Yogurt and Cheese

According to my husband I have finally gone off the deep end. The other day I was listening to Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbra Kingsolver (with our MP3 player that we got for free) and I heard her talking about making cheese. I love cheese. I like it just as much as chocolate. My mom and I even go to a free monthly cheese class at a high class market in our city just to hear about and taste different cheeses. I always assumed that cheese making was super hard and never something I could do in a cost effective way. But to hear Ms. Kingsolver talk about it, it really is not that difficult. So I looked in to it and it turns out she is right. It is not that hard. I even found this great website where the author is committed to making cheese, yogurt and other things using all stuff you would find at a normal grocery store or already in your home.

I was so excited. Husband thought I was so crazy. Why? was all he could say. Because it is cheaper, better for you (no weird additives) and because I can. I love to cook and I also love a good challenge. Besides wouldn't it be way cooler to give cheese at Christmas instead of cookies?

Here is the website I will be using to make yogurt and cheese with -

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese_course/Cheese_course.htm

He even has nice pictures for every step.

Holiday Burnout

It is just a few days away from Christmas and I find it really hard to get excited this year. I feel like I have put in way to much work for this holiday and it has left me wondering "Is it really worth it?". It seems that the mom always get stuck with the holiday chores. It is my job to get all gifts for my husbands family, my own, the kids, wrap them, distribute them, figure out what to put in stockings, what to eat on the big day, fill out and mail cards and packages, get the business cards picked out and mailed and so on. I will admit that I used to enjoy this so I took it upon myself but now that I have two very young children, and a business to help run, I want to step back. I don't want to do everything. I don't even want to do half of it. This years holiday work has resulted in some bitterness on my part. I will admit to reading cards sent to us, smiling and then throwing the picture-less ones away just because I don't want them cluttering up my bar. I have no interest in getting the kids pictures done with Santa or doing any holiday activities that require any waiting in line. So my goal for the new year is to figure out how to step back and not spend so much time on the holidays. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Black Friday Deals!

On this lovely snowy Thanksgiving I am busy cooking a turkey that myself, my children and my mom will not be eating. We only eat fish meat so we will be having lobster (the suffering we go through!) for our Thanksgiving dinner but I still cook a turkey for my sister, husband and my cousin. We have so much to be thankful for this year! Our business, our family, our health and of course SALES! My favorite sale on Black Friday and the only one I will be going to this year is the Goodwill sale. Most of the country's Goodwill stores have a almost everything 50% off for Black Friday and the day after. Some do it for the whole three day weekend. They will be opening an hour early at 8am. Goodwill does not really do a good job of advertising this so I thought I would post about it. I only found it by accident one year when I happened in to one as a last minute decision.

I love Goodwill. If you have more time then money or just want a good deal it is the place for you. It takes time to look through things there but it is well worth it. I love to get my son like new books for $1 or less, baking-were, and clothing for myself and my hubby. I remember finding a Boppy with a cover there for $2, new they cost $40. The only thing that I would not bother with would be the baby clothing. Everyone takes their nice clothing to the used kids stuff stores like Once Upon A Child to get money. I also like that I am not buying new stuff and therefore helping to keep things out of the landfill. Save money and the planet, a double win!

Drinking the Cool-aid

Well I am not one to jump on bandwagons but I am about to "drink the Cool-aid" so to speak. I am in the planing stages of starting Dave Ramsey's 7 steps. Just recently, I was at the library picking up some books I had ordered and Dave Ramsey's book Total Money Makeover was sitting on counter. I started to flip through it and saw a clip about a couple making $30,000 a year that did his program. I decided to get it right there. It was free right?

Our family does not have massive debt but we did just start a business so we have some. Even before reading the book, we had decided to sell the riding mower we bought to get rid of the payment. We have gotten out of debt before but something always comes up (usually emergencies but not always) and we end up back in. Once you are in a little, it is so easy to get in a little more for something that is not an emergency.

Dave Ramsey's plan is simple and seemed to fit my family. We don't have a high income or huge credit card debt. I am a stay at home mom and it is important to us that I stay one. I don't like how many other financial gurus answer is just for the mom to get a job outside the home. That will not work for us. I also don't like how many plans seem targeted at higher earners then we are. Dave's plan made it seem possible to get rich with out having to make more money. Another thing is that no one seems to speak to the self employed. We don't have access to a 401k so I don't care to hear about it as the be all and end all thing. Dave has worksheets in the back with alternatives for those that are self employed. The last thing is that Dave's plan addresses people's real behavior. I am a very cheap person. I am capable of having a credit card sit in my wallet unused for years. My husband, bless him, is not. He is not the type to get in to debt on small things but when he wanted to start a business, he just went out and charged it. I needed a plan that would convince and reward him enough that he would stick with it. So here I am, about to take the first step to a credit free life. Wish me good luck!

Fall Fun in the City

I am amazed how many free things there are to do with your kids during the fall. In our city the parks hosts at least 4 different Halloween parties in different parts of the city, some nature walks, and even some evening spooky stories over a campfire with hot cider. All of these events are free or under $5. Then there are all of the harvest parties hosted by local churches. Our church is hosting a Samhain party the night before Halloween and a haunted house the day of. Many of my mom friends have invited me to their churches harvest festivals as well. Then there are the parties hosted by my local moms groups. Each group is having one for the kids and in years past they have also had a party just for the adults.

How do you find out about these fun cheap parties? The web of course! Most cities have a parks and rec department and it will have its own web page with all the happenings of the month. Church parties may be a bit harder to find if you don't go to that particular church but all you have to do is ask around and you might find something fun to go to. I found all of my moms groups through Meetup.com. I love Meetup, I have met all of my mom friends through this website that was designed to get people with similar interests to meet up in real life. Some groups charge a fee but it is usually no more then $10 a year. Others get sponsored and so don't charge a fee at all. All it takes is a little time and any city slicker can find some fun, cheap, things to do during the fall with their little ones!

Cloth Diapers at Target and Walmart

It would be so great to be able to get cloth diapers at a big chain like Target or Walmart. Here in my city we have one very small and very limited store that sells cloth diapers. It has limited selection, and limited hours and many moms and dads just don't know it exists. I think that many more people might be at least willing to consider the idea of cloth if they could SEE the covers, Snappies, and diapers. I know that for me it was really hard when I had to buy everything sight unseen over the internet, with only pictures to look at. I was unemployed and pregnant at the time and had nothing better to do then spend hours researching what diapers to buy. Most people don't have that kind of time. Cloth can be very confusing for a beginner and it is even harder to try to pick what you might like (pocket diaper, prefolds, all-in-ones) when you can't even see them. Then you have to pay shipping too. There are many places that the only store around is a Walmart. These people are (most likely) not going to drive way out of there way to see some diapers. Think of all the money it would save people to put their babies in cloth!

Sign the petition to tell Target, Walmart and other retailers to carry cloth diapers!

Toddlers and poop

Life with a toddler is never dull. In fact it can be quite stressful. I used to work at a daycare were we primarily took care of toddlers and I loved the job. I thought toddlers were just "so fun!". Then I was a nanny to three girls 2, 4, and 6 and that was also "so fun!". Now I would describe toddlers as just "so stressful!". Right now my son loves poop. Now I know there are plenty of toddlers that do not like poop but I was lucky enough not to have one of those lovely children. Lately he thinks it is so funny to poop in the tub when he is getting a bath. I was doing laundry in the other room one day when I hear a splat! I come in and he is slinging handfuls of poop on to the floor. Then there was the time that I look over and my son is putting his finger in his butt and then putting it in his mouth! Or when I came in to his room one day (this was a while ago) to find that he had taken off his pants and diaper and was dancing all over his poop on his crib mattress. It took me an hour to clean that up. My son is a really sweet boy but there are some days when I just want to say "wake me when it's over".