Newlywed Trek

Being a One Car Family

2012-03-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

One cost-cutting measure I've seen recommended numerous times is becoming a one car family. Ugh. Every time I saw someone make that suggestion, I cringed. I vowed that would never happen in our family. I'm sure part of my thinking came from my grandmother, who had her own car despite the fact that she almost never drove. Cutting back to one car just seemed too radical.

I started to think a little differently when we moved at the beginning of this year. Instead of being 20 miles away from work, my commute is about 0.4 miles. In other words, I can walk to work, home for lunch, back to work, and back home in less time than it took me to drive to work before. Do we really need another car when I'm that close? Even if the weather conditions make it unsafe for me to walk, it wouldn't be too inconvenient for a coworker to give me a ride. In fact, three people offered to take me home one day when it was snowing.

I still resisted the idea of going down to one car. I wanted to at least have the option to drive. But two weeks ago, Nathan's car died. Completely died. There's still a chance it could be fixed, even though we've been advised not to put another dime into it, but so far we haven't messed with it. Nathan has been driving my car to work, and I've walked every day, even in rain and snow. And guess what? It hasn't been that bad. Will we buy a replacement car? Maybe..maybe not. It will of course be necessary when we move or if I change jobs, but for now, one car is actually okay.

There are several advantages of not having a second car and walking to work...

I'm forced to get some exercise.
The walk to work makes me much more awake and ready to start my work day.
I can't go buy fast food for lunch (at least not on my own).
I sometimes see geese, ducks, and killdeer on my commute.
We save money on gas, even if not a lot.
If we do get rid of the second car, we'll save on insurance and maintenance.

And the disadvantages?

I don't feel like jogging when I get home. (I do walk another mile with Nenya though.)
If Nathan has car trouble, I can't go pick him up.
I can't run errands during lunch.
It's not easy to go to doctor's appointments, although I found a dentist right by work.
People think I'm weird. Walking commutes are rare in the suburbs I guess.
I don't like inconveniencing people, so I hate asking for rides.

We aren't sure what to do about our car situation for the time being, but at least I know we can survive with one car.

Are you, or have you ever been, a one car family? If not, would you ever want to be one?

Once a Week Cooking in 2 Hours

2012-02-29T08:00:00.032-05:00

If you read about my once a week cooking experiment last year and wondered if I've kept up with it, well, I haven't. I never tried it again after that one time. It would be rough for me to do that much cooking on a weekday (I work full time), and my weekends have been fairly busy with other things. But a couple weeks ago, I decided to try it again.

This was my dinner menu plan for the week:

Potato Bacon Corn Chowder

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Chocolate pancakes with strawberry topping (for Valentine's Day)

Salmon patties, macaroni and cheese

Pizza casserole

Chicken Fried Rice

Dinner with friends

I didn't make every dinner ahead of time since the others were quick ones anyway, but I was able to get two main dishes ready to bake and two others ready to assemble. Before I started, I listed all the tasks I would need to complete and then ordered them in a way that would keep things moving. I forgot a few things initially, so this probably would have taken much less than 2 hours if I'd been more efficient. I also didn't menu plan based on the idea that I would be cooking ahead of time. Next time, I would choose more meals that are easy to prepare ahead of time and that share common ingredients (two dishes with pasta, two with beef, etc.).

12:50 - I start cooking the rice and heating up the skillet for the bacon.

12:58 - Cover rice to simmer; still cooking bacon

"Can I have some?"

I start putting together the enchiladas (with chicken I had cooked previously). Then I remember I need to be cooking hamburger and pasta for the pizza casserole and get that started.

1:44 - Enchiladas are ready, except for the sauce. The tortillas are falling apart (they were a little old), so I switch them to a smaller dish to keep them together a little better.

1:56 - I remember I have laundry that needs switched to the dryer.
Nathan steps in to work on browning the hamburger.

After the hamburger is done cooking, I make the sauce for the enchiladas.

2:22 - Enchiladas are done and I start assembling the pizza casserole.

2:33 - Pizza casserole is done!

2:34 - Oops! I forgot I needed to cook onion for the chowder.
I chop one up (sniff, sniff) and cook that.

2:49 - And we're done! Chicken enchiladas, pizza casserole,
rice for fried rice, and bacon and onion for chowder.

I try to pretend the kitchen doesn't exist for a while,
but Nenya is happy to begin cleanup for me.

Shared at Works for Me Wednesday.

Back to a Monthly Budget and Other Budget Changes

2012-02-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

One of my most popular blog posts and the oldest one still currently in the top ten most read is No More Monthly Budget. I'm sure we scared a lot of people with that title. What? No budget? If you haven't read the post, what we did for 2011 was track our budget in periods based not on calendar months but on thirteen periods of four weeks. Since I'm paid weekly and Nathan is paid every two weeks, there can be quite a variation in income from month to month. With four week periods we would have consistent income (two of Nathan's paychecks, four of mine). It sounded good in theory, but it only took a few months to realize how inconsistent income really is. Although we kept with it for all of 2011, for 2012 we're going back to monthly budget periods. We've also made a few other changes to the way we budget that should work better for us.

A monthly allowance

A new budget category is an allowance for each of us. For the first year and a half of our marriage, we basically had to discuss every purchase with each other. And if one of us made a big purchase, that meant the other had to curb his/her spending for that budget period. To help eliminate some of this, we've now budgeted a small amount of money for each of us to spend each month however we choose. If Nathan wants to eat out for lunch, I can still buy shoes. We still have a "General Spending" category for purchases that we agree to make.

A dates category
Last year, we lumped all eating out (lunches during work and dates) into one category. We also had a separate entertainment category. We've now eliminated "Eating Out" as a separate budget category and made it a sub-category under our allowances and under a new "Dates" category. We've also made "Entertainment" a sub-category under "Dates."

Adding "rollover" money
What we did last year if we had money left over in different categories, was put the leftover money into paying off debt or our emergency fund. Now, if we have $7 left in the date category at the end of the month, for example, that's money we can still use for dates next month.

A new budget system
We track all of our spending, income, and bank accounts in an Excel program Nathan made. Last year we had a separate spreadsheet for each budget period, but this year Nathan made one Excel file that we can use for all our financial tracking for the entire year. If anyone would like to know more about our system and how Nathan programmed it, I'm sure he'd be happy to explain it.

Here's what the big picture looks like for February. That big chunk we're putting towards student loan payments still isn't enough to keep us on track with our goal of paying them off in two years, but it's close and there's not much else we can cut. I said it was an ambitous goal!

What changes have you made to your budget to make it work better for you?

My 10 Favorite Books Read in 2011

2012-01-31T08:00:00.010-05:00

Looking for books to put on your reading list? These are my top picks out of the books I read last year. All of these titles are nonfiction, which is generally all I read, even though I'm reading The Hobbit right now. I've listed the books in the order in which I read them.

1. Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family, by Steve and Annette Economides
This is a great book on saving money since the entire book is dedicated to one category. Some books do not provide much detail because they try to cover too many different aspects, however this is a good, exhaustive resource on saving money on food. Read my full review here.

2. Unplanned, by Abby Johnson
Abby Johnson started working at Planned Parenthood as a volunteer in college and worked her way up in the organization to becoming the director of a clinic. This is the story of why she was passionate about Planned Parenthood and why she is now passionately pro life. While written with a pro life bias, this book gave me a better understanding of both sides.

3. Committed: A Love Story, by Elizabeth Gilbert
In this sequel of sorts to the popular Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Glibert tries to make peace with the idea of marriage after finding herself "sentenced to wed" after her Brazilian boyfriend gets in trouble with Homeland Security. Although this may seem like an odd choice for a happy newlywed, I enjoyed Gilbert's look at the idea of marriage throughout history and across cultures, even though sometimes I wanted to yell at her as I listened to the audiobook.

4. The Other 8 Hours, by Robert Pagliarini
If you work full time and need help managing your time, this is the book to read, whether you want to start a side business or just spend more time with your family. Read my full review here.

5. Organized Simplicity, by Tsh Oxenreider
Even though I'm not ranking this list, I can safely say this was the best book I read last year. I checked it out twice from the library, and when the Kindle version was free last month, I downloaded it on my phone and started reading it again. I was inspired to declutter and organize and think about what really matters.

6. Eat This, Not That! 2012
I had no idea how many unhealthy foods are masquerading as healthy ones, and vice versa. No one has time to read the labels on every box of crackers or the nutrition facts on every dish at every restaurant, but this book gives a good overview. Read more of what I learned here.

7. Evolving in Monkey Town, by Rachel Held Evans
Rachel Held Evans grew up thinking she had all the answers about her Christian faith, but than she began asking questions. I don't entirely agree that faith needs to evolve to fit the postmodern world, but I still appreciate how though-provoking this book is, which is why it's in my top ten.

8. In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
This was another book that challenged my thinking, this time in the area of nutrition. How is it that with all of this nutrition "advice" of the last few decades we don't seem to be getting healthier? A lot of the information in this book seems like common sense, but clearly it's not so common anymore.

9. Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman's Guide to Finding Contentment, by Linda Dillow
I was expecting this to be about dealing with anxiety (a struggle for me), but the broader "finding contentment" of the subtitle is really what it's about. The different chapters focus on finding contentment with your circumstances, yourself, your role, etc. Linda Dillow gives practical advice and encouragement, not just a "pray and get over it" kind of message.

10. The Money Saving Mom's Budget, by Crystal Paine
While I wouldn't call this book life changing for me, I learned a lot about saving money and goal setting, even after reading MoneySavingMom.com for quite a while. Read my full review here.

What are some of the best books you've ready lately? Any books you look forward to reading this year?

Shared at Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda.

12 to Tackle in 2012

2012-01-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

For 2011, the goals I set were really habits that I wanted to develop and sustain. This year, my goals are much more measurable. They're "bucket list" type items that I can check off (although some I hope to do more than once). I started making a list a couple months ago, and I've finally decided on the 12 things I most want to accomplish.

Financial Goal (a.k.a. the BHAG)

1. Pay off half the student loans

This is by far the most ambitious goal, but we're now at the point where this is our only focus financially. A financial adviser Nathan met with even said we shouldn't worry about investing now since we can pay off the loans so quickly.

Business/Career Goals

2. Update my physical portfolio (I haven't touched it since I started my job 2.5 years ago.)

3. Create an online portfolio

4. Decide on a freelance business name and create a business website

5. Complete at least one paid freelance job (That extra money has to come from somewhere!)

Homemaking Goals

6. Bake with yeast

7. Switch to using homemade or natural cleaning supplies

8. Decorate our bedroom (Mainly putting something above our headboard)

Personal Goals

9. Complete a 5K race

10. Figure out my blog purpose (I started this as a wedding blog. What is it now?)

11. Make something with a sewing machine (I haven't used one since 8th grade)

12. Visit a place I've never been before (if not a new state, at least a new part of a state)

What do you hope to achieve this year?

First World Problems We Encountered While Moving

2012-01-23T21:36:00.002-05:00

Oh, the first world problems. When you consider that one-sixth of the world's population does not have access to safe drinking water, can we really look at our own lives and say we have a lot of problems? Of course it's natural to get used to luxuries we've had our entire lives, but it's important to keep things in perspective and remember that they are just that: luxuries. I'm not the first to write a Top Ten Tuesday post of first world problems (here's a good one), but to remind myself how good I have it, I wanted to make a list of the "problems" we faced after moving into a house at the beginning of this month.

Our garage isn't big enough to easily park both cars in it.
The water company doesn't have online bill pay. We have to mail a check.
Since we only have one extra bedroom, my desk has to go in the living room.
It took two weeks to get internet hooked up.
We discovered our refrigerator was blowing hot air, so for the five days until a new one was delivered, we had to eat what was in our pantry or get fast food.
The living room had so many boxes the first couple days that we had to go through a maze to get to our table.
I didn't buy enough shelf liner for all my kitchen cabinets, so I had to go back to Meijer for more.
The cable outlet is on the opposite side of the living room from our TV.
It costs more to have the newspaper delivered here, so I canceled my subscription. Now I have to go to a store to buy a Sunday paper. (Edit: Just hours after writing this, the paper company sent me an e-mail saying they "want me back" and offering the rate I was previously paying.)
The landlord didn't give us a remote to open the garage door automatically.

I think we'll make it through...

Check out more Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda.

Winner of The Money Saving Mom's Budget

2012-01-19T00:00:00.003-05:00

The winner of my giveaway for a copy of The Money Saving Mom's Budget was Tony and Heather Snyder! Thanks to all those who entered.

My Thoughts on Couch to 5K

2012-01-17T08:00:00.002-05:00

At the beginning of 2011, I set the goal to exercise on a regular basis. Month after month after month, I got nowhere. Finally, I started the Couch to 5K program, which was just what I needed to get serious about getting fit. At first I wasn't sure if I was capable of becoming a runner, but after finishing the program last week, I actually want to keep running.

What is Couch to 5K?
As the name implies, Couch to 5K is a progressive running program designed for those who are not physically active. For the first week, you alternate walking 90 seconds and jogging 60 seconds. By the end of the ninth week, you should be able to run for thirty minutes. The only downside with this program is that you have to keep track of how long you've been running or walking and how many times you've done each. That is, unless you download the app for Android or iPhone. Honestly, I'm not sure how anyone could complete this program without using the C25K app. You can run with headphones plugged into your phone, and it will tell you when to switch from walking to running and give you a one minute warning. If you listen to music on your phone, the voice alerts will just pause the music temporarily.

How my running improved
When I first started, a minute of running was about all I could handle. I was gasping for air by the end and didn't know how I was going to handle 2 minutes the following week. Each week I thought the same thing: How will I make it through next week? The most I'd ever run at once was a mile, and I hadn't done that since high school. I honestly didn't know if I could make it through all 9 weeks. But guess what? I did. Your body can do a lot more than you think. I've only run three miles once so far, and I did it in 33:10, while running over snow and ice for part of that time.

How I changed physically
It was never my goal to lose weight. For me, starting exercise now is being proactive. I want to try to prevent heart disease and other health problems. That being said, I still wasn't too happy when four weeks into the program, I had gained 4 pounds. A weight gain of a pound a week when I'm more physically active than I've ever been? How is that possible? I had never seen that number on the scale before. So, I had Nathan hide the scale, and I kept running. After that, I lost 7 pounds, making me 3 pounds below my starting weight. I'm sure I was just gaining muscle before losing fat, but it was still discouraging to see that I had gained. I would recommend hiding the scales before you even start running. I felt like I was in better shape, even though I was heavier.

Source: keepsweatingandgetfitandhealthy.tumblr.com via Amanda C on Pinterest

(NOT photos of me, but a good illustration)

How long it took me to complete
Although Couch to 5K is supposed to be a nine week program, between the holidays, vacation, and moving, I wasn't running three times a week every week. In fact, I didn't run at all for two and a half weeks. I started the program on October 10 and finished on January 10, more than thirteen weeks later. If you miss a day, just run again when you can. I was shuffling around menu plans and plans in general the whole time. Don't give up!

While Couch to 5K may not be the ideal workout plan for everyone, if it worked for someone as unathletic as me, I think it could work for a lot of people. Nathan ran most days with me to help him get back into running, and our dog Nenya ran every day.

For another opinion on Couch to 5K, check out this review from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.

Have you tried Couch to 5K? Have you found a different way to exercise? I'd love to hear about it.

Note: I'm a graphic designer, not a doctor, Jim! The information above is strictly my personal experience and should not be considered health advice. Also, I was not compensated in any way for writing this post. I'm just sharing what has worked for me.

Shared at Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

Review: The Money Saving Mom's Budget

2012-01-12T08:10:00.008-05:00

With all the books and blogs out there about financial management and saving money, it’s difficult to know which ones are worth reading. When I first started trying to figure out couponing in the spring of 2010, I was reading at least six blogs on the topic. It wasn’t long before I’d unsubscribed from all of them except for one local blog and Money Saving Mom, written by blogger Crystal Paine. What set this blog apart? I began reading during the middle of a series on how Crystal and her husband paid cash for their first home. And she wasn’t even 30 yet! She knows her stuff.

I was excited to read Crystal’s book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, and even more excited to have the privilege of receiving an advance copy. By the end of the first chapter, I knew I would not be disappointed. This isn’t just a book of money saving tips that you’ve already heard; it’s a book that helps you discover what you want to achieve and then shows you the steps you can take to achieve it. At first glance, the second chapter, “Streamline Your Life and Cut the Clutter,” isn’t even about money at all, but it’s possibly the most important one.

Although some of the concepts will seem a little basic to those who are a little more financially stable, such as the “secret formula” of creating a budget and saving $60 a year, unless you have met all the financial goals you ever hope to achieve, you will learn something from this book. My husband and I have had a written budget since the beginning of our marriage, but I still enjoyed reading through the chapter on budgeting since our system is far from perfect. And if you’re worried this book will tell you that you have to live on beans and rice and never have any fun until you’ve achieved your financial goals, you will be happy to see chapter eight: “Going out on the Town Without Going Broke.” It’s a book for real people.

What I love most is that Crystal shares this wealth of information in a way that is like a friend cheering you on, leaving you inspired rather than discouraged. Most of the time when a book I’m reading gives some “exercise” to do, I brush it off and just keep reading. But when Crystal talks about setting financial goals, I actually thought about what financial goal we could achieve in the next six months to a year. There’s a lot of passion in this book.

Crystal Paine’s passion for helping others is truly evident in her reason for publishing this book. While originally hesitant to accept the book deal, she realized what an impact it could have if she gave all the proceeds away. And that’s what she is doing: all of her proceeds will support Compassion International. When you buy a copy of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, you will be giving money to a Child Survival Program in the Dominican Republic that offers life-saving health and medical care to expectant moms, young moms, and at-risk babies and young children.

~~Want to win a copy of The Money Saving Mom's Budget? Just leave a comment!~~

~~For additional entries (leave a separate comment for each entry):~~

~~1. Like Newlywed Trek on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you liked the page.~~

2. Follow Newlywed Trek on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you followed.

Be sure to leave a link to your blog or your e-mail address so I can contact you!

~~The giveaway will end January 18, 2012. Winner will be announced January 19.~~

5 Goals for 2011: How I Did

2012-01-04T08:00:00.002-05:00

One important thing I learned through setting goals for this past year was that goals need to be measurable. I can't just say I want to "improve" something. How will I really know if I've improved enough? What will prove that? After setting my initial goals for the year, I revised them in September. Did I achieve them? Well...sort of...some of the time. My goal setting clearly still needs work.

1. Exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week.

In October, we started Couch to 5K, and I loved it. Had we stuck with the program consistently, we would have finished December 9. However, we didn't make it to week 9 of the plan until December 15, and we haven't tun since then. The trip to California, Christmas, sick husband, and moving kind of threw me off. I really am serious about becoming a runner though, and I hope to finish out the program and continue to run 30 minutes at a time. I had never run more than a mile prior to last year, so I'm still really happy with my progress.

2. Go to bed at 10:00 each night and wake up at 6:00 each morning.

I kind of revised this one to 10:30 and 6:30 after I gave up on running in the morning. Sometimes I achieved this, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes we went to bed on time but talked for a half hour or more. This year Nathan's the one with the long commute, so I'm not sure what bedtime is anymore.

3. Complete my daily chores and leave no dishes in the sink at the end of the day.

I did terrible on this one for December with all we had going on. I just didn't care about my apartment anymore since I knew we'd be moving. But for the most part, I did develop good habits in this area. Thanks to my new shorter commute and the six-quart programmable crockpot Nathan got me for Christmas, I should have much more time in the evenings to focus on cleaning this year.

4. Spend less than $200 a budget period on food (groceries and eating out).

We actually achieved this one in December, but of course we also spent money on vacation and Christmas. This isn't a goal I plan on keeping in 2012, but it's good to know that we can cut back when necessary.

5. Write at least 2 blog posts a week.

Had I achieved this one, I would have published 104 blog posts. I only made it to 88, or about 1.7 posts a week. At least there weren't any huge gaps between posts. Blogging is a funny thing. I thought maybe I was spending too much time on each post and that I should try just writing without a lot of editing. When I wrote a post that way, it became my first post in months with no comments. I guess I still have a lot too learn.

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to achieve in 2012. We moved everything into our new rental house on January 2, so I'm just taking it one goal at a time for now

How did you do with your goals for 2011?

Our 2011

2011-12-31T15:36:00.001-05:00

It's been a good year. We haven't really had any major events in our lives, but we've gone on several trips and had a lot of fun together.

January

Nathan gave me a special birthday.
We had our first fondue date night.

We decided to stay in our apartment for another year.

February

Nathan wrote a blog post.

We figured out our first joint tax return.

I got sick of winter.

March

We saw Michael W. Smith (one of Nathan's favorite artists) and Amy Grant (one of my favorite artists) in concert. We teared up as soon as they walked on stage.

We went to the Cheesecake Factory for Nathan's birthday.

We paid off the last of our debt, except graduate school loans.

April

I bought a bike.

We went to Florida so I could see where Nathan went to college.

May

We went to the Indianapolis air show.

We went camping with my Uncle John and Aunt Kathy and our dogs.

Nathan flew a helicopter.

June

There was a huge flood in our apartment complex.
We celebrated one year of marriage.

On the same day, Nathan graduated with his MBA.

July

We went to Chicago for the July 4th weekend.

Nathan's car window got smashed.

We went to Arkansas for our friends Kayla and Austin's wedding.

Nathan lost his job.

August

We went to GenCon.

We started tackling reorganizing and decluttering.

I met Crystal from Money Saving Mom and experienced a huge spike in page views.

September

Our friend Eddy got married.

Nathan started working a second shift job.

We got our first smartphones.

October

Nathan switched jobs again, this time back to first shift.

I finally finished our wedding album.
We started Couch to 5K.

We visited two pumpkin patches.

November

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family, and Nathan's family the day after.

My car window got smashed.

December

We signed the lease on a rental house and started packing for our move.

We visited Nathan's brother and his family in California.

We celebrated Christmas with my family, and Nathan's the day after.

The theme for the first part of 2012 will be boxes, boxes, and more boxes since we're spending our New Year's weekend moving everything (hopefully) into our new rental house. After that? Who knows.

Happy New Year!

Ready to Move On

2011-12-15T08:00:00.016-05:00

I haven't felt much like cleaning lately. Or cooking. Or blogging. Or crafting. Or doing much of anything really. It's not depression or illness. The problem? Want-to-move-itis.

I've been doing my best to be content here. I know this apartment is much nicer than what many people have. But when I open up a dryer in the community laundry room and find something, uh, unmentionable, or when we come back after Thanksgiving and see my car looking like this...

...after Nathan's was broken into five months ago...well, it's hard not to want to get out of here.

The good news is, we are getting out of here very soon! While I had a list of the pros and cons of staying here a year ago, there is no way we could renew our lease for another year. Next month, we're moving into a rental house. It has a garage, a fenced in back yard with a deck, and washer and dryer hookups. The overall square footage is a little more than we have now, with a master bedroom as big as I could ever want. And, quite possibly the most exciting part for me, the house is only a half mile from where I work. After a year and a half with a 30 minute commute, I'll now be able to bike or even walk to work.

Although it's wonderful knowing how close I am to having so many new conveniences in my life, it's also making it much more difficult to live in the present. I'm trying to focus one major event at a time, and we have a few of those in the last half of this month! Tomorrow, we're getting on a plane to go visit Nathan's brother and his family in California. Once we get back, I'll be getting things ready for Christmas with both of our families. Since I have a company wide shutdown the week of Christmas, I'll have a week to work on getting everything packed to start moving our things in January.

I'm excited about all of it!

Recycled Wedding Invitation Ornament

2011-12-06T08:00:00.008-05:00

Wondering what to do with your extra wedding invitations? Or need a Christmas gift for a newlywed? Here's one idea.

One night I was going through my DIY Ideas board on Pinterest and making a list of what I would need to actually make some of the crafts I had pinned. When I came across this invitation ornament, I realized I already had everything I needed and got started right away. I was finished in about an hour.

All you have to do is cut the invitation into strips, curl each strip, and put them inside an empty glass ornament. If you have an X-Acto knife, you can use that for the cutting and then curl the strips around the handle (after removing the blade of course).

Nathan was a little disturbed when he saw me cutting up our wedding invitation, but I assured him it was okay since we still had a bunch of them. Then he reminded me we had gotten rid of all the extras and that was the only one we had left. Oops. Good thing I still have the original files and extra paper.

I realized I never actually blogged about my wedding invitations, so here's what they looked like before I mutilated them.

I actually cut up the entire suite, but I ended up just using the strips from the invitation and a few of the more interesting ones from the other pieces. The ornament was plenty full.

It fits right in with all the other mismatched ornaments. Our tree looks mostly the same as it did last year.

I wanted to buy one new Hallmark ornament this year, and we picked out Tom and Jerry.

Another change is that we're using Bob and Larry as our tree topper this year. Maybe someday I'll buy or make a real tree topper, but it's kind of fun to decide what to put on top as we're decorating it.

Did you do anything with your wedding invitation?

How to Make Me Happy in Four Easy Steps

2011-12-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

I need your help. Nathan is in a Facebook contest to win free LASIK vision correction. Winning is based on how many "Likes" this amazing photo gets.

Here's how you vote...

Step 1: Click this link.

Step 2: Allow the Application.

Yes, you do have to allow it, but you can remove the application afterwords and your vote will still count. All it does is make a post on your wall saying you voted.

Step 3: Click on the picture of Nathan.

If his photo isn't showing, just click "Enter Gallery" below the photos.

Step 4: Click the "Like" button below the photo.

And you're done! Thanks so much.

5 Goals for 2011: November

2011-12-01T08:00:00.005-05:00

1. Exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week.

The last four weeks we accomplished this, even when we were out of town for Thanksgiving. This week we'll probably only make it two days. Our first attempt this week, during a snow storm after dark, went fine until I stepped in a puddle of icy cold water.

2. Go to bed at 10:00 each night and wake up at 6:00 each morning.

This hasn't gone well lately. I'm shooting for 10:30 and 6:30 now that we're not running in the morning, but the holiday weekend threw me off.

3. Complete my daily chores and leave no dishes in the sink at the end of the day.

I haven't focused as much on this one this month, but things have at least been mostly presentable.

4. Spend less than $200 a budget period on food (groceries and eating out).

I set and achieved this goal the month we were living on just my income but haven't had success with it since then. As much as I try to avoid lifestyle inflation, having nearly three times as much income makes it difficult not to spend a little extra.

5. Write at least 2 blog posts a week.

Due to one of our computers being down, Nathan and I have been sharing my computer for the entire month. In other words, I haven't had a computer this month. He's working on an online graduate certificate in accounting (he will most likely be in school forever, in case anyone was wondering), so it's more important that he has the computer. We should have the part to get the other one back up and running by the end of the week. I have ideas for a dozen posts that I can't wait to write.

One more month to go! How have you done with your goals for the year?

Getting Serious About Getting Fit

2011-11-16T08:00:00.002-05:00

If you've read any of my posts on my goals for this year, you know I've been trying to start an exercise program all year and failing month after month. Now that it's November, I'm finally starting to find success, and it's really exciting.

Finding Motivation
Even though I've known for years that regular exercise is healthy, I had no desire to do it. Besides, I was thin without exercise. But I know I won't stay this thin forever living the lifestyle I have been. While I would walk up to three miles a day around campus in college, the only exercise I get at work now is walking up and down one short flight of stairs to get to the restroom. Something had to change. I read once that we're in our physical prime at age 18-24. I don't know if that's true or not, but with 25 just a couple months away, I'm determined it won't be true for me. I want to be in the best shape of my life at 25! Another huge motivation is making a habit of exercise before becoming pregnant.

Finding Time
I really didn't think I could fit exercising into my schedule. It wasn't even that I didn't have enough free time but that I couldn't figure out when to fit it in. Getting up before 6:00 wasn't working out, I was hungry by the time I got home at 5:30, and by the time dinner digested I was too tired. My solution was to eat a bigger breakfast, eat lunch as late as possible, and exercise as soon as I got home. Eating a bigger breakfast is healthier anyway. Dinners are either made ahead and put in the oven as soon as I'm done running, or really simple. Last night was boxed macaroni and cheese with carrots.

Finding What Works
I'm not a naturally athletic person. At all. In kindergarten, I did outstanding on everything except throwing and catching a ball. In sixth grade, I was the kid no one wanted on their team. When Nathan and I had tried to go running in the past, it didn't work well for me because I'd be gasping for air after running a minute. Now I'm halfway through the Couch to 5K program, and I still feel great after running multiple sets of five minutes at a time. Running 30 minutes straight still sounds scary, but I'm beginning to realize that my body can do a lot more than my brain thinks it can.

Finding a Partner (or Two)
I honestly don't know how I could get through these runs on my own. Nathan has gone with me every day but one (when he was working late). When I feel like there's no way I can go another two minutes, Nathan encourages me to keep going. Even though he could run a 5K right now if he wanted, he's doing this program to help me. Nenya has also been going with us. We didn't think she would make it past the first couple weeks, but she's been doing better than I have. It turns out this progressive running program works for couch potato Corgis too!

If you exercise, what helps you stay serious about it? If not, what's holding you back from exercising?

Keeper Recipes {Biscuits & Apple Crisp}

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

I don't know what it is about biscuits, but I haven't had much success making them. My first attempt was so bad that Nenya wouldn't touch them, and she's eaten radish and wasabi peas before. My imitation Red Lobster biscuits weren't much better, and neither were these. I've tried a couple other recipes, but I pretty much just stick with Pillsbury.

The other night I wanted to make biscuits but had no milk. I came across a recipe that used just flour, salt, butter, and oil, and it turned out to be the best one I've made so far. You can get the recipe here. Nathan was surprised when I told him I'd made them from scratch. They weren't amazing, but they were at least good.

My first attempt at making apple crisp was also not very successful. I tried a new recipe this year, and it was amazing!

I'm so glad I didn't just give up on either of these dishes the first time I made them. I've hardly mastered them, but at least I know there's hope.

For more recipes that have worked well for a beginner cook and baker like me, check out my Top 10 Recipes for Beginner Cooks and my Favorite Recipes board on Pinterest.

Are there any dishes you've tried and tried again to get right?

Adventures with Pumpkins: Carving & Cooking

2011-11-08T08:00:00.002-05:00

Can you guess whose pumpkin is whose?

Our approaches to pumpkin carving were a good example of our varying approaches to most things in life.

I kept my design simple since I had never carved a pumpkin before, but I still put a lot of thought into it. I sketched out my design, created vector art in Illustrator, printed it out, taped it to my pumpkin, and traced over it with a pushpin.

Finally, I was able to start carving.

Nathan grabbed a knife and went at it, with no plan whatsoever.

"Are you making a dog or an alien?"

"I'm not sure yet!"

We're good for each other.

I toasted most of the seeds, but I wasn't impressed with how they turned out. I'm not sure if I did something wrong or if I'm just not a fan.

I also put all the cutout pieces into the crock pot and made puree out of them. I got about a cup and a half out of it. Now I just have to decide what to do with it. I've made four pumpkin recipes so far this season, but I still have several recipes on my Pinterest pumpkin board left to try.

Have you had any adventures with pumpkin this year?

Gazelle Intensity

2011-11-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

“Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.
Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
and like a bird from the hand of the fowler.”
- Proverbs 6:4-5

You should have as much energy escaping from debt as a gazelle has when escaping from a cheetah. Dave Ramsey calls this gazelle intensity.

Run! Escape!

But sometimes, I get tired of running. Sometimes I don't want to live like no one, living in a cheap apartment and packing my lunch every day. When we go through periods of lost income, I feel like we'll never be out of debt. Why bother trying to escape?

If you've ever felt like that, here's some inspiration.

5 Goals for 2011: 2 Months to Go!

2011-11-01T08:00:00.011-04:00

1. Exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week.

We were going about this one all wrong. Nathan and I were trying to get up before 6:00 so we could exercise before work. Now we're working out as soon as we get home from work (working opposite shifts didn't last long after all). We started Couch to 5K this month and I'm loving it. After completing the the first day of week 3, I feel like there's actually a chance I could turn into a runner.

2. Go to bed at 10:00 each night and wake up at 6:00 each morning.

Now that I'm exercising after work instead of before, this isn't as important. I'm still aiming for at least getting ready for bed at 10:00 though.

3. Complete my daily chores and leave no dishes in the sink at the end of the day.

I've actually done away with my daily chore schedule in favor of a new method I might blog about later. It's working so far. I've also done well with the dishes, thanks to a lot of help from Nathan.

4. Spend less than $200 a budget period on food (groceries and eating out).

That didn't happen. I knew it was a lofty goal when I set it; the point was to spend much less than the $300 we had been spending, which we have done.

5. Write at least 2 blog posts a week.

I almost made it, but other activities took priority last week and I only published one post. I'm hoping to up this slightly over the next two months so I can make 100 posts for the year (this is #79).

I'm actually starting to feel like I have some balance in my life! Who thinks I should have a baby now to throw off everything? :-)

This Week's Menu Plan

2011-10-31T08:00:00.001-04:00

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Now that it's been over a year since the first and only time I posted our weekly menu, I decided it was time for another look at what we eat around here.

We've started exercising after work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which means the dinners for those days need to be either something I can throw together in minutes or something I can make ahead of time.

Breakfasts

Me: Plain yogurt, fruit, whole wheat bagels

Nathan: Cold cereal (He doesn't want to eat anything else. I buy mostly healthier ones, with the occasional Reese's Puffs so he still loves me.)

Lunches

Leftovers or whatever else we can find to pack

Dinners

Monday: Baked Oatmeal

Tuesday: Crunchy Garlic Chicken (My new recipe for the week. I always try at least one.)

Wednesday: Sour cream chicken enchiladas (adapted for anti-spicy folk)

Thursday: Tomato Tuna Pasta

Friday: Baked Potatoes

Saturday: Dinner out

Sunday: Crock pot cheesy chicken and rice

Snacks

I made some trail mix for us to take to work to keep us away from the vending machines.

Although we're still not eating super healthy around here, we are slowly moving away from processed foods to more natural ones. Now if only I could get some vegetables in my husband! If anyone has ideas on how to get him to eat more than a few bites of veggies a day, I'd love to hear them.

More menu plans at Organizing Junkie.

Enjoying Fall

2011-10-26T08:00:00.003-04:00

Not too hot...not too cold...beautiful colors. It's a great time of year for having fun outside.

You can conquer a corn maze

Hug a tree

Cuddle together for warmth

Build a house

Dine al fresco

Pick the perfect pumpkin

And most of all, just escape from the city and enjoy the SPACE. As much as I love where I live now, the city can be a little suffocating after growing up with cows for neighbors.

What are you enjoying this fall?

Shared at Things I Love Thursday and Finer Things Friday.

The Illusion of Healthy Food

2011-10-21T11:00:00.001-04:00

As I try to buy healthier foods and cook healthier meals, I've realized how little I actually know about healthy eating. I recently read through Eat This, Not That! 2012 and found shock after shock as I flipped through the pages. Did you know that Oscar Mayer turkey bacon actually has more fat than their regular bacon? Would you have guessed that Kix cereal has less sugar and fewer calories than Life cereal?

Which sounds healthier:

Two beef patties with pickles, onions, ketchup and mustard on a toasted bun

Smoked white meat chicken with mozzarella, tomatoes, onions, basil and chipotle mayonnaise on Focaccia?

How about eating two of those burgers with two beef patties? Surely the chicken sandwich would be healthier than that, right?

Take a look at these two items from McDonald's and Panera. Neither is healthy. Although you get less saturated fat and no trans fat with the panini, you're still consuming more calories than there are in two McDoubles. Panera might use more natural ingredients than McDonald's, but there's nothing natural about 1,910mg of sodium. Even though it's served on fancy dishes, Panera is still fast food. If you want to eat healthy, look at the nutrition facts (available on most restaurant websites). Or, better yet, just avoid eating out.

(Images from here and here)

Why worry?

2011-10-17T22:07:00.000-04:00

It doesn't get you anywhere.

90% of worries never happen.

It solves nothing.

And tomorrow will care for itself (Matthew 6:34)

So why worry? I don't know. I still do it, but I'm working on it.

Brand Loyalty

2011-10-14T08:00:00.001-04:00

For the most part, I'm not very brand loyal. I buy whatever brand I can get for lowest price at the time. I have no problem buying Meijer brand toilet paper or Kroger brand salad dressing, and I'm currently using Suave shampoo and Herbal Essences conditioner.

I think it's interesting to see what brands people insist on buying - a certain kind of diapers, a particular brand of toilet paper. I searched our apartment for cases of brand loyalty and found three. I will not compromise when it comes to these three items!

1. Crest Cinnamon Rush toothpaste

Nathan and I were both using this toothpaste before we met. It's not so much a case of brand preference as it is flavor preference. Neither of us like mint flavor, and this is the best non-mint toothpaste out there. Even if it costs $3 and I can get another kind for free, I'm sticking with the cinnamon.

2. Clean & Clear persa-gel 10

Not all creams with 10% benzoyl peroxide are created equal. This is the only one I've found that doesn't leave a flaky residue. It goes on clean and clear!

3. Lemi Shine dishwasher detergent

This stuff is amazing! A Target cashier once referred to it as "gold" when I was buying it. Until we move somewhere without super hard water, this is the only detergent I will put in my dishwasher. It's worth the extra money to not have white powder on all our dishes and utensils. The detergent I use for the pre-wash is still whatever is cheap though.

How about you? What are the brands you have to buy?

Our Wedding Album

2011-10-10T19:56:00.000-04:00

Look what we finally have!

Since all we wanted from our photographers was a CD of the original photos, sorting and editing the photos and designing the layout for the album were all my job. I would not recommend this route to anyone unless you don't care that much about how your photos look or you're really good at Photoshop. I'm only kind of good at Photoshop, and I couldn't get the photos to the level I wanted them.

We ordered our book from Adorama. You can use the online tool they have to design your album, or you can use your own design program and export the pages as jpegs. I created my layout in InDesign, then uploaded the jpegs of each page on Adorama's album maker tool. They have a "fit to page" button that allows you to quickly insert the pages.

The main reason I chose Adorama was their Leporello binding system. Every spread of the album lies almost completely flat, so it's great for two-page photos. From Adorama's website: "Unlike other lay-flat systems which use two separate pieces of paper hinged at the center, every spread in an AdoramaPix book is a single unbroken sheet of premium archival photo paper."

An album like ours (50 page 10"x10") costs $110, but Adorama's albums are often 20% off. We bought ours when we got an e-mail for 40% off. The only downside with Adorama is you're limited to 14, 26, 38, 50, or 76 pages. You can't just pay a little more to add a couple more pages; you have to add a lot more pages.

I'm really happy with how it turned out!

How long did it take you to get your wedding album?

What to Do with Stale Cereal (Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars)

2011-10-07T08:00:00.002-04:00

I hate letting food go to waste. I do my best to make sure we use food before it goes bad, but sometimes we still have some wilted lettuce or sour chicken broth. When we ended up with 3 cups of Cheerios that were too stale to eat, I really didn't want to throw them out.

With just four other ingredients, I was able to use the Cheerios to make some cereal bars. You couldn't tell the Cheerios were stale, especially after a day or so. I was pleasantly surprised at how much better these are than the cereal bars you can buy at the store. I bought some Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch bars once since they were cheap, and five months later we still have one left. Nathan devoured these homemade ones.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars
(Adapted from The Homesteading Housewife)

3 cups Cheerios

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Combine the honey and sugar together over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat.

Add the peanut butter and stir until it's well blended. (As you can tell by the flame in this photo, I forgot the "remove from heat" part of the previous step.)

Stir in the cocoa powder until it's mixed in.

Pour the chocolaty peanut butter goodness on top of your Cheerios and mix until the Cheerios are coated.

And pour the Cheerios mixture into a buttered 9x9 pan (I used an 8x8 pan since I don't have a 9x9).

Once they've cooled, cut the pan into squares. If you let them cool in the refrigerator too long, you will probably need a saw. Nathan managed to cut them after a lot of work with a big knife.

What ways have you found to use up food that is a little past its prime?

Shared at Frugal Friday on Life as Mom.

10 Things to Do Before Kids

2011-10-04T08:00:00.002-04:00

"So when are you having kids?"

I was really amazed when people started asking that only a few months into my marriage. With women 10 years older than I am becoming first time moms and with my parents having me (their first) more than 7 years into their marriage, I was just not expecting to be asked that question so soon. What's the big hurry? While we would certainly consider a child a blessing at any time in our marriage, I see no reason why we need to have a baby right now. I'm happy just enjoying our marriage for a while.

A recent post on Weddingbee from the "After I do" series featured several married ladies' answers to the question, "What is something you wish you did before you had your baby, or something you plan to do before you have a baby? What is something you did before baby that you’re so thankful you did?"

I thought it was a good question to consider. Is there anything I could do now that I won't be able to do once kids come along? Is there anything I need to do before I become pregnant to improve my pregnancy experience or my child's life? Honestly, I can't think of anything I need to do, but there are a few things I probably should do or would like to do. This is a list of ideas, not necessarily goals or suggestions.

Figure out being a family of two
After a year of marriage, we're still working on how to function as a family unit and how to communicate with each other. I don't expect us to ever completely master that, but I'd like to feel at least a little less clueless before we add anyone else to the mix.

Go on a relaxing vacation
I'm not talking anything exotic here (we honeymooned in Cincinnati, after all). We just have a tendency to want to do this, this, this, and this when we go on trips. I want to go somewhere and not have an agenda for once. I'm thinking a nice cabin with a jacuzzi tub.

Start buying organic food and stop buying as much processed food
I can't see us ever buying organic food exclusively, but I'd like to at least buy the dirty dozen organically (an idea I got from the baby bucket list of Erika from Newlyweds on a Budget ). I want to start making my own granola bars, and maybe even crackers.

Get a second dog
This one probably sounds crazy if you aren't a dog person (which I used to not be). But Nathan really wants a second dog, and lately I've been thinking having a dog that will actually run with me would be awesome. Nathan met with a trainer last week about Nenya's anxiety and confidence issues, and she actually suggested getting a second dog once Nenya has become a little more socialized. If we're going to have two dogs when we have kids, it's best that we have both of them trained well before we have kids.

Get in the habit of regular exercise
I want to be able to exercise while pregnant, which means I'd better start exercising before becoming pregnant. This needs to happen sooner than later.

Move somewhere with a washer/dryer and fenced-in yard

This one is not optional. I am not going to haul a bunch of clothes and a baby out to the car to do laundry, especially since we'll have a lot of extra laundry. I also don't want to have to go outside with the baby and the dogs, especially if we get a second dog!

Read and Research
I want to read up on the facts on things like pregnancy and childbirth. What foods should I avoid? Home birth or hospital birth? I like to plan ahead. So far on my reading list are What to Expect Before You're Expecting and Get Ready to Get Pregnant.

Have a better community
We don't have much of a community here right now. Both sets of parents are an hour away, which is nice, but we can't really use them as a last minute baby sitter. We don't have many friends here either. Becoming first time parents when we're this isolated is a little scary.

Do some freelance design work
Although I will most likely continue to work full-time after our first child is born, I'd like to at least explore the possibility of working from home. I could use the extra work to build up my portfolio no matter what direction my career takes.

Continue putting all my income towards student loans and savings
Unless it takes us a long time to get pregnant, it's unlikely that we'll have all the grad school loans paid off before we have a baby, but I want to pay as much as possible.

How about you? Is there anything you'd like to do before you have kids, or that you wish you had done before kids?

Visit Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday Posts.

Some Things Never Change

2011-10-01T12:26:00.001-04:00

The 10 year anniversary of the September 11 attacks got me thinking about what I was doing 10 years ago. I looked at the journal I kept at the time, but it turns out I had stopped writing for awhile in 2001 and didn't write anything on September 11. I did, however, find something that left me stunned and a little depressed...

These were my first two goals for 2001. Look familiar? Replace writing in my journal with writing on my blog, and you have two of my exact goals for 2011! I'm still trying to do the same things 10 years later with similar results. Wow.

______________________________________________________________________________________

So, how did I do over the past month with my new revised goals? The theme for most of them is "I was doing great, but then..." I got sick. Nathan was unemployed and then started second shift and things were weird. Life happened. But life has been happening for 10 years and isn't going to slow down any time soon. No excuses!

1. Exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week.

I manged to walk/jog in the morning 4 times. I guess that's something like a 20% success, which is still failure.

2. Go to bed at 10:00 each night and wake up at 6:00 each morning.

This is the best example of starting out great but failing. Maybe next month? Going to bed without Nathan is going to be rough, but I can't stay up until midnight.

3. Complete my daily chores and leave no dishes in the sink at the end of the day.

I'm getting better on this one. The daily chore schedule needs revised though.

4. Spend less than $200 a budget period on food (groceries and eating out).

This one was totally crazy. For the four-week period that ended September 10, we spent $200.27. So close! We've already spent over $200 this period, but we'll still be well under the $300 we had been spending.

5. Write at least 2 blog posts a week.

I had two weeks of two posts followed by two weeks with none. One positive thing about having evenings to myself now is that I'll be writing a lot more. I've always done my best writing late in the evening when it's totally quiet.

Have you ever seen history repeat itself in your life in a weird way?

Changing Shifts & Shifting Gears

2011-09-29T19:10:00.001-04:00

The good news is that Nathan started a new job this week. The bad news? He works 3pm-11:30pm. He doesn't get home until I'm in bed and doesn't wake up until after I leave in the morning. Both our jobs are a half hour from home and 20 minutes from each other, so dropping by for lunch isn't going to happen either. In other words, we aren't going to be seeing much of each other.

This is going to be quite the transition. These last couple weeks before he started the job, I tried to make the most of our evenings, spending as much time with him as possible. I wasn't worried about things like dusting, reading, or blogging. Now, I'm going to be on my own each evening with plenty of time to get work done. But so far, I'm not doing much of anything. I've just been sitting around while the dishes pile up and the floors get dirtier and dirtier. I've gotten used to this relax mode I was in.

I need to figure out how to switch gears and restructure my time. My weekly chore schedule is going to need to change to make my Saturdays open. I'm thinking one day of intense cleaning, one day for intense cooking and baking, one day for shopping, and two days of light cleaning and whatever projects I want. We also need to figure out how to pack a week's worth of quality time into the weekends. We've been having date nights almost every Saturday since we've been married, but we'll need to make it a date day!

I'm thankful for this new job. I'm thankful we only had eight weeks with just my paycheck and didn't need to touch our emergency fund. I'm just not thrilled about this life change, and neither is Nathan.

Anyone have tips on how to survive working opposite shifts?

Check out more Try New Adventures Thursday at Alicia's Homemaking.

Picky Eaters & Other Quirks

2011-09-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

I know I've mentioned before that Nathan is a picky eater. He says he can't change his taste buds, and I get that, but it sure makes my life complicated. I feel like I'm making food for a toddler!


Pizza with only toppings Nathan hates, a.k.a. deliciousness

These are just a few of the ways he's a picky eater:

He doesn't like "chunky" tomatoes. Even diced tomatoes have to go in the food processor.
He has no tolerance for spicy food. He even hates ginger. (Pepperoni is pushing it.)
He likes raisins by themselves but not baked in things
He won't eat lettuce, peas, broccoli, peppers, or just about any other vegetable.
Apples, apricots, and potatoes must be peeled for him to eat them.
He hates pineapple. He insists even a little pineapple juice ruins punch.

But really, it's unfair for me to say he's the picky eater. Even though I will eat almost anything, I do have my quirks when it comes to food. One day when Nathan was kind enough to make me a sandwich for lunch, I complained that he hadn't sliced it diagonally. "Now who's the toddler?" he asked me. Oh. Oops.

These are some ways I'm a picky eater:

I don't like milk on my cereal. Any cereal. Ever.
I hate fresh bananas or anything banana-flavored (just like the Pioneer Woman). However, I love dried bananas and banana nut bread.
I don't like donuts.
I like my sandwiches cut diagonally.
I can't stand it when different foods touch each other.
I hate asparagus.

It's easy to make fun of someone's quirks when they're not your own. We might not even think some of our preferences or behaviors are odd because it's just the way our families have always done things. For example, since I grew up eating both canned and frozen varieties of most vegetables, I thought Nathan was picky for insisting that frozen corn and canned green beans are good, but canned corn and frozen green beans were disgusting. Then I mentioned this fact at his parents' house, and his parents agreed that these preferences were just common sense. We all have our own definition of normal.

Marriage is a great way to learn about your quirks. I never realized until Nathan pointed it out that I drive with my left foot on the seat and my left knee over against the window. Apparently walking around while brushing your teeth isn't normal either. The good news is that Nathan hasn't discovered anything weird enough to scare him off (yet).

Has your spouse pointed out quirks you didn't know you had?

Our Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T21:50:00.000-04:00

We spent a lot of our three-day weekend working on more decluttering. We filled Nathan's trunk (a huge one!) with boxes and bags of excess to take to Goodwill. We also sold a box of books at Half Price Books for $11.50 (and managed to leave the store with $3).

We continued weeding out the clutter after the Goodwill trip. I spent time going through my dresser, asking questions like how many pairs of Christmas socks is excessive? Nathan went through his closet and found several shirts, pants, and ties he didn't need. We came up with enough extra clothes between the two of us to fill at least another trash bag!

Marsh was tripling coupons again this weekend, so we had to make a trip there. We got all of this for $10.65, and they weren't even tripling $1 coupons this time. That definitely topped my Memorial Day triple coupon shopping. It was fun having Nathan with me to help me decide what to buy and to watch my couponing skills in action. He said I "kicked some serious tail."

(An old photo. It wasn't that cold Monday.)

While we spent a lot of Monday relaxing, we were very active for some of the day. We started out the day by taking Nenya on a two and a half mile walk, and later Nathan and I biked another 11 miles. Not bad for two people who have hardly exercised at all the past year!

It wasn't anything too exciting, but we have so many weekends with planned events or traveling out of town that it's nice to just stay at home sometimes!

5 Goals for 2011: Revising & Refocusing

2011-09-01T08:00:00.005-04:00

I haven't written about my progress on my goals since February, partly because hardly anyone read the first two posts and partly because I didn't feel like I was making much progress. I've realized that I wasn't making progress because my goals were too vague for there to be any way to measure my success. It's time to revise my goals and then refocus on them for these last four months of the year.

1. Exercise on a regular basis

That one hasn't happened at all. Nathan and I will say we're finally going to start exercising, but we never do. It's hard to be motivated when neither of us ever gain weight either. (I still weigh about what I did when I stopped growing. I guess it's no wonder people think I look 15.) I don't know that putting a number on this one will help, but I'm going to try anyway.

Revised goal: Exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week. Any exercise! Just doing yoga again would at least help me get back into a healthier routine.

2. Wake up earlier.

I was doing a little better at this one for a while, but we've been staying up later now that Nathan doesn't have to get up early. Lately I haven't been stumbling out of bed until almost 7:00, and I have to leave by 7:30 to make it to work on time. I think my original hope of waking up at 5:30 was a little unrealistic though.

Revised goal: Go to bed at 10:00 each night and wake up at 6:00 each morning.

3. Keep Our Apartment Clean
I think I've done a pretty good job with this one, but it needs to be a more measurable goal.

Revised goal: Complete my daily chores and leave no dishes in the sink at the end of the day. Obviously there will be days when nothing gets done, but I still want this to be the goal.

4. Continue to find ways to decrease our expenses and increase income.
I've found small ways to decrease expenses in certain categories. As for increasing income, I was mainly thinking of freelance work, but I don't think that's going to happen this year. If someone wants me to do design work for them I'll do it, but I'm not going to try to seek out any work when I hardly have any free time as it is. Hopefully next year. I'm just going to try to focus on one area of our expenses.

Revised goal: Spend less than $200 a budget period on food (groceries and eating out). We've been consistently spending around $300. Yikes! Just cutting that by a third would save us $1,300 a year! (We track our budget in thirteen four-week periods.)

5. Write at least 2 blog posts a week.

That one doesn't need to change. I tried writing every other day for a while and even every day for a few days, but two is what I can manage during this season of life.

If you set goals for yourself this year, how are you doing with them?

What to Do with Greeting Cards: My DIY Wedding Card Album

2011-08-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

What do you do with all the cards you get for your wedding? Up until recently, our cards just sat in the card box we used at our wedding. I suppose you don't have to keep them, but I want to be able to remember those who gave us well wishes for our marriage, especially since some wrote out their own personalized messages.

I had considered getting a couple of these nice greeting card albums but decided against it since we had such a variety of card sizes. One card is too big to fit in a sleeve, and I thought the tall skinny cards would look odd in them. Plus, $48 for the two we would need seemed a little pricey.

I also like how T.K. at My Orderly Chaos cut her cards in half before putting them in her album, saving the inside messages and the nicer fronts.

When I saw this image in an article on Simple Mom about what to do with old cards, I immediately loved the idea. You could put all kinds of keepsakes into an album with just a couple book rings.

This is the album I ended up making:

For the front cover of the album, I created the design in InDesign and included the monogram we used on our invitations. Then I just printed it out on a leftover 6x9 envelope.

I made the front and back covers a little sturdier with a thick piece of cardboard (the backing of a sketchpad) cut in half.

Then I just put the pieces of cardboard in each envelope and sealed it. (Pro tip: If you have self-sealing envelopes, you're supposed to peal the little strip of paper off, not lick it. Not that I would do that or anything.)

I used a two-hole punch to punch all the cards.

I like that you can flip through all the cards and actually feel them, and also that they can be rearranged.

This is one way to make all sides of the card visible. While the backs of most cards are not that interesting, we had one card that was signed on the back since they had written a long message inside.

One card opens from the top, so I glued it onto a piece of card stock so we could still open it and read it.

I put all of the tiny gift bag cards on their own page by gluing them to a piece of card stock.

The one thing I'm not sure I like is how much the 3" book rings stick out. I wouldn't be able to use shorter rings unless I divide the cards into 2 albums. I might try to find some D-shaped rings or possibly bind it with ribbon. Another disadvantage is that the cards aren't well protected.

Overall, I'm happy with this solution.

What do you do with greeting cards?

Shared at the Homemaker by Choice blog hop.

The Home of My Our Dreams

2011-08-26T08:00:00.001-04:00

Source: thriftysolutionsforanurbangal.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I used to love watching the design shows on HGTV. I would look at all the beautiful remodels and think about how beautiful my own home would be. I've also collected a lot of images of home decor from design blogs and Pinterest.

It's fun to dream about the perfect bathroom...

Source: homestoriesatoz.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Or the ultimate kitchen...

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Amanda on Pinterest

But the thing I didn't realize before I was married? It isn't just up to me what my home looks like. It turns out some men actually have opinions about the way their homes are decorated!

A man might hang up a fuzzy stocking poster in the bedroom because he made it in his college graphic design class and he's proud of it. And if his wife asks why it has to be on display in the bedroom, he may respond, "Where else should we put it?"

Or, a husband may wonder why his wife thinks a "random jar" qualifies as a decorative item - a beautiful, antique Ball jar that many women would love to have for all sorts of decorative purposes!

No, this isn't just my home. This is our home. A home where two opinions of what is and isn't beautiful clash and sometimes compromise. A home where a dog thinks tennis balls and stuffed hedgehogs belong in the kitchen. And one day, we'll have kids adding their own personalities and styles.

The year I had an apartment all to myself, I could decorate however I wanted. I could hang up my French posters and display my Ball jar without being questioned. But I'd rather come home to a husband and a dog than a lonely apartment decorated my way. While I may not love all of my husband's things, I love him enough that I can at least tolerate them.

Home is really all about the people. It's about what you do in the home. Forget the little things you don't like about where you live and just focus on living!

10 Small Ways I'm Cutting Costs

2011-08-23T11:00:00.003-04:00

Now that we're currently living on just my income, we need to identify areas where we can cut back on our spending. It's a great opportunity to refocus on what necessities really are and how we can save money on those things we do have to buy.

These are a few small actions I've taken (or plan on taking) to help us live on as little as possible. Even if this season of one income is very short, some of these changes will hopefully become permanent and help us reach our financial goals.

1. Not getting my hair cut

This may sound extreme to some, but for me it was an easy decision to make. I've only been getting regular haircuts for the past year, so going without one for a while won't bother me. Of course I'm hoping Nathan will find a new job before I'm due for a haircut anyway.

2. Stepping up my couponing game.

I have no desire to look through recycle bins for coupons, but I need to make better use of the ones I have. I've gotten a little lazy lately and let some good ones expire.

3. Buying cheaper razors

I'm normally not a brand loyal person, but I've been using Schick Quatro razors for years. I decided to switch to two-blade razors that were 75% cheaper. This has turned out to be a painful decision (literally), but I think I can handle it for a while.

4. Only grocery shopping every two weeks

It's too early to know if this change will actually save us money, but I think it will. If nothing else, I'll be spending less time shopping and less money on gas than I was when I shopped once a week.

5. Temporarily stopping HSA contributions

Right now, part of each of my paychecks goes directly into our Health Savings Account. If the unemployment continues for another month or so, I'll stop making that contribution. We already have enough money between out HSA and emergency fund to cover our out of pocket maximum.

6. Only buying 1% milk

For a year I've been buying skim for me and 1% for Nathan. I finally decided that I'm not going to become obese from drinking 1% milk, so I've stopped buying skim. With the two of us sharing one gallon, we're much less likely to waste any because it's gone bad. The extra refrigerator space is a nice bonus too.

7. Severely limited eating out

I know some people seem to think you should never eat out, but it's nice to be able to go out for dinner as a couple or have lunch with coworkers at least a couple times a month. I don't think we'll be able to completely give it up, but we're going to have a very small number in this budget category. Thankfully, I have several unused Groupons we can use for a date.

8. Not buying new makeup

I've run out of both my foundation and mineral veil, so I'm looking very natural right now.

9. Shopping for a lower car and renter's insurance.

We're spending a huge chunk of our income on insurance. The company Nathan chose several years ago had the best rate at the time, but now that he's added another driver, a second car, and renter's insurance to his policy, it's time to look again.

10. Deleting all daily deal e-mails immediately

Groupons are great for saving money on restaurants, entertainment, and even clothing, but when you don't have a budget for these categories, it's brutal looking at all the deals you have to pass up. Heartsy was really rough. It's better to just delete the e-mails before I can read what they're offering.

What small or big changes have you made to save money?

More Top Ten Tuesday from Oh Amanda.
More Frugal Friday on Life as Mom.

Welcome, Money Saving Mom Readers!

2011-08-20T11:06:00.001-04:00

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll enjoy browsing around my blog. You can follow along with my journey with RSS Feed, Facebook, or Twitter.

I also invite you to check out my friend Debra's blog, Sweet Kisses and Dirty Dishes. She currently has a giveaway going on for $25 worth of products from Pampered Chef!

Meeting Money Saving Mom

2011-08-19T19:00:00.010-04:00

Last night I got to meet one of my favorite bloggers: Crystal Paine, the Money Saving Mom!

Crystal in the light green shirt under the Starbucks sign, me in the blue shirt in front,

other awesome ladies all around whom I will not try to name. (Photo from Money Saving Mom)

Crystal was in town for a conference with a friend, so eight of her local blog readers got together for an informal meet-up. I've been reading Money Saving Mom for about a year now, so this was exciting for me. Thanks mostly to tips I've learned from Crystal's blog, the amount I spend on groceries for Nathan and myself each month is the same as I spent for just me when I was single. And she has over 134,000 Facebook fans, so she's kind of a big deal. Some of the women drove over an hour just to have coffee with her!

After meeting Crystal in person, it's clear that she doesn't think of herself as a big deal. She greeted all of us with a hug and was happy to meet us. She seems to genuinely enjoy helping and educating others, without even the tiniest bit of a know-it-all attitude.

It was great meeting all these wonderful women and chatting about our frugal adventures. I found out I'm definitely not the only one lamenting that we don't have a Rite-Aid around here to take advantage of their great deals, despite the fact that we have about every other store! I was the only non-mom in the group, so I got to hear what shopping and couponing with kids is like. It was a lot of fun and I wish we'd had more time together.

Have you ever met any of your favorite bloggers/celebrities in person? Who would you most like to meet?

Enemy of Decluttering: Sentimental Value

2011-08-16T21:19:00.001-04:00

Nathan and I have been doing a lot of decluttering lately. We just don't need all this stuff we've accumulated, so a lot of it needs to go. Purging feels pretty good once you get started. However, some items are difficult to toss. If I've had it for 20 years or I wore it on an important day in my life, discarding it is no easy task. And if my grandma gave it to me, getting rid of it is almost impossible.

Nana gave me a lot of stuff. Clothes. Luggage. Plastic containers. An alarm clock. Dish towels. Jewelry. Lotion. After she died, all of that became almost sacred. These simple objects transformed into a tangible link to someone no longer here. How could I get rid of any of them?

I found a new perspective recently as I was snapping green beans. I'd never bought fresh green beans before, but I had snapped them with Nana years ago. As soon as I started working on them, I immediately thought of her. The smell, the sound, the feeling...it was like I was there on the back porch again, with Nana there with me in her apron, working away.

These are the true gifts in life - memories that are so simple yet so powerful. I don't need to keep a broken umbrella to remember my grandma. I don't need to keep the shirt I wore when I was baptized to know I was baptized. I don't need to keep all my stuffed animals to remember all the fun I had playing with them. I could lose everything I own and still have those memories. And what new memories are these boxes and drawers of junk creating?

Our First Farmers Market Trip

2011-08-11T08:00:00.006-04:00

I'd been meaning to check out the local farmers market since it opened a couple months ago, but I had never managed to make it there. I usually don't go grocery shopping until at least 11:00 on Saturdays, and the market is only open until 11:30.

What finally motivated me to get out of bed and go? Corn. Corn is one of the five vegetables Nathan will eat, and he's very picky about the kind of corn. All my attempts at serving him good corn had failed, and locally grown corn was my last hope. I also wanted to find some tomatoes, green beans, and red potatoes.

Now that we've had our first experience, I can't believe we waited this long to go. I found everything I'd hoped to find and even threw in a beet as well. The corn was really, really good.

I boiled the red potatoes and green beans and served them over pasta, loosely following this recipe. I think my potato to pasta ratio was a little off since the potatoes I used were so big, but it was pretty tasty.

The most amazing find for me was this lovely little thing. I have always hated beets. Or so I thought. It turns out I just hate canned beets.

After 35 minutes at 400 degrees and some olive oil, it's a completely different story. I was shocked. The taste reminded me a little of sweet potato fries, which I love. That beet pretty much changed my life.

I cut the corn from our last cob and tossed it with chopped tomato and avocado. Too bad we don't have any locally grown avocados!

We will definitely be returning to the farmers market. The food might be a little pricey, but if it's 20 times better than the produce you can buy in the grocery store, not to mention chemical free, I think it's worth it.

Do you shop farmers markets?

More Try New Adventures Thursday at Alicia's Homemaking

More Finer Things Friday at Amy's Finer Things

His hands are full too!

2011-08-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

When Nathan and I first started dating, several of his friends told me things like "You have your hands full!" or "You don't know what you're getting yourself into!" It was all in fun (I think). What they didn't realize was that dealing with me isn't exactly that easy either. My own quirks and personality flaws have provided him with plenty of challenges.

Here's a recent example of one such challenge. Nathan was at the first day of GenCon, having tons of fun playing games without his wife. He was just about to begin Munchkinsanity, a game which he had very much been looking forward to playing.

Then he got a phone call.

His wife had walked out the door to take the dog out and locked the door, only to discover that she had forgotten her keys. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to leave his game, but he knew his wife needed to be the priority and she didn't want to stay outside with the dog for three hours. So he left to return home.

After he had been home for a while, his wife went to get her keys out of her purse but couldn't find them. She checked the other obvious locations in the apartment. Still no luck. Finally, she went outside with the flash light and found her keys next to a bush right outside the door.

She had remembered her keys after all! They had just fallen out of her pocket when she tried to jump away from the attack of the lawn sprinkler! And, being the scatter-brain that his wife is, she had completely forgotten that she had remembered her keys.

No...I really don't think he knew what he was getting himself into either.

Guest Posting on Life Blessons

2011-08-07T13:00:00.005-04:00

I'm guest posting at Life Blessons as part of a Secrets of a Newlywed series. Carmen is one of my favorite bloggers, so it's an honor to be able to have a post there. If you're a newlywed or yet to be married, you should check out the other posts in the series as well as the rest of her blog.

A Simple Living Room Makeover

2011-08-05T08:00:00.021-04:00

After a year of living together, we've come up with a lot of ideas of how we could make our space work better for us. Our big project this summer has been trying to better organize and arrange our apartment and, more importantly, get rid of anything we don't need in order to make our lives easier the next time we move. We aren't spending a lot of money or making enough changes to have dramatic before and after photos, but it's still been rewarding to see the improvements.

Before: Our bookshelves were a mess, and our floor was cluttered with hardware and tools that Nathan was using to build a test computer (for Server 2008 and Linux, for those who care).

After: With the bookshelves side by side and the TV moved out of the corner, suddenly we had tons of space! We used one of our end tables as a makeshift desk for the test computer. The TV is now directly in front of our couch.

Before

After: We finally hung up our wedding photo with our signed matte!

Before: I had my books on a couple small shelves on the far back wall behind the couch.

After: The larger shelf moved into the second bedroom to hold some of our less attractive books and binders, and the chair we had in the living room replaced it.

The other bookshelf replaced the end table we're now using as a computer desk.

To make more room on our bookshelves, we filled a box with books we want to sell or give away. We also boxed up some of our books that we want to keep but don't need on our shelves, most of which are kids' books.

And there you have it - a few small changes that have made our living room a much more pleasant place to live.

For Richer. For Poorer.

2011-08-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, my longtime dream of riding a zip line finally came true! It wasn't a huge one, but it was a good starter zip line. Once we finished our adventure, Nathan broke the news to me that he no longer had a job. He wanted me to have my fun that day, but he couldn't put off telling me any longer.

For richer or poorer.

Those words are spoken in traditional wedding vows for a reason; both are very real possibilities in a marriage. When I made that vow at my own wedding, I started crying as I thought of everything we'd already been through and knew we could make it through anything. Sure enough, when Nathan lost his job after just a few weeks of marriage, we survived the poorer for a time. But then he got this new job, with great pay, and I thought everything would be better. Poorer? That was all behind us! And now, here we are, back to just my income. Although I hope this will once again be such a short period of unemployment that we'll hardly notice it, we have no way of knowing.

Marriage is kind of like a zip lining. Even though I'd looked forward to it for a very long time, I didn't know what it would be like when I jumped off that platform. Sometimes it seems like an easy ride, but sometimes you start spinning out of control. You just have to have faith that the cord holding you up is strong enough that you won't fall into the pond. It's a crazy ride, but I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.

I know we'll be okay. Living on my income is certainly possible, just not a lot of fun. I'm so thankful that we fully funded our emergency fund and paid off all consumer debt during our first year of marriage. If you have not yet done both of those things, I would truly encourage you to do so as soon as you possibly can. Although you may think everything is great now that you're richer, you never know when Poorer could come to visit.

Inconveniences and Blessings

2011-07-19T22:12:00.001-04:00

When life gets a little rough, it's not always so easy to see the good in the situation, but sometimes bad circumstances or an inconvenience can turn into a blessing. We recently found ourselves faced with a series of inconveniences that worked out pretty well in the end, and it was pretty amazing.

Inconvenience #1: When Nathan's car was at the mechanic's, they dented the bottom of his door while putting it up on the lift.

Inconvenience #2: Although the door would be replaced for free, the mechanic is located in the town where Nathan used to live, about an hour and a half away. It's not so easy to just leave a car there a couple days, so we put off the repair for several months.

Inconvenience #3: Nathan walked out to his car one morning last week and saw this:

And this is where the blessing comes in. What's a broken car window when you already have a free car door with your name on it? Sure, Nathan still had to drive all that way to get it replaced, but I went along for a Wednesday night date night - dinner at a restaurant we both love and lots of time talking and listening to an audio book in our complimentary rental car. As for the stereo, we didn't like the one in that car anyway, and Nathan might be able to get a cheap basic one from a coworker. Not such a bad deal if you ask me!

Even though things did work out okay, this incident has added quite a bit of weight to our Reasons to Move list. It would be one thing if only our car had been vandalized, but after one neighbor had his car stolen and another had a wheel taken off their car, I knew our cars weren't safe. We're probably going to be getting out of here in six months, if not sooner.

Rethinking Gift Giving

2011-07-12T19:45:00.002-04:00

When I received flowers at work last month, several people asked me if it was my anniversary. It wasn't; my anniversary wasn't for another week and a half. And no, Nathan hadn't sent them early worrying that he would forget our anniversary either. It was just his way of thanking me for my patience during a not so fun time.

On our actual anniversary, we didn't exchange gifts at all, unless you count the balloons and cake I bought for Nathan's graduation party. We didn't give each other gifts on Valentine's Day either. Is it because we don't care about each other? No. We just don't give gifts based solely on the calendar.

Early in our marriage, I came home to find a wrapped gift on the bed. I had no idea what it was or why Nathan had gotten it for me. It turned out to be a new hair dryer. I was having issues with my old one, so he just went out and bought a new one, and a nice one at that! Although I don't do as much random gift giving, as an incentive for Nathan to focus on his classes, I bought him a season of J.A.G. on DVD for each "A" he earned.

Gifts and special occasions don't have to go hand in hand, as long as you and your spouse are on the same page. If your spouse's love language is receiving gifts, they may feel differently. Dr. Gary Chapman says that "a missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous" for one of these people. But Nathan and I both rank receiving gifts as our least significant love language. Gifts are nice, but we don't need them to feel loved or to make our holiday feel complete. And they're a lot more fun when they're unexpected.

What's your take on gift giving?

We Made It!

2011-06-27T22:00:00.000-04:00

After a lot of hard work, and an especially rough few weeks, Nathan has completed his Master of Business Administration degree!

The graduation ceremony also happened to be on our one year anniversary, so it was a very special occasion.

We celebrated with a cookies and cream ice cream cake at our apartment after the ceremony and managed to fit seven guests in our living area.

It's been a fun year. Although I can't say we've loved every minute of it, married life has been a wonderful experience thus far. Now that we should be able to have a little more quality time together, I almost feel like we're newlyweds all over again!

How Do You Do Tacos?

2011-06-13T22:02:00.000-04:00

A taco isn't a taco without hard-boiled eggs -- if you're Nathan, anyway. The ground beef should be saucy beef, like the kind you would use for sloppy joes. There should be tons of cheese and sour cream, but absolutely no lettuce or tomatoes.

I prefer my tacos more like taco salads, or haystacks as my mom calls them. I start with a base of lettuce, then add beef, tomatoes, black olives, salsa, and cheese. I crush tortilla chips or taco shells on top. I like my beef plain - no seasoning, and definitely no sauce.

I had avoided making tacos up until last week because I didn't want to deal with making saucy meat or boiling eggs. Thankfully, Nathan ended up being content with beef that was seasoned but not saucy. I attempted to boil eggs, although I managed to only boil them halfway (Nathan boiled them the rest of the way for us). I had my lettuce and tomatoes, and we were both able to enjoy our tacos. He thinks my way is nuts; I think his way is nuts. This is clearly a dinner that allows for some individuality.

So, how about you? What is essential for your taco night?

Using Your Other 8 Hours

2011-06-09T08:00:00.004-04:00

Eight hours at work. Eight hours sleeping. What about the other 8 hours? My biggest struggle with achieving my goals has been finding the time to fit it all in. Reading The Other 8 Hours by Robert Pagliarini has really helped me think about how much time I really have and how I can make better use of it through setting priorities, setting a schedule, and setting limits.

Setting Priorities
My goals are to exercise on a regular basis, wake up earlier, keep our apartment clean, increase income and decrease expenses, and write at least 2 blog posts a week. If I'm spending time on something that won't help me achieve one of my goals or benefit the well-being of myself or others, why am I doing it? If a book on my reading list will not help me reach my goals or at least be a good read, why on earth is it on there? Obviously, my husband has to come before all of these things. As I've learned, being a good wife for him has very little to do with cleaning. If he needs me to look over something he's written or just wants to talk to me, I'm not too worried about how much blogging I get done that day.

Setting a Schedule
I've resisted making a daily schedule for myself since I prefer to have spontaneity during my free time. But since making a chore chart and a menu plan have helped me stay on track, I decided having at least a general guideline couldn't hurt. If I really want to keep our apartment clean, I need to plan time to do chores each evening. If I want to write two or more blog posts each week, I need to schedule writing time. And when it's time to go to bed, I need to go to bed. That way, I can actually wake up on time and get 30 minutes of exercise that's a little more strenuous than hitting the snooze bar.

Setting Limits
You know those things that just suck away your time and suck the life out of you? Robert Pagliarini calls those Life Leeches. You want to get rid of those. He suggests eliminating activities from your life for three weeks and then deciding whether you want to resume it. While I haven't identified anything I want to eliminate from my life, I have set limits on some things. To help combat wasting time online, I've set limits on the amount of time I spend online each evening and have also set limits on the number of sites I follow with Google Reader (25) and Twitter (60). I only follow with Reader if I absolutely don't want to miss a post on that blog, and the rest I follow on Twitter. I've also removed a few nonessential Facebook friends, but I'm still at 200. That one's a lot harder.

Needless to say, I got a lot out of The Other 8 Hours. This is only the second book I've read this year that I'm considering buying for future reference. As the title implies, it's more applicable to those working full-time, but others could easily skip around to sections that interest them. I skipped through the parts about starting a big business venture involving investors but read the sections on blogging and freelance in detail. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to "get more time, get more money, and get a life," or any of the above.

Do you struggle with using time in a meaningful way? If not, what are your secrets? :-)

____________________________________________________________________________

The End is Near

2011-06-06T08:00:00.003-04:00

In less than three weeks, on June 26, Nathan and I will celebrate our first year of marriage. As exciting as that milestone is, I'm mainly looking forward to June 26 for an entirely different reason: the conferral of Nathan's MBA. We knew Nathan's grad classes would make the first year a little rough, but things have gotten really rough now that he is in his capstone course, which is writing a 60-80 page business plan. It's a group project with 5 other people, and Nathan is in charge of the finance portion as well as editing the entire paper.

I haven't exactly felt like Nathan's top priority lately. One of his team members was telling him how great he is and that his wife is lucky to have him. I know I'm lucky, but it's kind of ironic hearing that from someone who has spent as much time talking to him this past week as I have. The frustrating part is that I know this project has to take top priority for him to do well in the class. If I want him to do well, do I really even want him to spend much time with me? I'm trying to keep busy doing things by myself, like taking advantage of this great opportunity to get lots of reading done.

Although I do my best to be the supportive wife, sometimes I get tired of being the cheerleader all the time. Nathan's stress is enough to push me to the breaking point, so much that I once sarcastically told him, "Yes, dear, you are going to fail!" No, he's not; I just fail at being a wife sometimes. If nothing else, this has been a good learning experience.

Soon...soon it will be over...just not soon enough!

The Triple Coupon Experience

2011-06-03T08:00:00.009-04:00

Doubling coupons up to $0.50 is nice, but what about tripling coupons up to $1? That's what Marsh was doing over Memorial Day weekend. It actually took me awhile to decide to go since Marsh's standard prices and even sale prices are fairly high. I'd only been there once in the past year, and I wasn't sure that I could get good enough deals even with triple coupons. The deal that ultimately got me in the door was the Era detergent - on sale for $2.99, and I had a coupon for $1 off! I couldn't pass up free detergent.

Here's what I ended up buying, and the prices I paid after the coupon:

Popcorn, Indiana Popcorn — $0.99
Popcorn, Indiana Chips — $0.99
Era detergent — FREE
Uncle Ben's Ready Rice — $0.14
Hormel pepperoni — $0.94
Kraft mayo — $1.49 each
Heinz ketchup — $0.39
Yoplait yogurt — $1.45
Classico alfredo sauce — $0.50 each
Dole fruit crisp — $0.99
General Mills Milk 'n Cereal Bars — $0.49
Covergirl mascara — $2.99 (Is that even a good price? I never replace my mascara until it's basically solidified.)
Kraft sliced cheese — FREE

Before I went shopping, I set a few guidelines for myself. I didn't follow them perfectly, but they kept me from getting too crazy.

Only buy items with matching coupons. I had no trouble following this one. I went to a quiet aisle before checking out and actually placed the coupons I was using on the items to make sure I had them all ready.
Spend less than $1 on items we wouldn't normally buy. Well, we wouldn't normally buy white cheddar popcorn or chips, but since Nathan and I both LOVE white cheddar popcorn, I couldn't resist.
Spend less than $10 total. My final total was $13.33. I could have put a few things back to bring that total down, but I was really excited about everything I was getting, as I knew would be the danger.

I was hoping for more free or nearly free items, but several of the items I had $1 off coupons for (Endust and Heinz 57, for example) weren't anywhere in the store. I may have had better luck at a bigger Marsh.

So, while this wasn't exactly an "extreme" couponing experience, I was pretty happy with my 77% savings and had a lot of fun doing it.

Nathan's Wedding Gift

2011-05-29T23:00:00.001-04:00

A year ago, when we were planning our wedding, Nathan got the idea that instead of having a limo pick us up from the wedding reception, we should have a helicopter. He wanted this to be a surprise for me, but once he decided it would probably be a little too expensive, he told me about his idea.

Not long after he told me this, there just so happened to be a Groupon for an introductory helicopter flight lesson. Up until that point, I wasn't sure whether or not to buy Nathan a wedding gift. Sure the sales ladies at Jared insisted that I had to buy him a watch since "It's tradition!" but Nathan was happy with the Walmart digital watch he had.

Flying a helicopter on the other hand? That's something he could enjoy. So, although we left the wedding reception in our own car, later that night I told Nathan that he would get to fly a helicopter. I really thought he would have his lesson last summer, but somehow we just never got around to it. Finally, two weeks before the Groupon expired, Nathan flew a helicopter!

First, the flight instructor showed him and another student all the controls. The two other students there that morning were also using Groupons, so Nathan wasn't the only one to wait until the last minute.

Then he went inside the tent classroom for his ground training.

...while I sat and watched the birds. The metropolitan airport is probably one of the quietest places in the city when there are no helicopters or planes taking off - just the sounds of red-winged blackbirds, mockingbirds, and killdeer.

And then it was Nathan's turn to fly!

A few more instructions

A little bit of hovering

And he was off!

I wish I could have seen the view he had of the city up there. He even flew over our apartment and saw my car on the ground.

Still smiling after his flight

Yep, I'd say it was a lot more fun than a fancy watch!

Linked at Try New Adventures Thursday at Alicia's Homemaking.

The Chore Schedule of a Working Wife

2011-05-26T21:55:00.000-04:00

Okay, I promise cleaning the stove is not one of Nenya's regular chores. However, this photo is a pretty good illustration of what kind of a homemaker I am. I don't always clean the stove after I cook. In fact, sometimes the stove gets so bad that I jokingly tell Nathan we should just put Nenya on the counter and have her lick it off. And one time he actually did (but not for long, and he was right next to the counter the whole time).

Occasionally I'll come across another woman's chore schedule, and invariably it involves much more cleaning than mine. Cleaning the bathroom sink every day? I could never do that. And vacuuming every day too? I don't even vacuum; Nathan does. Everyone's situation is different, and there's no need to compare. But if you would like to see an example of a chore schedule of a newly married wife who is gone at least 10 hours out of every weekday, here is my list. I've changed things around since I first developed it.

Sunday
• Laundry

Monday
• Clean inside of microwave
• Clear off desk
• Water plants

Tuesday
• Clean bathroom sink
• Hand wash delicates
• Clean bathroom mirror

Wednesday
• Clean bathtub
• Dust bedrooms

Thursday
• Clean toilet
• Sweep and mop (entry way, bathroom, kitchen)

Friday
• Plan menu
• Dust living area

Saturday
• Grocery shopping
• Food prep
• Brush Nenya

Nathan's (Usually) Weekly Chores
• Vacuum
• Take out trash
• Clear off desk

This is what works for us right now. I don't always keep with it perfectly, but I usually manage to get almost everything done on a weekly basis at least. My most often neglected chore is sweeping and mopping the floors, even though I have just 3 tiny sections of floor that need swept. There aren't any chores that get done on a daily basis. As I've written about before, although I take care of most of the chores right now since Nathan is busy finishing up his MBA as well as working on computer certifications, I'm blessed with a husband who does not consider any chore "woman's work" and who would be willing to take on more chores if he ever becomes the one with more free time. Sometimes he helps me haul the laundry and get it started, which rocks my socks off.

Do you use a chore schedule? What is your least favorite chore?

10 Easy Main Dishes for the Beginner Cook

2011-05-24T08:00:00.001-04:00

I like cooking. I like the money that I save by not buying fast food for dinner. I like knowing what's in my food. But what I don't like, at least at this point in my life, are complicated recipes. The key word for these recipes is easy. These aren't healthy, whole foods recipes by any means - one uses cream of chicken soup, and one uses Pillsbury crescents. But all of them have five ingredients or fewer, at least the way I prepare them, and don't require a lot of work.

Here are 10 favorites from my limited cooking repertoire. I've listed the ingredients I use for each recipe, and the recipe names link to the directions for them.

: : 1 : :

Basil Pork Chops

Pork chops
Brown sugar
Dried basil
Olive oil

The recipe calls for boneless pork chops, but I use bone-in.

{source}

: : 2 : :

Upside Down Pizza Casserole

Lean ground beef

Italian-style tomato sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
10-ounce package refrigerated biscuits

: : 3 : :

Tuna Macaroni

1 box macaroni and cheese
1 can light tuna, packed in water
1 can cream of chicken soup

My favorite version of tuna noodle casserole is actually not a casserole, and not the version pictured. All I do is make a box of Annie's Mac & Cheese, then mix in the soup and tuna. No baking required! We sprinkle chow mein noodles on the individual servings.

{source}

: : 4 : :

Parmesan Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Seasoned bread crumbs
Grated Parmesan cheese
Dried basil
Egg

{source}

: : 5 : :

Salmon Patties

Canned salmon

Egg
Sseasoned dry bread crumbs
Olive oil

{source}

: : 6 : :

Ham and Cheese Crescent Roll-Ups

Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls

Thinly sliced ham
Sliced cheddar cheese

{source}

: : 7 : :

Chicken and Rice Dinner

Boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Minute^® White Rice

Cream of chicken soup

Water

Oil

: : 8 : :

Cod au Gratin

Cod fillets
Margarine or butter
All-purpose flour
Milk
Shredded Cheddar cheese

It tastes better than it looks in the photo!

I make this with 12 oz. of pollock and scale the other ingredients in half.

{source}

: : 9 : :

Dump and Go Cheesy Chicken

Boneless chicken breasts
Cream of Cheddar cheese soup
Milk
Salt and pepper
Garlic powder

: : 10 : :

Turkey Meatballs

Ground turkey

Egg
Italian seasoned bread crumbs

I pour barbecue sauce over mine before baking and serve over rice.

What are your favorite easy recipes?

What We've Learned About Budgeting

2011-05-20T08:00:00.073-04:00

At the beginning of this year, I wrote about the brilliant idea Nathan had to base our budget not on the 12 calendar months but on 13 four-week periods so that our income for each period would be about the same. Now that we're nearing the end of the fifth period, I'm still happy with this system, but it hasn't worked quite the way we thought it would. We've learned a lot about budgeting during these 20 weeks.

Income is never steady
This graph shows what our income has looked like the last five periods. Not so steady, is it? Just to clarify, the markers for the third and fifth period are the "normal" months. It has actually been higher than normal income we've been dealing with, which is a very good issue to have.

Why the high months?

Working on corporate holidays in December meant extra income for Nathan in January.
Tuition reimbursement from Nathan's employer came in February.
We received a tax refund in April.

Budgeting requires flexibility
The problem we had last year was that we thought of our budget as this rigid guideline that could not be changed in the middle of the month. But guess what? Life isn't predictable! In addition to the unexpected extra income, we've also had some unexpected expenses. You don't know at the beginning of the month that in two weeks you'll need car repairs. You don't know that you'll end up losing the key fob for the laundry room and have to pay $50 to replace it (or that you'll find it later and not be able to get any money back). And really, who can predict how much they'll spend on gas anymore?

Now, when we set our budget before the beginning of each period, we set our amounts for each category based on our normal earned income. If we end up bringing in more money than expected, we then tweak the overall budgeted amount and the amounts for each category. For example, if we expected to make $2,000 during a period and Nathan gets a paycheck with $50 extra overtime pay, we might add $40 to the budgeted amount for the emergency fund and $10 to the amount we budget for miscellaneous spending. Our total budgeted would then be $2,050. And likewise, if an expense comes up that was not originally in the budget, we'll have to lower a few categories to make up for it.

Budgeting requires communication
Extra income is a blessing, but it makes having a budget even more important. If Nathan and I hadn't decided ahead of time how we were going to use our tax refund, we could have ended up going crazy with our spending for that month. Having a budget meeting at the beginning of each period is a starting point, but being in financial harmony with your spouse requires constant communication. We don't consult each other about every purchase we make, but it's nice to know when Nathan plans to spend $100 on computer parts.

Budgeting takes a lot of time to get it right

If you've been using a budget for a long time, it might sound like I'm stating the obvious in this post, but it was incredibly frustrating for us those first few months. We still haven't perfected it, and I don't know that we ever will. If you're just starting out with creating and using a budget, don't give up!

Do you use a budget? What are your tips for making it work?

Slow Cooker Revolution

2011-05-16T08:00:00.003-04:00

Slow Cooker Revolution is a beautiful cookbook. It has excellent photography and a nice, easy to read layout. However, it is sadly not for me. While I thought many of the recipes looked tasty, I need recipes that work for both of us. Rather than trying to guess which recipes Nathan might be able to tolerate, I had Mr. Picky Eater look through it himself and let me know which ones looked good to him. He came up with seven recipes that he wanted to try: Loaded Baked Potato Soup, Turkey Breast and Gravy, Beginner's Pulled Pork, Easy Barbecued Ribs, Sausage Lasagna (the yummy cover photo!), Corned Beef Hash, and Chocolate Fondue.

I can't fault this cookbook for not having enough recipes that appeal to my husband. I'm sure less picky eaters would find this a true slow cooker revolution. The only thing I didn't like about this cookbook is that most of the recipes require a lot of work. My ideal slow cooker recipe is one that allows me to throw the ingredients in the slow cooker when I'm half awake on a Sunday morning. Although I look forward to the challenge of trying these new recipes, an experienced cook would probably enjoy the book more. Check out this review from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures to see what one of those experienced cooks thought. If you're not as confident in your culinary skills, I would recommend looking for this book at your local library (as I did) rather than buying it.

What is your favorite cookbook?

Playing the Drugstore Game

2011-05-12T08:00:00.003-04:00

I've shared before how I've been able to find deals on groceries and clothes, but saving money on household and personal items is where I struggle. I don't think about buying toothpaste or toilet paper until we're almost out. Even though I had heard how a lot of people manage to get some really good deals at drugstores and even make money, it still just seemed like a waste of time to go to extra stores. However, when I finally saw some deals on products that we actually use, I went for it.

Week One: Earning Rewards

Skintimate shave gel (CVS): $3.18 after coupons, got $2.50 Extra Bucks

Speed Stick deodorant (Walgreen's): $1.30 after coupons, got $1 Register Rewards

Snickers eggs (Walgreen's): $0.54

I thought I could get the eggs for free at Walgreen's, but the coupon was rejected. The cashier already seemed annoyed with my existence since I had given her a special Walgreen's discount coupon after she had rung up my items and "That's supposed to be scanned first!" and had to get a manager. I decided to just buy them.

Total spent: $5.02
Total rewards earned: 3.50

Week Two: Using the Rewards

For my second trip, I was able to use my Extra Bucks and Register Rewards to get even better deals.

Sinus medicine (CVS): $3.70 after using my $2.50 Extra Bucks. I was more concerned about getting relief from my congestion than getting fantastic deals!

Aussie hair spray and mousse (Walgreen's): $5.49 for both after coupons and Register Rewards and got $3 Register Rewards back.

Total spent: $9.19
Total rewards earned: $3

I had the same cashier at Walgreen's, and once again my coupon was rejected. "This says Herbal Essences. You bought Aussie" was her explanation. Except that it says OR AUSSIE right after the Herbal Essences and even has a picture of the purple bottles right on the coupon! But once I pointed that out, she actually got the coupon to work for me. After two trips to Walgreen's and two rejected coupons, I'm beginning to see why many people have just given up shopping there.

Week Three: Making Money

For my third trip to CVS, even without any Extra Bucks to spend, I was able to make money! The Honest Tea was on sale 3/$4, and you earn $1 Extra Bucks by buying 3. With three $1/1 Honest Tea coupons and a CVS coupon for a free beverage that took $2 off, I was able to get four drinks for $0.84 and earned $1 in Extra Bucks. We're basically getting paid $0.04 to drink each of them.

Total spent: $0.84

Total rewards earned: $1

So, yes, drugstore shopping can be a hassle, but I think if I stick with it long enough I can drastically reduce the amount we spend on household items. And getting paid to drink tea and Dr. Pepper? You can't beat that.

From Long Distance to Living Together

2011-05-09T19:28:00.002-04:00

Nathan and I had a fairly long distance relationship right up until the day we got married. Although we saw each other much more frequently during our engagement, when we lived only 40 minutes apart, we had no idea what it would be like to see each other every day. While I felt confident that we would make it work, I wasn't really sure what it would be like to jump from living far apart to living in the same apartment.

When we were dating, we were always happy to see each other and sad when we had to leave. I really thought that would change once we were married - that there would come a time when we would get sick of each other. Maybe that will happen eventually, but it hasn't so far. We hug just about every time one of us has to leave, even if we'll be apart for less than an hour. And we have so much fun with each other just living our daily lives.

One real benefit of growing so accustomed to a long distance relationship is that being away from each other isn't that difficult. We've spent at least 3 weekends apart so far in our first year of marriage. Sure, we miss each other, but a couple days apart is no big deal when seeing each other every day is still a novel thing. The only issue in these situations is who gets Nenya for the weekend.

I wouldn't say that being in a semi-long distance relationship before our marriage made the transition to living together any more difficult. If anything, it's made newlywed life a lot more enjoyable.

Did you have a long distance relationship before you were married?

What I Gave Up for My Marriage

2011-05-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

Marriage is all about sacrifices. Give and take. But what have I actually "given up" now that I'm a married woman?

My career Goals? No. Nathan is supportive of me getting a Masters' degree (should I choose to pursue one).
Spending time with friends? No. I spent a Saturday with some college friends recently.
Hobbies? No. I'm reading for fun more than I have since elementary school.

What have I given up for my husband? One of these:

A top sheet.

Nathan hates sleeping with a top sheet. He claims they serve no purpose and always end up wadded up at the foot of the bed. I originally thought he would just have to get used to sleeping with one. When we were first married, it was warm enough that we didn't need any blankets. Nathan could tolerate sleeping with a top sheet by itself. But when it came time to pile on the blankets, the sheet had to go.

Yes, marriage is all about compromise and sacrifice...some sacrifices are just a little odder than others.

I've made it to 100 posts of Wedding/Newlywed Trek. Thanks for reading!

10 Things I Learned on Our Florida Trip

2011-05-03T08:27:00.003-04:00

Nathan and I took a trip to Pensacola, Florida, last month. Nathan graduated from Pensacola Christian College, and he was excited to finally be able to show me where he spent five years of his life. With one day of driving, three days there, and another day driving back, it was somewhat exhausting, but it was nice to be able to relax a little. Here are 10 things I learned on our first post-honeymoon trip together.

1. Pensacola Christian College feels very little like Ball State University.

I was aware that Nathan and I attended very different colleges, but being at PCC in person gave me a better picture of those differences. Although I had no problem putting on a skirt to comply with the PCC dress code, it felt kind of unnatural since I wore jeans 90% of the time I was in college. "I feel like we're going to church!" I told Nathan as I got in the car. Really, we kind of were; we attended chapel along with all of the students Friday morning. And, even as a married man, Nathan felt a little uncomfortable when his wife kissed him on a campus where even hand holding is forbidden.

2. Nathan and I can spend 13 hours in the car without getting mad at each other.

This was good to know. I wouldn't say we enjoyed every minute of our ridiculously long trip, but I couldn't have asked for better company.

3. Nathan was a very memorable student.

Five years after graduating, his professors still remembered him. I've only been out of college two years, and I doubt very many of my professors would remember my name.

4. Alabama dirt is RED.

This photo doesn't begin to do it justice. When Nathan told me about the red dirt, I was expecting it to look like the clay tennis courts at the French Open. But some of it was a bright red, almost like the radioactive Fiesta Ware.

5. Florida isn't always warm.

Okay, I kind of knew that before, but it still surprised me how cold it was at the beach. Even though there were still plenty of girls in bikinis, I kept my coat on part of the time.

6. Bar soap is BAD for my wedding ring.

Normally I don't have a problem using motel soap for a few days, but now that I know what it does to my wedding band, I may have to bring liquid soap the next time we go on vacation. The soap was caked in behind the diamonds of my ring, and even a cleaning at Jared didn't get it out. (Once I brought it to the attention of the sales associate, she said she had some tricks up her sleeve and was able to get it out.)

7. Nathan is a driving beast.

He drove two-thirds of the way to Florida and two-thirds of the way home. I even had coffee on the way back to try to wake myself up to drive again, but all he needed was a four hour break in the middle.

8. Alabama has some crazy roadkill.

In addition to the aforementioned armadillos, I saw a few coyotes and some animals I couldn't identify...mink? Weasel? Dingo?

9. Groupons aren't always amazing deals.

I signed up to receive the daily Groupon emails for Pensacola a few months before our trip, and I bought a Groupon for Surf Burger, a restaurant on Pensacola Beach. It was a really good lunch with a fabulous view, but with all the gas we burned up driving around for 30 minutes to find parking, it wasn't as great of a deal as I had hoped.

10. I still hate grits.

It's been at least 15 years since I last tried grits, so I kept an open mind. I just don't like them, and I don't know why. However, fried okra is quite tasty.

The Armadillo Song

2011-04-20T20:35:00.000-04:00

Things have been a little busy lately. Nathan and I took a trip to Pensacola, Florida, for a few days so he could show me where he went to college. Once I get the apartment back in order, I should be able to return to my irregularly scheduled blog. In the meantime, here's a song I wrote inspired by Alabama roadkill.

The Armadillo Song
Armadillo!
Friend of Tom Bombadillo
Dances 'round laughing at Old Man Willow

Armadillo!
The wind did billow
And then armadillo went rolling down the hill-o

Armadillo!
Didn't make a good pillow
Tried to run across the road and got himself kill-o

What can I say? 14 hours in a car messes with your head.

Photo source

Is Paying for Coupons Worth the Money?

2011-04-11T22:15:00.005-04:00

Buying a newspaper just for coupons, buying a book of coupons...is it worth it? I debated this for a long time. I can't speak for everyone, but this is what I've concluded.

Newspapers
A Sunday paper around here costs $1.75. If I can only use $2 worth of coupons from it, that's hardly worth the time it takes to clip them out. But one day I picked up a Sunday paper and saw a little paper inside with an online code to get a one-year Sunday/Thursday subscription for 99 cents a week. At that price, I thought it would be worth it.

Nathan's opinion? He was excited about getting the funnies.

I haven't added up exactly how much we've saved a week with our paper subscription, but I know we get more than our money's worth without even trying. There are many bonuses in addition to the coupons. I have a physical copy of the weekly ads for Kroger, Meijer, and all the other local stores, which we wouldn't receive otherwise. There are restaurant coupons packed in there as well. And you can't put a price on how engrossed in the comics Nathan becomes every time we get a new paper. It's just hilarious.

The Entertainment Book

I was also worried about getting our money's worth out of the Entertainment Book, even though two of the books I've read this year recommend it. Sure it has thousands of dollars in coupons, but how many would we actually use? What finally made me decide to buy one was an offer from MyPoints to earn 1,700 points with the purchase of an Entertainment Book. I paid $17 and earned more than enough points for a $10 gift card. I knew we would save at least $7 with the coupons.

And then I bought a bike...

The Entertainment Book has 3 coupons for Dick's Sporting Goods: $20 off $100, $15 off $75, and $10 off $50. When we bought a bike, 2 helmets, and a bike lock, the cashier let us use all 3 coupons on one transaction. We saved $45 on one purchase! No matter how many more coupons we use out of that book this year, it's already been worth it.

Is buying coupons worth the money? Depending on how much you pay for them, yes, it definitely can be!

Do you ever spend money to get coupons?

Once a Week Cooking

2011-04-07T08:52:00.001-04:00

I don't think I could ever attempt Once a Month Cooking. I know it works for some people, but to me it just sounds overwhelming. I can't even plan out meals a week at a time since I never know when we could decide to go out of town for the weekend. But what about once a week cooking? What if I could do almost all of my food preparation for the following week on Saturday? That's my new plan. I've rearranged my chore schedule so that Saturdays are strictly grocery shopping and cooking days. This won't work out every week; some Saturdays I will be out of town, or I may be busy doing something else. The idea is to leave the day open so that if I am home and have the time to do something, I can spend some of that time cooking, whether I cook six meals or just bake a couple dozen cookies.

For my first attempt at once a week cooking, I made tuna noodle casserole, tomato teriyaki drumsticks, basil pork chops, biscuits, and chicken nuggets.

I started by cooking the egg noodles for the tuna noodle casserole.

The I trimmed the skin and fat from the drumsticks.

I made the sauce for the drumsticks and poured that into a bag with the chicken. All I had to do to complete this dish was throw it in the crock pot the morning I wanted to make it.

Once the noodles were done, I mixed in the other ingredients and my second meal was ready. (Putting the chow mien noodles on before baking was a bad idea. We decided putting them on the individual servings works best so they don't get soggy in the refrigerator.)

Next up were the biscuits. I'm trying to find a good biscuit recipe so I can make extras and freeze them, but this wasn't it.

Since the basil pork chops are a quick meal anyway, the only preparation I did for those was mixing the basil, brown sugar, and olive oil together while the biscuits were baking.

With three main dishes done, the only thing I had left to do was make the chicken nuggets for our dinner that night.

Nathan made some amazing filet mignon and loaded mashed potatoes for one of our other dinners that week (still enjoying our Christmas steaks!). The other two nights were a date night and leftovers night.

Making four dinners in one afternoon was fairly easy and seemed to go quickly, even though I probably spent about three hours in the kitchen. If I have a little better planning for the next time, it should go even more smoothly.

Have you tried once a week or once a month cooking?

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half

2011-04-05T19:00:00.001-04:00

I wasn't sure what to expect from Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family. I don't feel like our monthly grocery budget can get any lower than it is without making some major sacrifices. And authors Steve and Annette Economides (yes, their real name) only go grocery shopping once a month, which is not something I'm willing to attempt at this point. As it turned out, I learned much more from this book than I expected. I skimmed through the chapter on stocking up and organizing since I don't really have enough space for 20 cans of tomato paste right now, but even that chapter got me thinking about how I could store and organize food.

Here are some examples of tips from the book that I liked:

Keep your impulse buys in a separate hand basket in your grocery cart. Before you check out, decide if you really need the items in the basket.
Use a calendar to track grocery store sales with dates
Buy medium eggs if there is more than a 5 cent difference between medium and large eggs
Swish water in a nearly empty jam jar and empty it into a smoothie or pancake batter

If you're at all interested in saving money on food expenses, even if you think you already know a lot, read this book. You will learn something.

Other Books Read in 2011

Super Easy & Amazing Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-04-03T17:36:00.000-04:00

I brought some of these cookies into work and they were all gone by 3:00 that day. My coworkers thought they were amazing, but they're actually really easy to make. They only have 3 ingredients!

Ingredients

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Directions

Throw the ingredients in a bowl and mix them together
Scoop up spoonfulls of the dough and drop them onto a cookie sheet
Bake at 350 for 8 minutes

Yield
12-18 cookies. I doubled the recipe and ended up with 36.

Nutrition Facts
Who cares? It's a peanut butter cookie! (See original recipe here)

Nenya After Bath

2011-03-27T15:05:00.000-04:00

Ah, baths...they make a dog so clean, so fresh, so soft, yet so uncomfortable!

Vacuuming The Car from a Second Story Apartment

2011-03-23T20:48:00.002-04:00

Nathan is the official family vacuumer. He was apparently hit with a bit of spring cleaning fever this past weekend and decided he was going to vacuum out both cars in addition to the apartment. I didn't really think about the fact that he would have to find a way to plug in the vacuum in order to do this. Not finding any outdoor outlets, he resorted to this:

A chain of power strips running from the closest outlet to the hallway...

All the way down the stairs...

And outside to the sidewalk! Unfortunately, the cord still wasn't long enough for the vacuum to reach the entire car.

So then he found an outlet in the laundry room.

Success!

You may be wondering, why didn't we just go to a gas station and use a coin-operated vacuum? Well, while I tend to be the frugal one, there are some things that Nathan just doesn't like to spend money on. (He thinks clothes at Goodwill are too expensive.) Why pay to use a vacuum when you already own a perfectly good one?

What crazy things have you done in the name of saving money?

Marriage Doesn't Give You Every Right

2011-03-17T21:00:00.009-04:00

Even though Nathan and I are supposed to be one unit, it turns out there are some things we can't do for each other. When Nathan received a check from his grandma for his birthday, he gave it to me to take care of. I had him sign the back of it and then took it to the bank to cash it. After handing the check to the teller, she asked,

"Who's Nathan?"
"That's my husband."
"Okay, well he would need to come in to be able to cash it."
"Really? Even though we're on the same account?"
"Uh-huh."
"Uh...can I just deposit then?"
"Sure!"

I realize policies are policies, but I was still caught off guard. All I have to do to take money out of our account is fill out a withdrawal slip; I've never even been asked for an ID. But cashing a check made out to my husband? Apparently that's stealing.

Have you run into any surprises about what you can't do for your spouse?

To Buy or Not to Buy Organic?

2011-03-15T21:00:00.003-04:00

We're going to die no matter what we eat, so what does it matter? That was the conclusion I came to after taking a Science of Food class in college. But since it's been a few years and the professor of the class was a former geneticist for the USDA, I figured it wouldn't hurt to reexamine the issue.

One of the main reasons I originally decided organic food was a waste of money was that a video we watched in class talked about a young boy who died after contracting E. coli from organic spinach. In To Buy or Not to Buy Organic, Cindy Burke says the 2006 E. coli breakout in spinach was not in fact linked to organic produce, despite reports to the contrary. After learning that information, I became much more open to trying organic food.

What I liked about the book is that Cindy Burke tells you it's not actually worth the money to buy organic in every case. I'm more concerned about whether or not the food I buy is safe than whether or not the food I buy is supporting big business producers or the farm subsidy system. A chart in the back lists foods alphabetically and gives Burke's recommendation of whether it's best to buy organic, conventional, or local food for that particular item. Broccoli and cauliflower, for example, are naturally pest-resistant and contain very little pesticide residue even when conventionally grown. I also found it interesting that she recommends not eating organic fish at all since it's better to eat wild caught fish and fish must be farm grown to be certified as organic.

The thing I found troubling about this book was that I don't know how factual some of the information is. Cindy Burke says that you cannot trust the government to keep your food safe. While that may be true, how do I know I can trust the information a food journalist and former chef is giving me? It's difficult for me to think of an author as credible when she begins a sentence with "According to HowStuffWorks.com..." She referenced one theory that the reason a woman's risk of breast cancer decreases the more children she breastfeeds is that the babies are draining toxins from her body. The first baby will get the worst of the toxins. While this is absolutely terrifying, from what I could tell it's just a theory of one man.

I would recommend To Buy or Not to Buy Organic if you're on the fence about organic food. If you're already 100% convinced it's a waste of money, it probably won't change your mind. This book did make me think switching to organic for some foods might be a good idea (potatoes, strawberries, and peaches for example), but I can't see us ever going completely organic. I'm not giving up Chick-fil-A anytime soon.

Do you buy organic?

Other Books Read in 2011

NewlywedTrek on Twitter

2011-03-13T21:00:00.000-04:00

I finally jumped on the Twitter bandwagon just to see what it was all about, and I'm actually enjoying it. I don't plan on ever becoming one of those people who tweet 20 times a day, but I have been tweeting random thoughts and happenings that can be expressed in 140 characters. My account also automatically tweets links to my new blog posts. So, if you can't get enough of my cooking disasters, stories about my dog, and whatever else goes on in my newlywed life, follow @NewlywedTrek on Twitter. If you don't use Twitter, you can also see my Twitter feed on the right sidebar of the blog.

Happy Birthday!

2011-03-11T00:00:00.015-05:00

Two of my favorite dudes are celebrating their birthdays today!

My wonderful husband turns 28 today!

And my baby brother Brandon turns 21!

Happy birthday, guys!

Giving Audio Books a Try

2011-03-09T21:00:00.002-05:00

Since I spend 5 hours a week driving to and from work, I knew audio books would be a great option for me to make use of that time. Being a visual learner, I was a little worried that I wouldn't retain much. It's almost impossible for me to remember anything from lectures or sermons if I don't take notes. But I recently decided to give it a try. I started the book on my drive to work on a Monday and finished it that Wednesday on my way home. It was really nice to finish a book during time that would otherwise be lost. Since I was driving in rush hour interstate traffic, I wasn't able to fully focus on the book, and there were also a couple times when I focused on it too much and almost missed my exit. Overall, it was a better experience than expected. I would estimate that I retained about 80% as much information as I would have had I read a physical copy of the book.

The book I listened to was Linchpin by Seth Godin. I found it a little disappointing. With a subtitle of "Are You Indispensable?" I was hoping for insight on how to be indispensable in my current job. Instead, Godin says that if your current boss doesn't appreciate your talents, you need to find a new job. Maybe I'm just not the target audience for this book. He talks about how the creators of the Apple computer went three days without going home or showering. If that's what makes you a linchpin, I think I'll pass. The book did help my professional life in some ways though. Listening to it on my way to work helped get me in the right mindset to start the day, and I woke up in the middle of the night once and started brainstorming ideas for a spreadsheet I want to create to make my job easier. I would say it's worth reading for any creatives trying to better themselves in their profession.

Have you listened to audio books? Do you feel that you retain more or less than you do by reading physical books?

Other Books Read in 2011