I am wanting something, anything. And I know it is because I can't have anything. On our way to the farm today we passed Smiling Hill Farm with their yummy ice cream. I've never had their ice cream before, so I don't really know why I think it is so yummy. Oh right... it's because I can't have it!
It's like when your house is packed with food and you don't want any of it... that is how it is for me right now. I have all this great stuff right here in the house and I am allowed to go out and buy all the ingredients I want, but what I want is a treat. Not because I treat myself a lot. Okay, I'm lying. I treat myself a lot. Both Jeremy and I treat ourselves a lot. Too much. And that is why this is good. No Starbucks. No candy bar from the Quality Shop. No ice cream from Jet Video. Only things we can make ourselves with ingredients we buy or already have in the house. Hmm... I wonder if I have all the ingredients I need to make oatmeal cookies...
Update: 8:12pm. The oatmeal cookies are in the oven. :)
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
14 Days of Frugality- DAY TWO
I want to make a clarification. Even though we are living frugally we are still eating natural/organic. All our meat is natural or organic, all our produce is organic. None of the food in our house contains artificial sweeteners, colors or preservatives. I am still buying Iggy's bread and have no intention of switching to Wonder Bread. This frugal experiment is an attempt to see what is possible taking in consideration how we live. I could easily cut our grocery bills in half if I was willing to eat differently, but I am not.
Now... today. Today we pretty much stayed inside the house. I am tired from a busy week before so Max and I spent the day reading books, building towers and taking a dip in the wading pool. We thought about going to the beach, but then realized that we decided too late and we wouldn't have a lot of time (the joy of two naps a day). However, both the beach and the wading pool are free! Actually, when I think about it, and I thought about it today, there are a lot of free things to do with Max in Portland. There are the beaches, parking is free... the splash pool, the many playgrounds, parks, library and I'm sure many more things that I have yet to discover. Entertaining a one-year-old isn't hard either... sometimes a trip to the grocery store is exciting enough.
I'm also excited that Max is about to receive some new toys, but at no expense to us. I have been saving the reward codes on Max's diapers and I just entered them all in and got him a set of 3 Alex bath boats. They are really cool. It will probably be a while before they are here, but it will be nice knowing that they are the result of a few minutes of my time and not $11.99 (what they sell for on Amazon.com).
For breakfast I made oatmeal and iced coffee. For lunch I cooked up a yummy pizza with ingredients that were in the house (I keep a few bags of frozen pizza dough from Trader Joe's in the freezer for pizza making) and of course a few pinches of herbs from my trusty herb pot on the deck. Growing your own herbs is a fantastic way to save a little. Often a recipe will call for a little of this or a pinch of that and your only option at the supermarket is to buy a whole package or bag of the stuff. I love oregano, but I don't know what to do with a whole package. Growing your own herbs is easy (if I can do it, it's easy) and really really inexpensive. Best of all, you have everything you need when you need it :)
More later...
Now... today. Today we pretty much stayed inside the house. I am tired from a busy week before so Max and I spent the day reading books, building towers and taking a dip in the wading pool. We thought about going to the beach, but then realized that we decided too late and we wouldn't have a lot of time (the joy of two naps a day). However, both the beach and the wading pool are free! Actually, when I think about it, and I thought about it today, there are a lot of free things to do with Max in Portland. There are the beaches, parking is free... the splash pool, the many playgrounds, parks, library and I'm sure many more things that I have yet to discover. Entertaining a one-year-old isn't hard either... sometimes a trip to the grocery store is exciting enough.
I'm also excited that Max is about to receive some new toys, but at no expense to us. I have been saving the reward codes on Max's diapers and I just entered them all in and got him a set of 3 Alex bath boats. They are really cool. It will probably be a while before they are here, but it will be nice knowing that they are the result of a few minutes of my time and not $11.99 (what they sell for on Amazon.com).
For breakfast I made oatmeal and iced coffee. For lunch I cooked up a yummy pizza with ingredients that were in the house (I keep a few bags of frozen pizza dough from Trader Joe's in the freezer for pizza making) and of course a few pinches of herbs from my trusty herb pot on the deck. Growing your own herbs is a fantastic way to save a little. Often a recipe will call for a little of this or a pinch of that and your only option at the supermarket is to buy a whole package or bag of the stuff. I love oregano, but I don't know what to do with a whole package. Growing your own herbs is easy (if I can do it, it's easy) and really really inexpensive. Best of all, you have everything you need when you need it :)
More later...
Monday, July 18, 2011
14 Days of Frugality- DAY ONE
Today was my first day living frugally and it was surprisingly harder than I thought it was going to be. First and foremost, I made Jeremy and myself some iced coffee before getting to the gritty stuff.
I started the day thinking about what kind of meals I wanted to make this week. I needed to make meals that wouldn't cost a lot and could easily eaten as leftovers. I would need to reuse ingredients from one dish to another so nothing is wasted. Obviously, some dishes are better suited than others for this. So, I turned to my personal recipe book of tried and true meals. I settled on making a few chicken dishes because I knew that I could get organic chicken for $5.99 a pound. I was also thinking of making a fish dish using whatever white fish was on sale at Whole Foods, but nothing was. I am planning to check the prices at Harbor Fish Market later in the week, but so far... just chicken.
For breakfast Jeremy and I fueled our bodies with slow cooked oatmeal. A breakfast that we SHOULD eat every single day, but never do. (Perhaps this experiment will result in more than just a few pennies saved.)
For lunch we had leftover homemade tacos from the weekend and for dinner I made a pasta dish with peas and chicken that has a creamy chicken sauce. It is really delicious and reheats well. Max also enjoyed it very much. Most of the ingredients for the dish I already had in the house and all I needed to buy was some chicken* and a bag of frozen peas, of which I used half.
*I bought an economy pack of chicken, enough for the whole week.
Tomorrow I will pick up my CSA farm share and use whatever I get to make yet another favorite chicken dish... chinese stir fry, using some spinach and snap peas from last week's share and maybe the other 1/2 of the frozen peas.
Something that I forgot to add to my list of things not allowed is prepared foods. When I was in Whole Foods today I was reminded of how many yummy prepared things there are.... muffins, salads, pastas, chicken, soups... none of this is allowed during the next 13 days. If I want a muffin, I need to make it and it is much too hot for baking, so I will go without. Walking through the store was hard. I wanted pretty much everything I saw. Cherries!! Ooh. But cherries are a luxury and definitely not a necessity. I need to stick with fruit on sale and fruit that will last more than just a few days without turning. As I walked through the aisles I realized that I never shop according to sales. I just buy what I want and don't care. I need to start caring. It feels strange to limit my menus to what is on sale, but I know it is the right thing to do if I really want to start saving money. The red peppers that I bought for the stir fry were on sale and so was the chicken. That's a start.
Later in the day I walked to Jet Video which is a video store, post office and ice cream shop (coolest business idea ever) to mail a package. As soon as I got to their door I immediately wanted an ice cream or at least something cold to drink. I had just walked 5 minutes!! I needed a way to cool off. But, that would be a no no. Even though I would be able to purchase an ice cold beverage for just 75 cents it was not allowed. I stayed strong, mailed my package and left.
When I think of this project on the very tip of the surface it seems easy and kinda dumb too. But, doing it is hard. Last night I dreamt that I was shopping at Target and woke up wanting to go there today. In just one day I am realizing how much impulse spending I do and think about doing. I hope that bringing attention to the problem is the right first step.
Here is an article that I found some inspiration in, First Person: What My Little Indulgences Really Cost.
I started the day thinking about what kind of meals I wanted to make this week. I needed to make meals that wouldn't cost a lot and could easily eaten as leftovers. I would need to reuse ingredients from one dish to another so nothing is wasted. Obviously, some dishes are better suited than others for this. So, I turned to my personal recipe book of tried and true meals. I settled on making a few chicken dishes because I knew that I could get organic chicken for $5.99 a pound. I was also thinking of making a fish dish using whatever white fish was on sale at Whole Foods, but nothing was. I am planning to check the prices at Harbor Fish Market later in the week, but so far... just chicken.
For breakfast Jeremy and I fueled our bodies with slow cooked oatmeal. A breakfast that we SHOULD eat every single day, but never do. (Perhaps this experiment will result in more than just a few pennies saved.)
For lunch we had leftover homemade tacos from the weekend and for dinner I made a pasta dish with peas and chicken that has a creamy chicken sauce. It is really delicious and reheats well. Max also enjoyed it very much. Most of the ingredients for the dish I already had in the house and all I needed to buy was some chicken* and a bag of frozen peas, of which I used half.
*I bought an economy pack of chicken, enough for the whole week.
Tomorrow I will pick up my CSA farm share and use whatever I get to make yet another favorite chicken dish... chinese stir fry, using some spinach and snap peas from last week's share and maybe the other 1/2 of the frozen peas.
Something that I forgot to add to my list of things not allowed is prepared foods. When I was in Whole Foods today I was reminded of how many yummy prepared things there are.... muffins, salads, pastas, chicken, soups... none of this is allowed during the next 13 days. If I want a muffin, I need to make it and it is much too hot for baking, so I will go without. Walking through the store was hard. I wanted pretty much everything I saw. Cherries!! Ooh. But cherries are a luxury and definitely not a necessity. I need to stick with fruit on sale and fruit that will last more than just a few days without turning. As I walked through the aisles I realized that I never shop according to sales. I just buy what I want and don't care. I need to start caring. It feels strange to limit my menus to what is on sale, but I know it is the right thing to do if I really want to start saving money. The red peppers that I bought for the stir fry were on sale and so was the chicken. That's a start.
Later in the day I walked to Jet Video which is a video store, post office and ice cream shop (coolest business idea ever) to mail a package. As soon as I got to their door I immediately wanted an ice cream or at least something cold to drink. I had just walked 5 minutes!! I needed a way to cool off. But, that would be a no no. Even though I would be able to purchase an ice cold beverage for just 75 cents it was not allowed. I stayed strong, mailed my package and left.
When I think of this project on the very tip of the surface it seems easy and kinda dumb too. But, doing it is hard. Last night I dreamt that I was shopping at Target and woke up wanting to go there today. In just one day I am realizing how much impulse spending I do and think about doing. I hope that bringing attention to the problem is the right first step.
Here is an article that I found some inspiration in, First Person: What My Little Indulgences Really Cost.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Only the Necessities, Please
Last week Jeremy and I watched a film called, No Impact Man about a man who wants to make no impact on the Earth for an entire year. He does not drive, buys nothing new, only buys and cooks with ingredients that can be found locally, discontinues the use of toilet paper and eventually turns off his electricity. It was interesting, but a bit extreme. When we moved to Portland I decided to cut down my paper towel consumption because I felt like I was using a lot of them. I purchased some cloth towels and ever since, I've cut my paper towel use by more than half. But, after watching this movie, I was inspired to do more.
Jeremy and I needed to start out small. I wasn't about to bike to everywhere I needed to go, so we discussed something that would be more of a baby step as well as affect us in a positive way. We decided to focus on spending. For me, at least, I have gotten to the point that sometimes I don't even think very hard about a purchase I am going to make. Last week I bought a window fan for my kitchen and the entire purchase took 3 minutes because I used Amazon.com, that is not informed shopping! Because we know we spend too much, we discussed the idea of minimal spending for two weeks. This would mean that we would buy nothing that we did not absolutely need. A large portion of our unnecessary spending goes to restaurants and as part of this experiment we would not be allowed to indulge in restaurants for the whole two weeks. I am hoping that on August 1st we realize how much we don't need and get over our desire for frequent retail therapy.
The following is considered a necessity:
groceries (with exceptions)
gas
toilet paper
pet food
parking meter fees
postage
The following is not allowed:
grocery exceptions- soda/sugary drinks, candy, junk snacks (potato chips)
restaurants/take-out food/coffee shops
magazines/books
toys
electronics
admission fees to parks, zoos, museums, play centers, beaches
clothing/shoes
movies/entertainment
bottled water
Of course there are exceptions, for example, if one of us breaks our cell phone we would need to replace it. However, we will do so in the least expensive way possible.
Any food we consume will either be free to us, meaning that someone else purchased it, or homemade. This means that instead of stopping at Starbucks for an iced coffee I will have to either make it myself or do without.
I anticipate the hardest part will be the food because we will not be able to be out at say a Sea Dogs game (as long as our admission is free) and get a beer or a hot dog. I will either have to bring food in from home or we will need to eat before we leave. Another thing I just realized is that I will be limited with what I can do with Max. I was planning to go to a petting barn yard with him tomorrow, but just remembered that the admission is $5. That will not be acceptable come tomorrow. There are plenty of free things for me to do with Max and I will need to focus on those activities for the next few weeks.
This project will begin on Monday July 18th and end on Monday August 1st. Everything outlined about is just a rough idea and I will be adding more as the days progress. It is hard to anticipate the type of obstacles we will encounter. I will update the blog daily.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Making up for Lost Time...
August 9, 2009. Jeremy and I finally tied the knot and it was perfect.
The day after the wedding we immediately departed on our honeymoon.
Prince Edward Island was the most beautiful place I had ever been to in all my life. When we returned home we decided to make a baby.
Maxwell Aden Conn was born on June 8, 2010 weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces and 19 inches long. He was a itty bitty peanut and so perfect. Finally I was a mother, the one thing I had always dreamt of.
So yeah. After a long engagement Jeremy and I are finally married and we have a little munchkin to call our own. I still have more catching up to do, but I think this is a good start. Goodnight.
The day after the wedding we immediately departed on our honeymoon.
Prince Edward Island was the most beautiful place I had ever been to in all my life. When we returned home we decided to make a baby.
Maxwell Aden Conn was born on June 8, 2010 weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces and 19 inches long. He was a itty bitty peanut and so perfect. Finally I was a mother, the one thing I had always dreamt of.
So yeah. After a long engagement Jeremy and I are finally married and we have a little munchkin to call our own. I still have more catching up to do, but I think this is a good start. Goodnight.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
How Time Flies
Today is Wednesday March 9th. It is Jeremy's 33rd birthday and Max turned 9 months yesterday. The last time I blogged I wasn't even married yet. I didn't blog here for over a year. I think that needs to change. Starting today. Well, starting tonight. After I put Max to bed. :)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Depeche Mode 8.3.2009
Last night Jeremy took me to see Depeche Mode at MSG. The show was incredible. Our seats were on the side of the stage, but we were able to see better than I have ever been able to see at MSG. I didn't know all their songs, I didn't even know half of what they played, but the energy of the packed arena was incredible!
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