Kraut Fail!

It didn't work out, it smelled horrible, and I couldn't even eat it.

Josh and I threw it away laughing and gagging at the horror. Will I try to make it again? I don't know yet. I really love cabbage and I don't want to start to hate it due to keeping it fermenting in my house.

That is all for now.

Sauerkraut- Almost done!

I used this recipe http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=sauerkraut to start my sauerkraut. It sounds so easy, but today I scooped the bloom off of the top of the sauerkraut.....GROSS! As I was gently scooping away this white scum off the top of my brine I had a fear go through me. What if I give my husband botulism? What if under this milky brine the kraut didn't turn out? what if it's gross? But everything I've read said that surface bloom is totally normal. It's strange to work at something for a month and not know if it's going to work, and it's strange wondering if something I've made could make me sick or not. It's made me realize how spoiled we are with our food!

Everything is so clean, neatly packaged and ready to eat. I can tell you how to check and see if something is expired on a supermarket shelf, but not how to check the food in my own kitchen. I have a fear of home canned foods, a fear of home fermented foods. Part of this fear is because I've never really been exposed to these practices. Besides my Grammy's jam I've never really seen anything canned, and no one in my social circles ferments their own food. (Okay so we have some friends who make beer, but that doesn't count! ) This is all new to me, and I've realized that I, among a generation of people have never been equipped with the ability to be self sufficient for the sake of convenience, relying on supermarkets and food processing plants to provide us with our food in a safe and healthy way.

The only problem? I don't really trust food processing plants! So I have a new goal to go along with my budgeting adventures, to find a way to change my mind about food preserved at home. Having a German style feast for my husband's birthday where I will showcase my home made sauerkraut is the first step. Here is to hoping it's going to turn out...If not lucky for me I can still buy it in jars at the supermarket.

Another month, another budget

Another month, another budget. I love monthly budgets because every month I get to try again! Another challenge of balance eating great tasting healthy food, while not breaking the bank. This month should be extra challenging because it's TURKEY SEASON! And that means a few extra expenses in groceries. But there are a few things that are going to be on sale because of the season, and I plan fully to take advantage of some of those deals. Whole turkeys, cranberries, and cans and cans of pumpkin are on the menu this month! Not to mention squash. I find them to be a kind of a pain to cook, but they are so cheap to purchase, and make a great fall decoration until I'm ready to use them.

I also plan to make an adaption of this recipe:
http://hurstbeanblog.com/2010/10/22/pumpkin-white-bean-stew/
Made vegetarian of course, and with out the heavy cream. Adaptions will be made to add depth of flavor and taste.

Another month! I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'll let you know what I come up with.

flexibility in menu planning.

I'm learning that in menu planning, having a little bit of flexibility goes a long way in helping me stick to my menus.

Friday night I found out we had a party to go to last minute so I didn't end up making the dinner that I had planned on the menu. So I froze the mushroom stock, because it was a beautiful stock and I still plan to use it.

Tonight I have had a pretty bad migraine, and so we decided to reheat the left over chili from last nights dinner instead of eating the polenta. I've discovered having at least one day in the week that centers around easy to freeze items, or a pantry item like polenta, adds a lot of flexibility for me to not only do something different when I don't feel well, but also allows me to take stock of what I have in my fridge and use it before it goes bad.

Tomorrow night we are going to have Thai curry with red peppers, because I need to either use or throw away the tofu and the red peppers. If I don't use the tofu up it goes from .38 cents a serving to $1.19 a serving because I'm throwing it away, and I'm not getting any real savings out of the deal.

So Tuesday's menu will becomes Thursday's, and Friday's menu from last week will become Friday of this week. The polenta will stay a stock item for an easy start to a week night meal any time down the road.

In other news, I am trying my hand at making fresh sauerkraut. I have to admit the idea of fermenting food myself, or even realizing it's fermented really grosses me out a little bit- but it's cheap, and very nutritious, and very good for digestion. Plus understanding and being able to ferment foods might open up a whole new way to save money by allowing food to ferment instead of throwing it out- or at least to make some hard cider!

I'm learning a lot about budgeting, menu planning. and challeneging myself as a cook. Honestly we have never had this much structure to our meals, and I'm really enjoying it. Plus some of the money we've saved on not always running to the store has aided in buying a few bottles of decent wine that I'm enjoying with my husband tonight! I would call that a win!

Pear, Gorgonzola and Walunt Salad with warm chicken and dijion honey wine vinaigrette.

I've been on a hot and cold salad kick for the past two days- and a wine kick, today was a special day.

Yesterday we made Asian cabbage salad with hot tofu and rice and a sesame Asian dressing. So good! It's warm and comforting, and cool and crisp at the same time. I was pleased. I really feel like cabbage is highly under rated in our culture. It stays forever, tastes good, and is really inexpensive.

I was so inspired by my salad yesterday, and these beautiful walnuts that a patient brought in for us. I decided that I would make another hot and cold salad today instead of the sandwiches and soup I was planning on making.

Today's menu: Pear, walnut and Gorgonzola with warm chicken and a honey Dijon white wine vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette:
1 tbs honey
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs normal mustard
2 tbs olive oil
wine to thin
pepper to taste
mix honey, mustards and oil in a container until oil is fully mixed in and it creates and emulsion. Then add wine to thin it out.

Salad:
1 bag spinach, or mixed greens
1 ripe pear, julienned
1/4 cup walnuts chopped
sprinkle of Gorgonzola
dressing above
Mix in bowl

Chicken:
1 chicken breast (or quorn "chicken" is you eat like me)
t tsp dressing above
Brown chicken in pan, or on grill- glaze with dressing in last five minutes of cooking.

plate salad (there will be left over dressing, don't over dress your salad!) and then top with warm chicken sliced.

The best part of this recipe is it's crazy easy- impressive with home made dressing, and there is plenty of white wine left over for drinkin. Honestly it's really not that expensive to prepare either.
1.99 bagged salad
.80 Gorgonzola
.00 for walnuts (but these are not that costly in a bulk section)
.58 Bartlet pear
1.19 white wine
.12 Dijon mustard
.02 yellow mustard
.78 local honey
.32 olive oil
1.00 chicken breast (guessing on this, but you could also do eggs for protein as it's really inexpensive)
Grand total:
3:40 for Josh's dinner with chicken
4.59 for mine because I had a glass of wine with dinner.

Trying buying that in the restaurant for this price.

Mushroom Stoganoff and menu planning-

First of all I have to confess- trying not to eat out has been a total failure! I was under the weather some last week, and that really effected things, because Josh really can't cook! He can make eggs and rice, but that is the extent of his talents in the kitchen. So we are starting over with the eating out freeze.

I have also planned 2 weeks worth of menus, and bought the ingredients for them. I also came to a new realization. Josh doesn't mind eating the same thing over and over again and neither do I! So why am I racking my brain trying to come up with new and interesting things to cook, when my husband and I are both happy with a menu with a little more simplicity? For example Josh really likes eating chili and watching football on Sunday. If every Sunday were to turn into 'Chili Football Sunday.' then I could plan my chili every Sunday and cook it in the crockpot. EASY!

I'm not saying Chili Football Sunday might not get a little old after a few month, but at least for now I think it's an easy way to do things.

So here is my menu for the next two weeks:
Monday: Mushroom Stroganoff with peas over wheat noodles (v) (c)
Tuesday: Asian cabbage salad with grilled fish or tofu
Wednesday: Soup and sandwiches
Thursday: Pizza with pre-made dough from trader joes and side salad. (v)
Friday: Mushroom and wild rice soup (v) (c) (Stock made with Stroganoff-this is more a left over night, it just looks brand ne.)
Saturday: Curry quinoa with apples and honey mint glaze and warm chicken
Sunday: Chili Football Sunday! (c)

Monday: Grilled polenta with mushroom demi-glaze and side salad (v)
Tuesday: fish or fake chicken soft tacos with black beans and sweet chipotle broccoli
Wednesday: Soup and sandwiches
Thursday: Left over chili made into tamale pie (v)
Friday: Curry and coconut milk soup (v) (c) with thai potstickers
Saturday: unsure- Often times we go see my parents on Friday night- so Friday night might be moved to Saturday
Sunday: Chili Football Sunday! (v) (c)

(v)=vegetarian
(c)=Crock pot meal

A lot of these meals are really simple and easy- but I do also have some simple meals as back up plans- suck as pasta, and cold sandwiches with salad in case I have a day I just don't feel like cooking!

Finally here is how I made the Mushroom stroganoff.
Ingredients:
3 cups chopped button mushrooms
1 onion diced
2 gloves garlic
2 cups mushroom stock
2 pads of butter
1 cup white wine divided
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbls Sour cream
1/4 cup chopped parsley
8oz egg noodles

In a crock pot add
button mushrooms
onion diced
gloves garlic
cups mushroom stock
pads of butter
1/2 cup whit wine (1/2 cup to drink ha ha ha)
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Set to low heat all day.

Day of:
Cook 8oz of egg noodles or wide whole wheat noodles until done- drain and set aside.

Mix handful of flour with 1/2 cup of water until there are no lumps and mix into crock pot.
Also mix 1 cup of frozen peas
Cook on high
Mix in 2 Tbsp of sour cream and 1/4 cup of chopped parsley

Top egg noodles with stroganoff

It was delightful!

My pumpkin day!

You might not have known this- unless you've heard my complain about it (and there is a good chance you have) but there was a pumpkin shortage! I couldn't find the canned pumpkin anywhere. Lucky for me a friend who often hears me complain about things like this read an article saying the shortage was over and that week I went to the store to get some! I've been dying to make pumpkin chili as I first thought about this back in late August, and haven't been able to make it. FINALLY!

I made it with pinto beans I cooked in my crock pot yesterday. Using home cooked beans allows me to not only save about 1.50 per pot of chili, but also allows me to control the salt and preservatives in my food. I used the crock pot again today, because I'm in love with cooking dinner while not actually being in my kitchen.

Here is the recipe:

2 cups uncooked pinto beans, soaked, cooked and drained.

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 white onion chopped

1/8 cup of vegetable oil

1 green pepper, diced

1 can of diced jalapenos. ( I had a bad experience with fresh ones sans gloves, so I go canned on this even though it costs more.)

1 large can crushed tomatoes

large tomato can filled halfway up with water

1 can pumpkin puree

1 handful or 1/8 cup of diced cilantro

2 tsp cumin

A large splash or about 1/8 cup of apple cider vinegar

about 5 shakes of pumpkin pie spice

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook in crock pot all day long (about .87 cents per serving w/o cheese)

It was pretty good, spicy and mildly sweet. Next time I'll use apple cider instead of water to add a little more sweetness to the chili and more of a fall flavor. And maybe another 1/2 green pepper.

Of course pumpkin chili is best sprinkled with sharp cheddar cheese, and paired with pumpkin beer.

As far as pumpkin beer, there are a few to choose from. Stay away from blue moon. It's as though someone sprinkled some pumpkin pie spice into some coors. GROSS! I had my pumpkin chili with Buffalo bill's brewery Original pumpkin ale. (about 1.50 a beer)

I am excited to say the total cost of this meal w/sprinkle of cheese and a beer was: 2.62! I would say this is a budget friendly meal. :)

Stop and think savings

When trying to avoid temptations of spending, you realize that they are all around you. We are a consumer driven nation with messages on what we need, what we should want, and what we should have bombarding us at all times.

Stopping and thinking, and going by a list have been my best tools of defence right now. I went to Costco Friday night, and managed to stick pretty close to my list. I can't actually think of anything I got that I didn't need for our weekly meals, including things that make easy meals and will hopefully cut out a restaurant meal or two. This is where the big savings come in.

Stop and think was also a great defense. I nearly bought something Friday that I really didn't need, and would have been a total waste of money! I'm talking something I would wear once maybe twice a year. I had the purchase form totally filled out, and just sat there. After about half an hour of leaving it up on my computer I decided that it really wasn't something I needed and closed the window. Glad I did!

So there I am, not frozen, but still trying to make smart choices.

The end is nearer now then it ever has been!

Today was the official end to our spending freeze. It feels pretty good to say with did it with a fair amount of success.

The things I've learned from my project:

1) We spend WAY too much on eating out

2) I am far more subject to impulse spending then I thought I was

3) I spend WAY too much money of coffee.

4) I shop when I'm bored as a form of entertainment- with out any purpose or need for anything. Both on line, and in person.

5) If I would stop and pause to think about if I need an item, 9x out of 10 it's an impulse and more of a want then a need.

So here are the things we are going to do going forward:

1) Not eat out as much. Not until after the 10th currently

2) Writing dinner menus so our meals are more planned

3) Children get allowances, so why shouldn't I? 20 dollars each month for Josh and I to spend on what we want. Quick deli meals, Starbucks, and things from the little store across from my office.

4) I should not shop with out needing something. If I need a sweater, I'll buy a sweater. If I need a pair of pants, I'll buy a pair of pants.

5) Let's face it, there are times when we come across an exceptional deal and we just have to have it. I will ask myself if I really need it. And if that means wondering around a store with a perfect T shirt in my hands when I know I have perfect t-shirts already in my closet until I have the good sense to put it down, so be it!

The things I've learned today:

1) Beer with a screw cap has no need to open with a bottle cap opener.

2) Blue Moon beer is made by coors, and their pumpkin beer sucks.

And finally a little talk about the end. The end is nearer now then it ever has been. This is universal because it's not specific about what the subject matter is. The end of the day, the end of this boring blog, the end of me thinking I'm cool? We don't know- but because we exist within the confines of time, it's always true. So the end is nearer now, then it was 2 seconds ago when you first started skimming through my blogging nonsense. Attached for your viewing pleasure of course is a picture of the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse. Even though the pale horse is yellow and should be green. Enjoy!

1.5 hours to kill without spending any money?

I had something @ 6:30 this evening in N.E. Portland. Most of the time getting out of the city and into this area is a real nightmare. If I'm lucky I have just about half an hour to kill and am happy to get where I am going and read my book and relax for a little while and transition from "Work Laura" into "My Time Laura" where I focus on things that are important to me past earning a pay check.

Today traffic was a dream. I'm talking across town in less then half an hour kind of dream. So there I am driving around PDX with 1.5 hours to kill in an area that I don't really want to sit in my car alone for that long, and an unwillingness to spend any money to entertain myself. Normally I would go into a Starbucks and read my book, or go into a local store and look around. I thought about going into the Asian market, but I did say I would not go to the market at all until the end of the month, and I know I would have ended up buying something wonderful to cook with. I settled for a Ross store. I figured I would just look at the fall items, and get an idea of how much serving trays cost as I would like to get one. I have to admit there were several things that I wanted to get. A set of 6 seahawks tumblers, and they had a beautiful section of white plates and serving dishes, pitchers and jugs that looked so pretty it made me want start collecting pretty white things. I picked them up, handled them, looked at their prices....and set them down. I looked at shoes and saw a pair that I really liked, but didn't need.

I walked out not spending a dime, even though I wanted to! Oh boy did I want to. But I got a sense of serious satisfaction out of not spending the money. Because we are getting so close to the end of this project, the temptation is high to end the process early- so I went ahead and paid the money I saved onto my credit card. After all, I can't spend money I don't have. All in all I think that was the wise choice for me, as I think my will power is waiving. I can't wait to decide what I am going to adapt in to our regular budget.

Old Mother Hubbard

First of all let me tell you about how smart I am. I wanted to go to coffee with a friend today, but because we are frozen I do not have the budget for coffee outside the home- but we did need to buy beans for the home. We met at Peets, I bought the seasonal coffee from Costa Rica and they gave me a free medium drink as is their promotion. Most of the time they offer a free cup of black coffee with beans purchase, and I thought that was an inventive way to avoid not spending extra money while going to coffee. So today I feel like a hit the jackpot with my pumpkin spice latte.

Despite the very warm temperature today, I decided to make fall comfort food, so I made another cottage cheese "meat loaf" and started to think about what to make with it. Unfortunately at this time my fridge is bare like Old Mother hubbard, so this was sure to be a challenge. Then I remembered that I have a head of cabbage that was getting on in it's life as well as an onion, some carrots, and some celery! SOUP! So the soup is cooking, the loaf is cooking and I'm looking forward to a healthy, protein rich, low calorie meal made for about 1.30 per person. Try buying that on the value meal!

Honestly I've really enjoyed saving this month. I don't have much time left to be on this budget, and refuse to go to the store again this month for ANYTHING else. (even though I've ran out of every condement in our house, and learned I use more soy sauce and mustard then I thought in cooking) So tonight I'm going to plan a menu for the rest of the week. I also plan for future months to keep at least 5 recipes on hand (and the stuff to make them) that are under $1.00 per person. Hopefully I will find more and more recipes that are inexpensive- and live up to my expectations on what a meal should taste like. Only time will tell.

a slight thaw on my spending freeze

On Thursday night I went to coffee with a friend, and ordered water! Although it was on the calender and I could have bought a coffee and justified it, I felt my five dollars was better served if it stayed in my bank account, as I didn't actually NEED a coffee and I know I would have ordered a high calorie "treat" that I shouldn't have. Later that night I went to the supermarket to buy some food, and coffee, and managed to only buy the things on my very short list. $20 later I was out of the store, armed with the things I needed to make dinner for the game night we were having the next night, and enough pork that Josh would be able to eat off of it for at least three days afterward.

We did crack once, and ended up buying take out when it wasn't scheduled. I wasn't feeling well, and Josh decided that it was better then trying to find something to cook. I feel guilty about spending that $20 and honestly didn't learn anything out of it- we just cracked. Josh isn't much of a cook, and I don't think he even likes to eat his own food. It's easy though, once you crack on your goal to just keep cracking- saying "well we already failed, let's spend money on..." But If we just slip back into bad habits, what was the point of doing this at all?

Today we are back on track, cooking a big pot of chili, as chili and football seem to really enjoy each others company- and I enjoy being in the company of both of them. At about 70 cents a serving so does my wallet. We have 11 days left to go trying to keep our spending on track. I do expect to keep it on track.

New creations with old food

The other day I realized that there was a costco size (3lbs) tub of cottage cheese in my fridge that needs to be used by next week, and eggs that are sell by tomorrow. So I decided to pull a recipe out of the depths of my mind that I read a few weeks back for 'Cottage cheese loaf''-I know it sounded gross to me at first too! But the reviews were really positive so I decide that it was worth trying.

Part of the problem with eating vegetarian is that there are not a lot of comfort foods out there that are vegetarian and easy to make. Because most of us think of the foods of our childhood on rainy days like today, we crave things like meat loaf, and chicken soup. If there is a vegetarian option, typically it's hard to make, and doesn't taste anything like the original dish. This on the other hand tastes just like meat loaf! I really honestly enjoyed it.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cottage-Cheese-Roast/Detail.aspx

I adapted this recipe to look like this-

1 1/2 cup cottage cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 1/2 cups instant oatmeal (this is what my mom would replace the crackers or cereal with when I was young)
Oil to grease the pan
ketchup or thinned tomato paste for the top.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, soup mix, oatmeal. Spoon into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes.

The greatest thing is that this recipe isn't that it tastes like meat loaf, but I didn't have to go out and buy anything special to make it. I managed to adapt the original recipe from things I have around the house. I can now add a wonderful meatloaf to my archive of recipes and this spending freeze is really making me try new things with the items I already have on hand. That makes me pretty happy!

Texts always lead to pondering-

Within less then two weeks I got two texts from two people who are in two different states telling me the same things. Lyrics of an old song about counting my blessings, and naming them one by one to see what the Lord has done. This wasn't one of those "lets both text Laura the same thing as a joke" type of text, this was two people who had not spoken to each other, having something stir within their own hearts, and sending me the same message- I am not going to ignore that.

So last night, Josh and I started naming our blessings, starting with things that are material, like having food in our cupboards and fridge, and not just any food like potatoes and grains, but food that for many around the world would be a luxury. Having 2 running vehicles, having jobs, having a comfortable shelter, having enough clothing that the laundry has managed to overwhelm me, and the list went on. Then moved onto the more substantial things. like having great families, friends, each other, having the freedom to seek the things that are important to us, and being able to understand the things we seek. It took us a while to list all the blessing that we have in our lives, even with bundling things together like "family" and "friends" and still felt like there were still things we must have left out.

I decided to bring this up tonight, because quickly my blog about spending less, has turned into a blog about wanting less, and in order to really want less, I need to be thankful enough for the things I have to recognize them as blessings. When actually naming them out loud one by one, it is became amazing how many things we actually have, how many blessings we have been given. Suddenly the shirt I wanted but didn't buy, or the candle that smelled like fall seemed so very trivial compared to everything we have, and can in no way stand up to the treasures we have that are immaterial. I snuggled up to my husband and dog in our very comfortable bed and felt blessed beyond what I could have imagined.

Learning while frozen.

You'll be happy to know that I went to walmart yesterday and didn't buy anything! I just walked around and talked with my mom as she loaded up her cart with the things she needed. I'm not a huge walmart fan, but they have their fall candles out and I LOVE the scent of fall candles. I still resisted the temptation though.

Today we had a pre-scheduled even that lead us to spending a little bit of money, but it's okay because we are spending money on things of value, like spending time with people we care about. It's teaching me more then anything that I have a habit of picking up things right when I want them, instead of thinking about really needing them. Yesterday the old Laura would have thrown the yummy warm fall scented candles into our cart with out even thinking about all of the yummy fall scented candles I already have in my home from last year, and the fact that we just put new plug ins that smell like the tropics last weekend. I would have just replaced them, put the old ones in the closet and told myself that I will use them next summer. Instead I will use these until the true end of summer, and ring in the fall next month with a yummy new fall scent- after taking stock of the things that I already have in my home.

All in all I would say I'm learning. :) And I am happy about that.

I also made some crunchy oven roasted garbanzo beans because I was trying to learn to use what I have around the kitchen when craving crunchy food.

1 can of garbanzo beans rinsed and drained

seasoning of your choice

salt- to help season and draw out moisture

and a 400 degree oven until crunchy! EASY!

Day 2-spending freeze!

Most Fridays at our house we get take out, but tonight as much as I want to go out and do a happy hour, we have a hot minestrone soup in the crock pot, chocked full of vegetables, beans, and pasta ready to be enjoyed.

Looking ahead, we have one thing on the books for this weekend that we are pre-committed to that will requires money, but because that was already on the radar we are going to allow it. (As we like to try to be people of our word.)

The tricky part of our spending freeze is when Josh dropped his blackberry today and the screen turned gray. Even though we have a warranty, they said we have to pay over $135 to get the stupid thing replaced. (robbery!) Josh needs it for work, so what choice do we have in the matter? He also managed to rip the pants to his favorite suit yesterday, in a place that I don't think is going to be repairable. The cost of this guy doing business just keeps going up and up! But it really does raise questions on Wants VS. Needs. He does need a new phone, but I think he can hold off on the suit pants until next month, when we can budget for it and pay cash.

All in all another successful day of budget and blogging although I have to say I'm pretty frustrated with the whole T-mobile/new blackberry thing. I think things are going to start getting hard though, as we ran out of the hummus I was eating for lunch today, and eventually we are going to have to buy new food. Lets see how long we can last. ;)

And now for something new!

I opened my bank account the other day to find a balance lower then what was on my mental tally. A quick audit of my spending showed something very revealing. A $5 deli meal here, a $2 coffee there- all added up. Then there are the quick trips to the store. In and out, just to get the things I need for dinner; only I always manage to find something extra to put into my basket. When it comes down to it, I am simply in a habit of shopping more often then I really need to.

I came to a realization that financially we are never going to be in a better place then we are right now, if we don’t start to make some changes. It’s like being in a boat that is taking on water, as we row towards our goals, our boat drags and yet we don’t plug the holes in our boat. It’s time to look at what those holes are in our life, and start to plug them. So Josh and I decided that we would start an experiment. We are simply going to stop shopping. For remainder of September we are simply not going to buy anything that is non-essential, and will not do anything that wasn’t already on our schedule. We are calling it a spending freeze.

Yesterday we decided to have a last meal at a local Pho place, and then stopped off to get YoCream, and then we started on our spending freeze.

Day 1- The big freeze

Today I was so tired when I got up this morning. I would have really loved to go get a triple tall soy pumpkin spice latte- but I didn’t. I had oatmeal and a cup of black coffee, and was thankful to simply have something on my table.

As the day drug on, I was still rather tired, and have to admit that I thought about the coffee shop downstairs more then I would like to admit to. I also thought several times about my little starbucks card key chain with several dollars loaded onto it. How easy it would be to pop downstairs for a quick cup for coffee, but I corrected my thinking, in hopes of correcting my habits.

As dinner was looming we faced our first real problem. I asked Josh to take the minestrone soup out of the freezer so I could place it in the crock pot to warm. Instead he took a rice and mushroom mixture out of the freezer- and we ended up not having anything planned for dinner. In previous days I would have stopped off at the store and bought something to make, or even worse something pre-made. Instead we decided on grilled cheese sandwiches as we had everything to make them on hand.

Part of the challenge of our spending freeze is starting to look at what is essential to us, and what isn’t. Pita chips for example, although amazing with my hummus dip at lunch, can be substituted or eliminated. I am not sure if other things we purchase will so easily hit the chopping block.

I guess when it comes to our spending freezes, only time will tell.

A little talk about manners II (long over due)

The theory of the elevator:

The basic Theory of the elevator is that you push the button to summons it, it stops, you get in and it takes you straight up to the floor of your desire, and you get out. And although this seems very individual, the truth of the matter is in any given building there are a mass of people who also have this master servant relationship with the elevator. You and the elevator are not mutually exclusive! That means when the doors open, there is a good chance there are other people already in side of the elevator. Before you push and shove your way onto this elevator, you might want to take a step back, and see if anyone wants to get off the elevator first. If you do push and shove your way into the elevator right away, you might hear a loud “excuse me” from the back, as I am trying to get you to step aside and let me off. Why is it so hard for some people to imagine that anyone else exists in the world but them? Before you even pushed the elevator button to go up, I was already on the elevator, telling it where I to want to get off, you just happened to be at that stop. If you had not pushed the button, the elevator would have still stopped there. If you were one floor up, the elevator would have still stopped there. If you didn’t exist at all, the elevator would have still stopped there.

I know in the mornings most people are in a rush to get to their desk. I get that. But if you would just step aside, it wouldn’t take me long to get out of the elevator as I am also in a rush. Then you could get on and everyone is happy. Instead of getting onto the elevator in a rush, then getting off again so I can get out, and back on again delaying everyone morning including your own. If you do push your way onto the elevator while someone is trying to exit and end up shoulder checked, say “excuse me” because it’s your fault. Don’t give me that “How dare you” sneer! You do not have the right of way in elevator etiquette.

And finally if the elevator is packed, jam packed, please just wait for the next one. Do not back yourself into me, and try to stuff your rolling luggage that you carry to work every day into an elevator that is already full to the brim. Walk yourself over, push the button again, and wait for the next one. No one, and I mean no one wants to ride down 13 floors with your butt rubbing up against their leg…well maybe someone does, but I am not that person.

I seriously believe if we didn’t walk around each and every one of us with such a huge sense of self importance and focus on our own individual needs, we would be a much better society. Sure your needs are most important to you, and they can take priority. But it’s also okay to let the needs of others into your lives as well, so that when it’s logical to meet the needs of others first, and serves practical reason like the elevator, you do not look like a moron.