Who are these people and why are they following me!?
Who are these people that I follow?
Some are people I know in real life. Some are people I met through the internet and then met in real life. Some are people who I met via other people's blogs. Others are people whose blogs I've stumbled upon.
I think it's so interesting how we can connect through the internet, finding people with common interests or shared views. A friend of mine once told me that she felt safer talking about certain things regarding parenting philosophies online than seeking out like-minded parents in real life.
I'm wondering if that's because you know on a message board for topic X, you know that you'll find support and things in common with the other posters. Whereas if you reveal something about yourself or your beliefs to your neighbor, you are setting yourself up for possible rejection. It's understandable, but at the same time, sort of sad. We are not giving people in real life the benefit of the doubt, ie, how do we know that they will find our views/beliefs on topic X weird?" How do we not know that they might do the exact same thing or believe something very similarly? Have we become intimidated into not expressing our true selves to real life people? Were we never that confident in the first place?
It's hard to say. But here I am, blogging about topics instead of chatting up MY next-door neighbor. It's easier to just post an editorial like this, and let people comment. It's passive. Who knows if my neighbor or my friend has time to listen to me if I needed to be listened to? Would s/he care? Would s/he think I'm crazy or odd? Most people don't think as deeply as I do, and don't need to discuss and reflect on various topics. I know that this sets me apart from a lot of people. Because of this, I have become intimidated into not sharing or saying too much to other people. This is another sad thing, but I don't want to stick out. Although, who knows? Maybe me sticking out would make THEM think more...and there's NOTHING wrong with THINKING.
As that sticker/magnet says "It's not illegal yet."
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Hey hey, check out my to-do list!
I love lists.
Really really really love them. I try to be organized, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I've always got some kind of list going.
Have I mentioned that I love lists?
Anyway, I just added one here (see right hand side of screen) because there are a lot of things to do around the house and I'll probably be writing about them here & there. Those of you who've purchased homes are probably nodding their heads in solidarity ("I remember those days...." or "Oh yeah, welcome to home-ownership.") while those who don't own are like "whoa, that's a lot of stuff."
Really really really love them. I try to be organized, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I've always got some kind of list going.
Have I mentioned that I love lists?
Anyway, I just added one here (see right hand side of screen) because there are a lot of things to do around the house and I'll probably be writing about them here & there. Those of you who've purchased homes are probably nodding their heads in solidarity ("I remember those days...." or "Oh yeah, welcome to home-ownership.") while those who don't own are like "whoa, that's a lot of stuff."
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Oh yeah, it's Lent...
One of the things I do want to blog about here is our adventures in cooking, since it's something that we love to do, and we do in our house (especially now that we have a HUGE kitchen)...and on occasion, I will blog about faith/religion, since that's also an important part of our lives.
So here's a topic that combines the two--Lent. If you're Catholic, most of you started today. We started Monday, because Turtle is Byzantine Catholic and I am now Byzantine by proxy. I was raised Roman Catholic, but for a lot of reasons, we go "East." Another topic for another day.
Anywhoo, ByzCaths abstain from all animal products, except fish/seafood (yeah, I don't get it either) on the first Monday of Lent and on Good Friday. No meat, no dairy, no poultry. I can eat vegetarian just fine, but vegan is tough. Especially when you don't eat that way 363 days out of the year! Also during Lent, ByzCaths abstain from meat/poultry on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. You Romans know the Friday deal--we go "harder core" and do it twice a week. At least we can have eggs and dairy!
What throws us for a loop is what to eat...
On Monday, we had peanut butter and banana sandwiches on RYE BREAD for breakfast because that was the only bread in the house without dairy or eggs. It didn't taste too bad. No lunch for me, only because I wasn't hungry, but I did snack on some Tostitos. Again, no animal products, so who cares if it's junk food, right? I had bought some frozen shrimp at the store on Saturday in preparation for Monday's dinner, and figured I could make shrimp scampi but leave out the butter (just use olive oil), with rice and a veggie. Awesomely, asparagus was on sale.
That went off without a hitch and the scampi was pretty good although we both missed the little bit of butter that is usually added to the olive oil. Oh and the cheese! We definitely missed the Parmesan sprinkled on top of our food! But we survived and all was well.
But what sucks is remembering that we can't always have leftovers. I see where the sacrifice comes in to play ;-)
Sunday I had made pulled pork, but we couldn't eat it on Monday. So we ate it again last night, and it was fine, but it wouldn't have lasted til Thursday. We had to throw it out. I hate wasting food, mostly because it's a huge waste of MONEY. (You will soon learn that I try to be pretty frugal and I really enjoy meal planning.) On Thursday, we can eat meat again, but it has to be something that either we'll eat in one night, or if there are leftovers, will be OK until Saturday.
So here is our week:
Sunday--pulled pork
Monday--shrimp scampi
Tuesday--leftover pulled pork
Wednesday--tuna melts
Thursday--pork tenderloin (usually we try not to have too much of one animal at a time, but it just worked out this way, this week)
Friday--I don't know!
Saturday--also don't know, but we can have meat, so not a big deal
Like most of my stories, I'm getting to the "meat" (hahaha, I made a pun!) of the story 5 minutes after I started. The point of this post: I need help figuring out what to eat on our meatless days! I also want to keep costs down but be as healthy as possible. We could do pizza, sure, but that's a bit pricey and not so healthy. Not that tuna melts are tons better...
I already warned Turtle that there might be "eggs and toast" nights...he was cool with that. (And I'm pumped since I got a free dozen eggs at the grocery store recently!) But even that gets old.
PEOPLE: GIVE ME YOUR RECIPES FOR MEATLESS DISHES! If I make them, I will give you a shout out and what could be better than a random interwebz shout out?
So here's a topic that combines the two--Lent. If you're Catholic, most of you started today. We started Monday, because Turtle is Byzantine Catholic and I am now Byzantine by proxy. I was raised Roman Catholic, but for a lot of reasons, we go "East." Another topic for another day.
Anywhoo, ByzCaths abstain from all animal products, except fish/seafood (yeah, I don't get it either) on the first Monday of Lent and on Good Friday. No meat, no dairy, no poultry. I can eat vegetarian just fine, but vegan is tough. Especially when you don't eat that way 363 days out of the year! Also during Lent, ByzCaths abstain from meat/poultry on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. You Romans know the Friday deal--we go "harder core" and do it twice a week. At least we can have eggs and dairy!
What throws us for a loop is what to eat...
On Monday, we had peanut butter and banana sandwiches on RYE BREAD for breakfast because that was the only bread in the house without dairy or eggs. It didn't taste too bad. No lunch for me, only because I wasn't hungry, but I did snack on some Tostitos. Again, no animal products, so who cares if it's junk food, right? I had bought some frozen shrimp at the store on Saturday in preparation for Monday's dinner, and figured I could make shrimp scampi but leave out the butter (just use olive oil), with rice and a veggie. Awesomely, asparagus was on sale.
That went off without a hitch and the scampi was pretty good although we both missed the little bit of butter that is usually added to the olive oil. Oh and the cheese! We definitely missed the Parmesan sprinkled on top of our food! But we survived and all was well.
But what sucks is remembering that we can't always have leftovers. I see where the sacrifice comes in to play ;-)
Sunday I had made pulled pork, but we couldn't eat it on Monday. So we ate it again last night, and it was fine, but it wouldn't have lasted til Thursday. We had to throw it out. I hate wasting food, mostly because it's a huge waste of MONEY. (You will soon learn that I try to be pretty frugal and I really enjoy meal planning.) On Thursday, we can eat meat again, but it has to be something that either we'll eat in one night, or if there are leftovers, will be OK until Saturday.
So here is our week:
Sunday--pulled pork
Monday--shrimp scampi
Tuesday--leftover pulled pork
Wednesday--tuna melts
Thursday--pork tenderloin (usually we try not to have too much of one animal at a time, but it just worked out this way, this week)
Friday--I don't know!
Saturday--also don't know, but we can have meat, so not a big deal
Like most of my stories, I'm getting to the "meat" (hahaha, I made a pun!) of the story 5 minutes after I started. The point of this post: I need help figuring out what to eat on our meatless days! I also want to keep costs down but be as healthy as possible. We could do pizza, sure, but that's a bit pricey and not so healthy. Not that tuna melts are tons better...
I already warned Turtle that there might be "eggs and toast" nights...he was cool with that. (And I'm pumped since I got a free dozen eggs at the grocery store recently!) But even that gets old.
PEOPLE: GIVE ME YOUR RECIPES FOR MEATLESS DISHES! If I make them, I will give you a shout out and what could be better than a random interwebz shout out?
What to make!?
A few people have suggested that I need to make/bake my neighbor something for plowing me out. Sure thing--that's not a problem in our house. We love to cook...and I do enjoy baking, although I don't do it often. I did want to do something nice for him, anyway.
I think a cake is a little over the top, plus, I don't do cakes from scratch. I can do cookies, but the thing is...my cookies don't always come out so great. They are DELICIOUS, but not very pleasing to the eye. Either too flat or too puffy.
I'm thinking banana bread...without nuts though, since I don't know if anyone has allergies.
Thoughts?
I think a cake is a little over the top, plus, I don't do cakes from scratch. I can do cookies, but the thing is...my cookies don't always come out so great. They are DELICIOUS, but not very pleasing to the eye. Either too flat or too puffy.
I'm thinking banana bread...without nuts though, since I don't know if anyone has allergies.
Thoughts?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Neighbors
(Whoa, three posts from me in one day, what a record!)
When Turtle and I were looking for a house, one of the things we really wanted was a neighborhood with people who were nice, cared about each other, etc. Obviously, you can't tell the Realtor to scope those things our for you, but we definitely wanted a "neighborhood" feel. In our minds that was not living on a yellow-lined street (yes we are THOSE people, haha), or having the houses SO close together that you are embarrassed to look at your neighbor when you leave the house (did Mr Smith hear Turtle and I argue last night? Did old Mrs Jones hear us DO IT two nights ago?), but we didn't want to be so far apart from our neighbors that we didn't interact.
A few reasons for wanting a neighborhood feel:
1. I grew up without any real neighbors--my parents' house is set so far back off the road and is in the woods. The closest neighbors are far away. I didn't have a close relationship with the kids around me.
2. When Turtle was a young lad, he lived in a cool neighborhood, where people were FRIENDS. He missed that a lot when his family outgrew that house and moved to a different neighborhood.
3. We don't have a lot of friends who live in the area, and while you might not LOVE everyone you live near, if they are nice, that certainly opens up your options.
4. We do plan on having kids someday and we'd like them to have people to (hopefully) play with.
5. I've always been searching for some kind of community, for belonging. I even wrote my senior thesis in college about neighborhoods and community involvement/interaction. Yes, I am a HUGE dork.
We think we've got the neighbor thing down pretty well. When we first moved in, people came over to say hello and welcome. A few weeks later (probably right after the real estate transaction hit the paper), two couples brought over some Edible Arrangements. During one of the first snowstorms we had this winter, someone plowed us out. Another time, someone else snowblowed our driveway. (We now have a snowblower, thank you Turtle's Grandma!)
Tonight, something happened that reaffirmed my belief and faith in neighbors and community. We had a bad snowstorm--kind of unexpected--and I got home around my normal time. Turtle works til 8 on Tuesdays, and usually doesn't get home until close to 9. When I got home, we had about 6 inches of snow in our driveway, and I could NOT get into our garage. I actually got stuck at the bottom of our driveway. I tried and tried, but couldn't get in. I called Turtle to see what I should do, and he advised me to shovel out the car, and try again. I changed clothes, bundled up, and went back outside with my trusty yellow shovel.
I started shoveling, half crying, half cursing my luck. I was also a wee bit upset about Turtle's work schedule, but I bit my tongue since we are so blessed that he HAS a job after being unemployed for 16 months. Then my neighbor from across the street pulled out of his driveway in his BIG pickup. He also has a plow. He asked me what was wrong, and I told him that I'd gotten stuck.
He told me to get out of the way and he'd try to get the snow that was behind my car and in the driveway, out of the way. He did. He then told me to back my car into the street and he'd "clear it out." I had NO idea that meant he was going TO PLOW MY ENTIRE DRIVEWAY!!!!
I'm not really a crier, but at that moment, I teared up. Here's this guy, who has two young kids (boy-girl twins who were actually riding shotgun with their dad), who could be in his warm home, with his wife and kids, but he's helping me. It took him less than 5 minutes (we don't have a big driveway) and he was on his way. I didn't get a chance to really thank him, besides a quick "oh! thank you so much!" when he offered to help get me unstuck, but I stood in the doorway of the garage after I FINALLY pulled my car in and gave a big wave.
At our closing, the seller told us that we were moving into a great neighborhood with really nice people. We'd figured he was right, and we were already pretty impressed with the way people welcomed us when we first moved in. But now? This is completely different. How refreshing to see selflessness, especially on a cold, snowy night.
When Turtle and I were looking for a house, one of the things we really wanted was a neighborhood with people who were nice, cared about each other, etc. Obviously, you can't tell the Realtor to scope those things our for you, but we definitely wanted a "neighborhood" feel. In our minds that was not living on a yellow-lined street (yes we are THOSE people, haha), or having the houses SO close together that you are embarrassed to look at your neighbor when you leave the house (did Mr Smith hear Turtle and I argue last night? Did old Mrs Jones hear us DO IT two nights ago?), but we didn't want to be so far apart from our neighbors that we didn't interact.
A few reasons for wanting a neighborhood feel:
1. I grew up without any real neighbors--my parents' house is set so far back off the road and is in the woods. The closest neighbors are far away. I didn't have a close relationship with the kids around me.
2. When Turtle was a young lad, he lived in a cool neighborhood, where people were FRIENDS. He missed that a lot when his family outgrew that house and moved to a different neighborhood.
3. We don't have a lot of friends who live in the area, and while you might not LOVE everyone you live near, if they are nice, that certainly opens up your options.
4. We do plan on having kids someday and we'd like them to have people to (hopefully) play with.
5. I've always been searching for some kind of community, for belonging. I even wrote my senior thesis in college about neighborhoods and community involvement/interaction. Yes, I am a HUGE dork.
We think we've got the neighbor thing down pretty well. When we first moved in, people came over to say hello and welcome. A few weeks later (probably right after the real estate transaction hit the paper), two couples brought over some Edible Arrangements. During one of the first snowstorms we had this winter, someone plowed us out. Another time, someone else snowblowed our driveway. (We now have a snowblower, thank you Turtle's Grandma!)
Tonight, something happened that reaffirmed my belief and faith in neighbors and community. We had a bad snowstorm--kind of unexpected--and I got home around my normal time. Turtle works til 8 on Tuesdays, and usually doesn't get home until close to 9. When I got home, we had about 6 inches of snow in our driveway, and I could NOT get into our garage. I actually got stuck at the bottom of our driveway. I tried and tried, but couldn't get in. I called Turtle to see what I should do, and he advised me to shovel out the car, and try again. I changed clothes, bundled up, and went back outside with my trusty yellow shovel.
I started shoveling, half crying, half cursing my luck. I was also a wee bit upset about Turtle's work schedule, but I bit my tongue since we are so blessed that he HAS a job after being unemployed for 16 months. Then my neighbor from across the street pulled out of his driveway in his BIG pickup. He also has a plow. He asked me what was wrong, and I told him that I'd gotten stuck.
He told me to get out of the way and he'd try to get the snow that was behind my car and in the driveway, out of the way. He did. He then told me to back my car into the street and he'd "clear it out." I had NO idea that meant he was going TO PLOW MY ENTIRE DRIVEWAY!!!!
I'm not really a crier, but at that moment, I teared up. Here's this guy, who has two young kids (boy-girl twins who were actually riding shotgun with their dad), who could be in his warm home, with his wife and kids, but he's helping me. It took him less than 5 minutes (we don't have a big driveway) and he was on his way. I didn't get a chance to really thank him, besides a quick "oh! thank you so much!" when he offered to help get me unstuck, but I stood in the doorway of the garage after I FINALLY pulled my car in and gave a big wave.
At our closing, the seller told us that we were moving into a great neighborhood with really nice people. We'd figured he was right, and we were already pretty impressed with the way people welcomed us when we first moved in. But now? This is completely different. How refreshing to see selflessness, especially on a cold, snowy night.
Ups and Downs
A friend who is not a homeowner asked me the other day about the ups and downs of being a homeowner.
That was a tough one.
I don't want to be all "OMG!!!!! EVERYONE SHOULD BUY!!!! BEST. THING. EVER." It's NOT for everyone. Sometimes I wonder what did we get ourselves into--that soon passes. It's a lot of work and can be a lot of money. But it can also be a lot of fun and really satisfying.
I also don't want to come off as a braggart or that people who don't buy suck or are throwing their money away. Again, buying is not for everyone. It wasn't for us for a long time either, and we really crunched the numbers.
Plus, one can afford a house, but can they afford the taxes? Our new town has fairly high taxes, but it all worked out in the end for us, since our mortgage payments are pretty low. Not everyone has that happen.
Here's what I told my friend, via email:
I never thought of myself saying this, but I do enjoy having MY own home. I don't know if that's a "greedy American" way of looking at things, but it's just great. I do NOT feel any more grown up, like how a lot of people feel that they have to own to feel like they've "made it" or are "grown up." Another "up" is that while yes, a large chunk of money goes to the bank each month, it's more like they are holding it for us, in an account we can't touch. Knowing that it could be an awesome investment. At least that's how I "trick" myself, haha. Knowing that we can do whatever we want to it, within reason, of course--can't just rip out walls with out making sure they aren't the right ones to rip. Knowing that this is our little "project" that we can improve on, take care of, watch it flourish. I've always been more of a homebody than not, and very domestic, so it's like I have a canvas to express myself.
The downs...having to fix/take care of everything yourself. No landlord to call. Figuring out which things are a priority to fix/replace and what can wait. Having to budget for upgrades. For example, we really want to put in a wood stove, but they are expensive. So we need to save slowly for that, even though it would drastically reduce the money we spend on oil. Even something as "simple" as thermal curtains--to keep out the cold now and the heat in a few months--for 4 windows, it could run me like $200 or more. But then I have to look at it as how much will I save in oil for heat/electricity for AC?? It's a balancing game...
For us, most days, we're in the UP column ;-)
That was a tough one.
I don't want to be all "OMG!!!!! EVERYONE SHOULD BUY!!!! BEST. THING. EVER." It's NOT for everyone. Sometimes I wonder what did we get ourselves into--that soon passes. It's a lot of work and can be a lot of money. But it can also be a lot of fun and really satisfying.
I also don't want to come off as a braggart or that people who don't buy suck or are throwing their money away. Again, buying is not for everyone. It wasn't for us for a long time either, and we really crunched the numbers.
Plus, one can afford a house, but can they afford the taxes? Our new town has fairly high taxes, but it all worked out in the end for us, since our mortgage payments are pretty low. Not everyone has that happen.
Here's what I told my friend, via email:
I never thought of myself saying this, but I do enjoy having MY own home. I don't know if that's a "greedy American" way of looking at things, but it's just great. I do NOT feel any more grown up, like how a lot of people feel that they have to own to feel like they've "made it" or are "grown up." Another "up" is that while yes, a large chunk of money goes to the bank each month, it's more like they are holding it for us, in an account we can't touch. Knowing that it could be an awesome investment. At least that's how I "trick" myself, haha. Knowing that we can do whatever we want to it, within reason, of course--can't just rip out walls with out making sure they aren't the right ones to rip. Knowing that this is our little "project" that we can improve on, take care of, watch it flourish. I've always been more of a homebody than not, and very domestic, so it's like I have a canvas to express myself.
The downs...having to fix/take care of everything yourself. No landlord to call. Figuring out which things are a priority to fix/replace and what can wait. Having to budget for upgrades. For example, we really want to put in a wood stove, but they are expensive. So we need to save slowly for that, even though it would drastically reduce the money we spend on oil. Even something as "simple" as thermal curtains--to keep out the cold now and the heat in a few months--for 4 windows, it could run me like $200 or more. But then I have to look at it as how much will I save in oil for heat/electricity for AC?? It's a balancing game...
For us, most days, we're in the UP column ;-)
I'm back!
I was really hoping to get more time to blog and I'm sad that I've either been busy, or sick, or helping other people out...
So we've been in our house for almost 4 months (will be 4 months on 2/26) and we're still loving it. It feels like we've been there longer, which (I think) is a good thing! I need to write more about this blog--we wanted to keep people up to date with what's going on in our home, but also, we are trying to save money, be responsible about the home improvements we're doing, trying to be green/eco-friendly when possible...although it can be hard.
What have we done so far...
1. Bought a new dryer
2. Bought an upright freezer for our basement
3. Painted the TV room
4. Added shelving in the basement
5. ALMOST finished unpacking/setting up
6. Bought thermal curtains for the slider window in the kitchen
7. Hosted Christmas dinner for our families
8. Added a heavy-duty door to our basement. We have a Bilco door/hatch thingy, but this will help to keep more drafts OUT!
So we've been in our house for almost 4 months (will be 4 months on 2/26) and we're still loving it. It feels like we've been there longer, which (I think) is a good thing! I need to write more about this blog--we wanted to keep people up to date with what's going on in our home, but also, we are trying to save money, be responsible about the home improvements we're doing, trying to be green/eco-friendly when possible...although it can be hard.
What have we done so far...
1. Bought a new dryer
2. Bought an upright freezer for our basement
3. Painted the TV room
4. Added shelving in the basement
5. ALMOST finished unpacking/setting up
6. Bought thermal curtains for the slider window in the kitchen
7. Hosted Christmas dinner for our families
8. Added a heavy-duty door to our basement. We have a Bilco door/hatch thingy, but this will help to keep more drafts OUT!
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