Housepoor?

I’ve been thinking about the U.S. economy.  Who hasn’t?  One would have to be in a coma not to have been considering the ramifications of the economic slowdown that is currently going on.  Although we aren’t technically in a recession, the media seems to be driving consumers that way.  Why, I’m not sure.  More news money for them I suppose.  I don’t rely on the television for my news, so I’m not even aware at this point what is qualifying for news on that point.

Closer to home, literally, we’ll be moving in with my mum at the end of the month, not the in-laws.  I moved 4 boxes and 2 bags of stuffed animals to the kids’ great grandmother’s basement today for storage until we close on a house.  Please let it be soon.  Our realtor is on holiday till the end of the week and I’d really like to find something soon.

Yesterday on Dave Ramsey I heard a particular caller and her situation could easily be described as being “housepoor”.  My husband is in the insurance business and with a recession looming on the forefront, his dad has suggested ways that he will be cutting my husband’s pay.  Oh joy.  Regardless, this is one of my biggest fears with regard to purchasing a home.  What is the likelihood that we would be in a situation similar to this?

Buying a home that is only 25% of our take home would put us in a very bad neighborhood, to put it mildly, which simply isn’t acceptable with two small children.  We’re facing a similar but not as drastic situation as that caller (who’s home payment was 60%ish of their total net).  The other side of the coin becomes whether or not our basic necessities are affordable with an inflationary rise to the tune of 15% (a guess on the worst inflation we might be faced with).  What services would be cut?  Cell phone $45 and internet $20 more than likely, but that would leave me home with no access to communcation with the outside world all day.  Scary.

Ah well.  Time to put the kids to bed.

I made a lovely black bean soup and some shepherd’s pie the other day.  Need to get the soup recipe up.

Liz

Boxes and more boxes

If you didn’t know me and didn’t know that we are preparing to move, you might think that I was one of those people who compulsively hoard.  I’m not.  But seriously, our house is cluttered up with packed boxes of our stuff to be moved to grandmother’s house this weekend.  We’re moving in a couple weeks, in with in-laws or maybe an extended stay hotel (with two kids, and a dog what fun!).

Our contract that we submitted on a lovely house, did not go through.  I am still working on convincing my spouse to sell his beloved sports car such that we could purchase a nicer home.  $8000 would go a long way towards getting a nicer house, ya know!  We have three cars, and he is just emotionally attached to objects, needless to say.

I’m still decluttering and working on my compacting.  It has gone fabulously well.  I’m currently spending, ouch, $8.00 per gallon on raw milk, and $4.00 per quart on raw milk yogurt.  I need to buy a yogurt maker to save money.   Really.  I NEED it.  I would break even really quickly, month, month and a half tops.

Our son is rapidly outgrowing his clothing, as always, and our toddler is learning to draw things, not squiggles.  I’m working on teaching her the alphabet and she picked up her colors.  I have become convinced that she has the same learning style as I did, repetition and repetition (it took me weeks to learn the countries of the world, some disorder with my short term memory I think).  My long term is fabulous though.  Anyways.

I have given up on the home search and have left it to my spouse.  I just don’t enjoy driving around for hours looking at houses I don’t like with two screaming kids in tow.  Not fun.  God will do what He’s going to do and that’s that.  My husband is the same way.

Back to packing and cooking!

Liz

Update

Well it’s been some time since I last posted.  I am pleased to say that I have finally mastered the art, and yes it is an art, of yeast bread baking.  I can now make a lovely and tasty loaf of whole wheat yeast bread that can serve the same as a loaf of store-bought sandwich bread.  It took about 15 loaves in order to get to this place, but hey, nothing good comes without its trials and tribulations.

My kids are growing wonderfully.  Our son is big and healthy.  Our daughter is sprouting.  The homeopath that treated her did a wonderful job and she is tolerating all food now without incident.  I am more than pleased.  This also provided the impetus for me to learn to bake our bread.

 I recently have been sincerely trying to break away from commercially prepared food.  For whatever reason, I will refuse to buy prepared food at the supermarket but I will happily buy fast food.  What gives?  My brain must not be working.  Seriously, I am very well aware of how unhealthy fast food and restaurant food is, but I still purchase it.  It is very expensive and simply from a frugal perspective one would think that I would abstain.  But I don’t, so there you have it.

 We just got our taxes back from the CPA and then realized we forgot to get one very important figure in, our health insurance premiums.  The premiums were so high, in addition to our medical costs for the past year, that they exceed the threshold for the standard married deduction.  That is most certainly not good news that our costs were so high, but at least everyone is here and safe and healthy.

We are preparing now for the big move to our new house.  Naturally, I haven’t found it yet, but our lease expires on April 3oth and we have to move then or pay $1100 a month in rent.  Ouch.  So we’re probably moving in with one set of in-laws or the other.  Neither prospect is particularly appealing, especially given that we’re married with kids and have been self-supporting for years now.  Any monies that go towards rent (the additional $500 they want to ream us) would otherwise go towards closing costs and our down payment so it doesn’t make any sense to just throw them away.  We’ll be paying whomever we end up living with something for rent, so it won’t be completely free, but it will offer some form of savings.

 I’m still tandem nursing.  Our daughter is down to once a day and she seems okay with that.

Cloth diapering is finally working out, lately it’s been a trial.  Our son is so “healthy” that none of his sister’s covers were working, but we received some new Imse Vimse organic covers today that seem to do the job nicely.  I am still working on sewing recycled wool covers and the ones I made have been bulletproof so I’ll continue in that vein.

Anyways, I’ve got to get the kids to bed.

Liz

Salmon Cakes – Recipe

I am not a big fan of fish.  I know it is so ridiculously healthy for me but I sincerely struggle with eating it.  Last night, I finally broke down and used the can of salmon that my father-in-law gave us when our daughter first developped food intolerances (yes, it was about a year old).

I made salmon cakes, sweet potatoes with honey and cinnamon, and plain broccoli for dinner last night.

Here’s my salmon cakes recipe:

In a food processor, put in the chopper blade and add three cloves of garlic.  Process till very finely chopped.  Now add your can of salmon (checking to remove any huge bones, like, gag me, vertebrae), 1/3 cup of gluten free bread crumbs (I prefer HolGrain Brown Rice Bread Crumbs), 1 egg or equivalent egg replacer, salt and pepper to taste.  Process all until the mixture  is completely combined (I did it until all the chunks were gone and it was a smooth puree).

Using a cookie scoop, place two scoops of mixture into your palm to make patties. 

In a hot skillet with olive oil, brown the salmon cakes and flip – this did take about 7-8 minutes.  Place hot cakes in oven to remain warm until ready for dinner, because cold fish is disgusting.

In a small cup, put some lemon juice to brush over the cakes or cut a lemon to squeeze on them (with lemon – hold the cut side towards your palm so the seeds don’t fall onto your salmon cakes).

 Makes about 10 cakes.

* These would be really tasty if you added some onion (about 2Tbs, and some fresh parsley 2Tbs).  I didn’t have any on hand.

Covers

Here’s the pic.

I’m struggling

Well, I’m not celiac or wheat intolerant, but my kids are.  This is what makes it so very difficult for me to be gluten, casein, soy, egg, and corn free.  I can perfectly tolerate it (excepting the soy) and sometimes I just really want to eat normal food.  I’m struggling with a number of things lately and the whole clean diet would be one of them.  I am happy to say that my local supplies of healthy meats, eggs, and dairy seem to be coming through and our homeopathic treatment seemed to do the trick for some of my daughter’s alleriges (we haven’t trialed them all yet).  Tomorrow I will try to start again and have a clean diet as my son is clearly reacting to the proteins that are passing through to my milk.  If I want that house, which my husband is working hard to find, I really need to lay off of eating out completely and work on cooking in the kitchen.  I am on the search for a bread machine at the moment.  Hopefully a free one will turn up.

In other news, I’ve apparently learned to sew.  I used to be completely unable to sew.  I don’t know what happened.  I sewed my son two wool diaper covers, hemmed up 30 washcloths, repaired a number of prefold diapers and am nearly done with a lovely blanket for my daughter.  I’ve got some fabric and thread to make myself two new skirts for the summer.

 I’m really unhappy with the way the economy is going.  Money certainly isn’t going as far as it used to.  I had to buy some 25# bags of dry goods (kidney/black/garbanzo beans and some lundberg rice) as I was worried that prices would continue to rise.  I doubt that food prices will fall.  Unlikely.

I did vote and of course my candidate later pulled out of the race.  I’m not sure about McCain, although he’s the only GOP person that really has a chance at this point.  I don’t think I could possibly vote for the Hildebeast or Obama.

Baby waking up.

Sometimes, discomfort is okay.

I was very uncomfortable today. The car next to me had an infant car seat it in, uninstalled, with a child in it who wasn’t even buckled into the actual seat proper. I asked my husband if I could ask the people if I could show them how to install it properly. He didn’t think that would be a good idea as we weren’t in the best part of town. Regardless, I did anyways telling him that all they could say was no. They didn’t and they were happy for the assistance. Now mind you, they didn’t have latch and this was a very old bucket seat. So I couldn’t completely install the seat and told them that they needed to get a lock tite adjuster for the belt. Driving away, I remembered that I might have one in the car. My car has latch and I purchased a bucket for my first child. This adjuster had been riding around in my car for approaching 3 years. I drove back and finished installing the seat, relieved that they hadn’t pulled away. I said to my husband, “God has a plan for everything you know?” I mean, honestly, 3 years, and I am pretty picky about things not being in my car that don’t need to be there. There is no such thing as a coincidence. This is the second time that I have approached someone and asked if I could help them with the install of their carseat. Both times I was uncomfortable doing so, but remembered that otherwise that kid has no chance in a wreck. I’m not a certified car seat installer and have always reminded these people to get the installs checked at the fire station, but at least an install from someone with two kids who is very familiar with carseats is better than the child being ejected from both the seat and the vehicle. I explained that you must actually buckle the child into the seat. Thanks God. I needed that nudge today. I was really afraid they would get upset with me given the “Breastfeeding for all and circumcision for none” sticker on the side of my car closest to them. They were happy and I was happy to help.
Liz

Frugality is not about being cheap

Frugality is not about being cheap.  Although you may hear a lot of people say that someone is acting cheap, their wallet screams when it opens, et cetera, et cetra, frugality is about using what you have to make the most of it to achieve your goals.  I want a house.  I mean, I really want a house.  I’ve been wanting a house for the past four years.  I am a patient woman, very patient.  My husband is very conserative with regard to stocks and the real estate market.  So we’ve been renting, for a long time.  Regardless, here are some of the things that I do that allow me both to stay at home with my kids and afford us the lifestyle which we lead.  Our lifestyle is very basic but we do strive to eat organic fruits, vegetables, and grains, and grass fed animals.  I may not have the latest clothes or purses or car (ours are all paid for!), but I do have a decent savings account, unlike most Americans.

In your home:

1. Use vinegar and water to clean most everything, readily available at most stores is BarKeeper’s Friend which is cheap and effective where vinegar and water won’t accomplish the task.
2. Use cloth instead of paper.  Buy/make/rescue some washcloths, cloth napkins, table linens, and dish towels.  A bit of a stretch for most, but my daughter and I use baby washcloths instead of toliet paper and then throw them in with my son’s dirty cloth diaper loads.  Use mama pads, I love the ones from Peggy, the hemp and organic cotton winged ones are fabulous.

In the kitchen:

1. Buy bulk.  You can buy almost anything you use in your kitchen in bulk.  Specifically, canned goods, grains, beans, dried fruit, and flours of many kinds.  You may think that you don’t have room to store such things, but we store ours in the fridge.  We go through tons of fresh produce as I shop weekly, but we still always have space for the dried goods.
2. Run your dishwasher only when it’s full and try to fill it to the brim.  Everything will still come clean, my mother-in-law taught me that and I thought she was strange at first for the jammed up dishwasher she has.
3. Keep a mental tally of the things in your cupboard, as you don’t want to tie up money on things that you have multiples of and try to monthly do a pantry challenge where you try to use up your odds and ends.
4. Buy your meat in bulk and repackage it.  If you can’t or don’t want to do this, try to find a local producer of grass fed animals, and they usually package their meats in 1-2 pound packages for you.  Costco is now carrying some grass fed beef, last time I went in.

With your kids:

1. Used won’t kill them.  Your kid is just as happy to play with a used toy as a new one.  Just make sure you check for mildew in certain toys (like bath toys) or outside toys.  You can find them significantly cheaper and extend your budget.  Used clothes also let you see how the clothing will wear and how well it’s made.  (This goes for parental clothing too.)
2. Cloth diaper.  It’s cheap and easy.  Really.
3. Expensive classes.  Honestly, they’re kids.  They want to play and they do absorb a lot of things from their surrounding environment, but they probably don’t need to go to 15 classes a week and get bombarded with all sorts of things so that they’ll succeed in college 15 years from now.

That’s all for now.  I need to go clean………………..

We already ate all the snacky balls….hehe.

Liz

No Bake Snacky Balls

No Bake Snacky Balls (Made 10)
1/2 cup cashew butter
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon cocoa
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup “chocolate Chips” (Enjoy Life makes a great dairy/soy/GF kind)
PLUS coconut to roll the balls in
Mix all ingredients. With a cookie scoop, dole out sccops onto a silicone baking liner. The trick to making them round without having them stick to your hands is to wet your hands with cold water first (this works for meatballs too). If your hands start to get sticky, then rinse and wet with cold water again. Then roll in the extra coconut or not. Refridgerate. YUMMY!
*Note in the picture we had already eaten some….heh heh.

Busy Day, baking and Potato Soup Recipe

Today was a busy day. I baked some pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin pancakes. I had to use the whole can of canned pumpkin so I had to get creative. I also baked a cheeseless pizza for my daughter and myself and a regular pizza for my husband. His looked more appetizing, but oh well. The pizza that I made with a GF crust was tasty regardless.
So I am now making some potato soup. A friend of mine made this for me after my son was born and I’ve perfected her recipe which was, “Liz saute some onions and garlic, then add cooked potatoes and chicken broth and run through the blender. Salt and pepper to taste.” So it took some perfecting, but thanks to Nicola!!

Potato Soup
3 large baking potatoes (steak sized) or 8 red potatoes – peeled, diced and boiled*
1 tsp canola or olive oil
4 cloves garlic diced finely**
1/2 small onion chopped finely
Gluten Free Low Sodium Chicken Broth (Trader Joe’s makes a great one)
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish:
Sliced green onion
Cheese
Cooked, diced bacon

Saute garlic and onion in oil until soft. Set aside 1 cup of cooked potato. In a blender combine the cooked potatoes, onion, garlic and 1 cup of chicken broth. Run blender and continue to drizzle in the broth until you achieve the consistency of soup you like. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the reserved potatoes. Put in pan to heat through. When heated through, pour into serving container and top with onion, cheese and bacon if you wish.

*Reserve potato starch water for watering houseplants or baking yeast breads. I bake yeast bread for my spouse.
** If you are not a huge fan of garlic, I would recommend reducing the garlic by half, to two cloves.