We'll see how this goes:
(Check G-Cal at the bottom for recipes)
Meatless Monday: Blue-ribbon Pancakes & Eggs.
Italian Tuesday: Spaghetti & Meatballs w/ salad & garlic bread
Whatever Wednesday: LEFTOVERS!
Soup & Salad Thursday: Spinach lentil soup & Broccoli Salad
Grillin' Friday: Steaks & potatoes
Saturday: I decided the last Sat. of every month I would clean out my fridge and we'd eat anything that hasn't gone bad!
Super Sunday: Mom & Dad's for a B-day dinner! (Yep, my Birthday is coming up!)
My faith
Monday, August 23, 2010
Bad-Mommy Rehab
Hello. My name is Crystal, and I'm a Mommy Guilt-aholic.
When DD1 was born I read to her every day. It's true. I have missed very few days of reading to her over the last 30 months! Then DD2 was born. I hardly ever read books to her. It would seem easy to read to both girls at the same time, but figuring out the whole 2 kids in under 2 years was a bit of a challenge. So I haven't read to DD2 nearly as much as her older sister. But guess what? She still loves books. She'll sit for 30 minutes and look through books, and since her interest has grown, I've gotten much better at reading to her. So take that you "oh no I'm not treating my 2nd kid the same as my 1st" guilt.
Seriously though, has anyone else suffered from guilt over not being able to do it the same way with child #2? Obviously I do some things better, but it's still hard!
When DD1 was born I read to her every day. It's true. I have missed very few days of reading to her over the last 30 months! Then DD2 was born. I hardly ever read books to her. It would seem easy to read to both girls at the same time, but figuring out the whole 2 kids in under 2 years was a bit of a challenge. So I haven't read to DD2 nearly as much as her older sister. But guess what? She still loves books. She'll sit for 30 minutes and look through books, and since her interest has grown, I've gotten much better at reading to her. So take that you "oh no I'm not treating my 2nd kid the same as my 1st" guilt.
Seriously though, has anyone else suffered from guilt over not being able to do it the same way with child #2? Obviously I do some things better, but it's still hard!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Food Nanny.
I was watching PBS last weekend and came across THIS show. It's kind of like Super Nanny, except she comes in and helps with meal planning, cooking, dealing with picky eaters, and things like that. She has great ideas, and one that I am going to incorporate to hopefully make meal planning easier is having a theme for each night. She says that this creates something predictable for your family and creates excitement about dinner time. I know that having meals together is so important, so hopefully this will help me and my family.
Here is my plan:
Sunday: crock pot
Monday: Meatless or breakfast for dinner
Tuesday: Try something new/international cuisine
Wednesday: Whatever Wednesday=leftovers!
Thursday: Italian
Friday: Soup & Salad
Saturday: Grilling
I may have to adjust things as I get going. I'm still working on keeping my monthly grocery budget at $250 or less, and I may actually make it this month!
I think I will also plan days to make home-made snacks, like granola, muffins, pita chips, things like that. Or maybe I will do those kind of things on Saturday morning. How do you organize your meal planning and menu?
September craft!
Well, I completed a craft/home-making project in August, and I can't tell you how proud I am of myself. We just moved last month and getting organized is top on my list of priorities!
I love all the space in my new kitchen, although counter space is minimal. I've wanted to get some kind of spice rack that I can mount on my walls. Then yesterday I was at a friend's house and saw something like this.
I fell in love. It's magnetic, isn't that genius?! This is my project for September. I know I can get the little containers at Bed, Bath & Beyond, but my budget is $20 total, so I may have to shop around for cheap containers. I'm excited, so stay tuned to see how my September craft goes. ( I have to wait until then to do it because I'm desperately trying to stick to our budget, and I didn't budget for this in August.)
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Curtains
I have been working on these curtains for MONTHS! What a relief to finally finish them. I had planned them to be valances in our old apartment, but they fit perfectly as curtains in DD1's room! Check out the craftiness!
Why we aren't buying a home.
Ever since we finished college, many people who love us (and some who don't) have told us that buying a house is our next step in life. While I know they mean well, I'd like to combat some myths about home-ownership, as well as explain why buying a home isn't right for us just yet.
Myth #1: You buy a house now to get tax credits.
That's kind of like saying "I'll give you $3000 if you give me $10000." (To steal from Dave Ramsey). What we would be paying in interest would never make up for what we would save on our taxes.
Myth #2: Don't waste your money renting!
A little math for you: If you take out a $165,000 loan for a home at 4.75% on a 30 yr fixed mortgage (rates are low now!), your monthly payments would be about $860, and you would pay about $145,000 in interest. Now, let's say we live cheaply and pay $800/mo for rent for 5 years. During that time I would be paying about 45,000 on rent. But I would have been paying $37,000 in interest on a home. If, during that time, I save for a sizable down payment, I will save $$$ later on mortgage insurance and interest.
Rent isn't wasting money! You are exchanging money on a place to live. And you don't have to be responsible for routine maintenence.
Myth #3: You are building equity, which is good.
Really? What if my property value decreases? A home is not an investment, or, at least, it's a risky one. A home is a place to live.
Reason to wait #1: no money!
We want to have a large down payment. Like 100%. That may be unattainable (imagine saving $1000/month for 15 years!), but we will have at least 20% down before we buy a home, so that we won't have to pay mortgage insurance. We want to own at least a little bit of our home when we buy it. If we do finance our home, we'd like to do it with a 15 year mortgage.
We also have a student loan that takes a few hundred a month away from our income!
Reason to wait #2: Uncertainty
We are not sure where the next 2-5 years of our lives will take us. With this economy, who knows how secure anyone's job is? The last thing we want to do is buy a house and then be stuck with it should we move/lose a job! It just isn't the right time for us.
Reason to wait #3: No crappy house for us
Why would we rush such an important decision? When we DO buy a house, and we will, we want it to be a home we enjoy. A place we want to stay. And we don't want to fix stuff up!
Reason #4 to wait: We're not worried.
Interest rates are incredibly low right now. (But banks are not really lending either!) Home prices are also dropping. Who knows, the prices may double by the time we look into buying. But oh well. If it's not right, it's not right!
Buying a home is a great opportunity, and for those of you who have already done so, that is great. We can't wait to buy a home, but there are reasons why we aren't even looking into it yet...
Myth #1: You buy a house now to get tax credits.
That's kind of like saying "I'll give you $3000 if you give me $10000." (To steal from Dave Ramsey). What we would be paying in interest would never make up for what we would save on our taxes.
Myth #2: Don't waste your money renting!
A little math for you: If you take out a $165,000 loan for a home at 4.75% on a 30 yr fixed mortgage (rates are low now!), your monthly payments would be about $860, and you would pay about $145,000 in interest. Now, let's say we live cheaply and pay $800/mo for rent for 5 years. During that time I would be paying about 45,000 on rent. But I would have been paying $37,000 in interest on a home. If, during that time, I save for a sizable down payment, I will save $$$ later on mortgage insurance and interest.
Rent isn't wasting money! You are exchanging money on a place to live. And you don't have to be responsible for routine maintenence.
Myth #3: You are building equity, which is good.
Really? What if my property value decreases? A home is not an investment, or, at least, it's a risky one. A home is a place to live.
Reason to wait #1: no money!
We want to have a large down payment. Like 100%. That may be unattainable (imagine saving $1000/month for 15 years!), but we will have at least 20% down before we buy a home, so that we won't have to pay mortgage insurance. We want to own at least a little bit of our home when we buy it. If we do finance our home, we'd like to do it with a 15 year mortgage.
We also have a student loan that takes a few hundred a month away from our income!
Reason to wait #2: Uncertainty
We are not sure where the next 2-5 years of our lives will take us. With this economy, who knows how secure anyone's job is? The last thing we want to do is buy a house and then be stuck with it should we move/lose a job! It just isn't the right time for us.
Reason to wait #3: No crappy house for us
Why would we rush such an important decision? When we DO buy a house, and we will, we want it to be a home we enjoy. A place we want to stay. And we don't want to fix stuff up!
Reason #4 to wait: We're not worried.
Interest rates are incredibly low right now. (But banks are not really lending either!) Home prices are also dropping. Who knows, the prices may double by the time we look into buying. But oh well. If it's not right, it's not right!
Buying a home is a great opportunity, and for those of you who have already done so, that is great. We can't wait to buy a home, but there are reasons why we aren't even looking into it yet...
Things to cook Tuesday
Here is a recipe I can't wait to try, courtesy one of my favorite cooking blogs, Our Best Bites:
Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Slices
1-1/2 lbs cucumber (about 3 medium), peeled, halved lengthwise & thinly sliced
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c rice vinegar, seasoned or regular
1/2 c water
3 Tbs sugar*
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbs minced red onion
Place cucumber slices in a colander sitting over a bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Let sit for 1 hour refrigerated. It doesn't hurt to toss the cukes a few times while they drain as well. While cucumber slices are draining, prepare marinade below.
Combine vinegar, water, sugar and red pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook until reduced to a 1/3 cup (about 10 minutes). If for some reason you boil for too long, just add a little water until you have 1/3 C. Remove reduction from heat and add onion. Let mixture cool to room temp.
When cucumbers are done resting, combine with the vinegar reduction. This can be served immediately, but for best results refrigerate until well chilled.
Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Slices
1-1/2 lbs cucumber (about 3 medium), peeled, halved lengthwise & thinly sliced
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c rice vinegar, seasoned or regular
1/2 c water
3 Tbs sugar*
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbs minced red onion
Place cucumber slices in a colander sitting over a bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Let sit for 1 hour refrigerated. It doesn't hurt to toss the cukes a few times while they drain as well. While cucumber slices are draining, prepare marinade below.
Combine vinegar, water, sugar and red pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook until reduced to a 1/3 cup (about 10 minutes). If for some reason you boil for too long, just add a little water until you have 1/3 C. Remove reduction from heat and add onion. Let mixture cool to room temp.
When cucumbers are done resting, combine with the vinegar reduction. This can be served immediately, but for best results refrigerate until well chilled.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Confidence in Youth
Sometimes it can be discouraging to think of all the things our children will face. How will they come out on top? How can I possibly teach these little people all they need to know to successfully overcome temptation? Then I read things like this:
Of all the help we can give these young people, the greatest will be to let them feel our confidence that they are on the path home to God and that they can make it. And we do that best by going with them. Because the path is steep and sometimes rocky, they will at times feel discouraged and even stumble. They may at times become confused about their destination and wander after less eternally important goals. These inspired [youth] programs make that less likely because they will lead the young person to invite and receive the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
The best counsel for us to give young people is that they can arrive back to Heavenly Father only as they are guided and corrected by the Spirit of God. So if we are wise, we will encourage, praise, and exemplify everything which invites the companionship of the Holy Ghost. When they share with us what they are doing and feeling, we must ourselves have qualified for the Spirit. Then they will feel in our praise and our smiles the approval of God. And should we feel the need to give corrective counsel, they will feel our love and the love of God in it, not rebuke and rejection, which can permit Satan to lead them further away.
...and I know it will be ok.
Of all the help we can give these young people, the greatest will be to let them feel our confidence that they are on the path home to God and that they can make it. And we do that best by going with them. Because the path is steep and sometimes rocky, they will at times feel discouraged and even stumble. They may at times become confused about their destination and wander after less eternally important goals. These inspired [youth] programs make that less likely because they will lead the young person to invite and receive the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
The best counsel for us to give young people is that they can arrive back to Heavenly Father only as they are guided and corrected by the Spirit of God. So if we are wise, we will encourage, praise, and exemplify everything which invites the companionship of the Holy Ghost. When they share with us what they are doing and feeling, we must ourselves have qualified for the Spirit. Then they will feel in our praise and our smiles the approval of God. And should we feel the need to give corrective counsel, they will feel our love and the love of God in it, not rebuke and rejection, which can permit Satan to lead them further away.
...and I know it will be ok.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Mother's Day gifts
I just made these.
It was very easy. Here are the steps. I apologize for not taking pics of each step, but like I said, it was EASY!
1. Go to Home Depot and get a 2X6 piece of wood. Have them cut it into 6 inch pieces.
2. Get scrapbook paper, paint, sandpaper, ribbon.
3. Sand and paint your wood.
4. Print out what you want to have on the wood.
5. Glue paper on to wood using Mod Podge.
6. Add embellishments. These flowers are SUPER easy! Cut out circular shapes from coordinating scrabook paper (4 circles of different sizes.) Use an ink pad or marker to darken the edges of the circle. Crinkle, layer, and stick together with a fastener.
7. Add ribbon.
As you can see, there are lots of ways to add variety to this project. And they cost less than $2 each, and take about an hour. Well, it took me about 6 hours to make 8!
It was very easy. Here are the steps. I apologize for not taking pics of each step, but like I said, it was EASY!
1. Go to Home Depot and get a 2X6 piece of wood. Have them cut it into 6 inch pieces.
2. Get scrapbook paper, paint, sandpaper, ribbon.
3. Sand and paint your wood.
4. Print out what you want to have on the wood.
5. Glue paper on to wood using Mod Podge.
6. Add embellishments. These flowers are SUPER easy! Cut out circular shapes from coordinating scrabook paper (4 circles of different sizes.) Use an ink pad or marker to darken the edges of the circle. Crinkle, layer, and stick together with a fastener.
7. Add ribbon.
As you can see, there are lots of ways to add variety to this project. And they cost less than $2 each, and take about an hour. Well, it took me about 6 hours to make 8!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Short 'n Sweet Bowtique
Check out this blog. An old childhood friend, who is amazingly creative, started this blog. Her husband is in med school and she has a darling little girl! If you're looking for cute bows for your little girl/niece/sister/cousin/etc, this is a great place to look!
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