Fulfillment

Is there anything more satisfying than meeting the needs of your children? I would argue no, there isn't.

Teen Suicides

I think that the recent increase in teen suicide due to bullying is very very sad. But wonders what kind of message we are sending to kids by martyring the teens all over the news so much? Yes- it is a call to action- something must be done. But if I were a teen with suicidal thoughts (and you don't know if I wasn't so don't judge) I think knowing my image would be on tv- publicily humiliating my tormenters, and the candles and the teddy bears and all the people who would gather together in my name- might just be making suicide look that much more appealing. I'm just saying- No excuse for bullies- very sad about the suicides, but instead of letting the media tell the story, shouldn't we sit down with our kids and TALK about it?

Mysterious Ways

I know that most people would say that Heavenly Father isn't interested in the trivial things of my day, like what shirt I choose, or what I eat for breakfast- but I know that he is aware of me- and that he blesses me in Mysterious Ways.

You know that Psych season 4 DVD that I was loathe to return, but put on my frugal big girl panties so that I could get my son a much needed coat? (small sacrafice, I know, but it was still hard for me)
well.... It's on netflix streaming! YAY! I can still watch it! :)

Ok- Netflix has become our entertainment budget. For 8.99 a month we get unlimited movies streamed to our computer and our tv with the wii- and one dvd at a time. This is what we do instead of renting videos and going out to movies. It works pretty well, actually. :) And I have sworn off buying movies for a long time- I don't really need to buy movies. I will watch it how many times after purchasing it? And I have to store the darn things and that just adds to the "stuff" that I am hoping to rid myself of soon.

Ok- I know- it may not be an earth-moving miracle- but it's a miracle to me. And I am thankful for the blessing. :)

The Frugal Beast

Ya, Ok, I admitt it. I am a reluctant frugalista- I would MUCH rather have a billion dollars to spend on whatever it is that I want. The fact is- I don't - and maybe if I did I still wouldn't be happy because I wouldn't know how to manage it. Maybe that's why we're struggling right now, to help prepare me for the blessing that are on their way. To prove that I can work with very little so that I can better manage it when we become better off... I don't know.

Anyway- my inner comedian is at work- and it makes these LEAN times a little more bearable.

For Example:

I wanted to buy Lincoln a Bumbo chair- but I knew he'll be sitting up on his own before too long, and I don't have an extra $40 sitting around. (also, don't want to store the darn thing when he's too big for it ...see hoarders post) So this is what I came up with instead.

And when you put a blanket in it it's even MORE comfy for him... This is the bucket we store Hudson's toy cars in, but when its not being used Oh Boy! What fun!

Also- I thought it would be nice to have one of those double stroller things where you have the one child sitting in front and a chair for the older child in the back- but this works equally well...



Ok- I know, it's not the intended use, but Hudson got tired on the way home from a walk and this seemed like the easiest solution... Not winning mommy of the year with this one, huh?


Anyhow- I did something that was pretty hard for me to do, but I am proud of myself for it. This July I bought season 4 of Psych at Wal Mart. I was SOOO excited, but when I brought it home I had buyers remorse. I didn't really NEED it- I shouldn't have spent money on it.... so I left it shrink wrapped. Well, things are pretty tight here, like I mentioned, and I sucked it up and returned the dvds to wal mart. I used that $40 to buy Hudson a new coat and to make a payment to my hospital bill. It wasn't easy, but I am proud that I could make a responsible decsion. And now, someone can buy me Psych season 4 as a gift later since I now no longer have it... hint hint. ;)

Look at me go! Maybe I can do this after all!

Sloppy Jofus

(This Beef Flavored TVP is found at http://www.shelfreliance.com/beef-tvp-1.html) It's the best price I have seen online- I got mine in Canada for about $15 a can)

I used TVP to make sloppy Joes last night- For those of you who don't know, my husband is a wonder bread and hot dog type guy. He likes easy cheap foods, but he wants them to be familiar. He has expressed less than enthusiasm about my using TVP in the past (TVP, incidentally, is Texturized Vegetable Protein, dehydrated soy basically) but what he doesn't know won't hurt him right? He doesn't even notice when I use it in chili or with taco meat as a filler... Well, my plan was to reconstitute the TVP before he got home so he didn't notice. It's actually "Beef flavored" so it tastes a little more like real meat. Texture-wise it's a little softer, but I know there is a noticeable difference. I was also planning to use 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 pound TVP to better disguise it.

But that's not what happened.

I had a pretty stressful day yesterday and was not in a good mood when Jason came home from his class. (I was actually still crying about cat feces to Erica- see previous post) so I was running a bit late and had to hurry with dinner if I wanted to eat before work. So I was just putting the TVP into the skillet with the tomato paste water and seasoning when Jason walked in. He looked at it for a second, but Bless that Man, he said nothing.

I think if he had said something, he knows he's get a Pyrex bowl thrown at his head- so I served it up and Hudson complained that it didn't taste like meat- I asked what it tasted like and he said water. I wonder if reconstituting it in Beef Broth would improve the flavor? hmmm...

Jason again said nothing. He ate two sloppy- jofus without complaint. If he's hungry he'll eat it. Of course I wasn't like "Oh honey look! I am using our TVP food storage- what do you think?"

and if he barfed later I am unaware because I went right to work. :)

Thank Goodness for WIC

I am on the WIC program- and I am sad because Hudson will be five next month, so we won't get benefits for him any more, but WIC has been such a blessing in our home because otherwise we couldn't afford to eat as well as we do.

Now that I am learning to use WIC to it's fullest, I am really beginning to see how much food we can eat with it!
I am practicing being a more frugal cook, and using up all that I can without wasting. So tomorrow I am boiling eggs for egg salad sandwhiches and using the eggs and cheese and some fresh veggies for an omlet, and of course Hudson loves his PB&J and milk and fruit. I got the stuff for a really nice Salad and I can use left over taco meat or chicken to make that a meal. So- you know I can really make my food stretch- and I am even starting to enjoy this meal prep stuff a little more- (remember when just a few posts ago I said I hated it.)

In other news- I watched Hoarders today for the first time and it upset and aggitated me for the entire night. I mean those of you who have seen my house - I am a little cluttered- I am NOT a hoarder (of course the people on the show say that too) at least not yet- but what I found the most disturbing is that I related to the things they said ie: I MIGHT need that, nothing has a place to go, I have always been cluttered, I feel guilty thowing stuff away... etc etc... YIKES! I was so upset about it I cried to my sister about cat feces for a while... I don't even have a cat.
Well, after watching a few gut wrenching episodes (literally) I got of my fanny and organized like mad... so maybe having OCD won't help. I will just watch an episode of Hoarders every morning and that will motivate me to clean the house for the day... I will then listen to a soothing church talk to help me feel better about myself.

Cooking from Food Storage-

There were two really good episodes of Living Essentials on BYUtv.com about cooking from food storage.
It looks cheaper than buying those processed foods and it's a good way to go through and rotate your food storage. Of course rotating means replenishing what you use, which I haven't been able to do for a while. Plus- we are anticipating a move sometime in the future and so we'll replenish then. Right now our budget is really tight, so we have to do what we can.

anyway, here are the episodes I liked.
http://byutv.org/watch/597-133#ooid=NhNTFqMToNcu1k5nNMqeKaePJl-Wl7KQ

http://www.byutv.org/watch/597-522