my sanity on a leash

Things get really bad if (when) I "lose" my military identification. I can't buy groceries at the commissary. I can't get cheap gas. More importantly, if I'm off base, I can't get on base to go home. I have to call someone (you know one of my OODLES of friends who is willing to roll out of bed to come rescue me from the front gate) to vouch for my authenticity and then escort me home.

I don't actually lose it. Ninety percent of the time it's at the commissary. That's the only place I have to take it from it's regular spot and carry it anywhere. I must drop it in the shuffle of bags and kids. I am not a purse kind of gal. Even a wallet is too cumbersome for me. I opted for a lanyard. For the cost of one designer fabric lanyard on Etsy, I purchased enough materials to make ten. No, I don't need ten but that's not the point! I got the hardware from a dog collar supply site. Now, I can put my ID on a leash and throw it around my neck while I'm in the store.

I finished the other two hybrid kidlets last night.

i am thankful

I've been reading blogs from other frugal folks, watching the news, and going through the information sent to us from our bank. They all say the same things.

• Have a budget
• Use cash
• Save while paying down debt

We've been doing all of the above for four years and I'm just now realizing what a blessing it is. I believe we were pointed in this direction intentionally. I can't remember exactly how or why we started using cash only but I know it had something to do with ATM fees. The cash-only system needed a budget to give me an idea of how much cash we needed. After hearing a few different places that even with debt we should be paying ourselves (aka saving) first, I started a college fund for the big kid and IRAs for the Baron and me.

I've never been as pleased with the Baron's job (USN) as I am now. I know things will work out and we will be provided for but I do hope the economy will be on the rebound by 2013, when he's up for retirement.

Even my bland social life with my blah schedule paid off. I had all the time in the world last year to clip coupons, chase deals, and stock up. Now, with the Baron deployed and the competition for deals on the rise, I can stay home and live off what we have.

I want to put out there how thankful I am and how blessed I feel to have been given the opportunity to learn about budgets and frugal living. I think the crunch is still a part of our lives, but we've been living differently for so long, we haven't needed to make drastic changes.

i really am an old dog

I enjoy the company of friends. I tell myself I am miserable without it. I feel sorry for myself when we move and I leave good people behind. I pick myself up and make an effort to meet new people. I'm starting to feel a part of the community after a year and a half into this duty station. Once again, I'm having good times with good people.

I was the girl who would do it all. Thank goodness I'm slowly learning to say no. I hate saying no to people. Will they still like me if I tell them no? I have to hope they will and remember my own peace of mind and body, because I'm dragging. It won't stop me from offering help. I feel good when helping people. I love getting help when I need it and I truly enjoy making what comes around, go around.

But...I'm tired. I guess I really am getting older? Two kids :hiding from those of you with big, lovely families who will roll their eyes at me: must take more of my energy than I realized. Being a temporary single parent probably contributes a little, too. We had such a fun, busy weekend that I really need today off to today to recover.

I notice the kids can't go go go like I assumed they could either. The wee one's nap gets pushed back. She's either being restrained some place not kid friendly or she's left to run wild in a safe environment, both of which irritate her after a while. The big kid seems to need a break from constant kid to kid interaction, too. I assumed we would all adapt well to being busy with friends, nonstop.

We love our new friends but I'm learning we need moderation. No surprise there. This Baroness has always had a problem with moderation. While trying to rush my way to the end of this deployment, I'm rushing us past quality mommy-daughter interaction. Time to slow down.

*The above blog post was in no way directed at any one new friends and we would never want our new friends to think we are tired of them. We are just plain tired. We thank our new friends for making us tired.

spring forward

bah humbug!

excuse me, ma'am

"Is everything alright?"

These were the words spoken to me by a nice police officer yesterday morning. She had pulled up next to me and motioned for me to roll down my window. Turning seven shades of red, I obliged. Thoughts were racing around my head as I contemplated an answer to the question. I decided honesty is the best policy, no matter how weird it made me sound. Besides, I am a terrible liar.

"I'm looking for coupons...coupons people drop...you know, from Winn Dixie? The people in the apartments over there...they sometimes drop their coupons....?" nervous laugh. blush. stammer. smile.

I'm not sure what she was expecting; probably a lost cat or wallet. She nodded in an understanding way (what with the economy and all, I suppose) and left.

Funny thing is, I wasn't picking them up for me this time. All my frugal penny pinching last year has us set for a while. Not that I would pass up a $10 off $50 to fill the freezer with meat, but I was doing reconnaissance. I am supposed to teach a couponing class to a group of homeschooling parents sometime this month.

another hodge podge

I decided to go with a wrap rather than a sandwich this time around. A little turkey, cheese, avocado, smidge of cream cheese, and of course, sprouts!

This nasty fellow was under my desk, in the toy room, the other day. He was crawling along, minding his own business, when he suddenly found himself in the great outdoors. A sheet of paper and nerves of steel got the job done without anybody having a breakdown.

This little beauty is my first result from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I bought the book after having an online discussion about cookbooks. I was amazed at the success I managed with so little effort. Crispy outside and chewy inside, this was a little slice of heaven. It was made only more unbelievable once dipped in olive oil, roasted garlic, salt and pepper.

falling behind

I'm in a rut and can't keep up with things. What kind of rut could I be in, you ask? The kind of rut that makes one lose one's mind. I am in the middle of contemplating homeschooling the big kid. This would mean a lot of changes (all for the better if I can give in to them) in our daily routines.

I shouldn't even be uttering the words "home school" when I've barely scratched the surface. On to other things...

We made church windows. I don't have photos of the finished craft. The piles of delicate, colorful tissue paper make me happy anyway.



I used the mandoline/mandolin/Benriner again. I sort-of kind-of followed this recipe for Yukon Gold Potato Gratin. It was good. It may have been better with a stronger cheese.



This is proof of how very different the wee one is from the big kid. The big kid never differentiated between bread and crust. The wee one is a finicky eater.

rethinking my shopping addiction

With the new year just around the corner, I am doing a self evaluation of my coupon and stockpiling habits. My standard was to buy 4-6 papers. Always an even numbers in case of a buy one get one (BOGO) sale. I mainly focused on drug stores for the health and beauty aids. I would guess my current HBA supply will last me 2 years. At this point, I really could lay off on the CVS and Walgreens deals.

Since my yard sale didn't go as I'd hoped, I think my buy-extra-to-sell strategy is moot. I made approximately $100. It really should go towards the purchase of a chest freezer. That way, I can focus on food stock. I do worry about hurricanes and random power outages, though.

I'll try to get rid of the rest of my excess HBA at the spring yard sale. Until then, I'm going to limit my drug store shopping to money makers only. Frees will be fine if it's something I need.

Last thought on this, I may switch to only purchasing the coupons I need from clipping sites and HCW. There are so few coupons for foods that aren't crap, no point in having 90% of them go unused. Without the drug store coupons, the paper isn't worth the purchase price

truly a blah day

Don't know why, it just is. We went to a fundraiser dinner for the big kid's school last night. That was nice. We had conversation with other adults. Before dinner we drove a short way along the coast and stopped at a "closed beach" because I was itching to see the sunset. They've been so pretty lately. This is totally manipulated by increasing the contrast using the color curves in PSE6. I promise I did it only to make it look as it did in person. It's amazing how someplace that makes me so miserable can have such beauty.



I'm working on my recipes for the kitchen challenge. How about you?

remember those birds?

One of them pooped on me today. The best part? I didn't realize it until I'd walked around, grocery shopped, and came home to relax on the couch. There it was, just out of my peripheral, on the front of my shirt. Gross.

They targeted me on my way to a Mommy and Me type event. The wee one and I walked because it was a beautiful day. When we arrived, there was a sign on the door saying they were closed today. Gee, thanks. It started last week, on election day. Then this week was Veteran's Day. Whoever is organizing this thing is a moron.

Four more days until the Baron is home. I think I can. I think I can.

judgements based on first impressions

I was that crazy lady, today. I was sitting on the couch, sipping some free tea, when I noticed a huge flock of birds taking flight outside. We have some pretty birds here but we rarely see them in any quantity worth mentioning. I quickly grabbed my camera and a sweater and the wee one and I went outside. It was roughly 48 degrees this morning and I didn't bother to put on any shoes. No big deal, I thought, because I was planning to stay right there and watch.

Fast forward 10 minutes and two blocks later, the wee one and I are across the street and into another neighborhood, following the birds. We're dodging bird poo. and rocks. and fire ants. and whatever other undesirable things come our way. All was well until, on our way back, I got a dirty look from a woman driving by. That look said, "What kind of mother are you? A baby in socks in the frigid morning air? Walking on dew soaked grass? And you, BAREFOOT? I never." I swear. The looks said all that in the nano second it took for her to drive past.

Did I mention the wee one was toting a baby wipe around, as well? That adds to the "trashiness" of the complete scene, don't you think?

wheel of fortune

The wheel is in Hawaii. It made me cry. Okay, so I didn't cry but I did shed a tear and feel a lump in my throat. My chest got tight and stuff, too.

why i need my husband

I am a terrible parent on my own. I love the age gap between the big kid (6) and the wee one (18 months) most of the time. It gets rough when the big kid gets home from school and needs to do her homework. She's had to tell the teacher, "My sister ate my homework," more than once. We manage to complete the work, but it arrives a little bit crumpled and occasionally, with a few holes.

After dinner, which is prepared hastily with a whiny, clingy baby clawing at my thighs, we need something to keep us entertained. I feel unfulfilled after an evening of grab-what-I-can-and-throw-it-or-hide-it-or-eat-it and Webkinz. For the record, the big kid rarely plays the online games. She gets together with her friends (she has more than me) and they play modern day Barbies.

The Baron calls every evening from his temporary, two week, job site. It's hard to connect when the big kid and the wee one are chattering in the background. We can't really talk once they are in bed because I'm so exhausted, I'm asleep by 8pm.

Coming soon, pics of my Fiesta dishes. It is a testament of how far I've come in my matchy-match ways and makes me smile.

Go Vote!

cross post

I'm always trying put my ducks in neat, tidy rows. Sometimes I focus on the blue ducks (I've always wanted to see a blue duck), sometimes I focus on the red ducks. Now I'm trying to just focus on the ducks regardless of their color.

I'm doing this by trying to accomplish general order in my life with a routine. I'm big into routines for the kids but never have been able to do them for myself. I take that back. See my duck analogy. I have been known to obsess about the gym OR what I eat OR sewing OR a particular craft OR photography OR you get the picture. I realize it may not be unusual but I'm tired of too many things getting ignored because I'm putting so much into one thing.

Those of you who know me and have ever been to my house may be surprised to know I have never had a cleaning schedule. I do a good job of cleaning when other people are coming over. Here, with no friends, my housekeeping has been pretty sorry. As a consequence, I think, most things about me have been pretty sorry. Which came first, the mess or my sense of self worth? Who knows?

Anyway, I made this pretty little set of business card sized daily chore lists. They fit nicely in the planner I picked up for 10 bucks at ross. I can place mark the weekly pages with the clear plastic business card holder and have my list handy.

Yes, I realize this is just as sick as what I think I'm curing.

I have felt more accomplished and busy so I guess that's good.