Just some thots ... January 24, 2010

I find myself wanting to blog but due to bills, we have temporarily lost our Internet connection until payday. The hard times of catching up bills on one income!!  We shall prevail as God has seen fit in the past.  It is tough not having Internet the most.  We also are currently without TV (which will also be restored on payday), which actually surprisingly is not so hard.  We purchased a Wii to satisfy my exercise urges and we find we have a lot of fun playing that together than sitting in front of the TV feeling our butts widening even more as the years go by!! LOL We only have one game thus far though which is the sports game that came with the system but we both are quite enjoying that game.  I tend to favor the tennis and boxing.  Tennis because I have always loved to play tennis; and boxing because it helps to get all the pent up frustrations out of my systems.  I have noticed that since doing the boxing on the Wii, I do not get the tight knots I tend to develop between my shoulder blades.  Although my shoulders do ache in other ways from using them with the tennis and boxing!!  

I am proud to say I have added yet another basic staple to our diet.  We both have enjoyed having English muffins around the house.  So I found a recipe on my favorite recipe site (www.allrecipes.com) to make them.  For my first attempt, they didn’t turn out too bad.  I was without cornmeal to use on the tops and the consistency came out more like a roll than a muffin (I believe I may have over-kneaded the dough) but it still tastes like a muffin (although a dough-y one!!) and is very good warm with butter and my homemade pumpkin butter!!  YUMMY!!  I am proud of myself.  I have been doing a lot of research to find things we enjoy eating and then finding a recipe to make it at home.  I am hoping to cut our grocery bill down by doing so.   I found a recipe for tator tots I am hoping I can make and freeze also for future use.  It would be a great break from our usual homemade French fries.  By cooking at home, it sure has killed it for me for fast foods.  I don’t mind an occasional meal out but it typically doesn’t taste as well as my cooked meals (or so I have convinced myself!  I would have to ask the hubby his approval rate on my cooking but thus far I have had no complaints!!).  I also want to make some potato pirogues and freeze those for future use with some Alfredo sauce!!  That would be so good!  I cannot wait to do my garden and do some preserving and canning.  I am totally looking forward to learning that from mom and grandpa.  New ways to be frugal and wise with the paycheck!  Hooray!! LOL

We have actually been doing so much better with our money since I have quit work.  Even Scott says it is better for us financially for me to stay home.  We tend to be more frugal with our money. And with me staying home, I can cook more and keep up on the house better too.   I have yet to start weeding through the attic yet though.  I do really need to do that.  I have no idea what I want to get rid of.  Some things I have a strong sentimental value to and do not want to get rid of it.  Other things I love and do not want to be rid of!! I think there are a lot of books to be rid of (not my Nancy Drew’s or Hardy Boys, etc.  Just children’s books I was looking to keep for my own children, which obviously didn’t happen or isn’t going to happen!!). Scott doesn’t want to be rid of his Christmas houses.  I want to keep my beanie babies. The camping stuff we need to keep (for possible future use since I have made contact with the Klann girls and they like to camp and white river rafting!!  We have an invite to join them next September!!). I am not sure beyond that what is up there.  Some Christmas decorations and tree, craft stuff (no way getting rid of that!!  Helllo!!) … I have ton’s of clothes but I do not want to be rid of those because they will be used (especially my sweaters since we will be in sweater weather again!!) and money will be tight too since it will be going towards repairing and adding to the house; the barn and chicken coop; the garden, etc.  Get the picture!?!?!  LOL   I think I have a couple more sets of dishes but Grandma Mitchell had given mom a set of them and mom gave them to me so I would not want to give those up (they are a pretty toile design too!!). Such the dilemma!! I do need to go through my appliances in the laundry room though because there are a couple mixers (with broken parts) I need to toss and that would give us less to store in there.  I so hate moving and hate it even more when we are moving to a smaller home!!  Eye Carumba!!  Last move, last move, last move (so I keep telling myself but I can’t be sure.  The gypsy blood seems to boil in my husband’s veins as well.  Although mine are beginning to cool down and I am looking to plant roots at some point.)  I have done nothing but move all my life.  I have no idea what it feels like to stay in one spot for long.  But I am looking forward to knowing that feeling one day in the future. I would love to go places and know people everywhere I go!!  Ahhhh … one day soon …. Not sure when or where but one day soon!!!

Anyway, that is all I have to blog for now.  I did attempt to make Double Chocolate Fudge pops tonight.  They are currently freezing as we speak.  Won’t know until tomorrow how they taste or turn out.  I know the mix tasted pretty good and was easy to make.  I love fudge pops!  So might be another thing I can make cheaply and enjoy at home.  We shall see!!

Toodles!!

The unemployed life ...

Oh my gosh!  I totally suck at this blogging thing!! LOL  Well, lets see ... I am no longer employed ... quit work as of December 18th, 2009.  We do not want to have to pay VA any state taxes.  We typically wouldn't but each year we have to convince VA that we do not owe them any state taxes.  Each year they think that DH's income must be taxed although he is not a VA resident.  Just so freaking frustrating!! But anyway, it has been different being unemployed again.  I thot I would really miss work but I don't as much as I thot I would.  I miss the people but not the stress of the day to day business.  I am managing to keep quite busy here at home.  With all the dogs and the day to day cleaning, I remain quite busy!! And it is only the beginning.  I have a lot of deep cleaning and throwing out of items before we move.

We went home to IL and got to check out the house.  Structurally, it seems to be in decent shape.  A few things have to be fixed and a lot of TLC work but it appears to be manageable!  Going to be a lot of work in clean up and such but again, it is do-able. Going to be tough for awhile though as we will be going to a house half the size if not more!! We already have plans of expanding both the downstairs and the upstairs but that will come in time.  Also have a plan of building a barn at some time too so we can have horses at some point too.  I want a horse to ride one day.  I am hoping within a two or three years of being up there, we will be in the position to finally own some.  We will have it hopefully as a working farm (for ourselves!!) at some point.  I think that would be so kewl!  Even have a possible name for it: Curly Willow Farm.  Mom has two curly willow plants that Grandpa started for her that I would like to transplant somewhere else on the property.  They are pretty! I think that would be perfect name.  I wanted something with Willow in the name.  I like willow's and was willing to plant a willow just so the farm would live up to the name.  So it was great that there are already two willow's on the place! But the dogs are going to love it!  They had a blast on the property while we were there at Christmas time.  They thot they had died and gone to heaven!! LOL We have our hands full with home repairs but I think we will be happy there.  Will probably live just as we do now ... hand to mouth but I don't care!  If bills are paid and we all can eat, that makes me happy.  I am not a person who wants much ... at least I don't think so. I am not a big shopper at all.  Unless it is for my dogs/cats/birds! Then I could go crazy!  Or kitchen/bathroom stuff. I can go crazy with that stuff too.

Speaking of kitchen, I made my own flour tortilla's tonight.  They turned out pretty good!  They were easy to make albeit time consuming but it made a butt ton of them!  Like 20-24!!  So they will last a while.  But I was happy.  My first try and all, they turned pretty good. Will have to find a recipe to make baked tortilla chips. That would really make Scott happy!! LOL  Once the tomato's, onion's and peppers grow in our garden, then I can make the homemade salsa too!! He will be in heaven!! LOL  Found recipes for homemade butter and such too.  So can't wait until I can try those out too.  I might just become quite the little cook!! Anyyyywho ... !!

Our trip to IL was crazy ... it took us 42 hours to get up there!  It snowed the whole time we drove up there from Williamsburg to IL.  And not just a light snow, it was up to 23 inches in WV!! We didn't start going above 45 mph until Indiana state line!! It was crazy!! But had tons of fun actually.  At least for me that is.  I didn't realize I had so many people following my FB posting either!! LOL Our first stop (and by stop, I mean parked on I-64 because of traffic/weather) was only an hour and that was around Williamsburg. Our next one was right before the WV bypass and that one was 2 hours.  The last stop was 6.5 hours on the WV bypass!! We ended up sleeping through part of that one!!  It was a REALLY long trip but for as long as it was, it wasn't that bad.  The trip home was the same amount it usually takes ... aprox 15 hours.

Well, that is about it for now.   Will post more as more things happen.

Love to all!