FUUUUDDDGGGEEE!

I was going to do a really great post on the thrills of cleaning and organizing my laundry closet..... buuuuutttttt, I can't get my pictures to load.... so let me go throw a tantrum and scream like a preschooler  try to figure out what the problem is.... and I'll be back with that post soon...k? 

K. 

Kick butt Kick start to the New Year

Hello Everyone and Welcome to the 2013 edition of homemaker kim.... good to see ya!

Now that we've got a good foot hold on this new year, here's some plans that I have.....

1.  Start eating healthier and more local.... I've already gotten back on track with this.  There is a year round farm market near our recycle center (go ahead and roll your eyes now mom!)  that has local grass fed beef and very local (as in right down the street) brown eggs.  What a difference!  Those are some happy chickens I tell ya!  The yolk is orange which is a sign of very good nutrition, which in turn is good nutrition for me!  Booyah! 

2.  Do another year of Found Money Challenge inspired by the oh so wonderful Katy from Non-consumer advocate..... I didn't have much luck last year, I think I topped out at 45 cents.  But this is a fresh new year.... so people! Get to droppin' those coins!  I've got a challenge here!  My son has even gotten in on the fun by stealing   finding 2 pennies on the floor at Target ( I can't believe I missed it!)

3.  Start collecting aluminum cans to take to cash in at the local metal recyclers......  Now folks, I cringe at the amounts of cans that I hauled away just to dump at the recycle center.  It was easily hundreds of pounds over the years.  But then I got a clue to taking them to cash them in.  I had always known about doing it, but for some reason I just didn't.  I took in 4lbs of cans from my husbands last *ahem* "round" and I walked away with $2.76!  I know, it's nothing to write home about but hey, that do-do adds up!!  So, now I'm not only on the look out for coins, I now keep an eye out for aluminum money!  Yes, my husband is absolutely thrilled about this latest venture... just LOVES IT**

**not.


4.  Continue to be a money grubbing crazy person     responsible, thrifty,saving, loving momma......
2012 was a big change for us.  We went from making nearly 55k a year to ummmmm let's see, 15k .... yea, I know.  We started our business and thankfully it is doing well.  The only reason we were able to start our business is because we don't have any debt and don't have a lot of monthly expenses.  We squeaked by some how some way with only minor emergencies (winking at you momma!)  This past month was great and was able to take a deep breath.  We have re-funded our Baby Emergency Fund (if you speak Dave Ramsey speak) and are now working on funding a fully funded emergency fund.  We are starting to save for things like a different car for me, and have special "envelopes" (again Dave Ramsey speak) for things like Christmas, clothes, haircuts, etc....
So our financial life is good and moving forward again.  The biggest accomplishment for us though is that we went through all this and did not take on any new debt.  That is a big deal!!  **

** If you don't know who Dave Ramsey is, I highly recommend him and his financial plan! (and no, I didn't get paid to say that!)

5.  Continue to do all my "hippy" stuff....... I am daydreaming about my up coming garden, processing a crap ton of food, making granola and beef jerky, wearing my homemade deodorant, shopping at thrift stores for fun and bringing my own shopping bags every where...... all the stuff that my family just looks at me with a glazed look in their eyes and shakes their heads. 

6.  Breath...... shake off anger.....  As I get older, I realize that life can be taken from you at a moments notice.  It's fragile.... Seeing things in the news, hearing my friends lose family members unexpectedly..... we're lucky to be breathing, happy and healthy..... there's no time to hold onto anger.... there's no time to hold onto sadness... will I be perfect?  Heck No.... I'm a girl with hormones after all, but I will lighten up this year...... and just enjoy the ride.....

7.  House..... after such a heavy #6 item, I forgot to mention to continue the decorating and decluttering of my house..... light and fresh is what I'm going for.... by special request by hubbs, I will be reorganizing/cleaning out the laundry closet next.  I'm trying to think of ways to prettify it (what you've never heard of prettify?)  so come back soon for a picture packed post! 

Well, I think that's it..... thanks for coming along with me for this coming year! 

Until next time friends!

Holidays and Beginnings

Hello All,

Just a quick little post to wish you and yours a (late) Happy Holidays and an even Happier New Year!

We had a great time with family, ate lots and lots of yummy food and did little else as much as we could manage. 

For New Years Eve we were planning on going to our local First Night, but wooooweeee it's going to be cold so we are going to find something else to do.  Sushi anyone?? 

What are you going to do for New Years Eve?  Are you the kind that likes to go to parties and live it up or stay home watching the ball drop with that special someone?  Me, I'm kinda a mix of both.  I like to go out and do things, but when the clock strikes midnight, I don't want to be anywhere other than in the arms of my handsome hubby and beautiful son. 

Here's to a wonderful and prosperous 2013! 

See You Then! 

One Week Later

It has taken me a solid week to really grasp what happened just a week ago today.  To really understand and grasp that there were children not only injured, but murdered.  CHILDREN. 

My heart aches for the parents who have to go through this tremendous pain that I could never understand. 

I think of the staff that worked in that school, waking up that morning, not knowing what the day would bring.... how now their families have to find a way to get through Christmas without them.

My heart goes out to the folks in Newtown..... and here at home, I will hug my son tight and Thank God for him.....

Hold each other tight.....

Food, The New Year and How I Plan on Ruining My Marriage

Hey Everybody,

As Christmas gets closer with the new year just around the corner, I've been doing some thinking.  *If you're my husband this is the part when you say" what did I tell you about that?"  And I sigh and say "not too"*  that joke NEVER gets old with him.... OK...moving on....

As I was saying, I've been thinking about things I want to continue in the new year and things I want to change.  One of those things is food.  We need to eat better.... not just pick out more veggies when I go to the store, but get back to eating locally.  I loved going to the farmers market a couple summers ago.  We would go there on Saturday or Sunday and have some lunch afterward.  I even went by myself quite a few times and how relaxing it was to walk from table to table to pick out food for my family.  More often than not, there was a person playing music..... so what's not to like about fresh, local food with a side of music.... awesome. Anyway, I went back to work part time in the fall of that last summer and wouldn't you know it, I had to work every weekend.  I simply quit going to the market.  I had one Sunday off a month and I usually chose that day to stay in my jammies until lunch time instead of riding to the market.  Not anymore.  TOOT! TOOT!  The train of reason has pulled into the station! 

I'm heading back to the market.  I believe the market starts up again in February.... in the mean time, I will get in touch with the local farmer who sells eggs, beef, pork and has chickens a few times a year.  We are on a tight budget, but after reading a blog I love about a lady who feeds her family fresh food, from scratch more often than not while working a full time plus job!  It can be done and it will be done.  Did I mention that this lady is also on a squeaky tight budget just like me?!?!  This girl rocks!  Swing over to Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity..... she is me basically..... except blonde and has a couple kids.... but hey, you get the picture....

Now, since my husband is more picky than my son when it comes to food, this is the face I will see when I serve "weird" and "new" veggies next season.....

This is the face that will meet my gaze when I explain that we will be eating beans and maybe not as much meat as he is used to....

This is when I tell him that maybe we should consider not eating any fast food this coming year.... not looking forward to this.... !

Don't worry honey.... there will be chicken and all things pork..... just happier, less "factory-ised" (it's a real word, look it up) 

Wish me luck .... I think I should start a series called.... how I tortured my husband this week...:)

Until Next Time Friends!!

PS!  Have a WONDERFUL Christmas, Hanukkah, whatever you celebrate, make it grand!  See you next week!! 

Organizing the Armoire, Kitty Cat Watching and Shredding!

Hey All,

Finally getting back into my groove of organizing again.  This past Monday I should've gone to the grocery store, but the rainy, cold weather helped me decide to stay home.  I'm amazed at how fast my brain can work to come up with a menu plan for dinner when I seriously don't want to leave the house!  It took me about 2 seconds to realize I had all the makings for a spaghetti dinner.  So, since I didn't need to worry with such things as feeding my family, I was ready to turn my sites on something else.....

Enter obnoxious mess here:

 

 

Yea.  I know.  You don't have to tell me it's bad.  This is where all things paper and things I don't know what to do with go to die.  There's everything in there from a printer from the 90's to binoculars .... wooooweeee I was not looking forward to this.  But, it needed to be done.  So out came every paper clip, every pencil, every expired coupon and every lost receipt.  I started sorting, tossing and donating.  With sweat on my brow, I finally got to a point where things were looking a little less monster like. 

 



See that pile on the floor on the right?  That's old bills that I need to take to have shredded.  I have a shredder, but not the 200 hours that I would need to shred it all.  Did I mention that I have another large bag full of things that need shredding in my spare bedroom?  I didn't?  Well, yea. I do.  I'm what ya call a non-shredding hoarder I guess.  I always mean to do it when there's just a few, but then life happens and I end up with 2 big bags of it.  I know that I could bite at it a bit at a time, but I'm gonna bite the bullet instead and take it to Office Max to be shredded.  I know myself all to well. I know that I could do it myself and save some money. But if I do, I will do another blog in the future and have yet another bag of stuff that needs to be shredded.  For a small fee I'm willing to pay to have it done and over with.  Let's say that one of my resolutions in 2013 will be to come up with a better way to handle documents that need shredding.  Any hints??

Anyway,  I finally finished and even though I'm not as excited with this as I was my coat closet, I'm still pretty happy. 

Now, you may be asking yourself, Kim, why are those binoculars still in there?  The answer is simple.  I like to look at the feral kitties waaaaay across the way at my neighbor's house.  Honest!  I'm not a peeping Tom or a nosy neighbor!  But, really, doesn't this look a lot better?  Now I have to admit that my grandmother just gave me 2 free passes to a local museum and where did I put it?  I plopped it right in my newly cleaned/organized armoire.  I don't want to lose them of course.  I need to get a pretty little basket specifically for coupons/gift cards/discount cards.  I wish I could count how many times we've had a coupon only to forget about it and find it later!  What a drag! 

So there it is..... one more cleaning/organizing goal complete! 

Now, this is just for fun..... my new kitty Xander!  See ya guys!

Tis the season!

So here we are in December already!  We're enjoying the holiday season with activities together as a family.  We've been busy at the store, but are still taking time to do some fun things.  We've got some fun gift ideas in mind but of course since I know that my mom reads my blog, I won't be sharing what those gifts are!  Gotcha Mom!! 

The garden is pretty much done for the season.  You can see that I still have 2 bags of goat manure that needs to be laid out.  My initial plan was to lay it out and cover with straw to begin to kill back grass for a bigger bed next year, but we have been so busy that I didn't get to do that.  I haven't even put in my garlic yet, but I can do that in early spring. 

Here are some greens that we are still eating.... they are muslin mix that are spicy and just slightly bitter, so good with balsamic vinegar!  It feels great to still be able to walk out back and get fresh greens.  Some of the leaves have been nipped back a bit by the few heavy frosts we have had, but overall are still going strong. 

In other family news, we have gotten another neighborhood kitty neutered.  An adorable boy kitten and his mom found our kitty shelter during Sandy and he is so sweet.  I picked him up this morning from being at the clinic having his "jingle bells" removed!  I'll post pictures soon. I've been trying to trap/catch his mom for months with no luck.  The closest I got was scruffing her while she was eating, but then when I tried to put her in the crate, she kicked really hard, knocking the crate over and herself out of my hand!  She plopped on the floor and high tailed it out of there.  Eventually Barbie Kitty..... eventually! 

We visited the park yesterday evening and walked through Winter Wonderland.  Every year they put up tons of Christmas lights and for a small price you can walk through.  Absolutely beautiful and since I wasn't freezing my toosh off this year it was even more fun! We still don't have a tree yet.  We have bought real ones for the past couple years and really enjoy it.  We'll probably get one this weekend.  There is just something I love about the experience of picking out a tree, hauling it home on the roof of our car and then smelling it all through the season.  When we're done, we know it will be turned into mulch.  It's a win-win for us! 

What activities do you like to do with your family during the holidays?  Is there a must serve dish at Thanksgiving?  Are there cookies that Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without?  Tell me all about it..... I'll go make some cocoa while you leave a note in the comments section! 

Until Next Time Friends!