Archive for November, 2008
Sunday Morning Relaxing
Hello there! Like this post? Subscribe to the feed and get more giggles every day.
I love this song, it’s got such a funky beat to it that everytime I hear it I get the urge to find a powder blue pantsuit and wear it.
Last night’s dinner is still on my mind. I made a big pot of beans, seasoned them with some lemon pepper, and tossed in some left over ham pieces. Then I sauteed half an onion and 2 garlic cloves in a lot of butter and dumped them in the pot, butter and all. It was so good I’m drooling just thinking about it. Low cost home cookin’, that’s the ticket.
And while I’m still stuffed and happy from last night, here’s a little round up of some sweet spots to hang out on a lazy Sunday.
- Bean Plate - Seriously, there’s no cooking blog that holds a candle to this site. It’s healthy food that tastes amazing and won’t break the bank account.
- My internet boyfriend, Jay Smooth, is sweet talking me again. Luckily for Dearest this is as close as I’ll ever get to him.
- Amy of Crunchy Domestic Goddess is tying to kill me with sweetness. Why else would she post a list of nothing but cookie recipes that you know I’m going to have to make and eat?
- I found a new blog that I’ve been enjoying, Pure Mothers.
- I’m still looking for the perfect family tradition each winter, and a Spiral Walk might be it. I love all her dolls and used to read her blog, so I’m sue this is going to be good.
- Kids got the “I want that!” blues? Try on a dose of anti-consumerism for kids at PhD in Parenting. By the way, tomorrow I’m sharing our plan on how we’re going to survive the holidays this year.
- If you haven’t noticed it yet, there’s an ad on the side for the Frugal Living Newsletter. Yep, I’m putting together my need to spend as little as possible with my love of writing and doing a once weekly newsletter.
- And, as always, give some love to my advertisers on the side there. I manually approve each one so there’s no junk.
OK, I’m going to go curl up with the boys, eat some muffins, and maybe read a book.
Like what you read? Drop a buck in the tip jar.Tags: links
The Plan
Most people know I’ve got this dream to get away, escape from it all. To steal away to somewhere calm and quiet and maybe even off the map. If I won the lottery tomorrow I’d probably follow Trish and Arp down to Costa Rica and soak up some sun. Unfortunately that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.
Since Dearest lost his job and we’ve had to tighten our belts even more I haven’t been able to shake this wish of having a house that we own, of living in a way that doesn’t require working 50+ hours a week to afford, of not worrying so much about buying groceries and paying the bills. Slowly, this plan hatched.
I quit writing for pay online a while back, it was just too stressful to be constantly watching deadlines and word counts and checking stats. But I’ve thrown myself back in at full force. I’m giving myself 5 years, just five years of writing and working and putting myself into it with all I’ve got. I’m going to save every penny I make into my big dream fund. At the end of 5 years I want to either be able to buy outright or have a fat deposit on a couple acres and a small house. I’m going to grow a garden big enough to feed us, have chickens running around, maybe a cow or two for milk. I want to learn how to install solar panels, how to set up a gray water system, and all else failing I’m reading books on cob and straw bale houses.
I’m talking simple here folks.
I don’t want to see Dearest for only a couple hours a day because he’s always at work anymore, I don’t want to open the fridge with nervousness anymoe, and I don’t want to pay someone else each month to have a place to live in. I want to have my own little piece that I can do with what I want.
So there’s the basics of the plan. I have a pile of notes written on scraps of paper sitting in my purse, details of what I’m going to do here and there and everywhere. It’s going to take nearly every minute of free time I have, but it will be worth it in just 5 years. Then I’ll be free.
Like what you read? Drop a buck in the tip jar.A New Meaning On Black Friday
For most people in America Black Friday means the day when you empty your pockets, checking accounts, and credit cared limits in a mad dash to buy, buy, buy. But in other parts of the word Black Friday is more a day of mourning than a day of profit margins.
We don’t have cable, and you would think that this would shield me from the onslaught of news stories. But it doesn’t. I still have the internet, and more importantly I still have Twitter. I’ve spent the last two days glued to the constant streaming feed of death tolls, smoke, and heartbreak coming out of Mumbai. When terrorists entered buildings people were tweeting their steps, when hostages were released people were tweeting each one, as the police moved in people were tweeting their every move. It was surreal to be kept so up to date on a time of fear that it almost felt as if you were there, yet I was home and safe on my own couch.
People have died, hostages have been killed, people have lost family and friends. It’s bizarre to read one person’s comment on the death of hostages and next read another one’s comment on what store is offering free shipping today. I want to scream. I want to scream “No one cares about your new purse, or your iPod, or your half price tv stand!” But I do it too, you have to tune out the violence and chat about something else for a while or you’ll start to feel claustrophobic.
The minute news broke of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, India, social media sites like Twitter were inundated with a huge volume of messages.
With more than 6 million members worldwide, an estimated 80 messages, or “tweets,” were being sent to Twitter.com via SMS every five seconds, providing eyewitness accounts and updates.
Many Twitter users also sent pleas for blood donors to make their way to specific hospitals in Mumbai where doctors were faced with low stocks and rising casualties.
Others sent information about helplines and contact numbers for those who had friends and relatives caught up in the attacks. Tweeters were also mobilized to help with transcribing a list of the dead and injured from hospitals, which were quickly posted online.
If you’re going out there today, to the mall to take advantage of the shopping deals today, pause for a few minutes to think about what the rest of the world is doing today.
Like what you read? Drop a buck in the tip jar.Tags: death, Mumbai, news, terror
Thankful
Today I am thankful for:
- sitting in the sunshine reading a book
- Boy giggles
- The crunching of leaves
- A full belly
- A warm bed
But this family, and so many like them, what do they have to be thankful for today? While you enjoy plates overflowing with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pie, what are they eating today? Tomorrow? The day after?
Last year 1 in 8 people went hungry, how many will it be now?
(Hat tip - Feminste)
Like what you read? Drop a buck in the tip jar.Tags: homeless, Thanksgiving, video
