Mystery Squash...

I have started my garden!!! The first plants were peppers, followed by onions... The onions are growing alright. I  took too long to move them from the water force start to soil... But they are slowly recovering. The soil I used was, compost. It was too cold to dig some from outside. This morning I noticed I had more than just onions growing...

Now I will have to wait until more mature leaves grow and possible a fruit before we know if it is a pumpkin or a zucchini...

Spring has Sprung!!!

I love spring on the Palouse! It has the most interesting weather patterns of all the seasons here. Plus it brings the SUN, FLOWERS, and lots and lots of ANIMALS!!! I am counting down the days to being able to plant our garden! Monday after graduation, I will be weeding and planing where I want to put our peppers, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, zucchini, and pumpkins!!!

We have been taking some long hard thought into moving. We want to upgrade our one bedroom apartment to a three bedroom. I wanted Brody to have a room to study in especially after we have a baby. But with us not expecting a baby in the next 9 months and not having a budget to cover more rent, baby costs, and Brody going to school full time... We decided we have MORE than enough space, so lets get creative! Brody has grand plans for the basement, he wants to turn it into his study. I think it is a great idea, our basement is creepy! Well I guess all basements are...Since we aren't moving we are going to be able to plant our in the garden not in pots, and this years get to have some space in my mother-in-law's garden! I am so excited to be able to have lots of time on my hands!

With spring and the increase of sun, our cat, KiKi, is very much enjoying her life! And since we do not have children yet, we have a funny cat we like to laugh at, so for your enjoyment!

She loves paper bags and cardboard boxes. Here are some pictures of her playing with some bags.

We did not put anything in those bags. I was actually getting ready to toss them when Brody notice KiKi's attachment...


Today, I was working on some thing in my office (which is a re-purposed half room area...) and she found the sun! The only problem... it was shinning right onto on of my bags of jewelry stuff. That did not stop her! She wanted the sun, and a table mirror wasn't going to stop her...

How I save money at the co-op! (Part Three)

Part Three: How I do it!

I have been debating the best way to show/tell you how I do it, and I think I am just going to give a rundown of the entire process. I believe that this will be the best way to fully show you how the process works.

1.       Make a menu. I make a menu of 7 dinners. I do this whenever we are out of meals or out of food, usually about 1.5 to 2 weeks.

2.       Make a list of items need for the menu items. Don't go through your cupboards yet! Just go though the cookbooks you got the dishes from and write down everything! (Salt, pepper, EVO or other items you always have do not need to go on the list.) I mean if all call for a medium onion write down 7 medium onions. Let’s call it the "ingredient list”.

3.       Now go through your pantry and cross of what you have and add what you need.  Plain and simple, just write a new list of items you need to restock.

4.       Next compare the lists. I find that writing the lists on different slips of paper help. Write a new list of the items that you need to purchase (or want to get).

5.       Separate what you want to purchase at the Co-op and at Winco. I do not buy everything at the Co-op. Now, I had a $500 food budget for the two of us I would, but we have $150 and so to save where I can some things are just cheaper at Winco.

What I ALWAYS Purchase at the Co-op:

VEGETABLES

FRUIT

Pasta (Only because I like the brand of Whole Wheat pasta they carry)

DAIRY (MINUS Cheddar and string cheese)

Cereal (UNLESS Winco has the same brand and it is not on sale at the Co-op. The Co-op sale price is lower that Winco’s everyday price.)

HONEY (a- it is local, b- there is about a 5 cent price difference)

Bread (if I know I don’t have time to make it that week)

MEAT

Rice

Dry Beans

What I Purchase at Winco:

Items that are the same but cheaper at Winco

Cheddar and String cheese

Spices (If they don’t carry it in the bulk section I get it at the Co-op because they more than likely will have it bulk)

Specialty meats (ex: Pot Roast or a ham, and I actually get it at Dissmore’s or Safeway I do not buy meat at Winco!)

Frozen Vegetables (I get the organic brand though)

Canned Items: Tomatoes, beans, pineapple…

Well now you have finished the shopping list now is time for getting ready. This step is all about how to 'shop the co-op'. It is also a reiteration of some things previously stated.

a)      Join the co-op! The Moscow co-op has the LOWEST membership dues! $10 A YEAR!! If you shopped every week there it would be just under 20 cents a week! Plus being a member gives you access to great saving opportunities! The 10 cent bag credit, a bi-monthly coupon book, and their monthly in-store member only discounts. You can even get a discount on ordering bulk items (not the bulk bins).

b)      Invest in those reusable shopping bags. They are about a buck at most places, and are WASHABLE!!! The co-op gives members a 10 CENT discount for each bag you bring, and use! They will ask you if you want to use or donate the discount. Do not feel guilty about taking it, you are on a budget and are trying SAVE while shopping locally!!! I try to keep a few in the car just in case (as I often do, I forget to grab them…) I also put my list with the bags to help me remember them.

c)       Reuse containers! You get another 10 CENT discount for buying items in bulk, but using your own containers. Save money and save the planet!

d)      Check the website before you go! This way you can check to see in store specials before you get there. For example: I was getting ready to go, so I checked online, and the brand of pasta we get on was on sale! Good thing I looked before so that I knew I was going to be stocking up on pasta and needed to adjust our monthly budget for it!

e)      Don’t be afraid! Sometimes I feel like I am not ‘hippie’ enough to shop at the Co-op. But it just like going to the gym, no one cares about what you are doing there. They are doing the same thing, shopping at the Co-op.

f)       Don’t go hunger! They have a bakery, and they have a café, so eat there and take a moment, if you forgot to eat. Otherwise you will be drooling and grabbing items not on you list!

Well I think that is all I have to say, for now… I am currently working on a follow up with Recipes. Comment on what kind recipes you are looking for! I have a few bread, and meatless dishes I am perfecting!

Winter Wonder Land...

With 19 days to the first day of Spring, we awake to 12+ inches of snow! It has been snowing for just over a week and with culmination it is 2 feet deep in places! Here are a few pictures of our fun this morning!

Brody showing how deep it is. His boot is covered!

Brody shoveling a walk down to the car.

Our car usually is parked by the grill, we have been unable to make it up our driveway.

The front yard, I hope to build a snow man later...

I had to pull the ruler up some so it could be seen...

A limb that fell off our tree. Notice how the snow is all most level with our neighbors yard!

I hope all of this snow doesn't hurt my tulips, and irises!

Brody digging out the car! Yup the snow is covering the fender!

Babies, Everywhere!

Well those of you in my ward know there are a bazillion, women pregnant. Well, it is more like 16 of 50, which is still a incredulous amount! I will state this WE ARE NOT PREGNANT! But it something that is on my mind, well often. I have a few close friends outside of my church circle, who are expecting and it is just SO EXCITING! One is expecting her first, one is expecting their third and a couple of my friends are adopting! So it seems like everywhere I go people are expecting! Who wouldn't be baby crazy surrounded by this!

We are planning on starting to have children soon! I can hardly wait! We just have a couple of things which we are waiting for before we jump on the baby band wagon. Some of those have to do will health, finishing school (for me! Graduation is in MAY!!!), and figure out the unanswerable question how to have Brody finish school, have children, and still come out even... Some of you out there make it look, well easy.

Despite, these little bumps we are working to over come, we have been collecting (and I do mean we!), and I have been planning. We have collected a few items: bellybubs (see this post), a raggedy Ann doll (need to find an Andy now), and some beautiful hand crocheted booties from a wonderful vintage shop. My mother, has been collecting items, I swear, since the day I was born! She also has her own little business.

The planning that is happening is very involved. I never really thought about what I would do for the nursery but with so many friends having babies, and seeing all the super cute themes some people do I have come up with what theme our first baby. I have decided a few other things, like I want to do a natural birth, that I do not want to know the sex of the baby until birth, and we are going to cloth diaper. The theme Jungle! I am so excited! I can not wait to start! I am going to make the cutest mobile, and a jungle full of crocheted stuff animals! I know my mother is will make some super fun items. She and a friend own a craft business, they make great items an mother would need!

Here are some photos of those supper cute animals I want to make for our distant little one.

Thank you!

I forgot to post this weeks ago!

I am going to take a moment and break from the normal banter of my life. The other day, I had an wonderful experience and want the world to experience it also! Now, I am the one to criticize the government and complain about how I feel about these drawn out wars (or occupations or whatever they want to call them), and how they seem to be ridiculous. But, on the same hand, I will never ever degrade those that served, have served or will serve to protect my freedom and rights, even the right I have to post this. This is to everyone, those that have, will, or are serving, those married, engaged, dating, children, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, brothers, sisters, friends, enemies, everyone.

I drove my sister to Spokane for an eye doctor appointment the other day. We were running a little late (just about 15 minutes). We went it, she was looked at, and then send out back out to the waiting room, I think they were low on rooms. As we were sitting in the waiting area, there was an elderly couple and another elderly man. They had a conversation that went more or less like this  (names are not real, we never actually caught what they were...):

Jerry: To other elderly man, Bob "You still Driving?"
Bob: Yes, how about you?
Jerry: Yes, how old are you?
Bob: 90, you?
Jerry: 86. Did you serve?
Bob: Yes, all three.
Jerry's Wife: All three?! Jerry served in WWII and Korea.
Bob: I served in Italy during the big war, during Korea, and in Nam (he never once said Veitnam, only Nam.)
Jerry: I served in Europe, where did you serve?
Bob: Italy. I flew B-29's. I flew through Korea and in Nam.
Jerry: I was in the amphibious attack at (did not catch the place) he is then called into the doctor's office.
Jerry's Wife: What did you do in Korea? I didn't know they had fighters?
Bob: I didn't fly in Korea. I flew missions to Russia during the Cold War.
Jerry's Wife: Oh. What did you do in Nam?
Bob: I flew. It is horrible. We would lose 10 at a time. One plane would go down, and we would lose them all. We stopped saying how many men we lost, and starting talking how many plans.
Jerry's Wife: You are very lucky.
Bob: I served from '41 to '75. I never came out of a mission with a scratch. On time I bullet came through the side of the plane and hit my boot, but it just fell to the ground.

The conversation went to about how their friends are dieing, and how the reunions for the their groups are dwindling. It was a very humbling experience to be apart of, listening to those men talk about their past. I was able to tell Bob, thank you for serving, I am not sure he heard me, I started to tear up as I did.

To all of those service members, Thank you. To my Grandfather, who served in WWII; Papa, who served in Vietnam; to my Aunt, who is serving now; and to my Cousin, who is currently in the Middle East, Thank you!

How I save money at the co-op! (Part Two)

Part Two: How to ‘Shop the Co-op’

For this post I did some research so click on links for more information!

There are so MANY ways to saving time, money, and energy grocery shopping. Some of them are just basics like what I posted in PART ONE. This post, part two, is more specific. This is about how to save at a Co-op. Some of these tips can be used at other local food retailers (farmers markets for example). Many of these examples/tips are for my local co-op the Moscow food Co-op.

a) INVEST in those reusable shopping bags. They are a buck at most places, and are WASHABLE!!! The co-op gives members a 10 CENT discount for each bag you bring, and use! They will ask you if you want to use or donate the discount. Do not feel guilty about taking it, you are on a budget and are trying SAVE while shopping locally!!!

b) JOIN the co-op! The Moscow co-op has the LOWEST membership dues! $10 A YEAR!! If you shopped every week there it would be just under 20 cents a week! Plus being a member gives you access to great saving opportunities! The 10 cent bag credit, a bi-monthly coupon book, and their monthly in-store member only discounts. You can even get a discount on ordering bulk items (not the bulk bins). Here is a website that will help you find your local food co-op!

c) CHECK the in store sales. The Moscow Food Co-op posts their bi-weekly specials online. Just follow the link and from their website you will see the flyers! It is amazing! I love their Bionaturae Whole Wheat Pasta, but I don’t want to pay 3 bucks for a pound of pasta, we stock up on it when it is on sale for $1.99! Which then comes out to a buck a meal for pasta for us. Checking the sales before you go is helpful because if you are low on pasta, like we are, you can know if it is on sale and stock up! *To find the ad, go to the website, scroll down a little it is a link titled something like "Download CO+OP Month A Deals" A and B denote the time the flyer is good.*

d) LEARN basic math. Alright this is where my training as a Material Science Engineer comes in, but I know you people out there can relate. These are things you MUST know to shop at any local food place, Co-ops, Farmers markets you name! I hate the ‘standard system’ and will argue that metric is way better, but until the government gets off its lazy bum, we have to know both! Here are some basics to get you through shopping produce: Peppers DO NOT WEIGH MORE THAN A POUND! I know that the co-op places the price of peppers as $2.50 a pound, but seriously, have you ever held a pepper people? I am so tired of hearing “$2.50 a pound that is ridiculous!” Guess what?! Different sized peppers for $0.76 each is RIDCULOUS!  Most produce is priced per pound at the co-op. It is more fair to the consumer and the farmer. So, with that little digression… 16 oz =1 pound, 32 oz = 2 pounds, 1 gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 128 fluid ounces (that is what fl. oz on juice and milk containers stand for, it is different than the mass measurement ounces). Grams, not many things in the US are labeled with just grams, but some recipes are written that way, invest in a kitchen scale with multiple units.

e) BULK foods. I love to make lasagna, but lasagna noodles are prices when they are boxed, plus half are always broken. When you get them from the bulk section you get you pick HOW MANY you want/need and nice long un broken ones (just be careful on the way home not to break your precious noodles!) The co-op posted on their website this handy 8 Ways to Save article. Number 3 is to shop Bulk, here is what they say about buying bulk “Buying in bulk saves you money, plus it saves packaging and allows you to buy only as much as you want. The Moscow Food Co-op has over 500 items in bulk, including grains, beans, snacks, baking supplies, coffee, herbs, & body care items.” I never was a fan of the bulk bins until I recently discovered their wonderful saving capacity. If you haven’t tried them, DO IT!

f) SEASON Shopping! Seasonal shopping will add so much flavor and diversity to your foods! The NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) has a GREAT website for finding local farmers markets and you can search by state what produce is in season when! It is a great guide bookmark it, or print it out and tape it you’re your fridge!

g) STOP buying prepared/ processed food and BUY ingredients. I said in the first post that making bread saves money, well so does making your own pasta sauce. I have recently started to even make our own Alfredo sauce! It is surprisingly easy and super yummy! Making things like bread or your own pizzas are fun, cheap and can involve the whole family. Plus when you make your own food, you know exactly what went into it!

While I was doing the ‘research’ for this I found a few good sites with lists of ways to save, check them out if you like!

32 Ways to Save

The Frugal Law Student

WebMD 

I know these are long posts but it takes work to save your money! Good Luck to you shoppers out there!