Craftiness for pretty much nothing

I ran across a phrase on a craft blog yesterday that made me chuckle.  It said the item could be made "with things crafters usually have on hand."  It's true, we tend to keep things like hot glue guns, buttons, bottle caps, fabric scraps, and zippers much more often than people who would rather buy things than make them.

In the vein of making do, many of us honestly do find creating an item much more fulfilling than purchasing the same item.  We love having a say in tailoring our possessions to the needs they are designed to meet, rather than having to re-arrange to accommodate an item that was too small or large for the space it needed to fill.  And better yet, we love having done it all with things we had on hand already--things that were given to us or that somehow found their way into our homes.

Thus my last two crafted items have come into being.  The first was from Stash Tea catalogs and packing tape, the second from fabric that was bequeathed to me from someone that had no use for it.  My friend and colleague Dr. Lape called them "sustainable crafting," and I suppose they are--it is very easy to be sustainable when you look at what you have to work with and use it well.  Whether or not you do so because you have no money to throw at things, or for the love of it, or both, is up to you.

Meet the tea bag.  This bag is adorable, despite what my horribly lit bedroom might tell you.  My idea use for it would be to take it out into a kitchen garden, gather herbs, and set them gently into it.  I even added an inner pocket for scissors or a knife to cut the herbs or vegetables, so the sharp places won't damage the cuttings.  Because of the packing tape I used to hold the parts together, it has a vinyl crackle and feel, but the patterns, images, and descriptions visible on it are all from a tea catalog.  Very chic, very fresh.

This is the rug.  I took at least 6 yards of a garden-themed print fabric and tore it into approximately 4-inch strips.  I sewed the strips together to make a giant "yarn" of sorts and crocheted the rug with a chopstick.  The entire project took me the better part of 3 hours, and I'm already contemplating shredding more fabric and making the rug big enough to fill a room.  It is incredibly soft, as the knots of the crocheting put over an inch of cushion between your tired feet and the hard floor.  This rug is also chic and summery, which is tending to be a theme now that it is cold and blustery outdoors.

So...the challenge for the week is this: use ONLY things you have on hand to create something new and beautiful.  Bonus: The thing you create must fulfill a purpose in your home.

Ready, set, MAKE SOME AMAZING!

What is the Christmas Spirit, Anyway?

4 days until Christmas.  Nope, hasn't hit me.  Honestly, it might miss me altogether this year.  I am at the point where I'm wondering what the Christmas spirit really is, since I apparently don't feel Christmassy until I wrap presents.  And this year, I will be doing very little present wrapping because of our budget.  Not that we can't afford presents, we just can't afford to spend $500 on presents for family I see maybe once a year, and am not going to get to see this year at all.  Instead, I've opted to make cool (ok, VERY cool) snacks and foods and freeze them until I can send a courier to deliver plates/baskets of goodies.  Sounds great!  It just doesn't involve much wrapping, and even less gifting, especially since it will be the weekend after New Year's Day when my mom can visit to be that courier.

Good news: I have a whole 2 more weeks to bake/arrange goodies to give.
Bad news: Christmas isn't going to be anywhere near Christmas Day.

So, here's the delivery schedule as it stands so far:
Husband's family: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day
My family: January 7th-ish
Church people: Whenever we see them at church/New Year's LAN party

Here's the baked/made goods list so far:
All-Natural Vanilla Almond Biscotti dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with organic coconut
Chocolate-covered salted caramel shortbread squares

Here's the list of other things I plan to make:
Chocolate-covered pretzels (can't get enough) and pretzel sticks
Cheesecake-stuffed strawberries
Brie-stuffed spinach puffs (a la Kronk)

Honestly, though, complaining about lack of wrapping-paper highs is not where I intend to be.  I actually think I'm still in the Thanksgiving Spirit and am going to get my Christmas on after New Year's.  I'm insanely thankful for the gift of Christ's life, death, and resurrection.  The less stuff we have cluttering our lives, the more thankful I am for God's simple gifts.  I'm thankful for gifts of family and friends, especially for my husband's little brother who is visiting us for the week and my college roommate and her husband, who will also be visiting.  Their company is an incalculable gift.

Do I need more stuff when I have such wonderful gifts to rejoice over?  I think not.

Merry Christmas.

Streeeetch that food budget

I'm as guilty as anyone of overspending during the holidays.  I've been forced to take drastic measures to cut down to match our reduced income of late, and with all the money going toward presents, I've got to find somewhere to cut to send the money to the shopping item.  

And what better to cut than the food budget?  Seriously, I'm about to be eating A TON more than what I should be, anyway, so now is the time to find some healthy, cheap food.  

What's that I hear?  Santa's "hohoho" of merriment?  Cheap, healthy food?  Am I nuts?  Would I like a handful of almonds?  Don't mind if I do.  

Here are some easy grow-it-yourself options that I've discovered recently, thanks to Pinterest:  

Grow your own bean sprouts.  The grocery store has lentils for pretty much nothing.  There's a lot you can do with a bag of dried beans, but I'd never heard, until last week, that you can use them to grow bean sprouts for salads or egg rolls or as a healthy filler in stir fry.  

Here's the process: Get a quart jar.  Put 1/2 cup (ish) of lentils in the bottom.  Fill it with water and let it soak overnight.  You'll be keeping it in the windowsill about 4 days.  Strain the water the next morning (if you have a sieve lid or a small strainer so you don't have to dump the beans out, that's the best way.)  The following morning, rinse the beans and drain the water (you're basically keeping them moist without allowing standing water to set up for mold.)  Same thing days 3 and 4.  By dinnertime on Day 4, you should have a quart full of bean sprouts.  

Green onions:

I go through green onions like kids go through peanut butter.  So, when I heard you can grow your own green onions in the windowsill FROM THE BOTTOMS OF YOUR OLD GREEN ONIONS, I about did a dance of joy.  I left about an inch and a half on the bottoms, planted the onions in an old tea tin, kept them moist, and in a day or two, had enough tops to make a chicken salad.  This picture is the day after I cut them.  I'm not even joking.  I need to get some more tins like this and have herb gardens in my windowsills.

Ginger (sorry, no photo, it hasn't sprouted yet).

Set store-bought ginger on top of the soil, and keep the soil moist.  We'll see how this one goes.  :)  

What else do you guys grow in your windowsills?  I think my bathroom window could use some greenery...

Making Doing Without for Thanksgiving Amazing

If I had a dime for every time I've heard "I couldn't live without (insert food type)"...I'd be at least able to buy a nice ice cream cone right about now.  Such statements, though often made with kind intents, reflect a very narrow mindset.  Yes, you can, and would, live without all sorts of comfort foods if the alternative was bad enough.  I have family and friends who live, and eat, quite well without such things as gluten, dairy, corn, and peanuts.

Which brings us to Thanksgiving, the time of the year when families come together to celebrate and share dishes with one another.  Don't forget the person or people in your life and at your table who have food allergies or are lactose intolerant.  Make some amazing dishes that everyone can enjoy, whisper to that person that the food is safe, and slip him or her the recipe.  It's an amazing gift, and if nothing else, will make you appreciate some of what that person goes through to stay healthy.

Our person this year is my sister-in-law.  She recently discovered that she can't have dairy, even lactose-free dairy, which puts most of her favorite Thanksgiving dishes into the no zone.  So, we have plotted some great dairy-free varieties of those dishes that we can all enjoy (or suffer through) together.

So, without further ado, the recipes I'm bringing to Thanksgiving:

Vegan Fudge
14 T cocoa
11 T sugar
5 T coconut oil (this was a substitution for butter or crisco, and added a WONDERFUL flavor)

Mix all in top of double boiler until incorporated.  Add 1/4 t. vanilla.

4.5 c. powdered sugar
8 oz vegan cream cheese

Mix these two in a bowl with a mixer until it forms a stiff frosting.
Add the chocolate mixture from before.  Mix until smooth.  Place in a pan lined with wax paper (I used an 8-inch spring form pan) and refrigerate until you serve it, at least 2 hours.  Keeps up to 3 days, but won't last that long, especially in our family.  I really should have made 2 recipes.

Mexican orange fudge with cranberries and almonds

3 c. sugar, div.
1/4 c. boiling water
1 c. soy or almond milk
1/4 t. salt
2 t. orange peel
1 c. almonds
1 c. dried cranberries

Melt 1 c. sugar, add water CAREFULLY (it will hiss, bubble, and act all upset), add rest of sugar, milk, and salt.  Stir for a few moments, then put away the spoon.  Let it boil until it reaches 242-248F, or forms solid ball when dropped in ice water.   Remove from heat and beat until it loses its gloss. Add orange peel and drizzle into wax paper-lined 8X8 pan with cranberries and almonds at the bottom.  Alternatively, you could sprinkle them on top as a garnish.  Whatever works.

I made this one first and didn't realize a small saucepan would not hold it once it started boiling, so mine only reached about 224F.  It made a soft, spoonable fudge that still tasted delicious.

Mexican dip dish

1 layer-browned ground turkey
1 layer-homemade refried beans
1 layer-homemade guacamole (avocados, salt, pepper, salsa, snipped green onion)
1 layer- picante sauce
1 layer-mixed dairy-free sour cream and dairy free cream cheese (1 tub each)

Top with dairy-free cheese, bake at 350F until hot and bubbly, serve hot and bubbly with tortilla chips.

Pizza, braided apple chai loaves (substitute soymilk for milk in a cinnamon roll recipe)

:)  Happy Turkey Day!

Making Dumpster Diving Amazing

Just that title makes me feel like a redneck.  I'd love to imagine that I'm one of those chic people who gets her furniture at antiques stores and reclaims thrift pieces with a keen eye for what will best furnish her home...

But alas, I must admit it to the world.  I got a table out of a dumpster.  I wanted a table, and I dug it out of the trash.  I'll never get an upscale New York studio at this rate.

*dodges rotten vegetables*

But I did say I made it amazing, didn't I?  And I did!  Read on, if my ethos hasn't been entirely demolished at this point.

At first, I needed the table, but didn't have the time to fix it up properly.  One glance showed exactly why it had been thrown out in the first place:  whoever owned it had dogs which chewed it to smithereens.  It was ugly, a cheap, tan table that belonged at a flea market--being used to sell merchandise because no one would buy it like that.

So, I threw a square of fabric over it and made sure no casual observer would see any part of the actual table.  Then I covered that in plants, and made it a lovely, useful piece.  And when we moved, I sat it outside until I could figure out a more permanent solution to the problem.

At that point, we began noticing another problem.  We had no table in the house at all, except the craft table David had bought me, which was being used as a computer desk.  There was no place for us to set our drinks or food, no place for Jeremy to set up for gaming, and no place for a dining table of any size.  A card table would have been too big.  But that hideous little critter outside was perfect.  Except that it was hideous.

I finally dug into my craft supplies and managed to find my sandpaper.  An hour of rough sanding, and half of the chewed places looked better.  I went for a rough-carved idea, sanding all the distinct edges down.  Then, I perused Walmart's mismatched paint section and picked up a pint of grey indoor-outdoor 2 in 1 paint/primer.  Finally, today, I painted the stew out of that table.  I filled the tooth marks with paint and smoothed it over with the bristles of the brush.

And it looks great!  Check out the picture!  So, here's to years of use for this lovely dog's chew toy.  :)  I am truly proud of this table, and I truly love walking in my living room and planning things to serve on it, decorate it, and do with it.

But it made me think about something....

I have another table that would be great to use, but it's in storage and has been since before we moved, because the glue that holds the legs together isn't strong enough to hold the weight of the marble top.  Yeah, it's an antique marble-top table.

But it's more worthless than this dumpster table, because I can't try to fix it in a way that would hurt it's looks. It would take someone with a lot more skill to fix, and even then, it would have to be treated with kid gloves and couldn't take a beating like this one.

It reminded me of my own pride.  I often try to be that pretentious marble table.  I won't allow myself to be humbled to the point where I'm actually useful.  I won't let God re-make me into someone He can use because I'm too busy trying to look good to everyone else.

Both tables needed work to become useful.  Both had potential to fulfill.  But only one is, and it's not the snazzy, chic one.  Such is the way of things in the upside-down kingdom.

Making Eating on a Budget Amazing!!!!!!!!!

If you saw my receipts from today, you wouldn't believe what I paid.  I used no coupons, only the deals in the sales papers from the day. 

Bi-Lo

Sara Lee plain bagels

Sara Lee blueberry bagels

Arnold oatnut bread (paid full price--it's worth it)

1lb ground turkey breast

5 crab cakes

Frozen flounder filets

Frozen whiting filets

Frozen catfish nuggets

---------------------------

Total before savings: 50.22

Total savings: 21.96

Total: $29.11

The bagels were Buy One Get One Free, and the last five items were all in the "Pick 5 for $20" deal.  I can bake or stuff the fish for one meal and have plenty left over for sushi the next day.  Of course, the crab cakes are for when my dad comes to visit. 

Ingles

Ginger Ale Spritzer

Tangerine Spritzer

Havarti sliced cheese

Muenster sliced cheese

Sour cream

Natural eggs (cage free, vegetarian diet, no hormones/steroids)

Rotisserie chicken sandwich meat

Jimmy Dean hot sausage X2 (for sausage and cheese balls)

Passion Orange Bolthouse smoothie (large)

Fresh broccoli

Fresh tomato

Bell pepper

4lb navel oranges

3 cloves garlic

Hass avocado

--------------------------------

Total before savings:  48.09

Total savings: 9.69

Total: 38.40

Dollar General

Plastic garden spade

Plastic garden rake

Metal garden birdie

------------------------

Total: $.30  

Pizza Hut

Breadsticks with marinara sauce (free for signing up)

Large Super Supreme minus sausage and plus bacon

--------------------------

$10 (we ate half and saved half for another meal)

So, for less than $80, we got food for the next two weeks.  Pretty sweet!  

Top 5 Ways to Keep out the Cold

I admit it, I'm a cold-weather weenie, for lack of a better term.  My ideal climate is somewhere between 75 and 95 degrees, and preferably closer to the 95 than the 75.  I don't use air conditioning unless I must for either company or the house's temperature exceeding 85.  So, when I check the week's weather forecast and see this:

 

My response was the same cold chill that Orphan Annie likely felt on the icy streets.   So, besides abandoning all plans of doing anything outdoors for the next week, I'm listing a few plans that I hope will make surviving this winter's first cold snap amazing.  

1. Hot beverages

Whether your poison of choice is apple cider, cocoa, mochas, or hot tea, (to which I reply "yes") it is definitely time to begin to heat up your beverages.  Find a new recipe for Russian tea, hot fruit punches, and toddies, if you enjoy them.  Nothing heats you up from the inside out like that warm beverage sliding down your throat into your stomach.  

2. Physical activity

Tis the season to start early on that New Year's resolution, or get the final squeezes out of this year's.  You simply cannot be cold after a good hour of P90X.  Your body heat also makes a convenient space heater for loved ones, and if your deodorant works, you may actually manage to get some warming snuggles out of the deal.  Not to mention your rock-solid body will encourage that spouse to get in on the snuggling as well. Combine this with number 3, and you're good to go.

3. Hot showers

Nothing feels better on a cold, crisp morning than to hop into a boiling hot shower.  To keep your skin from molting and morphing into alligator leather, squirt some conditioner onto your wash cloth along with your body wash to soften it up a bit.  You, not the wash cloth.  Also, if you use clear shampoos and body washes, dig out or buy a creamy one.  They're made to be less harsh and more moisturizing.  I also like the ones that smell like an island beach so I can dream about summer a little more while I thaw out.  

4. FWIPPIES!  

I don't know what you call your fwippies--fuzzy bunny slippers, house shoes, whatever.  They're a must-have for especially those of us with wood, tile, or linoleum flooring.  Couple them with some warm yoga pants (see number 2), a hoodie, or my personal favorite--one of my husband's long-sleeve shirts, for a match made in the warm, celestial heavens. 

5.  Baking

I confess, I don't like most heaters.  We aren't blessed with a fireplace at this residence, so I'm left with whatever the nebulous "they" installed in the apartment complex.  Usually those things aggravate my eczema to no end and leave me coming into springtime as one massive scab that finally gets healed by October.  I have a whole host of things to combat this, but the best preventive measure is simply baking.  

If I bake in a 1-bedroom apartment, the temperature of the entire place shoots up by about 5 degrees.  So, everything I stir-fried over the summer, I bake.  Tonight, we're having baked salmon, baked potatoes, and roasted vegetables.  See how this works?  It warms me up just to think about standing next to the oven, starting some cookies for the upcoming holiday season, some coffeecakes for friends, some pumpkin breads, some regular breads, pizzas, you name it.  

How do you keep warm in the winter?  Anything I missed? 

Making Tonight's Dinner Amazing

It's a chilly, rainy day in the sovereign nation of Dade County, Georgia.  The mountains that surround us are covered with deciduous trees, which are in turn covered with leaves that are just on the brink of bursting into a violent color palette of reds, oranges, and yellows. 

This calls for the commencement of soup season.  And what better way to celebrate Autumn's Advent, than to pile on the spices!

As always, I have made alterations and substitutions, but for the epically curious, the original recipe comes courtesy of this place: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Curried-Lentil-Soup-5344#ixzz1aVZhxc6U


Curried Lentil Soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2-3 red potatoes, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2+ tablespoons Garam Masala
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cans rotel tomatoes, juice included
• 2 cups lentils (about 12 ounces), with juice retained

I start with dried lentils and cook them, lightly salting the juice.  

 

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, potatoes, and carrot.  Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Mix in pepper and garam masala and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes with juices and lentils with juices and bring to boil. Cover pot, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer about 45 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. 

 

This recipe can be made up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate until cold, cover, and keep refrigerated. Before serving, rewarm soup over low heat. 

 

I might decide to serve it with rice so my soup-wary husband thinks he's eating curried lentils instead of curried lentil soup.  But I'd love to serve it in bowls outside on the porch with a cup of masala chai and some sour cream and cheese in it.  Either way, we'll see. 

Making Being Violently Ill Amazing

I'm thinking the title is probably a tad bit of a misnomer, there was nothing amazing* (unless you're very strange) about the effects of this bug I picked up on my recent trip to Honduras.  Nor was there much amazing about the RAB diet my mom put me on (Rice soup, Applesauce, Bananas), which she said was gentle enough to help the villi in my intestines regrow.  It also was gentle enough that I was hungry all day yesterday, even though I splurged a little and had oatmeal soup instead of rice soup.  Today, though, was time to slowly titrate my body back into normal eating habits, and this is where the creativity and amazing comes into play. 

*the heat pad, however, was most definitely amazing. 

Recipe of the Day: Egg Drop Banh Pho Soup

This is an Asianified version of chicken noodle soup, and even easier on the stomach.  I started with some veggies that looked mild, and prepared the Banh Pho rice noodles (for those who haven't read my post on Thai curry, you soak the noodles in water for about 20 minutes, then throw them in your stir fry until they're soft.)  Then I made the Egg Drop Soup, and added the noodles and veggies to the finished product. 

The Stir Fry/Banh Pho part
1-2 carrots
1 green onion or shallot
1-2 stalks of celery
1/3 of a package of Banh Pho rice noodles

Put the noodles in some water to soak them.  Chop all the veggies, cook with a little of the chicken broth in a wok or frying pan.  You don't have to get them all the way soft or brown them, because they will be heated in the soup, which will add a minute or two to how long they cook.  When the veggies are as done as you'd like, add the Banh Pho noodles, and cook until soft.  Turn off, and make your egg drop soup part. 

The Egg Drop Soup Part
1 quart chicken broth (I freeze mine after cooking a whole chicken, then thaw it every time I want egg drop soup)
1-2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste


Heat the chicken broth just to boiling, turn the heat down.  Beat the egg, slowly drizzle it into the hot broth.  Wait about 3 seconds, then gently stir it to break up the now-cooked egg bits.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  If you like your soup a little thicker, add about a teaspoon of cornstarch while you heat the broth. Once you have stirred the egg, add the Banh Pho and Veggie part, stir, and make sure your salt and pepper amount is still good. 

Variations: I like to garnish with Furikaki (rice seasoning).  I'm also pretty sure some brown rice would be very good in this soup in the absence of Banh Pho.  A little bit of soy sauce might also be tasty, and you could always vary the veggies depending on whether you're sick or not.  This reminded me of miso soup, so some tofu and seaweed or kale would be incredible as well. 

Making 40 Hours with No Water and No Power Amazing

When we saw this coming, we knew we were in for a wet few days.  What we didn't realize was that it would be so wet, the wind would uproot soggy trees by their soaked roots and drop them on power lines within the first few hours of the rain starting.  Oh, and those same lines that brought us power, powered the well pump that gave us water. 

Night 1: Watch the storms, play Apples to Apples by candlelight.  We moved our bed into the living room where there were fewer unstable trees, and more unstable windows out of which to watch the lightning and wind. 

Day 1: Put the houseplants outside for the drink of their lives.  Within an hour, they had gained 5 lbs apiece in water weight.  Fatties. 

Night 2: Ate watermelon and played the Ungame by candlelight.  Moved bed back into room so we'd get a decent night's sleep without the antsy cats plopping around all day.  Mr. Mike brought his work laptop home with a full battery so we could watch Gabriel Iglesias and Oceans 12. 

Aww, but she's so patient sitting by the window, waiting for the rain to stop.  This is Bynx, the Duchess of the family.  Really, what made the entire time amazing wasn't our ingenuity, but our interaction.  Being family, sitting and talking to pass the time, cooperating to make the best of what we had on hand, playing with the cats, and enjoying time together. 

Moving

Moving is what bwings us togevah today. 

I am typing from my cozy temporary room, having called Windstream and my landlord today to make it official.  In fact, my responsibilities have diminished greatly in the past 24 hours, and I find myself with little or nothing requiring my immediate attention; and am therefore feeling resort overtones.  I even laid out in the back yard and soaked up some sun in preparation for my upcoming mission trip to Honduras.  The more tan I get beforehand, the less I'll have to worry about sunscreen while I'm on the dig site. 

So, last night we packed up the in-laws' Honda CRV and old Ford pickup for the dozenth time and unplugged the lamp and swept the floor and left our keys on the stove when we left.  We were only moving about 8 miles away from the apartment, so we opted to make the multiple trips instead of renting a moving van for the day.  We used what few boxes we had on hand, and simply piled on the rest of the stuff.  We're living out of a suitcase, but are blessed to have space to set up a nice dorm-esque area for the computer and a few items to suffice for the time being.

Every time we do something like this, I am tempted to throw away everything else, all the packed up stuff, all the furniture, all the everything, and just live like this.  Simple, un-chained from material things, and free to make each day new.  Of course, I'm technically bumming off the in-laws for their stuff, but hey, what fantasy was ever without its surrealism?  So I'll stress again, like I have been for so long and practicing not nearly enough: SIMPLIFY!  If you don't think you have a ton of crap, MOVE.  When you pick up that random doo-dad your aunt Flitchie gave you when you were 10 and have never used, throw/give it away.  Even if you don't plan on moving in the near future, your livable space will be much more livable with less junk. 

For anyone who is moving or planning on moving, learn from my recent experience:

1. Start early--pack and re-pack boxes to organize items and make the most of space.

2. Have give away zones, places where you put items to conveniently "lose during the move"

3. Collect boxes and plastic bags from the grocery store.  These are great for packing.  There is no such thing as too many boxes.  Well, maybe there is, but I have yet to see it. 

4. If you're moving more than 10 miles away, pay for the moving van.  It will save you in gas.

5. Even if you plan to do the change of address form online, pick up the kit from the post office.  It has coupons in it.  I can get 10% off of my next purchases at Best Buy or Lowe's now.  And use the paper kit instead of online, it's free and the online one charges you $1.00. 

As a note on #2, I've had a huge blessing out of giving stuff away.  Things I don't use or know someone who would love the item more than I would, I got to give away.  Not only did it lessen the load of stuff I have to carry, but I get to see friends enjoying things that were just stuff to me.  It gives them and you both an item connected to a memory of each other, which will long outlast the item alone. 

A New Place to Make Amazing

Sorry for the long time between posts, I have good reason, I really do.  And this reason comes with an announcement:

Making Making Do Amazing is moving to a new location!  In the lag time between moving out of our apartment and moving in to a new place, my husband and I will be making some amazing out of his parents' house.  I'm certain this will afford many blog opportunities about maximizing small living quarters and enjoying time with family.  These next few weeks are going to be priceless, especially since we lived with them while waiting for this apartment to be ready and now we've come back to the beginning before making a fresh start in a new city with (hopefully) the new job for my husband. 

So, on the agenda today, moving the outdoor plants.  I am not confident that my irises and gladiolas will fare well in buckets, so I'm planting them and enriching the poor soil options to hopefully create something to add to Momma's home, and not just take up space. 

Christmas in August

I love Christmas, I really do.  It's the only real bright spot making the cold weather worth surviving.  I know, I'm a wuss, I live in Georgia, where we only usually have 4 weeks of hard freezing and mid 50s the rest of the winter, but that's cold to me.  And last year's 8 weeks of hard freezing were...how to describe it...insufferable? Miserable? Horrifying?  Anyway, back to the topic at hand. 

Christmas.  Warm colors, family, friends, gifts, abounding creativity.  It has been on my mind in an unusual way, and early on this year.  "Christmas in August" has been an offering for years now, but I never really understood the mid-summer yearning for ice and cold wind and Christmas, until I'm feeling it now.  Minus the ice and cold wind bit. 

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense.  Since last Christmas, January has New Year's, February Valentine's Day, March/April have Easter, May my birthday, July Independence day, then we have a long dry spell in August, September, October, and the first half of November, until Thanksgiving and Christmas herald new beginnings for next year.  This is the longest festivity dry spell in the entire year.  There's no gardening to be done, only a weekly filling of my hummingbird feeder. 

Of course, if I truly realized the urgency of how soon my mission trip to Honduras was coming up, I wouldn't be indulging these thoughts of Christmas lists and pinecone bird feeders....but what the hey.

What do you guys think?  What are some good Christmas to-do items that I can start early?

Apple Pancakes

I love looking at fresh-juiced apple juice.  

The LaFayette, Georgia Goodwill is my newest Achilles heel.  I might as well budget $25 toward every time I walk into that store.  And who can blame me, when there sits a brand new Oster juicer on the shelf for $10.00?  I had been saving up Swagbucks rewards and in another year and a half I'd have enough Amazon gift cards to buy a juicer.  So of course I had to try it out.  After I juiced almost every fruit and vegetable in my refrigerator, I realized the true expense of this critter was in the grocery bill it would produce.  I also saw how addictive it could be, especially watching the pulp and foam layering out in a cup of apple juice.  All of a sudden, the watery junk sold at the grocery store lost all appeal when faced with this complex beverage. 

A fun experiment followed.  I had made shredded apple pancakes before at Christmas, and served them with a spiced apple syrup, but I wondered if this juicer would make apple pancakes a hearty, healthy, non-special-occasion breakfast. 

So, I chose a recipe from Cooks.com:

1 1/2 cups apple juice
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oats
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat together apple juice and eggs in a medium bowl. Add the flour, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, orange peel and cinnamon. Stir until well mixed.Lightly grease a nonstick skillet. Make as you would pancakes pouring approximately 2 tablespoons batter mixture onto hot skillet for each pancake. Flip (only once) when bubbles begin to form around edges.

Simple, right?  And notice something else: the absolute absence of anything that involves milk or oil/fats or sugar (except in the juice itself).  I had neither the orange peel nor the wheat germ, but I did use whole wheat flour.  I would probably use the orange peel next time, the pancakes had a wonderful texture but were a little bland.  They didn't taste much like apples, either, which may have been the fault of my apples.  I usually prefer a stark organic Fuji or McIntosh. 

Here's the batter.  It made about 8 pancakes and fed 4 people.

I used a cast iron quesadilla skillet as a griddle. 

This is rehydrated pulp from the juicer.  It reminded me of applesauce.

The "applesauce" garnishing the pancakes.  Definitely a winner.

Pros and Cons:
Pros: Simple recipe, very healthy ingredients, filling and hearty
Cons: Juicer makes hard cleanup, a little bland (fixable), recipe should be doubled for large families.

Super Simple Sushi Salad

Close-up of texture. 

The finished product, serves 2

You can see from the first picture that this salad has a lot of color, a lot of texture, and a lot of appeal--and it's all very inexpensive and very quick to cook. 

Here's what you need: 

Sushi rice, enough to feed however many people your dinner feeds.  I only have myself and my husband, so I generally make 1.5 cups of rice in 3 cups of water.  It only takes about 10 minutes to cook, and I fluff it with a little vinegar (whatever kind I have on hand) before spreading it on the plate. 

Canned chicken, drained.  You could also use salmon or tuna, I suppose, for a more fishy taste.  Sprinkle on top of the rice.

Green onion or shallots--snip with kitchen scissors and sprinkle on top.

Ginger--I use sliced sushi ginger, and just sprinkle some on top. 

Furikake/Furigake or seaweed--sprinkle it on top.  If you're using seaweed, use kitchen scissors to cut it into tiny pieces and sprinkle it on top. Furikake is available at Asian food stores and is a great tasty topping for any rice dish. 

Other things you might try:  Sliced cucumber, sliced avocado, sliced radishes, wasabi (only for the adventurous!), grated carrot, broiled fish, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds. 

Options

I have documented evidence of two recipes, and I'm letting the fan(s?) decide which will be the topic of my next post.  Do you want to read about:

How to make chicken sushi salad (no raw meat involved!)

Or

How to make a tasty homemade salsa? 

Poor neglected blog

I saw a blog post that made me smile--thought I'd repost and add my own story here:

http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2011/07/06/how-one-woman-became-one-of-them-guest-post/

I know how I became "one of them."  I wasn't born this way, it didn't come naturally to me, but I love every minute of it now.  I'm about to weird out half the members of my small group tonight at the cookout, but I'm looking forward to it. 

In college, I went shopping with my brand-spanking-new first boyfriend ever (I have since married him) and his roommate.  I about got mad.  They were, and still are, avid foodies.  I was a southern girl raised on biscuits and gravy and pork bacon.  Though my man had talked with me before about loving home-made and fresh foods, I didn't understand the extent that food influenced his life until we reached the fated moment when they decided to step up to...the hot dog section of Walmart. 

My idea of college males and their dining habits was that they'd pick whatever was free or cheap, then cook it up and eat it.  I had no idea that these two extremists would spend nearly 20 minutes reading the labels and making fun of the ingredients in these poor hot dogs.  In fact, I was starting to get embarrassed at the stares from other people as this outing turned into an event.  Finally, they settled for some sort of gourmet all-natural wieners, and we paid for the food and left. 

Then came the learning, the working with fresh broccoli for the first time, the discovery of how to make stir fry, reading about nutrition and how best to give your body what it needs.  I tasted new things I'd never tried, and learned how to eat healthy on a budget (which is tough to do). 

I remember conversations with my mom, who was concerned that this line of behavior would end in us making poor health choices for her potential grandchildren.  What if they got sick?  Would we refuse to vaccinate them and never take them to the doctor?  If you don't drink milk, you won't get enough calcium and your kids won't have strong bones.  There's no evidence that organic is any different than normal food. 

And here I am.  I made homemade hamburger and hot dog buns today for our cookout, featuring unbleached wheat flours (2 varieties, mixed), honey instead of sugar, sea salt, organic milk, and real unsalted butter. 

You know what?  Even if there is no more nutrition in my hot dog buns than in the store bought ones, at least I'm missing out on a few preservatives.  And even if I'm not missing out on preservatives MY HOT DOG BUNS TASTE BETTER. 

What southern girl could argue with that?  (oh, and if you're in my small group, we're getting turkey burgers and some more of those gourmet hot dogs for tonight)

Lemon Curd

You may have been wondering: I see the making do part of this blog, but most of this stuff has more to do with utilizing what you have than making something truly spectacular. 

Well, my friend, the wait is over.  And yes, I'm talking about Lemon Curd.  

If you think "that sounds like barf and looks like snot" you're wrong on both counts, it looks like egg yolks and sounds like the sweet music of summer tea parties with scones and chocolate covered strawberries on the lawn.  For those who have never tried it, it's the sophisticated distant cousin of that yellow gunk they put in donuts, and more closely related to Grandma's lemon meringue pie.  And it is indeed easy to make, and delicious on scones or biscuits.  Actually, I recommend making it with meringue, as you can use the two leftover egg whites that way. 

Lemon Curd
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 c sugar
Zest and juice of 2 lemons (I used organic)
1 stick of butter

Chunk it all in the top of a double boiler and cook over hot water, stirring pretty much constantly until it thickens to about the texture of mayonnaise (it took me about 10-15 minutes).  Chill and serve, or serve fresh.  Yield: 2.5 cups. 

Oh, and if you want to buy it, it's $5.95 for a 7.5 ounce jar from Stash Tea.  This recipe makes 20 ounces.  That's over $15.  Making do, or amazing?  You decide. 

Are you bored?

I am.  This malady rarely effects those with nothing to do, but instead those to whom nothing appeals at the moment.  Break out of this with me. 

Start here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/buttonsbowsandbirds

Find some other Etsy shops that sell cool handmade items.  If a shop makes you say, "dang, that's awesome" or anything like that, post the link to that shop in the comments thread for me to look at. 

Finally, be inspired.  Think of something cool and creative to do and tell me about it. 

Test on Friday.  Just kidding.  *Dances to Alice Cooper's "School's Out"*

PHOTOS! Apartment gardening, pt. 2

As promised in one of my first posts (see the one with the elaborate Microsoft Paint attachment), I have photos of my porch garden and some ideas to grow some lovelies yourself! 

I really like the window boxes, and there are braces available for those who want to put them on the porch railing.  We get a lot of wind, which equals a lot of plants overturned by me practicing that very method, so I set them on a more protected area.  I've also seen people who used shoe organizers for herb gardens: http://www.instructables.com/id/VERTICAL-VEGETABLES-quotGrow-upquot-in-a-smal/

Those upside-down tomato and strawberry growing kits are pretty tempting as well, offering utilization of bird feeder hooks and possibly the porch railing as well.  Here's how to make on yourself, and it looks really cool to boot!  http://www.curbly.com/diy-maven/posts/1620-how-to-make-an-upside-down-tomato-planter

The soil around here is decently poor, especially close to the apartment, and weeds are always an issue, so I've spent quite some time adding rich soil in order to make the ground a little more garden-friendly.  One advantage we have is sunlight.  Most people in apartments tend to have lots of shade but very little sun, and it's hard to find vegetables that thrive on shade.  Herbs do pretty well and are pretty popular because they don't need a big, deep pot to grow, nor are they particularly high-maintenance. 

This article (no pictures, sadly) is all about container vegetable gardening and what veggies need what size container: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8105.html

I hope this helps some of you limited-space people!  So, what did I miss?  Any other ideas, recommendations, stories about what to use/not to use when limited-space gardening? 

And now for something completely different...

I've noticed my recipe blogs of late have tended toward the exotic, involving ingredients that are kind of hard to come up with and flavors that, quite frankly, not everyone likes.  Those of us who crave East Asian cuisine on a budget love it, but I don't live in East Asia.  I live in America, and since it is spring/summertime in America...

Kick Booty Coconut Cake

1 cake mix (and ingredients to make it)
1 tub cool whip
1 bag flake coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can coconut milk

Bake cake according to box directions (or bake a yellow cake from scratch).  With a chopstick or similar utensil, poke a bunch of holes in the cake.  Mix the two "milks" and pour the mixture into the cake and let it soak in.  When the cake has cooled completely, spread the cool whip over it and cover in coconut.  Chill overnight and serve cold. 

The Iced Tea of the Eastern World

I'm talking about Thai food.  Many have joked at the big Southern Contradiction: you boil it to make it hot, put ice in it to make it cold, lemon in it to make it sour and sugar to make it sweet.  I think the Thai have us beat, though.  With coconut to make it cool, chilis to make it spicy, sugar to make it sweet, soy sauce to make it salty, and random herbs thrown in there, I cringed as I put the peanut sauce to my lips to taste it.  Imagine my surprise when it was wonderful.  Really.  I fully expected to hate it, but nothing else in my recipe book called for coconut milk, and I had some leftover from the coconut cake I baked for a party.

Enough introduction, it's share time:

1/4 c. crunchy peanut butter
1 t. lime juice
1 1/2 t. soy sauce
1/2 t. hoisin sauce (I didn't have Worcestershire)
Garlic (about 1 clove, minced)
1 t. crushed red pepper or 1 chili
1-2 t. garam masala or curry powder
1 can coconut milk (add about 1T brown sugar if it's unsweetened)
Cilantro and basil to taste (I always skip the cilantro as it is nasty)
1/2 t. ginger brine (or minced fresh ginger if you have it)

Mix all ingredients except coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Slowly add the coconut milk until everything is smoothly blended together (obviously peanuts and spices will stand out, but the consistency should be smooth).  Heat thoroughly until it begins to thicken, but do not boil.

Recipe idea: over Udon noodles and sauteed vegetables is AMAZING.  This would also be good on da cheap over a bed of ramen with some green onions snipped on top.  I could also see this being a wonderful chicken topping.  I especially like that I can use my Indian spices and my Japanese food together.  <3

Any Thai recipes/suggestions? 

You Can Curry Anything

When I was in college, I smugly looked down my nose at most of the students who frequented the dorm kitchens.  I had been cooking in the Old Southern meat and three tradition since I could reach the stove, and most of these girls had...um...not.  Ever.  I first realized this when, while hanging out in the kitchen with a friend or two, a girl put some water to cook her dinner in a big metal pot, then asked me if I thought it would fit in the microwave.  If you don't get why I nearly fainted, this blog may not be for you.  (Hint: it has nothing to do with the size of the large METAL pot.)  The other was when I found scorch/melt marks on the bottom of my microwave plastic cookware, which I had left in a marked box in the kitchen.  With competition like this, my future beloved had nothing to worry about from me in the kitchen department.  I could make a mean biscuit and gravy, anything Italian, and fry chicken like there's no tomorrow. 

Then I asked my boyfriend what his favorite meal was, and all my pride came crashing down around me. 

Curry. 

What?  I'd never even tried curry.  Specifically, he likes spicy Indian and Nepali curry, it was what he ate every meal growing up.  There are apparently spinach, vegetable, meat, and potato curries, too.  This isn't some side dish, it's a way of life kind of food, like my Southern meat and three.  To me, this was devastating.  I had no idea there were other mindsets about serving food, eating food, preparing food, besides the one I had grown up with.  So, I soon began experimenting. 

In order to offer him curry for his birthday, I had to buy pre-packaged stuff under careful supervision and prepare it according to package directions.  This was akin to being bottle fed again on the humiliation scale.  I visited an Indian restaurant for the first time and tasted a few different things, all of which made my face want to explode.  But I liked it.  I tasted his mom's curry and got a few lessons from her.  She said that everyone's curry was different, so like varying my mom's biscuit recipe, I could get a feel for curry and learn, with just a few spices of my own. 

And I did.  It took me a little while, a lot of feedback, and a ruined shirt or two, but I can make a pretty kick-butt potato curry, chicken and veggie curry, and palak paneer (spinach and cheese curry).  I can make them mild or super spicy, and all very flavorful.  And you can, too.  Here's how: 

The simplest way to make curry involves garam masala, turmeric, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Add hot chilis or crushed red pepper to heat it up, garnish with cheese and/or yogurt or sour cream to cool it down.  If you know there is no way you will have access to a health food store or Indian grocery store or Asian market in the near future, garam masala can be made from easy-to-find spices here: http://indianfood.about.com/od/masalarecipes/r/garammasala.htm.  It smells wonderful and is a tasty addition to tea or baked apples, as well as sprinkled on roasted meat and vegetables for an Indian flair without the mess of curry.  

Indian Spices are key, but they don't make the curry.  I've heard that they were used first to disguise the flavor of rotting meat, since India isn't exactly known for quality.  But honestly, the better your ingredients, the better your curry.  I strongly suggest using fresh vegetables at the very least, organic if you can afford it.  Someone familiar with fresh food can taste a difference.  A good olive oil also helps, at least extra virgin if not first cold pressed. 

1. Chop your veggies, begin with an onion and a clove or two of minced garlic, sautee in the bottom of your curry pot (a decent sized soup pot) in about 1/3 cup of olive oil.  (some good ones are: broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, and pretty much anything taking up space in your refrigerator)

2. Go ahead and cook any meat in the pot now, but remove it before you add the vegetables. 

3. Add a teaspoon of salt now.  Add the other veggies when the onion turns translucent.  Cook until barely tender. 

4. Add a can or about a pint fresh/home canned of crushed tomatoes.  For more heat, use Rotel tomatoes.  If the mixture is not soupy and thin, add another.  If it still isn't soupy, add water or chicken broth until it becomes soupy.  Add back any meat you removed earlier. 

5. Add about 1/4 cup garam masala and 1/8 cup turmeric (yes, it's a lot.  It's supposed to be.)  Add pepper or red peppers depending on how much heat you can take.  Let simmer until it thickens to chili thickness.  Serve hot over rice (especially Basmati rice) with optional Naan (bread) and sour cream or yogurt and cheese to garnish. 

High-maintenance seed baby

http://www.wikihow.com/Plant-an-Avocado-Tree

I am officially trying this.  I have my avocado pit and toothpicks suspended delicately in a Hpnotiq glass.  The guacamole was fantastic.  To celebrate, I'll post my recipe:

Easy guacamole:
1 avocado
1 Tablespoon salsa or picante sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 green onion or shallot, snipped
1 spritz of lemon or lime juice

To easily peel and chop the avocado, see this:  http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cut_and_peel_an_avocado/   or remove the peel instead of scooping out the inside.  Up to you. 

Really, most of guacamole making is preferential.  Some like it spicy, some chunky, so the making is going to differ from person to person.  In general, mush the avocado and mix with everything else to taste.  Some like cilantro in it.  I don't particularly like cilantro, so I don't use it. 

Pest Control

http://www.walletpop.com/2011/05/03/savings-experiment-get-the-best-of-pests-for-less/?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl10|sec1_lnk3|60217

In addition to this, I have also read that pouring grits on an ant bed (don't wet the ant bed as it defeats the purpose) will have similar results.  I've been trying to get rid of roaches for quite some time now, using all sorts of methods to little avail.  I'm on the brink of calling in a pro, but I hate the nasty chemicals everywhere almost as much as I hate the bugs.  No, I take that back.  The bugs are worse.  Not saying the methods haven't killed tons of bugs, it's just the bugs keep coming back.  

Help out, everybody...what are some good ol' methods for getting rid of pests without spending a ton or giving yourself seizures? 

Etiquette and Protocol

As the child of a Type-A woman whose DiSC profile would show conscientiousness off the chart, I seem to have received via osmosis through her umbilical cord an urge to show cultural respect and, in short, be polite and tactful with the people I meet.  I almost, almost said something to a lady at Walmart the other day.  Now I'm not sure if I regret holding my tongue or not.

I had done everything I could think of to be courteous.  It was my coupon spending day, so my husband and I spent almost 2 hours shopping, comparing price tags, evaluating deals and bargains, and selecting about $150 worth of groceries and merchandise.  This is a lot for us, budget-wise and as neither of us really like to shop, and we'd already made multiple stops that day to run other errands.  As we shopped, I passed two other ladies with coupon folders just like mine, all checking out bargains.  I waved and smiled.  It was almost like an unspoken community.  I was riding on cloud nine, spending time with my husband, getting things we'd use and enjoy later, and saving tons of money in the process.

As we shopped, I had already separated out the coupons we were going to use, so I didn't spend 10 minutes leafing through things, and had everything ready to make the purchase as quickly as possible.  Even still, we had a couple dozen coupons in a stack, as well as a few Buy x, Get y free coupons.  Those had to be separated out, and I warned the cashier about them ahead of time, so she'd be able to record how much free stuff was given on the coupon itself, per store policy.

The lady behind us didn't see any of this.  In fact, she didn't even come up behind us until we had our stuff on the conveyor belt, or else we would have let her go through first.  I've been behind people who had price checks and 3 different purchases in one buggy before, I know the drill.  If the stuff is on the conveyor belt, you go ahead.  If it's not, let the person behind you go first.  That way, any people behind that are warned that your purchase will take a while, and they can choose a different register.  Win/Win/Win.  Also, though I did not do this, please warn the person behind you that you are using coupons and it may take a minute, so if they're in a rush, they can go to a different register.  At least they'll know.

So, about halfway through the stack, she starts whispering loudly to her husband/man.  "What's taking so long?"  He replies, "What, you've never seen people use coupons before?  You can save quite a bit of money..."  "Oh, well, they've just got to get their 30 cents off, don't they?  Well I just don't have time to sit all day and cut coupons and..."

This went on for a minute or two, while the cashier faithfully read and scanned coupons.  All the while I was getting redder and redder, and wishing it would all just end, that I could fast forward the process so this lady could go through the line.  Finally, as I signed for the purchase and was about to leave, she announced, "I'm not waiting any longer.  I'll just buy this someplace else.  Waste of my time..."  and left.  All her items, on the conveyor belt, not even ten seconds longer and she would have gotten service.  The poor cashier had to pull all her items off the line, and the cashier next to us looked back aghast, muttering "how rude."

I apologized profusely to the cashier.  She had done her job so well, perfectly.  Then we left, still blushing from the incident.  When I read how much I'd saved (nearly $30, a huge sum on our budget) instead of feeling triumph, I felt a little sick.  Should I have spent less time thinking about saving money and more about being kind to those around me?  Was I as selfish as she seemed to think?  Did I get tunnel vision around material things and forget those around me, or did she?  I wanted to rewind the moment and explain to her that our transaction would take a little while, but that it was worth it to us to save the money.  Heck, with the money I saved, I probably could have bought her entire transaction.

But thinking back on the incident, I'm reminded of a verse I learned as a child about serenity: "as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."  Were her actions embarrassing to me as a Southerner, as an American, and as a member of a very entitled, very wealthy culture?  Oh yes.  But did I do everything I could to live at peace with her and with the cashier, and with those I met?  Maybe, and maybe I could have done more.  I do know next time I go coupon-shopping, I will warn the people behind me about the transaction length.  And perhaps I will also remember to spend less time thinking about myself and more about showing grace no matter the situation. 

Couponing 101

My sister-in-law is amazing.  Not only is she an excellent cook, fashion expert, student, mother of two, and pastor's wife, she also is the sole being responsible for introducing me to couponing.  Now, I'd seen coupons before, I knew what they were, and I had even used one or two to save money on some groceries before.  And then there was Katina, in her shining glory, coupon notebook in hand, with stackable deals and email lists and ebates and swagbucks and it was like some other universe opened up before me.  So, for those curious, I will detail some of the simple things about couponing, with a promise to feature more on some of these things later. 

1. Open an email address just for coupon stuff.  This will keep you from getting 300 emails about deals in your regular email account. 

2. Get a notebook, preferably a 3-ring binder with a gazillion pouches.  You can stuff un-clipped coupons, expired coupons, scissors, restaurant deals, rewards cards, and used chewing gum in the gazillion pouches.  For the 3-ring binder bit, get a bunch of trading card holders and a set of dividers with labels. 

3. Make your labels and organize in a way that's best for how you shop.  You can make store coupon labels (rite aid, kmart, cvs, walgreens, target, family dollar) for stores that offer coupons only good at their store.  You can make sectional labels (baking, beauty, beverages, breads/chips, canned goods, cleaning/laundry, condiments, crackers/cookies, Dairy, Frozen, Health, Meat, office, paper/storage, pasta/rice.)  You can even make a restaurant tab if you eat out and get coupons for restaurants.  Organize them either in a way that reflects how you shop (in my store, we go through non-perishables first, then perishables, then freezer) or is alphabetical for you Type-A people. 

4. Sign up for those emails! 
A. Printable coupons:

www.coupons.com

www.smartsource.com

www.redplum.com

www.allyou.com

www.target.com

      (individual retailers who email coupons)

A.C.Moore

CVS

Dollar General

Kirkland's

Kmart- have rewards program w/Sears

JC Penny- have rewards program

Lifeway- get $5 off of $25 just for signing up

Michael's

Old Navy

Rite Aid

Toys R Us- have rewards program

B. Restaurant deals:  Some restaurants give you free stuff for signing up for their emails!  SWEET!!!!  Basically, if you eat somewhere, look them up.  I love getting free pastries and beverages from Panera Bread because I signed up for their rewards card. 

Applebee’s- Free dessert

Burger King- Kids club free meal to members

Chili’s- Free chips and queso

Cold Stone- Free Ice cream

Firehouse Subs – Free med sub

Golden Corral- Free meal

IHop- Free meal

Moe’s- Free stuff throughout the year

Outback- Free dessert

Starbucks- register a gift card get free drink

Sonic- Free stuff throughout the year

Zaxby’s- Free stuff throughout the year

C. But really, truly, my favorite website of them all is time2saveworkshops.com, because they send matchups and links to coupons and freebies to my email, as well as post them on Facebook (just "like" them).  I have gotten some cool deals because of those ladies, and I love their emphasis on giving and being courteous with your shopping.  Other cool websites include:  

www.swagbucks.com  (use their search bar, get points toward freebies.  450 swag bucks = $5 gift card to Amazon.com.  That's really one of the best deals, though there are tons of prizes)

www.ebates.com  (shop through them, get cash back, great for online Christmas/Birthday shoppers)

www.resturant.com  (Spend $2, get $25 gift certificate to select restaurants.) 

 D. Rewards programs (like aforementioned Panera Bread)

CVS- scan and get coupons when you walk in

Rite Aid

Walgreens

Food Lion

Bi-Lo

Ingles

Harris Teeter-can download coupons to card  (I'm not sure about this place, I think it's regional to NC)

Kroger--can download coupons to card (though it doesn't always work)

I'm sure this is enough to keep you all busy for a very long time, but later I'll post some more stuff, like how to get the most out of your coupons and some tips on how to keep from getting carried away and spending more than you save.  Anybody got some funny or awesome couponing stories? 

Using those Assets, or Lack Thereof

The pumpkins, squashes, and watermelons labeled here are drawn according to their space now, not what they will take up once fully grown.  That diagram would look like Maleficent's thorn forest, complete with fire-breathing dragon. 

In the vein of necessity being the mother of invention (or laziness, according to my father), I am a firm believer that limited resources is the mother of creativity.  The diagram above is an example of this, in more than one way.  First, and most obviously, we do not have a whole lot of tenable garden space, as is evidenced here.  most of this area is overrun with weed-infested grass.  So, I reclaimed what I could and put pots on my porch to offer a little more gardening space.  The other reason is that I would prefer to have taken a photograph and labeled that, instead of spending an hour drawing squares and circles, but as it is still nearly 3 weeks until my birthday, I have no camera. 

This principle, I have discovered, also applies in other areas of life.  When my husband and I were dating, we set up very clear boundaries to help us keep our commitment to each other (and to God) to stay pure and not have sex before we got married.  This restriction, instead of squashing our desire and affection for each other, only seemed to magnify it, and we got VERY creative in discovering ways to communicate, relate, demonstrate affection, and get to know each other.  I daresay, besides establishing a history of trust between us, it also deepened our relationship faster than if we had chosen the other way, because we were forced to make the more lasting emotional, spiritual, and relational connections with each other long before we made physical and sexual ones. 

In fact, boundaries and being creative with resources seem to go well together in a lot of things.  For example, our finances.  Having a limited travel budget has not only helped us get out of debt much faster, but also has forced us to spend time planning outings and events in such a way as to save money while making the event fun for all involved.  And then I found out that research has indicated that people who plan their outings ahead usually wind up more satisfied with them than people who don't.  Apparently, the happy feelings from outings and trips start in the imagination, when you start planning. We've made some incredible memories staying with friends (rather than spending extra on hotel rooms) and having strange impromptu picnics in parking lots (rather than spending extra for theme park food).

So, what are some limitations that have forced you to get creative in your life?  What was the result?