I used to have it dialed in. I could go to the grocery store and get what was needed and stay in my budget. Almost down to the penny! I had this inner sense.
Now days, I still have the same budget but the prices on the items we need every week have sky rocketed to the point that when I go through the check out line, I’m holding my breath. Aware that I may need to put something back. Which to me is the ultimate embarrassment. But, just because the prices have increased does not mean that my pocket book has and there is only so much money to go around. So, we have had to cut back drastically on our spending. There is absolutely no dining out or going out to the movies.
My husband was laid off from the job he had been at for 6 years due to the economy and it took him almost 8 months to find another job which pays less and is almost an hour’s drive from where we live. We’re happy that he has a job, period. It pays much more than unemployment does.
I was a real estate agent for the last 15 years or so. I wasn’t a top producer but I managed to bring in enough business to buy us the extras we needed and to make life more fun. Over the last two years, business has not been good. When we had our real estate boom everybody and their brother rushed out to get a real estate license and it became increasingly difficult to compete. Not many people have been able to stay afloat in the current market as it is extremely expensive to pay for mls and NAR and other necessary expense to remain in business. If you’re not selling homes, it’s not worth it. So, I am out of a job and looking for something that offers a steady income. Me and thousands of others.
This is the worst economy that I have ever endured. Lucky for my family that I know how to cook. I can take basic staples and whip up a fabulous meal. I’m good at stretching the food budget. I always have been. But in this economy I am finding it more difficult. When I am used to buying cooking oil for $3.99 (with a buy one get one free sales special) at the store and now I have to pay $5.99 for only one, it takes a big bite out of what I have to spend on food. I’m wondering now if eating is a luxury I cannot afford.
I do tend to stock up on meat when it’s on sale. London broil is a good cut and can be cooked all kinds of ways. Chicken breasts are another favorite and go on sale often. I have not been buying fresh fruits or vegetables unless they are on sale. I think it’s time I start visiting the farmers market on the weekends. I hear you can get some great prices and the produce is much better.
As the weather starts to get chilly and we go into the winter months, hearty soups and comfort foods like chicken and dumplings, beef stew and beans and cornbread will fill our tummys.
I’ve started baking cakes from scratch. If I have flour, sugar, eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, and hershey’s cocoa, I can make a much better cake than I can by buying mixes. I have found that if I buy things like cookies or anything that is at hand, it is gone within a day or so. It’s better to have the staples and make something every now and then.
In place of a smoothy or starbucks I can make one at home using milk, crushed ice, vanilla, sugar and blend it in my blender. It satisfies the craving and can have coffee or other flavors added. Even fresh, frozen or canned fruit like peaches or strawberries makes a yummy shake. Whatever you’ve got.
In the winter I love to sip hot cocoa in the evening. I use regular hershey’s cocoa in milk. I like mine without sugar. I add a little bit of vanilla to a cup of milk and put it in the microwave then add the cocoa when it’s heated and put a handful of miniture marshmellows on top. This is better than any mix you can buy at the store. I like to zap it in the microwave after I add the marshmellows (about 10 seconds) then I stir them in and it’s sweet enough.
When I was a kid, we were very poor and my mom would make a lot of yummy foods from simple ingredients. She always said, if you’ve got your basic staples, you’re set. I’m glad I paid attention. If we wanted cookies, we made them. Candy? We made that too. I can make a mean fudge in a few minutes.
Here is a list of what I always have on hand. Notice, I don’t have a well stocked kitchen but I have some simple, basic things that I use all the time and make a variety of dishes, desserts and snacks.
Bread
Butter
Eggs
Milk
Potatos
Rice
Pasta
Tomatoes & Sauce
Meat
Dry Beans (Assorted)
I usually keep frozen Peas, Corn and Green Beans because they are inexpensive and close to fresh.
All Purpose Flour
Sugar
Brown Sugar
Confectioners Sugar
Hershey’s Cocoa
Miniture Marshmellows
Vanilla Extract (I prefer the pure extract but you can get the imitation cheap and it works okay)
Cereal (I only buy what’s on sale and has nutritional value, while I LOVE Lucky Charms, I rarely buy stuff like that. If I did, it would get eaten up as a snack. My favorites are frosted mini wheats and Kellogs (not Post) Raison Bran.)
Oatmeal
Cream of Wheat
Malto Meal
Coffee (won’t live without it)
Broth (great for adding flavor to anything from soups to sauces) I buy something called “Better Than Broth” It’s in a jar and is kept in the refrigerator after opening. I buy chicken and beef flavor.
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Yeast
Garlic (always fresh)
Onions
Carrots
Celery
Peanut Butter
Strawberry Jam
Tea
Tuna
A block of Cheddar Cheese
Tortillas
Canola or Vegetable Oil
Extra Light Olive Oil
White Vinegar
Wine Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
Head of Lettuce
Tomatoes (When they are not too expensive or when I grow them.)
Of course, I include herbs and spices as well as condiments. Other than that, I have a pretty simple set of staples that can yield a lot of delicious dishes.
You’ll not find Hot Pockets, Toaster Strudels or any quick, instant foods at my house. We hardly ever order take out or go out to dinner anymore. For us, it’s a treat to be able to fill up the gas tank to “full”. If I cook a big meal, we eat the left overs the next night or I use them to create something else.
Sometimes I feel like those folks you see in movies who are deserted somewhere sitting around remembering their favorite food. We’re not that bad off but I do think about some of my favorite restaurants and I can’t wait till I can afford to visit them again. I miss going out to dinner…. But most of all I miss being able to afford to eat at home.
I want to own a home with lush green gardens. I want to grow my own vegetables (other than my patio tomatoes) and I want to celebrate the family and friends in my life.
I want a satisfying job, with great benefits that include paid time off for rest and relaxation, travel and to afford more than just the basic neccessities. I want to see and experience the beautiful things in this world.
Is that asking too much?
I built my dream board to help me manifest what I want. Seeing is believing after all.
While I was writing my “About Me” page, words flowed and the story that followed was one of hurt and despair. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I felt the painful memories and what’s worse was that I branded myself based on that story. We all have something from our past that haunts us but really is that story of hurt something that needs to identify with who we are today?
Perhaps our stories have had a significant part in forming our reasons for reacting to certain stimuli in our environment, some situations can bring back the inner child in us who had no choice but to succumb to the will of others.
The thing is, today. I am free from those hurts. I no longer have the people in my life who caused the pain, yet in many ways the after effects still linger. I have suffered from depression and anxiety for most of my life. Sinking into a cesspool of self degridation and darkness. I’ve lashed out as well and hurt people as I traveled down my own shitty road. I’ve held on to the pain and it has become a familiar friend.
Letting go of something that has been a major part of me has not been an easy task. When I wrote my “about me” page I was disappointed when I read it. True there are things that are very painful and probably others would identify with me and understand yet, I do not wish to be remembered or thought of as a dark soul. I am not that person anymore. I’ve grown and moved on yet when asked to write “about me” that old story is what naturally came to mind.
How would you feel if you took a particular story that has been a part of you and let it go? What would it be like to say, “I don’t want that story anymore”? Susie nailed it perfectly in her article, What is your story?
To give myself a little credit for not compelety sinking and licking old wounds, I will offer an excerpt from what I wrote on my “About me” page. You won’t see it there because I deleted it. There is only one part of it I saved, here it is:
Once I read a card that said, “Wherever you go, there you are.” I will never forget those words and the impact that they had on my life at that very moment. It really made me think.
I was going to have to live with myself and it didn’t matter with whom or where. I was the only one who had any power over my destiny. It all came from within me. I didn’t need to be approved of by anybody. The courage and strength to raise my head high and know that I do deserve a good life, I do deserve to be treated well, I do deserve to be here. That is something that I can give myself. Nobody can give that to me. And they can only take it away if I give them the power. That power, my life, my soul… belongs to me.
Perhaps when I wrote that I WAS changing my story. I like to think I did. =)
Gazing up at the clouds drifting by the moon last night was mesmirizing. If I could have lain on a bed of smooth grass I might have watched it for hours. Instead, standing on my patio had to do. But still, it was soothing and relaxing. The moon is my must have every evening. I feel its energy radiating deep within my being. Its beauty and light a wonderlust of magic that feeds my inner Moon Goddess.
Moonlight
As a pale phantom with a lamp
Ascends some ruined haunted stair,
So glides the moon along the damp
Mysterious chambers of the air.
Now hidden in cloud, and now revealed,
As if this phantom, full of pain,
Were by the crumbling walls concealed,
And at the windows seen again.
Until at last, serene and proud
In all the splendor of her light,
She walks the terraces of cloud.
Supreme as Empress of the Night.
I look, but recognize no more
Objects familiar to my view;
The very pathway to my door
Is an enchanted avenue.
All things are changed. One mass of shade,
The elm-trees drop their curtains down;
By palace, park, and colonmade
I walk as in a foreign town.
The very ground beneath my feet
Is clothed with deviner air;
White marble paves the silent street
And glimmers in the empty square.
Illusion! Underneath there lies
The comman life of everyday;
Only the spirit glorifies
With its own tints the sober grey.
In vain we look, in vain uplift
Our eyes to heaven, if we are blind;
We see but what we have the gift
Of seeing; what we bring we find.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 years since 9/11 happened.
That morning I was woken up by my alarm clock with the radio. The first plane had just crashed and the shock was in the voices of the brodcasters. I ran into the living room and turned on the television just in time to watch “live” the second plane crash into the building. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Not in our country! Not in the USA! NO!!!!!!!
I called my mom and woke her up. She turned on her TV and we sat there watching, listening, crying. I remember when the buildings began to collapse and people started running and the cameraman who had been filming left his camera on the ground and ran.
It was a day when our nation came together, united as we had not been in many ages.
I went to work, in shock. I think we were all in shock for a long time. I still find it very difficult to see photos from that day. I can’t even imagine what it was like for the people at the WTC who lost their lives. What should have been a typical day at the office became a living nightmare in a split second.
I think many of us felt a sense of guilt for feeling the loss when we had not really been affected the way those in NYC were but it was really something that had an effect on the nation as a whole. It has been a huge burden on our hearts and the fallout for the families who lost loved ones was so very painful.
7 years….. it seems like it was last year, not 7 years ago.
Poor Yoko! Her name has become synonimous with breaking up relationships and she was blamed for the break up of the Beatles. I lost my best friend to such a person. I had known her for several years and helped her through the loss of her husband when he died of cancer. I held her hand and hugged her when she cried, laughed with her. Loved and protected her. I thought we would be friends forever.
When “he” came along, I tried to like him. I tried. He didn’t respect our friendship or the history that we had. He belittled my place in her life as if I was just some person she ran into on occasion as some bar.
It’s true! One person can come along and ruin the energy and flow of a group. I’ve seen it happen many times.
It’s wonderful to meet that special someone. To fall in love. But remember that our friends are the ones who stand by us and are there especially when love turns sour.
We should NEVER allow a romance to take the place of the friendships that we have developed and nurtured over time. Our friends are the one constant thing that we have in life.
If a new boyfriend or girlfriend does not like our friends, that should be a big RED FLAG! We should not allow ourselves to be isolated from our one true support system. It can get lonely when all we have is one person in our life.
Friendships can be ruined. Friendships need nurturing and cannot be put on the backburner. In otherwords, you don’t call your friends ONLY when your boyfriend/girlfriend is busy and you have nothing better to do.
My friend would call me when her boyfriend was busy and then cancel if his plans changed.
When she was with me, he was calling constantly and she would be talking “baby talk” to him on her cell phone while I sat there twittling my thumbs. He didn’t like her spending time with me.
A munipulative and controlling type of person will not embrace our friends. Why? Because they can’t stand for us to show attention to anyone outside of the relationship. They are threatened and/or jealous if they are not the main focus!
Hell, they’ll think of reasons for you to get rid of your cat, your dog and your KIDS! They’ll make labels for your friends and persuade you to get rid of them too! If you have ANY friends left, they will be THEIR friends and nobody you knew before the relationship started. Then “poof” you are all alone and isolated!
Sometimes when love is new, we lose our focus of what’s happening. Just like ice cream and chocolate. It’s wonderful, but it needs to be taken in moderation. It’s the same with everything. Too often people get all schmoopie poopie goo goo ga ga and their whole world turns to shit.
I was once in a relationship with a man who wouldn’t even let me go to the bathroom by myself. I was all goo goo ga ga over him in the beginning and guess what? When we broke up, I had to load a u-haul all by myself. I had lost touch with everyone I knew and not only that… I probably made them sick with the way I fawned all over the guy in the beginning. I had no idea that several years later, I would not have a single friend to support me.
I used to go out with all of my friends
we had us some good times I never thought they would end
But then I met you and I can’t forget the day
You convinced me to settle down and change my ways
All of my frineds stopped coming around and I started dressing the way you liked
Then one day I took a look in the mirror and it was then I realized
You’re my Yoko Ono
You’re the one who makes all the rules
You’re my Yoko Ono
and I’m just your fool
“You and me,”
Said the raindrop to the seed
“WE’ll make a winning team won’t we?
Cause when I fall down
You’ll become a pretty flower
And I’ll be finally free
From the shackles of this cloud
And the sun will shine
And we’ll make the most of life
Come, we haven’t got much time
‘Cause all living things must die
But I will nurture you
‘Til your petals turn to white
And you will hold me close
Until the last drop of me dries”
‘Cause you and me
We have each other
And that’s all we need
The place I’ll call my home
Is anywhere that you will be
You and me
We’ll never make a mark on the shape of history
But I’m glad you came to make your mark on me
So darling when I lie down
I hope you’ll be around
To lay your roses down over me
‘Cause I’d never keep
To watch you fall asleep
I wouldn’t last the day
Without you standing next to me
Through a satellite lens
We are just a tiny speck
Oh, of little consequence
In the greater scheme of things
But from down here
In our private little sphere
The colours are in focus
And the picture’s crystal clear
‘Cause you and me
We’ve got each other
And that’s all we need
The place I’ll call my home
Is anywhere that you will be
You and me
We’ll never make a mark on the shape of history
But I’m glad you came to make your mark on me
Sometimes we lose or perspective of who we are when we try to please everyone else and forget to be ourselves. Or I should say, forget who we are. There are so many different facets to each and everyone of us. So many things to embrace and be proud of.
There comes a point in your life when you realize:
Who matters, who never did, who won’t anymore… and who always will.
So, don’t worry about people from your past,
there’s a reason why they didn’t make it to your future.
This is one of my favorite songs. I would like to put together a photo collage with some video and use this recording. That’s one of my projects to complete. Who cares if my singing isn’t perfection? I’m not perfect but I like to have fun.
I am a huge fan of HGTV. Home improvement, gardening and landscaping, decorating on a budget….WOW! I can sit there for hours taking in all of the tips and advice from their programs. We love it at our house.
HGTV sponsors a newsletter called, FrontDoor Unlocked with loads of information for people looking to own a home. I think they have covered just about every avenue and question a person could have in such a way that it is easy to understand and I cannot think of any better website.
So, I’ve put together the links to some wonderful articles that answer just about anything and everything about buying a home. First time homebuyers can surely benefit by visiting their website. Hopefully all the links are working but just in case, here is the direct link to the web page. http://www.frontdoor.com/news/article/1978
I didn’t want to just put the link up there, I wanted to show you exactly what is on the page so that you can see the benefit and the value of this information yourself. I know I am going to refer to this many times over. I hope you find it helpful as well. =) Geese…. I can’t believe I’m taking up so much room on my own blog for this.
In a way, I want to bookmark the information here for myself as well because my husband and I will be in the market to buy soon. We sold our home years ago and then the prices all went up so high that we were priced out of the market. Then the economy went to shit. So, we are in the same boat as most of the folks out there and this is a perfect time to purchase a home.
The links below are just a taste of what the FrontDoor site has to offer. The links open in new windows so you won’t have to back track to get back to my site. If you are not interested, just scroll down to my other stuff.
"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes. I am out of control at times and hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." -- Marilyn Monroe
If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." -- John F. Kennedy
