Oh, my, what a fun Saturday morning! It's pouring, gloomy, and cold, but so far it's been a lovely day.
Poor hubby was out studying, and is now working his tail off because something went wrong at work. So while he's gone, the baby and I went to our church Olympics this morning. We were divided up into countries randomly, and off we went!
We had group events, such as tug-of-war. We had a three-legged race, a boot toss, a hula hoop contest, a diaper derby for the little ones, a marshmallow eating contest, and a game I had never before seen that was hilarious.
Divide into couples. Each couple ties a balloon the size of their head (it needs to be pretty big) to their right feet. Assume dance position, fairly close together. Turn on music and stomp on other couples' balloons. Last couple with at least one balloon left wins! It was absolutely ridiculously fun.
During lunch, we awarded medals and I can't think when I had more fun. The best part was the rain, so instead of being on a big field we were corraled into the gym at the church. I assumed that being by myself with the baby I'd be unable to compete, but plenty of people stepped up to watch him while I competed myself.
What a fun way to spend a Saturday!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Book Review: The Tightwad Gazette II
I knew that I would enjoy this book, which is why it was easy to put it on my list. I checked it out from the library (the author would be proud!) to learn more about frugal living.
If you've read any of Amy Daczyczyn's writings, you'll know that she is a wonderful resource for exploring all aspects of saving money and being frugal. She openly admits that many ideas will not work for everyone, but she does her best to present inspiration to help the individual.
This particular volume is a compilation of many money-saving ideas and articles published in her Tightwad Gazette publication, which I believe is no longer being produced.
If you'll check out this post, you'll get an idea of some of the more philosophical articles presented in the book. I'm sure if you were to pick it up, like me you'd have difficulty putting it down until you'd gleaned every bit of information from it possible.
If you've read any of Amy Daczyczyn's writings, you'll know that she is a wonderful resource for exploring all aspects of saving money and being frugal. She openly admits that many ideas will not work for everyone, but she does her best to present inspiration to help the individual.
This particular volume is a compilation of many money-saving ideas and articles published in her Tightwad Gazette publication, which I believe is no longer being produced.
If you'll check out this post, you'll get an idea of some of the more philosophical articles presented in the book. I'm sure if you were to pick it up, like me you'd have difficulty putting it down until you'd gleaned every bit of information from it possible.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Dinner Group
I live in an apartment complex full of married college students. We get to be pretty good friends with our neighbors, so when my upstairs neighbors proposed the following idea, I was very excited.
The premise: cooking once for eight is easier than cooking four times for a couple.
Execution: Monday through Thursday nights, we have dinner together. Four couples, four homes, four fun dinner parties. I cook once, and do dishes once, but eat four times. This is the part I love the most. How much harder is it to make more? Not very. How much fun is it to eat with my friends? A whole lot.
Tonight it's my turn to host, so we're having one of my favorites--crock-pot stuffed cabbage. Simple, but delicious.
I brown some ground beef with onion (in the crockpot, of course) then blot off as much of the fat as I can get. Throw in a can of diced tomatoes, two small cans of tomato sauce, a bay leaf, and a tablespoon of parsley (or dill if you prefer). Roughly chop some cabbage. Half a head should be enough. Maybe a bit more. Toss it all together, and cook on low for four more hours. Serve with sour cream and cheddar cheese if you're a dairy fiend.
Tonight, we'll also be having rolls, corn, and a butternut squash dish (my first attempt--the butternut squash came from a friend's garden). Hopefully, it will be a hit. Knowing my friends, though, it will be a whole lot of fun!
The premise: cooking once for eight is easier than cooking four times for a couple.
Execution: Monday through Thursday nights, we have dinner together. Four couples, four homes, four fun dinner parties. I cook once, and do dishes once, but eat four times. This is the part I love the most. How much harder is it to make more? Not very. How much fun is it to eat with my friends? A whole lot.
Tonight it's my turn to host, so we're having one of my favorites--crock-pot stuffed cabbage. Simple, but delicious.
I brown some ground beef with onion (in the crockpot, of course) then blot off as much of the fat as I can get. Throw in a can of diced tomatoes, two small cans of tomato sauce, a bay leaf, and a tablespoon of parsley (or dill if you prefer). Roughly chop some cabbage. Half a head should be enough. Maybe a bit more. Toss it all together, and cook on low for four more hours. Serve with sour cream and cheddar cheese if you're a dairy fiend.
Tonight, we'll also be having rolls, corn, and a butternut squash dish (my first attempt--the butternut squash came from a friend's garden). Hopefully, it will be a hit. Knowing my friends, though, it will be a whole lot of fun!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Ruminations on Frugality
Whilst reading The Tightwad Gazette II, by Amy Dacyczyn, I came across an article that really struck a chord. Amy discusses frugality as being economical and thrifty, in regards to the expenditure of any resource.
"All of us attempt to achieve the highest quality of life possible by balancing four basic resources: money, time, space, and personal energy. We must manage these four things in relationship to one another."
I find this rather an important aspect of frugality that isn't discussed on the web as often as the frugal vs. cheap question. So, let's have a go, shall we?
The real trouble with balancing our money, time, space, and personal energy is that it is so personal. All of our resources are limited, some more than others. Mine certainly in a different capacity than yours. Solutions that might be great for my favorite frugal blogger are ludicrous for my life. No matter how many closets I see go from cluttered to organized, it won't change the fact that I don't have any in my home.
My resources differ from yours, but so does my perception of a quality life. I far prefer borrowing a classic movie from the library and munching homemade pizza to going out. This works well given our limited financial resources; my husband or I have to work extra to pay for that dinner out and show, and it would mean sacrificing more family time during the work week. That would be off-balance for our family.
My personal solution for balancing space is to declutter. I don't save things that might have an undefined future use. I use my limited storage space for food storage and bulk food buying, as well as books and baby clothes. Food, family, and reading are my top priorities space-wise.
To balance the money (and keep that balance with my space) I don't buy things. I think long and hard before spending the money we work so hard to earn. Often, I'll have a purchase in mind for several months before I commit to it.
To balance time, I commit to buying less in order to spend more time with my husband. I spend more time home baking from scratch, and less time shopping.
As far as personal energy is concerned, I want to have enough energy to care for my family. So I always keep playing with the baby, or spending time with my husband, at the top of the list. I need quality fuel, too, to keep up that energy, so next comes preparing quality food.
As you can see, these four aspects of a frugal (and happy!) life require a delicate balance. The result of fine-tuning that balance is peace within ourselves, our homes, and our relationships. Well worth a little extra work to find what fits, isn't it?
"All of us attempt to achieve the highest quality of life possible by balancing four basic resources: money, time, space, and personal energy. We must manage these four things in relationship to one another."
I find this rather an important aspect of frugality that isn't discussed on the web as often as the frugal vs. cheap question. So, let's have a go, shall we?
The real trouble with balancing our money, time, space, and personal energy is that it is so personal. All of our resources are limited, some more than others. Mine certainly in a different capacity than yours. Solutions that might be great for my favorite frugal blogger are ludicrous for my life. No matter how many closets I see go from cluttered to organized, it won't change the fact that I don't have any in my home.
My resources differ from yours, but so does my perception of a quality life. I far prefer borrowing a classic movie from the library and munching homemade pizza to going out. This works well given our limited financial resources; my husband or I have to work extra to pay for that dinner out and show, and it would mean sacrificing more family time during the work week. That would be off-balance for our family.
My personal solution for balancing space is to declutter. I don't save things that might have an undefined future use. I use my limited storage space for food storage and bulk food buying, as well as books and baby clothes. Food, family, and reading are my top priorities space-wise.
To balance the money (and keep that balance with my space) I don't buy things. I think long and hard before spending the money we work so hard to earn. Often, I'll have a purchase in mind for several months before I commit to it.
To balance time, I commit to buying less in order to spend more time with my husband. I spend more time home baking from scratch, and less time shopping.
As far as personal energy is concerned, I want to have enough energy to care for my family. So I always keep playing with the baby, or spending time with my husband, at the top of the list. I need quality fuel, too, to keep up that energy, so next comes preparing quality food.
As you can see, these four aspects of a frugal (and happy!) life require a delicate balance. The result of fine-tuning that balance is peace within ourselves, our homes, and our relationships. Well worth a little extra work to find what fits, isn't it?
Culinary Adventures, à la Julia Child
This morning I roasted a chicken, following the instructions in a lovely book I found at the library, Julia's Kitchen Wisdom. It's a great reference for making classic French dishes. Today I tried the roast chicken, and my goodness! It tasted heavenly, full of flavor and very moist. Here are the basic directions.
Baking time:
15 minutes at 450 degrees, then--
30 minutes at 350, plus 7 minutes per pound
Wash chicken rapidly in hot water, then pat dry. Season inside cavity with salt and pepper (adding anything else you like--lemon slices, onion, apple, herbs, etc.). Salt all over and rub the chicken with soft butter.
After 30 minutes in the oven, strew 1/2 cup each onions and carrots (both chopped) into pan.
This made enough for us to eat for lunch with vegetables and biscuits. There's also 2-3 cups of shredded chicken meat, and I used the bones and remnants to make a fair amount of chicken stock. I could have deglazed the pan and made gravy, but decided to use the yummy bits in my chicken stock.
And, as Julia would say, "Bon appétit!"
My First Book Review!
Here we are with the Fall Reading Challenge, and I've already finished a book! Of coures, it helps that I have a book club meeting to host this Thursday.
Last night, I finished reading The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith. It was a charming read, but I found it rather slow-paced and trite for a detective novel. The stories were all fairly easy to figure out, and I far prefer my Agatha Christie when it comes to mystery. Of course, this book is more about Africa, Botswana, and the lovely Precious Ramotswe than it is about her cases. The end result was a book that was too easy to put down and leave. I would never have finished it, had it not been for our Book Club this week.
All in all, it was a sweet read, but I have little desire to read any of the sequels.
Now onto some fun nonfiction--The Tightwad Gazette II! I have no doubt I'll have it finished within a day or so, as I devoured the 1st and 3rd books in less than a week.
Last night, I finished reading The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith. It was a charming read, but I found it rather slow-paced and trite for a detective novel. The stories were all fairly easy to figure out, and I far prefer my Agatha Christie when it comes to mystery. Of course, this book is more about Africa, Botswana, and the lovely Precious Ramotswe than it is about her cases. The end result was a book that was too easy to put down and leave. I would never have finished it, had it not been for our Book Club this week.
All in all, it was a sweet read, but I have little desire to read any of the sequels.
Now onto some fun nonfiction--The Tightwad Gazette II! I have no doubt I'll have it finished within a day or so, as I devoured the 1st and 3rd books in less than a week.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Fall Into Reading
I am so excited about this! I've never participated in a Reading Challenge, hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days .
My list of books for this Fall include the following:
The rest of the Bible
The Tightwad Gazette II by Amy Dacyczyn
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Mr. Darcy's Daughters by Elizabeth Aston
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall
I'm sure I will also add various non-fiction selections as I go along, as I am apt to pick up random non-fiction books from the library. I'm so excited to have a goal for reading! After having taken a break from reading after the long slog of university studies, it's been wonderful having a book club to inspire me to read more often. Having discovered the local public library has only added fuel to the fire!
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