Tuesday

I have been blessed with a wonderful family! I say that not because it is a new revelation but because I want them to know how grateful I am for them everyday. I got to talk to my grandma for a little while on Skype...though because my mom put the camera on a laptop with wireless internet it froze a whole bunch. I talked to my dad and his wife in Skype on Sunday which was nice...I don't talk to him over Skype as much as my mom so it seems like an occasion.
I wanted to write about this but my husband cut my hair. As soon as I can find the wires to hook up my camera to the internet I will publish some photos of the cut! It is pretty darn awesome! This the the way we cut it
1. we got my hair wet. Then dried it off so it was just damp.
2. We brushed it so there were no tangles
3. We got a folding chair
4. I knelt backward on the chair (high on my knees not low)
5. I flipped my hair over in front of my face
6. We brushed it again so it was straight down in front of my face
7. I tilted my head all the way over so the blood was rushing to my head...like a head stand but with my hair being able to hang the full length.
8. He just held my hair like he was going to put it into a ponytail and cut straight across.
9. We had to do that a few times because I wanted to him to cut it shorter and shorter. Then I had him just cut the final layer (the bottom layer shorter straight across)
AND THAT WAS THAT!
I never really get layers in my hair but I have them now! I love it...I can't believe it actually turned out so well. I usually have my cousin cut my hair when I am visiting but now I don't have to wait 2 years to get a cut! AND because we are tight on money I don't ever have to spend a dime!
I am going to cut my baby girls hair when the time comes!
No matter how much money we have in the future I never want to be wasteful. When you have no money...and are truly fighting to have the things you need, it is easy to get down in the dumps about how everyone else has so much and you only wish you could afford it. What I have found...and it has taken me a long time (because I grew up very comfortably). Is that it is a wonderful adventure and once you find the beauty in living so simply with just what you need and finding what you want without spending the money, you see no need to go back. I love cooking simple cheap dishes... and sure I want to go out from time to time but I don't feel cheated because I eat beans and rice for most of my meals...I feel blessed and I really enjoy the variety I can cook with the same two basic ingredients!
Even if I won the lottery my day to day life wouldn't change...sure I would own a house, pay off student loans, and my husband could finish his degree but I would still want him to cut my hair and I would still cook beans and rice.

Check your Credit Report!

I just checked my credit report and I was APPALLED to find out that Sallie Mae reported me for something I didn't do...how crappy is that? I have had so much trouble with Sallie Mae I am disputing my negative report with Experian, Trans-Union, and Equifax. I REFUSE to take no for an answer...I mean really??? I spent two hours on the phone with Sallie Mae...we shouldn't have bailed them out...
I encourage you all to check your credit report once a year...you DO NOT HAVE TO PAY! Just go to Annualcreditreport.com they are the ONLY people approved by the FTC. So don't go paying...
NOW to get your score...you do have to pay but really you don't need to have your score. You just need to know how to get the negative reports off your credit report.
I hope you all will do this...you can help your credit score just by KNOWING.
Knowledge is power people
good night!

The household viral infection, cloth diapers and saving money buying bulk

Boo...my husband has this terrible viral infection. I am so worried about my little one getting sick! He has been drinking lots of Orange Juice and I finally got him to take some medicine...just to give him a little reprieve from a fever, coughing and a terrible headache. Usually his days off are my days off (even though I am a stay at home mom) he will play with Beatrice and such...but I have two babies now! I wouldn't trade it for the world...I just hope he gets better soon. I want my husband back!
I have spent the better part of my day working to find a place I can physically go in and buy cloth diapers...but there are only online stores in my area!I have been wanting to try Crickett's cloth diapers but since money is an issue and I don't want to buy something I will not like I will stick with what I know! Bum Genius I guess!
I have been meaning to post all week but things kept getting in my way.
Jon and I went to compare prices at Sam's, Costco, Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Whole Foods and to be honest Wal-Mart's prices were just about equal to Sam's and Costco if you break it down 'price per unit'. They do have some good deals but when you factor in the cost of membership...I am not convinced it is that wonderful. I guess it just depends on what you buy. Jon and I eat a lot of fresh food...so buying in bulk is just not smart! But for stuff like Laundry detergent or shaving razors...I think you do get a good deal. I could go on but I won't!
Beatrice feels like typing so here is her part of my blog
/ nbftjhfjh jhjht jht b c ls
she likes the space key the best
I hope everyone is feeling healthy. I would encourage everyone to take some vitamin C, stay hydrated and eat fresh food! Fast food will just prolong your sickness!

New site for the same blog

I would like to say for anyone who followed me here I appreciate it...it is like when you get a new phone number and have to update your friends and family...so it can be kind of hard but I like this format better and it is hooked up with Google so I can do all my things under my e-mail which is handy. I had to give up my preference of domain names but such is life! I shall start posting my here instead of Wordpress.
later gators

Cloth Diapers

When I first mentioned to my family and my husbands that I wanted to use cloth diapers (or reusable diapers)…they all kind of rolled their eyes and said (at least to themselves) “yeah right”.

I am here to say they are easy to use. I really feel they are just as easy as disposable diapers except that instead of throwing them in the trash can you throw them in the wash or a bucket you save until you have a load.

Cloth diapers these days LOOK just like Pampers or Huggies or whatever brand you might like. But I have NEVER had a leak from a Cloth diaper. Not in the biggest of messes has it come out of my babies diaper. I can not say that for any other diaper I have used!

I encourage anyone to try just one cloth diaper….not the crazy old school ones with pins and folding…try BUM GENIUS, CRICKETT, BUMKINS, KUSHIES etc. Just type reusable diaper into Google.

If you are out and about in world and you think cloth diapers are too much of a hassle (lets say you are on vacation and are not planning on doing laundry for a few days. There is an environmentally friendly alternative to those disposable diapers. They are cloth on the outside and have a disposable insert that is flushable or you can throw it in the trash. The only ones I have heard of are G-diapers…they are sold are Babies R Us….and they are pretty handy. I think they call these Hybrid diapers. The inserts are completely biodegradable unlike disposable diapers like Pampers or what not.

One more perk on cloth diapers. I use them on my baby now but up until now I did a mix of all kinds of diapers…mostly disposables. She has had bad rashes with disposables but not even one when I use cloth…I really think it helps with diaper rashes. Perhaps that is only conjecture but only more use (research) will tell.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Rainy Day

Today is rainy…boo. Yesterday was rainy too but I didn’t really go out that much but today is a busy day!

So in Nashville there is a “Tea Party” going on and I was listening to the radio this morning and they are talking about the craziest things! I am not for taxing us to death or a HUGE deficit but really? One of the sessions they are holding is “Correlations between the current administration and Marxist dictators of Latin America” and Defeating Liberalism via the Primary process. YET on CNN the coordinator of this convention said it was bi-partisan….ummm not really. I am not a Republican…I am not a Democrat…I am just an ordinary citizen of these United States and for better or worse we elected President Obama and we better respect the office. The thought that people actually think he is trying to turn our country into a communist regime is crazy talk…it sounds like conspiracy theory. It makes me think of the W. Bush Administration and the crazy talk of him trying to turn our nation into a Theocracy. Silly, silly, silly. People need to be reasonable. I am just so tired of the underhanded politics played in the U.S. (who am I kidding these things happen all over the world!)

Enough Political talk….

Why are people against using compact florescent light bulbs? They are so much better for the environment and for your electric bill! Also, turning lights off in the house when you are not in the room- and the television. Closing the garage door. ALSO, this may surprise you but leave your computer on and let it go to power save mode. The energy you save is negegable but you will save your computer. It will have a longer life! Think about how expensive it is to by a computer…even a cheap one. If you don’t press your on/off buttons all the time you will save them and save the internal parts too!

Also, I have to say something about HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.

Perhaps it does have the same calories as sugar and it is digested by your body the same way but like the commercials say eat it in MODERATION like sugar…

here are some foods you might not expect to find this sugar concoction

Jiff peanut butter (most peanut butter as a matter of fact)- get natural peanut butter that doesn’t separate (just peanuts and salt)

Bread you might think your 100% Whole Wheat bread is safe but it is not…I didn’t even realize until this past year!

Tomato Soup I couldn’t believe this one either…not all of them have it but Cambell’s for sure does.

Smucker’s jelly

Wheat Thins

I just think it is added EMPTY calories. You don’t need sugar in bread…there are GREAT breads that don’t have it and I think they are better for it! I also enjoy tomato soup with out the HFCS.

My point is, those “sweet surprise” commercials are right

EAT HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP IN MODERATION

The problem with that is – it is in things that you wouldn’t even expect.

I would encourage everyone to read the labels on your food and if it seems out of place find a different product. Like bread without sugar, or peanut butter with out lots of sugar and preservatives.

My general rule is the less ingredients the better when it comes to processed food.

If you are cooking from scratch it might not matter how many ingredients you use!

Perhaps I have said too much…but I think we would all be a lot healthier if we ate at home most of the time!

p.s. if you want to have a little sweetness with something 1. carmalize 2. use local honey! 3. eat fruit

I am a sugar queen so I am looking for ways to cut out sugar! If you want a bigger list of foods that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup this website has a bigger list (but by no means complete!)

Brownies...urgh

So this morning my little one woke up at 4am…I kept her in bed until 4:30 but with a husband that needs his sleep, I sleepily pulled her and myself out of bed and started the day. We played for a little while but I was struggling to keep my eyes open. So I got off the floor and did a load of dishes and ate breakfast. THEN we took a nap! Thank the LORD! She woke again at 7:45am and we got up and we played again and I decided to make brownies. Well I modified a recipe I found in a Hershey cookbook and they SMELL wonderful and taste great but they are kinda crumbly…does anyone know how to make them stick together better?

Then we took another nap…I think I am up for good now! The little one is sitting in my lap while I write this chewing on her toys….a typical event for her.

Last night I could hardly sleep I kept thinking about my future. I always wanted to be a college professor of Music History…so I thought maybe I would start a Music History blog…there is an awesome History of Rome Blog. If any of you are interested in history…this is really neat. He breaks up Roman History into digestible little bites and it is SO interesting. So I thought I might be able to do that with Western Music History. Right now I just don’t have the time, but I am filing that idea away for a rainy day. But then I was thinking about being a music director at a Church and for some reason the idea kept me up last night. I love teaching music and expressing (in person) my love and passion for it….does that mean I would be a good Choir director?

I am going to try and find out how to get ads on my blog….I promise I will try to find interesting ones so they are not just obnoxious.

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Sunday is Family Day

Sunday’s have always been the day when I talk to my family. I live far away from them and Sunday we are always around so we always talk. I call my dad and mom (though this sunday I didn’t talk to my mom) and I would like to start calling my brother, Grandpa and my Grandma. Sometimes I don’t know if we really think about how important family is. Days go by and I sometimes feel like I take for granted everyone will be there tomorrow. I think about it all the time…my family on both sides have lost some very important people in the past few years…it really is taking its toll. There are people who my daughter will never know who were REALLY important to me and my husband. It just breaks my heart. I hope we can convey to her how important they were and how much they would have loved her…and perhaps do love her from heaven.

On a much lighter note…I would like to give you my recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

I modified (just a little) Jeffrey Steingarten’s from his book “It must have been something I ate”

2 sticks of butter

5/8 cup of light brown sugar

3/8 cup of dark brown sugar

3/4 cup of regular granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp of vanilla extract

2 tbsp of water

9 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips

2 cups of all purpose flour

Mix the softened but NOT melted butter with all the sugars add wet ingredients (egg, water, vanilla extract) add flour and chocolate chips…mix

bake at 375 for 6-10 mins depending on your oven…just make sure they are still a little soft in the middle! (so not quite brown)

THEY ARE SOOOO GOOD!

I would like to say thank you to everyone who has read my blog…you can subscribe if you want to…when I get better I will be posting pictures and stuff! Also, I would like to thank my mother who is a great mom and a wonderful friend…Love you momma, I know you are my only subscriber!

Do your taxes!

I did my taxes. I know a lot of people are intimidated to do their own taxes. It seems so much easier to take them to a tax professional and have them done that day but I encourage you to LEARN! I know there are a lot of tax laws but they are manageable. I don’t want you to think I did my taxes 1040 ez and am telling you all it was easy. I did 1040 regular and itemized and got credits and deductions and we got a pretty good return. I know it wasn’t instant like you can get some places but I did it direct deposit and it should be there in a few weeks…I can wait. I had a friend that did her taxes at a tax place and they charged her $200 to get her taxes done and her return right away. I don’t know about you but I could use that $200. So I am learning. I use TaxAct which makes me mad each year because they only let you do 2 deductions before they start charging you a fee. Also if you need help they always want to charge you. BUT I found that if you just take the problem you are facing …open a new tab…and GOOGLE it you can learn about it on the IRS website. Sometimes it is complicated but most of the time I can understand it…and I am not a numbers genius. For example. I was unsure about the Earned Income Credit for having a child and making less than $35,463 a year…look at the website for the details….but it can up your refund if you qualify! Anyhoo…I encourage you to try it and learn about how taxes are done and save some money

Lovely day and a little info on CSA's

I had a lovely day today. I visited with my friend Teresa and her cutey Nathan. They are wonderful people and I feel very lucky to have friends like them! I made Spicy Cabbage, Pinto Beans and rice for lunch and had a light dinner. Here is how you can make Spicy Cabbage if you would like!

Simple Spicy Cabbage

1 head of green Cabbage -rough cut

1 medium onion (optional)

4 tablespoons of olive oil or butter (your choice)

1/2 tablespoon of turmeric

1/2 cup of White Vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste ( I use probably 1/2 tbsp of Salt and Pepper both)

1 teaspoon of Red Pepper Flakes.

Put the Cabbage and olive oil/butter in a pan and saute for 2 mins or until a little tender then add the rest of the ingredients and put a lid on the pan and let saute on medium low for 20 mins or until cooked…you will know!

How easy is that!

I made it up from a lot of different recipes. When I was pregnant I LOVED Cabbage, Cole Slaw in particular which is kinda weird! But this spicy cabbage hits the spot for me. My mother always liked Sauerkraut and I thought she was crazy but I think I might like it now…funny how things change. I want to be clear..this tastes nothing like Kraut.

I can’t even believe it I had 5 hits the other day…I know one was my mom but the rest who knows!

Maybe I will cook something new tomorrow!

I would like to say one thing about cooking…this is a really cliche thing to say but everything really does taste better with local organic ingredients…and if they can’t be organic…local, local, local! I used to get all of our produce, meat and eggs from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). I HIGHLY recommend joining one if you can. I plan on joining in the spring again! Avalon Acres is a GREAT one if you are in the Middle Tennessee area! They also have some great recipes! CSA’s are a great way to expand your cooking skills and eat great food! It actually saved my family money too!

To help you find a CSA around you I want to link you to a very helpful website Local Harvest.

Sorry to go on a little rant there but really I can’t say how fun it was to have a box full of fresh local and FLAVORFUL food….yum I can’t wait until spring!

By the way- I didn’t mean to rhyme in my Post title

I've got it

I think I’ve got it…I am going to go with Back to Basics. But I am not going to limit myself to that. I want to work on eating locally, doing my yoga, and cooking for my family. I want to look back on this blog and feel like I have good memories of the things I accomplished, not just that I wrote a blog…yipee. Someone actually looked at my blog the other day…I can’t believe it! It was probably my husband. Any hoo…hopefully there will be some interesting subjects coming up on this blog-as soon as I can find my book. Now to the storage unit…

Ideas to make this blog interesting

So I was thinking about how to make this blog interesting so myself and any readers that might stumble upon my blog might learn something. I have a few ideas. I might link this blog to a book…perhaps Back to Basics. Or just try new things. I have started a quilt, perhaps I would finish that! Or I could document how I try to live very inexpensively…so how to save money. I would love to start blogging about my families traveling adventures. We don’t travel to exotic places but we learn about the place around us. I would also like to share my adventures of eating locally and help people in my area find places to buy local…that in fact could tie into my living inexpensively…because truth be told, it is less expensive to eat locally and seasonally. I guess in reality I don’t have to limit myself to one topic, I could find some all encompassing topic…and perhaps that is Back to Basics…I think they cover it all. I am sorry if anyone reads this but this is my brainstorming process. I started this blog a little ahead of my ideas. I thought I should start it now or I would never start it. I felt I needed something to pull me in…I thought if I ‘built it they would come’- but alas I am disorganized and can’t seem to focus…I will though…to all my imaginary readers…I will focus for you! Until next time…which will hopefully be full of focused ideas and progress!

Tis a gift to be simple

Our lives our bombarded with T.V.’s, computers, and easy entertainment. I was inspired to start this blog this Christmas. I am a new parent. This Christmas my daughter got more toys then I can count. Lots of these toys are nothing more than an electronic babysitter. I am a stay at home mom for the time being and I didn’t think these toys were necessary. I will save my theories on those things for later post. But I write all of this to say, I think what people need is simple. The title of my blog is inspired by the old Shaker song “Simple gifts” (which also is heard in Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring). I will muse on simple pleasures like walking in the park and cooking my favorite meals from scratch and I will also challenge myself to find ways of living life more simply. I hope I can perhaps inspire just one person to get off their behind and go lead a simpler more fulfilling life