Monday, January 28, 2013

(Some) Books Read January 2013


I love to read (like many relatives in the line before me, I probably often read when I should be doing something else...)

Here are a few of the books I read and enjoyed in January.

Village School and Village Diary by Miss Read

These are the first two books in a series about the rural English village of Fairacre during the mid-20th century, "written" by the fictitious persona of the village schoolteacher. I had never encountered these books before finding them recommended on a blog, but read a couple of the Christmas stories in December and enjoyed them enough to start the series. They are a cozy read, with no particular plot, but rather recountings of the different events and characters in the life of the village.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Another book set in Britain (I did have the reaction, about halfway through this one, that I needed to take a break for a while from books set in England), this one with a more contemporary timeframe, focusing on a retired British major who represents "tradition," and his romance with the widowed Pakistani woman who runs the local shop. I enjoyed this book, and (most of) the characters -- except the whiny ones, who you weren't supposed to like anyway. It was an interesting approach to the changing face of British culture, and the development of more multiculturalism -- usually, I see that presented in American books.

Half--Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

This is sort of a memoir of Jeannette Walls's grandmother -- although, since the grandmother died when the author was 8, it's put together via memories of her speech patterns, family stories, and research. I enjoy history, and good biography/autobiography/memoir, so what I particularly enjoyed was watching the development of American 20th century history unfold through the experiences of the author's grandmother -- her move to Chicago and getting a "flapper" haircut not only for social reasons but for safety, with the increasing use of machines in the workforce; her foray into bootlegging to support the family during Prohibition and the Depression, etc. The grandmother's life was mostly centered in the West, and the book has a very strong flavor of that. She was a strong woman, and I could hear her voice through the book.

To find more reading suggestions, visit the Booking It post at Life As Mom, where you'll read about what Jessica, Anne and Carrie have been reading.


Disclosure: Book titles in this post are Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase at Amazon after clicking through here, I will receive a (very) small percentage of the profits; there is no additional cost to you.

Goals for the Week of January 28, 2013


Well, I'm feeling rather tired today, and am not sure where my weekend went -- not a lot on the "need-to-do" list seems to have gotten done. But writing these goals down does help me to push myself to actually accomplish these things, so onward through the last week of January we go!

Last Week's Goals:

Finances and Organization:
- finish filing paperwork! (Nope.)
- clear out catchall basket of catalogs, etc. that have piled up over past month (Didn't even touch.)
- finish calendar info transfer (Nope.)
- sort through and discard/file school papers (Nope.)
- order free book from Children's Book of the Month Club before credit expires (did this one -- actually ordered two books that are sets of two each, so ended up getting four for the price of one; will use for holiday gifts)
- submit for utilities rebate (rethinking this)
- make appointment with lawyer for will (husband wants to fill out the questionnaire first)
- make tax appointment for March (hopefully, they'll have all the new forms ready by then ...) (no)
- update pantry inventory (no)

So, essentially, I did (almost) nothing on the finances and organization section of last week's goals. I thought that's what January was supposed to be about?

January goals:
- determine budget for February

Yearly goal:
- photo organization
- recipe organization
- kitchen (re)organization


Spirituality and Creativity:

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan (I'm almost through the November readings ...)
- put Girl Scout pictures onto troop sharing site
- say at least 3 new-to-our-family mealtime prayers (yes, including one lovely prayer composed on the spot by the six-year-old)
- finish reading book for church book group
- remember food shelf donations for church on Sunday!

January goals:

- finish chronological reading of Bible
- start a craft project -- new potholders?


Family and Friends:
- gather supplies for and lead Girl Scout meeting (6- and 7-year-olds learned how to use the "circle of safety" with a knife -- a butter knife -- wash dishes the Girl Scout way, and prepare healthy snacks)
- pick up troop Girl Scout cookie order (now we just need to cross our fingers that they'll be sold and get Out. Of. My. House!)
- finish read-aloud of Little House in the Big Woods, begin read-aloud of Little House on the Prairie (yes, complete with much explaining that "a long time ago" does NOT automatically equal "when you were a kid")
- do a cooking project among recipes 6-year-old has identified she'd like to try (no cooking together at home this week)
- catch up on Facebook
 - email out--of-state friend haven't indidvidually emailed since before Christmas

January goals:
- put in for spring break vacation time
- possibly make travel plans, hotel reservations

This Week's Goals

Finances and Organization:
- finish filing paperwork! (I want to get it done and out of my hair in January!)
- clear out catchall basket of catalogs, etc. that have piled up over past month
- finish calendar info transfer
- sort through and discard/file school papers
- submit for utilities rebate OR cancel
- make tax appointment
- update pantry inventory
- download will questionnaire and begin to work on it with husand
- determine budget for February

Spirituality and Creativity:

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan, possibly complete
- continue using prayer books at meals
- finish reading friend's book so can return it


Family and Friends:
- sign girls up for cookie club
- distribute Girl Scout cookies
- chaperone daughter to sell
- finish read-aloud of Little House on the Prairie
- spend time on a project or playing with 6-year-old

Friday, January 25, 2013

Friday's Fave Five



It's time for another Friday's Fave Five, hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. It has been a bitterly cold week, with highs well below zero and wind chills even colder - the kind that has me thinking, "OK, I'm done with winter." But still, there are things for which to be thankful.

1. Garages

It has been bitterly cold here this week, and I am very thankful to be at a point in my life now where my car can live in the garage overnight. At least it's a few degrees warmer when we get in in the morning, and there's no need to get out in the cold and scrape off the frost before anything else can happen for the day.

2. Breakfast Is Served

My six-year-old made me breakfast on a weekend morning. She poured milk onto Raisin Bran cereal a good 15 minutes before I could eat it (I have to wait an hour after taking morning medication before I can eat). She poured a glass of juice over the sink, and when I used the sink later, I found the dishcloth -- which I had just replaced, having washed the other one the night before -- to be completely soaked. But in this case, the idea of her making breakfast for me was such a sweet gesture that it really was the thought that counts.

3.  Abdallah's Candies

Abdallah's is a locally owned candy store in the Twin Cities that's been around for over 100 years, and is on the fourth generation of family ownership. My husband frequently gets me a couple of boxes of their candy for holiday occasions. I finished one of the Christmas boxes of chocolate mints -- which are mouth-meltingly deliciously flavored intensely with both mint and chocolate -- this week.

4.  Heated Car Seats

Whoever invented the idea of warming your seat by warming your seat was a genius.

5. New Refrigerator

Actually, I'm still getting used to the new refrigerator we had delivered this week, purchased at one of the January appliance sales. (It takes me a while to adjust to change, sometimes.) But I am thankful we were able to replace the old one - which we think was original to the house, from the 1980s -- before it completely gave up the ghost, as it was indicating was imminent. One of the aspects of the new fridge that I do like is the clear crisper drawers -- less likely for produce to be forgotten about until it's past its prime. (Or, for example, for the husband to forget about clementines and carrots in a refrigerator transfer ... perhaps I should be thankful the delivery people had the option of some fresh fruit for their lunch?)







Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Goals for Week of January 21, 2013

(To see others' goals, and for weekly encouragement, visit Money Saving Mom.)
Last Week's Goals:


Finances and Organization:

- close on refinance of mortgage  ($160 less a month in payments! no payment in February!)
- work on filing paperwork/finding receipts  (receipts found, paperwork filing from 2012 almost completed ... oy)
- submit for 2012 FLEX reimbursements
- clear out catchall basket of catalogs, etc. that have piled up over past month
- finish cleaning out gmail inbox; email drafts folders 
- finish calendar info transfer (progress made; not completed. This is not transferring events from a calendar; this is going through last year's paper planner and making some sort of organizational decisions about all the little sticky notes/reminders/ideas I've left for myself throughout the year)
- index recipes from 10 multi-recipe ebooks on computer
- (not on the list) new and updated inventory of freezer contents



Spirituality and Creativity:

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan
- put Girl Scout pictures onto troop sharing site
- find books of prayer collections ( found some of them, although not necessarily what I was specifically looking for)

Family and Friends:

- plan doing something with husband's cousin (on hold for now due to illness :( )
- possibly plan get-together with book group friends (somewhat weather-dependent) (weather did not cooperate- it's hard to go cross-country skiing with no snow!)
- get belated Christmas presents to book group friends (since get-together didn't happen, it's now close enough to our February meeting that I'm just moving this goal to then)
- ask for information packet from spring break vacation destination, look in files to see if have current resources (did not have current resources in files, but had general planning overview discussion with husband)
- put new patches on Girl Scout uniform (got them sewed on in time for her to proudly wear uniform to school for "Girl Scout Spirit Day"
- do "Girls Cook In" training
- register for First Communion instruction



And This Week's Goals:

Finances and Organization: 
- finish filing paperwork!
- clear out catchall basket of catalogs, etc. that have piled up over past month (or so...)
- finish calendar info transfer
- sort through and discard/file school papers
- order free book from Children's Book of the Month Club before credit expires
- submit for utilities rebate
- buy Forever stamps before price increase
- make appointment with lawyer for will
- make tax appointment for March (hopefully, they'll have all the new forms ready by then ...)
- clean out old/sent mail folders in email account; being work on "newsletters" folder
- update pantry inventory

January goals:
- determine budget (actually, I may wait until we get through an entire month, although some of the uncertainties -- like tax change impacts on paychecks, change in mortgage payment due to refinance, have now been completed)
- finish organizing recipes stored on computer (make Xcel document for table of contents type reference to recipes in multi-recipe ebooks) (OK, so this is not going to happen in January.)

Yearly goal:
- photo organization
- recipe organization
- kitchen (re)organization


Spirituality and Creativity:

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan
- put Girl Scout pictures onto troop sharing site
- say at least 3 new-to-our-family mealtime prayers
- finish reading book for church book group
- remember food shelf donations for church on Sunday!

January goals:

- finish chronological reading of Bible
- start a craft project -- new potholders?


Family and Friends:

- gather supplies for and lead Girl Scout meeting
- pick up troop Girl Scout cookie order
- finish read-aloud of Little House in the Big Woods, begin read-aloud of Little House on the Prairie
- do a cooking project among recipes 6-year-old has identified she'd like to try
- order Valentines
- catch up on Facebook
 - email out--of-state friend haven't indidvidually emailed since before Christmas

January goals:

- put in for spring break vacation time
- possibly make travel plans, hotel reservations

Last (Couple Of) Week's Frugal Accomplishments


I didn't keep up with this last week, so here are my frugal accomplishments for the past couple of weeks. (This is a roundup hosted at http://theprudenthomemakerblog.blogspot.com.)

Earned $3.00 from an online survey.

Replaced six-year-old's broken tennis shoes on MLK weekend, using a 25 percent off coupon.

Used oil company credit card discount and/or grocery points rewards programs for discounts when filling car with gas.

Purchased complete set of Magic School Bus DVD's (a favorite of the six-year-old) while on sale on Amazon, for gift-giving occasions throughout the year (Easter, birthday, Christmas -- haven't decided how they will be divided up yet). This is my second "gift closet" (actually, it's a box) purchase of 2013.

Used coupons printed from Swagbucks at the grocery store, which will give me the discount stated on the coupon, as well as Swagbucks credit for each coupon used. Paired with grocery store sales. Also used a printable coupon from the grocery store (somehow, they had deleted my online account; when I reactivated it, they sent me a coupon.) This is also the grocery store with the gas points rewards program.

Took six-year-old grocery shopping with me; she got a free apple with a card received from the grocery store during one of their community events held last fall. (It's good for a free apple or banana for a child each time they shop with their parent through the end of February.)

Packed some lunches and breakfasts for work/school. (Sometimes, I just don't get my lunch packed ...)One of the few restaurants close enough to my workplace to go for lunch is McDonalds: used a coupon for a free fries and drink with 20-piece chicken nuggets meal at McDonald's. 20 nuggets is really too much for me for one lunch, so I saved half and microwaved them for lunch the next day, thus splitting the cost of the meal in half between two meals.

I usually ask for honey for the sauce when I order chicken nuggets, and they always give me way too many packets. Saved the extra packets. Used a couple of them in hot tea when I felt the possibility of a sore throat coming on.

Successfully fended off the beginnings of a sore throat/cold with honey in hot tea, orange juice and a couple of straight tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. (I would have also used a free sample of Emergen-C, but it had solidified.)

Accepted leftovers of a pasta salad from a work meeting of some other department; ate for lunch the following day.

Used whole tomatoes from the freezer, a gift from a neighbor, in place of "stewed tomatoes" called for in a recipe for vegetable beef soup.

Used strawberries, picked last summer and frozen, to make strawberry muffins, which we ate with the vegetable beef soup, then packed in lunches and for breakfasts.

Used frozen shredded zucchini (also from last summer) to make zucchini bars, with cream cheese frosting (used the last of the cream cheese in the refrigerator purchased at Christmastime sales). Used as desserts/snacks.

Used the last of the molasses in a bottle to make molasses crinkles cookies with the six-year-old, letting her practice reading by reading the recipe out of the Betty Crocker's New Boys and Girls Cookbook (the original edition, which I have had since my childhood -- complete with the falling-out pages that we need to carefully tuck back between the covers).

Used three frozen bananas from the freezer -- each the last one from a bunch, which were going to turn bad before we could eat them, so I put them in the freezer --- to make Money Saving Mom's recipe for banana chocolate chip muffins. Have been eating them for my breakfasts.

And, the biggest frugal accomplishment of the past couple of weeks: completed refinance of the mortgage! Will save $160 a month in payments and, because of the timing of the refinance, will not have to make a mortgage payment at all for February!

Friday, January 18, 2013

Cute Kid Sayings Catchup


So, as January is a "catch up on the last year/begin the new" one for me, I have a catchup post on cute kid sayings from the past few months. (I can't remember if I have posted some of these before; since I can't remember, I'm including them all here -- partly for my memory.)

N is very interested in nonfiction books. She's also interested in typical six-year-old girl topics -- horses, princesses, fairies, etc. This led to a library trip a while back when she wanted to find "TRUE books about queens," as she told the reference librarian. This is an undeveloped subject area in the easy readers market. We came home with a book about Queen Noor of Jordan, and one about Queen Latifah. (I did explain that, while Queen Latifah is a good singer, she is not actually a real queen.)

She explained peeling the label off her container of toothpaste with the note that she could then see when it was getting low, and see the toothpaste "in its habitat."

Some elderly people have been occasionally visiting her first grade classroom. On their first visit, "Bob" was at her table, and she informed me that he was the oldest one. I asked if he told her that, or if someone else had; upon receiving negative answers, I asked how she knew. "He had the most lines on his face," was the answer. (Evidently, she feels it's the equivalent of tree rings.)

At Christmastime, she told me, "Some kids say Santa isn't real. But he is, because I have proof." She then proceeded to bring out her photo album, and point to the photo of Santa filling stockings in our family room from a couple of years ago. "One of his elves took it," she explained.

*(The elf may have had a little help from a website that promises to "capture the magic.")

Friday's Fave Five


I've also been wanting to participate in the Friday's Fave Five theme from Susanne at Living To Tell the Story for a while (I first found Susanne's blog through one of the reading challenges that Katrina hosts in spring and fall, and have been following it for a while.) The idea is to post five of your favorite things  -- big or small -- kind of like the idea of a gratitude journal.

So, here are 5 of my favorite things for this week.

1) Long Underwear.

Even though it takes forever to get dressed in the mornings when you have to put on umpteen layers, I think I have finally discovered how people are able to enjoy winter. The idea of "longies," as a coworker refers to them, is something that I don't recall being on the radar screen until I moved to Minnesota. I refreshed my supply last fall and, since our high a few days ago was something like 4 or 5 degrees Fahrenheit -- and the projected high in a few days is 8 below zero -- I've been getting a lot of use out of them.

2) Ice Skating

Although I've always enjoyed watching the figure skating competitions in the Olympics, I had never actually been ice skating myself until this past weekend. My daughter, however, went on a field trip last year, and has really been wanting to go this year. (Actually, she asked for lessons, but I really didn't want to add anything else to the family schedule.) So, when some friends planned an outing to a local rink last weekend, we went. Yes, this rink is outdoors, and yes, it was the day with the high of 5 degrees. :) Once we started moving, however, we were warm, plus they have outdoor fire pits, and a warming house with a very nice roaring fireplace -- and hot chocolate for sale at the concessions. It wasn't very crowded out on the ice, which is actually three ponds joined together, and we were out in the afternoon so that the twinkle lights around the edges of the water came on, and it was very pretty.

I probably looked like an idiot with the trainer sled and the hockey skates that kept coming untied until a lady from Finland nicely helped me lace them up (when I told the skate rental people I wanted whichever was easier between hockey and figure skates, they said "hockey") but, once laced properly, it actually wasn't too hard -- for some reason, I had the impression ice skating would be more difficult than roller skating. And my six-year-old, in her second time on the ice, was whizzing around quite speedily. She doesn't need lessons.


3) Vegetable Beef Soup

For some reason, I got in the mood for vegetable beef soup recently. We made some for dinner one night, using a recipe from the 2000 annual compilation of Quick Cooking recipes. I don't think we've ever made it before, but it was delicious on a cold day. Very easy to make, too, with frozen mixed veggies, and we substituted some of the whole tomatoes gifted from a neighbor and in our freezer for the "stewed tomatoes" called for in the recipe. Served with strawberry muffins, made with strawberries we picked last summer and stored in our freezer.

4) Reading 

I've discovered some new books and authors to me, via blog reading, that I've been enjoying either through library books or via the free Kindle app. I finished the Aggie's Inheritance series by Chautona Havig this week on Kindle, and am reading the second in Miss Read's Fairacre series as a library book.

5) The Book of Acts

Well, I may be behind on my one-year chronological reading plan of the Bible (yes, I was originally going to finish that last year), but I'm playing catchup this month and am currently in the book of Acts, interspersed with Paul's epistles (as they chronologically fit - hence the chronological Bible reading plan). I'm really enjoying reading the Bible this way, and am getting a much better understanding of how things fit together when I read them in the order they happened - rather than in the order the books got put in the Bible.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Goals for the Week of January 14, 2013

So, here's how I did on last week's goals:

Finances and Organization:

- review and compare 2012 and 2013 paychecks  (approximately $45 less per paycheck due to tax law changes and changes in health care)
- pay bills
- work on filing paperwork/finding receipts (progress was made, but task not completed)
- submit for 2012 FLEX reimbursements (see above)
- finish putting away tree and Christmas decorations (except for the wreath I forgot on the front door)
- finish calendar info transfer


January goals:
- determine budget
- finish organizing recipes stored on computer (make Xcel document for table of contents type reference to recipes in multi-recipe ebooks)
- make appointment with lawyer for will

Yearly goal:
- photo organization

Spirituality and Creativity:

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan
- put weekend's Girl Scout pictures onto troop sharing site

January goals:
- finish chronological reading of Bible
- start a craft project -- new potholders?


Family and Friends:

- Connect Friend 1 with Friend 2
- find and send birthday card to niece
- write notes, send belated Christmas presents that didn't arrive in time to niece, friends (out-of-town packages were sent; hoping to see in-town people soon)
- followup on playdate planning (little girls were dressed up, and toy horses were groomed in my kitchen)
- keep up on Facebook
- plan doing something with husband's cousin

January goals:
- put in for spring break vacation time
- ask for information packet from destination, look for coupons
- possibly make travel plans, hotel reservations

And this week's goals:



Finances and Organization:

- close on refinance of mortgage
- work on filing paperwork/finding receipts 
- submit for 2012 FLEX reimbursements 
- clear out catchall basket of catalogs, etc. that have piled up over past month
- finish cleaning out gmail inbox; email drafts folders
- finish calendar info transfer

- index recipes from 10 multi-recipe ebooks on computer



January goals:
- determine budget
- finish organizing recipes stored on computer (make Xcel document for table of contents type reference to recipes in multi-recipe ebooks)
- make appointment with lawyer for will

Yearly goal:
- photo organization

Spirituality and Creativity:

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan
- put Girl Scout pictures onto troop sharing site
- find books of prayer collections

January goals:


- finish chronological reading of Bible
- start a craft project -- new potholders?


Family and Friends:

- plan doing something with husband's cousin

- possibly plan get-together with book group friends (somewhat weather-dependent)
- get belated Christmas presents to book group friends
- ask for information packet from spring break vacation destination, look in files to see if have current resources
- put new patches on Girl Scout uniform
- do "Girls Cook In" training
- register for First Communion instruction


January goals:

- put in for spring break vacation time

- possibly make travel plans, hotel reservations






Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Goals for Week of January 7, 2013


I've also been inspired by the weekly goals listing at Money Saving Mom (http://moneysavingmom.com/2013/01/10-goals-for-this-week-34.html)

I've been reading both of these memes for a while, and am *hoping* to participate in them more regularly.

(And, of course, I'm still working on clearing out 2012, and planning for 2013 -- both of which are January projects.)


Finances and Organization:

- review and compare 2012 and 2013 paychecks
- pay bills
- work on filing paperwork/finding receipts
- submit for 2012 FLEX reimbursements
- finish putting away tree and Christmas decorations
- finish calendar info transfer


January goals:
- determine budget
- finish organizing recipes stored on computer (make Xcel document for table of contents type reference to recipes in multi-recipe ebooks)
- make appointment with lawyer for will

Yearly goal:
- photo organization

Spirituality and Creativity:

- continue catchup on chronological Bible reading plan
- put weekend's Girl Scout pictures onto troop sharing site

January goals:
- finish chronological reading of Bible
- start a craft project -- new potholders?


Family and Friends:

- Connect Friend 1 with Friend 2
- find and send birthday card to niece
- write notes, send belated Christmas presents that didn't arrive in time to niece, friends
- followup on playdate planning
- keep up on Facebook
- plan doing something with husband's cousin

January goals:
- put in for spring break vacation time
- ask for information packet from destination, look for coupons
- possibly make travel plans, hotel reservations





Frugal Activities 1st Week in January


I've been inspired by the weekly posts at http://theprudenthomemakerblog.blogspot.com/


- Received a free 13.75 lb. turkey from work (they handed out them out prior to the holidays, but on a day I was out of the office; a coworker kept it for me)

- received a free shampoo sample; used an earlier free sample to wash my hair

- read a library book (that will be discussed at a church book group -- free entertainment and socializing), and 2 (and a half) free Kindle books

- New Year's Day free entertainment of sledding down the hill in a nearby park

- used a gift card received from credit card points to put gas in my car

- used the last of the fall apples in the fridge to make apple crisp

- cooked fall squash that had been sitting on my countertop in the crockpot; used one batch for a meal last week and put the rest in the freezer

- packed my lunch for work almost every day; drank tea I brought from home and brewed with water heated in an electric teakettle at work (some of the tea was a pass-along from my sister, who received a tin of tea bags from a coworker; teakettle was a wedding gift several years ago)

- used CVS Extra Bucks credits to buy 2 gallons of milk, a loaf of bread, a package of spaghetti and a package of onion soup mix for 12 cents

- cashed in Walgreen's Balance Rewards points for juice, toilet paper, and cottage cheese for $3.60

- ate mostly from the pantry/freezer except for our planned weekend meal out: blueberry pancakes and apple crisp for New Year's Day; a roast in the crockpot, with carrots cleaned out of the fridge, mashed potatoes and gravy, apple crisp; squash-stuffed shells pasta with peas; leftovers; creamy cauliflower soup with blueberry muffins