Nathan's Wedding Gift

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

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

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.

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 : : 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.

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: : 4 : :

Parmesan Chicken 

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

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: : 5 : :

Salmon Patties

 Canned salmon

Egg
Sseasoned dry bread crumbs
Olive oil

 

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: : 6 : :

Ham and Cheese Crescent Roll-Ups

  Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls

Thinly sliced ham
Sliced cheddar cheese

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: : 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.

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: : 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

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

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?

Other Books Read in 2011

• Eat, Pray, Love
• Healthy Meals for Less (Review)
• Half-Price Living (Review)
• Linchpin (Review) 
• To Buy or Not to Buy Organic (Review) 
• Mosaic
• Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half (Review) 
• Unplanned
• The Millionaire Next Door