Need a New Coffee Maker

A few weeks ago, our house either got hit by lightning or we got some kind of electrical feedback.  During that storm, we managed to lose some interesting but specific electrical items in the house.  The smoke detectors blew throughout the house.  Two GFI plugs shorted. The digital screen on one of the phones went.  Most upsetting, my coffee maker died.

I am not coffee crazy, but I do enjoy my coffee especially at night before bed.  I love coffee with a good book.  I was very sad to not be able to make my coffee. So  I thought about whether I should buy another maker or go back go Gevalia.  We had used Gevalia years ago, but had stopped it long before we even moved.  Their coffee is a little more expensive than the cheap store brands or some of the typical large manufacturer brands, but we have decided that their coffee is well worth the little extra that you spend.   So I decided to restart the service.  I was ecstatic when only a few days later my coffee maker came in the mail.  I think the post mistress was a little taken aback by my enthusiasm by the delivery.

 

  So thank you Gevalia for my new coffee pot.  I look forward to many years of my coffee deliveries again. I have decided after many years that sometimes it is worth a few extra pennies to get a little less of something truly exquisite.

Tornadoes in Massachusetts

There are many things that you think about when you choose where to live.  Certainly there are considerations about jobs, family, education, etc, but often there is part of you that is searching for safety.  When you live in the northeast, you figure that you are fairly safe: major hurricanes only come by every ten years or so, earthquakes are generally minor, forest fires are usually contained, and tornadoes are usually small and rarely affect the population.  We do have winter storms, but they eventually melt.  All and all comparatively, it seems to be a fairly safe place to be until June 1st of this year, when a tornado swept through Western Massachusetts extending from Westfield to Charlton (almost 50 miles).  It was like the tornadoes that you see on the news in the Midwest except the Midwest doesn't have trees like we do.  The devastation was extreme.

Fortunately, this is not my home.  We were very lucky, but the area near our church not so much.  The impact was unbelievable in width, length, and general impact.  Trees look like toothpicks sticking from the ground.  Areas that couldn't see the sky due to a canopy of trees are now bathed in sunlight and blanketed in the night sky.  Houses are covered in blue tarps, split in half, or town completely from their foundations. The cleanup will not be measured in days but more likely months and probably years.

The one amazing portion that I have been blessed to witness is the coming together of a community to help those in need.  I have worked all of last month at the tornado aide center.  The outpouring of support not just from locals but from those that came miles and miles just to help has been incredible.  One night, one of the people asked, "Do you make all this food?  It is delicious."  While I may have wanted to take credit, I was able to say that no, all the food was donated.  We had not had to make anything.

When people wonder if there are still good people on this earth, I know without a doubt that the answer to this question is a resounding, "Yes."  It is a shame sometimes that it takes devastating emergencies to bring us all together, but you can surely know that in a time of need, we can and will come together.  This is one of the great things about people in general and specifically about the USA.  As different as we all are, we truly are all United.

God Bless the USA!  Happy Independence Day!

Something to Consider as You Buy Your Halloween Candy

Sometimes a little information can be dangerous.  Why? Because once you know about something, you can't forget it and you can't go on as if you didn't know it.  Thus, the saying "ignorance is bliss".  If you want to remain in bliss and buy inexpensive Halloween candy, don't watch this.  If you want to be educated and understand the true cost of your candy, click play.



What did you think? Did this surprise you? What are you going to do now?

Creating an Echo Map : balancing your life on paper

As I have mentioned, we are in the process of becoming foster parents (thus the decrease in blog posts). In our most recent class we did an activity which would be helpful for anyone. It was called an Echo map. An echo map is a graphic representation of how you spend your time and the rewards or costs of that time. It basically looks like this:



In the center write your own name. Then on each of the outside bubbles write people, places, or things that take up your time / you are responsible for. After that connect each smaller bubble to the mane bubble using a line.

• A solid line represents that this activity / person replenishes you and is a positive part of your life.
• A dotted line represents that this activity / person is neutral and neither taxes nor benefits you but has to be dealt with.
• A fuzzy line represents that this activity / person is stressful and depletes your energy.
  

Yes, you may have activities or people that are connected with more than one type of line. When you are done, look at your map. You may be surprised by what you see. Seeing your life graphically represented may cause you to make some changes. Are there more solid lines or more fuzzy lines? Are there any solid lines? If you compared these connections with the time spent on them is your time dedicated to the most productive, rewarding things?

If you try this activity, let us know about your epiphanies. Did you decide to make any changes?

P.S. It is tough when you do this activity next to your spouse and he puts a solid line to your name but you put all three lines to his circle - - -ooops! It may be better to do this in private.

Designer Grocery Bags

What is wrong with us! Designer Grocery Bags! Unless these people are giving 95% of their proceeds to charity, these are crazy. Ok, I'll admit they can be cute, but they are GROCERY BAGS.

How after spending between $15-$960 for a grocery bag can we still wonder why we have no money? My new idea will be to design a really cute reuseable grocery bag and sell it for $1.99+the cost of a year of groceries for a family in need. Then at least the obscene excess will go toward something good.

Adding a new "R" to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Going back to yesterday’s post about going green, which I certainly have a lot to learn I admit, I have added an “R” to the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra. It somewhat falls under the “Reuse” concept, but is definitively a different use of the word. I think, as consumers, we think of “reuse” as using the same object again i.e. a reusable razor vs. a disposable; but “reuse” can also mean “re-purpose”. Re-purposing means that before you throughout an item that has finished its usefulness look it over to see what other uses it or parts of it may have. (You will, by the way, find this to be a great way to save some money. Here are just a few of the repurposes that we have around our house:

Composting – I do not adhere to the perfect mix, but instead just pile the green (grass), brown (leaves), and organic material (kitchen waste – vegetable scraps, egg shells, fruit rinds). Even our indoor container for compost is repurposed from its former life as a coffee can. The compost becomes lovely black gold for the garden and I reduce the amount and therefore the cost of my garbage.

Decorating – Old sheets have become curtains with a little needlework. Old jeans are becoming a rag rug. Old wood became my shoe stand.

Landscaping – DH and DS this weekend created a wonderful new fire pit and spent not a penny. Rocks were reclaimed from elsewhere in the yard and even the sand came from a leftover sand pit that must have sat under the old owner’s swing set. We have also begun to plan next year’s garden and have decided to use raised beds. I pulled from the backyard and old door frame that had been dumped in the woods. I think it will be perfect for at least a portion of the garden (and my wood’s are cleaner too).

Going green is about using fewer resources AND making those resources that we have go as far as we can. I would love to hear what you have done to Re-purpose items in your house.

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself,than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

from the chapter "Economy" in Walden

Going Green - Better for the environment or for someone's pocketbook

I don’t know if it is because I am reading Walden (Henry David Thoreau) to my son at night or if is the Cash for Clunkers or the 10,000 other “Green” messages that we are inundated with, but I am really beginning to be suspicious of this entire marketing message. I am not being kind here I know, but I am beginning to feel it is exactly that “a marketing message”. Please understand, I do believe that we need to be good stewards of the earth and I do believe that we have strayed away from that. I do believe that many of us have our hearts in the right place as we attempt to “green” our lives. But . . .I would be interested to see how much we waste as attempt to do better.

I have been watching decorating shows that rip out entire kitchens or houses because the homeowners want to go green. I have watched congress convince us all to rid ourselves of old vehicles so that we move to cleaner vehicles. I have watched women toss makeup, purses, and clothes to get greener fashions. Where are all these resources going?

I’ve been watching products tout “green” just to entice the consumer: Nothing has been modified, no recipe changed. It is as if two “green” camps have arisen: one, which is really interested in helping our planet, and another, who is trying to reap a benefit from this mindset. The consumer is caught in the middle, trying to decipher which is real.

I think we could take a lesson from our grandparents during the Great Depression, everything that exists has value. Have you ever noticed how people of that generation hoard things? They have button boxes, nails and screws in small containers, extra pieces of wood, etc. etc. Cooking became an art of not just planning one meal, but figuring out how to use the leftovers - - -every last one of them. Isn’t this more green than scrapping everything and starting again? Shouldn’t we bring ourselves back to the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle concept? Use less, reuse what you can, recycle what you can’t and then, only then, go buy a new greener item.

New Journey

I guess I should let you all in on my latest journey. It is a journey of many steps, but I don’t move very far as they are all on a treadmill. DS started this with his Personal Fitness Merit Badge work in which he was required to start a physical fitness routine. Then DD’s foray into the Sea Cadets also required a workout plan. How could I let them get fit and leave me in the ditch? The energy in the house was almost palpable. I had to join in. And so I have. I decided that I could definitively put aside 20 minutes a day minimum for my health.

I also have been trying to eat better not just in content but in quantity. Unlike my post the other day chiding the quality vs. quantity parenting argument, when it comes to food it is a true statement = less quantity with more quality. I realized when it came to food, I was truly becoming part of the Super Size Me generation. Not because I ate at McDonalds, but because I fill my plate and go back for seconds . . . no wonder my weight had gotten so far out of hand. Last night I realized how much my husband and I were passing this on to my children when we stopped at Ruby Tuesdays. DS ordered two mini-burgers and was quite happy with them, but DH couldn’t believe that he didn’t order the Super Colossal Burger. He was upset that DS was ordering so small a portion when he could have something else so large. Large! Huge! Enormous! I finally spoke up, “Leave him be. This is a much better portion size for him than that gigantic thing.”

DS added in, “The last time I ordered the Super Colossal Burger I couldn’t even finish it, Dad.” I thought this is what we have done. We have taught them to eat until they couldn’t eat any more. What a huge mistake. How had I gone from a mother so careful about nutrition: even making my own baby food to avoid additives to one that put mounds and mounds of food on the table or ordered ridiculous portions at restaurants and had appetizers and dessert? What was I doing to my kids, let alone myself?

My weight became very apparent to me as I took pictures for this blog. I had to pluck through many to pick out some that were reasonable and even those I was cropping to avoid showing certain body parts. This is not good. Plus, I am on the cusp of my 39th birthday and hoping that there are many more to come. So don’t be surprised to hear more of my (and my families) exercise and better eating experience.

Reading Challenge 2009 - The Total Money Makeover

I finished #11 of the Reading Challenge 2009 – A book that claims it will make your life better because you read it. I checked out our new library (which by the way is very, very small- we’ll need to work on that) and took out Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. In these difficult financial times, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on your finances. I’m sure just like a food diet certain plans work for some and other plans work better for others, but Dave Ramsey has certainly put together a plan that can help anyone on the road to financial success. The most important message in his book is that it is ok to be debt free.




Can you imagine what a different society we would have if the idea spread across our nation? Instead of a nation of spenders, we would have a nation of savers. The sad truth is that even our nation’s capitol now thinks that spending is the answer. Perhaps I should send a copy of this book to our congressmen!

Let me hear from you guys. What part of the challenge have you undertaken?

Just Call me Henry Today - Henry David Thoreau that is

I must say that oddly I am enjoying my son's BSA merit badge college homework. He is taking Environmental Science and must stake out a 4 yard x 4 yard spot to watch over time. Actually, he has steaked out two: One is just in our backyard, but the other is a bit away in a patch of wetland. He is a little spooked by the many noises in the forest so he has asked me to sit with him. So for 20 minutes a day, we have been going out and sitting in the wilderness. While his homework may soon be over, I'm thinking that perhaps this is good homework for all of us on a daily basis. There are no phones in the woods, no computers, no chores . . .just silence (ok, not silence - - -we heard woodpeckers, crows, squirels, branches falling), but quiet. The beauty made me think back to Walden Pond and the lessons of Henry David Thoreau . . .

In wildness is the preservation of the world.

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things.

The Mother of Innvention

They say that the mother of invention is need, but I think it is frustration. I have been asking my husband to put up the bar in my son’s closet for more than two months (his room did not have a closet and we had to swap them around in order to qualify his room as a bedroom ). I’ve waited and waited and I finally said yesterday, “Forget it!” I grabbed the hammer, found the pieces we took out of the old closet, and here it is:

Of course as with any project, things don’t always go my way. DH actually calls me the 5 minute woman: I think everything is going to take 5 minutes. And so it was – I couldn’t find the right shelf and had to cut a new one. Mind you, I’m not real comfortable with power tools without DH giving me suggestions / guidance. But a hand saw caught my eye and voila, a shelf.

My other frustration invention this year is the stone base for our wood stove. Since the day we moved in 12 years ago, the slate bottom has been chipping off and breaking. Certainly I could not show it like that. The outside lip had nothing on it and showed just a brick. It was not attractive. I asked and asked for help but getting none, I decided I was going to take a stab at it. After a trip to Home Depot, I found a premixed grout and cement, I began to fix it. I thought the slate that I saved was going to recover the base and that I was only going to put the squares over the brick edges, but again not only do I have 5 minute issues, I tend to miss the trees in the forest, and thus it was with this project too. I really did not have all the slate. Some of the pieces had broken too small to use and so I improvised. Now some might see this as a deficit, others might see that they have a one of a kind, handmade, personally designed stove base.


Lesson to begin 2009:


Don't get Frustrated, Get Innovative!

Christmas Gift Ideas

They say it is always good to dream. So when I was on Realtor.com today and say a widget for Neiman-Marcus' Christmas wish list, I decided to click away. I needed a diversion from no health insurance and a cancelled showing. And I found dream gifts for everybody:

DD, a horse enthusiast, who hasn't been able to get back into horseback riding because we just can't afford it right now. She will take one Three Chimneys Farm Thoroughbred Racing Stable Package - "You want the best, you go to the best. You want a working, turnkey, in-the-running thoroughbred racing enterprise right out of the starting gate? You go to Three Chimneys Farm. The legendary Kentucky farm has managed some of racing's winningest thoroughbreds, including history's only undefeated triple crown winner (a little guy named Seattle Slew). For this exclusive package, you get the works because Three Chimneys means business. They will build you a stable of 12-15 thoroughbreds and with your input will train them, house them, select races, enter them in races, provide you a personal racing concierge, and manage the entire enterprise for the next four years. As the owner, you get to name your stable and any unnamed horses, design your own silks, attend races, pose for pictures, give quotes to the media ... and keep all the purses and trophies."

DS loves legos. So I thought the Life-Size Replica in LEGO® Bricks would be best. It is described as "Acclaimed artist Nathan Sawaya is obsessed with LEGO® bricks. Uh, trust us, he is. He fills his New York studio with more than 1.5 million of the interlocking toy building blocks, and he can sculpt anything out of them — a full-size Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton or a 7-foot-long scale replica of the Brooklyn Bridge, for example. Given the skill and depth of his devotion to his art, it makes perfect sense to immortalize your own magnificent self with our 2008 His & Hers gifts. Send in detailed photos and measurements, then Nathan gets to snapping and BOOM! One-of-a-kind, life-size sculptures of yourselves in LEGO bricks. We priced our exclusive gift individually, so Nathan can "brickalize" you and the S.O., the kids, Granny and/or anyone else you obsess about. (Just make sure you have the rights to their likenesses; we're not here to judge.) "

There is even a perfect gift for DH - Authentic Guinness® Home Pub "There are plenty of reasons to raise a pint to the Irish. Saint Patrick, the Blarney Stone. One of the greatest occurred in 1759 when young Arthur Guinness founded a brewery at St. James's Gate, crafted a hearty, distinctive stout, and won a place in our hearts forever. Celebrate the 250th anniversary of that first delicious keg with our exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime gift. The folks at RiRa Pubs will design a fully functional, traditional Irish pub and build it in your home in 2009. It will be crafted from historic Irish architectural elements and authentic Guinness artifacts. There's also a VIP trip for two to Dublin with first class airfare, luxury accommodations, and insider access to the magic still being made at the historic working St. James's Gate brewery. (All members of your party must be at least 21 years of age.) Plus fresh Guinness Stout for your pub. For an entire year. "

Granted the total cost of these gift would be higher than our new house, but hey at least its a dream. They may end up with a horseback lesson, a box of legos, and a bottle of beer, but at least the thought was there. Check out the Neiman-Marcus Christmas Book to dream a little yourself.

Trading Spouses or Trading Houses?

Talk about being caught in the economy . . .Grrr! We went to look at houses (and I saw the room with the map – it could be used as an office) today, but I’m just not sure that it is worth our time. Without our house selling, we can’t move. However, if the old company goes out of business or next September comes, we will be out of health insurance. I don’t blame people for not wanting to move right now given the economy, but I have to move and I need someone to buy my house.

I have begun to blame HGTV and such shows that show perfect houses. My house is not perfect, but it is in very good shape. Whoever buys this house will buy a better house than our family bought 12 years ago. We thought that we would be here forever so we didn’t start with the cosmetics like the kitchen and bathrooms. We focused on the big ticket items furnaces, gutters, roofs, and a new bay window. I have no one makeover my house and given the fact that we keep dropping the price, it sure doesn’t inspire me to spend more.

My husband and I have always worked hard and been honorable (or at least tried to be). But I am beginning to wonder what is right and what is wrong. Correct me, but I believe that our friend Joe Biden mentioned the other night in his debate with Sarah Palin that banks should work to alter the rates and the PRINICIPLE of homes that are being repossessed in this crisis. My home is not being repossessed and we work hard to keep it that way. I am not opposed to the banks working with those in financial trouble. I think they should work to adjust the rate or the term, but the PRINCIPLE. Could someone take that special marker to my house first? How would you ever decided who deserved a reduction? Or how much they deserved? How is this fair to other homeowners let alone taxpayers that are not homeowners?

I realize that like the Parable of the Vineyard Workers I should not worry what others get or don’t get, but one, this is the ultimate redistribution of wealth – taking from those that can barely afford it so that they soon too need a handout from the government and two, if we don’t make this change by the time our health insurance expires we will fall to that level anyway. Also, DH is commuting everyday to Mass. Thank goodness right now his boss is paying for the gas, but if that stops then we won’t be able to afford to get him to work. And while his boss is paying for gas, it doesn’t make up for the mileage that is being put on the truck, eventually it will give out and then all we’ll have is another bill.

I’m trying to think outside the box and even found a house online for less than $50,000 in a small town in Mass. Although it might need a lot of work, we could at least move up to it and use it as our primary residence, thus moving us to Mass and allowing us to be residents and therefore making us eligible for his new employer’s health insurance. It would be inexpensive enough that we could wait for this house to sell. After that, we could buy what we originally planned and either rent or sell the other home. Where would I get the $50,000 given the credit crunch, you ask? I will admit the idea of Trading Spouses crossed my mind - - anyone know their web address? See the economy has made me delusional.

Have you made a bucket list?

DH is watching the new Knight Rider and they were just discussing their bucket lists. Do you have a bucket list started?




For those of you that don’t know what a bucket list is, it is a list of things to do before you die. There is actually a movie called Bucket List, but I haven’t seen it. I need to put that on my list of things to do, but I don’t think it quite qualifies for my bucket list.

Number one on my bucket list has to be visiting Italy. Maybe number two is taking a cruise. I definitely want to write a book too.

What is on your list?

Leather Couch - true luxury and utility

Oh, I wish that I had a leather couch in the living room. We had had one for years, but it got relegated to the cellar. We replaced it with a suede type that is supposed to be stain-proof etc. etc. While that may be true, it is not as good as our good old leather couch.



I don’t know about in your house, but in ours a couch has to take a serious beating. We have animals, children, and I will admit that sometimes it acts as a dining room too. Couches have to be durable, sturdy, and comfy. Our house is not one of pretense, but utility and comfort.

We could not seem to find a leather couch that I liked at the time, but I liked the way this couch looked in the showroom. It hasn’t though lived up to my expectations. The couch is now only 2 or 3 years old and is already starting to show its age. I get very annoyed at expensive items with short lives. I don’t mind spending the money but I expect it to last.

Leather was so easy to care for. Everything wiped up so easily. Occasionally I cleaned it with a leather cleaner , but that was all. Pet hair didn’t stick to it. It never cracked or ripped. The leather looks almost as good today as the day we bought it. It was actually the frame and cushioning that started to give out after almost 20 years of usage. DH actually bought the couches before he had his first apartment. When these couches wear out, I am going to wait to find another leather couch that I like. Maybe I'll go for something like this . . .

This Economy - Once A Month Cooking

As the kids and I were checking out the local market, we all noticed that friends of ours were posted as delinquent by the cash register. Aggh! They were already forced to move to a rental because their house was repossessed. Could they be in financial trouble again? I called a mutual friend when I got home, who knew the couple better than I. As we’ve been very busy with moving and such, I wondered if I had missed something in their life – had there been a loss of job or illness. Apparently not. The friend was quite distraught for them and I asked if she knew of anyway that we could help, because truthfully many of us are only one job loss, one illness, one major life change away from being in the same boat.

Anyway, the friend noted that she couldn’t think of any problems with the family, other than they spent a great deal of money on eating out. She said that often they were so busy trucking their children here and there and often could not get dinner ready. Both parents work and while this brings in extra cash, it leaves them very short on time. So I thought what if we all got together and tried some Once a Month Cooking. I don’t think we actually have to achieve 30 meals, but even if we could have one or two in the freezer, all of us could be better off. My girl friend thought it was a great idea. So I am supposed to be looking into the idea and how we can save money, work together, and get some great food.

So here is where I turn to you, I need some ideas. Have you done Once A Month Cooking? Have you done it with a group? What have you learned – good and bad? Do you have any favorite recipes? I appreciate any help that you give.

Needs vs. Wants

It is so easy need things. I need this fancy new knife in my kitchen. I need a new car. I need a new skirt. But are these truly needs? I have knives in my kitchen. My car is still running and perhaps I can get by with my old skirt a bit longer. We are such a society of consumerism that I think we have blurred the lines between these two words, which have very different meanings.

It may be a very interesting experiment to ask your children to write such a list to see what they may put in both categories.

I found it interesting this last Christmas that my daughter was not even clear on the word “want”. Even a want for me requires some ongoing use, otherwise why bother having it at all. When we had gone with Girl Scouts to PineGrove Dude Ranch, my assistant leader and I became a little side tracked at the air hockey table (Ok, the girls would use the word addicted). The girls are old enough to go off on their own, so we gave them strict instructions to stay in the buddy system and to check in with us at certain time intervals. Of course, the check in location was the air hockey table in the lobby. Sherry and I would both be embarrassed to divulge the amount of money we spent in that machine over the course of three days. Our arms actually ached on the way home, but boy did we laugh. My daughter took this as a sign that I wanted and needed an air hockey table. She began her campaign to make sure that I had one for Christmas. Her campaign was not long needed as my father quickly fell into her web. Needless to say, for Christmas I got an air hockey table. My daughter was thrilled, she thought that she had found the perfect gift. I was a bit distressed. I love air hockey and go right to it whenever I find a table in our travels, but truthfully, who needs a 6’ x 3’ (maybe 8’ x 4’ - I don’t know) table in their house. Who has time to play more than just a few times a month even when it is right there under your nose? Boy, can I think of a lot of other items that rank closer to the need side of my list that could have been purchased for that money.

Needs vs. wants not only do they need to be separated, but wants need to prioritized and ranked against what you may give up in order to fulfill your want. Please understand, I am not a monk myself and recently have done my own damage in wants at Lia Sophia jewelry parties. But especially as we are culling through 12 years of living in our home and packing for a move, needs and wants are becoming very important to me (and very heavy too!). So perhaps my family and maybe yours too need to start really thinking about what the difference is.

If you tried the experiment, let us know your results.