A Woman's Right to Choose?

Our current administration and most liberal and progressive thinkers are adamant about protecting a woman's right to choose.  Or, are they?

We continue to hear arguments for free birth control mandates and easy access to Plan B and even abortions.  We have continually been assured that tax dollars will not pay for abortions while Planned Parenthood continues to receive millions of taxpayer dollars every year.

But back to that matter of choice.  The federal government and courts assure us that underage girls are capable of making the decision to terminate pregnancies.  Parents cannot be notified in some cases but if that same child needs or takes an aspirin at school, zero tolerance policies will likely get her suspended.

This same hypocrisy is seen in the way the federal government has decided that you, as an adult, are incapable of making a reasonable choice regarding health insurance.  You're capable of paying for it (unless yours comes free or subsidized by other taxpayers) but obviously, you're not capable of selecting a policy that meets your needs.

Don't worry, Big Brother will help do that for you.  After all, it's a woman's right to choose - as long as they control what you choose!

Quick Menu Update

Sunday - Hamburgers

Monday - BBQ sandwiches and side

Tuesday - Homemade Chili

Wednesday - smoked Sausage and Scalliped potatoes

Thursday - spooky chili over noodles

Friday - Homemade Pizza

It's all about the food ..

 

Here's the pot pie before the top crust was sealed.  Below: just before baking.

I used leftovers to make a beef pot pie for dinner tonight.   Had cut some leftover roast into cubes and stored vacuum sealed in the freezer since last week.  I used two store bought pie crusts, a can each of bite potatoes, green beans and sliced carrots.  I mixed about a half of a cup of gravy mix and drizzled over the filling (not cooked).  I sealed the edges and baked at 350 for just abut an hour.

Today for lunch, I also had leftovers.  I took some leftover salad mix, a can of pear halves and some miscellaneous toppings.  At work, I purchased a little mozzarella cheese shreds and a little bit of broccoli florets.  I added some raspberry vinegrette.  Delicious.

Using what you have is frugal

I purchased six pounds of apples a couple of weeks ago from Aldi when they were on sale for .66 a pound.  I used them as a decorative centerpiece for a while and we've eaten a few.  I noticed that the apples were beginning to smell and took that as a sign of ripeness.  

I decided to cook with them this week.  Sunday I prepared a pork and apple dish that used three apples.  Tonight, I used five apples (technically four and a half) to make a rustic tart.  I had some pie dough in the fridge and simply rolled it out and placed the peeled and sliced apples on top.  (I tossed the apple slices in slightly less than a half cup of sugar, one teaspoon of cinnamon and about a tablespoon of flour.  I folded the pie crust up and pleated it slightly to form a bowl around the apples.  I topped the apples with a few slices of butter and baked it in the oven for about 45 minutes.  Here it is just before going in the oven.

A delicious way to use up apples we already had.

Tonight we had a taco salad made from some leftover taco meat and some miscellaneous salad stuff from the fridge.  I had two taco bowls in the fridge.  Another frugal meal.

Tomorrow night, I'll use the other pie crust to make a beef pot pie with some leftover roast beef by adding a can of green beans, a boiled potato or two and maybe a carrot.  Top it all with some gravy and call it a pot pie.  We should have enough for Tuesday and Thursday.

Pulling together a menu

Sunday - pork chops and rice

Monday - Taco Salad

Tuesday - Beef Pot Pie

Wednesday - Spaghetti and Sausage

Thursday - leftover pot pie

Friday - homemade Pizza

I'm continuing to use things I already have and only buy what's necessary or staple items that are on sale.  Still NOT buying things to put in the freezer.

Like a kaleidoscope.....

I'm starting to think about Christmas gifts.  I'm working on one now for the littlest little one.  It is a crocheted piece and I'm getting it done pretty fast.  Every extra few minutes can be used to work on this.

I'm trying to come up with some ideas for the other kids for little things they may like.  I'm going to try to make marker rolls for the boys - just like crayon rolls but with washable markers instead.  The girls are a little difficult.  I have a little something made for them but I need to find some more ideas.

The big people are even more difficult.  Ideas, please!

In addition to all this, I'm still working only blue and white Dresden plate project.  15 plates complete and five more in partial status.  I think 24 plates would be wonderful but I'm thinking I may not have enough.  Keep your fingers crossed for me since I don't think there is more fabric to match.  Trying to come up with a fabric for the center circle has been a real pain.  Blue is a fickle color - none of the fabrics I've found look like they coordinate.  I think I'll end up going with a white center and a white background.  After I determine how many plates I will have, then I'll decide the size of the squares and it they'll be any sashing.  I'd like to be applicating the plates on soon but that's unlikely.

I also purchased four charm packs that I have separated for two projects - one purple and one blue and white.  I also have a jelly roll and a layer cake.  They're all running though my head with patterns and ideas like a kaleidoscope.   

Originally, we had planned to go apple picking this weekend but decided against it when we heard how big last weeks crowds were.  Then we thought about going to our favorite winery for lunch today but the weather was awful most of the day.  Instead, we ran some errands no did some chores around the house.  The same stuff is on tap for tomorrow.  I'm going to be working on some file boxes: trash or treasure, getting my grocery items put away, and helping with some garage clean up.  Not my favorite things to do but we have some storage boxes that need attention if we're going to have room for cabinet storage and construction in the basement after the firs too the year.

Why this government shutdown could be a good thing and what you can learn from it

Every day the news broadcasts are filled with doom and gloom about our current government shutdown.  How can we possibly go on with a whole 17% of the government not operating.  

First, some facts as I understand them.  Congress has already voted to retroactively pay government employees once the shut down concludes.  If you're a government employee, this simply means that you'll have to wait a while to get your paycheck and you may be enjoying some time off.  If you're not a government employee but your work has been halted or impeded by the shutdown, your near term future doesn't look quite as rosy - hope you planned ahead.

Now, let's talk about what I mean by planning ahead.  If you are a government employee, you have to know that a shutdown or furlough is always possible.  (Keep in mind that school teachers face several days of furlough every year and yet they are expected to produce the same results in fewer days.)  You should keep this in mind when you save and stock your pantry.  There have been 17 government shutdowns thus far and another one is going to happen some day.  Put aside a little extra cash from every paycheck, buy an extra item at the grocery store every week that stores long term.  Don't make some excuse that you can't afford to stock up or that you don't have room.  You do and you can make it happen if it's important to you.  An extra $1 a week buys a bag of dried beans or a pound of rice.  Together these can make a tasty and healthy meal.  Even if you rely on the federal government to supplement your food supplies, we all need to take responsibility for ourselves.  September 30 ends the federal fiscal year - every year!  Plan with that in mind.

Don't plan a vacation to a national park or a visit to the DC area about that time.  Check to see when your state ends its fiscal year to avoid any unnecessary problems with those sites as well.  It's a foreseeable risk.

And finally, think about this.  If a 17% reduction in government spending can cause this much distress, maybe we all depend on the federal government too much.  What if it was a 50% reduction?  Or the government ceased to exist at all?  Would we all starve?  No, we'd adapt and make the best of our situation just as generations before us did.  We - as a nation - have become too dependent on others instead of depending ourselves.  If we continue to borrow without consideration of the outcome, we could be faced with the real possibility that our government may not be able to help us.

If your household had maxed out all the credit cards and needed more cash, would you take out another credit card or buckle down and cut your spending to get it under control?  Your choice could decide your future.  Lets get our fiscal house in order!

My love-hate relationship with Joann's

I ove the variety of fabrics at Joann's.  the sales and coupons are great.  But there's just something that drives me crazy about the place.

I frequently will select fabrics that I believe to be one sale only to find out that they're not only after they've been cut.  It happened to me today.  I had selected a bolt of white bleached muslin to use on my Dresden plate quilt for $3.99 a yard less 40%.  I was trying to decide if I needed a heavier white fabric to use for the center circles.  That fabric was $7.99 a yard and it was not on sale.  That was ok, because I was only going to need less than a half a yard.  I decided that the $3.99 fabric would do just as we'll.

Imagine my surprise when my 3 yards off fabric were $27!  I had put the wrong fabric back on the shelf and now I was buying a large piece of the more expensive fabric.  Good thing I had a 50% coupon because there were just too many people waiting to have it redone.

This has happened several times where I thought I picked out the muslin that was on sale only to find out that one brand was on sale and the other was not.  You have to be very careful to compare the brand and size on the sign to the actual bolts.

I was also looking for a fabric for the center of my plates.  Neither Joann's or a small local quilt shop has a fabric that would work to my liking.  I guess I'm sticking with white centers.  I cut out five more plate pieces tonight and have put the first row of stitches in.  I think I have enough fabric for 10 more after these five so that will put me at an estimated 30 full plates.  I think that I'll be two short of what I think I will need.  I may need to rethink my plate placement.                         

For the time being, I'm going to get 24 full palates completed and app located to squares.  Then whatever plates are left will be either left as halves for the side drops or used as full plates.  I expect that I will be sewing the plates on squares until the Christmas holidays during my spare evening hours. I may be far enough along to quilt after the first of the year.  

I have a couple of other projects that I want to work on as well.

Getting out of Debt

We're on a modified Dave Ramsey plan at out house and working everyday to reduce our debt.  We're not gazelle intense, but we're getting there.

How our plan differs:  Dave suggests using all your assets to clear debt first with a small emergency fund.  Our plan differs in that we have an emergency find in place first (not six months but more than the initial $1000) because we have lived through three layoffs since 2000.  

We have also paid aggressively on several debts at one time instead of clearing one at a time.  At this time, I've reduced our overall credit card debt by $9k over the past three years.  

We've paid off one car and are aggressively working on the other.  Our current plan is to pay off our three year auto loan in two - next Spring.

Through all this, we've made some home repairs and improvements and made significant headway on our highest interest rate student loan.  We've also been able to pay cash for some medical procedures not covered by insurance and put away money towards savings and retirement.

Overall, our goal is to eliminate all credit card debt and student loans.  We MAY take out a loan to purchase a motorcycle next year after the car loan is finished if things are still going well.

It's not fun but there is a sense of accomplishment and security in not having as much debt.  

Making progress

I finally got the shower curtain back up.  I even washed and ironed it.  I have not yet painted but that can probably wait for now.  At least, I can hang my drip dry clothes and get my drying rack back in place.

Today I purged my coupons pulling all the expired manufacturer's coupons and forwarded them to Coups for Troups.  There were almost $400 in coupons heading their way.

I picked up a few groceries from Publix.  I spent just over $50 and this should do for the whole week.  I only purchased one fresh meat, one frozen meat (at a bargain price) and deli ameat for the week.  Everything else was either a bogo deal or fresh produce.

I was able to cut out some more pieces for my Dresden plate quilt.  I'd like to start work on some Christmas projects this week.

I'm also working on getting some things in progress to transition to our new insurance plan.  Tracking down receipts to get reimbursements and getting prescriptions refilled as many times as possible before the end of the year.  Because our 2014 insurance plan will have such a high deductible, I'm trying to find ways to cut costs and obtain services prior to the end of the year.

Tomorrow,I plan to drop off prescriptions and get a little more sewing done.