here I am, Googling “how to freeze casseroles” and realizing that my poor grandmother would probably roll over in her grave if she knew I didn’t know how to freeze a simple chicken and spinach casserole. Truly, cooking from scratch has become a lost art. Back in the good old days people didn’t have lasagna in a box or a bag with a full meal inside that you could throw in a slow-cooker. People had to actually cook, you know? So they made their own convenience foods by cooking extra and saving it for later for when they were sick or a neighbor needed a helping hand.
I’m really pursuing this whole freezing-food-for-later thing. It will save me a lot of money on convenience foods, not to mention a lot of time in the future. Making a bunch at once means only having to clean pots and pans once, rather than again later. And if I’m making some today, why not double it? It doesn’t take any extra time! Plus, by making the food from scratch I know exactly what goes into it, which is loads healthier. I can avoid the extra fat and salt that is often added, and get rid of all those nasty preservatives that get dumped in too.
While I’m sure that some would read this and shake their finger at me for not knowing how to freeze my own food, I’m sure many others could totally relate. I know my generation has been raised on convenience foods, starting with the nasty Salisbury steak TV dinners available 15 years ago, and then evolving into the complex pastas and pizzas and stir-fry dishes that line the freezer aisles.
I’m hoping eventually to make my own homemade bread and jam…mmm….I have a lot to learn before then though if I don’t even know how to freeze a casserole properly!
Jan
One step forward, two steps back
Last week I briefly mentioned that in my quest to be more frugal, I was following the advice of the book and tackling my grocery bills. Oh, I so wanted to write a post on the beautiful, organized spreadsheet I had developed in order to compare prices. I wanted to talk about the shock I felt when I realized how much more money I was spending than I should have been. I had big dreams!
But then…we were struck with the thing that can bring a home with children to its knees: illness. With some pretty crappy timing too. Not that any time is particularly convenient to get sick, but still… The husband and I started school again and in an attempt to make our schedules work, coordinated a baby swap a few times a week with a neighbor also trying to finish school. In the midst of the craziness the husband and baby were hit with a doozy of a cold. That’s right, a DOOZY! Poor little Claire especially, and any parent knows that there is little worse than having a sick child.
My schedule for the last week basically looked like this:
4:02 AM- Baby crying, offer comfort.
4:37 AM- More crying, more bleary-eyed comfort offered.
5:15 AM- Baby too congested to sleep. Sit in rocking chair with baby to keep her upright and help her breathe.
6:20 AM- Crawl back into bed.
6:35 AM- Baby cries. Discover diaper leak, urine everywhere. Awesome. Baby in tub.
7:55 AM- Leave for school.
10:00 AM- Baby swap so husband can go to school. Tend to sick child.
10:12 AM- Wipe snot
10:23 AM- Wipe snot
10:37 AM- Restrain child in order to wipe snot
10:42 AM- Give up on keeping snot river under control and accept that everything will be covered in mucous for the next several days.
11:00 AM- Naptime!= homework time for mom
12:45 PM- Baby awake, wipe snot, lunch time, sick and tired husband comes home
1:15 PM- Work, work, work…
8:30 PM- get home, start getting baby ready for bed. Baby’s coughing fit induces BARFING. Baby in tub.
9:15 PM- baby finally asleep. Eat late dinner.
9:35 PM- Lapse into a coma from exhaustion
So! As you can see, there has been no time for organized spreadsheets or meal planning or even checking my email. Besides, had I even printed off one of those lovely spreadsheets I’m pretty sure it would be covered in snot.
Let’s hope this week runs a little more smoothly.
Tags: feeling crazy, schedules, sick baby
