Well, we got the phone back. But not before it had gone for a swim.
The police made a visit to the store to look over security footage and the manager identified the store cleaner as the thief. The cleaner was on shift at the time and figured something was up so he skedaddled out to his car (where he’d been keeping the phone), excused himself to use the facilities and walked out some time later with a dripping wet phone, making out he had found it inside the toilet bowl. Ewwwwwww! Remember, I’d USED those toilets which is when the phone was swiped in the first place - it wasn’t pretty in there!
The police put the hard word on him and he eventually owned up and offered to pay for a replacement phone but as a consequence he has to appear in court and will probably lose his job. In the meantime, I still need a new phone! I mean, why couldn’t he just have handed it over? Why be spiteful and try to flush it down the loo? Sigh.
Amazingly, the thing still works and I was able to write down important numbers and such but there’s no way I could use it again after that. We still have to pay for a new phone (at $7 per month) but at least we have a small chance of getting some of our money back, even if the court date isn’t for a few months.
People just amaze me with their stupidity sometimes. The phone wasn’t worth losing a job over!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
No Lunch Photo Today ~ Wanna Know Why?
Update: Security footage from outside the KFC store viewed today showed that I did indeed leave my phone on the table for all and sundry to see and that - amazingly - the thief was able to be indentified as a cleaner at the store. Story developing - the police are paying the person involved a visit this afternoon and we should at least find out what happened to the phone thereafter, whether it was hocked and so on. Best case scenario - he still has the phone and it gets returned, saving us the headache of shelling out for a replacement. Worst case - the phone is long gone, which would still mean paying for a new one, but as the security footage was able to identify the culprit, its fairly likely he will be fired from his job. And honestly? I’m not all that sad about that.
I met some girlfriends for lunch today. We chose KFC (it’s fast, okay? I’m pretty sure there was lettuce and tomato somewhere in my Twister…) I got there a little early and it was a lovely, warm day so I sat outside to wait. I stuck my mobile phone on the table in front of me so I would hear it ring when my friend text-messaged me.
Pretty soon I figured I needed to go potty. I gathered up my belongings and ducked inside to use the facilities. My friends arrived soon after and we settled down to a additive-laden fast food lunch. About half an hour in, I reached inside my pocket to grab my phone because it doubles as my watch. No phone anywhere. Friends both tried ringing my number - turned off (that’s weird, I thought). Went inside the store to ask if anyone had taken it in to the counter. Nope. Not in the toilets either. Pretty soon it dawned on me the blasted thing had been stolen. I must have left it on the table when I went inside to use the toilets. I immediately rang my husband (using my friend’s phone) and he reminded me to call our mobile provider to shut off the number, which I did. But in half an hour, the low-life who stole the phone probably rang China or something, sigh.
This KFC franchise is directly across the road from a police station too. Unfortunately, adjacent to the station is the courthouse, and plenty of, uh, ‘unsavoury’ folk frequent the KFC store and the McDonald’s and Pizza Hut right next door. The phone is long gone.
The most frustrating thing about this whole deal probably centres around the idea that had it been me, I would have immediately taken it inside the store and given it to a staff member. Some idiot is probably listing my phone on ebay right this second too. It was a newer flip phone and only 2 months old.
So yeah, no lunch photos today :P
I met some girlfriends for lunch today. We chose KFC (it’s fast, okay? I’m pretty sure there was lettuce and tomato somewhere in my Twister…) I got there a little early and it was a lovely, warm day so I sat outside to wait. I stuck my mobile phone on the table in front of me so I would hear it ring when my friend text-messaged me.
Pretty soon I figured I needed to go potty. I gathered up my belongings and ducked inside to use the facilities. My friends arrived soon after and we settled down to a additive-laden fast food lunch. About half an hour in, I reached inside my pocket to grab my phone because it doubles as my watch. No phone anywhere. Friends both tried ringing my number - turned off (that’s weird, I thought). Went inside the store to ask if anyone had taken it in to the counter. Nope. Not in the toilets either. Pretty soon it dawned on me the blasted thing had been stolen. I must have left it on the table when I went inside to use the toilets. I immediately rang my husband (using my friend’s phone) and he reminded me to call our mobile provider to shut off the number, which I did. But in half an hour, the low-life who stole the phone probably rang China or something, sigh.
This KFC franchise is directly across the road from a police station too. Unfortunately, adjacent to the station is the courthouse, and plenty of, uh, ‘unsavoury’ folk frequent the KFC store and the McDonald’s and Pizza Hut right next door. The phone is long gone.
The most frustrating thing about this whole deal probably centres around the idea that had it been me, I would have immediately taken it inside the store and given it to a staff member. Some idiot is probably listing my phone on ebay right this second too. It was a newer flip phone and only 2 months old.
So yeah, no lunch photos today :P
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A Week Of Lunches ~ Wednesday
On The Menu Today
“Lazy Bones Soup”
I wasn’t feeling particularly brilliant today. I’ve been a bit ‘meh’ for a couple of weeks actually - I’ve had a nagging cough which, frustratingly, won’t produce phlegm. This is actually rather important if you want to feel as though a cold is progressing. I’ve been sounding like a harp seal for weeks but don’t have any other sympathy-inducing symptoms that would render me unable to, you know, cook dinner or something. Just this annoying cough! Even Talented Hubby is beginning to roll his eyes. Don’t worry hon, I agree with you.
Today however, I just couldn’t make my body DO anything. Ever had one of those days? Then I got a headache. Tried to read for a bit, no dice. Eventually I felt so horrible that I lay down for a nap. Despite popular housewife lore, napping during the daytime is an extremely rare event in this house. But today, I ended up sleeping for two hours and woke up feeling worse than before (can somebody explain to me how that works?) I also missed lunch somewhere in amongst that so I was ravenous and not about to chop up fourteen billion ingredients for another salad, and I opted for the easy way out. It was 4:00 before I even slurped it down.
Now, I’d like to tell you this was from a freezer stash of soups I lovingly and creatively prepared weeks in advance for such a day as this. After all, this is what Martha would do, right? And I’d love to regale you with tales of a simmering crockpot and warm-and-fuzzy family banter around the dinner table. That, however, would be pushing the boundaries of truth.
Nobody’s perfect!
“Lazy Bones Soup”
I wasn’t feeling particularly brilliant today. I’ve been a bit ‘meh’ for a couple of weeks actually - I’ve had a nagging cough which, frustratingly, won’t produce phlegm. This is actually rather important if you want to feel as though a cold is progressing. I’ve been sounding like a harp seal for weeks but don’t have any other sympathy-inducing symptoms that would render me unable to, you know, cook dinner or something. Just this annoying cough! Even Talented Hubby is beginning to roll his eyes. Don’t worry hon, I agree with you.
Today however, I just couldn’t make my body DO anything. Ever had one of those days? Then I got a headache. Tried to read for a bit, no dice. Eventually I felt so horrible that I lay down for a nap. Despite popular housewife lore, napping during the daytime is an extremely rare event in this house. But today, I ended up sleeping for two hours and woke up feeling worse than before (can somebody explain to me how that works?) I also missed lunch somewhere in amongst that so I was ravenous and not about to chop up fourteen billion ingredients for another salad, and I opted for the easy way out. It was 4:00 before I even slurped it down.
Now, I’d like to tell you this was from a freezer stash of soups I lovingly and creatively prepared weeks in advance for such a day as this. After all, this is what Martha would do, right? And I’d love to regale you with tales of a simmering crockpot and warm-and-fuzzy family banter around the dinner table. That, however, would be pushing the boundaries of truth.
Nobody’s perfect!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
A Week Of Lunches ~ Tuesday
On The Menu Today
The “Monster Redemption Wrap”
Oh, the picture does not do this one justice (not the least of which is because the whiteness is overwhelming - I have limited Photoshop knowledge folks!) I crammed so much stuff in this baby the lavash barely met in the middle. YUM.
We have: a wholemeal lavash rectangle thingy, smidgeon of light margarine, lettuce, low-fat smoked chicken deli meat (expensive…gulp), two different kinds of sprouts (they came in a trio pack), carrot, beetroot, semi-dried tomatoes (I was splurging, ‘kay?), leftover grape tomatoes from yesterday and a couple of dollops of salsa. And one big ol’ glass of water.
Now, the story behind the name…
Yesterday I rocked this healthy eating thing until about 4pm then went downhill faster than an Olympic luge athlete (I was going to type in ‘luger’ there but had the presence of mind to check the dictionary. Did you know Luger is a German brand of automatic pistol? Me neither. Although, perhaps an appropriate metaphor in this case anyway? LOL) I totally cave when the afternoon hungries hit. I think I’m going to have to start allocating two snacks - one when the kids have their after-school snack just before 4pm and another around 5 or 5:30 when I’m preparing dinner. Carrot sticks or somesuch. Anyhoo, once I started I could not stop, and then I managed to drop a full (plastic) jug of cordial all over the kitchen floor right as I was about to serve up my dinner (the others had already been fed). It took me almost an hour to seek out all the cordial drips, wipe them up and then uber-mop the floor. Though not traditionally the season for ants here at the moment, we know they’d be all over everything in a heartbeat if I missed a spot. Some of the cordial went under the dishwasher (sigh) so I had to douse the area where that met the tiles in surface spray. I hate ants with a passion. Auggh.
After that, I couldn’t be bothered making anything so I snacked again and continued to do so most of the evening. Big, BIG mistake. All brownie points I earned prior to 4pm were obliterated. Hence the name of today’s lunch, LOL. I will say though, the wrap was DELICIOUS. Messy, but oh-so-yummy. Kind of like eating your favourite burger in the whole world which you continue to do so even though you know your hands and forearms are going to get covered in burger juice by the end. And filling too. I’ve eaten more vegies in the last two days than in the week preceding, I think. Perhaps a little light on the protein today - but I’d love to try this again with ‘real’ chicken.
The “Monster Redemption Wrap”
Oh, the picture does not do this one justice (not the least of which is because the whiteness is overwhelming - I have limited Photoshop knowledge folks!) I crammed so much stuff in this baby the lavash barely met in the middle. YUM.
We have: a wholemeal lavash rectangle thingy, smidgeon of light margarine, lettuce, low-fat smoked chicken deli meat (expensive…gulp), two different kinds of sprouts (they came in a trio pack), carrot, beetroot, semi-dried tomatoes (I was splurging, ‘kay?), leftover grape tomatoes from yesterday and a couple of dollops of salsa. And one big ol’ glass of water.
Now, the story behind the name…
Yesterday I rocked this healthy eating thing until about 4pm then went downhill faster than an Olympic luge athlete (I was going to type in ‘luger’ there but had the presence of mind to check the dictionary. Did you know Luger is a German brand of automatic pistol? Me neither. Although, perhaps an appropriate metaphor in this case anyway? LOL) I totally cave when the afternoon hungries hit. I think I’m going to have to start allocating two snacks - one when the kids have their after-school snack just before 4pm and another around 5 or 5:30 when I’m preparing dinner. Carrot sticks or somesuch. Anyhoo, once I started I could not stop, and then I managed to drop a full (plastic) jug of cordial all over the kitchen floor right as I was about to serve up my dinner (the others had already been fed). It took me almost an hour to seek out all the cordial drips, wipe them up and then uber-mop the floor. Though not traditionally the season for ants here at the moment, we know they’d be all over everything in a heartbeat if I missed a spot. Some of the cordial went under the dishwasher (sigh) so I had to douse the area where that met the tiles in surface spray. I hate ants with a passion. Auggh.
After that, I couldn’t be bothered making anything so I snacked again and continued to do so most of the evening. Big, BIG mistake. All brownie points I earned prior to 4pm were obliterated. Hence the name of today’s lunch, LOL. I will say though, the wrap was DELICIOUS. Messy, but oh-so-yummy. Kind of like eating your favourite burger in the whole world which you continue to do so even though you know your hands and forearms are going to get covered in burger juice by the end. And filling too. I’ve eaten more vegies in the last two days than in the week preceding, I think. Perhaps a little light on the protein today - but I’d love to try this again with ‘real’ chicken.
Monday, May 26, 2008
A Week Of Lunches ~ Monday
I’m not eating very well at present. In an effort to combat this, and probably because I’m in a silly sort of mood today, I’ve decided to post pictures of my lunches for one week. Discuss, suggest…heck, even mock my choices. I’m ready. Sock it to me.
On The Menu Today:
The “I’m Starting The Week Healthy If It Kills Me” Salad Plate
We have two hard boiled eggs, some beetroot, lettuce, halved grape tomatoes, carrot sticks, salsa and a grainy bread roll. AND I did even better, only inhaling the heel of the roll (yay me!) Oh, and I put a little reduced-fat margarine on it, splooshed a smidgeon of fat free Italian dressing on the salad and poured myself a glass of weak-ish diet cordial.
I tried to make a concious effort to conform to that whole ‘half a plate of vegetables, quarter protein, quarter wholegrains’ deal. I think I did pretty darn well. This was an enormous plate of food but as I’m sitting here with a full belly I can tell I hit the right ratio. I’m satisfied but not bustin’ out of my jeans. Always a good thing.
I can’t guarantee I’ll keep this level up all week mind you! I have Errands Day planned for Friday which usually means the food court. The photo on that day is likely to be pretty pathetic because I’ll only have my phone’s camera to play around with :)
So what’s a typical lunch for you guys? What’s your ideal ‘healthy’ lunch?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
I Am Thirteen Years Old All Over Agsin
Scattered Mom - remember when I was talking to you about these a few months ago? Guess what I bought today???
I’m an Anne nut. Always have been, always will be. When I was thirteen years old my mother bought me the VHS tapes of the first movie and the sequel for Christmas. I watched those babies over and over until the black tape became so ratty there was more crackles on the screen than good bits. I watched them when my mother, in one of her common knitting spurts, would hand me parts of a Jean Greenhowe toy to sew up. I watched them whenever I was feeling lonely, romantic (not at thirteen of course…later, LOL) sad or just plain girly. They were the building blocks of my teen years.
And then the spool in the double-tape sequel broke. We tried repairing it, but it was no good. Anne’s life past the age of about 17 was gone. Diana never had her wedding. Anne and Gilbert never got together on his deathbed. No bridge scene. Sigh.
The original movie held up though - going on 15 years now. I kept it for when Miss Moo got older and she is finally getting to the stage where the characters are beginning to draw her in. I also have a boxed set of the eight Anne books, bought when I was fourteen. Would you believe I bought those with the express purpose of giving them to my future daughter someday? They’re safely packed away for Moo and I’m secretly thrilled.
For the last few years since DVDs have become common, I have searched in vain for copies of these films. Those copies I could find online were sold from overseas and with the purchase price and shipping would have cost an arm and a leg, if they even worked down here. And then I found them in a local bookstore. For FORTY DOLLARS EACH. They became the elusive item I was forever picking up and longing over, but never buying. I mean, I love the films, but $120 dollars? That’s crazy! It didn’t help that Talented Hubby was simultaneously bewildered at my connection to the films and as incredulous as I was at the price. So I put it off. Eventually, I made up my mind that I was going to just go ahead and buy them, one at a time, when I had a little spending money. The last payment from my mother’s estate came in a few months ago and I’ve been sitting on that money for a while now, wondering how to spend it.
And then. AND THEN.
K-mart HAD THEM ON SALE THIS WEEK. A store that I have never seen them in, suddenly up and got them in stock and at only $23 each! I saved $51 by procrastinating! I was like a kid in a candy store!
Not only the first and second films but the THIRD as well. I’d seen it once as a telemovie years and years ago but oh, to have all three films in my hot little hands! You cannot imagine my glee! And Hubs has spent most of the night looking at me with one of those ‘two more seconds and I’m going to call the men in white coats’ looks. Party pooper. I’m tooooooootally going to be havin’ me an Anne Marathon this weekend. He can play with his own iconic childhood memorabilia. The Lego and his old trading cards. Oh, and the rubber-band ball he started when he was twelve.
Anne, I’ve missed you, LOL.
The Gentle Hum Of The Dishwasher Is Oddly Hypnotic
I should be sleeping. It’s the time of the night that is still in the realm of ‘late’ but verging on ‘early’, and I’ve got to get up at some ridiculous hour tomorrow (today?) to get the Piglets off to school. Did I mention Master J gets picked up at 7:40?
I am not a morning person. I crave sleep with the fierceness of a thousand blazing suns and if you’re the type of person who bounds awake at the first sound of the alarm, then you and I have to have a little talk because this is CLEARLY IRRATIONAL BEHAVIOR. Hands up - who’s seen The Spiderwick Chronicles? I’m the cute little brownie fellow who turns into a great big ugly green goblin/troll/whatever that was if you get him (her) angry. Except to placate me, forget the honey - just give me back the blankets and wake me next Thursday.
(If you haven’t seen Spiderwick this last bit will have made no sense whatsoever, LOL)
Knowing my allergy to the morning hours, you would think I would minimise the harshness of having to get up on school days by going to bed early the night before. Um yeah. That’s totally what I do.
(*tumbleweed rolls across the ground*)
In reality, I potter around, doing this and that, watching some late night TV, blogging, prepping the kids’ school uniforms and pre-making lunches. I should really do these things much earlier but my brain just never seems to kick into gear until after 10:30 at night. My perpetual yet lofty black-belt level aim is to be in bed by 11pm each night but I think the last time I managed this was back in 2005 after an evening of food poisoning.
Must. Follow. Routines!
I’m not even going to tell you what the time is right this second, except to say I think I passed over the ‘early’ threshold about fourteen minutes ago. Sigh.
I am not a morning person. I crave sleep with the fierceness of a thousand blazing suns and if you’re the type of person who bounds awake at the first sound of the alarm, then you and I have to have a little talk because this is CLEARLY IRRATIONAL BEHAVIOR. Hands up - who’s seen The Spiderwick Chronicles? I’m the cute little brownie fellow who turns into a great big ugly green goblin/troll/whatever that was if you get him (her) angry. Except to placate me, forget the honey - just give me back the blankets and wake me next Thursday.
(If you haven’t seen Spiderwick this last bit will have made no sense whatsoever, LOL)
Knowing my allergy to the morning hours, you would think I would minimise the harshness of having to get up on school days by going to bed early the night before. Um yeah. That’s totally what I do.
(*tumbleweed rolls across the ground*)
In reality, I potter around, doing this and that, watching some late night TV, blogging, prepping the kids’ school uniforms and pre-making lunches. I should really do these things much earlier but my brain just never seems to kick into gear until after 10:30 at night. My perpetual yet lofty black-belt level aim is to be in bed by 11pm each night but I think the last time I managed this was back in 2005 after an evening of food poisoning.
Must. Follow. Routines!
I’m not even going to tell you what the time is right this second, except to say I think I passed over the ‘early’ threshold about fourteen minutes ago. Sigh.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Shiftworking Husband Approach To Freezer Cooking
These gals have got a lot to answer for: Kate, Joy and Toni. The three of them have been in cahoots for the last 18 or so days to produce this:
This is bad. Very bad. Because it has inspired me to do this:
Three Week Freezer Cooking Plan (well, the preamble a least!)
The Background Info
Talented Hubby works a three week rotating roster. Other attempts at OAMC/freezer cooking have failed, I think, partly because I have always just kind of made my own plan and expected everything else to fit in around it. This time around, I’ve decided to see if using the ‘building blocks’ of TH’s schedule will help with the planning and execution.
How It Will Work
One day for cooking? Pffft. I need several - I’ve learned that the hard way. So of TH’s 3 week roster, one week - his afternoon shift - will be put aside to do several mini sessions. I had a good, long think about this one. The more I try to do in one day, the faster/easier I tend to crack under the pressure. I need to get rid of my OCD-ness on this. I loosely threw together a list of meals/recipes I regularly make which either freeze well in their entirety or in part. I separated them into four categories - Beef, Chicken, Misc Mains and Baking & Side Dishes. Here’s how the week will pan out:
The Benefits
Three weeks instead of the traditional four weeks/one month kind of plan means less meals to plan for, less ingredients to buy at one time and honestly? Less hassle.
I can also accurately and predictably plan out the sessions for shopping, prep work and cooking during times that best suit TH and our family in general. For example, I like to drag themoaning and groaning wildly enthusiastic man to the butcher and fruit & veg shop on shopping day. Looking at his 3 week roster I can see which day would be best for this. Since I want to take a full week to get up to speed and maximise ’sans children’ cooking time, this means a Monday to Friday stretch. The other alternatives are his week of dayshift (no help with the grocery shopping) or his week off (where we plan other errands). The week of afternoon shift suits us best. If Talented Hubby worked the same shift every day, or a two or four week roster, then we’d work around that as well.
Ideally, I’d like to work at minimising ‘extra’ grocery trips in between big shopping/cooking weeks. The shorter the timeframe, the easier it is to manage this at first :) And as an added bonus, if we only ever had to shop every three weeks, we’re going to save bucketloads of money by default.
The Budget
Now, before anyone freaks out at my figures, you have to understand Aussie prices aren’t going to match up with the kinds of figures I keep finding from American (or elsewhere)bloggers. All you really need to know is that we were (are) regularly spending upwards of $1000 per month on groceries at the moment. I know, scary. Anything would be an improvement. Now, a few qualifiers - we feed two adults and three children (aged 6, 7 and 9) and this figure also includes all paper products,toiletries, and other small household items like batteries, stamps and so on. I have no idea what the ‘food only’ portion amounts to and it seems like a lot of work to figure that out, LOL, so I’m going to keep it ‘all inclusive’. Keep this in mind as you follow along with our progress. My aim with this first ‘Three Week Plan’ attempt is to spend $600 or less (and as I said, this includes everything). This equates to $800 per month/$200 per week which is a significant first goal, I think.
Second, if you’re reading from overseas - couponing for groceries virtually doesn’t exist down here. Coupons that do pass through our house are for things like takeout pizza, oil changes or carpet cleaning. Similarly, we do not have warehouse clubs (well, none that I’m aware of, and certainly none in my state though my eastern state counterparts could chime in with what happens where they are)OR anything remotely resembling those CVS deals I keep reading about all over Bloggityville. Waaah! We do have some Aldi, though again, none in my state. If I want to save money on groceries, it pretty much boils down to shopping the loss leaders from the weekly circulars, good menu planning, good cooking practices (padding out the freezer, using up leftovers and so on) and using a Price Book (which I’m currently developing). Trust me, I’d love to feed the family for under $50 per week but it just ain’t gonna happen!
Of course, that $600 budget for the three week period can easily be adjusted down for the following cycle - it was made generous on purpose to allow for ‘wriggle room’. Here’s how the budget will be broken up (these are rough ‘off the top of my head’ figures and are a guide only - what matters more is the overall three-week total):
I’ve done this for-evah. Each time I went shopping I’d peel off $20 (I shopped fortnightly, so that’s $10 per week) and put it aside, letting that slush fund build up to a healthy amount which was then dipped into as needed when I wanted to buy multiples of a really good deal that I might not have ordinarily been able to absorb back into weekly grocery spending (like $45 worth of washing powder on incredible deal - you might not need it that week but know you’ll need to buy it eventually). The idea is to keep a ‘float’ of money - mine was $100 - and just top it up as you spend it. For some reason though, I almost always managed to get plenty of the sale items within the regular weekly budget so every now and then we’d purposely shave $50 off and put it toward a bill or a fun item. During The Height of the Grocery Slush Fund (when we were saving for a deposit on a house and did some of our best money saving - sigh) we didn’t plan for takeout so if we had extra in the GSF or just leftover from the weekly budget, this is how we paid for it. No leftover money, no takeout.
The Recipes
I’m still compiling my list of meals, but I’m not doing anything fancy. They’d probably be meals I’d make on the night anyway - lasagna, casseroles, etc. Some of these recipes aren’t even really freezer cooking at all - merely packaging together to make meal prep easier (such as browning the ground beef then storing that with a package of stirfry vegetables and some noodles - a no brainer really). Twenty meals will build up in a flash! Another thing to consider when working around a shiftworking spouse (and kids) is personal tastes. For example, I know the week of Talented Hubby’s afternoon shift (which incidentally, is also Cooking Week) I try to concentrate on dinners that are fast, simple and kid-friendly. We save the more elaborate roasts and casseroles for times when Daddy is home. Of course, with all the cooking during that week, easy dinners are going to be very much welcomed, LOL.
Talented Hubby just came off afternoon shift so I have most of May to finalise this little plan of mine. Big Shopping Day (and thereafter, Cooking Week) is on the cards for June 2nd. In the meantime, I’m totally going to cheat and pick up some loss leaders to sock away if I know I’ll use them for the recipes on my shortlist, LOL. I still want the monthly total to be an accurate reflection though, so I won’t go overboard. Wish me luck!
This is bad. Very bad. Because it has inspired me to do this:
Three Week Freezer Cooking Plan (well, the preamble a least!)
The Background Info
Talented Hubby works a three week rotating roster. Other attempts at OAMC/freezer cooking have failed, I think, partly because I have always just kind of made my own plan and expected everything else to fit in around it. This time around, I’ve decided to see if using the ‘building blocks’ of TH’s schedule will help with the planning and execution.
How It Will Work
One day for cooking? Pffft. I need several - I’ve learned that the hard way. So of TH’s 3 week roster, one week - his afternoon shift - will be put aside to do several mini sessions. I had a good, long think about this one. The more I try to do in one day, the faster/easier I tend to crack under the pressure. I need to get rid of my OCD-ness on this. I loosely threw together a list of meals/recipes I regularly make which either freeze well in their entirety or in part. I separated them into four categories - Beef, Chicken, Misc Mains and Baking & Side Dishes. Here’s how the week will pan out:
- Saturday/Sunday - The Planning Phase (grocery store circulars, select meals, pantry and freezer inventories, writing up a ‘game plan’ for the week)
- Day 1 (Monday) - Butcher, F&V shop, grocery store (morning), prep work including thawing, chopping, dragging out the appliances etc (afternoon)
- Day 2 (Tuesday) - Beef
- Day 3 (Wednesday) - Chicken
- Day 4 (Thursday) - Misc Mains
- Day 5 (Friday) - Baking & Side Dishes
The Benefits
Three weeks instead of the traditional four weeks/one month kind of plan means less meals to plan for, less ingredients to buy at one time and honestly? Less hassle.
I can also accurately and predictably plan out the sessions for shopping, prep work and cooking during times that best suit TH and our family in general. For example, I like to drag the
Ideally, I’d like to work at minimising ‘extra’ grocery trips in between big shopping/cooking weeks. The shorter the timeframe, the easier it is to manage this at first :) And as an added bonus, if we only ever had to shop every three weeks, we’re going to save bucketloads of money by default.
The Budget
Now, before anyone freaks out at my figures, you have to understand Aussie prices aren’t going to match up with the kinds of figures I keep finding from American (or elsewhere)bloggers. All you really need to know is that we were (are) regularly spending upwards of $1000 per month on groceries at the moment. I know, scary. Anything would be an improvement. Now, a few qualifiers - we feed two adults and three children (aged 6, 7 and 9) and this figure also includes all paper products,toiletries, and other small household items like batteries, stamps and so on. I have no idea what the ‘food only’ portion amounts to and it seems like a lot of work to figure that out, LOL, so I’m going to keep it ‘all inclusive’. Keep this in mind as you follow along with our progress. My aim with this first ‘Three Week Plan’ attempt is to spend $600 or less (and as I said, this includes everything). This equates to $800 per month/$200 per week which is a significant first goal, I think.
Second, if you’re reading from overseas - couponing for groceries virtually doesn’t exist down here. Coupons that do pass through our house are for things like takeout pizza, oil changes or carpet cleaning. Similarly, we do not have warehouse clubs (well, none that I’m aware of, and certainly none in my state though my eastern state counterparts could chime in with what happens where they are)OR anything remotely resembling those CVS deals I keep reading about all over Bloggityville. Waaah! We do have some Aldi, though again, none in my state. If I want to save money on groceries, it pretty much boils down to shopping the loss leaders from the weekly circulars, good menu planning, good cooking practices (padding out the freezer, using up leftovers and so on) and using a Price Book (which I’m currently developing). Trust me, I’d love to feed the family for under $50 per week but it just ain’t gonna happen!
Of course, that $600 budget for the three week period can easily be adjusted down for the following cycle - it was made generous on purpose to allow for ‘wriggle room’. Here’s how the budget will be broken up (these are rough ‘off the top of my head’ figures and are a guide only - what matters more is the overall three-week total):
- $120 for meat
- $75 for fruit and veg
- $75 for dairy ($40 of that will probably be in milk alone)
- $50 for a Grocery Slush Fund
- $50 for a family takeout meal
- which leaves $230 for other groceries (which, once you take meat, f&v and dairy out, will be plenty)
Any leftover cash after Big Shopping Day gets thrown in a baggie (minus the $50 Grocery Slush Fund which gets its own baggie). All subsequent grocery spending/takeout comes out of this baggie. A tally for each category will probably go up on the blog somewhere or if not, somewhere on notepaper.
The Grocery Slush FundI’ve done this for-evah. Each time I went shopping I’d peel off $20 (I shopped fortnightly, so that’s $10 per week) and put it aside, letting that slush fund build up to a healthy amount which was then dipped into as needed when I wanted to buy multiples of a really good deal that I might not have ordinarily been able to absorb back into weekly grocery spending (like $45 worth of washing powder on incredible deal - you might not need it that week but know you’ll need to buy it eventually). The idea is to keep a ‘float’ of money - mine was $100 - and just top it up as you spend it. For some reason though, I almost always managed to get plenty of the sale items within the regular weekly budget so every now and then we’d purposely shave $50 off and put it toward a bill or a fun item. During The Height of the Grocery Slush Fund (when we were saving for a deposit on a house and did some of our best money saving - sigh) we didn’t plan for takeout so if we had extra in the GSF or just leftover from the weekly budget, this is how we paid for it. No leftover money, no takeout.
The Recipes
I’m still compiling my list of meals, but I’m not doing anything fancy. They’d probably be meals I’d make on the night anyway - lasagna, casseroles, etc. Some of these recipes aren’t even really freezer cooking at all - merely packaging together to make meal prep easier (such as browning the ground beef then storing that with a package of stirfry vegetables and some noodles - a no brainer really). Twenty meals will build up in a flash! Another thing to consider when working around a shiftworking spouse (and kids) is personal tastes. For example, I know the week of Talented Hubby’s afternoon shift (which incidentally, is also Cooking Week) I try to concentrate on dinners that are fast, simple and kid-friendly. We save the more elaborate roasts and casseroles for times when Daddy is home. Of course, with all the cooking during that week, easy dinners are going to be very much welcomed, LOL.
Talented Hubby just came off afternoon shift so I have most of May to finalise this little plan of mine. Big Shopping Day (and thereafter, Cooking Week) is on the cards for June 2nd. In the meantime, I’m totally going to cheat and pick up some loss leaders to sock away if I know I’ll use them for the recipes on my shortlist, LOL. I still want the monthly total to be an accurate reflection though, so I won’t go overboard. Wish me luck!
Friday, May 16, 2008
With All This Sap, It's A Wonder I Don't Write For Hallmark
I’ve been a Chick Flick Tragic since the day my mother gave me the world’s greatest gift - the Anne of Green Gables movies. I must have watched those films hundreds upon hundreds of times, the benefits of which has always managed to confound my very masculine husband. Those movies are LONG. Something like seven full hours until the point where Gilbert and Anne meet on the bridge after Gil’s bout with scarlet fever. Don’t tell anyone, but I memorized the clock counter point where this happens and often fast-forwarded right to the good stuff! When a gal is on a romantic curve, drawn-out schoolroom scenes serve no purpose!
If there was a romantic comedy released in the past fifteen years, I’ve probably seen it. Along with my penchant for disaster flicks (Deep Impact, Titanic (two birds with one stone on that one), Armageddon and their brethren)they make up 99% of my film-watching habits. What follows is inspired by Scribbit, who, if her list is anything to go by, is clearly my identical twin (I will have to respectfully disagree with no. 8 on her ‘romantic movies that weren’t’ list however - you’ll see why in a sec. Perhaps not identical twins then. Maybe first cousins? Yeah, that’s better…LOL) Oh, and I know my choices are obvious! I like my films predictable, okay? LOL.
I give you Lizzie’s Most Swoonable Films of Recent Times:
Love Actually
Probably my favourite movie of all time. So some of the people don’t end up together, a marriage breaks up and the very unrealistic situation of an unmarried British Prime Minister (seriously…has that ever happened?) is one of the underlying currents but I LOVE how the vignettes all kind of tie into each other so brilliantly. And what’s not to like about a film that uses just about every British actor currently alive? I usually watch this on Christmas Eve while wrapping last minute gifts. Love it.
Sweet Home Alabama
It’s ‘I have to make something of myself first’ Josh Lucas who totally makes this film one of my faves. Reese Witherspoon, as Scribbit points out, is kind of nasty but the way it all plays out in the end is gorgeous. I know, I know - very unrealistic (giving up Patrick Dempsey and a Tiffany ring?) and way too neatly-wrapped up but I still love it.
A Walk To Remember
*Sniff!* I’ve not yet read the book, but if Nicholas Sparks’ other adaptation The Notebook is anything to go by, the book must be fantastic. I just love how simple this movie is. Bad boy comes good, girl stays true to her sweet nature (that’s one thing that I hated about Grease - what was wrong with the way Sandy looked before? Why go - uh - ‘more worldly’ to win a man?) It’s just sweet all round. Reminds me of Untamed Heart - similar ending. That was one of my favourites ten or so years ago but after many years of putting up with Marisa Tomei’s grating performance I had to give up. Maybe I have an underdog thing going here?
While You Were Sleeping
I completely adore this movie, have done since it first came out, and I had a massive crush on Bill Pullman for years…scary. And who’d have known? Another underdog. Cracked up at Scribbit’s reminder of the ‘leaning’. Like Anne of Green Gables, I would often fast foward and watch from the wedding scene at the hospital onward. And bashfull Jack dropping a diamond engagement ring through her train token chute? Oh my heart! That’s the moment right there folks. I have watched this one so many times I can virtually quote it word for word. I should do a quiz really - I’d win money.
The Notebook
And I wonder what we find in this film? Another underdog trying to prove himself to the woman he loves. Awwww. Some might argue that this movie had a sad ending, others that it had a lovely, sweet ending. I hover between the two camps. On one hand I hate the fact that Old Allie is the way she is, and that it took them so long to sort out how they felt about each other. On the other hand, I think it’s just gorgeous that they obviously went on to have a long and happy life together, raised a family and eventually…. on the off chance that there might be one or two women out there who haven’t yet seen the movie I won’t spoil it. But stock up on tissues.
Notting Hill
I think I’ve nailed why I like this movie. There seems to be a reoccuring theme in my film choices which revolves around rooting for someone who doesn’t initially look like they’re going to ‘get the girl/guy’. This particular example of not-famous guy ending up with very-famous girl is MAJORLY unrealistic of course, but suspending belief is part of the charm :) Funniest scene (apart from the ‘yoghurt’ incident Scribbit references, LOL) was when William took Anna to his sister’s birthday party Honey (the sister) just about has a coronary, it’s priceless. Also, did anyone pick Mischa Barton in this flick?
Pride & Prejudice
No chick flick list is complete without a Jane Austen adaptation or two. BUT I am picky about which adaptation. For example, there will never, ever be any other Mr Darcy for me than Colin Firth. I didn’t even bother renting the Keira Knightly version of Pride & Prejudice because it is just wrong, wrong, wrong, LOL. I have really fond memories of my mother and I sitting down to watch this on the ABC (Aussie version of the ABC that is - gets much of its programming from the BBC) on Sunday nights. It was screened as 6 one-hour episodes and I eventually bought her the double VHS (no DVDs back then, LOL)for Mother’s Day one year. I still have those same tapes and watch them every few months. Why don’t they make films like this anymore? Romances these days are all about the sex. This one was all about the wit. I find it just lovely to watch Darcy’s mood change toward Elizabeth and the ’so there!’s he shoots off to Miss Bingley in her defence. Ahhh, Darcy…. to have been born a couple of hundred years ago…and you know, for you not to have been a figment of some English lady’s imagination….sigh.
Sense & Sensibility
You might think I’d prefer the BBC version of this as well - not so. Emma Thompson’s effort is far more awesome. Did you know that all four principle characters in Sense & Sensibility were also in Love Actually? Emma Thompson (Karen), Hugh Grant (the Prime Minister) , Alan Rickman (Harry) and Kate Winslet (twenty points to the first person who can tell me where she pops up in Love Actually). Again, an underdog (Colonel Brandon) and eventual happy ending for all involved :) After our success with Pride & Prejudice my mother and I went to see this one in the cinema and again, I bought her the VHS tape as a gift which I also have here at home now. We named (in part)one of our children for a character in this film - and no, it wasn’t Willoughby!
And there you have it. Predicable? Absolutely. But oh, how my heart scrunches up!
If there was a romantic comedy released in the past fifteen years, I’ve probably seen it. Along with my penchant for disaster flicks (Deep Impact, Titanic (two birds with one stone on that one), Armageddon and their brethren)they make up 99% of my film-watching habits. What follows is inspired by Scribbit, who, if her list is anything to go by, is clearly my identical twin (I will have to respectfully disagree with no. 8 on her ‘romantic movies that weren’t’ list however - you’ll see why in a sec. Perhaps not identical twins then. Maybe first cousins? Yeah, that’s better…LOL) Oh, and I know my choices are obvious! I like my films predictable, okay? LOL.
I give you Lizzie’s Most Swoonable Films of Recent Times:
Love Actually
Probably my favourite movie of all time. So some of the people don’t end up together, a marriage breaks up and the very unrealistic situation of an unmarried British Prime Minister (seriously…has that ever happened?) is one of the underlying currents but I LOVE how the vignettes all kind of tie into each other so brilliantly. And what’s not to like about a film that uses just about every British actor currently alive? I usually watch this on Christmas Eve while wrapping last minute gifts. Love it.
Sweet Home Alabama
It’s ‘I have to make something of myself first’ Josh Lucas who totally makes this film one of my faves. Reese Witherspoon, as Scribbit points out, is kind of nasty but the way it all plays out in the end is gorgeous. I know, I know - very unrealistic (giving up Patrick Dempsey and a Tiffany ring?) and way too neatly-wrapped up but I still love it.
A Walk To Remember
*Sniff!* I’ve not yet read the book, but if Nicholas Sparks’ other adaptation The Notebook is anything to go by, the book must be fantastic. I just love how simple this movie is. Bad boy comes good, girl stays true to her sweet nature (that’s one thing that I hated about Grease - what was wrong with the way Sandy looked before? Why go - uh - ‘more worldly’ to win a man?) It’s just sweet all round. Reminds me of Untamed Heart - similar ending. That was one of my favourites ten or so years ago but after many years of putting up with Marisa Tomei’s grating performance I had to give up. Maybe I have an underdog thing going here?
While You Were Sleeping
I completely adore this movie, have done since it first came out, and I had a massive crush on Bill Pullman for years…scary. And who’d have known? Another underdog. Cracked up at Scribbit’s reminder of the ‘leaning’. Like Anne of Green Gables, I would often fast foward and watch from the wedding scene at the hospital onward. And bashfull Jack dropping a diamond engagement ring through her train token chute? Oh my heart! That’s the moment right there folks. I have watched this one so many times I can virtually quote it word for word. I should do a quiz really - I’d win money.
The Notebook
And I wonder what we find in this film? Another underdog trying to prove himself to the woman he loves. Awwww. Some might argue that this movie had a sad ending, others that it had a lovely, sweet ending. I hover between the two camps. On one hand I hate the fact that Old Allie is the way she is, and that it took them so long to sort out how they felt about each other. On the other hand, I think it’s just gorgeous that they obviously went on to have a long and happy life together, raised a family and eventually…. on the off chance that there might be one or two women out there who haven’t yet seen the movie I won’t spoil it. But stock up on tissues.
Notting Hill
I think I’ve nailed why I like this movie. There seems to be a reoccuring theme in my film choices which revolves around rooting for someone who doesn’t initially look like they’re going to ‘get the girl/guy’. This particular example of not-famous guy ending up with very-famous girl is MAJORLY unrealistic of course, but suspending belief is part of the charm :) Funniest scene (apart from the ‘yoghurt’ incident Scribbit references, LOL) was when William took Anna to his sister’s birthday party Honey (the sister) just about has a coronary, it’s priceless. Also, did anyone pick Mischa Barton in this flick?
Pride & Prejudice
No chick flick list is complete without a Jane Austen adaptation or two. BUT I am picky about which adaptation. For example, there will never, ever be any other Mr Darcy for me than Colin Firth. I didn’t even bother renting the Keira Knightly version of Pride & Prejudice because it is just wrong, wrong, wrong, LOL. I have really fond memories of my mother and I sitting down to watch this on the ABC (Aussie version of the ABC that is - gets much of its programming from the BBC) on Sunday nights. It was screened as 6 one-hour episodes and I eventually bought her the double VHS (no DVDs back then, LOL)for Mother’s Day one year. I still have those same tapes and watch them every few months. Why don’t they make films like this anymore? Romances these days are all about the sex. This one was all about the wit. I find it just lovely to watch Darcy’s mood change toward Elizabeth and the ’so there!’s he shoots off to Miss Bingley in her defence. Ahhh, Darcy…. to have been born a couple of hundred years ago…and you know, for you not to have been a figment of some English lady’s imagination….sigh.
Sense & Sensibility
You might think I’d prefer the BBC version of this as well - not so. Emma Thompson’s effort is far more awesome. Did you know that all four principle characters in Sense & Sensibility were also in Love Actually? Emma Thompson (Karen), Hugh Grant (the Prime Minister) , Alan Rickman (Harry) and Kate Winslet (twenty points to the first person who can tell me where she pops up in Love Actually). Again, an underdog (Colonel Brandon) and eventual happy ending for all involved :) After our success with Pride & Prejudice my mother and I went to see this one in the cinema and again, I bought her the VHS tape as a gift which I also have here at home now. We named (in part)one of our children for a character in this film - and no, it wasn’t Willoughby!
And there you have it. Predicable? Absolutely. But oh, how my heart scrunches up!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Live Well Wednesday ~ Slinking Back Into The Room
Okay, so I’m back.
It might possibly have a smidgeon to do with the fact that I realised yesterday that I now weigh about 25 kgs (55 lbs) more than I did when I first met my husband just under twelve years ago (he, of course, has remained exactly the same weight which, let me tell you, is kind of demoralising, LOL) I’ve basically gained 2 kgs (4 ½ lbs-ish) every year since we first clamped eyes on each other. Most of it was due to giving birth to HIS children mind you. You know how as the Mum you almost always serve the other family members first? I think repeating this over and over during the years has triggered some sort of deep-rooted molecular process whereby my body is convinced I’m going to miss out on food so therefore urges me to eat as much as possible when food is actually put in front of me.
Did that fly? Not even a little? Yeah, didn’t fool me either.
I’m fat (eek! I used the F-word!) because I eat too much and don’t exercise enough. Why do weight loss programs and systems even need to get beyond this basic principle is beyond me, but they do, and I get sucked in with the best of them. Economics has always saved me from throwing my cash away on expensive gym memberships or most recognised diet programs but every now and then the evils of the weight loss section of the local bookstore overcome me. To my credit, I think I pick some of the ‘better’ books on the shelves. I’m kind of anti-any-recognised-weight-loss-plan so that pretty much eliminates 98% of what’s up there. The whole notion of Atkins makes me grumpy. Probably due to lack of carbs, but whatever. Weight Watchers, though they’ve helped countless folks around the world, bothers me because of the cost involved. In my area you might occasionally get a ‘free signup, save $33′ kind of deal but then you’re still lumped with $18 or more per weekly meeting (on top of your usual groceries plus their cookbooks and products if you fall further into the vortex) and I don’t know about you, but I could sure use that $18 elsewhere. That would pay for a super-dooper deluxe gym membership if I was so inclined (and I’m not!) Don’t even get me started on the ‘pay us money and we’ll send you miniscule portions of foods so you don’t ever have to learn the hard stuff like healthy menu planning and smart food shopping ever again!’ plans. Never tried those, but I still reserve the right to be extremely annoyed at them.
But yes, I’m a sucker for books. I bought one yesterday - The Click Diet. At first I thought it was going to be something a bit dodgy - but it turned out to be quite sensible and in line with thinking I already had which was basically, you need to withdraw more than you deposit when it comes to calories. They do the usual stuff like include meal and exercise plans which was a good read but hardly anything I didn’t already know. Why do I keep buying stuff like this? No idea. But at least the info was sound.
Twenty five kilograms is a LOT of weight. Perhaps not to someone with fifty kilos to lose but hey, it’s all relative. The mindset is exactly the same. To get back to my ‘fell in love with Hubs’ weight (and back into the healthy BMI range) I’ll need to lose close to a quarter of my body weight. That’s The Biggest Loser level folks. Eeek.
Habits I want to establish in order to achieve this monumental task:
I’m a little over 28 ½. We have a family history of heart disease (both my parents have had heart attacks in their early to mid fifties, my mother’s being fatal), obesity, pre-type II diabetes and to put the cherry on top of all that, at my age my mother was battling cervical cancer. I have this crazy notion in my head that I will be at my goal weight by my 30th birthday in Oct ‘09. I mean, I’d love to actually GET there sooner, but I’m hoping to be still there when the big three-oh rolls around.
For more Live Well Wednesday folk, pop in here. I’m off for a walk.
It might possibly have a smidgeon to do with the fact that I realised yesterday that I now weigh about 25 kgs (55 lbs) more than I did when I first met my husband just under twelve years ago (he, of course, has remained exactly the same weight which, let me tell you, is kind of demoralising, LOL) I’ve basically gained 2 kgs (4 ½ lbs-ish) every year since we first clamped eyes on each other. Most of it was due to giving birth to HIS children mind you. You know how as the Mum you almost always serve the other family members first? I think repeating this over and over during the years has triggered some sort of deep-rooted molecular process whereby my body is convinced I’m going to miss out on food so therefore urges me to eat as much as possible when food is actually put in front of me.
Did that fly? Not even a little? Yeah, didn’t fool me either.
I’m fat (eek! I used the F-word!) because I eat too much and don’t exercise enough. Why do weight loss programs and systems even need to get beyond this basic principle is beyond me, but they do, and I get sucked in with the best of them. Economics has always saved me from throwing my cash away on expensive gym memberships or most recognised diet programs but every now and then the evils of the weight loss section of the local bookstore overcome me. To my credit, I think I pick some of the ‘better’ books on the shelves. I’m kind of anti-any-recognised-weight-loss-plan so that pretty much eliminates 98% of what’s up there. The whole notion of Atkins makes me grumpy. Probably due to lack of carbs, but whatever. Weight Watchers, though they’ve helped countless folks around the world, bothers me because of the cost involved. In my area you might occasionally get a ‘free signup, save $33′ kind of deal but then you’re still lumped with $18 or more per weekly meeting (on top of your usual groceries plus their cookbooks and products if you fall further into the vortex) and I don’t know about you, but I could sure use that $18 elsewhere. That would pay for a super-dooper deluxe gym membership if I was so inclined (and I’m not!) Don’t even get me started on the ‘pay us money and we’ll send you miniscule portions of foods so you don’t ever have to learn the hard stuff like healthy menu planning and smart food shopping ever again!’ plans. Never tried those, but I still reserve the right to be extremely annoyed at them.
But yes, I’m a sucker for books. I bought one yesterday - The Click Diet. At first I thought it was going to be something a bit dodgy - but it turned out to be quite sensible and in line with thinking I already had which was basically, you need to withdraw more than you deposit when it comes to calories. They do the usual stuff like include meal and exercise plans which was a good read but hardly anything I didn’t already know. Why do I keep buying stuff like this? No idea. But at least the info was sound.
Twenty five kilograms is a LOT of weight. Perhaps not to someone with fifty kilos to lose but hey, it’s all relative. The mindset is exactly the same. To get back to my ‘fell in love with Hubs’ weight (and back into the healthy BMI range) I’ll need to lose close to a quarter of my body weight. That’s The Biggest Loser level folks. Eeek.
Habits I want to establish in order to achieve this monumental task:
- Walking every day, or at least as often as humanly possible. This includes eradicating excuses, including pansy-butted ones like ‘Oh, but it’s a torrential downpour outside!’. Suck it up Princess Lizzie. That’s what raincoats are for.
- Stop eating junk. None of this ‘just a small piece’ nonsense. It never works for me. One Ferrero Rocher? Are you kidding me?
- Healthy menu planning, even if it kills me. I’m guessing it probably won’t.
- Stop eating ‘bad’ takeaway lunches while out for the day. Believe it or not, this is a big habit of mine. I’ll go out on a quest for, say, twelve pairs of white socks and come home with a belly full of McDonald’s (and probably six pairs of blue socks, a mop and a jar of pickles - the carbs people. They render my brain cells sleepy and useless). Amazingly, there are healthier options which still fit within my ‘lunch calorie budget’. Which leads me to…
- Create and keep a ‘cheat sheet’ of my most commonly used food items and their calorie level. Saves time wading through ‘braised artichoke hearts’ to get to the ‘wholemeal roll’ (much more my style) in the little calorie counter book. Duplicating this list also gives me a chance to throw one in my purse for shopping trips. Oh, and part of the list includes a section for takeaway foods. Did you know you can get a McD’s Lean Beef Burger, a Garden Salad, Ranch Dressing and a Diet Coke all for 326 calories? A Quarter Pounder and a 3pk of nuggets is TWICE this amount.
I’m a little over 28 ½. We have a family history of heart disease (both my parents have had heart attacks in their early to mid fifties, my mother’s being fatal), obesity, pre-type II diabetes and to put the cherry on top of all that, at my age my mother was battling cervical cancer. I have this crazy notion in my head that I will be at my goal weight by my 30th birthday in Oct ‘09. I mean, I’d love to actually GET there sooner, but I’m hoping to be still there when the big three-oh rolls around.
For more Live Well Wednesday folk, pop in here. I’m off for a walk.
Lizzie! Put Down Those Clippers!
No bloggy break, just sheer laziness. Remember in Sense & Sensibility when Mrs Dashwood admonishes Margaret to restrict her remarks to the weather if she hasn’t anything constructive to say?
Well. We’ve had lovely blue skies and mild weather but rain is on the horizon for the weekend…
Snore.
In reality though, there hasn’t been all that much to say, LOL. Miss Moo’s class is doing their school-run swimming lessons this week, which means packing a swimming bag each night (major drag). The poor teacher, not the cuddliest personality we’ve ever come across, is, uh - a little brisk with the kids at the best of times so the stress of making it to the charter bus parked out the front of the school by 9am each morning is just about all she can bear. Unusually, we switch teachers at the end of this term. Hopefully to someone who reminds me of cookies and warm milk rather than Miss Trunchbull.
Boofah, in Year 3, is sitting his standardised testing this week (Aussies: the LAN test). All kids, at least those in my state, go through an across-the-board testing procedure in Years 3, 5 and 7 but this is the first time we’ve come up against it because Master J, currently in Year 4, is exempt due to his disability. It’s a hefty chunk of brain power for my little 7yo to handle - they stretch the test over three days but today’s portion alone totaled 2 x 40 minutes. Sometimes I have to remind myself that hang on, Boof should really only be in Year 2 at this point so the fact that he’s not only keeping up but coming near the top of the class is really rather awesome. Go Boof!
J, in true form, refused to give me any information about his class field trip on Monday. They went to a safari-style zoological park - we’ve been before as a family and it was cool - but he was so wiped out that night it wasn’t until this morning that he was even up to telling me what animals he saw. I got ‘giraffe tried to lick our bus’ out of him and that was it. The whole story will gradually leak out over the next couple of weeks, LOL. Sustained-release parenting. Gotta love that :P
My wonderful, hard-working husband had been both wonderful AND hard-working this week. But I have to confess to something. I might have committed just about the worst mistake a wife can make this week and I’m still smarting from it. Okay, here’s the deal: Talented Hubby has short hair (buzz cut, more or less)and usually whips the clippers out and trims it himself when he needs a haircut. After getting most of it done himself yesterday afternoon, he called me into the bathroom to go over the back, just to make sure he hadn’t missed any spots. Wait, it gets good. The little plastic guard, the thing that gives a barrier of pre-determined length between one’s scalp and the whizzing cutting blade, FELL OFF MID-PASS.
Oh yes, it sure did.
I let out a shriek and automatically dropped the clippers which, by a much-welcomed twist of good luck, managed NOT to shave one of Talented Hubby’s legs in the process. His head, I’m sorry to say, was not that lucky. He is now sporting a delightful bald patch on the back of his noggin’, roughly the size of 10c piece. And remember, this is a buzz cut. There ain’t no options for comb-overs!
Folks, I ran. I was so overwhelmed by guilt and horrible wife-ishness that the second he was in the shower I skedaddled out the door under the guise of needing to pick up milk at the store, and didn’t return until after I knew he’d left for work. I fretted the entire night because without the addition of manly stitches to the equation, the blindingly-white baldy scalp patch really wouldn’t have done much for Talented Hubby’s status at work. He works in the public eye. He does not wear a hat.
I am a horrible, horrible wife.
Now I’m sure he could have come up with some awesome stories to explain it away - red hot poker singed the hair away (never mind the absence of any scalp burns, or the freakish symmetry with no surrounding cut hairs, kind of like a crop-circle), bar fight (with new miracle ‘one day stitches’ perhaps?), acid rain…something, anything other than Doofus Wife Syndrome. But I strongly suspect he threw me in front of the train regardless, probably deservedly so. Sometimes I socialise with his workmates. This will be regurgitated for many years to come, I can just feel it, LOL.
Oh, it’s not so bad for me. I can handle the ribbing. It’s my poor husband who has to endure the funny looks! The only redeeming thing about this whole situation is that being a buzz cut (no. 4 all over) it will only be a few weeks before the ol’ turf springs back to life. At the moment though, when I look at the back of his head I’m reminded of our old family dog, Tess. The poor old girl started to go blind in her advancing years due to weeping, pus-filled cataracts or some such thing and every time I looked at her eyes my stomach would turn. That’s the feeling I get when I see my husband’s head.
I’m sorry Hubs! Honest!
Well. We’ve had lovely blue skies and mild weather but rain is on the horizon for the weekend…
Snore.
In reality though, there hasn’t been all that much to say, LOL. Miss Moo’s class is doing their school-run swimming lessons this week, which means packing a swimming bag each night (major drag). The poor teacher, not the cuddliest personality we’ve ever come across, is, uh - a little brisk with the kids at the best of times so the stress of making it to the charter bus parked out the front of the school by 9am each morning is just about all she can bear. Unusually, we switch teachers at the end of this term. Hopefully to someone who reminds me of cookies and warm milk rather than Miss Trunchbull.
Boofah, in Year 3, is sitting his standardised testing this week (Aussies: the LAN test). All kids, at least those in my state, go through an across-the-board testing procedure in Years 3, 5 and 7 but this is the first time we’ve come up against it because Master J, currently in Year 4, is exempt due to his disability. It’s a hefty chunk of brain power for my little 7yo to handle - they stretch the test over three days but today’s portion alone totaled 2 x 40 minutes. Sometimes I have to remind myself that hang on, Boof should really only be in Year 2 at this point so the fact that he’s not only keeping up but coming near the top of the class is really rather awesome. Go Boof!
J, in true form, refused to give me any information about his class field trip on Monday. They went to a safari-style zoological park - we’ve been before as a family and it was cool - but he was so wiped out that night it wasn’t until this morning that he was even up to telling me what animals he saw. I got ‘giraffe tried to lick our bus’ out of him and that was it. The whole story will gradually leak out over the next couple of weeks, LOL. Sustained-release parenting. Gotta love that :P
My wonderful, hard-working husband had been both wonderful AND hard-working this week. But I have to confess to something. I might have committed just about the worst mistake a wife can make this week and I’m still smarting from it. Okay, here’s the deal: Talented Hubby has short hair (buzz cut, more or less)and usually whips the clippers out and trims it himself when he needs a haircut. After getting most of it done himself yesterday afternoon, he called me into the bathroom to go over the back, just to make sure he hadn’t missed any spots. Wait, it gets good. The little plastic guard, the thing that gives a barrier of pre-determined length between one’s scalp and the whizzing cutting blade, FELL OFF MID-PASS.
Oh yes, it sure did.
I let out a shriek and automatically dropped the clippers which, by a much-welcomed twist of good luck, managed NOT to shave one of Talented Hubby’s legs in the process. His head, I’m sorry to say, was not that lucky. He is now sporting a delightful bald patch on the back of his noggin’, roughly the size of 10c piece. And remember, this is a buzz cut. There ain’t no options for comb-overs!
Folks, I ran. I was so overwhelmed by guilt and horrible wife-ishness that the second he was in the shower I skedaddled out the door under the guise of needing to pick up milk at the store, and didn’t return until after I knew he’d left for work. I fretted the entire night because without the addition of manly stitches to the equation, the blindingly-white baldy scalp patch really wouldn’t have done much for Talented Hubby’s status at work. He works in the public eye. He does not wear a hat.
I am a horrible, horrible wife.
Now I’m sure he could have come up with some awesome stories to explain it away - red hot poker singed the hair away (never mind the absence of any scalp burns, or the freakish symmetry with no surrounding cut hairs, kind of like a crop-circle), bar fight (with new miracle ‘one day stitches’ perhaps?), acid rain…something, anything other than Doofus Wife Syndrome. But I strongly suspect he threw me in front of the train regardless, probably deservedly so. Sometimes I socialise with his workmates. This will be regurgitated for many years to come, I can just feel it, LOL.
Oh, it’s not so bad for me. I can handle the ribbing. It’s my poor husband who has to endure the funny looks! The only redeeming thing about this whole situation is that being a buzz cut (no. 4 all over) it will only be a few weeks before the ol’ turf springs back to life. At the moment though, when I look at the back of his head I’m reminded of our old family dog, Tess. The poor old girl started to go blind in her advancing years due to weeping, pus-filled cataracts or some such thing and every time I looked at her eyes my stomach would turn. That’s the feeling I get when I see my husband’s head.
I’m sorry Hubs! Honest!
Friday, May 9, 2008
It Was The Rock Cakes...
…that made my mother stand out from the crowd.
Despite the name, Rock Cakes aren’t just overcooked hockey pucks. A good, old-fashioned staple, a batch can be whipped with (seemingly) half a cup of flour and the last dregs of the butter. Isn’t it funny the way time changes your perspective on things? When I was a kid, Rock Cakes were BIG treats. It probably didn’t hurt that we lived some way out of town and couldn’t just nip down to the local shops whenever we liked, so Mum learned to keep a stocked pantry. These yummy morsels were one of those ‘pantry recipes’ every housewife worth her salt could make blindfolded.
We would step off the bus, walk the looooong dirt driveaway and arrive at our farmhouse door to the most decadent smell of mixed spice, flour and sugar. We would devour those things before moving quickly on to more important matters, like building a fort around the base of the fig tree using discarded planks, or using a piece of old bacon tied on a string to entice our puppies - all from the same litter - to race each other. There were hills to climb, rocks (real ones!) to name and make pets, cows to chase, kindling to gather.
May is always a tough month for me. Lots of memories. Several batches of Rock Cakes. One particularly bad day to endure.
It really hasn’t been two years already, has it? Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that I was sitting on the steps at the end of the jetty madly trying to tap the ashes out of their little silver home? I hadn’t intended to keep the urn in our walk in robe for so long but every time I looked at it, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything about it. And so there she stayed for twelve months until the first anniversary of her death, keeping careful watch over my dubious fashion choices and mismatched shoes. And here we are, another twelve months down the track, no urn at the house anymore, only memories of where her dust might have ended up when it finally entered the ocean after a particular hard thump to the urn against the pilon. Sorry Mum!
The day we scattered her ashes was just the strangest and coolest day, weather-wise. It had been cold and blustery all day but the sky was clear. As we neared the end of the jetty we could see a humongous wall of black - not just grey, but black-like-licorice - rolling clouds out on the horizon, just barrelling toward the shore. The wind picked up immediately. It was like all that silly footage you see in twister movies where the dumb guy is awed by the force of nature and is rooted to the spot and staring up at the monstrosity until a flying cow or oil tanker comes along to clean him up. It was so dramatic and so fast that I kind of turned to Talented Hubby and went ‘Woah. Did you see that?!!!’ The clouds kept advancing as a solid wall, almost as if an invisible curtain separated the peripheral effects of the approaching bank from us. It was so beautiful. Though the sight of the storm itself might have ordinarily made me hightail it out of there, this time I didn’t want to leave.
I could pause and connect Dot A to Dot B and say the clouds were a sign (woooo-ooooo!) but I probably wouldn’t go that far. I’ve simply understood it to have meant that I was meant to remember that day.
I don’t know yet whether I will make the trip in to the beach this year. I have no more urns to thump against the rotted wood of the jetty. I think perhaps that if I do go, I’ll simply sit with my feet dangling off a step and the taste of salt in the air around me.
I’d like to say a Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mums out there and to all the daughters for whom this Mother’s Day may be a great deal sadder. I am lucky. I have a ’second Mum’ - my mother-in-law. Last year I bought her a present just from me, and this year I think I’ll do the same.
Despite the name, Rock Cakes aren’t just overcooked hockey pucks. A good, old-fashioned staple, a batch can be whipped with (seemingly) half a cup of flour and the last dregs of the butter. Isn’t it funny the way time changes your perspective on things? When I was a kid, Rock Cakes were BIG treats. It probably didn’t hurt that we lived some way out of town and couldn’t just nip down to the local shops whenever we liked, so Mum learned to keep a stocked pantry. These yummy morsels were one of those ‘pantry recipes’ every housewife worth her salt could make blindfolded.
We would step off the bus, walk the looooong dirt driveaway and arrive at our farmhouse door to the most decadent smell of mixed spice, flour and sugar. We would devour those things before moving quickly on to more important matters, like building a fort around the base of the fig tree using discarded planks, or using a piece of old bacon tied on a string to entice our puppies - all from the same litter - to race each other. There were hills to climb, rocks (real ones!) to name and make pets, cows to chase, kindling to gather.
May is always a tough month for me. Lots of memories. Several batches of Rock Cakes. One particularly bad day to endure.
It really hasn’t been two years already, has it? Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that I was sitting on the steps at the end of the jetty madly trying to tap the ashes out of their little silver home? I hadn’t intended to keep the urn in our walk in robe for so long but every time I looked at it, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything about it. And so there she stayed for twelve months until the first anniversary of her death, keeping careful watch over my dubious fashion choices and mismatched shoes. And here we are, another twelve months down the track, no urn at the house anymore, only memories of where her dust might have ended up when it finally entered the ocean after a particular hard thump to the urn against the pilon. Sorry Mum!
The day we scattered her ashes was just the strangest and coolest day, weather-wise. It had been cold and blustery all day but the sky was clear. As we neared the end of the jetty we could see a humongous wall of black - not just grey, but black-like-licorice - rolling clouds out on the horizon, just barrelling toward the shore. The wind picked up immediately. It was like all that silly footage you see in twister movies where the dumb guy is awed by the force of nature and is rooted to the spot and staring up at the monstrosity until a flying cow or oil tanker comes along to clean him up. It was so dramatic and so fast that I kind of turned to Talented Hubby and went ‘Woah. Did you see that?!!!’ The clouds kept advancing as a solid wall, almost as if an invisible curtain separated the peripheral effects of the approaching bank from us. It was so beautiful. Though the sight of the storm itself might have ordinarily made me hightail it out of there, this time I didn’t want to leave.
I could pause and connect Dot A to Dot B and say the clouds were a sign (woooo-ooooo!) but I probably wouldn’t go that far. I’ve simply understood it to have meant that I was meant to remember that day.
I don’t know yet whether I will make the trip in to the beach this year. I have no more urns to thump against the rotted wood of the jetty. I think perhaps that if I do go, I’ll simply sit with my feet dangling off a step and the taste of salt in the air around me.
I’d like to say a Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mums out there and to all the daughters for whom this Mother’s Day may be a great deal sadder. I am lucky. I have a ’second Mum’ - my mother-in-law. Last year I bought her a present just from me, and this year I think I’ll do the same.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Things Of The Price Book Variety
I never meant to go on a blog break, honest! I’ve just been a little preoccupied with a teensy little side project of mine. It’s nothing really. More about that later.
Tonight, I’m all about the Price Book. I have a post a-brewing my head but before I get onto that, feel free to answer these couple of questions in the comments.
Do you keep a price book? If so, what kind, how did you set it up, what prices do you track, etc etc (I have a tendency to overthink things like this, which is probably why I’ve failed at every other attempt at making my own Price Book…)
I got right into the idea a couple of years ago but my OCD tendencies saw me trying to track EVERY item on my Master Grocery List, which at the time numbered at least 150. Yeah - not so smart. Some articles I’ve read tonight mention amounts more like 30 or 50 of your most commonly bought items. Very do-able. One mustn’t bite off more loss leaders than one can chew, after all.
Discuss.
Tonight, I’m all about the Price Book. I have a post a-brewing my head but before I get onto that, feel free to answer these couple of questions in the comments.
Do you keep a price book? If so, what kind, how did you set it up, what prices do you track, etc etc (I have a tendency to overthink things like this, which is probably why I’ve failed at every other attempt at making my own Price Book…)
I got right into the idea a couple of years ago but my OCD tendencies saw me trying to track EVERY item on my Master Grocery List, which at the time numbered at least 150. Yeah - not so smart. Some articles I’ve read tonight mention amounts more like 30 or 50 of your most commonly bought items. Very do-able. One mustn’t bite off more loss leaders than one can chew, after all.
Discuss.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Frugal Friday ~ Use Your Head In The Grocery Store!
Frugality has suddenly taken a new focus in our lives.
I posted earlier in the week about rising interest rates and how this will affect our aim to pay off our house - our first - in twelve years. Well, a letter from our bank a couple of days later informed us of further changes to our home loan which sees us falling even further under our benchmark. The mortgage is being paid, as are the bills and we even have some leisure spending, but this week has left a decidely bad aftertaste in my mouth.
We’ve both been merrily cruising along, satisfied that we were on track, even if we weren’t going at the same sprint rate as the intensive savings period I mentioned in my previous post. After this week’s events though, I’m beginning to see that we really need to pull our socks up. We’re not extravagant people but on the other hand we haven’t really considered every dollar of our expenditure for quite some time, so I know there’ll be plenty of leaks we can plug.
Starting with porridge, LOL.
I had to pick up a few things at the supermarket this morning. Boofah, our highly-sensitive and very intelligent middle child had informed me earlier in the week that we needed the oats for the beta-glucan. He asked for some of those expensive flavoured packets of microwaveable oats and I’d told him they were very bad value and we were going to get the same old jumbo box of quick cooking oats we always got (see - I have some redeeming frugal features, LOL). We talked about cost per serving and I mentally ticked off a box on my internal Sensible Parenting Chart. But this morning in the supermarket, as I was reaching for the familiar red box on the shelf, I happened to glance at similar products on the shelves around it. The big red box costs upwards of $5. It holds 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) of oats. If you think that’s extravagant, well, we’re in Australia and that’s just what brand names cost in Aussie dollars, LOL. If you look at the other boxes of cereal on the shelf, $5 is a rough average for anything with a decent sized box. It never bothered me to be spending this really, as compared to the alternatives, oats are chock full of nutrition. And you get more serves in a box.
But there I was, hand on the red box, and I glanced down. A 1.1 kilogram (2.4 lbs) bag of ‘home brand’ quick-cook oats on the bottom shelf cost just $2.35. I checked the labels - both were simply oats, nothing else added. The sodium content was similar. I could have smacked myself in the head due to my own stupidity, LOL. I’m a smart person. I know the ‘look high, look low’ rule. I know generics are cheaper. But somehow I had fallen into the habit of always picking up the same brand.
It didn’t end there. Don’t laugh, but when I make soup at home I’m a total cheater. I use pre-packaged liquid stock (and the entire internet collectively gasped). 1 litre (almost 34 oz) of ready-made Idiot Brand (not it’s real name, LOL) costs me $2.75. I need 2 litres to make my ‘usual’ soup. The stock alone therefore costs me $5.50 and that’s before I add anything to it. The whole recipe usually costs around $10 for 10 serves. Still cheaper than canned soup but hardly ‘cheap’ overall. Soup should basically be free! Now, I won’t pretend I’m yet up to making my own stock (though that is on the drawing board) but a couple of days ago I was browsing the best scratch cooking site on the web, Hillbilly Housewife, and happened upon this article. I’d read it before but it was the advice about boullion cubes that reminded me there was an ‘interim’ step. Today I picked up some stock powder and some cubes (MSG free and low sodium) for a saving of at least $3 per batch of soup and I’ll be road testing my usual recipe with it this week.
I’m also re-examining my grocery/household budget. In the past, I have included just about everything in with the grocery spending - paper products, toiletries, anything that can be bought at the supermarket or the nearby chemist (drugstore). This obviously makes the total astronomical. I think it’s time to separate the components. I re-did my Master Grocery List, including only food items and eliminating everything that I knew I could make myself with a bit of effort. The list went down by a full third. What I was left with was a core list of food products I know I use on a regular basis and those should really form the basis of most of my meals. Menu planning will now take on a somewhat different form as I stick to recipes which re-use these same ingredients in new ways or at the least, only require one or two extra items that can be purchased cheaply. And I’ll be paying far more attention to stocking up and buying loss leaders. A trip to a stand-alone fruit and vegetable shop on Wednesday netted me two bags filled with vegies for just $15. The same items at the supermarket would easily have topped $30. Such little things, but they make a huge difference.
Time to get my game face on!
For more Frugal Fridays participants, head over to say hi to Crystal at Biblical Womanhood :)
I posted earlier in the week about rising interest rates and how this will affect our aim to pay off our house - our first - in twelve years. Well, a letter from our bank a couple of days later informed us of further changes to our home loan which sees us falling even further under our benchmark. The mortgage is being paid, as are the bills and we even have some leisure spending, but this week has left a decidely bad aftertaste in my mouth.
We’ve both been merrily cruising along, satisfied that we were on track, even if we weren’t going at the same sprint rate as the intensive savings period I mentioned in my previous post. After this week’s events though, I’m beginning to see that we really need to pull our socks up. We’re not extravagant people but on the other hand we haven’t really considered every dollar of our expenditure for quite some time, so I know there’ll be plenty of leaks we can plug.
Starting with porridge, LOL.
I had to pick up a few things at the supermarket this morning. Boofah, our highly-sensitive and very intelligent middle child had informed me earlier in the week that we needed the oats for the beta-glucan. He asked for some of those expensive flavoured packets of microwaveable oats and I’d told him they were very bad value and we were going to get the same old jumbo box of quick cooking oats we always got (see - I have some redeeming frugal features, LOL). We talked about cost per serving and I mentally ticked off a box on my internal Sensible Parenting Chart. But this morning in the supermarket, as I was reaching for the familiar red box on the shelf, I happened to glance at similar products on the shelves around it. The big red box costs upwards of $5. It holds 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) of oats. If you think that’s extravagant, well, we’re in Australia and that’s just what brand names cost in Aussie dollars, LOL. If you look at the other boxes of cereal on the shelf, $5 is a rough average for anything with a decent sized box. It never bothered me to be spending this really, as compared to the alternatives, oats are chock full of nutrition. And you get more serves in a box.
But there I was, hand on the red box, and I glanced down. A 1.1 kilogram (2.4 lbs) bag of ‘home brand’ quick-cook oats on the bottom shelf cost just $2.35. I checked the labels - both were simply oats, nothing else added. The sodium content was similar. I could have smacked myself in the head due to my own stupidity, LOL. I’m a smart person. I know the ‘look high, look low’ rule. I know generics are cheaper. But somehow I had fallen into the habit of always picking up the same brand.
It didn’t end there. Don’t laugh, but when I make soup at home I’m a total cheater. I use pre-packaged liquid stock (and the entire internet collectively gasped). 1 litre (almost 34 oz) of ready-made Idiot Brand (not it’s real name, LOL) costs me $2.75. I need 2 litres to make my ‘usual’ soup. The stock alone therefore costs me $5.50 and that’s before I add anything to it. The whole recipe usually costs around $10 for 10 serves. Still cheaper than canned soup but hardly ‘cheap’ overall. Soup should basically be free! Now, I won’t pretend I’m yet up to making my own stock (though that is on the drawing board) but a couple of days ago I was browsing the best scratch cooking site on the web, Hillbilly Housewife, and happened upon this article. I’d read it before but it was the advice about boullion cubes that reminded me there was an ‘interim’ step. Today I picked up some stock powder and some cubes (MSG free and low sodium) for a saving of at least $3 per batch of soup and I’ll be road testing my usual recipe with it this week.
I’m also re-examining my grocery/household budget. In the past, I have included just about everything in with the grocery spending - paper products, toiletries, anything that can be bought at the supermarket or the nearby chemist (drugstore). This obviously makes the total astronomical. I think it’s time to separate the components. I re-did my Master Grocery List, including only food items and eliminating everything that I knew I could make myself with a bit of effort. The list went down by a full third. What I was left with was a core list of food products I know I use on a regular basis and those should really form the basis of most of my meals. Menu planning will now take on a somewhat different form as I stick to recipes which re-use these same ingredients in new ways or at the least, only require one or two extra items that can be purchased cheaply. And I’ll be paying far more attention to stocking up and buying loss leaders. A trip to a stand-alone fruit and vegetable shop on Wednesday netted me two bags filled with vegies for just $15. The same items at the supermarket would easily have topped $30. Such little things, but they make a huge difference.
Time to get my game face on!
For more Frugal Fridays participants, head over to say hi to Crystal at Biblical Womanhood :)
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