Took the boys back-to-school shopping on Sunday. I learned that my boys do understand the value of a dollar and can, when asked, spend their money wisely.
Last year, my mother took Brandon back-to-school shopping and she literally spent over $700 on him alone (Brian got his share although he wasn't able to join us for some reason).
This year my mother again promised Brandon that she would take him shopping, but she could not afford to spend as much as she did last year. She had $300 for each boy. We put the cash in envelopes with their names on them and let them make their own decisions. Surprisingly, they did a great job checking prices, watching sales and not buying "just because."
Brandon came home with 9 shirts, 3 jeans, shoes, a backpack and school supplies. Brian came home with 8 shirts, 3 jeans, shoes, a backpack, school supplies and a hat. They both had around $10 left over. Given that most of the clothes were skate board name brands, they did a good job because the jeans alone can run $50 and more if you're not careful.
I'm proud of them for understanding that everyone's in an economic pinch and making the most of what was given to them.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Crocking Part 2
Crocking Part 1 is under the "I can't complain" post. But this was good. We had baked potatoes - made in the crock pot. Just wash em, poke em, wrap em in foil and cook in the crock pot. I did 6 small ones on high for about 2 1/2 hours. No liquids needed. Easy! Add a salad with some cubed cheese and a little ham and you have a complete dinner with very little clean up and very little time. And the best part is that your house doesn't get heated up from using the oven.
Love those Brits!
Okay, we have a new cable company and so while I'm trying to learn the new channels for my favorite shows, I've discovered some new shows. Well, they're new to me. Apparently, as I've been told, they're running on regular TV, like Dating in the Dark on Channel 11. I guess that trash is just more appealing to me on cable! But anyhow, I've discovered the BBC channel. They have a show called "How Clean is your House? And I'm hooked. The homes they show are complete pig stys - one kid had some kind of casings from a carpet beatle all over his dirty clothes on the floor. Yuck!
Well, the point of this post is that they had some mix of apple cider vinegard and something else to make your bathroom shine. I couldn't find the recipe on the show's site, but did find the following helpful hint on www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/cleaning-with-vinegar.html. I might try this. I do like to move away from the chemicals as much as possible (I won't even use chemicals to fight an ant invasion - knock on wood we have only had one in the 8 years we've lived here!).
Kitchen Cutting Boards and Countertops – Cleaning with Vinegar
The best way to sanitize kitchen food preparation surfaces such as countertops and wood cutting boards is to use the following vinegar and hydrogen peroxide germ-killing combo:
Using a spray bottle, apply undiluted apple cider vinegar or white vinegar to the kitchen surface to be cleaned.
Then immediately spray the same area with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide (available in all drugstores) from another spray bottle.
Wipe the area clean or rinse with water.
According to Susan Sumner, a food scientist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, it does not matter whether you spray the vinegar before or after the hydrogen peroxide, the effect is the same, it kills virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, or E. Coli bacteria on heavily contaminated food preparation surfaces.
She also found that using both sprays was 10 times more effective than using either spray by itself and more effective than chlorine bleach and all other commercially available kitchen cleaners.
The vinegar / hydrogen peroxide sprays also work well to clean meats, fruits and vegetables of disease-causing germs.
Reference:
Science News Online – Food for Thought – 9/28/96
Well, the point of this post is that they had some mix of apple cider vinegard and something else to make your bathroom shine. I couldn't find the recipe on the show's site, but did find the following helpful hint on www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/cleaning-with-vinegar.html. I might try this. I do like to move away from the chemicals as much as possible (I won't even use chemicals to fight an ant invasion - knock on wood we have only had one in the 8 years we've lived here!).
Kitchen Cutting Boards and Countertops – Cleaning with Vinegar
The best way to sanitize kitchen food preparation surfaces such as countertops and wood cutting boards is to use the following vinegar and hydrogen peroxide germ-killing combo:
Using a spray bottle, apply undiluted apple cider vinegar or white vinegar to the kitchen surface to be cleaned.
Then immediately spray the same area with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide (available in all drugstores) from another spray bottle.
Wipe the area clean or rinse with water.
According to Susan Sumner, a food scientist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, it does not matter whether you spray the vinegar before or after the hydrogen peroxide, the effect is the same, it kills virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, or E. Coli bacteria on heavily contaminated food preparation surfaces.
She also found that using both sprays was 10 times more effective than using either spray by itself and more effective than chlorine bleach and all other commercially available kitchen cleaners.
The vinegar / hydrogen peroxide sprays also work well to clean meats, fruits and vegetables of disease-causing germs.
Reference:
Science News Online – Food for Thought – 9/28/96
I'm not allowed to complain
Alrighty. Football season has started. And again, Drew is helping to coach, is the water boy, and is taking pictures. I'm adding the photos to the photo album (a link to the right) and trying to maintain the team's website. I say trying because it's a bit confusing to manuever through the creator's program (a man must have written the program!), but I think I've finally got it. Last year, the time we had to put into the football program, with all the practices and games, was overwhelming. I guess I brought my exhaustion to work, so my colleague Vicki says that since we don't say no to anything, I'm not allowed to complain about being taxed. So I'm not.
Actually, since I now know what to expect, I'm actually enjoying going to practices and looking forward to the games. Practice is 5 miles from the house and I've been riding my bike there everyday. It takes me about half an hour, but it gets me out and saves me from sitting on the couch eating chips. I haven't lost any weight yet, but at least I'm not gaining any either. I pass a lot of men on the bike trail (and a lady or two) and they're all wearing their colorful biking shirts and shorts. My goal is to get my behind small enough to look okay in some of those padded shorts and not spill over the edges of the seat. Oh, that's a terrible visual. Don't try to picture that!
Another thing that's helped is that I'm planning ahead with the dinners and making friends with my crock pot. Here is what I cooked last night. Not great, more of a Hamburger Helper type meal, with way too much pre-prep work. But the boys really liked it. So if you have kids, and want a cheap meal that you can make and walk away from, this works:
Pizza in a Pot
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14 oz. jar of pizza sauce
2 Tbs. tomato paste
3 C. spiral pasta, cooked and drained
2 3.5 oz. packages sliced pepperoni (why didn't they just say 7 ounces?)
2 C. (8 oz) mozzarella cheese
Cook the beef, green pepper and onion until meat is no longer pink. Stir in tomato sauce, pizza sauce and tomato paste.
In the slow cooker, layer the pasta, beef mixture, pepperoni and cheese. Cook on low 3-4 hours or until heated through.
This is what I mean by having a lot of prep work. You have to cook the meat and the pasta, so why bother with a slow cooker. You could just put it in the oven. But if you choose to try this, here are my comments. One, don't cook overcook the pasta, because they get too soft in the crock pot if you do. Also, I pulled everything together the night before and put it in the fridge, so it was cold when it went into the crock. So I'm not sure low would have gotten it hot enough in 3-4 hours. Maybe. But I turned it up to high after two hours and it was plenty hot at four hours. But other than, it was okay for something warm to feed the kids after a busy day. Oh, I didn't have any green pepper, so we went without and it was still fine. I think you could throw in anything you put on a pizza - olives, anchovies, whatever.
Actually, since I now know what to expect, I'm actually enjoying going to practices and looking forward to the games. Practice is 5 miles from the house and I've been riding my bike there everyday. It takes me about half an hour, but it gets me out and saves me from sitting on the couch eating chips. I haven't lost any weight yet, but at least I'm not gaining any either. I pass a lot of men on the bike trail (and a lady or two) and they're all wearing their colorful biking shirts and shorts. My goal is to get my behind small enough to look okay in some of those padded shorts and not spill over the edges of the seat. Oh, that's a terrible visual. Don't try to picture that!
Another thing that's helped is that I'm planning ahead with the dinners and making friends with my crock pot. Here is what I cooked last night. Not great, more of a Hamburger Helper type meal, with way too much pre-prep work. But the boys really liked it. So if you have kids, and want a cheap meal that you can make and walk away from, this works:
Pizza in a Pot
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14 oz. jar of pizza sauce
2 Tbs. tomato paste
3 C. spiral pasta, cooked and drained
2 3.5 oz. packages sliced pepperoni (why didn't they just say 7 ounces?)
2 C. (8 oz) mozzarella cheese
Cook the beef, green pepper and onion until meat is no longer pink. Stir in tomato sauce, pizza sauce and tomato paste.
In the slow cooker, layer the pasta, beef mixture, pepperoni and cheese. Cook on low 3-4 hours or until heated through.
This is what I mean by having a lot of prep work. You have to cook the meat and the pasta, so why bother with a slow cooker. You could just put it in the oven. But if you choose to try this, here are my comments. One, don't cook overcook the pasta, because they get too soft in the crock pot if you do. Also, I pulled everything together the night before and put it in the fridge, so it was cold when it went into the crock. So I'm not sure low would have gotten it hot enough in 3-4 hours. Maybe. But I turned it up to high after two hours and it was plenty hot at four hours. But other than, it was okay for something warm to feed the kids after a busy day. Oh, I didn't have any green pepper, so we went without and it was still fine. I think you could throw in anything you put on a pizza - olives, anchovies, whatever.
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